Billionaire Aquilini family shortchanged migrant workers, B.C. government rules

A branch of the B.C. government has found thebillionaire Aquilini family which ownthe NHL's Vancouver Canucksunderpaid 174 migrant workers at theirberry farm in Pitt Meadows last summer.

The office of theDirector of Employment Standards ordered the Aquilinis reported to be among the top 30 of richest Canadian families to repay $133,632.56 in back wages, vacation pay and interest to temporary foreign workers brought in from Guatemala to work at its Golden Eagle Blueberry Farm last summer.

The decision is the latest in a series ofproblems uncovered facingworkers at the family's berry farm operation.

Wages 'misrepresented'

The director found that the employees werepromised 40 hours of work aweek under their written employment contracts. Thatpromise wasn't honoured, with the Director rulingthe Aquilinis"misrepresented"the wages to be paid, breachingthe Employment Standards Act.

The workers at the farm were paid $11.35 an hour.

The Director of Employment Standards enforces the Employment Standards Act and regulations, which set minimum standards for wages and working conditions in most B.C. workplaces.

According to the B.C. Ministry of Labour, the repayments to the workers ranged from $10.02 to $1,943.27.

In addition to the back wages,Employment Standards fined the family $500 for breaking the law.

Golden Eagle accepts decision

Golden Eagle Farms told CBCNews in a statement Thursday eveningthat the employment contract for the Guatemalans was new and unique, and it accepts the ruling.

It says it has already paid out the wages owing, and is proud of its long history supporting and employing foreign workers.

Naz Mitha, a lawyer for the Aquilini Group, who represented the familyat the Employment Standards hearing, told CBC the employees were paid for every hour they worked. He pointed out the legal issue was whether, by contract, the employeeshad been promised forty hours of work per week whenthey came to the farm. The Tribunal ruled they had.

'It's disgusting'

B.C. Federation of Labour President Laird Cronksaid he was disturbedby the situation facing workers at the farm.

"It's despicable when you have employers with this kind of wealth not providing the absolute basics" under employment standards rules, Cronk said.

"I don't think it is going to make much of an impact on that family" he said. "It's disgusting."

Numerous complaints

After receiving numerous complaints about working conditions at the farm last summer, the Employment StandardsBranch reviewed payments for all employees at Golden Eagle for the 2018 growing season, investigating approximately 375 payrolls.

The Aquilinis' Golden Eagle Farm Group operates a giant blueberry and cranberry operation in Pitt Meadows of approximately 2,000 hectares.

Second penalty this month

It's the second time this month regulators have cited the Aquilinis for problems at the farm. WorkSafeBC penalized the family $53,690for operating an unsafe 21-year-old bus with mechanical problems May 6.

• Vancouver Canucks owners fined again for unsafe farm vehicle at family berry operation

CBC News also revealed WorkSafeBC cited the operation for 41health and safety violations in the last four years.

Trouble with the Aquilini's berry farm dates back several years.In 2011 and 2012, Golden Eagle was penalized for $250,000 in fines by Worksafefor health and safety violations including two times for operating unsafe vehicles to transport workers

Canadian Business Magazinelisted the Aquilini family as the 27th richest family in Canada for 2018, with a net worth of $3.3 billion.

Read the full decision by Employment Standards Adjudicator below: