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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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Richard J. Brennan i8 {7 r! }1 g& ?; a( A5 |
National Affairs Writer 4 \: {( k( ^; U! J4 u7 F% |
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9 F6 l0 a; z- }# [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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) ?2 Q& l# D t, ?: f8 |“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.; }- @# w/ |* x% F! B: ]
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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.8 c) _! e+ m3 i2 C& V) L
( c8 j! u; z" z& @. \“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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They can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.; N/ K' M8 \4 f% y) A) A; E
7 b! r* j! i; ^3 vCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
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$ B' T1 r; a6 uMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.9 b6 p3 o' \3 |9 Z9 c/ @- K
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Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.% }- d8 \! G* K* K
- @% x" `9 x% U! @8 Q“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.+ K1 U) p2 ]4 ]8 {. J
* V: i4 D" Q4 i E“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.8 w0 \! n# w6 m6 t& E
+ V6 R Q% q* N" w: gKenney 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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