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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html
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2 P# f- U2 `/ M! X2 n3 q4 Y( dCALGARY — 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. # Y; V* }/ t, q6 i, z6 X
4 @ i" V8 Z: @3 u! t& P3 n5 fAlberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration. 1 c5 U2 U0 Q2 v2 ^* R0 |; `
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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. ' }- O( x5 a$ w6 U
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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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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. + r# ? R) r) C1 L4 ]+ k# n3 Z
6 j, \' A$ k# X0 a9 x8 @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. ( j, }; G: p- @* b4 p% R7 w" h
. a0 n$ l* U2 i7 {But Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers. 4 f; u8 s; `8 I' E$ V
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“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. * p3 T \& C [3 b
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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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# ^- V) f' V* U2 u/ X* J- Q# Z, ]4 BStelmach said the province is giving $285 million in new money for affordable housing and is trying to tackle that problem. |
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