December 22, 2008

U.S. fugitive’s arrest highlights problems with employment screening

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

The arrest and deportation of a U.S. fugitive working on a Calgary construction jobsite has highlighted issues with employment screening in the province.

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials handed over Steven Andrew Hayes to the custody of U.S. marshals in Texas on Dec.16. Hayes fled the country rather than face charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child and breaching sex offender registry rules. The head of the Alberta Federation of Labour said the arrest raises concerns about the need for tougher screening of labourers.

“Everything we know about this issue is anecdotal, so we don’t know how many people are in the country working illegally,” said Gil McGowan, Alberta Federation of Labour president.

“However, I suspect it’s a significant number, especially in the construction industry. I don’t know if there are hundreds or thousands of illegal workers in the country, but the problem becomes more pronounced during a boom.”

Hayes, 49, was profiled on America’s Most Wanted and had been on the run since 2005. After a tip from U.S. marshals, Calgary police arrested Hayes on the worksite on Dec. 9.

“We worked with the Calgary police to find Mr. Hayes and arrest him,” said Lisa White, spokesperson for the CBSA. “In this case, the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled that Hayes is inadmissible to Canada due to his criminality and ordered him deported.”

It also ordered that he be detained until his removal from the country because he is considered a flight risk.

The demand for labour in Calgary and other construction hot spots has been so high in the last few years that background checks have not been a priority for most companies.

“We don’t advocate employers invading the privacy of workers, but at the same time we should do more to ensure the people they are hiring are eligible to work in Canada,” said McGowan.

“The most wanted status of this individual is not the issue, even though these crimes are horrible and deserve to be punished. The issue is the problem of people working in the country illegally.”

McGowan isn’t advocating a crackdown on illegal workers, but rather he wants people to know that the problem exists.

“Too many employers are turning a blind eye or knowingly making matters worse,” he explained. “The labour movement wants to make sure that Canadians get first crack at jobs on Canadian construction sites. We also want to make sure illegal workers don’t get used as a tool to depress wages artificially.”

Hayes was working as a casual labourer under an alias with a fake social insurance number. Subcontractors are responsible to screen potential employees.

Hayes was sentenced to probation in 1989 for indecent liberties with a 14-year-old girl and in 1997, Hayes was sentenced to five years imprisonment for sodomy against an eight-year-old male relative.

According to White, the CBSA removes about 12,000 people from the country every year.

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