Indian-origin driver who caused 2018 crash killing 16 loses final bid to stay in Canada, lawyer says he’s stressed, attending counselling

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018, killing 16 people, and was sentenced to eight years in prison, lost his last bid to stay in Canada, his lawyer revealed. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) rejected one of the last two bids for Sidhu to stay in the country, his lawyer Michael Greene said, adding that his client is now one step closer to being deported to India. Sidhu has two children, one with complex medical issues. Greene said they would appeal to not split up the family. Sidhu and his wife have been stressed for years, the lawyer said, adding that Sidhu has been attending regular psychological counselling. “While some people have forgiven him, he has not forgiven himself. It’s still something he relives constantly.”Sidhu came to Canada as a newly married permanent resident in 2014 and was hired by a small trucking company three weeks before the crash. On the fateful day, he drove through a stop sign and came in front of a bus carrying the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team. Sixteen people died and 13 more were injured making this a national headline.Sidhu entered guilty pleas and was sentenced to eight years in prison. In 2023, he was granted full parole. He was ordered to be deported. In the latest development, his pre-removal risk assessment was rejected which means the authorities would now go ahead with the deportation.

What is pre-removal risk assessment?

It is a Canadian immigration process where they check if someone would face any serious harm if they were sent back to their home country. Rejection of this means the authorities decided that they would not face serious harm in their country, India in this case.