Tragedy and Compassion

Scott Thomas lost his son Evan in 2018.

"I know for a fact that he'll never drive a semi again. I know for a fact that if he could take back what happened that day he would in a heartbeat. He would trade places with any one of those boys."

"There'll be a lot of families that would never support this [allowing the crash driver to remain in Canada] and there are going to be some that do, too."

"We just always felt that the deportation part of it shouldn't necessarily apply. He's a broken man. He's broken psychologically and spiritually, and to deport him now would just add to the suffering to him and his family and other people that were involved."

"He did everything he could to minimize the impact to the families through all this, and then in the end he took a sentence and he’s serving it like a man."

"[Sidhu’s family was in] a pretty tough place, and how if our family could find it in our hearts to communicate with them a little bit, it might help them out."

"I don't know if we'd call it consistent communication, but we've communicated a little bit with them. At one point [Tanvir, Sidhu's wife] asked us if we would consider writing a letter to support his application to stay in Canada, and we said ‘Yes, for sure, have your lawyer get in contact with us'."

“He's in a pretty tough place, and I have no doubt about that."

Truck driver Jaskirat Sidhu  CP/Kayle Neis

"His wife is genuinely thankful, and he's genuinely thankful that we've expressed some concern for him and that we've communicated our forgiveness to him, and found a place to advocate for his well being, if you will, going forward. I know for a fact that we're having a good effect on his health."

"It has allowed us to focus our energies, I think, more on Evan’s legacy, and not being anchored down by the negative emotions that could come from it."

"This will be a part of our life for the rest of our lives, absolutely, and Jaskirat Sidhu will be a part of my core for the rest of my life. But I don't want him to be a factor in the rest of my life."

"Forgiving, and moving on, and just being at rest with that I'm doing the best that I can in our family and doing the best that we can to create a positive situation, and do what we can to support our son's legacy. It's definitely helped us move forward."

Thomas Scott, father of 18-year-old Evan Scott, victim of Humboldt crash

"It's very difficult to say how it's going to go [decision of the Canada Border Services Agency on deportation], but I do think this is one of those types of cases where [border services] could choose to exercise their discretion given the exceptional circumstances."

"But on the other hand, you've got this terrible tragedy where there were so many victims. It's quite rare for people to not then still get referred for a removal order."

"This is the end of the road for him [truck driver Jaskirat Singh Sidhu's last appeal]."

Erica Olmstead, immigration lawyer, Vancouver

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the driver of the truck that the Humboldt Broncos team bus crashed into, is currently waiting for the Canada Border Services Agency to write a report that will recommend whether he be allowed to stay in his adopted country or be deported. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

The entire country went into a state of shocked disbelief when news of a tragic accident was reported, that a bus carrying team members of the Humboldt Broncos was hit by a semi-trailer that failed to stop, despite signage. An accident of horrendous proportions where 16 people were killed, and 13 injured, some so seriously their lives were completely turned around. The driver of the bus was killed, several coaches, and thirteen young players, when the semi carrying a full load of peat moss ran a blinking red light and hit them.

 

The tragedy that occurred that 2018 day in April in Saskatchewan hit the public mood; on porches all over Canada, hockey sticks were placed in prominent positions as a memorial to those lost in that dreadful accident. A GoFundMe campaign raised millions for the grieving families in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. And 29-year-old Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, a recent landed-immigrant to Canada from India was taken into custody and charged with a number of criminal traffic offences leading to death. 

 

Newly married with permanent resident status, the driver had missed a stop sign at a rural intersection driving straight into the path of the bus carrying Bronco players and staff to a junior hockey league playoff game. The young druver was found to have had little experience driving a truck of that size. He was a commerce graduate, looking to make his permanent home in Canada. He had emigrated to Canada following his partner who had arrived in 2013.

Sentenced close to two years ago after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm, he has served one-fourth of his eight-year sentence. That length of time in prison, pointed out his lawyer at the time of sentencing, would result in his being disallowed to remain in Canada since a criminal conviction exceeding a sentence of over six months produces ineligibility for a permanent resident to remain in Canada. 

He has appealed to be allowed to stay in Canada once he has completed his prison sentence, however. And is now awaiting a critical report from the Canada Border Services Agency containing what he hopes might be a recommendation to allow him to remain rather than be deported. An issue that other previous cases were invested in, when deportation was avoided. Mr. Sidhu, pointed out lawyer Michael Greene representing him, has no prior criminal history, is well-educated, fluent in English and is utterly remorseful over the tragic accident.

Mr.Thomas, who lost a son in the accident spoke to the issue, emphasizing his own concern is focused on regulations that allowed the inexperienced truck driver a mere three weeks into his employment with the trucking company, to drive a semi-tractor. Vancouver-based lawyer Erica Olmstead  points out the purpose of deportation in such cases is to protect Canada's security, but her experience has included such orders having been avoided when someone has been found guilty of a single offence, such as in Sidhu's case.

It is, of course, the extent of the outcome of his momentary inattention however, that makes this decision and the acceptance of the possibility that he might remain in Canada, so difficult for families involved in the tragedy to accept. Should the Immigration and Refugee Board rule against a request to avoid deportation, a permanent resident is able to appeal the board's decision on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Mr. Sidhu is disqualified from that option due to the fact that his sentence exceeds the six-month cut-off point allowing appeal.

"We're all in this situation in the first place because he did not obey the Canadian laws, simply by running a stop sign. If he truly is remorseful, we would expect him to obey the laws that are set in place.

Our pain is going to be here forever. We have a life sentence."

"But if we can get the laws to get him deported, that's one little thing that we don't have to worry about ever again. We don't have to see him in the news, we don't have to go through that."

Chris Joseph, who lost his son Jaxon

 

"Whether you've lost a child or a parent or a friend or whatever, or you're just watching your child lift his own limbs everyday, it’s (heartbreaking). I don't know that it's going to change if he's deported or not, but it is the law."

Michelle Straschnizki’s son Ryan sustained a life-changing spinal cord injury

 

“He can start a family, he'll look across the table and he'll have a family. We don't have that, our family is broken forever because of him."

"I think it's the way to heal, is he's got to be out of our sight."

Russ Herold’s son Adam died in the accident

A 'pray for Humboldt' jersey is draped at the site of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. (Susan Ormiston/CBC)