SIM and SIN. 3 letters, almost the
same word. Two words that don’t sum up a concept, and idea, a feeling, but a
number, those figures making the difference between I can work in Canada and I
can’t work in Canada.
Numbers, that’s all about them. We
take a number for the queue, we get a credit card with numbers printed on it,
and with no credit card you do not exist, because you have no credit history
(but that’s another story).
As I said, those three-letters words
make a simple difference: can, can’t.
You cannot work in Canada without a
SIM. You’re a kind of shooting yourself in the foot if you are not reachable at
a mobile phone number when you send out CVs, (well sorry, résumés).
That’s your second passport to show
an employer you’re already here, and you made the effort to take a flight and
leave home to try your chances here.
You cannot work in Canada without a
SIN either. The social insurance number shows your employer the government is
somehow aware you’re here and working (or searching for a job).
So, unless you want to join the
world of illegal workers and find out one day what exactly means a deportation
order, you’d better get a SIN too (but don’t write it in you résumé).
Two words and three letters that
make also another point: difference between bloody complicated and easy as it
should be.
You have your mobile phone, almost
brand new quad-band touch-screen Android 2.3 (and so on and so forth), and you think: "Cool, it rocks, it must
work in Canada, right?".
Wrong. It should, but it doesn’t.
The first day I arrived I challenged
my tiredness and Vancouver freezing air, and got to a shop to but a SIM, as
impatient as I was to have a Canadian phone number and update my résumé.
I chose Wind. I had found in
internet it was supposed to work with my mobile phone.
Plus it looked interesting their
offer including data connection.
Bad surprise: no connection to their
network. Frequency, communication standard or protocol, I don’t know what the
heck, but it didn’t work out.
So I had to choose another carrier. To
figure out what the best option is can be pretty challenging and, not willing to
spend hours on internet to check out the different plans, I simply followed my
host family’s advice to go with Chatr.
In terms of mobile phones North
America is just so backward compared to Europe: no sober European without any
tendency to masochism could ever accept the crazy idea you’re supposed to pay
for incoming calls. Somebody would say it’s bizarre, I say it’s a robbery. Do
you pay the postman to get a letter???
Chatr choice was a consequence of my
determination to avoid the big three (the most important Canadian mobile
carriers) as my principles are not subject to any negotiation: I REFUSE TO PAY FOR
INCOMING CALLS. I’d go rather with smoke signals or carrier pigeon.
Chatr seems to be not too bad, but I
still miss a proper prepay SIM card European style.
Pretty much the opposite as concerns
the SIN. Ok, I got lost to find the Canada Service office (a government office)
near my area, and I must have walked one hour and half instead of the forecast
half an hour, but that was my fault (next time a pedestrian tells me it’s a
long walk and I’d better get a bus I’ll do it!!!).
Leaving that aside, everything was
easy and smooth.
I waited for maybe half an hour at
the office, had a short interview with a clerk, filled in a form, showed passport and work permit, and my
provisional paper with a SIN was ready.
Today I’ve gotten the card with the
SIN, just 8 days after my application.
That means to make the things easy.
As regards the rest, I have not
much to say. Being a blog about travels I should be posting a lot of photos,
comments on places I visit and people I meet.
Actually my life is more repetitive
and boring: I live like a monk in a monastery who has changed the rosary with a
laptop and the prayers to get salvation with the résumés to get a job, waiting for a miracle.
