ST JOHN’S, Newfoundland, Oct 7 (The African Portal) – With the hope of starting a new life in Canada alongside his wife and children, Dattaray Avhad paid a lawyer over $24,000 to help him find a job as a cook in Newfoundland and Labrador and obtain permanent residency.
But more than a year later, he is on a work permit for vulnerable workers and is picking up shifts as a cab driver, with no clear path toward permanent residency.
He’s still fighting to get his money back.
The lawyer, Amardeep Singh, advertises his immigration services on social media, with promises of available kitchen jobs and “immigration to Canada within 6-12 months.”
Singh’s services encompass both legal representation for migrants and job recruitment, something immigration experts described to CBC News as “unethical” and exploitative.
“He [is] just trying to fool people,” said Avhad.
When Avhad migrated from Mumbai, he said Singh promised him a job and to get his wife and children to Canada.
Six months after paying, Avhad accepted a job offer with Shenanigans Bar & Grill in Conception Bay South, working in the kitchen. He said the job gave him a closed work permit that only allowed him to work there.
But Avhad wasn’t given the pay promised in his employment contract.
CBC News has reviewed an employment contract signed by both Avhad and Singh, that says Avhad would be paid $16 an hour. CBC News also reviewed a pay stub from July 26, 2025 showing he was paid $15.60 an hour.
Avhad was working there for only a month when he said he got a call from Singh.
“All of a sudden, on my day off, I got a call from [Singh] stating that the employer does not want you any longer and … if you want me to find another job, then you need to pay another additional $10,000,” he said.
“When these things happened [to] me, it was like my sleepless nights because it was something no one can imagine.”
CBC News contacted Singh for an interview, but in an email Singh said Avhad made a complaint with the Ontario Law Society a few months ago and “the documents, all communications, approval, and other case-related information are before the society pending the outcome.”
In another email, Singh said he could not discuss Avhad due to lawyer-client privilege.
CBC News followed up with more questions for Singh, but he has not responded at the time of publishing.
CBC News also contacted Shenanigans Bar & Grill owner Luc Viau. In a response to an email requesting an interview Viau said Avhad was terminated for misrepresentation.
“He was [supposed] to be an experienced cook but couldn’t tell the difference between white and brown bread,” wrote Viau.
Viau also owned Avhad’s apartment.
After he was terminated, Avhad said Viau “came with like four to five people” and claims they took his belongings and forced him to leave.
CBC News contacted Viau again, but instead he responded with more allegations against Avhad.
“He had not paid rent and had no intention of paying it,” wrote Viau.
Avhad said he struggled to pay rent because his closed work permit didn’t allow him to work anywhere else.
But, Viau said, he and a manager went to the apartment to “serve him his due notice,” and two weeks later he was gone.
CBC News asked for clarification and once again for an interview. Viau didn’t respond.
Still hoping for a refund
Avhad said he paid Singh with loans from India.
Now with his permit past its end date, Avhad applied for an extension on humanitarian grounds. But now he is worried about going back to Mumbai without the refund.
CBC News gave details about Avhad’s situation to St. John’s-based immigration lawyer Meghan Felt, who is not involved in the case.
Felt said it’s unusual for a lawyer to promise permanent residency and have a client pay the full amount early on. Usually, clients are billed for services as they happen, she said.
“Once we file the permanent residency application on your behalf, that’s when you pay the majority of it,” said Felt. “It sounds as though there’s money owed to him.”
Avhad said he never saw any documentation from Singh demonstrating progress toward a permanent residency application.
‘Exploited and abused’
According to publicly available online records and websites, Singh holds high level positions in multiple entities, including Atlantic Business College, Atlantic Immigration, and Atlantic Jobs. While Atlantic Business College and Atlantic Immigration provide legal and professional services to would-be immigrants, Atlantic Jobs recruits foreign workers on behalf of its clients.
According to Felt, employers usually recruit foreign workers themselves, or hire a recruiting company. And the foreign worker would contact a consultant or lawyer to help with the immigration process.
“When the process is combined in one, that is where you often will see more, I guess, unethical practices,” said Felt.
“It’s a job that’s being offered and there is money being paid for that,” she said. “But they frame it as settlement services. That is where the red flag is raised.”
Syed Hussan, the executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, learned of Avhad’s case after he called their migrant support hotline seeking help.
“The province in Newfoundland and in Ontario need to work together to get this worker the money that he deserves,” he said.
“At the same time, the federal government must grant him permanent resident status because he was exploited and abused.”
He says the main issue is that Avhad had to pay money for a job — which is illegal in Ontario, but not explicitly outlined in N.L.’s Labour Standards Act.
However, depending on the circumstances, it may contravene other legislation or policy frameworks, according to provincial government spokesperson Gayle St. Croix.
“We encourage any individual who may be affected by such practices to contact the Labour Standards Division directly,” St. Croix wrote in an emailed statement.
Hussan says all levels of government need to step up and give migrants like Avhad the power to protect themselves.
“He’s a whistle blower, but instead of gaining protections he’s going to be deported, potentially.”
Credit: CBC
