‘We see more and more caregivers seeking help’

Hessed Torres has been in Canada for less than a year. But she is worried about being forced to return to the Philippines already.
A registered nurse in the Philippines, she left an only daughter and entered Canada as a nanny last September.
But because she did not get overtime pay for her long hours at work, she decided to quit.
Torres has found another employer but she encountered another problem. The recent changes to the live-in caregiver program have made it almost impossible for her to continue working.
She is now adding her voice to the increasing number of nannies worried about their status in Canada following changes to the live-in caregiver program last year, according to ADS-CBN.com
"Imbes na mapabilis pag process ng LMIA (Labor Market Impact Assessment)—papel na kailangan namin para makapag-trabaho—hinabaan nila proseso nito. Imbes na two months, ngayon six months. Tapos hindi pa guarantee na makakapag-trabaho ka. How do I move? How do I go about? Di naman ako pwde magtrabaho ng basta-basta, walang papel, otherwise made-deport ako," Torres said.
Prospective employers share the same woes. Corey Sietz needed a caregiver for his aging parents since last year.
But with the long wait, plus more expensive fees and higher income requirements, Sietz is no longer qualified to hire a nanny.
"It's frustrating. It's hard to deal with. You meet the requirements but they keep on changing things trying to make it so you don't qualify cause. It's obvious they don't want you to hire somebody," Sietz said.
Government figures show only 10 percent of applications for LMIAs were approved from December to April this year.
LMIAs are required to apply for a work permit in Canada. They're also employer specific and cannot be transferred.
The Westcoast Domestic Workers Association said an increasing number of caregivers have reached out to them for help.
"We see more and more caregivers coming to our office for help because their employers are not able to obtain the LMIA. Often, caregivers, they're current work permit will expire and they become out of status. So if they're not able to find an employer, they will have to leave Canada and not be able to complete the program," said Natalie Drolet of Westcoast Domestic Workers Association.
Opposition lawmakers are now consulting with caregivers across the country on possible changes to the caregiver program.
On November 30, 2014, the Federal Government made sweeping changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). As of November 30, 2014, there will be no new entries into the LCP. Caregivers wishing to work in Canada must now apply for a work permit through the Temporary Foreign Workers’ Program (TFWP). The Government has introduced two new pathways for permanent residence (PR) for caregivers: the Caring for Children Class and the Caring for People with High Medical Needs Class. Each class will be subject to a cap of 2,750 PR applications each year. The eligibility requirements to apply for PR have also changed. The Government has promised a faster processing time of six months for PR applications under the new pathways.
The number of new permanent residents from the Philippines is up from 14,004 in 2004, a near three-fold increase in just one decade. Many of the Filipino newcomers originally came to Canada under the Live-In Caregiver Program, now simply the Caregiver Program after modifications made last November. The government of Canada’s immigration plan for 2015 states that it aims to convert between 26,000 and 30,000 caregivers to permanent resident status this year.