聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Ian Thomas was proud to welcome a new immigrant from Columbia as not only a friend, but as a new employee for his roofing company.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Roberto Ruiz, originally from Bogot谩, Columbia, immigrated to Canada with his wife and two children on December 27 and has since moved to Canora to join Thomas鈥� company, I.B.T. Roofing.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The two became friends two years ago, when Thomas was contracted to work for Trican Well Service, an oilfield corporation in Columbia. At the time, Ruiz had already started the process to immigrate to Canada.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t was a long process. I thought it would take two years but that became five years,鈥� Ruiz said in an interview on October 5.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲hen I was a kid, it was my dream to go to Canada,鈥� he added, saying that he particularly wanted to go for the stories and the people.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ruiz鈥檚 wish became even stronger when he met his wife Claudia six years ago, and they both talked about how much they wanted to go. Once he met Thomas and heard his stories of Canora, the two of them started discussing more plans for Ruiz to immigrate with his family.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ruiz said that the process of immigration has involved many obstacles. He was required to learn both English and French as he was immigrating through Quebec. He had already spent one to two hours a day as a child speaking English through classes in school, but he had no experience in French.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淣ow my English is understandable, but my French鈥︹�� Ruiz grimaced and laughed when asked about how he had studied French for the immigration process.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ruiz was interviewed by the Canadian Immigration Council in 2012 in both French and English, and explained that he was a heavy-duty mechanic and his reasons for coming to Canada.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 wanted to come here for the best opportunities for my children. You have to be very lucky to get a job in Columbia,鈥� Ruiz said, adding that his children, Juan David and Janis Ariana, will have better opportunities here, and he will better be able to protect his family by immigrating to Canada.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The process finally came to an end when the family arrived in Toronto on December 27 before flying to Montreal.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 got to Montreal and then 50 days later, I called Ian,鈥� Ruiz said, adding that Thomas couldn鈥檛 believe he had made it to Canada at first, but quickly told him to move to Canora.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Now, after approximately nine months working with Thomas, both Ruiz and Thomas agree that work and living in Canora is going very well.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淢y father was working in construction, so this is a familiar field,鈥� Ruiz said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When not working for I.B.T. Roofing, Ruiz likes taking part in activities like camping, fishing, and hunting. He especially enjoys Canora because it is very different from the large city of Bogot谩.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he city is the same everywhere, in Columbia and in Canada. The real dream of Canada is here,鈥� said Ruiz, who believes that the small-town life is what Canada should be known for.
