MONTREAL — A Montreal woman who was told to remove her hijab by a judge is appealing a ruling that declined to clarify whether Quebecers have a right to wear religious attire in court.
Rania El-Alloul had sought a legal clarification from Quebec Superior Court after she was denied an appearance in a lower court because she was wearing a hijab.
Superior Court Justice Wilbrod Decarie ruled last month that El-Alloul had been treated in a regrettable way by the Quebec court judge.
But he did not grant her lawyers' request for a declaration on whether all litigants have the right to wear a hijab or other religious attire in court.
Decarie ruled the declaration was out of his legal jurisdiction and that such cases needed to be evaluated individually.
A judge refused to hear El-Alloul's case against the province's auto insurance board in February 2015 because of her attire and El-Alloul refused to remove her hijab.
