Some of them were allegedly paid as little as $3.13 an hour for cleaning jobs that involved working as many as 300 hours a month.
Now, Filipino foreign workers who were allegedly taken advantage of by a Halifax businessman say the four-year wait for a trial has left them stressed and anxious.
READ MORE: Preliminary hearing underway for Halifax business man charged with 56 counts of immigration fraud
Hector Mantolino, owner and operator of Mantolino Property Services Ltd., was charged in 2013 with 56 counts of immigration fraud following a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) investigation.
The CBSA alleges that 28 temporary foreign workers were a victim of Mantolino’s offences. CBSA said Mantolino told them to lie about their wages if they wanted to stay in Canada as well as creating false businesses and submitted fraudulent documents to Service Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration.
His trial is scheduled for Dec. 5 and 6.
WATCH: Part of Canada’s immigration system is “out of step” with today’s societal standards: immigration minister
Mantolino briefly appeared in Nova Scotia Supreme Court Monday, and a teleconference with lawyers and Justice Glen McDougall was set for Oct. 12 to update the status of a disclosure application.
Liza Alcantara, one of 28 alleged victims, says they were hired as cleaners under the federal temporary foreign worker program, and many are anxious for the court process to be over so they can continue building their lives in Canada.
— With files from Heide Pearson
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