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An Alberta company owned by an Orthodox priest received a $215,000 (6.86 million Roubles. 220,000 USD. 170,000 Euros. 140,000 UK Pounds) fine for bringing in foreign welders and machinists from Europe and exploiting them for profit. On Tuesday, Kihew Energy Services Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in what police are calling a human trafficking case. Kihew shall pay the fine to northern Alberta’s Lakeland College, which the court said was unknowingly utilised by Kihew in the commission of the offence. The guilty plea came in exchange for withdrawing individual charges against the owners of Kihew, including Fr John Lipinski, 43, of St Paul AB, his wife, Angela, 42, and Calvin Steinhauer, 38, of Goodfish Lake AB.
The investigation found that Kihew placed ads in a Polish newspaper and on a website to recruit European welders and machinists to come to work in Canada. Kihew arranged a deal with a college employee, who has since been fired, to pass the workers off as students training in welding and English as a second language. The first group of 60 foreign workers arrived in December 2005. A few of them attended some ESL classes but none attended the welding classes they were required to under their student visas.
The court found that Kihew contracted out the foreign workers to several businesses at a high hourly rate of pay, but the workers themselves made very little. Kihew made about one million dollars through the scheme. RCMP Sergeant Patrick Webb said that, at the time, Kihew promised the workers that they could legally work in Canada and, after six months, bring their families here. He said that they signed work contracts stating that Kihew could fine them $25,000 (800,000 Roubles. 25,600 USD. 20,000 Euros. 16,000 UK Pounds) and deport them if they didn’t follow the rules, saying, “They were also told, very explicitly, not to discuss their wages or the arrangements of how they came to be in Canada. They didn’t speak and read English, so they were going on what they had been told. It was simply a case of being exploited”. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada relieved Lipinski of his duties at parishes in St Paul and Bonnyville in Alberta.
9 October 2012
The Canadian Press
As quoted in the Brandon Sun
http://www.brandonsun.com/national/breaking-news/alberta-company-owned-by-priest-fined-for-exploiting-foreign-workers-173418781.html
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Today, an Alberta company owned by a Ukrainian Orthodox priest admitted it brought in dozens of Polish workers to Alberta under false pretences and skimmed their pay. Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada priest John Lipinski helped bring in foreign workers illegally. Fr John Lipinski of St Paul AB, along with his wife Angela and business partner Calvin Steinhauer, faced charges for bringing foreign welders and machinists into the province illegally on student visas. Under a deal revealed in an Edmonton court room Tuesday, the Crown dropped all charges against the three and the company owned by Lipinski and his partner pleaded guilty to one count under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The court fined their company, Kihew Energy Services, $215,000. That money will go to foreign worker training at Lakeland College in northeast Alberta, the school Lipinski used fraudulently to bring in the workers beginning back in December 2005.
Investigators said that the tradesmen ended up working for Lipinski’s company, which managed to pocket more than a million dollars (32 million Roubles. 1.023 million USD. 800,000 Euros. 640,000 UK Pounds) in less than two years by skimming their pay. The company contracted out the workers for $24 (770 Roubles. 24.50 USD. 19 Euros. 15.40 UK Pounds) per hour, but only paid them between $10 and $12 (320-385 Roubles. 10.25-12.25 USD. 8-9.50 Euros. 6.40-7.70 UK Pounds) per hour, said an agreed statement of facts. The company also charged the workers for rent and transportation, allowing it to profit $20 (640 Roubles. 20.50 USD. 16 Euros. 12.80 UK Pounds) per hour from each worker. Only some workers ever attended ESL classes at the college, however, none attended welding classes as indicated on the visas. Most of the welders went home to Poland, but some are still in Alberta hoping to become residents.
RCMP Staff Sergeant Jim Gamlin said although this is the first conviction under this act in Alberta, the case is not unique, noting, “Unfortunately, with the status of our labour force here and temporary foreign workers being used here in Alberta, we’re seeing this more and more in Alberta”. The UOCC suspended Lipinski as priest in the Bonnyville AB area until the court resolved the case. His involvement shocked the community, leaving many feeling betrayed.
9 October 2012
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/10/09/edmonton-foreign-workers-lipinski-fraud.html?cmp=rss
Click on the above link and the webpage has a PDF of the actual court charges
Editor’s Note:
This case has been in the system for a year or so. However, the UOCC didn’t fart around. It suspended Lipinski last year, and a Ukie friend of mine up in Canada says that he’s going to get le sabot for shitting on the Church’s rep and cred. That’s what the OCA should’ve done with Ray Velencia. To think that the OCA Holy Synod under Fathausen sat supinely as a priest in good standing got sued by a disgraced suspended priest (who had the brass balls to call himself “Fr” in court documents that I have in my possession). Ray had the OBLIGATION under the canons to go through Church channels first with his complaint against Fr Mike. As he didn’t, he showed disrespect to the Church and its bishops, so, he deserves to be defrocked and shitcanned tout suite for pissing on the Church’s rules. Who’s protecting Sir Ray and why? Why won’t the OCA bishops stand up for Mike Regan and slap Ray down hard, as they should? Perspirin’ minds wanna know…
BMD
Voices from Russia 
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