Feds to revoke thousands of citizenships in historic sweep

[abc]

Feds to revoke thousands of citizenships in historic sweep

BY TOBI COHEN, DECEMBER 9, 2011

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is expected to make the announcement
that "Canadian citizenship is not for sale" on Friday, Postmedia News has
learned.

OTTAWA — In what's being dubbed the biggest citizenship fraud sweep in
Canadian history, the federal government is set to crack down on 4,700
more people believed to have obtained citizenship or permanent resident
status illegally.

The announcement comes six months after the government moved to strip
1,800 people of their Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status
for the same reasons. Up until this year, Canada had revoked just 67
citizenships since the Citizenship Act came into force in 1947.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is expected to make the announcement
that "Canadian citizenship is not for sale" on Friday, Postmedia News has
learned.

He will unveil the details in Montreal where Nizar Zakka — an immigration
consultant suspected of fraud — was arrested in 2009. Zakka is suspected
of providing would-be Lebanese immigrants with false evidence —
indicating that they were living in Quebec when they were not — to
support their cases for permanent residency.

He's also accused of filing or contributing to the filing of 861 false
tax returns for at least 380 clients between 2004 and 2007. The returns
allegedly were then used to claim refunds for child care and property
taxes as well as the provincial sales-tax credit.

The bulk of the citizenship fraud cases are said to be linked to Zakka as
well as Halifax immigration consultant Hassan Al-Awaid, who was charged
in March with more than 50 citizenship fraud-related offences.

The cases are also tied to a third consultant from Mississauga, Ont.,
west of Toronto, who remains under investigation, according to a
government source who noted the others were brought to light thanks to
the new citizenship fraud tip line.

Unveiled in September, the tip line already has fielded 5,366 calls.

Letters are currently being sent to the 6,500 people from 100 countries
indicating that Canada is revoking their citizenship or permanent
resident status due to fraud.

This comes following a lengthy investigation by the RCMP and the
Department of Citizenship and Immigration.

Alleged fraudsters, the majority of whom are not currently living in
Canada, have up to 60 days to appeal the decision in Federal Court before
cabinet moves to void their passports and strip them of all rights and
privileges.

According to Citizenship and Immigration, to maintain permanent resident
status a person must reside in Canada for at least two years within a
five-year period. Permanent residents seeking citizenship must show proof
that they've lived in Canada for at least three of the last four years
before applying.

At the time of Al-Awaid's arrest, Kenney said he was suspected of helping
people "create the appearance they were residing in Canada in order to
keep their permanent resident status, and ultimately attempt to acquire
citizenship."

He said investigators had linked Al-Awaid to 1,100 applicants and their
dependents, 76 of whom had obtained Canadian citizenship.

He noted that many people were prevented from "fraudulently obtaining
citizenship" as a result of the investigation.

The government has been taking action against citizenship fraud for some
time. The Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act, which imposes tough
new penalties for immigration consultants convicted of fraud, including
fines and/or prison, is now law in Canada.