Alberta gas station fined $164,000 for migrant worker violations

Federal inspectors have levied a $164,000 fine against an Alberta gas station for breaching migrant labour rules, barring the operator from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program for five years.

According to a Department of Immigration notice, managers of a Petro-Canada station in Grassland, were cited for five violations. Infractions included poor recordkeeping, failure to provide requested documents, underpaying workers, and not ensuring a workplace free from abuse — whether physical, sexual, psychological, financial, or retaliatory.

“All workers in Canada deserve safe, healthy and dignified working conditions,” the Department of Employment stated in a briefing note on September 16.

“Mistreatment or abuse of temporary foreign workers, or any worker, is never tolerated.”

Grassland is 150 km northeast of Edmonton.

The federal government spends $39 million annually on employer inspections under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Spot checks were rare until a 2017 Auditor General report criticized the lack of unannounced visits.

“Most enforcement activities consisted of reviewing documents employers were asked to provide by mail,” then-Auditor General Michael Ferguson testified, noting that few site inspections or interviews had taken place.

Fines exceeding $100,000 are uncommon but not unheard of. In 2023, a Winnipeg trucking company was penalized $258,000 for multiple infractions.

Last September, a federal judge upheld a $153,000 fine against an Alberta contractor who failed an inspection.

Court records showed Luigi’s Concrete Ltd. of Sherwood Park, Alta., hired foreign concrete finishers for $30 per hour but paid them only $20 as general labourers. Alberta’s minimum wage is $15 per hour.

During a 2019 inspection, an employer representative admitted wages had been lowered due to a lack of required skills.

“The owner said the workers were treated well,” the court ruling noted. The company provided free accommodations and covered some expenses but failed to inform Service Canada of the wage changes. When questioned, the owner said a consultant advised them it was permissible.