Moose Jaw Employer Facing Significant Fine for Charging Foreign Worker Fees

A Moose Jaw restaurant corporation must pay $12,000 in restitution to a foreign worker after demanding money connected to his employment and permanent-residency application, a provincial court ruled Tuesday.

Dyan Jeny Enterprises, operating as Guac Mexi Grill in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, also received a $5,000 fine and a $2,000 victim fine surcharge on August 11, 2026. The sentence followed the corporation’s guilty plea to one count of charging a fee for employment.

Judge Steven Schiefner imposed the sentence at Moose Jaw Provincial Court. He condemned the company’s treatment of the worker.

“I find the conduct of Dyan Jeny Enterprises and its principals to be atrocious. [The company] took advantage of a vulnerable worker and extracted a prohibited fee.”

The case marks the first time a corporation has been sentenced in Saskatchewan under the Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act, which was designed to protect foreign nationals from exploitation.

Parth Patel worked as a food supervisor from January 2022 to February 2024. He was close to permanent residency when the employer demanded money to support his application.

The original demand totaled $25,000. Patel negotiated the amount down to $12,000 and made three payments of $4,000 to maintain his job.

Crown Prosecutor Jocelyn (Jo) LeBlanc described the threat in court. She said the employer warned Patel that refusing to pay could cost him his employment and affect his immigration nomination.

“The employer made it known to Parth Patel that failure to pay $12,000 would result in his employment being terminated and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) being notified that his nomination would no longer be valid.”

The restitution order matches the three payments. The corporation has six months to pay the fine and 12 months to pay Patel.

The guilty plea ended charges against two directors

Charges against company directors Kartikkumar Patel and Rutvik Patel were withdrawn as part of a plea agreement. The corporation pleaded guilty to the single employment-fee count.

The sentence addresses money taken from one worker while placing the business under the provincial statute that applied when prosecutors laid the charges. Saskatchewan later introduced a different legal framework.

The province implemented the Immigration Services Act in July 2024. The law introduces steeper penalties for similar offenses involving temporary foreign workers.

Eric Schmalz, Saskatchewan’s minister of Immigration and Career Training, said in a March 2026 statement that the province would hold employers accountable for immigration fraud.

“We are committed to holding bad actors accountable when it comes to immigration fraud. I want to be clear, it will not be tolerated here in Saskatchewan.”

Inspections found problems across the wider temporary-worker program

The Moose Jaw case comes as authorities report non-compliance elsewhere in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

The figures come from official provincial data and cover inspected employers across Canada. They do not describe the sentence imposed on the Moose Jaw corporation.

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Immigration and Career Training oversees the province’s immigration and career-training responsibilities. The Public Prosecution Service of Saskatchewan provides information about provincial prosecutions, while the Government of Canada maintains a Non-Compliant Employer List.

Patel’s repayment schedule now runs separately from the corporation’s other financial obligations. The fine deadline is six months, while restitution is due within 12 months.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.