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2023-02-28 0
Well Canada is a great country, my grand parents were able to get here in 1957 with their 3 kids, after going through and surviving WWII, work in Europe was scarce and employers were abusing their workers everywhere. My dad was one of those 3 children's, he met my mother here, they had me and my sister. Today i have 3 boys of my own and my sister has 2 girls. Canada has any country as their plusses and minuses, but i wouldn't live anywhere else. I've lived my whole life on the south shore of Montréal, worked in and around Montréal for 35 years. Never ran out of work as long as i was willing and able to work. I've worked in all my life, 65% immigrants and 35% Québecer's. There both are kinda racists in some way and they have there own reasons as well. I was bullied in school till i was 11 years old, i had an accent and dressed differently since my dad made our clothing. Being ridiculed, pushed, punched etc, and then one day the bully of the school approached me and wanted to fight me. I was scared, everyone else were laughing, so i clenched my fist and punched that kid right on the nose. Everyone got quiet and the principal came out, we went to his office and then he asked me straight away : Are you gonna do this again or was it a one time thing ?? I said it will be one time thing unless someone else wants to fight me again, then i will have to defend myself again. He said ok and now go back to class, and that was that. But in the 1970's with the augmentation of people moving here after WWII, people in Canada were scared immigrants would steal their jobs etc. My grand father worked all his life till he died at 82 years old. Worked 6 days a week, 12 to 16 hours a day. My dad had worked all his life 70 hours a week and sometimes 85 hours a week. People complaining about doctors or hospitals, a lot are going in for a cold, the flu, headaches etc, for sure take 2 aspirin or tylenol and stay home, no need to see a doctor for that. If you have a broken limb or were in an accident, you go right in and get fixed up without issue really. Any country as it's inconveniences in the end ?
2023-01-17 0
I worked in Vancouver a lot, which was really nice and pretty, but I don't recall the tap water hitting me hard lol. I grew up on the northwest chicago burbs and spent much of my life there and think it is one of the great areas to grow up and live in. The city itself has pros and cons for areas, like all cities, although crime seems up in even the better parts these days. Y'all are super on point with airlines - because of the competition across all the major airlines here, as well as competition across banks and co-branded credit cards, US citizens can take advantage of some pretty great deals and options uniquely available only here because of this competition.
2022-04-19 1
I worked with a guy from Ghana in Newark NJ. He had married an American woman who bossed him around and didn't really care for him. He lost a lot of money in a church pyramid scheme and I think the American diet contributed to him having a heart attack and later a stroke that killed him. I saw a video on Ghana and I really thought he would have been so much better staying in Ghana and probably would have had a much better and longer life.
2022-01-27 0
It takes me 3 months to get a doctor appointment in the US here in Seattle and I was just told several months to see my eye doctor. Depending on medical plan the insurance means you do not go to the specialist without a referral. So Canadians may not have as much to complain about. My parents were immigrants to Canada because it was easier (my father was in Danish Merchant Marine and was in China Sea when his appointment would come up in New York). They did not have it easy because they did not speak the language and worked hard to learn. Working as a housekeeper was the norm for females and my mother's education meant nothing when she expected to work in a bank. Danes stuck together and helped each other to get jobs, with carpentry (most had apprenticeships like brick laying), to socialize, etc. and this is normal for immigrants. Working multiple jobs was normal and having a great home was their American dream instead of a government apartment. It is true for all immigrants that their kids will do better than the parents. The kids will have no accent if they learn English by age 12. There are age cutoffs on learning a language in child development. During the hiring process the jobs are given to people the interviewer perceives as being like themselves. This is proven by psychologists (I am one). This puts immigrants at a disadvantage unless they have a rare skill without competition. Dad got his house and Mom took my sister and went back to Denmark because of health issues and the US has garbage medical care and social services for the elderly (poor sister didn't speak Danish because it wasn't allowed in case it impacted our English skill). As a daughter of immigrants I worked 20 hours days and weekends almost all my life. I put myself through school and have been successful despite being female and making much less than men. Immigrants need to realize that it will be their kids who make the big bucks and succeed while the parents who immigrated will struggle. As a cultural mix (US, Canadian and Danish citizen because of wacky sexist rules) I have had a lot of confusion over the years trying to fit in and figure out what my values are. I have had to ask my US husband is that behavior normal? Of course different states in the US or going 200 miles north to Canada means a different language to speak (Canadian or Spanish in the South) and different values, ways of dress, etc. so being an immigrant can mean just traveling 200 miles north or to an insane state like Texas or New York. Culture shock is everywhere but most of us move for the money. I am thinking of going back to Canada but my home was Vancouver and that now looks like a hell hole. My husband had over a million dollars in medical care and I really do not wish to lose all my assets to medical costs in the US. So now I am trying to choose between death by earthquake in BC somewhere or death by tornado or perhaps fire storm in Calgary due to climate change.
2022-01-24 0
Did some simple maths.\n\nAround 40,000 student turned workers end up not receiving an ITA for PR before the expiration of their PGWP. Assuming most of these studies are 2 year or equivalent programs (which means the PGWP will be 3 years in length), you pay in around CAD 12,000 into the CPP. As a temporary resident, you are not eligible to claim the benefits you have paid into CPP until you have worked in Canada for a minimum of 10 years.(assuming you have not become a PR or citizen) That comes to CAD 480,000,000 in every turnaround.\n\nTo submit a CRS profile, you must have a language proficiency score. This is achieved upon completing an English language test either in the form of IELTS, TOFEL or CELPIP. The average cost of these tests can range from CAD 300-350. And they have a expiry date, usually around 2 years, because as we all know, speaking English is an acquired skill which you can abandon if you so wish, so they need to make sure you still speak English after 2 years or so. Funny enough, if you speak French, it is a completely different story, as a lot of provinces invite specifically people with strong French skill, and Quebéc has the right to make independent decisions of policies on immigration, as Quebéc is not a signatory on the Constitution Act of 1982, so they reserve the right to making their own policies independent from the federal government. (Did I mention the fact Canada is officially a bilingual country, but New Brunswick is the only official bilingual province?) This discrepancy in language preferences of candidates can be elaborated by the TR2PR pathway that was announced in April 2021. (Did I say math? Oops, a little politics won't hurt anyone) Getting back on maths, on this date there are 196,685 profiles in the CRS pool, which equates to around CAD 590,065,500 in ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING FEE alone. 2 years later it's gonna be another, and another, and another........you get the idea right?\n\nCanada welcomes you to spend some money, but there's no guarantees.
2021-10-09 0
Pretty good Adam I'd just mention a few of those things are...I don't want to say inaccurate but way more diverse. For instance French. Yes Quebec is the only French province BUT New Brunswick is the only Bilingual province and basically half and half. This is good for things like federal of provincial services because by law they must provide service in both languages but not so basically everywhere else. The problem with this is you can have an almost completely English town almost nobody speaks French and drive 15 minutes and be in a town where nobody speaks English. Research on this might be hard because a town with a French name may not have any French people in and vise versa. Also this problem is multiplied in the fact that if you Do want a French area we don't speak standard French or Quebecois but instead Le Chiac which is a difficult and confusing mix of old French and english (almost exactly like the Cajun dialect). Second part of this is that Montreal is easy to live in if you don't speak French and is so multicultural you are just apt to hear Swahili as French in public. Last part is be very careful where you move on the prairies as they have may isolated towns some that speak French also. Next is tipping I've never had to tip anyone for a haircut outside of the military and all other forms of tipping here on the east coast are purely optional and wait staff don't get upset if you don't leave a tip unless you were a jerk or left them extra work like making a big mess (I worked as cook for a while after I got out of the army and I rarely ever head staff complain) HOWEVER....tip a waitress well and she might accidentally give you 2 pieces of pie lol and tip a taxi driver well and he will not only get you the cheapest fare he will find ANYTHING you may need no questions asked. Lastly on the nice thing....we are nice for sure especially compared to our southern neighbours BUT there is a lot of passive aggressive nice that happens and this also varies greatly. For instance as a city boy of course you answered the way you did but a guy who have lived all over this country in big and small, French and English places who now has retired to a rural town I can say I find the cities quite snobby and the French and the English can be quite snobby to each other and where I live now if you asked a random stranger for 5$ chances are you would get it also driving down the road people you don't know will just wave at you as if you were the closest friends. Canada is certainly a weird place so many extremes and my advice to anyone wanting to move here is do your research and then visit and travel a bit if possible because even us Canadians can be surprised by thing or two across this gigantic country
2021-09-07 0
Canada is what you make of it. You can arrive rich and end up poor and you can arrive poor and end up rich. In between that, you can have a great life that balances your needs. I’ve seen immigrants succeed simply because they see the opportunity in front of them . They worked hard in their own counties to stay just above the poverty line ,but when they apply that same effort here it pays off ten times greater. I feel that compared to a lot of immigrants, natural born Canadians come across as spoiled and a little lazy…we are. We haven’t had to struggle the same way someone from a poorer country might have. I’ve talked to people who’ve worked ten to twelve hours a day just to stay afloat. If you did that here you could make plenty of money to live and have some left over. As far as owning a house goes,yes it’s expensive . I feel that homeownership in any country is relatively expensive. Here is a tip; use that soaring home prices to your advantage. Houses are expensive but you can make a lot of money buying and selling. I recommend putting together a buyers group and share the house for a few years, then sell at a profit, buy a bigger house or two smaller houses.try to buy the worst house in the best neighbourhood and fix it up slowly . That house could double in value in five or six years in the Toronto market. This is nothing new of course ,the people from India and China seem to do this a lot here ,it drives up prices and profits. On the downside to this ,you are now part of the problem. As the housing prices are driven up the non wealthy can no longer afford to own a house . They are at the mercy of high rents with no rewards of ownership. They are caught in a cycle of hard work and (relative)poverty. This could also be you if you can’t keep up the house payments and are forced to rent.\nHow well you speak English is important but your native language is also useful here because Canada is half immigrants . As a Canadian that speaks only english (Irish descent)I have to say to all newcomers that I’m very impressed that you have learned a new language and that you may even speak more than two! Don’t be embarrassed about your abilities . I find that in my experience , Canadians do not look down on people just because they don’t know English. In fact ,I’ve known people that have lived here for decades and still know very little English. They are comfortable in their communities and they function just fine. Learn as much English as suits your needs and be proud of any gains you make.\nOutside of Toronto are other cities that you might consider when looking at southern Ontario.From my experience,most are generally the same, just not as big . There are large immigrant communities in London Ontario, Hamilton and just outside of Toronto where housing is just a little bit less expensive but the commute to work is probably longer. This is just my opinion but in the small towns there are less people of colour , (which is what people of no colour call everyone else . I wonder if I’m called a person of no colour in some other culture ? LoL ). That might make it harder for you to feel integrated ,if that’s what you want. I’m not saying that people from other cultures can’t make it in a small town , I’m just saying that it’s definitely not Toronto . Here, people of any nationality can feel like they have a place where they can belong . It seems that no matter where you are from ,there is a community already here that’s set up restaurants and stores and clothing shops and newcomer support systems. And if your from Portugal or China or India or Africa or the Middle East, there are large groups of your kin here that have established roots for generations and you probably know this already.\nToronto means meeting place and that becomes evident quickly. I was born here and it’s one of the things I love the most about my city. I’m not going to say that there isn’t systemic racism here ,the people of no colour still kind of keep the top position , but as we become a minority in a decade or so ,I hope that will shift to a broader spectrum. It’s certainly happening already. One good thing is that the police department tries to hire people of colour so that racialism may play a smaller role. We’re getting used to seeing our politicians more and more reflect their constituents.\nI have to talk about the weather. Because I’m from here I’m used to the extremes of minus thirty and plus thirty . Eventually you get used to it (somewhat). Dressing in the right clothes is important. Summer is easy , but winter is different. It’s trying to kill you. Spend the most that you can afford on winter cloths . If you can afford a quality parka you should get one. The hood can be drawn around the face and stay out of the wind.\nIf not ,think of layers with a outer layer that blocks the wind. We have things called long Johns that are basically full length thick cotton or nylon pants that go on under your pants and a pair of extra thick socks. Buy your boots to fit your thick socks. Try to get the best boots you can afford ,it’s something that you might spend a little extra for but never regret.\nAll in all we are a fairly organized and peaceful society. Most people are friendly and will give you a chance . We have a good social safety net here and you don’t have to be homeless or starving if you don’t want to. There are people and organizations set up to help ,that truly try to get people back on their feet. It’s a good investment that pays off in ways that matter for the quality of life in a big city. I’m not putting my American neighbours down when I say they do things differently. They have their ways ,we have ours. This is just something that we do because we’re trying to learn how to help those that society has discarded or can’t find their place. Sure we have one or two areas where the homeless have pitched tents and we have some resources for them if they want. Unfortunately The mayor recently forced a small camp to move from a very visible place to more scattered locations. There were social workers involved as well as protesters trying to protect them. I didn’t like that happening and I want to see even more resources dedicated to them ,but on the other hand ,we are trying to avoid something like what happens on the streets when it’s just ignored. When I see YouTube videos of the streets of Philadelphia I’m extremely saddened. I thank the lucky stars that I was born in Toronto Canada.\nFor all it’s pollution and expense and crowds ,I think it’s a great place to do almost anything your heart desires . For every ugly building there is a beautiful park ,for every honked horn there is a birds call , for every cold and dark day there is beautiful sunny one around the corner.
2021-06-14 0
Hey Jason, thanks so much for your videos. They've really provided me with a lot of information and put my mind at ease about a lot of the processes. I do have one query though - I have had a company of my own for the past 10 years (a film production company) in which I have been a managing director and also worked as a writer, director, producer etc. Since this isn't a traditional job with a regular salary, would it be ineligible as work experience under CRS? Would it be considered as being self-employed?
2021-06-03 0
Hello Sir, I am working in a government organization for 25 years. I have lot of paper evidence for the job. I don't want my authority to know about my PNP application because it may jeopardize my job. I am planning to get the job reference letter from my junior officers with whom I worked and who know about my job responsibility. If I am invited, along with my submitted papers can I send a request letter to SINP officials and later to IRCC officials to not contact my HR for verification. If they even contact my HR they should keep the purpose of their investigation secret from my HR and referees who gave me job experience letters. For job investigation the SINP and IRCC officials can visit my office any time they want.
2021-02-17 0
I know it won’t be easy but, Toronto has a lot of resources for immigrants and even undocumented immigrants. I worked for a shelter and although it was the only one that takes undocumented families, you learn there are resources out there. \nIt’s about aligning yourself with the right community support Center, finding the people who will fight for you. There are so many people here who welcome and want to help all types of immigrants. No matter your background.\nThe people who work helping these communities they are ruthless in their fight for citizenship, or at least finding you a job and home, they will guide you through the system. Social workers, ones in community resource centres, not government centres, will be your best friend. They know where the red tape is and the resources available to you. \nYou could even go to a specific shelter to t all out your options and where you could go to get help.\nI understand this is not ideal. \nBut, if you want to be here, your best friends are non-profits, finding a center that aligns with your story, your background, because they will fight for you. We have people here from every country and resource centres geared towards your own language, religion etc.\nAnother big way to set yourself up for success. Churches, rich churches to be specific. \nMy mom works in a very rich church and it helps them feel better about themselves helping people, you could be nice enough to alleviate their guilt through their wallets, and connections. Under the table work, shelter, space for your family, set you up, they might even have the lawyers you need pro Bono in those rich churches. Church shopping, do not be above it if you don’t have resources. You don’t just get help, you build a community and support system through a common bond, the church. \nI know these aren’t revolutionary tips, but without specifics of your background it’s hard (for me specifically) to give specific advice online as to what services could be provided for you.\nIt’s kind of like a doctors appointment. You need background info to diagnose the resources for you and how to access that help.
2020-11-27 0
A lot of my friends come to me whenever they need some extra cash because i always have something saved up,, my black friends never payed me back,, all my other friends did... so i stopped letting my black friends borrow money... im mexican, my people love getting drunk and typically take their job less seriously than others,, also we tend to be really loud and obnoxious.. ive worked with alot of indian people, and most of them never showered... stereotypes exist for a reason, but until you are proven to fall into these stereotypes you shouldn't be judged by them because there definitely are exceptions.
2020-05-08 0
The white guy they used in these test is a lot more socialable looking than I am and I am sure I would get the same treated I am even being white.\nI also worked for best buy and was told to ask people if there was something I could help them with if they look suspicious and standing in one place by a shelf is just one of those things. That is just common practice.
2019-01-31 0
Fifth estate should investigate “interpreters” writing foreigners red seal exemption tests... a lot of them I have worked with are not what they say they are...
2018-06-14 0
I worked construction in my summers and I know skilled carpenters, even the ones that never went to trades school, can easily make $45/hr in Calgary if they subcontract or even $40 on payroll and its not even boom times. A lot of guys I worked with were easily clearing $100 000 a year but the problem is they choose to buy brand new pickup trucks on instalments or have overall poor saving habits. Hours are really long too. What I noticed about wages in Vancouver and Toronto are that they are really bad for construction workers, I know a guy in Vancouver whose a layout journeyman making only $21 a hour, a labourer in Calgary starts out at usually $19-20.
2018-05-18 0
Native Americans have trouble with drinking I have rented to native Americans several times and it has never worked out once the money from their grants run out or once they fall off the wagon and start drinking again they end up getting evicted I have tried several times it has always been a disaster many of them have come to me saying they have a drinking problem they've stopped drinking they want to move to get away from their friends that they drink with and if I would give them an opportunity they would be very appreciative a month or two later they are beating up each other it's not my fault that Native Americans have a drinking problem it's also not my fault that need of Americans get a lot of government money and do not hold jobs in a disproportionate percentage of their population
2018-03-27 0
The only Blacks allowed to live in Canada are those that are from the Caribbean Islands as part of North America and the Royals as Knights of Canada who are Black Indians as Métis and they are the famous Singers in Toronto and also famous Hollywood Actors. Nobody else is allowed to be here except Black Americans but they never are here in Canada. The only time we ever had African Americans in Canada were the ones using the Underground Railroad to escape Slavery in southern USA from English Slave traders in the South. They were here in Toronto in 1814 and stayed for 13 months and then left again as it is too cold here for Africans and they got help to avoid Andrew Jackson and his slave traders to escape back to Africa to the Ivory Coast. That is the only real Black African History of Canada. There is no other. The people in this video are all Arab Fakers shaped to look African Canadian. We had ?? Jamaicans living here in Toronto as temporary refugees because of mob takeover in Kingston Jamaica. That was done on Judgement Day as they all as he'd. The mob there were Nigerian Scammers who were part of the script to take over the King's Town against the Royals. On occasion there were Lawyers studying here in Toronto from Trinidadand Tobago who are very nice and I met a couple one at the Crown Attorneys Office where I worked and I befriended her and she is Court Justice in Trinidad when needed. And the other is from Tobago and she worked as the lawyer at the law firm where Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams worked as the real lawyer in the TV series Suits filmed in Toronto. It was too dangerous though for her to work with the walking bomb clones of Megan Markle and Sarah Rafferty coming in to the office so she left and I had to take over her role as the Black Lawyer in Suits so by Season 3 I had to take over almost completely but she did a lot of the lawyering scenes and really deserves the credit as a really good lawyer who us real. She won the Emmy and deserved it as the only Female Black Actress to win any Award ever. So congratulations to her as a great Actress. We tried to keep t manipulation of Megan Markle to a minimum but dud include what she was attempting to do off camera to get into Harvard Law to one up Patrick J Adams who she discredited as a Harvard Law Graduate. She was always a problem for the Crown Attorneys in particular him as her target. I was targeted by her as well when studying at UofT and so I know from her behaviour off camera the real nastiness she has as Arab of Dubai toward us as Royals as Canadians. It really is a hatred and jealousy. Unfortunately the Arabs are War Criminals of being unknown largely as part of WWII so their animosity seems to be modern but it really is a very long standing Jealousy of Jesus. Anyway all of the real Caribbean Islanders all passed Judgement on Judgement Day and God brought them home to the Islands. Queen of Canada ? Royal Chieftain of Indians of America ?? who is Métis
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