Justin Trudeau made it clear at the time that his government would not to appeal the ruling. With that deadline now expired, Wilson-Raybould announced the government has abandoned the case.
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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.
Canada has withdrawn its appeal to the high court of a decision that struck down a popular ban on the niqab and swayed the outcome of recent legislative elections.
Zunera Ishaq launched a lawsuit against Harper’s Conservative government after she was told she would have to remove her niqab when she takes the citizenship oath.
All would-be citizens of Canada have always been required to go through security screening, take a test that probes their knowledge of Canada and its values, prove their fluency in one or both of the country’s official languages, and show their face for their identification and passport.
Wilson-Raybould was also asked on Monday about the threat posed by the Islamic State, seeing as Canada was named directly on multiple occasions by the terror group, and backlash against Muslim-Canadians, after an Ontario mosque was torched following the attacks in Paris.
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Immigration Minister John McCallum say the court application has been discontinued.
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If the Conservatives had been re-elected and pursued their leave to appeal to the top court, there was no guarantee the court would hear it. In fact, many experts felt the odds were strong it would be rejected, given that the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision was unanimous. However, she objected to unveiling in public at the citizenship oath-taking ceremony.
