An Indian café manager has been fired after offering a teenage employee $20,000 to marry her adult brother so he could get permanent residency in Canada.
Text messages show the female manager of the Tim Hortons store in Picton in Prince Edward County, Ontario, asking the 17-year-old if she wanted an “Indian bf” and telling her he was 25 when she asked how old he was.
“I’m only 17. Is it someone I work with?” the girl asked, and the manager replied: “My brother. He is looking for gf. He need someone to get permanent residency in Canada. And if you can help him with that he can pay you 15k-20k too.”
Tim Hortons confirmed to the Toronto Sun that the manager has been fired, and police have now launched a marriage fraud investigation but no charges have been laid.
“Tim Hortons restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees who independently manage their own labour for their restaurants,” a spokesperson said.
“The restaurant owner terminated the manager involved soon after he became aware of the completely unacceptable situation on his team.”
The girl’s uncle, Matt Monroe, said he was told by current staff at the café that the manager moved back to Brampton, an area with a large Indian population, after being dismissed.
The teenager, who was working at Tim Hortons locations in Wellington and Picton, quit her job after the offer as she no longer felt comfortable and feels “devastated”, Mr Monroe said.
Mr Monroe is now calling for a human trafficking investigation to be launched, and he and another parent of a teenage employee protested outside the store on Saturday with a sign accusing the stores of supporting immigration fraud.
Under Section 292 of Canada’s Criminal Code, procuring or aiding in a feigned marriage is an indictable offense, punishable by imprisonment for up to five years.
Header image: Left, the text message exchange. Right, police outside the Tim Hortons in Picton (Facebook).
