CBC Investigation: Cash for jobs and PR in Canada

[hypediss]

Undercover investigation unmasks cash-for-jobs Chinese immigration scheme - Saskatchewan - CBC News

Really hope CBSA does something about this

[stewie]

I wonder how many times it's happened here in the lower mainland. I'm sure there's lot's of people willing to cash in on it setting someone up a job at a restaurant as a skilled cook or a buyer as they called it...

[pastarocket]

Originally Posted by stewie

I wonder how many times it's happened here in the lower mainland. I'm sure there's lot's of people willing to cash in on it setting someone up a job at a restaurant as a skilled cook or a buyer as they called it...

As a federal government employee, I know staff in an Integrity Services branch who conduct investigations on employers, and third parties (immigration consultants) who charge funds illegally from foreigners (TFWs or temporary foreign workers) so that that these TFWs work in Canada. There are regular compliance reviews in the form of inspections of employer workplaces with no advance notice given to the employer.

For example, there was a Timmy Ho's franchise owner in Alberta who was forcing his foreign worker employees to pay back overtime pay to him when he kindly drives them to an ATM after work to give him cash.

Integrity Services Officers who inspected that Timmy Ho's franchise, interviewed the workers, and found the franchisee guilty of breaking the law.

That motherfucker won't be hiring TFWs any time soon.

These are serious crimes under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, IRPA, section 91.

The good news is that immigration consultants who break the law, under IRPA, are facing jail time like this dude:

https://www.canada.ca/en/border-serv...wbdisable=true

From Canada Border Services Agency


May 23, 2017 Edmonton, Alberta Canada Border Services Agency

On May 9, 2017, Seong Yong Park, also known as David Park, plead guilty to three offences in violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). The Edmonton man was charged for acting as an unauthorized immigration consultant through his company and inducing at least 20 foreign nationals to come to Canada for employment under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Between 2012 and 2014, Park fraudulently collected fees from his clients and secured employment for these individuals without authorization by communicating false or misleading information. As part of his services, he also unlawfully assisted businesses with obtaining Labour Market Impact Assessments (previously known as Labour Market Opinions).

Park’s sentencing will take place on May 24, 2017 in Edmonton Provincial Court.

[Presto]

Originally Posted by pastarocket

Park’s sentencing will take place on May 24, 2017 in Edmonton Provincial Court.

He was sentenced to 2 years (less a day) jail time, plus he has to repay $42,000 to the workers he ripped off.

Sentencing hearing reveals details of Edmonton immigration operation | Edmonton Journal

[Hehe]

This has been running for decades... somehow it's news today?

I remember back then there were "contacts" in the Chinese student groups who served kinda promoters for anyone wishing to stay after graduation. But it was no where near the 200k... I mean, CIC had a pretty well-developed program for graduates to stay in Canada. So much so that one'd apply just for the heck of it. Many of my friends did.

Only graduate who would be interested were those who didn't want to work at all. (one was able to obtain an open work visa, find jobs and gets PR after certain time on job. The con was for people who wanted to get the PR, but not finding work)

I guess CIC has really toughened the requirement for their PR program.

[cdizzle]

Has anybody noticed Fan Tuen Delivery cars driving around GVRD?
Seems to me they operate a similar scheme...
I could never fathom somebody working for a food delivery service...using their own luxury car as the delivery vehicle.

[jackmeister]

Originally Posted by cdizzle

Has anybody noticed Fan Tuen Delivery cars driving around GVRD?
Seems to me they operate a similar scheme...
I could never fathom somebody working for a food delivery service...using their own luxury car as the delivery vehicle.

Audi A7 delivering a 10 dollar meal

[Presto]

And down the rabbit hole we go:

Cash-for-jobs immigration consultant connected to Sask. government-backed Chinese megamall - Saskatchewan - CBC News

An immigration consulting firm that experts say may have engaged in fraudulent behaviour is linked to a high-profile development project the Saskatchewan government is heavily promoting.

CBC News has learned Vancouver-based Vstar International has been recruiting Chinese immigrant investors to a new, provincial government-backed project at Regina's Global Transportation Hub, a publicly-owned inland port.

The Global Trade and Exhibition Centre (GTEC), is proposed as a wholesale mall set to house 300 condo-style units where Chinese businesses can set up shop and promote their wares in North America.

In an undercover investigation, CBC's iTeam discovered a Vstar representative offered $15,000 cash to a Prince Albert, Sask., business in exchange for a job offer to a Chinese national. CBC also recorded the owner of Vstar saying the company charges Chinese nationals $200,000 for a skilled worker immigration application. The going rate in Saskatchewan is $3,000 to $8,000.

The fact Vstar is promoting a project so closely linked to the Saskatchewan government is problematic, added University of Regina professor Ken Rasmussen.

"The connections are troubling for the government. … I mean, it's getting close to the government and I'm sure that they're very concerned and they should be concerned."

Vstar makes no secret of its deep connection to the GTEC project, promoting it on its homepage.

The company also seems quick to pitch the GTEC to potential clients. In a phone conversation, Vstar's owner, Nicole Sun, highly recommended the GTEC to undercover CBC journalist Sharon Wu.

Wu was posing as a Canadian wanting to help her wealthy Chinese relatives immigrate here.

Sun suggested Wu's relatives attempt to immigrate to Saskatchewan through the province's entrepreneur program, which provides a path to immigration for foreigners who agree to establish a business in the province.

Sun pitched GTEC as "a program sponsored by the government of Saskatchewan" and went on to explain Wu's relatives could set up an international trade business at the facility. She said it would cost $250,000-$360,000 for a 400- to 600-square-foot unit, and a $75,000 immigration fee.

In the conversation, Sun told Wu 30 of its clients have applied to be part of the GTEC. Sun said some of them have already been approved.

Sun said another key benefit of the GTEC is "it does not have any requirement for English."

In an interview with CBC, Sun said she and some of her staff were at the May 4 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the GTEC, hosted by the project's developer, Brightenview Development International.

Saskatchewan's Minister of the Economy was there, too, scissors in hand.

"We've worked closely with [Brightenview]," Jeremy Harrison told media. "We're confident this project will move forward."

Early last year, the Global Transportation Hub sold millions of dollars of land to Brightenview and signed a formal co-operation agreement with the company. In it, the province committed "all relevant resources within government" to the success of Brightenview's project.

"The Saskatchewan government and GTH attach great importance to GTEC and its promotion … We will be, as always, supporting the project in all of its stages, including developing and operating," says the government of Saskatchewan's official page on Wechat, a popular international social media platform.

Even Premier Brad Wall has been in on the act, speaking in front of hundreds of Chinese entrepreneurs at an event where the GTEC was being sold.

Despite the province's close relationship to the GTEC project, lawyer and immigration policy analyst Richard Kurland said the provincial government should be concerned about what CBC has uncovered regarding Vstar's business practices, and it should investigate.

"It is the provincial responsibility to make the visa decision and that means it's the provincial responsibility to drill down and make sure all partners to the process are doing the right thing," he said.

"You can't let this go unchallenged."

CBC presented the facts uncovered in its investigation of Vstar to the Premier's Office.

The Premier's Office hasn't responded, saying in an email that officials need more time to examine the matter.

This is not the first time Brightenview has been connected to an immigration firm linked to questionable job offers.

In a recent iTeam investigation, CBC reported that Canmax, a company founded by the same people as Brightenview, has also faced scrutiny and questions over some of its job offers. Many of them were put on hold and reviewed by Saskatchewan government staff.

​CBC also reported that one of Canmax's founders, Mike Niu, has been wanted by the Chinese government for loan fraud. A woman identified as the current "boss" of Canmax, Yilin Zhan, was also wanted in China for loan fraud.

And CBC discovered that Canmax has faced about 20 lawsuits from Chinese people claiming the company promised immigration services but failed to deliver and didn't refund fees.

Though Brightenview acknowledged it had been connected to Canmax in the past, it said that relationship has been severed and the two companies are no longer linked. Plus, it pointed out, Mike Niu is no longer a Brightenview director.

CBC also found an apparent connection between Brightenview and Vstar, which indicated the companies may be related.

When the domain address vstarinternational.com was registered in October 2016, the contact phone number was listed as 604-817-5558.

The 604 number is also listed as a contact number on a 2015 job posting with the contact email steven.fang@brightenvantage.com. Brightenvantage is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brightenview.

Steven Fang, who is listed as Brightenview's vice-president of marketing on LinkedIn.com, is also listed as the one who originally registered the Brightenview website in 2012.

In an email, Brightenview CEO Joe Zhou said Brightenview and Brightenvantage are not related to Vstar in any way.

However, he went on to acknowledge Vstar is authorized to sell GTEC and he conceded there has been some contact between the two companies.

"The email in the name of Brightenvantage was simply a contact person on a job posting our staff once asked Vstar help posted back in 2015," he wrote. CBC pointed out to Zhou his response was unclear and asked him for clarification. He hasn't replied.

When asked for comment about Vstar's practices, Zhou said "I am not in the position to comment about other businesses' operation."

Rasmussen said it's surprising, given Brightenview's history, that the government appears to be "all in" on the GTEC project.

Brightenview proposed two similar megamall projects in recent years. In 2013, it promised to build a facility in the town of Dundurn, Sask., just south of Saskatoon. That project is stalled. In 2014, it broke ground on a similar project in Chatham-Kent, Ont. That project is dead.

"It seems that the government of Saskatchewan is going out on a limb on what appears to be an unproven business model, one that hasn't really taken off from this company," said Rasmussen. "It's a risky game."

Rasmussen suspects the government's enthusiasm for the project is related to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Global Transportation Hub land deal scandal. The government has been severely criticized after revelations that two politically well-connected businessmen made millions on a series of land transactions that saw the Global Transportation Hub buy property for far more than appraised value. The provincial auditor issued a scathing report on the matter and the RCMP is investigating.

Rasmussen said it appears that in order to turn the public relations corner on the Global Transportation Hub, the government "will engage in a lot of activity to make it successful or appear to be successful."

But he warned that can come with a cost.

"Whenever the calculation is primarily political and not market-driven, tax dollars are always at risk."

[Alpine]

Looks like they went to richmond and came back with a few ideas. Take a look at any asian mall.. aberdeen parker place crystal mall to name a few. Open a shop there as an entrepreneur, then sell to the next person in line.