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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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) y5 i3 ^& c/ K; p. h& \Richard J. Brennan
u9 K9 _4 D# X7 UNational 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.% x. Y+ s7 b6 g- e/ a1 x/ d |% }
# k p; R$ f& U# o# J* K: T/ s* ?“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.. k! y( W S5 Y5 \( u
5 U) ?( `0 \' t: \" ?# ]! @6 X1 s9 bKenney 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.& x! X, a9 S% G5 s
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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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2 w* F; q( |0 DThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.
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4 }/ W9 j) i5 X# rCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
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) T( o z" V9 _8 t# NMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
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$ Y8 O$ X! X s eSpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.. t; ]8 s5 ~. u8 v
' ~" l. Y: O9 F& Q( s“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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