Foreign caregivers ask Filipino Canadians to ‘vote wisely’

It will be interesting to see how these changes play out with Filipino Canadians and the weight of this in relation to broader political issues (there are only 4 ridings with more that 10 percent Filipino Canadians: Vancouver South, Vancouver Kingsway, Scarborough Centre, with only Winnipeg North where they are the largest groups at 28.6 percent):

Kristina Torres hopes her 620,000-strong Filipino Canadian community won’t forget their roots — and the compatriots they left behind — when they cast their votes in the October federal election.

The Toronto woman from the Philippines is joining a chorus of past and present foreign caregivers, who are overwhelmingly Filipino, to warn the community about Ottawa’s waning caregivers program, which has been the key immigration avenue to Canada for Filipinos over the past 15 years.

“The government has promised to reduce the backlog, but the changes they made are making things worse,” said Torres, 27, who was let go by her employer in October and has since been struggling. “They made the promise to improve the program and must keep their word.”

Until November, foreign caregivers were bound by the requirements of the old Live-in Caregivers Program, which allowed them to apply for permanent residency after two years of service.

In December, the Conservative government replaced the old program by removing the live-in condition, capping the yearly number of applicants and raising applicants’ English and education requirements.

However, months into the new program, caregivers said the processing time required for their permanent residency has lengthened, and many are now having trouble getting a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) — a certificate that justifies their attaining a job because of a labour shortage.

“There has been no improvement. Our members can’t get the LMIA. If they leave an abusive employer, they will be punished because they need the LMIA to work,” said Johnna Uchi, of Toronto’s Caregivers Action Centre, pleading for all political parties to commit themselves to changing the situation.

“Voters in the Filipino community, and all voters, must vote wisely. Don’t just think of what is happening now to the program, but think of what’s going to happen to the community in the long run.”

Source: Foreign caregivers ask Filipino Canadians to ‘vote wisely’ | Toronto Star