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Canada immigration chief discusses new residency policy for caregivers

Canada's immigration minister talks about the country's new policy to grant permanent resident status to arriving caregivers.

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Rowena Papasin

TFC News

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZEXjx27sqV0?&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>Canada’s immigration minister Marc Miller dashed hopes that caregivers already in the country will also benefit from the lower language requirement applied to incoming care workers.Thousands of Filipino caregivers living here are unable to apply for permanent residence because they cannot pass the test for Language Level 5 which is classified as intermediate language skill.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/8/canada-to-grant-permanent-residency-to-incoming-caregivers-2324">Canada to grant permanent residency to incoming caregivers</a></div>In contrast – incoming caregivers only need to pass  Level 4 or the basic language benchmark, once the new policy is implemented.Miller recently spoke to ABS-CBN News North America bureau about the changes.He acknowledged that the stringent language requirement is unfair to care workers. But he said the rules will remain the same for now.&quot;I don&#x27;t want to entertain false hope, or at least mislead people,&quot; said Miller. &quot;There is some work for me to do to assist. That is, I think, one of the main things that I want to attack as a next step.&quot;Miller added that they will deal with the backlog of applications during the interval period between the expiry of the current pilot programs and the start of the new one.Canada’s immigration chief also vowed to look into the clamor for the regularization of care workers.Many of them lost their status when they left abusive employers, while others have become undocumented when they could not maintain their work permits.Miller recognized the work of the Filipino community in advocating for the rights of care workers.He said this, in turn, led to the change in the government’s caregiver policy – a move that has been welcomed by groups.&quot;This is your victory,&quot; Miller said. &quot;It is important that it reflects the fairness principle that for anyone being here that we need to, how we treat people. You fought hard for this. It&#x27;s something that you should be quite proud of.&quot;Julie Diesta is among those who have been at the forefront of the fight for the rights of caregivers since arriving here in 1991.The co-founder of the Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights still could not believe that their dream is about to come true.&quot;What we’re feeling is, &#x27;is this real?&#x27; Is this really going to happen in our lifetime?&quot; she said. &quot;Because many of our fellow activists are gone now. We are truly happy but we still have a lot of questions.&quot;Diesta vowed to keep the fight on behalf of other caregivers who may lose their status because they could not pass the language test.Burnaby&#x27;s Filipino-Canadian councilor Maita Santiago believes the new policy is long overdue.She stressed that this only became possible because of the tireless work of many migrant and caregiver organizations.&quot;It&#x27;s built on the tears and sacrifice and the courage of caregivers to really speak out and share their story,&quot; she said.Santiago added: &quot;There is a long way to go for those that are already here, for the undocumented workers, for other migrant workers that have temporary status.&quot;

Canada's immigration minister talks about the country's new policy to grant permanent resident status to arriving caregivers.

Canada's immigration chief discusses permanent resident status grant for incoming caregiver

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Canada's immigration chief discusses permanent resident status grant for incoming caregiver

Rowena Papasin,

TFC News

Published Jun 08, 2024 11:30 PM PHT

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Canada

Law

Immigration

Politics

Caregivers

TFC News

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