An Indian citizen is actively contesting his deportation from Canada on humanitarian grounds after being involved in a tragic incident. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, aged 37, ignored a stop sign and collided with a bus transporting the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team on April 6, 2018, in rural Saskatchewan. The accident, which occurred at speeds between 53 and 60 mph, resulted in the death of 16 team members. Sidhu admitted to dangerous driving causing death and received an eight-year prison sentence in March 2019. However, he was released after serving four years and four months and returned to life with his Canadian spouse, later welcoming a child with significant heart and lung issues.

Following his release, Sidhu’s permanent resident status was revoked by the Immigration and Refugee Board, which mandated his deportation one year later. A subsequent pre-removal risk assessment concluded that Sidhu would not face danger if repatriated to India. Consequently, the Canadian Border Services Agency has initiated steps to obtain his travel documents to proceed with deportation, as reported by CBC. In a bid to avert this, Sidhu’s lawyer, Michael Greene, has submitted a plea for Sidhu to remain in Canada on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate considerations.

Greene argued that Sidhu’s deportation would adversely affect his two young children and exacerbate his mental health challenges. He plans to request a temporary deferral of Sidhu’s removal until the humanitarian application is resolved, potentially delaying the process by two years. Greene described the situation as a ‘litmus test for Canadians,’ questioning the nation’s capacity for compassion versus its inclination towards punishment. He emphasized that Sidhu, despite making a grave error with tragic outcomes, is fundamentally a good person.

Sidhu 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. He failed to brake as he approached the intersection of two highways, and did not heed multiple warnings, including one with a flashing light. 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. ‘I take full responsibility of what has happened. It happened because of my lack of experience,’ he said, before being handed the longest sentence in Canadian history for dangerous driving causing death that did not involve alcohol, drugs or purposeful behavior. Sidhu told the CBC he still has nightmares about the crash and is getting therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and major depressive disorder. ‘I wish I can do something that can take their pain away,’ he said of the victims’ families. ‘I wish that day never happened. I made a mistake… I’m paying for that every day.’ His wife, Tanvir Mann, said she now worries that her husband would not get the counseling he needs if he were deported to India, where she said mental illness is stigmatized and he does not have many close relatives for support. The couple were also advised that if they were to all move to India, the poor air quality would put their now nearly three-year-old son at risk. ‘I want my husband with me,’ Mann said. ‘I want the father of my kids with us, so he can contribute. He can see his kids growing, all those tiny moments. ‘We’re living in fear right now,’ she added. Some of the victims’ families have also expressed their support for Sidhu to stay in the country, with Christine Haugan, the widow of head coach Darcy Haugan, arguing that his deportation would not bring the victims back and will only hurt Sidhu’s family.