Officials with the Canada Border Services Agency have laid charges against an Edmonton woman, following an investigation into the illegal employment of foreign nationals in the city.
Its alleged Jennilyn Morris illegally employed foreign nationals in Edmonton.
Investigators said the workers in question were in the country as visitors, authorized to work only for other employers, or were in Canada illegally after staying past the amount of time they would be allowed to.
CBSA officials said the accused contracted the workers as cleaning, room service, and kitchen staff for three Edmonton hotels, house cleaners in homes, and to stuff flyers into newspapers at an Edmonton-area publishing company.
The findings came after a five-year investigation, during which officials executed a search warrant in 2011 where investigators said they found more than 12,000 documents relevant to the investigation – and more than 100 foreign nationals were identified, found and interviewed as part of the investigation.
“The exact number is unknown,” Lisa White with the CBSA said. “We were able to positively identify 212 people from a list of over 700 possibly illegal foreign nationals.”
It’s also believed the accused organized one person’s travel into Canada through fraud, deception, threat of force or coercion – officials said the person was deceived by Morris with an offer of employment that turned out to be for less pay, more hours, and different work.
Morris is facing five charges, including human trafficking – the first time such charges have been laid in Alberta. She is scheduled to appear in court July 2.
With files from Sarah Richter
