Charges Allege BC Trainers Paid “Bribes” to Employ Grooms

Charges of bribery and breach of trust against a former B.C. gaming inspector over the fraudulent employment of Mexican grooms at Hastings Racecourse relate to a period in which it was difficult to get foreign workers into Canada on a timely basis to serve as grooms.

Darren Scott Young, 46, a former B.C. Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch inspector, was charged in a scheme in 2018-2019 in which potential grooms came into Canada as visitors from Mexico and were licensed as horse owners, but had that status secretly changed to grooms without going through the proper process of applying to work in Canada as foreign workers. Hastings trainers are alleged to have paid Young a “lawyer’s fee” of $695 per worker to make this happen. This came at a time in which Vancouver horse owner Gary Johnson was quoted as saying “Frankly, we can’t get enough workers …. It’s a tough job.”

Although Neil Stajkowski of the B.C. HBPA told CanadianThoroughbred.com, “We don’t sponsor non-professional foreign nationals,” the difficulty in doing so, especially in 2018-2019 when the government approval process was especially slow, would have been particularly arduous, according to Shannon Dawley who heads the Manitoba division of the HBPA.

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She said in an interview there are many hoops to go through to bring in temporary foreign workers and that the system had slowed down in 2018-2019. Because of their lower pay scale, grooms are relegated to “the bottom of the pile” when federal officials are granting approval. Foreign exercise riders, she said, got quicker approval simply because they are paid more than grooms.

The process of hiring a foreign worker begins six months before the groom is needed, she said. “There are a lot of boxes to fill in” to begin the process. The potential employer has to have shown efforts to employ local people through various government programs. Then, to go beyond that, the potential employer must receive the go-ahead from the province. “That usually works fairly quickly.” But, because of the low priority of jobs with a low pay scale, the process at the federal level can get bogged down. “Time goes by, we need them (workers) and they’re not here.”

Agents with the Canada Border Services Agency raided the Hastings Racecourse backstretch in August of 2019 and removed about two dozen grooms. Seven were later deported to Mexico with the provision that they could not apply to return to Canada for one year.

Darren Scott Young was charged last month with 37 offences that include “inducing, aiding or abetting or counselling” multiple trainers to violate the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)” by hiring foreign workers “without authorization under the Act.” It’s alleged he received unlawful benefits from six trainers: three of $695, one of $693, one of $750 and one of $2,085. It’s also alleged that between March and August of 2019, in connection with his office, he issued fraudulent branch racing division licences to 14 Mexican workers who were employed as grooms.

Scott had worked as inspector since 2005. Before that, he was a security guard at Hastings. He is being represented by Vancouver criminal defense lawyer Tom Doust.