The only way I can now deal with you is by marking you as "ignore" on the forum. Very irritating and immature spam from you. You are not a bot, you are a person spamming the forum copy-pasting from ChatGPT.
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Post landing as a PR
- Thread starter Rach WLT
- Start date
I apologize if my responses have been irritating or immature. I understand that you are frustrated, and I want to assure you that I am not trying to spam the forum. I am simply trying to provide information and answer questions to the best of my ability.
If you would like to mark me as "ignore" on the forum, I understand. However, I would like to ask that you give me another chance. I am confident that I can be a valuable resource for you in the future.
Thank you for your feedback. I will take it to heart.
Much easier to say than do actually implement. Most of the people qualifying for immigration are supposed to have passed a basic language test in English or French so should have a certain level of language skills already. Language lessons are available already but many need to support their family so would prioritize work over language learning, many don’t feel like it is a priority and it is hard to learn a language as an adult. Many would also need transportation and childcare which creates more difficulties, cost and barriers. There may be additional cultural requirements like only attending if there are women only classes. In specific areas of Canada many can get away with minimal English or French so many people choose to live in these communities and therefore there is less incentive to learn English and French. Also comes down to money. Language learning also is prioritized for men in some communities because they are the breadwinners and if the wife is not working then learning English or French is not a priority. There also is an element of control involved if a child woman does not learn English or French. It is also expensive to provide these services and find adequate teachers. Many of the students end up missing a lot of the classes or dropping out for a variety of reasons. The language learning ie very slow for many participants and unless participants are willing to practice and study hard some have minimal progress over time.
There are already job placements services but the immigration system is not really set up to provide additional training to new immigrants. Newcomers are expected to arrive with a certain skillset or to initiate licensing, further education, etc. themselves. The government is notoriously bad at planning for future skills need in advance. They are usually 5-10 years behind in planning for skills needed. This also comes down to money and favouring newcomers versus people already living in a Canada. Many having lived in Canada also need new skills or retraining. The governments does have some programs but in many circumstance upgrading skills or learning new skills comes down to personal initiative and responsibility and the government provides things like student loan programs to help people attend programs. There are alap a lot of poorly researched subsidizes for certain professions. In Ontario, for example, the government has decided that certain professions deserve free or highly subsidized tuition and their choices don’t seem to align with actual need and studies versus personal interest. For example would make sense to offer financial assistance to train PSWs and nurses instead of police officers when training is quite short, much less expensive than something like nursing not to mention police officers can easily make 100k+ a with some overtime so could easily pay back the cost of doing police academy soon after graduation. There is usually many applicants to attend police officer academies and people are turned away so hiring isn’t a typically a problem although diversity can be a problem. The RCMP tends to have more difficulty because rookies tend to be placed in isolated communities and work on their own but that isn’t the same as most police forces. Many of the labour need are unskilled or low skilled so there often isn’t a need for training.
Improving access to healthcare takes around a decade or more to implement. You can’t easily increase the amount of nurses, doctors, technicians, etc. which are all needed to increase capacity in the healthcare system. Also not that easy to increase budgets. Hospitals already provide access to translation services usually through a phone in system or employees that speak the language. Using translation slows down the process of providing healthcare, costs quite a lot of money, leads to misunderstandings, reduced quality of care, etc. It is easy to say build more hospitals and schools but it takes a long time and requires a lot of money. Things like infrastructure should be a consideration when creating immigration programs and setting quotas. Programs that require people to settle in places other than the largest cities and the quotas and length of stay for programs like supervisas and PGP would help alleviate some demands on infrastructure. Also being upfront with applicants about the benefits of moving to other locations and being upfront about the inability for all immigrants to sponsor their parents would allow for people to better plan their future in Canada or reassess if Canada is the right fit for their family.
Integration is very difficult for newcomers if they chose to live in a location where people of the same ethnic or cultural background are also located. At this point there are some areas that are so segregated and it is too late to reverse this. It is unfortunate that this was allowed to happen. There are certain newcomers that choose to live in a diverse area because they moved to Canada to enjoy the diversity but many want to live and interact with their own community members but within Canada and have no desire to associate with other communities, have their children associate with children from other backgrounds, intend for their children to marry a member of their own community and often from their country of origin, etc. Places like Brampton, Surrey, Richmond, Richmond hill, etc. allow you to live without speaking English or French. If you have a desire to interact with other community members there are a lot of opportunities to do so but you have to have the desire to interact with others. For example many from East Asia are determined to live in Brampton no matter what. There is also the false impression that community members will protect new arrivals but unfortunately that is often not the case. Lots of examples of community members taking advantage of newcomers and because they only interact within their own community they are often unaware that they are being taken advantage of. Many also feel that they were taken advantage of as a newcomer and feel like it is a right of passage for newcomers to face certain difficulties.
All these things are very complex and difficult to address because the tactics may be unpopular and expensive. One of the reasons the housing market is so unaffordable. No government was willing to tighten up the lending rules and prioritize keeping housing as a proportion of GDP at a certain level. If intervention had started in early 2000s we would likely be in a better position now. Instead the government decided to allow property purchasing to be as easy as possible, to let housing prices increase because it would make people feel more wealthy and view the current government favourably and wait until interest rates rose around the globe to try to slow down the housing market which didn’t happen for 2 decades.
No simple solution unfortunatley
I can't agree with you more on this point. When I moved a few months ago, I didn't insist on finding the neighborhoods that could have the most people from my ethnic background (which one is irrelevant). In fact, I actively avoided that.
Immigrants looking for their own little silos is against the spirit of immigration, which should be such that our diverse backgrounds and experiences come together to build a better society. The isolationism is part of the reason why immigrants are viewed so negatively by some. That argument cuts both ways, but as a community of immigrants on this forum we can only control our own behaviour.
You make some very good points about the challenges of integrating immigrants into Canadian society. It is clear that there is no easy solution, and that any attempt to address these challenges will need to be comprehensive and take into account the many factors involved.
One of the key challenges is that many immigrants come to Canada with limited English or French skills. This can make it difficult for them to find jobs, access healthcare, and participate fully in Canadian society. There are a number of programs that offer language training to immigrants, but these programs are not always enough. It is also important to make sure that immigrants have access to affordable childcare and transportation, so that they can attend language classes and other important appointments.
Another challenge is that many immigrants come to Canada with different cultural expectations than Canadians. This can lead to misunderstandings and conflict. It is important to provide immigrants with information about Canadian culture and values, and to help them to understand how to navigate the Canadian system. It is also important to create opportunities for immigrants to interact with Canadians from different backgrounds, so that they can learn about each other's cultures and build relationships.
Finally, it is important to address the issue of housing affordability. Many immigrants live in areas where housing is very expensive, which can make it difficult for them to make ends meet. The government needs to take steps to make housing more affordable for everyone, including immigrants.
I agree with you that there is no simple solution to the challenges of integrating immigrants into Canadian society. However, I believe that by addressing these challenges head-on, we can create a more welcoming and inclusive country for everyone.
Thank you for your thoughtful post.
I did try to open but all those banks don't allow me to open an account. I'm coming from Singapore. Would you mind telling me which city you're relocating to? and your field? Just out of curiosity.
It depends on the type of account that you are trying to open. You may visit the link given at the end of this message pertaining to Scotia Bank. I am sure other banks also provide similar products. Hope this helps.
The right bank account for you depends on your needs:
- A Scotia International Account is good for transferring money before you arrive in Canada.It lets you open an account online and transfer money to show proof of funds.
- Chequing accounts are good for everyday banking transactions. You can use them to pay for purchases, withdraw cash, pay bills and send money. They typically offer little or no interest, but many also let you make an unlimited number of transactions.
- Savings accounts are good for building savings. They typically have a limit on the number of free transactions you can make each month, but they also offer higher interest rates than chequing accounts.
Link as below :
https://startright.scotiabank.com/banking-in-canada.html?cid=S1ePfC1020-004&cid=S1eNEW0821-001
Oh, that's bad. I didn't knew that these banks don't allow opening accounts from certain countries. I'd no problems in opening accounts from India.
I'll be moving to Calgary. I am a senior exec (CXO).
I’m planning to move to Calgary too, but seeing the data of unemployment rate being highest at above 6% freaks me out a little bit as a newcomer. I think you already have a job so that would ease your relocation process much better.
You can try to reach out HSBC Singapore to open account at HSBC Canada although HSBC Canada would soon become part of RBC.
Yes, that's a legit concern of yours. I'm hearing a lot about the unemployment rates too, but I guess that's also very dependent on the type of jobs available. iirc, you are in accounting so maybe see how the competition is for accountants.
I can see a considerable number of accounting jobs in Calgary: https://ca.indeed.com/jobs?q=accounting&l=calgary&limit=20&fromage=14&vjk=d2b3fcf56d8fe9a1, might be a good idea to talk to someone to see given the number of jobs, how long it would take to get a job. Also, very helpful to talk your skills and get someone's opinion on probably comps too.
I actually have a small network of mentors who often help me evaluate and negotiate comps too.
6% is still low. What is most important is the unemployment rate in your own field of work. I assume that some of the unemployment in Calgary is associated with the resource sector. Would recommend that any new immigrant remains flexible when first moving to Canada and not commit to one city. Would suggest applying to jobs throughout Canada, in one province or in one region of Canada. You can also try to apply for jobs before coming to Canada. Usually you will need at a minimum a Canadian phone number but a phone number and address would be best. If you want to secure the best job possible you may have to remain flexible about your location.
There's a market-driven approach that many other countries use, and Canada should consider... make an employment offer a pre-condition to getting a skilled worker PR. Under the current system, many newcomers show up on Canadian shores with a PR in hand, hoping to find a job that matches their skills. This works only for a few, while the vast majority of newcomers remain under-employed for years.
Canada's current immigration system for skilled workers lowers barriers to entry, but raises barriers to success. It is designed to make life easy for Canadian employers, and lower their wage bill. But is a raw deal for many newcomers, who realize it only after the fact. I have found employers in many countries (US, UK, Dubai, Singapore) put in a lot more effort and thought into hiring foreign skilled workers, while Canadian employers (with some exceptions) do a pretty bad job.
Canada's current immigration system for skilled workers lowers barriers to entry, but raises barriers to success. It is designed to make life easy for Canadian employers, and lower their wage bill. But is a raw deal for many newcomers, who realize it only after the fact. I have found employers in many countries (US, UK, Dubai, Singapore) put in a lot more effort and thought into hiring foreign skilled workers, while Canadian employers (with some exceptions) do a pretty bad job.
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