Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program: Is it an Answer to the Growing Demand for Elderly Care?

Abstract

Canada is unique among the countries included in this volume with regards to the immigration status of care workers; they are much more likely to be immigrants or permanent residents rather than temporary workers (migrants). One program specific to Canada that enables care workers to migrate to Canada is the Live in Caregiver Program (LCP). Through this program workers are able to migrate without having to meet the qualifications of the immigration points system or family sponsorship. One of the key requirements is that they work for at least 24 out of 36 months as a care worker in the home of their client who in turn is their immigration sponsor. Though this has typically been a means to bring in care workers to work with children, increasingly care workers are attending to elderly clients. Interviews we conducted with 19 immigrant care workers in the home and long-term care sector who came to Canada through the LCP, contributed to a broader understanding of the way in which this recent shift in focus can help to address the growing need for care of older persons in their home. However, it has been implemented with little of the additional resources needed for this increasingly complex clientele. This program holds clear potential, but not without it being better customized to meet the needs of older persons and their care workers.

Employment adjustment and mental health of employed family caregivers in Canada

“…Aging in place supports older adults' independence, sense of security, and maintenance of connections to family, friends, and other networks or resources in the community (Aneshensel, Pearlin, Mullan, Zarit, & Whitlatch, 1995;Arksey & Glendinning, 2007;Cantor, 1991;Wiles, Leibing, Guberman, Reeve, & Allen, 2011). The services and support necessary to promote aging in place may be insufficient or difficult to access, especially with a shortage of care workers for older adults in the community (Bourgeault, Parpia, & Atanackovic, 2010). Therefore, family caregiving plays a critical role in supporting aging people stay at home, and keep healthy and active.…”

Care and caring: interdisciplinary perspectives on a societal issue of global significance

“…Taiwan are examples) have accorded care workers special immigration status (Bourgeault et al, 2010;Peng, 2016); in others, workers are recruited through international agencies, migrant worker networks, or families seeking private, unregulated solutions to care needs in their families -as, for example, in Italy and Spain (Troisi and von Kondratowitz, 2013) -or for themselves, as in some 'marriage markets' in Asian societies (Piper and Lee, 2016).…”

Aging Filipino Domestic Workers and the (In)Adequacy of Retirement Provisions in Canada

“…At the age of 66, Nenita continued to care for her aging employer, from whom she garnered fi xed but untaxed compensation ($15 CAD per hour) in exchange for the provision of caring labour. This income allowed Nenita to pay her bills and, more importantly, to continue to provide fi nancial support to her children and grandchildren: Compared with Charito's situation, where she was unceremoniously fi red for not maintaining a standard of work, Nenita's example highlighted that older domestic workers could also form bonds with their employers that go beyond the typical caregiver/client relationship (Bourgeault et al, 2010 ). In these types of situations, caregivers evolved into companions to their older clients (Bourgeault et al, 2010 ;Chowdhury & Gutman, 2012 ).…”

“…This income allowed Nenita to pay her bills and, more importantly, to continue to provide fi nancial support to her children and grandchildren: Compared with Charito's situation, where she was unceremoniously fi red for not maintaining a standard of work, Nenita's example highlighted that older domestic workers could also form bonds with their employers that go beyond the typical caregiver/client relationship (Bourgeault et al, 2010 ). In these types of situations, caregivers evolved into companions to their older clients (Bourgeault et al, 2010 ;Chowdhury & Gutman, 2012 ). For respondents like Nenita, the changing nature of domestic work in later life meant having a similar workload, but with better pay (since the work would be untaxed).…”

“…Further changes were made in 1992 with the introduction of the LCP, which ostensibly sought to reform the FDM but placed further eligibility restrictions such as the requirement of a grade 12-equivalency education, and knowledge of an official charter language (Bakan & Stasiulis, 1997). The LCP also expanded the scope of what would be considered care work to include eldercare, and care for clients with disabilities (Bourgeault, Parpia, & Atanackovic, 2010; Chowdhury & Gutman, 2012).…”