OTTAWA – The federal government says it will ask a judge to prevent would-be Canadians from wearing face coverings while taking the oath of citizenship.
Conservative candidate Denis Lebel, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Quebec lieutenant, says the government wants a stay of a recent Federal Court of Appeal decision quashing the so-called niqab ban.
The government has already said it intends to seek leave to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Zunera Ishaq, a devout, 29-year-old Muslim woman, successfully argued that the ban violates the Citizenship Act, which says candidates must be allowed he greatest possible religious freedom when they take the oath.
In a statement, Lebel says the government wants to prevent citizenship candidates from taking the oath with their faces covered until the Supreme Court can hear its appeal.
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He says the government’s position is consistent with Canadian values.
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