Citizenship and Immigration committee  No. Certainly I think most agents and agencies usually have some sort of fee structure in place. There are a few that charge exclusively the employer, but if you call most agencies, I think they would be very clear in saying that they do have a fee structure. Those vary radically from minor fees of under $1,000 to ones....

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I wouldn't say it's common, but I certainly have heard of it. The trick is making sure that all the taxes are filed and there's a proper record kept, but I've certainly heard of cases where people are paid cash for the services, yes.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I would say that a wait time of under two months would be appropriate. When a family wants somebody today, they can be talked to and they'll say, well, maybe two months are reasonable. There are families that hire caregivers from abroad. They do hire from South America, from Europe.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, it does. Again, I've heard of cases where it's gone around four months. I've heard people tell me they've seen cases go as long as six, but I can't necessarily say that these were in Toronto; they may have been outside the GTA.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think they should be. I know different visa offices around the world have different standards, but waiting times are a real problem. If somebody's in the Philippines and is being told it's going to take two years to come to Canada, imagine what a family's being told when they say they need a caregiver tomorrow and an agent says the Philippines is two years.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I feel a lot on the books is quite good. There are a lot of immigration-related laws, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, things that could be used to protect more people. I feel that as caregivers and families are exposed to the system the burden is largely on the caregivers to perform to the employer's standards.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I've been in touch with his office and we attended an event on the 25th of last month, a town hall open meeting.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  No, nothing more significant than that.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  No, I was referring to agents and agencies within Canada. However many memorandums of understanding there may be with Canada and another country, ultimately there's usually someone on the ground in Canada who's part of that relationship. If somebody overseas is breaking the rules, there's usually a benefactor in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely. I'll just say in closing that the CCA is hopeful about the future. We're looking at the question of freeing the caregivers from their restraints, both perceived and real, and addressing the question of waiting times, oversight, and education.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The cornerstones would be a white list and a significant reduction in waiting times, so caregivers can feel they have the mobility they need when they need to change employers, to provide a sense of liberation from conditions that might be abusive.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you very much. First, I would like to extend my thanks to the committee for having me here today as a representative of the Canadian Caregivers Association. It has been a pleasure to read many of your comments in the press over the past few months as attention has been increasingly drawn to the plight of many live-in caregivers in Canada.