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kellygreen



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 91

PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 10:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually CRA has little problem with the credit cards and drivers licenses - there are those who have built homes and "sold" their homes for a buck to a relative and then "bought" them back (maybe even at a hundred percent profit). CRA - no matter what one thinks of them, is not totally peopled by idiots.

In order to work at CNAQ as a non-resident you need the paper from CRA stating as such - so you have to go through the idiotic paperwork and the dire time lapse to wait for a decision. If you're bullet proof (as A69 states) there won't be a problem - but you want the paper in hand ASAP so you don't have to go through trying to get the deductions back from CRA.

As for pensionable earnings - there are issues coming to light with some residents (for tax purposes) - the amount of pensionable earnings may or may not be reduced - it's still being investigated by those affected.

As for the heir apparent sending a letter - who knows? It's another layer to the contradictory emails and statement from CNA, CNAQ, and the rumor mill.

CCQ? There was a mild demand from Qatari students earlier this year (published in the press) that the president be sent home and entrance standards be lowered - nothing came of it to my knowledge. However, from the rumor mill again, CCQ has found the learning curve here even steeper than CNAQ did 10+ years ago.

The CRA issue - yes the DL and CCs are considered but if you give CRA a reasonable explanation for maintaining them (while divesting yourself of all else) they are not usually considered the only deciding factors in determining residency.


Last edited by kellygreen on Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Shimokitazawa



Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 458
Location: Saigon, Vietnam

PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 11:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

SecretAgent69 wrote:
Pathetic individuals.

In terms of CRA, if you have cut all ties there is no problem. There could be a problem with individuals who have tried to get smart and play both sides of the coin by keeping things like their Canadian drivers license, credit cards, etc. Serves em right for not being more thorough.


This information is wrong.

Canada Revenue does not determine residency based on one holding a valid driver's license or even having a credit card.
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Shimokitazawa



Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 458
Location: Saigon, Vietnam

PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kellygreen wrote:
In order to work at CNAQ as a non-resident you need the paper from CRA stating as such - so you have to go through the idiotic paperwork and the dire time lapse to wait for a decision.... but you want the paper in hand ASAP so you don't have to go through trying to get the deductions back from CRA.


Good to know. A lot of people, although they've been working overseas for many years, do not have this form.
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SecretAgent69



Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 3:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shimokitazawa wrote:
SecretAgent69 wrote:
Pathetic individuals.

In terms of CRA, if you have cut all ties there is no problem. There could be a problem with individuals who have tried to get smart and play both sides of the coin by keeping things like their Canadian drivers license, credit cards, etc. Serves em right for not being more thorough.


This information is wrong.

Canada Revenue does not determine residency based on one holding a valid driver's license or even having a credit card.


There is no "right" or "wrong" when it comes to CRA and non-residency. It's a very grey area so if CRA wants to use those two ties as part of their effort to get you, they will. Why give them the rope to hang you with?

Quote:
Other ties that may be relevant include:

a Canadian driver's licence;
Canadian bank accounts or credit cards;
health insurance with a Canadian province or territory.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/nnrs-eng.html#d


Quote:
As for the heir apparent sending a letter - who knows? It's another layer to the contradictory emails and statement from CNA, CNAQ, and the rumor mill.


This is a good point. Although the president of the college telling a crowd of employees constitutes a bit more than just rumour; until the college offers contracts past the 2013 date its all up in the air.
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Lonesome Dove



Joined: 01 Nov 2008
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 5:34 pm    Post subject: Hard bargaining Reply with quote

Reading between the lines, I think some very hard bargaining must be going on behind the scenes. The Qataris have at a minimum made clear that they are prepared to walk away from any new deal. They've set up the CCQ to take over, and they sat on the contract, reputedly, for over a year (looks more like three) while refusing to even negotiate. They've certainly at least spread the rumour that they are terminating the contract. Now an entirely plausible interpretation of the Heir Apparent's supposed letter is that it is imposing a deadline: either CNAQ comes to an agreement they are happy with by November, or it's over.

The slated visit by the President of CNA at about that time is surely either 1) to announce that it is over, or 2) to announce that the new terms will be very different from the old terms of the Qatari-CNA contract. You can bet those salaries will be going down across the board. Probably no more instructors, department heads, or deans without Master's degrees. For other likely changes, look to the deal made with HCC for CCQ. No more integrated classrooms, articulation agreements galore, associate degrees, more community outreach and cooperation, and so forth.
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kellygreen



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 91

PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The heir apparent being quoted in any context with CNAQ is surprising - as he has had almost nothing to do with the college in any context since its inception. One of the Sheikha's is on the JOB and there's been the occasional visit from the Emir's wife - now the heir apparent is in the mix?

If you revisit some of the previous posts, the CNAQ president has said (October 2010) verbally to at least 50+ people that the contract had been with the Emiri Diwan since August 2010. In the same meeting he said he had asked an Emiri official about the contract status and said the official expressed "surprise" the contract hadn't been signed yet.

CNA NFLD president sent an email to the entire college in March/April 2011 to the effect that the State was willing to enter into negotiations with CNA about the contract.

In June, our Dean stood up and declared the entire management team was "surprised" by the CNA NFLD president's statements as it was all over but the signing.

Here we are in October - other than here at Dave's I can't find anyone who has heard (or was present at) the meeting where the Heir Apparent's message was quoted.
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SecretAgent69



Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kellygreen wrote:

Here we are in October - other than here at Dave's I can't find anyone who has heard (or was present at) the meeting where the Heir Apparent's message was quoted.


He mentioned it during a "LSA Meet and Greet" on the 27th of Sept.
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kellygreen



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 91

PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 5:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting, it is even more interesting that the HA is in the mix - he's never been in it before in any official role to my knowledge. But perhaps someone else has better first hand knowledge?
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SecretAgent69



Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Weird indeed.
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kellygreen



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 91

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

General assembly announced for next week - with "more information to follow". Gossip has it the new CNA NL president will be present as appointments apparently are being made for meetings (but not publicly). Also there will be a meet and greet afterwards which suggests there won't be a Q & A session at this assembly as possibly that might lead to indigestion.

Why are all visitors from NL flown in like the VP of the USA when he visits Afghanistan? The Director of the Qatar Project has been here numerous times, but most at CNAQ are unaware until he's back in his seat on Qatar Air. Why?

There has been a CNAQ dialogue suggestion to put forward put a covering over the tennis courts - the response is positive in that it was in line with the "strategic initiatives of the college and the health and wellness campaign"

The status of the Respectful Work Place program was also brought up in the dialogue this week - the respondent stated that the person assigned to the position by the NL Govt had been temporary and if one wished to pursue a RWP inquiry that one option was to ask HR. That HR at CNAQ could point them in the right direction. This is interesting in that many if not the majority of RWP questions/inquiries have revolved around HR practices and pursuits.

There is also a local lawyer being brought in to discuss employment issues under Qatari law, moral issues as viewed by Qatari law etc. This has been seen as generally a positive move (one that perhaps should be repeated yearly in October after new people arrive and to refresh those oldsters knowledge) - one hopes that the organizers have prepped the lawyer to expect some audience questions and attitudes that are unrelated to the topics posted and to try and keep the discussion/information session on track.

As this lawyer will not be in a position to discuss legal issues related to employment contracts perhaps admin will bring in a NL lawyer to address those in the future.

The new president has been in place for more than a year. The contract with the state has been with the Emiri Diwan for more than a year but not yet signed. No permanent VP of Academics, several Deans leaving or have left or will leave in December (with at least 6 months notice) and no announced replacements for them either.

We are hoping for positive news for this upcoming whispered visit (i.e. general assembly) and that more positives will follow - time will tell.


Last edited by kellygreen on Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:00 am; edited 1 time in total
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lukey



Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:23 pm    Post subject: Goold old CNAQ Reply with quote

Ahh - memories - the more things "change" at CNA and CNAQ - the more they stay exactly the same. -
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kellygreen



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 91

PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Surprise, yesterday the president's "e-bulletin" (in line with one of the strategic initiatives on communication) revealed that indeed the new CNA NL president and the Director of the Qatar Project will be paying a visit and be part of the general assemble AND the new VP of Academics will be part of the entourage.

The "new" VP is a CNA NL (and CNAQ) veteran - and in fairness, with no new contract signed, it must be extremely difficult to attract applicants who can't return to NL (and a guaranteed job one supposes) if the contract isn't signed.
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kellygreen



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 91

PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

General assembly went much as anticipated - although there was some confusion in the audience about the president's referral to previous general assemblies - as there have been none previous to this in his tenure.

Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah - CNA is great and will be greater (a possibility of course) we are optimistic (or full of optimisim as per the accompanying powerpoint presentation) about the future. I agree, most of us are, we may have differing views on what that future may become.

It was difficult to ascertain if the comprehensive agreement is "in the bag" as per some previous statements from admin/management or if discussions are ongoing (given the NL provincial election etc.).

The new CNA-NL president said that some issues that concern most of the college employees will be brought to a resolution of some kind but wasn't able to provide any timeline (fair enough, this is a quasi government organization so being 18 months behind the NL Dept of Ed audit and the NL Ombudsmen's reports is par for the course).

So far, no real change in sight (as per the above, discussions are ongoing despite previous statements from management) and no timeline in place. New NL president seemed to be slightly out of touch with what is actually happening in Qatar but she's only been in the job for less than 90 days - time will tell.
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lukey



Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:35 pm    Post subject: Out of Touch Reply with quote

CNA has been out of touch with CNAQ since the beginning - remember what happened to the last CNA President - now there is someone who ended up being sorry she every heard of CNAQ!
Again - "the more things "change" the more they stay the same"[i]
Basically just take the money and run when your bucket gets full. (or full of you know what)
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kellygreen



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 91

PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 3:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

General information meeting on legal issues in Qatar including freedom of expression/morality/cultural issues etc. and the related legal ramifications. The two lawyers were very informative and knowledgeable.

Some of the topics advertised as would be discussed (carrying on a business in Qatar for example) were not touched on beyond defaulting on a business loan. As a related item, CNAQ is once more hosting a Holiday Fair - are they checking the vendors bona fides? And does CNAQ have the proper permit in place for the event this year?

One point that was very pointedly made was that Canadian hires are subject to Canadian law (specifically NL labour law) which in some ways is a good thing - (if possibly not entirely accurate - but that's another discussion/argument) - it would seem (at least on the basis of that assertion) that employees can study up on NL labour codes and avail themselves of the NL labour system

A very welcome discussion (and long overdue, as stated in another post above), this type of information session should take place every year about this time, after the new hires have had time to exhale and to remind the oldsters of how things work legally in Qatar.

There were some whispers that CNAQ might also bring in a NL/Canadian lawyer to discuss some of the Canadian issues regarding employment contract law and the NL Labour code - time will tell - but as the contract is with the Canadian entity (as per the assertion made today and by the CNAQ president in the dialogue forum) it would be informative and very welcome to the employees.
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