A Canadian federal court has halted the deportation of Indian-origin truck driver Jaskirat Singh Sidhu just days before he was due to be removed from the country, citing serious concerns about his mental health and risk of irreparable harm.
Sidhu, 37, was responsible for the 2018 Humboldt Broncos tragedy in Saskatchewan, where a semi-truck he was driving ran a stop sign and collided with a bus carrying a junior ice hockey team, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others.
Sidhu pleaded guilty to multiple counts of dangerous driving causing death and was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2019, serving just over four years before being released on parole in 2023.
Following his release, Canadian immigration authorities stripped Sidhu of his permanent residency and ordered his deportation to India. However, in a last-minute legal intervention, Justice Jocelyne Gagné granted a temporary stay, pausing his removal until a broader court challenge and humanitarian application are considered.
As per CBC News, Sidhu’s legal team argued that deportation would place him at high risk of suicide, citing ongoing depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the impact separation would have on his young children.
It is further reported that Sidhu’s lawyers also said delays in processing his immigration application meant he should not be removed before a full review of his humanitarian and compassionate grounds request.
The court heard competing arguments from government lawyers, who said Sidhu had already been found criminally responsible for one of Canada’s worst road tragedies and that deportation was a lawful consequence of his conviction and loss of residency status. They also questioned whether there was sufficient evidence of an imminent suicide risk.
The decision has reignited deep divisions among the families of the victims. Some say deportation was always part of the punishment and should proceed without delay, while others have expressed forgiveness and supported allowing Sidhu to remain in Canada due to his personal circumstances and mental health challenges.
The crash itself occurred when Sidhu failed to stop at a rural intersection and drove into the path of the Humboldt Broncos team bus. Investigators later found multiple trucking regulation violations in the days leading up to the collision, including logbook inconsistencies linked to fatigue concerns.
Sidhu has since served his sentence and is now living in Canada with his family, while continuing to fight deportation through the courts. His legal status remains unresolved as the Federal Court prepares to hear his broader application in the coming months.
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