Hello, and good afternoon.
First, I would like to thank the committee and Migrant Mothers Project for giving me this opportunity to talk to you.
My name is Ma Lean Gerente, a client of Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office and Neighbourhood Legal Services, in Toronto. I am the eldest child of the late Maricon Gerente, a former live-in caregiver who arrived in Canada back in 2008 and got terminally ill in 2013 while waiting for her PR application approval.
My mother had long dreamed of having my sister and me join her here in Canada. It wasn't until my mother had fallen ill that her application for permanent residency was approved. I was only a year old when my mother first left the Philippines to work overseas, so growing up in the Philippines without my mother was not that easy. It was hard for me to understand that my mother was taking care of other children instead of my sister and me. She moved to Canada, but she had to leave us behind with our relatives.
I remember every time my mother visited the Philippines, once a year, I would beg her not to leave again. She would always say that leaving us was the hardest decision she ever made in her entire life. She promised us a better future here in Canada, and that once she got her permanent residency, she would be able to bring us; we could join her, and we'd finally be able to live happily together.
After many months and years of waiting, my mother was granted permanent residency on her deathbed. While we were in Canada at that time, we were only given a temporary resident permit. We applied on humanitarian and compassionate grounds and we were initially refused, but then we made an appeal to the Federal Court. We are grateful to the individuals and groups who have been supporting us from then up until now.
Fighting for our right to stay in Canada was not easy. Our mother worked hard to complete the requirements of the live-in caregiver program. We should have not suffered this much. While we were waiting for the appeal, our education was not interrupted. That's a very good thing. We are aware that some children whose immigration status is in limbo might face interruptions in their education, and this should not be the case. The affected children should continue to go to school. This can have an impact on how quickly they can become self-sufficient and achieve their full potential here in Canada and be productive citizens of Canada some day.
Nothing is more painful than a separated family. It's worse than a divorced family. The long years of waiting have serious psychological and physical impacts on families, especially on us, the children. I remember having nightmares regularly while waiting anxiously to hear the good news from my mother about her PR approval. The torture of waiting caused my sister and me great emotional suffering. We are now permanent residents of Canada. My mother is gone, but we're still here.
I'm aware that the current government has attempted to speed up the family reunification program, and we are pleased by your commitment to reducing waiting times for family class immigration. I learned that family reunification for live-in caregivers and refugees is separate from the family class, and we are now concerned that these groups will be forgotten.
I have been meeting many caregivers within the Filipino community who arrived in Canada between 2007 and 2010 and are still waiting to be reunited with their families. I know the pain they feel. I can't help but think about their children back home who are waiting for their parents to tell them that they're finally going to be together, and actually start living together as a family unit.
I believe that the long delays of family reunification are unacceptable for the children, for caregivers, and for refugees whose children are in dangerous situations. I believe that Canada should exercise its obligations to protect caregivers and their children by respecting their right to be with their families. Caregiving is as important and valuable as other work. It must be dignified and celebrated, too.
On behalf of all the children of caregivers and refugees waiting to be reunited with their families, I urge the Canadian government specifically to allocate resources to address PR applications of caregivers submitted from the years 2007 to 2011; to commit to the same reduced times for family reunification of caregivers and refugees as for the family class; to dedicate more resources to the PR processing to decrease waiting times; to increase efficiencies, and address PR refusals caused by administrative errors; to address repeated medical procedures that seem to be arbitrary and unnecessary; to respond to the “death of the sponsor” resolution of the Canadian Council of Refugees, or CCR; to review section 38 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for discriminatory content against persons with disabilities; and to provide landed status on arrival to allow caregivers to enter Canada with their families.
Thank you for this opportunity to talk to you. I look forward to your questions.