Higher Fines for Withholding Passports

March 20, 2023

This government is introducing the Working for Workers Act, 2023 which, if passed, would continue to lead the country in providing ground-breaking protections for workers.

This legislation includes strengthen protections for vulnerable workers by establishing the highest maximum fines in Canada for businesses and people who are convicted of withholding a foreign national’s passport or work permit. This includes penalties up to $200,000 per passport withheld, $500,000 for every individual convicted and $1 million for every corporation found liable.

To protect all workers, our government is also proposing to increase fines the maximum fines for corporations convicted of an offence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act from $1.5 million to $2 million. This would give Ontario the highest maximum corporate fine under workplace health and safety legislation in Canada.

Also included in Working for Workers 3 are proposed changes to protect remote workers during mass terminations and expanding reasons reservists can take military leave. We are also proposing amendments to require women’s-only washrooms on construction sites and to expand cancer coverage for firefighters.

We’re building on the ground-breaking actions we took in our Working for Workers Acts, 2021 and 2022, which are already helping millions of people in Ontario.

Learn more: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1002847/ontario-introducing-highest-fines-in-canada-for-withholding-worker-passports