My Canada at 150

As Canada approaches its 150th birthday, I am thinking tonight about my place in the scheme of things. Nearly six years ago now, I became a landed immigrant in this great country, leaving the USA, none too soon it turns out, to join my love and start a new life. It wasn't all that unknown to me - our immigration process was complex and the years it took us to navigate the system were years I spent getting familiar with Canada.

Still, there were many adjustments, many hopes I had for life here that never materialized. In particular, the job market was not welcoming of someone of both my middle age or my senior experience. I was overqualified on one hand, but lacking "Canadian experience" on the other. A real catch 22. But I overcame, as immigrants must. I reinvented, and now I am more of what I've always been - a musician, an artist and an author. Canada made me choose. I am blessed to have a wife that wanted me to choose what was best for me too.

Now I am on the verge of citizenship. My forms are in a pile somewhere on a desk in Nova Scotia, maybe at the top, maybe at the bottom - but they are in process. Soon I'll get word that I'll have a citizenship test to sit for - one that I have studied for since before I was even a permanent resident. I know if I pass (I'm pretty confident I will!), and I am offered citizenship in this wonderful nation - I know on that day I will cry with joy. I'm a sentimental man. Life is hard. Things take time. When the dreams of my life come to pass, and I know they have, I am always overwhelmed with gratitude for those that come true. Becoming a Canadian citizen is one of them.

I've said time and again - Canada isn't perfect. We face many of the same issues of institutional racism, historic injustices, inequality, sexism...you name it...as my friends in the Old Country. I sense however, that here, in this huge, small nation, that we are less able to avoid our collective sins - it's hard to get lost in a country of 34 million compared to one of 330 million. People tend to know what you did, call you on it, and you tend to have to answer. I think that's healthy. Especially when you factor in the other great difference I see here. Canada is a country of compassion. Get it right, and we can put the past behind us.

So, from my room, high in a condo in Toronto, the view I have is one of a blessed life. One I could not have imagined. I have my Love to thank for it, and because she is Canadian, and her actions are those of a Canadian, I also have Canada to thank for that.

At 150, I want to encourage you, who dream of a better life for yourself and your loved ones to come and join me in Canada. Bring your skills and your spirit and follow me. It's not an easy road, and you will face obstacles, but if you are determined and patient, there is a way. I believe that, because I am proof of that.

Canada was discovered by westerners in 1534. We became a nation of our own over 340 years later in 1867. We are old for such a young country and maybe therein lies the secret of Canada.

A young country with an old soul.

Legalization without expungement - get marijuana right, Trudeau

... The bill would legalize marijuana possession for quantities of 30 grams or less, but offers no redress for Canadians who have been charged or convicted of possession under the current legislation.

“You know, Mr. Trudeau admitted that he comes from a privileged background where his own brother got off because his family was rich and well-connected, that he admitted smoking marijuana while he was in the Parliament of Canada and has suffered no consequences,” NDP Leader Tom Mulcair told reporters at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday. “And yet it doesn’t bother him in the least that young people are still being prosecuted today for smoking marijuana. … That’s abject hypocrisy by Justin Trudeau.”

Read the rest of the article here

When pot is legalized in Canada, those who have been convicted in the past simply must have their crimes related to possession expunged from their criminal records. It makes no sense to maintain historic crimes, ones we now know were wrongheaded in the first place to impact the freedom of Canadians.

Get it right, Mr, Trudeau. And not just half-right.

Not skating yet - thanks El Niño

12C this coming weekend, with rain. 12C! It's the middle of December and I haven't been skating yet this year. Climate change? Probably has something to do with it. The weather pattern for eastern Canada this late fall has the cold air we normally experience (highs should be around -4C this time of year) pushed far to the north. Instead of the cold, we are getting warm air masses from the U.S. deep south, which are mild, though not necessarily wet.

I am holding out hope that once the winter season is here in another couple of weeks, temperatures will at least have dropped to near seasonable. I don't actually like to sweat when I'm on ice. I'm not playing hockey after all! I just want to enjoy a skate in the cold.   

Thank you and goodbye for now

Since April of 2005 I have shared with all of you my Canadian immigration experience, as well as commentary on the politics of immigration, Canadian culture, and since I became a permanent resident, settlement issues and concerns. Now, nearly 10 years, and just shy of 600 posts later, it's time to step away from this blog, at least for a little while; to recharge my batteries, to figure out where I can best serve you in the years ahead.

In the time I've been writing for you, many of you have taken the time to let me know how I've helped you, what you've gained from these posts, and what would help in the future. I hope I've done right by you. Thank you for your feedback.

To those of you who have purchased my books: Thank you. I hope they have helped you in your immigration applications. Part of the work I will be doing in the near future is to update these books to reflect the current immigration reality.

This isn't farewell, just goodbye for now. Please don't hesitate to drop me a note if you have questions, or comments and thank you again for your support over the last decade.

You have seen me through my immigration experience, and I can only hope I've given you solid information, encouragement and most of all, hope in your great future.

Canada is waiting for you. Come join us.

Violence in Toronto - it's personal

All in all, Toronto is a very safe city. I can't really say that there are neighborhoods that I avoid or fear to be in at any hour of the day. In my three years here, "random" acts of violence seem to be very rare.

There is a particular form of violence that was new to me, however. Stabbings. Because of two conditions, it seems stabbings happen almost as frequently as shootings. I think the two reasons are: Gun control in Canada is pretty rigorous and violence is personal.

It's hard to get a gun in Canada in general. Handguns in particular (the favourite guns of the U.S.) are hard to come by legally, which makes them extremely expensive illegally. There aren't many around, so they aren't the weapon of choice. As I noted before, violence is less random here, and more about one person's direct conflict with another. It's personal. And stabbing someone is a very personal act. You can't stab someone from 20-yards; you have to get right up on them to accomplish it.

So while you do hear about shootings here, there really aren't many (and for the population in city of around 2.1 million, there are only around 140-170 incidents each year, 20 of which resulting in death). The total number of stabbings in Toronto each year isn't publicly noted, but deaths from stabbings take 40-60% of the same number of lives as shootings when all is said and done.

So Canada has its share of violence. And in general, it's personal. While no violence is something I'm sure we'd all be happier with, knowing that the random violence of the U.S. just isn't prevalent here does make this country a safer one to live in, and another reason I am thankful to live in Canada.    

TIFF begins!

The Toronto International Film Festival starts tonight. Each year, over 400 films play for a two week period on screens across the city, including many world premiers. For years, the film voted "Fan Favourite" at TIFF has gone on to win the best picture Oscar. Not a bad record.

Stargazing is a big part of TIFF for city residents. Last year I saw Dustin Hoffman on the streets (he's taller in person), and more ambitious sorts will camp out at bars and restaurants where they think they'll find the A-listers.

The best thing about TIFF is that you can get a few months worth of movie picks lined up for when they officially hit cinemas. Single tickets for movies during the festival have gone from $17 back in the day to around $75 this year. Not for the faint of wallet.

I'd write more, but I have a movie to watch!   

First day of school

Labour Day is past. The CNE is closed. Thunderstorms have returned. It must be the first day of school.

This morning CP24 (a local tv station) had parents send in pictures of their kids in their back-to-school outfits and it was just classic. Some excited girls, showing off their new fashions with big smiles on their faces. And then there were the boys who looked put together, but who's eyes betrayed an "are you kidding? Summer's over?" sentiment.

A teacher friend of mine told me how other teachers were calling and texting each other yesterday, asking, "are you ready for this?" Their 9-month countdown begins today.

Construction workers are racing to get those tasks that the coming cold wont bear out of the way too - though there isn't a lot they can't do in even the bitterest of cold.

So happy first day of school from Toronto. How did you spend yours? 

The end of summer

Night time at the CNE

We haven't really had a summer in Toronto this year. Tomorrow promises to bring only the second Heat Warning of the season, where normally we'd have at least a week or two worth of them.

Because the season never really kicked-in weather-wise, I didn't feel as strongly about getting out to the numerous summer festivals: Waterfront Festival, Taste of the Danforth, World Pride, Taste of Asia, Taste of Lawrence (plenty of food festivals, as you can tell!), Caribbean Carnival; Buskerfest and don't forget the Canadian National Exhibition...There are a lot of things to do every weekend.

Maybe my experience last fall of the Nuit Blanche festival coloured my thinking a bit too. During the festival, which runs one night in October from 6PM until 6AM, streets are closed down and interactive art displays are erected. Attendance last year - meaning people flooding the streets of Toronto - was 1 million people. I went out in it. It was crazy. I went to Nathan Phillips Square for a Ai Wei Wei installation. Trying to get through the square was an exercise in having your genitals introduced to 50,000 strangers. Not fun.

I'm going to try and get into the spirit of the festivals again though. May even hit the CNE this weekend. I love the activity in this beautiful city. I need to participate.      

Would you like some salt with that?

Happy New Year from Toronto. We are in the midst of a real Canadian winter here, and the arctic air moving into the province today promises wind chill values of -36C by tonight. Yes - that's cold. With the snow we had last night, then the rain that followed it, there is a slushy mess all over the streets and sidewalks. That makes driving and walking treacherous.

The solution? Salt. Not the kind you'd want on your fries, or to enhance that steak you're having for dinner - we're talking anything from liquid calcium chloride, liquid magnesium chloride, liquid salt (salt brine), and rock salt. It's brutal stuff.

I've recommended on this blog that anyone thinking about their winter wardrobe add impermeable boots to the mix - rubber and latex-rubber boots that can take the wet and ice and especially the salt that you encounter everywhere this time of year. I see lots of Bay Street types in their Italian leather shoes heading to the office in this weather and all I think is, "well those are ruined." Because the salt is going to stain them, penetrate the leather, and nothing you can do will bring them back to life as they once knew it.

So the salt months are upon us. It's there for your safety. With a little preparation, you and your shoes will do just fine. 

Happy Holidays 2013-2014!

Well dear friends, another year has passed at The Expatriate Mind. Since 2005 I've tried to share my immigration journey with you with all the excitement and frustration that comes along with it. Each new year seems to bring changes to the Canadian immigration landscape, and this year has been no different. I expect the changes will keep coming in 2014, with the Tories still in control, a fresh Immigration Minister excited to flex his muscles (at least those Harper allows him to), and new challenges on both the Skilled Worker and Family Class fronts.

I enjoyed Christmas in the U.S. this year, but will be back home in Canada for New Years. Two and a half years into my permanent residency and Toronto truly is the home I always hoped it would be for all the years my Love and I patiently navigated the immigration process.

I want to encourage all my readers to have faith and be patient in your own immigration journey. It's unique for each and every one of us. The best advice I can give you is to pursue your goal with honesty, and give your application the best effort you can. Help those that make these decisions understand your commitment to Canada - one you are making even before you are welcomed here. Take the time also to learn about your new country, its history and culture and prepare yourself for the day when your visa arrives.

Happy holidays and New Year to all of you. God bless your Canadian dreams! 

Year-end wrap up

My third Christmas as a permanent resident of Canada is upon me, and it is still hard to believe how quickly the time has passed since that wonderful August day in 2011 when I came to this country. It's a beautiful, snowy morning in Toronto, and I'm preparing for an evening flight back to Seattle to spend my first Christmas in three years with my parents and siblings. I am looking forward to the time there. This year has been one of unexpected blessings, for sure.

Probably the best thing to happen in the last year has been to feel more solidified in my career here as an author and writer - a career that started with this humble blog in 2005. This year I have actually been sought out to write on immigration issues and Canada in general, and it really is validating, when the traditional job market has been more than difficult for me to crack.

I am working on a new book, and contributing to a number of web sites. My current books on immigration are selling and more importantly, helping people who want to come to Canada. Not bad.

I thought this blog would transition more into "settlement" issues this year, but immigration news and events were just too juicy to ignore. Maybe next year? It's hard to say. Maybe I have the mix right already: immigration news, personal commentary, and here and there a glimpse into the everyday here in Toronto.

I hope you have had a wonderful 2013, and that the year to come is also full of blessings for you. Don't give up on your immigration dreams. It takes patience and perseverance to come to Canada. I can tell you from experience the choice to immigrate is a tough one, and the process will try and wear you out. But if you take care of your application, have faith and look to do everything you can to effect the outcome, you just may join me here one day. That is my New Year wish for you!   

Canada Goose time

It's been bitter cold for about a week now, and that means it's Canada Goose time. Canada Goose is the brand of parka that I wear. I have a Banff Parka and it's warm enough that the weather really has to warrant getting it out. In mild temperatures, the coat is simply too comfy-warm. But I've determined that from about -8C or below (with or without the windchill factored in), it's the only thing that keeps me warm.

I love my jacket, but I have one core criticism: the hood attachment and closure is wonky. The coat is sort of a convertible - you can take the hood on or off, and even take the fur trim on the hood on and off. When on, the hood closes in the front of the jacket over the collar with two small snaps. This is the part that really doesn't work very well. When you have a scarf on, and then you add the collar of the jacket that closes under the hood, it gets pretty thick around the neck, and those two little snaps just don't hold everything together very well. I think I'm going to take my jacket to a tailor and have them replace the snaps with two medium sized buttons and eyelets like the closures on the rest of the coat. That should fix it.

The only other thing I wish the jacket had was a wire armature in the hood. Some of their models have this feature, but I think it should be standard. Being able to mold the hood to the weather is really a plus when you've got 40-50km winds and snow hitting you.

Now in the winter months in Toronto you've got two issues to deal with: bitter cold outside and too warm inside. Christmas shopping can be a bear as you walk to a shop in the cold, go in and sweat, go out and freeze, in and sweat, over and over. The alternative is to constantly be putting on and taking off your outer gear, which is a pain in the you-know-what, but sometimes the only remedy.

I love the Canadian winter, and am grateful I can be out in it safely. Thanks to my Love, I have the parka to handle it.  

Toronto simmers in anti-development animosity

There is an undercurrent to Toronto these days, and it's not a happy one. The city has been in a development boom over the last ten years that shows no sign of slowing. Looking out my window (as I've shared with you before in this blog), there are no fewer than ten construction cranes, marking the creation of new high-rises for residents and business. And this reflects just one view from just one part of the city. There are over 130 such developments going on city-wide.

The animosity that is developing in the city has to do with what citizens see as unchecked growth. Developers and business seem to get their way here, no matter what the citizens have to say about it. Currently there are a couple high-profile proposals that have the public on edge. One is the expansion of the Billy Bishop (Island) airport. Porter Airlines wants to be able to fly small jets out of the facility, which sits in the Toronto harbour, a short distance from the lake shore. The expansion of the runway to facilitate these jets would impact boaters' ability to navigate, and the noise would impact everyone.

There are thousands of residential condominiums at the lake shore - and all of them would have to deal with the noise that would begin with construction and never end with an increasing number of jet flights in and out of the airport.

The other construction related issue in this neighbourhood is the slow pace at which renovations are being made to a huge stretch of Lakeshore Blvd. This infrastructure project seems to be happening part-time at best, while impacting residents and commuters who use this key city street.

I have only described two of over 100 major development and infrastructure projects going on in the city right now. Residents are upset with unchecked growth, with construction that never ends, and with the city seemingly ignoring the impact of these projects on anything but the tax base.

Whether anything will slow the train of progress is hard to say. Political will at the municipal level seems almost non-existent. But that's life today in Canada's largest city.  

Not being there

You have to understand I love pets. I love dogs and cats. I've raised a few and they are really, as predictable as it sounds, like your own children. My brother's puppy passed away suddenly last night of natural causes. He was almost 14 - and that's a long life for a beautiful, large dog as he was. My last few years in the US, he was like my dog too - a wonderful companion. One of the most difficult things to cope with emotionally when leaving the US was leaving him, and knowing he wouldn't understand why I wasn't there anymore. And now I'm also not there to give my brother the support I wish I could. This too, is part of the immigrant experience, and something that troubles the expatriate mind.

Life on The Esplanade

Looking west from a city park on The Esplanade

I had a quiet morning with work I needed to deliver for my clients in the States, so I decided to get some exercise and go shoot some basketball down the street from me. As I walked east down The Esplanade, it was hard not to recognize how good I've got it here in Canada.

Here's a little about my neighbourhood with some help from Wikipedia:

The St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood I live in has been here since 1793 (though The Esplanade was underwater at that time - the shoreline of Lake Ontario being Front Street). The area was infilled to provide more land for port and industrial uses adjacent. St. Lawrence was the first industrial area of York. The first parliament buildings in Upper Canada in 1793 were constructed on the southwest corner of Parliament and Front Street.

A Saturday farmers' market began operation at Front and Jarvis in 1803. The current Market building, south of Front, is open daily, selling foods and other goods, while the Saturday farmers' market operates in the north building, on the north side of Front Street.

In 1834, Toronto's first city hall was built on the southwest corner of King St. East & Jarvis St. at the old 'Market' building from 1834 (the year of Toronto's incorporation from the former town of York) to 1844.

The former city hall was converted into and expanded into the market gallery or 'South Market'. The old council chamber is all that remains of the original city hall and is located on the gallery's second floor.

The Esplanade, a 100 feet (30 m)-wide road, was proposed, just south of Front Street, with new water lots made from cribbing and filling of the shore to the south. The waterfront was extended to a survey line from the point of the Gooderham windmill west to a point due east of the old Fort Rouille. In exchange for 40 feet (12 m) of the Esplanade, the railways underwrote the infilling of the harbour. The Esplanade (my street) and infill project was complete by 1865.

Walking along the street today and the most prominent features are the blocks of parks and social housing. The parks stretch for six city blocks, and the housing is so well integrated into the neighbourhood that you'd never realize what is private and what is public. This mix of incomes makes my home diverse and exciting. I meet people of all ages and races when I'm out and about - not something that occurs in the more tawny neighbourhoods of Toronto.

Near Parliament Street is a basketball court I play at. There are usually a few kids shooting hoops too, but they don't seem to mind an old man joining them.

I love my home, if you can't tell. If you're coming to visit Toronto, be sure and come to our part of town, You'll love it here too.

Happy Anniversary

Two years ago today, I landed as a permanent resident of Canada at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, and my life changed forever. As I noted in my last post, I am so grateful to be here in the country I love, with the woman I love.

So how am I spending my anniversary? Like a lot of other Canadians, I'm painting the condo!

I hope you treasure your landing day the same way I will always remember and celebrate mine. 

Two years in Canada and counting

Toronto - my home of two years now!

In a few days, I will complete two years as a Permanent Resident in Canada. I've said it before - time flies. So am I happy with my choice to leave the US to live here? The answer, with some caveats, is "yes."

Because I moved here for love, not for work, I think its easier for me to be content with my situation here. My love and I share a beautiful home in a fantastic city, and between us we do very well by anybody's measure.

Toronto is a fantastic city, full of culture and diversity, and I take full advantage of it, getting around as much as possible, enjoying free events, site-seeing like a tourist, and creating a routine and memories each day. In the mornings, I walk my love to her office, then I return home where I work (and write my books and this blog). I get out an exercise at some point most days: skating at Harbourfront Centre in the winter, playing hoop at the playgrounds on The Esplanade in the nice weather. Weekends are for chores, grocery shopping at the St. Lawrence Market, catching up on reading, or adventuring around Ontario.

If I had come here for work, I know after two years, I would have a different view of Canada. Frankly, its been hard to find any work in my former field of expertise. I had my share of interviews where the dreaded "how much Canadian experience do you have?" question was raised. Once that comes up, you pretty much know you wont get the gig. But I have continued to find whatever short term opportunities I can here, and have strung them together into a living. I'm sure many immigrants have the same experience. Maybe because I didn't expect the opportunities here to be the same as I had in the US, I'm more accepting of the reality that they are very different.

One area that exceeds expectation is the health care that is available to me. While the facilities are nowhere near the modern level I experienced in Seattle (mind you, a very wealthy US city), they are very good, and best of all, I have access to them when I really need them. This was not the case in the US. I take better care of myself here because its not always an economic decision to do so. That's quite a change for the better.

As I've said before, and this doesn't change - I miss family and friends I've left behind. Being an immigrant can be lonely many days. And there's no counting that phenomenon of change that occurs at home which causes it to become more and more unfamiliar, coupled with the fact that you are in a long process of learning about your new country. Feeling lost between two worlds happens more frequently the longer you are away.

I love Canada. I love Toronto. I love my life here with my love. I am a year away from applying for citizenship, the next step in my immigration journey. Yes, in spite of the challenges, life in Canada is the best life I have had.

Reflections from the USA

In just over a month I will mark two full years since my immigration to Canada from the US. It really is confounding, how quickly time flies. I am currently back in "the old country", visiting family and friends in Seattle, and having a good time of it.

What I notice when I come back home (yes, it will always be home too) are a couple things. First off, life goes on without me. No matter all the emotion I built into leaving, almost like dying; the truth is that people adjust, get on with their lives, and don't miss you nearly as much as you think they should! I always make an effort to let people know when I'll be back in town, and it still saddens me, how few make an effort to make time to see me during my brief visits. But its okay - I'm getting used to a different set of expectations.

The other thing I notice is very environmental. Toronto and Seattle are both cities on bodies of water: for Toronto, it's Lake Ontario; for Seattle, it's Elliot Bay, but there is a distinctly different feel. The difference is due to the salt air in Seattle. A little geography: Elliot Bay is a salt-water bay on Puget Sound, which is connected via the Strait of Juan De Fuca to the mighty Pacific Ocean. The salt air from these bodies is ever present, and the feel and smell of the air is distinct from the brine of Lake Ontario. When I come back, the air is something I miss a lot.

If you're an immigrant, please share some of your observations. I know from letters I receive that many people benefit from our shared experiences.

One  more thing I notice, is that after I time here, I want to get back home to my Love - and that is Toronto. I'm happy there, and so grateful Canada welcomed me.

South China Morning Post - Chinese numbers in Vancouver, Toronto to double by 2031

The Chinese populations of Vancouver and Toronto are set to double by 2031, helping push whites below 50 per cent of the population in both cities, says a report for Canada's immigration department.

The study, released this week, is titled "A new residential order?". It predicted that the populations in both cities would be more prone to segregate into racial enclaves with time.

Daniel Hiebert, a geographer at the University of British Columbia, concluded his report by saying that the two cities "are likely to have a social geography that is entirely new to Canadian society". He said the degree of racial segregation in both cities would approach that of between blacks and whites in America.

Both cities have a long history of immigrant populations, but it was only in the late 1990s that they developed what Hiebert called "ethnocultural enclaves" and a "new residential order".

Read the article here

Keep looking up

Be a tourist, no matter where you are.

It is said you can always tell who is a tourist and who is a local by the fact that tourists are always looking up and all around at all the new sights, while locals, used to their environment, keep their heads down on their way to their destinations. I think that is a pretty accurate truism.

But I also try to go against that tide every chance I get. Being a tourist in your hometown is simply good for your spirit and I have to believe for others as well. When I hold my head up and look around, I remind myself of why I fell in love with Toronto. If I hadn't looked up while I was here in the past, I wouldn't have had the deep well of memories of the city that sustained me when I was in my immigration struggle. The fact is, if I hadn't always looked up in Seattle, I wouldn't have the memories I have now that help combat homesickness as I adjust to living in Canada.

When you hold your head up, you can see so much; the variety of architecture, the cafe where that fresh bread smell is coming from, the queue at every Tim Hortons, the faces of your neighbours, the clouds rushing by, the sun reflecting off an office tower, the new construction, the ads for upcoming community events. You'd miss a lot if you kept your head down. I don't want to miss a thing.

If you are new to Canada, you're going to look up naturally at first - just a like a tourist; it's how you learn about your new home. I want to encourage you to never stop looking up - it's the surest way to connect completely with your new home. A year and a half in and I find myself wanting to put my head down like a local - but I pull it back up, and I'm always glad that I do.

If you are still waiting to come to Canada, I also want to encourage you to lift your head and look around as you go about your day. Fill you mind and heart with your original home - believe me, it will help to sustain you.

Keep looking up and you'll always be connected to where you live.