Getting ready before leave for Canada

1. Essential documents
2. Important documents
3. What you should know about health care
4. What you can bring into Canada
5. Getting ready to look for work
6. Getting ready if you are a business immigrant
7. Communities across Canada
8. The Canadian climate: What to expect and what clothes to bring
9. Schools and universities

Finding a job and Establish your-self

1. International educational assessment services in Canada
2. Provincial evaluation services
3. Employment in regulated professions and trades
4. Language skills
5. Job opportunities
6. Employment laws
7. Discrimination
8. Deductions and taxable benefits

• Income tax

• Canada Pension Plan

• Employment Insurance

• Taxable benefits

• Union dues

Your rights and obligations

1. Personal rights and freedoms

• the right to life, liberty and personal security;
• freedom of conscience and religion;
• freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
• freedom to hold peaceful meetings;
• freedom to join groups;
• the right to live and work anywhere in Canada;
• protection from unreasonable search or seizure and arbitrary detainment and imprisonment;
• the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty;
• the right to have a lawyer;
• the right to a fair trial, through due process of law; and
• the right to equal protection and benefit under the law, without discrimination

2. Children rights

In Canada, you are required by law to properly care for your children. Police, doctors, teachers and children's aid officials will act when children are being abused. This includes any form of harm and abuse -- physical, psychological or sexual. All forms of child abuse are serious crimes. In serious cases of abuse, children can be taken away from their parents.

Physical abuse is any intentional physical contact that causes injury. For example, spanking a child long enough or hard enough to cause bruises, or spanking with anything other than an open hand, is a form of abuse. Some cultural practices, such as female circumcision, are also considered physical abuse and are against the law.

Psychological abuse includes terror and humiliation.

Sexual abuse includes any form of sexual contact between an adult and a child.

Neglect is also a form of child abuse. Parents who fail to protect and provide for their children are guilty of neglect. By law, children under 12 cannot be left alone to look after themselves or younger siblings.

Kids' "help lines" are available for children who need someone to help them or just need someone to talk to.

3.Women rights

In Canada, women have the same legal status, rights and opportunities as men. Most Canadian men respect women as equals -- socially, in the workplace and in the home. Violence against women is against the law. Women who are abused can seek help for themselves and their children in local shelters. They are also entitled to legal protection to keep them safe.

Canadian way of life

• Family life and family law

• Marriage, divorce and the law

• Birth control and family planning

• Youth and their parents

• Youth and the law

• Standards and expectations

• Important social standards

• Some Canadian laws

• Interacting with officials

1. Public officials

2. People in authority

3. Police officers

 A brief information about Canada

Canada is a constitutional monarchy, a federal state and parliamentary democracy with two official languages and two systems of law: civil law and common law. In 1982, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was entrenched in the Canadian Constitution. Canada's Constitution was initially a British statute, the British North America Act, 1867, and until 1982, major amendments required action by the British Parliament. Since 1982 when the Constitution was "patriated" - that is, when Canadians obtained the right to amend all parts of the Constitution in Canada - this founding statute has been known as the Constitution Act, 1867-1982.

The Monarchy
From the days of French colonization and British rule to today's self-government, Canadians have lived under a monarchy. Although Canada has been a self-governing "Dominion" in the British Empire since 1867, full independence for Canada, as for all British colonies, was established only in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster. Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, is also Canada's Queen and sovereign of a number of realms. In her capacity as Queen of Canada, she delegates her powers to a Canadian Governor General. Canada is thus a constitutional monarchy: the Queen rules but does not govern.

The Federal Government
Canada's 33 "Fathers of Confederation" adopted a federal form of government in 1867. A federal state is one that brings together a number of different political communities under a common government for common purposes and separate regional governments for the particular needs of each region. In Canada, the responsibilities of the federal Parliament include national defence, interprovincial and international trade and commerce, the banking and monetary system, criminal law and fisheries. The courts have also awarded to the federal Parliament such powers as aeronautics, shipping, railways, telecommunications and atomic energy.
The provincial legislatures are responsible for such matters as education, property and civil rights, the administration of justice, the hospital system, natural resources within their borders, social security, health and municipal institutions.

The Parliamentary System
The roots of Canada's parliamentary system lie in Britain. In keeping with traditions handed down by the British Parliament, the Canadian Parliament is composed of the Queen (who is represented in Canada by the Governor General), the Senate and the House of Commons.
The Senate, also called the Upper House, is patterned after the British House of Lords. Its 105 members are appointed, not elected, and are divided essentially among Canada's four main regions of Ontario, Quebec, the West and the Atlantic Provinces. The Senate has the same powers as the House of Commons, with a few exceptions.
The Senate, also called the Upper House, is patterned after the British House of Lords. Its 105 members are appointed, not elected, and are divided essentially among Canada's four main regions of Ontario, Quebec, the West and the Atlantic Provinces. The Senate has the same powers as the House of Commons, with a few exceptions.
The House of Commons is the major law-making body. It currently has 301 members, one from each of the 301 constituencies or electoral districts. The Canadian Constitution requires the election of a new House of Commons at least every five years. As in the United Kingdom and the United States, in Canada voters elect a single member for their electoral constituency, in one round of balloting. In each constituency, the candidate who gets the largest number of votes is elected, even if his or her vote is less than half the total. Candidates usually represent a recognized political party - although some run as independents - and the party that wins the largest number of seats ordinarily forms the government. Its leader is asked by the Governor General to become Prime Minister
The real executive authority is in the hands of the Cabinet, under the direction of the Prime Minister. In general, the Prime Minister is the leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the House of Commons and is vested with extensive powers. It is the Prime Minister who chooses the ministers from among the members of Parliament in the governing party. Strictly speaking, the Prime Minister and Cabinet are the advisers of the monarch. "De facto" power, however, lies with the Cabinet, and the Governor General acts on its advice. Cabinet develops government policy and is responsible to the House of Commons.
The Government of Canada, headed by its Cabinet of some 25 ministers, performs its duties through the intermediary of the federal departments and agencies, boards, commissions and state-owned corporations.

Land Mass
Canada is the world's second-largest country (9,093,507 km2), surpassed only by the Russian Federation

Capital
Ottawa, in the province of Ontario.

Currency
The Canadian dollar is divided into 100 cents.

Population
In 2000, Canada's population was 30.7 million.
A large majority of Canadians, 77 percent, live in cities and towns.

Time Zones
Canada has six time zones. The easternmost, in Newfoundland, is three hours and 30 minutes behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The other time zones are Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Rocky Mountain and, farthest west, Pacific, which is eight hours behind GMT.

 Provinces and Territories
Canada has ten provinces and three territories, each with its own capital city (in brackets):
Alberta (Edmonton)
British Columbia (Victoria)
Manitoba (Winnipeg)
New Brunswick (Fredericton)
Newfoundland (St. John's)
Nova Scotia (Halifax)
Ontario (Toronto)
Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown)
Quebec (Quebec City)
Saskatchewan (Regina)
Northwest Territories (Yellowknife)
Nunavut (Iqaluit)
Yukon Territory (Whitehorse).

We welcome you

Come and share your knowledge with Canadians.

By

Nanis.net team