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The federal Labour Program has doubled its spending and dramatically increased staffing while its backlog of unresolved worker complaints has more than doubled, according to an internal audit obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The Evaluation Of The Labour Standards Program 2026 found the backlog grew from 2,220 unresolved complaints in 2017 to 4,731, even as annual program spending doubled to $31.3 million.

Staffing also increased from 176 employees to 291.

The Labour Program, overseen by Labour Minister Patty Hajdu, administers federal labour standards covering approximately 1.02 million workers at 19,150 federally regulated private-sector employers, including banks, telecommunications companies, couriers, grain operations and interprovincial trucking firms.

The audit found particularly serious problems in the road transportation industry. The sector accounted for 68% of complaints and 87% of founded Canada Labour Code violations, yet auditors said proactive inspections were not adequately targeting high-risk sectors.

Enforcement was also criticized.

Over a three-year period, the department issued just 12 fines. One labour inspector told auditors that penalties of $500 to $1,000 were so low that many employers considered them simply “a cost of doing business.”

The department also failed to meet its target of recovering 75% of wages and other money owed to workers.

Even its most basic service promise was missed by a wide margin.

The department aims to acknowledge 90% of complaints within 24 hours. According to the audit, it managed to do so in just 16% of cases.