Close X
Friday, November 22, 2024
ADVT 
National

Deportation hearing set for truck driver in deadly Saskatchewan hockey team bus crash

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Apr, 2024 12:13 PM
  • Deportation hearing set for truck driver in deadly Saskatchewan hockey team bus crash

A deportation hearing for the truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash six years ago has been scheduled for next month. 

Lawyer Michael Greene said Monday the hearing for his client Jaskirat Singh Sidhu is to be held May 24.

"It was an inevitability. I mean, the (immigration) minister could always decide not to go ahead with it, but it doesn't seem to be happening at this point anyway," Greene said in an interview.

"There's nothing to contest. You're convicted or you're not. All they have to establish is he's not a citizen and that he was convicted."

Sidhu was sentenced to eight years in prison for causing the 2018 crash in Saskatchewan that killed 16 people and injured 13 others. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving charges.

The rookie Calgary trucker, a newly married permanent resident from India, barrelled through a stop sign at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask., and drove into the path of the bus carrying the junior hockey team to a playoff game. 

Sidhu was granted full parole last year.

In December, the Federal Court dismissed applications from Sidhu's lawyer, who argued Canada Border Services officials didn’t consider Sidhu’s previously clean criminal record and remorse. He had asked for the agency to be ordered to conduct a second review.

Greene said the deportation hearings usually only take a few minutes. After that happens, he said the real work begins.

"Once he ceases to be a permanent resident then he can file an application on humanitarian grounds. Our goal is to do that fairly quickly," Greene said.

"How long it takes after that is the great unknown. It could be months. It could be years."

Greene said once a person is ordered deported, there is then a pre-removal risk assessment conducted and that usually takes a few months. He said Sidhu can also ask for a deferral while his request for permanent resident status is considered.

"The wheels of justice move slowly at times. It's been playing out over six years now," Greene said.

"We're cautiously optimistic. You can't erase the fact of the conviction and damage done.

"But everything else about him is positive and there's a lot of community support, although there are some people who can't and will never forgive."

MORE National ARTICLES

Surrey mayor taking Province to court over policing

Surrey mayor taking Province to court over policing
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says the city's legal team is still preparing for a courtroom showdown with the provincial government over policing in the city, with a court date set for April 29th.  Locke says the city is still in talks with the province, but she says she can't share any inside details about the discussions. 

Surrey mayor taking Province to court over policing

Calm in housing market this spring

Calm in housing market this spring
The B-C Real Estate Association says the province's housing market is staying relatively calm this spring. The association says sales were up more than 15 per cent last month compared to February 2023.

Calm in housing market this spring

B.C. orchards and vineyards to get $70M to replant after disastrous weather

B.C. orchards and vineyards to get $70M to replant after disastrous weather
The British Columbia government says farmers will get an extra $70 million to replant and strengthen fruit orchards and vineyards after two years of weather-related disasters. Premier David Eby says the funding will boost the province's existing $15 million Perennial Crop Renewal Program, launched last spring to help more than 200 farmers replace diseased and unproductive plants.

B.C. orchards and vineyards to get $70M to replant after disastrous weather

Historic transportation investment for Surrey

Historic transportation investment for Surrey
Surrey has approved what city council is calling its biggest municipal transportation investment in history. The council has approved a 138-million-dollar extension of 72 Avenue from 152 Street to Highway 15, a roughly 4-kilometre stretch.

Historic transportation investment for Surrey

Poll: Canadians unsure online harms bill will make social media safer

Poll: Canadians unsure online harms bill will make social media safer
Fewer than half of Canadians believe the federal government's plan to regulate social media sites will make platforms safer, a new survey suggests. Polling firm Leger recently asked Canadians about the Liberal government's proposed Online Harms Act, which contains a suite of measures meant to make social media platforms safer, particularly for children.

Poll: Canadians unsure online harms bill will make social media safer

6 people arrested in Port Hardy drug bust

6 people arrested in Port Hardy drug bust
Police in Port Hardy say they've arrested six people in a drug investigation after seizing guns, and suspected fentanyl and cocaine, after executing a pair of search warrants over the weekend. Port Hardy R-C-M-P say there's been a recent uptick in overdose deaths in the north island community. 

6 people arrested in Port Hardy drug bust