Welcome guide

If you have been recruited into the SIMEXP team as a student, postdoc or employee, congratulations! This document is intended to guide you through your arrival into the team, and make sure you are familiar with the tools that we are using.

Communication & collaboration

We intensively use Slack and you should have already received an invitation by mail. Make sure to check the different workspaces you are involved in (UNF, SIMEXP, Neuromod) and the different channels.

It is also frequent for us to collaborate using Google products (gmail, doc, sheet), so it is better that you subscribe for these services (by creating a gmail account), although that is not mandatory.

Management

  • Julie - Project Manager
  • Pierre - Lab Director

Neuroinformatic & neuroscience

First of all, you should check the tutorials that we designed for the lab. This should guide you through some tools we are intensively using, for example you would like to start with setting up a Alliance Canada account.

Questions

If you have specific questions, you should check if there is an existing Slack channel and ask your question there. For your information, we also provide a table with lab member expertise, the link to which is in the document pinned to the Slack ‘Welcome’ channel.

Role-specific information

As a Udem Student/Employee

As a Master Student, you might be particularly interested in:

  • We are working on this section, check back soon!

As a PhD Student, you might be particularly interested in:

  • We are working on this section, check back soon!

As a Postdoc, you might be particularly interested in:

If you need a visa, you will be applying for the LMIA-exempt work permit unless there’s any special circumstances.

  • Documents required for your visa application. In brief, don’t be afraid of copying the same documents (eg. PhD transcript) in multiple places! Just build as strong a dossier as you can - detailed, redundant and coherent is the key:
    • CV
    • Passport
    • Invitation Letter = provided by the lab
    • Digital Image of yourself = roughly passport style
    • Education (diplomas/degrees/transcripts)
    • Letter from Current Employer = show that you currently have (or recently had) a job and how much they were paying you. Pay stubs and contract are great.
    • Employment Reference Letter = show that your current employer confirms all the above. Needs to be fairly detailed (tasks, working hours, pay, etc..)
    • Employment Records = you can merge & copy the info above plus add any other prior document related to your job records
    • Proof that you Meet the Requirements of the Job Being Offered = basically your PhD diploma or transcripts and proof of upcoming graduation

First thing at your arrival you will need a social insurance number (SIN). If you apply in person it will be dated from the day of application. To obtain your SIN, walk in to Service Canada. You will need:

  • Passport
  • Work permit
  • Parent’s name (Romanised)

Signing up for Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ):

  • You will need temporary traveler’s insurance to cover the first three months of your time in Québec. It can be purchased via the Blue Cross.
  • Immediately after obtaining your SIN, you need to contact RAMQ to let them know you have arrived in Canada. Follow the directions they give you. It will take three months after this first call for your insurance request to process. You will receive your RAMQ card in the mail.

Access to LOGIBEC:

  • Get your employee number from HR, they should also send you all the instructions.
  • Contact the Guichet unique du CIUSSS at 514-940-5216 for the access codes to Logibec. If you cannot speak French, get someone to help you.

Newcomers to Canada

Some useful information for general newcomers to Canada, and Montréal.

On arrival

  • We recommend arriving in YUL as the first point of entry when entering Canada. Don’t transfer inside Canada.
  • You will get your work permit at the first port of entry.

Taxes

You might want to keep receipts related to the following expenses once you have arrived in Canada:

  • Spending related to your relocation, including flights, other relocation related expenses, and accommodation upto 15 days.
  • Medical expenses not covered through RAMQ, and/or the group health insurance plan.

Around March every year, you will receive tax slips. If you are paid through CIUSSS, it will be on LOGIBEC. Lots of people in the lab use the free platform WealthSimple to do their taxes. It will guide you through the process based on your tax slips. This is where you can see if you can submit a tax refund claim for relocation and medication. The system supports automatic submission to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). You need to make sure the following information is correct:

  • SIN number.
  • Name should match the data on the paper you got when applying for SIN. If the above information matches their record, you can submit it automatically as a newcomer. For Revenue Québec, newcomers might need to submit via mail.

OPUS card / STM card

  • After purchasing your OPUS card, register the card either online or at certain stations.
  • If the card is lost, go to a station with in person registration service, with your photo ID, to get a partial refund or a new card with your remaining passes loaded.
  • Full info can be found here.