Photo credit: Global News
Dhyan Jeny Enterprises Ltd. pleaded guilty in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on Aug. 11 to charging a foreign worker, making the first conviction under the Saskatchewan Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act (FWRISA).
Global News reports that while this is the first conviction under the legislation, some experts say it is one example of a larger pattern of employers abusing foreign workers programs.
“There is a significant number right now of, you know, where people are inappropriately using our immigration program or committing fraud. Anywhere there’s money available, bad actors get involved, says Sakatchwen Immigration and Career Training Deputy Minister Greg Tuer.
Tuer says not every employer is a bad actor, and the ministry is taking steps to address issues.
The ministry’s investigation in Moose Jaw found a worker was required to pay $12,000 for employment.
The company was ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution to the victim and a $5,000 fine, alongside a $2,000 victim fine surcharge.
In Swift Current, another employer, Husky Travel Centre / Husky Energy, is facing multiple charges of imposing an employment fee on two foreign nationals and a charge of exploiting one’s lack of knowledge of FWRISA.
Tuer says a change in legislation from the Saskatchewan Foreign Worker Recruitment to the Immigration Services Act in 2024 has allowed more charges to be laid.
He says this year, the ministry has cancelled more than 10 businesses’ certificates of registration to employ foreign workers.
Saskatoon immigration lawyer Oluwadamilola Asunu says bad actors can make an already competitive process more difficult for workers trying to build a life in Canada.
