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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html3 C7 c0 |6 r' c+ G5 ~, D1 Q
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7 C- [4 \* B+ X+ j4 m+ jCALGARY — 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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+ B4 n2 K; v. f( |$ m* W, MAlberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration.
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# ~2 E4 _. U1 _3 W' c6 BThe rise to 25,000 immigrant workers per year will happen over the next 10 years under the provincial nominee program. ; M7 z$ A2 ^9 z9 g A' C
/ A6 a" ?" P( K) y3 U4 URight now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program. , B* l) Z" i6 R: o1 l' }
' _, m4 K$ ]/ H* zFederal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. , t: G& B8 r+ ?- z
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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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2 H" c \* h* o9 BBut 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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9 T0 t! h! |2 ]“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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