Migrant Worker Story: Meet Luzviminda
My name is Luzviminda Alicbusan. I’m a caregiver. I came to Canada from the Philippines in 2008. After completing the 24-month live-in requirement, I submitted my permanent resident application in 2011.
In 2014, I received the Procedural Fairness Letter. In 2015, Citizenship and Immigration Canada refused my application because my son was deemed to be “medically inadmissible as he might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demands in medical and social services”. I was advised as well that I need to leave Canada before my work permit expired.
It was a devastating moment for me and my family. I am here in Canada looking after my employer’s children, cooking for them, cleaning their house and doing their laundry, paying taxes and contributing to Employment Insurance and Canada’s Pension Plan, yet I cannot be reunited with my family just because my son is believed to cause excessive demands in medical and social services.
I find this very unfair and unjust. We are brought here to care for people with disabilities, yet the Canadian law will not allow us to become permanent residents because we have a family member with a disability.
Our children with a disability are not a burden to us. They are a blessing. They are the reason why we work so hard, why we become stronger people. Yet we are being penalized for having children or other family members with a disability. We are as important as anyone here in Canada; we work hard and contribute to the Canadian economy.
I’ve been here in Canada for almost a decade. I missed so many special occasions with my family. My mom passed away in 2016 and I was not able to go home and pay my last respects because I spent all my savings paying a lawyer to appeal my case.
This is why we want all caregivers who are here in Canada to be given permanent resident status and all those coming in under the new program in November 2019 to be granted permanent residency upon arrival.
