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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html1 a" K0 D x7 J" O4 l
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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. 3 P+ Q: Y8 O& U* ?
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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. ) D9 q- G% F0 X2 J0 J2 _5 I
9 F. V* e) l! q6 Q0 Y9 FThe 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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Federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. + ~* \! b8 z8 y
" `8 g- Z E" v" K$ J& iThe 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. \8 y% V" i* H" @1 l3 I
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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. $ ~9 h7 ^- I, u; T
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“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said.
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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.”
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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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