As colleague Mark Dunn reported this morning, the federal government will move to force anyone who wishes to become a Canadian citizen to show their faces at the citizenship swearing-in ceremony. That means women who wear the burka or the niqab will have to lift the veil to say their oath of Canadian citizenship.
Today, in making the announcement, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says his government is not making the burkas and niqab illegal — just saying that it can’t be worn for the hour or two during which you are at your citizenship ceremony.
That said, Muslim face coverings are becoming increasingly unpopular in many Western jurisdictions:
- NETHERLANDS – Women caught in public wearing a burka can be fined 300 Euros (some exceptions in religious buildings)
- FRANCE – Introduced a burka ban in 2011
- BELGIUM – Bans clothing that obscures a person’s identity in public
- QUEBEC – First Canadian province to ban burka for provincial employees