MP Ruby Dhalla appears before the Commons citizenship and immigration committee last May. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

A parliamentary committee looking into accusations that Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla and her family mistreated live-in caregivers has recommended that provincial and federal authorities look into the allegations.

The 30-page report by the standing committee on citizenship and immigration focused mainly on the plight of live-in caregivers in general, mentioning Dhalla briefly and making no conclusions on the allegations against her.

But it did recommend "that the authorized bodies in the provincial and federal governments investigate the allegations of the former live-in caregivers in the Dhalla residence and take measures as appropriate. Further, the committee requests that these government bodies, upon completion of their investigations, sent the result to the committee."

The report offers a number of recommendations concerning live-in caregivers, including a call to grant them permanent resident status in certain conditions and waive the requirement to obtain a study permit.

Dhalla and the caregivers appeared before the committee last month.

Magdalene Gordo, 31, and Richelyn Tongson, 37, said Dhalla interviewed and hired them to care for her mother in Dhalla's family home in Mississauga, Ont.

They alleged she forced them to work long hours doing household chores (including shovelling snow and cleaning family-owned chiropractic clinics) and held on to their passports — all in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation that lasted from February to May 2008.

But Dhalla rejected the charges, telling the committee that their accusations were "false and unsubstantiated."

Dhalla said her brother, Neil Dhalla, was responsible for hiring and managing the women.

Partisan politics

The Liberals wrote a minority report that said "certain members" on the committee played partisan politics by focusing on the Dhalla case.

It said it was "puzzling" that the committee felt it had the authority to investigate the Dhalla case and not request that all cases related to allegations made by employees and employers be investigated.

"The role of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to order investigations into a specific case is highly unusual and leads one to question the real motivation behind this particular exercise," the minority report said.

The minority report said that Dhalla "provided a vigorous defence with evidence, proof and documentation."