Toronto | Reuters — Ontario’s York Regional Police have charged seven people with trafficking and exploiting 64 Mexican migrants, saying the accused were part of an international labour trafficking ring operating in the Toronto region.
Police in Ontario said on Friday they had obtained information in November that migrant men and women were being exploited for their work.
The investigation — done in partnership with the Canada Border Services Agency — revealed that “an organized group of criminals enticed the victims into Canada with promises of good work and a better life,” a police statement said.
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“They ended up living in deplorable conditions and were driven to work sites in private buses which were in a state of disrepair.”
The migrants were “mistreated, abused and exploited” for manual labour at farms, factories and warehouses in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), police said.
Police said the charges follow search warrants executed Feb. 8 at properties in Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan and East Gwillimbury, Ont.
Facilities were set up that day to provide food, shelter, medical attention, information and support services, police said, adding that of the 64 people, 53 “accepted the offer of help and continue to be supported.”
Migrants described “dozens of people sleeping on mattresses on the floor,” as well as “coercion and control” and sexual assault, said Detective Sergeant Gary McBride.
“To see the state of the workers’ living conditions, considering the promises that were made to them, was heartbreaking,” York police chief Jim MacSween said in a release.
Police arrested five people, two Canadian citizens and three Mexicans, and issued warrants for two others, they said. Charges include human trafficking, sexual assault and working for a criminal organization.
Canada has become increasingly reliant on migrant workers to work in factories, farms and elsewhere. Advocates argue that even when they are brought to Canada legally, they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in part because of their precarious immigration status.
— Anna Mehler Paperny is a Reuters reporter in Toronto. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.
