 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney, c5 p9 h2 x. N+ w; K
& u* X. A, a0 o& y7 P$ \Richard J. Brennan0 q! ^6 z$ t. z. U5 e
National Affairs Writer
: c p. ^3 L& R$ h
4 i: F" N4 \& q2 C2 w) Z: O+ M- q
& z! r: ]3 x; EImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.5 m/ y* W, u. T( j
. ?1 m. K( W* P, S Z4 n# z! b
“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. v% t3 W+ @5 |1 P" F/ B
: R& o1 Z( }9 O+ Y/ U
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.
; B* |# q& o$ z! D, C8 e: l$ x7 r, p3 t9 @- |$ P# |1 p2 X% Y' B
The 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.3 X1 ~1 p% l: Y$ ]# | { [; ^
) D+ c. N2 [3 t: s" ~! Z1 h& e“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country.' W( v f! c- H" K% K
; Z- _+ N9 u: P) ?7 W1 K8 {* ~They can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.( k/ }- B% h) }# ~* N( ^$ v
; a- f5 q6 z6 RCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
- |6 \1 v6 Q6 P6 J7 R" L: z& b% L3 s/ q
Most were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
/ s+ ]. z/ Q$ q0 s1 D2 b6 p% F0 J/ B7 o; M0 F% w. N
Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.
' z; K1 w3 y. q4 \
# U$ q! ]4 e. S2 A g( d“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.
0 D1 j% v7 X/ `0 ~) ? G7 B" ~8 ^+ K& L, Q8 W9 m! |4 T
“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.. ?1 w; ]! C# d
% i; f, E( }1 k C4 Z; b, c2 pKenney also announced that Canada will soon be introducing multi-year visas for low-risk visitors from around the world that will last 10 years. |
|