The Federal government is looking to once and for all answer the question "should school buses be equipped with seatbelts?"
Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced a working group and pilot project will look to end the heated debate.
"We have from a federal point of view recognized that seat belts will add to safety," Garneau told a news conference in Montreal on Monday.
The Transport Minister said it's not as simple as installing seatbelts on all buses; key factors need to be determined.
"There are implications for how you ensure that they are properly attached, that they're properly worn, what happens if there is an emergency and everybody has to get out of the bus very quickly," he explained.
Bus drivers aren't against seatbelts in buses; they just want more information about how such a plan would be implemented.
"Who needs to make sure that the child is secure and that the belts are properly adjusted?" said Luc Lafrance, president of the Bus Carriers Federation told CTV Montreal.
The English Montreal School Board said it would welcome such an initiative.
"It's been talked about for so many years," said EMSB spokesperson Mike Cohen. "If a child gets into the back seat of a car, they buckle up. So it's not like people are not familiar with the need to wear a seatbelt. They are. So I don't think it would be a very big adjustment on anyone's part."
If the federal government does decide to move forward and implement seatbelts in school buses it would have the power to do so for all new buses. For older buses currently on the road the Federal government would need approval from provincial governments.
"We think it's better for us to work together. There are a lot of existing school buses that are in the system," said Garneau.