Toronto Entrepreneur Confronted with Fresh Wage Theft Allegations, Remains in $290K Wage Debt Years After Conviction

In Toronto, a businessman remains embroiled in fresh allegations of wage theft and ongoing government mandates to compensate employees, following previous charges laid against him and his companies for non-compliance with Ontario Ministry of Labour directives to settle substantial wage debts back in 2019.

Anchuan Jiang, along with one of his enterprises, admitted guilt to certain violations under the Employment Standards Act (ESA) in 2021, resulting in a collective fine of $100,000 imposed by provincial court. Nevertheless, a recent investigation by CBC Toronto reveals that Jiang’s outstanding unpaid wages persist, amounting to a minimum of $290,000. Furthermore, he has encountered 18 additional wage payment directives concerning one of his private schools, totaling nearly $184,000. Moreover, since December 2023, Jiang faces at least two further claims of unpaid wages from former employees of another private school under his ownership.

Ex-workers and a labor rights group assert that Jiang’s situation underscores the deficiencies within Ontario’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) enforcement mechanisms, emphasizing the necessity for stricter penalties against employers to dissuade repeat violations of labor laws.

“The current system must undergo reform,” remarked Cordel Browne, who lodged a claim in January for a month’s worth of unpaid wages from Jiang’s private institution, Ontario College.

Browne worked as a teacher at the school from late November 2023 until early January. During this time, he claims that the landlord of the office building where the school operates provided him with a letter addressed to Jiang, indicating that the school owed over $100,000 in unpaid rent.

Upon mentioning the debt to Jiang via email, Browne received a dismissal notice in response. CBC Toronto has reviewed photographic evidence of the landlord’s letter and correspondences exchanged between Browne and Jiang. It remains uncertain whether the outstanding rent has been settled.

Browne states that he is owed $5,800 but holds little hope of receiving it.

“I’d much rather the people who are out several months get their wages,” he said.

“He needs to be held accountable for what he’s done.”

Jiang stated in an email that he and his companies are actively working to settle the majority of the outstanding wages by the end of the current year.

CBC Toronto had previously covered Jiang’s and his companies’ struggles with wage payments in 2018, as well as in 2019 when he faced charges under the ESA for non-compliance with payment directives.

Following reports from recent employees regarding ongoing wage issues, CBC Toronto reached out to both Ontario’s Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Finance to inquire whether the province had successfully collected the $321,401 in outstanding wages from the unpaid 2017 orders mentioned in a news release about Jiang’s 2021 conviction.

Despite the disclosure of this balance in a news release, neither ministry confirmed the amount, if any, of unpaid wages that still remain.

The Ministry of Finance is responsible for collecting outstanding wages on behalf of the Ministry of Labour if they are not settled within 30 days. A spokesperson for the finance ministry stated that they “make every effort” to recover the owed amounts but cannot divulge specifics or breach confidential taxpayer information.

However, public records obtained by CBC Toronto shed light on the ministry’s collection endeavors. There are currently 10 active writs of execution against Jiang dating back to 2019, along with one against one of his companies, amounting to over $290,000. These writs, all registered by the finance ministry on behalf of the labour ministry’s director of employment standards, serve to enforce debts by allowing a sheriff to seize and sell a debtor’s assets to settle their obligations.

While the finance ministry has not attempted to seize and sell Jiang’s fully-detached Toronto residence, property records indicate that a lien of more than $115,000 has been placed on the house.