Canada Live-in Caregiver Program

A word of warning about the live-in caregiver program in Canada.

We used an agency based in Ontario with a claim to a 90% success rate - sorting through scores of resumes and finally interviewing several candidates by phone. We paid handsomely too.

We chose a nanny promoted by the agency - she came across as happy, fluent, experienced, and capable. WRONG!

What a scam. The person we interviewed on the phone was probably not even the person we got. When our nanny arrived, she was quite a different person than the nanny we thought we were getting, based on the reference letters provided, the opinion of the agency, the interview, and her resume.

The nanny that arrived was sullen, struggled with English, and clearly had no experience whatsoever with small children. She was unable to cook even simple meals for the kids (she could make toast and instant coffee for herself though). She had never dressed or given a bath to a child and had no common sense, frequently doing things like leaving the kids in the bath unattended, leaving the gate at the top of the stairs open, leaving my 3 year old daughter in a public toilet by herself.

What did the nanny agency suggest after this disaster? They suggested they would send another nanny to come live in our house. We weren't willing to take the risk, nor could we keep the 'bad nanny' long enough to wait the requisite 3-4 months to process a new visa and the rest.

Thinking about a live in? Look as hard as you can locally first - otherwise you might spend a lot of money simply to disrupt your life, and put your kids at risk.

I know others have had positive experiences, but it seems to be "luck of the draw" - the agency we used didn't seem to screen the candidates at all.

Caveat Emptor!