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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html* S9 H8 D) n, ~* k8 w
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6 b, k+ v. ^0 u O B0 QCALGARY — 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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# u$ `3 f+ R' ?- n3 l* IAlberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration. + G z7 n& ]+ }" k
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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. - u9 j$ V& s& l$ f
$ f! G9 F6 M* i9 PRight now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program. * t3 L* ?( K; `- Q3 |
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Federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. * L8 A! E1 E: @3 o! |
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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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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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. O! t7 E: \% L' R' O; UBut 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. $ U% W8 g S7 }1 v2 ?* x
5 s2 r6 H6 Q+ E7 h* n' j“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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