Ontario Man Convicted After Immigration Probe of Banff-Area Hotels

A joint investigation by federal law enforcement into the use of illegal workers in the Rocky Mountain region of Alberta has resulted in charges for an Ontario man.

The June 2022 probe by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the RCMP’s Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) identified a group of foreign nationals travelling from Ontario to Alberta to work illegally in the hospitality industry in Banff National Park, the border agency said in a press release.

Police uncovered that the transactions were being managed by an employment agency known as One Team and further investigation identified an additional 90 foreign nationals from Mexico who were working illegally at four resort hotels located in the Banff and Jasper region.

One Team labour agency owner Kevin Kielty of Barrie, Ont., was charged with two counts of unauthorized employment of foreign nationals under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in May 2024 in connection with the investigation.

Kielty pleaded guilty to the charges in the Alberta Court of Justice last month and was sentenced to two years probation, police said. He has also been fined $70,000 and handed 50 hours of community service.

Kielty’s latest conviction is his second under immigration law, police said. He pleaded guilty to four counts of employment-related offences in Ontario after an investigation by the CBSA in November of 2023 and was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest with various conditions.

CBSA’s regional director general for the prairie region Janalee Bell-Boychuk said the success of the investigation was due to police co-operation. The press release notes that CBSA and RCMP investigators received tips about “suspected illegal immigration-related activities” from the Ontario Provincial Police and the Barrie Police Service.

“This successful conviction is the culmination of a joint investigation by CBSA Criminal Investigators, the Alberta RCMP’s Integrated Border Enforcement Team and our Ontario policing partners,” Bell-Boychuk said. “We will continue to investigate and pursue prosecution for individuals who abuse Canada’s immigration system and safeguarding workers from exploitation.”

The CBSA stats show the agency opened 241 criminal investigations into suspected offences under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act between April 1 and Dec. 31, 2025. The agency has yet to publish numbers for 2026.