Ill nanny galvanized the live-in community

Juana Tejada, a diminutive and soft-spoken Filipina worker, was seen making headlines after she was cut off from OHIP and faced removal from Canada after she developed cancer here.

Between chemotherapy and her failing health, the 39-year old Toronto woman has inspired many, serving as a symbol for changes to the rights of often voiceless and faceless live-in caregivers laboring at low wages for looking after Canada’s young and old.

Tejada came to Canada in 2003 under the federal live-in caregiver program, which grants permanent residents status to domestic workers after completion of their three-year assignments and following their acquirement of the necessary medical and criminal record clearances.

Her cancer was found in 2006 while giving exam for her immigration application. She was rejected twice, following which she appealed to immigration officials to waive the good-health requirement on humanitarian grounds. As a last resort, she went public with her story in the Star and finally got a reprieve this summer.

Her tale electrified the live-in care community to lobby the federal government to modify the health clearance requirements.

Under the current regulations, live-in caregivers must pass the medical examination two times- once before arriving on a work permit and later when applying for permanent residency. The community campaign wants officials to let off applicants from the second medical test in case they develop illness after they arrive to Canada.

Rafael Fabregas, Tejada’s lawyer, said that Juana certainly breathed a new life into the campaign to bring about change to the program with a renewed sense of hope and confidence.

Tejada undergoes chemotherapy once every two weeks at the Princess Margaret Hospital in order to battle stage 4 lung cancer which originated in her colon. She is unable to work and is supported by her 42-year old husband, Noli Azada, who works at a bakery.

Tejada, who, with her husband moved out of her cousin’s home into their apartment in Toronto this year, said that she has good and bad days, and that she feels really weak and overwhelmed on bad days, and need to lie down in bed to rest all day.

The number of live-in caregivers coming to Canada has increased from 5,950 in the year 2005 to over 13,000 last year. However, the percentage of those been able to complete the three-year live-in employment requirement and who have been issued permanent residency has hovered at just around the 60 percent mark.