As B.C.'s attorney general expresses concern about the possibility a provincial employee was involved in fraud relating to an immigration crackdown at Hastings Racecourse last week, others are raising questions about whether the raid could’ve been avoided altogether.

David Eby confirmed an investigation into a gaming worker is underway, sparked by a whistleblower who contacted his office directly late last year. The allegation is that an official may have provided fake documents in exchange for benefits, including possibly cash.

In October 2018, the province’s Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch investigated. It found enough to refer the case to Canada Border Services Agency, which took over the case in 2019. The revelations about the alleged wrongdoing were made public in immigration hearings following a raid at Hastings Racecourse that saw seven people arrested.

“There’s an allegation that there was a provincial employee accepting a benefit in order to commit fraud,” Eby told reporters at a news conference in Vancouver.

"That there may have been a provincial employee exploiting very vulnerable people; I think it's very disappointing if it proves to be true."

Eby said the worker, who hasn't been named, is suspended with pay. Licences connected to the inspector are now part of an extensive review.

CBSA leading investigation into provincial employee

CBSA is leading the investigation into what Eby said were alleged criminal and immigration act breaches. The agency won’t comment on specifics.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson told CTV News: “The CBSA's investigative mandate includes investigating immigration offences under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act including misrepresentation, counselling misrepresentation, and aiding and abetting persons facilitating illegal activities related to immigration.”

Byron Cruz, a long-time advocate for migrant workers said many of the detained workers have been ordered to return to Mexico. He added many had come to Canada hoping for a better life. After being deported, they may not be able to return.

“Who is going to protect these workers? That is my concern,” Cruz added.

He said his concerns include “why they let the workers get a licence” while the investigation continued, and that he thought “basically everyone was taking advantage of them.”

“This could have turned out differently if the internal investigation doesn’t involve CBSA,” he said.

Eby stated because there were alleged immigration offences, the case had to be turned over to CBSA.

Racing officials question timing and usefulness of raid

For some of those involved in the racing industry, the whole case raises a lot of questions. One of them is David Milburn, the president of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of B.C.

“Who knew what when? Why wasn’t this stopped earlier? Why did GPEB continue to hand out these licenses in February, March, April up to June to these migrant workers?” he asked.

Milburn added no licences are typically handed out in January. He wants to know why they were given possibly fake licences only to be arrested and in some cases, to be deported. He thinks the raid could’ve been avoided altogether.

“It was wrong what they did, it was wrong to come on the track, to handcuff these people, to take them into custody only to release them back into the community in 48 hours,” he added.

Milburn thinks the incident will leave those detained with scars pointing out they have no criminal records and were legally in Canada. He believes most if not all believed they had legal documents. Milburn doesn’t know any of those detained personally but says he knows many of the trainers who may have worked closely with them.