Flight times to Canada from the UK are about 9 hours. Flights are booked with Air Canada from Heathrow Terminal 3 to Calgary and then onwards to Medicine Hat airport. The aircraft used for the flight from Calgary to Medicine Hat is a very small plane carrying approximately 20 passengers.
There are two ways in which flights are booked for your travel to BATUS. If you are the serving soldier then your current unit is responsible for all the arrangements for your move to Medicine Hat airport. They should sort out all flight tickets that may be required for you to fly to Canada. However, if you are married accompanied, the flights for your spouse and family are booked through the Defence Passenger Reservations Centre (DPRC). Your unit should notify DPRC of the requirement for travel for your family, and you should then receive a pack from them with forms that must be filled in and sent back in good time.
- Dependents will require a medical, please book one with your local doctor in good time. You need to confirm that you and your family are booked on the same flight.
Confirm children’s meals for the plane journey, perhaps supplement this with your own sandwiches or snacks.
On arrival to Calgary the Air Transport Liaison Officer (ATLO) will meet you and assist you with obtaining your visa. If you are posted to Calgary or Trail’s End Camp, you will be met at the airport and transported to your quarter. If you are posted to BATUS at CFB Suffield you will continue your journey to by aircraft to Medicine Hat. If you are single, unaccompanied, you will take this flight on the day that you arrive in Canada. If you are married accompanied, you will take this flight the following day, and will stay in the Delta Hotel overnight in Calgary. If you have brought a pet with you, then you will travel to Medicine Hat by road – please see the section on pets.
- Please ensure you arrive at Medicine Hat airport between Monday and Friday, as no
arrangements can be made to meet you at the weekend. Please advise of any child car
seats that may be required for the journey from Medicine Hat to your SFA.
On confirmation of your flight details you are to contact the BATUS Movement Control
Centre on 001 403 544 4593/4122 so that transport can be arranged to pick you up from
the airport.
Transport is not available to pick you up from Calgary airport, unless you are posted to Calgary or Trail’s End Camp or are arriving with a pet. Families arriving with pets cannot take the Medicine Hat flight and will need to be picked up at Calgary airport. Ensure that you tell BATUS Movement Control Centre of this requirement.
Visas will be issued on arrival at Calgary airport to British Passport holders – the ATLO will assist you. If you or your spouse or children do not hold a British Passport, you must check with your RAO or DPRC about the need for a visa. Ensure that you carry all paperwork, including posting order when travelling to Canada for the first time. If you are travelling separately from your spouse or family, they will also need copies of this paperwork.
All people travelling must have a passport that is valid for at least the duration of your tour plus another 6 months. If you do not alreadyhave a passport, or it is notvalid for the required period,a new passport will be supplied free of charge.
- You are responsible for ensuring that all passports are valid. Your Regimental Administrative Officer (RAO) will assist. For those personnel or dependents who do not hold a British Passport, it may be necessary to obtain a visa, please contact your RAO or DPRC to arrange this. It may be difficult for both soldiers and dependents who are not British Citizens to enter the
United States of America.
Accompanied baggage – on departure to Canada you will normally be allowed two pieces of hold baggage and one piece of cabin baggage per person. Currently the weight of each piece of hold baggage with Air Canada is 23kg, although this allowance may be larger for business class passengers. You are advised to use this allowance to the full, using strong but lightweight bags.
- Please be aware of how much baggage you and your family will be travelling with; it can
be two bags per person (including children) and one piece of hand baggage. Think
about how you are planning to get to the airport.
Unaccompanied baggage – It usually takes on average about 6-8 weeks, but can take 12 weeks or more, for unaccompanied baggage to arrive in Canada, so careful planning is required. You may send up to 3 unaccompanied baggage consignments to Canada, one on the ‘Removal Service’ if you are married accompanied, and up to two more using the ‘Normal Service’.
- Single and unaccompanied personnel may only use the ‘Normal Service’.
There is a limit on how much unaccompanied baggage you are entitled to move and you will be notified of this limit in the paperwork you receive on removals.
1) Removals Service – This service is carried out by a civil contractor, who will provide all boxes and packing materials, pack all boxes and remove them for onward travel to Canada. This service will deliver all boxes at your married quarter in Canada as soon as it arrives.
2) Normal Service – When using this service, you will need to get your boxes from the QM’s department, pack them yourself and arrange for pick up of these boxes for onward travel to Canada. Using this service, you can defer the delivery for up to 5 months.
Most families arriving in BATUS use a combination of both these services, arranging for some items to be removed early, so that they will be available on arrival.
- It is your responsibility to ensure that all of your consignments are fully insured.
Due to the length of time needed for transportation of removals, families will be without
their belongings at sometime, either before departure from the UK or on arrival in
Canada, so please pack carefully.
If you are married accompanied, then all your other possessions that are eligible can be placed in storage for the duration of your tour in BATUS. Your possessions can be moved into storage up to 14 days before you depart your current posting. You can get the application form from your RAO/QM staff.
- It is your responsibility to ensure that any of your possessions placed in storage are
fully insured. This is one of the most frequently asked questions of people moving to BATUS, and is probably more relevant to married accompanied personnel, particularly those with children. There are certain things that are just not worth bringing, mainly because they will not work in Canada, whilst there are other items about which only you can make the decision. This summary gives an overview of the types of items you may wish to bring, and an idea of the types of items not to bring.
Items of furniture are not required as all Service Families Accommodation (SFA) comes fully furnished. Wharfing (i.e. the removal of issued furniture from your SFA) is not permitted, therefore you are strongly urged to contact BATUS to seek advice about bringing any of your own items of furniture with you. Many electrical items may not work in Canada because of the difference in voltage, whilst others may work with a transformer. Check your electrical items before you bring them. Computers will usually work, but may need a transformer.
- Canada runs on 110v 60 hz rather than 240v 50 hz Each SFA is equipped with essential electrical items which include all white goods including a small chest freezer, as well as kettle, toaster, coffee filter, iron, food processor, hair dryer, clock radio, microwave and vacuum cleaner. In SLA, each room is equipped with a clock radio, kettle, coffee filter, iron and hairdryer. Additionally, communal areas are also equipped with a fridge/freezer, washing machine, tumble dryer, microwave, toaster and vacuum cleaner. Other second hand electrical goods are often available for purchase locally on arrival.
Whilst UK TV’s will not receive Canadian broadcasts, you may wish to bring one along with a UK video or DVD player, in order to play UK videos or DVD’s.
You will need to bring bedding and linen, towels, crockery, cutlery, glassware, cookware and cooking utensils. You may wish to bring ornaments and pictures and you can bring lamps although you cannot buy bayonet-fitting bulbs out here. Telephones can be borrowed from the BATUS Families Housing and Welfare Services until you buy your own. If you are quartered in Ralston you will already be automatically registered with Telus on arrival, so your phone will be working when you move into your quarter. If you are quartered elsewhere in Medicine Hat, Calgary or Cochrane your phone will not be connected as there is a choice of telephone service providers in these areas. You will want to bring a selection of your children’s toys; however outdoor garden toys are cheaper to buy here. Baby equipment such as high chairs, cots, playpens and stair gates are provided free of charge from the stores. Baby monitors need to be bought here or you can use a battery operated one from the UK. Whilst UK TV’s will not receive Canadian broadcasts, you may wish to bring one along with a UK video or DVD player, in order to play UK videos or DVD’s. You may wish to bring your camping and sporting equipment, as there are excellent facilities and opportunities in the local area. Due to the large temperature variations in Alberta you will need a variety of summer and winter clothing. Temperatures can extend into the 30’s in summer and equally dip down to as low as -40 in winter. Winter clothing in Canada is of a high standard, relatively cheap, and able to withstand the very low temperatures experienced here.
Single accommodation is equipped with a telephone port, but will not be connected to a service, or have a telephone. There are pay phones in all single accommodation located in the public areas. Bedding is provided in all single accommodation.
Due to the large temperature variations in Alberta you will need a variety of summer and winter clothing. Temperatures can extend into the 30’s in summer and equally dip down to as low as -40 in winter. Winter clothing in Canada is of a high standard, relatively cheap, and able to withstand the very low temperatures experienced here.
You may wish to bring your camping and sporting equipment, as there are excellent facilities and opportunities in the local area.
You will want to bring a selection of your children’s toys, however outdoor garden toys are cheaper to buy here.
Baby equipment such as high chairs, cots, playpens and stair gates are provided free of charge from the stores. Baby monitors need to be bought here or you can use a battery operated one from the UK.
- UK child car seats do not comply with Canadian standards, and car seats purchased in
Canada must have a ‘maple leaf’ standards sticker in order to conform to Canadian
Law. All children under 6 or weighing less than 40lbs must use a car seat in Alberta. All children need to use bicycle helmets by law.
If you will be serving married accompanied it is essential that you apply for married accommodation as soon as possible. You will need form 1132 available from the QMS. Married accommodation is at a premium at BATUS, and not applying early enough could result in being placed in inappropriate accommodation on arrival and having to wait for something more suitable to become available, or there being no married accommodation available at all at that time.
For information on where you will be living, please refer to ‘Living Here’ . You can express a preference on whether you would like to live in Ralston village or Medicine Hat, but this cannot be guaranteed.
- You may contact the housing clerk on 001 403 544 5565. You will not receive a house address until you arrive, however, all UK post will be
sent
to unit addresses which is the name of your unit and BFPO 14. Bringing your pet(s) to Canada
If you wish to bring your pet(s) to Canada, you will need permission. In the first instance please write to:
The Housing Commandant
HQ BATUS
BFPO 14
It is not your right to bring a pet with you.
- Pets are not permitted in Single Living Accommodation or in military hirings in Medicine Hat or Cochrane.
Private arrangements need to be made for your pet’s transportation. Contact civilian airlines that can provide a list of kennels that deal with the transportation and exportation of pets to North America. This can be very expensive and is dependent on the size of the animal. It is cheaper for a pet to travel as excess baggage rather than unaccompanied freight. Pets may enter Canada from the UK if accompanied by a certificate of an official government veterinarian. The certificate must clearly identify the animal and show that:
- a. Rabies has not existed in that country for the six month period immediately preceding the shipment of the animal;
- b. The animal has been in that country for the six month period referred to in paragraph (a), or since birth.
Pets brought into Canada from Europe excluding Britain are not required to undergo quarantine in Canada providing they have been vaccinated against rabies not less than 30 days and not more than one year preceding the date of importation into Canada.
- The import and export of pets between Canada and the UK/Europe is very expensive. Please be aware of the costs of transportation in both directions before making a decision on whether to bring your pet(s) to Canada.
For further information the following websites may be useful
Pets on the go - Pet Importation Information for Select Countries
Defra Quarantine - Animal health & welfare
Canadian Government - Food Inspection Agency, which deals with the importation of pets into Canada