Manitoba’s Order of the Buffalo Hunt has some new, special members.

Premier Wab Kinew awarded one of  province’s highest honours to the first responders of the Carberry bus crash recognizing their bravery and dedication following the bus crash, which killed 17 Dauphin-area seniors on June 15, 2023.

“We want to honour those whose valour and heroism helped to embody the best of Manitobans,” Kinew said.

“When we think of the first responders and how they stepped up and answered the call that day and in a moment of challenge or a moment of danger, they went towards the crisis instead of running away.”

A total of 134 first responders were inducted into the Order of the Buffalo Hunt following a ceremony held last week at the Legislative Building.

First responders from the 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, as well as provincial call takers and dispatchers, were inducted.

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

Keith Loney, fire chief of the Carberry North Cypress-Langford Fire and Rescue, Yves Guillas, fire chief of the Neepawa Volunteer Fire Department, Terry Parlow, chief, and Kevin Garrioch of Brandon Fire and Emergency Services, and Ryan Schenk and Grant Winder from the Office of the Fire Commissioner were on hand to accept the framed certificate and statuette on behalf of all recipients.