Three Filipino construction workers in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, are facing the possibility of abandoning their Canadian dreams after work permit renewal errors left them without legal status to work.
Their employer, Brycon Construction, admitted it failed to pay a $230 employer fee for two applications and neglected to file a labour market impact assessment in a third. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) rejected all three applications, forcing the men to stop work immediately and either reapply—a process that takes about six months—or leave Canada within 90 days.
“This is an awful penalty for whether a fee wasn’t paid or a piece of paper wasn’t put in,” said Dave Hiscock, Brycon’s operations manager. “These people have done nothing wrong while they’ve been in Canada. They’ve paid their taxes. They’re good working staff.”
The men — Jafferson Palabasan, Raddy Adams Manicadao, and Rene Logrinio — arrived in 2022 and had been integral to Brycon’s major projects, including the Highway 103 twinning. Each is also applying for permanent residency, hoping to bring their families to Halifax.
Now, they face months with no income, no provincial health coverage, and growing financial strain. Palabasan said he fears for his wife and six-year-old daughter waiting in the Philippines. Manicadao is running out of savings to pay for his wife’s insulin. Logrinio supports his wife and three daughters back home but says survival in Canada without work may be impossible.
Immigration lawyer Elizabeth Wozniak says such cases are increasingly common, as IRCC now rejects applications outright rather than allowing small errors to be corrected. “It’s a bit of a minefield,” she said.
For Brycon, the fallout is also severe. Hiscock said hiring locals has proven difficult, with most interviews ending in no-shows. Of the company’s 120 staff, 18 are international workers — all hoping to secure long-term futures in Canada.
“This will never happen again under my watch,” Hiscock said, pledging to use immigration consultants going forward. “Lesson learned.”
