Ontario offers new protection to caregivers, foreign workers

Ontario offers new protection to caregivers, foreign workers

The Minister of Labour, Peter Fonseca, introduced new protections for foreign workers, such as those working under the Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP), on Oct. 21, 2009 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Bill 210 entitled, Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act (Live-in Caregivers and Others), has progressed to its Second Reading and will most likely be put into law soon, considering the provincial Liberal Party holds a majority government. The bill is generally supported by Conservative and New Democrat legislators, but changes to the bill’s current form have been voiced.

The spotlight on the plight of caregivers and temporary foreign workers in recent months initiated Min. Fonseca’s actions. In formulating the Act, he worked with Member of Parliament, Mike Colle, who introduced a private member’s bill in March 2009, which was similar in nature. When introducing the Act, Min. Fonseca also acknowledged the efforts of community advocates, particularly Pura Velasco of Caregivers Action Centre, in guiding its contents. Ninety-seven percent of all LCP workers are from the Philippines.

The practices of unscrupulous recruiters and employers, such as the charging of huge amounts of money to help caregivers find employers in Canada and the threatening of deportation to workers who want to escape exploitative conditions, are addressed in the proposed bill. Recruiters, recruitment agencies, and employers will no longer be able to charge fees for any services they provide to the foreign worker like job placement. The same goes for recovering any costs incurred when arranging employment, although in both instances “prescribed exceptions” may apply.

Recruiters and employers will be prohibited from retaining the workers’ property, for example passports. They must also distribute copies of workers’ rights and their new duties as employers and recruiters.
Although caregivers are named explicitly in the Act, other foreign workers can be protected when this Act is ratified. When introducing it in Queen’s Park, Min. Fonseca notified, Bill 210 “provides a regulation-making authority to expand the bill’s protection to new categories of foreign workers and modify other elements of the legislation to accommodate these new protections.” Workers “in other prescribed employment” can be afforded the same protections as caregivers provided in the proposed Act, along with protections in existing legislation.

Prohibitions against reprisals are included in the Act. This addresses situations where foreign workers are intimidated or penalized by their employers when they are trying to exercise their rights. Individual employers and recruiters in violation of the Act can be punished with a fine of up to $50,000 and imprisonment for up to 12 months. New inspection powers will be granted to employment standards officers, who will be able to act on tips, without a warrant, when investigating possible violations.
For more on Bill 210 and The Philippine Reporter’s interview with Min. Fonseca visit our website, www.PhilippineReporter.com.