Thanks for more insight -- africa is a tough gig -- I know several people who have done it - from bush flying to working the oil patch. Working for an oil company certainly was lucrative and good benefits - working the bush (caravan) can be haywire and dangerous but the biggest thing for a career is to remember is that when you come back to Canada almost all your peers have progressed and there you are standing without a job and have lost whatever time you have been absent in the Canadian scene.
It's all about seniority and while you come back to Canada with more experience the guys that have taken their lashes are likely looking at getting on a level 1 or 2 carrier and ironically you will be stepping into the job they vacated -- if you plan to branch out and leave canada for good or for at least your aviation career it could be a foot in the door if you want to live in Canada and raise a family here you might be foolish to chase the jobs off shore.
It's also very difficult to be attached to someone working in the same industry - pilots usually spend the first 5 years chasing the iron, if they are lucky, and more time if you are not. Unfortunately most major centres in Canada do not supply many entry level jobs except for instructing - which having come out of an era of career instructors is a bit of an oxymorn for me -- also airline travel benefits do not help in some of these remote areas. Hard decisions but at some point you will need to bite the bullet and possibly be prepared to sell your soul for 2 years -- bonds are a fact of life these days --