Live-in Caregivers in Saskatchewan: deprivatization of precarious labour

Abstract

The Live-in Caregiver Program as part of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a unique immigration stream. Women, particularly from the Philippines, leave their families to care for Canadian families in need of home-based care in any province in Canada. The Live-in Caregiver Program is the only immigration stream where employees live in the homes of their employers. In turn, caregivers are subject to the labour standards of the province of which they reside. This thesis, focusing on Saskatchewan, examines the elements that construct federal live-in caregiver policy, Saskatchewan immigration policies, and Saskatchewan labour legislation in combination. This thesis seeks to determine if live-in caregiver labour rights are sufficiently protected and examines the potential for abuse that caregivers may experience resultant of working and living in the same space.