News from Canada:

Kenney: Thousands will see citizenship revoked

Agencies

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Friday the federal government is in the process of revoking the citizenship of 2,300 people, with at least 6,000 more cases under investigation.

He said a two-year investigation by the RCMP identified at least 8,800 cases of alleged residency fraud.
"Thousands of people were using crooked immigration consultants to create fake proof of residency in Canada. When we find several thousand people who have broken the law, it is pretty widespread."

Kenney said cases tended to be concentrated as clients of consultants who sell packages. "They will offer to people, typically from abroad, to help them construct fake proof of residency in Canada."

In a luncheon speech to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, where Kenney was heckled for the Conservatives' recent crackdown on refugee claimants, the minister spoke about changes to citizenship criteria that would require applicants to provide proof of their skills in one of Canada's two official languages.