Crossing Borders Within Canada

A friend of mine asked me last night what makes me feel that Canada discourages any sort of serious and long term travel within its borders, something I mentioned in my previous entry. I thought I should highlight the three roadblocks I've encountered so far, starting with the least severe. The more I look at this list, though, the more I have to wonder if the issue isn't Quebec rather than Canada. This is another reason I want to try life in other provinces.

1) Vehicle Insurance

This is not an issue I expected to encounter, but if I'm out of the province for more than 6 months, then getting insurance coverage for my vehicles is an issue. I was only able to get coverage by promising that I would not spend more than a couple of weeks of the upcoming year outside of Canada and that I would return to Quebec for six months starting next fall, else my coverage will not be renewed. Well, there's another reason for setting up residence elsewhere.

2) Health Coverage

Same sort of deal as with vehicle insurance. The RAMQ (Quebec health insurance board) allows one exemption to the 'no more than six months out of the province' rule every seven years. So, next fall I need to return to Quebec for six months or lose my health care coverage, and then I have to stay in in the province for six months per year for six years.

3) Voting

I sure hope that things have changed since the last time I was out of Quebec when there was a provincial election. When the 2001 elections came up, I enquired about voting by proxy from the small town in Ontario where I was going to school and was told I absolutely had to travel back to my riding in Quebec in order to vote. So, with my riding being a twelve hour bus ride away, this wasn't feasible and I had to give up my right to vote. Never mind that I was paying income tax in Quebec and still considered a resident of the province.

Proverbial Stone

Whew, I didn't intend to get insurance issues sorted out today, but I did! I'm thrilled with the coverage and price I got for a 'Globe Trotter Plus Nomad' (love that!) policy... that includes road side assistance for the RV. One less thing to research. *Rae heaves a huge sigh of relief*

I still need to check if my plans will affect my car policy (which I'll need to maintain with my current insurer), so I could still be in for surprises, insurance-wise, but I think the worst is over.

The fact that I will be out of Quebec for a year was a huge problem and I had to swear up and down and promise my firstborn child that I would not go to the United States for more than a couple of weeks at a time, and for no more than 6 mos total, as well as pay a premium. I can't figure out why my country is so difficult about people crossing its provincial borders for more than 6 mos. I know it has something to do with the health care regimes and provincial income tax, but all of that comes out in the wash if you ask me. *rolls eyes*

Okay, so now I'm waiting for the financing to be settled. This is stressing me out, probably more than it should. It's just that plans B through Z aren't nearly as advantageous as plan A and could really cramp my style.

Research, Research, and More Research

Now that I've pretty much settled all the questions pertaining to the actual RVing buying process--inspection, finances, registration, taxes, and insurance, I'm delving into these fascinating topics:

-Roadside assistance;

-Memberships (to RVing groups for various discounts);

-Internet and cell phone (a nightmare in Canada, a country that is at least a decade behind the times in this area);

-Electrical upgrades (ie. Solar Panels and inverters 101, so I don't have to rely on hookups);

-Backup cameras;

-GPS systems.

And that's on top of trying to understand the gist of how RV systems work, looking into boondocking/dry camping sites on my proposed route across the country, searching for employers to whom I could send a resumé and covering letter asking for short term work, and a host of other things I'm sure I'll remember soon as I'm drifting off to sleep tonight.

All I can say is THANK GOODNESS I DON'T WATCH TV. For one thing, it gives me more time to surf. But, most importantly, it's one less thing to research. :-D

The Fun of Importing

I just got off the phone with the SAAQ (Quebec 'DMV'). In order to bring the motorhome into Quebec, I need to have another safety inspection done. They will, of course, find things wrong with the vehicle even though Ontario didn't, because this is Quebec and Quebec believes in nickel and dimeing its over taxed citizenry.

Once I meet the safety requirements, I can get a licence plate that will officially put the vehicle in my name. In order to do so, I need to pay the QST (Quebec sales tax). If I lived in Ontario, I could just give the guy a cheque and that would be that. But because I'm in another province, I need to pay 7.5% more than our agreed upon sales price.

Once I've ponied up that money (which will be at least a grand), I can then pay for the licence plate. The amount I was quoted was suspiciously low (482$ for a year, 326$ due now till February). If I only have to pay 500$ a year for plates for this thing, you will need to scrape me off the floor.

It's too late now to make more calls, but tomorrow I will be calling the safety check places to find out how much that will cost, then an insurance company.

That done, I will investigate a 'proper' RV finance loan. I don't technically need one, but I'd rather keep my other funds if I can.