Prolific B.C. drunk driver could face deportation after dozens of driving bans over 30 years

National Post

16 hours ago

A driver who has racked up 32 driving prohibitions or suspensions, as well as 16 24-hour driving bans, failed to convince a British Columbia judge he should get a lighter sentence than normal for drunk driving because more than six months in jail could get him deported to India.
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Vernon's Gurinder Pal Singh Bajwa, a permanent resident of Canada who escaped deportation in 2019 on an impaired driving conviction with a sentence of five months and 29 days, got a reduced sentence this time around because Mounties captured him on surveillance cameras using the toilet in a holding cell after he was arrested for impaired driving again on May 11, 2022, after rear-ending a white Hyundai Tucson with his Mercedes sport utility vehicle in the parking lot of a Wholesale Club. His blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
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But the judge refused to lighten Bajwa's sentence on convictions for impaired and prohibited driving to a level that wouldn't have immigration consequences for the 57-year-old. Any sentence over six months can result in deportation from Canada.
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'To accede to Mr. Bajwa's request for a (conditional sentence) or a reduction of the jail time on either count for the impact of the collateral immigration consequences to Mr. Bajwa and as a remedy (for breaching his Charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure), would bring the administration of justice into disrepute and result in an inappropriate and artificial sentence; in other words, an unfit sentence,' Judge David Patterson of B.C.'s provincial court wrote in a recent decision.
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Bajwa immigrated to Canada from India's Punjab region over 34 years ago.
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'He received his first British Columbia driving prohibition on March 19, 1993,' said the judge. 'He has also accumulated a substantial number of additional Criminal Code convictions and Motor Vehicle Act infractions.'
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The Crown recommended Bajwa get between nine and 12 months in jail, a $2,500 fine and a five-year driving prohibition for the impaired driving charge, plus another four months behind bars for getting behind the wheel while he 'was subject to five separate driving prohibitions' or suspensions.
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'I am flabbergasted that Crown counsel has only sought a four-month consecutive jail sentence (for driving while prohibited),' Patterson said in his decision dated June 2. 'Given the circumstances of the offence, it is hard to imagine a more suitable case for the two-year less-a-day maximum sentence allowed.'
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Bajwa's lawyer argued for a conditional sentence or no more jail time than he got in 2019 — five months and 29 days behind bars. He noted that would allow Bajwa to remain in Canada.
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The court heard Bajwa 'has no one in India' and that he's in the process of getting a divorce 'as his alcohol usage ruined his relationship with his estranged wife and his children,' said the judge, who noted they live in Canada.