Iain Mc

There are the odd good bits, I enjoy some of the columnists in MacLeans.

Tableland

Mark Steyn can be amusing, depending on how easily offended you are. LIves in NH I think though, so maybe another casualty of the drift south. Should add that I believe he was educated quite a bit in UK so this might explain the sense of humour.

Paul Wildy

Changing the subject slightly, one thing that constantly irritates me about this and many other articles is when they keep banging on about the rates of tax in Canada being higher than the UK.

Yes the top rate of tax in Canada might be 46% whereas in the UK its 40%. Ahh, but wait a minute - what is National Insurance exactly? Its calculated as a percentage of income and its certainly a tax so is that not income tax too? So take your 40% income tax. Then add 11% for Employees National Insurance and you have 51%. Oh, but wait - there is also Employers National Insurance contributions isnt there? Currently 12.8% for the Employers bit; add that to the 51% and you have 64%. Surely that makes for one of the highest rates of taxation in the world?

And then you have to add on 17.5% sales tax on everything you buy (one of the highest sales tax rates in the world) and the fact that over 75% of the cost of petrol is actually tax. No wonder people in the UK are feeling the pinch.

MrGreen

Alberta is still desperate for workers across the board and it's projected it will be for decades rather than years.

Londonuck

Gordon Campbell, week in Maui, half a glass of wine (yea right) and a car

Now thats slapstick.

act1980

What I don't understand is how they need people such as cashiers. So basically if you apply to an employer as a cashier you can get over to Canada because it is one of the jobs in demand?

That just doesn't make sense to me??

dbd33

It's simple enough. An advert for a cashier is placed by a store owner or manager who can't find someone to do the job, the idea candidate is probably literate in English, physically attractive and numerate. The immigration quotas are set by the government, if the government did it's best it would likely be wrong and supply whatever was needed five years ago, but it's not doing it's best, it has to pander to voting blocks and so tries to address inequalities in the population by favouring immigrants who don't have the qualities required for a successful cashier.

Thus we have immigrants the government favours driving taxis badly while good quality professional cab drivers can't get it. Illegal immigrants tend to do well because they come with the skills the country actually needs (they'd starve if they had no job) rather than the ones the government prefers.

Inevitably if the government administers something it works less well than if it did not.

iaink

When you can earn hundreds a day in the oilsands as unskilled labour, its hardly a suprise no one wants to do a job that pays $8 an hour.

DebbieK

I'm thinking of volunteering as a guinea pig to let them prove how easy it is They could then getme to write glowing reports when I move over with no hold ups, find work, a home and all is rosy in my world

act1980

I would work in Hollister or Abercrombie for $8 an hour!!!!!!! :-)

DebbieK

Go on, you have to enlighten me why not

kastan

We applied 2004,and arrived 2006 with PR.So it took us less than 2 years.

Alberta_Rose

The wait times started to increase as 2004 the applicatons influx continued. In 2003 it was only 18 months. It really is that long now.

JET747

If this is so which I believe it is, why doesn't the Canadian Govt. do more to get the people they want over ? PNP don't work in Industry, it seems only to work with transit and trades like plumbers etc.

Alberta is fuelled by the Oil and Chemical Industry there. If they leave it too long there will be no people over in the UK to recruit as most of the refineries will have shut or people will be too old to want to move !!

JET

Tableland

Yes it used to take no time at all like Australia. Now it's so long as not to be a viable method of immigration, IMO. I feel they are trying to push the system towards a more US-style job-first thing by making the wait so long that people choose PNP or give up. Which is a shame. I would consider Canada if Australia doesn't work out, but I certainly wouldn't wait 5 years for it. Respect to those who can wait this long!