A vineyard in B.C.’s Okanagan has been completely banned from hiring short-term overseas employees and fined $118,000, in line with the federal authorities.
In line with a notification on the government’s website, Toor Vineyards didn’t present a federal inspector with the paperwork they requested for and didn’t “put in sufficient effort” to make sure the office was freed from bodily, sexual, psychological or monetary abuse.
The notification additionally says the pay or working situations didn’t match what was listed on an employment supply or a job was not the identical as what was provided.
The small print of those infractions haven’t been made public.
Employers discovered to be non-compliant with laws underneath the Momentary International Employee Program (TFWP) can obtain a financial penalty, a ban on hiring short-term employees, or, as within the case of this B.C. vineyard, each.
In line with the federal government web site, a everlasting ban is issued just for probably the most severe violations underneath the TFWP.
Whereas Toor Vineyards does not seem to exist, the deal with listed for Toor Vineyards matches the deal with for Oliver, B.C.’s Desert Hills Property Vineyard.
In line with the federal government’s checklist of companies which were discovered non-compliant with the TFWP, Desert Hills Property Vineyard was fined $16,000 in 2023. That checklist suggests the superb has not but been paid, as of Jan. 6, 2025.
CBC Information has contacted the vineyard for remark however has not obtained a response.
Navid Bayat, workers lawyer on the Migrant Employees Centre, mentioned a superb of this quantity is “important” including that he hopes it sends a message to different employers concerning the remedy of short-term overseas employees.
“That is fairly a uncommon state of affairs that they get a ban,” he mentioned.
“To me, it reads that they’re popping out exhausting on a possible sample of systemic violations of the short-term overseas employee program and of the rights of migrant employees who’ve come right here underneath the pretence of being promised a job in Canada.”
Randhir (Randy) Toor was proprietor and president, no less than at one time, however an Instagram put up dated Dec. 22, 2023, mentioned Toor has retired from the vineyard. In 2022, Toor pleaded responsible to seven counts of counsel or try to counsel misrepresentation underneath the Immigration and Refugee Safety Act.
Out of 957 infractions listed on the federal government web site since 2016, just one different firm has been completely banned from the Momentary International Employee Program.
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