Angry in the Great White North

The allegations being aimed at Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla and her immediate family are mind-boggling.  Nannies who were illegally hired, mistreated, and coerced:

Fast-rising Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla has become entangled in the nanny trap, with allegations two nannies [Magdalene Gordo, 31, and Richelyn Tongson, 37,] hired to care for her mother were illegally employed and then mistreated.

The nannies also allege Dhalla improperly seized their passports and family members forced them to do non-nanny jobs such as washing cars, shining shoes and cleaning family-owned chiropractic clinics.

The nannies allege that they were hired before the application under the Live-In Caregiver Program was approved.  The report in the Toronto Star makes explicit mention of the application for the second nanny having been submitted by Ruby Dhalla's brother Neil Dhalla.  No mention is made of who applied for the first nanny.

The nannies were hired to take care of Neil and Ruby's mother, Tavinder.  The application justified the need for a live-in caregiver by alleging a disability that prevented Tavinder from being able to walk or stand for long periods.  The nannies, however, allege that Tavinder was in good health, and just needed a nightly foot massage, and morning and evening tea.

So what did these nannies do for the rest of the day?

They claimed that, beyond providing morning and nightly tea for Tavinder, most jobs were cleaning-related, either in the house, outside or in chiropractic clinics owned by the family.

Nanny advocates say these jobs fall outside the federal guidelines for caregivers hired under the program. "Her mother had had me shovelling snow at midnight," said Gordo. "She wanted a slave, not a caregiver."

The nannies allege that they worked 16 hour days, and that they were paid $250 a week, no overtime.

Worse for Ruby Dhalla is that the placement agency says it was Ruby Dhalla who did the hiring, and used her position as MP to shortcut the process:

Gordo and Tongson were sent to work at the Dhalla home by Akemi Taniguchi, who runs a placement agency from her tiny North York bungalow. Taniguchi said she dealt mainly with Ruby Dhalla and placed the women after the MP assured her she could expedite the necessary work permits.

"I was told that she could work on it right away because she's an MP," said Taniguchi.

The story is a shocking one. Gordo was the first nanny hired.  After three months of 16-hour days allegedly cleaning the houses vof other members of the Dhalla family, she quit.  And there is another collaborating witness to these allegations:

Gordo was the first nanny hired, and said she worked for the Dhalla family for about three weeks, starting at 7:30 in the morning and working as late as midnight.

Gordo claimed she was taken three times to clean the apartment of a family cousin, and did other jobs unrelated to caring for the mother. She quit and alleges it took her more than a month to get paid. Gordo said she was only paid after getting help from Brampton businessman Khalid Alvi, who confirmed to the Star he intervened.

Gordo was replaced by Tongson, who alleges she shined shoes and cleaned the chiropractic clinic run by Neil and Ruby.  Tongson alleges that Ruby Dhalla was deeply involved in the selection process:

Tongson said she was interviewed and hired by Ruby Dhalla on Feb. 22, 2008, the same day Gordo said she quit. Tongson said Ruby Dhalla gave her a test, making a noodle dish. She said the MP liked it and put Tongson on a three-week "tryout," promising to sponsor her if she worked hard during the trial period, she said.

Tongson said she was paid $500 in cash every two weeks, plus room and board in the Dhalla home.

Besides the mistreatment and the use of her status as an MP to skirt the law, there is the allegation of what sounds like extortion!

According to Tongson, Ruby Dhalla demanded and took all her personal documents, including her passport, birth certificate and marriage certificate, saying she needed them to fill out the application to hire her as a live-in caregiver.

Tongson said she grew concerned as weeks passed without her documents or work authorization materializing. She turned to Intercede, the agency that helps foreign workers. Intercede called Ruby Dhalla's office in Ottawa. According to Tongson, Dhalla flew home from Ottawa the next day. Tongson said the documents were left on the kitchen counter after Tavinder Dhalla had her sign a handwritten note saying she had given the documents to Neil Dhalla, and she could have had them back at any time.

Tongson signed the letter.

Gordo, who said she was owed money after she quit, claims Ruby Dhalla called and said she would pay if the nanny signed a letter saying she was well treated and properly paid. Gordo refused. Later, Gordo said she met Dhalla's mother, Tavinder, at a McDonald's and was handed $400 cash.

Needless to say, Ruby Dhalla is denying everything.  She did live in the household with the nannies, but her brother was in charge of anything to do with the nannies:

In the interview, Ruby Dhalla said nannies at the home work for her family, not her.

She said she spends four days a week in Ottawa. Gordo and Tongson said Dhalla arrived at the home every Thursday and left for Ottawa on Monday. They said she occupies the biggest suite in the four-bedroom house.

Dhalla said all queries should be directed to her brother.

"The allegations being made against my family are false and baseless," Neil Dhalla said in a statement. "At no time were any passports or documentation withheld from these individuals."

So why would the nannies say these terrible things?

Neil Dhalla said Gordo worked at the home for only 11 days and at no time had she turned over her passport to anyone in the family. "My family has been a victim of an unscrupulous agency, as well as the caregiver," he said. His lawyer added Neil is "being used as a dupe and pawn by people desperate to remain in Canada at any cost."

The problem is that the nannies don't seem to be in any danger of being sent anywhere:

Both Gordo and Tongson are currently working legally for families who treat them well, they said.

The problem for Ruby Dhalla is that if any single allegation aimed at her directly is proven true, her political career is likely to be over.  So for Ruby Dhalla, there is no option of strategically admitting to a lesser allegation as a way of avoiding a more serious one.  They're all career killers.  If I was her, I'd be worried about the allegations coming from placement specialist Akemi Taniguchi and businessman Khalid Alvi.  Their collaborative statements make it difficult to dismiss the allegations of the nannies as merely attempts to manipulate the immigration process.

And that puts Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff in a bind.  He wants to keep up the momentum that the Liberal Party has been enjoying, and these allegations levelled against one of his most visible and recognizable MPs threatens that momentum.  Unless Ruby Dhalla can squash these allegations quickly and firmly, there will be pressure within the party to move Ruby Dhalla as far away as possible from the Liberal Party in order to quarantine her legal problems.  But that has risks too.  Liberal MPs might not appreciate one of their own being sacrificed, straining the relationship between Ignatieff and his caucus.

There is time before this point is reached, but probably not much time.  Michael Ignatieff is positioning himself to be the champion of EI reform.  Having one of his own MPs embroiled in an employment scandal like this could not come at a worse time.

Family ties: If it becomes a choice between standing by her brother Neil, and tossing Neil under the bus in order to save her political career, what would Ruby Dhalla do?