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So tell me everyone, where should we live???

So tell me everyone, where should we live???

Old May 17th 2004, 1:35 am
  #31  
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Default Re: re; oceanMDX

Originally posted by Karate Kev
OK, so by process of ellimination, Kamloops may be a no-no because of the possible lack of work, Edmonton may be a no-no due to excessive snow - and maybe a liitle too much rain.....

So it's looking like Calgary may be the final choice. But you know what i'm gonna ask now....

How sunny is it, how snowy does it get, how bitterly cold does it get, what are the house prices like, and how's the job prospects for a carpenter/joiner (and martial-arts instructor)???

Kev.
Actually Edmonton doesn't get any more snow than Calgary. It just melts away a lot faster and more often in Calgary than in Edmonton.

Edmonton and Calgary both get roughly the same amount of sunshine. In winter Edmonton can get as cold as about -40 C, and Calgary about -35 C. Calgary has more warm spells in the winter than Edmonton and the warm spells get warmer and last longer than in Edmonton. Edmonton and Calgary get similar amounts of rain. In the summer Edmonton is often about 1 degree warmer than Calgary.

Housing prices: Calgary is more expensive than Edmonton (perhaps about 20 % more?). Both cities have a very active building construction industry, but Calgary is growing faster than Edmonton. You'll have to check on the availability of jobs yourself here.

Two other cities in Alberta that you may want to check are the cities of Red Deer and Fort McMurray.

Red Deer is a nice town of about 75,000 with a good economy. It is half way between Edmonton and Calgary on highway 2. Red Deer always seems to be growing. It's climate is very similar to Edmonton's.

Fort McMurray is in the northeast of Alberta. It isn't the nicest part of the province, but they are always crying out for skilled trademen - of all types. This is the site of the oil sands developments - tens of billions of dollars in investment to develop this oil resource.
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Old May 17th 2004, 1:50 am
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Default Re: re; oceanMDX

Originally posted by CalgaryAMC

Carpentry is a regulated profession in the province of Alberta and this should be investigated.
Carpentry is not a "regulated profession" anywhere in Canada.

In Alberta, carpentry is a certified trade. This explains it:

http://www.careersconstruction.com/jobs/carp/specs.html

This is good:

http://www.tradesecrets.org/

Last edited by oceanMDX; May 17th 2004 at 1:54 am.
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Old May 17th 2004, 1:58 am
  #33  
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Anywhere in Canada? The link below begs to difer:

http://www.cicic.ca/professions/7271en.asp
 
Old May 17th 2004, 2:15 am
  #34  
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Originally posted by dingbat
No vacation paid either.
That's not true once employment has exceeded 5 days. They have to pay a minimum of 4% of total earnings for vacation pay:


Vacation Pay
After an employee has completed one year of employment, vacation pay must be at least four percent of the employee's total earnings from the previous year.

After five consecutive years of employment, vacation pay increases to six percent.

A person who is employed for less than one year is not entitled to a vacation, but must be paid four percent vacation pay on termination of employment.

Vacation pay is not payable if the employment is for five calendar days or less. Reference:

http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/esaguide/
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Old May 17th 2004, 2:24 am
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Originally posted by mickj
Anywhere in Canada? The link below begs to difer:

http://www.cicic.ca/professions/7271en.asp
I stated that carpentry was not a "regulated profession" anywhere in Canada, and I was correct. Your reference does not contradict what I said. In fact, for carpentry, Quebec is part of the red seal program:

http://emploiquebec.net/anglais/indi...rovinciale.htm

In Quebec, carpentry is a regulated "occupation" (or trade) not a "profession". With a profession, you get involved with discipline committees, compulsory education, practice review boards, peer review, etc. A regulated or certified "trade" is very different from a "profession". Don't confuse the two.

You can pass the national boards in a profession, but you don't get to practice until you pass whatever additional examinations a particular province requires. However, if you are a journeyman carpenter in Alberta (with the red seal) you can go to any province (even Quebec) and start working.

In the rest of Canada, if you are self-employeed, you can do carpentry right now; but you can't be a doctor.

Last edited by oceanMDX; May 17th 2004 at 4:23 am.
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Old May 17th 2004, 3:09 am
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Originally posted by oceanMDX
I stated that carpentry was not a "regulated profession" anywhere in Canada, and I was correct. Your reference does not contradict what I said. In fact, for carpentry, Quebec is part of the red seal program:

http://emploiquebec.net/anglais/indi...rovinciale.htm

In Quebec, carpentry is a regulated "occupation" (or trade) not a "profession". With a profession, you get involved with discipline committees, compulsory education, practice review boards, peer view, etc. A regulated or certified "trade" is very different from a "profession". Don't confuse the two.

You can pass the national boards in a profession, but you don't get to practice until you pass whatever additional examinations a particular province requires. However, if you are a journeyman carpenter in Alberta (with the red seal) you can go to any province (even Quebec) and start working.

In the rest of Canada, if you are self-employeed, you can do carpentry right now; but you can't be a doctor.
For God's sake, you nit picking idiot.
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Old May 17th 2004, 3:11 am
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by oceanMDX
That's not true once employment has exceeded 5 days. They have to pay a minimum of 4% of total earnings for vacation pay:


Vacation Pay
After an employee has completed one year of employment, vacation pay must be at least four percent of the employee's total earnings from the previous year.

Do you know anyone who has managed to feed a family for a whole year on the crap wages they pay? AFTER a year of employment (oh whoopee doo) you get 4% of your wages. 4% of nothing much is nothing much. Unreliable hours and none guaranteed. Reality bites....
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Old May 17th 2004, 3:50 am
  #38  
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by dingbat
Originally posted by oceanMDX
That's not true once employment has exceeded 5 days. They have to pay a minimum of 4% of total earnings for vacation pay:


Vacation Pay
After an employee has completed one year of employment, vacation pay must be at least four percent of the employee's total earnings from the previous year.

Do you know anyone who has managed to feed a family for a whole year on the crap wages they pay? AFTER a year of employment (oh whoopee doo) you get 4% of your wages. 4% of nothing much is nothing much. Unreliable hours and none guaranteed. Reality bites....
I would certainly agree with that. There wages are crap, they kept advertising for a manager for the Victoria branch for ages, seems like they must of filled it but the wages are so low even for a manager, $28000 for 50 hour week. If the manager is on low pay, think what the minions are on. Leads to an unhappy work atmosphere. Check out the description at this job site.

http://jb-ge.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ShowJob...rce=JobPosting

Last edited by Spongebob; May 17th 2004 at 4:05 am.
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Old May 17th 2004, 4:01 am
  #39  
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by dingbat
Originally posted by oceanMDX
That's not true once employment has exceeded 5 days. They have to pay a minimum of 4% of total earnings for vacation pay:


Vacation Pay
After an employee has completed one year of employment, vacation pay must be at least four percent of the employee's total earnings from the previous year.

Do you know anyone who has managed to feed a family for a whole year on the crap wages they pay? AFTER a year of employment (oh whoopee doo) you get 4% of your wages. 4% of nothing much is nothing much. Unreliable hours and none guaranteed. Reality bites....
Agreed, but most retail jobs pay crap wages. I only wanted to set the record straight about vacation pay. Then again 4% of $28,000 is $1120 - I'd want it.

Last edited by oceanMDX; May 17th 2004 at 4:53 am.
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Old May 17th 2004, 4:20 am
  #40  
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Originally posted by CalgaryAMC
For God's sake, you nit picking idiot.
You erred by writing about something you know little about (not the first time) when you claimed that carpentry is a regulated profession in Canada. Now you need to lash out like a child at me for stating the facts.

Obviously, the discussion is way over your head. The difference between a "regulated profession" and a "certified trade" (or occupation) is very important. I'll spell it out for you again, since you aren't the sharpest tack on this board. We're talking about whether a carpenter from England can move to Alberta and work as a carpenter. If he will be "self-employed" it is perfectly legal for him to work as a carpenter immediately. If he wants to work as an employee, he must be certified (a journeyman), a registered apprentice or work for an employer who believes that his skill/knowledge is equivalent to that of a journeyman.

A British nurse (one of the "regulated professions") can't get PR for Canada, move to a province and then start practicing without satisfying all the licensing requirements of that province first - whether they are self-employeed or not.

The difference between a profession and a trade is very important in Canada. The difference is being able to work as a carpenter vs. not being able to work as a carpenter - hardly nit-picking!

Last edited by oceanMDX; May 17th 2004 at 1:43 pm.
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Old May 17th 2004, 7:39 am
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In the event that the poster confuses himself for a doctor and not a carpenter, I repeat my first post with the word "professional" replaced with the word "trade:"

Carpentry is a regulated trade in the province of Alberta and this should be investigated.
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Old May 17th 2004, 1:41 pm
  #42  
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Originally posted by CalgaryAMC
In the event that the poster confuses himself for a doctor and not a carpenter, I repeat my first post with the word "professional" replaced with the word "trade:"

Carpentry is a regulated trade in the province of Alberta and this should be investigated.



You still don't have it right, the trade of carpentry isn't regulated in Alberta, only the apprenticeship program is. People working as carpenters can be regulated apprentices, certified journeymen, or can work without any certificate if they are self-employed or work for an employer who thinks they have the knowledge and skill equivalent to that of a journeyman. Basically, anyone can work as a carpenter in Alberta.

I agree with you on one thing however; the facts should be investigated before writing about them.

Last edited by oceanMDX; May 17th 2004 at 2:00 pm.
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Old May 18th 2004, 4:57 am
  #43  
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Your certainly not the most agreeable tack on this board! What's with all the personal attacks?
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Old May 18th 2004, 3:19 pm
  #44  
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Carpentry is a regulated trade in Alberta because the Apprenticeship and Industry Training Act has created regulations that affect that trade.

I advised that it should be investigated for two reasons: first, the trade is not regulated in the UK, therefore a person may be working currently in a capacity in which they would be unqualified in Alberta. Second, the reality of the industry makes accreditation nearly essential.

The regulations are - on paper - benign in Alberta in comparison with Quebec, where it is more heavily regulated.

However, in real terms the Act has created a trade clique that uses the power of certification to protect itself from outsiders, which immigrants are. So in real terms it is difficult to find employment as a carpenter in Alberta without being accredited. It is also difficult to get hired as a self-employed contractor without being accredited. Even if the poster does find a willing employer, advancement potential without the proper certification will be poor.

My knowledge of this has not come from a readily citable source. Should it be written off then? Yes, if this were a scientific journal. But this is not. Frankly, some of the official sources out there are worse than useless - they are dangerously misleading. CIC has typically been one of the worst offenders. That is why it is helpful sometimes to hear the opinions of people who have personal experience of immigrating to, living and working in the country.

I repeat my first post: Carpentry is a regulated profession in the province of Alberta and this should be investigated.

I would advise the original poster to take that advice in the spirit it was intended. There is no harm that can come from investigating, and a lot of disappointment, frustration and hardship that can come from not.
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Old May 18th 2004, 5:53 pm
  #45  
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Thanx for all the info about carpentry guys - it's appreciated. Now will you boys please shake hands and make up!

I'd hate to think that my trade has been a source of arguements.... you're both giving me good sound advice!

But in order to stop any future fall-outs, perhaps i should consider another trade - i could become an ugly bald male lap-dancer, perhaps??!!

Take care guys,

Kev.
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