Employment and Social Development Canada inspectors have given six-figure fines to employers accused of breaching migrant labour regulations, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. .“This program has been ripe with atrocities,” former Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yussuff told the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. .“They have had ample opportunity to act on this.”.Employment and Social Development Canada conducted no in-person spot inspections under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) as late as 2017. .It said Delta, BC, trucking company Trans Empire Logistics was fined $135,000 and blacklisted from the TFWP for unpaid fines. Trans Empire was accused of withholding records from inspectors and assigning migrant labourers to jobs which were not posted. .It was the 131st employer fined in 2023. Most penalties were less than $10,000. .Winnipeg trucking company 10047179 Manitoba Ltd. was fined $258,000 for breach of regulations, and Sherwood Park, AB, contractor Luigi’s Concrete Ltd. was fined $153,000..Other employers fined lesser amounts included trucking companies in Abbotsford, Edmonton, and Markham; restaurateurs in Calgary, Coquitlam, Chilliwack, Fredericton, Ottawa, Moncton, Quebec City, and Victoria; and building contractors in Brampton, Burnaby, London, Morinville, Toronto, Sherwood Park, and Surrey..Enforcement of migrant labour rules followed a 2017 audit which faulted the TFWP for cursory checks. .“Most activities consisted of reviewing documents that employers were asked to provide investigators by mail and did not include on-site inspections or interviews with temporary foreign workers,” said the Auditor General. .Former deputy labour minister Louise Levonian said her ministry had not been doing unannounced on-site inspections. .“It’s the analysis we’re doing,” said Levonian. .The program was conducting 2,200 spot inspections annually at a cost of $39 million by 2019. A 2020 audit found almost half of employers failed these inspections. .“The follow-up audit found 41% of the inspections tested within the audit sample resulted in a non-compliant decision with a warning, temporary banning, or monetary penalty,” said the Auditor General..Employment and Social Development Canada boasted about it processing a large number of permits for migrant workers in 2022, even as auditors warned foreign labour might cost jobs. .READ MORE: 'Record' number of migrant worker permits being processed.“The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has processed a record high number of files,” said its staff. .“Employer demand for the program has significantly increased given the impact of the pandemic on the labour market.”
