The Nanny Files – Part One – Understanding the new changes and how they are affecting Canadian families and the Agencies assisting them.
Anyone looking to complete the process to sponsor and hire a foreign caregiver will tell you it can be a daunting task. Many will also say using an agency is also difficult. However, I hope I can shed some light on this issue as it seems to be a growing headache for everyone involved. Over the course of the last year or so many amendments to The Temporary Workers Program ( TFWP). It all begins at the Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) once referred to as Labour Market Opinion (LMO). Employment and Social Development Canada ( ESDC) took the Foreign Workers Program and made serious efforts to overhaul it. The TFWP at one point only consisted of two categories, those are still in place, except that now each category has two additional sub categories relating to skill and wage levels. High skill/ high income, high skill/low income. And the same applies to Low skill occupations. These changes have stemmed largely from the ESDC not being confident that all Canadian employers were being aggressive enough to give opportunities to Canadians and sourcing foreign workers. Yes, this is inclusive of caregivers.
Each category has requirements that must be met before an LMIA is issued this includes mandatory and extraordinarily time sensitive advertising rules. The advertising parameters are also very specific. The position must run on Canada’s Government job search engine, Job Bank for a minimum of 28 days, and must run continuously until the position is filled. Additional advertising must be targeted towards Canada’s under represented populations.
The next step is simple enough, a projection of how many recruits are to be made and within this step the government requests to know how long the foreign worker will be needed, a basic timeline. In nearly every case for caregivers, it is one person being recruited and most employers are seeking a caregiver for a somewhat permanent status.
Once the projections are clear, the employer’s next important and mandatory step is to show tangible transition plans. Employers must prove that they re taking an active role in offering opportunities to all Canadians seeking employment. As the government views it, there are countless suitable candidates to look after children waiting to be snapped up by willing parents. To prove this step, there must be three additional active advertisement postings extending these caregiver opportunities to new immigrants, youth, First Nations and Canadians with disabilities and rehabilitated Canadians.
These job opportunities could be advertised in locations such as half way homes, religious establishments such as church job boards, and other public sites such as kijiji and craigslist. The government will not give direct orders as to which specific sites the advertising must run, but it is well outlined that the information must be accessible to the aforementioned minorities. Employers are also required to help transition foreign workers into permanent positions. These steps must be recorded as proof and get submitted to the ESDC for review. This step is then matched against the projections made by the employer and reviewed for either approval or advisory to reapply in the future.
These changes and more were implemented for nannies and caregivers. As of December 1 2015 The Live-in Caregiver program was introduced. The new program has replaced a decades old system, and as with any new or revised project it comes with concerns, many questions and an adjustment period. This new way of acquiring caregivers is changing the appeal to come to our country and the shortcomings of these changes is starting to take shape. The system is now divided into two streams, and no longer guarantees Permanent Residency (PR) to everyone who works the mandatory two-year term. Under this program foreign workers must apply to one of two categories. Either apply for care of children or apply for care of individuals with medical needs. Only 2,750 out of 5,500 applicants will be granted PR status yearly. Additionally applicants need to pass a certain level of language skill. A level 5 for caregivers and a level 7 for registered nurses are required. Along with language testing, caregivers applying for PR must have at least one-year post secondary education or equivalent in Canada. And lastly, extended family members of foreign workers are no longer automatically accepted into the Canada on compassionate grounds.
All of this is a double edge sword. Canada has visibly tightened regulations creating a less desirable environment for foreign caregivers. The fees have gone from $0 to $1000. Previously the fee for the then LMO cost the employer nothing. A $275 fee was introduced followed by a $1000 fee and no guarantee for approval. This is clearly to control the amount of foreign workers being brought into the country. As the ESDC has an end goal of employing as many Canadians as possible, therefore making entry into Canada more difficult, less appealing and more costly to the employer. Monetary increases are only one change, previously the process was simple and required little work aside from a simple application package. Now a much more comprehensive analysis is required. This is where the advertising, projections and transition plans become one and give a more complete picture to the ESDC.
Although potentially harmful to foreign appeal the appeal is somewhat tarnished by two major changes for employers. No longer is it a mandatory requirement to live with the employer when working as a caregiver. However, if the caregiver chooses to live with the employer the $87 weekly room and board fee is no longer applicable. Most would prefer if their children’s caregiver lived under roof, and of course it would only be logical to charge a small fee. However, this is no longer an option, so those living with their employer are essentially saving rooming costs.
All of these changes have come on the cusp of a new Prime Minister. This issue has been heavily debated, including weather or not to discontinue the $1000 LMIA fee. The desire to rework the live in caregiver program has already been expressed by the Liberal Party and these changes, if any, will not be occurring any time soon. However, there is no stop button on growing families, many cannot wait for a caregiver and are unfortunately stuck with this current system. There is no easy solution, the application is the same across the board and the only way to have a positive application is to follow every single direction to perfection. Every answer triple checked, and ensures each page is completely and correctly filled out. This is a learning curve for many people and can seem extremely daunting, this is where agencies are readily available to assist anyone.
These changes, have truly impacted the few agencies out there to an almost devastating level. Old, and true practices were nearly tossed out overnight. Applications have been denied for seemingly no reason at all or for reasons that were just not clear. The language within a language so to speak has to be relearned. Do not fear when a letter comes in the mail stating birth certificates or NOA’s were not included, this isn’t the case. Often the documents are not legible, and for that simple, non-error an application will be denied. Although frustrating, the light at the end of the tunnel us appearing. Agencies are getting a hold of the issues and working to weed out the bugs.
