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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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7 w L' i0 V' v+ M( cRichard J. Brennan% \4 l7 C+ q1 k
National Affairs Writer ' F2 c; c$ F9 n" D1 u7 h6 N
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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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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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* Q7 B) @+ p4 j+ O2 T“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country.& u: M5 a5 S% N
+ e6 ^0 t1 ?# y" i8 d# n9 iThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.
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' x8 g4 x3 ?: b2 u, \3 x2 H; Y, xCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
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6 O7 u0 S' h% n3 pMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
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# T3 U$ O, i: V8 W" y2 oSpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.
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“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.; }& O- P/ x) e3 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.- ^* e/ N- q8 ?0 v8 w4 V5 z' I9 [
. V0 o( |" e3 b9 f6 y) L( A4 i. X/ EKenney 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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