I don't know for sure. The trend has been that agencies recruit caregivers overseas who want to come to Canada. Most of them promise the caregivers an employer on arrival, and that has not been the case. In fact, the trend for the last year has been one of caregivers coming here and it's almost become a cliché to hear of them being “released upon arrival”.
I can only assume the reason they take cash is that it's a way of making the money untraceable. That's my judgment.
I am not sure what the money is paid for. I have asked that question of caregivers: when you pay that money upfront, are you given a contract saying this is what I'm paying for? It varies. In some instances, the agencies offer a package that would include the airfare. In some instances, the caregivers pay just to get employed.
Two days ago I received an e-mail from someone overseas who said they had paid $5,000, and they were trying to make a phone call and the number was not in service. So they wanted me to check to see if that agency existed in Toronto.
So it varies.