New anti-exploitation crackdown in Saskatchewan yields first conviction

A Saskatchewan employer has been fined $5,000 in one of the first successful convictions obtained as part of a provincial effort to crack down on foreign worker exploitation.

On Tuesday, representatives for Dyan Jeny Enterprises pleaded guilty in a Moose Jaw, Sask. court to demanding $12,000 from an employee as a condition of maintaining his Canadian work permit.

Parth Patel, a foreign national working at Moose Jaw’s Guac Mexi Grill, was told that he would lose his job and potentially his immigration status unless he paid $12,000 to his employers.

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In addition to the $5,000 fine, Dyan Jeny Enterprises was also ordered to repay the $12,000.

According to a report on the case by DiscoverMooseJaw , Provincial Court Judge Steven Schiefner questioned whether a $5,000 fine was sufficient deterrence for such a clear case of worker exploitation.

“I find the conduct of Dyan Jeny Enterprises and its principals to be atrocious,” Schiefner told the court.

Notably, the court would hear that illegally charging fees to foreign workers was considered common practice in Saskatchewan.

Last October, the charges against Dyan Jeny Enterprises were touted by the Saskatchewan government as the first prosecution pursued under a new provincial law intended to prevent the exploitation of foreign workers.

The Immigration Services Act, which became law in July, 2024, was announced as “the most comprehensive program integrity framework in the nation, including the highest fines for violation in the country.”

When first tabled before the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, a statement by the province’s Immigration and Career Training Ministry said it was part of their overall program to obtain “autonomy over immigration” and to grow the province’s population to 1.4 million by 2030.