July, August and beyond

Where do we go from here, our dream of making a new life in Canada has been shattered and with no other plans for our future i didn't know what to do ,so i just got on with my life, our life.

I of course checked the Internet searching for another position in Canada, applying on line to some and just sending e mails to others, flat decks, hopper bottoms and even cattle liners these would be right up my street as i am from a farming family, but the thing i hate most is when people don't reply to you , i realise that people are busy and maybe getting numerous job applications but a quick reply saying [sorry we cant help at this time ] is all that's needed you just know where you stand then.

I was even given the numbers for a couple of company's that were looking for drivers but even these could not help as they had no LMOs or were not in the program anyway, if i had landed status then no problem

Then one day i noticed that H&R Transport of Lethbridge were coming over in September to the UK looking for drivers again, and were having interviews up in the north east should i mail them and have another go, na i had been there before and it didn't end well so i told a mate of mine [Mark Bowdin] that they were coming and suggested to him to have a go, what had he got to lose, at least he didn't have to go to Canada for his interview ,just a couple of hours up the A1, he did and he got one.

Meanwhile as they say i had been doing just as i was told , too keep in touch with the company i had had the interview with in Saskatoon, normally on a Friday afternoon just as he was about to go home, so as not to interfere with his work to much and i must say that at no time did i feel he did not want to talk to me

September was coming and my thoughts were back to H & R and getting an interview with them, so i decided to send a E mail right to the heart of the company, David Foder and ask him to see me up in Newcastle , this i thought would cut out the agent and give me a better chance, so i sat down and compiled a good letter i thought, not begging either well if you don't ask ya don't get.

And i didn't get , not a thing not even a sorry we cant help at this time thing either, i wont try again or put people i know and respect in that sort of position again !

November

For the first time since June the job situation was brought up in the conversation and i didn't bring it up either, he said that in there conference call the requirements for 2010 had been discussed and that they were aware that they would need to hire drivers and these drivers would have to come from abroad, as the pool of domestic drivers were heading back to there original haunts

January 2010

I had spoken to the company since November just to wish him a happy Christmas etc and to find out any more on the job front, but it was the end of the month that was the start of things to come.

Yes they were starting the process of taking on foreign workers again and yes they are going to hire me and yes i was at the top or very near the top of the list BUT there LMOs had run out and that meant they would have to apply for them and that would take a few weeks and there was no guarantee that they would get them.

April 2010

10 long weeks later

At last they had got the LMOs that they required, but far fewer than they had in previous years, but a least they had them. so what was next for us, well i was now in contact with the Driver Relations and admin assistant, They asked for a couple of documents that were on file and i duly sent them over by email, next came the police checks and they asked us to have medicals one for me as a driver and one for Louise just to make sure we arnt going to drop dead anytime.

Mine was the D4 driving licence medical that all drivers have to take when they apply for a licence or get to their 45th birthday and as this was creeping up on me i had to do it anyway, i also had their company medical that they sent over for pre employment, this was done at the same time as the D4.

Louise just did the pe employment medical that would be sufficient for now as we knew that once over there we would have to do a big one for the sinp. As i have said before this company likes to have all documentation sorted before you go over, or even get a job offer and Louise and i have said that when it all starts to happen we will be here one day and gone the next

so its May the 9th and we are still waiting for the police checks to come back,[ just over 15 working days] so we can scan them and send them off

June 2009 Is This The End Of Our Dream

Well we have finally got all the required documents that the company have asked us to get

so i put them all in a zipped file and sent them off to Saskatoon.

Our house was still on the market but we hadn't had many people come to view over the last few weeks, so we lowered the price by a good chunk hoping to get some interest,I also changed the agent to see if that made any difference, as we needed to sell to be able to take the capital out to set up in Canada

Then on the June 4th 2009 we received a Email from the company stating that

Due to the economic situation and the workload of the company they would not be offering me or any other foreign worker a position within the company and that they realise that this would be a huge disappointment to Louise and myself, and if we would like to keep in touch then when things get better the situation can be reevaluated!!!!!!!!!

Well i don't think anybody could really understand how gutted, disappointed we felt after reading that e mail.

To say the world had imploded on us was a understatement, we had worked so hard to get the interview in the first place its not just one of those jobs where i just sent a few e mails to company's and ended up getting a interview over the phone, nor was it a quick thing where it looks a good idea i will give it a try type of thing, i had worked hours and hours on my resume to get it looking just right and had a lot of help from people in Canada [thanks to them they know who they are] we had researched and researched so we knew just what we were letting ourselves in for, and just what we wanted and where we wanted to be and that was,

Saskatoon Saskatchewan

A few days later i just had to ring and speak to the company to find out just what was happening ,one thing for sure we weren't going to Canada and i needed to find out for myself man to man so to spake.

Well it was a long conversation and on my mobile, but that didn't matter i had asked the questions i wanted and got the answers i needed to try and rebuild our lives we weren't going to Canada but at least i knew the reasons why.

When we came out of the interview in Saskatoon we both felt that this company was the right trucking company for us and that they certainly thought more of us and me ,i mean i wasn't just a Brit bloke that wanted to be a north American trucker, i had a pulse and two legs and could drive a truck and never mind about the rest of the family tagging along, we felt that they wanted the whole package and for us to be a secure family unit in a secure job long term as they would be going to be investing their money in us too, and we would be using our money to settle in the area.

When you enter the world of a Provincial nominee you are really tied to the one company until you become a landed immigrant, and if you jack or get fired or get laid off due to the economic position of the country or world in this case, then its very difficult to get another position its not impossible but very difficult, so this was one of the reasons he said to me that it would probably financially ruin us if they brought us over then in a few months had to let us go as when any company lays off they have to layoff foreign workers first and really the only place to go would be home back to the UK

I DON'T THINK ANYBODY THOUGHT THAT THIS WORLD RECESSION WOULD HIT SO HARD

We talked for some time then when all avenues had been talked over we said goodbye and i had decided to take his advise and keep in touch.

over the next few weeks i thought about what we had talked about and the more i knew he had made the right decision not to take us on at that time, we took the house off the market and got on with our lives

May 2009 Find Scan Save

The best thing about working for an agency is that the start times gives you plenty of time to do what you want, and this month i have used that time to gather a lot of the information that i require for the move we plan to Saskatoon Saskatchewan and my new career as a long haul truck driver

Some of the things that the Saskatchewan's government require for permanent residency

Birth certificates for all family

where everybody over the age of 18 has lived since they were 18

where everybody over 18 has worked since they were 18

and not to have any gaps in dates, although these last two are from a Federal form

boy am i pleased i got a scanner printer

Back Home April 2009

We landed back in the UK early morning and it was grey damp and cold, and by the time we got through customs we were starting to feel tired as you never get much sleep on these flights and anyway had spent the last couple of hours talking to two people in front of us [Bob and Jean].

we jumped on the coach to the car park and back to the Trooper which was covered in jet fuel from the aircraft flying overhead.

Ah the M 25 at rush hour

anyway two and half hours later we got home.

After we had had a real cup of tea,we fetched the dog and the kids not necessarily in that order, and the same day, we settled down to make a list of things that we needed to do and get so as to be out in Canada before the cut off time of October.As this company will not take new foreign drivers on after this due to the fact that they like some miles under your belts before the ice comes, as the weights are up to 62 tons and they will park you up if their not confident with your driving.

The company we had seen in Saskatoon had asked us to compile all the documents that would be needed to be put forward for Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program [sinp] there are several reasons for this, but two are that they will be spending a lot of money bringing me over training and getting us set up in Saskatoon ,and not to mention our own expense setting up home, and one of the others is that its easier to get most of these documents whilst we are still in the UK

From Canmore to the airport in calgary and home

The problem with Canada is you just keep taking pictures thinking when i get home i will sort them out and delete the ones we don't need, thing is you just don't

Somewhere that Louise wanted to visit was Lake Louise we can only imagine watt the place looks like in the summer, hopefully soon we will find out as the interview went well and we only had to get some paperwork sorted , we could be out here by October


This is Lake Louise all frozen over

As you can see from this the standard of some vehicles is questionable , no rear bumper ,exhaust dragging on the highway and only one rear brake light, i would say a prime candidate for a tug from Mr highway patrol

Now this is something to aim for, I just love these trucks

Not a cloud in the sky as we drove out of the Rocky Mountains toward Calgary

A perfect ending to a recce trip, an interview with a prospective employer and our first holiday abroad together oh and 2500 km in the Dodge

CALGARY

The last view of Calgary we had but soon we would be returning to start a new exciting life as a long haul truck driver in the big white north.

We left Canada with heavy hearts i for one did not want to go home i felt this just meant to be our new home

OH CANADA

Banff and sulpher Mountain

We came off the high way again to explore Banff the ski resort

This is a Monster Bus and was parked at the bottom of Sulphur mountain cable car, it is from the ice fields parkway ideal for commuting on the M 25



The town of Banff

At the top of sulphur mountain there is a restaurant and gift shop usual tourist stuff but also there is a bit of Canadian history with the highest weather station located at the top of the next peak ,i think this is the top of sulphur mountain ,and you get to it by walking along the raised walkway you can see in the picture.

The station is a stone hut about 10ft square with a window and door , and is still fitted out as it would have been years ago, and was manned 24/7 no cable car in those days
this is where our profile picture was taken

Loads of livestock in Canada they just stand by the road with not a care in the world

Two Jacks in April 2009

silence is golden

Banff and lake Louise

We set out into the mountains on high way one and into the Banff National park, after paying at the booth, and after days in the prairies we just loved the mountains and trees, although the weather was not bright and sunny it still looked brilliant

As we came to the entrance to the park we realised we had to pay,it was only a few dollars so we didn't mind paying as it goes toward animal crossings and the rangers
it didn't take long before we turned off the high way and followed the signs we just had to have a look at everything, most of the signs were for the summer months as the lake was frozen and the camp ground shut

the picture below is of the lake called Two Jacks