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.
He says the government’s position is consistent with Canadian values.
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