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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html& `8 n2 I0 [4 Z9 _+ I7 E 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.
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+ Q4 `$ d. b5 NAlberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration. 1 I3 W7 D3 A. L- ^* ^0 R
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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.
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0 |7 L! M2 _2 @& T% t- ?, q F$ j/ }Federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada.
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( A- j# z/ i# d; HThe 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.
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“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said.
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: A: w! |. p8 W M# p- b“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.” 4 V6 u2 X4 g' p1 ~9 u+ c
3 Z D; m; b" @1 j: ~3 n4 EStelmach said the province is giving $285 million in new money for affordable housing and is trying to tackle that problem. |
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