By Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press September 10, 2012 Montreal Gazette OTTAWA - The federal government reprised a familiar get-tough message for immigration cheats Monday, promising to revoke the status of more than 3,100 people it says abused the system in order to claim Canadian citizenship. Several thousand more are being investigated to determine if they obtained or are maintaining their permanent residence fraudulently, said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who was forced to admit only a handful of people have been dealt with so far. There are 3,139 Canadian citizens currently under investigation for residence fraud, but so far, only 19 of them have had their citizenship revoked. That's because the process — part of a long-term crackdown — takes several years, Kenney said. Letters have been sent to 530 people informing them of the government's intention to revoke their citizenship, he added. "Canadian citizenship is not for sale," the minister told a news conference. Read the whole article... See also: Ottawa, September 10, 2012 — The Government of Canada’s investigation into residence fraud continues to grow, with nearly 11,000 individuals potentially implicated in lying to apply for citizenship or maintain permanent resident status. |
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