GRASSLAND — A Grassland gas station has been hit with a fine and a five-year ban from participating in the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program after being found to have violated five compliance requirements for unsafe working conditions, underpaying staff, and improper employer reporting.
Grassland’s Petro-Canada will have to pay $164,000 and will be ineligible to hire temporary foreign workers under the program until March 7, 2030 after worker complaints led to an in-person inspection of the facility in early March.
According to the list of employers found to be non-complaint with program regulations, the operators of the Grassland gas station did not keep proper records of employment for foreign nationals, failed to provide documentation to the inspector, nor demonstrate their description of the job was accurate.
The inspector also found discrepancies between the pay and or working conditions described in the offer of employment, and the operators did not ensure workers would be free from physical, sexual, financial or psychological abuse on the job.
The monetary fine and temporary ban levied against the hamlet truck stop was the second largest laid in 2025 to date, behind Canadian Nectar Product’s $212,000 penalty plus a two-year ban for not providing documents and poorer pay or working conditions than promised.
Other notable violations from 2025 include a $100,000 fine and two-year ban for Regina-based Rotisserie Ultimate Buffet Experience after operators failed to provide documents, broke provincial hiring laws, advertised better pay and conditions than provided, and did not prevent physical, sexual, financial or psychological abuse in the workplace.
True North Freight Solutions in Ontario was fined $150,000 for not providing documents and not engaging in the business foreign workers were hired for.
Operators of the Grassland Petro-Canada could not be reached for comment prior to publication.
