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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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Richard J. Brennan/ _$ ?* C1 `6 q
National Affairs Writer ' w3 \' D. \! M$ G5 p& Y& l, }/ D
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& V5 e2 I) H( \7 Q3 S7 sImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.
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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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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.
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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 R% |$ y8 `5 Q `' |- v/ b“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.; @* Y. E9 H5 t
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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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" a: d$ l. E1 U: I0 OMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
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+ Q- ?8 q: |9 b$ P5 USpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.
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) A2 r! t, R }4 l% `2 ~) ~“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.: t) b- s' m0 V% }! r2 D
; e$ L r2 U: m! U“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.2 C/ ?) @- l% S* W4 K4 @
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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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