Families and friends of the Broncos, most adorned in Broncos jerseys bearing their family names, gathered once again in the makeshift courtroom at the Kerry Vickar Centre in Melfort to learn the fate of Jaskirat Singh Sidhu. The thirty-year-old was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison for his part in the tragic bus crash of a year ago.

In her decision, Judge Inez Cardinal presented a painstakingly detailed account of the series of events and circumstances leading up to the accident. Her consideration was to deliver one sentence that would stand as a significant deterrent as opposed to multiple concurrent sentences. Sidhu was sentenced to eight years for each of the sixteen counts of dangerous driving causing death, and five years for each of thirteen counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. These sentences would all be served concurrently resulting in the eight-year determination.

Judge Cardinal’s thorough explanation took into account the gravity of the accident’s result, balanced with moral blameworthiness. She addressed the families reassuring them that the 90 victim impact statements presented during the sentencing hearing had been heard and duly considered. In delivering a sentence that was “proportional”, she took into account the remorse of Sidhu and the fact that he was a young man with a future ahead of him.

Ultimately, Judge Cardinal found that Sidhu bore a “high level of moral blameworthiness” given that his inattention and inexperience were the main contributing factors to an accident that she called “completely avoidable”. She repeated evidence showing that if Sidhu had responded in a panic brake maneuver at any of the first three road signs warning of the upcoming intersection, the accident would not have occurred.

The Judge restated that there were no precedents in vehicular collisions in Canada that match the gravity of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. While she did cite previous cases, in delivering the sentence, Judge Cardinal clearly instructed, “We must stop this carnage on our highways. Seconds matter. Attention matters.”