Border officials investigating Dartmouth janitorial company

CTV Atlantic: Dartmouth janitorial company under A Dartmouth company whose janitorial services include the City of Halifax is under investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency.

A Dartmouth company whose janitorial services clients include the City of Halifax is under investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency.

CTV News has learned one person involved with Mantolino Property Services Ltd. was arrested in his home last week.

Canada Border Service agents descended on a Dartmouth home on April 10 and arrested one man in connection with the investigation involving Filipino employees at the company.

A janitor with the company, who didn’t want to reveal his identity, says he has worked for Mantolino Property Services for two years and was charged thousands of dollars for the job and for processing immigration-related paperwork.

The man, who asked to be referred to as “Nino Sanchez,” says Mantolino owns the property in question and many of the Filipino workers pay rent to live there. Sanchez says Mantolino employs over 30 Filipino workers.

“We are paid below minimum wage,” he says.

Pay stubs show 100 hours or more worked in two weeks and corresponding cheques of less than $700.

Mantolino has contracts with the Halifax Regional Municipality for janitorial work, and some employees work as janitors at city hall.

Mayor Mike Savage says he was angry to learn the company was under investigation, and is now looking into contracts it has with the city.

“If we start, you know, pulling together everything that we can, contracts, history and everything else to see what’s going on,” says Savage.

At the time of the arrest on Wednesday, Canada Border Service agents also executed a search warrant at the home.

Attempts to contact the homeowner were unsuccessful, but Canada Border Services tells CTV News charges are pending.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Rick Grant