Low acceptance and backlog stifles foreign nanny program

Killing the program by stealth? Not the first time, and politically risking given the size of the Filipino community in Canada (over 600,000):

Ottawa has approved fewer than 10 per cent of requests by potential employers to bring in foreign caregivers under a revised program introduced in December, latest data shows.

To hire a nanny or other caregiver from abroad, an employer needs a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment, a certificate that says there’s a shortage of labour to justify hiring a foreign worker. Employment and Social Development Canada issued only 92 positive LMIAs between last December and March, according to statistics provided under a freedom of information request.

Twenty-two of those were for childcare, 70 for people to provide care for clients with high medical needs. In 2014, prior to changes in the program, the government was issuing 700 to 1,000 per month.

While the federal government has attributed the sharp decrease to a decline in applications, advocates and recruiters said the low acceptance rate, compounded by a backlog in granting permanent residency to qualified caregivers, has essentially “stifled” a program Canadian families desperately need.

“The Tories are secretly shutting out the caregiver program. More women will suffer. The caregiver applicants and the prospective employers both suffer due to the delay and the decreasing number of approved LMIAs,” said Liza Draman, of the Caregivers’ Action Centre in Toronto.

“The government promised caregivers and the Filipino community an end to the massive backlog as a way to win our votes. But instead of ending the backlog or giving caregivers immigration status on landing, the backlog has grown. Their promise is a broken promise, not sincere at all.”

Low acceptance and backlog stifles foreign nanny program | Toronto Star.