Live and Work in Canada: Comprehensive, Up-to-date, Practical Information About Everyday Life, 4th

193 Pages·2010·2.6 MB·English

by  Benjamin A. Kranc, Karina Roman

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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.