Alleged trafficker sought job for woman, but visa applications stalled: witness

VANCOUVER – A lawyer who worked for a woman on trial for allegedly trafficking a domestic servant into Canada says the accused asked him to prepare a work visa application and suggested that she had found a job for the young woman at the heart of the case.

But lawyer Fiesal (FYE-zul) Ebrahim also says the work permit application stalled, the job never materialized, and he hung onto the young woman’s passport for months after her visitor’s visa expired.

Ebrahim had worked for the accused Mumtaz Ladha for several years when, in January 2009, Ladha indicated a young African woman she brought to Canada wanted to remain in the country beyond the six months allotted by her visitor’s visa.

Ebrahim says Ladha handed over the woman’s passport and said a hotel manager she knew might have a job, though no job offer came and Ebrahim never submitted any application to the federal government.

In the meantime, the African woman’s visitor’s visa would have expired, but Ebrahim says Ladha told him she had another lawyer working on having it temporarily extended.

The young woman, whose name is covered by a publication ban, has previously told the trial she came to Canada with Ladha on the promise of a job at a hair salon, but instead she was forced to work long hours as an unpaid servant.