taskcompleteng:
HI GUYS

PLEASE IS THERE A FORUM LIKE NAIRALAND IN OTHER COUNTRIES INCLUDING CANADA

Reddit

Every city has their subreddit so try to find your city's subreddit.

For instance, Calgary is r/Calgary.
Ontario is r/Ontario. Then there's r/Canada for everybody.

I intend landing next month and I am fortunate to see a cheap flight on Egypt air but I think I heard something bad about them discarding foods. Can someone tell me what I can't take on the flight and do I need to check-in again at Cairo airport?

Hello house I am landing next month Ontario precisely,pls ow can I purchase health insurance since the province wouldn't provide till after 90days.

jelmusboy:
I intend landing next month and I am fortunate to see a cheap flight on Egypt air but I think I heard something bad about them discarding foods. Can someone tell me what I can't take on the flight and do I need to check-in again at Cairo airport?

Hi, some persons have stated that they had dried fish in their luggage removed by the authorities in Cairo. Please note that I stated some as others were fortunate to land here with their fish package intact. All the best with your trip.

mzjennypher:
Hello house I am landing next month Ontario precisely,pls ow can I purchase health insurance since the province wouldn't provide till after 90days.

Hi, you can purchase in Nigeria with your regular insurance provider like AXA Mansard, IGI, Linkage etc or get from insurance providers here like Blue Cross, Sure Health, Sunlife etc. All the best with your preparations.

Thanks and is there anything discarded apart from fish?

Blackbuddy:


Hi, some persons have stated that they had dried fish in their luggage removed by the authorities in Cairo. Please note that I stated some as others were fortunate to land here with their fish package intact. All the best with your trip.

jelmusboy:
Thanks and is there anything discarded apart from fish?

This link will show the official position of what is not allowed and then you can make your personal decisions on what to bring, https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/fpa-apa/menu-eng.html

Hi guys, i need a favor from the seniors! Make una help me.

Im a single applicant and I just landed two weeks ago; I’m planning to go back to naija to tidy up loose ends.

Do i need to apply for prtd? So that i can re-enter canada or i have to wait till pr comes out? Keeping in mind say na ontario and e fit take 3months to get my pr card

Expectantbee:


I really like what you’re doing. Allowing yourself to explore and make decisions based on your own personal experiences. I’m not taking this adventurous approach myself but I applaud it. It does make sense.

Merci Beaucoup, thank you so much.

Blackbuddy:


Hi, you can purchase in Nigeria with your regular insurance provider like AXA Mansard, IGI, Linkage etc or get from insurance providers here like Blue Cross, Sure Health, Sunlife etc. All the best with your preparations.

Thanks

Please i need anyone that claimed points for sibling in Canada and has gotten PPR urgently.

Thanks.

Yes you can apply for a PRTD to re enter CA when you want to. Your fam in CA to Naija can also send your PR card once they receive it so no need for the PRTD.

Make I advise you before you return snap extra PR compliant photos and keep with your person in CA incase CIC asks you to resubmit photos for the card. I didnt do so and I have had to send my photos from Naija twice now.

MissMoroti:
Hi guys, i need a favor from the seniors! Make una help me.

Im a single applicant and I just landed two weeks ago; I’m planning to go back to naija to tidy up loose ends.

Do i need to apply for prtd? So that i can re-enter canada or i have to wait till pr comes out? Keeping in mind say na ontario and e fit take 3months to get my pr card

I claimed points but mine still took the normal 6 months so it does not guarantee a fast track.

labelbybee:
Please i need anyone that claimed points for sibling in Canada and has gotten PPR urgently.

Thanks.

Thanks Walmun

What was their speed of response like?

Sent them an email on Wednesday, I'm yet to receive a reply.

Walmun:
Write and request for your passport. I did that and was successful. All the best!!

I am considering Montreal because of French for my kids. How you look am einsteino?

einsteino:


Merci Beaucoup, thank you so much.

ibnhasan:
When I landed, I gave a relatives's address to a customs officer as where I want my pr card to be sent.
However he told me that they will only deliver the card to me so I have to make sure I will be there when the PR card arrives in 6 to 8 weeks.

I found this strange as I have read here many times that the PR can be collected on people's behalf.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Im here for short landing and I plan to return next year

Hello,

If the address you provided has a mail box, your PR card will be dropped in the mail box. That's how I got mine.

Also, link your PR application to your account so you can be on the alert to receive it once it is approved.

All the best..

rainazoe:

Yes you can apply for a PRTD to re enter CA when you want to. Your fam in CA to Naija can also send your PR card once they receive it so no need for the PRTD.

Make I advise you before you return snap extra PR compliant photos and keep with your person in CA incase CIC asks you to resubmit photos for the card. I didnt do so and I have had to send my photos from Naija twice now.

Okay thank you soo much!!! I go enter staples go snap am

rainazoe:
I claimed points but mine still took the normal 6 months so it does not guarantee a fast track.

I just need to clarify something urgently. sent you a PM

Landed seniors, I am looking to short-land next month with my spouse (I am PA). I will return to Nigeria while my spouse will remain in CA. We have 3 kids who wont land with us next month but will land with me on my final move next year. In this wise, will I need to present their passports and COPR on our landing next month even though they wont be landing with us? I don't think I should, but I will like to be hear from people who have done something similar. Thanks all

Estac:
Landed seniors, I am looking to short-land next month with my spouse (I am PA). I will return to Nigeria while my spouse will remain in CA. We have 3 kids who wont land with us next month but will land with me on my final move next year. In this wise, will I need to present their passports and COPR on our landing next month even though they wont be landing with us? I don't think I should, but I will like to be hear from people who have done something similar. Thanks all

they can go any time AFTER you. you cant present passport of a person in his/her absence.

rainazoe:
I am considering Montreal because of French for my kids. How you look am einsteino?

for a family, Montreal has alot going for it. a 2 bedroom apartment here can be as low as 750 cad, 850cad to 1000cad in downtown montreal! in Toronto that can easily cost you 2200cad! cars are also much cheaper here and the city is lovely to raise a family. Anyways let me tell you a story that would help put things to perspective.

I have been doing some shopping, mehn converting from naira to CAD is the most sadistic mathematical operation. Anyways, to make good savings on my shopping, I have been hopping from one thrift store to another, trying to get the best quality at the least price. So yesterday I found another thrift store on google map to try out. It was about 17 stops away by train and another 4 stops away by bus. I took the subway to the other side of town, got off and made to catch a bus from the metro station to the Thrift store. On getting to where google map said I was to board a bus to the shop, I found a hand written notice placed over the Bus-stop sign but since it was in french, I was like make una carry una wahala go. So I just stood there waiting for the bus, it was 0 degrees and every second out in that cold felt like eternity. A gorgeous lady walked up to me and spoke some french to me. Walahi I didnt hear a word! listening to french is much harder than reading it, at least while reading I can make out the words even if I don't understand them, spoken french esp in the Quebecois accent sounds like someone is rapping in high Valyrian.

I just replied "Sorry... I dont understand french", she looks at me in pitiful shock and asks "Anglais?", I replied "Oui". In my little head, now she would speak something I can comprehend, some good old English...Instead she resorted to speaking the french very slowly I didnt get much but now I understood she was trying to tell me something important about the bus I was waiting for. At this point, I took out my phone and copied the words on the notice to my Google translate app, my fingers turned ice cold in those few seconds I spent typing... only for Google translate to pour out some incomprehensible English translation as the reward for my finger's effort. aaaah! I was like which kind sufferhead be this na. na FSW i be no be PNP, which kind over sabi carry me come Montreal sef? I no even know wetin dey sup with my bus or this notice, See fine babe wey i for even shine teeth give if we dey speak the same language sef... Anyways, since two of us no fit communicate and this bus no gree show, mek I kuku go take subway go back house house before my battery die. I looked at the lady and I muttered "Merci et Bonne nuit", as I made to walk away, she cautioned me to wait for her to try one more time. she heaved a sigh of frustration, picked her phone and called someone hoping he could help translate, the person laughs hard and said some inaudible thing in french... she drops the call and looks me in the eye like "this coconut head how wouldn't you even know a little french, are you trying to die in this cold?"

Then she reaches into her bag, gets some paper and a pen and starts using her hand to make signs like someone talking to a deaf and dumb wey no go school.. then finally says "you.. booos number? booos number?"... I tell her my bus number, she writes it down, then she says "me booos number 97.." points at me and then at herself, circles both our bus number and then points at the notice and says "booos stasion laurent"... Omg! I finally understood i was waiting in futility, the bus I was waiting for has been rerouted from Metro Mount Royal to Station Laurent! turns out the road repair works necessitated it be rerouted for some hours(please note that I said hours, not days o.. I returned 45minutes later to see the road open and traffic already plying the freshly asphalted road! Naija get centuries to come up sha). Anyways I thanked her and we tagged along, a young boy walks by and she asked him for direction to St laurent, the guy explained in french, she turns around trying to tell me what he said but remembers I dont quite understand french.. she tells the boy that I only understand english, he switches from fluent french to fluent english almost unconsciously.. I mean he speaks the two languages with native proficiency, his french has the Quebecois accent, his English the usual Oyibo fonerisation and intonation without the overlapping french accent.

Here bilingualism is like a norm but I have realized that it is often teenagers that are fluently bilingual, folks in late twenties speak English and french but for most of them, their proficiency in one of the languages rarely meets up to native proficiency; people in their 50s upwards are usually monolingual, they speak either English or French and just know a few words in the other. If you come to Montreal, your kids would likely end up bilingual like most kids their age here. Since it would put them in a situation where everyday they would meet someone who only speaks one of the two languages, they would have to speak the two languages everyday but french would dominate. That way they get french and still keep the most economically important language in the world, English! but how about you? you would be just like me, risking the possibility of freezing in the cold cos you cant read a damn notice in french even when you life depends on it. lol.

I like the vibe of doing it for your kids, but you do know your job and happiness would affect your kids too. So if you get frustrated with the language thing, it may wear off on your kid's happiness too. You can pretty much get customer care jobs, factory jobs etc with your English, with this you can pay your bills and save a bit. if you land in Montreal, just go to Randstaad at 333 Cote Vertu, they would interview you immediately and fix you up soon as they get you a job that matches your strength and interest. but if you are a career person, someone whose happiness hinges on finding fulfillment in your job, say you hope to work as an Engineer, a lawyer etc. then you should know without french, Montreal would hardly give you the opportunity you seek.

Can't you learn french and move up the career ladder? Yes you can learn french, actually the Govt of Quebec may pay you if you register to learn french full-time, and if you join a part time french class, the fee would be waived for you. But please note, work place french is not moi moi, it means you have to get at least intermediate proficiency in french. if you attend part time french classes for say 3months, you should be able to know enough french to enable you guess what folks are saying. 1year of part time french class and you would be able to pretty much form Quebecois but still may not know enough french to work as an Engineer in Quebec! You know the way Aboki knows English but keep messing up the pronoun I, "I dey crase?" that's the struggle here. Learning the meaning of words is easy, learning to conjugate verbs and pronounce words correctly is not too easy but doable but learning lexis of structure and grammatical rules at this age... oboy that's punishment! especially those stupid rules that have exceptions with no other explanation than that's the way it is. So you need to know that you may put in all your effort into french and at the end of the day, you are only able to speak it the way an Aboki speaks English. that's enough to get you moving around and working survival jobs, but not at a professional job that cares for top notch communication skills in french. Given, some people have an aptitude for language and may get native proficiency in a year, but only you can say if you are one of those people or don't mind the challenge and relegating career ambitions for a while.

But they have to make landing before the visa expiry date.

iaatmguy:
they can go any time AFTER you. you cant present passport of a person in his/her absence.

einsteino:

for a family, Montreal has alot going for it. a 2 bedroom apartment here can be as low as 750 cad, 850cad to 1000cad in downtown montreal! in Toronto that can easily cost you 2200cad! cars are also much cheaper here and the city is lovely to raise a family. Anyways let me tell you a story that would help put things in perspective.

I have been doing some shopping, mehn converting from naira to CAD is the most sadistic mathematical operation. Anyways, to make good savings on my shopping, I have been hopping from one thrift store to another, trying to get the best quality at the least price. So yesterday I found another thrift store on google map to try out. It was about 17 stops away by train and another 4 stops away by bus. I took the subway to the other side of town, got off and made to catch a bus from the metro station to the Thrift store. On getting to where google map said I was to board a bus to the shop, I found a hand written notice placed over the Bus-stop sign but since it was in french, I was like make una carry una wahala go. So I just stood there waiting for the bus, it was 0 degrees and every second out in that cold felt like eternity. A gorgeous lady walked up to me and spoke some french to me. Walahi I didnt hear a word! listening to french is much harder than reading it, at least while reading I can make out the words even if I don't understand them, spoken french esp in the Quebecois accent sounds like someone is rapping in high Valyrian.

I just replied "Sorry... I dont understand french", she looks at me in pitiful shock and asks "Anglais?", I replied "Oui". In my little head, now she would speak something I can comprehend, some good old English...Instead she resorted to speaking the french very slowly I didnt get much but now I understood she was trying to tell me something important about the bus I was waiting for. At this point, I took out my phone and copied the words on the notice to my Google translate app, my fingers turned ice cold in those few seconds I spent typing... only for Google translate to pour out some incomprehensible English translation as the reward for my finger's effort. aaaah! I was like which kind sufferhead be this na. na FSW i be no be PNP, which kind over sabi carry me come Montreal sef? I no even know wetin dey sup with my bus or this notice, See fine babe wey i for even shine teeth give if we dey speak the same language sef... Anyways, since two of us no fit communicate and this bus no gree show, mek I kuku go take subway go back house house before my battery die. I looked at the lady and I muttered "Merci et Bonne nuit", as I made to walk away, she cautioned me to wait for her to try one more time. she heaved a sigh of frustration, picked her phone and called someone hoping he could help translate, the person laughs hard and said some inaudible thing in french... she drops the call and looks me in the eye like "this coconut head how wouldn't you even know a little french, are you trying to die in this cold?"

Then she reaches into her bag, gets some paper and a pen and starts using her hand to make signs like someone talking to a deaf and dumb wey no go school.. then finally says "you.. booos number? booos number?"... I tell her my bus number, she writes it down, then she says "me booos number 97.." points at me and then at herself, circles both our bus number and then points at the notice and says "booos stasion laurent"... Omg! I finally understood i was waiting in futility, the bus I was waiting for has been rerouted from Metro Mount Royal to Station Laurent! turns out the road repair works necessitated it be rerouted for some hours(please note that I said hours, not days o.. I returned 45minutes later to see the road open and traffic already plying the freshly asphalted road! Naija get centuries to come up sha). Anyways I thanked her and we tagged along, a young boy walks by and she asked him for direction to St laurent, the guy explained in french, she turns around trying to tell me what he said but remembers I dont quite understand french.. she tells the boy that I only understand english, he switches from fluent french to fluent english almost unconconciously.. I mean he speaks the two languages with native proficiency, his french has the Quebecois accent, his English the usual Oyibo fonerisation and intonation without the overlapping french accent.

Here bilingualism is like a norm but I have realized that it is often teenagers that are fluently bilingual, folks in late twenties speak English and french but for most of them, their proficiency in one of the languages rarely meets up to native proficiency; people in their 50s upwards are usually monolingual, they speak either English or French and just know a few words in the other. If you come to Montreal, your kids would likely end up bilingual like most kids their age here. Since it would put them in a situation where everyday they would meet someone who only speaks one of the two languages, they would have to speak the two languages everyday but french would dominate. That way they get french and still keep the most economically important language in the world, English! but how about you? you would be just like me, risking the possibility of freezing in the cold cos you cant read a damn notice in french even when you life depends on it. lol.

I like the vibe of doing it for your kids, but you do know your job and happiness would affect your kids too. So if you get frustrated with the language thing, it may wear off on your kid's happiness too. You can pretty much get customer care jobs, factory jobs etc with your English, with this you can pay your bills and save a bit. if you land in Montreal, just go to Randstaad at 333 Cote Vertu, they would interview you immediately and fix you up soon as they get you a job that matches your strength and interest. but if you are a career person, someone whose happiness hinges on finding fulfillment in your job, say you hope to work as an Engineer, a lawyer etc. then you should know without french, Montreal would hardly give you the opportunity you seek.

Can't you learn french and move up the career ladder? Yes you can learn french, actually the Govt of Quebec may pay you if you register to learn french full-time, and if you join a part time french class, the fee would be waived for you. But please note, work place french is not moi moi, it means you have to get at least intermediate proficiency in french. if you attend part time french classes for say 3months, you should be able to know enough french to enable you guess what folks are saying. 1year of part time french class and you would be able to pretty much form Quebecois but still may not know enough french to work as an Engineer in Quebec! You know the way Aboki knows English but keep messing up the pronoun I, "I dey crase?" that's the struggle here. Learning the meaning of words is easy, learning to conjugate verbs and pronounce words correctly is not too easy but doable but learning lexis of structure and grammatical rules at this age... oboy that's punishment! especially those stupid rules that have exceptions with no other explanation than that's the way it is. So you need to know that you may put in all your effort into french and at the end of the day, you are only able to speak it the way an Aboki speaks English. that's enough to get you moving around and working survival jobs, but not at a professional job that cares for top notch communication skills in french. Given, some people have an attitude for language and may get native proficiency in a year, but only you can say if you are one of those people or don't mind the challenge and relegating career ambitions for a while.

this is insightful. Thanks

My broda thank you for summarising the pros and cons. No be beans at all and to dey go school for french I gata think am wella. God bless you.

PS the way you switch between pidgin and english cracks me up.

einsteino:

for a family, Montreal has alot going for it. a 2 bedroom apartment here can be as low as 750 cad, 850cad to 1000cad in downtown montreal! in Toronto that can easily cost you 2200cad! cars are also much cheaper here and the city is lovely to raise a family. Anyways let me tell you a story that would help put things in perspective.

Great story! It's a real wakanda story!
@rainazoe. Based on the little I've browsed, there are French immersion programs for kids in most if not all school districts in Canada (here). New Brunswick is officially bilingual. Ontario and Manitoba have high French speaking populations.
Basically, you have options if it is for the kids.

einsteino:

for a family, Montreal has alot going for it. a 2 bedroom apartment here can be as low as 750 cad, 850cad to 1000cad in downtown montreal! in Toronto that can easily cost you 2200cad! cars are also much cheaper here and the city is lovely to raise a family. Anyways let me tell you a story that would help put things in perspective.

einsteino:

for a family, Montreal has alot going for it. a 2 bedroom apartment here can be as low as 750 cad, 850cad to 1000cad in downtown montreal! in Toronto that can easily cost you 2200cad! cars are also much cheaper here and the city is lovely to raise a family. Anyways let me tell you a story that would help put things in perspective.

Montreal VS Ontario

Montreal is cheaper but the taxes are higher and the healthcare isn't as good as that in Ontario (way better than Nigeria though) so at uOttawa clinic, you would see a lot of Québecois who come there for treatment but then have to pay cash and get partial reimbursement from their Government.

Also for cars, in Ontario the seller has to provide the used vehicle information(so you know the history of the car) but vehicle information history is not compulsory in Quebec.

Aside from the higher taxes, everything in Quebec is cheaper .

Lots of folks live in Gatineau which is Quebec but work in Ottawa.

einsteino:

for a family, Montreal has alot going for it. a 2 bedroom apartment here can be as low as 750 cad, 850cad to 1000cad in downtown montreal! in Toronto that can easily cost you 2200cad! cars are also much cheaper here and the city is lovely to raise a family. Anyways let me tell you a story that would help put things in perspective.

I have been doing some shopping, mehn converting from naira to CAD is the most sadistic mathematical operation. Anyways, to make good savings on my shopping, I have been hopping from one thrift store to another, trying to get the best quality at the least price. So yesterday I found another thrift store on google map to try out. It was about 17 stops away by train and another 4 stops away by bus. I took the subway to the other side of town, got off and made to catch a bus from the metro station to the Thrift store. On getting to where google map said I was to board a bus to the shop, I found a hand written notice placed over the Bus-stop sign but since it was in french, I was like make una carry una wahala go. So I just stood there waiting for the bus, it was 0 degrees and every second out in that cold felt like eternity. A gorgeous lady walked up to me and spoke some french to me. Walahi I didnt hear a word! listening to french is much harder than reading it, at least while reading I can make out the words even if I don't understand them, spoken french esp in the Quebecois accent sounds like someone is rapping in high Valyrian.

I just replied "Sorry... I dont understand french", she looks at me in pitiful shock and asks "Anglais?", I replied "Oui". In my little head, now she would speak something I can comprehend, some good old English...Instead she resorted to speaking the french very slowly I didnt get much but now I understood she was trying to tell me something important about the bus I was waiting for. At this point, I took out my phone and copied the words on the notice to my Google translate app, my fingers turned ice cold in those few seconds I spent typing... only for Google translate to pour out some incomprehensible English translation as the reward for my finger's effort. aaaah! I was like which kind sufferhead be this na. na FSW i be no be PNP, which kind over sabi carry me come Montreal sef? I no even know wetin dey sup with my bus or this notice, See fine babe wey i for even shine teeth give if we dey speak the same language sef... Anyways, since two of us no fit communicate and this bus no gree show, mek I kuku go take subway go back house house before my battery die. I looked at the lady and I muttered "Merci et Bonne nuit", as I made to walk away, she cautioned me to wait for her to try one more time. she heaved a sigh of frustration, picked her phone and called someone hoping he could help translate, the person laughs hard and said some inaudible thing in french... she drops the call and looks me in the eye like "this coconut head how wouldn't you even know a little french, are you trying to die in this cold?"

Then she reaches into her bag, gets some paper and a pen and starts using her hand to make signs like someone talking to a deaf and dumb wey no go school.. then finally says "you.. booos number? booos number?"... I tell her my bus number, she writes it down, then she says "me booos number 97.." points at me and then at herself, circles both our bus number and then points at the notice and says "booos stasion laurent"... Omg! I finally understood i was waiting in futility, the bus I was waiting for has been rerouted from Metro Mount Royal to Station Laurent! turns out the road repair works necessitated it be rerouted for some hours(please note that I said hours, not days o.. I returned 45minutes later to see the road open and traffic already plying the freshly asphalted road! Naija get centuries to come up sha). Anyways I thanked her and we tagged along, a young boy walks by and she asked him for direction to St laurent, the guy explained in french, she turns around trying to tell me what he said but remembers I dont quite understand french.. she tells the boy that I only understand english, he switches from fluent french to fluent english almost unconconciously.. I mean he speaks the two languages with native proficiency, his french has the Quebecois accent, his English the usual Oyibo fonerisation and intonation without the overlapping french accent.

Here bilingualism is like a norm but I have realized that it is often teenagers that are fluently bilingual, folks in late twenties speak English and french but for most of them, their proficiency in one of the languages rarely meets up to native proficiency; people in their 50s upwards are usually monolingual, they speak either English or French and just know a few words in the other. If you come to Montreal, your kids would likely end up bilingual like most kids their age here. Since it would put them in a situation where everyday they would meet someone who only speaks one of the two languages, they would have to speak the two languages everyday but french would dominate. That way they get french and still keep the most economically important language in the world, English! but how about you? you would be just like me, risking the possibility of freezing in the cold cos you cant read a damn notice in french even when you life depends on it. lol.

I like the vibe of doing it for your kids, but you do know your job and happiness would affect your kids too. So if you get frustrated with the language thing, it may wear off on your kid's happiness too. You can pretty much get customer care jobs, factory jobs etc with your English, with this you can pay your bills and save a bit. if you land in Montreal, just go to Randstaad at 333 Cote Vertu, they would interview you immediately and fix you up soon as they get you a job that matches your strength and interest. but if you are a career person, someone whose happiness hinges on finding fulfillment in your job, say you hope to work as an Engineer, a lawyer etc. then you should know without french, Montreal would hardly give you the opportunity you seek.

Can't you learn french and move up the career ladder? Yes you can learn french, actually the Govt of Quebec may pay you if you register to learn french full-time, and if you join a part time french class, the fee would be waived for you. But please note, work place french is not moi moi, it means you have to get at least intermediate proficiency in french. if you attend part time french classes for say 3months, you should be able to know enough french to enable you guess what folks are saying. 1year of part time french class and you would be able to pretty much form Quebecois but still may not know enough french to work as an Engineer in Quebec! You know the way Aboki knows English but keep messing up the pronoun I, "I dey crase?" that's the struggle here. Learning the meaning of words is easy, learning to conjugate verbs and pronounce words correctly is not too easy but doable but learning lexis of structure and grammatical rules at this age... oboy that's punishment! especially those stupid rules that have exceptions with no other explanation than that's the way it is. So you need to know that you may put in all your effort into french and at the end of the day, you are only able to speak it the way an Aboki speaks English. that's enough to get you moving around and working survival jobs, but not at a professional job that cares for top notch communication skills in french. Given, some people have an attitude for language and may get native proficiency in a year, but only you can say if you are one of those people or don't mind the challenge and relegating career ambitions for a while.

This guy You are good. What a wonderful explanation.

rainazoe:
My broda thank you for summarising the pros and cons. No be beans at all and to dey go school for french I gata think am wella. God bless you.

PS the way you switch between pidgin and english cracks me up.

French Immersion programs are available in all cities (I think). When you are registering your child, tell them you want a French immersion program. This may be out of your designated school however. So if you are going to use the yellow bus, you will have to pay a fee for bus pass/month.
NB This applies to Edmonton Catholic Schools

Usually, i hardly read long epistles.

I kept on reading and the information passed was clear and interesting to follow through.

Nice 1 and best wishes as you decide on where to finally settle in. cheers!!!

einsteino:

for a family, Montreal has alot going for it. a 2 bedroom apartment here can be as low as 750 cad, 850cad to 1000cad in downtown montreal! in Toronto that can easily cost you 2200cad! cars are also much cheaper here and the city is lovely to raise a family. Anyways let me tell you a story that would help put things in perspective.

I have been doing some shopping, mehn converting from naira to CAD is the most sadistic mathematical operation. Anyways, to make good savings on my shopping, I have been hopping from one thrift store to another, trying to get the best quality at the least price. So yesterday I found another thrift store on google map to try out. It was about 17 stops away by train and another 4 stops away by bus. I took the subway to the other side of town, got off and made to catch a bus from the metro station to the Thrift store. On getting to where google map said I was to board a bus to the shop, I found a hand written notice placed over the Bus-stop sign but since it was in french, I was like make una carry una wahala go. So I just stood there waiting for the bus, it was 0 degrees and every second out in that cold felt like eternity. A gorgeous lady walked up to me and spoke some french to me. Walahi I didnt hear a word! listening to french is much harder than reading it, at least while reading I can make out the words even if I don't understand them, spoken french esp in the Quebecois accent sounds like someone is rapping in high Valyrian.

I just replied "Sorry... I dont understand french", she looks at me in pitiful shock and asks "Anglais?", I replied "Oui". In my little head, now she would speak something I can comprehend, some good old English...Instead she resorted to speaking the french very slowly I didnt get much but now I understood she was trying to tell me something important about the bus I was waiting for. At this point, I took out my phone and copied the words on the notice to my Google translate app, my fingers turned ice cold in those few seconds I spent typing... only for Google translate to pour out some incomprehensible English translation as the reward for my finger's effort. aaaah! I was like which kind sufferhead be this na. na FSW i be no be PNP, which kind over sabi carry me come Montreal sef? I no even know wetin dey sup with my bus or this notice, See fine babe wey i for even shine teeth give if we dey speak the same language sef... Anyways, since two of us no fit communicate and this bus no gree show, mek I kuku go take subway go back house house before my battery die. I looked at the lady and I muttered "Merci et Bonne nuit", as I made to walk away, she cautioned me to wait for her to try one more time. she heaved a sigh of frustration, picked her phone and called someone hoping he could help translate, the person laughs hard and said some inaudible thing in french... she drops the call and looks me in the eye like "this coconut head how wouldn't you even know a little french, are you trying to die in this cold?"

Then she reaches into her bag, gets some paper and a pen and starts using her hand to make signs like someone talking to a deaf and dumb wey no go school.. then finally says "you.. booos number? booos number?"... I tell her my bus number, she writes it down, then she says "me booos number 97.." points at me and then at herself, circles both our bus number and then points at the notice and says "booos stasion laurent"... Omg! I finally understood i was waiting in futility, the bus I was waiting for has been rerouted from Metro Mount Royal to Station Laurent! turns out the road repair works necessitated it be rerouted for some hours(please note that I said hours, not days o.. I returned 45minutes later to see the road open and traffic already plying the freshly asphalted road! Naija get centuries to come up sha). Anyways I thanked her and we tagged along, a young boy walks by and she asked him for direction to St laurent, the guy explained in french, she turns around trying to tell me what he said but remembers I dont quite understand french.. she tells the boy that I only understand english, he switches from fluent french to fluent english almost unconconciously.. I mean he speaks the two languages with native proficiency, his french has the Quebecois accent, his English the usual Oyibo fonerisation and intonation without the overlapping french accent.

Here bilingualism is like a norm but I have realized that it is often teenagers that are fluently bilingual, folks in late twenties speak English and french but for most of them, their proficiency in one of the languages rarely meets up to native proficiency; people in their 50s upwards are usually monolingual, they speak either English or French and just know a few words in the other. If you come to Montreal, your kids would likely end up bilingual like most kids their age here. Since it would put them in a situation where everyday they would meet someone who only speaks one of the two languages, they would have to speak the two languages everyday but french would dominate. That way they get french and still keep the most economically important language in the world, English! but how about you? you would be just like me, risking the possibility of freezing in the cold cos you cant read a damn notice in french even when you life depends on it. lol.

I like the vibe of doing it for your kids, but you do know your job and happiness would affect your kids too. So if you get frustrated with the language thing, it may wear off on your kid's happiness too. You can pretty much get customer care jobs, factory jobs etc with your English, with this you can pay your bills and save a bit. if you land in Montreal, just go to Randstaad at 333 Cote Vertu, they would interview you immediately and fix you up soon as they get you a job that matches your strength and interest. but if you are a career person, someone whose happiness hinges on finding fulfillment in your job, say you hope to work as an Engineer, a lawyer etc. then you should know without french, Montreal would hardly give you the opportunity you seek.

Can't you learn french and move up the career ladder? Yes you can learn french, actually the Govt of Quebec may pay you if you register to learn french full-time, and if you join a part time french class, the fee would be waived for you. But please note, work place french is not moi moi, it means you have to get at least intermediate proficiency in french. if you attend part time french classes for say 3months, you should be able to know enough french to enable you guess what folks are saying. 1year of part time french class and you would be able to pretty much form Quebecois but still may not know enough french to work as an Engineer in Quebec! You know the way Aboki knows English but keep messing up the pronoun I, "I dey crase?" that's the struggle here. Learning the meaning of words is easy, learning to conjugate verbs and pronounce words correctly is not too easy but doable but learning lexis of structure and grammatical rules at this age... oboy that's punishment! especially those stupid rules that have exceptions with no other explanation than that's the way it is. So you need to know that you may put in all your effort into french and at the end of the day, you are only able to speak it the way an Aboki speaks English. that's enough to get you moving around and working survival jobs, but not at a professional job that cares for top notch communication skills in french. Given, some people have an attitude for language and may get native proficiency in a year, but only you can say if you are one of those people or don't mind the challenge and relegating career ambitions for a while.

AZeD1:

Montreal VS Ontario

Montreal is cheaper but the taxes are higher and the healthcare isn't as good as that in Ontario (way better than Nigeria though) so at uOttawa clinic, you would see a lot of Québecois who come there for treatment but then have to pay cash and get partial reimbursement from their Government.

Also for cars, in Ontario the seller has to provide the used vehicle information(so you know the history of the car) but vehicle information history is not compulsory in Quebec.

Aside from the higher taxes, everything in Quebec is cheaper .

Lots of folks live in Gatineau which is Quebec but work in Ottawa.

Thanks for the clarification.

einsteino:

Blog worthy!

einsteino:
Hello Engineers in the house. Pls, I have converted my ECA to WES ICAP, I am about submitting my application to APEGA. I am torn between applying for EIT or P.Eng. I have a B.Eng and more than the required 4years work experience, which according to APEGA's website, makes me eligible to apply for P.Eng.

However I am not certain if they wouldn't strike a number of years off the experience, seeing that I don't have any Canadian experience or Canadian Degree. Also, from Job Postings, I noticed in the abscence of a P.Eng License, I am left with no choice than to apply for Junior/Entry level Jobs and these usually require one to be registered as an EIT.

Please what do y'all think? Do I take the gamble with the P.Eng or start off with EIT?

@Einsteino, What did you finally decide on here? I have found myself in the same situation pretty much.