Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with BritishColumbia

Time to pay the piper, but I'm still paying a DIFFERENT piper.

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:58:15 -0800

I'm a graduate student who has been in school continuously in Canada for 10 years now. Now the student loan people want to make me pay. What can I do? I'm a graduate student who began university in 1999 in British Columbia. In my first year of undergrad, I applied for, and received, a government student loan amounting to a colossal $260. After that, I did not apply for any further funding until I began my graduate education in an MA program, also in BC. I received student loans for three years as a result of this. I finished my MA, and went on to do PhD work in another province.

I have diligently sent in my forms indicating that I am still a university student and have never had a problem. Yesterday, though, I came home after being out of town for the weekend to find a letter saying I am to begin re-payment as I have used up my 520 months of grace period, even though I am still enrolled in a Canadian (non-BC) university as a PhD student.

This threw me for a loop as I had, a month previous, received a letter confirming that they had received my proof of enrollment and I was still okay to not pay anything just yet, being covered until the end of the semester after my proof of enrollment indicated (I have to do the proof of enrollment each semester). They want me to begin payment on the entirety of my student loans, not just the $260 I borrowed ten years ago.

I spoke with the student loan people on the phone today and they said that all I can do is apply for interest relief, principal deferment, or extended amortization (all of which are described here) and that there are absolutely no appeals available.

I'm totally at a loss as to what to do. I offered to just pay off the $260 from 10 years ago but that won't do anything, apparently. I really can't afford to start paying my student loans back right now being, still, a poor graduate student. I don't know what my options are beyond those three things above. Can anyone offer any advice (and I fully recognize that you are not my lawyer, accountant, banker, financial advisor, or anything similar).

Will any British Columbia vineyards ship ice wine to California?

mote — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:07:58 -0800

Will any British Columbia vineyards ship ice wine to California? A former supervisor, who lives in California, got me a job interview in Vancouver that went really well. I'd like to express my appreciation with something suitably Canadian. canadianwineshop.com seems happy to ship from Ontario vineyards, which is close, but I thought I'd see if y'all could get me any closer! I appreciate that alcohol shipments seem to fall into an insane regulatory environment, though. Thanks!

What are the holistic set of learning outcomes for Grade 2 in BC?

KokuRyu — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:49:43 -0800

Looking for help with British Columbia Ministry of Education Integrated Resource Package for Grade 2 curriculum. Is there a single document that outlines all of the learning outcomes for Grade 2? Our child has just entered Grade 2 here in BC. After experiencing no less than 5 different teachers last year in Grade 1, and a totally incompetent teacher back in Kindergarten, our child has once again got a complete dud for a teacher.

We'd like to track his progress versus the provincially established learning outcomes. The documents on the Ministry website are confusing.

Does anyone have any suggestion for how to get ahold of an easy-to-understand list of outcomes?

Canadian National Parks

netbros — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:06:54 -0800

This is for our Canuck MeFites (or those with knowledge or experience). Please tell me about the Canadian National Park System. For the past 25 years I have spent a great deal of my leisure time exploring the U.S. National Parks. I am interested in doing the same north of the border. I especially love hiking in the mountains, so I'm looking for national park recommendations in the Purcell Mountains or Canadian Rockies. If you have familiarity with specific trails or off-road exploring that would be great.

But I don't want to exclude the easterners. What would you recommend on your side of the country? My previous Canadian experiences have been limited to Montreal and Toronto. I'd like to get out of the cities and into the wild. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Do I have a new Daddy?

thebazilist — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:02:59 -0800

My sister and I suspect that our mother may have recently gotten married. Her boyfriend is Indian and they live in California, but the marriage also could have happened in Canada, or in India. How can I find out? My mother has always been very secretive (issues, etc.). My sister and I are the only relatives in the picture. We are all very close, talking on the phone every few days. She lives in Los Angeles and has a boyfriend who is Indian, whom we've never met but have spoken to, and neither of us has seen any red flags. This is not about there being any danger in the situation; she's old/young enough to take care of herself and has no money to steal or anything like that. I simply want to know whether she's married in case, for example, God forbid something should happen -- I'd like to be aware of something as simple as her marital status. Before you jump to the "just ask her" conclusion, I certainly plan to do that if I can't easily and inexpensively find out on my own, but my mother does not respond well to "prying" or accusations that she's been lying or unduly secretive.

Several months ago, my mother started talking about how the boyfriend is trapped at a company he hates because they're responsible for his visa status (my vague understanding), and wishes he could start his own business but he can't without a green card, and isn't that unfair? The next time I saw her, I noticed her wearing what looked like an engagement ring but I didn't say anything about it. Shortly thereafter, on the phone, she told me that he'd proposed, and she was thinking about it. Later she told me that she'd accepted, so that he could get his green card. This could be true, or she for whatever reason doesn't want to tell us that she wants to marry him because she loves him. I asked if that was the only reason she was marrying him; she avoided giving a straight answer. My sister and I should be happy for her to marry someone that she cares about and who'll make her happy, but maybe my mother doesn't believe this; I don't know.

After this, the marriage/engagement was never mentioned again. My mother then started planning a trip to India to visit her fiance's parents for January. Story from my mother: In December, coming back to LA via Vancouver from overseas, the fiance was stopped by immigration. Usually the type of visa he has doesn't give problems, but they'll flag every however-many people for a more thorough check. He was stuck in Vancouver and couldn't return to the US. He told them that he was planning to return to India in a few weeks and would be able to renew or accomplish whatever necessary paperworks at that time; he had his ticket for proof, etc. They allowed him to return to LA to get his stuff together, then he and my mother went to India. I only got a very superficial account of the trip -- they went here, here, and there and the food gave her heartburn -- and haven't seen any pictures.

My sister and I now think that maybe they got married to expedite his return to the US after his visa difficulties in Vancouver. Or they got married before the Vancouver difficulties, and maybe his recently married status is what caused the problems in Vancouver. In any case, they probably went to India to have a traditional ceremony there for his traditional (I think Muslim) family.

What makes sense, given immigration/visa/green-card laws? Does that make sense about the routine check in Vancouver? Would they have been able to get married with his status in limbo? Would a wedding in Canada have worked for what they want to accomplish?

What's the easiest way to look up marriage-license records in California and/or British Columbia? Or, if the only ceremony was in India, would whatever Indian license they received be enough for US recognition, or would they have needed to then follow-up with something here? I'd probably go for asking her before trying to get marriage info from India (unless you tell me it's easy).

Traveling by train from Seattle to Vancouver, BC.

bamassippi — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:31:33 -0800

Traveling by train from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. I'm planning a weekend getaway across the border from Seattle to Vancouver BC and looking to travel by rail via Amtrak. Why does the Seattle-Vancouver BC route only offer train trips once per day?

Is this only temporary?
Why the odd hours?
Have any of you traveled to BC via Amtrak?
What was your experience?

Advice on applying for Canadian citizenship in BC?

zeph — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:58:02 -0800

Asking on behalf of an American friend, who's been working in Canada (BC) for the last 3+ years: does anybody have advice on how best to get started on applying for citizenship? My friend has been working as an artist (on a work visa) in Vancouver for over 3 years now, but because the studio she's at will soon be closing she'll be in need of a new job. She'd like to stay where she is, and so would like to apply for citizenship (or permanent residency, or at least another work permit - something that will keep her there long-term). The Citizenship and Immigration Canada website is obviously the go-to source for this, but getting started has been a little overwhelming so it'd be great to hear from someone with experience who could offer advice on questions like:

- The takeaway message we gleaned from this thread is that she needs to get an immigration lawyer; does anybody have a recommendation for a good one in Vancouver?
- Can anybody give a ballpark figure on how much an immigration lawyer typically costs to help someone with a citizenship application?
- How long does the process generally take, and can she remain in the country while it's going on?
- She's heard that the process should be relatively simple for someone who's already been working/living there for 3 years, but is that the case? Are there things she could do to help make sure it is the case?

I know there's no way to get concrete answers on any of this given the immense number of variables involved, but if anybody can offer anything general it would be highly appreciated - getting started is hard when you don't quite know what your best first step would be. If there's any additional information that would be of help please let me know; finally, if for any reason you'd like to remain anonymous please email bcimmigration08@gmail.com. Thanks!

i like fun things.

negative1 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:48:10 -0800

The lady & I want to watch some whales in Victoria BC around Memorial day. We'd like to avoid cookie-cutter-corporate hotels. We want a funky mid-price (think $100/night or so) place to stay. When we travel around Washington/Oregon, we like to stay at McMenamins. Is there anything close to that in Victoria?

Issues facing physiotherapists in BC?

Milkman Dan — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:12:06 -0800

Issues facing physiotherapists in BC? So this Wednesday, my wife’s got an interview for the Masters of Physical Therapy program at UBC, and I’m trying to do what I can to help by finding out what kind of issues are facing physiotherapists in BC these days. Is there anybody who is currently working as a physio (or OT) in British Columbia that could help answer some questions? Here are some initial things I'm wondering:

What are some of the major frustrations with practicing physio in BC?

Does the government make it easier or harder to do your job?

What kind of a threat are massage therapists, chiropractors and naturopathists to your occupation? Are more people seeking these kinds of treatment over physio?

Do you wish that the Ministry of Health would offer rehab/physio subsidies to a broader range of people?

Do you think the “aging population” issue is realistic, or just a cliché?

Do you have any other personal gripes about how “the Man” is keeping physios down, or any other issues that you’d need to be a working physio to know?

Any help or insight at all would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Where to settle for university in Victoria, British Columbia.

dobie — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 15:31:03 -0800

Looking for advice about living in Victoria, British Columbia. I found out yesterday that I got into UVic for grad school and that my program starts in two months. I'm unfamiliar with the city, I spent a weekend or two there when I was younger, and am not really familiar with the quarters of town, or local things I should be aware of. I'll be moving in the middle of July from Montreal.

What I'm looking for is advice on areas that are biking distance from the university, preferably in an artist/student area with shops and groceries near by.

Also, any advice about events like a weekly farmers market, good microbrew bars, places for rock shows, or a conversational French group would be greatly appreciated.

Collecting signatures

angrybeaver — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 20:02:49 -0800

I want to collect 200,000+ signatures for an initiative petition. Any tips? The Recall and Initiative Act in British Columbia allows ordinary citizens to propose new legislation by means of submitting a petition to the Legislature.

The threshold in British Columbia is extremely high, especially compared to California. 10% of the registered voters in each electoral district must sign the petition. This is a much higher threshold than in other jurisdictions such as California. [The recent referendums in California required approximately 600,000 signatures from a population of 30 million people in order to get on the ballot, while in British Columbia ~220,000 signatures are required from a population of 4 million people.] There have been six initiative petitions in British Columbia, and the most successful of those gathered only about 100,000 signatures. The only successful recall in British Columbia was when Warren Betanko, a.k.a MLA Paul Reitsma was ousted on a tide of public anger over his fraudalent letters to the editor.

The rules are fairly strict: Canvassers must be registered voters; no paid signature-gatherers are allowed; at least 10% of registered voters in each electoral district must sign the petition; there are strict restrictions on financing; all signatures must be collected within a 90 day period.

So... any tips or suggestions? Do any mefites have previous experience organizing this kind of effort or gathering signatures?

Should this Canadian pursue a philosophy degree in Belgium?

ori — Sun, 23 Jan 2005 21:09:29 -0800

I am currently a philosophy student at the University of British Columbia (Canada). I've applied to transfer to the Institute of Philosophy at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven for their strong involvement with continental philosophy, and because I want to live in Europe. Will getting a Belgian degree significantly complicate things for me if I choose the pursue a graduate degree in North America? Will it be detrimental to getting in to a good school?

Drinking Age in Canada

Slimemonster — Thu, 16 Sep 2004 11:11:22 -0800

I remember a couple years ago that the U.S. was trying to get Canada to follow the American drinking age limit of 21, especially in British Colombia. So, if you go up with an American ID, it must say 21 instead of 19. Does anyone know the status of this law change or if it was well-accepted by Canadian governments?

Travelling in BC

orange swan — Wed, 11 Aug 2004 08:27:11 -0800

A friend of mine is planning a trip to B.C. in September. She and her husband will be doing the "circle tour" in British Columbia which has them travelling north from Vancouver to Powell River, taking the ferry to Comox and then heading south on Vancouver Island to Victoria (with a detour over to Ucluelet for whale watching). Her agenda in Vancouver (spending time with party hardy Grandma-in-law and her much younger boyfriend) and in Sechelt (kayaking) is pretty well arranged. However, she'd be most appreciative of any suggestions for what to see and do and eat between Sechelt and Victoria. They do not have time to do detours to the Gulf Islands due to time and relative-visiting contraints.

Backpacking in Canada

five fresh fish — Fri, 28 May 2004 21:55:27 -0800

I just realized that I get downright passionate about telling people how to have the best outdoor/hiking experience in the south half of BC/Alberta. I'm thinking this means I'd be happiest were I to get back into hiking. But I feel I've done it all here... does anyone have recommendations for truly stunning 3-5 day backpacking excursions? They don't necessarily require mountains: I've done some coastal hiking, and it was wonderful, too. Where in the world should I go?