Allison Jones tried to skirt the law by ‘having fees fall under AJ Immigration Group Inc.’
The Ontario government has fined an employer for illegally charging foreign workers for job placements at Canadian Tire, according to a recent report.
The province’s Ministry of Labour found that Jones and her two businesses charged the workers between US$7,900 and US$12,000 to secure work permits and jobs at a Canadian Tire location in Toronto, The Globe and Mail reported.
None of the workers were aware at the time that charging recruitment fees is unlawful. Between 2023 and 2024, eight workers filed complaints with the ministry over how they were hired to work at the Canadian Tire store.
Previously, a Canadian Tire store in Toronto started being investigated by both provincial and federal authorities following allegations of mistreatment and financial exploitation of employees hired under Ottawa’s Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program.
Earlier this year, Canadian Tire announced it will be closing some stores under its Atmosphere brand as part of a four-year restructuring strategy.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour fined Jones $2,000 and ordered two companies she owns—Allison Jones Consulting Services Inc. and AJ Immigration Group Inc.—to reimburse the foreign workers up to a total of $150,000, according to the report.
Jones has 30 days to appeal the decision, which was issued on May 15.
The recruiter has maintained that the decision was made “in error” and that she operated lawfully because her businesses were separate entities, with fees charged by the immigration consultancy, AJ Immigration Group.
However, the ministry found that Allison Jones Consulting and AJ Immigration Group were associated, as they were commonly owned and managed by Jones, and shared employees who worked out of the same office in St. Albert, Alta.
“Although the information provided by the employer alludes to the fact that two businesses operated under different entities, it does not change the fact that both functioned as one comprehensive and unified business, and must be treated as one,” the decision stated, according to The Globe and Mail.
The decision also noted that Jones tried to skirt the law by “having fees fall under AJ Immigration Group Inc.” after each stage of the recruitment process.
Despite the decision against the recruiter, labour lawyers and immigration experts are criticising how the law does little to prevent exploitation of foreign workers.
“Ultimately, $250 is a small business cost for an unscrupulous recruiter or employer, or a licence fee for breaking the law,” said John No, staff lawyer and interim director of the Parkdale Legal Clinic, in The Globe and Mail’s report.
It’s also problematic that the law requires foreign workers to file complaints against bad employers or recruiters if they become victimised, said Chris Ramsaroop, assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto and an organiser with Justice for Migrant Workers, in the same report.
“This case against Allison Jones began because the workers filed complaints with the ministry. What the ministry should do now is attempt to get compensation for all foreign workers who ever paid fees to this recruiter – but that’s unfortunately not how the system works.”
Recently, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested two individuals for illegally recruiting foreign workers and a third for human trafficking.
