Welcome to your new home. Whether you're a new immigrant to Canada, or whether you're preparing to make the move, we embrace you with open arms.

We welcome your enthusiasm, your fresh ideas, your energy, your initiative and your willingness to work hard - not to mention the investment dollars and business opportunities you bring with you.

But like so many Canadian immigrants before you, you'll discover we do things differently here. And, yes, it can be confusing.

Most of all, you need a friend, an ally and a guide to help you get the most from the opportunities offered by your new country.

Thomas and Carla Hess, of Pathfinder Consulting Immigration Services, have been helping smooth transitions into the Canadian workplace since 1975.

You need Thomas Hess of Pathfinder Consulting Immigration Services.

Based in Edmonton, Hess is himself a former immigrant from Germany who smilingly describes himself as an international "matchmaker.”

Among the many services he offers is matching Canadian companies with specialized workers from abroad, people with skills that may not be readily available in this country.

"If they have potential employees moving to this country, or if they're already here, we'll take care of the paperwork. And if companies have employees who are encountering trouble bringing their wives or relatives here from the homeland, we can offer all the help they need," says Hess.

And yet he brings so much more to the table.

"What are the most important needs of a new immigrant?" Hess asks. "When he arrives, he needs a place to work. He needs helpful contacts."

A fully certified immigration consultant, Hess takes new residents in hand and helps them get in step with the Canadian way of life, whether it means acquiring a working visa or setting up a new bank account.

Because it's never a simple matter for newcomers to navigate the routine daily byways that longtime residents take for granted.

Hess, who runs his business in partnership with his wife, Carla - herself an immigrant from Mexico - helps them negotiate mortgages. He helps them get their kids settled into school and to arrange financing for homes and automobiles.

And that can be complicated. Because the great majority of newcomers lack a Canadian credit rating.

Here's how they proceed. Hess will accompany them to a branch of a Canadian chartered bank and help them purchase a three-year GIC.

"Then we open up a line of credit with the GIC as security. This is how new Canadians can get themselves onto the financial radar screen," he explained.

Similarly, he helps immigrating entrepreneurs to get set up in new businesses. Because Hess - who built his first Canadian company, an insurance brokerage, completely from scratch - has the wherewithal to get things done.

He knows the lingo and he knows the processes. He is competent at reading financial statements and speaks the same language as bankers and business leaders.

"Another example. If I know a businessman who's considering a move to Canada, I can help him find opportunities.

The services of Pathfinder Consulting are accessed by new Canadians from countries of origin throughout the globe. The majority of Pathfinder's customers have travelled here from central Europe, which he describes as his natural market. Hess realizes that he's performing an important service to the customers he serves. What might not be quite so obvious is the service he's performing for the Canadian economy.

Pathfinder Consulting Immigration Services assists PRODUCTIVE newcomers to get established on our shores: To set up thriving new companies, to contribute to our gross national product and to add to our woefully limited tax base. "That's true," Hess agrees. "We deal with a lot of investors."

Pathfinder's fully-certified status allows the company to work closely with all Canadian and provincial immigration offices and Canadian embassies abroad.

Other companies offer immigration consulting services, Pathfinder Consulting goes the extra mile, from helping immigrants connect with potential employers to meeting them at the airport when they arrive.

From Fort McMurray to Lethbridge, from Regina to Saskatoon, Pathfinder Consulting Immigration Services has 350 files on the go at any one time, as the company's multilingual staff addresses working visa issues and every imaginable wrinkle of the immigration process.

Another important point: Pathfinder works closely with the provincial government's Provincial Nominee Programs, which may allow newcomers to enter the country who do not qualify under traditional immigration criteria.

To find out more, access the company website at www.pathfinderconsulting.ca.

Or contact Pathfinder Consulting by telephone (780.437.5131), fax (780.438.1962) or e-mail (thomas@pathfinderconsulting.ca).