Niqab ban at citizenship ceremony struck down by court

2015/02/09 Leave a comment

While wearing a niqab is inappropriate, given that it signals being less open to integration, at a ceremony designed to welcome new Canadians to the Canadian family, the rationale invoked by Minister Kenney – that citizenship judges could not see that the oath was spoken – was always weak.

Applicants could simply mouth nonsense words and it would be a rare judge who would notice in a typical ceremony of 40-50 people (earlier post Ex-immigration minister Jason Kenney ‘dictated’ niqab ban at citizenship ceremony, court told):

While it is not unusual to have government policies overturned in breach of Charter and constitutional rights, the court ruling is unusual because the decision was based on the finding that the ban mandated by the immigration minister violated the government’s own immigration laws.

“To the extent that the policy interferes with a citizenship judge’s duty to allow candidates for citizenship the greatest possible freedom in the religious solemnization or the solemn affirmation of the oath,” wrote Justice Keith M. Boswell, “it is unlawful.”

Ishaq was sponsored by her husband to Canada from Pakistan in 2008 and successfully passed the citizenship test in November 2013.

She was scheduled to be sworn in at a citizenship ceremony in Scarborough two months later but decided to put it on hold after learning she would need to unveil her niqab under a ban introduced in 2011 by then-Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. Her Charter challenge ensued.

“From the moment the minister announced the policy, many of us felt it’s illegal. The court confirms that it is the case. It is not a requirement in the law for someone to be seen in front of a (citizenship) judge taking the oath. Signing the paper is all (that’s) required,” said Ishaq’s lawyer, Lorne Waldman.

“Clearly, the policy was driven by Kenney himself. All documents found he was the driving force behind it.”

Ishaq, who started wearing niqab since she was 15, had no objection to unveil herself for the purposes of her identification before taking the citizenship test.

However, she objected to the requirement to remove the veil at the citizenship ceremony because it is public and unnecessary for the purposes of identity or security.

Immigration officials subsequently offered to seat her in either the front or back row and next to a woman at the ceremony, but she refused the arrangement since the citizenship judge and officers could still be male, and there could potentially be photographers at the event.

Niqab ban at citizenship ceremony struck down by court | Toronto Star.

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Ex-immigration minister Jason Kenney ‘dictated’ niqab ban at citizenship ceremony, court told

2014/10/18 1 Comment

I’m with the Government and Kenney on this one.

Not for the stated reason that this allows the citizenship judge and officials to ascertain that the oath is being said (one can mouth the words or move one’s lips with different meanings, and impossible, unless blatant, to closely monitor each and every individual in a ceremony with typically 50 people).

But rather, that becoming a citizen means becoming part of the Canadian society and community, and the niqab is essentially a symbol of rejection of broader participation in the community.

Accommodation requires flexibility on both parties and Ishaq was given the opportunity to be seated in a less visible location:

Government lawyer Negar Hashemi said the case is about finding the “right balance” between respecting differences and maintaining Canadian core democratic values.

The niqab ban, she said, is part of a larger scheme to ensure everyone vows loyalty to Canada. Other non-veil-wearing candidates caught not doing so, such as elderly people with language difficulties, can also have their citizenship certificates withheld.

“There is no hidden agenda in this case,” she said.

Hashemi said Ishaq did not seek accommodation prior to her scheduled citizenship ceremony and declined the offer to take her oath at the front or the back of the citizenship court after the legal action was initiated.

She noted that the applicant unveiled herself to have her driver’s licence photo taken, and the brief unveiling at a citizenship ceremony would be no different.

“She had a choice of becoming a citizen or adhering to her religion,” said Hashemi. “Becoming a citizen is a privilege, not a right.”

Lorne Waldman, a co-counsel for Ishaq, said the Citizenship Act does not stipulate that a candidate must be seen or heard taking the oath — something witnesses for the immigration department agreed is hard to enforce and ensure.

“This policy was dictated by the immigration minister Kenney that there had to be a change, and there’s no willingness to provide any accommodation,” said Waldman, adding that officials confirmed there are fewer than 100 cases a year across Canada where someone wears a niqab to the ceremony.

Ex-immigration minister Jason Kenney ‘dictated’ niqab ban at citizenship ceremony, court told | Toronto Star.

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