A pair of ice cream shop owners are facing a scoop full of charges for misleading two foreign workers from Israel who came to work in Edmonton.

The RCMP’s Immigration and Passport Section and Edmonton Police Service Vice Section say the two men were brought to Canada to work at a city coffee shop under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Once they arrived, the workers were told by their employers that the pre-arranged positions were no longer available and they would work instead at a Marble Slab Creamery — for less money.

The two men were threatened with deportation if they complained to government officials, Mounties said in a release.

The pair were eventually fired.

“This is another example of exploited innocent people who want to make a life for themselves and come to work to Canada from abroad,” says Staff Sgt. Jim Gamlin with the RCMP’s Northwest Region Immigration and Passport.

“Human trafficking is a global problem that requires both domestic and international solutions.”

Yassin Hamdom, 45, and Wendy Sawa, 40, directors of Marble Slab Creamery, along with the owner of the coffee shop, 36-year-old Ahmed Baalbaki, face several charges under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

All three will appear in an Edmonton Courtroom Feb. 19.

Figures from the federal government show Alberta currently has 60,000 temporary foreign workers within its borders.

Gamlin notes that the RCMP takes human trafficking cases very seriously, and encourages residents to contact local police to report suspicious activity.

allison.salz@sunmedia.ca

@SUNAllisonSalz