ROB MURRAY: I’m speaking with Maura Knox from the Bow Valley Immigration Partnership’s Immigrant Advisory Group. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you make your way to the Bow Valley?

MAURA KNOX: In 2018 I was living in Toronto. My husband got a job offer to come back to work at Lake Louise. Later on, he got another job offer at Banff Centre, so we moved here.

RM: What are you doing in Banff now?

MK: I work at the Whyte Museum as an Administrative Assistant. I love museums and I used to plan trips to visit specific museums all around. I really like here and I love all the people that I work with. They’re very interesting, very passionate about it, and I’m very happy.

RM: What brought you to Canada in the first place, and where are you originally from?

MK: I’m originally from Brazil – Sao Paulo. This is my second time in Canada. I lived in Canada between 2000 and 2003, and then I moved back to Brazil. Many years later, I met my husband again who I met in 2002 here in Canada. He moved to Brazil and stayed there with me while I was waiting for my immigration papers, and after we moved back here. I love Canada. I really like the cold weather. I love skiing. Canada is like Brazil, because anyone can be a Brazilian or Canadian because of the immigration system, so you fit in easily. It’s a country that gives you great opportunities.

RM: What do you love about living in the Banff area?

MK: I lived in big cities my entire life, so this was such a huge change for me. Just being close to nature and being able to walk around the river every day, it’s amazing. It’s relaxing. I never felt so close to nature as I do here. It’s so good and so relaxing to be so close to all these different animals and co-exist with them, and be part of the ecosystem, like not destroying them, respecting them. I love it.

RM: Did you encounter any challenges when you first came to Banff?

MK: We moved to Banff, then a few months later the pandemic happened. It was a very hard period for me. I didn’t have many friends. My only friend left. I was very lonely, working from home, not seeing anyone, and I lost a member of my family. Then I started to volunteer at Banff Food Rescue. I met a great friend there and she kind of brought light to my life because she introduced me to the Bow Valley Immigration Partnership. I started volunteering and meeting people, so I felt more connect to this place. That’s how I started to make friendships and connections here. After a while I really realized how this community is amazing and how people really help each other, and this is very unique. In Brazil, people are so busy and you’re just trying to make a living every day, commuting like two or three hours or whatever. You don’t have time to volunteer or do anything for your community. That’s why I love it here because everything’s so close. You don’t waste a lot of time, and you can give your extra hours to the community and be part of it.

RM: Tell us a little bit about this Bow Valley Immigration Partnership Immigrant Advisory Group that you’re a part of.

MK: We have people from many different countries. We usually try to understand the community needs and problems, and we try to bring solutions. At one point at the beginning of the pandemic food was disappearing from shelves and things like that, so they addressed that, providing specific things that a lot of groups use like rice. They bring people together and they’re open. They’re always looking for new people in members to join and to contribute.

RM: If people are interested in finding out more, or maybe joining this Immigrant Advisory Group, how can they go about doing that?

MK: They can get in contact using the Facebook page, or they can send a message directly to Natasha Lay. She’s a lovely girl and she would give anyone a chance to talk about any problems or any feelings that they have. This is a very safe group – we can talk about anything with no pressure.

Filed under: Banff, Bow Valley Immigration Partnership