Guide for New Immigrants to Halifax, Nova Scotia-by Roni Omeesi

The Almost Complete Guide for New Immigrants to Halifax, Nova Scotia

Last Updated: July 2024

© All rights reserved… Obligations

Welcome!

First of all, welcome and best of luck to you! Whether you have already arrived in the city or are about to land at its gates, we know (and by “we” I mean generally all of us who arrived here before you) that despite the long process you have gone through so far, you are actually only at the beginning of the journey and at the start of an equally long acclimation process that will be accompanied by several worries and challenges.

Since many here have gone through a similar process to yours, I thought a short guide could help you with your first steps in the city, provide local guidance, shorten processes, and even save you some money and mistakes.

So, I’ll start with an important disclaimer! This guide is intended to help as a gesture of goodwill and does not claim to be complete, accurate, or up-to-date in any way. The guide is based on experiences and insights that my family and I have had here since our arrival in 2017, and on experiences and knowledge gathered by other friends who contributed to this guide. These experiences may differ from those of others, for better or worse. Some of the information was gathered from knowledgeable sources (and even two), and therefore, the author has no responsibility for the accuracy or reliability of the information. Despite the foregoing, it is appropriate to thank Maya Lotan, Itai Vishansky, Yasmin Lesh, and Shir Toran who contributed to some of the chapters below, and especially to Inbal Markovich who added a special and updated appendix for those coming through the new visa opened to Israelis in 2024.

For convenience, I am writing the guide in the masculine form, and I ask in advance for the forgiveness of the truly strong sex and the forgiveness of all those who identify as something else. After all, this is Canada…

So, once again, good luck, and welcome to Canada!

Table of Contents

• • Very General Background on the City and the Area
  • Introduction to ISANS
  • Housing Matters
  • Apartment Buildings
  • Various Privately Owned Properties
  • How to Rent
  • Purchasing a House or Condo .
  • Credit (and No, I’m Not Just Referring to Credit Cards…)
  • Phone and Communication .
  • Shopping
  • Costco
  • Garbage and Recycling
  • Car and Transportation
  • Driver’s License
  • insurance
  • Buying a Car
  • Car Maintenance
  • Military Status Arrangement
  • Religion and Community
  • The Jewish Community
  • olt and Young Judah
  • The Israeli Community
  • Synagogues
  • Education and Children
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Elementary School
  • Middle School and High School
  • Legal and Tax Matters
  • Will
  • Pension and National Insurance
  • income Tax
  • Appendix – Immigrating Through the New War Law
  • Encouraging Introduction
  • How to Rent in This Unique Situation
  • Renters Insurance
  • Opening a Bank Account

 

Very General Background on the City and the Area

The province of Nova Scotia is the most populated of the four Atlantic provinces. The province is home to approximately one million residents, about half of whom live in the metropolitan area of the province’s capital – Halifax. The Halifax Regional Municipality, or HRM for short, is essentially a combination of the three cities of Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and their surrounding areas. In the past, these cities were separate, but in 1996 they were joined into one metropolitan area.

Like any other city, Halifax also has better and worse areas, more expensive and less expensive areas, and I will try to give my opinion on the various areas without offending anyone.

The peninsula that looks a bit like a lung on the map above (marked “Halifax”) is called the Peninsula for short, and it is divided into several main areas: North End, West End, South End, and the downtown. The North End is less prestigious than the others, and the South End is the most prestigious. The Peninsula is connected by two bridges to Dartmouth, which until a few years ago was considered the less successful sister in the family, but again, even in this sister, there are more expensive and less expensive areas that can be considered a slightly cheaper alternative to living in Halifax itself. In general, the price increases experienced by the real estate market in the last three years are slowly changing the demographics in the various areas of the city. At the top of Bedford Bay is Bedford, of course, which extends beyond Highway 102 to its new neighborhoods called West Bedford. Bedford is the most beloved sister in my opinion, but as mentioned, this is a personal opinion that is not binding at all. Another area that is developing recently is Timberlea, located on the western side of the city near Highway 103. The entire Halifax metropolitan area is not large, and most of the areas I mentioned are within a 15-20 minute drive of each other (at least not during rush hour).

To the best of my knowledge, many Israelis live in Bedford and its west, but there are definitely quite a few Israeli families in Dartmouth, Hammonds Plains, Timberlea, and other places in and around the city, including Prospect, Enfield, Fall River, Sackville, and more. These allow for living in a more rural environment, at a slightly lower price level, and still within reach of the city.

It is worth noting that areas close to the coast (for example, Prospect or Eastern Passage) can experience temperatures that are about 5 degrees lower than Bedford, for example, and this is significant in places where the heat of the sun is a sought-after commodity.

Okay… so let’s get started.

Introduction to ISANS

And thanks to Yasmin Lesh for the information and Alex Rodkovsky for the update!

ISANS is a local non-profit organization whose purpose is to help immigrants coming to the province integrate into life in Canada in general and in Nova Scotia in particular. The organization is funded (mainly) by the federal government and by the provincial government, which allows it to provide free service to the immigrant population (except for a symbolic fee for translations). The assistance is mainly suitable for permanent residents (PR).

To enjoy the organization’s services, you must register as a client through: https://isans.ca/sign-up-to-become-an-isans-client. After completing the registration form and uploading the immigration document, you will receive an appointment for a consultation with a reception counselor who will register you as a client and refer you to the relevant services. Among all the services that ISANS provides, you can find:

• English studies (you must first pass the CLB test through an organization called LENS, through which you must schedule the test appointment. You can request to transfer the score directly to ISANS). After your English level is determined, you can be placed in the appropriate course.
• Courses that provide workplace support for learning professional language as needed.
• Document translation (translations are valid only in the province for one year). The service is also available to tourists who are not eligible for the organization’s services (mainly translation of driver’s licenses, transcripts, and various certificates).
• Courses related to community relations, such as introductory courses to life in the province, opening a bank account, introduction to government agencies, and more. The organization can also provide information on various immigration tracks.
• Employment issues – there is a support system for temporary residents regarding labor laws and employee rights against employers, personal counseling and guidance, there are workshops for engineers, doctors, nurses and carpenters who studied outside Canada. Another important and relevant topic for immigrants (and also for the experienced among you) includes a short course on writing a resume tailored to the Canadian market and preparation for a job interview and workshops preparing for the labor market itself.

Eligibility for ISANS services in general depends on immigration status, with permanent residents (PR) eligible for all services and temporary residents or immigrants who have already received citizenship eligible for only some of them (if you are on temporary status (work permit, for example). it is recommended to call and find out if there are services you can receive). In addition to all these, there are various volunteer opportunities at ISANS, support programs for pensioners or those nearing retirement, subsidized summer programs for children, gardening groups, cooking, and more. For those of you who have come to read this guide before the actual move, it is important to note that ISANS also offers pre-arrival services to people who have received nomination from the province or those arriving through the Atlantic Immigration Program. The link to register for the pre-arrival service: https://novascotiastart.ca/outsideNS.html. And those who already have a job offer from an employer, are authorized to enter: https://arriveprepared.ca/.

Housing Matters

As new immigrants, you will probably start your journey in a rental, and after you settle in and decide that you like it here, you will look for a house to buy. Real estate prices in recent years have doubled, and for a certain period, it was recommended to buy something as quickly as possible and before it became perhaps impossible, but the market has calmed down a bit in the last year. Houses at a price level lower than $500,000 are still selling relatively quickly and sometimes above the asking price, but the winds have definitely calmed down. The truth is that it is impossible to know where things are going, and when the interest rate drops as many predict, the market could ignite again.

The bottom line is that this is not a guide to real estate investment matters, and everyone will eventually make the decisions that are right for them and their abilities. In any case, whether you are renting or buying, you will have to decide on the area you want to live in, not only according to the price level but also according to the ages of your children, the variety of schools in the area, and so on.

Since the demand for rental apartments is high and rental prices are also on the rise, you may have difficulty finding a place before your arrival (although this is possible). One possible solution is to rent an AirB&B apartment for a week or two, which will allow you to focus on finding an apartment and making initial arrangements.

Residential properties in Halifax are divided into several categories that do not completely overlap with what you are familiar with from Israel.

 Apartment buildings:

• • An apartment building for rent is a building owned by an individual or a company (Landlord) and managed by the landlord himself or a company on his behalf. There are no apartments in this type of building that are privately owned by other individuals, and the entire building is a single real estate asset.
  • When renting an apartment in buildings of this type, the building owner usually handles all building and maintenance matters. One of the critical points in renting is to make sure which of the current expenses are included in the rent and which will require you to pay additional fees. In many buildings, (but really not all), the rent will include heating, electricity, water, and of course garbage and snow removal, maintenance, municipal tax, and building insurance. The tenant will usually pay rent only and will be required to pay only property insurance and internet/cable connection in addition to the rent. On the other hand, if there are separate electricity and water meters for each apartment in the building, the tenant will be charged in addition to the rent for electricity and water payments. In this case, it is important to understand how the apartment is heated and how the water is heated (these are two heavy expenses, and it is important to know who they apply to). If there is a separate electricity meter for the apartment but the building is heated with oil or gas, the electricity bill that will apply to you will be relatively low and the heating expenses will apply to the building owner and as mentioned will be included in the rent. The same applies to water heating.

  • Condo buildings:

    • “Condo” is the term for shared buildings (and there are also shared “neighborhoods”) in a legal structure that is somewhat similar to apartment buildings in Israel. This means that the apartments in the building are owned by private individuals (whether they rent them to others or live in them) but it is a real partnership in a shared building managed by an elected “building committee.” Apartment owners are required to pay monthly Condo Fees, which are used to manage the building. If you are renting a condo apartment in such a building, the condo fees will be paid by the property owner to the building management committee, and these will cover maintenance, heating, electricity, snow and garbage removal, water, and property insurance. The apartment owner will also pay the municipal tax, and you as tenants will only have to pay the rent, relatively cheap insurance for the contents of the apartment, and internet/cable. As tenants, the difference between the two types of rentals is not large, so it is important to check what is included in the rent if the electricity and water meters are separate (in which case these expenses will apply to you).

• Various privately owned properties:

  • If you are renting a privately owned house, whether it is a single house, a semi-detached house (Semi Detached) or a cottage (Townhouse), the landlord will pay the municipal tax and property insurance, and you will have to pay in addition to the rent the heating, water and electricity costs, take care of snow removal yourself and take care of garden maintenance. If the house is in the city, it will be connected to the municipal sewage and water system and perhaps also to the natural gas system, but in neighborhoods outside the city, there is a good chance that the house will have an independent water well that requires maintenance and a septic tank for sewage. There is no need to worry about a rope and bucket to draw water from the well, after all, your well will have a pump that will pump water into the house as if you were in the city, but there are places where it is recommended that you do not drink well water. It is definitely worth checking in advance. Among the rental properties, there are quite a few properties that include duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes, and the treatment of them is similar to apartment buildings, as the heating or electricity systems or water heating in them will usually be shared and therefore usually paid by the landlord and included in the rent. It is important to check each case individually.

If a certain bill (electricity, gas, water, etc.) applies to you according to your lease agreement, or if you have purchased your own home, you will need to open accounts with the various companies: NS Power, Halifax Water for water and electricity, and one of the gas companies as the case may be (for example, Irving Oil). As new immigrants without a credit history (a topic explained below), you will probably be required to pay a deposit of several hundred dollars, which will be returned to you after six months or a year. If you have a large gas tank outside, you will be required to pay an annual rental fee for it (about $115).

By the way, if I have already mentioned heating, you probably already guess that this can be a heavy expense if it applies to you. The heating system is turned on in the fall and turned off in the spring. And even if you jumped to the Caribbean in the middle of winter because that’s what is recommended to do here in winter, the house must remain heated at least to some level so that damage is not caused to the various water systems.

How heavy is this expense if it applies to you? Depends on the size of the house and the type of heating. Typical heating types are:

• Electric baseboard heating system – (usually expensive to heat with electricity)
• Heating systems based on water or air heated by oil
• Natural gas or tank gas heating systems
• Heating systems based on central air conditioning or Ductless.
• Fireplace or wood stoves and gas fireplace.

Most houses will include two or more backup systems.

In a house of about 2000Sf, the average annual heating costs can reach about $300 per month.

How to Rent:

You can use a broker and you can look for ads for apartments for rent on the local “Yad2” board www.kijiji.ca or on the Facebook marketplace. You can also call the phone numbers of the management companies that usually appear on signs in front of apartment buildings (try, for example, www.theparksofwestbedford.ca, which owns several buildings with apartments for rent). If you found an apartment and scheduled a “viewing,” you will be asked before or after the visit to fill out an “application” form and provide as many details as possible about yourself. These details will include names and phone numbers of references, places of work, salary, and so on. The less information you provide, the lower the likelihood that you will be accepted. Many buildings will ask you for your social insurance number (which is more or less the local equivalent of the identity card number in Israel). Keep in mind that there is no legal obligation to provide this number to foreigners and that Canadians are sometimes overly zealous about the confidentiality of their social insurance number.

Accepted? Great! The lease agreement you sign will usually be a standard provincial contract that can be downloaded from the Nova Scotia Access website. Read it carefully to understand what is included and what is not and what is allowed and what is prohibited. Unlike Israel, not every landlord does what he wants here, and the conduct is generally dictated by pre-known rules. In any case, there are landlords who restrict smoking, pets, (and also smoking pets), cannabis smoking, barbecue on the balcony, and so on. By signing the agreement, you agree to act accordingly.

If you are coming under the new war law program, open work visa, and you want to find an apartment for rent while you are still waiting for approval and you do not yet have the social insurance number, jobs, or local references, go to the dedicated appendix for you “Immigrating Through the New War Law” below.

These restrictions and their violation can be used as grounds against you to terminate the lease agreement. Personal recommendation? Start “thinking Canadian” – you are expected to abide by the laws and rules and the “rely on it” method is not accepted here with love…

In principle, you are not allowed to take a deposit to reserve the apartment, but you can ask for post-dated checks with the signing of the agreement. The first check will be for the beginning of the first month of rent, and in addition to it, you will be required to give another check for half a month’s rent as a deposit in case you leave behind damage. Please note that unlike Israel, the deposit check is not kept in the landlord’s drawer. It is cashed at the beginning of the lease and part or all of it will be returned at the end.

The lease agreement is usually an annual contract and is automatically renewed unless you have notified otherwise three months before the end of the period. Three months before the end of the first year, you can also ask to switch to a monthly contract instead of the automatic renewal if you have a reason not to commit to another year. Another option available in lease agreements is a lease for a fixed period. By choosing this option, the contract does not renew automatically. At the time of writing these lines, there is a rent increase limit of 5% per year, but this only applies to lease renewals and not to new contracts.

Beyond that, the rules of the game in the local rental market tend to favor tenants. A tenant can renew or not renew their lease, but it is more difficult for landlords to evict a tenant just like that, and they must have a real reason such as non-payment of rent, violation of building rules, or damage to property, etc., (and even then, it is a tedious process).

In any case of friction between tenants and landlords, you can contact the tenancy board, which is under the umbrella of Nova Scotia Access (the local equivalent of the Ministry of the Interior, the Licensing Authority, and the Land Registry together) and serves as a kind of small claims court. I hope you do not find a need for it.

On the day of entering the apartment and receiving the keys, you will go over the condition of the apartment with a representative of the management company on a Walk through form. Do not be shy to make sure that any defect or damage in the apartment or the existing equipment is marked carefully. Make sure to get a signed copy of the form because it will be used by you when you leave. At the end of the lease period and the evacuation of the property, you will be required to return it clean and without defects as you received it. The landlord will be entitled to deduct any reasonable amount from your deposit if he has to clean the apartment or repair defects in it that are not reasonable wear and tear.

Purchasing a House or Condo:

Yes, purchase is also an option. Unlike Israel, the vast majority of real estate transactions are done with the assistance of brokers, and you will usually not even see or talk to the sellers. Not that it is impossible to do transactions without a broker, but it is less common and certainly not recommended for those who are not familiar with the market and the rules. Brokerage fees in most transactions (both for the seller’s broker and for the buyer’s broker) apply to the seller, and it is the seller’s broker’s responsibility to share the brokerage fees with the buyer’s broker, so in the absence of anything unusual, you as buyers are exempt from paying brokerage fees even when you are represented by a broker, and therefore, again, it is recommended that you work with a broker who knows the market and the rules. You will also be asked to sign a representation agreement with the broker, which is a standard provincial agreement, but you are allowed to ask for minor changes if something does not seem right to you. The broker can give you information about areas, schools, and prices and guide you according to your wishes. He can also recommend properties and arrange viewings for you. In an age where everything is online, it is likely that you will find properties on the various websites (for example: www.viewpoint.ca) and ask the broker to arrange a visit for you. As I mentioned, it is unlikely that you will meet the sellers on such a visit because they will be asked to leave the house even for a few days.

In the next step, if you like the property, you can ask the broker to prepare an offer for you to purchase the property and you will need to discuss with him the conditions you want to include in the offer. The offer will include the price you want to offer, the down payment you are willing to pay as a deposit (usually a few thousand to show your seriousness), and several conditions you want to verify before the purchase. In normal times, the conditions that are usually included in the offer include a defined period (say two weeks) in which the buyer can conduct inspections related to the property and during which the contract binds the seller but is not final for the buyer and leaves him almost complete flexibility to withdraw from the deal if something from the inspections he conducted is not to his liking.

Common conditions are: (1) your ability to get a mortgage from the bank (2) having the house inspected by an external company (3) your ability to insure the property (for example, there are houses in flood-prone areas that insurance companies can refuse to insure and then the bank will refuse to finance) (4) receiving a disclosure document from the sellers about the condition of the property, and so on.

As I mentioned above, there are many properties at prices of up to half a million dollars that are put up for sale and receive many offers, at prices that can be higher than the advertised price and almost without conditions.

Obviously, the more conditions you put, the more your offer is expected to lose against other offers if there are any. Ask the broker to explain these points to you. There is a duty of transparency in Canada and brokers usually play by the rules. If there are additional offers, they are required to tell you about it. If a previous deal fell through due to the findings of an inspection, they will tell you about it, and so on.

By the way, most houses in Canada are built with light construction. The systems are different, the adaptation to the harsh weather is different, and therefore it is recommended that you pay for an inspection (a few hundred dollars) and receive an up-to-date and comprehensive report on the condition of the property and its systems. If the inspection findings reveal certain problems that require investment, you have the right before the end of the condition period to submit a revised offer with a request that the seller repair what needs to be repaired or offer him an updated price that reflects the inspection findings or give up the property and receive your deposit back in full. During the condition period, you are supposed to contact one of the banks and arrange the mortgage issue mentioned below. Once the condition period has ended and you have not asked to withdraw from the agreement, you are under a Firm contract to purchase the property.

At this stage, you should also have a lawyer who will accompany you and assist in closing the process. The costs of legal assistance here are lower than in Israel, but you will have to pay a 1.5% purchase tax. The lawyer will prepare an adjustment document for you that reflects the exact amount you will have to pay on the closing day (the final price, less the deposit you paid, the mortgage, adjustments related to the municipal tax paid by the seller, and even the oil left in his tank and those related to closing the deal – meaning, the purchase tax and lawyer fees). You will have to transfer the final amount to the lawyer in trust and not to the seller. That’s how it works here. If you decide for any reason to withdraw from the agreement before the end of the condition period, your deposit, as mentioned, will be returned to you in full. If you withdraw from the deal after the end of the condition period, the deposit will be forfeited and you may also be sued beyond that.

Buying a condo is not fundamentally different in the process, but the registration of the property is a bit different because you are actually entering into a partnership in a shared building. It will be important for you to receive and check all the information about the financial and physical condition of the building and what the monthly condo fees are. Buildings that are managed properly spend a lot on ongoing maintenance and also maintain a significant cash reserve for long-term repairs. If the building was not managed properly and there is not enough reserve, you may be required to pay heavy expenses for long-term repairs that are due. The financial condition of the building and the funds that are or are missing in the reserve fund can significantly affect the price, and you can usually see the last report made to the building by an external engineering company. This is a report that is made every few years and presents the condition of the building, the expected repairs, and the existing and required cash balances.

So that’s about it, you bought it, enjoy! Come on, go buy furniture.

Credit (and No, I’m Not Just Referring to Credit Cards)…

Thanks to Itai Vishansky for the information!

The whole issue of credit is a rather annoying matter for immigrants in the first year or two of their lives in Canada. Like in the US, there is also a system of “credit history” here, which sometimes seems to those coming from afar more like “credit hysteria.” According to this system, every resident has a “credit score” that ranges from 300 to 900 points.

The credit rating is determined entirely externally by the Canadian credit rating companies Equifax and Transunion and is based on economic parameters related to the rated person’s history of making payments, the total utilization of the credit given to him, and the number of credit products reported in his credit report, such as credit cards, car leasing, mortgage, loan, phone bill, etc. All of these are examples of reported credit instruments that provide the credit rating companies with a monthly report on the status of payment compliance.

The implication for immigrants is simple: even if you have a sum of one million dollars in your checking account, your credit score at the beginning of your journey in Canada is “zero” (or 300). For various companies and entities you will turn to, the lack of credit history will be an obstacle in terms of granting credit. For example: leasing a car, getting a credit card or a loan. Even opening an account with a cellular company can sometimes be problematic.

Building a credit rating takes time. The average time to build a good credit rating (800 and above) can take about two years. The importance of building a credit rating is relevant to the most significant financial decisions in an immigrant’s life: buying a house, buying a car, etc. But the credit rating can also help in other areas such as: rent (many residential buildings and landlords conduct credit checks and may rely on the credit score as a screening tool), pricing an insurance policy, renewing a mortgage. In these cases, the higher the credit rating, the more attractive the rate offered to you will be.

So what can be done? Well, quite a lot:

Most banks offer benefits to Newcomers when opening an account. The benefits include a free account for a year, issuing a first credit card with a relatively low limit of up to $2000, financing loans for car purchases, taking a first mortgage without proof of income for customers who have initial capital of over 35% of the property value, etc.

Here are tips on how to build your credit history in Canada:

1. When opening a Canadian account, you will receive a debit card (used for cash withdrawals and equivalent to a bankomat card in Israel). The bank advisor will have to submit the request for Canadian credit cards, but you will receive them between a week and 10 days after your first meeting at the bank. It is recommended to minimize the use of the debit card and the Israeli credit card you have and wait for the Canadian credit card.

2. Using a Canadian credit card is a crucial step in building a credit score. Each month, on a specific and pre-known date, the credit card company creates a usage report for the customer. The report is called a Statement. It is very important that in the report you receive, your total utilization of the card’s overall limit does not exceed 30%.

3. If you came to Canada under the emergency visa for Israelis, you may encounter difficulties in issuing a bank credit card (through the 5 major banks, RBC, TD, CIBC, BMO, SCOTIABANK). The main difficulty of the banks in approving credit cards for immigrants is related to the lack of credit history, the lack of an SIN number, the fact that Israeli immigrants are currently coming here on a tourist visa, and only after a few months receive a work visa. However, there are a number of cases where it is possible to issue a non-bank credit card, which will later be linked to the SIN number and the credit history will be reported retroactively. Even if you received an answer that you cannot be approved for a credit card, do not give up because there are a number of non-bank credit cards such as PC Optimum, Fido, Rogers, Walmart, Capital One:

4. You can contact any of the banks, including the five major ones, and ask to issue a Secured Credit Card. In this type of card, you lock a sum of money for a year and it will essentially “insure” the limit that will be given to your credit card.

For example:

If upon arriving in Canada, the bank approved a new immigrant a credit card with a credit limit of $2000, and the statement publication date of this card is the 10th of each month, it is advisable to make sure two days before the report publication date that the credit utilization balance does not exceed $600, which is 30% of the total credit limit. It is important to emphasize that you can use the card freely and utilize 80 and 90 percent of the limit, but two days before the report publication date, always make sure to transfer money from your checking account to the credit card, and thus on the report publication date sent to you, the bank will report that your total utilization is low relative to the overall limit. This “trick” indicates that you know how to use a credit card. That is, you have a limit, but you do not use it all, and thus in the eyes of the credit rating companies, you are considered “safer” customers. As mentioned, the bank credit card is managed a bit like a separate bank account from your account and you can transfer funds to it at any time.

5. Frequent transfers of funds to the credit account will allow you to use it more frequently, but keep in mind that there may be a 48-hour gap between the transfer and the actual deposit into the credit account (even if it is a bank card).

6. The monthly payment of the credit card is possible in several ways: automatic payment (like in Israel), automatic minimum payment, manual payment of the balance, and so on. Whatever you choose, make sure to pay always and on time.

Important note: When you request credit from any entity, such as a new credit card, car leasing, mortgage, etc., or perform any financial transactions such as opening a bank account or even opening a phone account, the entity you contact will contact an external entity to check your credit status. Unfortunately, these checks (and especially if there are several of them) may harm your credit score. Funny, right? From the point of view of the checking entities, every request of yours for credit may indicate your dire situation… but don’t worry, start making repayments and your score will increase.

By the way, not all checks are the same in terms of their impact. There are “soft” checks and “hard” checks – Soft Hit Vs. Hard Hit. Opening a bank account, for example, is a soft credit check, applying for a car loan at a leasing agency is considered a hard check.

Remember: Multiple credit checks – Credit Check – may lower your credit score in the short term, but improve the score in the long term. The rule of thumb is to avoid unnecessary credit checks!

Some banks allow you to check your personal credit rating for free. Your credit score is updated by the credit rating companies on a monthly basis and it is advisable to stay updated and monitor it. There are also free credit checking apps such as Credit Karma, Borrowell:

Phone and Communication

Communication costs in Canada in general and in Nova Scotia in particular are a sore subject, although they have decreased significantly in the last three years. The main reason for the high prices, at least according to the companies operating in the field, is related to the huge investment in infrastructure in a country that is the second largest in the world but with a population that is about a tenth of the population of the friendly neighbor to the south. This may be a reasonable argument, but in practice it is not the only one. There is a somewhat monopolistic market here that resembles Israel before the communication revolution, and if you are used to a monthly cellular bill of 25 shekels at Rami Levy with an unlimited data package, you should get used to paying 4 times that in the local market for a cellular package with a reasonable amount of data.

There are several major players in the market such as Bell, Rogers, Eastlink, and others, which offer both cellular accounts and home internet/cable and landline packages. Prices are high and you can also find some cheaper alternatives. A cellular phone account, for example, can be a local account with limited minutes or an account that includes a free call package throughout Canada. You can also create a shared family account for several devices (both for calls and for Data). You can bring devices “from home” and or purchase devices in installments within the cellular account.

Cable packages are expensive, and that’s it, you mainly pay for endless commercials, so don’t be shy to consider the option of home internet without cables and subscribing to streaming sites like Netflix and others.

Health

The healthcare system in Nova Scotia seems to suffer from quite a few ailments, and some claim that hospitalization won’t help it anymore – but despite everything, and from personal experience, it also has quite a few bright spots. I’ll try to explain how things work and also point out where things don’t quite work.

The Canadian system is a social system that tries to ensure (almost) free healthcare for all its residents.

First, upon your arrival in the province, you will need to go to the MSI offices to obtain health cards. It is advisable to check before your arrival if an appointment is required or if any documents need to be printed. Contact details and address can be found on the following website: https://novascotia.ca/dhw/msi. With PR status or a work permit (students, see clarification below), you are theoretically entitled to coverage from the first day of your arrival, but usually, people arrive here with some short-term insurance from their home country until they finish regulating the process.

After receiving the health card, it is recommended that you try to find a family doctor. Ask friends on social networks to recommend a doctor, call the clinic, and check if he/she is accepting new patients. Even if not, ask to be put on the waiting list. Friends who are patients with a particular doctor can recommend you, and this can help. Note that some people found a family doctor immediately, and others took several months to find a family doctor who would accept them. Don’t despair.

In recent years, and due to the severe shortage of doctors, a new service has been added: virtual medicine. We highly recommend it. You sign up for a service called Maple, download the app, and if necessary, you can receive medical advice from a qualified nurse or a qualified doctor, usually via video call. If necessary, the doctor can prescribe medications, tests, etc., and give you referrals to specialists. We checked it out. It works quite well.

In any case, whether you have found a family doctor or are still waiting, you are covered by the healthcare system. The province is networked with a fairly dense network of walk-in clinics, somewhat similar to the Maram clinics in Israel, and in any health case, you can approach them and be seen by the on-call doctor and receive the necessary treatment. The disadvantage of these clinics (apart from the waiting time, which can be quite long) is that you are examined by a random doctor who will not know your specific history. In addition to these clinics, in emergencies, you can of course go to the emergency room at one of the city’s hospitals and be seen as needed.

Among family doctors, some clinics rely on telephone appointments and medical records on paper from the last century, while others are more advanced and connected to an appointment scheduling app. Since there is a shortage of doctors and they are overloaded, it is likely that scheduling an appointment with your family doctor will not happen overnight, as you might be used to with your doctor in Maccabi. Therefore, in semi-urgent cases, you will still prefer to go to a neighborhood clinic for treatment or a referral.

Referrals to specialists (orthopedists, urologists, surgeons, etc.) are made only by the family doctor. Unfortunately, this is the Achilles’ heel of the system. Your doctor will send the referral for you, and you will have to wait, sometimes for months, until you hear back. And even when you do hear back, you might think you misheard when they schedule a phone appointment for another six months or so. I don’t want to alarm you, but this is the situation here, and private medicine is almost non-existent. For simple outpatient surgeries (what is called “day hospitalization” in Israel), which can be done in Israel very quickly, you may have to wait several months or more.

Ladies… your family doctor is also your gynecologist, and in the field of pregnancy care, there is a gap between the amount of treatment and tests customary in Israel and what is customary here. Since I am no longer of childbearing age and not of the gender related to gynecology, I am sure you will find more relevant information from friends online in no time.

Referrals for X-rays, blood tests, lab tests, etc., are also made by the family doctor, and here too, you may have to wait longer than you are used to in Israel. On the other hand, if the case is urgent, you will likely receive an immediate referral, and the family doctor can push the issue. From personal experience, when necessary, we have received X-rays, lab tests, CT scans, and even MRIs within hours or a few days, depending on the case.

Once an appointment is scheduled, you will find that the system runs very smoothly. You will arrive on time, be seen on time, encounter no queues or pressure, and receive treatment according to protocol. So, as I mentioned, the administration and less urgent medicine are not at their best, but the medicine itself is considered excellent, and it is no coincidence that specialists from all over the world, including Israel, come here.

In addition to general health insurance, most workplaces will provide supplementary health insurance (mostly at the employer’s expense, and partly at your expense). Before you jump for joy, calm down. This insurance mainly covers massages and some participation in medications, glasses, and basic dental care. Supplementary insurance will cover a significant portion of the cost of medications that are not provided for free here, as in Israel, but even if you don’t have supplementary insurance, you can get similar coverage for medications from government insurance.

In principle, if you arrived here as a student without a spouse, you are likely paying for private health insurance through your studies (and it is mandatory unless you can prove that you already have insurance from another company). This insurance includes both health insurance and basic dental and vision care. A student arriving on a student visa with a spouse, since the spouse will usually receive a work visa, the work visa automatically grants eligibility for MSI, which also covers the spouse (the student), and then you can opt-out of the university’s insurance.

As a side note, for five years from the date of your departure from Israel, you are considered an Israeli resident. If you continue to pay the minimum National Insurance payment (about 200 shekels per month for a family – payable by credit card), you will retain your health fund coverage for any eventuality. For example, we canceled all supplementary insurance in Israel (Maccabi Magen and Magen Zahav) and also private insurance we had, and we kept only the basic coverage in Maccabi through the National Insurance payment. During visits to Israel, you will enjoy full medical coverage and can schedule various treatments if you don’t want to wait too long for treatments in Canada.

As a side note, when you go out into nature… (because it’s amazing here), make sure to protect yourself with tick repellent. This is another problem that is less familiar to us from Israel and very familiar to Canadians. Most ticks here emerge in the spring and carry Lyme disease, which is incurable. Read a little about it online.

And since I mentioned nature… even if it’s not related to health, it’s not allowed to light a fire outside every day or in every place or at any time. Check online before you light one. Canadians are very cautious about fires, and there are quite a few restrictions on lighting fires. You don’t want to find a fire truck chasing you unnecessarily.

Shopping

Well, I won’t bore you with too many details about the city’s food chains (Sobies, Atlantic Superstore, Walmart, Tiger, and others) and the surrounding malls and shopping centers (for some reason, I’m sure you’ll manage :)). I’ll just mention that during the holidays, you can find kosher and Israeli products in a few places, such as at Sobies on Quien St. and Atlantic and at https://yummyhalifax.ca/ on Dutch Village Rd. Supper Store on Joseph How St.

In any case, if there is one chain worth mentioning, it is Costco with its two well-known branches in the city.

Costco

Note that this is the only shopping chain mentioned here, and for good reason. Costco is considered an icon in North America, and you will likely visit its doors at least once a month. The quality is good, the prices are reasonable, and the deals (when available) can be excellent. The chain’s stores carry a wide range of products from a variety of categories, from food and groceries to electrical appliances and furniture. (Spoiler – some people hate Costco no matter what.)

To enter one of the chain’s stores and certainly to shop there, you will need to purchase a membership. Basic membership costs around $75 per year, and gold membership costs about $150. With basic membership, you will receive an annual refund of 1% of your purchases, and with gold membership, you will receive 2% back. Since you are likely to make many purchases in the first year, a significant portion of which can be done at Costco, gold membership is not such a bad idea, but the differences are not significant, and the main thing is to get a membership. By the way, the meat in Canada is excellent, and Costco’s meat department is frequently visited by our family.

By the way, Costco (but not only them) offers a kind of “price insurance” that guarantees you a refund if the price of a product drops within a month of purchase. This is relevant and significant if you have purchased electrical appliances or other expensive products. Don’t hesitate to check, especially if you bought electrical appliances or furniture a month before a sale period; prices can drop significantly after you purchase, and you can get a refund of hundreds of dollars! This is common practice and applies to other large chains as well.

At Costco, you can also get prescription and OTC medications and purchase vacations, insurance, and even tires and basic car services (appointments must be scheduled online). Oh, and one last note…. at the food stand inside the branch, you will find the most delicious fries in town. Be warned (or in other words – stay away.)

In your first months here, you might think that the issue of waste separation requires an academic degree. Well, you’re not entirely wrong; even with two degrees, you might have trouble finding your way around. You will need to divide your waste into three main groups (and also several subgroups): (1) household waste, (2) organic waste, and (3) recycling.

Waste and Recycling

In apartment buildings and condos, the task of separating waste into groups is expected to be simpler. There are usually large bins near the parking lot: brown – for household waste, green – for organic waste, blue – for recycling containers, bottles, and cans. There will usually also be a separate blue bin for recycling cardboard. In a private home, household waste must be collected in transparent bags (up to 5 transparent bags per bi-weekly collection plus one black bag for privacy), recycling will be collected in transparent blue bags (one bag every two weeks), and organic waste in special paper bags or biodegradable plastic in a green bin. (And there are also paper and plastics that are left next to the recycling bag – preferably in paper bags left over from your last visit to the liquor store.)

If you accidentally throw something into the wrong bin in an apartment building, it might slip under the radar, but if you live in a private home, you will probably have to be a little more careful; otherwise, you will find to your surprise that the waste you put out in a non-transparent bag on the appropriate day for the street remained respectfully in its place.

So where do you start… first, download the app from the NS website: https://www.halifax.ca/home-property/garbage-recycling-green-cart/collection-schedules-waste-app and now take some time to read the rules and understand the subject. In your first months in the city, when you are busy buying furniture and appliances, you will suddenly discover how much hard work is involved in cutting and folding cardboard boxes and tying them into bundles with biodegradable rope, where each bundle must not exceed a certain size or weight (yes, I’m serious).

Organic waste is collected every two weeks (and weekly in the summer). Recycling is collected every two weeks with the organic waste (but not every week in the summer). Household waste is collected every two weeks, but not in the same week as recycling. There are special days for putting out large items, and there are items that you will have to take yourself to authorized waste sites. Come on… I just scared you too much… but yes, that’s part of living in Canada… there are rules here… most people obey the rules, and therefore life is clearer and more organized… and as the one whose name is not mentioned said? No tricks and no gimmicks.

Vehicle and Transportation

Driver’s License

Your Israeli driver’s license allows you to drive here for a period of three months, during which you will need to obtain a local license. The address for this matter is the Scotia Nova Access offices.

Assuming you are already experienced drivers (from Israel), you will be required to take two tests here: a written test (Knowledge test) and immediately after, without a waiting period, a practical test (Road test). Before the practical test, you will also need to undergo an eye exam.

The written test can be taken physically at one of the Access branches or online, which requires a computer with a good internet connection and a camera (you are photographed through the camera to ensure you are not cheating). This test is made up of two parts: a traffic sign test and a traffic law test. Each part consists of 20 multiple-choice questions, and you have 30 minutes to answer each part. To pass, you must answer at least 16 questions correctly in each part.

To prepare for the practical test, it is recommended to purchase the study booklet at ANS offices or download a free file at: (https://novascotia.ca/sns/rmv/licence/handbook.asp)

If you fail the written test taken online, you can pay for another test and take it again immediately. If you fail the practical test taken physically at a branch, you must wait one day before you can schedule a new appointment for a retake.

After you pass the written test, you can pay and schedule an appointment for the practical test. On the day of payment for the practical test, you will be required to undergo an eye exam at the licensing office, so you will need to do these things at one of the local branches. If you have a prescription for glasses, it is important to take the eye exam with glasses… (and then drive with them too…). After the eye exam, you can pay for the practical test. Important: At the time of payment, you will be asked to present your Israeli driver’s license. As long as the license is valid (the three months of tourist driving have not yet passed), you must ask the clerk to return your Israeli license to you instead of taking it. Otherwise, you will not be able to continue driving until you pass the practical driving test, which would be a shame. At this point, you will receive a letter confirming the payment (receipt) and the details of what to bring to the practical test. Keep this document, as you will use it to call the number listed at the top of the document, provide your unique file number and receipt number, and then your test date will be scheduled. You can schedule a practical test at any location you choose, not necessarily where you live (some claim that there are places with easier test routes than others. This is of course at your discretion). Keep in mind that appointment availability varies from time to time and from place to place. Even if you are told one day that there are no appointments for the next month, try calling the next day and asking again. They have many cancellations, so you might get lucky and be able to schedule an earlier appointment.

The practical test will take place at the branch you scheduled when you booked the test, and you will take it in your own car. If you do not own a car, you can pay a driving instructor to provide you with their car for the practical test or borrow one from a friend (in this case, the friend must accompany you to the registration before the test as the car’s owner, but they do not need to and cannot be in the car during the test itself). In any case, you need to bring the following documents: your Israeli driver’s license (which is international), car insurance, and proof of a vehicle safety inspection (VMI). The test will begin with a thorough inspection by the examiner of the car’s systems (headlights, taillights, turn signals, and horn), the licenses, and the insurance.

I will not go into the details of driving lessons and the various laws except for a few key points to remember… A left turn at a green light without an arrow requires yielding the right of way to oncoming traffic. A right turn on a red light is permitted after a complete stop and provided it is not otherwise indicated. Driving on the highway must be in accordance with the speed limit (even 10 km/h below the limit will result in points deducted by the examiner). During the test, conspicuously turn your head right and left (until you can see through the rear seat window) before every turn, lane change, merge, or reverse. The examiner will deduct 10 points for each time you fail to turn your head, and the passing score is 60.

In general, it will take you a few months to get used to it, but the driving culture here is a “give way” culture, unlike the driving culture in Israel, which sometimes seems closer to “who do you think you are that I should let you in?”. The truth is that you don’t get used to it in a day, but it’s part of the fun here.

And another important note…. “Pedestrian right of way” is so deeply ingrained here that pedestrians sometimes simply dart into the crosswalk almost without looking to the sides, with the clear assumption that drivers saw them (or the flashing orange light above the crosswalk) and will stop immediately. And that’s what drivers actually do. Over time, you will understand the difference in this regard compared to the culture in Israel. If you go for a walk in the neighborhood and approach a crosswalk, you will find that drivers slow down well in advance, understanding that you are going to cross. Exactly the opposite of Israel, where it is quite clear that a pedestrian should wait if they don’t want to get mixed up between the car wheels and the crosswalk stripes.

There is an option to take a driving lesson or two before the practical test date to fine-tune all the small nuances with a professional instructor. It’s not mandatory, but it can help in some cases.

Insurance

After you obtain your license, you will discover that another challenging area for immigrants here is insurance, especially car insurance. In general, Canadians (and especially insurance companies) are not really impressed with the driving experience you have accumulated in Israeli traffic jams and do not even understand your added value as drivers who survived the tough maneuvering battles on the angry lanes of Tel Aviv. Some insurance companies will refuse to insure you at all, and others will attach such a high price to the policy that purchasing a horse-drawn carriage will not seem like a crazy idea at all.

I’m talking about insurance costs of thousands of dollars a year! By the way, insurance here, unlike in Israel, is personal insurance that covers your vehicles and not the other way around. If you rent a car in another province (and often in the USA as well – but it’s best to confirm), you can waive the insurance offered by the rental company. Check this with your agent.

So what do you do? First of all, take a breath. Great… not that it will help with the price, but it certainly won’t hurt… ˙- Like with credit history, in the insurance field you will also need to build seniority here, which will gradually lead to a decrease in the price you pay. Just accept the fact that the first year or two will bring you a number of challenges and costs that will later align to a more reasonable level. Despite the above, with a little effort, you can find surprises in this area as well.

Search in every possible way. Try online insurance and look for recommendations on agents in various forums. From time to time, the name of a company or agent comes up who does value a letter from an Israeli insurance company (such as no claims) or driving seniority, etc. Do not despair. If you have driving history from other countries (i.e., you held an American or European driver’s license and had insurance in that country), it can definitely help. You may also be eligible for a discount for taking out an insurance package with the same company, and so on.

Recently, there are companies offering the use of an app that tracks your driving habits. Agreeing to use the app and installing it can offer savings on insurance costs. Try Intact, for example, although I admit I haven’t tried it myself. In any case, it is recommended that you obtain letters in English from Israeli insurance companies stating your lack of claims. It won’t hurt.

Buying a Car

Many of the newer cars around you were purchased from car dealerships through some kind of leasing arrangement. As new immigrants, you are unlikely to get a normal lease deal, if at all, so your alternative is to purchase a car or two in cash.

Fortunately for you, car prices here are indeed cheap compared to Israel. For the most part, even the purchase of used cars is done through various agencies and less from private individuals on various classified sites (like Marketplace and Kijiji—but this is also an option that might suit those who understand cars). In any case, keep in mind that you will need to add VAT to the advertised car price, whether you bought the car from an agency (in which case you will have to pay VAT at the time of the transaction) or if you bought it from a private individual (in which case you will have to pay VAT when you obtain the license plate).

License Plates

License plates are personal and do not transfer with the vehicle as is customary in Israel. Your address for ownership transfer… well, you already know… ANS. Also in the area of car purchase, if you happened to leave your suitcases full of dollars in Israel, you will probably choose to purchase a used car initially, and later, as you establish a credit score, you will be able to purchase a newer car through leasing.

My recommendation: go for a 4X4 or AWD vehicle… when the roads are frozen and slippery, it definitely adds a dimension of safety.

Car Maintenance

The weather conditions here definitely wreak havoc on both the roads and the vehicles, so consider a few points:

(1) It is highly recommended to get an undercoating treatment for the underside of the vehicle. This is a treatment that can be done every year in the fall for about $100. You can also do a more extensive treatment, once every five years, at a cost of a few hundred dollars, but since the extensive treatment also requires annual “reinforcement” treatments at a cost of about $40-50, I preferred to go for the annual treatment.

(2) Regarding tires, most car owners keep two sets of tires: winter and summer. Do not be tempted to think that all-season tires will suffice. This may be enough for all types of seasons in Israel, but not here. In the summer and the seasons…

You can keep all-season tires, but for winter, it is recommended to drive on winter tires. Some go for regular winter tires, and some go for tires with studs… (you can easily identify them by the noise if you dare to stick your nose out of the car window in winter. If you have AWD, regular winter tires will probably suffice. By the way, some keep only an extra set of tires in the warehouse, and some simply keep an extra set of wheels (i.e., with the rims). Since you have to switch between winter and summer tires twice a year, it is cheaper to change wheels (and enthusiasts can more or less do it themselves – but you will miss out on wheel balancing) than to change tires.

(3) Tire and wheel changes can be done (after scheduling an appointment online) at Costco, Canadian Tire, and many garages in the city, including at the car dealership if you purchased a new car.

(4) If you purchased a used car in cash, get roadside assistance insurance with CAA. If the car is new, you are likely fully covered through the dealership.

Military Status Arrangement

For those of you arriving here with young hooligans in their teens (congratulations), I recommend reading the following lines very carefully. Arrange your precious one’s status with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) authorities in time. A short and simple procedure at the right time will save you a lot of hassle and heartache later on.

The status with the army must be arranged at the age of 16 and four months with the Israeli Consulate in Montreal. In the past, the consul would come to Halifax every so often to deal with consular matters. However, recently he has not been seen in our parts. You will usually hear about this in the various Israeli groups in Halifax. If there is no expected visit and your son/daughter has passed the age of 16, you should call the consulate in Montreal and ask for updated instructions. In general, they will instruct you to download the appropriate form from their website and instruct you to fill it out (both parents and the young person together) in the presence of a notary, and send it (the signed form, of course, not the notary, God forbid) to the consulate. It is advisable to call from time to time to make sure the form has arrived.

The consulate will process the request with the military authorities, and within a fairly short time, you will receive a letter from the army stating that the young person’s service has been postponed indefinitely. Well, “indefinitely” is a bit much, so it is more accurate to say that the postponement of service is valid as long as neither of the parents nor the young person has returned to live in Israel. If one of you returns to live in Israel before the aforementioned reaches the age of 21, the postponement of service is canceled. After the aforementioned reaches the age of 21, even if one or both of you return to Israel, the postponement of service is still valid as long as the child lives abroad. Please note that if you submit a request to extend a passport when your young person is 14, for example, the passport will be valid for a limited time to ensure that you take care of arranging the status with the army later on. Extending the passport or issuing a new passport after arranging the military status will be for the regular period. Other notes to remember… After arranging the status with the army, the young person who is officially on postponed service is allowed to visit Israel for limited periods. It is of course advisable to bring the postponement letter for the visit, although the data should appear in the border control computers.

If you do not arrange the status with the army, your young person’s passport will not be renewed, and he will unfortunately become a “deserter” in the army’s records over time. Even then, you can arrange the status with the army, but you will need the intervention of a lawyer, time, and money – which is a shame. As long as you have not received Canadian citizenship, the aforementioned young person will not be able to leave Canada’s borders without a valid Israeli passport. After receiving a Canadian passport, the aforementioned can leave Canada but not visit Israel until the status is arranged because there is a high probability that he/she will simply be arrested upon entering the country.

By the way, as I mentioned, before you start the process, call the consulate to get instructions. Recently, a certain requirement has been added regarding the notary’s approval for issuing passports, and this may also apply to arranging military status.

Education and Children

Early Childhood Education

In Canada, you can take parental leave for up to a year and a half (the length of the period changes the monthly amount you can receive). This is said to emphasize the point that some parents choose to stay home with their child for this period, others also stay home until entering the public education system that begins at age 4 with entry into pre-kindergarten.

In light of the above data, it is difficult to find an educational framework for infants up to 18 months of age, and it is advisable to try to start looking well in advance. There are kindergartens that are organized in a network such as kids company and other networks, there are kindergartens that are not a network but are located in a non-private home complex such as Little Picasso, and there are those that are run from a private home (the examples given are known from personal experience (Maya) or from friends from the community). Even kindergartens located in homes are subject to strict kindergarten management regulations of the public system and are expected to present a quality standard that they hold.

Kindergartens cost money, but you can receive subsidies according to income level. Many kindergartens have different age groups: under 18 months, up to age three, and a senior class. Some even have a pre-kindergarten year for parents who want to stay in a private setting (private settings have almost no vacations except for national and religious holidays such as Canada Day or Christmas Eve), while the public system has vacations, teacher days, report cards, and of course – summer vacation (part of the reason parents stay another year in a private system despite the cost – because when you offset the day camps and babysitters, there is little difference left).

Elementary School

Elementary schools start at age 4, which is considered “younger division” in Israel. There are elementary schools that go up to grade 4 and others up to grade 6, depending on the school. Unlike Israel, classes change every year, as does the teacher. In most classes, there is no contact list, so after-school meetings are usually done by exchanging notes between the children (exchanging parents’ phone numbers) or through the teacher connecting the parents. Some teachers offer to create a contact list at the beginning of the year for any parents who want to add their details (email or phone), but this is definitely not something that happens naturally. There is no WhatsApp group or daily reminders to wear a shirt of a certain color (so when the teacher sends a message a month in advance, it’s best to write it in your diary). Some schools have a Facebook group for parents. School placement is done according to the residential area, and you can find the schools you are assigned to on this site: https://www.hrce.ca/about-our-schools/school-finder. Some schools have a French immersion program, which is a class in a grade that learns in French (the second official language of Canada, spoken mainly in the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick). If you want to join this program and your local school does not offer it, you will be given the option to register for another school that does.

Relatively, classes are smaller than in Israel (18-24 students per class), but this changes due to the positive immigration to Halifax. Although new schools are being built (not at the required pace, but it is happening), this will change the division of school districts (so it is possible that if a new school is built in your area, you will be assigned to a different school for the next school year, but this does not happen overnight). Many schools offer support for English as a second language, and you can request assistance. There is a support system for learning disabilities. It is not as extensive as in Israel, but here too, you can ask the school counselor for the necessary referrals (and it is advisable to bring existing translated diagnoses if you have any).

Middle School and High School

Those who come here with children of middle school age may find that the level is slightly lower compared to the range of levels that exist in Israel. In grades 8 or 9, mathematics content is taught that is taught in Israel a year or two earlier. In addition, and perhaps no less surprising, is the scarcity or even absence of programming or computer courses (something that is perceived by us, coming from the Startup Nation, as almost sacrilegious). If you came on high gears like most of those coming from Israel, it will take you some time to understand that life here is calmer, and not every Canadian mother is worried all day about the issue of her family’s prodigy reaching an advanced degree in quantum space medicine. Canada also accepts and embraces professions that may be perceived as less “prestigious” in Israel, and there is much more emphasis on developing a balanced family life over focusing on a demanding career from sunrise to sunset. In my feeling, and no, it is not backed by official research, immigrants come here with much more ambition and “hunger” for success, and if your younger generation also wants and can invest, they can progress and go far. So, regarding studies as mentioned, and from personal experience, the gap closes by the end of high school. In several high schools in the city, you can choose the international IB program, which provides a higher level than average, but in the bottom line, even in the regular tracks, you can achieve and register after high school to Canadian universities that are quite high in the world rankings.

Since we live in Bedford as mentioned, our children went to Rocky Lake Middle School and from there to CP Allen High School. We were satisfied with both. And although there is no precise system for ranking high schools here as we knew from a previous mission in the United States, or as there may be in more glamorous districts, CP Allen has a good name as one of the leading high schools in the city.

Legal and Tax Matters

Will

Yes, yes, calm down, I wish us all long, healthy, and happy lives. And yet… it is important that you know that you have come to a new country, with slightly different laws than you are familiar with (or that you probably did not need to know in Israel at all). In most cases, your family is far overseas, and if you have young children here, it might not be such a bad idea to spend a few hundred dollars with a lawyer and leave a precise will that will define who will be responsible for your property or your person and/or, most importantly of course, for your children, in case something happens to you. In terms of property (especially when it comes to a lot – congratulations), there can be a tax problem (in terms of income tax) in defining a foreign guardian. Consulting with a lawyer specializing in the field can give you peace of mind for any trouble that may arise.

Pension and National Insurance

Well, then, keep in mind that a bit like in Israel, without a degree in accounting, the average person (and even the one suffering from mild improbability) will not necessarily fully understand all the tax and pension matters here. First of all, upon your arrival in the district with the status of a permanent resident or temporary residence, be sure to go to the National Insurance offices and get a SIN number. This is the equivalent of the Israeli ID number and you will need this number mainly for receiving a salary and for any dealings with the tax authorities in general. This is also the number used to check your credit score.

Beyond that, in matters of pension and savings, there are a few expressions to remember:

• TFSA – Tax-Free Savings Account: This is a savings account that anyone over the age of 18 can open, at a bank or with an investment company, and deposit into it a total of $6,000 each year. Profits from investments you make through this account will be tax-free. Please note that you do not have to deposit every year and you can also accumulate the right for a period of several years if you are a little short on cash at the beginning. But the bottom line is simple: if you have money to put into savings, it is worth depositing first of all into this account (up to the permitted ceiling) because what you earn here will be tax-free. Consult with your banker.
• RRSP – Registered Retirement Savings Plan: This is a pension account that you can deposit money into each year. Please note that the tax-free deposit amount is determined based on your income in the previous year. As with any pension, withdrawals from your pension fund in the future will be taxable, but the idea is that today, when you are young and earning a lot (•^-^●), you can contribute money to a pension that will be tax-free and save you tax payments in a high tax bracket, and in the future when you retire and your income dwindles, the pension you receive will be taxed at a much lower rate. Again – it is recommended to consult with a tax advisor or your banker.
• RESP – Registered Education Savings Plan: This is essentially a tax-free education fund for your children’s studies (but not only). The deposit ceiling up to a maximum of 31 years is $50,000 (in total). The state, in its great generosity, will deposit a grant for you in the amount of 20% of your annual deposits, up to an annual grant ceiling of $500 per child (i.e. if you deposited $2,500), until the aforementioned reaches the age of 16. More details can be found at the following link: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/student-financial-aid/education-savings/resp/info.html
• CPP – Canada Pension Plan: This is the government pension plan and the deposit to it is mandatory and is done through tax payments. That is, if you are an employee, the tax payments that the employer deducts from you already include this component, and if you are self-employed, then after preparing the annual tax reports, here too, the tax payment will already include the CPP portion. In any case, these are small amounts and do not build on them to maintain a reasonable standard of living at retirement age.
• CCB – Canada Child Benefit: This is a monthly child allowance paid to you for each child under the age of 18. Forms can be downloaded from the tax office website.
  

  Income Tax

  Every Canadian resident over the age of 18 files an annual income tax return. The tax year for individuals ends on December 31st, and the annual return must be filed by the end of April. In principle, you can prepare and file the annual return yourself by filling out forms on the income tax website, but it is easier to use TurboTax software. If your return is simple, the free version of the software will suffice. If your return is more complex, consider preparing the return with the help of a tax advisor. You can find tax consulting offices for this purpose (i.e., preparing the annual return) even in large food chains or shopping centers and among community members. The price is not exorbitant, and it can save unnecessary headaches.

  At the beginning of each year, you should receive annual summary reports from various bodies that relate to you and that will be used in preparing the annual return. For example, a T4 form from the employer (similar to the 106 form in Israel), interest profit reports from banks, and investment, withdrawal, and profit reports from your pension plans and/or the capital market, and so on.

  Only after receiving all the above reports can you prepare the annual return. There are quite a few social benefits in Canada, so after filing the annual return, you may be surprised by a tax refund of some kind. Some time after filing the return, you will receive the income tax response to the filed return, in a letter called “Notice of assessment”. The letter will state whether you owe more tax or are entitled to a refund, as well as the amounts you are allowed to deposit in the coming year into the pension plan I mentioned above.

  That’s it! I’m sure there’s a lot more, but I’ll leave you some things to learn on your own

  You are in Canada!! Welcome and good luck!
  

  Appendix – To Immigrate Through the New War Law

  By: Inbal Markovich

  Encouraging Introduction

  Thanks to the wonderful people who conceived and worked on compiling this wonderful guide, it contains a wealth of useful and supportive information for any family or individuals who choose to immigrate to Canada. Information that can often make the difference between a smooth, pleasant, and less problematic integration, and one that is not.

  To all this good, I want to add and give you unique information for those of you who came here under the new war law that was approved following the outbreak of the war in Israel on October 7th, and allows Israelis (and Palestinians alike) to immigrate to Canada on the basis of receiving a three-year open work visa. This process is unique in its conditions, and these conditions necessitate a different reality from that which exists for those who come through other immigration programs. For example, anyone who submits an application for the aforementioned work permit must do so only when they are already physically in Canada. In addition, they are expected to wait for their application to be reviewed and approved for three months or more, which creates a situation where they must on the one hand live and exist in Canada, and on the other hand, they have no option to work in Canada officially. It’s basically living like a tourist, but not really. Because you came to build a life here and not to travel. So how can you “be without and feel with?”

  What helped me was making a decision. Immigration has enough dilemmas to grapple with even without all the uncertainty of getting a work permit. Based on the experience of my predecessors, most of whom received the coveted visa approval, I decided to neutralize this initial uncertainty and allow myself to see myself and my family living in Greater Halifax to prepare as much as possible for receiving the open work permit. This way I could start finding solutions to any challenge that arose. Along the way, many good people advised me, from a warm and caring place, to prepare for the fact that the rental market is very difficult and it would not be easy for me to find an apartment under the conditions I needed, especially since I did not have a visa or work permit at all. And yet, I took steps to move forward, learned from everything that advanced and also hindered, and thus reached a situation where in the end I had to choose from a wealth of options, as no less than four landlords wanted to sign a lease with me (two private individuals, one from a property management company, and one representative of a development company that also rents).

  But how do you actually do this?

  It is important to understand that when the Canadian government passed the law to allow people like us to get a rare opportunity to immigrate here (because there is no commitment to a specific employer), it does not necessarily mean that the field is ready and coordinated with this move. This led to a lot of passing of responsibility between official bodies such as banks and insurance agents and less official ones such as landlords. That is, one will demand proof from the other, and as long as no one agrees to issue a preliminary approval that you are legitimate, you can find yourself in a situation of “what came first, the chicken or the egg.”

  For example, to sign a lease, you need to provide an active Canadian bank account number to make the rent payments. But, to open a bank account, you need to bring a lease to prove that you live in Canada. There are exceptions, which took me time to find, and this is part of the information I will make available to you here. In general, every time you encounter a situation that seems like a closed loop, you simply need Israeli creativity and audacity to find a way to open it (lucky we haven’t fully become Canadians yet).

  For those who don’t want to make an effort, there is also an option to make a decision to stay as a real tourist until the open work visa is approved. In this case, you just need to take into account that those staying in Greater Halifax will find it very difficult to rely only on public transportation (which is not in great shape at the moment), renting a car and Uber rides cost quite a bit here, and staying in B&B Air apartments for three months can take out of your pocket amounts that are almost the same as a year’s rent (of course, depending on the size of the apartment and the number of tenants, but still…it almost triples the price). You can always rent in a discounted area and walk a lot (from my experience, it lasts for no more than a week). But if this is not something you want to do, there are creative solutions to this, and I want to elaborate on that here.

  So how do you rent in this unique situation:

  To succeed in finding the rental property that best suits you, along with the limitations of your situation, it is important to understand how the rental process works here (there is a bit of a difference from how it happens in Israel). The process consists of five main steps:

  1. Searching and making initial contact with the landlord.
  2. Visiting the property (Viewing).
  3. Submitting a rental application on a formal form with the applicant’s details (Application form).
  4. Negotiating the terms of the lease.
  5. Signing the Contract and Transferring the Deposit

  Step One – Search and Initial Contact:

  Before you start searching, stop and think about what suits the unique situation you are in now:

  1. Find a short-term lease agreement so that you only commit for three to six months, and then after receiving the temporary work visa approval, see if it suits you to extend.
  2. Find a lease agreement for a year, and only if, God forbid, the coveted work visa approval is not received, look for tenants to replace you under the same contract.

  In the first option, it will be more difficult for you to find such an apartment, although it is certainly possible, after negotiating with an offer that will be worthwhile for the landlord (I will elaborate on this later). This option may work more with private landlords and not with property management companies and developers (but as with everything, there are exceptions). In the second option, it will be easier for you to find such an apartment, but it may be more challenging to find replacement tenants later (this mainly depends on the season and exactly when you need to leave, if at all).

  You can also keep an open mind and examine the suitability of both options according to what comes up in your search. I, for example, decided to go for a combination of the two options above – find a relatively small house for the initial period (short-term), and then move to a larger house with a longer-term commitment.

Searching through Real Estate Agency or Property Management Websites: Go with those whose inventory is updated every few days (this indicates an active and well-functioning company).

Regardless of the method you choose, beware of scammers who post photos and ask for an advance payment to take down their ad, claiming it will “reserve” the property for you. Until you have personally viewed the property, met with the owners or their representatives, and finalized a contract with them, do not transfer a single cent (deposit fees, which are part of every contract, are also transferred upon signing the contract, not beforehand).

Initial Contact:

Through Websites (Agents and Property Managers): Simply call and inquire about a specific ad you saw on the website. They will guide you on the next steps to proceed.

Through Apps (Private Individuals): Here are some tips that can increase your chances of advancing the process of renting the property you want:

• Initial contact is usually made by sending a message to the advertiser. It is not recommended to send an automated question that is already built into the app, such as “Is this still relevant?”. This annoys advertisers, and they usually do not respond to those who send this message. Therefore, it is important to read the ad in detail and send back a message tailored to the inquiry. If they have written in the ad that they want to receive initial details such as how many people will be living in the house and even what you do for work, make sure you include this information in the first message you send. On the other hand, it is advisable not to provide details that were not requested at this stage.
• The landlord may continue to ask a few more questions, but the best thing for you is to schedule a property viewing (“Viewing”) with them as soon as possible, so that you have an opportunity to impress them more personally. I always ended my first message with the question: “When will be a good time to schedule a viewing?”. This always helped to move things along faster.
• If the landlord does not respond to you, it is probably because they have a high volume of messages from interested parties. Do not hesitate to send them another message to remind them that you are waiting for a response.

Step Two and Three – Property Viewing and Application Submission (Not Necessarily in this Order):

Steps 2 and 3 can be interchanged, depending on the landlord’s preference. In both cases, it is important to arrive at the property viewing prepared and to convey seriousness.

The landlord will only contact those interested parties who have found favor in his eyes, in order to continue the process with them until the contract is closed. If the landlord is more flexible in his inquiries or is in a hurry to rent, he will agree to show the property to anyone who asks and only then receive the application form. If the landlord receives many inquiries, to help him filter, he can ask each interested party to first fill out the application form with all the details, and only if the details satisfy him, he will contact the interested party and schedule a meeting to show him the property. This is also what property management companies usually do.

If this is the case, it is unpleasant to admit, but you are starting at a disadvantage, due to the special situation you are in. In order to prove to the landlord what wonderful people you are and how trustworthy you really are, it is important to meet them face to face. In this case, they are not interested in meeting you face to face before they have actually received all your details, and then it reduces the chance. You can send the form and hope for the best (it never hurts), but don’t stop there and continue looking for other options.

Let’s say you found a suitable apartment and the landlord is willing to show you the property before he requires you to fill out the application form. You scheduled, arrived, were impressed, registered, and started talking to the landlord about your conditions. It is important to explain in the face-to-face meeting immediately after you ask him to send you the application form, that you are here because of the war and are waiting for work visa approval and therefore you are still without a social security number or credit history. But (and this is a big “but”), as far as you are concerned, you have prepared the money in advance for the coming months and if it will reassure him, you are willing to transfer the rent for the first two to three months in advance (upon closing the contract and not a minute before). Keep in mind that it is illegal for the landlord to demand payments for several months in advance, but many of them have not refused this offer, as it instilled in them a certain confidence that you can meet the rental payments.

Nationality Note: There are several Israelis who rent apartments here and also advertise in local Israeli groups (WhatsApp and Facebook). We experienced a much more understanding and open connection with them. Suitable apartments weren’t always available, but the desire to help and prioritize Israelis in our situation as tenants was very noticeable (though, of course, under standard landlord-tenant conditions). On the other hand, we also encountered landlords of Muslim origin who, on the surface, seemed reluctant to proceed with us, but we can’t definitively say it was because of our country of origin. In any case, we didn’t feel the need to hide it, and “whoever doesn’t like it, too bad”!

In any case, each case is unique, each property and each landlord stands on their own, and you must examine your connection to the property, the landlord, and the conditions the landlord sets for that property, regardless of the landlord’s country of origin.

Details in the Application Form:

Each application form varies from landlord to landlord, but contains the same essentials (name, social security number, income range, references’ phone numbers, etc.). Some will give you the form on paper.

Some will give it to you as a link. Every page I received, I scanned and filled out as a PDF – to make life easier and simply copy and paste the text into the required places (saving me a lot of time).

Since you cannot yet provide proof of income from a Canadian workplace (with pay slips) and you may not have formal references that will be welcomed, it will be easier for you to convince a private individual with the techniques I will detail, than to approach a property management company where things are much more “by the book.” Full disclosure: I approached all types of landlords and even managed to secure a few contracts with these techniques, but in cases where the landlords were not private individuals, it was more challenging and also required a bit more luck.

Let’s go over the techniques that can help you fill out the application form in the main sections found in every average application form:

• Social Insurance Number (SIN) – In a situation where you are still waiting for approval of the open work visa, you do not actually have a Canadian Social Insurance Number. Therefore, this field can be left blank. Canadians are also in no hurry to give this number in similar documents.
• Current address – You can give the address where you live, even if it is an Air B&B apartment, as long as it is a valid address.
• Current employer – You can give the details of your current job in Israel and clarify that you are in the process of approving the open work visa that will allow you to work in the same profession in Canada as well (if this is true, of course).
• Income range – The idea behind this requirement is to provide proof of your ability to meet future rental payments. Because you do not yet have the ability to provide pay slips from a Canadian employer, you can instead detail the sources of funding you are going to rely on in the first months of your move. If it is savings you have, an apartment or cars you have put up for sale in Israel or work through the online that still brings you livelihood. At this stage it is enough to just detail things in writing, but make sure that everything you write has backup in formal documents, in case the landlord requires evidence of things later. I only showed those who demanded the amount of liquid savings we had in our bank account in Israel and ownership documents of three cars we put up for sale in Israel (all translated into English, of course).

References’ contact information – The goal is to get character references, so it can be friends, family, or a previous landlord. You can give phone numbers of references from Israel who know how to speak English, but to make the landlord feel comfortable calling, it is advisable to have one or two who live in Canada or the USA as well (even if it is from people you have met here). I also added (literally) a short explanation of the special situation we are in, to show that we come with a strong desire to succeed and settle here for a long time and we have the necessary support.

Fourth and fifth steps – Negotiation and signing the lease agreement

Congratulations! You have managed to convince the property owner to proceed with you to sign the agreement. As you probably understand, you do not come with great bargaining power, but you still have the right to set the minimum conditions you need and they should be written in the agreement. Act as written in the extension in the chapter on housing in this guide.

Tenants’ insurance

As written in the full document, when you come to rent an apartment, you need to take care of tenants’ insurance (costing a few tens of dollars a month). For this, it is important to first open a bank account here (as detailed in the next section) and set up a standing order with the insurance company. If you have already taken out car insurance that you purchased, the same insurance company can give you a discounted tenants’ insurance offer as a package, but there is no obligation to take out the insurance specifically with them. If you do not yet have a bank account, continue here to the next section.

Opening a bank account

Many of the banks I approached wanted to see proof that I was not running away, that is, to show them a signed contract with a local address, or a pay slip from a local employer. Because I had neither this nor that, I went between the different banks until I found one bank (and there may be more than one and I simply did not get to it) that was happy to open its doors to me and for an hour and a half, the nice clerk explained to me all the conditions, fees (the higher ones) and all the difference between the different types of accounts. True, the fee is higher, but it is a negligible price to pay for this magic. Once I opened the bank account, it allowed me to more easily sign a lease and tenants’ insurance, and in general stop paying ridiculous conversion fees on the use of the Israeli credit card. It is important to note that as long as you do not have a SIN, the bank will only allow you to use a DEBIT card, which is a plastic card like a credit card, but the charge is immediately deducted from the account and not on a fixed future date in the month (like a credit card). Because there is no option here to go into overdraft above 1,500 CAD and any drop from 0 to this amount is accompanied by an expensive penalty of 45 CAD, it is advisable to make sure that there is always enough money before you swipe the DEBIT. Its use does not build your credit history, but it allows you to transfer funds to the new Canadian account and use them with the magic plastic. Once you receive the SIN, the bank will treat you as Newcomers and then you can get all the conditions that Roni detailed and order a regular credit card. Just for information – even when receiving non-bank credit cards, they require the SIN number (if this is something you are interested in, there are endless options for non-bank credit cards here with all sorts of discounts and different conditions). By the way, taking out a mortgage and opening savings accounts at the bank (if this is something that interests you), are conditional here on the SIN and pay slips from a Canadian employer, so for this too, you will have to be patient to get your work visa and find your first Canadian job, or find other creative solutions that will give you the answer.”