Close X
Thursday, November 28, 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

B.C. Centre for Disease Control reports fourth flu-related death of child under 10

B.C. Centre for Disease Control reports fourth flu-related death of child under 10
The centre says there have now been four flu-related deaths in children under 10 during the current respiratory illness season. It says flu-related deaths refer to those where influenza was a contributing factor but not necessarily the primary cause of death.

B.C. Centre for Disease Control reports fourth flu-related death of child under 10

B.C. odour incidents spark questions around corporate ethics and communication

B.C. odour incidents spark questions around corporate ethics and communication
Vancouver resident Robert Ford was heading to a yoga class Sunday morning when he smelled an odour he likened to "semi-burnt fuel." As a member of council at his Kitsilano apartment building, he said he decided to check the boiler room, but it smelled fine.  

B.C. odour incidents spark questions around corporate ethics and communication

U.K. suspends trade negotiations with Canada, each accuses the other of not budging

U.K. suspends trade negotiations with Canada, each accuses the other of not budging
The United Kingdom is hitting the brakes on trade talks with Canada after Ottawa decided not to extend temporary measures put in place after Brexit. London announced the pause in negotiations Thursday less than a month before the ninth round of talks towards a permanent trade deal was scheduled to take place.  

U.K. suspends trade negotiations with Canada, each accuses the other of not budging

Suspect in Surrey shooting arrested

Suspect in Surrey shooting arrested
R-C-M-P say a suspect in a fatal shooting in Surrey in 2022 has been arrested in Ontario. Police say a 20-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man were injured in the February 2022 shooting, and the man -- Juvraj Jabal of Surrey -- later died in hospital   

Suspect in Surrey shooting arrested

B.C. power line cut access to Highway 99 to and from U.S. border for hours

B.C. power line cut access to Highway 99 to and from U.S. border for hours
A power line that fell over Highway 99 in Surrey, B.C., cut off a key route to and from the U.S. Peace Arch Border Crossing for nearly three hours on Thursday. BC Hydro, the Crown power utility, says a vehicle crashed into a power pole, bringing the line down across both directions of the highway.   

B.C. power line cut access to Highway 99 to and from U.S. border for hours

Community in Crisis A Surge in Local Crime and Safety Concerns

Community in Crisis A Surge in Local Crime and Safety Concerns
In the heart of Surrey's bustling business district, a sense of unease has settled following a series of alarming incidents that have gripped the community. The seemingly business-as-usual surroundings of the Payal Business Centre, home to a myriad of South Asian businesses, have been marred by a recent surge in criminal activities, raising concerns among residents and entrepreneurs alike.

Community in Crisis A Surge in Local Crime and Safety Concerns