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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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5 k9 ~" X% b" y4 [. {+ U6 SRichard J. Brennan7 g9 ~* d+ W6 Q! c/ q
National Affairs Writer 6 q+ E5 T7 s' z% t* Z
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7 J- ]3 Q+ c1 m9 y# J2 X3 @1 [( NImmigration 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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0 O6 u2 s, U) F* H6 _+ ~( m4 s“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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& e3 Q4 N' E* m( i' J' q; kKenney 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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7 X' c1 B; ]& b5 ~2 @2 K2 ? _+ cThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.4 V5 D% R2 _# u; n
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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.% q- C& O! _+ G5 d, H6 x, \
- R8 w, K9 E$ @& C/ `) N7 hThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.! W! G# y8 {% P, y
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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& k' m7 P; O6 T, z8 NMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
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: L5 y) j! a* I4 F( ESpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.% v% W) a3 h9 ~7 T$ A- n5 u
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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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7 N! t+ E7 d( X. H, Q; U& d“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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9 ?- @9 A, L! e6 t2 z" wKenney 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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