George Chahal in the Skyview Ranch community in Calgary, 2021.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
A Liberal member of Parliament is working behind the scenes to drum up support from his caucus colleagues to halt the deportation of the truck driver convicted in the deadly 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash that killed 16 people.
George Chahal, who represents Calgary Skyview, sent an e-mail to all Liberal MPs last week calling on his colleagues to join him in standing up for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, who on May 24 was issued a deportation order back to India. Mr. Chahal said, in an interview, that he feels it is his moral obligation to help Mr. Sidhu and his family, who are his constituents.
“What will the deportation accomplish? Will it make any Canadian safer? Will it make Canada a better place to live? And the answer is, it will not. He has served his time. He is remorseful. He has asked for forgiveness,” Mr. Chahal said on Tuesday. “I don’t think it serves Canada to punish him further and to separate a wife from her spouse and a child from their father.”
In April, 2018, Mr. Sidhu, a rookie truck driver, blew through a stop sign before crashing into a bus carrying players and staff of the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask. Sixteen people were killed and another 13 were injured, which led to an outpouring of grief across the country and throughout the hockey world.
A year later, Mr. Sidhu was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. He was granted full parole last year.
Mr. Chahal declined to provide a copy of the e-mail he sent to his colleagues, first reported on by The Hill Times, to The Globe and Mail because he said the correspondence was confidential. It was reported that Mr. Chahal wrote that it is unlikely the federal government will intervene, though he has not yet been given a definitive no.
A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Marc Miller said he could not comment on specific cases because of privacy legislation.
Mr. Chahal said, as a father of three, it is an “unbearable thought” to lose a child and he understands the grief felt by the families affected by the Humboldt tragedy. He is asking his colleagues to also look at the harm that could come to Mr. Sidhu and his family if he is deported.
Mr. Sidhu’s wife, a registered nurse, is currently the sole provider for the family while their son receives neonatal care for severe heart and lung-related issues. She has to consider whether to stay in Canada and raise their son alone or return to India where health care for their child may not be at the same level, said Mr. Chahal.
“I’ve seen both sides. Some folks believe he should be deported but I’ve overwhelmingly seen tremendous compassion and forgiveness from the people who have reached out to me,” he said. “So, I’m hoping to embark on lending my voice to support Mr. Sidhu and his family in the days and weeks ahead.”
Families of Humboldt crash victims have been divided in their viewpoints on Mr. Sidhu’s deportation. Some have said the order came as a relief and amounted to justice served while others have forgiven Mr. Sidhu and even advocated for him to stay in Canada.
Michael Greene, the lawyer representing Mr. Sidhu, said last month that he is planning to file an application asking the government to return his client’s permanent resident status on humanitarian grounds.
During this process, Mr. Greene said immigration officials would review Mr. Sidhu’s offence, his remorse, determine whether he is a security risk or danger to the public and consider other factors, such as the best interests of any child involved.
Mr. Greene did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It could be months and even years before Mr. Sidhu faces deportation. He moved to Canada from India in 2014.
With a file from The Canadian Press