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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney: V* n) g' b& Z. B5 r: m
; {* s5 j7 X. r$ JRichard J. Brennan
' A+ H5 a! r9 x) c- K+ DNational Affairs Writer * v6 [% v0 U" V* p$ L8 R t
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5 X! _$ C& L$ b! }. gImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.
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1 B, N8 ]# a& D' e* [0 ^5 R3 ]4 O4 ?“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.+ E# R: k: |& u6 j1 _1 T' D
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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.
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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.) s' M- E4 e) {- p$ e- }9 t# x
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They can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship./ @3 N9 }* f8 R* s) |7 g5 B, K
9 N- g6 B6 R: `8 nCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
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) f3 D% P5 i1 O8 H( qMost 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.* P5 D1 Z) g# A* _& t( U$ R) n
1 G% X: K+ P1 p; L0 k. z“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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“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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发表于 2011-7-20 09:05
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