Citizenship and Immigration committee  With regard to that point, I'm not sure which recommendation number it was the committee had in the policy paper. I can check here. I think it was proposal 23 that mentioned the three-month follow-up. If the caregivers could follow up with some authority who could remind them of their rights on a regular basis--keep track of complaints and that sort of thing--then at a future date if that caregiver brings forth complaints, there would be something to go back to.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  From what you just explained, certainly it would sound like that's the case. In any situation where they're earning so little money and need to bridge the time between employers, there's a very real risk that they won't be able to get by during that time.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely. That sounds like a very attractive solution. I think anything that could cut down on the processing would be a great step forward.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think a great step forward would be to have a centralized processing centre for all these permits, for the renewals, and for the contracts, even to look at, for instance, the qualifications of caregivers who come to Canada from overseas, just to make sure that all across the board there is one standard.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, many expect to be working full-time hours, so I think in Ontario that's up to 44 hours per week. There are families who have expectations that are significantly higher than that, and caregivers need to understand they don't have to work beyond that. If they want to work just full-time, they should only have to work just full-time.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I certainly have. There are a lot of cases where that happens. Sometimes the caregivers are okay with that; other times they aren't but they feel pressured into those kinds of situations.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That would be harder to say. I don't know how familiar the minister is with our association.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  If somebody could hire a caregiver right away, then that would solve a major problem.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, all families that need help immediately and can't get it are in that position.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We'd have to look into it more closely. I don't think we have an official position on that. I can say that it sounds attractive, but I don't know how quickly something like that could be done. I know that waiting times could be addressed more quickly. It's a question of making sure that the resources are there.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, but—

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  They are far from alone—and that's why we try to keep discussion about the Dhalla case to the minimum and concentrate on where the problems come from.