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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html
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0 G: Q" x# W% v+ M W9 SCALGARY — 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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; R8 U2 }/ ^6 x+ |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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. U4 o: ]4 B& r2 DThe rise to 25,000 immigrant workers per year will happen over the next 10 years under the provincial nominee program. 2 O, J4 U+ Q; v V
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Right now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program.
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, i+ |8 c2 J4 }; J6 t# o) h- p- y6 i" v. YFederal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. ; n- y: t: g5 q# |3 u5 _# @
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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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7 t% a$ B8 p EIt’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. ! y1 K: U& j s
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“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. 2 X; \6 V9 L, ^7 S# J
+ J! ~, L" ^- d0 F b% o' ^9 G. q“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.” % Z4 h# h3 i) F6 o3 n3 {6 f& {$ Z: o
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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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