Canada gave citizenship to a terrorist. Revoking it has been ‘ridiculously’ slow

Sigh….:

…Acquiring Canadian citizenship is a relatively straightforward process familiar to millions. Revoking it from those who never should have received it takes considerably longer.

A Global News review of cases that have come before the court over the past two years reveals that it routinely takes more than a decade to rescind citizenship from those who obtained it through fraud.

Even when immigration officials appear to have substantial evidence that foreign nationals obtained citizenship by submitting false information, the process is plodding.

Canada’s immigration department declined to disclose its “processing timelines” or discuss individual cases, but a Global News review identified 11 handled by the Federal Court since Jan. 1, 2024.

In almost every instance, the time between the start of an investigation and revocation was at least 10 years — and some are still ongoing.

The only one that took less time involved a Filipino man who became a Canadian using a fake name. Revoking his citizenship was an eight-year exercise. A court challenge that was denied in 2024 lasted another year.

The most common reason cited by the government for rescinding citizenship was that it was obtained under a false identity, according to the Global News review.

For example, when a Sri Lankan became a citizen in 2000 using the persona of a dead relative, and then married his cousin, it took 11 years to fix, plus two more for a court appeal.

In another case, a Canadian admitted in 2011 that he was paid to marry a Chinese woman and sponsor her for citizenship. Her appeals were only exhausted in 2026.

The cases also involved citizenship that officials said was wrongly granted to those who had concealed their involvement in crimes and war crimes.

The slowest and perhaps most harrowing recent case involved a former Guatemalan army officer who became a citizen in 1992 after hiding his role in a massacre….

Source: Canada gave citizenship to a terrorist. Revoking it has been ‘ridiculously’ slow