Quebec judge had no legal basis for asking woman to remove hijab, higher court says

A Quebec Superior Court justice has strongly criticized a lower court judge's insistencethat a Montreal woman, Rania El-Alloul, remove her hijab in order to have her case heard in court.

"The court sympathizes with Ms. El-Alloul and deeply regrets how she was treated,"wrote JusticeWilbrod Dcariein a decision released this week.

The remarksrepresenta rebuke of controversial comments made last year by Quebec Court JudgeElianaMarengo.

During a hearing in February 2015,Marengotold El-Alloul she would not hear her case unless she removed her hijab.

It was important for me to hear another judge agree that it was wrong and should not have happened.- RaniaEl-Alloul

Marengo contendedthe courtroom was a secular space and compared the hijab to a hat and sunglasses, which would not normally be allowed in a courtroom.

Dcarie, however, said thatargument hadalready been rejected by the Supreme Court of Canada.

"Indeed, the thesisadopted by Judge Marengothat a courtroom is a secular space wherethe religious beliefs of a person have no right to be citedhas no force of law in Canada," Dcarie wrote.

Decision stops short

El-Alloul's lawyers had askedDcarieto issue a declaratory judgment that would essentially clarify the rules around hijabs in Quebec courtrooms.

Despite his criticism of Judge Marengo's remarks, however,Dcarie stopped short of that, saying it was beyond his jurisdiction and largely unnecessary.

El-Alloul responded to Dcarie'sdecision ina statement released Thursday by the National Council of Canadian Muslims,which is supporting her.

"It was important for me to hear another judge agree that it was wrong and should not have happened," El-Alloul said. "I continue to hope that no one will ever be treated like I was."

She said her lawyers are reviewing the decision to determine if there's any further legal action they can take.

Ruling 'important for everybody'

In an interview with CBC Montreal, El-Alloulsaid "she's very happy" with Dcarie'sdecision.

"I need everybody to feel safe and unafraid to go to court because of the way they dress, whether they are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Indian all the religions," she said.

"It's important for everybody."

She said women wearing the hijab are not doing anything wrong,or un-Canadian,and should be treated like everyone else.

"We are all of us Canadian. We are not making harm for anybody."

JudgeMarengo'sremarks were condemned back in 2015by human rights advocatesand several politicians, includingprime-minister-to-beJustin Trudeau.

The judge hasn't apologized and hasn't been disciplined.

Quebec's Council of the Magistrature, the body responsible for disciplining judges in Quebec, is still reviewing dozens of complaints about Marengo's remarks.

El-Alloul said she hopes Morengo has learned fromDcarie'srebuke.

"I hope one day she will understand, and I hope she will not do it again."