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MICHAEL AND CHRISTETA’S
QUALITY CAREGIVERS
Specializing in Filipino Nannies Since 2002
Phone Number: (416)879-4251

Email us at: michael.wfg@hotmail.com

The impact of the new legislation as explained by CARE (a coalition of caregiver agencies)

CARE: Bill 210 Briefing Note

The following information is being provided by CARE, a coalition of caregiver recruitment agencies and associations united by the need to protect Caregivers’ Rights and Education

CARE strongly supports the intent of Bill 210, An Act to protect foreign nationals employed as live-in caregivers, and shares the same goal as the Ontario government: the need to protect live-in caregivers.

We want to work with the Ontario government to ensure that Bill 210 achieves the intended results.

Bill 210 received first readying on October 26, 2009, and is scheduled to be before the Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly for public consultations on December 2, 2009 with clause-by-clause review on December 3, 2009.

In the haste to want to pass this important legislation, there would be a number of significant unintended consequences id the Bill passed as currently written. These are outlined below. We are seeking a few modest amendments to Bill 210, that are bases n the what already exisit in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba to protect caregivers and the families they serve, and to strengthen the requirements to make the recruitment industry accountable.

The Issue
Provisions of the Act, specifically a complete ban on charging any fees to caregivers, will eliminate crucial support structures that now exist, and which have been proven to be working to protect caregivers. These include services that are provided by well-established and highly reputable Recruiting Agencies and also regulated professionals such as Lawyers and Certified Immigration Consultants. Normally these costs are born by the caregiver, not the Employer. As written, the Act will result in either fewer caregivers coming to Ontario, or more likely, less qualified caregivers will come with the aid of unscrupulous recruiters, ultimately putting Ontario children and seniors at risk.

Unintended Consequences to the Caregivers

Professional Development
· Bill 210 bans recruiters from charging live-in caregivers, directly or indirectly, a fee for any service, good or benefit provided to the foreign national. Therefore, Bill 210 bans the caregiver from paying for professional development programs, thus denying them the ability to improve their skills and compete in the job market
· Bill 210 will reduce the demand for foreign caregivers as the cost to an employer increases dramatically with the complete ban on fees to the caregiver
· Bill 210 will result in reputable agencies closing their business that currently assist vulnerable caregivers should they arrive in Canada and be subject to a difficult employer

Note: the majority of foreign nationals seeking employment in Canada under the foreign live-in caregiver program do not have sufficient professional skills that an employer would expect from a caregiver. Caregiver agencies offer a valuable service by providing foreign caregiver candidates training programs to learn these skills and immigrate to Canada to pursue a better life. Professional development programs offered on a voluntary basis, teach caregivers how to write a resume, conduct a professional interview, provide first aid and CPR training, child behavior and eldercare management – all are life skills that are transferable beyond their 24 month work permit requirement.

Immigration Services
· Bill 210 would ban the caregiver from paying for the services of a lawyer or a licensed Immigration Consultant, if that consultant was an employee of a recruiter, or was, in fact, a recruiter This despite the fact that Authorized Representatives (AR’s) are highly regulated, and may have already established a trust-based relationship with the caregiver. The rationale for this step seems to be that AR’s cannot be trusted, and that they will bundle the recruiting fees in with the immigrations fees, even though all of the AR’s must maintain Client Accounts and report how the client funds are dispersed.
· Caregivers living abroad have limited personal knowledge and access to AR’s or an understanding of who is a licensed or unlicensed agent. They can then fall prey to the unlicensed agents who charge outrageous fees, offer bad advice and service.

Note: Immigration services provided by an Immigration consultant are important both before and after a caregiver arrives in Canada. The services provided by an Immigration Consultant start with the advice on their rights and responsibilities when they come to Canada, and a thorough explanation of all of their options. The services include the proper preparation of a work permit application, representation before the visa officer addressing any concerns raised, application for permanent residence and extensions/changes to a work permit.

It is important that a caregiver receive professional guidance and counseling in all matters of immigration to avoid mistakes that could negatively affect te outcome of their application for permanent residence. There are many cases were caregivers have been encouraged to misrepresent their marital status, in order to be processed faster. After working twenty-four months in Canada, they are advised that since they misrepresented their status in their original application for a work permit, they are not permitted to ever bring their family to Canada.

Unintended Consequences to the Families

· By banning all fees to the caregiver, the entire financial cost now shifts to the potential employer.
· Bill 210 would require the employer to assume responsibility for professional development training and immigration services in addition to having to pay a recruitment fee.
· The financial risk associated with hiring a caregiver would then increase substantially as there are no
assurances that a foreign live-in caregiver will stay with one family for fulfill the obligation of two years of documented live-in caregiver work to be eligible to apply for permanent residence in Canada.
· This caregiver option then becomes one only available to the wealthy, and even then, financial risk may be too great to consider hiring a caregiver.
· To reduce the financial risk, families will be forced to consider childcare/eldercare on a cash basis, or hire illegal immigrants as caregivers.
· Both the quantity and quality of available child/elder caregivers in Ontario will decline if Bill 210 is passed without amendments.

Note: Live-in caregivers provide a valuable childcare option, especially in cases where the employer works shift work, lives outside the metropolitan area, and where other traditional childcare options don’t exist, e.g. daycare.
Unintended Costs to Caregiver Agencies.

· Bill 210 will substantially increase the cost to a family wanting to hire a foreign national, reducing the demand for forgein caregivers and thereby reducing the demand for caregiver agency services.
· Bill 210 prohibits recruiters from charging fees for professional development so foreign caregivers will be less qualified to provide high quality care.
· Bill 210 will cause the reputable agencies that want to offer high quality, well-trained, well-documented candidates to potential employers to close their business.
· Bill 210 will result in less reputable agencies operating and representing less qualified candidates to care for the vulnerable – young and old.
· Bill 210 will encourage an underground industry operating on a cash basis both in Canada and abroad to offer employment to caregivers seeking employment opportunities.

Note: caregiver agencies want to protect their repuatioan and offer the best candidate to meet a potential employers needs. Professional development programs and immigration consulting services ensure that the caregivers they represent are well trained and they meet the requirements of the live-in caregiver program.

Bill 210: Amendments Needed to Protect Caregivers and Families

Section 7: Protective Measures
· Delay Section 7, coming-into-force until the regulations for prescribed exemptions have been written.
· Delay Section 7, prescribe a list of fees for professional development and immigration consulting within the regulations, as is the case in BC and Alberta.
· Engage stakeholders in reular discussions to update the list of expempt services and define the supporting documentation to validate proof of fees paid, proof that services were delivered, and mechanisms available to monitor and implement the regulations.

New Sections: Licensing of Agencies
· Require a license to operate a caregiver recruitment agency as in Alberta and British Columbia.
· Require a caregiver recruitment agency to post a bond in an amount significant enough to ensure that only genuine and legitimate recruiters will apply for and obtain foreign worker recruitment licenses, as in Manitoba
· Post a list of valid license holders’ names on a government website as notice to the public as is done in British Columbia and Manitoba.

Because of the actions over the last six months by the Canadian Border Agency, it has been our observation that the problems with nannies arriving in Canada without jobs have been significantly reduced.

There is time to get this legislation right for Ontario. We suggest delaying public consultations by the Committee until February

We want to work with the Ontario government to protect live-in caregivers and make sure Bill 210 has the intended results. Without amendments, the legislation will result in outcomes contrary to the government’s objections and intent.


SERVICES PAID BY THE EMPLOYER

RECRUITMENT

Sourcing
- Advertising, message boards, social networking
- Travel abroad, cold calling
- Orientation and education sessions abroad re: Canadian Live in Caregiver
Program and opportunities in Canada

Screening
- Review of resumes
- Personal or phone interviews local and abroad
- Assessment of experience and educational credentials
- Personality testing
- Verification of references
- Presentation of candidates

Matching
- Detailed needs assessment of the family
- Pre-selection of caregivers
- Matching caregiver qualifications with family requirements
- Presentation of candidates
- Preparation of the employer for the interview
- Coordination of the interview via phone or webcam and availability processing times.
- Ensuring the best fit inclusive of experience, education, personality, location
- Extension of job offer, obtaining of signed contracts
- Acting as liaison between caregiver and employer regarding contract
negotiations
- Replacement of the caregiver, if necessary

LMO PREPARATION
- Education of employer on Labour standards, requirements of the Live in
Caregiver Program
- Assessment of the employer’s ability to qualify for the program
- Advising of employer on the process of LMO preparation and obtaining of
the LMO on behalf of the employer as a third party agent
- Advertising on the Job Bank on the employer’s behalf
- Monitoring of the LMO process and Visa issuance process and providing of
timely updates to the employer
- Coordination of the arrival/travel arrangements of the caregiver
- Offering advice on the integration of a foreign worker into the family
- Coaching the employer on appropriate expectations of the caregiver
_ Compensation, vacation pay and overtime, temporary health insurance for
caregiver.Providing consultation regarding payroll deductions, Workers’
- Providing conflict resolution consulting

OPTIONAL SERVICES PROVIDED TO AND PAID BY THE CAREGIVER

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Professional profile building inclusive of Canadian style resume
- Interview preparation and coaching (behavioural interview and traditional
interview skills)
- Providing comprehensive education of labour standards and protection for
caregivers
- Assistance with communication skills: verbal, written and comprehension
- Language testing and remediation
- Introduction to Canadian culture, manners, customs, currency, money and
banking, protection of the environment
- Code of ethics for professional conduct as a caregiver in Canada
- Employer/Employee expectations and problem solving techniques
- Children and behaviour, appropriate discipline and behaviour management
- Personal hygiene and presentation skills appropriate to the Canadian workplace
- Canadian food and nutritional guidelines
- First Aid and CPR training
- Personal safety guidelines

IMMIGRATION SERVICES
Before Arrival in Canada
- Assessment of eligibility and admissibility (applicant and family members)
before acceptance in the program
- Preparation of application for work permit
- Guidance in obtaining police clearances, medical exam
- Representation before the visa officer, addressing concerns raised

After Arrival in Canada
- Extensions of work permit
- Changes in work permit
- Application for a re-entry visa
- Guidance and counseling in all matters immigration to avoid mistakes that
could affect the outcome of application for permanent residence
- Application for permanent residence

SETTLEMENT SERVICES
- Assistance with obtaining SIN, Health Card, opening bank account
- Counseling and support
- Mediation between the caregiver and the employer
- Referral services to other professionals
- New placement if required