OTTAWA -- The federal government says it's investigating a possible violation of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
Employment Minister Jason Kenney says he was told last week of allegations that an owner of a McDonald's franchise in Victoria broke the rules of the program.
He says inspectors were called in and all work permits for employees at the restaurant in question have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
Kenney says the employer provided the federal government with false, misleading or inaccurate information, but his statement doesn't provide further detail or the number of workers involved in the probe.
He says if the investigation determines the rules of the program were broken, the franchise owner will be blocked from hiring more temporary foreign workers.
The program became under increased scrutiny after a series of abuses became public, including word last year that the Royal Bank displaced a number of Canadian workers after contracting out IT services to a foreign supplier.
The bank apologized for the incident.
The program has also been criticized because some companies looking to reduce labour costs look to the program as the first option in hiring, rather than the last.
The government announced this year it was bringing in hefty penalties including financial sanctions that should be in place by next year.
