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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/05/13/4177280.html
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- _# X6 H2 k1 G' ]. Y, @3 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.
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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. 6 g# K0 ]3 [- u/ G$ C+ d5 Q4 z9 N
# n9 Y- Z- [ F3 OThe 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.
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, Z+ Y- N" k; p+ @: vFederal Immigration Minister Diane Finley said the changes will be noticed by people offering their skills to Canada. ) S. F8 k, \$ s' G! W1 G
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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. 3 |* R/ l( w$ n7 ]' }
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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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7 A# @+ F/ j% n( G# x# E PBut Birjandian said Alberta’s often unaffordable housing remains a daunting hurdle for many newcomers.
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# Q8 ]3 Z# e- v }+ F- w: [“For people coming in, it is a bigger issue for settling in,” he said.
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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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/ G# U d+ S( l" r6 X. B2 VStelmach said the province is giving $285 million in new money for affordable housing and is trying to tackle that problem. |
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