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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney; Q& C, d( `4 L* {3 ?
2 M5 v' n8 h2 wRichard J. Brennan; y( |* N4 g! `; k
National Affairs Writer - `* G% G' L" b2 _. O, B3 a- {2 X
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6 o0 n. Z& v3 ^$ n& c# j6 o5 ]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.- n* A% J* _9 U' O6 _
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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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8 p% c7 @% W' E4 yKenney 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.% S2 b7 c$ A- |) o, z2 ~/ ?
( W: E% s+ P4 m" f eThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.5 G6 q2 w. o( b8 {* l
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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.2 g! |2 I! ~% @. f' \: r4 }
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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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' x& A) Y2 ]: K, UMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
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9 A& k1 {% o6 D2 H- Q" i5 X tSpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.
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0 }! e- I: q' O x3 K5 I“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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0 a0 \% ~" r( J& a& u2 W3 g% H“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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& i% K) t7 G( m/ A a* _; b, D# 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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