More than 30 foreign workers who were working at Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta were asked to leave the country after it was determined that they did not have the proper documents to work in Canada.

This step comes after an investigation conducted by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the RCMP into 32 contracted workers employed by an external employment agency called One Team.

Among these employees, only one had the appropriate work documents.

All affected employees worked in housekeeping, supervision, cooking, and hotel accommodation departments, says Anastasia Martin Stilwell, spokesperson for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, in an email.

She adds that all foreign workers were unaware that their permits and visas were invalid.

Martin Stilwell said: "We are very disappointed in One Team’s operations and their negligence in their employment practices." "The decisions made by One Team have real and consequential impacts on the workers they contract.

We recognize that this is a very difficult time for everyone involved." She says Chateau Lake Louise Hotel used the company to address a "labor shortage" at the hotel, and the facility also conducted "due diligence" on One Team before signing a contract with them.

Martin Stilwell said Fairmont immediately canceled the employment contract with the recruitment agency, and terminated all work contracts for workers in three hotels in the chain: Chateau Lake Louise, Banff Springs, and Jasper Park Lodge.

She said: "There was a total of 105 workers contracted with One Team across all three locations."

While the workers were asked to leave the country, Fairmont is working to support the contracted workers including providing accommodation, food, and transportation to Calgary or Edmonton as needed.

Any workers who have the appropriate permits and visas will be given the opportunity to seek employment independently at any of the Fairmont hotels.

Martin Stilwell says the company continues to work with CBSA and RCMP and will conduct an "internal audit" of all its hotels across Canada to ensure that all foreign workers have the proper documents.