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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html9 |% `) c$ V+ F0 I- f* P
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% F0 N% [: k4 @; Q2 k8 N, NCALGARY — 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 ~/ T- [$ J. ^4 a0 A
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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. ) h, ^" }( j1 X* Y1 a$ r" A6 v/ j
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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 Q5 x2 H& e3 _& }; t; b
% g7 L t8 i. E4 `/ ^Right now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program.
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& E. [" x8 U, K9 P3 ~1 N' \Federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. * U( i, J) d4 [2 w) I4 K
( O7 n1 M" p7 V1 ?% oThe 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. / L. M9 y6 ^/ ]' [. S4 o! G9 ]
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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.
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' _) A- C( j+ Q' ?) w“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. 0 d8 ^' R$ r# ]$ R& V# W; r! }8 G
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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.” . u1 f8 y. E. J# Z& Z! f- y6 Y
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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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