Immigration Services Act, 2024, has since repealed that legislation
The Saskatchewan government has highlighted the conviction of Dyan Jeny Enterprise, an employer, under the province’s Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act, 2013 (FWRISA), making this the first conviction under Saskatchewan’s previous foreign worker protection legislation.
According to Saskatchewan’s news release, the employer, operating as Guac Mexi Grill in Moose Jaw, entered a guilty plea before the Provincial Court location in that city in connection with offences committed from August 2023 to February 2024.
Specifically, the offence pertained to charging a foreign worker an employment fee or expense in breach of s. 23(5) of the FWRISA, meriting a $5,000 fine, a $2,000 victim fine surcharge, and $12,000 in restitution to the impacted foreign worker.
Investigation
Per the news release, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Immigration and Career Training investigated a complaint asserting that a foreign worker had to pay $12,000 to stay employed, with continued employment serving as a condition of their permanent residence pathway.
The investigation resulted in the FWRISA charges because the offences happened before July 1, 2024.
Shift from FWRISA to Immigration Services Act
According to the provincial government’s news release, the Immigration Services Act, 2024 (ISA), has since repealed and replaced FWRISA.
Saskatchewan explained that the ISA sought to toughen the compliance and enforcement framework by introducing maximum penalties of $750,000 for individuals and $1.25 million for corporations. Penalties under the ISA may also include a maximum of two years of imprisonment upon conviction.
The provincial government added that the ISA seeks to assist the authorities in investigating immigration-related misconduct and ensuring accountability for employers, recruiters, and consultants who are in breach of the law.
More labour and employment news
Here are some other recent news stories revolving around labour and employment law.
Last June, Lori Straznicky, Canada’s pay equity commissioner, published her 2025–26 annual report, which sought to spotlight efforts over this past year to increase awareness of and encourage compliance with employers’ obligations under the federal Pay Equity Act, 2018.
In a submission last May to the Employment and Social Development Canada’s 35-day consultation on modernizing the federal labour relations framework, Unifor said the review revealed the federal government’s misunderstanding and mistaken assumptions about how the existing structures work in practice.
According to the BC government’s announcement last March, proposed amendments to the province’s Employment Standards Act, 1996, and Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act, 2018, seek to help clarify, improve, and speed up the employment standards complaint and dispute resolution process for employers and workers alike.
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