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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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Richard J. Brennan
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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.8 G& P8 U) p, K# B f& S$ O
$ Q6 T9 M* @ q, O5 j0 X“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.( _% q6 q8 u' _
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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.1 H% Z; G5 s, ?4 W# |1 l- `) c n: }
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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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% a; [, |3 e$ T1 z# @4 P( R“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.0 _; k1 n8 F2 t: n1 l
) Y, L% e3 v. T A" @Most were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
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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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“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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