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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney( Y" b" k) ?# v8 ?3 v
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Richard J. Brennan
+ M! e6 l9 n. V* R7 HNational Affairs Writer 5 u1 o2 g8 C: ?2 K" _( C4 {
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% ^. s4 A( y# p3 @' d: T! bImmigration 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 F) ]7 O6 B9 }! c0 D“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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- s! C3 p/ `3 KThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
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9 e, I$ `4 z' e: N: W5 R“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country.0 h- i. |) g% x( E9 c% @% R( I
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They can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.4 B9 h: v V2 w+ @" t7 v
7 S0 x I( Y9 ZCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
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; B! x8 b/ u A! wMost 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.
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% f* s6 h/ Z F! s; s/ | d“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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8 D& S' b/ j; F5 X“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.: [) K- a8 f* x8 }4 z5 F+ j
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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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