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Canada Welcome
Guide for living, study and working in Canada
A guide, information, advice and useful addresses to be able to leave well-informed.
Toronto - Montreal - Vancouver - Ottawa

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City Ville Guide Hotels & Restaurants Vancouver, Colombie Britannique : Coast Hôtels, Georgian Court, Four Seasons, Hastings House, Hyatt, Pan Pacific, Ramada. Montréal (Province de Québec) : Château Champlain, Four Seasons, Holiday Inn, Inter Continental, Méridien Hôtel, Bonaventure, Hôtel du Parc, Reine Élisabeth, Ritz Carlton, Sheraton. Québec (Province de Québec) : Château Frontenac, Clarendon, Hôtel des Gouverneurs, Loews Le Concorde, Québec Hilton. There is no difficulty with accomodation in Toronto, there are several possibilities from the grand and luxurious hotel to the small boarding house. Prices do not normally include service charges, so it is usual to tip, which should be from 10 to 15% of the invoice and should be paid in cash.

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Toronto :

The airport is 32 kms from the town centre, with a bus connection every 20 minutes to the main hotels. Several daily flights are run by Air France and Air Canada, with about 7 hours of flight to Paris on average.

Vancouver :

Air Canada proposes 2 non-stop flights a day.
The airport is 15 kms from the town centre, 25 minutes by taxi.
(There is an airport tax of approx $10 which goes towards a participation in the financing of extension works).

Montreal :

Two airports, Dorval Airport and Mirabel Airport (53 kms from Montreal).
Diamond Taxis.

Car rental and driving
All the major car rental companies are usually represented at the airports.
Budget car hire in Montreal : 514 636 0743
There are 65 metro stations open from 5h30 to 0h30 every day.

Hotels & Restaurants
Hotels, Aparthotels Vancouver, Hotels Montreal, ..

Information

Moving :
It is preferable to make all your arrangements prior to your move, renting or buying your house or flat, either directly or via your company.

Travelling :
The authorities insist on a return air ticket for all tourist or work stays.

Public Holidays :
1st January, Good Friday (April), Easter Monday (April), Queen's Day (May), Canada Day (1st July), BC Day (beginning of August), Labor Day (beginning of September), Thanksgiving (October), Victory Day (11th Nov), Xmas (25th/26th Dec).

Commerces and public establishments :
Opening hours are in general from 9 am to 6 pm Monday - Wednesday, 9 am to 9 pm Thursday and Friday and from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturdays.

Your suitcase

Because of the harshness of the winter it is necessary to have a very warm coat, if possible in sheepskin
or an anorak filled with goose feathers, fur-lined boots, preferably in rubber which is more waterproof
than leather. In the summer, people dress well in Toronto, more simply in Montreal, suit and tie is
de rigueur for business and dinners in town.

Banks

All the major French banks can be found in Canada, the BNP, the Société Générale and the Crédit Lyonnais, as well as Canadian banks and other foreign banks.

Credit cards are widely used (Visa, Amex, Mastercard, Diners).

There is no exchange control on bank transfers.

Education and Schools

The Quebecois educational system is compulsary from 5 to 15, that is until Secondary V,
then the students can enter the CEGEP (a total of 67 post secondary institutions).

In Montreal there are French colleges proposing a continuing education to the baccalaureat :
the College Marie de France, the College Stanislas.

In the English provinces there are 13 years schooling to be passed before university
where you can get a Bachelor of Arts Degree (after 3 or 4 years), a Masters Degree or a Ph.D.
French children with equivalent qualifications can study in Canada. Higher studies are not free.

Children can follow a French curriculum or enrol in local schools (some are free of charge, some are private). Teaching is in English or in French depending on the province.

School grants are given by the Ministry of National Education (if the establishment is recognized by them).

The CNED, an organization for Education at a Distance, is a public establishment under the Ministry
of National Education.

Guides

It is advisable to have a good knowledge of English if you want to settle in Canada.

To read :

- « L'exploitation d'une entreprise au Canada », ouvrage publié par le Cabinet Goodman, Lapointe, Ferguson (fax 19-1-514-288-7390),

- « Faire affaire au Canada » de Stikeman, Elliot (tel 1-40-73-82-00, fax 1-40-73-82-10),

- « Faire affaire au Canada » de Goodman, Phillips, Vineberg

(Tel 1-40-62-20-00, fax 1-40-62-20-62).

- « L’économie solitaire » aux éditions Pascal Pucq de JL Laville.

Guides :

- Guide bleu « Canada »,

- Guide Michelin « Canada ».

Newspapers :

- Globe and Mail (Toronto),

- Le Journal de Montréal, Voir, La Presse, le Devoir, The Gazette, L'Actualité (Montréal),

- Ottawa Citizen, International Perspectives (Ottawa).

OBSERVATIONS

Cost of Living

Be careful :
The prices shown on price tags are before taxes, to know the real price add to the shown price a tax of 8.5% and a tax of 7% on products and services, that is a total of 15.5%.

Evolution in the cost of living :
Canada has a very high level of living, most people own their own homes.

French presence :
About 80,000 French people are installed in Canada. Because of this there are about thirty regional associations, such as the France-Quebec Association, the Franco-Quebecois Office for Youth.
The biggest arrival of French immigrants took place in the early 1960s when French Algeria was dissolved, with up to 6-7000 arrivals a year.

Today the influx is about 2-3000 immigrants a year. In 1991, among the 2,700 French immigrants accepted, most of them were between 25 and 35 years old and looking for jobs in the hotel and restaurant industry, in teaching or in the service industries. Be careful, some professions have quotas. There are 250 subsidiaries of French companies in Quebec (Banque National de Paris, Société Générale, Crédit Lyonnais, Gec-Alsthom, Lyonnaise Dumez, Essilor, Air France, Air Liquide, Alsthom, Ciments Lafarge, Elf, Hachette, Dumez, Degrémont, Michelin Péchiney).

Housing :
There is no great difficulty in finding accomodation in Canada, rent is reasonabl and charges are usually included in the price of the rent.
On arrival you can sublet and find something better for the long term when you are fixed in your choice
of a district, in relation to where you work etc.

Your expatriate budget :
As a bachelor : you need to count on a monthly budget of 4,500 Canadian dollars.
In a family : you need to count on 5,500 Canadian dollars.
A few prices as examples : a doctor's consultation : $50, a specialist : $85 - 100.
A pair of men's shoes about $200, women's $200-250.
A shirt costs about $50, a taxi ride from $7-13, a litre of petrol $0.58 and a litre of diesel $0.50.

Shopping :
Consumer taxes are not included on the prices shown.
Trade Fairs, Congresses, Exhibitions :

LEISURE

Ottawa
A bilingual town. The National Centre of Arts is there, also the Alliance Française, an English theatre and a French theatre, concerts and ballets, cinemas (some are American, some French), ciné clubs with a French programme, several municipal libraries.

Toronto
An English-speaking town, but there is an Alliance Française there. Among the 40 theatres
there is one French one, also 90 cinemas, libraries and 57 TV channels (Radio Canada, TV Ontario).

Vancouver
There is the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the Théâtre de la 16ème, art galleries, exhibitions of foreign artists, Radio France Internationale.

SHOPPING AND LEISURE
The good addresses in Montreal are in the 15 kms of underground shopping malls and in Quebec
the artisans of the Rue Petit-Champlain. You can find Indian and Quebecois artisanal products. There are big shopping malls all over Canada, with a large choice of international products at reasonable prices.

Customs clearing

Merchandise can be consolidated. Duties and taxes can be paid on delivery. Credit is accepted with a bank guarantee. There are more than 250 customs offices and more than 350 transit companies in the various towns, maritime zones, airports and on the borders in the whole of the Canadian territory.

The average length of time that it takes for custom clearing and for the restoration of goods is two hours. Two procedures are used for the clearing : the SEA examination system and the SMGI withdrawal system.