Living in Ottawa
The Ontario Government website has some useful pointers about the city for new arrivals. Here are a few facts and links that we found useful when we first arrived:
- Health coverage
- What – The Canadian Government require you to pay for medical coverage and you may have to send evidence of this to your funders shortly after your arrival in Canada. Coverage is provincial and in Ontario you should sign up for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Confusingly, there is a three-month wait before being covered by this plan so you will not actually get coverage until three months after your arrival date in Canada. In the meantime you will need to sign up for three months of the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP, see below).
- Where – In Ottawa the City Hall is located at 110 Laurier Avenue West. You will need to take a proof of residency (your work permit), a proof of identification (your passport, which should have your work permit stapled in, anyway) and proof of address. This last one can be tough if you have only been in the city/province/country for a couple of days. I asked my department at Carleton to write an official letter confirming my address and that I was accepted as a postdoc. You can also use a printed bank statement. Though this means waiting a few weeks after opening your bank account, OHIP will backdate your application to the date you entered the country, so your application won’t be delayed beyond the usual 3 months. They will give you the forms you need and everything else will be explained to you then.
- How much – The UHIP coverage costs $177 for three months (correct as of 22/2/2012). Free (or socialised, at least...).
- Public transport
- OCTranspo – This is the company that runs the public transport system in Ottawa (the equivalent in Gatineau is STO). There are regular buses which link most of the city, and the Transitway system provides bus-only routes which make for pretty quick journeys (of course you need to live near it to actually be able to use it). Aside from buses, there is also the O-Train which is a fast and reliable service (although again whether you use it or not will be determined by where you live). The OCTranspo Travel Planner is extremely useful. Bus drivers are generally helpful and will call out intersections as you go along so you can keep track of where you are.
- O-Train
- What – Very quick light rail service. It probably won't go where you want to go, but it probably will take you to a bus station from where you can catch a bus that will...
- Where – The main O-Train route runs north-south for a few dozen miles, including straight through the Carleton University campus.
- How much – For some reason the O-Train doesn't run on tickets like the buses (see below). At the station you need to pay $2.85 into a machine which will give you a ticket. The machines DO NOT GIVE CHANGE which is a pain and well worth bearing in mind, although you can pay quickly with a credit card... The O-Train tickets can be exchanged on buses for transfers within a certain period (again, see below).
- Bus tickets (Les Billets)
- What – Bus Tickets (“Les Billets”) are little purple tickets costing $1.30 each (it is easier to buy in sheets of six). You will need two of these per bus journey but for that you can get a “transfer” which you can then use on subsequent bus journeys until it expires (the expiry time is on the transfer). The tickets are either fed into a machine or placed in a box by the driver’s seat (depending on how old the bus is). Bus travel is usually $3.25 (at the time of writing...), so using $2.60 in bus tickets for the same journey is a considerable saving over time.
- Where – Tickets can be bought at a range of locations, including the Carleton University bookstore. Probably if you just stop someone in the street and ask them they will be able to point out somewhere nearby.
- How
much
– Tickets recently increased to $1.30, so a bus ride
costs $2.60.
- Bus pass
- What – Bus passes are the alternative to the tickets. As with any other pass you just flash it at the driver rather than paying. It is worth bearing in mind that the passes are relatively expensive and so if you enjoy a walk then it might be worth just periodically buying bus tickets for the occasional trip (that’s what I do). They can also be used on the O-Train.
- Where – Getting a bus pass is a two-stage job... First you will need an OCTranspo ID card which is relatively difficult to get. I believe they are only available from four outlets in Ottawa. Once you have this it is easier to get a pass to go with it. Just go to any of the vendors which are shown to sell passes.
- How much – The ID card costs $8.50 and is a one-off payment. The Adult Monthly Regular bus pass costs $94 per month.
- Cycling
- If you prefer pedal power, the re-Cycles Bicycle Co-op at 477 Bronson Ave (cheapest) and Dave's Bike Dump at 407 Catherine St (still quite cheap) are good places to get a second-hand bike. Other local places are the Kunstadt stores on Bank St, or alternatively Canadian Tire, if you aren't fussy about quality...
- Driving
- The Government of
Ontario has an agreement
with several foreign governments meaning that full drivers' licenses
are completely
exchangeable between countries. You can just
take your current license documents to the Ottawa City Hall (see above
for the
address) and they will sort it out for you. If your license
was lost/stolen you will need to write/email your licensing
authority
to ask for a letter confirming your status as
a license-holder. This should then be taken to the
Government
offices.
- Banking
- What – In order to be paid your wages you will need to have a Canadian bank account. Banking in Canada is slightly more difficult than in some other places and they tend to charge you (or try to, anyway) for pretty much everything. The Bank of Nova Scotia (“Scotiabank”) are the only bank with a branch on the Carleton Campus and they look after newcomers to Canada quite well. Their “One Account” is pretty good and the only fee that you will pay is $9.95 per month if you have less than $3,500 in your account. Cheques are a bit of a pain – I received four when I opened my account and they charge you for more. The debit card (Interac) can be used anywhere but not online, unfortunately... International postdocs will struggle to get unsecured credit (Canadian citizenship tends to be a prerequisite) so you may find that you have to deposit a certain amount of money into a savings account that the bank will secure your credit against. Other major banks in town include Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (better known as CIBC), TD Canada Trust, Bank of Montreal (BMO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
- Where – The Scotiabank on the Carleton campus is in Paterson Hall.
- Taxes [please note that this does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You are advised to seek official legal assistance with tax issues and CUPA has some contacts who may be able to help].
- The tax situation for postdocs in Canada
- This has been a big issue for postdocs over the past few years. Due to a lack of clarity on the part of the Canada Revenue Agency, it is difficult to establish what the hard facts are so what follows is the best approximation based on personal experience (for a comprehensive outline, see the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars website). Postdocs fall into two categories: (i) postdoctoral researchers employed on grants, and (ii) postdoctoral fellows (PDFs) who are semi-autonomous and not necessarily funded through a university (e.g. NSERC/SSHRC PDFs). If you are employed on a grant you are an employee and your salary is taxable. However, PDFs are not employees, per se, and tend to fall into two further groups: (iia) recent PhD graduates transitioning between student-status and faculty positions, and (iib) mid- or late-career professionals (largely in the medical field) taking time out to conduct research. The two types of postdocs vary in their purpose (training vs. prestige) and wage (relatively low vs. relatively high). Regardless, the Canadian Government has historically lumped them together. Until the 2010 tax year, most postdocs did not pay tax on their income as their wage was considered a scholarship to facilitate their training. Different institutions developed a variety of methods to make this possible. In the 2010 year this was changed (see the official word from the CRA) and it was explicitly stated that postdoctoral fellowships were taxable. Note that you should be able to claim employment-related expenses (computers, books, etc) so keep your receipts!
- What this means for you as a postdoc
- Please note that tax situations are specific to the individual and you should investigate your own situation to see where you stand. If you are employed as a "Research Associate" then you probably have tax deducted at source (but check!). If you are employed as a PDF through a Carleton grant then you may have tax deducted at source (like a "normal" person) but this requires a special arrangement with Human Resources. Because of the way that Carleton has treated PDFs, there is little room to argue that you should not be paying taxes if you are funded any other way. However, it is highly likely (especialy if you are not be funded directly by Carleton) that you may not have tax deducted at source. As such it is VERY IMPORTANT that you calculate (here is an online calculator) the amount of tax that you will owe based on your wage and set that money aside to pay the CRA in April of the next year. You can pay either as a lump sum or in installments. More details can be found on the CRA website. The Turbo Tax software can also be used for free to calculate tax, although you need to pay to use it to submit your tax return.
- Campus Card
- What – The Campus Card is your official university ID. You will need it to access the libraries and the gym. There is a real-time postdoc register that the Campus Card Office have access to so you should have no problems getting your card. If you do have problems, contact Crystal French.
- Where – It is available from the Campus Card Office in the main atrium in the University Centre.
- How
much
– Free.
- Building access card
- What – Again, different departments vary on their policy of out-of-hours cards.
- Where – Typically these are managed by your department’s secretary.
- How much – A deposit of around $10.
- Parking pass
- Post-docs
have the option of having a space in any available student or staff
lot. The process for issuing permits for post-docs is the following:
- Create a profile on www.carleton.ca/parking. When asked to choose an option on the "user type" drop down menu, choose "public".
- The "public" status on the automated system doesn't identify with either student or staff lots, you will not be able to choose a permit lot online, but should visit the Parking Office (204 Robertson Hall) to manually choose a permit.
- Passes can be paid at the office using cash, debit, Mastercard or Visa. The permit can be printed and issued on site.
- Health Centre and dentist on campus
- Post-docs can use the walk-in clinic at the Health and Counselling Services for medical problems that are episodic in nature (a cold, infection, etc) while working at the university. However, they cannot use the counselling services or the lab. Spouses and children of post-docs cannot use these services. Once post-docs leave the university they will need to seek care elsewhere. The dental clinic is open to members of the Carleton community and the general public, so post-docs and their families can use this dental clinic.
- Wireless access on campus
- Wireless access should be requested through your department administrator, who will contact CCS (Computing and Communication Services) on your behalf, confirming that you are working for the department. Once you have an account, instructions are available from CCS on how to connect to the wireless service.
- Computer and email accounts
- Computer and email accounts should be requested through your department administrator, who will contact CCS (Computing and Communication Services) on your behalf, confirming that you are working for the department. You should probably be given a "staff" account (although this may vary depending on circumstances). Once you have an email account, you may contact the CCS helpdesk and request that an email alias be set up in the global address book. This will give you an email address in the form of firstname.lastname@carleton.ca, which may be easier to remember and provide to your contacts.
- Library access
- To
get a library account, post-docs must present to the library either a
Campus Card or a letter of introduction from an academic department to
the library main desk. The letter must include the term of employment
with the department. Post-docs have the following borrower
privileges:
- Up to one hundred (100) items at any one time.
- Loan period of four (4) weeks.
- Self-renew up to five (5) times.
- Placing holds.
- Full access to course reserve material.
- Full interlibrary loan services.
- Remote access to all electronic resources.
- Journal article delivery services.
- Health insurance
- What – As mentioned above, the OHIP will only cover you after you have been in the country for three months. Until that point you will need to sign up for UHIP at the International Student Support Office in the University Centre. You will need to take with you your acceptance letter from your department and your proof of OHIP coverage (see above). You will also need to pay by cheque.
- Where – The ISSO is on the groundfloor of the University Centre.
- How much – $177 for three months (correct as of 22/2/2012).
- Health benefits
- If your supervisor pays you from a grant, you may be eligible for certain types of health benefits. Make sure to ask your supervisor if you are payed from the grant. If you are you may choose to discuss benefits with your supervisor, keeping in mind that the cost of these benefits may impact your salary. Human Resources has documents detailing instructions for grant-funded employees and you should contact HR to find out more information. The University offers a voluntary Health Insurance plan through Great-West Life which costs $107.11 per month (including tax) but you must sign up within 31 days of your appointment date or loss of alternate coverage
- Recreation
- Gym – The Carleton Gym is well-equipped with quite a few squash courts (for which there is a higher-tier of membership) and large cardio/work-out room. The prices are reasonable, but if you are a postdoctoral fellow rather than a postdoc (i.e. not directly employed by the university) then Crystal French will need to confirm your status with the Athletics Centre. You will then qualify for a reduced rate.
- Classes – The gym runs a series of fitness classes in a range of different sports and activities.
- Intramural teams – The Athletics Centre runs a series of intramural leagues for staff and students that are extremely cheap and good fun. The leagues vary in the abilities of the participants so that pretty much anyone can find a suitable team. If there is enough interest, we might try to set up a couple of postdocs
- Mike’s Place – The Graduate Student Association (GSA) has its own bar, safe from the undergraduate riff-raff. Decent food (mostly snack-related) and a range of ales (including their own micro-brew). Gets very busy!