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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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+ z1 w. j J* p, ~( R V; rRichard J. Brennan7 Q4 o4 ~1 A6 Z9 ]: w) b' ?
National Affairs Writer 9 k1 m E# l3 b
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6 Q2 I* i2 [- R9 b, l3 I1 IImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.: l! ?; X9 c; [1 q: m
9 k$ E7 h0 Z3 ]3 V“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.3 |/ V6 z! @' B8 i2 w1 h+ d
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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.- T9 R& E3 q! q/ C5 }( f; b, o
3 b) f- ^6 }: k“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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- r8 P6 ]# U# dThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.
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% L9 Q' n4 d1 |# k$ b* nCitizenship 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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Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.
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' {. W0 ~/ V& Q. Z7 |“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., N4 p7 w, d( d9 q2 y- a7 f- h( O8 R
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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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+ t. M" u1 Y: ~/ L# R; XKenney 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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