Warning over fraudulent firm offering jobs in Canada

People from the Philippines looking for jobs in Canada are being warned about the activities of an immigration consultancy firm offering employment. The alleged activities of the consultancy GoWest Jobs are being investigated after an immigration official in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan reported it to the Philippine authorities Eric Johansen, director of immigration services at the Ministry of the Economy in Saskatchewan, said he has received complaints aboutjob offers being fraudulent.

As a result, the employment administrator in the Philippines, Hans Leo Cacdac has issued an advisory to Philippine overseas job applicants concerning the activities of GoWest Jobs. Cacdac said he has been in touch with the Philippine Overseas Employment Office (POLO) in Toronto. The report from Johansen says that he received complaints from Canadian employers that GoWest Jobs has been issuing employment contracts and Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) with forged signatures. According to Johansen, several Philippine workers have inquired from a Saskatchewan employer if the signed employment contracts and LMOs they got from GoWest Jobs were genuine.

The general manager of SRI Homes, has confirmed that his signature has been forged in the employment contracts. The Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) also confirmed that the LMOs were not authentic. “All the foreign workers confirmed they paid GoWest Jobs for these employment contracts and LMOs,” Johansen said in his report. Cacdac is advising applicants who may have been issued fake documents by GoWest Jobs to execute an affidavit of complaint and submit them to the POEA for appropriate investigation of illegal recruitment cases.