Premier Wab Kinew awarded one of Manitoba’s highest honors, the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, on Monday to recognize the bravery and bravery of first responders following the horrific highway collision that claimed the lives of 17 seniors in Dauphin 16 months ago.

“This is a room full of heroes,” Kinew said during a ceremony at the Legislative Building. “Your actions that day represent the best of this state.”

A total of 134 first responders from Carberry North Cypress-Langford Fire Department, Brandon Fire and Emergency Services, Neepawa Volunteer Fire Department, Shared Health emergency response services, STARS air ambulance and Manitoba RCMP were deployed, as well as call responders and dispatchers from across the province. into the order.

Pilots and medical personnel on two Saskatchewan government fixed-wing air ambulance (Lifeguard) flights that responded and transported patients from Brandon to Winnipeg were also included.

The Prime Minister said, “This was a team effort” and stated that he included someone into this sect for the first time. “The province of Manitoba owes you a great debt of gratitude.”

Neepawa Volunteer Fire Department Chief Yves Guillas told reporters after the official event that it was nice to be recognized.

He recalled the initial call to the scene of a bus-transport truck collision on June 15, 2023, at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5. The bus was taking the seniors on a day trip to Sand Hills Casino, just outside Carberry. About 200 kilometers south of Dauphin.

The bus, with 25 people on board, was traveling on Highway 5 when it exited the intersection controlled by a stop sign and crashed into a transport truck that had the right of way while attempting to cross the Trans-Canada.

“It was worse than we thought…it was huge,” Guillas said.

He said the offers of help and support to first responders dealing with the aftermath were “excellent” and added that Monday’s honor was a morale boost for everyone.

“As a state, we had to find a way to recognize their acts of heroism that day, but also to say, ‘Hey, we’re behind you as you go through the normal process.’ It is a human act to see such a traumatic event,” Kinew told reporters.

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Carol Sanders
legislative reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter. Free Press legislative bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the newspaper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

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