Federal Skilled worker in Quebec

[vector007]

Hi,

After 3 years I have my Skilled Worker Visa all ready to land in Canada which I intend to do March 2009. I often visit Canada in my present job and while talking to a firm in Ottawa about employment I was head hunted by a firm with offices in Montreal.

So......My application says I intend to Land in Alberta (where my sister lives). I had intended to take up a job offer in Ottawa knowing there was no problem working in the non-Quebec area, but now I have a good job offer but must live in Quebec (Montreal).

I would still like to Land in Alberta to get the paperwork sorted and all the administration done and then move to take up employment in Montreal after about a month. Is this a problem? I know I could have applied for a QSW but at the time I did not have the Montreal job offer, I also do not speak French. So I suppose my real answer is Federal worker really federal or just English speaking Canada?

Any opinions would be welcome!

Richard

 

[Leon]

Federal worker is really federal. There is only one kind of PR but as for formalities, it's better to land in Alberta which you plan to do anyway and then go to Quebec. You can even take care of things during your Alberta "vacation", get your SIN card and health care so when you move to Quebec, you will have that already.

 

[vector007]

Leon,

That's my interpretation as well, thanks for reassuring me!

The job involves a considerable amount of travel abroad so I am happy to learn French without the worry of a job relying on it. I thought that my sister and other family in Alberta could help me through the SIN, driving licence etc. etc and then I could move to Ottawa when that's all finished. The job offer in Montreal was welcome but unexpected so I have spent the weekend looking at the tax, housing etc implications.

The only thing confusing me now is the attitude to the French language. I know officially its the first language but my contacts there tell me its actually 60% French and 40% English, indeed the CEO of the firm and his family hardly speak French at all. Of course all the governmental sites say its essential and almost hint that you should not come unless you are fluent in French. I want to learn the language as I feel its only right when living in a bilingual society but would like to be able to get along while I'm learning. I have lived in Wales as an Englishman and so am used to a bit of local pride in the language but am hoping its not like Scotland where as an Englishman I never felt welcome (or safe).

 

[BCguy]

There is new legislation coming out that will require Immigrants to the Quebec Nation to promise to learn French or else Quebec reserves the right to to require you to leave Quebec.People think Quebec is just another Province,No,It has never signed the Canadian constitution and is to quote the Goverment policy,A nation within a United Canada,Quebec controls its own Immigration,FSW does not apply to Quebec.In fact,If the PQ returns to power,they will start issuing Quebecois Passports,If you apply to Immigrate to Quebec,You dont apply in Canadian Embassies,But Quebec Overseas Delegation Offices,Semi Embassies located in Europe,Asia,South America etc.Quebec is not a"province"but a nation within Canada.Ontario,Alberta,BC etc have Provincial Legislatures,Quebec has a National Assembly.

 

[Leon]

I have vacationed in Montreal. Most people there speak at least some English because they are used to tourists. You can still find people that speak very little. If you leave the city, you can definitely find people that speak no English at all. I heard there is an English neighbourhood in Montreal but I have never been there and don't know where it is. One of my friends said he met a British woman there who'd lived there for 20 years and never spoke a word of French so obviously it's doable.

As for drivers license, it depends on where you are from. If you are from a drivers license exchangable country, you can get one in AB but you would have to get one in QC too when you get there. You are still allowed to drive on your foreign license for 3 months and if you are not from a drivers license exchangable country, you have to send in your license in AB to be allowed to take the test, the time it takes to send it in, it might not be worth it for you to do it there. You can apply for health care though because AB covers you from day 1 when you move from a different country. You might have to prove that you live in AB though and what some other people have used is opening a bank account, for example at the Bank of Montreal because you can be pretty sure you find one of those in Montreal too, get a letter from the bank stating that you have opened an account and given them an AB address and that should be enough to get your health card. You can take that health card to QC and while you wait 3 months to get into the QC health care system, you will be covered by AB.

 

[vector007]

So from reading BC guy and Leon it seems that the 'hero's' are not in agreement! I can see this is going to take some time and money to put right. So according to BC Guy Federal worker really means 'anywhere in Canada but Quebec'. That was my worry having had some experience of the French Canadian cultural protectionism.

I will have to chase this down quickly as I do not want to take a job that ultimately I cannot start. If I have to apply as a QSW how long will that take?

It pretty difficult to reconcile the Quebec governmental web sites that shouts freedom of speech and respect for minorities with the reality of a system designed to keep out anyone who does not conform to a very specific point of view and culture.

Being very busy in my current job I can see that I am going to have to get some representation to move this forward as quickly as possible.

As a matter of interest does this actually mean that as the holder of a PR card I do not actually have the right to travel and work in the Canadian continent? Do the same rules apply to Canadian citizens and is there the same sort of problems for someone from Quebec wanting to work in say the English speaking part of Ottawa?

 

[eduardoF]

I heard there is an English neighbourhood in Montreal but I have never been there and don't know where it is. One of my friends said he met a British woman there who'd lived there for 20 years and never spoke a word of French so obviously it's doable.

That would be Westmount. I spent three months there, as an ESL student. And it's true, if you live there, you really don't need to speak french.

 

[Leon]

As a matter of interest does this actually mean that as the holder of a PR card I do not actually have the right to travel and work in the Canadian continent? Do the same rules apply to Canadian citizens and is there the same sort of problems for someone from Quebec wanting to work in say the English speaking part of Ottawa?

It's complicated. As a PR, you do have the right to live and work anywhere in Canada, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/newcomers/about-pr.asp#pr_can and http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/#libertes see number 2)

However, Quebec has for a long time been on the brink of asking for independence and they are Quebecois first, Canadian second. They have a lot of their own laws, their own immigration program etc. The reason Quebec has their own skilled worker program is because they want to make sure their QSW speak at least basic french and this is why when you apply you sign that you as an FSW are planning to live in any province except Quebec and if you apply for QSW that you are planning to live in Quebec only.

However, once you have a PR, it's federal. It doesn't say anywhere on your PR card that it's not valid in Quebec. If you move to Quebec, who would stop you and how? They might bug you to learn french though but you can appease them and take a course. It would be handy if you plan to live there too.

 

[vector007]

The firm I may work for has checked with their immigration attorney and it is as Leon has said. Thankfully! I will be out of the country 50% of the time as the job involves a lot of travel so learning French will be priority, just not my top one. My wife and daughter however intend to sign up for classes immediately but will have the time to take them. The global market is free on labour movement but its these local and regional problems that are the challange. Having lived in Germany and UK we are already bi-lingual, trilingual will be next but after that I think I'm getting too old for a forth set of lessons!