Ottawa, October 25: A 41-year-old Indian-origin man has been fined 20,000 Canadian dollars (USD 14,484) for causing immigration fraud by misrepresenting documents to help newcomers get permits to work in the Canadian province of Manitoba, according to a media report. Avtar Singh Sohi, who has been living in Canada since 2006 and is a father of two, pleaded guilty to misrepresentation under the Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the CBC News reported on Monday.

The Provincial Court of Manitoba on Monday heard that Sohi claimed that an Indian woman --who came to Canada on a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-- was working for him as a nanny when she wasn't. LMIAs are issued after a need for a temporary foreign worker is demonstrated because there is no citizen or permanent resident available to do the job, the report said. The prosecutor in the case said that the woman was illegally working elsewhere, but that Avtar provided her with pay stubs to show she was working for him from March 2019 to July 2021. India Resumes Visa Services in Canada Amid Diplomatic Standoff, Check List of Categories Under Which Canadians Can Opt Visas

He also provided her with a number of signed documents that she used as part of her permanent residency application. "By creating documents to undermine the immigration system, Avtar committed fraud," federal crown attorney Matt Sinclair was quoted as saying in the report. The crown and defence agreed to a 20,000 Canadian dollar fine for Sohi, which the judge signed off on. Indian Visa Services in Canada Suspended Till Further Notice As Tensions Escalate Over Hradeep Singh Nijjar Killing

Court was told the maximum penalty for this offence is a 50,000 Canadian dollars fine and/or two years in jail, the report said. "His behaviour erodes the trust of our immigration system and must be denounced and deterred," Sinclair said.

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