‘Wheels are in motion’: Deportation closer for driver in Humboldt Broncos bus crash

CALGARY – A lawyer for the truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash says his client is one step closer to being deported to India.

Lawyer Michael Greene says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has rejected a request for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu to stay in the country as a refugee.

“The wheels are set in motion now and the (Canada Border Services Agency) is under a legal obligation to remove people as soon as possible,” Greene told The Canadian Press on Thursday.

He said he’s not sure when that might be but plans to ask for a deferral, until a previous application to restore Sidhu’s permanent resident status is decided.

“They have a mandate to move but sometimes they’re reasonable,” Greene said.

Sidhu, a rookie Calgary trucker, drove through a stop sign and into the path of the bus carrying the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask., in April 2018.

Sixteen people died and 13 more were injured, sparking a nationwide outpouring of grief, condolences and tributes.

Sidhu entered guilty pleas to dangerous driving offences and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Court heard Sidhu, who had arrived in Canada as a newly married permanent resident in 2014, was hired by a small trucking company three weeks before the crash.

A criminal conviction that carries a sentence of more than six months makes a permanent resident ineligible to remain in the country.

Sidhu was granted full parole in 2023. The Immigration and Refugee Board ordered the following year that he be deported.

Greene said his client learned Wednesday that a pre-removal risk assessment denied him status as a refugee or protected person. But it wasn’t much of a surprise.

“It’s a very high bar to achieve and frankly that’s not the crux of his wish to stay in Canada,” said Greene. “His reason to stay in Canada is not based on danger.”

Greene said asking for the pre-removal risk assessment was important because it held off the deportation.

“They couldn’t remove him while the PRRA was ongoing. Once the PRRA is determined, there’s nothing to stop removal. 

“It enables them to remove him now.”

Greene said he’s considering whether to appeal. And he plans to ask for a deferral while the remaining application to restore Sidhu’s permanent resident status on humanitarian grounds is considered. 

Sidhu has two children, and one has complex medical issues.

“We will ask they do not split up the family and send him back to India. If we didn’t get any deferral at all, I would say we’re probably looking at two to three months,” Greene said.

Sidhu and his wife have been stressed for years, said the lawyer.

“This Sword of Damocles is hanging over them and never goes away. This just intensifies it. He’s attending regular psychological counselling,” Greene added.

“While some people have forgiven him he has not forgiven himself. It’s still something he relives constantly.”

Chris Joseph of St. Albert, Alta., whose 20-year-old son, Jaxon, died in the crash, said he hopes the deportation goes ahead.

“This would be a big chapter for us, and it’s a really important one. If we lose everything else but he gets deported that might be the only thing that gives us a little bit of peace,” said Joseph.

“That might the only thing that even begins my forgiveness journey, if I even have room for forgiveness.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2026.

Note to readers:This is a corrected story. A previous story said the refugee claim was denied by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.