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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html
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CALGARY — 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.
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" }0 @& M" ~ JAlberta 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.
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Right now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program. - Q: T' Z: h3 Q' T
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Federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. ) ^7 h0 g+ |0 B4 o$ n
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The 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. + }2 n- s/ H. M+ S! Y# J/ ~
6 ~9 m" k5 O1 I) ]It’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. - w! d" O9 E" l1 o$ W
4 i/ d* T- G# i U) O. o* ~. ^: CBut Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers.
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! c) }8 o% ~5 Y% z6 I- o/ i“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said.
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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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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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