Translation by Rosemary Baptista (original in Portuguese)
The immigration process has been rapidly gaining ground in the Canadian scenario in recent decades, especially in recent years, due to the multiple governmental and provincial processes for accessing permanent residence in the country.
Thus, an observed fact is the growing number of Brazilians arriving in Canadian lands, in search of better opportunities and better quality of life. According to official sources, today there are about 36,600 Brazilians living in Canada. Of these, more than 1,000 reside between Ottawa-Gatineau, with prospects of immigration growth in the coming years, as well as internal migrations to the Canadian capital, due to the cost of living and the quality of services.
Despite the fact that immigration is often part of the life plan of a person or a family, it is known that it brings with it several challenges, which can result in vulnerabilities since the moment of transition involves the need for adaptability in the cultural, economic, social and emotional field. Dealing with new beginnings, unforeseen events and adversities are routine initial barriers for new immigrants, especially in a scenario of a new language, a new culture and a new climate.
In this aspect, the initial stage of immigration has proven to be crucial in the lives of most newcomers, due to the quantity of new information and tasks they need to process and put nto action, such as: which documents to bring from Brazil to Canada? How to open a Canadian bank account? How to obtain a driver’s license in Canada? How to access the education and health system in Canada? among various other information.
On an important note, BRINCA – Brazil | Canada Community Association is introducing the launch of the e-book “Arriving in Ottawa”, a free book that brings a collection of initial information to newcomers to Ottawa.
The book was written by Aline Rezende who is a social work graduate from the Federal University of Espírito Santo, and postgraduate in Psychopedagogy and People Management from Fundação (Foundation) Getúlio Vargas. She worked in Human Resources for a government agency, for over 11 years, promoting services to meet the social demands of workers and their families, and developing health programs to improve their quality of life in the workplace.
Aline Rezende, who is currently the Community Services Coordinator at BRINCA, immigrated to Canada in 2020 with her husband and two children, experiencing challenges and learning from the immigration process, which resulted in the elaboration and development of the e-book “Arriving in Ottawa”.
BRINCA, which is a non-profit organization created in 2018 by representative members from Brazil and current directors Antonio Misaka, Marcia Carvalho and Manuel Navarro, strengthens its social role of supporting immigrants with the dissemination of this material, aiming at strengthening the Brazilian community in Canada.
If you are interested in knowing more about BRINCA, download the free e-book “Arriving in Ottawa” and visit the website www.brinca.ca
