Calgary immigration consultants are bracing for changes to the Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP) they warn will hurt working families at a time when child care is hard to find in the city.

It's believed the federal government plans to scale back the program. Employment Minister Jason Kenney told the National Post's editorial board Tuesday the program has "ran out of control," and would be reformed in the "fairly near future."

Though a review of the program was only made public this week, Calgary immigration lawyer Raj Sharma expects changes to come soon.

"There is no doubt (the LCP) will be the next on the chopping block," he said. "I believe that the program will either be terminated, or that (caregivers) will lose their ability to apply for permanent residence."





Child-care shortage





Shauna Guth, director of placements and operations for caregiving agency Diamond Personnel, says changes to the program would disproportionately affect Calgarians.

Her company employs both Canadian and foreign nannies, and she said low unemployment and poor public transportation make it hard to find local caregivers.

"Calgary is one of our highest demand markets across Canada," said Guth. She said the program is affordable and fills a labour-market gap, but added that processing times can be long, and employers are expected to take a risk in paying for flights and fees.

Roughly 20,000 workers are in Canada under the program at any given time, and 6,000 arrived in Canada in 2012. As part of its overhaul of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) last week, the government changed the LCP application fee from $275 to $1,000. Guth paints a dire program if the program is scrapped.

"Some may hire undocumented workers, some may have no option but to leave their careers behind in order to care for their family," she said. "There are very few options available for rural families. Eldercare facilities are already experiencing wait lists."

Manuela Gruber Hersch, president of the Association of Caregiver and Nanny Agencies Canada, describes the changes as an "attack on double-income families.

"It's huge and it's quite shocking and I think a lot of families should be very concerned."





Family reunification





About 47,000 Filipinos live in Calgary, according to the 2011 Canadian census. Since its 1992 launch, the LCP has accounted for one-third of all working Filipino newcomers to Canada, who in turn have sponsored an equal number of dependents.

But since 2007, Manila consular staff have warned the LCP was being used as a family reunification scheme. Unlike in other countries, Canada allows these low-skill workers to apply for permanent residency after two years, which lets them bring over children and a spouse.

The government went public in 2011 with concerns as many as 40 per cent of LCP workers were employed by family members. Consular staff in Manila believe the number could be closer to 70 per cent, according to documents obtained by Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.

Sherrisa Celis, a registered Calgary immigration consultant, said "it's going be a blow" if the program is scrapped.

"It's very important to the Filipino community. It's a very good program. Except that it takes too long; it takes forever to process."

Celis has heard of Filipina women in Calgary who gave hundreds of dollars to fraudulent recruitment agencies abroad, only to arrive and find no employment placement organized.

"They are left to care for themselves, especially if they know of nobody here," she said.

For her, the solution would be to simplify the program and make it less costly, so fewer take huge risks.

"The reason Filipinos would leave the country and apply as live-in caregivers to a first-world country is to give a better future for their families," Celis said. The move puts a strain on marriages and children, but nannies "will be reunited with their family members in this land of opportunity."





Political reprecussions





Immigration Minister Chris Alexander refused to confirm if changes are in the works, and his press secretary Alexis Pavlich told the Herald: "We are not going to comment and speculate on hypotheticals."

Two protesters interrupted Kenney at a news conference Wednesday in Toronto, decrying changes to the LCP. "We need full immigration status, not deportation," one yelled.

Kurland speculates that the government will wait until after next autumn's election to change the LCP, as many Filipino-Canadians live in swing ridings. But Sharma expects changes to come much sooner.

"I do not believe that the government will be waiting until the next election to do this," he said. "I believe that the CPC has already lost this particular community, or the cat's out of the bag."

drobertson@calgaryherald.com

Twitter.com/dcrHerald