"Manitoba trucking companies increasingly turning to foreign help, but some accused of misusing program,"

Manitoba's trucking sector is using temporary foreign workers to fill the ranks of drivers at the highest rate in years, but some of those companies are being accused of taking advantage of newcomers who hope to live in Canada...

Some trucking companies use the temporary foreign worker program because they've exhausted the provincial nominee program, which brings a limited number of skilled workers to the province annually to fill labour gaps.

But the spike in interest in temporary foreign workers in the trucking industry is likely also influenced by the employers and international recruiters who are illegally charging newcomers a fee in the tens of thousands of dollars for a work permit, said [Kenneth Zaifman, a lawyer who works as immigration counsel for some trucking companies].

Anecdotally, he's also heard of cases in which workers aren't getting promised hours and are being paid less than expected...

But his office has also helped some workers, including truckers, escape abusive situations by supporting their applications for an open work permit specifically for vulnerable workers.

Many other workers stay silent out of fears speaking out would jeopardize their chances at permanent residency, he said...