Fatality inquiry for Columbia Icefield bus rollover to be held in June

A rolled-over tour bus rests where it fell on the Columbia Icefield near Jasper, Alta., Sunday, July 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A fatality inquiry is to take place in June for the three people killed five years ago when a tour bus tumbled down an embankment on the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park.

Three people died and 14 suffered life-threatening injuries after the bus lost control and landed on its roof in the popular tourist destination south of Jasper in July 2020.

Alberta’s government says the inquiry is to take place June 10 at the Jasper Court of Justice.

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RCMP did not lay criminal charges, but bus operator Brewster Inc. was charged in May 2022 under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act related to the lack of seatbelts, failing to control hazards and failing to ensure equipment was in safe operating condition.

Seatbelts have been added to the company’s buses and drivers’ training requirements have changed since tours restarted in 2021.

Fatality inquiries are to provide recommendations to help prevent similar deaths.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2025.

Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press