Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm supposed to answer this?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's a very loaded question. Some probably turn to their beliefs in God, because I always say the people who call themselves leaders and assume what we call power can't change the weather, and that's where true power lies. I have a statement that I was going to ask if I can present.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  How do I feel about it? I don't care, frankly. It's her word and she has a conscience. This is one of the occasions when I wish the childhood story of Pinocchio was true.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Not yet.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That usually would have been the next step. Yes, we've had situations in which staff actually accompanied caregivers to the police to have them make that report and then go to the house to retrieve documents. We have not had 100% success in terms of that. In fact, I recall a case only two months ago in which the police actually went in, and the employer stated that they didn't have the documents; they only had copies.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes. Just as I said, the vast majority of clients that we see come in with complaints. They don't come to us just for routine--

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It varies. The majority of them, I would say, are violations of Ontario's Employment Standards Act. In terms of immigration, we wouldn't know it's an immigration issue until a client, say, applies for landed status and misrepresentation is cited. That's when we would know about it.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  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”.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  For the caregivers who go through our orientation program, I usually advise them to open an account. They can open an account, and most caregivers do have an account. I advise them usually to take cheques, or to get a pay slip that would indicate the gross pay and the deductions, so they have these as proof in case they're no longer with that employer and they want to prove that the record of employment they've given is accurate.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  In our experience, the number of caregivers who usually receive money in cash varies. It's a situation in which the employer chooses to pay them in cash. Most of the time it's a situation in which the employer is waiting on authorization to employ that caregiver. In situations like that, our stand has always been to say to the caregiver that if an employer chooses to employ you illegally, it means that the employer is breaking the law, but when you accept that employment, it means that you are also breaking the law.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Do you want me to give you a number?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Based on the number of complaints we've had, I would say conservatively 40% in terms of direct intervention, probably another 40% of referrals to legal people or agencies, and 20% in terms of what we deal with and get results.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I can go back to files--

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Many calls.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I don't know exactly. I don't keep every phone record. I can go back--