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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html
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6 R/ D. z4 H# U: Q! `- u7 v" F( zCALGARY — 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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Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration. # Y( p& f6 p+ i: {) g* a
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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. * |: ^3 D9 S% p
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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. & _: x; [5 M9 P# Y
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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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4 K" d4 G k; F4 C) |% tIt’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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! @1 e+ v& l; Q- |4 h+ ABut 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. 9 s0 w6 {! M* `9 m! t5 C
- v" ~9 \2 H$ u“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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