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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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Richard J. Brennan/ H4 U! y2 P8 u, Q' g. ~
National Affairs Writer 9 z' l( P$ @) i5 ?6 \
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! g- [) d0 z+ N( y3 v8 cImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.1 F, e9 a/ e0 w+ G& z
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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.
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% I! x- ]9 m) \, [# |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.+ I3 F" D. n# f5 G5 S! G
) [9 s( e$ `( oThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.& F& c" t& B4 t, U
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“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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+ \% E/ F6 l5 W6 f; \6 O4 I1 bCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said. [* A: d$ ^$ Z8 i
) V( T& q; d% ~; n: ~Most were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.9 M6 F- j3 Z( ?/ x
! Y6 {) z; c9 A$ A& }' S% n4 lSpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.: x( N3 O' f( ]2 k
. L: e- \; d+ [- P5 o9 `4 y“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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: e2 ?8 c$ J2 ^3 L“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., G2 `* N5 E& d' S2 L. J1 Y) E
! g* J3 B7 `. `0 D W! ]5 WKenney 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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