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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