yes, I'm familiar with the JAR. I also know several people who did their private training in the UK, and came to Canada for the CPL and IFR training, then went back and converted with minimal hassle. Many of them are now in the airlines in fact and some of them return regularly for IFR recurrency training.
Now I realize that half the south africans are moving to Canada, but If you were suggesting some sort of similarity between Canadian Aviation and South African aviation, I would suggest that you should go visit some of the colonies and see for yourself. (apologies for the run on sentence)
You're right though, some school that specializes in the european license is probably better, but you should check into all your options.
I've had friends who have been soaked at certain schools, so be careful and talk to as many students of different schools as you can. My post was just my opinion on the place i trained a few years ago, and I came away extremely happy with the service and quality.