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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney1 c8 y% F% S, M" E1 ?
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Richard J. Brennan
- k5 L1 t* _7 f# v1 z% MNational 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.
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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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9 ?. ?4 \, a6 t: ?) 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.
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$ l5 Q+ `) t& p) ^, b% F$ g1 NThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.4 `& C9 J: p/ a+ z
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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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$ g% K: T. A' {They can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.) u, M/ C% q# o2 N- A
. }& Q; M, P" N2 B; Y" v. C a& HCitizenship 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.
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Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud., b$ _& U5 m+ l3 g6 D
P7 i& M! v- z8 T“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.$ w4 R. ?- ^" ]* {! f, c% i+ p' ^
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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. P6 E: @& T& g/ l" s9 X
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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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