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MetroVanIndependent.com
May 2015
News
NDP MP Don Davies calls for a 5-point plan
to the Live-In Caregiver program
By Emmy Buccat
Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies
has proposed a 5-point action plan to
address the recent controversial changes
to the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP).
It will be introduced once a National
Democrat Party (NDP) government is
formed.
“The real problem in LCP can be
addressed by a federal government who
has the will to do so,” Davies said in the
town hall meeting held recently at the
Collingwood Neighborhood House.
Davies strongly disagrees with the
Conservative government’s criticism of
LCP being an inappropriate reunification
program.
In the town hall meeting, Davies
outlined his proposed plan:
1. Caregivers should be granted
Permanent Residency immediately upon
arrival in Canada, or within the first 12
months
2. Spouses and children should be
able to come to Canada immediately with
the caregiver, and work permits should
be granted to eligible family members so
that everyone in the family has a chance to
contribute income
3. Caregivers should have the option of
living outside the home and with their own
family if they choose to do so
4. Only one medical exam should be
required not only for the caregiver, but
also for their spouse and family, to be
completed prior to coming to Canada
5. The Conservative imposed caps on
Permanent Residency visas for caregivers
and the requirement for one year of postsecondary education should be removed.
Executive Director Natalie Drolet of
West Coast Domestic Workers Association
said that the recent changes in LCP
essentially abolished the program.
The changes implemented by the
federal government are very significant as it
Capacity crowd attended the Town Hall.
Live-in Caregiver Town Hall with (left to right) Manuela Gruber Hersch, Association of Caregivers
and Nanny Agencies in Canada, Don Davies, MP and Natalie Drolet, West Coast Domestic
Workers Association. Photo by Bert Morelos.
pushed for temporary migration rather than
permanent migration said Drolet. It means
that all incoming caregivers are affected by
the “four-in, four-out” rule as well.
“As of November 30, 2014, there will
be no new entry in the live in caregiver
program. Those caregivers who are already
in Canada are subject to continue to the
existing rule at that time and will be grand
fathered in. The caregivers who want to
come to Canada have to apply for work
permit through the temporary foreign work
program.” Drolet said.
The new program called In-Home
Ca re give r give s t wo pathways to
permanent residency – caring for children
and caring for people with high medical
need or elderly. As there are additional
requirements to meet, Drolet explained
that the recent changes take away the right
of the caregiver to apply for permanent
residency once they meet the 24 months
requirement within 4 years.
The more onerous requirements are the
additional medical exam, proof of English
proficiency and the higher educational
benchmark. There is also a cap of 2,750
applicants each year per pathway. In
total, only 5,500 applicants for permanent
residence will be processed.
“The cap means there is no guarantee
that the caregivers applicatio