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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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* N. `( p/ }2 @" y. ORichard J. Brennan% w# h( s I0 {4 W' |
National Affairs Writer
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' V! w+ ^6 L& T/ {. X! yImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.9 y/ M! v/ ]4 p9 L- M
; |1 b3 n+ c8 a" R9 r+ l! N“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.: A# b2 K3 X$ T2 q: P
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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.# u" L6 D3 @% m" B, W! }( A7 v
' u, n B. }7 g, ]* vThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
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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.1 C/ b& f# G; V# ]
5 i" Q( P) r5 c9 ?) {9 t% I' EThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.% o5 u5 E- k& @' d+ p5 Q
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Citizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said., o0 X& k; Z; |: e$ `) ]
4 Z8 k! S/ R$ C9 SMost were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.+ p3 K! ~; u6 g3 }2 N) o0 K
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Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.7 M6 `7 {: ~; z0 D. _( ^ s
4 \& e+ L( f% ~* Y5 w“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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9 K2 J0 k$ V) C! Q/ F6 A7 \“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./ ~$ e6 \) w4 z2 Q5 d7 p
/ o" x! q" ]* ~) d. ?4 RKenney 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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