Filipino Caregiver Community Splits Over Ruby Dhalla

An email written Joyce Rodriguez, and made public by Juby Cervantez, a registered director of the Caregiver Resource Centre, the nanny rights group that has been most aggressive in their pursuit of Ruby Dhalla for her alleged wrong-doing in Nannygate (for example, they were instrumental in getting the Villeneuva letter into Media hands and have called for Dhalla's resignation):

May 25, 2009

To the Filipino Community:

No amount of smear campaign or false allegations can erase the hard work, kind support and commitment Dr. Ruby Dhalla has given and continues to give to the Filipino Community in Brampton . Dr. Dhalla is the outspoken advocate for human rights and the rights of women, immigrants, seniors and the youth. In one way or another, Dr. Dhalla has touched the lives of many Brampton Filipinos. If I let what I read in the media affect my way of thinking, then I am prejudging Dr. Dhalla and not giving her a chance. If I let the allegations from the two caregivers and the Toronto Star smear campaign die a natural death, then I have just done our own community a disservice.

I feel that these caregivers are being manipulated, used and abused by people who stand to gain politically and financially. Why should I sit on the sidelines and watch and let this happen? So that other caregivers can do the same, and so that other politically-inclined individuals can also manipulate other caregivers. So that another family can be hurt and damaged? Do you want your daughter, sister, niece, mother, or aunt to be manipulated like these two caregivers? It is time to stand for the truth and tear down the smear campaign against Dr. Dhalla.

I think these two caregivers were promised, or were tricked into believing, that they would get protection regarding their immigration status in return for the allegations that they have presented. They did not think about the extent of damage they are doing to the Dhalla family and other families; they did not even consider the repercussions their actions might have on the caregiver program as a whole. They are selfish individuals and all they wanted was landed immigrant status. There are proper and honest ways of achieving landed immigrant status, and damaging a family is not one of them.

They have allowed themselves to be pushed and manipulated, at the expense of the caregiver community, the Filipino community, and many employer families. They have set a poor example to the caregiver community and to the Filipino community as a whole.

Now, many prospective employers will have second thoughts or be scared of sponsoring caregivers. They have crushed the hopes and dreams of many families in the Philippines and elsewhere. The community has many unanswered questions directed to these two caregivers. With their statement wanting to be left alone and to go back to their normal lives, where does that leave the community?

I acknowledge that abuses in the caregiver program are rampant and have been happening for the longest time with both the Canadian and Philippine governments doing nothing to stop the abuses. I have seen, heard and read about abuses of non-payment of wages, short-payment of wages, long hours, non-caregiver duties, inadequate sleeping quarters, dummy employers, unscrupulous agents, released-upon-arrival caregivers, physical and sexual abuses, and under-the-table jobs. There are many community agencies working towards reform for the caregiver program. Dr. Dhalla is one of the MPs who acknowledge that the program needs to be reformed. Are we just going to throw away the hard work that various community agencies have done towards these reforms? We are making inroads towards these improvements. We need Dr. Dhalla’s support for the good of many.

So let us stand and support Dr. Dhalla and her family in this trying time. If we truly want reforms in the caregiver program, let us not care who gets the glory, let us cast away all political ambitions, let us forget financial gains, and let us stand as a united community in support of the very people who have supported us.

Joyce Rodriguez
Brampton Filipino

Ms. Juby, in addition to offering her support for Ruby Dhalla via the act of distributing this email, has "withdrawn" from her position at the Caregiver Resource Centre.

(Update: Terry Olayta informs me that Ms. Juby's resignation from the CRC is unconnected with the Dhalla affair.)

Meanwhile, the story continues to perculate in the MSM: Nanny quit, made sham claims, first boss says.

Another Couple of Ruby Dhalla Facts

These ones more ominous sounding:

TORONTO — A Toronto agency [Intercede] that helps domestic workers says allegations of caregiver mistreatment levelled at Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla and her family are shining a light on a widespread problem.

[...]

Magdalene Gordo, 31, and Richelyn Tongson, 37, say their passports were also illegally withheld and that they had trouble getting paid, but Dhalla has denied the allegations.

[...]

Intercede called Dhalla on behalf of Tongson, and Mason said she told the Liberal MP to give Tongson her passport back within 24 hours or she would call police.

Since Intercede's call would have been made a year ago, this indicates that the two nannies' disgruntlement was not conjured out of thin air last week for the sake of reporters.

The same fact also makes any alleged political conspiracy against Ms. Dhalla much broader and longer in gestation (over a year, assuming that Intercede is somehow "involved") than, frankly, seems plausible.

I note Bourque readers arriving. Just a note: Canadian Press has overwritten their previous story with one that does not include the relevant quote from Intercede's Agatha Mason. Another version of it can be found here.

Nannies Gone Wild

What the folks at the Caregiver Resource Centre are now demanding.

IMMEDIATE PERMANENT RESIDENCE STATUS
TO ALL CAREGIVERS

GIVE RESPECT! DIGNITY! INTEGRITY! TO THE
3 COURAGEOUS CAREGIVERS

STOP THE ABUSE
STOP THE EXPLOITATION

EXPOSE AND DISPOSE RUBY DHALLA & FAMILIES'
ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION
TO 3 CAREGIVERS

RESIGN! RUBY DHALLA! RESIGN!

I rather think concentrating on Ruby and the Dhalla family over-personalizes the issue, and will probably hurt their broader efforts in the mid to long term.

In any case, Ms. Gordo (one of the three caregivers who has made accusations against the Dhallas), who wasn't going to be speaking to the media anymore, is speaking to the media.

Nannies At Loose Ends

Four months later, a complaint against Ruby Dhalla has been filed with Jason Kenney, who passed it on the relevant department and forgot about it. Nobody knows where it is in the process, if it is indeed in the process and not in some wastebasket somewhere. According to Dhalla's lawyer, Howard Levitt:

...the issue is over and done with and that the allegations of mistreatment were dismissed when the MP testified at the public hearing in Ottawa in May.

Back in June, as this thing wound down, the G&M published an editorial in which they said:

If Michael Ignatieff is serious about improving the representation of women in the Liberal Party of Canada and ultimately in Parliament, he should start by restoring Ruby Dhalla to his shadow cabinet.

So what about it, Iggy?

Given The Stink Over Ruby Dhalla

...that the Tories raised, even summoning a number of care-givers groups to their cause, this is barf-worthy. They've essentially nixed any meaningful changes to the Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP). In fact, if you think Ruby Dhalla was guilty of something in the way of sub-standard employment practices, then you should be especially enraged. The government's current position actually tilts the playing field away from employer accountability (bolds are mine):

The government seems to think continuing to put employers first will protect migrant workers in the program.

[...]

The government takes this thinking to a new extreme in their plans to reintroduce Bill C_45, which is similar in vein to the controversial Bill-C50 passed in June. Adoption of the bill will give the “legal authority to deny entry to Canada to foreign workers who could be exposed to exploitation or abuse”. Thus, the government acknowledges the dangers to workers. Yet, the government is not seeking the authority to monitor employers, but rather, the government wants to deport workers, if the employers are untrustworthy.


It was always only about partisan politics.

Meanwhile, read about the whole Dhallagate saga here!

Dhallaphanalia: Nannies Gone Mellow

As Dhallagate winds down into gray ambiguities (don't expect federal and provincial agencies to investigate Ms. Dhalla if the ex-caregivers won't file the requisite complaints, and so far they have shown no signs of wanting to do so), the folks at the Caregiversresourcenter, who were quite militant in their pursuit of Ms. Dhalla, have seen the writing on the wall and dialled down the rhetoric. Ka Rodel, who was instrumental in producing the Villaneuva retraction writes of an upcoming picnic at Earl Bales

Jason Kenney of Immigration, a representative of the Provincial Liberal and perhaps a Federal Liberal, hopefully Michael Ignatief so we can ask him to support our proposals [will attend]. I suggest we don't talk about the Dhalla affair so as not to antagonize the Liberals. We need their support for this issue and so with the NDP.

And so it appears to end. I heartily concur with this sentiment:

If Michael Ignatieff is serious about improving the representation of women in the Liberal Party of Canada and ultimately in Parliament, he should start by restoring Ruby Dhalla to his shadow cabinet.

In other words, this shouldn't become Judy Sgro redux.

DhallaGate Saturday Update

The folks at the cross-cultural caregiver resource center--who channelled the Villanueva retraction from her frail hands to various media outlets--are demanding Ruby Dhalla's resignation. In fact, they are accusing her of illegal acts, so maybe we'll see a defamation suit thrown into the mix.

Of course, Ms. Dhalla has just sealed her nomination in Brampton-Springdale, so I doubt a resignation is in the cards.

Finally, this story from last week, in which Ruby's brother Neil Dhalla was accused of firing one of his staff when they became pregnant, seems to have dead-ended. There has been no follow-up on CBC or elsewhere that I am aware of, although plenty of fake outrage from Conservative bloggers. If any of the various sub-threads to this story reek of Tory interference, this is the one that reeks most--a frivolous sounding OHRT complaint launched in the midst of the controversy. Who if anyone urged on the complainant?

Ruby's Nannies, Update

Well, the veracity of this letter has been established. In it, the past president of the Brampton Seniors Club, Aurora G. Villanueva, takes back her support for Ms. Dhalla (and the implied support of the club itself). She was sick when she read the letter prepared for her by Ruby's people; she didn't read it closely; she's no longer president and can't speak on the club's behalf; she's been ridiculed by other Filipinos. A whole litany of complaints.

The fellow through whose hands the letter passed en route to the care givers resource center, Rodel J. Ramos, seems to be known as an advocate for domestic workers within the Filipino community, and occasionally writes for a few local Filpino media outlets (will try to find the links on this). Nothing too damning on the group's message board, although there was a desire to see the issue maintain its media profile after those committee hearings last week, as well as a desire to remain above the Liberal/Tory political mudfight.

Meanwhile, this statement from the lawyer of Magdalene Gordo and Richelyn Tongson, two of Ruby's nannies, has been floating about the net for the past week or so. It looks like Ms. Gordo does have a history of complaining about her employers:

Third, it was most recently alleged by Ms. Dhalla’s lawyer that Ms. Gordo previously made similar allegations of mistreatment with respect to a former employer. Presumably, this allegation is being advanced to make the point that somehow Ms. Gordo is less credible because she had alleged mistreatment previously. It is shocking that this allegation has been made at all without the identity of the accuser being known. Regardless, Ms. Gordo confirms that she did work for the family in question for 1 month following which she complained that she had been forced to work on Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s day but had not been adequately remunerated.

Finally, the last paragraph makes it sound like the two nannies will not be taking any legal action against Ms. Dhalla.

Ms. Tongson and Ms. Gordo will not be making any further statements or comments at this time. While they are happy to have had the opportunity to tell their story and for the extra attention it has brought to the plight of caregivers in this country, they wish to return to their regular lives and to concentrate on the families for whom they presently work.

So it is to be trial by TV.

Dhallapalooza: The End Is Near

Most likely, with the release of yesterday's "minority report" on Ruby Dhalla's nanny problems, you will see the issue fade from the public eye. Just a few final comments, then.

Having spent about two months following the issue (on English language Sikh forums, Filipino Canadian media outlets, and Brampton-area message boards), it seems clear that not everyone in the relevant communities is enamored with either Ms. Dhalla or her family's business practices. And I probably would not want to work for them as a domestic (although that basement apartment does look rather sweet).

But never did that old saying "Let's not make a federal case of it" ring so true. A couple of workers have trouble with their employer, quit after less than a month's service, and turn parliament into a monkey show. You can't but agree with the minority report's main conclusion: that this was an exercise in partisan politics designed to damage Ms. Dhalla's standing in the community and wreck her re-election hopes.

Given what the latest Ekos polls show about the Libs standing in Ontario, these efforts have apparently failed.

More On Ruby Dhalla: The Travels Of Ms. Valesco

One of the advocates for the caregivers is Pura Valesco, the head of Caregiver Support Services. She told reporters last week that any suggestion of a political motive to their actions is 'sheer nonsense.'

Ms. Valesco was at a meeting in Toronto on April 25 when one of the caregivers, Magdalene Gordo, told Ontario provincial cabinet ministers Peter Fonseca and Kathleen Wynne about her alleged travails at the hands of the Dhallas.

She was also at a roundtable the following day, April 26, with Mr. Kenney.

'It was supposed to be a meeting to discuss the live-in caregiver program in general with the nannies and some of the advocates from my community,' said Ms. Valesco.

None of the caregivers who have complained about Ms. Dhalla participated, nor was Mr. Kenney told about their situation, she said.

'We were not able to talk about it because there were so many people around the table so there was not a lot of time,' said Ms. Valesco. 'It was really in our agenda to talk about it, but unfortunately there were so many people, we were told that we were only allocated about five minutes.'"

Here's a picture of Ms. Valesco at the meeting in question. She's the one in the scarf next to Jason Kenney: And here's an account of her presentation at that meeting:

Pura Velasco, organizer of Caregiver Support Services, and a former caregiver herself who has been advocating for two decades for the rights of caregiveres, emphasized to Minister Kenney that the live-in requirement without status is the “heart of the problem” of the program. “Even if the provincial government tries its best to implement the employment standards, without status in a live-in condition, the confidence of the caregivers to assert their right to basic employment standards is diminished,” she said.

Kenney responded that situation was very clear to him.

Velasco added that in her written submission to the Minister, she had indicated that she and caregivers would like to work with Minister Kenney and his staff closely, just like what they are doing now with the provincial government. “We have lots of creative ideas in resolving the issues of the caregiver program,” she said, but which would be difficult to thoroughly discuss in a dialogue setting. To this suggestion, the Minister informed the group of the presence of a staff in his Ministry who could also help.

[...]

Julius Tiangson informed the Minister of the settlement issues affecting live-in-caregivers and other temporary foreign workers and other newscomers are about economic integration. He spoke of their already limited economic options becoming even narrower through the years, especially when families join them. For this reason, he informed the minister, his agency, as a settlement provider organization, has already submitted proposals based on a number of calls for proposals by Kenney’s department. “ He then requested the Minister to look into a copy of the full proposal which he turned over to Kenney at the meeting.

At this point, Kenney responded to Velasco’s recommendations. Following the series in the Toronto Star, he said he had discussions with the provincial minister and that they had agreed that the Ontario government and federal government will collaborate more closely on issues relating to the live-in-caregivers program. He also said they will consider the Manitoba law with respect to the recruitment agencies.

...which sounds perhaps more extensive than a mere five minute encounter.

Now, one shouldn't got too far with this. Clearly the nannies in question had concerns, and had expressed these concerns to various people, prior to April 2009. On the other hand, Kenney and co. were very swift to milk the issue when it first hit the papers. Did Ms. Valesco really say nothing to Minister Kenney, and was there no contact between the minister and the nannies previous to the story breaking? Note Kenney's slightly weaselly responses to questions as to when and if he had met the nannnies here.

And, on the other other hand, we are three weeks into this "scandal", and no complaints (as far as I know) have been filed by the nannies with the Ontario Ministry of Labor. This whole thing is being decided in the newspapers. If the charges against Ms. Dhalla are to be considered credible, then something more serious than the making of allegations has got to happen.

Probably The Sexxxiest Picture Of Stephen Harper That There Is

...because he's got that supermodel-on-the-cat-walk "I know you want me, I don't want you" look in his eyes.

If he's going to go around looking like this (though frankly he could still afford to lose a few lbs--is that his gut or is he smuggling fertilizer?) I don't know what the point of voting Lib could possibly be. We got nothing policy-wise. If we lose our edge in sexxxiness we're truly fucked.

Can we get a nude shot of Gerard Kennedy here, or Pablo Rodriguez, or at least Ruby Dhalla? I'm losing faith.

Ruby Dhalla Is Cookin'

...with olive oil.

H/T Bourque, who is an avid fan and may require a restraining order.

Ruby Dhalla Remains Hot

...even as she lights the diya (an oil lamp) at the re-opening of Lanka Gardens restaurant.

That is all.

(PS. Lanka Gardens is the place that got fire-bombed.)

NDP Private Member's Bill Would Ban Replacement Workers

From NDPer Chris Charlton:

The purpose of this enactment is to prohibit employers under the Canada Labour Code from hiring replacement workers to perform the duties of employees who are on strike or locked out.

The enactment also provides for the imposition of a fine for an offence.
 
I'm not dead set against banning scab labour, although in practice any government that  legislated in this manner would have the business community on their case forever.  And maybe the NDP has made similar proposals when they were 3rd party-ers.  But as official opposition even their private members bills are going to come under great deal of scrutiny.  I can just see how this one might play out in the days and weeks ahead.  Think Ruby Dhalla and Bill C-428.

Dear Christie Blatchford

To understand the point of your latest column re Ruby Dhalla, I would have to have read it to the end. And after sentence #3 I knew that wasn't going to be possible.

And to the folks at the G&M, I can write a column people will actually read to the end for half whatever Christie charges you. Give me an email and I will send you my CV.

Ruby Dhalla Looking Hot

Found this via Bourque, who trolls the East Asian news sites for pictures of her. Does his wife know?