 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
# t2 {5 N6 s/ j. K
" R0 m6 f& K* o' R# M* kRichard J. Brennan
: S, a5 P8 j; d! k) xNational Affairs Writer
" B# G6 f3 I5 t: S- S2 x5 t" d: [/ b4 M! z; Q" z
* _" {. [/ T6 |6 ^( s" @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.
( _6 c+ D- C/ @' A# @# Z7 U C8 ^$ b, Q
“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.
, V/ { X6 j! B0 Y. x+ g4 S& s7 |7 A2 K+ ^0 e/ A
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.
8 q& t" n1 ^& }# C5 I; X3 w: k9 [7 J- p1 @* k) h4 @
The 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.( t5 {- g& p( M% D* Y/ O
( C) P' I" B* }* y* T
“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country.
9 t% n5 K5 i6 {+ g8 p3 u! `5 n0 Z ?$ H, |, n8 K
They can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.& U. e. d" ?0 {, l4 e; @
, v# P4 i" g) }* k& \8 `+ ^; `# ~
Citizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.0 b8 M, z4 `. L. _, ?
+ ?# B8 p8 r: {Most were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.- z! K" j, i2 u! @
: ^2 W2 w6 V6 w* w. F5 x: e" A+ ?# f# ~
Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.: s4 D. o" ~! W0 W
, ?) {; `/ [' Z! J9 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.
% U$ _0 H$ J3 s. d: R1 s$ I$ p- 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.
6 v( w* P9 p& Q2 G( m
7 Z* W, g6 ^( F; V$ LKenney also announced that Canada will soon be introducing multi-year visas for low-risk visitors from around the world that will last 10 years. |
|