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Canada’s New Government Drops Legal Action Over the Veils Worn by Some Muslim Women

Zunera Ishaq
Carlos Osorio—Toronto Star/Getty Images Zunera Ishaq poses for a photograph at her lawyers' office in Toronto on Oct. 8, 2015

"We will ensure that we respect the values that make us Canadians," says incoming Justice Minister

Canada’s Liberal government has retracted a legal challenge that would force women who wear the niqab, a veil that partially covers the face, to remove it for citizenship ceremonies.

The case came to light when Pakistani-born Zunera Ishaq filed a winning lawsuit, objecting to the former Conservative government’s ruling that banned the niqab at these ceremonies, CBC reports.

Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government challenged that ruling, making it a major talking point throughout his election campaign in 2015.

In her first act as Canada’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould said that dropping the challenge was representative of the new Liberal government’s focus on tolerance.

“In all of our policy as a government, we will ensure that we respect the values that make us Canadians, those of diversity, inclusion and respect for those fundamental values,” Wilson-Raybould said at a press conference on Monday, according to the CBC.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also promised to offer asylum to 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2015 — a commitment that he says he will not change despite calls from some Canadian politicians to review refugee policy after the Paris attacks.

[CBC]

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