shez1806
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- Jul 4, 2015
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Superb Salman,, best post i ever read in this forum...worth reading....
salmanahm said:Hi Guys.
Finally I am able to settle here and have enough free time for online activity. Believe me it’s not an easy task and I have some real data to prove it. I will be sharing my expenditure statement with all of you guys so one can get an idea what a family of 3 should expect here, what kind of taxes are we paying and most important of all WHY SETTLEMENT FUNDS ARE NECESSARY. I apologize in advance for hurting the feelings of some but believe me it’s the reality and you can’t escape it. Everything is from my daily diary, my web research and my personal experience. Others have the right to disagree.
LANDING
Landing is a simple process but it takes time. Here are some tips from my experience about landing. There is a lot of information about landing procedures and its all the same.
1- Passport Control – Long quo for returning citizens and residents. It took half an hour. Staff is efficient and everybody knows their job. They will send you to immigration counters.
2- Immigration counters -- Lot of immigrants land everyday here and it’s a long process. The staff is co-operative. They even filled the forms for me and stamped the COPR documents. (Keep it with you as a legal document and it will be used as a PR card).
3- Luggage collection – By the time you will come out of immigration the luggage conveyor for your flight would have stopped and your luggage will be on ground. Look for some airport service guy to locate your luggage if you can’t find it but never hire a porter. It’s easy with trolleys and all trolleys are free.
4- CBSA Customs counter – If you want your luggage not to be opened at the airport for checking and inspection list everything bag number wise in a goods accompanying list. Put a number tag on every bag and list down all the items in it with a value especially those items which you think will be easily seen on scanner. In my case it was the tool kit they asked about and I showed them it’s a tool kit with Multi meter and screw driver sets. Anyway the suitcases from Pakistan are useless for an international travel. All you find in the end will be broken wheels handles.
TIPS
• The process takes at least 2 hours. For us it took 3 because of evening rush hour at airport. If you hire a taxi or called someone to pick you tell them to reach airport 2 hours after landing.
• Airport LIMOs are expensive. Hire a Limo or taxi online from the place you will be going to and it will be 20% cheap. Check the rates of different cab services and compare with Airport Taxi services.
• Scan all of your docs and save it in a USB. Keep one set of photocopies in your hand carry.
HOUSING
The most difficult part of the process for us because we never had any reference here.
The options were
1- Stay in a hotel or guest house and look for a place. (Expensive but should have done that)
2- Find a building apartment. (I tried but you don’t know the place and haven’t seen the apartment. Second thing is they will not give it you without a credit history and insurance and bla bla bla).
3- Rent a basement (Cheapest one and we did that)
Most of the newly arrived Desi house owners are under tremendous financial pressure especially due to mortgage payments. These pressures have made them forget all the morality and ethics and keep the money first. My advice for new arrivals “Stay away from people renting their houses on forums”. Find a reference to rent a house otherwise stay in a hotel. Money is not more important than prestige. When we landed after 24 hours of flight there was a long one hour presentation on how to use the basement and how to switch off and on the lights. “Don’t take your shoes downstairs” labels were just beside our shoe racks and every day cleaning was inspected as if we came from a marshland. So called desi Canadians are always preaching Canadian codes of ethics knowing that they have rented a basement which they are not legally allowed to rent. Anyway just after one month we were told to get out because their parents were coming and we also wanted to change. In the meanwhile I had to pay $300 Charity to our house owner because he said that your daughter scratched the wooden floor which was already scratched before we moved in. He said this was scratched from here and this was not. PSYCOPATHS.
Thanks God we found a very good reference from Pakistan in the Milton area and they helped us move into their house. We are still living with them and at least they are not financial psycos.
Hence the moral of the story is.
1- Always rent with a reference.
2- Know your rights and no one can make you leave a house even of you don’t pay rent.
3- Most of the active members of this forum are in search to hunt down new immigrants to sell their products, insurance agents and house owners not having enough salary to pay mortgages. Stay away from them. Listen to everyone but never trust anyone here.
Anyway basements are not a private living place for house owners and tenants. I have heard how children are verbally abused upstairs by so called Desi Canadians.
This might be disturbing for most of the ppl around here but it’s the reality.
Average Canadians citizens are very polite, flexible and law abiding. They are financially stable as well so try to find a modest family from working class who is here since more than 7 years for a paying guest option. Otherwise hire an apartment building and inspect every corner of the house before moving in.
JOBS
My analysis about jobs kept changing all the time. But after a lot of research on job market I have come to a conclusion which I will share with you later. Since my arrival I have done 6 jobs in 8 months
1- Modatek systems (HCR Employee on automotive assembly line)
2- PIC Group quality inspections.
3- Johnsons controls Milton
4- Aerodrome Security Company
5- Bell Canada (Five star employer)
RECRUITING AGENCIES
My conversation with an agency representative who came to “skills for change” organization. I had 2 month experience working with an agency. 20 other new immigrant class fellows were also there.
Me: Why should I pay 50% of my salary to an agency?
AGENCY REP: We make you job ready and we train you.
Me: I worked in Modatek Magna division assembly line and no one from HCR agency ever visited me. My supervisor and team mates trained me not an agency.
AGENCY REP: You have the right to disagree but it is the system here in Canada.
Me: That’s the system I am against and only solution to this problem is collective boycott of this system. It’s better to be jobless rather than working with an agency.
AGENCY REP: Stunned and forgot her speech.
There is a mushroom growth of recruiting agencies in GTA in the past 5 years. It is the best business here in which you don’t have to do anything. No raw material cost no power cost. Just open one office and pay two staffing agents to throw tons of immigrants in factories. At first I was very proud that I am on a job within 4 days of landing but later I analyzed that I am the least paid guy here and everyone else doing the same kind of work is getting double than me. I am an agency employee and agency takes 50% of my salary. Assembly line job was very fast paced and Canadians are not fools. No one works here for $12 except for immigrants.
Now try to understand how the system works.
• MAGNA is an automotive manufacturer here.
• HCR is an agency providing $12/h labor force to Magna.
• There is a silent agreement between HCR and Magna that if someone is sent to Magna by HCR he/she will not be appointed or offered contract in Magna for at least an year.
• If HCR is not able to fill the minimum $12/h head count of immigrants to run the factory. Magna will fill up the head count with $18/h guys raw handed in experienced.
• You are the neglected HCR employee and you can’t be offered contract by Magna so you have to train the guys getting more salary than you.
Here in Milton no one is going for HCR now. Flex advertisements are everywhere “HCR HIRING” but no one is able to stand there and work like a machine for 8 hours in just 12/h. Collective boycott can kill this system only.
Legally agency cant employ you for more than one year. After that employer have to give you contract or kick you out. Probability of the second is very high. So after one year you are still unclear about your future working with an agency.
My pick and drop problem in Magna was solved by a friend and colleague whom I met in the company.
I worked with HCR until I got my driver’s license and immediately started applying and got a call from PIC Group.
ON CALL employment is the biggest employment scam here in Canada. You have to tell your availability and they call you only if they need you. First week 30 hours, second week 20 hours third week I quitted because my HUMBER college started. PIC group wanted me to sit at home and wait for their SMS which I couldn’t. I needed a stable income. I rushed for a Ontario Security license. After a training course of first aid and CPR and answering 60 stupid questions I had a license and a job.
A Sardar Jee told me the Canadian employer thinking.
WITHOUT THE LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION YOU ARE JUST A LABOR.
That’s what I have seen here. MSc. Electrical Engineering from Canadian University doing basement renovation business and MSc. Mechanical doing jobs on food chains. A red seal electrician is more worthy than an MS degree here. A six Sigma Black belt is job ready and an A+ certified guy can earn more than a Phd computer science. Those who are telling on the forums that they got $3000 job just after landing are lying. There are no jobs here if you are not certified.
OHHH Did I lie ? There are lot of jobs posted on JOB Bank and Indeed. Almost 50% are fake. At least I know 5 jobs in Magna where no one is appointed since one year. So why they post it? Big question.
When potential immigrants see these job ads they say I can match the skills LETS GO TO CANADA. HRSDC (Human recourse and skills development Canada) have a database of how many jobs there against a specific NOC and how many people are available in Canada for this job. OK we have more jobs and less people so let’s call the immigrants. Immigrants apply to fake ads (NO REPLIES GETS FRUSTRATED AND GOES TO AGENCY AND GETS APPOINTED IMMEDIATELY). So the story is they advertize jobs to keep the influx of new immigrants. Once the guys already working there have 2000 hours with the agency they are kicked off without a contract and new immigrants are pumped in to fill the space.
All of this is on the internet and it is my personal experience and research. I can provide the links.
If you didn’t bring enough money from your home country then be ready to get financially exploited by Agencies and Paki business owners.
Most of the Desi Bhai log here are doing food chain business. I haven’t seen a single fast food shop here not owned or not run by a Desi. All they look for is new moneyless immigrants so they can exploit them in $8/h cash. A Pizza owner proved to me that you can’t deliver a Pizza in Milton because you are not trained. I argued that I will get a degree in Pizza delivery and come again. He came with me. Drove on a highway of 60 with 100 kph because pizza was getting late. I clearly told him that I can’t do that. I don’t want a ticket or license suspension. He said Police don’t do that to delivery guys. Well I am a new immigrant not a silly cow. Just to prove it to myself that I can do it with driving within speed limit I went to another shop. Told him that I am delivering Pizzas here in Canada since 15 years. He gave me 8/h saying that you will be getting a lot of tips. So don’t worry about 8/h. Believe me I did that for 2 weeks and never went above the limit and never delayed a Pizza. I am a superhero Pizza delivery guy.
SO DON’T COME HERE WITHOUT THE MINIMUM AMOUNT CIC WANTS YOU TO BRING IN OTHERWISE BE READY TO GET EXPLOITED.
I did brought double than that so that’s why I kept changing jobs and enjoying different employers without financial pressure.
Where did all the money goes?? Please find below the expenditure statement which I made since I landed here. It can tell you a long story and I am sharing all the expenditure for a family of 3 on a public forum (Me, my wife and a 2 year old). There might be some mistakes after July because I didn’t had time to maintain it. Ontario Child benefit is not included here but you can add another $550 income each month starting from May 2015 in income.
SO WHAT WE DO?
The only solution here is to get certified. After all the applications to fake job ads and not getting any replies I decided not to do a job until I get each and every stupid certification this country offers. There are so many that you can get these on hourly basis. In one day I was WHIMIS and OHSA, next day I was First aid and CPR and next day I got fall arrest (Spiderman) certification. Now I am a superhero certified guy so I decided to take this certification business to the next level. THE INTERPROVINCIAL RED SEAL INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICIAN 442A. I had experience of dealing with machines in Pakistan and a strong electrical background and I luckily found a bridging program for electricians in HUMBER COLLEGE. 5 weeks and they made me exam ready in just $250 which I got back after completion. Electrician here is a very good business. Despite of my refusal a friend paid me $100 for fixing a broken wire behind a switch (15 min job). He told me another could have asked for $250. After Humber I got the job in Bell Canada and this one is the best employer here in Ontario. Job is protected by Union and 40 hours per week are guaranteed. All we have to do is installation of CAT 5 and fiber optic.
Great work and great employer.
So finally I am able to save money instead of spending.
My next targets are
OACETT certification
RED SEAL 309A
Allen Bradley PLC certification
A+ certification
CCNA
I am going to get every stupid certification this country offers. After the 442A red seal certification the situation is reversed. Now my resume is on the Indeed and ppl keep calling me for a $ 30/h job and I have wide selections to make.
One very important thing is never look at the guys living here for years and still getting exploited by food chains. Just think in mind that you can do it and they are not capable of it. Never try to idealize the failures saying that that’s the maximum you can do here. I didn’t came 10000 miles away for a food chain or drive a taxi. Another misconception I had was everyone who is born in Canada and speaks English is educated which is wrong. I know lot of born Canadian who can’t write English. They haven’t written it since long time and if they try to write the font is not readable.
RESUMES
The biggest art here is writing resumes. People are judged here only by resumes. Applying for jobs is the favorite job of Canadians whether they need it or not. Employers normally use resume sorting software to filter out what they need. So if you apply with a wrong resume it might not be filtered out by a human but software. If they ask for a specific subject in email or a specific file name in MS word or Pdf or it is online resume building job application 100% it will be sorted by a robot software. If it is not matching key word then it will be filtered out.
So instead of applying 50 jobs per day apply 10 but each one with a custom made resume.
All the people here are resume Mc Gyvers and they can do anything in resume.
Successful applicants for interviews are those who can bluntly lie in their resumes.
Copy the job requirement and past into your job responsibilities and enjoy 45% application / interview call ratio. Mine was 13% without certification and 45% after certification.
People here charge money for making resumes. Community workers get money against your SIN for adjusting your resumes and no one can promise you an interview call.
So my idea is 50% jobs are fake so they will never call anyone
5% rejected my resume for an unknown reason
45% calls out of which 35% resulted in interviews. (that’s a great success).
Now if you prove your practical knowledge in interview like I did in Bell you will be appointed and lies on your resumes will be forgotten.
I told them in the interview that I have never seen a fiber optic cable still they offered me a job and forgot what was in the resume.
I proudly claim that I can find a job in 7 days with a right resume whenever I need one.
INSURANCE
When the CBSA will greet you with “ Welcome to Canada” they actually mean Welcome to the land of insurance companies and banks. Banks and insurance companies are really making money in Canada and US. Watch the documentary movie “Money Masters” for a better understanding of this system. If you are driving a vehicle or living in a house the insurance is mandatory by law. I am paying a monthly $240 in insurance and Milton is cheapest in GTA. Unfortunately public transport system in Milton shuts down after 7 pm so it is impossible to commute without a car. Anyway if you are living in Canada you are handicapped without a car. Most of the jobs require a car and a driving license and you cant owe a car without an insurance. Here are some tips to save money on insurance.
1- Always go for ministry approved driving school and you will save money on auto insurance.
2- Do not under any circumstances violate the traffic laws. A violation ticket is enough for an insurance company to increase your premium.
3- Do not make any accidents. Yes if you don’t violate laws you cant make an accident.
4- Fill the online application for a comparison of prices then call the agent. Some Insurance companies give $30 compensation for filling the online application first then calling the insurance agent.
5- Always use winter tyres and tell them that you are using it. It is expensive but you will be safe in winter from black ice skits and insurance will be less
6- If your company offers a premium for a device in car to monitor driving habits, just go for it.
7- Always go for group insurance options. OACETT and Ontario college of trades members will be given special discount on insurance. Similarly all professional accreditation bodies have insurance discounts for members. Avail it.
Anyway insurance companies in Canada and US are doing huge business. If you are involved in an accident don’t expect that you will get your money back very soon. For some cases it might take years and you have to hire lawyers who say “We don’t get paid until you get paid”. Also in some areas like Brampton where accident ratios are high and traffic violations are common the insurance companies have a chance to make good money by giving a collective punishment to all the residents.
Anyway I didn’t find driving here a difficult task so don’t violate and don’t make an accident. Your insurance will drop gradually.
DRIVING.
The most difficult part for some guys is the driving license. First of all always get a driving license from your home if you are driving for more than 2 years and a letter stating that what kind of vehicles you can drive with it. If you miss the letter you might have to face the stupid bureaucrats sitting in the Pakistani Embassy in Maple. My advice is go to a ministry approved driving school to reduce the insurance cost and first go for a G2 instead of G. Then drive carefully in a left most lane of 400 series highway in other than rush hours to gain confidence. Highway 401 is the meanest of all. It is a major trucking route so it is designed to be blocked all the time. Never take it in rush hour and prefer a regional road instead. Get a navigator which tells you at least 2km before the turn that in which lane you should be. It is almost impossible to get in the right lane in a span of 200m.
Always try to drive in the right most lane or middle ones. Left most ones are sometimes HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes for two or more passengers. Try to identify the HOV lanes represented by a diamond and differentiate between broken lines of a turn on a highway and broken lines separating the lanes. Driving test is totally based on luck and take it again if you fail the first time. I have 14 years of driving experience on right and left sides of the car and I was able to just pass marginally. There were so many minor mistakes on my form.
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