Another adjournment has been granted to Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the semi driver charged in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
Sidhu faces 16 charges of dangerous driving causing death and 13 charges of dangerous driving causing bodily harm in the April 6 crash.
He was not present in Melfort provincial court on Nov. 27.
Sidhu’s lawyer appeared by telephone and said the talks are an attempt to “expedite the matter.”
Crown prosecutor Wade Rogers said they asked for an adjournment until Dec. 18 “for ongoing discussions.”
Sidhu has yet to enter a plea and remains free on bail.
He is not required to be in court at this stage of the proceedings.
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Three previous appearances were adjourned after Sidhu’s lawyer asked for more time to go over the evidence.
Sidhu can opt for the matter to be heard in provincial court going forward, or elect for it to go to a higher court, in which case a preliminary inquiry would be held to determine if there is enough evidence for it to go to trial.
If he elects to go to a higher court, Sidhu can choose whether the matter would be heard by a judge alone, or by a judge and jury.
Dangerous driving causing death carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, while dangerous driving causing bodily harm has a maximum sentence of 10 years.
The owner of the Alberta company he was driving for is also facing charges.
The charges were laid on Oct. 10 after an investigation by Alberta Transportation.
There are seven charges under the federal Motor Vehicle Transport Act: two counts of failing to maintain logs for drivers hours of service, three counts of failing to monitor the compliance of a driver under safety regulations, and two counts of having more than one daily log for any day.
The eighth charge under the Alberta Traffic Safety Act alleges failure to have or follow a written safety program.
Singh appeared in court on Nov. 9 and had the matter set over until Nov. 30.
— With files from Ryan Kessler and the Canadian Press