Caregiver Judicial Reviews

Meurrens LawUncategorized

The history of caregiver programming in Canada, aimed at providing pathways to permanent residency for caregivers, dates back decades, with key developments occurring after the introduction of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). There have been four main caregiver pathways since the 1950s:

Live-in Caregiver Program (1992 to 2014): This program was established to bring qualified temporary workers to Canada to provide in-home care for children, the elderly, or the disabled. It allowed caregivers to apply for permanent residency after accumulating sufficient work experience in Canada, defined as at least 24 months or a total of 3,900 hours within a minimum of 22 months.

Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilots (2014 to 2019): These pilot programs were introduced for caregivers with two years of full-time Canadian work experience in eligible occupations, including registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. The pilots required specific language and education qualifications and were closed to new applications in June 2019, with existing applications processed by October 2019.

Interim Pathway for Caregivers (March 4 to July 8, 2019): This temporary pathway allowed caregivers who were already in Canada and met specific criteria—including work experience and language proficiency—to apply for permanent residence. The pathway was open for a brief period in 2019.

Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots (starting June 18, 2019): These ongoing pilot programs require caregivers to accumulate 24 months of work experience within the three years prior to applying. They must also meet education and language requirements, and all applicants are assessed on several criteria, including the needs of their family members and dependents.

Jurisprudence

In Sibal v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), Madam Justice Elliott stated that:

I cannot imagine an experience more relevant to being a nanny raising someone’s children than being a stay-at-home mother raising her own two children. As shown on the Family Information form at page 35 of the CTR, one child was born May 19, 2012 and the other was born November 8, 2013. By the time the application for the LIMA authorization was submitted on March 20, 2017 the Applicant had accumulated almost nine years of combined relevant child caring experience with her own children.