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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney9 d& M" n4 \, S
8 q b* X; a" T7 HRichard J. Brennan
% K& Y; Z+ T( j+ }National Affairs Writer 8 j& j; ]. Z+ s1 [7 t5 C5 ]( ^
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/ Z7 T& O% t7 @/ h5 fImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.0 K5 D9 q; l( F
+ k/ n2 F$ B+ O$ @“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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& R: f. o# P; rThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.6 N) K7 [' ~, t4 O/ A/ g' H
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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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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.
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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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& Q/ W0 @# e3 {/ l9 KSpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.6 ]: S8 e% {$ r
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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.
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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.+ f9 t/ p; ]* Q: ~; D
, h9 D A" e: i" j. p7 l9 ^4 u1 g# mKenney 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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