‘Weighing this hope of living in Canada’

A temporary foreign worker says he was ensnared in an illegal system fraught with under-the-table payments, fake credentials and a firing.

“I was participating in a illegal process,” Liang Fang said. “But actually, I (didn’t) know it’s illegal before.”

Fang, 43, travelled to Winnipeg from Beijing in March. He came with a job offer to work at a Winnipeg restaurant as a marketing specialist.

However, by his account, he became a waiter. It was the latest change in a lengthy immigration process.

Fang hired an Ontario-based immigration consultant in 2022 to help him reach permanent resident status in Canada. The former salesperson said he wanted a change of lifestyle — and he had friends from China who’d already settled in Canada.

They spoke positively of Canadians, Fang said.

One friend referred him to Yourland Immigration in Ottawa. A Nov. 27, 2022, contract Fang signed says his consultant was a member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.

Neither the consultant’s name, Ruiting Cao, nor Yourland Immigration appeared on the college’s register on Thursday.

Yourland Immigration (also spelled Your Land, per one document and Canada’s online business register) didn’t have an obvious website. It’s unclear whether Cao had college membership in 2022.

Fang said he hadn’t seen the public register while in China. He agreed to work with Yourland on getting into Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program.

Often, immigrants sign a closed work permit — to work a specific job with one company — with the intention of applying to the provincial nominee program once in Canada.

Fang alleges he paid the consulting firm $33,000. (A Dec. 5, 2022, invoice to Yourland shows he paid $83,998. Fang says he actually paid that amount in Chinese Yuan, which would be $17,808 in current dollars. Fang says he made several payments.)

Fang signed his marketing specialist job offer in February 2023.

Then he waited.

His Canada work permit was issued March 16, 2026. It states he isn’t authorized to work in any other job or for any other employer.

By Fang’s retelling, when he appeared at the Winnipeg restaurant this year, its leadership said the only job available was serving.

The restaurant didn’t answer questions by print deadline, so the Free Press couldn’t confirm Fang’s job change.

However, Fang shared a picture of a serving uniform, apron included, that he said he wore.

He would later send claims to the Workers Compensation Board for right shoulder and left ankle injuries he said he got while working.

“I argued so many times to the consultant,” Fang said.

Mainly, he was arguing about his form of pay: he was being paid partly in cash and was directed to pay his own EI and CPP, Fang said.

A Yourland Immigration representative refused an interview request, citing client confidentiality. In a text, they said Fang’s allegations, relayed by a reporter, included “several inaccuracies and important omissions.”

The spokesperson didn’t address payments, but said Fang’s immigration applications were handled by a licensed immigration consultant.

As Fang worked, his friends and landlord warned him the setup might be illegal, he said: “I was worried.”

Fang said he was fired by the restaurant in June after going to the doctor for his injuries. His closed work permit expires March 15, 2029; he’s trying to get an open work permit for vulnerable workers, where he can apply to other companies.

“When I was fired, I (felt) scared and hopeless — even depression,” Fang said.

Regional Connections Immigrant Services is among the groups now assisting Fang. The temporary foreign worker has filed a grievance with Manitoba Employment Standards and other entities.

Fang said he’s using his savings to pay rent and stay in Winnipeg. At points this year, he’s felt afraid and thought about returning to China, he said.

His situation is “not uncommon,” said Lori Wilkinson, a University of Manitoba professor and Canada Research Chair in migration futures.

The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants opened in 2021 as a result of bad experiences, Wilkinson said.

“The (regulation) of the profession and the training of people has been a good thing,” she said. “The problem is … there’s so many bad actors out there. They still need to weed them out.”

Canada counts roughly 12,000 registered immigration consultants.

The college imposed 77 disciplinary actions as of October 2023, totalling $302,600 in fines and $365,810 in restitution to clients.

Ottawa launched new regulations in July, allowing the college to impose bigger penalties. The college has also started a compensation fund for victims of consultant fraud.

People providing immigration consulting who aren’t registered can be fined or imprisoned.

Employers not complying with temporary foreign worker program rules can be hit by government fines and bans. (Recently, a now-defunct Winnipeg company, Ship Eazy Logistics, was fined $203,000 and banned from hiring temporary workers for one year.)

Cash payments and payback agreements are “red flags” that Steve Reynolds said he notes when temporary foreign workers arrive at Regional Connections.

Reynolds, the charity’s executive director, estimates a dozen people — and more this year — apply for open work permits for vulnerable workers annually with Regional Connections following improper payment.

Many clients opt not to apply, Reynolds added: “They’re weighing this hope of living in Canada permanently with what to do right now, with their current work situation. Some people just decide to put up with it.”

Immigrants accept poor work hours, threats of violence and stay in jobs that don’t match the initial contract because, through a closed work permit, they often have more time to apply for permanent residency than through a one-year vulnerable open work permit, Reynolds said.

Some might not know how to get help, he added. In some cases, especially in rural areas, the employer oversees workers’ housing and transportation. It creates more avenues for potential abuse, Reynolds said.

“There’s a lot of … great employers trying to do the right thing and hire well,” he noted, adding some firms can’t find workers in their locales and must hire internationally.

Canada accepted 48 per cent fewer new temporary workers last year than 2024, when comparing January through September. It counted 315,650 people through the temporary foreign worker program.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com