Published April 25, 2012 | By emilgordon
Approximately 2,300 people may lose their Canadian citizenship in what may be described as the most historic crackdown on immigration fraud in Canada. This estimate was made by recently by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, which comes after a two year RCMP investigation that identified almost 9000 cases of alleged residency fraud (this crackdown is a continuation of action which I have spoken about previously).
Immigrants were using corrupt immigration consultants to create a fake proof of residency in Canada. This fake residency was then used to obtain Canadian citizenship. As a result, the Minister proposed changes to the citizenship criteria, one of which would require applicants to provide proof of their skills in one of Canada’s two official languages.
This change (albeit a mere promise) illustrates the Ministers concern that Canadian citizenship has been devalued because of inconsistent application of statutory requirements.
Earlier this year, the Minister publicly thanked the RCMP for charging two persons with offences under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It was alleged that they helped individuals fraudulently create the appearance that they were residing in Canada in order to keep their permanent resident status, and ultimately, attempt to acquire citizenship.
It should be noted that there are at least 6000 more cases that are currently under investigation.
My concern: Although keeping immigration fraud in check is an important concern for society, the investigation conducted by the RCMP could actually include a lot of innocent and honest people along with perpetrators. Some legitimate citizens appear to be having this problem already.
Approximately 2,300 people may lose their Canadian citizenship in what may be described as the most historic crackdown on immigration fraud in Canada. This estimate was made by recently by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, which comes after a two year RCMP investigation that identified almost 9000 cases of alleged residency fraud (this crackdown is a continuation of action which I have spoken about previously).
Immigrants were using corrupt immigration consultants to create a fake proof of residency in Canada. This fake residency was then used to obtain Canadian citizenship. As a result, the Minister proposed changes to the citizenship criteria, one of which would require applicants to provide proof of their skills in one of Canada’s two official languages.
This change (albeit a mere promise) illustrates the Ministers concern that Canadian citizenship has been devalued because of inconsistent application of statutory requirements.
Earlier this year, the Minister publicly thanked the RCMP for charging two persons with offences under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It was alleged that they helped individuals fraudulently create the appearance that they were residing in Canada in order to keep their permanent resident status, and ultimately, attempt to acquire citizenship.
It should be noted that there are at least 6000 more cases that are currently under investigation.
My concern: Although keeping immigration fraud in check is an important concern for society, the investigation conducted by the RCMP could actually include a lot of innocent and honest people along with perpetrators. Some legitimate citizens appear to be having this problem already.
