Filipiniana News -
Rhyme or Reason
14 February 2010
Many rejoiced when Citizenship and
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced substantial changes to the Live-in
Caregiver Program (LCP) on 12 December 2009 at the Kababayan Community Centre
in Toronto. Although the changes did not
fully encompass the reforms that caregivers and their advocates would have
wanted (i.e. permanent resident status upon arrival in Canada), they were
generally seen as a good start for at least having recognized the many
shortcomings of the program.
These proposed changes were published in
the Canada Gazette on 19 December 2009 for a 30-day period and final regulatory
changes are supposed to be published afterwards. Aside from the Regulatory Impact Analysis
Statement (RIAS) published on the CIC website with details of the proposed
changes, there is still no clear indication whether these changes have actually
entered into force and are being implemented in individual cases.
It must be noted that the RIAS sets out the
implementing guidelines on the three main proposed changes as follows:
1.
The proposal to increase the time within which caregivers may complete
the two-year live-in caregiving work to four years instead of three years would
apply “upon implementation, to all live-in caregivers, including
those already in Canada, for whom a determination on permanent residence had
not yet been made.”
2.
The proposal to allow an hours-based computation of two years
(equivalent to 3,900 hours) must be completed within a minimum of 22
months. Therefore, even in this
hours-based computation, caregivers can only expedite their permanent residence
application by two months at the most.
Moreover, only a maximum of 10% of overtime hours can be counted towards
this requirement to discourage caregivers or employers from allowing excessive
overtime work. As in the first proposal,
this will apply to all live-in caregivers, including those already here, for
whom a determination on permanent residence had not yet been made.
3.
The proposed elimination of the second medical examination however, will
not be applied to live-in caregivers who are already here on a work permit and
in the process of applying for permanent resident status. This means that those who are already in the
LCP would still have to go through a second medical examination as part of
their permanent residence applications.
The proposed change will only apply to those who are still in the
process of applying for their initial LCP work permits whose medical
examination will now be assessed with a “long-term view” since they will not
anymore be required to undergo another medical examination when applying for
permanent resident status.
We are still hoping that the feedback
received after the publication of the proposed changes in the Canada Gazette
could result in even more favorable changes for LCP participants. Meanwhile, we are happy to note that the CIC
Minister’s office has continued to lend a compassionate ear to individual
caregiver cases brought to his attention, especially those involving failure to
satisfy certain LCP requirements due to unfortunate circumstances. For instance, the Minister’s office has again
kindly exercised positive discretion in the case of a caregiver who recently
died of cancer by granting her family members permanent resident status on
humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
The Minister’s office has likewise agreed to grant temporary resident
permits or issue LCP work permits to a number of deserving caregivers who have
either lost status or failed to comply with LCP requirements for reasons beyond
their control.
The Minister’s kind exercise of his
discretionary power in exceptional cases is greatly appreciated as it is often
the utmost last resort for caregivers who have been faced with difficult
situations resulting in their inability to meet the requirements of the
program. Although the remedy of seeking
leave for judicial review with the Federal Court is available to challenge
unjust administrative refusals, this is not the most practical option for
caregivers who have very limited means to afford such a time-consuming and
costly legal process. Unlike failed
refugee claimants, live-in caregivers are not even qualified to seek legal aid
for pursuing a Federal Court judicial review, or for other immigration legal
services.
Through his exercise of discretionary
power, the CIC Minister has proven time and again that he is fully aware of the
disadvantages that caregivers face and that he is willing to treat those
deserving cases with humanity and compassion.
While the Minister’s positive exercise of
discretion is a boon to caregivers and their families who have benefited from
this type of generosity, it must be noted that these positive decisions cannot
create legal precedents as they are strictly based on the particular
circumstances of each case.
Aside from the need to clarify the
implementing details of recent reforms to the LCP therefore, it would be even
more greatly appreciated if the Minister heeds the call for further meaningful
changes to the LCP, namely, the removal of the mandatory live-in requirement
and issuance of occupation-specific instead of employer-specific work permits.
Better yet, live-in caregivers should be granted permanent resident status upon
arrival in Canada. Though seemingly
drastic, these major reforms could be the only way to end the many injustices
perpetrated within the context of an intrinsically flawed, albeit popular
immigration program such as the LCP.
The author is an immigration lawyer in
Toronto and may be reached at mdsantos@osgoode.yorku.ca.
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