P.E.I. migrant worker speaks out
Temporary foreign worker files complaint about sexual harassment in the workplace
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part 1 of a three-part series following the story of a migrant worker and her efforts to get an open permit to work in P.E.I. after filing a complaint against her employer.
THREE RIVERS, P.E.I. — A temporary foreign worker is speaking out about the alleged sexual harassment and toxic work environment she faced at her former workplace – a seafood processing facility in Three Rivers, P.E.I. owned by North Lake Fisheries.
Lude Meng, originally from China, came to eastern Prince Edward Island in 2022 to work for the company. She remembers feeling hopeful about starting a new life in P.E.I. with better opportunities for her daughter.
She was also drawn to the Island’s natural beauty and had heard positive things about the kindness of Prince Edward Islanders.
But her work experience was not what she had hoped for. Meng alleges she faced multiple instances of sexual advances from certain management and supervisory staff, such as being grabbed around the waist or told to dance with a supervisor while at work.
At one point, a manager even sent her a message on Facebook Messenger saying he wanted to be “making love” with her, according to screenshots of the messages that Meng shared with Saltwire.
“I felt unbelievable,” she said in a recent interview, recalling the moment she received that message.
That experience set Meng on a path to seeking an open work permit so she could continue to build her life in P.E.I. while no longer being tied to the workplace where she had the negative experience.
COMPLAINTS PROCESS
In October 2023, Meng reported being subject to sexual harassment on the job to the company via email. About a week later, she received an email saying she would be laid off "due to shortage of production."
Saltwire reached out to North Lake Fisheries for comments on Meng’s complaints. Controller Ming Zhong said via email that the company cannot comment on specific cases.
“In accordance with
company policy, it is the company’s practice to investigate and take corrective action where appropriate on harassment complaints that are received by the company. The company is unable to comment further regarding specific matters relating to individual employees,” Zhong said in an email.
After Saltwire contacted the company for reaction, Meng said she received an email from someone introducing themselves as an independent workplace investigator from an HR consulting firm. The person said they had been hired by North Lake Fisheries to investigate Meng's complaints and requested a meeting with her.
When asked by Saltwire to confirm this information, Zhong again declined to comment, reiterating the company's policy of not commenting on specific matters concerning individual employees.
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
Meng said in a recent interview there are many nights when she struggles to sleep, thinking about what happened at the fish plant.
She said that after she declined her manager's sexual advances, she alleges the manager continued to try and engage her in conversations at work. She tried to avoid any interactions with him.
“He got angry,” she said, alleging the man may have influenced other staff members to increase her workload despite her inability to keep up. “It’s very difficult situation since that time.”
On one occasion, Meng alleges a staff member soaked Meng's pants with water — which left her miserable in the cold facility.
“I asked her to stop that. She didn’t stop and told me, ‘You should leave,’” Meng said. She developed a cold after.
Meng said some of the supervising staff at the facility also behaved inappropriately towards her. She said one of them grabbed her around the waist telling her, “You’re sexy. Make me happy.”
She told him not to touch her and he became angry and criticized her work performance, Meng alleges.
In another incident, a different supervisor suddenly pulled her to dance with him at work, making her feel uncomfortable, she alleges. Meng detailed these two incidents in an email to the company on Oct. 29. She was laid off Nov. 6.
'EXCEEDINGLY COMMON'
Meng, like other temporary foreign workers, was staying in Canada under a closed work permit, which means being tied to one specific employer and unable to work elsewhere.
Being laid off after her complaint not only resulted in lost income but also affected her status in Canada, Meng said. At the time, she was already in the process of applying for permanent residency, and the application depended on her employment.
The layoff put that application in jeopardy, and she feared she might even have to leave Canada and abandon the dream life she hoped to build for her family, she said.
Fay Faraday, an associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, said stories like Meng’s are not unique.
“Both the fact of experiencing harassment and exploitation and also, more particularly, the fact of being fired once a complaint is raised is exceedingly common,” said Faraday, who for decades has worked with numerous migrant workers in Canada, including those in P.E.I.
“None of this is a surprise to me. None at all.” Faraday said the program
wonrkder restricts a to one specific employer, therefore giving the employer significant control over the employee’s access to the job market.
As for workers, they often pay hefty fees to recruiters or in many cases even employers to get jobs, and the workers rely on their employer for everything from employment to housing, medical needs and immigration status.
“The structure of temporary labour programs gives employers so much more power over a migrant worker than they have over a local worker,” she said.
INDUSTRY RESPONSE
The news of Meng's sexual harassment allegations concerns the P.E.I. Seafood Processors Association, of which North Lake Fisheries is listed as a member.
Executive director Bob Creed said the association is “extremely disappointed and upset to hear that this alleged situation has occurred.”
“It’s very disappointing should this allegation prove to be factual,” he said. “The association wholeheartedly believes that no employee should be subjected to any form of harassment.”
Creed said the association will share this information with its members and hope the employer in question would conduct a thorough investigation to determine appropriate steps and provide necessary training to prevent such situations from happening.
In 2019, there were 355 migrant workers with work permits issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to work in P.E.I. in jobs related to seafood processing and working in seafood plants, according to Statistics Canada. By the end of 2023, this number had increased 2.5 times to 905.
Creed said the association has seen many migrant workers returning to the Island to work for the same employer year after year.
“We think that speaks to the environment that our employers are providing. We do strive to provide safe and secure and supportive work environments for all our employees, and we value them, by all means.”
OTHER AGENCIES
Besides detailing her account to the company, Meng has also filed formal complaints to the federal and provincial governments with the help from the Cooper Institute, a Charlottetown organization advocating for migrant workers in P.E.I.
One complaint went to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), which runs the temporary foreign worker program. The other complaint was filed with the province under the P.E.I. Employment Standards Act. Meng said she’s waiting to hear back what will happen next with these complaints.
In a statement to Saltwire, ESDC said it cannot comment on the specific case due to privacy considerations. The statement said complaints from workers may trigger inspections, and if employers are found to be in violation of program requirements, penalties may range from fines up to $100,000 per violation, to a maximum of $1 million per year, and the employers could face temporary or permanent
bans from the TFW program.
She also went to the RCMP Montague detachment in Montague in February to report the incidents, Meng said.
Cpl. Gavin Moore, media relations officer with the P.E.I. RCMP, said the agency respects complainants’ privacy and therefore does not disclose details about specific reports to the police.
When asked about how often the P.E.I. RCMP hears from migrant workers, Moore said the P.E.I. RCMP does not track such data because it does not collect employment information from complainants.
“Temporary foreign workers like all residents of P.E.I. are offered the same protections of Canadian law and should report any criminal concerns to their police of jurisdiction,” Moore said in an email.
He notes that there are other agencies, such as Canada Border Services and provincial government agencies, that could be relevant to migrant workers’ concerns if they are not criminal in nature and have to do with labour practices.
STRONG ACTION
In a statement to Saltwire, IRCC said while it cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy legislation, the federal government has taken “strong action” to protect temporary foreign workers.
IRCC introduced a program in June 2019 allowing foreign workers who are experiencing or at risk of abuse to apply for an open work permit, typically valid for one year, enabling them to work for any employer instead of being restricted to one.
There’s also a confidential tip line available 24-7 for workers to report mistreatment or abuse, along with an online form from ESDC for reporting abuse.
In parts 2 and 3 of this series, Saltwire will follow Meng's efforts to obtain a work permit and offer more options for any temporary foreign worker facing adversity in the workplace.