Lawyers for several Humboldt Broncos families are in court fighting a bid from the government of Saskatchewan to have it removed as a defendant in a lawsuit over the 2018 deadly bus crash.

Five families are suing over the bus crash, alleging the province knew the rural intersection where it happened had problems with visibility but did nothing to fix it.

The government as well as the truck driver who caused the crash are asking a judge in Regina to strike their names from the suit.

The suit also names the bus company and the Calgary-based company that employed the trucker.

A truck driven by Jaskirat Singh Sidhu barrelled through a stop sign and into the path of the bus carrying the Broncos junior hockey team near Tisdale, Sask.

Sixteen people were killed and 13 were injured.

Sidhu was sentenced to eight years in prison for dangerous driving offences, and last week the permanent resident was ordered to be deported to India.