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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html
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9 s8 h$ I) p% x# o& vCALGARY — 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. 7 @8 j* y& g8 w
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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. 5 b: d- ?* b, N C: P! b: j
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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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/ m' \, C/ N* {5 I! zRight now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program.
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- I4 ]2 L+ ^; F7 G: ZFederal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada.
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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. 7 C$ x' M; ]8 H* @
9 f( p, S* r j2 t' @3 W" MIt’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.
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“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. ( s% R4 G* i2 x- W ]' \
8 l' r: U. V( ^$ Z! }% W" Y& P, {“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.” 6 M9 R. W; g0 J# n" o4 f
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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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