Migrant workers illegally paying for temporary permits ‘duped or persuaded’

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This article was published 27/05/2024 (497 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some temporary workers are illegally paying tens of thousands of dollars for low-wage jobs in Manitoba, advocates warn.

Last week, a committee of Canadian senators released a report calling for overhauls to parts of the country’s Temporary Foreign Worker program. While creating the report, senators heard from migrants who’d paid agents to secure work permits, report lead Sen. Ratna Omidvar said.

Newcomers had been “duped or persuaded,” she stated — it’s illegal for them to pay such recruitment fees.

Anecdotally, illegal payments seem to be happening more often in Manitoba, immigration lawyer Kenneth Zaifman relayed, adding he’s seen dozens of such cases in the past year.

“It’s a problem,” Zaifman said Monday. “I think the authorities know that it’s prevalent, but it takes a lot of time to root out.”

Migrants may pay $30,000 or more to secure temporary work positions.

It’s unclear how often the illegal transactions occur. The deals are typically done in cash or in workers’ home countries, Zaifman explained. Sometimes, employers require payment for work permits; in other cases, agents specializing in getting workers to Canada request cash.

The Manitoba Trucking Association has received “multiple recent complaints” over such alleged activities, according to executive director Aaron Dolyniuk.

Not only are migrants paying to work in Manitoba, but in some cases, they’re earning less than minimum wage, Dolyniuk alleged. “(Bad actors) are making money off of immigration itself and that’s not the intention of our immigration programs.”

Dolyniuk and colleagues have been referring affected recent immigrants to “the appropriate authorities,” including Employment and Social Development Canada.

“(Bad actors) are making money off of immigration itself and that’s not the intention of our immigration programs.”– Aaron Dolyniuk

The federal agency did not answer how many Manitoba businesses have been caught collecting payment from migrant workers for closed work permits, where newcomers are contractually bound to companies bringing them to Canada.

Instead, the ESDC pointed to a public list showcasing employers who haven’t complied with the Temporary Foreign Work and International Mobility programs.

Since January 2023, nine Manitoba businesses have collected a total $426,500 in such fines. However, not all companies found non-compliant drew payment from people securing work.

There appears to be an appraisal of Canada hopefuls, explained Diwa Marcelino, a newcomer advocate with grassroots organization Migrante Manitoba.

“They kind of size you up, (as a) migrant worker, to see how much you can pay,” he said. “It’s … very arbitrary.”

Migrants have one direct route to reach the federal government, Omidvar noted: Employment and Social Development Canada’s confidential tip line.

The Senate report recommends creating a Canadian migrant work commission whose duty would be to listen to, investigate and resolve complaints.

“Frankly, it is public awareness that matters,” Omidvar said, noting migrant workers should know there’s no need to pay agents “of any kind” before entering Canada. “If we want more workers to come to Canada, we must be upfront” about the path to residency and whether permanent status is attainable, she added.

It’s also important to have conversations with governments of countries sending workers about making migration “as smooth and secure as possible,” the senator said.

In 2022, a record 1.5 million immigrants worked, studied and lived in Canada.

The standing Senate committee on social affairs, science and technology is advocating for the replacement of closed work permits. Instead, it endorses sector-specific work permits.

Ottawa has 150 days to respond to the 152-page report.

Zaifman, who’s been an immigration lawyer for at least 25 years, doesn’t agree with the removal of a closed work permit.

“Most of the significant players that are recruiting workers to Manitoba … do not engage in this kind of conduct.”– Kenneth Zaifman

“Most of the significant players that are recruiting workers to Manitoba … do not engage in this kind of conduct,” he said of making migrants pay for a job.

Alternately, businesses are covering work permit fees, alongside travel, accommodation and training costs, Zaifman outlined. Many help their employees get permanent resident status.

“If the worker can then turn around and say, ‘Well, I found a better job because I’m here,’ that’s not fair to the employer,” he said. “They’re entitled, I think, to be able to have some assurance that the worker will be there for a year, two years.”

Greater enforcement — including jail time — would likely stop illegal work permit payments, Zaifman asserted. Enforcement is a matter of having the resources, he added.

Selling positions can result in fines, imprisonment and/or bans from hiring foreign workers, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada noted.

Victims can sue their employers, though it’s time consuming and expensive, Zaifman said. however, most immigrants who aren’t permanent residents avoid what they perceive could end their stay in Canada, he added.

The Manitoba RCMP have not investigated any employers or consultants alleged to have charged migrants for work permits.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com