By: MuslimVillage
Source: CBC News
Zunera Ishaq, who wants to wear a niqab while swearing the oath of citizenship, successfully challenged and defeated the current ban on face veils at such ceremonies.
Earlier this week a three-judge appeal panel, in a fast decision, upheld her challenge effectively lifting the ban.
But, as was reported by the CBC, the federal government has now said it would seek to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada by asking that the appeal court ruling be put on hold while the issue goes to the Supreme Court, a move that stalls the process.
If the unusual delay tactic works Ishaq is unlikely to have the opportunity to become a citizen before the Oct. 19 Canadian elections. The reason the appeal panel that ruled in Ishaq’s favor ruled so quickly was to avoid that outcome.
The CBC also reported that the Conservatives promised that if re-elected, they would, in their first 100 days, re-introduce and adopt legislation banning face coverings during citizenship oaths.
That agency also reported that: “The niqab ban was inspired in part by Quebec’s experience with the so-called charter of values, a document introduced by the Parti Quebecois government which banned the display of overtly religious symbols by people in the public sector.
While the charter was extensively criticized and partly blamed for the defeat of the PQ government in 2014, the issue of the niqab still resonates in the province, where the Conservatives hope to increase their seat count.”
Read more on this story at the CBC.