P.E.I. migrant worker speaks out, part 1: Temporary foreign worker files complaint about sexual harassment in the workplace

This is part 1 of a three-part series following the story of a migrant worker and her efforts to get an open permit to work in P.E.I. after filing a complaint against her employer.

But her work experience was not what she had hoped for. Meng alleges she faced multiple instances of sexual advances from certain management and supervisory staff, such as being grabbed around the waist or told to dance with a supervisor while at work. SaltWire reached out to North Lake Fisheries for comments on Meng’s complaints. Controller Ming Zhong said via email that the company cannot comment on specific cases.

When asked by SaltWire to confirm this information, Zhong again declined to comment, reiterating the company's policy of not commenting on specific matters concerning individual employees.Meng said in a recent interview there are many nights when she struggles to sleep, thinking about what happened at the fish plant.

“I asked her to stop that. She didn’t stop and told me, ‘You should leave,’” Meng said. She developed a cold after. The layoff put that application in jeopardy, and she feared she might even have to leave Canada and abandon the dream life she hoped to build for her family, she said. “The structure of temporary labour programs gives employers so much more power over a migrant worker than they have over a local worker,” she said.The news of Meng's sexual harassment allegations concerns the P.E.I. Seafood Processors Association, of which North Lake Fisheries is listed as a member.

North Lake Fisheries has two seafood processing facilities operating in P.E.I., one in North Lake and the other, Montague Bay Foods, in Three Rivers. - Thinh Nguyen/SaltWire One complaint went to Employment and Social Development Canada , which runs the temporary foreign worker program. The other complaint was filed with the province under the P.E.I. Employment Standards Act. Meng said she’s waiting to hear back what will happen next with these complaints.

Lude Meng said she went to the RCMP Montague detachment in Montague in February to report the incidents. Cpl. Gavin Moore, media relations officer with the P.E.I. RCMP, said the agency respects complainants’ privacy and therefore does not disclose details about specific reports to the police. - File photo

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