Jaskirat Singh Sidhu was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to 29 counts of dangerous driving in the crash that killed 16 and injured 13 others. Sidhu’s i lawyer Michael Greene says Canada Border Services Agency needs to look at all the circumstances of his client’s case in deciding whether to issue a deportation order.

CALGARY - A lawyer representing the Punjabi truck driver responsible for the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash says his client wants to stay in Canada once released from prison.

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to 29 counts of dangerous driving in the crash that killed 16 and injured 13 others.

Sidhu, 31, crashed his semi-trailer into a bus carrying the hockey players at an intersection near the town of Armley in Saskatchewan province on April 6, 2018.

Driving almost at the speed of 100 kmph, Sidhu didn't heed the red light signal, ramming his semi-trailer into the bus which was already in the intersection.

Sidhu, who came to Canada from Punjab in 2013, was sentenced to eight years for each of the 16 deaths and five years for dangerous driving in March 2019.

Since he is just a permanent resident not a citizen of Canada, Sidhu faces deportation to India.

The deportation decision by immigration authorities is likely to come by April 2021.

Sidhu's lawyer Michael Greene said on Thursday that since his client has no criminal background, he should not be deported.

The lawyer said Sidhu is "clearly not the kind of guy that is going to commit another offence. So put all together, it's going to be an extremely difficult decision for an (immigration) officer to make." 

“I’m hoping that people in the public, just like the (border agency) officers, will be open to seeing the good in him,” Greene said Thursday.

Sidhu's deportation was a major topic on radio shows on Thursday, with Canadians divided on whether he should be allowed to stay on in the country.

During sentencing arguments, defence counsel said Sidhu had immigrated to Canada from India with his now wife, and would likely face deportation because he’s a permanent resident convicted of a serious offence.

Michelle Straschnitzki, whose son Ryan was paralyzed from the chest down in the crash, said she has sympathy for Sidhu’s family living in Canada.

But she doesn’t think he deserves to be able to stay and carry on with a normal life after his sentence ends.

 “I would argue that there’s 29 people who don’t get to have a fresh, new life and because of his negligence — which is putting it lightly — it doesn’t really lend itself to that,” Straschnitzki told The Canadian Press.

“I’m sorry. I feel terrible for his family and I don’t think he should be punished for the rest of his life, but I also don’t think he should be rewarded for his deeds.”

Scott Thomas’s son, Evan, was one of the Broncos players killed. He forgave Sidhu in court and said he’s kept in touch with Sidhu’s wife while her husband has been in prison.

“He’s a broken man and I don’t think … anymore purpose will be served by sending him away from the country, where he clearly wants to be with his wife,” Thomas told The Canadian Press.

“I don’t know specifically what he’s been through in prison, but I know he’s in a prison in his mind for sure. I know he struggles with this every day and he’ll continue to no matter where he is.”