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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html' b8 f/ x5 @' b; x* ^" Y+ c! o
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; N: O- f( V# gCALGARY — An agreement between Alberta and the federal government will allow 25,000 foreign workers per year to come to the province to aid in its worker shortage. ' D$ V) A' i; x$ Q7 J
; ~ F* O/ ]8 B% w: P, j RAlberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration.
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The rise to 25,000 immigrant workers per year will happen over the next 10 years under the provincial nominee program. T" k* h: B$ e4 D$ }
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Right now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program. 7 B4 ]0 L! t4 B/ v5 W
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Federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada.
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3 E+ Q6 ]/ q5 T! e8 t) zThe pact gives Alberta the power to nominate more immigrants possessing skills needed in the province and also provides more resources to help them settle here. 1 l. B/ c- ^5 \
5 ~2 l* J. o6 zIt’s a step in the right direction in breaking down time-consuming, frustrating barriers facing immigrants seeking to ply their skills here, said Fariboz Birjandian, chairman of the Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies.
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; E8 L9 C! H' _5 E1 }But Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers.
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“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. 6 {9 Z# S' l4 _. @2 p: `2 {5 O
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“And we don’t want Calgary becoming a city where all the rich people live on one side and all the poor on the other.”
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' b- O2 E$ @: G! \% Z4 q* |Stelmach said the province is giving $285 million in new money for affordable housing and is trying to tackle that problem. |
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