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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html$ L0 M+ l* }. D9 q) j' 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.
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X" s- T- N* e n: g# @6 X3 _Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration. + `: k& ? I3 ^) q2 Q
8 d7 d* J( G) |) u6 LThe 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. 2 Y% P8 X0 f( r% m
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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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. }+ ]3 c/ e6 h. o' xThe 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. 1 d: z. Q: m# ?, [/ n; e
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“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. & s. @. f9 j9 r7 {( d# d
% h O; }* U, `2 H0 y9 ~) y, y“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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