New Bronzweek for seafood manufacturing has been fined one million dollars for violating the rules of the temporary foreign workers program – the largest fine imposed by the federal government ever against companies that use the program for migrant workers.

Bolero Shellfish Processing Inc., based in San Simon, New South Wales, for a period of 10 years of using the program, making it one of a few companies that have been banned for a decade of time. The processing company is owned by SOGELCO International Inc., a seafood export company based in Montreal and managing multiple factories in the Atlantic Canada, and produces seafood, sea and lobster.

Canadian social employment and social development, the ministry responsible for managing the TFW program, does not provide specific details about the corporate excesses. However, I noticed that Boliero was punished for three reasons: his failure to ensure that his workplace is free of violations; Wage mismatch or working conditions with what was stated in the work offer; Federal or regional bases related to employment and employment.

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Gabriel Al -Baz, General Manager of Operations at SOGELCO, said in a statement to The Globe and Mail that the company “categorically rejects the conclusions of the federal government” and that the results of the government do not reflect the commitment of Boliero to the luxury of the employees appointed under the TFW program. Mr. Al -Baz added that Boulereo intends to appeal the decision of the federal government before the court.

TFW in Ottawa has suffered from controversy for more than a decade, often due to the exploitation of migrant workers. The government expanded the range of access to the program in 2022, which greatly increased use. Critics say that the design of the “closed work permit” for the program, which links the participant’s ability to work in Canada with one employer, increases the worker’s dependence on this employer and the opportunity to misuse him.

Labor experts and immigrant rights groups also criticized the ESDC enforcement system towards employers, saying that the ministry is not conducting field inspections repeatedly enough and fails to issue significant financial penalties enough to serve as a deterrent to violate the program’s rules.

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The analysis of the Globe of ESDC data shows that the fine of $ 1 million against Boliero was exceptionally large.

For example, less than 3% of companies that have received a penalty from the government were fined with more than $ 100,000. Pêcheries Lebanon & Fils Ltée, another company working in the field of seafood treatment in New Bronzwek, received the second highest fines: a total of $ 395.750 in two separate penalties in 2023 and 2024.

The ministry did not answer The Globe’s questions about the reason that the fine imposed by Bullero is much higher than other companies that violated the same rules of the program.

ESDC data also showed that among the 1172 companies fined the government between June 2016 and September 2025, approximately 40 percent, or 476 companies did not pay their fines. The total amount is not obtained $ 7.5 million. Companies that do not pay the fines imposed by the government are prohibited from using the program.

The Ministry has repeatedly defended its implementation system, noting that the penalties and embargo against employers have increased over the years. On Monday, ESDC issued a press release that it said had conducted 1435 inspections of employers in the fiscal year 2024-2025 and found that 10 percent of these employers are not complied with TFW rules. In the same period, the total penalties for the previous year doubled to nearly $ 5 million.

The Globe newspaper analysis shows that in 2016, the average financial fine was $ 1,000. By 2025, this amount rose to $ 31.554.

Sayed Hussein, Executive Director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said that the sanctions are still very small, on average, and the workers do not receive any cash compensation when it turns out that employers have violated the rules of the TFW program.

He said: “The compliance system cannot reform a system designed to give employers full control over weak workers. Because of their status as temporary migrants, workers are threatened with deportation if they speak publicly, and they cannot easily leave their abusive jobs without losing their legal status in Canada.”

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The organization helped dozens of migrant workers who faced alleged violations in Boliero in 2024.

According to a press statement issued by MWAC, 40 workers from Mexico and Philippines began working in the processing factory in May 2023, according to work contracts ranging from six to 12 months. However, workers’ working hours have been significantly reduced from what is stipulated in their contract, according to MWAC. For example, it was initially scheduled to work from 12 to 16 hours a day, but their working hours were reduced to 20 hours a week. They still receive their wages for 30 hours of weekly work, according to their work contracts, but they were told that the company is a “city” with the difference and they will have to find a way to pay the company’s dues, according to MWAC.

Government records show that Boliero was approved to employ 50 temporary foreign workers in early 2023.

Estevania Montes, a migrant worker from Mexico, told The Globe that she has struggled to cover her basic livelihoods because Bullero set her work for only 16 weeks out of 25 weeks in her work contract. Canada entered in May 2023 with a one -year work permit under the TFW program and immediately started working in Bilero. She could not pay the rent to her employer (Boulereo provided housing to migrant workers) because her weekly wage was much less than that she would get it in her contract with Boliero.

According to Mr. Hussein, nine former Polaro employees applied to obtain an open work permit through a federal program for migrant workers who faced ill -treatment of employers. Seven of these workers have been approved for their permits.

Boulereo did not respond to The Globe’s questions about the wages of migrant workers who appointed them.

With a report from Chen Wang