Live-in caregivers offer flexibility

However, in 2014, Ottawa introduced what it called “two new pathways” for caregivers by removing the live-in condition as a way to eliminate potential work abuse and exploitation, though many caregivers continue to live with their employers because they can’t afford transportation and rent to have their own place. The government also imposed higher language and post-secondary education requirements for caregivers to qualify for permanent residence, and raised the employers’ application fee from $275 to $1,000 for a more robust assessment process to ensure the job is genuine and can’t be filled by a Canadian.

(Since December, the federal government has eliminated the $1,000 caregiver application fees for families with medical needs and whose gross annual income is less than $150,000.)

Earlier this month, Immigration Canada announced the caregiver program is under review and those who have not accrued two years of employment by Nov. 29, 2019, will be ineligible for permanent residence.

The announcement has created a buzz among caregivers and their Canadian employers.

“People do feel blindsided,” said Ilana Katz, an Aurora mother of two, whose caregiver just arrived from the Philippines last October and would have to go without a vacation in order to make the 2019 permanent residence cut-off.

In caregivers’ applications to her job posting for a nanny in Canada, Katz said, “All say they want a better future and have their family here.”

A speech pathologist who works from a home office, Katz said there is no infant child care in Aurora and the family had been unsuccessful in find- ing a local caregiver. Only two Canadians responded to her ad — one could only work until 4 p.m.; the other didn’t want to commute from Toronto.

The family ended up hiring a parttime au pair, a girl from France who was in Canada on a working holiday visa for a year, before paying an agent to hire a foreign live-in caregiver to look after their two young daughters, Maya, 4, and Noa, 2.

Ontario’s commitment to create 45,000 new daycare spots doesn’t help families such as Katz’s.

“We need daycare during non-daycare hours. No one wants to come to Aurora to work for us,” said Katz, who often has clients coming to her after school or on weekends. Her husband, an apprentice in trades, works long hours and is busy with his studies.

Having hired and employed four foreign caregivers over the last 10 years, Joele Tan said the program, whether it’s the old live-in caregiver program or the revised one in the last few years, has been a mess.

“I’m not 100 per cent convinced there’s a shortage of caregivers. Maybe for specialized care for the aging population, but not for child care,” said the Toronto mother of twins, who works in sales and marketing. “If you go to these (online) mom and nanny groups, there are so many people looking for jobs.”

Tan said many foreign caregivers would leave their sponsored families for “factory and Tim Hortons jobs” as soon as they get their open work permits and commence the permanent residence application process.

“Canadian caregivers feel they are more educated and they are not foreigners. None want to live in and they are not flexible with their hours,” said Tan, whose husband travels a lot for work and whose twins are 11.

“With foreign caregivers, by 24 months, they check out. Or they decide to come back and ask to work for cash.”

The changes to the program in 2014 didn’t make the process any easier, said Tan, who used to complete the caregiver applications herself but had to use an agent to bring in her latest nanny because the process has become so “convoluted and specific.”

“We need the caregiver program. This is not a luxury, but a necessity,” Tan said.

“Canada is big on immigration and diversity is wonderful, but we need to ask if our country needs more citizens or do we need more workers?”

While she does not object to granting permanent residence to caregivers, she says the two-year employment requirement should be expanded to four to allow families the stability they need and save them from the bureaucratic nightmare of having to hire a new caregiver every two years.

A string of changes to the process has also made it more expensive to hire and employ foreign caregivers, Tan said.

Employers said Ontario’s minimum wage hike to $14 from $11.60 last year — and to $15 in 2019 — has made many families in the province reconsider using the caregiver program.

“Canadian caregivers feel they are more educated . . . None want to live in and they are not flexible with their hours.” JOELE TAN TORONTO MOTHER