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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney9 P1 r9 u8 v9 g, t ]+ y
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Richard J. Brennan
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) Z# |6 @ m0 G" `" x1 N6 rImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.4 w; ^% _4 U% [( B, `6 n: e9 E. w1 u
/ _5 Q4 I" _$ x0 d* e8 N, J“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 D% k5 }) O1 @8 Q$ I, N
`* M _0 m' Z4 ?* P5 YThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.. g0 G& j" {) m. k4 d2 _
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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 V7 s/ h) t6 `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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Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.
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/ i, Y+ H7 | E" h) i5 b. Q- n4 w X“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." D( A! X. d' U& W8 U
; t" v4 e$ b) X“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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C; {3 h; n8 yKenney 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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