--- description: Canada's Liberal government has retracted a legal challenge that would force women who wear the niqab to remove it for citizenship oaths title: Canada's New Government Drops Legal Action Over Muslim Veil image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca6e81f4472a0a8d/69887168428a9e2630cd023c/491822706.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Canada's New Government Drops Legal Action Over the Veils Worn by Some Muslim Women ## Video: A Voice Behind the Veil: Planning to Defy a French Law [Watch (HLS stream): A Voice Behind the Veil: Planning to Defy a French Law](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/957qb4Rx.m3u8) (3:45)  _Published 2011-01-17. In April, France will ban Muslim women from wearing the niqab, or face-covering veil, in public. Activist Kenza Drider calls the law unfair and Islamophobic, and says she will defy it_ by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2015 9:08 AM CUT  Zunera Ishaq poses for a photograph at her lawyers' office in Toronto on Oct. 8, 2015 Zunera Ishaq poses for a photograph at her lawyers' office in Toronto on Oct. 8, 2015Carlos Osorio—Toronto Star/Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2015 9:08 AM CUT Canada’s Liberal government has [retracted a legal challenge](http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/niqab-appeal-appeal-citizenship-ceremonies-canada-jody-wilson-raybould-1.3321264 "undefined") 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](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34837242 "undefined") 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](http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/niqab-appeal-appeal-citizenship-ceremonies-canada-jody-wilson-raybould-1.3321264 "undefined"). Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also [promised to offer asylum to 25,000 Syrian refugees](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/trudeau-makes-difficult-foreign-policy-debut-as-paris-attacks-loom-over-g20-summit/article27264034/ "undefined") by the end of 2015 — a commitment that he says he will not change despite calls from some [Canadian politicians](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/sask-premier-brad-wall-asks-ottawa-to-suspend-syrian-refugee-plan-1.3321159 "undefined") to review refugee policy after the Paris attacks. \[[_CBC_](http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/niqab-appeal-appeal-citizenship-ceremonies-canada-jody-wilson-raybould-1.3321264 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4115726/trudeau-canada-niqab-appeal-muslim-islam-veil/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4115726/trudeau-canada-niqab-appeal-muslim-islam-veil/"},"headline":"Canada's New Government Drops Legal Action Over the Veils Worn by Some Muslim Women","datePublished":"2015-11-17T09:08:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:41:02.879Z","description":"\"We will ensure that we respect the values that make us Canadians,\" says incoming Justice Minister","url":"https://time.com/4115726/trudeau-canada-niqab-appeal-muslim-islam-veil/","keywords":["Canada","Islam"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca6e81f4472a0a8d/69887168428a9e2630cd023c/491822706.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca6e81f4472a0a8d/69887168428a9e2630cd023c/491822706.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Zunera Ishaq","caption":"Zunera Ishaq","creditText":"Carlos Osorio—Toronto Star/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4115726/trudeau-canada-niqab-appeal-muslim-islam-veil/","name":"Canada's New Government Drops Legal Action Over the Veils Worn by Some Muslim Women"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Voice Behind the Veil: Planning to Defy a French Law","description":"In April, France will ban Muslim women from wearing the niqab, or face-covering veil, in public. 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