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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney% d7 B- G. p- f
9 T/ k$ c# J) W4 K8 {; K. oRichard J. Brennan* x1 E" I* T- G+ f" `
National Affairs Writer
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% a$ x( i5 P9 O2 ~ v- ~ tImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.. y) f1 u6 S8 F, w$ [
# v4 }0 Y' D U; Y8 x7 J3 Y4 W“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.. m* z! W9 z- W: @% H- S
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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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K$ U# `; V: K( \The 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.( v8 Q- ~& P4 q" J Y2 z* ~
' M1 Q& \# O/ W# O( p“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country.9 c8 w8 B. }1 \6 X: T$ o0 {8 T- F
( T) X! f. R8 gThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.
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( B1 ^: b8 z, f' e/ OCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said., a- m- Q4 r/ e1 w
6 D0 {2 W2 j8 c. R- G( c/ EMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
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. W! c/ s0 K/ x! h& qSpeaking 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.+ u% v4 `, W. {" w( Q: f/ Y
2 I( F9 s3 Y% o v3 Z1 N“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. T% B5 l5 T% V- g5 F: R; j
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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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