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Conservative caregiver program changes unfair to employers, says industry association

The Canadian Association of Caregiver and Nanny Agencies say the Conservative's changes to rules governing the Live-in Caregiver Program are putting families in need of childcare at great financial risk.

Where once caregivers were responsible for financing their trips to Canada, employers now foot the bill for their caregiver's travel, as well as temporary health insurance and workers compensation. But caregivers and nannies are not obligated to stay with the employer who funds their trip, which the Association says isn't fair.

"The last person that called our association was a lady in Ontario that had waited eight months for her nanny, paid the $3,000 agency fee and the airfare, and then the caregiver arrived and told her two weeks later she was going to leave because she wants to work closer to her friends, which was in the neighbouring town," says Manuela Gruber Hersch, president and founder of the Association of Caregiver and Nanny Agencies (ACNA), which represents 35 agencies in four provinces.

Changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) were made in December 2009 by-then Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney in response to several cases of caregiver abuse, including accusations of mistreatment and abuse against Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla by caregivers she employed to look after her mother.

But Gruber Hersch says the changes were made by people who don't understand how the industry works.

"One of the ideas that we have is that some of those costs can be shared by the caregiver, or that the airfare would be paid by the employer—there's nothing wrong with that—but after the caregiver works for the family for awhile, for three months or six months, to encourage the caregiver to stay with the family," Gruber Hersch told The Tyee.

"I think there's a misconception that people who have nannies, 'Oh, they're rich, and who cares if they loose a few thousand dollars?' But that's really not the case at all. It's blue collar people; as soon as you work shift work, a daycare doesn't work for you. You basically have to get a live-in caregiver."

Liberal MP Rob Oliphant filed a motion on March 23 requesting that the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration review changes to the LCP, specifically to determine whether both employers and employees were adequately protected. But the motion was dropped when the election was called.

Gruber Hersch says caregivers are suffering as well, claiming the number of caregiver visas issued in Canada dropped 41 per cent in 2010 from 2009. The Tyee contacted caregiver groups in Vancouver such as the Multicultural Helping House Society and the Philippine Women Centre of B.C., but received no response.

Jason Kenney has raised the LCP during the election while campaigning for Conservative Parm Gill, who is looking to take Dhalla's Brampton riding. But Gruber Hersch says the program wouldn't even be necessary if the government paid attention to another campaign issue: childcare.

"If there was lots of Canadian caregivers available, then I could see that they would say, 'if you want to go the overseas route, if you want to hire someone offshore, then you take the risks.' But it's coming to a point where there's absolutely nothing available locally, so people many times have no other choice but to go the overseas route," she says.

The Conservative Party did not return an interview request by press time.

Katie Hyslop is covering the election for The Tyee.


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