"Mr. Speaker, migrant care workers are primarily women who come to Canada, leaving behind their families, to take care of children, the sick and the elderly.
The Conservatives unfairly imposed high requirements for permanent residency for caregivers, such as passing the English language test at level 5, which is higher than what is required to obtain citizenship; a 24-month work requirement; and additional education accreditation. Even though the Liberals have said publicly that these requirements are too onerous, they made no changes and reimposed them, which closed the door to many.
Meanwhile, the IRCC processing backlog is now at over two million. An access to information request exposed that almost no caregiver files have been processed since 2019. This is wrong. Caregivers feel they are being pushed to the back burner. They feel neglected and unimportant.
Caregivers should not be treated as second-class citizens. They should be given landed status on arrival. The NDP is demanding status for all now."
