Petition to the Government of Ontario

This is a new petition we are getting signed to help the government of Ontario realize how urgent it is that they help caregivers with all aspects of the live-in caregiver program - not just one or two.

If you would like to be sent a PDF version of the petition to sign and return to us, please email us at info@cca-acaf.ca

If you have any comments you would like to make or to qualify your support, please post a reply to this blog entry below.

Prepared by the Canadian Caregivers Association440 Laurier Ave. West, Ste. 200, Ottawa, ON, K1R 7X6613.686.6218 | info@cca-acaf.ca | www.cca-acaf.ca

To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

We, the undersigned, residents of Ontario wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to the following:

THAT insufficient instruction is provided for employers of live-in caregivers concerning the rights of their employees and provincial labour standards – providing a high-risk environment for the participants of the LCP (Live-In Caregiver Program)

THAT caregivers are provided with minimal support services and have no authority to depend upon for consultations regarding their placements or for the on-site inspection of their living/working conditions – leaving the voluntary oversight of placement agents/agencies as the central provider of such aid

THAT no program exists for the temporary housing of live-in caregivers without a valid work permit escaping conditions of abuse or maltreatment – perpetuating the vulnerability of racialized women

THEREFORE, your petitioners call upon the Assembly to ensure that legislation aimed at improving the condition of live-in caregivers in Ontario take into consideration the afore mentioned concerns, and that all participants in the labour relationship (employees, employers, and intermediaries) be given due attention. Furthermore, we call upon the Assembly to introduce these protections in concert with legislation already in-development, so as to demonstrate its sincerity in providing effective solutions.

PLEASE SIGN BELOW (Please indicate the number of children, if appropriate)

I am a:  Current Live-In Caregiver  Past Live-In Caregiver  Present Live-In Caregiver Employer  Potential Live-In Caregiver Employer  Past Live-In Caregiver Employer  Family With ___ Children Date: ___/____/____ dd mm yy First Name: ____________________ Last Name: ____________________ Email: ____________________ Phone: ____________________ Address: ____________________ City: ____________________ Postal Code: ___________________ Signature: ______________________

Press Release: From July 30

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12:00 p.m. EST, July 29, 2009

Contact:

Canadian Caregivers Association

(613) 686-6218

Caregivers Call on Ontario Government for Urgent Change

TORONTO, ON – In response to the Government of Ontario’s recent consultations with stakeholder groups, caregivers are expressing their concerns that pending legislation may overlook their major concerns for the welfare of live-in caregivers in the province. Similar to Manitoba legislation to date, Ontario’s lawmakers have focused largely on the role of fees, while overlooking the needs of caregivers working in the province – needs that are extremely urgent and essential to the long-term protection of vulnerable temporary foreign workers.

Jintana L., an ex-caregiver and now permanent resident of Ontario was happy with the improved pay she received in Canada, versus the United States, but remains concerned that too much attention is being given to money, while support structures are severely lacking. “No one to came to see where I was living, to see if I had a proper room or to see that I wasn’t being abused. All there was were these bad websites and confusing laws. Only my agency was helping me. It can be scary not having a councilor. Now I hear the government wants to do something about fees overseas – but what about nannies that are here? I would gladly pay some money to feel secure that I have someone to help me.”

Regina D., another ex-caregiver from the LCG program shares Jintana’s opinion regarding the support she had. “There was so little support when I was a nanny. I don’t think they are changing this. I think they are not listening to the nannies that want to have someone to talk to – that want to be safe once they are in Canada and working for a family. Are they going to change this? My friends had such a hard time in the program. Sometimes they just wanted to give-up and go back to their home countries. I don’t think that this is going to change. Actually, I think there will just be fewer nannies this way, but maybe that is what they want.” Regina’s concerns highlight the province’s failings. American and European standards are far more stringent regarding counseling and oversight services. Ontario has fallen well behind any G7 Au Pair program in this regard.

Recent Ontario reforms have included the creation of a toll-free number for caregivers to call with major problems, but legislation introduced in the fall largely amounts to regulation around fees charged to potential caregivers overseas, and not a comprehensive protection regime to help those same caregivers once they are in Ontario and have far more immediate and significant concerns. Jintana, Regina, and thousands others are calling for Ontario’s inclusion of their input in its legislative agenda, as fees charged overseas have little bearing on the living and working conditions of the province.

The CCA is prepared to work with community, government, and industry partners on a non-profit basis to provide a wide range of services for caregivers living and working in Ontario, including consultations, job inspection, and maintaining records of abusive and faulty employment conditions.

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Testimony Video from Parliament: May 26 Hearing

This is from the CCA's presentation to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration - the advisory body made up of members of Parliament advising the government on policy.

Normal durations for hearings are 20 minutes. The CCA received over 1 hour of hearing time, including opening remarks and an extended Q&A session with the committee members.

You can watch the video here.

The MP's remarked on the neutrality and informative advice given. With luck, those suggestions will provide a basis for new legislation to better the Live-In Caregiver program in Canada.

With Project 2009 coming to a close, I am pleased to look back on a fruitful two months of activity. Who would have expected that the already sensational stories in the Toronto Star would explode into a political free-for-all?

 

Stories

The CCA heard from families and caregivers from all over Canada. Some had tragic cases of caregivers coming to Canada only to discover they did not have a genuine employer – forced to fend for themselves with their futures at risk. Other cases included sick caregivers fighting for a chance to get permanent residency. Still other stories emerged of dysfunctional relationships where employers took advantage of caregivers or the employee would lie to the family. All these cases underlined so many of the problems at the heart of the Live-In Caregiver Program.

 

 

Consultations

Getting in touch with peer groups, advocates, and experts proved to be a mixed experience.  While some non-profit organizations were difficult or impossible to get a hold of, others were proactive in their communications. The Kalayaan cultural community center was very hospitable, as were many representatives from organizations like the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants (CAPIC). Hearing from experts like Dr. Geraldine Pratt (UBC) provided excellent foundations for groundwork in the CCA’s studies.

 

 

Media

Media attention was paced during the beginning of the campaign. Trying to talk with outlets about program difficulties was, initially, difficult. At the beginning of May, more scandalous material emerged in the Toronto Star and there was an immediate uptake in media interest. While the attention was positive, much of it was directed to specific cases, and many articles, news spots, and blogs failed to discuss the causes of abuse and program failure.

The CCA press release noting that the delay Ruby Dhalla’s family had in getting paperwork for their caregivers was, in fact, common to families throughout Canada triggered many calls to the our office.

Our thanks goes out to all those media agencies who were interested in the larger issues, including Carolyn Jarvis (of Global News), CTV, the Winnipeg Free Press, CBC, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and SUN Media.

 

 

Government

Ultimately, appearing at the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on May 26^th was a great occasion. Sharing what we have been hearing over the past months and years was wonderful. With the CCA’s testimony lasting just over an hour (20 minutes is not an atypical length), it was a marathon of information and discussion. All parties contributed to the discussion with a range of ideas. Ultimately, the CCA’s position was to push for ending abuse of caregivers and the system. This meant calling for reducing waiting times (so that caregivers are not stuck in a home and fearing for their long-term status), oversight (including a White List, licensing, and tracking employment records), and educating caregivers (to make sure they know their rights and to check up on their status regularly).

Meeting with MPs provided some excellent feedback prior to the hearing, as did MPPs in Ontario. Our initial meeting at the Ministry of Labour in April was an excellent litmus test for where bureaucrats were standing with their collective thoughts on legislation.

 

 

The Future

Given the attention given to the Live-In Caregiver program lately, I am optimistic about the future. There is a will to make changes. The question remains, will these changes be effective? Will there be a centralized processing center to expedite work permits? Will there be a stakeholders’ body to license and track agencies? Will caregivers be better educated in terms of their rights and receive the attention they need?

 

Only time will tell. We hope yes.

Press Release: From May 15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 15, 2009

 

Contact:

Tristan A. Downe-Dewdney

Spokesperson

Canadian Caregivers Association

(416) 628-8388

 

Caregivers Association Disappointed by Bureaucracy

TORONTO, ON – The Canadian Caregivers Association (CCA) is calling on the federal government to review the implementation of new paperwork requirements for families who wish to hire live-in caregivers. These new papers, the CCA argues, will bear little fruit in the way of protecting caregivers, while drawing out a process that already harms both families and those in their employ. The new paperwork may add between two and six additional weeks to a process that can already extend as long as fifteen to twenty-six months.

New document requirements from Service Canada obligate families hiring live-in caregivers to sign a new Attestation of Identity Authentication and a Live-in Caregiver Program Recruitment Efforts and Results report. These documents are designed to improve standards within the program and to ensure that local caregivers are given the chance to apply to jobs before those living abroad.

The CCA questions the need for these new measures. In the wake of recent media coverage, Canada has seen the reinstatement of advertizing requirements for families and the creation of additional paperwork. The question regarding whether these changes are needed, or appropriate, remains largely unanswered in the eyes of the CCA. Families that are already spending weeks to get their papers cleared in order to hire a live-in caregiver are now being faced with new advertizing requirements and additional papers. The long-established understanding of many groups has been that local demand for live-in caregiver positions is nearly non-existent. If this has changed, the government should disclose any new statistics relevant to their decision-making. A local supply of available live-in caregivers is rare if not non-existent in rural areas, for instance, and families in need are rarely able to assume the burden of extra time.

Furthermore, the CCA is concerned that unscrupulous agencies and individuals that exploit the program have demonstrated their willingness to falsify or manipulate information in the past – these same individuals may just as willfully doctor or misrepresent families on the new documents.

The CCA is calling for the creation of an oversight and licensing body that would maintain a ‘White List’ of reputable placement agencies to eliminate the limitations and failings of bureaucratic action to date. Additionally, the CCA believes that continually longer waiting times foster an environment of abuse for both families and caregivers, alike.

 

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Update: May 13

Recent media attention has been excellent. The Toronto Star's continued series has generated a lot of interest in the plight of caregivers. So, too, has the story of Ruby Dhalla.

It is unfortunate to see a public figure so quickly attacked when stories like these arise. Aside from the need for due process, the got'cha politics game very consistently overlooks systemic problems, opting for stories that are immediate and shocking. The CCA has been glad for each and every media agency that spoken with us about the root problems with Canada's live-in caregiver program.

Our special thanks goes out to CFRA 580 News Talk Radio, the Winnipeg Free Press, and Global Television.

Today's print coverage at CBC.ca and the Winnipeg Free Press

Press Release: From May 5

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

5 May 2009

 

Contact:

Tristan A. Downe-Dewdney

Spokesperson

Canadian Caregivers Association

(416) 628-8388

 

MP's Story Underlines Crisis for Caregivers

TORONTO, ON - The encounter of Ruby Dhalla's family with the Live-In Caregiver (LCG) program has brought to attention serious concerns with the processing times of work permits for the LCG program. Regardless of who was responsible for hiring the caregivers that looked after Ms. Dhalla's mother, the issue that is at the root of the problem, says the CCA, is the matter of processing times for work permits.

Caregivers who change employers while in Canada, under the LCG program, are exposed to a number of complications. Nannies who leave a home can wait weeks or months before they receive the documentation. This situation can see nannies moving into the homes of new employers while their processing is in transition. They may start working early too, if they feel they need to secure the help of their employers or, in worse cases, at the direction of an employer who knowingly exploits the caregiver. The available information shows that the Dhalla family was struggling to ensure this process was followed on behalf of their caregivers.

This is a stress that is shared by families throughout Canada - especially families that often need to obtain live-in care for relatives in need immediately. Caregivers may feel that employers are not processing their applications, even when they are attempting to expedite the processing time by forwarding their information to the appropriate department for approval. Regardless of the specifics of any given case, these routine problems hurt caregivers and families alike.

Given these obstacles, the Dhalla family unfortunately was clearly a victim of the slow processing standards for work permits under the LCG Program.

The Canadian Caregivers Association (CCA) is calling for faster processing times, for caregivers abroad, who are coming to Canada, as well as those already in Canada. The creation of a processing center in Canada - similar to the skilled worker program's center in Nova Scotia - is the CCA's preferred option. Regardless of how this problem is resolved, however, the CCA stresses the importance of addressing waiting times to help families and caregivers alike.

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