Hawkesbury-Montreal

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

He his absolutely right, Québec only covers what it would cover in Québec and other provinces cover the entire costs.

I've never, ever, had to pay anything extra for hospital care in provinces outside Quebec. Is it because the hospitals (say, in Ontario?) "eat" the difference?

I do know that if you go to a private clinic in Ottawa they charge you about 65 bucks as a Quebec resident. As if you were a foreigner with no OHIP coverage. And then you make a claim to the RAMQ and they pay you about 45 bucks back. So there is a difference there between what the clinic charges and what Quebec agrees to pay.

But I've never heard of this for hospitals.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by FFX-ME

Are there a lot of people that do this daily commute?

About 10 on the train, even when I only had a condo in Ottawa and worked in Montréal, about 15 persons took the monthly pass to work into Montréal, didn't expect many people to do that. But that commute was killing me, nearly 6 hours daily. Did that for 6 months, plus the bus, well, you get bus clientèle.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I've never, ever, had to pay anything extra for hospital care in provinces outside Quebec. Is it because the hospitals (say, in Ontario?) "eat" the difference?

I do know that if you go to a private clinic in Ottawa they charge you about 65 bucks as a Quebec resident. As if you were a foreigner with no OHIP coverage. And then you make a claim to the RAMQ and they pay you about 45 bucks back. So there is a difference there between what the clinic charges and what Quebec agrees to pay.

But I've never heard of this for hospitals.

There is a memorandum between Ontario and Québec for some surgeries and hospital beds are not even covered by the RAMQ, but a private insurance anyways.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by begratto

It depends on the tax bracket you're in.

Here's an interesting comparison I found (from 2013 though) : Étude comparative du fardeau fiscal des Québécois et des Ontariens
et de certains biens et services fournis par les gouvernements, leurs
sociétés d’état et leurs organismes publics

Overall, the conclusions were that a typical couple with 2 children living in Quebec pays less income taxes on the first $120K than their Ontario counterparts, but tax payers with higher revenues pay more taxes than their Ontario equivalents.

However, the study also concluded that Quebec residents pay much less for car insurance, daycare, university tuitions, electricity and have a better medication insurance plan.

So it all depends on your personal financial situation I guess, but it's certainly not a clear-cut win for Ontario.

Oh, I know it's not a clear-cut win for Ontario. We could easily live in Ontario if we wanted to.

That table is interesting. I knew income tax was lower in Quebec for the very lowest income categories, but the difference in Quebec's favour goes higher up into the middle income categories than I thought it would.

Of course, once you pass 70k per person you really get dinged in Quebec though.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

There is a memorandum between Ontario and Québec for some surgeries and hospital beds are not even covered by the RAMQ, but a private insurance anyways.

I dunno. Never had to pay anything in a hospital outside Quebec and never had them ask for my private insurance number.

Obviously these weren't for long stays but I'd assume that if you require medium to longer term care and are out-of-province you'd get transferred back (closer to home) as soon as your situation was stable.

[FFX-ME]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I dunno. Never had to pay anything in a hospital outside Quebec and never had them ask for my private insurance number.

Obviously these weren't for long stays but I'd assume that if you require medium to longer term care and are out-of-province you'd get transferred back (closer to home) as soon as your situation was stable.

There is a minimum and that cross-province transfer (ground or air) would not be covered.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by FFX-ME

There is a minimum and that cross-province transfer (ground or air) would not be covered.

I admit to not being an expert on this and it may indeed be true that Quebec is less generous than Ontario on out-of-province care, but OHIP doesn't cover out-of-province transport either.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I admit to not being an expert on this and it may indeed be true that Quebec is less generous than Ontario on out-of-province care, but OHIP doesn't cover out-of-province transport either.

In-province transport is not even fully covered.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I really don't think it's worth the hassle.

If I may ask: why must the OP absolutely live in Ontario?

and Hawkesbury specifically? It sure ain't anything special, lemme tell you.

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

and Hawkesbury specifically? It sure ain't anything special, lemme tell you.

It's just Ontario's Lachute.

[Dominion301]

I know someone who lives in Hawkesbury and commutes daily into Montreal. He works on the West Island, so it's about 50 minutes each way, even at rush hour.

[le calmar]

Working in the West Island or the western suburbs is just fine and no different than commuting from Granby (which a lot of people do). But having to go downtown or elsewhere in the City, having to take the metro, traffic jams, transfers... That's starting to be a lot of trouble, at least to me.

[harls]

Sorry OP.. I had to change the title from "Hawkesburry".. it was driving me mad.

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

It's just Ontario's Lachute.

Pretty accurate. Lachute's main drag is a lot more pleasant, though. (IMHO).

I remember when there was a SAQ strike years ago and people made the trip to Hawkesbury from Montreal to stock up on liquor. I'm saying this as an anecdote.. I have a few Montreal friends who actually did this.

We almost had the reverse situation in Gatineau this summer with the LCBO.

[harls]

Originally Posted by le calmar

But having to go downtown or elsewhere in the City, having to take the metro, traffic jams, transfers... That's starting to be a lot of trouble, at least to me.

I used to take the train once a month from Ottawa to Montreal for work. They would offer to pay for my mileage, but it was not worth it. My office was right near McGill metro, and I could walk underground from the train station in 10 minutes (give or take). No worries about traffic or parking. Leaving town was just as easy.

If I left at 5 pm in a car, I'd have to wait it out in traffic. One time I was stopped on the 20 near Angrignon and watched the train happily chug along beside my window, as I mouthed a few words starting with F.

[Acajack]

Since this thread is still alive, I wanted to mention in response to the chatter about health cards that over the summer holidays one of my kids had a very minor medical emergency in another province. Some distance from the Quebec border. We were served at a hospital emergency with no questions asked about the Quebec health card - which they accepted.

[le calmar]

Funny thing is I came across an attracting job offer in Montreal, but didn't really pay attention to it since I live in Ontario. My girlfriend is member of an professional association in Ontario and switching provinces could be a hassle, she does not speak French and would have a lot of trouble finding a job in Montreal... Then I suddenly remembered this thread.

However, between Hawkesbury and Cornwall I'd rather pick Cornwall (I am tempted to say the lesser of two evils) My girlfriend's family is in Kingston too, and living in Cornwall would make more sense.

So if I might redirect the thread a bit, I am somewhat considering commuting to Montreal from Cornwall since the office would be within a 10 min walk from the Gare Central. However I checked the VIA schedule and the frequency is a problem. No train before 10:45 am? That's too bad because the trip is only 1 hr long which is more than reasonable. I just realized how shitty our train service can be here compared to Europe. The price is also ridiculous, 600$ a month.

My second (and possibly only option other than driving to downtown Montreal) would be to drive to the Dorion AMT train station (45 min) and take the train there to Lucien-L'Allier (1h), then walk 15 min to work. That's a 2h commute, 4h in both directions, which doesn't sound reasonable to me. This could be different if we had a decent train service so that's frustrating.

[FFX-ME]

Originally Posted by le calmar

Funny thing is I came across an attracting job offer in Montreal, but didn't really pay attention to it since I live in Ontario. My girlfriend is member of an professional association in Ontario and switching provinces could be a hassle, she does not speak French and would have a lot of trouble finding a job in Montreal... Then I suddenly remembered this thread.

However, between Hawkesbury and Cornwall I'd rather pick Cornwall (I am tempted to say the lesser of two evils) My girlfriend's family is in Kingston too, and living in Cornwall would make more sense.

So if I might redirect the thread a bit, I considered commuting there from Cornwall since the office would be within a 10 min walk from the Gare Central. However I checked the VIA schedule and the frequency is a problem. No train before 10:45 am? That's too bad because the trip is only 1 hr long which is more than reasonable. I just realized how shitty our train service can be here compared to Europe. The price is also ridiculous, 600$ a month.

My second (and possibly only option other than driving to downtown Montreal) would be to drive to the Dorion AMT train station (45 min) and take the train there to Lucien-L'Allier (1h), then walk 15 min to work. That's a 2h commute, 4h in both directions, which doesn't sound reasonable to me. This could be different if we had a decent train service so that's frustrating.

Alexandria has a much better schedule than Cornwall, being on the Ottawa-Montreal line, as well as the shortest commuting times from Ontario.

[FFX-ME]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Since this thread is still alive, I wanted to mention in response to the chatter about health cards that over the summer holidays one of my kids had a very minor medical emergency in another province. Some distance from the Quebec border. We were served at a hospital emergency with no questions asked about the Quebec health card - which they accepted.

Anecdotes are just that, anecdotes. All of the provinces and territories, except Quebec, signed an Interprovincial Billing Agreement under which the host province agrees to cover the cost of any medically necessary service provided and subsequently bill the home province for reimbursement. Most large places such as hospitals will accept the Quebec health cards and deal with the paperwork but you may still be required to pay something depending on how much Quebec covers for that particular treatment. This is probably what you experienced going to an emergency. If you go to a clinic, however, you may have a different experience.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by FFX-ME

Anecdotes are just that, anecdotes. All of the provinces and territories, except Quebec, signed an Interprovincial Billing Agreement under which the host province agrees to cover the cost of any medically necessary service provided and subsequently bill the home province for reimbursement. Most large places such as hospitals will accept the Quebec health cards and deal with the paperwork but you may still be required to pay something depending on how much Quebec covers for that particular treatment. This is probably what you experienced going to an emergency. If you go to a clinic, however, you may have a different experience.

Well, it did happen. About three weeks ago.

In any event, my point is mostly that concerns about stuff like this probably shouldn't be a deal-breaker when choosing a province in which to live.

Everyday commuting between Hawkesbury-Montreal for years is likely to be a bigger hassle than a once-in-a-lifetime risk of an emergency room triage nurse at Sick Kids in Toronto or IWK in Halifax being PMS that day, not wanting to accept your kid's Carte Soleil, and having to fork out 75 or 100 bucks* for an emergency room visit. And then get part of it reimbursed
by RAMQ when you get back home.

*I admit to having no idea how much it would cost. But I don't think it's that much. A few years ago we had a visitor from Europe require a visit to the emergency room. I was surprised at how cheap it was. IIRC it was under 100 bucks.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by FFX-ME

Alexandria has a much better schedule than Cornwall, being on the Ottawa-Montreal line, as well as the shortest commuting times from Ontario.

Though for an urbanite it's even lower on the amenities scale than Hawkesbury or Cornwall.

I suppose that if there was a good small city (Brockville style) with Alexandria's VIA schedule in that part of Ontario, it might actually see some decent growth from people with jobs in Montreal moving there.