A B.C. RCMP officer has been fined $2,000 after pleading guilty in B.C. Supreme Court to unlawfully employing a foreign national as a live-in nanny.
Randi Ellen White pleaded guilty to unlawfully employing the U.S.-born woman without a work permit, contrary to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act while in the middle of a trial on a multi-count indictment.
Justice Paul Riley said the plea was entered after nine days of trial while the main witness, Ms. C., a U.S. citizen, was on the stand.
The judge said White made some effort to comply with the regulatory scheme, and her offending conduct arose from a serious error in judgment in proceeding with the nanny arrangement prior to obtaining the required approval.
“The offence was motivated by a combination of selfless altruism and self-serving pragmatism,” he said.
“By entering the guilty plea, Ms. White acknowledged that she had unlawfully employed Ms. C as a live-in nanny, knowing that Ms. C was a foreign national who was not authorized to work in Canada, or at the very least failing to exercise due diligence with respect to Ms. C’s work status in Canada,” Riley said in his May 2 decision.
He said the offence period was between Feb. 20, 2019 and April 30, 2020.
The Crown argued White’s intention was to “run an immigration scam” by recruiting and hiring Ms. C, whom she knew to be a vulnerable foreign national with no authority to work in Canada.
The judge did not agree with that assertion.
The Crown alleged White misrepresented the working conditions and living arrangements, mistreated Ms. C, and exploited her vulnerabilities by, among other things, requiring her to work a full-time job for $1,000 per month in wages.
The Crown said Ms. C placed her trust in the police officer, trust the Crown alleged White abused by exploiting and mistreating the nanny.
The Crown sought the maximum $50,000 fine while the defence had argued for a fine in the range of $1,000 to $2,500.
Riley said the offence was aggravated by the breach of trust associated with White’s status as a police officer sworn to uphold the law, and the negative immigration consequences and emotional and financial impacts on the victim.
Ms. C was born and grew up in the United States and has been legally deaf since birth albeit with some limited hearing. She testified at trial with the aid of two American Sign Language interpreters and can read lips.
Having been the subject of domestic violence, she left her husband while living in Seattle.
About Sept. 7, 2018, Ms. C posted an ad on Craigslist from Bellingham, Washington with a description line reading, “seeking family in search of a live-in nanny”.
Riley said White made a genuine effort to comply with the immigration rules by commissioning, paying for, and submitting a labour market impact assessment application.
“Ms. White’s mistake was in acting precipitously, by allowing Ms. C to take up residence with the Whites and having Ms. C take care of the White children, before the regulatory approval process was complete,” Riley said.
The judge also put White on a two-year, $2,000 peace bond requiring she have no contact with Ms. C. directly or indirectly.
