Kerry Nation – Time to face facts on human rights issue

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/02/2015 (4213 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a need for national security, and then there’s posturing to gain votes. I’m a strong believer in the former and, while I understand the latter, I’m not generally a big fan of posturing or pandering.

The background story is this: Recently, a Federal Court judge ruled part of the law requiring new Canadians to remove face coverings while taking our oath of citizenship was unlawful. The law had been appealed by a Muslim woman who openly submitted to showing her face privately in the case of safety issues, but argued that having to show herself in public during the oath ceremony was excessive and unnecessary.

The woman, Zunera Ishaq, revealed her face during citizenship tests in 2013. She removed her niqab in the presence of a female citizenship officer.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was asked about this ruling last week. In most certain terms he denounced it, saying, “I believe, and I think most Canadians believe, that it is offensive that someone would hide their identify at the very moment where they are committing to join the Canadian family. This is a society that is transparent, open and where people are equal.”

With respect to our prime minister, this argument fails to hold water in any way other than a naked grab for votes. This is Muslim-bashing, and nothing short of it.

Whether or not most Canadians believe Ishaq’s decision to cover herself as appropriate is simply immaterial. We live in a multicultural society with a long history of religious freedom and tolerance. Moreover, we also understand the importance of minority rights — or at least we used to.

To suggest that Ishaq’s covering is anything other than a personal decision to respect her religious tenets is simply excessive. Quite frankly, and what I find most disturbing, is the idea that Harper would use the term “most Canadians” as a rationale when bartering away minority and religious rights.

It would be quite easy to use the term “most Canadians” to steal the rights away from minorities in a host of situations. Imagine the opportunities for abuse if this logic were used as anything other than rabble-rousing.

There was a time when “most Canadians” denied women the vote, and failed to deliver on our promises about language rights.

The rights of many Japanese Canadians were taken away by “most Canadians” during the Second World War, and our government has apologized for this action. The same is true of Ukrainian Canadians during First World War who were also interred, including here in Brandon.

The federal government has also apologized for the debacle that was the residential school system. Again, “most Canadians” must have supported the idea of treating other Canadians as being “less than.”

To me, this episode is about a prime minister who accurately believes Canadians are disgusted by the actions of a few radical Muslims. He further appears to believe Canadians are prepared to endorse any indignity heaped upon Muslims, including in this case.

He’s wrong. This is simply not the Canadian way. After all, we welcomed this woman, and countless immigrants just like her, to our shores.

After 9/11, “most Canadians” would happily have interred Muslims if our government had been so inclined. At that time, we would happily have given up the rights of fellow Canadians if it meant more safety, or even if it just felt that way. Our government showed respect and restraint then, and it ought to do the same today.

Do I agree with Ishaq’s decision to cover herself during the citizenship ceremony? To be honest, I really don’t care as it’s none of my business. It is a completely immaterial issue, at least to me.

To me, it feels like the furor created over similar human rights issues, such as letting Indo-Canadian RCMP officers wear turbans, or letting women also join our national police force.

Simply put, these are human rights issues that cynical people want to use as wedges to split us.

In my Canada, we are strong enough to survive Ms. Ishaq’s desire to cover her face during a citizenship ceremony. My Canada is strong and confident — it doesn’t need to deny harmless religious freedoms to people whose worst offence is that they wish to become Canadians while also respecting their religious traditions.