An Edmonton father-and-son pair have been charged with human trafficking in connection with a year-long investigation out of a gas station in Calmar and a hotel in Fox Creek. Read More
An Edmonton father-and-son pair have been charged with human trafficking in connection with a year-long investigation out of a gas station in Calmar and a hotel in Fox Creek. In the summer of 2024, the Alberta Employment Standards Office received a report of possible human trafficking. The ensuing investigation involved numerous agencies, including Canada Border
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An Edmonton father-and-son pair have been charged with human trafficking in connection with a year-long investigation out of a gas station in Calmar and a hotel in Fox Creek.
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In the summer of 2024, the Alberta Employment Standards Office received a report of possible human trafficking.
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The ensuing investigation involved numerous agencies, including Canada Border Services Agency, ALERT, Service Canada, Albert Occupational Health and Safety and the Action Coalition on Human Trafficking (ACT) Alberta, said Insp. Breanne Brown.
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“The investigation uncovered multiple illegal business practices, including involving several immigrant workers,” Brown said.
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“These practices included forcing employees to work 50- to 90-hour work weeks without proper compensation, submitting falsified work schedules to Employment Standards, exploitative payment practices, overcharging rent and expenses, improper Labour Market Impact Assessment practices and harassment.”
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On June 25, 2025, the RCMP, assisted by CBSA, searched two Edmonton residences, seizing cash, bank records, business records and immigration agreements, along with other related materials.
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Employment Standards recovered more than $160,000 in unpaid earnings for employees and unauthorized deductions from those earnings.
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The ministry’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) branch also conducted inspections of the businesses related to compliance with OHS laws.
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Those inspections and followup investigations resulted in a $60,000 administrative penalty issued to 682175 Alberta Ltd., operating as Grizzly Motor Hotel, for repeated non-compliance with OHS requirements.
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All four alleged victims in the Calmar-Fox Creek investigation were legally in the country, as were the two suspects.
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The RCMP believe there may be more victims out there regarding this case.
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Temporary foreign workers and people on visitor visas make vulnerable targets for labour trafficking, as they are often desperate and looking for opportunities to leave their home country.
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These people are often recruited through online portals, through immigration companies or word of mouth, promising them the opportunity for permanent residency or citizenship in Canada.
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Alberta Centre to End Trafficking in Persons co-chair, Paul Brandt, said labour trafficking is a form of human trafficking that involves recruiting, moving or controlling people through force, fraud or coercion to exploit their work.