Good morning.
I'll speak to the issue of temporary foreign workers within the framework of my experience as a manager of the complaints and discipline department. We have engaged with the issue on the basis of allegations against our members for breaches of the rules of professional conduct and also in the context of information that we received concerning individuals who are not society members and who are acting as unregulated labour agents.
I've provided a chart setting out the number of complaints about both members and unregulated labour agents that we've received between 2006 and the present that relate to the issue of the temporary foreign worker.
The society has a strict view on what constitutes employment activity. We are coordinating our efforts with provincial governments to receive and act on complaints from the provincial departments concerning the activities of any of our members who are acting inappropriately or outside their scope as authorized representatives. As a regulator, we act in the public interest, and as such, have implemented errors and omissions insurance and a hearings and discipline process, and we are in the process of establishing a compensation fund.
Our first hearing took place in March 2007 and related to a member who was found to have breached the rules of professional conduct when she failed in her professional obligation to inform 24 Korean truck drivers about the English language requirement related to the job offers that she had obtained. The company withdrew the job offers on the basis that the majority of the truck drivers' language skills were not up to the business standard. The full decision can be found on our website, if you'd like to look at it further, and we're just now going to return to argue penalty.
One of the problems we've identified in the administration of the disciplinary process relating to temporary workers is the potential for deportation of the complainant or witness prior to the conclusion of the matter. Consequently, we respectfully request that the minister enact a provision to allow for a delay in the deportation of temporary skilled workers in circumstances where disciplinary proceedings have commenced and they are required as primary witnesses.
I'm going to turn now to the issue of unregulated labour agents. A number of the complaints that we've received from temporary foreign worker applicants relate to individuals and organizations who are not our members. These rogue agents act contrary to provincial employment regulations and file applications before the minister by circumventing the regulations. The information that we have been provided concerns groups of unskilled workers being guaranteed employment in Canada at enticing wage rates and being guaranteed permanent resident status within a year or two. They're required to pay fees of up to $20,000 and have also had to pay expenses for travel documents. In some situations, the applicants have had to pay for what have been termed “anti-terrorism documents” and for what were called “United Nations travel documents”. The labour agents offer their services online and are located outside Canada.
A membership list is posted on our website. I've received telephone calls from Gambia, e-mails from the Philippines, Morocco, Nigeria, and Pakistan, from individuals trying to locate the person they hired to assist them in achieving this lifetime opportunity. The promises are inviting and appear so legitimate that it's not until they've experienced a problem that they contact the society for assistance. While we do not have jurisdiction to act against the rogue agents, we do ensure that matters are referred to the appropriate authorities for follow-up.
Therefore, we respectfully request that the committee recommend to the minister that the government regulate labour agents on a national basis. While protection is provided on applications before the minister, labour agents have been able to circumvent these provisions.
Thank you.