Press Release: From April 24

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12:00 p.m. EST, April 24, 2009
 
Contacts:
Katarina Onuschak
Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants (CAPIC)
(416) 383-1856
 
Tristan A. Downe-Dewdney
Spokesperson
Canadian Caregivers Association
(416) 628-8388
 
 
United Front Calls for Input of Stakeholders in Caregiver Legislation 
 
TORONTO, ON The Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants (CAPIC) and the Canadian Caregivers Association (CCA) have both called for improved standards within the Live-In Caregiver program for years. Now that change is coming, both groups have been alarmed at the absence of consultation. Details about the plans for the future of Bill 160 in Ontario, for example, have been few and far between.
 
CAPIC and the CCA, today, are calling on the Ontario and Federal governments to consult with stakeholders and the larger community before passing sweeping legislation that will affect all parties. Both organizations are united in calling for higher standards, but fear that limiting the scope of any new laws may not effectively target illegal practice and, furthermore, may even close down the companies that have been practicing responsibly for years.

The proposed Bill 160, in its current version, does not do enough to protect the foreign caregivers from abusive or negligent employers or exploitative recruiters, said Katarina Onuschak, licensed immigration consultant and a member of CAPIC. 
 
Proposals that the two organizations are calling for include a white list, rather than a black list, so that businesses do not have the option of rebranding or using proxies to escape oversight, as well as a reduction in waiting times at visa offices abroad. 

"A two-year delay in Manila can leave caregivers resorting to using agencies that produce fake employers, because genuine employers regularly reject the prospect of waiting 24 months for care they need immediately, commented on the current situation Tristan A. Downe-Dewdney, spokesperson of Canadian Caregiver Association. 

Both CAPIC and the CCA are making themselves available to legislators and continue to push for widespread consultation and newer, better solutions to the many problems in the Live-In Caregiver Program.

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Press Release: From April 16

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12:00 p.m. EST, April 16, 2009

 

Contact:

Tristan A. Downe-Dewdney

Spokesperson

Canadian Caregivers Association

(416) 628-8388

 

Federal Procedures and Wait-Times Harm Caregivers

 

TORONTO, ON – Today, the CCA is calling upon the Federal Government to review the procedures of issuing and renewing work permits for Live-In Caregivers. The Live-In Caregiver program has been riddled, as of late, with stories of exploitation and abuse. Those who most often suffer are caregivers from the Philippines.

Caregivers in the Philippines who apply to the Canadian visa post in Manila for a work permit to come to Canada routinely wait as long as two years or more for their papers to be cleared. This waiting time makes hiring caregivers from the Philippines a non-option for the majority of Canadian families looking for a nanny. Consequently, businesses offering to bring caregivers to Canada with false employers, only to be left in the dark upon their arrival, are enjoying a massive competitive advantage. Those nannies who come to Canada this way are often dependent upon those same agencies for new, real employers, and frequently do not have a full understanding of their rights.

For caregivers already in Canada, changing employers can also represent a major procedural problem. Caregivers need to complete twenty-four months of full time work within three years in order to become eligible for permanent residency (PR). Processing times for new work permits can take up to four months or more, meaning that every change in employers wastes important time that caregivers need to secure PR. Parents that can no longer afford a caregiver, elderly clients who pass away, and nannies escaping abuse represent just a few reasons these changes need to be made. In search of obtaining permanent residency, many nannies are again exposed to exploitation when they are no longer able to leave an abusive environment for fear of losing the possibility to stay in Canada.

The CCA is calling for the creation of a processing unit similar to the Centralized Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia that assists the federal skilled worker program with backlog. A similar office for the live-in caregiver program would provide expedited and standardized processing for work permits at Canadian Consulates abroad and within Canada – reducing their burdens and taking a major step to end the exploitation that flows from it. Simultaneously, an office of this kind would also provide employment opportunities domestically.

 

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Press Release: From April 20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12:00 p.m. EST, April 20, 2009

Contact:

Tristan A. Downe-Dewdney

Spokesperson

Canadian Caregivers Association

(416) 628-8388

Caregivers Association Helps Nannies Recover Money

TORONTO, ON – In its continuing efforts to improve the Live-In Caregiver program in Canada, the Canadian Caregivers Association (CCA) is offering a hand to caregivers who have been subjected to expropriate and unlawful fees.

Starting today, April 20^th, through until May 8, 2009, the CCA is calling on all caregivers who feel that they may have been subject to illegal fees to contact them in order to obtain a refund. The CCA will ensure that involvement in this program will have no negative implication on the legal status of participants.

Caregivers in the community are more aware now than ever about the culture of exploitation that has emerged in some sectors, given recent stories in the media. Fees are illegally charged in provinces that ban placement costs and other charges are unlawful with regard to Canada-wide laws. Many caregivers may be eligible to get money back.

The CCA has received complaints from caregivers across Canada regarding high fees and questionable costs associated with their program. The CCA’s response aims to take advantage of the current environment of awareness, by finding common grievances and covering the costs of legal action to investigate and, if possible, to recover fees that were charged illegally.

The CCA’s continued efforts in Project 2009 – an initiative to curb abuses in the Live-In Caregiver program – are continuing to raise awareness and draw the attention of all levels of government.

Caregivers can send a confidential email to the CCA, via info@cca-acaf.ca. All names and contact information will be kept confidential.

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Press Release: From April 15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12:00 p.m. EST, April 15, 2009

Contact:

Tristan A. Downe-Dewdney

Spokesperson

Canadian Caregivers Association

(416) 628-8388

Live-In Caregiver Program Benefits May Vanish

TORONTO, ON – Today, the Canadian Caregivers Association (CCA) is calling on the Ontario government to review Bill 160 – Caregiver and Foreign Worker Recruitment and Protection Act, 2009 – which has been introduced to offer foreign workers protection in the Live-In Caregiver (LIC) program.

“When we heard that the Ontario government was going to deal with the problem by year’s end, we had hoped they were going to engage the industry in some form of dialogue,” said Tristan Downe-Dewdney, Spokesperson for the CCA. “Many of the companies have had a lot of good ideas for some time now. They have been hoping to contribute to sustainable legislation”.

Bill 160 is providing for a major overhaul of the caregiver industry in Ontario, but has not included mechanisms for the participation of caregivers, agencies, or employers in crafting of legislation or the long-term oversight of the industry. Rather than the creation of a Director’s office under the sole oversight of the Province, the CCA is calling for a membership body at arms-length that will engage the wider community. Such a body would be able to establish clearer criteria for the operation of a placement business – criteria which are extremely limited in Bill 160.

The CCA is also calling for fee caps for the placement of caregivers in Canadian homes. The mitigation of family costs in the placement process, the CCA argues, is necessary, to some extent, to maintain the financial viability of the program in the long-run as an accessible childcare option for middle-class families, thereby also supporting caregivers abroad in their bid to come to Canada. Disreputable agencies have already demonstrated an ability to circumvent legal and ethical practices – a prohibition approach to fees could simply close business who conduct themselves fairly and eliminate the many jobs in Ontario dependent on their continuity. The transfer of all costs to families would further relegate the Live-In Caregiver program to the families of the super-rich at the cost of those less fortunate – in Canada and abroad.

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Press Release: From April 13

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12:00 p.m. EST, April 13, 2009

Contact:

Tristan A. Downe-Dewdney

Spokesperson

Canadian Caregivers Association

(416) 628-8388

Caregiver Industry Calls for Higher Standards

TORONTO, ON – Project 2009 - a new project from the caregiver industry - is calling on the Ontario and Federal governments to impose new standards for caregiver recruiting and placement agencies.

“What we need is an end of the race to the bottom approach that came with deregulation” said Tristan Downe-Dewdney, the Canadian Caregiver Association’s (CCA) spokesperson for their 2009 initiative. “Low standards hurt caregivers and they hurt the businesses that have been ethically conducting their operations”.

The CCA is calling for minimum standards and an industry review mechanism to ensure that an agency is up to code in order to operate. Their proposed ‘Whitelist’ is preferred over a blacklist, given the ability of agencies to rebrand and change ownership to avoid scrutiny.

In addition to investigations, the CCA is also calling for fee caps, warning that there needs to be a balance between expropriation and prohibition, so that compassionate businesses can continue to operate. The CCA welcomes the Ontario Government’s commitment to action and will be working with stakeholders to develop the sustainable made-in-Ontario solutions needed to raise standards and to pressure the Federal Government to take concrete steps to end exploitation.

The Canadian Caregivers Association is a Canada-wide association representing industry partners who support high standards, respecting caregiver and family rights. Founded in 2004, the CCA has pushed for industry reforms for the past 5 years. Project 2009 is a special initiative in response to the unique opportunities for change provided by recent media coverage of caregiver exploitation in the Greater Toronto Area.

Campaign 2009 Has Begun

Welcome to the Canadian Caregivers Association (CCA) blog for the 2009 Campaign for Industry Change! I am greatly pleased to have been brought onboard to the Canadian Caregivers Association to spearhead two months of action on behalf of caregivers and the caregiver industry.

The Toronto Star has once again demonstrated the importance of the investigative reporting that has long been at the heart of Canadian newspapers. Their coverage of the abuses within the caregiver industry is perhaps one of the greatest steps taken to date in improving the conditions of vulnerable caregivers - not only in Toronto, but throughout Canada.

Government action may very well be on the horizon. MPP Mike Colle has put forward an important bill in Ontario that has brought new attention to the legislative options available. While there is some pessimism regarding the private member's bill being passed, it is bringing the issue to light. Comments from the Minister of Immigration, Jason Kenney have also been positive indicators of change to come. Olivia Chow of the NDP has been adding pressure for action along with Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis.

The CCA has long pushed for legislative and industrial reforms as a representative of caregivers, families, and the industry. While caregivers are now being recognized as vulnerable we will show that low legal standards have also been a crippling blow to agencies who have elected to follow principles of proper conduct. Agencies recruiting internationally, with legitimate family employers, and without programs to exploit their caregivers have been placed at a competitive disadvantage by their unwillingness to join in the disgusting habits now being brought to light.

This blog will be updated over the next eight weeks with caregiver stories, important facts, and suggestions for how a holistic change can be made that will serve the interests of every community and, most importantly, put an end to the misery being suffered by vulnerable caregivers.