November 19, 2015 |
Filed under: Featured,International,Lifestyle,News,North America,People,Society |
Posted by: MV Media
By: AFP
Source: Al-Arabiya News
Canada withdrew on Monday its appeal to the high court of a decision that struck down a popular ban on the niqab and swayed the outcome of recent legislative elections.
Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould said she
has notified the Supreme Court that the government has “discontinued
its application for leave in the case.”
“Canada’s diversity is among its greatest
strengths, and today we have ensured that successful citizenship
candidates continue to be included in the Canadian family. We are a
strong and united country because of, not in spite of, our differences,”
she said in a joint statement with Immigration Minister John McCallum.
A lower court ruling in support of a Muslim
woman’s right to wear the veil, which covers all of her face except the
eyes, had become a hot-button issue four weeks before last month’s
legislative elections.
The prohibition against newcomers wearing the
veil during citizenship ceremonies had been introduced by the previous
Tory administration in 2011. But it was quashed by a lower court in
September.
The court battle at the center of the
controversy was brought by Toronto-area resident Zunera Ishaq, who
argued successfully that the ban violated her religious freedoms under
Canada’s rights charter.
Originally from Pakistan, Ishaq arrived in
Canada in 2008 and passed her citizenship test in 2013. But she refused
to participate in the oath-reciting ceremony because she did not want to
do it with her face uncovered.
She was sworn in as a Canadian citizen 10 days before the October 19 election, in time to vote.
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