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Post by Harlequin on Jul 13, 2004 3:08:03 GMT -5
Hi everyone- I have yet to even write the RPAT. I am a major planner and need to know and plan things out soooo, while I would like to become an RCMP officer, I still have alot of questions. First off, the PARE...I am wondering if it is best to follow the guideline that is on the RCMP site, or do I go to the local gym, say this is where I am right now and this is where I have to get, help me!? For the testing with your financial background, I have very good credit, never missed a payment, no VISA debt etc BUT, due to a mix up with my BC Medical plan, I got a letter out of the blue saying my monthly payments hadnt been paid and I owed $950.00 and they would transfer it to the collection branch if not paid within 30 days or whatever! They did give me an extra month to come up with the cash because of the mix up.  This was a total shock to me because I hadnt even signed up for a plan and hadnt even received ONE bill prior to this collection letter. It seems they didnt get our address change from 2 years prior and so my letters werent coming to the right address. Still, you would think the Postal Office would notice and send it to the right address. Will this affect my financial clearance? This happened around November 2003. Even to this day I have a difficult time getting them to send me a monthly bill. Its like they cant get their act together. Sometimes I get bills saying I owe $200.00, sometimes I get a regular bill saying I owe $52.00 which is what it is supposed to be monthly. What are the odds of getting back to your home town department or even surrounding areas after graduating from Depot? Hmm what else. I am currently reading John Douglas' book Guice to the Police Officer Exams. While it is based within the US it has many tests and practices about spelling, grammar, situations and what would you do questions. It is good. Are there any other reads that would be suggested? I heard now you cannot have any corrective lenses..is this true? I heard females get in quite easily (if they pass everything of course!) because not a huge amount of females apply. Is this true? I think thats about all for now, thanks for your time!! ;D |
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Post by journey2cps-redux on Jul 13, 2004 10:10:13 GMT -5
Whoa there...guy/girl take a deep breath, and jus relax for a second...  Ok, I'll try and answer these as best I can, but if you go through the RCMP thread I think most of these have been answered at one time or another. If you follow the guide on the site you'll be MORE than ready! The PARE is more mental than physical IMO. The only catch would be the push/pull. If you are under 5'10" it is sometimes a problem for people since the chest padding is right at the same level as the person's throat. Did it actually go to collections, or did you pay it off first? either way you should be OK, but its different for each person. This is a concern for everyone but I think it very rarely DQ's someone...sure people may get a 1 or 2 year time period to fix up problems, but then they go back and off to Regina. Home town - Slim to none, and slim just ran out screaming...Surrounding area, happens for some people, but its more of a luck of the draw. So if the Det. that's 30 min from your home town has an opening and there are no current members wanting to fill the spot, and you put it down as a Det you want, then yeah you MIGHT get it. I used the Barron's Police Officer Exam book, same thing, its US based, but the basic comps are the same. RPAT is an apptitude exam though, you either have it or you don't, in most cases. Really? Where did you hear that? Must be one of those people that thinks you still have to be billingual, 6'2", and an accomplished Horseman as well...  The answer to that is not true, to a degree. There is a minimum vision standard that you have to meet without your glasses. If you don't meet that standard then you will have to get surgery done to be succesful in your process. The vision standards are listed on the RCMP site. While its true that not as many females apply, it IS NOT any easier to get in! Some females will have alot shorter application process (See Ace13 in the RCMP thread...where is that girl anyways???) but you are still completing against any other female that applied in your division. Hope that helps a bit. ;D
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Post by Harlequin on Jul 14, 2004 4:34:55 GMT -5
ok so I thought about something else tonite that I think should Oust be pretty quick if I ever get interviewed. I have been working at the same place for 4 years now. The first year i went to do income tax I was told by the H&R Block people that I didnt make enough to even bother doing taxes so ok, I didnt. Now, we work and get paid by cheque. At the end of the year we dont get T4 slips. I think we are considered contractors. We also do not get any money taken off our cheques for tax. According to my boss I am not in the 'Governments books' as working for them but I am in the company's book. I did not pay tax for 2001 and 2002. I will be paying tax for 2003. What would I say when asked about this? Just say the H&R Block people said that I didnt make enough to bother paying anything for those 3 years or try to get a loan to pay off 2001 and 2002 tax? I imagine the price would be insane though. do I just not write this job down as a job I had? They would see the 2003 income tax though. Do I just say I worked for them only in 2003? I was hoping they dont look at your income tax but I know they do...damn! Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.
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Post by guest on Jul 14, 2004 11:18:20 GMT -5
If people at H&R Block told you not to bother paying taxes you are probably fine.... ie you owe the government nothing. If you make less than 8000 (or some number close to this) the government doesn't tax you. What most places do is (the place you worked at should have been doing this) is take taxes off and file your t4s to the government, and at the end of the year you file your taxes and then get ALL the money you paid back (if you indeed made less that 8g). Now if you did have an income I am surprised that the H&R Block people didn't tell you to file just to get your GST rebate. I would go into an off season H&R Block and tell the the situation (as the government might owe you money) and if they still say that there is no reason to file, you can still file to cover your ass or you can not worry about it (because unless you owe the government money and did not make much money then they don't really care).
I would also go down to Canada Revenue Agency and tell them about it.
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Post by Goose unplugged on Jul 14, 2004 21:32:05 GMT -5
Harlequin,
"should I say..." "if I say..."
All I can say is tell the truth. "Should I say I made a patrol or talked to potential witnesses, on should I just write down I did because it wouldn't have made a difference anyways"
Always tell it how it is. You can back pay for years not filed for, sometimes they give you a penalty for filing late, or whatever, but rectify the situation, don't cover it up or smooth out the story to make it sound better then it is. If you evaded taxes and knew about it..then you may not be for policing. If you made an honest mistake, recitfy it and keep your integrity intact.
Cst. GOOSE
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DaveB
Junior Member
Posts: 23
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Post by DaveB on Jul 15, 2004 10:57:21 GMT -5
Don't even consider lying on the BGI or any part of the process.
From what I have heard that is the one way to get an instant permanent deferral.
Just tell the truth and if something happened in your past you are unsure of do your best to fix it now.
Sounds like you are a contractor for this company. They pay you money and you are in charge of your taxes. Basically you are self employed. You work for this company but you are not an employee of them. Congratulations you are a small business owner.. ;D
When you get to the application phase you can't have any gaps in what you have done for the past 10 years.
Purposely omitting things is the same as if, not worse than lying, do NOT do it.
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Post by RyanSales on Jul 15, 2004 11:40:52 GMT -5
Another piece of advice. Get it done ASAP.
Too many applicants believe that once you get the call to Depot, you are in the clear and everything is done. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Background investigations in a lot of cases are ongoing.
While I was in Depot, there were a few people (one of whom was in the LAST WEEK) who were sent home for financial issues they thought had been dealt with during the recruitment stage.
Be honest, and get all your ducks in a row asap.
Cheers,
RY
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Post by Goose unplugged on Jul 15, 2004 19:32:03 GMT -5
Well...it looks like honesty wins the popular vote here. I hope we did not sound like we were slamming you Harlequin....I think it was more of a bit of emphatic advise. I'm sure most Mounties would agree that they would rather work with a 5'0", 95 lbs member that has honesty and integrity of the higest levels, rather than work with 6'3" 220 lbs, PARE time of 2:45, 4.88 on the RPAT...but is not honest. I tell you I would not even think a moment of this choice.
Good luck
...and RyanSales is so right on the continuation of the BGI....I remember that Cadet that got the boot too.
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Post by Medicguy on Jul 15, 2004 23:31:29 GMT -5
Ry, I guess you wouldn't happen to know what kind of financial problems they had. That's pretty serious to be sent home from Depot with a week to go.
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Post by Rex on Jul 16, 2004 23:59:27 GMT -5
There are very few reasons why a citizen should not file a return with the CCRA. If you are collecting monies as an employee, or as a contractor the same basic rules apply. You fall in to a tax bracket that determines the amount of income tax which you must declare and remit to the CCRA. Not accurately disclosing your income and expenses to the government is considered a serious offence. There is a basic claim amount which, is essentially a figure that determines a base amount which you can legally earn and not be taxed on. For example, the base amount for 2003 was $7245 so... if you made $8000 of income for 2003, your employer should have deducted income tax from the total amount. However when you do your taxes, you would receive a refund and only be responsible for the tax on $755.00. Just a guess, but that is like a $2500 refund. If your employer does not take off any income tax or CPP contributions, you are still responsible for these. Now, having said all that I have heard of cases where people have been told not to file because their incomes where not sufficient to justify it. They may just be cheating themselves out of a potential refund. In your case Harlequin, if you worked as a contractor and made more than the base claim amount, you are responsible for paying tax on those incomes. As a contractor however, you are entitled to certain perks that a business owner would benefit from such as deductions which offset your taxable income. When people speak of "write-offs", what they mean is that for every legitimate expense that is borne by them, they can use it to offset their income level. Travel, meals, fuel, telephone, etc. would qualify depending on the type of business. I would take "guests" advice. Go talk to an accountant or to the CCRA and explain what has happened. I am just providing this advice from my own knowledge on the subject. I am not an accountant, nor a barristor or solicitor. I hope it helps. Rex Here are some links for you to consider: www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/topics/income-tax/filing-obligations/menu-e.htmlwww.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/topics/learn-tax/menu-e.html |
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Post by RyanSales on Jul 17, 2004 15:26:30 GMT -5
I won't be too specific, but in the one case where it was the last week of training, it was in regards to a business. So, in that case, it wasn't your normal individual financial situation, but a bit more complex.
Cheers,
RY
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This was a total shock to me because I hadnt even signed up for a plan and hadnt even received ONE bill prior to this collection letter. It seems they didnt get our address change from 2 years prior and so my letters werent coming to the right address. Still, you would think the Postal Office would notice and send it to the right address. Will this affect my financial clearance? This happened around November 2003. Even to this day I have a difficult time getting them to send me a monthly bill. Its like they cant get their act together. Sometimes I get bills saying I owe $200.00, sometimes I get a regular bill saying I owe $52.00 which is what it is supposed to be monthly.
Ok, I'll try and answer these as best I can, but if you go through the RCMP thread I think most of these have been answered at one time or another.
The answer to that is not true, to a degree. There is a minimum vision standard that you have to meet without your glasses. If you don't meet that standard then you will have to get surgery done to be succesful in your process. The vision standards are listed on the RCMP site.