karenbabycatcher20

Hi everyone!,im new to this but looking forward to finding out some info on Canada and talking new people.
We are seriously considering emigrating to Canada to escape the Uk and find a better quality of life for ourselves and two gorgeous children.I am a student midwife in my third and final year and hubby is a gas engineer with a well known company. We are only renting a home in the uk at present so when i finish my training in feb 09 we have some big desicions to make. I have started to read the wiki pages but unsure of where to start looking with regards to area/neighbourhood/city etc.
Our dream is to be semi-rural,smallish, friendly community,good schooling,close to skiing but also close-ish to a town big enough to provide employment. I am aware i need to do a conversion course at uni to be able to practice as a community midwife. Where on earth should i begin my quest?!!!!
I would love to hear from you with some suggestions,especially if there are any midwives on the forum!
Bye for now!Looking forward to hearing from you
Karen

deanjp32

Hi to you,

You have come to the right place. Read the wiki's which you will probably find most of the info you need to start making some informed decisions. If not then ask away and i am sure you will get the answers you are looking for.

Judy in Calgary

Hi, Karenbabycatcher.

If you read the Wiki on Labour Shortages and click on the link to Occupations Under Pressure, you'll find that both midwives and gas fitters are listed amongst the OUPs in British Columbia.

That bodes well for you, because there are many ski resorts in BC.

Alberta also has ski resorts. In this province midwives are listed amongst the OUPs, but I don't see gas fitters on that list.

Here in Alberta midwives are private practioners who operate outside of the provincial health care insurance plan. I don't know how midwifery works in other provinces.

One challenge I can envisage for you is that both BC and Alberta have expensive real estate. If you can't bring a lot of money for a downpayment, it'll be much more challenging to establish yourselves here.

Real estate is much more affordable in Canada's Atlantic provinces. I've never been to those provinces, but they are said to be exceptionally friendly.

I suggest you also read the Wiki articles called

Judy in Calgary

By the way, Karen, once you've found your way around the forum, you should start specific discussion threads, with relevant titles, in the correct forums.

For example, I know of at least one UK midwife who lives in Canada and who occasionally posts here. But she's expecting her fourth child, and she doesn't hang out on this forum all day.

I very much doubt she'll see your questions about midwifery here in the Meet and Greet forum, in a thread that doesn't have a title that's relevant to midwifery.

I suggest you start a new thread about midwifery in the main Canada forum.

Judy in Calgary

Another thing I want to alert you to, Karen, is the fact that some job titles in Canada are different from those in the UK.

I think that a British gas engineer is called something different in Canada -- a gas fitter or something like that. I'm not actually sure.

These websites may help you:

karenbabycatcher20

Thanks Judy!

SarahMom

Hi Karen,
Welcome. I'm new here too. I'm a Registered Psychiatric Nurse so know nothing about Midwifery (except the fabulous job they did when i had my 2 babies!).
Good luck with your research. We chose to move to Calgary for all the same reasons you have outlined........you might consider it too. The 'nursing' section of the ' working abroad' area on this forum is, from what i've seen, dominated by Aussie nurses but you could give it a whirl.
Sarah

karenbabycatcher20

Hi Sarah
I will certainly read it. Glad you had a fab midwifery experience!
Calgary is certainly an option for us. Hope you will stay in touch.
Karen

SarahMom

Hi Karen,
Yes, we will keep in touch. You can PM me or I'll look out for any of your posts. If you want any info let me know but my knowledge is very limited I'm afraid. I do know of a recruitment contact at Calgary Health Region who you might want to e-mail.
Sarah

Rachel Straw

Hi Karen
My husband and I moved to BC in 2005 and have never looked back! We are living in the Okanagan in a small town called Vernon. I am a realtor (real estate agent) and my husband works full time at Silver Star mountain as a ski patrol. The Okanagan is beautiful, amazing lakes, good ski hills approx 1/2 an hr drive. Its a very friendly community with good schools. If you want something a little busier, we are only 40 mins from Kelowna which has great shopping! In the summer we swim in the lakes and hike in the mountains and Silver Star is also good for mountain biking. I think you would both easily find work here as the hospital is always looking for nurses etc. You could go on the Interior Health web site and our local hospital is called The Vernon Jubilee. If you need any information on houses, please send me a PM.

Regards
Rachel.

Canadian Citizen

Karen :
Here is the link to the British Columbia widwives association. Read it to see the requirements to be recognized in their jurisdiction.

http://www.bcmidwives.com/

In Canada in order to work as a gas fitter , hubby has to sit a written exam and a practical test of his knowledge. Each of our Provinces has it's own set of certification tests for trades men. There is also a " Red Seal " certificate that allows him to work in ALL of Canada, but that is the hardest test to pass.

Here is a link to the BC Ministry of Trades that outlines the work done by a gas FITTER. We don't call it an Engineer in Canada, as here an Engineer is someone who has a 4 year Degree from a University , such as a Mechanical Engineer, or a Structural Engineer, or a Hydrualics Engineer. Read this.....

http://www.workfutures.bc.ca/link.cf...raphic&noc=725

Jim Bunting. Toronto.

karenbabycatcher20

Many Thanks!

jb001

Hello, I am thinking serously about a move to Canada with my wife but we are unsure what to do to get the ball rolling. I am a serving police officer in england with 8yrs service looking to apply for the police in Ontario and in partcular the city of Barrie. We visited Canada last year and since then we are determined to make a go at emigrating but could do with some assistance with anyone in the know or someone who has successfully managed to do what we are trying to do. We also have family living in Ontario which may help? I really would appreciate any advice, thanks John.

Judy in Calgary

Hello, John, and welcome to the BE forum.

It would be useful if you read the Wiki article called Tips on using the forum.

As far as I understand, the province of Ontario only hires Canadian citizens and permanent residents as police officers.

If you want to get into Canada as a police officer, your best bet is to apply to the Calgary Police Service or Edmonton Police Service. Both of those police services recruit officers from the UK. Alberta, like Ontario, also limits its police officers to Canadian residents and citizens. However, in the case of Alberta, British police officers can be sponsored by the Provincial Nominee Program, which leads to a permanent residence (PR) visa.

The BE website has a Police forum where you could get more information.

You may find it helpful to read the BE Wiki articles on Calgary. There is no Wiki article on Edmonton. However, there are many similarities between Calgary and Edmonton, so much of the content of the articles on Calgary is applicable to Edmonton.

The main differences between Calgary and Edmonton are:

1. Calgary gets warm Chinook winds from time to time during the winter. The Chinook phenomenon in Edmonton is so mild as to be almost irrelevant.
   
   
2. Depending on your departure point in Calgary, you're between 1.5 hours and 2 hours' drive from the Rocky Mountains. Depending on your departure point in Edmonton, you're between 3.5 hours' and 4 hours' drive from the Rockies.
   
   
3. Edmonton has a wider river valley than Calgary, and a large chunk of the land along Edmonton's river valley is a natural park. I count this as a point in Edmonton's favour.

Hope that helps.

Canadian Citizen

JB001:

Here is the Barrie Police website.

http://www.police.barrie.on.ca/

Bear in mind that all Police services in Ontario have the same hiring standards, and all recuits attend the Ontario Police College . Your UK experience will be taken into account, during the interview process.

I wouldn't focus on Barrie to the exclusion of all others. It is a relatively small department, with limited vacancies per year. The larger city forces are much more likely to have jobs available to you. For example, the Ontario Provincial Police has over 7,000 uniform officers, and in many cases, being provided with a house, goes with an assignment to a isolated OPP detachment in the northern part of the Province.

Peel Region, London, Ottawa, North Bay, Kingston and Sudbury all have city forces, with 200 to 800 officers .

Jim Bunting. Toronto.