Long wait almost over

Halifax businessman’s fraud trial finally scheduled for Dec. 5-6

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.

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 investigation.

His trial is scheduled for Dec. 5 and 6.

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.

The 47-year-old mother of two young men says she has not been able to “live peacefully” since coming to Canada five years ago, as she and the other victims have been preoccupied with the case since Mantolino was charged.

“It’s been stressful for us,” said Alcantara outside of court on Monday. “All of us wanted to have a peaceful life, not to be thinking about what will happen to our case.”

About a dozen alleged victims - some with small children - sat across the aisle from Mantolino during Monday’s proceeding.

Crown attorney Tim McLaughlin says the charges were laid under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

“They (allege) misrepresentations that induce or could induce an error in the administration of the act,” said McLaughlin outside of court Monday.

“What that would mean is if somebody didn’t completely disclose information or information was incorrect in an immigration-type document, an offence can occur.”