For years, Transport Canada has insisted that seatbelts are not necessary on school buses and that in fact, they could do more harm than good.
Now we are learning of an internal report from 2010, never before made public, that could turn that assertion on its head.
CBC News reports that the study found school buses failed some safety testing and that the high-backed, padded seats did nothing to protect children in side-impact or rollover crashes.
The conclusion was that seatbelts prevent children from being ejected.
It was reportedly marked "internal research report" and never posted to Transport Canada's website.
The author of the report tells CBC she has no idea why it wasn't released publicly, adding that the decision wasn't her's to make
The Canada Safety Council has also said seatbelts could harm children on school buses. Now they say they want a closer look at this research.