Three Calgary restaurant owners who financially exploited immigrant employees received jail sentences this week, marking a strong judicial response to worker abuse tied to Canada’s temporary foreign worker system.
Manikandan Kasinathan, Chandramohan Marjak, and Mary Roche, co-owners of Marina Dosa and Tandoori Grill, were each sentenced to 90 days in jail, served on weekends, after convictions for fraud over $5,000. Justice Sandra Mah also imposed 18 months of probation and ordered the trio to repay $44,000 taken from three employees.
The sentencing followed a piecemeal trial that began in summer 2024 and concluded in May 2025, when the convictions were entered.
Court heard the victims, all from India, arrived in Calgary between 2017 and 2020 as temporary foreign workers holding employer-specific permits to work as cooks. After arrival, they were told they must each pay up to $24,000 for a Labour Market Impact Assessment, described by the employers as government fees linked to immigration.
Justice Mah found this claim false. Under the program, employers were responsible for a $1,000 processing fee. Prosecutor Brandy O’Ferrall led evidence showing workers were warned they would be sent back to India if payments were refused.
One victim, Parthiban Ramalingam, paid the full $24,000, while two others paid $12,000 and $8,000. The court heard Kasinathan drove Ramalingam to his bank on payday, where Ramalingam deposited his cheque and returned $2,000 in cash toward the assessment and $400 for rent.
Ramalingam then returned to the restaurant to work. Justice Mah heard he laboured six days a week, often 12 to 14 hours per day, for about a year to clear the demanded amount.
The workers lived in housing owned by the accused and paid rent. The judge described the accommodations as substandard, including shared bedrooms. Mah also found the victims faced verbal and physical abuse.
Venkatesan Durairaj testified he had worked in several countries, yet told the court this experience left him feeling like a slave.
The victims later reported the abuse. None of the accused testified. Defence claims that payments covered living expenses or loans were rejected by the court.
