Ottawa’s Filipino community is expressing worry over a recent move by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to halt two pilot programs that offered migrant workers significant pathways to permanent residency.
On December 19, IRCC announced the suspension of a program for child-care workers and another for home support workers due to high demand exceeding available admission spaces. Aimee Beboso, a member of Migrante Ottawa supporting Filipino migrant workers, highlighted concerns that pausing the programs could decrease the availability of essential home care workers, especially for elderly and disabled individuals requiring assistance.
The programs, initiated on March 31 with 2,750 spaces each, included application streams for both existing Canadian workers and those intending to migrate. Beboso emphasized that the pause has left current participants in Canada in a state of uncertainty, particularly if their employment status changes, potentially jeopardizing their residency status.
According to Statistics Canada in 2021, half of all Filipino immigrants under economic categories entered Canada via permanent residence pathways designated for caregivers. Regina Sosing, who arrived in Canada in 1994 through a previous caregiver program, praised the convenience of the now-halted pilot program that allowed immediate permanent residency for caregivers upon application, easing the process for migrant workers to reunite with their families in Canada.
The demand for home care workers in Canada has surged with the aging population, notably in Ontario, where approximately 650,000 residents are currently receiving home care services. Despite understanding IRCC’s need to address application backlogs, Sosing expressed concerns about the potential repercussions of the pause on the availability of workers, citing personal challenges in securing adequate care for her mother.
IRCC assured that ongoing applications would be processed, but the upcoming round set for March has been canceled. Sosing found some optimism in the programs being paused rather than axed outright, yet acknowledged that the suspension remains a cause of distress for the Filipino community.