The Canada Border Services Agency is advising people who came under the Live-in Caregiver Program to follow the terms of terms of their work permit in Canada.
The CBSA warns caregivers that they would be violating immigration laws if they do under-the-table jobs.
The CBSA urged caregivers to stay away from these jobs because these could be grounds for their deportation.
In the case of nannies who are facing abusive situations with their employers, the agency advises caregivers to report their situation to the government.
According to a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 19 caregivers have been recently removed from Canada because of violations of immigration laws.
The Inquirer reported that tips and complaints about misuse by some nannies of the Live-in Caregiver Program prompted the CBSA’s Pacific Region office in 2014 to start a file called “Project Guardian.”
CBSA gathers tips and complaints about alleged infractions by nannies through “Project Guardian”.
The Inquirer reported that the agency has undertaken 40 investigations. Nineteen caregivers have been deported and five others volunteered to leave Canada.
“It is part of regular core business for the CBSA in enforcing the Immigration and Refugee Act (IRPA),” said Robin Barcham, agency spokesperson, in the Inquirer report.
Barcham said that like in any credible tips and complaints, an assigned officer would conduct an investigation to determine if a foreign national is in violation of the IRPA.
Erie Maestro, Migrante B.C. spokesperson, said in the Inquirer report that financial obligations either to their families or recruitment agencies, or both, are a common reason why caregivers enter illegal jobs.
“These caregivers are often saddled with debts from employment agencies, banks or from their families,” Maestro said.
In cases where caregivers leave their employers because of abuses, or were let go, they accept under-the-table jobs just to support their own needs and their families.
Maestro explained in the Inquirer report that it is during this transition period of waiting for a new employer that caregivers are most at risk because the process could take up to a year, if a new employer is willing to pay the $1,000 market test fee.
Mable Elmore, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in B.C., has called for scrapping Project Guardian.
“We should not be targeting our caregivers,” Elmore said in the Inquirer report.
