Employers in Ontario who withhold passports or work permits belonging to foreign workers may soon face fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars under a bill introduced on Tuesday by the provincial government.

This broad bill, introduced by the Minister of Labour and Immigration in the Progressive Conservative government, Monte McNaughton, includes protections for foreign workers and additional reasons allowing reservists to take work leave. It also calls for more washrooms at construction sites, some of which are to be designated for women only. The bill includes other measures as well.

McNaughton also said today that the stricter fines are based on the work of the anti-human trafficking unit within his ministry, which was established 18 months ago to put an end to the exploitation of vulnerable workers.

Labour inspectors in Ontario can currently impose a fine of $250 for each passport or work permit held by an employer. But with the proposed changes, the fine rises to $100,000. After the first violation, this fine can reach $200,000.

Additionally, if an individual employer is convicted by the courts of such a violation, they face a fine of up to $500,000, or imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both. The fine for companies reaches one million dollars.

Currently, the fine is $50,000 for individual employers and $100,000 for companies.

The minister McNaughton also explained that the exploitation of foreign workers happens frequently, referring to a recent arrest operation by York Regional Police. York is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

York Police said that the arrests targeted an entity that lured 64 Mexican citizens to Canada, promising them good jobs, and that these workers found themselves ultimately in miserable working and living conditions.

Now five members of an alleged criminal organization involved in human trafficking face multiple charges in this case, and the police are searching for two other individuals.

The police also added that the men and women who were victims of this human trafficking operation worked on farms, factories, and warehouses. These workers recounted being transported from their residences, where dozens of people slept on mattresses on the floor amid widespread insects, to their workplaces in private buses.

McNaughton said that if the bill is enacted, these offenders could face fines of no less than $6.4 million.