Ontario institutions pay tribute to crash victims

Organizations across Ontario are paying tribute to the victims of last week’s fatal bus crash involving Saskatchewan’s Humboldt Broncos.

The bus carrying the junior hockey team collided with a semi truck in northeast Saskatchewan on Friday, killing 15 people and leaving 14 others injured.

At Toronto’s York University, news of the crash hit particularly hard as one of those killed, Broncos assistant coach Mark Cross, was a recent graduate and had played on the school’s hockey team for five years.

“When Mark spoke, everyone listened,” said Jesse Messier, who played with Cross at York for three years. “I couldn’t think of a better mentor for those young men to have.”

Jennifer Myers, York’s executive director of athletics, said Cross had been a significant part of York’s sports community. His longtime girlfriend worked in the university’s athletics department before Cross left Toronto to coach in his home province of Saskatchewan.

Over the weekend, university staff set up a tribute to Cross — his jersey and photograph are now on display at York’s athletic centre, along with two condolence books, Myers said. The university plans to present one book to Cross’s family and the other to his girlfriend at his funeral.

Another one of Cross’ teammates remembered him as a commanding leader and a caring friend.

“To try to hear from every person that Mark connected with here at York, you wouldn’t have time to hear from them all,” said Shayne Rover. “There’s so many people who would have so many great things to say about him.”

Elsewhere in Ontario, several municipalities and institutions lowered flags to half mast. Among them was the Toronto District School Board, which said the action was to pay tribute to those who lost their lives.

“It’s something that a lot of our families have experienced, hopping on a bus heading to hockey tournament,” spokesperson Ryan Bird said. “The entire country right now is obviously heartbroken at what’s happened, and lowering our flags was the least we could do, just so everyone knows that they’re in our thoughts.”

In other signs of tribute, both the Canadian and American sides of Niagara Falls were illuminated in green and gold Sunday night, to coincide with a vigil in Humboldt.

In Toronto, a sign spelling out the city’s name outside City Hall was lit in green and yellow.