Wife of trucker in Humboldt Broncos crash speaks about her husband’s possible deportation

The wife of the former truck driver involved in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash is speaking out against her husband’s possible deportation.

In an exclusive interview with OMNI NEWS, Tanvir Mann says the crash turned her family’s life “upside down.”

In March, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) recommended that her husband, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to decide whether he should be deported.

She adds if Sidhu was deported, it would tear her family apart.

“I am a Canadian citizen and I am his spouse. I see him here with me in Canada. We chose to leave India a long time ago and we no longer consider India our home,” Mann said.


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Mann believes her husband should stay and can make a positive impact in Canada.

“His actions have caused so much loss to the community, especially to the hockey community, and he has some thoughts of doing something to give back to the community if given the chance to stay in Canada.”

Sidhu was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to dangerous driving charges in the 2018 crash that killed 16 people, while injuring 13 others.

In July of this year, he was granted day parole for six months.

“He is not a criminal-minded person. He has good intentions. He’s done everything from day one, whatever he could to bring some peace to everybody involved in the incident,” Mann said.

Three Broncos families, including Scott Thomas whose 18-year-old son, Evan, died in the crash wrote letters to the CBSA in 2021 asking the agency to allow Sidhu to stay in Canada.

“I know for a fact that (Sidhu) will 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,” Thomas previously told The Canadian Press.

Chris Joseph, whose son Jaxon also died in the crash, is one of several Broncos families who have written letters asking for Sidhu to be deported. He said it’s the law and laws are there for a reason.

“I can appreciate how 29 families can feel different ways about him but, in my view, the matter of deportation is not about forgiveness. It’s not about how you feel about a person. It’s not about whether you think he made a single mistake,” Joseph said.

“If he’s deported, I could maybe even toy with the idea of considering forgiveness. But if he’s not deported, then we’re going to be even more hurt and I don’t think I’ll ever get to that place.”

Michael Greene, Sidhu’s lawyer, says with a challenge filed against deportation in federal court, much is up in the air.

“If we lose in federal court, then they can proceed with the deportation hearing. But then there’s a couple steps after that, then we could possibly be applying for permission for him to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds,” Greene said.

If it’s deemed that Sidhu has an arguable case, Greene will present in front of a federal judge. He estimates a timeline of four to six months, if it gets to that point.

–With files from The Canadian Press

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