Why did it take 4+ years for the Canadian legal system to rule that face coverings are not allowed when testifying in court cases????

Of course I am relieved to know that within our legal system there are a sprinkling of judges still able to judge wisely but I would love to know why it took so long to rule on something which even a mere 7-yr old would be able to rule on without batting an eyelash.

The first ruling in October 2008 given by Justice Norris Weisman  would have been the final one if not for the lawyer David Butt getting his client to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court. And they are not done yet, even after the SC has ruled that the woman cannot testify wearng her mask, the lawyer and his client will continue their circus in the Ontario Superior Court.

I would so love to know how much of taxpayers' money this lawyer has leeched off us during the 4+ years of the legal back and forth and how much more this circus is gonna cost us.

This situation is totally ridiculous and I hope Minister Jason Kenney updates the Welcome to Canada Guide to reflect the need for all newcomers to understand and accept our laws in Canada.  No individual religious shit should enter the courtroom.  All Canadians are to be treated equally.  The moment an immigrant brings up the need to abide by their religious belief over the laws of the land, they should be deported within 24 hours of their claim.

From TheStar dated Feb 2, 2009:
....In October, Ontario Court Justice Norris Weisman reached his "admittedly difficult decision" to force the complainant to testify with her face bared after finding her "religious belief is not that strong ... and that it is, as she says, a matter of comfort," he wrote in his ruling.
Lawyer David Butt is representing the woman and next month in Superior Court will argue that the Oct. 16 ruling should be overturned.
"For complainants in sexual assault cases, courtroom testimony is extremely difficult and often traumatic," he said last week. "During such times of great anxiety the courts should respect religious rights and practices that bring comfort and sustenance, particularly when they do not undermine the fairness of the proceedings."
When the complainant indicated last fall she wanted to wear her veil while testifying at the preliminary hearing, defence counsel told the judge that assessing her demeanour was of "critical importance" when tailoring questioning.
Weisman asked the woman to explain her objections.
"It's a respect issue, one of modesty and one of ... in Islam, we call honour," she replied. "It's also about the religious reason is to not show your face to men that you are able to marry. ... I would feel a lot more comfortable if I didn't have to, you know, reveal my face."
The woman also said only her family sees her without the veil.........


From VancouverSun dated April 25, 2013:
....A woman must remove her face-covering   veil to testify against the men she is accusing of sexual assault, an Ontario judge ruled Wednesday.
The woman's niqab "masks her demeanour and blocks both effective cross-examination by counsel for the accused and assessment of her credibility by the trier of fact," Ontario Court Judge Norris Weisman ruled.
The 37-year-old woman, known only as N.S., alleges two men sexually assaulted her over five years, starting when she was six years old.
The question of whether she should be allowed to wear her niqab while testifying in the case went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, which issued a split decision that affirmed the importance of both the right to a fair trial and religious freedom.
The case of N.S. is now back in provincial court for the preliminary inquiry, five years after the challenge began. But N.S. isn't done fighting to keep her niqab on, her lawyer said. They will ask the Ontario Superior Court to review the decision.
"The concern is the judge refused to consider a substantial body of scientific research which demonstrates that we, as humans, are actually quite faulty at detecting honesty by reading people's faces," David Butt said............