Question Period Note: CAREGIVER IMMIGRATION

Immigration Pathways for Caregivers and Processing Plan

PROPOSED RESPONSE:
• Caregivers from abroad play an important role in supporting Canadian families who are unable to find the care they need for a family member in Canada.
• The Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots, introduced in 2019, are designed to provide pathways to permanent residence for caregivers by assessing applicants for permanent residence before they begin working in Canada.
• These pilots remove barriers that caregivers have faced in the past by allowing them to bring their families with them to Canada and to change employers more quickly, if necessary. These are program features that address some of the unique vulnerabilities faced by in-home caregivers.
• Each pilot accepts a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants annually, for a total of 5,500 per year, plus immediate family members.
• This year’s cap for the Home Child Care Provider Pilot has been reached and IRCC is no longer accepting new applications in 2022. Eligible caregivers can still apply under the Home Support Worker pilot.
If pressed on those who didn’t get application in on time
• Caregivers already working in Canada can continue to do so, as long as they have a valid work permit. They can also extend their work permit through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to work for employers who receive a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment. Caregivers in this situation can continue working towards meeting the Pilot criteria.
• Caregivers can also explore other immigration programs in their province (depending on where they live or want to live).
If pressed on processing:
• Although global migration has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada was still able to welcome over 405,000 new permanent residents in 2021 – the highest annual number of new admissions in Canadian history.
• Despite our efforts, we know that some applicants have experienced considerable wait times with the processing of their applications, and we continue to work as hard as possible to reduce processing times.
• Our continued priority is to provide timely service to clients by moving towards a more integrated, modernized, and centralized environment in order to help speed up application processing.

BACKGROUND:
Overview
• Caregiver immigration has taken multiple forms in recent years, including the legacy regulatory program with a ‘live-in’ requirement (the Live-in Caregiver Program), two sets of Ministerial Instruction pilot program initiatives (2014 and 2019), and a short-term public policy measure for foreign caregivers working in Canada who are not eligible for permanent residence under those other programs. Of these, only the 2019 pilot programs are open to new applications.
• Grandfathered applicants from the Live-in Caregiver Program can also renew their work permit or apply for permanent residence, if they meet certain conditions. Any applications received under closed programs continue to be processed until a decision has been reached.
• The caregiver pilots re-opened to new applications on January 1, 2022. The annual cap of 2,750 applications received under the Home Child Care Provider pilot was reached on January 17, 2022. This pilot is now closed to new applications and will re-open on January 1, 2023. The Home Support Worker Pilot is still open to new applications as the cap of 2,750 applications in 2022 has not yet been reached.
Processing Applications for Caregivers
• In 2020, with office closures and prioritization of other lines of business, paper applications received by mail were only entered into the Global Case Management System (GCMS) sporadically. This included applications to both of the 2019 caregivers pilot programs.
• To overcome those challenges, IRCC put into place an ambitious plan for processing applications from caregivers for 2021. As part of this plan, IRCC:
o finalized permanent resident applications for nearly 6,000 people, including caregivers and their immediate family members, before December 31, 2021;
o digitized newly received caregiver applications to facilitate remote processing and work-sharing across the integrated network;
o completed 1,500 eligibility assessments on caregiver applications to facilitate the issuance of work permits; and,
o acknowledged receipt of all applications submitted up to February 28, 2021 before May 31, 2021.
• [If pressed – The objective of completing 1,500 eligibility decisions was targeted by June 30, 2021 and reached in August 2021. Eligibility decisions were made on applications for all caregiver pathways, not only the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots, given departmental priorities to maximize admissions in 2021.]
• As a result of processing efforts, more than 2,800 caregivers and their family members were admitted to Canada in 2021.
• IRCC continues making progress in 2022 toward processing the existing inventory of caregiver applications. Given that IRCC continues to process applications through previous caregiver pathways, the Department aims to adhere to a “first-in first out” processing approach, where feasible. This approach reduces the likelihood of older applications being disproportionately impacted by longer processing times, as a consequence of limited processing capacity during the pandemic. While following this approach, the Department is also making progress processing applications received under the current caregiver pilots.
Caregiver vulnerability
• Despite many program changes over the years, including many by ESDC to address vulnerability in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the vulnerability of caregivers working in Canada continues to be a concern. Cases have been cited in the media involving exploitation, abuse, non-payment of wages, and precarious conditions working for Canadian families. A 2020 report by the Migrant Rights Network – Behind Closed Doors: Exposing Migrant Care Worker Exploitation During COVID-19 – has highlighted the added vulnerabilities some caregivers have faced during the pandemic, such as losing their job and their accommodation with it.
• While the Home Support Worker and Home Child Care Provider pilots offer features that are meant to address vulnerability, many caregivers are understood to still be working on employer-specific work permits, since those in Canada still have the option to do so. Others may have lost their status. In addition, there is evidence that many caregivers continue to live in the homes of their employers despite there being no requirement to do so.
Tools for Addressing Worker Vulnerability
• Employment standards for caregivers largely fall under Provincial-Territorial jurisdiction, but the Federal Government has several foreign worker protection tools in place to ensure that employers who hire foreign national workers respect program conditions, and that workers can exit situations of abuse should they arise.
Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers
• Temporary foreign workers on employer-specific work permits who are experiencing or at risk of abuse in their jobs can apply to the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers, which helps workers to quickly exit situations of workplace abuse by providing authorization to work in another job.
• Anyone who is aware of potential abuse in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program can report it through the Service Canada Confidential Tip Line or Online Fraud Reporting Tool.
Temporary Resident Permit for Trafficking in Persons
• Foreign nationals who are victims of human trafficking may be eligible for a temporary resident permit for victims of trafficking in persons (VTIP TRP). The purpose of issuing a VTIP TRP is to respond to the urgent vulnerable situation of victims of trafficking in persons, by providing these individuals with a means of legalizing their temporary resident (TR) status in Canada, when appropriate.
• A foreign national who receives a VTIP TRP becomes eligible for health coverage under the Interim Federal Health Program. Initial TRPs are typically issued for up to 180 days, making the holder eligible to apply for an open work permit, and can be extended.
Language Requirement
• The language proficiency requirement for the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots is set at a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5.
• Official language proficiency ensures newcomers, including those in caregiving occupations, are better equipped for changing economic circumstances and can more easily find a new job if the initial employer-employee relationships breaks down. They also allow newcomers to participate as members of their new communities, by enabling them to identify and participate in social and civic activities and develop meaningful relationships, a key factor to reducing vulnerability and social isolation.
• Minimum language requirements are in place to help ensure improved economic and social outcomes of caregivers. As such, caregivers are more readily able to participate in the economy, barriers to settle or integrate in the local labour market are reduced, and employers are able to confidently hire immigrants with the language ability required to offer the care needed by their loved ones.
• In caregiving occupations, this minimum language proficiency is especially critical for the health, safety, and comfort of both the caregiver and the individual receiving care. For example, a CLB 5 level of language proficiency permits caregivers to communicate in routine situations, such as following a pharmacist’s instructions on taking medicine and more easily following a simple conversation over the phone.
2019 Caregiver Pilots
• On June 18, 2019, the Department launched two new five-year programs: the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots. The new pilots reflect lessons learned from the 2014 Caregiver Pilots, and respond to specific, chronic vulnerability concerns raised during consultations with stakeholders. Consultations revealed that many caregivers arrived in Canada as temporary residents without a clear pathway to permanent residence, faced isolation and prolonged family separation, and experienced particular vulnerabilities related to in-home work and having their employment status tied to a specific employer.
• The pilots are testing a two-step approach, whereby foreign caregivers receive an occupation-specific open work permit if they have a job offer in Canada and meet eligibility criteria for permanent residence. Once in Canada, caregivers must accumulate the required 2 years (24 months) of full-time Canadian work experience in their occupation in order to finalize their application for permanent residence. Caregivers in those occupations who already have the required Canadian work experience can apply in one step for permanent residence.
• The occupation-specific open work permit is specific to either in-home child care or in-home support worker employment. The work permits are exempt from the labour market test requirement (i.e., a Labour Market Impact Assessment), and are occupation-specific (i.e., not tied to a named employer). These elements of the program design are intended to address the unique vulnerabilities that can arise from having your status tied to a private household employer (versus a professional business employer).
• Family members are eligible to apply for open work and study permits to come with the caregiver to Canada once the applicant is approved for the work permit associated with the Home Child Care Provider pilot or Home Support Worker pilot.
• The Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots can each accept up to 2,750 principal applicants annually, for a total of 5,500 principal applicants per year, plus their immediate family.
• To ensure that home child care workers and home support providers coming to Canada have a clear pathway to permanent residence, the Department stopped processing new work permit applications in these two occupations for foreign nationals residing outside of Canada for the duration of the pilots. The Minister signed updated Ministerial Instructions to implement a refusal-to-process, to come into force on April 22, 2022. Under these new provisions and aligned with the Department’s original intent to not process work permit applications for caregiver occupations received outside of the caregiver pilots, visitors in Canada will not be able to apply for a work permit in a caregiver occupation, including through the visitor-to-worker public policy, nor will foreign nationals be able to apply for an initial work permit in a caregiver occupation at Canadian ports of entry by ‘flag poling’. This refusal-to-process does not apply to foreign nationals destined to Quebec.
• Foreign national caregivers already in Canada continue to be able to apply for work permit extensions in these occupations through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment). They may also apply for permanent residence through the new pilots or any other program they qualify for. For example, caregivers were eligible to apply under the recent Temporary to Permanent Residence Pathway which ran from May to November 2021 and received over 91,000 applications (processing to extend into 2023). This included at least 1,931 applications under National Occupational Code 4412, which includes Home Support Workers eligible under the Pilot.
2014 Caregiver Pilots
• In November 2014, the Department phased-out the longstanding regulatory Live-in Caregiver Program, at the same time establishing two five-year Ministerial Instruction pilots – the Caring for Children and the Caring for People with High Medical Needs classes – and the live-in requirement was eliminated for new (first-time) caregiver work permits. Those pilots were due to expire in November 2019, but were closed and replaced a few months in advance of that when the new 2019 Caregiver pilots launched June 18, 2019. The 2014 pilots had similar criteria to the new pilots, but included more occupations; however, uptake under the 2014 pilots was low in every year, and the new 2019 pilots focus on the two occupations where demand for a pathway proved to be higher (in-home child care and in-home support work).
Interim Pathway for Caregivers
• During consultations in 2018 leading up to the design and launch of the new caregiver classes, IRCC heard that the changes made in 2014 were not well understood by caregivers and stakeholders. In March 2019, the Department launched the Interim Pathway for Caregivers: a three-month pathway with reduced eligibility criteria for caregivers who were working in Canada but who had been unable to qualify for other caregiver permanent residence programs. Initially opened to applications from March to June 2019, it re-opened for a second window from July 2019 to October 2019. Application volumes were significant: over 4,000 caregivers, plus family members, applied through the pathway.
The Legacy Live-in Caregiver Program Inventory
• The Live-in Caregiver Program was a legacy (pre-IRPA) prescribed transition pathway in place from 1992 to 2014. While the program is closed to new applicants, caregivers who have worked on a work permit under the Program can still apply for permanent residence through this pathway. However, there are now estimated to be very few workers who have not already applied for permanent residence. The program is expected to phase out once these clients have applied and their cases are processed to finalization. The legacy program was plagued by a wide range of concerns, including no volume or intake control at the temporary stage, leading to significant application inventories and backlogs, and prolonged processing times of 7-8 years in some cases, during which the caregiver continued to work in live-in arrangements separated from their family living overseas.

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