LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Mistreatment of nannies
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Mistreatment of nannies
My wife and I are a Caucasian senior citizen couple who became aware of the fact that many live-in Filipino nannies needed a place to stay on weekends. They needed a place where they could get away from their employers for the weekend, and an opportunity to eat the foods they are accustom to.
So, my wife and I decided to donate the use of our large recreation room on weekends, which the girls re-named the karaoke room. We love these women so much that we installed a stove for them. With the fridge we’d already had behind the bar, they had everything they needed for a weekend visit, except the fish and rice, which they brought with them.
Unfortunately, a neighbour complained about the six girls coming into our house each weekend, and the City of Cambridge sent us a notice which indicated that these women can no longer occupy our recreation room on weekends. The notice also indicated that the installation of the stove behind the bar was also a violation of some kind, and it must be removed. The City is calling it an illegal kitchen, and the women illegal tenants. They are minimum wage earners who send most of their money home, they are not paying us anything, so they are not tenants, they are our houseguests.
My wife and I are in shock. How can any municipal government be so harsh to these Filipino nannies? How can they control who visits us? If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to send a message to me.
John Newton
Cambridge, Ontario
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