The cons of Canada??!!
 

Well we have been here over 3 months already and although we really like the place and have made some great friends we have encountered some major issues already that it is making us question our decision about moving here.

First of all jobs - although I have a job (came on a TWP) and I love my job my husband has really struggled to find decent work. It's not like there are no jobs but it seems to be more "who you know" here rather than can u do the job. Anyway he finally got a job although it is very heavy lifting and pretty sh*t work so he is still looking out for something else :(.

Also having a major problem with finding doctors and the health care. There is a huge waiting list for doctors here and although there are walk in clinics for after hours they are unpredictable (one was shut last night at 8 and the other was full, despite there being 1 person in waiting room). We tried taking our 2 yr old to one last night as we really wanted a second opinion from a doctor and ended up going to the emergency room at the hospital, where we waited and waited and finally gave up as not one person had moved (one guy had been there 4 hrs already)!!!

So I was just wondering if these are common problems that people have encountered all across Canada or is it just here (Fredericton NB) ? :confused:

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Doctors are pretty rare & waiting lists are long here in Kamloops, BC.

I cannot comment about the work situation as I found it pretty easy to secure a job, maybe I was just lucky?

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

So sorry to hear of your troubles. We had heard about how hard it was to get a GP before we came out. This bothered me as I have 3 children, the youngest was only 11 months when we moved over. We were lucky enough to have someone refer us to their own GP and we got in that way.

As for work, I totally agree that it does seem to be who you know out here. My hubby is on a twp and I am home with the children, so it doesn't effect us directly. I do have friends here on pr who have had trouble finding work and were getting ready to pack up and leave. Fortunately they both found work, but only after both having had really 'naff' jobs for about 6 months.

I really hope things turn around for you soon - sending you best wishes and good luck to you and yours.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Three months isnt long. You are right about word of mouth for jobs, and that takes time, I am an immigrant and to be honest I would think twice about taking on a newcomer who hadnt made through a winter yet. Hang in there.

Outside of the major cities, GPs are in short supply, its another thing that just takes a long times, you might get lucky, all you can do is get on as many waiting lists as possible and keep an ear to the ground about new doctors coming to the area. Its one area our city has been very proactive in recruiting. In some respect thats another case of "who you know" Our first GP took us on after a recommendation from an acquaintance. He was a complete arse, but thats another story....

We have taken kids to emerg in the past. Im assuming you were at least triaged? If they were concerned, action would have been taken. If you gave up waiting, then that tells a tail in itself. Its frustrating, but they have to prioritise resources as Im sure you can appreciate

If those are your only complaints, then things cant be too bad eh!

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Are you serious?
Health and work are probably the biggest things that make or break new immigrants to Canada.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

That and poutine.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Like that also over here in the West. There are long waiting lists for doctors etc...we also managed to get in through a Canadian friend who recommended us to her GP. Maybe that's not a bad policy for yourself and family? Get to know a Canadian and then hassle them until they ask their doctor!!!:p

With the current world shortage on skilled labour and with the baby boomers about to retire then networking and word of mouth is the way to get positions anywhere. Employers are reluctant to go to the general market because they know there is very few people out there able to do the job. They rely on Joe Bloggs down the corridor who knows someone. This is not a Canadian problem but a global one, it's happening here, Europe, US, Oz, etc...
You need to try and mix with your peers, whether that be through coffee mornings to professional get togethers and get in their faces. That way when an employer asks "do you know anyone" to a fellow employee then your name pops up......

I trust this helps?

Cheers

DOBBIE :thumbsup:

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Re: Decent jobs in Fredricton.

The downside of moving to a small town/small economy is the lack of employment opportunities. The best place for entry level opportunity these days is Northeran Alberta or Sask. where anyone can get something at high wages if you don't mind roughing it in a frontier atmosphere.

If you want to stay on the East Coast then I would suggest the Halifax area. It's not exactly a booming metropolis but it's big enough to offer at least some
diversity of options in employment opportunity and economic growth here
is fairly strong. June statistics show 10,000 new jobs created in Alberta with
NS coming in 2nd at 6200 new jobs. That's a very good number considering
many provinces shed jobs.

AND you don't need to be bilingual to get jobs here (except for Fed. Gov't)
:thumbup:

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

We're not far from you. A lot of jobs here are in call centres. There do seem to plenty of decent ones on the job bank site depending on what you're used to.

Yes, it's a very long wait for a family doctor on the Orphan List. But you don't have to wait for that though. You could ask if someone will take you. That's how I got mine. It obviously helped that my wife was already registered there, but I'm wondering if you could, say, try to get just one of you registered.

Maybe a doctor would agree to take just one on? Then try the rest of you later?

While I was sitting in the waiting room at our doctor, I overheard the receptionist telling a telephone caller that they didn't normally take on "new patients like this but...." and then she made an appointment for the caller to see the doc. So it is possible to get your foot in the door, so to speak.

I think you may have just been unlucky at the hospital. They're very quick at the Moncton Hospital. Helpful too.

One of our kids was on a prescription in Quebec. We knew there would be a delay in things when we moved and we had to tell the Quebec pharmacy that we were 'going away' so they'd give 3 months worth to tide us over.

Although we had access to the 'walk-in' service in NB they wouldn't get Quebec records for a patient not registered, so they wouldn't set up a new prescription.

We had to get around this by going to A+E. They handled everything including contacting a doctor (elsewhere) who would arrange the prescription because of that hospital referral and, thanks to that referral, there could then be a further, immediate, referral to a Paediatrician who would take him as a patient and request previous records. So that solved that problem.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Networking - This will get most things accomplished in the fullness of time. Being in a social groups is good for personal things like figuring out health care and schools, social gatherings etc as well as possibly finding work. If there is a specific field you work in then mixing with peers in that field, attending trade functions etc can help. Here in Chilliwack there is a free employment service http://www.cesbc.com/, we have successfully hired a number of our staff from them, Canadians and immigrants. There may be something like this in your area. From an employers perspective, we find the job ads to be less productive in terms of recruitment. Don't be shy, find places you would like to work and that utilise your skills, start dropping off resumes'.

Three months may seem like a long time, but it really is not enough time to assess whether you have made the right choice or not, it takes more like three years to figure this out, riding out the highs and lows until you are settled.

I have not found any particular cons to Canada that are not likely to be a problem elsewhere.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Weather. Darkness. Months and months of winter.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Exactly!! Especially when kids are involved. We ended up leaving the emergency room last night as our son was in good form and we thought we would see how he went overnight and if any problems arose we would take him back - thankfully he was a lot better today.

Thanks for all the advice everyone too, we do have a social group of friends here too so I will start bugging them all as well about doctors.

Also as far as jobs go my OH is networking and talking to everyone and I am doing the same asking people in work if they know anyone looking for staff. I just hope now that he has some "local" experience this might help him as well. I know 3 months isn't a long time, I think we are just finding it tougher as we are still trying to sell our house back in the uk which doesn't help things financially, it is currently rented though but still the money would help a lot!!

And Nicola thanks for the best wishes :)

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Not been an issue for me. We get what we get.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

I believe it gets more weathery in NB.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

We are looking to move to Canada soon, and are concerned that you are saying there aren't a lot of doctors willing to take on new patients. We have a daughter that is diabetic and needs insulin injections and it is the thing that is worrying us the most about leaving the UK.

:confused:
Has anyone found it difficult to transfer medical records to Canada so that they can get prescription medication over there?

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

You should know that most people have to pay the market prices for drugs if they don't have extended medical insurance through their work.

In BC there is Pharmacare. This is a means tested benefit that helps families that have high drug expenses, but you will still have to pay quite a bit. Not all provinces have similar schemes.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Thanks for your reply, it is something that we are trying to find out about, because like I said its our main worry. We are looking at moving to the east coast (NB) but we are going to have to look at the medical expenses side of stuff to see if it's better to move to a different area.
I am a Paramedic in the Uk, and I have heard that a Paramedic gets free medical care for the family in Canada, but this is something that I need to find out also.
Thanks again
:thumbsup:

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

If you work for a Government service you usually get a very good benefits package, so hopefully things will be OK.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Thank you. :thumbsup:

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

i havent' ever had any problems getting work. at first i worked for $10 (knowing it was short term) an hr till i got my current job. which pays well and i get great holiday time off etc.

i also got a dr within a few days of being here. rang one place they werent taking new patients but referred me to one that was. i couldnt' be happier. she is an excellent GP.

tho mind you..with a lot of health cuts happening here on the island at the moment..my job is vulnerable. if that happens and i lose it:eek:..i could be looking at working for less than half of what i earn now. so ..yeah low wages can be a problem for some. seems either you earn great money..or you don't. the prospect of earning 9-10$ on a permanent basis....makes me cringe.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

No problems with doctors or hospital waiting times here, possibly because they are geared up for large volumes of tourists but have a relatively small full time population? Whatever the reason we found doctor and dentist very easily and when we took son to A+E for something minor we were the only people there and seen within minutes.

I was sponsored to work at home by my existing employer, so didn't have to look for a job. My wife, an accountant, secured a good job very quickly but I think that was very lucky. She was expecting to have to settle for a far more junior job.

As for the months and months of winter dbd33, that is precisely the reason we came here. I skied/boarded on the 18th November and the 17th May (as well as numerous days in between).

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

So sorry to hear of your problems - and you are not alone and it's not just where you are. The work situation sounds familiar. Hubby did find a job within 6 weeks, but I am still looking and really frustrated! In my case even the "who you know" has not helped and things are at a standstill.

We are not yet eligible for healthcare, so cannot comment on finding doctors, etc.

But we are seriously considering moving back to the UK - although Toronto is not bad, it's certainly no better than London. Each place has it's own problems and highlights.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

We walked in to a docs here and got in straight away, not that we've ever needed him. The main serious con for me is still the paltry three weeks holiday.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

I "worked" four part-time volunteer positions in my first three months until I found my first job. I then got a job followed by a temporary promotion before applying for the permanent promotion. I was also offered a contract position just after securing the first job. You just hae to be a bit creative and stick with it until you get where you want to be. I know some people who have had to make a complete career change to "live the dream". I guess it depends what your dream is.

Good luck.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

But at least it's dry most of the time!!!

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

OK, more of a serious issue is that it's not a great place to be outdoors. Firstly, there's not a lot of the outdoors that's accessible by the public, there's no "right to roam". Secondly, it's often too cold to do anything outside unless you're skiing - something you can only really do in three provinces. Thirdly, if it's not snowing there are too many bugs - tonight I saw a woman tending to her vegetables in a beekeeper's outfit. Houses are big so I suppose one can say that Canada offers "The Great Indoors".

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Around our way there's plenty of Provincial Parks to go cross country skiing, snowshoeing, skidooing, etc. and then there's always the Trans Canada Trail at http://www.tctrail.ca/home.php

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

I wouldnt worry too much about the doctor issue as previous posts suggest .
Ask everyone you meet when networking with new friends or at school who is accepting new patients, the walk in clinics here in Halifax pick up the overflow from the emergency room , we still have notices at clinics advising families that they are taking on new patients.
If anyone coming to Halifax NS needs help finding a Dr please let me know and I'll put the word out to the several families that have arrived recently.

By the way dont forget to find a dentist too as we found out that there in no emergency dentist on call at the hospital emercency dept...
JS

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

That might not be what it seems though. I saw a sign that said exactly that. On asking, it turned out they meant new patients in their 'walk-in' service.

It's worth googling certain 'words within' like "doctor" "new patients" (your city) etc.

Their may be other resources revealed such as a university helping new students. Unfortunately the Uni here was saying they know of no doctors taking new patients in Moncton but if there were some, no doubt they'd have been listed.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Come on Winter's only bad for the folk who dont embrace it - if you stay indoors all winter watching TV its gonna be shite!!

Get amongst some good old fashioned Canadian winter activities like driving in white out conditions, doing dougnuts in your mustang on a parking lot and my fave trying to slide the car into the ditch at a funny angle!

Theres also something called skiing, sledding, skating and snow shoeing if the above dont tickle yer fancy.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Do you fancy being old and shovelling snow? Not for me. Thankfully Canada should give us the chance to save up and escape to warmer climes when winter really hurts... Do you want to be here forever?

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

The old guy down the street seems to have no trouble shoveling. He seems to have more stamina for it than I do.

But maybe he's younger and shoveling makes him appear older.
:lol:

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Or on the west coast, sledding, snowboarding, skiing, hiking, sailing, wind surfing, swimming on new years day, biking or maybe a visit to wreck beach!

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

If you're going to go to Wreck Beach in the middle of winter, you're a big man than I.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

I'd say your comments are very much dependent on where you live though. I'm in city limits, yet have 100's of thousands of acres of Crown Land directly off my property to roam on. In the UK I'd have to trailer a dirt bike for hours to find anything close to compare it with, and local bridal/pathways were far more restricted.

Bugs seem almost non-existent here, perhaps due to the very dry climate. The only things I see in great number are crickets and occasionally wasps.

The whole winter weather thing restricts very little here too - I quad bike, ski, skate and trail ride right through the winter, and work outdoors year round. Sure, it's sometimes not so warm, but not unbearable. My tractor's not got an enclosed cab on it, but 3 or 4 hrs ploughing snow is easily done with the right clothing on.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

YES!!!!!

My grandchildren are here and it doesn't look like they will be going anywhere any time soon.:):)

I won't comment on the snow clearing.

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

If he does it's likely he won't be. ;):rofl::rofl::rofl:

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Ditto. Though fortunately in my part of Canada there's not too much snow clearing! You may mock our rain, but you don't have to shovel it:rofl::p

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Now how would you know that?

Re: The cons of Canada??!!
 

Just wondering where this topic is going.....:rofl::rofl: