The province of P.E.I. does not have sufficiently strong mechanisms to protect foreign workers from exploitation, a concern the federal auditor general highlighted in a report this week.

Sheila Fraser's report said the federal government's temporary foreign worker program is not run efficiently or effectively.

P.E.I.'s Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning has a guidebook to help employers hire foreign workers, but no officials follow up to ensure workers and employers abide by the rules and conditions of the program, Fraser's report said.

In 2008, Richard Brown, the minister of innovation at the time, said the province would enact legislation to make it illegal for recruiters to charge foreign workers for the opportunity to work in the province. But that never happened.

The Labour Department, which is responsible for enforcing P.E.I.'s Labour Act for all workers — foreign and domestic — said protecting foreign workers from exploitation is beyond its scope and ability.

About 440 temporary foreign workers arrived in the province last year, with many working in fish plants. The number does not include agricultural workers who help with the harvest.