Police announce bust of massive international labour trafficking ring in GTA – The Toronto Star

Canadian authorities say they have dissolved an international labour trafficking ring and rescued 64 Mexican workers from “deplorable living and working conditions” across Greater Toronto.

The men and women, between their 20s and 40s, were transported in yellow school buses to work in farms, factories and warehouses across the region while being housed in cramped and infested homes in the GTA.

“These workers are coerced with promises of a better life, decent wages, quality housing, and eventually documentation. These are almost always false promises,” York Regional Police Deputy Chief Alvaro Almeida told a news conference Friday.

“People that have been trafficked and exploited in this way are often desperate. They're scared to seek help, worried that they may be the ones arrested and deported, and fearful of retribution from their traffickers.”

Dubbed “Project Norte,” the investigation was jointly led by York police and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Carly Kalish, executive director of Victim Services Toronto, said her organization has seen “an influx in international labour trafficking referrals” recently.

While the program has, in the past, typically seen one to five labour cases a year, there have been at least 79 referrals since last July.

“The conditions in which they're living are completely devastating,” said Kalish.

Porfirio Thierry Munoz Ledo, Mexican consul general in Toronto, said there have been other investigations besides the case in York Region.

“We have been working with the Canadian government at the federal and provincial levels in terms of prevention and notification and protection of our nationals,” he said. “What we have been working for a couple of years is trying to avoid this kind of schemes.

“We're trying to negotiate (labour mobility) programs so these people will come in legally.”

Currently, Mexican nationals don't need visas to come to Canada but they do need authorization to work or study in the country.

York police Det. Sgt. Gary McBride said the investigation was prompted by a complaint by one of the workers, which led them to other Mexican nationals with similar stories of exploitation by an organized labour trafficking crime group.

“The foreign labourers describe incidents of false promises, which included documentation, quality of housing, their work hours and their pay,” McBride said. “They also described living in deplorable conditions, including overcrowding, with dozens of people sleeping on mattresses on the floor, a lack of food, a lack of privacy and bug infestations.

“They also describe forms of coercion and control, which included isolation, a lack of freedom, being financially bound, threats and sexual assault.”

On Feb. 8, York police investigators, along with Peel and Toronto police and the OPP, executed warrants at five locations — including a farm, a large estate home, a bungalow, a townhouse and a condominium — in East Gwillimbury, Mississauga, Toronto and Vaughan.

The rescued workers were offered an opportunity to go to a victim assistance centre where community partners, including Victim Services of York Region, provided food and clothing, as well as financial, housing, legal and medical assistance.

“Any victims of labour human trafficking who are hesitant to come forward due to immigration status concerns should be aware that they have the right to support and protection under the laws in Canada,” said McBride.

Earlier this year, some of the workers had contacted the Toronto-based Workers' Action Centre for help, the Star was told. The organization has been providing support since, alongside the Migrant Workers' Alliance for Change (MWAC).

Syed Hussan, MWAC's executive director, said the workers paid a lot of money to come from Mexico on the promise of receiving work permits.

“Upon arrival here, the work conditions are not as promised, and there were no work permits made available,” he said.

Hussan said some of the workers were sent to farms in the Bradford region to perform off-season duties like packaging.

Officials would not reveal information about the work locations of the Mexican migrants or the names of the employers, citing ongoing investigation by the Ministry of Labour.

“The living conditions described by these workers are horrifying,” provincial Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said in an interview. “It's unacceptable … My message is clear: labour laws in Ontario protect workers regardless of passport status.”

McNaughton said the ministry has established a dedicated anti-trafficking team, developed new regulations for temp agencies and recruiters, and ramped up fines. More protections for vulnerable workers will be unveiled in the coming weeks, he added.

Some advocates say they are concerned by police-led enforcement efforts, and believe the provincial Labour Ministry should take the lead on exploitation cases.

Workers are looking for “rights, not rescue,” said Hussan.

Criminal sentences for employers or recruiters remain rare, he added, and do not result in workers recovering their unpaid wages or illegal recruitment fees.

“The police have no mechanism to make an order to employers” to pay wages, he said.

Unscrupulous recruiters — and the labour exploitation that follows — are ultimately fuelled by an immigration system that provides few routes to permanent residency for workers in low-wage fields, Hussan said.

Victims of trafficking can apply for temporary residence permits but it's just temporary relief and the process is cumbersome, he added.

“As long as we have an immigration system that makes it impossible for most low-wage people around the world to come here … unsafe routes will continue to be taken,” said Hussan.

Two Vaughan residents as well as three Mexican nationals who live in the GTA are facing 44 charges, including human trafficking, materially benefiting from trafficking people and participating in a criminal organization.

One Mexican national also faces three counts of sexual assault charges.

Police are still looking for two other suspects, both Mexican nationals.

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung