Live and Work in Canada: Comprehensive, Up-to-date, Practical Information About Everyday Life, 4th PDF
Preview Live and Work in Canada: Comprehensive, Up-to-date, Practical Information About Everyday Life, 4th
Visit our How To website at www.howto.co.uk At www.howto.co.uk you can engage in conversation with our authors – all of whom have ‘been there and done that’ in their specialist fields. You can get access to special offers and additional content but most importantly you will be able to engage with, and become a part of, a wide and growing community of people just like yourself. At www.howto.co.uk you’ll be able to talk and share tips with people who have similar interests and are facing similar challenges in their lives. People who, just like you, have the desire to change their lives for the better – be it through moving to a new country, starting a new business, growing their own vegetables, or writing a novel. At www.howto.co.uk you’ll find the support and encouragement you need to help make your aspirations a reality. You can go direct to www.live-and-work-in-canada.co.uk which is part of the main How To site. How To Books strives to present authentic, inspiring, practical information in their books. Now, when you buy a title from How To Books, you get even more than just words on a page. Published by How To Content, A division of How To Books Ltd, Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road, Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RX, United Kingdom. Tel: (01865) 375794. Fax: (01865) 379162. | v Contents Preface ix 1 Deciding to come to Canada 1 Defining your goals 2 Keeping expectations realistic 2 Joining your family 4 Making preparations 4 Sticking to your decision 6 2 Learning a bit about Canada 9 The history 9 Identifying the population 17 Understanding the government 18 The legal and judicial systems 19 Looking at geography and climate 20 The economy 24 Attitudes 26 3 Immigration to Canada 29 Understanding policy and politics 29 Illegal immigration 30 Knowing the general requirements 31 Temporary visa issues 32 Obtaining permanent residence 39 Family-based immigration 44 Business immigration 47 Fees 48 Qualifying for citizenship 48 Being removed from Canada 49 Summing up 49 4 Understanding health and social security 51 Number-counting 52 Public versus private 53 Knowing where to go 54 Controlling disease 56 Eligibility and the health card 56 Looking at the details 57 Social security 58 vi | L I V E & W O R K I N C A N A D A 5 Taxation 63 Income tax 63 Goods and services tax 65 Provincial sales tax/harmonised sales tax 66 Property taxes 66 Corporate taxes 67 Other taxes 67 Seeing where it all goes 67 Tipping 68 6 Finding a place to live 71 Assessing household characteristics 72 Renting 72 Owning 75 Discrimination 78 Government-subsidised housing 79 Obtaining telephone, television and the Internet 79 Considering safety 81 Obtaining household goods 81 7 Getting a job 85 Applying for a Social Insurance Number 86 Having the right qualifications 86 Location, location, location 87 Looking for a job 90 Doing it yourself 96 Looking at custom and practice 97 Foreign workers 99 8 Going to school 105 Funding/jurisdiction 105 Outlining levels of instruction 106 Categorising types of schools 109 Examining facilities 110 Enrolling 111 School breaks 111 Going on to higher education 112 Foreign students 120 9 Driving in Canada 127 Province to province 127 Knowing the rules of the road 129 Drivers’ licences 131 Owning a car 132 Insuring and registering 134 C O N T E N T S | vii Joining motor associations 134 Gasoline 135 Using other transport 135 10 Having fun 139 Enjoying sports and recreation 139 Outdoor recreation 143 Exploring the arts 146 Using the media 151 Nightlife 154 Taking holidays 154 Visiting famous sites 154 Speaking the language 155 Keeping in touch 156 Glossary 159 Further reading 163 Useful addresses 167 Index 177 viii THIS MAP IS NOT TO SCALE ARCTIC OCEAN YUKON NORTH- TERRITORYWEST TERRITORIES Whitehorse NUNAVUT Iqaluit ATLANTIC Yellowknife OCEAN PACIFIC OCEAN Hudson Bay BRITISH COLUMBIA ALBERTA NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR SASKAT- Edmonton CHEWAN MANITOBA QUEBEC St John’s Vancouver Victoria Fredericton Calgary ONTARIO PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Regina Winnipeg Charlottetown Quebec City Lake Superior Halifax NOVA SCOTIA Lake Huron Ottawa UNITED STATES NEW BRUNSWICK Montreal OF AMERICA Lake Ontario Toronto Lake Michigan Lake Erie | ix Preface Welcome to the fourth edition of Live and Work in Canada. Canada is a very diverse, exciting and liveable country, something we’re sure you’ll agree with when you come yourself. Whether your stay in Canada is to be permanent, as a temporary worker, as a student or as a holidaymaker, there is some fact and fiction to sort through before venturing to this huge nation. We hope that this book helps you to do so. This edition has been fully updated to reflect the latest changes in how to get into Canada and enjoy living here. In addition to the ten chapters of information on what you need to know before coming to Canada, there is a useful address section at the back of the book. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but it should provide some good contacts to start with. Throughout the book and in the useful addresses section, we’ve included many more website addresses and email contacts than ever before. Phone numbers in the book are listed with the city code in brackets followed by the phone number. Canada’s international code is 1. All monetary sums are quoted in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise specified. Much of the quantitative data in this book, the numbers that is, come from Statistics Canada, an agency of the federal government. Statistics Canada recently completed its 2006 Census of the people of Canada. However, the agency releases the collected data to the public, on such things like population, religion and immigration slowly over the course of a number of years. We have used the latest data, when available, but in some cases we’ve had to rely on older statistics. You may have heard alluring things about Canada from Canadians abroad who are missing home or from people from your own country who have visited Canada. Undoubtedly, you would have heard a bit about Canucks (an informal name for Canadians): that they don’t mind the cold and are fairly laid-back. But relaxed as they may be about some things, they can get riled, becoming fervent about politics, especially when it comes to protecting their prized health-care and education systems, as well as the environment.
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