Murray Wood: Remember when?
Old photos remind us our downtowns used to be places people went to more often. Murray Wood says a lot has changed, incl...
A Swift Current business owner has been charged under The Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act and The Immigration Services Act in connection with alleged offences that occurred between September 2023 and August 2025.
According to Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Immigration and Career Training, Syed Taha Rizvi and a numbered company, 102092451 Saskatchewan Ltd., are charged with eight immigration-related offences which allegedly took place at the Swift Current Husky Travel Centre.
Read more:
- Regina police officer breaks hand while arresting break-in suspect
- Regina homelessness, housing shortage worsens, says advocate
- Saskatchewan unemployment third-lowest in Canada as 2,600 jobs added
According to the ministry, Rizvi and the company are accused of “taking unfair advantage of a foreign national’s trust or exploiting a foreign national’s fear or lack of experience or knowledge.”
They are also charged with charging a fee or expense to a foreign worker for employment.
The first court appearance in the case is scheduled for Wednesday.
The province said the two pieces of legislation are meant to “specifically protect against the unique situations that immigrants and foreign workers may find themselves in.”
The Immigration Services Act came into force on July 1, 2024, replacing The Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act. Because the alleged offences in this case span both periods, charges can fall under either act.
The first charges laid under The Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act resulted in a Moose Jaw employer being fined $5,000, ordered to pay a $2,000 victim surcharge and ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution after pleading guilty on Aug. 12 to charging a fee to a foreign worker.
According to an agreed statement of facts presented in court in that case, an employee of Guac Mexi Grill in Moose Jaw was told to pay $12,000 to his employer after ownership changed hands in order to maintain his employment.
The employer, Dyan Jeny Enterprises, pleaded guilty to the charges, while charges against company directors Kartikkumar Patel and Rutvik Patel were withdrawn.
“The employer made it known to Parth Patel that failure to pay $12,000 would result in his employment being terminated and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada being notified that his nomination would no longer be valid and Parth Patel would no longer be eligible for permanent residency in Canada,” Crown prosecutor Jocelyn LeBlanc said.
“I find the conduct of Dyan Jeny Enterprises and its principals to be atrocious,” said judge Steven Schiefner.
—with files from
