ESDC cites efforts 'to concentrate inspections on areas with heightened risk of potential non-compliance'
Employers using Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) are facing unprecedented financial penalties and lengthy bans, even as the number of federal inspections has fallen, according to a report.
In the 2018–19 fiscal year, 74 companies were fined a total of $102,250 for breaking TFWP rules, CBC reported, citing data from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
By last fiscal year, the number of sanctioned employers had nearly doubled to 147, while the total value of penalties skyrocketed to $4,882,500 — more than 45 times higher than seven years earlier. At the same time, applications to use the program have dropped: after reaching roughly 150,000 in 2023–24, the number of employer applications has fallen to about 63,000 so far in the current fiscal year.
This is the case even though enforcement activity has not grown in parallel. ESDC conducted 1,853 inspections in 2018–19; that number increased during the pandemic but then declined to 1,435 last year, CBC reports.
ESDC told CBC the higher penalties reflect “recent efforts to concentrate inspections on areas with a heightened risk of potential non-compliance” and said “employers now face greater consequences when violations occur, and the impact of these changes is now becoming more evident in our inspections.”
In the 2024–2025 fiscal year, ESDC conducted 1,435 employer compliance inspections, identifying 10% of employers as non-compliant.
Employer heads to court over million-dollar fine
The new enforcement posture is exemplified by the case of Bolero Shellfish Processing Inc., a New Brunswick plant fined $1 million and banned from the TFWP for 10 years — believed to be the largest penalty to date. HRD Canada previously reported that Bolero is seeking judicial review of ESDC’s decision, calling the sanctions “grossly disproportionate.”
In its application to the Federal Court, the company claims the four-year federal investigation prejudiced its ability to respond and that the process “reversed the onus of proof,” causing “considerable stigma akin to a finding of guilt in a criminal proceeding without any right to a trial or a hearing.”
According to the federal registry, Bolero was found to have breached laws in hiring and recruiting, failed to meet pay and working conditions promised in job offers, and did not do enough to prevent abuse or reprisals in the workplace.
Bolero disputes those findings, arguing that any problems were administrative and have been corrected. The firm says it paid workers for the equivalent of 30 hours per week even when economic conditions and pandemic-related travel delays reduced available work.
“The objective of the procedure implemented by Bolero was to provide advance payments to the TFWs, with their consent, to mitigate the impact of reduced work availability,” the company said in court filings.
Federal officials, for their part, say the case proves the system is working.
“Employers are required to provide safe, healthy and dignified working conditions,” ESDC said, according to the HRD Canada report. “Any mistreatment of workers or misuse of the program will not be tolerated.” Former minister Patty Hajdu previously told reporters, “We’re catching those bad actors,” adding that it is “on individual employees to take action to sue the employer — to take action to try to recover those wages.”
Advocates question whether fines protect workers
Despite the surging fines, workers’ advocates remain sceptical about whether higher fines are delivering better outcomes.
Syed Hussan, co-executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, told CBC that large penalties appear to be “outliers,” with many fines at $5,000 or less and some going unpaid.
“The stated purpose of these inspections is to increase worker rights,” he said. “We've always said that the only way to ensure increased worker rights is if workers get reparations, workers get justice, workers get some sort of repayment or reimbursement … Without it, the fine system does not work.”
Meanwhile, Tracy Glynn of the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre, which has supported former Bolero employees, previously told HRD Canada that “for many of these companies, it is just the cost of doing business.” She has called for stronger protections, including open work permits and better access to social services for migrant workers.
At the same time, industry representatives warn that the TFWP remains critical in regions facing acute labour shortages. “Reality, contrary to what Mr. Poilievre says, is there’s nobody else left to employ,” said Osborne Burke, general manager of Victoria Co-operative Fisheries in Nova Scotia, in comments reported by HRD Canada.
