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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html
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! l/ b2 Q4 D! P5 @: a& a' h3 ^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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Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration. ' D! U o" t; }/ U1 q0 R! m& \8 ?) @
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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. $ _( p& ~. a3 a. s. W/ E
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Right now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program. , b' S( [% S: w A d" q, ]! W- \
# Z" _/ F% p3 M0 F4 z: L& LFederal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. I+ E8 W, T- k
9 O. g! b4 n1 g7 q8 kThe 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.
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' ^. R) f6 N1 {9 Q6 hIt’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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! j9 N; j& W( RBut Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers. ' D! Z* e g+ W- l( ?
2 f, ~0 }1 ]% t( T& q/ c7 _4 ^“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.” 8 {3 g% T& v3 g, s
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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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