It appears to me that most men I have spoken to are very happy to stay in
Canada and do not feel the need to even visit the UK. On the other hand women
have a much stronger desire to visit on a regular basis to maintain personal
ties with family and friends.
Is this assumption correct and if so why?
Friday, November 18, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
British Immigrant Carving out a Living in Canada
Faced with the reality of unemployment in Quebec, Mick McCafferty (mickm@finteg.com), founder of Britclub.ca, formed his own company together with a fellow expat (FINTEG, click here) and is now helping Canadians solve their debt problems. Once the debt problems are solved Mick also offers help and advice on budgeting, credit rebuilding and financial planning and is also a registered tax preparer and efiler. Mick is a great resource for British expats in Canada and is always available to give advice or a second opinion if needed. Mick has recently published his first book “The Illogical Debtor” (Click here) which is 'MUST READ' for anyone struggling to cope with high levels of unsecured debt. Please support Mick in his quest to consolidate and grow his business and to provide jobs for expats in Quebec and Canada.
Faced with the reality of unemployment in Quebec, Mick McCafferty (mickm@finteg.com), founder of Britclub.ca, formed his own company together with a fellow expat (FINTEG, click here) and is now helping Canadians solve their debt problems. Once the debt problems are solved Mick also offers help and advice on budgeting, credit rebuilding and financial planning and is also a registered tax preparer and efiler. Mick is a great resource for British expats in Canada and is always available to give advice or a second opinion if needed. Mick has recently published his first book “The Illogical Debtor” (Click here) which is 'MUST READ' for anyone struggling to cope with high levels of unsecured debt. Please support Mick in his quest to consolidate and grow his business and to provide jobs for expats in Quebec and Canada.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
British expats say Canada is the best country in the world to live.
From 2nd position in 2010 to 1st in 2011 British expats now say Canada is the best country in the world to live. Check out this link
Monday, June 13, 2011
Canadian Grand Prix 2011
Wow!!! I was fortunate enough to get a ticket to the Grand Prix this weekend and what a day it was. We arrived early and the sky was grey but it was warm enough to wear a T-shirt. We were expecting rain showers throughout the day so I had packed a light rain jacket. Unfortunately, due to rain earlier the race started behind the the safety car. There was just time for Hamilton to try a move on Button only to damage his car beyond repair before an almightly storm erupted sending most spectators to find shelter where they could. So we spent a good hour under the stand at the Senna curve. I learnt a hard lesson - my jacket is not waterproof and neither are jeans. We contemplated calling it a day and heading to the pub but, in the end, we toughed it out.
I thank my lucky stars that we did because the race restarted at 15:50 and it is probably the most exciting race I have ever seen. There were thrills and spills throughout. Michael Schumacker showed his undeniable skill in the wet and Jenson Button came from 21st position to win the race on the final lap. It was just thrilling.
I have only ever been to two grand prix; both in Montreal in 2010 and 2011 and both times Brits have won the race. In fact last year Hamilton won and Button was second. Maybe I'll quit while I'm ahead?
If you have access to the highlights of the race I would recommend you watch them.
I thank my lucky stars that we did because the race restarted at 15:50 and it is probably the most exciting race I have ever seen. There were thrills and spills throughout. Michael Schumacker showed his undeniable skill in the wet and Jenson Button came from 21st position to win the race on the final lap. It was just thrilling.
I have only ever been to two grand prix; both in Montreal in 2010 and 2011 and both times Brits have won the race. In fact last year Hamilton won and Button was second. Maybe I'll quit while I'm ahead?
If you have access to the highlights of the race I would recommend you watch them.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Federal Election Result Changes Nothing for Brits in Quebec.
After nearly a generation of unbroken dominance in Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois was almost erased from the province's political map in the 2011 general election. Quebec has spoken and has clearly had enough of 20th century political ideas and wants to move forward into a new era. But how does this mood swing in Quebec affect the plight of the minorities in Quebec and in particular the much maligned Anglophone population.
The NDP decimated the Bloc Québécois' by reaching out to their voters with an endorsement of expanding Quebec's controversial language law, Bill 101. Before the election, In the French-language debate, leader Jack Layton also talked about re-opening the Constitution in a new deal for Quebec.
The NDP have promised to strengthen francophone rights, and weaken the federal government’s role in the province; extending Bill 101-style French-in-the-workplace laws to cover workers under federal jurisdiction, such as banking.
In essence, the NDP have adopted much of the nationalist agenda and merged it with their progressive politics thus strengthening majority rights and damning the minorities.
There’s a significant movement campaigning to make it even harder for parents to have their children educated in English, and even to extend those rules to cover CEGEPs. This idea is even opposed by a majority of French speakers. Other initiatives call for a complete ban of all English on commercial signs.
This fanatical language-cleansing has no place in modern Canada. The fact that the federal government allows Quebec to get away with such nonsense embarrasses the whole country on the international stage. Something has got to be done to stop the blatant discrimination against English speaking immigrants but it does not look like the NDP victory is going to change anything. It is more likely that the lot of English speakers in Quebec will get worse before it gets better and the despised Bill 101 will march on with increasing vigour.
The NDP decimated the Bloc Québécois' by reaching out to their voters with an endorsement of expanding Quebec's controversial language law, Bill 101. Before the election, In the French-language debate, leader Jack Layton also talked about re-opening the Constitution in a new deal for Quebec.
The NDP have promised to strengthen francophone rights, and weaken the federal government’s role in the province; extending Bill 101-style French-in-the-workplace laws to cover workers under federal jurisdiction, such as banking.
In essence, the NDP have adopted much of the nationalist agenda and merged it with their progressive politics thus strengthening majority rights and damning the minorities.
There’s a significant movement campaigning to make it even harder for parents to have their children educated in English, and even to extend those rules to cover CEGEPs. This idea is even opposed by a majority of French speakers. Other initiatives call for a complete ban of all English on commercial signs.
This fanatical language-cleansing has no place in modern Canada. The fact that the federal government allows Quebec to get away with such nonsense embarrasses the whole country on the international stage. Something has got to be done to stop the blatant discrimination against English speaking immigrants but it does not look like the NDP victory is going to change anything. It is more likely that the lot of English speakers in Quebec will get worse before it gets better and the despised Bill 101 will march on with increasing vigour.
Friday, March 11, 2011
How to Save $$$100s a Year on Your Bundle
Last year I had a standard setup for my phone, TV and internet. TV was provided by Videotron and the phone and internet by Bell.
On average I was paying $182.52 per month plus about $10 for a phone card to ring the UK. So that’s $192 per month in total.
The TV package was modest and was the Videotron a la carte 20 package where I could choose 20 stations and change them at will. We also had access to Illico and could download movies for a fee. Unfortunately, my family and I could never find 20 stations worth watching and the package was a little redundant.
So, I took the advice of a friend of the BritClub and have changed my phone/TV/Internet package completely.
I now have a high speed internet link through Videotron - 60Mbps with 150Gb bandwidth and, at the time of writing, this costs approx $81 per month. Then I pay £5 ($7.90) per month for a UK IP address (For more information Click Here) giving access to all UK TV iplayers, $7.99 for Netflix and approx $30 for a Vonage VOIP phone connection. Also, the Candian stations have Iplayers too so you can watch online.
I love it! For $127 per month (For me a saving of $65 per month/$780 per year) I get to watch great TV, phone anywhere in the world without a phone card and have a very fast internet connection.
If you have a wireless router you can watch TV anywhere in the house on your computer and you can plug your laptop into our TV for a bigger screen.
Worth exploring eh? For a UK IP address Click Here.
On average I was paying $182.52 per month plus about $10 for a phone card to ring the UK. So that’s $192 per month in total.
The TV package was modest and was the Videotron a la carte 20 package where I could choose 20 stations and change them at will. We also had access to Illico and could download movies for a fee. Unfortunately, my family and I could never find 20 stations worth watching and the package was a little redundant.
So, I took the advice of a friend of the BritClub and have changed my phone/TV/Internet package completely.
I now have a high speed internet link through Videotron - 60Mbps with 150Gb bandwidth and, at the time of writing, this costs approx $81 per month. Then I pay £5 ($7.90) per month for a UK IP address (For more information Click Here) giving access to all UK TV iplayers, $7.99 for Netflix and approx $30 for a Vonage VOIP phone connection. Also, the Candian stations have Iplayers too so you can watch online.
I love it! For $127 per month (For me a saving of $65 per month/$780 per year) I get to watch great TV, phone anywhere in the world without a phone card and have a very fast internet connection.
If you have a wireless router you can watch TV anywhere in the house on your computer and you can plug your laptop into our TV for a bigger screen.
Worth exploring eh? For a UK IP address Click Here.
Permanent Resident Card Renewal
It looks like Citizenship and Immigration Canada have assigned more staff to the Permanent Resident Card section. In December 2010 I was shocked to find out that it was going to take 201 days to renew my card that ran out on 1st March 2011. In true BritClub fashion I rang them and complained because my two sons and my wife were travelling to the US and UK respectively after the cards had expired. It seems there must have been a lot of complaints because the wait is now down to 127 days.
Having said this, if you are travelling and your card is about to expire, you send in proof of travel with your renewal application and write "Urgent - Proof of Travel Enclosed" on the envelope. The effect of this is that we got the appointment to pick up the new cards in around two weeks and were in possession of the new cards in about 4 weeks. So, to be fair it does seem like Citizenship and Immigration Canada have got their act together after all.
Having said this, if you are travelling and your card is about to expire, you send in proof of travel with your renewal application and write "Urgent - Proof of Travel Enclosed" on the envelope. The effect of this is that we got the appointment to pick up the new cards in around two weeks and were in possession of the new cards in about 4 weeks. So, to be fair it does seem like Citizenship and Immigration Canada have got their act together after all.
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