Family kept apart welcome new immigration rules for caregivers

Evelyn de Vera left her home and loved ones behind in the Philippines when she went to Hong Kong in 1982 and then came to Canada in 1986 to become a caregiver and, ultimately, to look for a better life for her three children. 

"It's the land of milk and honey," she said.

"As a mother who wants to give a better life for her children you do anything you can, even leaving them at such a young age."

It would be eight years before she would see her children again, something that had lasting impacts for all of them. 

On June 3, the federal government announced a pair of pilot programs that will give some caregivers arriving in Canada permanent residence upon arrival, making it a little easier for families like the de Veras to be together sooner. 

De Vera left the Philippines to become a domestic helper in Hong Kong. It was there she learned about the opportunity to work in Canada. Leaving her children with her mother, she went to Calgary, where she became a nanny. The idea was she would eventually get permanent residence and be able to bring her children over to be with her. 

But de Vera, now 70, said it wasn't an easy process. 

She said she had to live with her employer for two years, volunteer and improve her English as part of her journey to permanent residence. She had to get permits if she wanted to volunteer and take a part-time job. 

It's a story that's all too familiar to other caregivers who had to leave their children behind when they came to Canada, she said. 

"We suffer," she said during an interview on CBC's On The Coast. 

"Every night, before we go to bed, what do we do? We cry over our pillows thinking about [our children]."

It stung all the more because she was caring for someone else's children, longing for her own.

Liberty de Vera, 45, was about two years old when her mom left for Hong Kong and, subsequently, Canada. 

"Growing up without parents, you visualize something about them; you idolize them. You want to be like them. You love them so much, you can't wait to see them. You yearn for them," she said.