We have some exciting news to share! Southland Transportation is honored to announce that we have been awarded nearly half of a major Special Needs Transportation contract. This marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to providing safe, reliable, and high-quality transportation services to students and families in the region.

As part of this contract, we will be operating 51 routes serving multiple schools in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

This expansion reflects the confidence our client has placed in us, having been a trusted service provider in the region for nearly five years, and we couldn’t be prouder. Our team’s dedication, professionalism, and exceptional service are what make this possible—thank you to everyone who has contributed to our success.

 The months ahead will be busy as we gear up for the start of service in September. We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition and are actively working to build a strong team to support this expansion.

We are excited about this opportunity to expand our presence in the Halifax region and to continue making a positive impact on students and families. Thank you to our incredible team for your hard work and dedication—your efforts do not go unnoticed.

Today is Pink Shirt Day, a national day to stand-up against bullying. To help bring awareness to this important initiative, PWT and STC team members from across Canada donned their rosy attire.

Check out this terrific slideshow featuring a SEA OF PINK SUPPORT!

To display our Dedication and Safety to our passengers, drivers from SOUTHLAND Transportation in Calgary shuttled nearly 17,000 local students and teachers to the Saddledome on February 26th for the annual #Be Brave anti-bullying event, where the Swift Current Broncos faced off against the Calgary Hitmen. Check out the video below!

You can also click this LINK to check out more of our incredible employeess wearing their Pink Shirt or Hoodie!

Four Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo community members were celebrated for their significant contributions to the region at Council’s Excellence Awards ceremony on Monday night. 

Among the honourees was veteran Diversified driver/driver trainer Nadeem Aslam, whose heroic actions saved 25 lives on June 23, 2024, while driving a Fort McMurray Minor Baseball team home from Slave Lake. 

Nadeem received the Everyday Hero Award for his actions after his bus was struck by lightning, which immediately blew the front tires and caused the back tires to begin losing air. Nadeem was able to steer the bus to a stop with no injuries to any passengers. 

Council presented certificates to recipients of the four award categories: Citizen of the Year, Everyday Hero, Indigenous Advocate and Youth. 

“It’s clear to me that the greatest resource in this region has always been our people,” said Mayor Sandy Bowman. “We congratulate the winners and all those that were nominated during what was a record year for community participation. Thank you to everyone that took time to express how much these people are making a positive difference to those around them.”

Congratulations, Aslam, on this well-deserved honour. Your exemplary driving skills, quick thinking and focus on safety resulted in everyone getting Safely Home.

Standard Bus Yukon provided guests with a spectacular fireworks show to accompany the Aurora Borealis on the Northern Tales Travel Services Inc. Aurora Borealis Tour this past New Year’s Eve. 

Northern Tales provides several specialized wilderness tours in Whitehorse and the surrounding area. Standard proudly transports Northern Tales’ guests on several tours, including the popular Aurora Borealis Viewing Tour. 

Standard Operations Manager Pierre Laurin says the gesture is Standard’s way of thanking the ownership team at Northern Tales for being such a valued partner.

“Northern Tales is a tremendous partner, and we are proud to have provided this unique experience to their guests.”

Northern Tales co-CEO Aaron Ratko says: “We have always been grateful for our partnership with Standard Bus. Northern Tales & the Yukon community is stronger when we lean on each other and Standard Bus is a consistent pillar of support to our business. The contribution from Standard to our New Year’s Eve Celebration was the ‘cherry on top’ of a great night and another great year of friendship.”

For Beatrice Ridsdale, a dispatcher for Diversified Transportation in Kitimat, a recent trip to the Vatican was more than a trip—it was a deeply emotional and healing experience rooted in art, history, and truth. An inter-generational survivor of Residential Schools and the ’60s Scoop, Beatrice was part of an Indigenous delegation invited to explore the genesis of colonization through the lens of art history.

This extraordinary journey was spearheaded by Dr. Suzanne McLeod, an Indigenous professor at the University of Manitoba specializing in Native American Art History. Alongside Elder Kathy Daniels and Elder Pahan, the delegation aimed to interpret the narratives woven into historical artifacts and artwork, particularly from an Indigenous perspective.

Central to their experience was the exploration of Pinturicchio’s 1494 painting The Resurrection, believed to include the first artistic depiction of Indigenous peoples following Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas. The painting and its context are tied directly to the Doctrine of Discovery, a papal decree that justified colonization and catastrophically altered the lives of Indigenous populations worldwide.

Romina Cometti of the Vatican’s Ethnological Collection Department played a pivotal role in trying to ensure the Indigenous displays reflected accurate and meaningful interpretations. Beatrice and her fellow delegates engaged in discussions about the lasting impacts of colonization, agreeing they could not speak for all Indigenous peoples but could share their individual truths and insights.

The trip held particular resonance for Beatrice, who had previously worked as an Indigenous guard during the Pope’s 2022 visit to Alberta. Witnessing the Pope don an Indigenous headdress was an emotionally charged moment for her and her fellow guards, many of whom found the act painful given the church’s role in the history of colonization and residential schools. Reflecting on that experience in the context of her Vatican visit, Beatrice found an opportunity to process and reconcile complex emotions.

“This trip was a healing journey for all of us involved,” Beatrice shared. “Truth and Reconciliation is at its humble beginnings, but there is hope.”

The delegation’s visit also highlighted the role of education and dialogue in bridging historical divides. Dr. McLeod and the elders facilitated discussions about the intersections of Indigenous history, art, and the church’s legacy. The group’s efforts underscore a growing commitment to truth-telling and reconciliation, offering a pathway toward understanding and healing.

“Here we were at the Borgia Apartments Room of the Mysteries in the Vatican – Six Indigenous women seeking to understand how art portrays our Indigenous People’s customs, sacred artifacts, history and languages. Our presence at the Vatican Museum helped to put some context regarding the displays of artifacts, especially the Pope’s Headdress, which was gifted during the Papal Visit to Canada in 2022. I worked as a Guard; there were 70 Indigenous Guards at Maskwacis and Lac Ste Anne. Romina, the assistant responsible for the Indigenous displays, understood the need for more context and was quite humble enough to ask for our opinion on the present displays. Thank God for Dr. Suzanne and Elder Pahan’s input. So blessed to be with this group.”