When Andrés Martinez arrived in Calgary in 2022 with his wife and children, he was searching for safety, stability, and a better future for his family. Back home in Ecuador, Andrés had spent more than two decades working as a lawyer deeply connected to community advocacy. But like many newcomers to Canada, starting over came with unexpected challenges.
In his early years in Calgary, Andrés worked long shifts in landscaping, construction, and snow removal — sometimes up to 19 hours straight — without knowing he was entitled to overtime pay. What stayed with him most was not just the exhaustion, but the realization that even with a legal background, navigating an unfamiliar system in a new country could feel overwhelming.
Today, as a Community Connector with ActionDignity’s Bridging Legal Gaps project, Andrés uses both his professional expertise and lived experience to help racialized workers and newcomers better understand their rights, access support, and feel a stronger sense of belonging in their communities.
Can you tell us about your journey to Canada and your experience as a newcomer?
I moved to Calgary in 2022 with my wife and children, hoping to build a better future for our family. Like many newcomers, the transition was not easy. I worked in landscaping, construction, and snow removal, sometimes for extremely long hours without understanding my rights as a worker.
What surprises many people is that I’m a lawyer. I practiced law in Ecuador for more than 24 years. That experience stayed with me and became one of the most powerful stories I share today when I talk to community members about workers’ rights.
What inspired you to become a Community Connector with ActionDignity?
After several years of working in construction, I wanted to reconnect with work that aligned with my background and values. When I found the Community Connector role at ActionDignity, I immediately connected with the mission.
The Bridging Legal Gaps project focuses on challenges I personally experienced — not knowing your rights, not knowing where to go for help, and trying to navigate systems in a second language. Joining the team felt like coming home professionally.
Today, I work with partner organizations across Calgary to support legal literacy, strengthen community engagement, and help newcomers and racialized workers better understand their rights and available resources. I act as a bridge between communities and the systems that are meant to serve them.
How does your professional and lived experience shape the way you support community members?
My legal background helps me understand complex systems and explain them in accessible ways. But just as important is my lived experience as a newcomer.
When my family arrived in Calgary, we had to figure everything out on our own — how systems worked, where to go, and what support existed. Often, we learn through difficult experiences.
Because of that, I understand how important trusted guidance can be. Sometimes people don’t just need information; they need someone who speaks their language, understands their experience, and can point them in the right direction.
That human connection is what I try to bring into this work every day. Every time I sit with a community member and help them understand that they have rights, that they belong, and that the system can work for them, that is worth more than I can put into words.
Can you share a meaningful moment from your work as a Community Connector?
One meaningful experience was co-facilitating a Natural Supports Training session on legal literacy for community leaders. During the session, I shared my personal experience of working long snow removal shifts without knowing my workplace rights. Sharing that story reminded people that these situations affect real individuals, including those who might be expected to “know better.”
But meaningful moments also happen in everyday spaces. I’m part of a WhatsApp group with fellow Ecuadorians in Calgary, where I regularly share information about workers’ rights, immigration updates, and community resources. One day, someone told me, “With your knowledge, you have guided more than a few of us.”
That message stayed with me because my goal is simple: I don’t want people to walk this path alone.
What message would you like to share with newcomers and community members?
When my wife and I first arrived in Canada, someone from our own community told us that here we were “nothing,” and that it would take a very long time to become something. At the time, those words stayed with me.
But over the years, I’ve realized something different: all of us have been building our own path in this country. And without realizing it, we have become guides for those who arrive after us. We share what we know, we support each other, and we help others avoid the mistakes we had to learn the hard way. We are, in many ways, Natural Supports for one another.
We didn’t come here to be nothing. We came here to build something — and we already are.