No veils when new Canadians take citizenship oath

Perspective Canadians are no longer allowed to wear veils while they utter the oath of citizenship, the federal government announced Monday.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told a news conference in Montreal that new Canadians will have to remove any face-coverings, such as the Islamic niqab or burka, while they swear the oath of citizenship.

The new rule, which requires oath-takers to show their entire face, takes effect immediately.

Kenney said it’s not only a question of “deep principle” for someone to show their face while taking the oath in front of their fellow citizens, it’s also a matter of legal concern.

“I don’t know how we can verify that someone whose face is covered is actually taking the oath that the law requires of them,” Kenney said.

“This is a public act of witness in front of your fellow citizens, in front of the law — and you should be willing to show who you are.”

Kenney said he received complaints from citizens, MPs and citizenship judges to the effect that it’s difficult to ensure individuals whose faces are covered are actually taking the oath.

He said those concerns prompted him to raise the issue during a recent meeting of citizenship judges in Ottawa.

“I asked [the judges] if this was a widespread problem and I saw a lot of them said that it was,” Kenney recalled.

He said many judges from large, urban areas told him citizenship candidates wearing face-coverings regularly present themselves at ceremonies, essentially every week.

The minister was asked by reporters Monday for more specific figures on how often such events ever happen in Canada, but he could not provide an estimate.

Kenney did add that he recently saw a person wearing a veil while swearing a citizenship oath at a ceremony shown on a recent TV news report.

“The point is this is not like once or twice a year,” he said.

“This is happening with sufficient frequency that I think it really does undermine the integrity of the oath.”

Kenney also defended the rule by saying it has nothing to do with religious freedom, and referred to a pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslim women as an example that supports his point.

“When Muslim women do the Haj… they’re required not to wear a veil, they’re required to show their face,” he said.

“So, the notion that this is somehow a religious obligation, I don’t accept.”

The location of the announcement was not without symbolism. Quebec has had heated debates in recent years over so-called “reasonable accommodation” — namely, how much should Canada bend to accommodate newcomers.

While in the rest of Canada, such issues are more often raised by conservatives, in Quebec the issue is frequently raised by the left-leaning and nationalist Parti Quebecois.

Kenney said the new rule is part of his department’s action plan to revamp the citizenship process.

In recent years, Immigration Canada has added several new requirements for potential Canadians, including a new citizenship test, a more-detailed study guide and exams to measure ability in Canada’s official languages.

Last week, Kenney announced his department is enhancing its efforts to crack down on residency fraud.

The rule also takes effect as the Supreme Court of Canada hears the case of a woman who wants the right to wear a niqab while facing her accused rapists in court.

When asked about the Supreme Court case, Kenney said the timing of Monday’s announcement was a coincidence.