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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html6 e2 ]" |5 O# @5 A
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" L- X# a* K, E/ E( o- G; xCALGARY — 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. $ h! l9 Q+ t8 g4 S6 F7 h* Z1 j
$ m1 ^7 |0 ~) ^# u( NAlberta Premier Ed Stelmach says the agreement will cut red tape and give the province increased influence and control of immigration.
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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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Right now, 2,500 workers per year come under the program. ' b1 W' a& T0 T6 c+ y7 t" t% b
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Federal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. + z L+ Y& S V( f
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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. ( ~6 j* o7 p2 r: h
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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. & [3 B P2 W& d& ~
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But Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers. & T$ |7 w7 N1 P5 O
) b5 S: q2 I% m. M“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said. 8 h( l; j' ~( D0 b! O6 N4 _
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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.” 2 r8 O3 z: S8 w
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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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