SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Rockfall at Bow Glacier Falls

Honourable senators, last Thursday, Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park experienced a sudden rock slide, which claimed the lives of two hikers and injured several others.

Bow Glacier Falls hike is one of my favourites. A popular lookout spot 37 kilometres north of Lake Louise, it is considered a mild-to-moderate hike in terms of difficulty. Countless visitors and residents of Banff have stood in that very spot. This tragedy could have happened to anybody.

One of the lives lost was 70-year-old Jutta Hinrichs, a long-time educator and health care practitioner from Calgary, who was leading a hiking group when the rock slide occurred.

Ms. Hinrichs was a professor in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine’s Department of Occupational Therapy and is remembered as a beloved mentor of students in the field. She was recently honoured with a lifetime achievement award for her five decades of service. She was also an award-winning volunteer with organizations such as the United Way of Calgary and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, for which she was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. She was an experienced traveller and hiker who loved exploring the mountains and was known for leading trips with the Slow and Steady Hikers group.

The second victim — 33-year-old engineer Hamza Benhilal — moved to Surrey from Morocco in 2022 and was vacationing in Banff with his roommate. In his final moments, he undoubtedly saved his friend’s life. Khaled El Gamal was frozen in panic when Hamza yelled for him to run from the falling rocks. “If it wasn’t for him, I would have just stood my ground there in shock,” Mr. El Gamal told media from his Calgary hospital bed. He described Hamza as a “very intelligent, very, very generous” man with “a lot of dreams and ambitions.”

Canada has lost two accomplished individuals who were well loved by their families and friends, who contributed much to their communities and still had much to contribute. My heart goes out to everyone who knew them.

My thoughts are also with those who were wounded and those who are now coping with trauma and grief alongside physical injuries.

One detail that stood out for me as I was reviewing reports of the incident was that the first responders arrived at the site to find survivors already administering first aid to the injured. I recalled Hamza Benhilal’s last words, which he used to save a life, and Jutta Hinrichs’ long life of service and philanthropy. Even in the most challenging circumstances, there are still people whose first instinct is to help others.

I’m grateful for the work of Parks Canada and the RCMP in managing the response to this incident and leading search and rescue operations.

I’d also like to thank officials from Parks Canada, Canada Task Force 1, Canada Task Force 2 and the Calgary Police Service, who completed the site assessment after the accident.

Parks Canada Superintendent François Masse has stated that rock slides like this are “extremely rare” and that this tragedy was “neither preventable nor predictable.”

Mountain regions like Banff National Park are well versed at dealing with natural disasters and are fortunate to have experts on hand to ensure public safety. In Banff National Park, we pride ourselves on welcoming visitors and providing them with a beautiful and safe natural experience.

Calamities like this invariably leave our community shaken, and we mourn as one for the lives that were lost.