karen1972

Has anyone that emmigrated to bc found that if they where out of work and run out of funds did they receive any help from the goverment or were you on your own and got no help. And how do you feel immigrants are being treated in bc if you are being layed off, cant get credit and cant find any help from anywhere. We have been in bc now for just under 2 and half years, keep being layed off every winter, still cant get credit and no help whats so ever from the goverment. we didnt come to canada to scrounge off the goverment but when you spend everything you came with and more and then when you do need help you just dont get it, and at the moment its a case of BC means bring cash and when you have spent up now you can go home. Deppressed isnt in it at the moment. Any comments good or bad would be welcome

Okotokshometeam

I am from BC originally and like many came to Alberta for work... The work situation here in Alberta is much more prosperous and the Taxes are MUCH LOWER... If I were you I would start thinking about a move to Alberta.. There are alot of jobs available here right now and depending on what you do, the pay is usually better as well..

Good Luck on your endeaveors

Ryan

fledermaus

You should get EI if you have worked enough hours.

karen1972

well that is what we are waiting for but we just dont know how long we will have to wait for that.

iaink

Should be paid within a month.
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/e...ar.shtml#start

karen1972

The way we feel at the moment its a case of No one does what they say they are going to do. Now my husband has just been layed off and we find out that someone has been took on to do his job, which slightly pees you off. Then the ex boss says when we get busy you can come back . Well how many times have we heard that. I dont like the way they work here. But it is a case of if you need help you dont get it. doesnt matter how long you have been here or what you have paid in to the system. Like I work part time so because my job is seasonal I dont have enough to claim EI which I dont think is fair, as I might have to wait now till next year till I can claim my EI.

Which means tough luck. We just have to keep saying things will get better but I doubt it.

JonboyE

If you qualify for Employment Insurance then you should get it. If there is a problem you will need to contact Service Canada to resolve it.

You can apply for welfare if you are citizens or PRs.

Otherwise, no, there are no benefits.

iaink

Lay offs suck, but it seems to be the way business is done here. However Im not sure its legal to lay off a worker due to lack of work and then hire someone else to replace them? If they have decided they are not going to ask him back, then he should get some severance money. That should happen automatically after (?) months. Maybe they actually did him a favour as he can currently claim EI, which,had they just fired him the severance might have buggered up? Not sure of employment law in BC.

Are you here as PRs or on TWP out of curiosity?

My company lays workers off when its slow, and brings them back when its busy again, its just the way it is here. Seniority weighs into it.

fledermaus

Employers are lazy and will set on the first person they see, so if you are laid off you have to keep ringing and asking if there is any work yet.

Is this place any use to you
http://www.bpl.bc.ca/new-to-canada/newcomer-assistance

or this one?
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/socialp.../community.htm

I feel for you, it is hard to find full time work and struggling to get by just wears you down.

karen1972

We arrived 2008 as PR from Manchester. Its been a long 2 and half years.

iaink

Sounds like it. Sometimes though things do eventually click and fall into place, so dont give up hope.

Sometimes they dont too though

karen1972

Thankyou I will have a look at these websites you have given me. We are just hoping it will get better as really cant afford to go back home with out being even worse off than what we are here.

Alan2005

I agree. You've got to think about whether it's worth it or not. Canada is nice, but it isn't that nice; certainly not nice enough to live in poverty or stress.

If I ever lose my job here I'd probably just leave if I couldn't find something within a short time. Can't be arsed with the way Canadians recruit and all this networking malarky; salaries in Vancouver are poor in comparison to other places; and I could probably get a decently paid job in London pretty quickly.

ExKiwilass

Where are you? BC is a massive place, it would help to have some context.

re: EI it depends, as the other posters have alluded, on whether you've worked enough hours, what kind of work it was, etc. etc. blah blah.

I'm sorry you're having a rough time. Can you afford to move? Are there other opportunities in other places?

karen1972

Thankyou Ryan we will be looking in to it