December 12, 2011 11:29 AM
By CBC Community Team
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has announced a ban on face coverings, such as niqabs, for people swearing their oath of citizenship.
A Muslim woman wearing a niqab attends a protest against islamophobia in Bern on Oct. 29. (Michael Buholzer/Reuters)The ban, announced Monday, is effective immediately.
As a result, Muslim women will have to remove their niqabs or any other face-covering garments, such as burkas, before they can recite the oath of citizenship to become Canadians.
Kenney said he’s had complaints from MPs and citizenship court judges that it’s hard to tell whether people with their faces covered are actually reciting the oath of citizenship, which he says is a requirement to become Canadian.
“We cannot have two classes of citizenship ceremonies. Canadian citizenship is not just about the right to carry a passport and to vote,” Kenney said.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2011/12/should-veils-be-banned-during-oaths-of-citizenship.html
