Although the full details of the new caregiver program are yet to be announced, we’re here to make sure you are well-prepared for the basic steps. Join us as we support each other through this process and stay informed about the latest updates.
This workshop will guide you through the initial steps of preparing your application, what documents you might need, and how to start organizing your materials. Our goal is to support you while preparing.
Details:
Date: February 23, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: 720 Spadina Ave, Suite 219, Toronto, M5S 2T9
We are migrant care workers, just like you, and we are here to make sure caregivers get real, trustworthy information—without scams or delays.
The federal government has announced the new Caregiver Program will open on March 31, 2025—something we have fought for years! But the details haven’t been released yet, and greedy consultants are already spreading false information to take your money.
Sign up now for free, fast & legit updates:
✅ Get a step-by-step guide on how to prepare now—before the program is announced. ✅ Be the first to know when applications open, with clear instructions on how to apply. ✅ Join an online support meeting with other caregivers to help each other through the process.
Don’t let scammers take your money! Fill out the form now and share it with your friends who needs accurate information.
In 2023, while working on a closed work permit in New Brunswick’s fishery sector, Itzel faced unexpected layoffs due to a lobster shortage. This is a common issue in the Atlantic fishery sector, leaving hundreds of workers without income and having to put food on their tables and pay rent.
When Itzel was denied unemployment insurance, she refused to accept it. With the support of our organization, the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, she fought for her rights and ultimately won over $2,000 in EI benefits.
Itzel’s victory shows that we can win when we stand united and fight for their rights.
She encourages all workers to join the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change and fight for our rights!
If you have an expired or expiring work permit (post-graduate, LMIA, employer-sponsored, spousal, refugee), sign up to get more information about your rights and immigration options.
Immigration laws are changing fast and you’re not alone! By the end of 2024, more than 200,000 post-graduate work permits (PGWP) and nearly 1.2 million total permits will expire. Already, many graduated international students and migrant workers are being fired, laid off or working for cash because their work permits cannot be renewed.
It shouldn’t be this way – all workers should be able to work with rights and protections. Together, we can win fairness.
The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) is an organization for and by migrants. We are uniting to win rights at work and immigration justice.
Our members are migrants only! This means you are currently or were recently in Canada without permanent resident status.
By becoming a member, you will learn more about your rights as a worker, have access to support, build your leadership skills and be part of our movement to ensure rights and justice for all. Members participate in monthly meetings, as well as online and in-person activities and become part of a supportive community of workers & friends.
Members believe in building our collective power and being in solidarity with workers speaking up for justice anywhere in the world. See below for the list of responsibilities and benefits of becoming a member!
Fill out the membership form to apply to be a member and we will be in touch!
Membership Form
Member Responsibilities
Attend at least 6 out of 12 meetings per year (either in-person or online);
Receive regular communication and respond to them
Participate in regular trainings, events and activities;
Outreach to other workers, and invite them to be part of our movement; and
Represent the collective voice of migrants and Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
Member Benefits
You join a community of migrant leaders fighting for change;
Get invited to special events and receive support from others in a similar situation;
Opportunities to speak to elected officials, decision-makers and the media;
Get priority support (attention) if you are facing problem or if you are being treated unfairly;
Get free workshops and training on topics such as workplace rights; immigration issues; taxes and Employment Insurance; accessing health care and social support systems; and collective organizing 101.
Come and join us on Sunday, July 7 from 12 – 4PM at Dufferin Grove Park, just in front of Dufferin Mall. Let’s talk about the new program and what still needs to be done over food and drinks. We will also hear from some of the former careworkers and other organizers about the journey on how we got the new program. There will be music, food and drinks and you are encourage to bring your friends and co workers.
Mother’s Day is here, and many of us migrant caregivers will be spending it alone without our families. We are worried that we will not be reunited with them if the caregiver pathway programs end in June 2024. This is not fair!
Join us and other migrant caregivers like you this Sunday, May 12 at 12pm for an in-person action planning meeting to make decisions about how we want to raise our voices for justice and permanent residency status for all!
Start: Sunday, May 12, 2024•12:00 PM
Location: MWAC Office• 720 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON M5S 2T9 CA
You can use the answers below to be inspired or you can copy and paste in the Federal government survey.
Section 1
Questions 1 to 5
These first five questions are personal questions such as: Have you ever been a temporary foreign worker in Canada? The year you worked in Canada, the type of job you did, and where you worked (province and city).
Section 2
Question 6
Asks you if you are in a union.
Section 3
Questions 7 to 24
In this section you will find questions about your experiences in Canada, such as infomation about your rights as a migrant worker you know, where did you find said information. Were you able to exercise your rights, living and working conditions, send a report to ESDC, open work permit for vulnerable workers.
Remember to think of your worst experience in Canada when answering these questions. When you find a box use that opportunity to say why you want permanent resident status because it protects you from exploitation. Give examples of where you were mistreated.
Section 4
Questions 25 to 35
This section asks demographic information such as level of education, country of origin, language you speak, gender. Please respond acordingly.
Section 5
Question 36 to 39
This part is about your interest in coming back to Canada, and if you would apply for Permanent Residency.
Use this section to reiterate why you want permanent residency for all and why you cannot apply, because there are no access to PR for some groups of migrant workers such as Farmworkers.
Section 6
Send the survey – This is where you will find the Submit button for the survey.
Let’s unite together and make sure Canada does the right thing and grants Permanent Status For All – including people without papers and those who arrive in the future. Sign the petition
Do you want to stay informed about upcoming changes, events, and actions send us a WhatsApp message now and save our number in your phone contacts (This is a private and confidential list, and will not risk your job or status in any way):
Farmworkers (ENG): 905-324-2840
Trabajadores Agrícolas: 647-807-4722
Care workers: 647-782-6633
Fishery workers (English and Spanish): 506-251-7467
Migrant Welcome UN Slavery Rapporteur Call for Permanent Resident Status for All
Toronto, September 6, 2023 – The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) welcomes the statement in Ottawa from United Nations Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Professor Tomoya Obokata today in which he called for “paths to longterm or permanent residency be open to all migrant workers”.
The UN Rapporteur was in Canada on a country mission where he met with migrants including 40 members of (MWAC), Indigenous people, people with disability and incarcerated people, persons of African descent and other groups facing exploitation. In his End of Mission press conference today, Professor Obokata said that was “disturbed” that “certain categories of migrant workers are made vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery in Canada by the policies that regulate their immigration status, employment, and housing in Canada, and he is particularly concerned that this workforce is disproportionately racialized, attesting to deep-rooted racism and xenophobia entrenched in Canada’s immigration system”.
He also reiterated that “Newcomers who enter Canada outside of TFWP experience similar precarity. International students who work in excess of the permitted 20 hours per week, asylum-seekers awaiting their work permits, undocumented migrant workers, and those that have lost status are vulnerable to many of the same abusive practices, as they may not report abuses for fear of deportation. Employers who are aware of their status may exploit them under threat of denouncing them to immigration authorities.”
The UN Rapporteur also echoed a call for regularization of all undocumented people, a call that was also made in June 2023 by the UN Rapporteur on Migration.
“The United Nations Rapporteur has yet again stated what we all know, and migrants have been saying for decades – a two-tier system of immigration where over 1.2 million new temporary permits are being issued each year breeds exploitation, exclusion and violence. All migrants, including undocumented people, migrant students, workers and refugees, must have permanent resident status to protect themselves and ensure a fair society,” said Syed Hussan, executive director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
Prime Minister Trudeau promised regularization of undocumented people and permanent resident status for migrant students, workers and families in a mandate letter commitment in December 2021, 20 months later, migrants continue to suffer.
Migrant Workers Alliance for Change is a migrant-led, membership based organization of farmworkers, fishery workers, careworkers, undocumented people and current and former international students uniting for immigration and labour justice.
This information is up to date as for June 27, 2023. Please check back for updates
What was announced? Temporary foreign workers with a “work permit” (see below for who may be excluded) that is valid on June 7, 2023, or temporary foreign workers with an expired work permit but who applied for an extension June 7, 2023, may be able to study for up to three years without a study permit.
What changed exactly? Until now, if you were on a work permit, you could only study for a course of up to 6 months. For courses longer than 6 months, you would have to apply for a study permit. Now you will be able to study without a study permit until your work permit expires.
Does this change apply to refugees, post-graduate work permit holders or humanitarian applicants with valid work permits? It is not clear at this time. Please fill in your information below and we will let you know when more information is provided by the federal government.
Can I study full-time? Yes, you are allowed to study full time.
But the work experience you get while studying full time cannot be used for future immigration applications under Express Entry programs. If you study part-time, you will be able to count the full time work for your Express Entry applications.
If you are applying under the HCCP or HSWP or for the Agri-Food Immigraiton Pilot, it is not clear if you can count work while you are studying full time (but you can count work while you are studying part time). Please fill in your information below and we will let you know when more information is provided by the federal government.
What is part-time study? Schools have different definitions. Usually anything less than 4 or 5 courses per semester is considered part-time. Check with the school before enrolling.
Can I start a full-year course if my work permit expires during the course? We don’t know if you can start a course in September for one year (until September 2024), if your work permit expires in the middle (for example in November 2023). Please fill in your information below and we will let you know when more information is provided by the federal government.
Can I get accreditation for high-school equivalency or one-year post-secondary education in this way without applying for a study permit? It is possible. However, you must make sure that the school you are applying to will provide you a certification that you can use. You must make sure that you choose part-time or full-time based on whether you need to count the work experience, and when your work permit expires.
Can I study online? Yes, you can study online.
For Post-Secondary education: The post-secondary education must be a “Designated Learning Institute”. Check here to see if the school is registered. Be careful, there are many “private colleges” that are not listed so make sure you check this list even if the school is large and you know other people that attend.
For high-school accreditation: Make sure it is a provincial organization. For example, in Ontario, click here.
Do I have to pay international tuition fees? Yes, you will have to pay international tuition fees, which is 3-4 times higher than domestic tuition fees.
What are the requirements to enroll at a college or university or to get a high school diploma? Every college and university has different requirements. You should read their websites carefully to apply. Only trust the information that you read yourself. Do not trust the advice of education agents without checking yourself.
