Association of Caregiver & Nanny Agencies (ACNA) recommends changes to the Live-in Caregiver program in Canada

Representatives of the Association of Caregiver & Nanny Agencies Canada (ACNA Canada) met with Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney and staff of Citizenship and Immigration Canada on Friday, September 4, 2009 to discuss proposed changes to Canada’s Foreign Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP).

ACNA Canada represents over 30 nanny agencies in British Columbia and is actively recruiting over 150 agencies coast-to-coast. Feedback from a recent survey of nanny agencies in Ontario and across Canada was included in documents provided to Minister Kenney.

ACNA Canada’s goals include the quasi-professional regulation of the nanny and caregiver agency industry including the development of ethical standards and complaint resolution processes. The meeting with Minister Kenney aimed to promote this goal as well as make recommendations for proposed changes to the LCP due this fall.

Among ACNA Canada’s recommendations were the following:

• Extending the grace period for caregivers to reach their required two years work experience before qualifying for permanent residence.

• Making the effective date of work permits, for local change of employment, the date of registration with Provincial labour branches and/or Service Canada in order to allow caregivers to begin work immediately upon switching employers.

• Standardizing application requirements at overseas Canadian Embassies to streamline the processing of work visas. • Monitoring and enforcement of abusive employers and unethical nanny agencies.

• Encouraging the respectful treatment of Canadian employers by Service Canada and of caregivers by Border Services.

Minister Kenney is committed to improvement of the LCP program and was interested to hear points from the employer and agency perspective. For example, he agreed that National Job Bank advertising, for local changes of employment, was unnecessary and suggested he would discuss the removal of this requirement with the appropriate government agency.

ACNA Canada is grateful to Minister Kenney and his staff for the opportunity to be heard and we wish to extend our support to him as Immigration Minister. We feel like he is the first Immigration Minister who has shown an interest in speaking with nanny agencies. We appreciate his hard work and dedication to the program and wish him every success in his efforts to improve the LCP.

For additional information, contact Manuela Gruber Hersch at (604) 609-9925 or info@acnacanada.ca

Website: http://www.acnacanada.ca/