OTTAWA—Vowing to appeal a federal court decision that allows people to take the oath of citizenship while wearing face coverings, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says it’s “offensive” that someone would want to hide their identity “at the very moment where they are committing to join the Canadian family.”

“That is not the way we do things,” he told reporters in Victoriaville, Que., on Thursday.

“This is a society that is transparent, open and where people are equal, and I think we find that offensive.”

In a ruling last Friday, the Federal Court of Canada said it is “unlawful” for the federal government to mandate new citizens to remove the veil while taking the oath because it violates the country’s own immigration law, which gives citizenship judges the discretionary power to accommodate religious needs.

The court ordered immigration and citizenship officials to immediately remove the existing ban and allow Zunera Ishaq, a Mississauga resident, to reschedule a new citizenship ceremony.

The latest court decision is another major blow to the Harper government’s much-touted citizenship and immigration overhaul.

Last summer, the federal court also ruled against the government’s refugee health cuts, calling the changes “cruel and unusual.” The case has cost taxpayers $1.4 million to date and is under appeal.

Ishaq, 29, a former high school teacher from Pakistan, said she risked her own citizenship in Canada to fight for her rights and was disappointed with the government’s announcement to appeal.

“It was a difficult decision for me, but I did it because I believed it was my right to do it,” said the mother of three. “I have been waiting for my Canadian citizenship for a long time and the appeal is going to put it on hold again.”

Naseem Mithoowani, one of Ishaq’s lawyers, said she was surprised at the government’s decision, given its own lawyers had conceded before court that there was “no legal basis” to require a new citizen to remove the veil after the person’s identity had been checked.

“I feel for my client who put her status on hold to fight what she considered an unfair policy, and is now left in further limbo,” said Mithoowani.

Ishaq was sponsored by her husband to Canada from Pakistan in 2008 and successfully passed the citizenship test in November 2013.

She was scheduled to be sworn in at a citizenship ceremony two months later but decided to put it on hold after learning she would need to unveil her niqab under the government ban. Her Charter challenge ensued.

Ishaq did not object to take off her veil for the purposes of identification before taking the citizenship test. However, she rejected the requirement to remove the veil when taking the oath because it is public and unnecessary for the purposes of identity or security.

Although immigration officials subsequently offered to seat her in either the front or back row and next to a woman at the ceremony, she declined the arrangement since the citizenship judge and officers could still be male, and there could potentially be photographers at the event.

On Thursday, the National Council of Canadian Muslims also urged the government to reconsider its appeal.

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“The issue pertains to a tiny minority of women who choose to wear the face veil, and regardless of anyone’s feelings about it, the law is clear,” said Ihsaan Gardee, the council’s executive director.

“There are many more pressing issues that our government should be tackling on behalf of Canadians. Curtailing a woman’s freedom of religious expression, which harms no one and where accommodations are possible, should not be one of them.”

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