Well, I've gone through a bit of this process in order to make myself eligible to apply to Air Canada. As of last August when I began the process of transferring over flight certificates I had to take an instrument written and ride, which I did. A couple of weeks later, the FAA and TC announced a new "bilateral licensing" agreement. The new process went into effect in December and is much easier! All that is required now is a single 25 question written test covering some rules of the air questions - namely some differences between the two countries. That's basically the way it is now for an ATP conversion to an ATPL, with different tests for the different grade certificates. Of course, for employment for Air Canada, you need to be either a citizen or landed immigrant, which is a much more involved process, although much easier than coming here from there!

I haven't taken the new test yet, since I hadn't been in any rush, because my immigration was still processing anyway. That is until yesterday, when I got the go ahead from the Canadian govt. to make the move. My problem is that I've got an interview here soon, and probably won't go over at this point, but I've got to leave the opportunity open. Anyway, hope this helps with the original question.

BubbleEyes2