Canada is considered as one of the countries with the highest quality of life around the world, and their citizens enjoy opportunities and improvement in social development.  Canadians enforce equity, freedom of speech, culture and religion preservation among others.  Being a Canadian citizen allows them to express themselves by voting in elections, comply by the law and participate in the collective life around the country. 

Canadians are proud to be a mosaic of ethnic groups that live and work in harmony.  Every year people from more than 150 countries of the world are welcomed to Canada.

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Canada has a diversified economy. Natural resources industries, such as forestry, mining, oil and gas extraction, farming and fishing, are important sources of jobs and export earnings. Canada is also a world leader in the fields of telecommunications, biotechnology, aerospace technologies and pharmaceuticals. More and more jobs involve work in service industries or in information technology. Along with the United States and Mexico, Canada is a partner in the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Canada has a decimal system currency. The Canadian dollar is the basic unit. The most common paper bills are $5, $10 and $20, but $50 and $100 bills are also used. Canadian coins include the penny (one cent), nickel (five cents), dime (10 cents), quarter (25 cents), loonie ($1) and toonie ($2).

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Canada is a federation, with a parliamentary system of government. Being a federation means that powers and responsibilities are divided between the federal government and the 10 provincial governments. Canada also has three territorial jurisdictions. Canada has three levels of government: federal, provincial and municipal (cities and towns). These governments are elected by the citizens of Canada.

The federal government is responsible for: Defense; foreign policy and foreign relations; banking; the postal service; criminal law; immigration; and citizenship.

Provincial governments are responsible for: education; and municipal institutions. They also share responsibility with the federal government for: health services; farming; social assistance; transportation; and the environment.

Territorial governments, The Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut are not sovereign units. They get their powers from the federal parliament, but they have elected assemblies that follow many of the same practices as the provincial governments.

Municipal governments have functions delegated to them by other levels of government. They are responsible for local matters and services. These include: police and fire protection; water and sewer services; and recreation.

http://cgii.gc.ca

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English and French are the two official languages of Canada. Canadians should speak one of these two tongues. More than 98 percent of the Canadians speak English or French or both.

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The climate in Canada differs from a region to another according to the stations of the year. In the north end, temperatures do not exceed 0° centigrades, but the Canadians who live around 300 kilometers of the southern border of the country, enjoy soft springs and warm summers, stations mark landscape aspects.

Canada possesses the necessary infrastructure to live comfortably in winter months, usually in interiors (houses, offices, commercial centers, etc.) a temperature of 22 ºC prevails; while exterior temperature oscillates between -30ºC to -10ºC centigrades.

www1.sympatico.ca/weather/msn/

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Canadians rights allow the people to enjoy access to multiple services to cover all of their needs. These services imply benefits in diverse aspects of their daily life, such as: medical services, education, transport among others. 

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Subsistence Insurance:

Each Province, administer its own programs of economic help. The purpose is to give basic economic support to every permanent resident or Canadian citizen for limitless time. In order to receive this economic help, the recipient has to be unemployed and do not have economic resources to cover expenses for food and housing. This program is known as "Welfare" in English or "Assurance emploi" in French. For new residents, they are entitled to this program after three months of arrival if they come through the Québec program, or after six months if they come through the Federal Government program, it also depends of  their financial declaration at their entrance to Canada.

Unemployment Insurance:

It is a social plan that helps the unemployed return to work, giving financial aid of a 60% of their past year earned salary, while they search for a new job or study to improve their skills. There are Special Benefits for ill people that cannot work, for maternity leave etc. To be admitted to this insurance it is necessary, to have worked and declared at least six months in Canada. This program is commonly known as "unemployment benefit" in English or "chômage" in French. This program is administered by the federal government and it is evenly applied throughout all the country. If after one year an employment still is not found, the person could refer to the Subsistence Insurance previously mencioned.

Summer Employment for Students:

It is a subsidized program that allows public and private organisms, and non profit organizations, to create summer employments for students, related with their career.

Pension Plan:

The Pension Plan supplies a retirement pension at the age of 60 years old, if the person stops working or perform part time jobs. The Plan also supplies disability pensions, as well as benefits to their spouse and children. In order to obtain this benefit, its necessary to reunite certain conditions, those are related to the residence, that is to say that if the person returns to the country of origin after having only worked in Canada for one or two years, this person won't be accepted in the program.

Old Age Security Program:

This program is an essential element in the Canadian system of pensions. The benefits comprehend the basic pension, the guaranteed revenue supplement and subsidy.

National benefit for Children:

It is a Federal, Provincial and Territorial government program that consists on a monthly, tax  exempt payment granted to low income families to help them to support the necessities of those smaller than 17 years. This program is commonly known as "Family Allowance" in English or "Allocation familial" in French.

 www.prestationsducanada.gc.ca

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Canadian multiculturalism is based on fairness. It allows every citizen to conserve their identity, to be proud of their ancestors and experience a feeling of ownership. Its been demonstrated that multiculturalism stimulates racial and ethnic harmony as well as inter-cultural understanding and discourages  marginalization, hate, discrimination and violence.

In 1971, Canada was the first country in the world to adopt an official politic of multiculturalism, in which is proclaimed the value and dignity of all Canadians, without distinction of ethnic origin, language or religion. it also confirmed the rights of the autochthonous population and the proclaimed English French as the two official languages in the country.

http://www.pch.gc.ca

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The apartments and houses for rent are published in newspapers classified sections or at the property itself. In most cases, a lease contract is signed for one year duration. Some contracts don't include heating and electricity. It is customary to leave a one month deposit as a guarantee equal to the first month' s rent.

Purchasing a property is made through real estate agents. Its necessary to add the agent's, the notary's or lawyer's commission, the mortgage annual taxes, the insurance of the property, the cost of registration, all other diverse taxes, among other to the cost of the property.

As lessee or proprietor, you'll have to consider basic expenses such as heating and electricity. Furnish a property could end up being very expensive, however, it is possible to buy new or semi-new appliances in the community organisms or at regular stores.

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca

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For immigrants, at the beginning is not easy to find a job suitable to their skills; it is possible that they have to work in areas that are not of their interest.The most important thing, is to acquire experience in the country, this will help to obtain an adequate post. To look for a job, its necessary to have a currículum vitae, to have reference letters from previous employments, as well as diplomas and professional certificates. In some cases the employer will request the translation to French or English of these documents.

Some professions are regulated, in such a case to be able to exercise, its necessary to be inscribed, certified or authorized by the corresponding order. The norms vary depending the province. as well as the previous studies should be validated according to Canadian norms.

To help you succeed, community centers offer services of employment search clubs, where they help people prepare their curriculum and write presentation letters.

Volunteering is a culture in Canada (people who contributes their time without obtaining a remuneration), it allows them to acquire work experience, knowledge of the Canadian market, practice French or English, to establish  friendships and also to help others. Volunteering is generally carried out in community organisms. The welcome program is an example. The Canadian government finances this programs to help those recently immigrants, to settle down and to integrate to ife in Canada.

If a person want to create its own company, to import or export, its necessary to know the market and the way negotiations are done in Canada.

At these web sites, details and stages to carry out a business project can be found.

http://www.emploisetc.ca
http://businessgateway.ca
http://economiecanadienne.gc.ca

Note: If you are not yet a permanent resident in Canada, any employment application will be rejected since it is indispensable to be it to submit any application. To succeed in searching for employment as a Canadian resident, we recommend you to consult a specialist at CI Canada who will give you valuable recommendations for employment search according to your profile.

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All children from 6 to 16 years old should attend school; most of them go to public schools. School program usually in start in and it ends by the end of June. The program includes two weeks vacation in December (Noel) and a week of vacations in February or March. Classes are from Monday to Friday, average 6 hours per day. Primary and secondary education is free.

In Canada, academic formation is continuous; many Canadians continue studying even at mature age. Student loans are processed through schools and universities. Everybody has the opportunity to improve their knowledge through studies to obtain a better employment or to improve their competitions, or learn a technique. For some technical careers, the demanded qualification is different from one province to another, It is necessary to obtain a permission to exercise it. Some schools don't recognize titles obtained in the exterior of Canada.

These are the programs for people interested in studying at the university:

A. Scholarships for French and "School maintenance allowance" for English
B. Scholarships
C. Loans.

Québec studies

• In Québec education could begin at 4 years old, it is optional; but to the age of 5 the child should enter to maternal school, that is to say, preschool or kinder.
• At 6 years old children should start primary education; this program total 6 years, divided in cycles.
• Each cycle consist of 2 years. The school years comprehend from September to July. (Primary has 3 cycles)
• Secondary studies total 5 years, from 7° to 11° grades. Students start at the age of 12, finishing at 16 years old.
• In Quebec, 12° and 13° grades, Cegep (General and professional school) consists on 2 years teaching pre-university, or up to 3 years when they go to a technical formation, before university.

In the rest of Canada

• Education from 5 to 18 years old is free.
• The regular schedule is from 8:00 to 11:30 A.M. and from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. the time in between is free to go to eat lunch usually to their homes, that’s why children go to a school near their house. (Most regions manage similar educational systems).

University Studies

• It is important to mention that all universities are private.
• There are loans or scholarships granted by the government, commonly known as loan pools, prêt - bourse, which should be paid back when the student finishes its studies and begin to work. This generally doesn't represent a strong debt.
• The cost could be diminished, if the student has a good average on its grades and it could be condoned.
• At the moment there is a program, which the government gives 20% a year to those people whose parents saved money since the children were little. So when the child attends to university this savings could be paid with the interests generated by their savings and the net of those savings is returned to the parents.
• If a parent saves what is given from the government for help, it insures the child to comfortably.

Nurseries (Child care)
• The nurseries services are not for free, but there is government help, for the people in need of it.
• The average cost is of 7 dollars per day, including government's help. The government contributes around 15 dollars a day.
• There are some places where this service is less expensive, where parents can study and take care of their children with a minimum payment.

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Canada offers one of the best health programs. The Health Insurance give access to most of health services, not paying directly, since payment is carried out through payment of taxes.

To use this service, the person needs only to present its card of "Assurance-Maladie" in English "Medical Care." This is a national service, but each province administers its own program. There are differences in the admissions plan and in most cases it requires some waiting time before beginning to advantage its benefits, once the health identification card is requested. In certain provinces it is necessary to pay some low fees to be covered for the insurance.

The British-Columbia, Ontario and New-Brunswick permanent residents, should wait three months before being admitted. Meanwhile they should get a temporary private insurance. The private companies cover some services that are not covered by the government’s health insurance, such as dental services or a hospital private room. In most of the provinces the insurance doesn't cover the cost of prescribed medications.

The services included among others are medical clinics where a general doctor or a dentist receive their patients, with or without previous appointment and they also take care of urgent cases. Dialing 911 is for emergencies and children and adult vaccination.

• Children get free dental care until they are 12 years old.
• The oculist's service is also free until 12 years of age.
• In case that an orthodontics treatment or special equipment is needed, these should be paid by the parents. For this expenses dental or else, there are insurances that could help pay what the Canadian government doesn't cover. These are not expensive and they cover all the services that are needed.
• For service with a specialist, either orthopedics or other illnesses like cancer, they will be covered by the government.
• If special apparatuses are not available I Canada, the patient would be able to go to another country in search of these services and Canada will cover all the expenses.

Benefits for maternity all over Canada

• Generally, women have all the services to give birth, these include different specialists' monitoring, that are necessary to have a healthy pregnancy.
• For pregnant women that come to live in Canada, the government provides them with additional help of 60 dollars for food and care and in some cases an extra help but it depends on the province where they live.

Single mothers

• Single mothers receive additional support, they get help at childbirth, and if they are working, they would get more help.
• If this is not the event, they receive from the government $550.00 dollars plus $200.00 extra, which is the amount given to each of the minors.
• This amount of help is based on what she was earning in the job before her pregnancy.
• When filing their taxes, the government will return most of what they have paid as part of package of help offered to them.

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Most of Canadians deposit their money in banks, where they can make operations with checks, pay invoices, request credits etc. These services are also offered by Credit Unions, Cooperatives and Fiduciary Companies.

The banks offer diverse type of accounts, according to the client's necessities. To open an account it is necessary to present the passport and their social security number, for payment of taxes purposes.

Canada is a country where credit is frequently used. In such circumstances when a person arrives to a new country, it is indispensable to start to plan finances to short, medium and long term. The importance is not only to get a credit, but to take care of it, maintain it and increase it. Financing is given according to the type of purchase that will be made.

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Public transportation comprehends transport in urban areas, in the surroundings of large cities and in rural regions. This transport is carried out by bus, train, metro, taxi and mini bus.

Canada has 24.000 kilometers of routes, belonging to the federal, provincial or territorial governments. The train company VIA Rail is in charge of the cargo transportation, as well as passengers. Commercial airlines service cargo and passengers as Air Canada, Air Transat, among others. The maritime transportation is well developed in the country, due to the numerous rivers that exist, as much for commercial as tourism transport.

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Canadian residents enjoy programs that are subsidized with the contributions of the taxes that are paid. There are different types of taxes. Rent taxes, they are used by the government to maintain the roads, schools and health. Every Canadian resident is obliged to pay its taxes every year.

It is absolutely indispensable to present the rent declaration, to be acceptable to government diverse benefits, such as the benefit for children. The limit date to present rent declaration is the 30th of  April. For people who live in the province of Québec, it is necessary to present a declaration for Québec, and another for the federal government.

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There are public swimming pools exist with safeguard all over the country, some of them are indoor pools with hot water and safeguard. In some of them, a small fee should be paid, as much of a dollar. It is not an excessive expense; it depends in the area of residence.

In summer there are assorted activities for entertainment, some parks have a water exit so people can get wet and also make competitions. In winter tracks of ice are made for seasonal activities.

In these parks, in different occasions car competitions are organized and other events in bicycle, it depends on the region.

Québec has the highest number of parks of all regions, each neighborhood has a swimming pool and it is free for those that live there.

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Although behavior is commonly governed by social use and not by the law, certain traditions are very ingrained and they are established with courtesy.

• To make a line: habitually people form on a line according to the arrival order.
• Prohibition of smoking in houses: before smoking, authorization should be requested to the owner.
• Punctuality: you should always be on time, either at school, at work or to an appointment. Canadians don't wait but of 5 or 10 minutes after the hour fixed for a business appointment.
• About the environment: not to throw papers and other waste at the streets or by the car windows. It should be kept until thrown on a garbage can.
• Bargaining: Bargaining with the purpose to obtain a better price is not frequent in Canada, but there are exceptions, like when purchasing a vehicle, a house or other expensive articles as furniture, or in cases when a deal is made privately.
• Taxes: Usually, the price indicated in the stores doesn't include the federal and provincial tax. For that you should calculate an additional 15% of the price.

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