Eight foreign nationals without Canadian work permits arrested near Saskatoon
The Canadian Press (CP)
September 4, 2009
WARMAN, Sask. RCMP have arrested eight people from Germany, France and Israel who are accused of selling artwork in a bedroom community of Saskatoon without Canadian work permits.
Seven women and a man were taken into custody Thursday night in Warman after police say they got complaints about people selling oil paintings door to door.
Mounties say the eight, who came to Canada as visitors, were telling homeowners that they were foreign students who were artists selling their work to finance their education.
Officers also seized 100 paintings that investigators say were not made by the suspects, but are believed to be mass-produced copies from an overseas source.
All eight are in custody for allegedly violating immigration rules but no charges have been laid.
RCMP say there have been similar reports of artwork being sold in other Saskatchewan communities, as well as in Alberta.
