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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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Richard J. Brennan) X) o0 V5 O; @. \" ~% e! U
National Affairs Writer
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Immigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently." [& W3 K3 u( ~) k6 q
" J0 ]% ?) C7 e5 ~& `" r/ }“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.( {$ [3 d5 o: @) k5 t
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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.
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The 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.5 `4 c; W$ B: j# B
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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.$ b3 i4 f* O* w9 M9 B, G0 {2 X
0 H4 ?: o8 }. n3 IThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.5 y* K! ~" p5 f+ z- J* Q
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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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) F! H; }4 P8 `7 D! N% u: k0 I0 XMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
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Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.8 n9 _9 L- Q0 N* b$ v
1 P+ K: V3 K, ]( U2 n+ l* e“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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/ K5 l9 v0 N: ~+ c# d# ~" j; g$ m4 y“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.) D+ v$ T2 @7 P
" G2 N0 D3 q: f8 `- y' SKenney 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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