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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html; j% ~* M) {9 }* @6 R1 U% }: S6 X
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! ]7 ?- x4 g2 p$ o8 U+ k; gCALGARY — 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. 2 q) x, ?* o" B% J W/ k# m0 \
/ y; q+ v! p- }Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration.
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: W/ o$ m. h+ s P9 N" c ^% KThe 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. 5 T$ b0 G) A5 ]) [
6 r0 N( [8 o- C a: H; W3 j! NFederal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. ' y' ~9 x+ Z$ T% R9 e/ o
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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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M* C3 g6 l3 c% [, j+ 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. 7 K1 |. L3 z& `# V: G: b0 Z
; e0 g) |% W# ^5 Z( GBut Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers.
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2 u( ~/ T' D/ M) y5 V/ B“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. : \# E- u# f' Y" Z# m
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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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$ i8 o( B c2 zStelmach said the province is giving $285 million in new money for affordable housing and is trying to tackle that problem. |
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