For Ghinger Marie Lastimosa, becoming a permanent resident would allow her to finally call Canada home for good.
“I feel like I’m at home,” Lastimosa told CBC Toronto.
“I love staying here.”
The 49-year-old moved here in 2022 with her husband and is working as a home support worker to a senior in Scarborough under a work permit. Lastimosa – a registered nurse in the Philippines – now has two years of work experience in the sector.
On Monday, applications open for an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) pilot program that could grant workers like Lastimosa permanent residency — an end goal that is typically challenging for many due to extensive requirements and lengthy waits.
“I really feel anxious because … I know a lot of us are waiting for this opportunity,” said Lastimosa.
Next week’s Home Care Worker Immigration pilot invites home-care workers to apply, however, it’s running on a first come, first served basis and is capped at 2,750 spots in each of its two streams – one for child care workers, the other for home support workers. According to the IRCC, the pilot closes as soon as those spots are filled.
While immigration experts in the GTA are welcoming the program, some say the way it’s being administered is creating anxiety among applicants who worry technical glitches or issues with the internet might take them out of the running for a dream they’ve been working toward for years.
Advocates say they’d like IRCC to allow everyone to apply and then assess applications on a merit-based system.
Lastimosa says she has her paperwork ready to go, but she worries the competition will be steep – especially since the IRCC has lowered the requirements for those eligible from last year, which was the last time this pilot launched.
Applicants now only need to have at least six months of recent work experience or have completed six months of training, compared to last year when two years of work experience was required. The language proficiency requirements are also lower, and all applicants must have a valid job offer from a private home or from an eligible organization that hires home-care workers.
“This one is a little more open to everybody,” Lastimosa said.
“It is a golden ticket for everyone who is looking forward to this for a long time.”
Immigration experts, including Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, say countless others across the country also have their eyes on that golden ticket — and tensions are high.
“Because the possibility is so high, the fear of losing out is so high, which means that anxiety is so high,” said Hussan, who also said some applicants have work permits that are expiring, putting them at risk of becoming undocumented.
Hussan estimates thousands will be logging on at the same time, fighting to get their application in first. He and his team are setting up a room in their Toronto office, where workers who contact them in advance can bring their computers and use their internet connection to login.
While he welcomes the program that offers a pathway to permanent residency, he questions how it’s being administered, saying those with the fastest internet or fastest fingers will likely secure a spot.
“If your computer dies, if you’re not able to get time off work, your internet is not working, or a myriad of reasons you can’t be one of the first 2,750 people, then you’re shut out for the year,” said Hussan.
“It’s literally The Hunger Games.”
There is an option to mail in an application, however, the IRCC says it is only allocating 275 spots of the 2,750 for that format.
Because the stakes are so high, desperation is setting in for some potential applicants, who Hussan says are becoming vulnerable to scams from companies or consultants asking for cash to secure them a spot.
“[They’re] promising people that they’re going to file for them and be the first one, but they won’t be able to.”
The federal government told CBC Toronto it will launch a separate stream for applicants outside the country at a later date.
But Hussan questions why the IRCC is capping the number of applications it can receive, rather than accepting them all and processing them over time.
In a statement, the IRCC said pilot programs “are limited to processing up to 2,750 applications per pilot” under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Asked why it’s administering the pilot on a first-come, first-served basis, a spokesperson for the IRCC said this approach “strives towards providing equal opportunities to anyone who meets the qualifications.”
It added: “Applicants still need to show they have relevant and recent work experience, whether acquired abroad or in Canada, or training related to the occupation.”
Other experts are also wondering why the IRCC isn’t giving applicants more time — full details for Monday’s opening weren’t released until March 21 — and question why it’s not implementing a merit-based system.
“Right now it is kind of … speed over substance. Those who are able to submit their application on March 31st, irrespective whether they have a six months experience or five years experience, they are all in the same boat,” said immigration consultant Manan Gupta.
“There has to be some merit-based criteria.”
Gupta said while he too welcomes the program, he questions whether it’s really attracting the right people, since there’s no requirement for the applicant to stay in their carework position.
But the IRCC says all permanent residents, regardless of the stream, have “the right to work in any occupation or industry anywhere in the country.”
According to the province of Ontario, there is a need for nearly 51,000 new personal support workers (PSWs) by 2032, and those in the industry say pilot programs like these are key.
It’s a need Katie Akhtar knows well — she’s manager of strategic partnerships and new settlement program with the agency CarePartners and helps pair newcomers with health-care related positions such as PSWs, nursing and rehabilitation.
Since March 21, she said she’s received more than 100 queries from their workers, 80 of whom are eligible to apply.
“It would be a huge relief for them to be able to know that they are staying in Canada, that they have a bright future, not only for them, but a future for their children,” Akhtar said.
For now, Lastimosa is holding on to optimism that she can get to the front of the line when she logs on on Monday. Otherwise, the waiting game continues.
“I just hope I can … be one of the lucky ones.”
