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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html( T5 m1 l# V+ [) s9 a9 B7 p/ Q
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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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Alberta 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. 2 v9 \3 i# k6 [6 o/ q" V' Y
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Right now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program.
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6 g1 @2 y1 m; i) [Federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. * D) ]+ s# V% ^! E; `( P* H
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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.
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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.
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# K4 q" L. N4 r! b9 C0 A$ RBut Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers.
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" p$ B4 Y# Q6 `0 N“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. , P; T* j! J( _% [
5 V7 Q* [. G9 o“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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