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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html }$ m: `8 h2 D/ i3 D6 B
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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. 0 A: ^3 s0 D% E2 C5 N T
" {7 N3 q* f% m( U9 f4 P wAlberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration.
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' N' f- ~7 {1 f/ o( VThe rise to 25,000 immigrant workers per year will happen over the next 10 years under the provincial nominee program. . S7 T7 R% p' g" r& B% Z5 ]
" i* M+ Y o5 U# L3 aRight now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program.
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6 O O. }0 [, F' P0 D1 CFederal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. ! `+ O4 Z4 u! ~4 @, i) S
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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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But Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers. ! U: I- [+ l$ Z4 [% I
4 ]5 k( Z( m& U3 n: P“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said.
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( o3 R6 G/ }; i) f+ p3 K5 N8 u' t“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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' C0 l; c9 v7 b2 NStelmach said the province is giving $285 million in new money for affordable housing and is trying to tackle that problem. |
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