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Flights to and from France
Paris-Montreal 7 hours flight
Paris-Toronto 9 hours flight
Paris-Vancouver 14 hours flight
Internal
transport systems :
Rail
:
The company
Via Rail offers a regular service with the east and
the west of Canada, Amtrak has a daily service to
and from New York. All these trains arrive in
Montreal Central Station.
Information Montreal (514) 871 1331.
Road
:
There is a
good highway network between all the towns. Quebec
is 250 kms from Montreal,
Ottawa is at 190 kms, New York is at 600 kms,
Vancouver is at 4800 kms.
The traffic usually moves well but there can be
jams at rush hour.
Time differences
There are 5/6
hours time difference between Paris and Toronto
(winter time, summer time).
Paris/Vancouver - 9 hours.
When it is 6 pm in Paris it is midday in Montreal,
10 am in Calgary and 9am in Vancouver.
Telecommunications
Telephone/telegraph
:
99% of Canadian households are connected to the
network on 16 million lines.
Telephone cabins work with 25 ct coins, credit
cards or telephone cards (Bell, France
Télécom, etc.)
In hotels
calls are billed +40%.
To make reverse charges calls, dial 1 800 363 40
33
To call Canada from France, dial 00 1 + local
code
Montreal
(514) New Brunswick (506) Nova Scotia (902)
Saskatchewan (306) Toronto (416) Ottawa (613)
Quebec (418) Newfoundland (709) Vancouver
(604).
To contact
France from Canada : from Toronto dial 011 +
33
Radio/Television
:
Radio : RF1
every day, at varying hours.
Television :
Several TV channels.
TV5 broadcasts a series of French programmes on
cable. SRC is a French speaking channel.
Airports
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.
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