Liberal accuse gov’t failing vulnerable caregivers

Liberal accuse gov’t failing vulnerable caregivers

By Dyan Ruiz

The Liberals are blasting the Harper government on the issue of the proposed changes to the Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP). In a news release entitled, “Harper government fails vulnerable workers” distributed on September 23, 2009, Citizenship and Immigration Critic Maurizio Bevilacqua contends that Minister Kenney “must stop stalling”. Bevilacqua demands that the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, implement recommended changes on the LCP immediately. “Vulnerable workers deserve fairness and justice – they need our help and they need it now.”

The Liberals go on to reiterate their full support to the 36 recommendations proposed by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which were presented to the House of Commons in a report last May. In the news release, the Liberals also stress the extent of evidence collected when coming up with the recommendations. “The committee travelled to 12 cities across Canada where they heard from a number of witnesses and received over a hundred written submissions on the issue of temporary foreign workers and non-status workers.” As a result of these investigations and further hearings, the standing committee forwarded another report in June 2009 with seven more recommendations on the LCP.

The Liberals and other advocates for change will not have to wait much longer to hear what the government plans to do, in light of these recommendations. Much anticipated changes to the LCP will be announced soon by Minister Kenney. Representatives of the Conservative Party confirm he was planning to announce the changes as early as September 26. To this date, the form and extent of these changes are unknown.

On August 19, 2009, the Conservatives came out with the Government Response to the May report. In it, they show opposition to the recommendations to remove controversial features of the LCP, such as the live-in requirement, the temporary nature of a caregivers’ immigration status, and the employer-specific work permits. Core components of the program, especially in combination, are said to cause a troubling power imbalance between the caregivers and their employers.

Caregivers can be scared to speak out against their employers, whom they both live and work with. The caregivers are left vulnerable to exploitation or abuse, for example, being forced to work around the clock or doing unsanctioned chores, like house cleaning. Caregivers, the vast majority of which are Filipina migrants, are compelled to stay with the single employer indicated on their work permit, while under the LCP. If they leave an abusive employer, they risk not being able to fulfill the requirement for two-years of work to gain residence status.

Though many aspects of the program are openly acknowledged as threatening to LCP workers and are condemned by politicians and community advocates alike, significant changes seem unlikely, given what the Conservatives have said and written in the past. Will the government finally hear the cries of the caregivers demanding sanctuary from the burdens they must endure, as they attend to the needs of Canada’s young, sick, and elderly?