Don’t throw the nanny out with the bathwater – Omidvar

Ratna Omidvar of Maytree on the live-in caregiver program, and the need for more regulation and regularization of status to address the Government’s confer over abuse:

But she (the caregiver) bears costs in the interim. She must live in someone else’s home, loving and caring for another family while missing her own. The hours of work are long and isolating. We acknowledge these costs by offering permanent residency.

There are other costs we don’t acknowledge: Exploitation, in the form of unpaid overtime, psychological or physical abuse. In theory, she can report it, but won’t because it could jeopardize her becoming a Canadian as fast as she can.

This abuse is the cost of temporary status. If a conditional form of permanent resident status was offered on arrival, it would serve the needs of both employers and caregivers. The current system basically sanctions conditions of potential abuse against a reward of permanence.

Don’t throw the nanny out with the bathwater – The Globe and Mail.