Canada: Indian-origin truck driver involved in 2018 bus crash that killed 16 ordered to be deported
May 24, 2024
Ottawa [Canada], May 25 : An Indian-origin truck driver who caused a horrific bus crash in Canada involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team has been ordered to be deported, Canada-based CBC News reported. The Immigration and Refugee Board announced the decision for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu at a hearing in Calgary.
Sidhu's lawyer Michael Greene has said the decision was a foregone conclusion, as all that was needed to deport Sidhu is proof that he's not a citizen of Canada and he committed a serious crime. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu is from India and has permanent resident status in Canada, according to CBC News report.
Sidhu was granted parole after being sentenced to eight years for dangerous driving in a bus crash in Saskatchewan in 2018, that claimed the lives of 16 people and injured 13 others. His lawyer has said that there are still various other legal procedures to come and the deportation process could take months or years.
Earlier in December, the Federal Court rejected applications from Sidhu's lawyer, who had said that border officials did not consider Sidhu's previously clean criminal record and remorse. He wanted the court to direct the border agency to carry out a second review.
Before the hearing on Friday, Greene said, "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," CBC News reported.
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 said Sidhu will not be taken into custody immediately after the hearing is over. He stated that a pre-removal risk assessment has to be carried out and Sidhu can request a deferral while his request for permanent resident status is considered.
He noted that the process could take months or years. Several family members of those killed in the bus crash said they want the deportation of Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the report said.
According to a CBC News report, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, a newly married permanent resident from India, barrelled through a stop sign at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Saskatchewan in 2018, and drove into the path of the bus carrying the junior hockey team to a playoff game.
