RHYME & REASON

Filipiniana News - Rhyme and Reason 14 June 2009 In the past month or so, the Canadian media have been speculating on the possibility of a summer election if the opposition party decides to defeat the present minority government.  Long before these recent reports however, many Canadians have felt like elections are always looming in the horizon, as the political bickering and mudslinging seem to be occurring non-stop in the context of the present minority government. Therefore, one cannot help but be suspicious that the political leaders’ every move is calculated towards the main objective of defeating their political opponents and winning the next election.  On the other hand, Filipino-Canadians in Toronto had a recent breakfast gathering (Kapihan) to hear visiting Philippine Senator Francis Pangilinan speak.  Senator Pangilinan not only spoke about the current state of Philippine affairs but also candidly admitted his aspirations for the highest seat in the...

Filipiniana News - Rhyme and Reason 15 May 2009   In the past few months, I was happy to note that the government seemed to be taking a keen interest on the many problems faced by temporary foreign workers in Canada, including participants of the Live-in Caregiver Program.  This was undoubtedly triggered by the extensive media coverage of the unscrupulous practices of recruiters which highlighted the vulnerability of this sector and gave impetus to the various initiatives and proposals meant to protect the long exploited migrant workers.  These initiatives included proposals to regulate recruitment agencies and employers, the creation of a live-in caregiver hotline meant to clarify existing employment standards legislation as applied to the situation of live-in caregivers, nationwide consultations on LCP reforms,  and a rather comprehensive House of Commons standing committee report on proposed reforms to the foreign worker programs.  Then an allega...

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason 15 April 2009 Please pardon me for devoting yet another column on this matter but it is an issue which increasingly resonates within our community, which is known to be the biggest source of live-in caregivers in Canada.  Those who have been following the series of Toronto Star investigative articles in the past few weeks involving abuse and exploitation of live-in caregivers would have also heard about the government’s quick response through a number of actual and proposed legislative reforms which led one article to conclude, “Victory for Nannies”. These are of course welcome developments and enough reason to be hopeful that long overdue changes are finally happening.  However, I also cannot help but be cautiously optimistic as recent developments have emphasized the continuing need for vigilant advocacy. A relevant change that has been recently implemented is the granting of provincial medical (OHIP) coverage to most open w...

Filipiniana   News - Rhyme or Reason 15 March 2009 It is with deep sadness that we learned about the recent passing away of Juana Tejada, the Filipina caregiver diagnosed with cancer who was initially refused permanent residence in Canada because her illness will cause an excessive demand on the Canadian system.  A few days after Ms. Tejada’s death, the Toronto Star published a series of investigative articles on the unscrupulous practices of immigration consultants who prey on the desperation of mostly Filipina caregivers to enter and eventually obtain permanent residence in Canada.  What struck me most about the article was the fact that government agents, particularly those from the Canada Border Services Agency,  admitted knowing about these illegal activities and the fact that they have a list of known agencies who perpetrate various types of fraud against the caregivers.  Despite this knowledge, the government does not appear to be taking any aggres...

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason 13 February 2009 As of this writing, another Filipina live-in caregiver is quietly suffering from advanced stage cancer and has been told that she has less than six months to live.  She and her accompanying family members in the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) permanent resident application are likely to be declared medically inadmissible for potentially causing an excessive demand on Canadian health and social services.  She is therefore seeking an exemption from this requirement on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.   This is happening only about half a year after the highly-publicized case of Juana Tejada who was similarly diagnosed with advanced stage cancer and who was initially refused permanent residence in Canada under the live-in caregiver class.  She and her husband were later granted permanent resident status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds after extensive media coverage and public pressur...

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason 14 January 2009 While thinking of a topic to write about for this month’s column, I cannot help but consider that this is the first month of the year.  Thus, I find it quite appropriate to reflect on the exciting possibilities that the new year can bring.  Please pardon the rather trite theme, but what follows are just some of my personal thoughts for the new year. This month, the United States will inaugurate its first ever black president, Barack Obama.  One cannot help but be electrified by the overwhelming international interest in American politics arising from this and the tremendous hope that this historic event brings to the entire world.  Since the most powerful nation in the world has elected as President someone who embodies “change” in every sense of the word, then there is indeed reason to hope that the rest of the world will follow suit. This month, the Canadian Parliament will reopen with the Conservat...

Filipiniana New s - Rhyme or Reason 12 December 2008 On 28 November 2008, the much-awaited Ministerial Guidelines for the implementation of the immigration amendments imposed by Bill C-50 were finally issued.  The guidelines stated that for permanent resident applications submitted on or after 27 February 2008, only those that fall under any of the following categories will be processed:  those whose skills and work experience fall under the “38 high demand occupations such as health, skilled trades, finance and resource extraction” or “ have an offer of arranged employment or have already been living legally in Canada for one year as a temporary foreign worker or international student.”  Those applications which do not fall under any of these categories will be returned unprocessed.  These changes are meant to address the growing backlog in skilled worker applications which could take up to 6 years to process under the old system.    Howev...