Canada to deport Indian-origin truck driver behind crash that left 16 dead

NEW DELHI: The immigration and refugee board of Canda on Friday announced that the Indian-origin truck driver, who caused a horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team will be deported, according to several media sources.

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu's case is scheduled for a hearing in Calgary.

Sidhu's lawyer, Michael Greene, stated that the deportation decision was inevitable since it only required proof that Sidhu is not a Canadian citizen and that he committed a serious crime. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, originally from India, holds permanent resident status in Canada.

Sidhu received parole after being sentenced to eight years for dangerous driving in a 2018 bus crash in Saskatchewan, which resulted in 16 deaths and 13 injuries. Greene noted that there are still several legal procedures ahead, and the deportation process could extend for months or even years.

Earlier in December, the Federal Court rejected applications from Sidhu's lawyer, who argued that border officials failed to consider Sidhu's previously clean criminal record and remorse. The lawyer sought a court directive for the border agency to conduct a second review.

"This is part of the sadness of the whole process. We're left with a situation where permanent residents have no rights whatsoever to have their personal circumstances considered," Sidhu's lawyer Greene said.

Sidhu's lawyer added, "Our only mechanism is [that] after he's ordered deported, we're going to ask them to give back his [permanent resident] status [based] on humanitarian grounds. He said, "But in the meantime, he has no status."

Michael Greene stated that Jaskirat Singh Sidhu would not be taken into custody immediately following the hearing. A pre-removal risk assessment is required, and Sidhu can request a deferral while his permanent resident status request is considered. Greene noted that this process could take months or years.

Several family members of the victims of the bus crash have expressed their desire for Sidhu's deportation. In 2018, Sidhu, a newly married permanent resident from India, ran a stop sign at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Saskatchewan, and collided with a bus carrying the junior hockey team to a playoff game.

( with input from agencies)