lol ,the reverse box even had lines on it and a circle/cross on when to stop next to the cab . 
MGR1610:
Rather than start another Canada thread I’ll ask here, if you find a company employing that have lmia’s do they have people that will help you sort everything out to get out there and get the licence or do they basically say sort x y and z out yourself and be in the yard on this date to start?neilg14:
I spent 3 1/2yrs living in the truck,What did you do for an address for the time you where living in the truck?
I used the company address, we had pigeon holes for our post.
A lot of people have a PO box as their address, out in the boonies there is no door to door postal service and you can rent a PO box from Canada Post or UPS. Not sure if you can have that as the address on your license though?
The test itself is mainly the pre trip and air brake stuff, as Jimmy said, just learn it parrot fashion and it’s easy, the driving part is ridiculously easy, but many a driver with 20+yrs on artics in Britain has still managed to fail it, some more than once! Bad habits I guess, but for the record I passed first time, despite the bad habits lol
bad man NMM 
…yes I failed on a Tuesday on the drive for gods sake!27yrs bad habits passed the drive next day with a very unhappy instructor (seems I cost him money due to me not passing first time) lol. didn’t have to do the airbrake as passed on Tuesday.
I will only have 5 years bad habits by the time I’m eligible to go out there so hopefully ill be able to kick them easy enough haha, test doesn’t sound bad at all really just get use to sitting on the wrong side. It’s good that you can use the company’s address tho because I wouldent be too keen on getting a house out there straight off the bat because you don’t know if they’ll let you stay.
I think the best way to do things out here is first come over for a visit, just have a look around, if you have a family, do it together. Do not mention to airport immigration that you’re looking to come here for work as they can ■■■■ you off and send you home.
Once you’ve had a little jolly up out here then you can start to concentrate on the companies offering work in a province you liked. Then assuming you get the magic job offer and LMIA, come over alone and get all the tests done and get out on the road.
Stay in the truck as much as possible, ideally working your nuts off and get nominated for PR by the company or province (depending on how it’s done in the province you are in) and then think about renting somewhere and bringing the family over.
Remember that all this can take up to two years and it could be a further two years before you get residency. You may not be at a very good company (highly likely) and you can moan all you want about that, but because options are so limited at the moment and the system has been abused so much in the past, you have no choice but to ■■■■ it up buttercup. No matter how bad it gets, you’re pretty much stuck where you are and there’s nothing you can do about it, except pack it all up and go back to Britain. It’s not good, but it is how it is.
I’m not over dramatising it, there really are some terrible jobs over here and the worst of the worst are the companies that have to recruit from overseas, as even the Canadian drivers, who take far more crap than Brits, will not work for these firms.
They aren’t all bad, but most of them are, which is why 99% of Brits that came here no longer work for the company they came here to work for. Do not be under any illusions that it will be different for you, many people have made that mistake and a lot of them are now back in Britain with a very bad taste in their mouths.
I have been speaking to a recent arrival in the past few weeks and even I was shocked by the exploitation he and his family are enduring. His pay is almost half of what the Canadian drivers earn for doing the same job, he rented a house off the owner of the company and the rent keeps going up, he pays from his wages, so has no choice but to pay, he looked for another place to live and the boss found out and threatened to throw his family out on the street while he was out on the road unless he stayed in the company house. If he attempts to refuse an unreasonable request he is told to get his family out of the house and go to the airport and back to Britain.
The poor bloke is at the end of his rope, so I advised him to adopt a different approach, one that is a bit more British in its approach. There’s a lot of illegal stuff going on, the wages, the house rental etc etc, so pointing out that the authorities would shut the firm down (more than half the workforce is on an LMIA and if they get pulled, it will be a big problem) and that an extreme level of violence will be dished out the next time threats are made to his family.
Not a good situation at all and one of the most extreme cases I’ve heard of, but it’s happening for this poor bloke and his family, so even though such a bad deal is unlikely to happen to anybody else, it does show how bad it could be out here if you make the wrong choice I’m who you take that LMIA from…
Gentlemen, first, I do apologize as I left this topic abandoned for such a long time. I had family issues to sort out…
Thank you for the opinions, guys, I really appreciate your help.
So, I contacted the Bison Transport in Winnipeg, they even sent me the application forms, and there’s a fella from my country who works for them, and give me infos about the company and about Manitoba. Meantime, I met another fella, who lived in Prince Edward island for a year and had a very negative opinion about the job and the island itself… But he gave me the name of the company and I talked guys, who still work there, their opinion is much more positive. LAst Saturday I went to London, there was an event in the Canada House; three provinces, East Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI sent representatives to recruit people, who wanna move there. And that haulage company sent his recruitment manager too. So, I got all the infos I need to sort out the immigration paperwork and apply for a job. Did not make a decision, should I go for the Bison, or the company at PEI… The property prices are more friendly at PEI, and the weather bit more friendly. Another thing, the training at the Bison is 13 weeks, at the other company said 4-6 weeks.
Anyway, if any one works for either the Bison, Bulk Carriers, or another New Brunswick/Nova Scotia based company, please, feel free, to make any opinion, suggestion, or give some more details, even their own experiences… 
Every opinion, advice much appreciated, about rent, buying my first car, health insurance, etc.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
Hey, if this is the only choice you have, then I would go with Bison, I don’t know much about the companies over East, only what I read and that it was bad for the majority of drivers.
Scroll up again to Robinhoods posts above, re-read them and digest it.
Again, no experience with them but Bison, if they can keep you running, would probably be your best bet.
This 13 weeks training, what does it entail, did they tell you ?
What are they paying you for this ?
IMO, personally speaking and knowing what I do now, I would give all of these a wide berth and see what happens in the next 12mths or so with LMIA’s.
One rash/wrong decision now because you feel you need to be out like yesterday, could possibly ruin your life forever, whereas waiting a while and making the right decision could make your life unbelievably great.
BISON all the way if that s all the choices ye have…yes.you are just a number but its all legal but the pay is in the bank iirc weekly and there are many shifts you can do but at the start you would be Canada -USA -Canada,(going by what friends tell me and they have no reason to lie to me).allocated truck BUT if you want to take say a week off then don’t expect it waiting on you as it will be used.
Look closely at life outside the truck, the prairies are a challenging place to live. You’re either swatting mozzies or shoveling snow [emoji3] [emoji3]
Dennisthemenace:
Gentlemen, first, I do apologize as I left this topic abandoned for such a long time. I had family issues to sort out…Thank you for the opinions, guys, I really appreciate your help.
So, I contacted the Bison Transport in Winnipeg, they even sent me the application forms, and there’s a fella from my country who works for them, and give me infos about the company and about Manitoba. Meantime, I met another fella, who lived in Prince Edward island for a year and had a very negative opinion about the job and the island itself… But he gave me the name of the company and I talked guys, who still work there, their opinion is much more positive. LAst Saturday I went to London, there was an event in the Canada House; three provinces, East Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI sent representatives to recruit people, who wanna move there. And that haulage company sent his recruitment manager too. So, I got all the infos I need to sort out the immigration paperwork and apply for a job. Did not make a decision, should I go for the Bison, or the company at PEI… The property prices are more friendly at PEI, and the weather bit more friendly. Another thing, the training at the Bison is 13 weeks, at the other company said 4-6 weeks.
Anyway, if any one works for either the Bison, Bulk Carriers, or another New Brunswick/Nova Scotia based company, please, feel free, to make any opinion, suggestion, or give some more details, even their own experiences…
Every opinion, advice much appreciated, about rent, buying my first car, health insurance, etc.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
For heavens sake, stay away form Bulk Carriers PEI 
I worked for them for one year, one of the worst companies you can find in Canada.
I know of some drivers who left Bison because it’s getting worse in the last years, I wasn’t there but I would be very careful to go there, I think the only reason they take foreigners again is they can’t find drivers any more. Read the Canadian trucking forum, then you know why to avoid Bison.
newmercman:
Look closely at life outside the truck, the prairies are a challenging place to live. You’re either swatting mozzies or shoveling snow [emoji3] [emoji3]
HAhaha, although do not like mosquitoes, but could live with that. I was born in Hungary and back in my childhood, we had hot summers and cold winters with plenty of snow. Loved shovelling snow as a child…
neilg14:
Hey, if this is the only choice you have, then I would go with Bison, I don’t know much about the companies over East, only what I read and that it was bad for the majority of drivers.
Scroll up again to Robinhoods posts above, re-read them and digest it.
Again, no experience with them but Bison, if they can keep you running, would probably be your best bet.
This 13 weeks training, what does it entail, did they tell you ?
What are they paying you for this ?
IMO, personally speaking and knowing what I do now, I would give all of these a wide berth and see what happens in the next 12mths or so with LMIA’s.
One rash/wrong decision now because you feel you need to be out like yesterday, could possibly ruin your life forever, whereas waiting a while and making the right decision could make your life unbelievably great.
Bison seems to me as a serious company, also, on the Facebook a British guy, who works for them said, “great company to work for”.
I was supposed to skype a guy, who works for them for years yesterday, but I was broken down all day long in ■■■■■■’ Lancashire, so had to postpone it. Deffo will call the HR guy too, who sent me the paperwork. Dunno exactly, what the 13 weeks training covers exactly, what the Hungarian bloke wrote to me is: Need to pass a test, to gain the Canadian licence, then 13 weeks training on minimum wage. (think, it’s $11 in Manitoba, not sure. On their page I’ve seen even a driver simulator, so probably a particular training, incl. paperworks, US cutom procedures, logbook, etc.After the training the starting salary is 41Cents/Mile and continusly rising up to 52 Cents. Guaranteed 12000 miles/24 days. Minimum 5-7 day trips with two days rest. Employer supported health care.
Actually, I’m told by the Canadian recruiters, it worth to find a company who offers this health care benefit, otherwise a perscription for medicals can cost $ 100.
But choosing the place also important, as I’ d like to bring wife and the kid later (12 years old), so the paramount is, what would be better for a kid later…
13 weeks at 11 bucks an hour - either bring a bucketload of cash with you or ask them if you can live in the truck while you’re training lol
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russjp:
13 weeks at 11 bucks an hour - either bring a bucketload of cash with you or ask them if you can live in the truck while you’re training lolSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That’s exactly that worries me too. But I will talk to guy first, he messaged me earlier and said something about a motel, that have some contract with them.
Thank you, Kraut… I’ll try to find as much info about Bison, as possible… Not easy at the moment, as I’m a nigh driver, on my way, by the Canadian blokes get home and available for chat.
Dennisthemenace:
russjp:
13 weeks at 11 bucks an hour - either bring a bucketload of cash with you or ask them if you can live in the truck while you’re training lolSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That’s exactly that worries me too. But I will talk to guy first, he messaged me earlier and said something about a motel, that have some contract with them.
Even a great deal with a motel would still see you paying around $70-$80 a night as a rough estimate, a standard hotel room at a decent chain will cost you $120 a night upwards and that’s still pretty low
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just phoned a friend about this and he says it sounds like you are being classed as an entry level training driver ie .a rookie straight out of driving school with no experience at all with perhaps being locked into a 2yr contract. iirc you are an experienced class 1 driver and no kin way let them railroad you into this …training to get through your test …yes well we all needed that…Bison is all makro messages so a day to learn them another for paperwork so after passing your test a max of 1 week to learn the paperwork side/border crossing procedures. The driving is easy part and is the same all round the world so 13weeks at min wage HELL NO> and another question my mate asked are you going TEAM or has this not been mentioned yet.that takes a special type of trust with someone you don’t know to put your life in his hands when you are sleeping in the bunk going over a mountain pass!
sorry to sound negative but Bison did not get the size it is for nothing! remember all OTR companies over here will do anything/say anything to get meat on the seats for as little money as possible
Just to say …my phone friend worked for Bison in Winnipeg,Calgary and a yard in lower BC (he was single and had his PR and went where he was needed ,well the money).Thought the job was ok ,outfits maintained ok. miles were good so money was . His problem was some of the dispatchers had no idea what happens in the real world…both fleet 1&2 and even local (daycab)work into the USA (BC yards)was timed to minutes so accidents /weather conditions led to tantrums from certain dispatchers if you ran out of time and asked for a 
room to be booked. and one of his real bugbears the dropyards in BC and SK were never ploughed so you ended up stuck on ice/snow It sounds bad but when you came around and did things the Bison way and played them at there own game …ie never said no ,did your Makros ,never had your forward radar come on (reports back to base) came in did your work and went home life was ok but when things went wrong the crap rolled downhill to you .
NB> just passing on what my mate has told me ,don’t shot the messen.ger.
JIMBO47:
just phoned a friend about this and he says it sounds like you are being classed as an entry level training driver ie .a rookie straight out of driving school with no experience at all with perhaps being locked into a 2yr contract. iirc you are an experienced class 1 driver and no kin way let them railroad you into this …training to get through your test …yes well we all needed that…Bison is all makro messages so a day to learn them another for paperwork so after passing your test a max of 1 week to learn the paperwork side/border crossing procedures. The driving is easy part and is the same all round the world so 13weeks at min wage HELL NO> and another question my mate asked are you going TEAM or has this not been mentioned yet.that takes a special type of trust with someone you don’t know to put your life in his hands when you are sleeping in the bunk going over a mountain pass!sorry to sound negative but Bison did not get the size it is for nothing! remember all OTR companies over here will do anything/say anything to get meat on the seats for as little money as possible
Thank you, Jimbo!
So, sorry, I was not clear about the details… The thirteen weeks came from an advertise, that posted on the own Facebook page of one of their drivers. That bloke is Hungarian, lives in Canada and works for the Bison for about 8 years. After I read this and asked him about that nominee program I called a bloke in Winnipeg (Oliver, HR), and jusdt simply told him, I’m interested and have 5 years experience. He sent me applying forms for either the immigration and the job at Bison, but I did not ask him particularly about the training or anything else yet. I’m bit confused, as the thirteen weeks really sounds too long on min. wage. So, all I can do, contact Winnipeg again and make it clear, but first I need to contact that driver, only available for skype on weekends. Was agreed, to have a chat last Sunday, but I was broken down in bloody Lancashire so had to postpone it till next Saturday.