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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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* s. o% i8 @0 A9 F* n9 nRichard J. Brennan
. `* |2 B! m! x; X4 PNational Affairs Writer & o- j# B% O" B0 I+ }6 f
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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.) {9 ~5 c3 e: I t
% k9 G6 r/ [' o4 d6 v/ k5 P“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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0 H) o& C/ K; {0 H9 N- o q4 ZThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
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" d2 A0 W* T7 B \7 S+ Y$ W“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.
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Citizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.# ?6 Y2 ~0 |, o9 v+ u
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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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6 s2 Y! x; x; a/ m: aSpeaking 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.4 f; F: N8 |) k0 o- U. t
( @" x% N6 x3 e3 {1 T2 O3 ~“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.4 P8 J1 p; a* k3 M
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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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