A Canadian judge has halted the deportation of an Indian trucker who killed 16 members of a junior ice hockey team, citing fears for his mental wellbeing. Justice Jocelyne Gagné granted a temporary stay of deportation for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu just three days before he was scheduled to return to India this week.
The Crash and Conviction
Sidhu, 37, was driving a semi-truck when he barreled through a stop sign at 53 to 60 mph before striking a bus carrying players from the Humboldt Broncos in rural Saskatchewan on April 6, 2018. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and was jailed for eight years in March 2019, but was released on parole after just four years and four months behind bars.
Deportation Order and Legal Challenge
The Immigration and Refugee Board removed Sidhu's permanent resident status and ordered his deportation just one year after his release from jail. In a desperate attempt to prevent his deportation, Sidhu's legal team filed an application for him to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The attorneys argued that Sidhu has two young children who would be affected by his absence, and that he is living with mental health issues, including depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, that could worsen if he were to be deported.
Court Ruling
Justice Gagné on Friday granted a pause of his deportation until the court can rule on his residency application, stating that 'considering his high suicidal ideation, that he would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of a stay order,' CBC News reported. Sidhu appeared in federal court in Calgary last Friday, just three days before his scheduled deportation. His lawyer Navi Dhaliwal told the judge that if he were forced to return to India, Sidhu was 'quite likely to commit suicide.' 'This is not about the availability of treatment,' Dhaliwal said. 'This is about his harm upon removal.' Co-counsel Michael Sherritt added that Sidhu should not be penalized over the long processing time of his immigration case.
Opposing Arguments
Alexander Menticoglou, representing the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, argued the first stage of the humanitarian and compassionate application could take 17 months. He argued the law states deferral is for short-term emergencies, lasting just a few months. Menticoglou also argued that there is insufficient evidence to support claims that Sidhu is an imminent risk of suicide. 'The applicant is a convicted criminal and he's responsible for the deaths of 16 Canadians,' Menticoglou told the court. 'This ranks along the worst tragedies in Canada's history, and we don't have to assess the applicant's moral blameworthiness for that crime because-' But Justice Gagné interrupted him, stating that Sidhu's crimes were 'dealt with in the criminal court and the sentence that was imposed.'
Victims' Families React
A parent whose son died in the hockey bus crash is outraged by Gagné's decision, claiming that deportation was part of Sidhu's sentence and should be honored. 'Being deported back to India, although not anybody's favorite choice, is not a death sentence,' former NHL player Chris Joseph, whose son Jaxson died in the tragedy, told Media Bezirgan. 'What we have is a death sentence.' Canadian law states that a legal immigrant with permanent resident status can lose their status and face deportation if they are convicted of a crime with a sentence greater than six months. Joseph cited how the criminal court judge, immigration authorities, court of appeals and the Canada Border Services Agency all ruled Sidhu should be deported. 'Deportation was part of his sentence. Forgiveness doesn't mean he gets to be more special than any other criminal,' Joseph said. The grieving father added that unlike the victims of the crash, Sidhu can still be with his family, even if he is deported. He said: 'His family can go to India with him. If my wife or I were deported, we'd be at each other's side.' Russ Herold, whose son Adam was the youngest player killed in the crash, previously told CBC that he thought Sidhu should have been deported years ago. 'To talk about [Sidhu] trying to stay here on humanitarian grounds - what about the humanitarian side of the parents who lost their children?' Herold said. 'It's not like he stole our car and we can go buy another one. We can never replace our children.'
Support for Sidhu
Some of the victims' families have also expressed their support for Sidhu to stay in the country. Christine Haugan, the widow of head coach Darcy Haugan, argued that his deportation would not bring the victims back and will only hurt Sidhu's family. 'I forgive him,' she said. 'When he closes his eyes, I'm sure he sees horrific things and I just would hope that there's some way that he can forgive himself and know that he's allowed to be happy, too.'
Background on the Crash
Sidhu caused the deadly crash after he failed to brake as he approached the intersection of two highways, and did not heed multiple warnings, including one with a flashing light. He was not impaired by drugs or alcohol, speeding or on his phone during the fatal crash, instead telling the court at his sentencing that he was distracted by a tarp covering his cargo that came loose and was flapping in the wind. It later emerged that Sidhu had committed 70 violations of federal and provincial trucking regulations in the 11 days leading up to the crash. Most of those were discrepancies in his log book, which is designed to monitor how much time drivers spend on the road to prevent them becoming dangerously fatigued. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Sidhu told the victims' families at his sentencing how he came out of his truck and heard the teenagers crying. Sidhu pleaded guilty, was jailed in 2019 and then granted full parole in 2023, returning to his suburban life with his Canadian wife. The couple had a baby soon after. The child has severe heart and lung complications.
