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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney2 p D; \' H% S8 p* [2 S6 }
( C6 _. `( Z9 h$ c$ d" YRichard J. Brennan
0 l N* s' Y, }( \National Affairs Writer
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0 U+ \* B& T! P U9 PImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.2 n& M( R4 E* N9 n# l
6 r1 h7 d& p0 d/ d“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.4 x# n8 F$ f. }. W$ n& Q
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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./ M8 e" d% i& }1 X2 j4 v. Q: W- ^( S
) d, ]' N0 w, E* t5 BThe 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.; p2 p6 V& R2 v: s5 p6 K
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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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0 S Q3 f% P. E, f5 eMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.8 @/ Z6 K% |. u- d; P
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Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.
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6 n- y* c$ ~8 z8 G: n“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.# ]8 x2 u: d) n7 s- O
7 \' D# R5 P: ZKenney 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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发表于 2011-7-20 09:05
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