Filipiniana News – December 2011 RHYME & REASON During the first week of December 2011, I received a number of inquiries from caregiver clients and advocates about the so-called “massive issuance of open work permits” to those with pending applications for permanent residence and open work permit under the Live-in Caregiver Class. Initially, I thought that this might be another one of the many rumors that are being spread around without any factual basis. To verify, I went to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website, checked the news section, but nothing of the sort had been announced. I also checked the published average processing times and it remained “17-18 months” for LCP initial assessments and “17 months” for final decisions. So I wondered, where was this news coming from? The following week however, I saw for myself a number of open work permits received in the mail for caregiver clients, including those who...