“I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU” BY CAMILLE FOR CAREGIVER ELENA PARTOSA(SUFFERING FROM CANCER)

MARIA CAMILLE MENDOZA (13 YEARS OLD) SINGING “I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU ” BY WHITNEY HOUSTON DURING THE WEDDING RENEWAL VOWS OF ORLANDO & ELENA PARTOSA LAST DECEMBER 19, 2009. Elena is suffering from cancer. We are happy, as the Filipino community, to hear the announcement from Minister Jason Kenney(Citizenship, Immigration And Multiculturalism Minister) about the major overhaul of the Live-in Caregiver Program. Live-in Caregivers and their advocates sobbed openly and showed their emotion, occasionally clapping loudly as the Minister read through proposed changes to make things easier for many Filipino women who come to Canada as nannies. Vebron Partosa told Mosaic Edition in an exclusive interview that the new proposals would help her mother, Elena Partosa,43, a live-in caregiver now getting chemotherapy following her bout with cancer.
I thank the government for helping caregivers, said Vebron Partosa.

The proposed changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program eliminate the requirement for live-in caregivers to undergo a second medical examination when applying to become permanent residents.

The change to this policy was advocated by Juana Tejada, a live-in caregiver who was diagnosed with cancer and faced deportation back to the Philippines because she failed the medical examination that would have paved her way to becoming a permanent resident.

Tejada was allowed to stay in the country through special ministerial intervention on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. She died at the age of 39.

Our government fully supports the Juana Tejada Law. We propose to implement this change in her honour to ensure that no one else has to endure this same painful experience, said Jason Kenney.

Another proposed change would allow live-in caregivers who work overtime to apply for permanent residence sooner.

Currently, live-in caregivers must work for two years within the first three years of entry into the program before they can apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Some caregivers could not meet the requirements because of various circumstances including pregnancies and loss of employment.

The new measure will allow live-in caregivers to be eligible to apply for permanent residence after 3,900 work hours, the equivalent of working a standard workweek for 2 years.

Joelina Medina Maloto was delighted about this portion of the proposed changes. She has an ongoing legal battle against her employment agency.
She was only allowed a few comments after getting a confirmation from her attorney who was present at the venue of the conference.

Another live-in caregiver, Mary Grace Gallegos said nannies were made to work up to 18 hours in a day without receiving fair compensation for the extra hours despite signing a contract for 8 hours.

The new measure will allow a portion of overtime hours to count toward the work requirement and enable caregivers to apply for permanent residence sooner.

The changes would also increase the time that live-in caregivers are allowed to complete the work requirement from three to four years.

Employers of live-in caregivers will now be required to pick up the travel costs for live-in caregivers to come to Canada, medical insurance until they become eligible for provincial health coverage and work place safety insurance as well as any recruiting fees owed third parties.

The Filipino community was no doubt happy at the proposed changes to the live-in caregiver regulations.

Minister Kenney received a pearl of orient in honour of his efforts to alleviate the hardship of Filipinas working as caregivers. Julius and Bunny Tiang made the presentation on behalf of the community.

The Government of Canada is taking action to protect foreign workers from potential abuse and exploitation, said Kenney.

In 2008, Canada admitted 12,878 live-in caregivers.

The proposed changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program will be published in the Canada Gazette December 19 for a 30-day comment period open to all Canadians.

Final regulatory changes will be published after this period.

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