Under new labour laws introduced on March 20, Ontario employers convicted of withholding foreign workers’ passports or work permits could face the highest maximum fines in Canada.
“While most employers care about their workers, some continue to take advantage of them, including illegally holding their passports and work permits. This obviously leaves workers vulnerable [to exploitation],” he added.
McNaughton said offenders could be penalized $100,000 to $200,000 for every worker whose rights were violated, “quickly adding up to millions of dollars more in fines.” Ministry officers currently have the power to levy penalties for each passport or work permit a business or person withholds, but those fines range only from $250 to $1,000.
The Ontario government is also proposing amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) that would increase the maximum fine for corporations convicted of an offence under that act from $1.5 million to $2 million. With these amendments, Ontario would have the highest maximum corporate fine under workplace health and safety legislation in Canada.
McNaughton said the increased fines will assist the Ontario ministry of labour’s new anti-trafficking unit, launched 18 months ago to fight labour trafficking in the province. McNaughton said that there are now about 45 investigations ongoing and that lost wages for more than 3,000 workers have been recuperated.