Tag Archives: live-in caregiver program

A Snapshot of the Vulnerable Underclass of Foreign Workers in Canada

There are lots of ways to look at Canada’s checkered history with immigration. Europeans welcome, French to a lesser degree after they lost a war or something, Chinese railroad workers, the Komagata Maru, internment of Japanese-Canadians, residential schools and a variety of abuses of the First Nations who “we” tend to treat as lesser people, even though they were here first and are not immigrants to “our” land, based on the Royal Proclamation of 1763.

Plus, all the others I’m forgetting who “we” have made to feel less worthy of being here.

Today, we have temporary foreign workers, agricultural workers earning less than the living wage, and one of the most disturbing, the foreign live-in caregiver program. I’m sure some people treat that program as a means to facilitate someone’s immigration or at the very least treat them with dignity. But there are certainly problems with the program.

You can judge this ad in Craigslist for yourself. Note the BC minimum wage was frozen at $8 for the last decade, only to be reluctantly raised to $8.75 by a new BC Liberal Party leader eager to suck up to those on the right wing who are at least mildly concerned about how badly the government has been abusing the poor.

Spot the issues:

We are a family of 7 looking for a full time live-in caregiver. We are willing to sponsor through the foreign live-in caregiver program. We live in a newer area in Chilliwack walking distance from the schools, parks and shopping. We have 5 children. Our four older children reside 40% of the time with their father and 60% of the time with us. I work most of my shifts when my 4 older children are with their father. The kids are 10, 9. 7 and 5. We have a baby who will be 10 months old when I return to work. Our nanny will primarily take care of our baby when we are at work. We will require our nanny to do our children’s laundry as well as the day to day cleaning up around the house. When all the kids are home, they will need assistance getting ready for school and afterschool with their chores and homework. You would have your own locked room and share a bathroom with the kids. We will pay minimum wage which is increasing this year, minus your room and board and taxes. Please send an e-mail if you are interested. Thanks!

via Nanny needed (live-in).