Mr. Speaker, after decades of advocacy, caregivers' dream of landed status on arrival finally came with the Canada's home care worker immigration pilot. However, the pilot never opened for intake, and it has been closed without any explanation. This is a betrayal to the people who fought so hard for respect and fairness.
Meanwhile, the PR processing backlog for caregivers already in Canada stands at over 34,000 cases. Instead of expediting the processing, the allotted PR quota for all economic pilot programs, including caregivers, under the new levels plan is being reduced. It will take over seven years to process the backlog. This means that tens of thousands of caregivers already in Canada, caring for our children and elders, doing this essential and often undervalued work are left in limbo.
Caregivers should not be treated as second class or a footnote in Canada's immigration policy. The Liberals must expand the allocation for caregivers, clear the backlog and give those workers the dignity they deserve.
