Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says he does not want to follow France in banning the wearing of Islamic veils in public.
Carmen Chai, Postmedia News
Sunday, February 13, 2011
OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Jason Kenney called a new private member’s bill that would force Canadians to show their faces before they vote a “reasonable” measure, although critics say the proposal is an attempt to divide the country.
Last Friday, Quebec Conservative MP Steven Blaney introduced the new bill that has created controversy as opposition parties suggest the regulation evokes anti-Muslim sentiments.
During an interview with CTV’s Question Period on Sunday, Mr. Kenney said he supported the bill, although he noted that he doesn’t believe the government should tell people what they are allowed to wear in public.
“I don’t think we should be adopting the French idea of banning, telling people what they can and cannot wear,” Mr. Kenney said, referring to a law passed in France last year that bans women from wearing the burka and other full-face Islamic coverings in public.
“I believe in personal liberty, even if I find some expressions of personal liberty a bit peculiar. I don’t think we should be regulating what people wear but when a citizen comes to deal with the government, particularly to exercise their right to vote, I think it’s entirely reasonable that we say we need to confirm who you are and a facial identification is a reasonable way of doing that,” Mr. Kenney said, siding with his Tory colleague.
The bill does not forbid women from wearing face coverings in public, Mr. Kenney noted as he defended Mr. Blaney’s proposal.
Mr. Blaney did not mention Islamic head coverings when he introduced the bill at a news conference last week and referred to Halloween and ski masks as examples of what Canadians have worn in the past while attempting to vote.
He said the bill was not created to discriminate against any religious groups, and was meant to create transparency but Liberal critics have disagreed.
Liberal MP and multiculturalism critic Rob Oliphant told Postmedia News last week that Mr. Blaney’s proposed law was a move that creates suspicion, mistrust and will result in division.
“I ask, why are they dividing? Why are they raising an issue which really has been dormant?” Mr. Oliphant said.
The last instance of an individual attempting to vote with their face covered was in 2007, when Halloween masks were worn as a form of protest, according to Elections Canada.
Source: National Post