Filipiniana News - February 2018 A sense of panic quickly spread among the caregiver community in early February when the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced in its website that it will stop accepting applications under the two caregiver pathways for permanent residence (Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs) by November 2019. The original IRCC announcement read: We will stop accepting applications for this permanent resident program on November 29, 2019. If you don’t have two years of full-time work experience as a caregiver before it closes, you won’t be eligible to apply. A few days later, the IRCC Minister Ahmed Hussen, in response to a related question at the House of Commons, stated that: "O ur government will continue to ensure a pathway for permanent residency for caregivers. In fact, we are conducting an assessment of the existing programs to improve them." Subsequently, the IR