An Ontario man has been fined $70,000 following a joint federal investigation into a scheme that saw foreign nationals working illegally in hotels throughout Banff and Jasper, Alberta. Kevin Kielty, the owner of an employment agency called One Team, pleaded guilty in the Alberta Court of Justice on March 2, 2026, to two counts of unauthorized employment of foreign nationals.
The investigation, which began in June 2022, revealed that Kielty recruited foreign workers from Ontario and transported them to Alberta to work in local hotels without proper authorization. Further inquiries by the Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police uncovered that an additional 90 foreign nationals from Mexico were also working illegally at four resort hotels in the Banff and Jasper areas.
In addition to the $70,000 fine, Kielty received a sentence of two years probation and must complete 50 hours of community service. This is his second conviction for similar offences. In November 2023, he was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest after pleading guilty to four counts of employment-related charges in Ontario.
Authorities noted that temporary foreign workers are often at a higher risk of exploitation due to factors such as language barriers, geographic isolation, and limited knowledge of their legal rights in Canada. The Canada Centre to End Human Trafficking highlights that these workers can be particularly vulnerable when they face restrictions on changing their employers.
The operation was carried out by the Integrated Border Enforcement Team, with support from the Ontario Provincial Police and the Barrie Police Service. The federal government has made immigration enforcement a priority, with the border agency opening 241 criminal investigations into suspected immigration offences between April and December 2025. This enforcement effort is part of a broader $1.3 billion federal investment into border security and the integrity of the national immigration system.
