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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html) ~0 b$ [2 M8 k# z2 o. m1 l
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% `8 V$ o/ {2 U) [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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& Z( k2 k8 `- `2 ]9 E2 I. k uAlberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration. ' v M7 v, n( c( 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. 5 C4 W# X' b; @0 ~
3 W& f" H. L& ` D- zRight now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program. - `6 n2 M" G6 z0 l: c5 x& ~
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Federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. 2 [$ V2 L8 t5 R
, x. t R! p; @: p, f4 j1 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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" H2 v6 L+ n rIt’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. 5 h" \) n @$ X7 f/ c
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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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“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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