Canada ranks No. 1 in global Quality of Life list

Based on this U.S. News and World Report's 2019 Best Countries Report,  Canada ranks No. 1 in Global Quality of Life List! 

The criteria for Quality Life is based on  the following factors: a good job market, affordable, economically stable, family friendly, income equality, politically stable, safe, well-developed public education system, well-developed public health system.

Mom, What's a Canadian?

It's an unarmed North American with health insurance.

Do you really want to move to Canada?

Immigrating to Canada, starting all over again in a another country, is not easy.  So before you decide, you need to ask yourself: Do you really want to move to Canada?

The difference between Canada and US

 

 I'm often asked by clients about the difference between Canada and the US, so I thought of sharing with you this video clip from Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine. 

Top 5 Most Livable Cities in the World | Economist Intelligence Unit

Of the Top 5 Livable Cities based on Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual report on the most livable cities in the world, 3 cities are from Canada - Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary.

Here's the Top 5 Most Livable Cities in the World

1. Melbourne, Australia

2. Vienna, Austria

3. Vancouver, Canada

4. Toronto, Canada

5. Calgary, Canada

This is the first time for almost a decade now that Vancouver is not at the top of the 140 cities included in the survey.

How is livability measured?


Economist Intelligence Unit assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions using the following factors to determine a livable city:

1. Stability: prevalence of crime, threat of conflict (military or otherwise), etc. (25 percent of score)

2. Healthcare: availability and quality (20 percent of score)

3. Culture and environment: social freedoms, availability of amenities, and climate (25 percent of score)

4. Education: availability and quality (10 percent of score)

5. Infrastructure: quality of transit, roads, water, energy, and telecommunication and availability of good housing (20 percent of score)

Canada remains to be a best bet if you are planning to immigrate.

Ms. Laarni Abaya Visited Niagara Falls

Ms. Laarni Abaya at Niagara Falls

Ms. Laarani Abaya, a Registered Nurse moved to Canada just last month and is now working as a health care aide at a hospital in Toronto. She sent us her picture taken at Niagara falls when she visit the place last July 31, 2011.

The Niagara Falls are renowned both for beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. It is situated on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario and forms the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. It's really beautiful and it's not surprising why many newly landed immigrants in Ontario seem to visit the place first before seriously looking for job. ;-)

Here's an excerpt from Ms. Laarni Abaya's email to Mr. Irene de Lara, who assisted Ms. Abaya with her Permanent Residence visa application:

I have visited Niagara falls on July 31, 2011. It was a great experience! It was really good to look at the wonders of the Lord. I suggest you visit niagara also at night, fantastic color effects for the falls.

Thanks to Canadian Immigration Consultancy, I am now experiencing a life like this in Canada - a work and a pleasure..

Interested to live and work in Canada? Click here for free online assessment or contact Ms. Irene de Lara at mob. no. 0928-2815634

Vancouver Canucks Lose 2011 Stanley Cup | Vancouver Riot

Image Credit: yfrog/Lisa Johnson

Canadians are generally friendly, but it's entirely a different story when Vancouver Canucks lose Stanley Cup. That would mean riot!

Here's a recap of the Game 7 of 2011 Stanley Cup where Boston Bruins won 4-0 against Vancouver Canucks.

Sometimes I don't understand people really. It's only a hockey game!

Update, June 18, 2011:

Here's a video from youtube.

Ice Hockey fans riot in Vancouver as the Canucks lose Stanley Cup against Boston Bruins

According to a report, some anarchists are behind the Vancouver riot.

Discover Canada Contest | Win Hockey-Themed Prizes!

I am following Citizenship and Immigration Canada twitter account (@CitImmCanada) and it's where I learned about this Discover Canada Contest. The contest is really simple. You just have to read Discover Canada Guide and tell them one thing you learned and you could win hockey-themed prizes!

Interested to join Discover Canada Contest?

To enter the contest, visit http://cic.gc.ca.

This Discover Canada Contest is in collaboration with:

Canadian Teachers’ Federation Canadian Teachers’ Federation

Canadian Library Association

Historica-Dominion Institute Historica-Dominion Institute

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada

Hockey Hall of Fame Hockey Hall of Fame

This Discover Canada Contest is open only to Canadians (immigrants and citizens) currently in Canada.

Prostitution in Canada | Decriminalizing Prostitution in Canada

Prostitution in Canada is generally not illegal. However, there are laws criminalizing activities related to prostiution. Three Toronto women challenged anti-prostitution laws in October 2009, arguing that those prohibitions prevented them from conducting their business in the safety of their homes or brothels and forced them into hasty street conversations with potential customers, with no time to weed out those who might be dangerous. 

A Toronto judge made a decision favoring the appeal of the three prostitutes. But Canada's Court of Appeal Thursday blocked the said ruling that effectively decriminalized prostitution in Canada until April to allow for an appeal. Story from inquirer.net. 

Are you in favor of decriminalizing prostitution in Canada?

Canada’s Citizenship Award 2010 | Twelve Outstanding Canadians

Image Credit: Michael Byers/Levy Creative - http://www.theatlantic.com

Canada’s Citizenship Award (formerly the Citation for Citizenship) is a prestigious award that pays tribute to Canadians who have made an important contribution to Canada by promoting the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship. It also honours Canadians who have played an outstanding role in helping newcomers to integrate into Canadian society.

The following are the Twelve Outstanding Canadians recipients of Canada’s Citizenship Award 2010:

Dr. James Chi Ming Pau of Vancouver, British Columbia
For the past 30 years, Dr. Pau has helped residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, many of them new immigrants, deal with poverty, inadequate housing, health issues and drug and alcohol abuse. He provides free seminars and workshops to help immigrants who are homesick and those who turn to drugs after arriving in Canada. Dr. Pau actively promotes world peace, human rights and harmony between people of different religions.

Maria Logan of Vancouver, British Columbia
Since arriving in Canada from Switzerland in 1950, Ms. Logan has dedicated her life to helping others as a member of the Canadian Red Cross Corps, the Vancouver Swiss Society and through her many volunteer activities. She has been honoured with the Governor General’s Canadian Caring Award.

Shokoofeh Moussavi of Calgary, Alberta
In 1992, she established a legal clinic in partnership with Calgary Legal Guidance. Ms. Moussavi continues to manage the clinic, where volunteer lawyers provide free legal guidance to immigrant women and their families. To date, the clinic has helped over 7,200 newcomers.

Dr. Kazi Sadrul Hoque of Toronto, Ontario
Dr. Hoque actively volunteers in several community service agencies including the Canadian Cancer Society, Bangladeshi - Canadian Community Services and the Newcomer Women Centre to promote citizenship, civic pride and respect for core Canadian values. He has helped tens of thousands of newcomers become Canadians who understand the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and are active members of their communities.

Mario Guilombo of Toronto, Ontario
Mario Guilombo is a lawyer and human rights activist who fled his native Colombia after facing persecution for his humanitarian work. Since arriving in Canada, he has worked to support over 6,000 newcomer and refugee families.

Xiaoran (Joshua) Jiang of Toronto, Ontario
In 2007, at the age of 15, Joshua organized the first of four “Hope and Light” events to raise funds for ORBIS, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of blindness worldwide. He recruited and led student volunteers to organize competitions in mathematics, chess and public speaking in the Chinese community. Joshua and his team of young volunteers organized two seminars to provide newcomers with information about the North American post-secondary education system. These seminars were attended by over 300 immigrant students and parents.

Dr. Ambaro Guled of Toronto, Ontario
Dr. Ambaro Guled has been a community health worker in Toronto’s Regent Park since 1993. She volunteers extensively in the mainly immigrant neighbourhood by helping newcomers adjust to Canadian society. A refugee from Somalia, Dr. Guled founded the Youth Recreational Program in Regent Park in 1997 and has initiated several programs to assist immigrant women, youth and seniors. She has set up ESL courses for women and a homework club for young students. Dr. Guled speaks English, Somali, Italian and Romanian, and has acted as a liaison between school boards and newcomer parents in the community.

Dr. Hoanh Khoi Nguyen (Dr. Khoi) of Toronto, Ontario
Over the past two decades, Dr. Khoi has helped Nicaraguan refugees unite with their families in Ontario, raised funds for tsunami victims, worked as a volunteer physician for Bosnian refugees, and provided medical treatment to hundreds of new immigrants and low income families.

Christopher Harris of Ottawa, Ontario
Christopher Harris has spent almost 50 years improving relations between police and visible minorities in the National Capital Region. His work as a volunteer with the Ottawa Police Service dates back to 1962, and he has worked with the RCMP for the past 26 years. Due to his relentless efforts, the Ottawa Police Service and the Ottawa Fire Service have made extensive changes to their hiring and training practices to welcome more visible minorities and Aboriginal people. Mr. Harris initiated the Ottawa Police Service’s cross-cultural sensitization program and was instrumental in establishing procedures to deal with issues between police and the community.

Elizabeth Rapley of Ottawa, Ontario
Elizabeth Rapley has provided assistance to refugees since 1956 when she welcomed a young Hungarian refugee couple into her home. Active in a number of volunteer organizations while she raised a family and pursued a PhD in history, Ms. Rapley immersed herself in Project 4000 in 1979, providing settlement assistance to Cambodian refugees.

Rosemary A. Segee of Montreal, Quebec
Whether it is finding housing for a family in need, helping with legal issues or directing newcomers to the necessary resources, Rosemary Segee has a deep commitment to improving the lives of those who live in her community.

Gail McKay of Fall River, Nova Scotia
Over eight years ago, Gail McKay spearheaded the establishment of an Ecumenical Refugee Committee in the Fall River, NS area. Buoyed by her passionate interest in social justice and humanitarian issues, she organized a number of area churches to sponsor new arrivals to Canada. Her enthusiasm has helped raise awareness of the responsibility of communities to help meet the needs of newcomers. She leads by example and educates as she leads.

Source: http://cic.gc.ca

The awarding ceremony was part of Canada's Citizenship Week 2010 Celebration. Here's how to become a Canadian Citizen.

Minimum Wage in Canada by Province (September 2010)

Minimum wage in Canada varies from one province to another. Here's a table of Minimum Wage in Canada by Province:

Province	General Wage/Hour
Alberta	$8.80
BC	$8.00
Manitoba	$9.00
New Brunswick	$9.00
Newfoundland	$10.00
NWT	$9.00
Nova Scotia	$9.20
Nunavut	$10.00
Ontario	$10.25
PEI	$8.70
Quebec	$9.50
Saskatchewan	$9.25
Yukon	$8.93

More information about Minimum Wage in Canada here.

How to become a Canadian Citizen

Here's a funny take on How to become a Canadian Citizen. Famous canadian stand up comedian Russell Peter shares his experiences.




Hope you guys like it! :-) For Indians planning to live and work in Canada, visit Canadian Visa Office - New Delhi, India.

Most people would move to Canada, if they could—poll

I was on my way to the office this morning when I read this tweet from @inquirerdotnet: "Most people would move to Canada, if they could—poll".

That's based on the online survey conducted by Ipsos Reid.

OTTAWA—A majority of people from around the world would move to Canada if presented with the opportunity, according to a survey out Tuesday.

The online survey of over 18,000 people in 24 countries, conducted by Ipsos Reid, showed that 53 percent of people -- including 77 percent of respondents from China and 68 percent from India -- would like to live in Canada, if they could.[Source]

Do you want to live and work in Canada, too? Send your resume to aapuntar@go2canada.com for assessment.

Vancouver bans smoking in parks, beaches

Going to Vancouver? Avoid smoking in parks and beaches.

Vancouver bans smoking in parks, beaches.

VANCOUVER—Smoking cigarettes in the parks and beaches of Canada's third largest city is to be banned as of September 1, the Vancouver Park Board has decided.

The elected board voted Monday night to prohibit smoking in some 200 parks and along 18 kilometers (11 miles) of beaches, such as Vancouver's famed Stanley Park, citing opinion surveys that suggest enormous support for the measure. [Source]

This is good news for non-smokers like me. I wonder how Pinoys will react if the same rule will be implemented in Batangas beaches and resorts. :-)

Free Download | Discover Canada: the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship – Audio Guide

Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship, a comprehensive study guide for Canadian citizenship is now available for audio download.



I'm actually listening to it as I write this. :-)

Download the audio guide here.

Nunavut

Nunavut Canada is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada. Nunavut, in the Inuktitut language, means "Our Land". Its population is composed mostly of Inuit, a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, Russia and the United States.

Filipinos, they say, are almost everywhere. So do not be surprise to know that there are Filipinos in Nunavut, too, despite its extreme cold climate.

You will probably not chose Nunavut Canada as your destination if you are planning to immigrate to Canada, but just the same, click here and here for more information about Nunavut.

There is no Provincial Nominee Program for Nunavut Canada. To find job vacancies in Nunavut, try www.allnunavutjobs.com.

Moving to Canada | Canadian Immigration Integration Project

Today, we received 36 visa notices from the Canadian Visa Office - Manila. That means 36 families will soon be moving to Canada. These applicants have just filed their application last year. It is now really easier and faster to apply!

Now, their next concern is how to prepare in moving to Canada.

If you have relatives and or friends in Canada who are willing to help you on your initial settlement in Canada, that will be great.

But what if you don't know anybody in Canada?

There are a number of Welcome Centers for Newcomers in Canada that could be of great help to you, but just the same, it is best that you start learning about the following:

- How to find an apartment in Canada,

- Where to look for job vacancies,

- Opening a bank account in Canada,

- Important things to do upon landing in Canada, etc.

Furthermore, there's Canadian Immigration Integration Project (CIIP) funded by the Government of Canada to help those immigrating to Canada under the Federal Skilled Workers Program in China, India and the Philippines. CIIP offers the following services for free:

- Information on the Canadian labour market occupations, and the steps required for integration;
- Advice and guidance to assist in planning successful entry to the Canadian labour market;
- Practical assistance in identifying and contacting Canadian organizations for further assistance.

For more information about CIIP, click here. Even without relatives or friends in Canada, moving to Canada should not really be a problem.

Government of Canada helps people with disabilities in Calgary prepare for labour market

Have you heard about the case of a special child and her mom who were pressured to get off the plane by a Cebu Pacific's purser and cabin crew? Read the story here.

Now, read this news about how the government of Canada helps people with disabilities in Calgary prepare for labor market.

People with disabilities will get help preparing for jobs thanks to the Government of Canada’s support for a local employment program. Mr. Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for Calgary East, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

“In today’s environment, it is more important than ever that all Canadians have the skills they need to participate and succeed in the job market,” said Mr. Obhrai. “By supporting this project, our government is helping Canadians with disabilities maximize their potential and independence.”[Source]

Canada may not be perfect, but it sure is a better place for persons with disabilities.

Canada vs Singapore | Quality of Life Comparison

So you want to live and work in Canada but is also considering to live and work in Singapore? Or maybe you are now working on your PR status in Singapore and is thinking if Canada is a better option?

This may help you decide.

Here's an interesting analysis from a Singaporean who is now living in Vancouver.

I still think Singapore is not as worth it compared to Canada, especially after considering the differences that cannot be priced – better quality of life, greenery, fresher air, lower stress, culture, pace of life… etc. After all, while some costs in Canada are higher (i.e. food and shopping needs, professional services), big ticket items are either comparable or cost lower than in Singapore.

Read the full article here. His reasons for leaving Singapore here.

Revenue Canada's Voluntary Discolusre Program

In its effort to aggressively address non-compliance, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) promotes its Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP).

The Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) allows taxpayers to come forward and correct inaccurate or incomplete information or to disclose information they have not reported during previous dealings with the CRA, without penalty or prosecution. More information here.

As they say, nothing is certain but death and taxes. Come to Revenue Canada before the come to you!