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MEDIA RELEASE : Migrant Care Workers Claim Partial Victory, Continue to Demand Landed Status On Arrival

June 15, 2019

TORONTO — Migrant Care Worker groups from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec welcome changes announced today that finally allow care workers to bring their families and work without work permits tied to employers. These changes respond, in part, to what care workers have been demanding for years. But this victory falls short of the permanent resident status on arrival that is necessary for migrant care workers to be treated the same as others through our immigration system. Many questions and concerns remain about the implementation of the changes announced today, particularly for migrant care workers already in Canada who will continue to be left out. Migrant workers across Canada are taking action on June 16, 2019 for International Domestic Workers Day, see list of events here.

“Today’s announcement is a result of care workers fighting for our rights for decades, it’s a tremendous victory and testament to our organizing and it’s not enough. Migrant care workers take care of families, and have been for centuries, this is a permanent program with a permanent solution and that means permanent resident status upon arrival for future workers, and full immigration status for all migrant workers already in the country, particularly those who have become undocumented. We particularly need changes for workers already in the country, which means removing arbitrary and unnecessary language and educational requirements, and granting open work permits to all.”
– Kara Manso, Landed Status Now Campaign, Care worker, Caregivers Action Centre

New Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilot Program & Changes Needed

The new pilot program will come into force on June 18th, 2019. Care workers will have to demonstrate 1 year of post-secondary education, CLB level 5, and a job offer in Canada to apply. They along with their spouses and children will be vetted in advance of arrival to Canada. Upon arrival, the care worker will receive an occupation specific work permit, spouses will receive an open work permit, and children will receive study permits. Only after completion of 24 months of service, will care workers and their families be able to apply for permanent resident status.

Care workers have long demanded the creation of non-LMIA specific work permits, and the ability for families to accompany workers – the addition of these in today’s announcement is a victory.

Care workers demand:

  • English language requirements should be kept at CLB Level 3, and educational requirements should be kept at high school. The Interim Program (see below) was created because CLB Level 5 and post-secondary educational requirements were impossible for most care workers, and unnecessary to work or live or succeed in Canada. They should not be re-introduced. These increased requirements will shut out skilled care workers who do not have the money to pay for the education and English language training.
  • Care workers already in Canada should be granted occupational specific work permits immediately. The government has now clearly recognized that employer specific work permits creates conditions of abuse, there is no reason for them to be continued for workers already here.
  • Migrant care workers must be able to come to Canada with permanent resident status on arrival and with their families. Migrant care work is permanent work, and requires a permanent solution, not another pilot program. Requiring 24 months of service before granting permanent resident status gives enormous power to employers which opens up the possibility of exploitation and abuse.
  • The definition of the family unit must be inclusive, and children must be able to get work permits and pay domestic tuition fees. Care worker families include grandparents, siblings and other relatives who are sometimes primary carers in the family instead of or in addition to spouses – families should be expanded from just spouse and children. Dependent children are of varying ages and there should be no age limit. Accompanying children must be allowed work permits (not just study permits) and be allowed to pay domestic tuition fees. Care workers must have the ability to choose when their families join them.
  • There should be no second medical examination
  • Care Workers in Quebec continue to be left in limbo. Coordinate with Quebec-based Care Worker groups and the Government of Quebec to ensure this program is extended and includes workers based there.

Interim Pathway & Changes Needed

The Interim Pathway created on March 4th and which expired on June 4th is now being extended from July 8th to October 8th. This Interim Pathway was created in response to the arbitrary, unfair and unnecessary requirements that were created in November 2014, which left tens of thousands of racialized workers without a path to permanent residency, needing to choose between deportation and becoming undocumented.

  • The Interim Pathway lowered service requirement from 24 months to 12 months
  • The Interim Pathway lowered educational requirements from 1 year post-secondary education to high school education.
  • The Interim Pathway kept the arbitrary CLB Level 5 requirement, even though only CLB Level 3 is required or necessary to work in Canada.

While the extension of the program is a Care Worker demand, and opens up the opportunity for some workers to apply, Care Workers continue to demand:

  • Expand the Interim Pathway to all workers including undocumented workers who came to Canada under the 2014 Pilot Caregiver program (i.e., grandfather all current caregivers in the program under the Interim Pathway). For those without enough service accumulated, ensure workers can be grandfathered into the new 2019 Caregiver Pilot Program;
  • Allow Care Workers to apply if they have worked in Canada for 12 months, even if the work was done without a work permit; Care Workers should not have to bear the costs of the unworkable LMIA permits
  • Reduce the required language level to CLB Level 3. Without this change thousands of workers face becoming undocumented;
  • Remove requirement for second medical examination as was previously the law; and,
  • An Interim Pathway for Quebec be created in coordination with Quebec-based Care Worker groups and the Government of Quebec. Since the creation of the Interim Pathway many Quebec based workers have been forced to move out of the province to apply for this program creating mass displacement.

Federal Workers Program

Landed Status Now demands the creation of a Federal Care Worker Program that provides landed status upon entry for Care Workers and our families. Care Workers should be able to seek employment in Canada through the national job bank. Employers seeking Care Workers can use the job bank to find care worker employees. This would take away the need for third-party recruiters / job agencies and the thousands of dollars they charge care workers to get a job.

Landed Status Now: Care Workers Organize (www.LandedStatusNow.ca) is a national coalition including Caregivers Action Centre (Toronto); Caregivers Connection (Toronto); Alberta Careworkers Association (Edmonton); Migrante Alberta; Migrante BC, Migrante Canada; Migrante Ottawa; PINAY Quebec; Immigrant Workers Centre (Montreal); Association for the Rights of Household Workers (Montreal), Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregiver Rights (Vancouver), and Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (Canada).

Media Contacts: Kara Manso – 647-782-6633 – Caregivers Action Centre, Toronto; Martha Ocampo – 416-560-0940 – Caregiver Connections (CCESO), Toronto; Lorina Serafico – 604- 618-3649 – Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights, Vancouver; Chris Sorio – 416-828-0441 – Migrante BC, Vancouver; Evelyn Mondonedo – 514 238 9989 – PINAY Quebec, Montreal; Cynthia Palmaria – 780-937-5908 – Migrante Alberta, Edmonton

Filed Under: Campaign Updates, Immigration, News Tagged With: Barriers, Care Worker, Caregiver Program, PR, Status Now

Care Workers: We are getting organized!

A report back for current and former Caregivers

Care Workers in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Montreal came together on Sunday, November 18, 2018, to tell the government to give us our rights. We spoke to the media and released a report with personal stories calling on Canada to treat Care Work with respect and dignity. We are not alone, 14 Care Worker organizations have come together to work in preparation for this campaign. We call ourselves “Landed Status Now: Care Workers Organize!” We will be doing several actions as Care Workers to get the government to do what we need them to do.

Below is how we got here – you can be part of this movement! Click here to share your information with us and we will contact you!.

 

10 things you need to know about the Landed Status Now! Campaign

1. Why are we calling ourselves Care Workers, not Caregivers? Care Workers have been coming to Canada over a century. We want Care Workers to be recognized for the work and the skills that we do. We are workers, not givers. Landed Status Now! Calls on the government of Canada to make better laws for migrant Care Workers. We want to come with Permanent Residency together with our families, just like everybody else. We want changes to workers already in Canada. See the Care Worker Fact Sheet here to see what we are asking for.

2. This ask is nothing new. Care Workers have been calling on the government for Landed Status since the 70s. When we started in the 70s, we had no path to PR. By asking for Landed Status – we were able to get a path. We have to ask for what we really want, always.  Care Workers in the past have pushed for this demand and led the way for us to be here right now. They have fought for us, now is our time to fight for all of us now and for the Care Workers to come. Together we can make this possible.

 

 

Here’s a photo of Care Workers from 1981 calling for Landed Status Now! – just like us.

 

3. Why now? The Caregiver program introduced in 2014 is expiring soon! There has been no replacement announced and we want to know what is going to happen to us, Care Workers. We deserve fairness. A lot of Care Workers are in the backlog and in the LCP, who have not gotten our papers – we too need our rights. We want the government to change the rules so that all of us get permanent residency and can call Canada our home. We believe no one should be left behind! Read here what we are asking for. We, Care Workers, are the leaders of this movement. This is our campaign.

4. How did we get here? Even though the ask has been around since the 1980s, Care Worker groups across Canada re-started our work in late 2017. First, we had meetings of Care Workers. Here’s a photo from one in February in Toronto – discussing what we want. A lot of issues came up and together we discussed that the only solution is Permanent Residency on Arrival together with our families.

Care Unity Meeting in Toronto, February 2018

5. Then we met with the government and told them what we wanted. These meetings took place across the country. We also gave the government a detailed policy report. Report link

Before Care Workers went in for IRCC consultation
Care Workers calling on Minister of Immigration to end Medical Inadmissibility Regime

6. We had more meetings. Care Workers reached out to other Care Workers in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and other places. We decided to do outreach in parks, churches, community centres and invited them to meetings and gatherings, where Care Workers ourselves shared our experiences in the program and how the new rules made it harder for us to stay in Canada. We did Mothers’ Day celebrations – here’s us in the media (Vancouver, Toronto )

Flash mob in Toronto for Mother’s Day
Flash mob in Vancouver for Mother’s Day

7. We did a survey to workers to decide together what we wanted. From the survey, we heard that Care Workers across Canada wanted Landed Status Now.


8. We wrote a report – that report is here. We released that report with personal stories in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Montreal came together on Sunday, November 18, 2018, to tell the government to give us our rights.   Now the government is paying attention – look at Trudeau being asked to respond.

9. Creating a new permanent program with Landed Status on arrival is necessary for ensuring decent work, fairness and equality in the laws and policies of the country. Most people have the ability to change jobs, when they have a bad employer, or celebrate their children’s birthday, or sit by their parent’s bedside when they are ill. These are basic human rights and that’s all Care Workers are asking for. We deserve landed status now and be united with our families. We are not doing it just for ourselves – we provide care! And giving us our rights means better healthcare for everyone.

We are not doing this just for ourselves. We believe ALL migrants, including refugees, agricultural workers, students, and undocumented people should have landed status. We are stronger together!

10. What’s next? We are just getting started. The fight is not over until we get the rights we deserve. We encourage everyone to join or connect with a local organization to plan together on how to win our rights.

If you are a current or former care worker:

  • Sign the petition at www.LandedStatusNow.ca
  • Tell your friends and let them sign the petition
  • Regular meetings are being held in all the major cities– If you sign the petition, we will get in touch with you tell you where the next one closest to you is.
  • If you are in Toronto, come on Dec. 15, 2018 to 720 Spadina Ave., Suite 202 – email info@caregiversactioncentre.org to RSVP. Event link

More than 1000 people have already joined Migrant Care Workers’ Call for #LandedStatusNow

PLEASE SHARE on social media! And tag #LandedStatusNow and encourage people to sign the petition at www.LandedStatusNow.ca

Filed Under: Campaign Updates, News Tagged With: campaign, Canada, Care Worker, Caregiver Program, PR, Status Now

Migrant Caregivers Call for #StatusNow on Mother’s day

Migrant caregivers took over Yonge-Dundas square, demanding to be treated as humans with full rights, not machines.

In Toronto, migrant caregivers took over Yonge-Dundas Square for Mother’s day on May 13, 2018 in a very successful action. Caregivers donned robot masks with banners, and signs that read #NOTaRobot blocking the major intersection of Yonge-Dundas demanding to be treated as humans with full rights, not machines. The action was organized to call for permanent status on landing for Caregivers. Following this, 10 caregivers in robot masks started a flash mob dancing to the song Beat it by Michael Jackson. They took off the mask mid-performance to signify an end to being treated as robots as they invited other caregivers and allies to join in the performance.

Migrant caregivers are organizing for our rights, join us! Caregivers are invited to come out on May 26th,1-4pm,720 Spadina Ave., Suite 223, Toronto.

“We can’t take care of our own families because we have been separated for years, and that’s why we are calling on the government to give us permanent residency upon arrival and to have their families with them when they get here.” said Caregivers Action Centre organizer Kara Manso.

“We are calling the government to be fair and to listen to us to want we want and what we need,” said Johnalyn Firmeza, a mother of two children, who moved to Canada in January 2004 and worked as a Live-in Caregiver. She is an active member of Caregiver Connections Education and Support Organization (CCESO).

“Now the government is trying to change the program and we want them to listen to us, those who live this life, and give us all permanent status right now.” said Maria Teresa Mercado Loaiza from Bolivia, to those gathered. She has been working in Canada as a caregiver since 2015.

Caregivers across Canada are united in demanding an open and transparent consultation process that prioritizes the voices and demands of caregivers.

“We have been fighting for better working conditions and we continue to fight for us, we have always been there fighting for you. Now is the time that you fight for us too! Together, we will win!” said Winnie Nyokabi to allies. Winnie is a caregiver from Kenya, also a Caregivers Action Centre member.

This action was co-organized by Caregivers Action Centre and Caregiver Connections Education and Support Organization (CCESO). It was supported by Migrante Canada, Migrante Ontario, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, No One Is Illegal – Toronto, Justice for Migrant Workers, Workers Action Centre and others.Caregiver Connections Education and Support Organization (CCESO) were among the groups present at the action to show solidarity as four caregivers spoke out.

Dozens of migrant caregivers were part of this action in Toronto. A cross country Day of Action with caregivers taking it to the streets in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia also happened at the same time. These actions took place as the federal government is quietly and secretly planning to change the Caregiver Program, set to expire in November 2019.

Here are links to the news coverage:

Toronto

CBC News: Migrant caregivers make Mother’s Day plea for permanent residency

Radio Canada: Family caregivers organize flash mobs to demand permanent residence

– CTV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZV3vWFHKgc

– Ming Pao: http://www.mingpaocanada.com/Tor/htm/News/20180514/tbe1_r.htm

– Photos: Migrant caregivers call for #statusnow on #mothersday

Let us continue organizing! Together we will win! Join us at our New Members meeting at Caregivers Action Centre.

 

You can see our full report CAC Submission Caregiver Program Consultation 2018, submitted on behalf of Caregivers Action Centre and the following groups:

Association for the Rights of Household Workers (ARHW), Alberta Caregivers Association, Caregiver Connections Education and Support Organization (CCESO), Eto Tayong Caregivers (ETC), Filipino Canadian Advocacy Network, Immigrant Workers Centre, InterPares, Kabisig Society of Fort Saskatchewan, Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregiver Rights, GABRIELA Ontario, Migrant Mothers Project, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, Migrant Workers Rights Canada, Migrante Alberta, Migrante Ontario, and PINAY Quebec.

 

Filed Under: Campaign Updates, News Tagged With: #NOTaRobot, Mother's Day, Status Now

Mission and Vision

The Caregivers’ Action Centre’s mission is to educate, inform and inspire caregivers.

 

The organization envisions to work collectively and in unison until all caregivers are treated with respect, fairness and dignity.

 

More on Your Rights

For more information about your rights:

Know Your Rights at Work Factsheet 

Learn about your rights at work as a Migrant Care Worker

Ontario Ministry of Labour

Information from the Ministry of Labour for all workers on their rights at work.

New Caregiver Program

Learn about the new caregiver program (The Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot).

Interim Pathway for Care Workers

Learn about the Interim Pathway and how to apply. See Interim Pathway Factsheet  and Interim Pathway Worksheet.

Recruitment Fees are Illegal! What you can do.
Learn about how to make a complaint to recover illegal fees that you may have paid to get work.

Contact Us

Our hotline is open Wednesday and Friday, 2pm-6pm: 647-782-6633

To meet in person, please email us: info@caregiversactioncentre.org

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