Rental company charged after fatal 2024 tent collapse at Alberta Buddhist retreat
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BUSBY, ALTA. – An equipment rental company is facing 10 workplace-related charges after a fatal tent collapse at a Buddhist retreat in Alberta in 2024.
One person was killed after a storm with fierce winds caused a massive tent to fall in on itself that July day just before a retreat was to begin at the Westlock Meditation Centre, northwest of Edmonton.
RCMP had said there were about 100 people in and around the structure when it collapsed. Dozens suffered injuries ranging from bumps and bruises to broken bones, Mounties had said.
The woman who died was later identified as a 40-year-old from Minnesota who had travelled to attend the retreat.
A spokesperson for the RCMP said Thursday that a police investigation into the incident concluded in January and that no criminal charges were laid.
Among the charges laid by Occupational Health and Safety last month include allegedly failing to properly install, anchor, restrain and secure the tent.
It’s also alleged the company didn’t provide its employees with the engineering or manufacturer’s specifications for the tent, which was roughly 18 metres wide and 43 metres long.
One of the charges describes the unsafe installation of the tent as creating “identifiable and controllable hazards.”
The allegations have not been tested in court.
The company is named Alberta Special Event Equipment Rentals & Sales Ltd., and The Canadian Press could not immediately locate a contact for comment.
Environment and Climate Change Canada had said at the time that wind gusts of 80 to 100 kilometres an hour had been recorded in the area.
The meditation centre did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The centre, located about 70 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, says on its website that it can accommodate more than 750 guests on its grounds. It includes gardens, residences for monks and nuns, accommodations for retreat guests, a formal meditation hall and a mausoleum.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2026.
— By Jack Farrell in Edmonton