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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney' n ?' Q0 @) e4 t: ^
1 t3 g0 O9 k" n; L+ ~Richard J. Brennan
( `6 F* C" w7 N6 u; k; V, eNational Affairs Writer
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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.! Q' E* A. @, w7 h9 K6 T
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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.- \1 }! J9 M9 @7 r8 W' T
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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.0 w2 s6 o3 E$ x/ O
, b |; p! P; q5 Y" q7 p“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country.2 i; J6 |9 A& |+ h8 e
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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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2 M' Z5 Q1 U0 M% L. A7 N" K$ E; h7 YCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
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Most were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.9 h% s! {) U* w3 h
8 f% p$ h( d$ TSpeaking 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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! Q# ^4 M( u, {# j, z: p“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.* G; a7 |& ~% _7 m# h, X
! K" c; I. _2 A; F( uKenney 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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