Calgary cops, along with members of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), attended the city’s event centre construction site October 15 for a “planned regulatory compliance” operation. CBSA said the raid involved immigration checks and status verifications. CBSA inspections are typically tied to specific investigations rather than random checks. Four undocumented workers were busted on site.
Building Trades of Alberta (BTA) said the issue of trafficking undocumented workers on job sites is ‘not a secret’ in Alberta. CANA, the prime contractor on Calgary’s event centre project, isn’t talking.
Scotia Place is a multi-purpose arena under construction in Calgary. It’s intended to replace the Saddledome. Workers were evacuated from the site, lined up, and checked for ID. Some returned to work, others didn’t. The CBSA described the raid as part of an ongoing investigation. Tips likely prompted the raid, which could lead to fines for employers and consequences for non-compliant foreign workers.
Immigration lawyer Raj Sharma says similar CBSA operations have become more frequent across Canada. “We’ve been seeing this more and more—there were CBSA raids going on with respect to South Asian construction companies late last year.”
On April 25, 2023 it was announced that the project would cost $1.22 billion and would include an arena, indoor rink, and indoor and outdoor plazas. On July 22, 2024, the design and final name of the arena, Scotia Place, was announced at a groundbreaking ceremony.
The main contractors for the Calgary event centre are CANA/Mortenson. Others include the architects HOK-Dialog and project management company CAA Icon. Here.
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