Image Credit: AP.
More than seven years after one of the most heartbreaking tragedies in Canadian sports history, the man responsible for the Humboldt Broncos bus crash is fighting to keep his life in Canada, and the case is reopening wounds that many families are still working to heal.
Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, a 37-year-old Indian national, was behind the wheel of a semi-truck in April 2018 when he ran through a stop sign at highway speed and collided with a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team in rural Saskatchewan. Sixteen people died, including players and staff, and 13 others were injured in what became one of the deadliest sports tragedies in Canadian history.
Sidhu pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and received an eight-year prison sentence. He was released on parole after serving just over four years. Following his release, Canadian immigration authorities stripped him of his permanent resident status and ordered his deportation back to India. A risk assessment later concluded he would not face danger upon return.
Why Sidhu Is Now Asking to Stay in Canada
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With deportation proceedings moving forward, Sidhu’s legal team has filed a humanitarian and compassionate grounds application in a bid to keep him in the country. His attorney argues that Sidhu now has two young children, one of whom has serious heart and lung complications, and that being separated from his family would be devastating. Concerns have also been raised about his mental health, as Sidhu has been receiving treatment for PTSD and major depressive disorder since the crash. His wife has noted that mental health care in India carries significant social stigma, and that the country’s air quality could pose a real danger to their child’s health.
The legal process could take up to two more years to resolve, and his attorney has requested that deportation be temporarily paused in the meantime.
The case has since drawn a sharp line through the Humboldt community. Some victims’ families have expressed forgiveness and support for Sidhu remaining in Canada, including the widow of head coach Darcy Haugan, who said that sending Sidhu away would not bring anyone back and would only create more pain for an innocent family.
Others, however, feel strongly that justice has not been fully served. The father of Adam Herold, the youngest player killed that day, said his family has suffered an irreplaceable loss and that Sidhu has already been in Canada far longer than he should have been. He questioned why the humanitarian conversation centers on Sidhu when the parents who lost children have been living with grief every single day.
It is worth noting that prior to the crash, Sidhu had accumulated 70 trucking regulation violations in just 11 days, many related to logbook discrepancies that exist to prevent driver fatigue. He was not impaired or speeding at the time of the crash, and said he was distracted by cargo that had come loose. Still, the record of violations painted a troubling picture of the circumstances that led up to the collision.
Sidhu has said publicly that the crash haunts him and that he carries the weight of it daily. He has pledged to pursue every legal option available to remain in Canada with his family, and said he hopes immigration officials will consider the full picture of who he is today.