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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney/ s2 [. A& L8 V4 J) @" Z
1 G/ A1 o4 s1 IRichard J. Brennan
! c/ w+ W; L" s3 hNational Affairs Writer
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% S r$ F1 Q; i4 z# n% A8 T9 uImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.8 e- t; E: ?- P( Y5 [% q, D
- J* j8 M5 f$ u4 X$ c7 Q7 t* V“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.; F5 A* e7 O7 O6 W! N
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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.. }6 @9 L- F: f. X: O- [7 \
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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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6 w- Y1 o: ]$ }4 D“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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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.4 I4 T' g8 E8 U% v
! J6 e3 R7 A) S7 fMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.7 Y: Y: A* ]$ M0 X: h& s* ^* S1 Q
4 T% e: h* F8 d# ESpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.- _: \$ {1 K1 M, G; i! F
4 y* n- ? ]# ~4 C“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.# U9 G' G5 d) g' u9 {3 G
* f. a% ~7 N0 p4 u: y8 S9 k( @“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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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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