Actually, the number of lunatics masquerading as Christians is much less in Canada than in the US; those who are usually are either laughed into silence or else exported to the US, such as Aimee Semple Macpherson.
Posted on 11/12/2012 12:10:06 AM PST by Alaska Wolf
Canada looks to lure energy workers from the U.S.
EDMONTON, Canada — With a daughter to feed, no job and $200 in the bank, Detroit pipe fitter Scott Zarembski boarded a plane on a one-way ticket to this industrial capital city.
He'd heard there was work in western Canada. Turns out he'd heard right. Within days he was wearing a hard hat at a Shell oil refinery 15 miles away in Fort Saskatchewan. Within six months he had earned almost $50,000. That was 2009. And he's still there.
"If you want to work, you can work," said Zarembski, 45. "And it's just getting started."
U.S. workers, Canada wants you.
Here in the western province of Alberta, energy companies are racing to tap the region's vast deposits of oil sands. Canada is looking to double production by the end of the decade. To do so it will have to lure more workers — tens of thousands of them — to this cold and sparsely populated place. The weak U.S. recovery is giving them a big assist.
Canadian employers are swarming U.S. job fairs, advertising on radio and YouTube and using headhunters to lure out-of-work Americans north. California, with its 10.2% unemployment rate, has become a prime target. Canadian recruiters are headed to a job fair in the Coachella Valley next month to woo construction workers idled by the housing meltdown.
The Great White North might seem a tough sell with winter coming on. But the Canadians have honed their sales pitch: free universal healthcare, good pay, quality schools, retention bonuses and steady work.
"California has a lot of workers and we hope they come up," said Mike Wo, executive director of the Edmonton Economic Development Corp.
The U.S. isn't the only place Canada is looking for labor. In Alberta, which is expecting a shortage of 114,000 skilled workers by 2021, provincial officials have been courting English-speaking tradespeople from Ireland, Scotland and other European nations. Immigrants from the Philippines, India and Africa have found work in services. But some employers prefer Americans because they adapt quickly, come from a similar culture and can visit their homes more easily.
Since 2010, about 35,000 U.S. workers a year have been issued work permits, according to Canadian immigration statistics. That's up 13% from earlier in the decade. And that figure is expected to grow as provinces continue to loosen requirements for temporary foreign workers.
Rudolf Kischer, a Vancouver-based immigration attorney, said his firm can hardly keep up with the processing of work permits for employers hiring U.S. help.
"We're the busiest we've ever been," he said.
Many of those workers are heading to where the labor market is hottest: Edmonton.
One of the fastest growing cities in Canada, this capital city owes its prosperity to the oil sands. Lying a few hours to the north, the sands are a mixture of sand, clay, water and bitumen — a heavy, black, viscous petroleum — that must be mined and processed to extract the oil. Alberta's massive deposits, which rival the conventional crude oil reserves of Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, are being developed at breakneck speed to meet the growing global demand for energy.
Edmonton has become a staging ground for oil companies that include Canada's Suncor Energy Inc., Shell Canada Ltd. and Chevron Canada Ltd. The energy sector has in turn boosted industries such as manufacturing, home building and retailing.
With a population of about 812,000, Edmonton looks a lot like many American cities. There are large strip malls anchored by U.S. retailers such as Costco and Home Depot, and ubiquitous coffee shops — except here Tim Horton's doughnut shops outnumber Starbucks 3 to 1.
The biggest difference: The unemployment rate here is 4.5%, and "We're Hiring" signs are posted in almost every window.
Moving to a city where the economy is firing on all cylinders was a sharp turn from struggling Motor City, Zarembski said.
Fat paychecks allowed him to ditch his battered Pontiac Grand Am for a late-model Dodge pickup truck. He has vacationed in the Dominican Republic and taken his 14-year-old daughter to Universal Studios in Florida. He's planning to buy a house in Edmonton's western suburbs soon.
With so much work available, Zarembski said, trade workers can afford to pick and choose. Jobs near Fort McMurray, a remote town six hours north, are the best-paid; a welder can make up $37 an hour. (At present Canadian and U.S. dollars are almost equivalent in value.) But laborers must stay in barracks-style camps, which energy companies have upgraded to woo them. The best ones offer private rooms with flat-screen TVs, gyms, prime dining and wireless Internet access
Bring warm clothes.
the unskilled Mexicans coming in the back door, and skilled folks leaving by the front door.....
I am thinking of that Edmonton job market with a lot of interest, and actually I would be driving south east to get there from Alaska, about 2100 miles or so for me. I have driven the Alaska Highway three times, its no big deal even driving through during the winter, as far as the cold goes it may be quite cold there even by my standards as Wasilla, Alaska is actually very moderate, more snow the last couple of years, less extreme cold days like minus 20 or so.
If 0bama keeps up his war on the energy industry, oil and gas companies may move their headquarters to Canada.
if a US citizen, you have to file each year; for the rest of your life....regardless of where you live
Just moved myself and three kids 1000 miles away for a better job. I was terrified. Still am even.
I thought that so as to let the kindly folks in D.C. know where your earnings are coming from.
Still for a person willing to move, better the oil sands of Canada than the beach sands of New Jersey.
Throw in free Tim Bits and I’m there.
if a US citizen, you have to file each year; for the rest of your life....regardless of where you live
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You can drop your citizenship actually. It brings little to none benefits abroad right now. Both France or Russia are more agressive to protect their citizens elsewhere than good old US of A.
When I transferred temporarily (!) from Ford of Canada to Ford in the US, my income tax was calculated based upon the residency, regardless of origin of pay. My friends who transferred the opposite way also played under those rules. There is income tax reciprocity between Canada and the US because of the tax treaty. This is not the case with most countries, though. You need to investigate each pair of countries individually.
Residency is based upon certain requirements, usually involving length of temporary residence, marriage or other special consideration including refugee status.
Citizenship in Canada requires length of permanent residency without criminal record, deviancy, or drinking Coor's Light (proof of copious Molson consumption must be documented).
There are a lot of inaccuracies in the article you referenced. For example , there are no taxes on groceries/food and each province can have different rates of sales tax. Alberta has none, PEI taxes 10%. All pay the Federal GST of 5%. As for income taxes ,keeping it simple , there is a base deduction of $10,800 , for 2013,
15% on the first $42,707 of taxable income
22% on the next $42,707 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $42,707 and $85,414)
26%on the next $85,414 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $85,414 and $132,406)
29% of taxable income over $132,406
I'm sure there are. Are you suggesting that the Canadian tax system is less confiscatory than the U.S.?
How about property taxes? How do they compare?
And what exactly is " PEI taxes 10%"?
PEI taxes 10% , Alberta taxes 0% because they don’t have a provincial sales tax but they do charge the 5% GST Federal Tax . Prince Edward Island would be 10% plus the GST federal tax of 5% . Property taxes would depend on which municipality the property was in .
On Capital Gains only 50% is taxable . On a Tax Free Savings Account , up to $5000 invested each year , the income can come from stocks/bonds/savings accounts , there is no tax.
Actually, the number of lunatics masquerading as Christians is much less in Canada than in the US; those who are usually are either laughed into silence or else exported to the US, such as Aimee Semple Macpherson.
Is the Canadian tax system is less confiscatory than the U.S.? I don’t know . How does one fairly judge that?
I do know , for unlike in the US , the lucky few in Canada that win the lottery or beat a slot machine the winnings are tax free . I also know that Ontario has only one toll highway that can easily be avoided and it costs me $37.50 to tag my car for a year . I consider both those a tax so I really don’t know.
And, most companies have a tax equalization program where they make up the difference if you are taxed at a higher rate than in the US. Plus, as non-resident workers, the Canadian taxes are refunded.
It takes aboot 5-years to obtain a Canadian passport.
Living costs in Canada are much higher than the US...next time you are in BC go to the provincial liquor store and buy a six-pack of cheap beer...be prepared for a shock!
Stop by a Ford dealership and price a modest F150 pickup...gives sticker shock a whole new meaning.
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