CITIZENSHIP REVOCATIONS STORY CONTINUES

300 applicants for citizenship apparently had the same address. Draw your own conclusions...I am sure more will follow on the subject.

Mississauga Article: Wrongdoings denied


Wrongdoings denied

July 28, 2011
Officials at Palestine House in Mississauga say they aid newcomers, but they're not involved in human smuggling or helping people obtain Canadian citizenship illegally.
The Erindale Station Rd. language and cultural centre responded today to claims that it helped some of the 1,800 new Canadians who are set to be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed last week that "we are in the process of notifying (the 1,800 people) that we will be revoking their citizenship because Canadian citizenship is not for sale."
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 qualifications for citizenship.
The 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
About 300 of those identified used an address located in the same building as Palestine House, claiming to live there in order to fraudulently obtain citizenship when instead they were living outside Canada.
Samir Jabbour, media officer for Palestine House, said a tenant who worked as an immigration consultant elsewhere in the building was investigated by the RCMP.
Jabbour denied any wrongdoing on the part of Palestine House.
"We have some tenants in the building, but we are not involved in any of the business of these people," Jabbour told The News. "People are trying to accuse us of dealing with fraudulent immigration issues. We're surprised by this. We never violated any law and I'm adamant that we had nothing to do with any of this."
If Palestine House was involved in the fraud, it would have lost its government funding, Jabbour noted. Furthermore, he said, staff helped police with the investigation.
The organization offers language and settlement services to immigrants and also lobbies municipal, provincial and federal governments on behalf of Palestinian causes.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has given the centre $2.4 million for English-language training.
Citizenship revocation is uncommon in Canada, with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
Most of the 1,800 cases were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.
"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," Kenney said. "There are many ways that we are combatting 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."
Kenney also announced that Canada will soon be introducing multi-year visas for low-risk visitors from around the world that will last 10 years.
- with files from Toronto Star