Other parts of original ruling stay
A Federal Court ruling has overturned a federal ban that had blocked a New Brunswick lobster processor from hiring temporary foreign workers, while leaving in place findings that the company breached pay, holiday and record-keeping rules, according to a report.
LeBreton & Sons Fisheries, which operates lobster processing plants in Grande-Anse and Val-Comeau on the Acadian Peninsula, had been fined $365,750 in 2024 and barred for two years from both the temporary foreign worker and international mobility programs. The federal government cited multiple violations involving salaries, statutory holidays, documentation and an alleged failure to provide a violence-free workplace.
The company challenged the decision through a judicial review. In a ruling issued in December, the Federal Court set aside part of the assistant deputy minister of Employment and Social Development’s decision and sent it back to the department for reconsideration, according to The Canadian Press (CP). The judge said a new decision-maker could still reach the same conclusions, but only after addressing the fairness issues identified in the ruling.
Use of temporary foreign workers
According to the decision cited by CP, LeBreton employs up to 400 workers during the fishing season and began using temporary foreign workers in 2019 to address a labour shortage. From 2020 to 2023, it employed between 50 and 90 foreign workers each year.
Court documents state that an allegation of workplace violence was made against a supervisor by a temporary foreign worker. The supervisor left the company in August 2023. The decision notes that LeBreton had a policy on abuse and mistreatment posted in employee dining rooms and signs throughout its operations encouraging workers to report violence and harassment, noted CP.
However, the supervisor’s departure and the existence of the posted policies and signage were not before the assistant deputy minister when the sanctions were imposed. The court found that excluding that information undermined the procedural fairness of the process and set aside that part of the ruling for further review.
During the court challenge, the federal government also acknowledged it had made an unreasonable decision in requiring the company to make available to employees a guide on temporary foreign worker rights.
Sanctions that remain
The court left intact other elements of the original ruling, including findings of non-compliance related to salary, statutory holidays and record keeping, reported CP.
In an affidavit, company co-owner Kevin Lebreton said the sanctions and publicity surrounding them damaged the firm’s reputation and made it harder to recruit local workers.
He told the court a major United States customer stopped buying from the company and estimated the company’s 2024 losses at $3 million, according to the report.
Previously, the employer was fined more than $365,000 and has been banned from hiring temporary foreign workers for two years for failing to provide a work environment free of harassment and reprisal.
