A federal judge has granted a last-minute reprieve for the truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash, temporarily preventing his imminent deportation to India.

“They’ve won a reprieve. They know it’s a temporary reprieve but it’s a huge relief,” said lawyer Michael Greene, who represents Jaskirat Singh Sidhu.

Greene and his counterparts appeared in Federal Court on Friday, hoping to avoid Sidhu’s deportation, which was scheduled for Monday morning.

Sidhu, a rookie Calgary trucker, drove through a stop sign and into the path of the bus carrying the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask., in April 2018.

Sixteen people died and 13 more were injured, sparking a nationwide outpouring of grief, condolences and tributes.

Sidhu entered guilty pleas to dangerous driving offences and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

A criminal conviction that carries a sentence of more than six months makes a permanent resident ineligible to remain in the country.

Sidhu was granted full parole in 2023.

A couple of weeks ago Greene asked Canada Border Services Agency to defer his deportation by 17 months until an application to restore his client’s permanent resident status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds was considered. They received word a week ago.

“They said no. We challenged that in federal court on the grounds that it was unreasonable,” Greene said in an interview Friday evening.

“The court said we’re going to issue a stay until the Federal Court makes a decision on our challenge of the application to defer removal. We think they made a bad decision, and the court has said we’re going to wait for the outcome of that decision.”

Greene remains hopeful the court will grant a judicial review of the CBSA decision and allow him to argue why the matter should be sent back to the agency for another review.

“We’ll be required to submit a written argument on our Federal court application, then the Department of Justice will file a counter argument and then we’ll file a reply and it will go before a judge to determine if there’s enough merit to go hear it in court,” he said.

In a written ruling Federal Court Justice Jocelyne Gagne said the court was satisfied that Sidhu’s lawyers provided clear and non-speculative evidence.

“Considering his high suicidal ideation, that he would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of a stay order,” she wrote.

“The Applicant’s motion for a stay of his removal from Canada to India is granted. The Applicant’s removal from Canada is stayed until a final decision is rendered on his underlying application for leave and judicial review.”

Greene called the ruling “a very rare decision” and there will now be a break of several months.

“She’s not giving us the 17 months we asked for. She’s giving us until they decide the federal court case,” he said.

Greene said the delay could be anywhere between one and eight months.

Sidhu has two children, and one has complex medical issues. He has health issues of his own as well, said Greene, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, so this decision is welcome.

“In the many years this has been going on, this is the first time there has ever been a positive decision in his favour,” he said.

“My clients are very relieved. This was very traumatic for them. If you think of two young parents with two young children, one of whom has high medical needs, and they were about to be ripped apart.”

Many of the Humboldt Broncos parents had been urging the government to go through with the deportation and are upset with a further delay.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Michelle Straschnitzki, whose son Ryan was severely injured in the crash.

“It’s absolutely criminal. Our justice system has been a joke for decades.”