Category Archives: Wednesday’s Weekly Update

These posts were written and shared during the summer of 2020 when we were meant to be in Canada but were unable to be there because of the travel restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 global Pandemic. As you will see from reading them, we had know idea if we would be able to get to Canada and these post were a way to keep people up to date with out attempts and failures. They were also an immensely cathartic exercise during the chaos.

I hope you won’t find much here to help you move to Canada, because I hope you won’t find yourself moving in similar circumstances. But you will find a unique story and one which, as it was written, we had no idea how it would end!

Wednesday’s Weekly Update No.4

I skipped writing an update last week because there was nothing new to report since Wednesday’s Weekly Update No.3.

1. Canada’s Boarder Closure. As expected, Canada and the USA have extended their boarder closure until ‘at least the 21st August’. This is the fourth time the US/Canada boarder closure has been extended and each time the news that the Canadian boarder will remained closed to the rest of the world has been added on at the end of the month as a side note! There is currently nothing official regarding Canada extending its boarder closure with the rest of the world. But I’m not hopeful as it seems likely that the now familiar pattern will be repeated. And so once again we wait to see if Canada will make some exemptions to which foreign workers are allowed to enter the country.

2. Our wander around the U.K. continues After 3 months at my Mum’s house in Wiltshire, we’re now nearly back where we started in the South East! We’ll be here for the next two weeks, staying at a friend’s house while they are on holiday. It has been seven months since we moved out and during that entire time we’ve lived with friends and family or in their houses! Although the sight of a packing cube no longer fills me with the joy and excitement it once did, I am immensely grateful to have had so much help this year.

What’s Bothering Babs?

Babs’ question: Why don’t you try and go?

Partly Bally, our Greyhound. Much as I’m sure he’d like to be turned free to hunt squirrels, he’d be useless. Plus, we rather like him. But seriously, the main reason is that I could be refused entry and made to return to the UK. Meanwhile, Jacob would have to remain in/enter Canada. Since, there is no clear end to the boarder closer in sight we would be separated without knowing how long for. In short, the financial and emotional implications are great.

Wednesday’s Weekly Update No.3

This week’s update is a day late, partly because I had hoped that waiting until the 16th would mean there was more concrete information to share on whether Canada will be opening their boarders. Here is last week’s update Wednesday’s Weekly Update No.2 if you need to catch up!

1. Update on Canada opening. To be frank, it’s not looking good. No official announcements have been made yet about the Canada/USA boarder which is currently closed until ‘at least the 21st July’. On Monday it was announced that talks were ‘ongoing’. Every news outlet google offers me, starts with a discouraging headline like ‘Reopen the Canada-U.S. border? Canadians say sorry, but no thanks’ and goes on to claim that their ‘sources’ tell them the border will be closed for a while yet. This, of course, does not mean the same will apply to Europe. But, as before, it seems fairly likely. When the boarder closure was extended last time I was in utter disbelief, now it’s like I’m in a nightmare I can’t wake up from. You know the sort where you’re running but never make it to your destination. So once again, I’m keeping everything crossed that some concessions will be made and we’ll be able to go.

2. Becoming a teacher in Canada. Do a PGCE they said, you’ll be able to teach anywhere in the world they said. Ha! Getting certified as a teacher in British Columbia is proving to be tough! Thankfully, other than cross stitching and crocheting I don’t have anything else to do, so collecting and sending evidence is now my full time job. And what a lot of evidence I’m having to collect to prove I am who I say I am, have the degrees I say I have and have been teaching for five years! 18 separate pieces in total. Most of which they are happy for me to send, but getting universities – that are out of office due to coronavirus – to send in my transcripts is proving impossible. So watch the space, I’m expecting to be certified to teach in BC around 2040.

3. We have a house in Canada! Who knows when we’ll be able to get there but we have signed a contract and we now have a house in Prince George!

What’s Bothering Babs?

Babs’ questions: What’s the house like?

It has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a garage, lovely kitchen ect ect. So plenty of space for friends and family to come and have a Canadian adventure with us. But the best thing is it has a laundry shoot!

Wednesday’s Weekly Update No.2

If you missed last week’s update, you can catch up here: Wednesday’s weekly update No.1. But to recap, we found out that Canada were extending their boarder closure until at least the 30th July. Here’s the latest from limbo land…

1. Jacob does not need to be in Canada immediately. In an online team meeting at the end of last week Jacob found out that they are unlikely to be able to do field work this year. Let me dial it back a little and explain. Jacob is a Glaciologist and a postdoctoral researcher at University of Northern British Columbia. We have been expecting to hear that his team are able to do field work again, thus meaning Jacob would have to make the difficult choice between a glacier and his wife (since, as you may have picked up by now, I can’t go to Canada presently but Jacob can!). However, Jacob has been saved from admitting he loves rocks and ice more than me, because their fieldwork is unlikely to be taking place this summer. This is partly due to the fact that the area they would be working is Native land and the community are, very understandably, nervous about people bringing them Coronavirus. So this puts Jacob under less pressure to get to Canada asap.

2. Our house in Canada is secure for the moment. ‘If this house is the only sure thing about your move (and hopefully it isn’t) so be it, but it’s a sure thing’ was the response from our prospective landlady in Canada. Thus proving that it’s true what they say about Canadian’s being lovely. So for the moment, I’m not giving up on this lovely house with the understanding landlady. But the contract is due to start in seven days so I’m realistic about how long this situation can go on.

3. We may know more by the 16th July. If you’ve read Part two: How Coronavirus derailed our plans for moving to Canada you’ll know that we had decided to wait until the boarders opened at the end of June. On the 16th June we discovered that Canada had extended their boarder closure with the USA, which had been due to end on the 21st June, to the 21st July. This is complete speculation, but going on how it happened last month, we may know whether Canada and the USA are going to extend their boarder closure again around the 16th July. At this point (8th July) this doesn’t seem likely given the mess the USA are in, so I’m hoping for some extension to the current exemption which would allow me to enter. For example, if they allowed people who have a work visa but no job I’d be good to go and packing like a maniac!

What’s Bothering Babs?

(If you’re wondering what on earth this feature is and who on earth Babs is, let me direct you to…Wednesday’s weekly update No.1)

Babs’ question: What’s the Coronavirus situation like in Canada?

Here’s a great map which shows how Canada are fairing in the battle against Coronavirus and why they are not taking any chances with opening their boarder with the USA…