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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney; X. `6 V/ H/ ~2 V \
/ l4 m4 U' `' U7 o2 {Richard J. Brennan
: n& W# r# h N! DNational Affairs Writer
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* i. O/ x% G0 q7 oImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.2 r/ X, T9 r i' B! _5 D @
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“We are in the process of notifying them that we will be revoking their citizenship because Canadian citizenship is not for sale,” Kenney told the Economic Club of Canada. m8 K G8 B) H) I
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Kenney said some of the individuals are believed to have used “unscrupulous” immigration consultants who submitted fraudulent applications on behalf of people who did not meet the qualifications for citizenship.2 f# a0 u8 Q8 t @3 ~5 ^
7 m$ ], T8 y7 ~9 a1 o8 TThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
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: y9 X/ F% B( }/ C4 {/ m“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country.
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They can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.
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Citizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
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Most were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.; X1 {; n, N# I! t2 |
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Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.$ y, _/ r1 u2 E8 h- R( D* W; Z
; c$ [4 |6 A/ y V, y" K( J7 p“For those who simply touch down and try to get a Canadian passport as a … passport of convenience, who don’t pay our taxes but who do consume our social benefits, I think that’s dishonourable,” he told reporters after delivering a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade.
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8 C, {& W1 O6 z% F) i% E“There are many ways that we are combating immigration fraud and abuse of our generosity, whether it is from [bogus] asylum claimants, crooked immigration consultants, people smugglers [or] people who are abusing our citizenship program,” he said.
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Kenney also announced that Canada will soon be introducing multi-year visas for low-risk visitors from around the world that will last 10 years. |
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