National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada Media release

Advocacy group calls for end to criminalization and deportation of domestic workers

April 22, 2005

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Amidst recent changes to Canadian immigration policy, a national alliance of Filipino advocacy groups is calling on Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to end the criminalization and deportation of hundreds of domestic workers under the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP).

The National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC) cited the recent case of Maria Georgia Talon, a domestic worker who was arrested in April 2004 and jailed in Ottawa, Ontario by enforcement agents of CIC for working without a permit.

According to reports of the Ontario Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP), while jailed, Talon was denied medical treatment and held in a common cell with up to 20 other prisoners where she was subject to abuse and racial slurs. Talon was held for five weeks before she was bailed out. She was subsequently deported from Canada on August 26, 2004.

In a letter to CIC Minister Joe Volpe, OCHRP coordinator Doug Booker said, "surely the federal government can find a better use use of Canadian taxes than using it to put women in jail for working." In a petition addressed to CIC Minister Volpe, the NAPWC urges Volpe to, "protect the rights and welfare of Filipino domestic workers under the LCP in Canada who face possible deportation."

According to the NAPWC despite their significant contributions to the Canadian economy, there are many arbitrary and unjust deportations of Filipino domestic workers who cannot complete the 24 months of required live-in work within a three-year period under the LCP. "

After not being able to complete the 24 months, domestic workers may receive a departure / deportation order from CIC without any hearing or investigation into their circumstances. Many are unable to pursue legal remedies to challenge their deportation as they face economic hurdles to accessing the justice system.

Instead, many choose to voluntarily return to their country of origin, sometimes bringing with them their Canadian-born children," the petition reads. "There are a variety of valid and legitimate reasons why the 24 months of live-in work may not be completed," says Cecilia Diocson, Chairperson of the NAPWC.

"Some are not able to work because of pregnancy or illness; others are dismissed from their jobs because of the passing away of the elderly person in their care; or the financial circumstances of their employers may change. Many domestic workers experience long delays in the processing of their working permits and other required papers, while others have difficulty in finding new work," she adds.

According to the NAPWC, domestic workers under the LCP are offered little or no protection by the Canadian or Philippine government from abusive employers or unscrupulous employment agencies. They say those who are unable to complete their 24 months of live-in work live in constant fear and anxiety about their situation in Canada knowing that they may face deportation.

The group also launched a second petition addressed to the Philippine Ambassador to Canada demanding those domestic workers deported from Canada be repatriated by the Philippine government. An estimated 93% of those who entered Canada under the LCP between 1998 and 2003 were Filipino.

Almost 100,000 Filipinos have come to Canada since the 1980s to work as domestic workers. The Filipino community is currently the fourth largest visible minority group in Canada, numbering over 500,000.

CIC held a roundtable discussion in Ottawa last January to review the LCP and Minister Volpe has recently been reported in the media to expect an "overhaul" of the LCP. The Philippine House of Representatives is also debating a resolution calling for an investigation of abuses under the LCP. 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.

- 30 -