Canada: The greatest country in the world

BY GEORGIALEE LANG, POSTMEDIA NEWS

Canada is the greatest country in the world. Of course, statistically, we know that’s true. The United Nations' Human Development Index, based on life expectancy, education, standards of living, and child welfare, has told us so for years.

But Canada’s greatness is not just about the “good life." Canada is the land of opportunity, where milk and honey flows, not just for the wealthy, but for anyone who dreams a dream and works hard.

There is no better example of this than my legal assistant, Justine Karungyi. Justine arrived in British Columbia from Uganda in 2006. She was 24 years old. She began her life in Africa while civil war raged and her family, including four siblings, became fractured. Her father was a local Chairman of the Uganda People’s Congress, which had governed Uganda for many years. He fled his home in Jinja, moving to his ancestral home in Mbarara with Justine and her sister.

The genocide of war kept Justine, her father and her sister in exile for over three years. Justine’s mother believed her husband and two girls were dead. After all, thousands of children were turned into soldiers and others were abducted, raped and murdered. Justine’s mother had moved on with her life with a new partner and more children. Losing her mother was as profound as the devastation of war.

As was the norm in Uganda, Justine’s father took his five children and settled in Masaka. Custody was not an issue. Children belonged with their fathers. No questions asked. In Masaka, Justine attended primary school and later, secondary school, at a private Catholic girls' boarding school. Her father paid the fees, but nothing else. Justine’s stepmother resented Justine and her siblings. They cost too much money and they interfered in her relationship with their father.

The school fed Justine a corn-flour and hot-water paste, called “posho,” and beans twice a day. She and her sister ended up on the streets begging for money to buy basics, including sugar, toilet paper and hygiene products.

Once she finished high school she enrolled in a two-year program to obtain an advanced certificate of education.

Justine’s Literature teacher talked about corruption, about standing up for people who could not speak for themselves, and about the law and what lawyers could do for their country and its citizens. At 15 years old Justine decided she would become a lawyer. But a legal education in Uganda was well beyond her reach.

She began working for KPMG as an administrative assistant and enrolled in Makara University Business School, attaining a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management. But she never abandoned her dream.

One of Justine’s brothers had married a Canadian citizen and was raising a family in British Columbia. He invited Justine to come to Canada to assist with the care of his two children under a new immigration program for live-in caregivers. When she completed her caregiving stint, began working in my law office.

She told me her dream of becoming a lawyer. I told her she could do anything she wanted in Canada if she was prepared to work for it. She was.

Justine will start law school in two months at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. She still has no money, but Canada’s student loan program will see her through, just like it did for me 25 years ago. She is well on her way to living her dream. She is living proof that Canada is the greatest country in the world.

Georgialee Lang is a Vancouver lawyer and arbitrator named in “Best Lawyers in Canada.” She blogs at lawdiva.wordpress.com. Her website is georgialeelang.com

Studying in Canada: A welcome to keep you warm through winter

Among British students, Canada hasn’t ranked highly as a destination for education. Perhaps it’s the distance that makes applicants think twice. Perhaps it’s the cold winters. But it certainly isn’t the quality of education, cost of studying or standard of living.

Canadian degrees, awarded at 90 universities nationwide, are internationally recognised and respected, according tointernationalgraduate.net. Their education system offers “strong student support services, small classes and active campus communities”. And, as Canada spends more per capita on its education system than any other country in the world, tuition rates are lower for international students than they are in many other countries.

As for quality of life, Canada was ranked eighth in the UN’s worldwide Human Development Index 2010. Brits are welcome, too. According to Rob Norris, the minister of advanced education, employment and immigration in the province of Saskatchewan, “There’s a spirit of welcome across Canada. We want to make sure that our campuses and communities are increasingly diverse, international and cosmopolitan,” he says.

Saskatchewan puts its money where its mouth is. Norris explains: “We have made record investment of more than C$2.8bn (£1.8bn) in post-secondary education in the past three years. That includes a 3,000 per cent increase in funding for student housing, and new dollars in key areas where we want to be leading in innovation.” Namely, science and engineering, responding to the area’s wealth of natural resources, including arable land, uranium, oil and the mining industry.

Recession is not a word that appears in the Canadian dictionary. Within the province of Saskatchewan alone – an area the size of France – there are currently more than 9,000 job vacancies (saskjobs.ca). “We’re not shy about saying to international students there are career opportunities here,” says Norris. “In Saskatchewan, we’ve just made some improvements to our regional immigration system to allow [post] graduate students to stay for a couple of years [after completing their studies] to enable them to find career opportunities.”

There’s also the graduate retention programme, which enables graduates with honours degrees from Saskatchewan universities to qualify for up to C$20,000 (£12,800) back if they stay and work in the province for seven years.

But that’s jumping ahead. Students contemplating Canada as a destination should first consider fees, which vary greatly. British students pay around C$11,000 (£7,000) a year at the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, C$18,000 (£11,500) at York University in Toronto, and $24,000 (£15,300) at the University of British Columbia, according to their websites. As for postgraduate study, costs range from $3,780 (£2,412) a year at Memorial University in Newfoundland to $17,500 (£11,039) at the University College of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia.

As for a visa, you shouldn’t need one. A study placement of up to six months is yours for the applying. For longer study, UK nationals need a permit, for which the Canadian High Commission requires you to have been accepted to a university in Canada, and have proof that you can pay for tuition fees and living expenses. It estimates the latter to be around $10,000 (£6,300) per year, plus CA$4,000 (£2,500) for the first dependant and CA$3,000 (£1,900) for each subsequent dependent. You need a clean criminal record and an equally clean bill of health. It takes eight to 10 weeks to process applications, and costs around £75, which is usually non-refundable, regardless of success.

For those applying to study in Quebec, things are a little different. You will need to get a certificate of acceptance from the Quebec government. Visit immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/immigrate-settle/students/index.html for more information.

Overall, though, there are few immigration barriers to UK students. Dr George Maslany, from the University of Regina, confirms: “There’s not much red tape. It takes about two months, but usually anyone from Britain who applies for a permit gets it.”

Financial assistance may be available in scholarships and bursaries. These are numerous and most are competitive, awarded on academic merit rather than financial need. But at the Dr David Hannah, associate vice-president of student and enrolment services at the University of Saskatchewan, says: “We have a guaranteed entrance scholarship programme for undergraduate students, which gives them anywhere from C$500 (£320) to C$3,000 (£1,915) for their first year of study, depending on their academic qualifications. They don’t even have to apply for that, it’s automatic.”

Similarly, places on Canadian courses are almost exclusively awarded on academic qualifications. There are some exceptions, for example medicine often has an interview process. Hannah says: “It’s usually based on secondary school performance. With UK students, we typically look for three A-levels of at least D grades. In some courses it might be higher – for business courses, for example, we’re looking for B grades.”

With the strong and long-standing connections between Canada and the UK, students should have little trouble settling in. “We are very respectful of our traditions, including the monarchy and the Commonwealth, which plays a vital role within our culture and community,” explains Norris. “There’s an affinity here that, from the feedback we get from students and scholars from the UK, gives a tremendous feeling of being at home.”

Hannah agrees: “Because of our Commonwealth connections, our university system is derived from the English and Scottish systems. I think that would be a lot of comfort for students coming to any Canadian university.”

Another plus, for British linguists, may be Canada’s bilingualism: in parts of the country, it is possible to study in either French or English. Most, however, benefit from the lack of language barrier. Maslany jokes “British students don’t have any difficulty as Canadians are devoid of any accent, but UK students have a range of accents. It can take a little while for us to familiarise ourselves with those!”

And the big chill? “The first winter here can take some adjusting,” Hannah admits, “but all of our buildings at the University of Saskatchewan are connected through interior walkways, so you don’t have to spend too much time outside in the cold. In the summer, temperatures top 30C, and from the middle of April until mid October, it’s really very pleasant around here.”

Norris concludes: “The mood in Canada is one of real optimism. We are very student orientated, with universities that are held in high regard. This is a land that’s focused on the future.”