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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html8 [5 V4 P @- y3 _6 _ o- y+ P
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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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. X/ A, X3 F1 T/ A, [Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration. / w6 J* ]0 w/ K( i' O
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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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6 G K9 x0 ^' GRight 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.
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$ K6 L7 f+ w& _+ [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. 0 ?0 o: c' i* g: I# F( D0 D) R
8 o2 `7 k. x4 S4 K# n2 H& p1 ^But Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers.
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0 B; z, t+ h c* \& f“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. ; k) G( s$ @! C3 S
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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.” 5 C" |6 V' @& I' |' s U. Q _
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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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