Getting Settled

Ontario is the economic engine of the country, for both money and industry. The center of this economic engine of course is Toronto. Canada as a whole can be best described as a multi ethnic, multi national people who exist extremely well together producing a country where all it's citizens live in harmony with each other. 

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Obtaining your Social Insurance Number.

One of the most important documents that you require is your Social Insurance Number (S.I.N.). Before you can apply for this document, you require a permanent address and bank account. You will require a letter from the property owner stating that you have rented a residence. This letter along with your landing documents will allow you to open a bank account. You can then make your application to the government for your S.I.N. It will take about 4 weeks before you receive your S.I.N. The office for this is located at 3085 Glen Erin Drive, Mississauga, about 15 minutes from us.

The Permanent Residence Card.

New gettingsettleds to Canada are now required to obtain a Permanent Resident Card (P.R.C.) after there arrival. The P.R.C. will be sent to the address you specify when applying for your social insurance number and will probably take about 6 weeks before being received. The important thing to remember is that you will not be allowed back into Canada without this card if you travel outside Canada after your arrival. Immigration Canada have indicated that this requirement will be enforced as of December 31, 2003, but new arrivals are telling us that they are being advised to obtain this card before leaving Canada. You can obtain more information by going to www.cic.gc.ca

Finding a job and accommodations

In most cases, you will be arranging employment after you arrive in Canada. From the time that you start sending your resume out to potential employers, attending 2 to 3 interviews, and finally finding suitable employment, you can expect this whole procedure to take about 2 months. Assuming that you would want to live reasonably close to where you will be working, finding an apartment or house would follow your employment. This means that you should arrange temporary accommodations for this period. This can be a B&B, hotel, motel etc. By far the most reasonable is Bed & Breakfast.

Arranging for health coverage.

Canada has a wonderful health program across the country which is administered by each province. In Ontario this is called the Ontario Health Insurance Program or OHIP. Before you can apply for OHIP you must have all your papers in order that are required for Immigration. You must also show something to prove that you are actually living here. An active bank account is usually OK for this. You will not be covered for the first 3 months in Canada so you may wish to arrange private coverage for this period.
You can obtain more information by going to www.gov.on.ca/moh.

Applying for your drivers license.

The drivers license is a very important document for identification. The motor vehicles act covering driver tests etc are administered by the province of Ontario and in the last 2 or 3 years has been changed to a graduating system. This means that you no longer take one test and then obtain a license. The main test facility is at 7900 Airport road. We can drive you there when you are ready. For more information on this got to: www.mot.on.ca.

The Canadian Education System.

Education in Canada is free and is administered by each province. In Ontario, the education system has two distinct systems within the one system. For those families who would like their children to attend a Catholic School, there is the Catholic school system. For everyone else, there is the Public system. Apart from the religious aspect, there is no difference between the two systems. You will be able to enroll your children in the school of your choice very quickly after you arrive.

Your personal safety.

In Canada, we pride our selves on the fact that we can move around in relative safety. Generally speaking, this is true for just about everywhere. While we enjoy a much lower crime rate than in many counties, it is still best to be cautious, especially late at night.

Additional information.

If you will be staying at Thompson Place, we can drive you to some of the important locations that you will need to attend. For traveling around the city we recommend that you obtain a weekly pass for the Mississauga/Toronto bus transit system.

In preparing for your job hunting, you should change your resume to represent what is generally expected here in Canada. We can offer you office facilities here including internet connection or you can go to the library, about 15 minutes from us.

The Mississauga Public Library is a large and comprehensive library. It also has many of the tools that you will need for job hunting.

City of Mississauga
City of Toronto