Foreign caregiver reforms impose cap, make live-in requirement optional

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander has announced much-anticipated reforms to the live-in caregiver program, making it optional forcaregivers to live with their employers and putting a cap on the number of caregivers it will accept under two new categories.

The live-in caregiver program, as it was known until today, was excluded fromreforms to theTemporary Foreign Worker Programannounced by the government inJune, but thegovernment saidan overhaul to the caregiver program wascoming this fall.

• Foreign caregivers backlog grows as families wait for residency

Foreign caregiversare eligible to apply for permanent residency after two years of work in Canada, but it can take more than three years to process their applications.

In the meantime, the caregivers are separated from their spouses and children who they have left behind.Only afterthey are granted residencycan caregiversapply to bring over their children and spouses.

"I'm pleased to announce reforms that will improve the lives of caregivers seeking to make Canada their permanent home," Alexander said during a news conference in Toronto on Friday.

Changes to the new caregiver programinclude:

• Making it optional for caregivers to live with their employers.
• Creating two new categories whereby caregivers can seek permanent residency.
• Putting a cap of 2,750 applications per year under each of the new categories starting in 2015.
• Reducinga backlog of 60,000 applicationsfor permanent residence.

Ending the mandatory live-in requirement and putting a cap on the number of caregiver applications are two of several ideasfloated by Alexander during consultation meetings with various stakeholders thissummer.

Alexander said he heard complaints fromcaregivers who said the live-in requirement felt like "modern-day slavery" to them.

"They told me they felt they couldn't complain and that they weren't paid overtime. Imagine being forced to sleep where you work and having your wages garnished for room and board.

"We're putting an end to that. We're providing caregivers with a choice," Alexander said.

StartingNov.30, the government will launch the two new categoriesfor caregivers to work in Canada.

One pathway will be for child-care providers. The second will be for caregivers who take care of the elderly or those with high medical needs.

To avoid a growing backlog, the government will accept no more than 2,750 caregivers in each of the new categories, for a total of 5,500 new applications per year starting in 2015. Spouses and dependants will not be counted against the cap.

Caregivers will still have to work full time for two years before being eligible to apply for the new categories. Applications will be processed within six months, Alexander said.

Employers wishing to hire nannies or caregivers under the new categories will still have to fill out a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to prove they could not find a Canadian worker to fill the job.

Reducing the backlog

As CBC News reported last week, thenumber of individuals waiting for permanent resident status under this programhas ballooned to more than 60,000.

Today, Alexander confirmed the backlogand laid out his plan to bring itdown to zero within the next two years.

"The backlog today is about 60,000. Without these changes it would continue to grow."

Alexander said the government is already on track to eliminate 17,500 applications by the end of 2014and will eliminate the backlog further by processing 30,000 applications in 2015.

"We have the firm intention, if we get the chance, to process that many again in 2016. That will bring a backlog of 60,000 down to zero in only two years."

He said the government could achieve these goals using "current resources."

2-yearwork requirement

Groups representing caregivers have been calling on the government to give nannies and caregivers permanent residency from the moment they arrive inCanada.

NDP immigration criticLysane Blanchette-Lamothe said today's reforms do not change the fact that caregivers will stillhave to wait two years before being eligible for permanent residency.

She was also critical of the cap on the new categories, saying the limit will mean that "caregivers will have to win the lottery for an application space every year."

Blanchette-Lamothewelcomed the new rule making it optional for caregivers to live with their employers because it was something the NDP had long called for.

John McCallum, the Liberal party's immigration critic, was skeptical of the government's plan to tackle the backlog.

In a written statement to CBC News, McCallum said previous reforms "were widely lauded when launched, but as it turned out theyve created even more problems."

The Liberal critic said he wouldconsult with stakeholders before coming to any "firm conclusions."

Alexander outlinedthe government's immigration goals for 2015 as laid out in its annual report to Parliament on immigration.

He said the Canadian government will welcome anywhere from260,000 to285,000 new permanent residents in 2015.

The report was tabled in the House of Commons at around the same time that Alexanderwas in Toronto announcing his reforms to the foreign caregiver program.

Read the report here: