Taking Advantage of the Opportunity to Move to Canada

Monday, 12 September 2011

Once you have chosen to move to Canada, you will be glad you did. Canada has so many wonderful things to offer. After you move and settle into your new place, you will have a unique opportunity to explore a great country that has so many places that each offers its own character and special attractions.

Keep in mind that Canada is the second largest country in the world. Therefore, there are substantial distances between city centers, which also contributes to its unique charm. When you relocate to a large country like Canada, see it as a wonderful adventure because once you are there, you can plan on several different journeys to optimize your time and experience. Depending on your lifestyle, some places may be more attractive to visit and fill your need of exploration. The important thing to keep in mind is do your research. You can then make the best of your time and optimize your travel budget. If you have the luxury of flexibility for your travel, it will help substantially on your budget. Look for deals and quick get-aways on-line. When we took an international assignment, we were able to take full advantage of our opportunity by using many of these deals.

Another great way to experience a new country is just to get out and explore. You will be amazed at what you will encounter and find. Here are some resources to get started (Lonely Planet (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/canada)) and Canada’s Official Tourism Website (http://us.canada.travel)). Have fun! You only get so many opportunities in life that make an imprint. Living in another country definitely is one. Experience it in its entirety and you will look back on the experience with great fondness and be so glad you did it.

What to do with unwanted items prior to a move?

Tuesday, 06 September 2011

Once the decision has been made to move, you will need to identify those unwanted items that you will not be taking with you. Even if you are having a professional move you like Starline, you should go from room to room and decide what you are taking with you and what you will leave behind. Remember, it is easier and more cost-effective for you to go through these items before you move rather than after. For the items you have chosen to leave behind, there are several options for you. You could list them for sale on-line, you could donate them or give them to family and friends. Often times your time constraints will determine what option will work best for you.
Food items are often overlooked and dealt with at the last minute. To avoid this dilemma, consider donating it to a food bank or local charity ahead of time. Keep in mind, most food banks will take sealed non-perishable items. This way you can avoid the waste and do you part at the same time. Limit grocery shopping once you get word that you are moving. This will help you get creative in the kitchen and use up your perishable items. As for your spirits, beer and wine in the refrigerator, consider having a few friends over before the move to celebrate your friendship and bid farewell.

unwanted-goods

What a Professional Mover Will Not be Able to Move for You

Tuesday, 30 August 2011

Once you find out that you must move and have decided to use professional services, it is important to start to get your house in order. Regardless of where you are going, there are rules and regulations that govern what a mover can and cannot take. Therefore, if you are not familiar with these take the time to educate yourself so that you can make arrangements ahead of time. Here are a few guidelines that you can use to help you get started.

Anything flammable or pressurized can’t be moved for obvious reasons. Live plants pose a problem and often times you will not be able to move them professionally. You should review your household cleaners because most of them will not be able to be moved. Go through your pantry and sort out your food items. Anything perishable or opened should not be moved. This is especially important if your things will be in short-term storage or being transported for a long distance.

If you have any questions about what you can or cannot take with you, definitely bring it up with your mover ahead of time. Keep in mind that these are just a few general guidelines. Depending on your ultimate destination, there may be additional regulations that you may have to follow.

Preparing for an International Assignment

Thursday, 25 August 2011

When you accept an international assignment, it is filled with excitement and reservations. Once you get word, you need to prepare. The more prepared you are, the easier the transition will be. Fortunately, you can begin to do your research online ahead of time. You definitely want to educate yourself on what you can bring with you and what you need to leave behind. Depending on the country, there may be rules and regulations governing what can be brought into the country. Therefore, you want to hire a moving company like Starline that is well experienced in international moves. They will help you find out what is welcomed and what is not.

Also, you want to make sure if your appliances will work in that country. Countries have different electrical circuitry, which affects whether or not any of your electrical equipment will work. From your computer to television, it will affect its ability to run. If your electrical items will not work, it is definitely worth selling or storing them before the move and getting new items when you get there. There are some adapters you can purchase but be careful, you could end up breaking your item because it can’t take the electrical surge.

When I moved internationally, I went through our things and decided what I was going to take with us, what I was going to store in my home country and what I needed right away. This exercise is well worth the effort. You want to identify these things ahead of time so that the movers know how to best serve you. Keep in mind, the amount you take with you will directly impact your moving costs. For those items I needed right away and could not take on the plane, I had air-shipped. Remember, you should choose these items carefully because it will come at a premium.

Good luck! International assignments are full of adventure and well worth the effort to get there. You have been given a great opportunity to immerse yourself in a new culture and experience a time of your life. Enjoy!

Considering a Move to Canada? Do Some Research Ahead of Time

Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Whether you are about to accept a corporate relocation or moving to Canada for your own personal reasons, the best way to make the transition is to do your research ahead of time. Once you have an idea of where you will live, start to do your research online. Begin to gather information about the province you are moving to and familiarize yourself with the regulations and requirements.

If you are on a corporate relocation, chances are your company has taken the steps to arrange for the proper work permit. However, if you are moving on your own, you will have to educate yourself on the requirements to obtain a work permit. These can be found on Government of Canada website (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/work.asp)

Canada does offer many governmental services, including healthcare. However, you need to familiarize yourself with the qualifications. Depending on your circumstances you may need to obtain a temporary resident visa (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/apply-how.asp) or a permanent resident card (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/pr-card/index.asp).

If you are planning to drive in Canada, you will definitely have to take into account how long you will stay. Keep in mind regulations vary amongst the provinces. Provisions have been made for some countries’ licenses, but for the most part if you are staying longer than three months you will need to have an International Driver’s Permit, which you should obtain from your home country. However, if you are a new resident you will have to obtain the driver’s license from the province within approximately sixty days. Check with your province because this may vary.

If you are planning to bring your car, you will have to familiarize yourself with the regulations for licensing your vehicle. Again, check with your local province to obtain details.

There are many considerations you will make prior to your arrival in Canada. However, the more research you do ahead of time, the better prepared you will be.

You have landed in Canada. Now what?

Friday, 05 August 2011

Establishing yourself when you first arrive in Canada can be difficult. You will have to find a job and find somewhere to live, among other things. This checklist will help. It provides you with a list of things you should know and shows you where you can go for more information and support.

Click here to visit: Citizenship and Immigration Canada website to access the – Living in Canada checklist

Calgary Folk Music Festival

Wednesday, 03 August 2011

If you’ve been around any time during the past quarter-century, you already know that the Calgary Folk Music Festival is one of the most rewarding, uplifting and downright fun events of the year. All in all it’s a pretty fabulous gig. This year, like many years before, Highland Moving & Storage Ltd. was proud to be recognized a Troubadour Sponsor.

Please visit: www.calgaryfolkfest.com for more information & be sure to book your tickets early for 2012!

See you there!

Proud to be Canadian!

Friday, 22 July 2011

Thousands of residents of the city of Airdrie came out to see the Canada Day Parade on July 1st Highland Moving & Storage Ltd. a passionate member of the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce, was thrilled to participate in this years event. When asked by the Stephens Backpack Society to take part in their mission. “Rallying our communities and the children within them to help children in need” we jumped into action!

Check out the Highland Piper proudly showing off its Canadian colours!

proud-canadian

For more information about the Stephens Back Pack Society, please visit: http://www.stephensbackpacks.com

An Exemplary Move

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Here is what one of our International customers is saying about us.

Please visit their blog for the full article. http://miguelissimo.wordpress.com/2011/07/10/an-exemplary-move/

An exemplary move

In April this year (2011) Kate and I moved our residence from Calgary, Canada, to Cellardyke, Scotland. Our budget for the move was limited, and, although we decided not to move any big pieces of furniture, we have quite a big collection of books. Moving is something that we dreaded since we knew we had to do it in January. So… how do you go about it?

Well, we started by looking on-line for moving companies. This is one of those sectors on the internet where most of what you find is aggregated sites that ask you to fill forms, and supposedly, they will send your way a number of quotes. Generally useless because most of the time you get nothing back, but sometimes even dangerous, because we got at least one quote (from Euro Transport International) that we later found by doing a quick search on-line was basically a scam (check this out for scary stories on how a move can become a nightmare).

Finally, we thought that it would be a lot safer to go local, and it paid off. Before anyone says anything, this post is just the result of grateful clients to a wonderfully executed service, and we have absolutely no conflict of interest here. The service from Highland Movers which operate as STARLINE OVERSEAS MOVING for international relocations was wonderful, friendly, courteous, timely, and dead-on on the estimation. We chose to do groupage to make it cheaper, but it still took shorter than expected. Every box arrived in perfect state, dry, and the movers back here were also friendly and very quick. In other words, if you are in western Canada, and need to move abroad, you should call these guys. Thanks Robin!!

So you have an idea, we moved about 195 cubic feet (equivalent to approx 80 banker’s boxes), and before insurance, the total price came below 4000 $CAN. It took about two months to arrive, and it could have been less if the local movers had trusted Kate that “a 40 foot truck will not fit through our narrow street”. After the initial payment there came no extra charges, not even from customs (at least so far).

Anyways, I thought I would put this out in the interwebs: if you are moving, please, check your mover with the BBB, do not trust anyone that does not want to do a visual inspection of your stuff, and choose local if you can. Also, if they are not very responsive on e-mail through the whole process, that’s probably a bad sign (I count at least 20 e-mails sent by our moving manager in the last few months).

Canadian Wood Packaging Certification Program

Friday, 18 February 2011

Canada is signatory to an international protocol that requires heat treated wood to be used for all pallets and containers shipped to other countries. Since 2006, Canada has had a bilateral exemption for wood packaging material crossing our southern border, however the United States has proposed the removal of this exemption by mid-2012. This will mean that ALL wood packaging material entering the US will require an IPPC stamp.

Please see the latest press release issued by CFIA on February 14, 2011.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) are moving forward to remove the current exemption for wood packaging being shipped between the two countries, as outlined in the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 15. This action is necessary to prevent the introduction of new forest pests, as well as slow the spread of forest pests already established in North America.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/newcom/2011/20110214e.shtml

Implementation of the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (2009) for Wood Packaging Material Moving Between Canada and the United States

OTTAWA, February 14, 2011 : The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) are moving forward to remove the current exemption for wood packaging being shipped between the two countries, as outlined in the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 15. This action is necessary to prevent the introduction of new forest pests, as well as slow the spread of forest pests already established in North America.

This standard requires wood packaging to be heat-treated or fumigated with methyl bromide. Wood packaging moving between Canada and the continental United States has been exempted from this requirement because it was thought that existing pest-specific regulatory controls were providing sufficient protection.

With a number of invasive species being introduced into the two countries, the CFIA and the USDA-APHIS have jointly agreed to begin enforcing the international standard.

Canada and the United States are working together on implementation of the standard, including a phased-in approach based on consultation processes in each country.

After implementation, shipments with wood packaging material found to be non-compliant will not be permitted to enter the country of destination. If live pests are detected, the importer may also be required to treat the shipment to prevent pest escape, before having it returned to the country of origin.

Canada adopted ISPM No. 15 in 2004, to prevent invasive species from outside North America being introduced into Canada.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has instituted two export certification programs, the Canadian Wood Packaging Certification Program (CWPCP), and the Canadian Heat Treatment Wood Products Certification Program (CHTWPCP) to certify Canadian wood packaging producers, Canadian wood packaging treatment facilities, and Facilities registered under the CHTWPCP, to produce ISPM No. 15 compliant wood packaging material.

Approved producers and treatment facilities will mark their products with an ISPM No. 15 compliant approved wood packaging certification stamp.

The CFIA approved wood packaging certification stamp can only be applied by a facility registered under one of these two programmes.

What does this mean for international transportation of Household Goods & Personal Effects?

Proper overseas packing, wrapping and preparation of your household goods is one of the most important steps to ensuring a successful move. Due to the nature of these goods it is necessary for us to provide custom crating when required. These crates both protect and secure the goods while in transit. Wood provides the strength necessary and the use of timber wood cuts costs and adds further strength. We also require dunnage material within sea containers to build bulkhead, decks and blocking. Our crating and dunnage is a combination of manufactured wood products and timber making it necessary for us to be part of the Canadian Wood Packaging Certification Program.

When looking for international expertise it is imperative that your mover complies with these government regulations. Starline Overseas Moving is one of two professional moving companies in Alberta that meet the specialized requirements for this program.

For more information on the implementation of ISPM No. in Canada, please visit www.inspection.gc.ca

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting our forests by preventing the introduction and spread of invasive plant pests, which can seriously harm Canada’s environment, forests and plant resources.

For information:

Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Media relations: 613-773-6600