Federal Court and Prime Minister Stephen Harper

: Current regulations ban wearing of face veils at citizenship ceremonies, but Ishaq challenged the rule, won in Federal Court and again this week, when a three-judge appeal panel upheld that decision in a quick ruling from the bench, according to CTV. In response, the federal government said it would seek leave to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada. The government announced Friday it will seek a stay of a Federal Court of Appeal decision this week that would have allowed Zunera Ishaq to wear a niqab while swearing the oath of citizenship. On Friday it said it would ask that the appeal court ruling be put on hold while the issue goes to the Supreme Court. "The reason why now is because we had a court ruling that we're responding to expeditiously," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday at a campaign event in Calgary. "Look, when someone joins the Canadian family, there are times in our open, tolerant, pluralistic society that as part of our interactions with each other we reveal our identity through revealing our face. One of Ishaq lawyers said Friday they intend to ask the government which it will be and how soon, as they will fight the request. "We want to argue the stay as soon as possible, so if the court denies the stay, my client can still get her citizenship and vote," Lorne Waldman said in an interview. When you join the Canadian family in a public citizenship ceremony it is essential that that is a time when you reveal yourselves to Canadians and that is something widely supported by Canadians." The stay could be granted by either the appeal court or the top court. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.