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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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; Z7 g4 w, }( t, ^Richard J. Brennan
, c- G o5 F4 oNational Affairs Writer
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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.. [* b q5 U4 ~0 Y& Z
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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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$ F1 j) M! A8 e5 }3 O8 w& DKenney 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.$ u) l2 w; d% W( ]4 e0 n' i
$ b& I$ C' [1 |# S! O. fThe 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.! T' a2 v6 F) k: f
' ]! f- i2 @, N- T0 t2 c% i; hThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.
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* z( J& B+ y, q# sCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.# q- \& O+ ~# \4 J( t* t- E8 F+ C
/ T3 H+ ]& o# c, G, x9 QMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.* W; f! d2 F* Y$ Z4 G7 g
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Speaking 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.
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2 o! ^; K7 G$ f( Q; ^“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.# [% g; s$ l3 l0 c$ \
4 [, L8 w1 c* j0 SKenney 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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