National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada Media Release

Changes to Immigration policy must provide for immediate reunification of domestic workers and their families, say advocacy groups.

April 22, 2005

VANCOUVER, B.C. - While changes announced earlier this week by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) are expected to help expedite the reunification of immigrant families, a national Filipino advocacy group says urgent changes should also be made to facilitate the immediate reunification of domestic workers and their families under CIC's Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP).

Cecilia Diocson, Chairperson of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC) says urgent changes are needed to prevent the long-term impacts of family separation and reunification under the LCP.

Almost 100,000 Filipinos have come to Canada as domestic workers since the 1980s. In a day-long consultation last weekend, over 80 members of the Filipino community and their supporters shared stories of how the long-term negative impacts of the LCP have been passed on through generations.

Vivien Oropel, 31 years-old is a registered nurse from the Philippines who came to Canada four years ago under the LCP. She shared the pain of family separation as she left her husband and two young sons in the Philippines in order to help her family survive. "I hope Citizenship and Immigration Canada will expedite the processing of the reunification of my family," said Oropel. "Because I don't even know my kids anymore," said Oropel.

Leticia Capinpin, a former midwife from the Philippines shared her over 10 years of migrant work spanning from Taiwan, Dubai, and Canada. As a mother of five, she also painfully shared how the years of separation from her family have taken its toll on her marriage. "It was in Canada that my marriage broke down," said Capinpin. "I suppose it broke down since I was always away," she added.

Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance member Albert Lopez, 22 years-old, shared his experiences as the son of a domestic worker under the LCP. After four years of separation from his mother, he was reunited with her in Canada and found many challenges with family reunification and racism. "My mom had to work two jobs," described Lopez. "And I only saw her for about two minutes each day."

Lopez was one of the 25 youths who were forced to drop out of high school after racist attacks at Vancouver Technical Secondary School in 1999. He never finished high school and described becoming involved in anti-social activities like drugs and gangs at the age of 16.

Filipino youth in Vancouver have an estimated 60% high school drop-out rate. Ninety-three percent of domestic workers who entered Canada under the LCP between 1998 and 2003 were from the Philippines.

The Filipino community is the fourth largest visible minority group in Canada, numbering over 500,000. NAPWC has been calling for the scrapping of the LCP and other temporary worker programs. They advocate for the removal of the LCP's mandatory live-in requirement and granting of permanent residency status upon entry to prevent abuse and exploitation.

SIKLAB (Flameburst /in Tagalog, whose acronym stands for Advance and Uphold the Rights of Overseas Filipino Workers), is a member organization of the NAPWC. They held the consultation as part of its 10 year anniversary celebration. - 30 -