CBE -- that escalated quickly

In my first week I had three interviews for three very different jobs. The first was as a tutor with Sylvan Learning Center. They hired me and I've been working there a few nights a week. Next was an ESL teaching position, but I never got a call back. The third was for an aide at a special education preschool (Renfrew Educational Services), which I was offered, but turned down because I was hoping for something bigger. Something with the Calgary Board of Education.

The CBE is a monster. They are the only school district in Calgary, so they are huge. They actually do a good job at educating kids, but they have quite the bureaucracy, which always gives people something to complain about. Most teachers I have talked to say that it's not the best place to work for, but their compensation and benefits are incomparable. Apart from teaching at a special education school, this was my only ticket to teach in Calgary. It is very competitive to get on board with CBE. Here is the process:

1.     Apply online for a job as 'Teacher'.

2.     Get a screening interview. Your responses are typed out by the interviewer into a system that runs on a number of hoity-toity algorithms that will determine whether or not you are qualified to teach for the great and powerful CBE.

3.     You are sent a letter. If you pass the screening, you are added to their sub list. If not, you are not allowed to reapply for two years.

4.     Try to sell yourself to every school you sub at so they will hire you if they have an opening. If you do not sub, you are not known.

5.     Schools will choose candidates to interview from the pool of subs/applicants, favoring those they already are familiar with, obviously.

6.     Boom, you're in.

Creepy alien statues that make up the CBE logo

It's not exactly 'Boom, you're in', though, is it? I was lucky enough to know someone with a contact in recruiting and scored a screening interview. I went into a room where a man asked me questions and typed my repsonses. Hopefully the computers will deem me a worthy candidate, but I won't get my letter for two weeks. I feel like my interview went really well, but more importantly, apparently, is the fact that I am a man and can teach elementary (my masters degree qualified me for K-12. Ka-ching!). I've spoken with several teachers and administrators who all have said that any man in special education at the elementary level will be a shoe-in to find a job in the district. 

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I had seriously just written that when I received a phone call from my contact in recruiting who told me that they are officially hiring me. Apparently my offering was acceptable to their hiring gods (which are depicted in the statues in the logo), and the recruiter pulled some strings to make it happen for me now. I heard later from a friend that at her school a teacher couldn't get a sub and Lori had to call someone and tell them they could work even though their paperwork hadn't been fully processed. I really just feel blessed for what happened. Some people apply and reapply for years without ever even getting an interview, so this is exciting for me. I just have a lot less to write about getting a job in Canada.

Becoming a Teacher in Canada

It all started last year around this time. I started looking and applying for jobs in Calgary and the surrounding area. I applied for an Alberta teaching license online in May and hoped for the best. In June when we visited Calgary I spoke with people in HR for the four districts in the region and found out that they won't apply for work permits for foreign teachers, and that I'd have to wait until I had permanent residency. And the time ticked by...

In the fall, after we had moved to Canada, I called Alberta Education to check on the status of my application. I gave him the reference number and he told me that he didn’t have any of the required documents, nor the $200 application fee. And he told me all of this in a snotty French accent, which really made my blood curdle (but it’s something that you deal with in the bureaucracy because they need bilingual workers to handle the idiots from/in Quebec who won’t speak a word of English to save their life). I mean, I already did all of this, what’s the problem?

So I did what everyone does in this situation, you go to the supervisor. As it turns out, the reference number they emailed me was different than the one under which they had filed all of my application, and the money, which they had to have their boys in accounting track down. In November I was notified by Alberta Education that my profile was complete and that I just needed proof of permanent residency to get my license.

The Monday after I landed as a permanent resident I called AE to verify the document they wanted. Unfortunately, AE only accepts the actual permanent residency card as proof of residency, and I still have four to six weeks until that shows up in the mail. This was discouraging, but they do have a system in place for people like me to get a 'Temporary Letter of Authority', which would allow me to teach if a district wanted to hire me. So once I someone wants me, I can go ahead and work. Let the applications begin!

I finally got a job...sort of

I suppose I should mention that I finally found a way to work. I applied for many online tutoring jobs based in the US last month, but none of them got back to me. I did, however, get a response from an English tutoring business based in Taiwan. The entails me sitting at the computer with a webcam, leading groups of 1-6 clients from Taiwan and China in discussions provided by my employer, TutorABC. I'm able to do this job because the company functions out of Taiwan, so I pay Tawianese taxes and the whatnot and they deposit my check into my paypal account. It sounds pretty sketchy, but I figure if they were actually a shady business they'd promise to pay me more than $8.50 a session + performance bonus.
So for this menial salary (which, on average ends up being $10/hr) I get up at 4:30 AM to tutor people across the Pacific Ocean before they go to bed, and sometimes get a session in the afternoon, when they wake up. I don't get great hours, and I don't get many hours, but it's better than nothing. And I don't have to wear pants to work, which is cool.
This is where I am now, but better things are on the horizon, I think. More on that, later.

Immigration Consultants

Back in October I wrote about Mexi-Can, the company that 'imports' Mexican workers to come work in Canada. Even though I have an in with some people at the top they have not been able to do anything for me by means of finding work. I have been able to find other companies that recruit foreign workers for business, though. As I searched for international recruiters I also found a few immigration consultant agencies that supposedly help people get LMOs. I explained what this is in my very first post and I have explained it to so many people since moving here that I never want to talk about it again.
Well, one day I was contacted by an East Indian guy who called himself an immigration consultant who asked for some information about my situation, and HE told me that I didn't need an LMO. He said since I had been approved for sponsorship I should be able to get a work permit. I couldn't believe it, mainly because everything on the CIC (Canada Immigration and Citizenship) website says that you can't when you apply from outside the country. So I was suspicious, of course, especially when he told me he could get me work permit in a month if I pay him $1000 to file my paperwork (it costs $150 to do it yourself). I tell him, "This is incredible. I was approved for sponsorship over three months ago. If we had known we could do this we would have applied for it three months ago. That's when he tells me, "Oh, you were applied three months ago? Don't worry about getting a work permit. Your permanent residency should be approved within the next three weeks."
First of all, I'm dumbfounded, especially since I thought I would be consigned to a long 15 month wait (as per the website's information). He told me that those times are the longest processing times, for like conjugal partners applying. As an American who has been married five years, it should be quick. Second of all, I really start to question this guy's credibility. He obviously knows nothing about immigrating to Canada. Except he really threw me of because he was no longer trying to sell me a $1000 service.
So I start calling around for other opinions of immigration consultants in Calgary. The first two wanted me to come in for a consultation session and pay them $100 or more for a session. Finally, I got another East Indian guy, and he answered my questions. He confirmed that in my position I was ineligible for a work permit. I pressed him for a time estimate for a married American and he told me six of seven months. This was a little longer than the other consultant's estimate, but still short enough to give us some hope that we should get it soon.
I'm not sure if an immigration consultant can really help you decrease your processing time. Mainly I think that they just make sure that you have all your documents so you don't end up getting your paperwork sent back. I'm lucky to have a detail-oriented wife who would actually be a great immigration consultant. Now it's just a matter of waiting. I don't think we'll have to wait as long as I used to think, though.

Canadian Corruption?

They actually never smile. Never. (thestar.com)

There is actually plenty of corruption in Canada, the brunt of it occurring in Quebec (see here, here, here, here, and here). I'll write more on Quebec later, it's an entirely different place than Alberta, but while the government stays out of corruption, I've seen quite a bit of shifty business during my job search. I am still unemployed due to my inability to find a business with an open LMO. It has been six weeks since I had someone apply for me to work for his concrete business and there has been no word back from him. It will likely take another six weeks for the paperwork to finish, which will be no good seeing that he'll be done working for the season. I have received some offers, however, to work without an LMO for cash. Upon entering the country I was given a visitor's permit which clearly states that I am not authorized to work in Canada. The officer I spoke to told me to not do anything for money, because I was not authorized to do so and would risk being deported and jeopardize my pending permanent residency. So when I am told by these employers that they'll hire me and write a check to my wife for the amount, I simply decline their offer. There are many who are working illegally in this province, and they successfully evade detection and deportation, and I think it has a lot to do with the labour shortage here. While I could probably get away with it, I won't be putting my status in the country on the line anytime soon. This is not a blog about moral fortitude, so I'll refrain from an honesty speech, but it is a blog about my completely legal move to a foreign country and my adventures trying to fit in.
I did make contact with a recruiting agency that finds workers in Mexico for Calgary businesses with LMOs--Mexi-Can. It has been a week and a half, however, and they have no results, but it seemed like a good prospect at the time, and still could pull something out of their hat for me. When they do I will still have to wait a month to be approved by the government to be on their LMO. Needless to say, it's a lengthy process--moreso than we previously thought it'd be. But our house sold, so there's no turning back now.

Weekly Recap

FBI Clearance
My FBI clearance came back clean and quickly! It's the last part of my permanent residency application, so it's nice to know it's all in Ottawa's hands now...or is it?

Money notes

Loonie: A coin worth $1. There are no dollar bills in Canada.
Toonie: A coin worth $2. I love the coin cash.

Drivers License
I went in to get my drivers license on Monday. I showed up, waited in line, then was told I had to have my marriage certificate. Later in the day I went to the storage unit to find the box wherein could be found the document. I went from there to get the car inspected, which I will talk about later. I returned to the registry with the certificate and everything was great. Then to pay the $21.30, I whipped out my debit card, which wouldn't take. Apparently it was being read as a credit card. I had $15.00 Canadian and $5 US, so I was short a Loonie plus 30 cents. The clerk told me to go to the store next door where there was an ATM. I did and it wouldn't process my transaction. So I went to register and tried to buy a Wunderbar and get $20 cash back. Wouldn't work, the cashier told me, because I was trying to get cash back with a credit card. At this point I was really, really frustrated, especially since I had another $20 Canadian in my wallet earlier in the day but I deposited it in our new bank account. So what did I do? I drove the 10 minutes home and found a few Toonies and change then drove back and paid. Through all of this, the part I disliked the most was that I had to surrender my Utah license. I just got it earlier this year, so it's disappointing to pay for another one. But without a Canadian license I can't be on the bank account or get insured, so it's kind of important.

Register Car

Exporting our car has been quite the ordeal. Everything was fine at the border, they told us we just had to take it to a Canadian Tire and get it checked out. We did that as soon as we got here and he gave us paperwork to take to the registry. When we got there they gave us more paperwork to take to a Canadian Tire for a full inspection. I took it there last Friday and they said it had a burnt out foglamp and a wheel hub that needed replaced. I didn't feel like sitting around for it, so I went home and returned on Monday. They told me it should take an hour and a half. This time I brought a book and found a comfy chair in the lawn and garden section. After an hour and a half I walked over to see what they had done. They told me they didn't have the part they needed. Yes, they let me sit around in their store without calling me to say that they had no intention of working on my car until the next day. Ridiculous. We did take it back (because we had no choice) and finally got it registered.

LMO update
The paperwork has been submitted, it's just a matter of the bureaucrats processing it and Canada Post delivering it (If USPS is snail mail, Canada Post is grass growing).

Song of the week played at an abnormally high frequency
The Weight-The Band
Every. Single. Day.

The Job Hunt

In the first five days I have applied for almost 40 jobs. Most of them are construction jobs ranging from general labour to tilesetting to concrete work. There really is a lot of work available, although I'm not quite experienced enough for all the jobs--they need workers so quickly that they want someone experienced so they don't have to waste time training. I finally got a someone to bite on Thursday. The job was to be a concrete finisher's helper. I called and he told me to meet him at 8:00 that night at a Tim Hortons.

This is probably a good time to explain Tim Hortons. When my wife first described it to me she called it, "A Canadian legacy." My first trip to Tim's was her father to ask for his blessing to get married (after meeting him the night before). Ti'm's is basically a donut shop, but everyone goes there for the coffee. People line up around the block every morning to get their 'double-double' (two creams and two sugars). The craziest part is that there is no shortage of Tim Hortons-they're everywhere. This map shows four Tim Hortons in South Calgary within 2.4 km of each other.

I'd say something about Tim's being the Canadian Starbucks, except Tims started first, and Tim Hortons controls 62% of the Canadian coffee market. It's so important that it's found on seven Canadian forces bases worldwide, including Kandahar, Afghanistan. Their donuts are pretty good, but I mean, they're just donuts. 

Back to the job search. So I pull in and see an Island Concrete truck. I get out, he gets out. He tells me that it will be hard work, I tell him about my immigration predicament and he's willing to help, but he's not very handy on a computer. So I tell him I'll put the paperwork together and bring it to him the next day.

Later that night, Courtney had me printing off nearly 20 pages of paperwork. Due to a new law this year the employer is also required to pay a $275 processing fee. I called him to tell what I found and he said he'd meet me Saturday afternoon. I got the paperwork ready and took it to him. I get to start as soon as the Labour Market Opinion is approved, which is soon, hopefully, because this job is only seasonal, after which I'll have to find another one. But you have to admit, finding a job as a foreign worker in just one week isn't bad at all.

The Move

The first matter of business was getting there. Luckily, U Haul covers both the US and Canada. We had some friends over to pack up the house Monday night so we could leave early on Tuesday. 

The Goose was happy to see we got the dinosaur U-Haul.

Here are my girls in the car.

We decided to let Missy Moo drive for a while.

Me with Sacajawea

The Goose got a cookie with her meal at the hotel restaurant in Butte. 

Missy Moo!

Time for bed. Mom loves her a Best Western.

And finally, our entry into the true north, strong and free. We went through at Carway instead of Coutts because we wanted a shorter wait. We had to export the car, declare all of our belongings in the U-Haul, update my address on my permanent residency application, and get a visitor's permit for me to be able to stay in the country. We flew through. And now we're here. On our second day the Goose and I caught a bit of the flu and were throwing up for a while. Mom was sick, too, but with a stronger stomach. Next post: Job search.

Going North of the Border

I created this blog to chronicle my new adventure into a foreign country. I may be leaving the United States for Canada, but despite its proximity it's still a new country and will be a new experience. My wife is from Calgary, and earlier this year we decided to move to Calgary if I could get a job. I soon found out that I would not be able to get a teaching job unless I have permanent residency, and in order to get permanent residency we would need to prove our intent to live in Canada. Since my wife has a green card in the States the only way we could prove that intent is to actually move there. So I quit my job and put the house up for sale. With no real job prospects other than Alberta's famed labour shortage we were going to move in with my wife's parents and try our hand at getting a work permit through something called a labour market opinion. An LMO can be obtained by a company for a foreign worker if hiring that worker will not cost a Canadian a job. The odds of finding work are pretty good, and I'll be posting my progress as I go.  Here we come, Canada!