Convicted: Yuk Yee Ellen Pun (director of the corporate defendants) and 12 corporate defendants: Ellen’s Health Food Ltd., Ellen’s Investment Holding Ltd., Ellen Associates Ltd., Ellen’s International Inc., 1871273 Ontario Inc., 1847604 Ontario Inc., 2351412 Ontario Inc., 1812238 Ontario Inc., 2274965 Ontario Inc., PSS Holdings Inc., P. Yin Management Services Inc., RDR Property Holding Inc.

Location: Within the jurisdiction of Newmarket provincial court.

Description of Offences: The 12 corporate defendants were charged with failing to comply with orders to pay issued by an employment standards officer, contrary to section 132 of the Employment Standards Act 2000 (ESA). Yuk Yee Ellen Pun was charged with authorizing, permitting and/or acquiescing in a contravention of the ESA by the 12 corporate defendants pursuant to section 137 of the ESA.

Date of Offences: The date of offence for all charges is between July 11, 2015 and April 13, 2016.

Date of Conviction: July 31, 2018.

Penalty Imposed:

• A plea of guilty was entered by each of the 12 corporations and a total fine of $900,000 ($75,000 per company) was imposed by Justice of the Peace Karen Walker in Newmarket court.
• Defendant Pun pleaded guilty and received a custodial sentence of 90 days.
• The court also imposed 25-per-cent victim fine surcharges as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

 Background:

• The individual defendant, Yuk Yee Ellen Pun, incorporated and operated the 12 corporate defendants, which were generally involved in the food service industry. The claimants were administrative staff, food services providers and/or cleaning staff. Many of the claimants did not speak English as a first language and required the assistance of an interpreter and of a legal aid clinic to file their claims.
• Between June 13, 2013 and April 10, 2014, the Ministry of Labour received a total of 68 complaints from employees of the 12 corporate defendants. Each of the claims involved unpaid wages earned from May 2013 into February of 2014.
• The amount of unpaid wages ranged from a few hundred dollars to over $45,000. Claimants’ entitlements under the ESA totaled more than $676,000.
• Due to limits imposed by statute on what an officer can order, orders to pay wages were issued in the lesser amount of $457,443 plus a 10 per cent administration fee for a total of $503,188. The ministry combined the claims and issued an order to the corporate defendants to pay the wages on June 5, 2015.
• The 12 corporate defendants are no longer operating.
• Defendant Pun paid $104,800 in restitution toward the outstanding orders to pay between October 2017 and March 2018.