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Money from the record breaking Humboldt Broncos GoFundMe campaign has yet to be distributed.
This is due to a legislation in Saskatchewan called the Informal Public Appeals Act, which outlines court-supervised payouts.
As a result, on Wednesday the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund Inc. will ask for an initial order that would declare a GoFundMe campaign a public appeal.
This would authorize the money to be held in trust and also approve an interim payment of $50,000 to each of the 13 survivors and the families of the 16 who died in the April 6 crash.
The request will be made to the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench.
"This is a new law that was enacted in Saskatchewan in 2015," said Jeff Lee, a lawyer who represents the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund Inc.
"Saskatchewan was the only province that stepped up and actually enacted that statute into law and this would be the first occasion in which it’s been considered in court.”
Created shortly after the tragic bus crash on April 6, the GoFundMe campaign raised $15.2 million, fueled by donations from all over the world.
Under this law, a court hearing can be requested by a trustee, a donor, a person who benefits from the fund, the attorney general or anyone the court considers has a sufficient interest in a fund.
In this case, the hearing was requested by the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund Inc.
Lee says there will also be a request for an interim payment, as there are concerns that the courts could take too long.
As part of the initial order Wednesday, the court will be asked to approve a committee to determine how the rest of the Broncos GoFundMe money is to be distributed.
The five person committee would prepare a report with recommendations to the memorial fund board within the next two months, which would be returned to the courts for final approval.
With files from the Canadian Press.
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