Toronto

An Indian-origin man has been fined $20,000 for his role in a scheme that charged newcomers tens of thousands for permits to work in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Avtar Singh Sohi, 42, pleaded guilty on Monday to misrepresentation under the Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the source reported.

The Provincial Court of Manitoba heard that Avtar provided a woman with pay stubs to show she was working for him as a nanny from March 2019 to July 2021 while she was illegally employed elsewhere.

In addition, he also provided her with a number of signed documents that she used as part of her permanent residency application.

The woman, an Indian national, came to Canada on a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), which is issued after a need for a temporary foreign worker is demonstrated because there is no citizen or permanent resident available to do the job.

His behaviour erodes the trust of our immigration system and must be denounced and deterred, federal crown attorney Matt Sinclair said.

Sinclair told the court that in September 2019 the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) received information about Avtar’s brother Hartar Singh Sohi, an immigration consultant and owner of Abroad Immigration.

In March 2021, CBSA investigators executed search warrants at three properties connected with Abroad Immigration and Education Services — a Winnipeg company that arranges permanent residency for newcomers in Canada.

Court heard that during the search, the investigators found a work permit issued for an Indian national authorising her to work as a nanny for Avtar and his wife.