Within a week of Gaga’s anointment, the YouTube video had shot to 25 million views and is still going strong.

Winnipeg’s Hot 103 brought her into the radio station studio and arranged for Lady Gaga to talk to her, which was emotional for both parties. Gaga was so impressed and touched by Maria that she invited her to perform the song “Born this Way” on stage with her at a concert in Toronto.

Maria explained: “I met a lot of people before, but Lady Gaga is the reason why I am here because if she hadn’t seen my video, I wouldn’t be doing this interview. And when I first got to talk to her, I cried because she had time to talk to me, and she even wanted me to sing with her at a concert. I was just very overwhelmed; I was just so star-struck.” Maria has also appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and has since been invited to countless interviews, performances and media outlets all around the world.

Maria’s success is particularly inspiring because of her family’s story. Maria’s mother and father emigrated from the Philippines to Winnipeg in 1997 with two older sisters and a brother in search of a better environment for their kids. Although the Aragons didn’t speak that much English at first, through a combination of work, school and with the help of family already settled in Winnipeg, they became well integrated in their neighbourhood.

Although she liked the Philippines, Maria’s sister Rojuane says that she could probably never move back. Canada is what she considers home. “My parents would love to go back,” she said. “I know that for sure, because my mom’s side of the family is all still in the Philippines.”

Maria is the only one of four children who was born in Canada. When asked what she considers her identity, she states, “Well, I’m Canadian because I was born here. But I was raised by Filipino parents, so I guess I’m both.”

She loves Winnipeg but also knows that being Filipino is a huge part of who she is. She has a lot of fans from the Philippines and from Asia at large, which she says can be both exciting and a little strange. Many of them follow her on Facebook and have set up numerous fan pages dedicated to her.

Maria has even had the opportunity to sing with Prime Minister Stephen Harper during his campaign tour during the last federal election. She reflected candidly, “Well, it was an honour because, of course, he’s the Prime Minister, he’s like the boss of everybody! It was fun because I didn’t know he could play the piano so well!”

Maria also took part in the annual Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill, performing in front of the large crowd which featured William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as part of their 2011 tour of Canada.

When asked what made singing important to her, Maria says, “Everyone is good at something, whether it is art or singing or dancing, but I think singing is special because it’s the talent that I have and it’s special, especially now because it’s the reason why I get to go see Lady Gaga and be on the Ellen (DeGeneres) Show … It’s the talent that God gave me so I’m really grateful for it.”

For more videos of Maria, check out her YouTube channel.

In 2004, and long before his children were born, Charles thought it wise to begin the lengthy process of sponsoring his parents to Canada. He is a Canadian citizen, makes enough money to qualify as a sponsor, and thought it a good idea for his parents to apply for the right to live in Canada with their son, daughter-in-law and, hopefully, with any future grandchildren.

His parents were here three years ago to witness the birth of their first grandchild, Daniel and again last year for the birth of their second grandchild, Michelle. Naturally, these trips were extremely memorable and allowed the children an opportunity to know their grandparents and to bond with them. His parents always looked forward to spending time with their loving grandchildren.

In February, the Canadian embassy asked the couple to repeat the medical examinations they had underwent in 2009 which had since expired. After a long seven-year wait, it finally looked like the processing of the application was about to be completed.

When Charles’ mom was being examined, she advised the immigration doctor that she was taking pills prescribed by her doctor for a heart condition. The immigration doctor ordered a follow-up medical with a local cardiologist. In June, the couple received a letter from the Canadian embassy saying that Charles’ mom has a mitral valve disease and that it was reasonable to conclude that this condition will continue to progress and deteriorate requiring ongoing management by specialists in cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. They were given two months to provide further documentation which might lead immigration authorities to reconsider their finding that Charles’ mom was medically inadmissible to Canada.

In spite of the further medical information the family submitted to the embassy in response to this letter, the application for permanent residence was formally rejected in July. Given the fact that Charles’ mom never suffered a heart attack nor was ever hospitalized for this condition, this refusal came as a profound disappointment to the family. But what was really unexpected was the following passage which was contained in the refusal letter:

“This inadmissibility may also extend to any stay in Canada as a visitor … [and you] should therefore not attempt to enter Canada without seeking advice from a Canadian visa office”.

Charles felt shocked and betrayed by the prospect that his mom would not be allowed to even visit Canada anymore. He and his parents did everything right. They applied from abroad, waited patiently for seven years, told the truth, and now they are in a far worse position than when they started. He was upset that his mom wasn’t even offered the opportunity to undergo any surgery or treatment abroad that might be needed to address any medical concerns as a precondition to the granting of permanent residence.

His parents visited often, always with health insurance, and never overstayed. Now his mom may not be able to spend her vacations visiting the grandchildren which she has become so attached to. Her confidence is shaken and Charles is worried that his mother is too afraid to hear what immigration officials might tell her at the Canadian embassy.

What was supposed to be a plan of family reunification has now turned into a potential nightmare for this family. This outcome was not at all anticipated.

Writers Bio: Guidy Mamann, J.D. practices law in Toronto at Mamann Sandaluk and is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as an immigration specialist.

“We are a people who believe that our origins matter less than our destinations.  And that where you come from is not as important as where you are going.” Daryl Bennett—Mayor of Peterborough

Here’s some advice from Newcomers who have already relocated to Peterborough:

Dean Pappas, City Councillor and Business Owner (family originally from Greece).

• Embrace your new country. Getting settled can be hard, so it is important to get to know your community and get support when you need it.
• It can be tough for mothers who stay home to look after the children while fathers are out working. While fathers get to meet new people, mothers bear a great deal of the stress and isolation that come with being a newcomer.
• Get out there- go to the library or the New Canadians Centre.
• Remember, there is a lot of support for families in this city. Use them!
• Canada’s school system is one of its strengths. It does a great job in integrating newcomers. If your kids are in school, take advantage of all the community has to offer and get involved.
• The city offers many services, and a team of friendly staff who are happy to help. Take advantage of the free library, free museum, art gallery and various programs for kids and adults.

Ali Imran and Mostafa Rahman, Business Owners (originally from Bangladesh)

• Make sure you know the business you’re going into.
• Either get some schooling at Trent or Fleming, or work for someone who knows the business well.
• Talk to others who are doing something similar.
• Peterborough is a smaller city, which means word of mouth travels fast. So if you are good at what you do, people find out relatively quickly.
• Believe in yourself, and know that starting your own business is the best thing you can do. If you are serious and willing to work hard, anyone can succeed in this country.

Farah Zafarzadeh, Business Owner (originally from Afghanistan)

• Good customer service and a high-quality product are the keys to maintaining a successful business.
• Don’t be a follower. Be a leader. Over time, others will accept your decisions, even if they are against it at first. Never fear others.
• We are not getting any younger, only older. We shouldn’t cover ourselves with a shell. We should use right now, today, not wait for tomorrow.
• Encourage yourself. Encourage, encourage, encourage. Don’t worry about how long it takes. Keep pushing and saying to yourself “Yes, I can”.

Fadhil Al-Sarraj, Business Owner (originally from Iraq) 

• Have a vision, and pursue your dreams for a better life with determination. Always look forward.
• Appreciate the achievements of others, regardless of how big or small they may be. Expand your own experiences by learning from their successes and failures.
• Be sincere in your relationships. Love for others what you love for yourself.
• Only try to work in a field that you are good at (and you enjoy!). Money will come after.
• If you are going into a business partnership, make sure you have a lawyer involved. This country runs on written statements, not on verbal agreements.
• Remember: lucky people are those who work hard and do a good job.

Her writing services span résumés, CVs, cover letters, bios and anything else requiring a tactical approach. Her primary clients are former military personnel and those wishing to progress within the police, firefighting, government, engineering and IT fields. The training component of Audrey’s service includes guidance for job interviews, salary negotiations, and employment search strategies. Companies will also call on Audrey for outplacement during downsizing initiatives or when a staff member has been fired.

Audrey’s interest and expertise with the Canadian Forces sparked her to write Canada’s only book to help the men and women who serve enter the civilian workforce. It’s called, “Military to Civvie Street. The Complete Job Transition Guide for those Leaving the Canadian Air Force, Army & Navy”. 

I asked her if she noticed any trends in the type of clients that retain her from Canada versus elsewhere. “Definitely” she responded. “Most of my NATO, UN and government / diplomat clients are not Canadian and do not want to work here. They stay abroad and are seeking more senior level roles. My IT, engineer, police, and firefighting clients are primarily Canadian. The former military people I work with can go either way: some want to work here while others enjoy the element of working on foreign soil. I really like the diversity of the projects I write and the people help.”

Out of curiosity, I wondered where most of her international clients come from. Without missing a beat, she knew, “The number one country where clients scope me out before permanently relocating to Canada is the UK, followed closely by Australia and then the US.”

I thought I’d see how the process goes so I decided to her have prepare my own personal job search collateral. I told her to put a marketing / event planning / project management spin on my documents. “No prob” she answered.

Audrey is comfortable using a combination approach to cull the marketability out of her clients.  She uses email, Skype, phone and personal meetings for client consultations. She writes from scratch and refers to letters of recommendation and performance appraisals to quantify achievements and extrapolate quotes. The bulk of the information she receives from clients is from a detailed questionnaire that she emails to them.

One thing that I noticed about Audrey having worked with her, she is equally tenacious regardless if she sees you vie à vie or not.

“It’s definitely a collaborative process,” Audrey emphasizes. “I make this very clear right from the onset. This, along with my knack for squeezing marketability out of absolutely everybody, is what my clients like about me and it’s why they send referrals”.

Audrey has a strong media presence and is a popular speaker at conferences, post secondary education facilities, and many corporate events within Canada and the US. She holds key global leadership positions within the careers industry. Not only is Audrey a credentialed and award winning writer and coach, she has been appointed for many roles with Career Directors International. Audrey is their International Committee Director, Canadian Advisor, Military Expert, Aerospace Expert, and peer mentor.

I asked her how she got into the careers business. “Before I launched my service out of Wasaga Beach back in 2001, I had taught elementary and high school for 11 years. I did everything I had wanted to do – regular classroom, Life Skills and Special Education programming. I’m always up for a challenge and I thrive where energy and enthusiasm are vital to succeed. I assessed my skills and thought what else can I do?” Her passion for writing and educating, along with an interest in careers, paved the way for her to start an industry that was, for the most part, unheard of.

“My teaching colleagues told me I was crazy for walking away from my job, pension and benefits and that I would not make it and that I would be back. Ever since was a kid, it never occurred to me that I would fail at anything so I didn’t listen to them. My first client was an Aviation Technician leaving CFB Borden. It started with one client and look where my company is today. I work with hundreds of clients each year. I absolutely love what I do and I deal with what other career pros refer to as the tough professions. I never tire of learning new things from my clients as I help them navigate their careers.”

It’s a safe bet that Audrey’s success is due to her personality. She counterbalances her direct approach and exceptionally keen analytical skills with a down to earth nature and a great sense of humour.

When I look at what Audrey wrote for me, after grilling me for details, explanations and examples of my career highlights, I could not be more pleased. The next time I go back to see her though, I’ll remember to keep my shoes on so Kiwi won’t run off with them.

You can contact Audrey at resumeresources@gmail.com

Meet Amar Chandel, a royal by descent, a journalist by profession and a holisitic healer by passion. This scion of India’s erstwhile Chandel Rajput dynasty, who has authored a couple of books on healthy living, is on a 10-day visit to Calgary to deliver discourses on breathing exercises, meditation, yoga and managing a healthy lifestyle — holistic healing as it is called.

It all started with hands-on advice to family and close friends when Chandel, a yoga proponent since childhood, noticed many illnesses and body diseases could be thwarted by a mix of pranayam exercises and dietary regimen. He then started delivering discourses on a charitable basis (which he continues to this day) except that if he is discoursing abroad (read out of India), the class has to bear his travel and lodging expenses.

The word about his style of healing has spread by mouth internationally. Keen disciples from across the globe pool in money to call him to various parts of the world every year. It was the turn of the US and Canada in 2011. His previous visits to the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Luxemburg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Israel, Egypt and China speak a lot about the worldwide popularity of his courses.

Holistic healing classes are held for five days for two hours a day.  Chandel combines millennia-old yoga practices with state-of-the-art nutrition research to increase the body’s immunity manifolds.. Not only do his healing classes teach how to manage a few chronic diseases but the comprehensive stress-reduction programme has also helped a large number of people get rid of their emotional difficulties like depression, tension, mood swings, excessive sensitivity and anger.

“These five days can transform one’s life. The course makes the students look better, be younger, live longer, healthier and happier. Human body is a beautiful creation of God. The body (human) has an inherent capacity to set right within six months all the damages that have been done upon it over up to over six decades,” he says.

Holistic healing classes have in-built component of the right food-water intake, breathing exercises, meditation, sleep cycle and body awareness and a module on positive attitude. “A person can digest anything in youth but the results and the brunt on the body may manifest after a decade. The physical destruction on body starts showing as soon as a person hits the middle age. Sedentary lifestyle of the West compounds the problem,” he says.

All that is expected of a ‘student’ is to learn the techniques thoroughly and practice them religiously. He already has a dedicated email id, asknature@gmail.com, wherein anyone may ask and carry forward a holistic healing discussion.

“Wonderful results don’t come by magic overnight. One has to spend at least six months (practicing what has been taught) to repair the damage done over a lifetime. That is a very small period for curing dreaded diseases without any medicine or hospitalization,” he comments.

A strong votary of maintaining one’s ideal body weight, he says many of the modern-day physical problems are weight related.  Chandel will be in Calgary up to June- end.

Writers Bio: Peeyush Agnihotri is a writer with 14 years of international journalistic experience, mostly reporting on social and sustainable development issues. A National Foundation of India fellowship holder, he is currently based in Calgary

I had just finished my plumbing apprenticeship and had gained employment with a local firm where Barb worked as a clerk. Our relationship started out as purely friendship and developed into boyfriend/girlfriend after about six months. After a year together we decided to get our own house, well a rented house as neither of us was earning much back then. Two years after that we got married.

Our lives plodded along like most people’s and after six years of working for the same company I decided to start my own plumbing business. This ended up being one of the best decisions I made (apart from marrying Barb of course) as I was suddenly working the jobs I wanted, in the hours that suited me and was soon earning more money than before. After only eight months I was in a position to take on another plumber to help out, along with an apprentice.

It was at this point that we bought our first home together, having lived in rented accommodation until this time. We purchased a small town house in a reasonable area of Calgary, close to where my business was based. Barb decided she wanted to leave her employment and she came to work for me (or was I working for her?) She was a godsend as by now business was very buoyant which meant that I had little time for taking phone calls or doing paperwork. Barb effectively became my personal assistant, booking in all the jobs, allocating the work, doing the bookkeeping and generally keeping us three guys in order.

In 2002 we moved house again, this time to a bigger property in a better area of  Calgary. Business was booming and we now had five employees working for us. During 2003, what is now known as the Alberta boom started to impact our lives. At first it was a very positive thing as it meant that there was plenty of work for us and the business was going from strength to strength. We were having a hard time keeping up with the number of jobs coming our way. We took on two more plumbers and everything was great.

This upward trend carried into 2004 and basically anyone who was in the construction trades was doing pretty well for themselves, including us. In June 2004 we moved house once again. This time we moved to the edge of the city to a lovely four bedroom detached property with a pool. It was the biggest and nicest property either of us had ever lived in and we felt very proud of ourselves for achieving so much in a relatively short time.

In 2005 three of my plumbers were offered jobs in other towns, which were also seeing the effects of the boom. Although they said they preferred to stay working for me, the other companies were offering more money, as they were so short of workers. Although our business was going well, we could not afford to pay the wages that other larger companies were paying and so they left.

This was a very strange time as work was plentiful, but I only had half my workforce and trying to recruit new workers when they could basically name their price in other companies and locations was very difficult. During 2006, although the company was still making a good living and we had no major complaints we still considered ourselves failures for having downsized the business albeit against our control. We saw other similar companies also experiencing the same issues and it became a major problem in the area. There was tons of work everywhere but no one to do it.

In the summer of 2006 Barb was talking to one of our neighbours who was thinking of moving to British Columbia to be near her daughter. Her husband had died the previous year and she lived alone. She told Barb the quote she had been given for the value of her house and we were both stunned. Although both our properties differed slightly, they were very similar and so would be worth similar amounts. If this valuation was correct it would mean we had made a lot of money from our house even though we had only lived there two years.

This put the idea of downsizing into our heads to free up some equity. We even broached the subject of taking a vacation, which we had not done in years. Barb decided to get our house valued and it turned out to be worth even more than we anticipated. The realtor suggested that the prices were increasing almost hourly and that he would have no trouble selling it.

The next few weeks we had to sit down and decide what we wanted to do. I was fed up with working all the hours of the day and so was Barb. One of my plumbers had previously asked about buying my business and we had laughed it off at the time, but now we had to decide if this was what we wanted to do. Basically we could carry on as we were, working all hours, living in a nice house and earning good money but having no time to enjoy ourselves. Or, we could sell the business and the house and walk away with a lot of money and free time. The trouble was we were still quite young and so the money would not last forever and also the house prices were rising all the time so even a property like we owned five years ago would cost a small fortune now.

After many weeks of sole searching we came to the conclusion we would be able to afford a much better property for a much smaller outlay in another province. Alberta was getting too expensive to live in and we felt we would get much better value for money and lower living costs elsewhere. My sister, Marcy lived in London, Ontario and we had often visited her and thought the area nice, so we decided to see what type of property we could afford and whether I could set my business up there.

Marcy did a lot of legwork for us looking at the business side of things and basically found out that I should have no trouble setting up a business in the area. There also seemed to be plenty of work about, so we made the big decision to move to Ontario.

Over the next few months we got the business valued and made arrangements to have it transferred to one of my employees. We spent two weeks in London with Marcy and spent most of the time house hunting. We found a really nice property in a small subdivision on the northern side of town that we really loved. It was a little smaller than our home in Calgary, but was still big enough for our needs. It also had a pool which we had gotten used to so did not want to have to loose, so that was a bonus. We put in an offer, which after a little haggling was accepted.

After this we went back to Calgary to tie up everything there. Fortunately Marcy kept an eye on everything for us in London, including overseeing the house inspection and keeping in touch with the realtor.

Our house went on the market in Calgary and amazingly we sold it within a week for more than the market valuation. In the end three parties wanted it so they ended up bartering between themselves and the price went up which was great news for us. The people that secured the house had already sold theirs and so they wanted a completion in three weeks. Although we would not be getting our London house for three weeks after this date we decided to accept this and Marcy said we could stay with her in the meantime.

We arrived in Toronto and Marcy collected us from the airport, we were now officially Ontarians. As arranged we stayed with Marcy whilst we waited for our house to complete and for one week after so that we could do some decorating before moving in for good. We spent our first night in our new house in October 2006.

We decided that we would not do anything regarding the business until after Christmas and so spent a couple of months getting used to the area. It is very flat around here compared to Calgary where we could see mountains in the distance. This took quite a lot of getting used to, there just isn’t any scenery here and not so many winter sports. We both love skiing and were used to driving a short distance to many different ski areas, but here we have to travel longer to find them. The fact that we are only a short distance to either Lake Huron or Lake Eire is really nice. There are quite a few really nice beeches about and so our summer activities have increased.

In 2007 I finally set up my business again and started off as just myself and Barb as my right-hand-woman. The equity we released from the sale of the Calgary house and business has been invested for our retirement, apart from some we kept back to live on and have holidays with.

In February 2009 we went back to Alberta for a skiing trip and Marcy and her partner Pete came with us. We had a great time but were not too disappointed to leave, so felt content that we had made the right decision to move.

In late 2010 we had our first child, Sarah, who was a bit of a surprise as we hadn’t actually planned to have children, but once we knew she was on the way we were really pleased.

As I write this Barb is pregnant with our second child. We don’t know the sex and don’t want to know until the birth, but a boy would be nice. I don’t think we are planning any more children after this one, but as we have found out, you never can tell what is in the future.

My business is doing well and I have one other person working for me. I could expand, but we decided a couple of years ago not to do that again and to stay smaller. We now seem to have the work-life balance about right. In Calgary it was all work and no time to have fun, but here life is more relaxed.

All in all we are very happy with our new house and new location. If we could throw in a few mountains it would be the icing on the cake, but you can’t have everything in life, can you? I feel much more relaxed in my work, although in Calgary I had lots of work and was earning more money, I didn’t realize how stressed out I had become until it all stopped.

I think our story proves that things can be just as frantic and frightening moving from one side of the country to another as moving from overseas. We were lucky to have Marcy to help us, I really feel for people who move to Canada and don’t know anyone, it must be really hard.

In the UK, Jon was a civil servant organizing the repair of military equipment around the world. Janet worked in a car dealership as an administrator. They submitted their application for the skilled worker program in August of 2006 but found out the waiting list was around five years. Not prepared to wait this length of time Jon started looking for work in Canada. He found a job as an auto mechanic in Edmonton, Alberta and after several telephone interviews was offered the job. Now he had to satisfy the LMO (Labour Market Opinion) criteria and have his qualifications, references etc approved. He also had to obtain his Journeyman Certificate which had to be done in Canada.

In January 2008 the couple arrived in Edmonton on a six month work permit. They spent the first few nights at a local hotel and then found a place to rent in the city. When they moved they sold their home in the UK, along with all their belongings. So they had money, but not much else. “We came over with two suitcases each and our cat, which subsequently went missing and was never seen again.” laughs Janet.

Jon started his job and Janet looked for one herself, finally securing placement in an office after about five weeks. “This was a dreadful experience,” she says. “The women already had their clique quota, so I was not made welcome. Also,

one of the male employees constantly told me that I was smelly, explaining that all immigrants stink! I did report this to management, but they did absolutely nothing.

READ THE REST OF JANET AND JONS STORY HERE

There are currently around 56,000 cadets throughout Canada.

The Canadian Cadet Organization (CCO) allows young Canadians aged between 12 and 18 years to participate in organized activities which are both challenging and rewarding in a properly supervised environment. There are currently around 56,000 cadets throughout Canada.

There are three units to the cadets: Sea, Air and Army. Cadets can join any unit and take part in local, regional and national activities. As a cadet you are encouraged to be an active member of the community and learn skills such as leadership, teamwork, citizenship and fitness. In turn you will gain self confidence, decision making skills and gain physical fitness. Through the program young cadets learn about the Canadian Forces although there is no expectation to join the military, nor are the cadets part of the Canadian Forces.

The CCO is open to both young men and women (aged 12-18) from all across Canada and from all levels of society. The Department of National Defense incurs all costs, so there are no costs to join, no fees and no cost for the uniforms or the training. So this makes the cadets an ideal solution for families on a budget who still want to participate in such activities.

Training:

During the school academic year (September – June) cadets take part in weekly training, one night per week. There may also be the option of weekend training depending on the unit chosen.

During the summer you will be able to take part at one of the 28 summer training centres located across Canada. Depending upon which element you choose to join, you may participate in rappelling, adventure training or survival exercises for Army

Cadets, flying and gliding exercises for Air Cadets, and navigation and seamanship activities for Sea Cadets. All cadets are also provided with the opportunity to participate in marksmanship and biathlon competitions, map and compass exercises, as well as drill. Other activities focus on developing leadership, self-discipline and citizenship skills, including the Cadet Harassment and Abuse Prevention Program (CHAP).

Through CHAP, cadets are sensitized to the various forms of harassment and abuse, and their effects. Method of instruction, public speaking and healthy living courses are also practical components of the regular Cadet Program. Furthermore, cadets frequently enjoy sports, environmental challenges, and music instruction (pipes and drums, or band). Each cadet also participates in a minimum of three field exercises per year.

There are three units to the cadets: Sea, Air and Army

Over 23,000 cadets attend national and regional training every summer at one of the Canadian Forces-conducted Cadet Summer Training Centres (CSTC). Many of these programs include activities such as canoeing, camping, hiking, meteorology, sailing and mountain climbing. These courses last from two to six weeks depending on the speciality training chosen.

If you are doing especially well you may be chosen to take part in international exchanges. Every year a number of senior cadets are chosen on merit to travel to foreign locations such as the United Kingdom, Japan, France, United States, Singapore or Germany. During these exchanges you will be representing Canada and will take part in training and cultural activities with your foreign cadet counterparts.

Other specialized training is also offered for advanced cadets. These include marksmanship competitions both in Canada and nationally as well as parachute courses. Cadets who take part in summer training also receive a weekly training bonus – so you get paid for having fun! If you are 16 years or older and have reached a certain standard you can choose to become a Staff Cadet (course instructor) at one of the summer centres.

Visions and Objectives:

The three aims of the cadets is to:

• Develop leadership and good citizenship
• Promote physical fitness
• Stimulate an interest in the three elements of the Canadian Forces

Cadets core values are:

• Loyalty – the expression of our dedication to the ideals of the Cadet Movement and all its members
• Professionalism – the accomplishment of our tasks with pride and diligence
• Mutual Respect – the treatment of others with dignity and equality
• Integrity – the courage and commitment to exemplify trust, sincerity and honesty

Leadership: Through the cadet program you will learn how to be a fair and responsible leader, take responsibility for your actions and motivate your peers. These skills are not only useful in the cadets but also in all other aspects of your life.

Physical fitness: Being healthy and fit is important to all cadets and you will learn how to maintain a healthy lifestyle whilst participating in fun activities. By competing in individual or team events you will learn that sensible living, healthy eating and remaining active are all important factors to good health and fitness.

The Canadian Forces: Although the cadets are not part of the Canadian Forces you will learn skills that stimulate your interest in the sea, land and air activities of the Forces. You will learn the history of the Canadian Forces as well as skills such as self-discipline, teamwork, leadership and good citizenship.

Sea Cadets:

As you would expect the Sea Cadets activities revolve around naval pursuits. You will learn about sailing, seamanship, shipboard life, naval communications, boat repair, marine engineering and ship deployments. Additionally you will receive tall ship training and power boat handling.

Sea Cadet training is divided into four phases with an additional corps apprenticeship training option for senior cadets. The following subjects are part of the program:

• Bushcraft
• Citizenship
• Drill
• Marksmanship
• Physical Fitness
• Sailing
• Sea Cadet Routine
• Naval Knowledge
• Seamanship
• Leadership
• Instructional Techniques

During summer camps Sea Cadets learn sailing and seamanship activities along Canada’s coastline. Sea Cadets can earn a chance to participate in a national sailing regatta or to sail aboard a tall ship. Around 20% (11,000) of cadets are Sea Cadets with around 4,500 of those participating in sumer training.

There are four phases to the training offered in the Sea Cadets:

Phase 1: Introduction to the cadets, safe handling of a rifle, sailing, camping, sports and community activities. Completing this training is a prerequisite to going to a Summer Training Centre and for promotion to Able Cadet.

Phase 2: Advanced shooting, sailing, seamanship, camping, physical fitness, community activities and parade drill. Completing this training is a prerequisite to going to a Summer Training Centre on a Trade Group I course and for promotion to Leading Cadet.

Phase 3: Sailing theory, advanced rope handling, leadership skills and community activities. Completing this training is a prerequisite to going to a Summer Training Centre on a Trade Group II course and for promotion to Petty Officer Second Class.

Phase 4: In this phase you can become an instructor yourself. Completing this training is a prerequisite to going to a Summer Training Centre on a Trade Group III course or a Specialty course and for promotion to Petty Officer First Class.

There is then the option to pursue Phase 5 where you can lead groups on an outdoor adventure weekend, assist in supervising activities amongst many other opportunities.

Army Cadets:

The Army Cadets is the oldest of the cadets programs with around 35% of cadets belonging to it.

Through active outdoor pursuits like trekking, canoeing, rock climbing and survival training, Army Cadets gain valuable life skills, knowledge of themselves and an awareness of their environment. Army Cadets also learn about army traditions and participate in a variety of national and international expeditions that focus on adventure training, like whitewater rafting, horseback riding and canoeing.

Army Cadet training is divided into four star levels:

1. Green Star: During the first year you will get basic training in bushcraft, citizenship, drill, fundamental training, leadership, marksmanship, public speaking and map & compass.
2. Red Star: This level includes continued training in the Green Star activities as well as first aid knowledge.
3. Silver Star: At this level you will take on more responsibility, learn leadership skills and teach other cadets all you have learnt.
4. Gold Star: At this level you can become a leader at the cadet corps.

Air Cadets:

If you choose to join the Air Cadets you will have the opportunity to earn your civilian pilot licence as well as learn about the traditions of the Royal Canadian Air Force. You will also learn how to fly a glider, allowing you to pursue a career in flying or simply enjoy it as a hobby.

Air Cadet Training is divided into five proficiency levels, including on-the-job training for senior cadets. Some of the courses offered to Air Cadets at the local level are:

• Aircraft identification
• Aircrew survival
• Aeronautical facilities
• Physical fitness
• Drill
• Airframe Structure
• Effective speaking
• Marksmanship
• Principles of flight
• Radio communication
• Propulsion
• Navigation
• Meteorology

During the summer Air Cadets can attend summer training to gain flying and glider scholarships. The Air cadets has the largest proportion of cadets with 45%. Of those around 10,000 attend summer training.

Rewards:

By joining the cadets you will be rewarded with:

• sense of accomplishment
• recognition from your peers and mentors
• once-in-a-lifetime experiences
• life-long friends
• a chance to show case your talents and maturity
• self-confidence, self-discipline, self-esteem and increased self-awareness
• community involvement

So what are you waiting for? Join up now.

Back in 2002 the couple, then both in their early thirties moved to Canada as permanent residents. As they had had to wait a couple of years for visa approval they had done a good deal of research including two trips to Vancouver.

“We really loved the vibe of Vancouver,” says Cheryl, “everything about the city was wonderful to us and we decided that this would be out chosen destination. We had made a good amount of money from the sale of our London home and felt that money invested into property in Vancouver would be well spent, despite the high prices.”

During the summer of 2002 they moved to Vancouver

So in the summer of 2002 they moved to Vancouver and employed a Realtor to find them a property whist staying initially in a hotel. “We really needed to find somewhere to live as staying in the hotel was quite costly, even though I had accrued a lot of free nights with my loyalty card.” says Jimmy. In his work as a salesman in the UK he travelled extensively and made sure he had lots of hotel points before making the move to Vancouver.

In the end it took them three weeks to find a suitable property and another eight weeks before they could move in. “Our furniture and personal effects from the UK had arrived a  week after us and had been in storage, so it was nice to finally move into a home and have our belongings again.” says Cheryl.

They continued their lives and Jimmy found a job as a salesman, a very similar job to the one he had in London but this time covering southern British Columbia and Alberta. “The pay was not as good as I had been earning before, but our living expenses were lower, so it evened itself out. Also once Cheryl got a job things were going okay.”

“I got a job as a bookkeeper for a local company.” says Cheryl with a look of distaste on her face. “I had been an accountant in London on very good money and both the job and the money were a letdown, but I figured any job was better than nothing. I kept looking for other more suitable jobs whilst I was there.”

The couple had a passion for outdoor activities and all their spare time was spent either mountain biking, skiing or hiking. “We loved the fact that just a short journey from our home we could explore vast countryside, mountains and even beaches. Just about everything we wanted was nearby.” says Jimmy.

As part of his job Jimmy travelled around both BC and Alberta and in the summer of 2003 took Cheryl to one of his business locations – Calgary. “I had often travelled to Calgary and really liked the city. It was similar in some ways to Vancouver with the mountain backdrop but so different in many others. We spent five days in the city then travelled to Edmonton because Cheryl wanted to shop at the famous Edmonton Mall.”

“Oh my gosh,” exclaims Cheryl at the mention of this mall, “I have never been to anywhere quite like it. No one would describe me as a shopaholic. At best I am a “know what I want and run in and get it” kind of shopper, but this place blew me away. We spent about six hours walking around the mall and I still don’t think we covered it all. There is a theme park, ice rink and swimming pool in the middle of it, can you believe it? I had the most fun I had ever had shopping there.”

Unfortunately real life stepped in and the couple headed back to Vancouver living their lives as normal. By now property prices had risen again and the couple realized they could sell their home and make a decent profit. The trouble was all property in Vancouver had risen so the property they would purchase would also have risen. This led them to consider moving to another location that was cheaper, allowing them to sell for a profit and buy at a lower cost giving them financial security for a year or two. The questions was where?

Jimmy continues the story. “We looked around the Vancouver area but realized we could never afford the type of property we really wanted for a life-long home. We then looked outside Vancouver and still could not decide on the best place to live. So then we decided to look much further afield, even to another province. We spent hours on the Internet researching: It was like moving to Canada all over again”

Eventually in early 2004 they decided to move to Calgary, but to rent rather than buy, at least at first. “Housing prices were high but not as high as Vancouver, and Calgary still had many of the things we loved about Vancouver.” says Jimmy. “There was lots of outdoor activities and we could still mountain bike and hike nearby. I was able to continue with my existing job, but this time work from the Calgary office and Cheryl found an accountancy job she enjoyed in the city.”

But one thing the couple did not fully take into account was the weather

But one thing the couple did not fully take into account was the weather. “Our first winter was brutal for us.” says Cheryl. “By then we were both working in the city and lived on the outskirts and sometimes there were several feet of snow on the ground. We just weren’t used to that and didn’t really like it. In Vancouver we had gotten used to the rain, but could still carry on with life as normal. But in Calgary we could not go out on our bikes for several months of the year and even decent skiing was a couple of hours away. After about eight months we felt we had made a terrible mistake and started to look at moving again.”

It was around this time that Cheryl saw a job advertised within her company for an accountant in one of the Ontario locations. “The job was in London,” she says, “which was quite ironic as this was where we had lived in the UK. The job was for an accountancy position paying good money and so I decided to pursue it. Fortunately I did not have to visit London for the interview, instead I was interviewed via video conference from our Calgary office. After three weeks waiting I found out I had been offered the job and could start in a month.”

The timing was good for them because it coincided with their rental agreement ending and so after careful consideration decided to move to London, Ontario in July 2005. Jimmy gave in his notice and plans for the move were underway. “This was a much bigger move that the one from Vancouver to Calgary,” says Cheryl, “We had to have all our possessions shipped, but fortunately my company helped with the logistics and some of the costs. They also put us in touch with a rental agency to find temporary accommodation.”

So that summer they stepped foot for the first time ever in Ontario, landing in Toronto and spending a couple of days there before moving onto London and their new rental home. “Our new house was the largest place we had ever lived in, it even had a swimming pool in the garden.” says Jimmy. “We had a rental agreement for six months with the option to extend, but as Cheryl loved her job almost the instant she started we decided to look for a property to buy and set down some roots.”

They found that their dollars went a lot further here than either Vancouver or Calgary and instead of looking for small, two-bedroom town houses were looking at large four-bedroom properties with pools and basements. They soon found a property in a sub-division in the north of London and moved in just before their rental term ended. Jimmy also found a job he enjoyed during this time and so for the first time since moving to Canada the couple were enjoying their jobs and their home life.

“I really liked London,” says Cheryl, “we were very close to two malls and had ample grocery stores and other amenities so it worked very well for us. We did find the local countryside to be a little flat and certainly couldn’t truly mountain bike around here, but we liked to drive to the lakeside either to the north or south and cycle along the coastline. We were also told that there were many skiing opportunities nearby so looked forward to the winter months.”

Indeed the couple did find that London suited them very well. Both had good jobs they enjoyed, they had a nice house that they could call home and the location suited their needs, so a perfect end to their story? Well, no not quite.

After living there for three years Jimmy was offered a promotion which would include more money and more perks but there was a catch: It was in Ottawa. “We had visited Ottawa a couple of times since living in Ontario,” says Jimmy, “and we liked it. The job really was a great opportunity, but it was a big decision to make. Cheryl really didn’t want to move again and by doing so she would be out of a job, but my extra income from the promotion would almost make up for her salary. In the end we decided to go for it.”

So one again in 2008 the couple were on the move yet again. It was a tearful goodbye this time as they had settled far better in London than any other place. After a farewell party held by neighbours they moved to Ottawa, having not yet secured a sale of their London home which happened a few months later.

To cut a long story short, or at least a little shorter, they have been now been in Ottawa for two years and are looking to move again as they have never felt truly at home. They plan to move back to London, Ontario and as soon as the winter months are over will put their house on the market and sell. Fortunately Jimmy will be able to transfer his job and so will still have the security of good income coming in and a job he enjoys. Cheryl never really liked her job in Ottawa and so will be looking for employment once there.

“I will contact the company I used to work for,” she says, “but I doubt that it will work out that easily, but you never know. Now that we have made the decision to go back to London I feel much better as I never settled in Ottawa. As soon as we sell we can move because Jimmy can move between the two jobs with very little notice. Hopefully this time we will settle there for good as I really want to stop all this moving around. It gets very stressful.” she giggles.

In 2008 Stu moved to Winnipeg as part of a job relocation. His wife Mary and two young children Sarah who was 5 and 7 year old Jack came along too. Mary tells their story.

Because our move was due to Stu’s job relocation we didn’t really have much time to consider where we were going and any of the consequences. We just knew it was going to be interesting and that if we didn’t take the opportunity we would only regret it. After all not everyone has the chance to live in a completely different country and have their employer pay all the moving costs.

We ended up moving in September and the weather when we arrived was brilliant. Stu’s company had arranged for us to move into a four bedroom home located on the outskirts of Winnipeg and we loved the property at first glance. It had a long driveway leading to a two-car garage and the property was huge compared to our UK home which we were renting out whilst we were away. Initially Stu’s contract in Canada was for eighteen months, so we needed to keep our home in the UK for when we returned.

We were worried about the kids adapting and fitting in, but we needn’t have worried as they immediately made friends with the three children next door who were similar ages. Both children were enrolled in a local school and both seemed to love it immediately.

Stu started working pretty much as soon as we arrived so it was down to me to make our new house feel like home and to buy the things we needed that weren’t part of the furnished rental. I made friends with some women along the street where we lived and they were great at helping me settle in.

Unfortunately the beautiful hot weather was not to last and soon we were experiencing our first Manitoba winter. At first the temperatures dropped drastically to what we classed as very cold, about -10℃. The house had a very good warm air heating system so whilst we were inside it was great. Looking out the window and seeing a few inches of snow on the ground whilst warm and dry inside was lovely. The kids loved playing outside with the other local children and were basically having the times of their lives. Then it snowed.

Now we knew why it had the nickname of Winterpeg!

I know I have already said there was snow on the ground, but now instead of a few inches there was a few feet. We had bought our UK winter coats with us but these proved to be no match against the bitter cold we now experienced. We had to all get new coats, hats, or toques as they call them, mittens and boots. When shopping for these items we were amazed to see labels stating that a pair of boots was good to -45℃, soon we knew why. During our first winter we had temperatures going down into the -30’s℃ and snow several feet thick on the ground.

We had never experienced anything like it, but the locals took it in their stride and explained that this was quite normal for Winnipeg. Now we knew why it had the nickname of Winterpeg!

We, especially the kids, engaged in the fun things of winter such as building snowmen and tobogganing. We also visited the local outdoor skating rink and learnt how to skate. Stu did not endure this activity for long as he spent far too much time on his behind. But the kids and I loved it. We had to be aware of when we had spent enough time out in the cold as frost bite is a serious problem with temperatures this low. A neighbour told me that it is fine to have red rosy cheeks outside but if white blotches started to appear within the red then it was time to get indoors.

One particularly cold morning Stu was shoveling the drive and came in about half an hour later and his mustache was frozen. His nose had run in the cold and he literally had icicles hanging from his nose. It was funny to see, but potentially very dangerous.

You often hear people say that cold feels different in different places. We now realize this is true as back in the UK if the temperature ever got to really low temperatures, say -2℃ then you tried not to go out for fear of freezing to death. Here in Manitoba -2℃ feels quite warm unless there is a particularly bad windchill. It is not until you get to the -20’s that you really start to worry. It is all about being sensible and dressing the part. Clothing here is designed for the area and as long as you wear layers and buy sensibly then there is no reason why you cannot walk around outside when it is very cold, something you would never attempt in the UK.

When we first moved here we loved the fact the house had a long driveway and was set back off the road. Now we live here we know that that is not always a good thing in the winter as having a 200 foot driveway means you have to clear 200 feet of snow which is often several feet thick. We invested in a snow blower and it was well worth it as using a shovel was just ridiculous.

I remember in the UK we had a big snowstorm one year, 2004 I think it was and it bought the whole country to a standstill. No one could go anywhere and for about two days it was crazy and that was only a few inches of snow, although it did fall very quickly. Here in Winnipeg as soon as there is a good snowfall the plows are out in force clearing the roads and sidewalks. Usually by lunchtime most of the city is clear and accessible. It is amazing, but of course they are prepared for such conditions, unlike the UK.

We do have to go out after the plow has been

We do have to go out after the plow has been as it pushes all the snow from the centre of the road to the edges effectively blocking off the entrance to our drive and the mailbox. We have to clear the area around the mailbox otherwise the postman cannot get close enough to it in his car and will not deliver. But it is a small price to pay for the effective way the snow is cleared.

One thing the kids find very amusing is that you can plug your car in to stop it from freezing. When Stu goes to work he can plug the car in whilst he is there to stop it freezing up and make sure it starts okay when he is finished for the day. We have also done this when shopping at the mall, they have special locations where you take the lead out from under the car bonnet (or hood) and plug it in.

Whilst on the subject of cars you also need to have winter tires (spelt different here) on them as they grip far better in the hazardous winter conditions than regular tires. We also have to make sure that the washer fluid can go down to the temperatures we are experiencing. That is another strange thing to see on a car fluid bottle – okay to -50℃.

Although we have seen several accidents during the winter, thankfully we have not experience one ourselves. As long as you drive carefully and slowly and be aware of others around you it is much better than you might imagine. The times when there are accidents, and there are many, it is usually because someone has been driving like an idiot. Slow and steady is my motto!

Although our first Manitoba winter was a big shock to the system, we survived it and relished in it. I know for a fact that had we experienced the exact same conditions in England we, and many others might not have survived, but here it is just “normal” weather.

The following summer we experienced the exact opposite with temperatures soaring to the high +30℃ and feeling even hotter with the humidex factored in. If Manitoba is to be  known for anything it is the vast extremes in temperature. I personally love the spring and fall as these offer relatively normal weather, but I’m sure we will get used to the summer and winter too. And yes, we will have time to do that, Stu’s contract was extended from the initial 18 months to five years, so many more winters to come.

“I have no idea why I became obsessed with Canada.” says David, “I had no ties to the country and had only visited once as a teenager when my parents took me and my two sisters to Calgary on holiday. But over the years I collected Canadian memorabilia and even followed the Maple Leafs hockey team, maybe not the best choice in hindsight.” he laughs.

When David and Michelle met at a company meeting in the early 1990’s they immediately hit it off and began dating. The both worked for the same company but at different locations, David as an accountant in a Scottish branch of the company and Michelle as a Sales Manager in northern England.  On their first anniversary David proposed to Michelle and presented her with tickets to Vancouver as a gift. “I am not sure if he got the tickets more for me or himself, but I wasn’t about to turn down either the proposal or the free holiday.” she giggles.

So, a few months later the couple visited Vancouver and incorporated a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer too. “We had a fabulous time and I really did love our time in Canada, says Michelle, “but I never once considered actually moving there.”

The couple continued their lives and after marrying in 1994, Michelle moved to Scotland to be with her new husband. “Fortunately I was able to relocate within the company and so I kept my job and salary which was very helpful.” she says.

We knew that if we didn’t at least try, we would regret it forever

In 2000 they once again took a holiday in Canada, this time to Nova Scotia. “We had two weeks in the Atlantic area,” says David, “We travelled around Nova Scotia, PEI and New Brunswick and really loved the area.”

“This was the first time I actually thought “I could live here”,” says Michelle, “It was a great area and I really liked Nova Scotia. I loved the fact that we might be able to live by the sea, but it was still a pipe dream at this stage.”

A couple of years and visits later they finally decided to apply for Canadian residency. “We knew that if we didn’t at least try, we would regret it forever.” says Michelle.

They completed their application and sent it off, deciding that if successful they would move to Nova Scotia. A couple of years later that pipe dream became a reality when they were accepted for permanent residency and got their visas in late 2006.

By this time David was a Finance Manager with the same company and was earning very good money. He had six people working under him and basically ran the finance department, covering the whole of the UK operations.

Michelle was still a Sales Manager, but by now had increased her pay grade and had twelve sales staff reporting to her. Both wanted to get similar jobs once in Canada.

So in 2007 they officially landed in Canada and got their residency status. They were only planning to stay in Canada for three weeks and then return to Scotland to tie up their lives there and then permanently move to Canada. Whilst in Canada they made appointments to visit companies with a view to getting themselves known and hopefully make it easier to secure employment once they moved for good.

“We saw about ten companies between us,” says Michelle, “It was very interesting as some really seemed keen to employ us and were disappointed that we had not already moved there. We were told to contact them again once we knew when we would be landing permanently.”

After the three week trip they returned to Scotland and a friend they had made on a trip a couple of years previously acted as a postal address for their permanent resident cards. Once he received them, he mailed them back to Scotland – the couple were now officially residents of Canada.

“We felt really good after this trip,” says David, “Our plans were coming together and we felt confident about finding employment once we landed.”

After a few more months of working in the UK and selling their apartment, they finally made the move to Canada for good in early 2008.

They decided to use the first few months as a combination of holiday time and research for homes, jobs etc. “Because we felt confident about finding jobs due to the meetings we had with local companies we decided to relax a little before embarking on our new life. This would later prove to be a bad idea”

They had arranged to rent a home for six months and during this time they employed a realtor to find them a more permanent home. After three weeks of searching they found a property they liked and once their offer was accepted planned to move in at the end of  August 2008.

Now they started their job hunt seriously. They contacted the companies they had visited previously, but none had jobs to offer them at that particular time. “This was very disappointing,” says David, “I suppose we thought that we would say “hey we’re ready to take the job now” and they would welcome us with open arms, but that was not the case. Unfortunately our job hunt coincided with the collapsing economy. Had we looked for jobs as soon as we arrived maybe it would have been a different story?”

Over the next few months they managed to move into their new home, but with only minimal savings they both needed to find work soon otherwise they would be in serious financial trouble.

They started applying for other jobs and engaged the services of a professional resume and job hunting coach. She took their existing resumes and “Canadianized” them to make sure they had the best chance possible.

David managed to get interviews with four companies but all of them asked for his Canadian experience, which of course he did not have. “I explained my newcomer status and went into detail about my work history and achievements, but they all wanted Canadian experience. I found this particularly frustrating as how was I supposed to get Canadian experience without getting a job? I was a classic chicken and egg situation.”

Michelle was fairing no better. “I had management and sales qualifications from the UK, but they did not recognise them here. Unfortunately I did not have a degree which seemed to be almost a standard requirement in Nova Scotia for the type of job I wanted.  Although I had an excellent resume, many years of experience and great references from my previous employer I found it hard to get over the no-degree issue.”

Eventually Michelle took a job in a sales department which was not only several grades less that where she wanted to be, but paid very poor wages – but it did pay, so she took it whilst looking for other more suitable employment.

“I continued to look for work, but was now coming up against another barrier.” Michelle laughs cynically. “Now I was being asked why I was in the low-graded position I was in when clearly I was qualified for better roles. They seemed to think that I must be hiding something bad which led me into the lower position. I simply could not win.”

By now the couple had been in Nova Scotia for almost a year and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. They decided they they needed to move to a location which could offer them better prospects for employment.

“We felt that Nova Scotia just couldn’t offer us the life we needed. We loved the place so it was a very big decision to move.” says Michelle.

Mississauga. We chose this location because of its accessibility to both Toronto and Hamilton

They decide to move to Ontario, specifically Mississauga. They chose this location because of its accessibility to both Toronto and Hamilton, places they felt would be better suited to find employment and perhaps more inclined to employ newcomers.

The trouble was they had to sell their home in Nova Scotia, which because of the collapsed economy would not prove easy. They had to put the house on the market for less than they paid for it. The only good thing was we were selling at the right time of year – spring.

Whilst the house was on the market David took a job with a local accountancy firm. Like Michelle it did not offer him the role or salary he needed, but it was better than nothing and would give them a little extra money for their move.

Unfortunately it took over six months to sell their home and for even less money than they had hoped. They made a loss overall, but only had a small mortgage, so did have some capital to take with them.

In November 2009 they moved lock, stock and barrel to Ontario. This time they decided to rent rather than buy, just in case they did not like the area. They found a small house they liked and signed a year-long rental agreement. Then once again they were job hunting.

This time they had a much larger area to aim at. They applied to companies from Hamilton, right across to Oshawa, almost the whole of what is known as the Golden Horseshoe. The trouble was now they were competing with many more people.

To cut a long story short David is now working for a software company in their finance department but as an accountant, not a Finance Manager. The pay is better than he received in Nova Scotia but a lot less than he is qualified for. He has applied for several other jobs whilst working for this company both internally and externally, but so far no luck.

Michelle is working as a Sales Manager for another company in Toronto. Although the role itself is very similar to the one she had in the UK the pay is far less, even taking into account exchange rates etc. “I do enjoy my job,” she ays, “but the poor pay is definitely an issue. Between us we earn about what David earned on his own in Scotland. Our living expenses are similar to those we had in Scotland so we feel we are worse off. Also David hates his job, so he has times when he is depressed which makes everything much worse.

“We have not had a holiday since we moved to Canada, something we did regularly when we lived in Scotland and we do not own property as we have used most of our money to live day to day.”

So, what does the future hold for the couple? “We have extended the rental agreement on our house for six months which takes us to May 2011.” says David, “I think that if we haven’t found jobs we both like by then we will have to seriously consider moving back to the UK. The trouble is we will have vey little funding behind us, but at least we might stand a better chance of getting the work we are both qualified to do.

“I have been in touch with my old company and subject to a position being available they are willing to employ me again. I doubt I will be able to start at the position I had before, but even the grade or two down will be an improvement on what I am doing here in Ontario.”

Michelle believes that she too will find it easier to find satisfactory employment in the UK, be it Scotland or England. “I really hate to have to admit defeat, but at the moment see little hope for success in Canada. At least in the UK my qualifications are recognized and hopefully my UK employment history will stand me in good stead. But it is still an unknown and it could go horribly wrong, even there.”

From all this we assume they regret their decision to move to Canada but strangely this is not the case. Both David and Michelle are glad they made the move and don’t regret doing so. “If we had not done it, we would have always said “what if”, after all it could all have been a roaring success.” says David. “Unfortunately the timing of our move could not have come at a worse time, with the recession and everything. But at the end of the day, we have to put it down to experience and learn from it. If everything in life were easy, it would be boring, wouldn’t it.”

We will keep in touch with David and Michelle to see how things work out for them and if they do indeed decide to move back to Scotland, or give Canada another try.

Canada

Things we like most about Canada

Our house: In the UK we lived in a compact three bedroom semi with one small bathroom and no garage just a carport. Here in Canada we own a three bedroom home with two bathrooms, a double garage and an acre of land. The Canadian house is probably three times the size of the house in the UK but actually cost us less than we sold for.

Wildlife: We love the wildlife in Canada which is much more accessible than in the UK. We get lots of birds, squirrels, raccoons and deer in our garden and just a short drive away we can see many more varieties either at the local provincial parks or down by the lake and riverside. We were shocked to get hummingbirds in the garden as we had always thought of them as tropical birds.

Roads: We love the fact that where we live the roads are never busy. In fact you can drive for miles and not come across too many other vehicles, making driving a pleasure. You can travel much further here in less time than you could ever do in the UK where there is too much congestion. Driving in Canada is definitely less stressful.

Security: We feel much safer here in Canada. In know that if you live in the big cities such as Toronto there is still ample crime, but out here in the sticks there is very little. People often leave their car windows down and cars unlocked in car parks even if there is visible stuff inside. We still cannot allow ourselves to do this though.

Peace and quiet: Although we lived close to the countryside in the UK, we still had cars going past day and night. We also had neighbours who, shall we say, were not the most considerate when playing music, revving up their cars and generally being teenage boys.

Here in Canada we still have some neighbours, but we rarely hear a peep out of them. We are on a very quiet road, and we can sit outside and not hear anything other than the birds and squirrels etc.

When we first moved into our house we had trouble sleeping, as it was too quiet in the night. The most we have to deal with is the odd raccoon squabble or a few coyote howling.

Eating Out: This is much cheaper than in the UK and we eat out here far more often than we ever did in the UK. In our local town of Brockville you can find loads of restaurants which cater for every taste and budget.

Things we don’t like about Canada

Bugs: We honestly didn’t expect as many bugs as we get here in the summer. I personally don’t seem to suffer too much, but Ian is like a bug magnet and spent most of the summer months with several bites at any one time. even after several years being here, we still haven’t got used to them.

TV: The TV in Canada/America is good in many ways, but so, so bad in others. Many of the programs are great, some of which we were watching when back in the UK like House, CSI etc. However, we cannot get used the terrible comedies they show and the constant advert breaks. An example is Coronation Street: This is a half hour show with three ad breaks, each lasting 3-4 minutes – agh!

Shopping: Food shopping is more expensive than the UK and we feel the quality is not as good in many cases. We also have to shop at more than one store to get everything we want rather than just the one as in the UK. Food prices have definitely risen a lot since we moved here, although I suppose it has in the UK too.

Lack of Manners: We have been constantly amazed by the lack of manners we see in Canada. This extends from motorist blocking junctions without a thought to other road users, to having doors slammed in your face by people not bothering to look behind them and hold a door open.

Table manners also leave a lot to be desired and many people seem incapable of using a knife and fork together. We often see someone holding a fork like a dagger and stabbing at his or her food – strange.

Lack of doctors: When we arrived in Canada we were unable to get a family doctor. This was not just a problem where we live, but countrywide, there just aren’t enough doctors for everyone. This means you either just don’t bother, or you have to go to a walk-in clinic. These clinics are generally packed with people and you have to wait for many hours to be seen: not an ideal situation.

We do have a doctor now as a new practice opened last year and we were able to get onto his patient list. Although, thankfully we have not had to use his services, i feel much better knowing we have a doctor to call upon if required.

Work: Ian found a job soon after moving here, but it was not in his field of work (IT), but he took it anyway. It took him two years to find a job in IT and it does not pay as much as he earned in the UK for similar work.

I found it very hard to get a marketing job here as my qualifications were not recognized and my UK experience didn’t seem to count. Rather than a managerial position, which I have been doing for ten years in the UK, I had to take a lesser role and work my way back up the ladder.

Although both of us could do the preferred jobs standing on our heads, we both had to almost start from scratch which we found very frustrating.

The UK

What we miss about the UK

Friends & relatives: We only have a few relatives in the UK, Ian’s mum, my parents and we both have brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces and we do miss them all. However with technology as it is we can keep in touch really easily and even see each other on our webcams. Most of them have visited us in Canada so it perhaps isn’t as bad as we thought it might be.

Next: I really, really miss shopping in Next. They had great clothes that fitted me, oh how I wish they had a store in Canada. I have heard others say this too, so come on Next open a store here.

TV: As we mentioned before North American TV leaves a little to be desired. We miss some of the UK dramas that we used to watch and although some are shown in Canada, we are definitely missing most of them. We have taken to downloading some from the internet so it’s not too bad. We do seem to spend a lot of money buying DVD’s of British TV, but it is worth it.

Food: Although we can get most of the same types of food we had in the UK here in Canada there are a few items we miss. Ian misses pork pies and I miss garibaldi and malted milk biscuits.

Things we don’t miss about the UK

Driving: I don’t miss driving 35 miles to and from work every day on busy A- roads. We don’t miss the road rage and the tailgating and the excessive speeding.

Noise: We don’t miss the constant noise of the UK, be it roads, kids, cars, music etc.
We lived on an estate that meant our house was overlooked front and back by lots of other properties. Here we have wide-open spaces and privacy.

Our house: We lived in our house quite happily for over twelve years, and although it was no mansion, we never considered it cramped. Since moving here, we realize how small the house was and now wonder how we ever managed.

Although we had a pretty good life in the UK, we have a better quality of life in Canada. We have a better house, better car, more wildlife, more countryside etc. Our cost of living is a little less than the UK but not as much as we were led to believe. Houses and cars are cheap but day to day living is similar.

We have never regretted moving to Canada and hope we never will.

Many of the British policemen who emigrate to Canada find that their jobs are made somewhat easier, not by a difference in the nature of the criminals but by a difference in the nature of Canada’s communities.

“People here are generous and friendly, and citizens seem to be very active in reporting crime and helping to stamp it out,” says Steve Pocock, a British migrant who works as a 911 operative in Victoria, Vancouver Island.

“This is quite different to how we found things in the UK, where ‘looking the other way’ seemed to be all too prevalent. What we find wonderful here, unlike the UK, is the community spirit. People love their communities, and are very proud of them. If a youth is misbehaving, people are generally outraged and will tell them so. I cannot see this happening in today’s Britain.”

Moving form the UK to Canada Policing is different

Perhaps it’s this community-based approach to combating crime that has resulted in the low number of youth offences in Canada. It’s a tactic which many British migrants say was employed during their childhood in the UK, but which has been supplanted over here by a general feeling of alienation – nowadays, more than ever, Brits feel divorced from the communities in which they live. In many areas of Canada, however, community spirit is still strong; and it is this value which Pocock suggests lies behind one of the main differences between UK and Canadian crime.

“People here generally respect other people’s property and right to enjoy life,” he says. “If you come across some hooded males, they are more likely to say ‘hi’ and move over for you than produce a knife and demand your wallet.”

Paul Looker, a British policeman working in Edmonton, has noticed a similar trend. “I find that there is less youth-on-youth violence here than in the UK, and in general youths are better behaved,” he says.

There are other differences between crime in Canada and the UK; some positive, and some less so.

“I can’t really say whether there’s less crime in Canada or there’s the same amount, but we count it differently,” says Stuart Davidson, a British policeman working in Edmonton. “The thieves don’t seem as determined or organized as they are in the UK: there aren’t the same number of large-scale bank and cash-in-transit robberies, nor is there the same amount of level two crime, where villains drive long distances to commit felonies. On the other hand, there’s a lot of crack cocaine”.

Looker agrees that drugs are a “big problem” in Edmonton, and according to Pocock, they are also a major issue on Canada’s west coast. “Unlike in the UK, drugs are perhaps the biggest social problem and bugbear for all the population over here,” he explains. “You can’t avoid seeing users all over downtown. We receive many calls daily about parents taking their kids to school, having to walk past people injecting themselves or injecting each other with heroin. Then there are frequent calls about users passed out behind dumpsters, people going berserk running down the middle of a busy highway in a state of delirium, or junkies doing the ‘funky chicken’ in public parks!”

Most of Canada’s major cities have trouble with drug-users – and, while the drugs themselves are usually dealt and contained within a small area, drug-related crimes are a more widespread problem. “The drug culture results in massive car crime, homeless people and mental health issues,” says Pocock. “Car crime in particular is rife, and largely a result of the drug problem. Coming on duty at 6am in the Victoria 911 centre, the first few hours consist mainly of taking reports of vehicle break-ins and car thefts.”

One type of crime that migrants expect to see more of after moving to Canada is gun-related offences. Canada has more guns and fewer controls on them than most nations in Europe, and the gun ownership rate is high. As Pocock points out, this has its attached problems. “Migrants have to be aware that they are on the continent of North America, with attendant North American crimes,” he says. “So we do get armed bank robberies, drive-by shootings and biker gangs.”

On the other hand, Canada has far less of a problem with firearms than the USA. Only one third of murders in the country involve guns, and it is effectively illegal to carry concealed guns.  “Gun crimes are relatively rare and certainly more prevalent in big cities,” says Pocock.

“They are nothing to be overtly concerned about, and not something the average citizen is likely to encounter, but just be aware that they do exist.”

Although most migrants are unlikely to find themselves affected by the greater prevalence of firearms in Canada, it’s a different story for the Canadian police. “One of the main differences between policing in the UK and Canada is the gun aspect,” says Looker. “Because there are more of them here, police officers are naturally more safety conscious going to calls.” “Cops over here are generally no nonsense – as in all of North America they carry guns and may have tazers also,” agrees Pocock. For example, if the police run a vehicle licence plate and it comes back as stolen, the driver will be stopped and ordered out of the vehicle and on to the ground at gunpoint! No messing around here.”

While Canadian police may have a more forceful approach than their UK equivalents, the powers of detention and arrest that they are granted by law are actually comparatively restrictive. “When you take into account the fact that stop and search and police bail don’t exist, it probably seems like we have fewer powers of arrest, search and detention than in the UK,” says Davidson. “However, in the UK you spend so much time justifying the fact that you exercised the power in the first place, you never get out of the station! For example, it’s all very well having the power to arrest on reasonable suspicion, as you do in the UK – the problem is that, once you’ve used that power, the demands of the system ensure that you remain in custody justifying your arrest and trying to get your suspect to court.”

According to Davidson, this smaller bureaucratic burden results in a far more effective police force. “We’re more productive and there’s less waiting around,” he says. No CPS Direct or defence solicitors to call, no appropriate adults or lengthy booking procedure in custody. What this means in terms of actual time is difficult to say, because it depends on how quickly and accurately you can type up the required reports, but as an estimate I’d say it takes 75 per cent less time to deal with incidents.”

Most of the British police people who emigrate to Canada feel positively about the different approach to arresting and charging suspects. Looker, for example, admits that “the powers for a police officer are generally more restrictive in Canada”, but says “generally arrests end in charges, unlike in the UK.”

Another positive aspect of policing in Canada is the attitude of communities towards officers. “I was sometimes surprised in the UK, both as a 999 operative and as a special constable, how badly the police were often treated,” observes Pocock. “Being spat at, shouted at and sworn at and generally abused was all part of the lot of the British bobby. If you did that here, your feet wouldn’t touch the ground. In  my opinion, there’s way more respect for the police, and for authority in general, over here than in the UK.”

Of course, attitudes to the police and methods of policing vary across Canada, just as crime levels do. Many problems are specific to particular areas – such as the fugitive issue currently plaguing the west coast.

“You get a lot of criminals from other provinces fleeing to the west coast,” says Pocock. “If you are wanted by the police, say in Manitoba, you simply leave the state and the police can’t touch you. Your Manitoba warrant is not applicable in other provinces. Only Canada-wide warrants mean you can be arrested anywhere in the country.

Vancouver Police Badge

And where do you think most criminals head for? The balmy west coast, where the weather is mild all year round, so if you have to sleep in the streets then it isn’t going to kill you. However, Vancouver and Victoria have recently inaugurated their own ‘con-air’ programmes, where criminals wanted for serious crimes can be arrested and shipped back to their native province.”

One problem facing the entire country at the moment is a shortage of police people (one per 528.6 people) this is substantially lower than most developed countries, with only Japan and Sweden having so few police officers, and many British officers notice the difference.

“There are never enough police officers to attend all of the incidents which may be in progress at any one time,” says Pocock. “As in the UK, that results in calls to the 911 centre from residents asking where the police are. However, a large recruitment drive over recent years is starting to turn things around, with many more officers on the street.”

The massive Canadian recruitment drive has been instrumental in bringing a new influx of British bobbies to the country. The drive was so successful that 12 per cent of all applications that the Canadian police receive now originate outside of Canada, while the majority of those come from the UK. O’Neill is one of those who was attracted by Canadian advertising in the UK – he migrated to Calgary, which was implementing a particularly aggressive recruitment policy. “At the time Calgary was heavily promoted in the UK,” he says. “We liked the location, and economically it was good for us.”

Although Calgary has now put its recruitment drive on hold, other Canadian cities are still eager to attract British policemen. “Canadian police forces are always keen to take on British officers,” says Pocock. “Don’t wait for job ads, just pick up the phone and speak to someone – that’s how things are done over here. There are quite a few expat officers over here, particularly in Alberta I understand. Victoria police has several UK officers and they seem to fit in very well indeed.”

The success of the Canadian recruitment policy in the UK indicates that many British policemen have been happy to swap their job in the UK for a new world environment in Canada. Many perceive life over the Atlantic as safer in general, as Looker observes. “Where we live I have no issues walking, running and being there on my own,” he says of Edmonton. “I feel completely safe here.”

Pocock has similar feelings about Victoria and the west coast. “We feel much safer and more secure in Canada than we ever felt in the UK,” he says. “Crime of all types exist everywhere, but it seems much less day-to-day in Canada.

“Our advice is not to be overly paranoid, as we were. When we moved into our edge-of-town duplex, we chained our patio furniture to the wall. I didn’t even want to leave these things outside. Our neighbours thought we were mad; just how bad are things in the UK? In Canada things are way better – or at the very least, appear to be!”

A favourite saying among British migrants is that Canada reminds them of ‘how the UK used to be 20 years ago’. This adage also rings true of crime and policing in the country – the level and types of crime, the community support for police officers and the attitude towards detention and charging of criminals. Perhaps crime seems less of an issue in the country not because felonies are rarer but because community dependence and mutual support results in crime being perceived as less intimidating. In the Canadian psyche, it is the communities and not the criminals that are in control.

Even nine years after he came to Canada, Ram is still haunted by the memories of the fighting in Sri Lanka.

“There was terrible fighting,” he recalls. “One of my brothers got killed from the war.”

Many other relatives have also lost their lives in the conflict.

“They are still suffering, some of them,” he related.

Leaving the City of Jaffna to come to Canada as a refugee in 2001 in search of a better life, Ram has found it here in eastern Ontario in the Town of Smiths Falls.

He moved to the community of approximately 8,800 people, which is located less than an hour from Ottawa, the nation’s capital, in May after living initially with an uncle and other relatives in Toronto.

The 31-year-old says he was attracted to Canada after doing some research on the country, from its history to political system to job opportunities to “how they (Canadians) respect new immigrants.”

Being impressed with what he read, Ram decided this was a country in which he would like to live and he has not regretted his decision to move here.

Upon his arrival in Canada, Ram enrolled in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and went back to school to complete the credits needed to obtain his Grade 12 diploma.

In addition, he decided to contribute to his new country by doing some volunteer work. He was a volunteer at World Youth Day 2002. This celebration of faith was started by Pope John Paul II with the 10th event in Toronto attracting an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 youth from around the world.

Having long had a love of cooking, Ram has been able to turn that passion into work here in Canada. While his first job in the restaurant business was as a part-time dishwasher, over time he exchanged this role in the kitchen for preparing finger food. Eventually, he “jumped into the real cooking” like pasta and other dishes. During his time in Toronto, he had the opportunity to work in restaurants serving Greek, Thai, Italian and Mexican food.

“When I cook, I have a good feeling,” he says. “I am so happy when somebody eats my food. It is 100 per cent satisfaction for me.”

And now Ram derives satisfaction from tempting the palates of Smiths Falls and area residents with his international cuisine.

He first visited the town with a friend in January 2010. During their one week stay, they were so impressed with what they saw and with the support they received afterwards from municipal staff in starting up a business that he moved here in May to become the manager of the new Chuckles Jack restaurant. At the restaurant, Ram has been able to put his culinary talents in international cuisine to work with Italian, Greek, Indian, Sri Lankan, Thai, Mexican and French dishes all being on the menu.

While Ram has only lived in Smiths Falls six months, he already considers it his home.

“I enjoy it here,” he says in praise of the town. “It is a very quiet place. The people are very friendly.”

One of the things Ram likes about Smiths Falls is its natural beauty, from the many trees that line the streets and surrounding area to the historic Rideau Canal, the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ontario.

Ram is also pleased with the services available to immigrants in Smiths Falls and how people in the town make newcomers feel welcome. So much so that he would recommend the community to other immigrants to Canada and plans to apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada to sponsor his parents to immigrate here from Sri Lanka.

Anyone interested in learning more about Smiths Falls and what the town has to offer newcomers is encouraged to visit the website www.immigratetosmithsfalls.ca.

For the study, the participants (10 men, 10 women between 20 and 45 years) were split into two groups: those who arrived in Canada within the past one to 10 years and those who’ve been in Canada more than 10 years. All were professionally employed within the Metro Vancouver area for at least three months and considered themselves to be successful.

Amundson said the report is not intended as a statistical study but rather to provide an accurate picture of what it takes to get ahead in a new country.

Notably, 95 per cent of participants said the starting point for any newcomer is having a strong drive to succeed. Confidence, persistence, discipline and ability to maintain a good attitude in all situations were repeatedly mentioned by the migrants.

Amundson, a professor of clinical psychology at UBC, said the study’s methodology is a departure from past efforts in that it focuses on the positive — that is, what leads to a person’s sucess, rather than failure.  No surprises in that the study shows job -hunting can be an emotional journey. Interviews, rejection, typically, Amundson said it takes only three to six months for a job seeker to start losing his or her self-confidence and energy.

For an immigrant, the problems are often compounded by Canadian rules and regulations that can negate foreign credentials and education, not to mention language and cultural differences that make it harder for newcomers to effectively communicate.

But if the new study shows anything, it’s that an internal drive to succeed in spite of the barriers is crucial to a positive outcome, more so even than a person’s education, skills or expertise (though these are also key factors).

SUCCESS executives, being in the business of career development for their clients, said the report underscores the need for services like the ones they offer. If, for instance, you believe you are responsible for creating good things in your life, you are also likely to blame yourself when things go wrong.

That said, they argue the report shows a need for better supports and programs aimed at bolstering a newcomer’s spirits during the often-difficult job-search process – and perhaps even before that person arrives in the country.

Armundson said the study is only the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to defining the secrets of an immigrant’s success. He’d like to see a broader study looking at a much larger group of people, and possibly follow participants on their transition from birth country to Canada to better identify the psychological needs.

You can download and read the report here: (PDF)

One man’s story of hard work and determination to make his dream come true

I am a nurse here in the Philippines. I am part of the wave of professionals who redirected their career paradigm and took up a bachelor’s degree in nursing to have a better future abroad. Yes, I took a Bachelor of Arts in English first. Worked as a medical representative for less than a year promoting glucometer in hospitals until I got onto the bandwagon of studying nursing like my ‘medrep’ (medical-representative) friends were doing at that time.

Going back to school was hard in every way. I had to go back to reading thick books, memorizing scientific names, back to laboratory analysis, do return demonstrations and had to surface from the discreet discrimination of submitting one’s self to younger professors. I had to take all these in and find joy in studying nursing. I had to think of the dollars and the comfort of my parents and family in the future. My family was very supportive. I have a sister, married and with a kid, a nurse in Ireland, who, supported half of the expenses – tuition, allowance and books. The other half was from my brother, who worked as a caregiver in the States. It was a surreal experience: going back to school in the hope of landing a better future. I had to risk everything and consider a major career shift. No more selling glucometers and start doing the dirty job. No more salary and relying on allowances.

I studied for three years. Luckily, the minor subjects in my previous course got credited and so I was able to cut a year from the regular four-year course. Two months after graduation, I had to take the board exam and pass it before I could practice. I studied hard and passed. And after that, I embraced unemployment. I believe there were 20,000 more licensed nurses in the Philippines, never mind, it’s close to 300,000 now. Imagine – all those people all looking for jobs. I had to go through the dreadful process of competition. Most nurses had to pay the hospitals so they can get to work as volunteers. That is roughly P800-2,500/month ($20-65 CND) so they can get a certificate of experience. And yes, the hospital is lucky it gets income from their workers. We had to find other means of income. I had a different case. I worked as a volunteer first. No, I did not pay them. But my services were free for the first 3 months. I had to work as a writer online so I could get other means of income while I worked as a nurse. It was so hard. I felt it was an excruciating injustice and an obvious violation to nurses. After the very expensive tuition and long years of financial insolvency from schooling, I had to risk everything myself in order to advance.

I applied for jobs abroad. Anywhere: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Australia, USA and even Bermuda. You name it and I sent applications there. Unfortunately I had no replies because I was an inexperienced nurse.

In the second year, a friend of mine forwarded me an email from a website. A new agency in Manila was calling for nurses with experience to work in Manitoba, Canada. It was nothing new. I just sent my application without high hopes – thinking I would be rejected again like the others. Two days later, they called me up and asked me to attend an interview in Manila in four days time. I got so excited. I prayed hard. I loaned my airfare from my mother through her credit card. It would be the start of something big.

It was not that easy though. I had to go through several phases of selection. I called it torture (wink). I took a 25-part exam where I had to at least get 20 to pass. Then I got interviewed and was told that I was to be put on a waiting list. I flew back home uncertain and in deep prayer. I considered the possibility of losing that chance to go to Canada. After the longest four days of my life,

Jason Marchand, the Human Resource Officer for Brandon Rural Health Authority called me with the good news that I had been accepted. Jason heard my outpouring of laughter and joy through the phone line. I worked at my papers and medical exams and now, I am finally leaving in 5 weeks time.

I am writing my story because for the longest time in my life, I have had a dream of working abroad. Now I’m going to be in Canada with Canadians. I have always valued the culture and the finesse of Canadians. I have always believed in the way they preserve humanity, health and values in tune with realizing economic goals. To me balance is important. I have always been prudent in my life’s decisions and to me Canada is the way to go.

I am excited about the Brandon experience. I have been doing constant research online about what Brandon looks like and what it will offer me. I have read an article about a 15 year-old girl who moved in from Vancouver with her family and how she overturned her skepticism. I have no hesitations now. I will be coming with 161 more Filipino nurses who will be assigned in four parts of Manitoba: Central, Assiniboine, Parkland and Brandon. I will be there in May 27, 2009 to be exact.

I’m just so excited. Brandon, here I come!