ETA Canada News

The Surrey School Board in British Columbia (BC) passed a plan on February 14 to extend school hours for secondary schools. The aim is to accommodate the increase in the number of students by staggering the start and end times of classes.

Under the plan, secondary class time will be increased from the current four blocks per day to five blocks. Students take classes in four blocks, either from blocks 1 to 4 or from blocks 2 to 5. The Surrey Board of Education says the move will increase the number of students allowed in schools by 10 to 15 percent. However, costs will increase as staff work more hours.

The extended plan is scheduled to begin in September 2024. It will be announced in the coming days which schools will adopt the plan, but the school board says it is possible that about one-third of schools will make the transition.

The city of Surrey is faced with the challenge of dealing with an increase in the number of students due to population growth, and there are currently approximately 400 temporary classrooms in the city. The city is expected to build more than 50,000 homes over the next 10 years. Based on this, the Board of Education expects to admit 9,777 new students over the next 10 years.

1.Send cancellation notice

First, we will notify the owner of the cancellation in writing. Notice of cancellation must be given at least 60 days in advance, and the last day of cancellation is the last day of the monthly cycle of your rental agreement. For example, if the contract starts on the 1st, the last day of the month will be the last day of the month, and if the contract starts on the 15th, the last day will be the 14th. The most formal method is to send a cancellation notice called N9 to the owner by email, but I think it would be valid even if it was just an email or text, if the owner’s signature of consent was obtained. When terminating a fixed-term rental contract on the expiration date or canceling a monthly contract, an N9 notice of cancellation is required, and only a unilateral notice from the tenant is required. When canceling a fixed-term rental contract midway through, or midway through a monthly cycle, a cancellation notice called N11 is used. N11 requires signatures from both tenant and owner. If you move out before the final day, there are very few cases where the owner will refund the rent for the period, such as one or two weeks, between the cancellation date and the move-out date. If you wish to cancel the contract in the middle of the monthly cycle and pay the rent daily for the final month, please inform the owner of your wish as early as possible, at least 60 days in advance, and obtain their consent, and both parties should sign N11. I think it’s a good idea to do so. Also, if you need to cancel early but there is no provision in the contract, try to negotiate with the owner as soon as possible, such as whether 2 months of 60 days’ notice + 1 to 2 months of penalty is sufficient.

2. Confirm about preview before cancellation

If a notice of cancellation is given, there is a rule in Ontario that the tenant must cooperate with the viewing within 60 days before moving out. Normally, you will receive a notification from the owner agent’s real estate company about the viewing request 24 hours in advance, and you will receive a response to confirm whether it is OK or not. If you do not want the person to come to view the property on the specified date and time due to circumstances such as working from home or moving, you can refuse (you cannot refuse every time). If the owner/agent does not honor your notice of more than 24 hours in advance, or if you are being bothered by repeated sudden notices, make sure to complain to the owner/agent. If the owner agent does not make improvements, it is more effective to complain directly to the owner. After notifying the owner of the cancellation, the owner’s agent will oversee future viewings and will contact you. According to the rules, viewings are allowed from 8:00 to 20:00 every day, but it’s a good idea to tell the owner agent in advance and decide if it’s OK to view from 8:00 to 20:00 every day, what day of the week every week, or only on this day. Probably. Let us know how you would like to be notified of the preview, such as by text message, phone call, or email. Normally, for viewing, a small box containing a key called a lock box is placed in your room or building, or you leave the key with a concierge. The agent who wishes to view the property will use the key to enter the room, so there is no need for the tenant to be present during the viewing, but please be careful of valuables on the day of the viewing. In addition, before making a rental offer on MLS, etc., there are many cases where an owner agent visits the room to check for any defects and to take photos for the purpose of the offer.

3.Inspection and key return upon moving out

Once you have decided on the day you will return the keys to the owner (move-out date), such as on or before the last day of the contract, contact the owner as soon as possible to confirm the date and time. When you move out, we will inspect your room and return your keys. During the inspection, the owner mainly checks that there is no noticeable dirt or damage in the room, and that the home appliances are in usable condition. If there is any damage or malfunction, your key deposit will be deducted, and you may also be asked to cover any shortfall in repair costs. If the damage is clearly the tenant’s fault, we recommend that you have the owner come over one to two weeks in advance to check and discuss the situation with you. Basically, when you move out, the property will be restored to its original condition. If the room is unfurnished, all furniture must be disposed of. If you want to leave your furniture behind, please check with the owner in advance. Also, if the contract states that the property will be professionally cleaned when you move out, you will need to have the property professionally cleaned after moving out before returning the keys.

If it is difficult to arrange cleaning, please consult with the owner, as in many cases the key deposit will be deducted or set off. Unless the contract specifically mentions professional cleaning, the rule in Ontario is to leave the property “Bloom Swept.’ The key deposit will be fully refunded if there is no problem with the room and all keys are returned without being lost. Key deposits can be refunded in a variety of ways including check, e-transfer, and cash. If you have already canceled your bank account and are concerned about getting your money back via check or e-transfer, let the owner know in advance that you would like your money back in cash.

4.Moving arrangements and elevator reservations

In the case of a condominium, you will need to make a reservation to use the elevator once you have decided on your move-in date. The date and time of your move may not always match the date and time you can reserve an elevator. It is often crowded during the summer peak season and on Saturdays, so we recommend checking in advance and making elevator reservations.

When using the elevator, you will be asked to pay a deposit and a usage fee, but please be aware that even if a personal check is fine when you move in, you will often be asked to send a bank draft when you move out.

If you are moving, you will need to make elevator reservations for both your current home and your new home, so be sure to check the moving date early and decide.

5.Cancellation/change of tenant insurance

Contact the company you purchased your insurance with or your insurance broker to inform them of your move-out date and cancel your tenant insurance. To prevent tenant insurance from being automatically renewed, let us know as soon as you decide to cancel. In addition, if you cancel your policy mid-term, you will receive a refund of your premium for the remaining term. In the case of a refund, the insurance premium for the remaining period will usually be refunded after a handling fee has been deducted. Please note that if you wish to receive a refund by check, you will need to complete the procedure before closing your bank account immediately before returning to your home country. If you are moving, you will need to plan for both canceling insurance for your current home and purchasing insurance for your new home. There will be overlapping periods between the two insurance policies, so please check with your insurance broker about the handling of overlapping periods.

6.Cancellation/Change of Utility Bills and Internet Contracts

You can cancel your utility bill account online or by phone, with the final day of cancellation or move-out date. If you are using Pre-Authorized Payment but are canceling your bank account, tell them that you do not want your final bill to be automatically debited. Once you receive your final bill via email or MY Account, pay by phone or on the site using your credit card. We recommend that you contact us as soon as you have decided on your move-out date, as the procedure for paying utility bills takes time. If you are relocating, we will arrange for you to change your address if the utility companies for the two residences are the same, and if they are different, we will arrange for both the cancellation of the utility bill for your current residence and the insurance coverage for your new residence. is required. As stipulated in the original contract, the cancellation date for utility bills (and tenant insurance) is basically the last day of the contract. If there is a difference, we recommend that you check with the owner in advance to see if it is okay to cancel your utility bills (and tenant insurance) on the date you move out and obtain their consent before proceeding. In that case, when you return the keys and move out, it would be a good idea to get a note from the owner stating, “From now on, the tenant will not be responsible for paying utility bills or for any damage to the room.’

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), announced on February 6 that a Nigerian man has been arrested in connection with the 2023 death of a 14-year-old schoolboy in Surrey, British Columbia, near Vancouver. The male student had been subjected to financial sextortion (online sexual blackmail).

The male student committed suicide in February 2023. Before his death, he was tricked into sending sexual images through Instagram and Snapchat by a suspect who posed as a teenage girl. The suspect threatened to send the images to his family and friends unless he bought a gift card and sent it. The interaction between the victim and suspect lasted only a few minutes.

Police identified the two Nigerian suspects in May of the same year.

With the cooperation of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), Australian police, and others, suspect Adedayo Olakaye was arrested in August of the same year.

According to the RCMP, reports of sextortion have increased by 44 per cent, from 220 cases in 2022 to 302 cases in 2023, with boys being the main targets.

As soon as Halloween is over, the Christmas season begins in Canada. When it comes to Christmas in Toronto, the Distillery District downtown is probably the most famous and popular place. Every year in mid-November, Dior’s giant Christmas tree is lit, and Christmas-related shops open in the Distillery District. I remember going to the tree lighting ceremony last year and celebrating the arrival of Christmas a month early with the many people there. I didn’t go to the lighting ceremony this year, but I went with a friend to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere.

The beautiful brick-built Distillery Winter Village has many points of interest such as beautifully decorated illuminations, an electronic bulletin board counting down the days until Christmas, and a cocoa shop to warm you up in the cold winter. The main thing is, of course, the Dior Christmas tree. Many people stopped and took pictures together. I also took a photo with the beautiful tree. As expected, the sparkling tree is very beautiful. As I was admiring the beauty of the tree, a voice came from somewhere and said, “Santa Claus is here!” I even managed to run into Santa Claus! Maybe it was busy, but they quickly walked away, but it was impressive to see so many people smiling and waving to Santa Claus.

The Distillery District is unique in that it exhibits a variety of art works, but there are other things to see besides Christmas trees, such as works that look like spiders straight out of the Ghibli world, heart monuments, and winter-like snowman art. There are lots of fun things to do. It’s larger than I expected from end to end, but I think it’s a wonderful place where you can enjoy art, food, miscellaneous goods, and more without getting bored.

At the Christmas shop, there are mountains of presents perfect for Christmas, and just window shopping will make your heart skip a beat. Especially in Canada, where Christmas has more meaning than the beginning of the year, you will be surprised by the variety of Christmas-related products, and you will be able to feel the happiness of being able to shop while dreaming of the special day of Christmas that is just around the corner.

The Distillery District is a dream-like space where you can feel Christmas in many ways, with a variety of items being sold outside of the indoor store, such as cotton candy in the shape of Santa Claus, gloves, and Christmas tree-like decorations.

Recently, it became a hot topic in the United States that Gen Z job seekers are bringing their parents along with them to job interviews, and it was widely covered on news sites in Canada as well.

In a survey of 800 general managers and executives in the United States, one in five said they had witnessed such a scene. This new trend is not liked by employers, who instead of hiring new graduates are trying to increase the salaries, allowances, benefits, etc. of existing full-time employees to keep them working longer.

The problem is not just bringing parents to the interview. According to half of employers surveyed, Gen Z job seekers ask for unfair pay even though they can’t make eye contact. It seems that there were many job seekers who showed up in casual clothes that did not suit the workplace, leaving employers at a loss as to how to respond to the generation that is about to reach its prime working age.

Rogers just reported a massive multi-billion-dollar jump in revenue last year, despite accounting for the largest share of the country’s growing number of telecommunications complaints. Rogers’ financial report for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 showed that services revenue increased by an astonishing 30% in the three-month quarter, reaching 16 billion yuan.

This shows that even with the large number of complaints, more people are signing up with Rogers and upgrading their services. Rogers ended last year with 11.6 million mobile phone customers and 4.2 million internet customers, including 674,000 people who signed up for postpaid phone plans in the past year, according to documents released Thursday.

The company’s acquisition of Shaw Communications was completed in April 2023, which also meant that cable TV revenue increased significantly, up an astonishing 94% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Source: Photographed by 51 reporters However, this 26-billion-yuan acquisition caused Rogers’ profit to drop by about 35% compared with the same period last year.

Despite this, Rogers’ profits still reached 328 million yuan. You can imagine what Rogers’ profits would have been like without this acquisition.

Rogers said in yesterday’s release that further revenue growth is expected, like Air Canada and major supermarkets, which are making profits regardless of the quality of service they provide.

There is a facility called NOT A HOTEL. NOT A HOTEL, which advocates “a new way of living,” is a lifestyle service that sells hotels and houses that allow you to freely switch between your home, villa, or hotel on an app, with the concept of “your home around the world.” is.

Owners of NOT A HOTEL can easily switch between using their property as their home, villa, or renting it out as a hotel from the app, and everything from check-in to check-out can be completed with the app. can.

You can spread the cost of owning a home, which tends to be expensive, by purchasing shares in 30-day units, or you can make money by renting out the property as a hotel on the days you are not using it.

I had the opportunity to stay at this hotel due to good luck, and it was a very valuable experience. The space we stayed at was MASTERPIECE – NOT A HOTEL NASU.

NOT A HOTEL NASU’s representative architecture was designed by SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE (an architectural design office in Hiroshima and Tokyo led by architects Makoto Tanijiri and Ai Yoshida).

The two-story building stands on a site of about 1,300 square meters and has a spacious space of over 500 square meters including the terrace. The architecture and spatial design of the building were wonderful, and it was an experience that truly lived up to its name, Masterpiece.

NOT A HOTEL’s business and vision are also very wonderful, and I empathize with them in many ways. Also, the experience of staying here was the most sophisticated accommodation space ever.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is embracing new technology that could soon shorten wait times at the border.

The CBSA recently announced in a post on X that the agency is “modernizing border services with digital tools” to make the crossing smoother for travelers.

CBSA said: “We know that new technologies may raise concerns about privacy, bias and the protection of personal information. To address these concerns, we are carefully researching and planning our actions and spending time with partners, stakeholders and Communicate with the public.”

While CBSA did not disclose specific details about the new technology, the agency highlighted some of the technology and digital tools that are already available. Some examples include pre-declaration forms that can be filled out in advance, as well as digital kiosks and electronic checkpoints that allow travelers to verify their identity faster and more conveniently.

Overall, travelers generally favor the use of these new tools. The CBSA also said it is using facial recognition technology, but travelers can choose not to use it. “If you don’t want to use the new digital tools, you still have the option of presenting your identity to a border services agent, just like you do now,” the CBSA website reads.

For travelers, the sooner new technology arrives, the better. Last summer, border wait times were as long as two hours.

As everyone is busy predicting the real estate outlook for 2024, a legacy from 2023 will continue to hang over the market: many homes will be sold at power of sale. “Most of what you see now are renovations gone wrong,” he said. are homes that incurred significant debt to renovate and upgrade them to attract high-end buyers.

There are currently dozens of homes for sale in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada’s largest real estate market, that are subject to mandatory auctions, and they will continue to grow as new court applications increase in the new year. At the same time, real estate analysts and social media have been showing off the latest evidence that a group of houses purchased at the peak of the market in 2022 are being sold for far less than the price they paid for them.

According to a report earlier this month, a renovated house in Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods area suffered a $1.8 million loss and was forced to be sold at auction by the home’s lender, Vault Capital Inc. Toronto detached house doubles in price after being resold for $1.8 million in one year.

Due to the high price of air tickets from China to Toronto, many Chinese have recently chosen to transfer via Japan and South Korea.

What they are most worried about is trouble when connecting, such as flight delays, cancellations, and other emergencies on the day of boarding… However, for Air Canada passengers, encountering such a “nightmare” seems to be a common occurrence.

An Air Canada flight to Toronto was urgently canceled before takeoff.

According to a post by @éléphanteau??, a Chinese passenger at the scene: “The Seoul-Toronto AC62 20:10 flight opened for check-in and baggage check-in at 14:45. I slept in my seat until after 7 o’clock and woke up to find the screen. “This flight was no longer available, so I asked the staff if the flight was normal, and the guy gave me a meaningful shake of his head.”

According to the passenger’s description, the scene fell into chaos, but Air Canada quickly controlled the situation.