‘ One more step towards citizenship’
Muslim woman clears hurdle to wearing niqab at oath ceremony
Zunera Ishaq could be headed to the ballot box Oct. 19 after clearing another hurdle Monday in her quest to take the oath of citizenship with her face covered.
The Federal Court of Appeal on Monday dismissed a government motion to stay a recent decision that supported the devout Muslim woman’s position until the matter could be heard before the Supreme Court of Canada.
“That’s great, one more step towards citizenship,” Ishaq said upon being informed of the news by the National Post. “I might be able now to vote in this election.”
But Ishaq, who has worn a niqab since she was 15, said she knows to be “very careful” not to get her hopes up too high because the government “might not let it go” and find some other way to block her from attending a citizenship ceremony.
She must receive a formal invitation letter to attend.
The government “will comply” with the court’s order, a source said, but it was not clear if that meant an invitation to the ceremony would be sent immediately to Ishaq.
Lorne Waldman, Ishaq’s lawyer, said he didn’t think there were any other ways for the government to prevent her from attending a ceremony at this point.
“I do not see how the government can block the ceremony now that the stay has been dismissed but I cannot predict the timing of the ceremony at this time,” he said.
Ishaq, a Pakistani national and permanent resident of Canada since 2008, has completed all the stages of citizenship, except for the ceremony because of a policy forbidding women from covering their faces while swearing the oath.
Earlier this year, the Federal Court of Canada found the policy, which has been in place since December 2011, to be unlawful. That decision was upheld last month by the Federal Court of Appeal.
The government’s lawyers immediately asked the appeal court to stay that decision so the government could take up the matter with the Supreme Court of Canada.
But Court of Appeal Justice Johanne Trudel said Monday the government had “not demonstrated that refusing ( the) application for stay would result in irreparable harm to the public interest.”
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has repeatedly said new citizens should show their faces at the moment they are joining the “Canadian family.”
Party spokesman Stephen Leece said Monday they were disappointed with the court’s decision, especially since the Supreme Court of Canada hasn’t said if it will hear the government’s appeal.
If re- elected, the Conservatives will introduce legislation within 100 days requiring faces to be seen while swearing the oath of citizenship, he said.