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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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! ~% V8 q6 R+ s3 v2 h' oRichard J. Brennan
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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.5 Y3 y0 Y" J& A( c
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“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.; n1 V" [# s8 ?- ?% K9 x+ ]# r
1 t% @0 J' s' b X$ O0 J3 _( O8 eKenney 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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3 E+ I `1 a7 l+ \8 \The 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
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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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7 A8 W6 G) D% yThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.( Y8 C i( ~. l% l) I
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Citizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said./ Y9 ~* j6 Z& T; D
0 ~5 ]6 c. J( A+ D4 PMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.* i2 @) X' `, O0 J( C' x- Z
- K ~& N( E* y% [+ pSpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.0 t; c; e$ n# `! o5 ?
1 ?% [* T. K; s' F' w“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.* K3 h% j2 Y1 c5 ^+ ?' Z. }2 f3 l
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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., S8 F y G$ ^& \% X9 f! B0 [
- p/ t E9 w7 i0 o- s% k" ?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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