From: Immigration Watch Canada
Renewed revelations that Sikh MEN have been applying in large numbers to come to Canada as “NANNIES” should spur Immigration Minister Diane Finley into terminating the Live-In Caregiver (Nanny) immigrant category completely—an action that should have been taken years ago.
The live-in caregiver or nanny category is a part of the “Economic Class” of Canada’s Immigration programme. Since it began in 1992, it has been used mostly by Filipino and Caribbean women as a method of entering Canada. For the years 1997 to 2003, about 3000 nannies entered Canada annually, but in the past three years the number has grown steadily. In 2006, almost 7000 arrived. In return for acting as nannies for two full years, workers are given Permanent Resident status, are eligible to apply for citizenship and can later sponsor a spouse, children and other relatives.
Serious objections have been raised to the nanny programme before. One is that it is open to fraudulent employment agreements. So-called “employers” engage in virtual people smuggling by offering caregiver jobs to foreign relatives. However, the Canadians who allegedly need care really do not require assistance. Another serious objection is that the programme is riddled with fraud because it does not ask pertinent questions and do necessary checks on applicants.
The applications from Sikh men for these positions over the past year highlight a major flaw in the programme: it provides eventual Canadian Citizenship to workers who provide a very short-term service. Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland points out that Sikh men are notoriously averse to “women’s work”, but several thousand of them have applied for nanny training in the Punjab and are seeking nanny positions in Canada–primarily as helpers to Sikh relatives in Canada. But Kurland and others suspect that these men have no real interest in this work and are using the training merely as a way to enter and stay permanently in Canada.
According to the 2006-2007 annual report of the Canadian visa office in the Punjab, obtained from Kurland’s “Lexbase”, “Many of the (nanny) applicants are male – in a society where childcare and eldercare is seen as the sphere of women.” “This office has identified over 160 ‘nanny schools’ in the Punjab. While some of these schools are bona fide schools, there are a considerable number lacking facilities, equipment and students – but having large graduating classes!” the report told senior officials at Citizenship and Immigration Canada. >>continue reading >HERE<
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