immigrantscanada.com

Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

Jennilyn Morris and Webco Printing

Canada Border Services Agency: Morris came to Canada herself as a live-in caregiver in 1998, according to a column in the Edmonton Journal, and went on to build two businesses, a restaurant, Smokey Joe Hickory Smoke House and Demot Cleaning Inc., which provided cleaning and kitchen staff to hotels, according to Huffington Post Canada. In addition, Morris also lent her Demot staffers out to Webco Printing to operate printing presses and insert flyers into newspapers, according to the Edmonton Journal. Jennilyn Morris, 46, pleaded guilty to two labour trafficking charges under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in February, making her the first person to be charged under the act in the province. It was after a Canada Border Services Agency raid on Webco that Morris' worker exploitation was discovered, Global News reports. "If you can stand, you can work." Under her management, Morris had her employees work up to 14 to 16 hours a day for less than minimum wage at $9 per hour and $8 per hour if they worked overtime, meanwhile, she was paid up to $20 per hour for staff, according to an Edmonton Journal column by Paula Simmons. Morris also provided rental housing for her victims where up to five people shared one bed or slept on the floor. One victim, single mother Teodora Bautista, was brought over to Edmonton from the Philippines, where she worked to support her five children back home. "When Bautista questioned Morris about the hours, Morris responded by saying, 'If you can stand, you can work.'" according to court documents obtained by CBC News. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.