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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney' {* T' D6 z) P: Z% p) f0 i- V
6 L' o2 S; U! I5 e: L& a8 QRichard J. Brennan! T3 h; S+ B7 r
National Affairs Writer 8 }. }4 R# z8 G6 v' ?1 y* ?
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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.( }" h" X1 c1 l/ U+ D
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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.
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" k2 b' `4 J) D7 M; n) o# T$ 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.% R6 G2 Q, W( D3 k8 x
7 e; K; t; x8 E7 V) [1 n! w ZThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.+ I1 V# {; J* u, j* O
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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.1 s6 S/ N k- V6 l- P) a
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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.* k; U S9 V. G3 Q9 W5 v) `1 w# D
0 x- {( ?7 }" x! a0 xSpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.. R- g) e. y& D% k% L* `
: p0 m2 @$ M& ?# {1 L# S“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.& C8 i; ?; S! t+ B' A! x4 {% F
/ I+ q$ r* q; _3 x( RKenney 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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