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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Proposed ban on kirpan slammed

Liberals, NDP defend Sikh dagger; Tories mum

By: Jonathan Montpetit

Posted: 01/21/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Montreal teenager Gurbaj Singh Multani displays his kirpan. The teen was barred from wearing his ceremonial dagger to school. (CP)

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PHOTOS BY FRED CHARTRAND / THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES Liberal MP Navdeep Bains (left), who has spoken openly about wearing his kirpan in the House of Commons, earlier this week accused the Bloc Qu��b��cois of �fear-mongering� for portraying the ceremonial dagger (seen above) as a security threat. (CP)

MONTREAL -- A proposal to ban a Sikh ceremonial dagger from Parliament had two of Canada's three main national parties racing to the defence of the religious symbol -- while the Conservatives refused to take a public stand.

The leaders of both the Liberals and the NDP came out strongly against the Bloc Québécois proposal Thursday, expressing sadness and even anger anyone would seek to ban a religious accessory from Parliament.

The Conservative government, however, described the dispute as a private matter.

"Our government does not believe parliamentary security should be directed by partisan politics," said an emailed statement from Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

"Specific questions on the security of the House of Commons should be directed to the (chamber's) Sergeant-at-Arms."

That leaves the Conservatives as the only party refusing to take a public position on the matter. The Bloc Québécois, transferring a dispute to Ottawa that originated in Quebec, wants to ask the House of Commons' board of internal economy to ban the article as a security threat.

The measure appears to have no chance of passing, now that the other major parties have quashed it. The NDP called the move shameful in a statement earlier this week.

And on Thursday, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff described the matter as one of religious freedom and tolerance, instead of a security issue.

He made his remarks in French in response to a reporter's question in Quebec, where such a ban has prompted no complaints from any prominent politician or pundit.

Ignatieff told reporters he has kirpan-wearing Sikh colleagues who represent their constituents well and who do not deserve to be excluded from Parliament because of their religious beliefs.

"All Canadians have the right to have access to democratic spaces and legislatures," Ignatieff told reporters in Montreal.

"I have colleagues in the Liberal party who wear a kirpan and who represent their riding proudly. They have the right to have access to the House of Commons."

He added: "The kirpan is not a weapon. It's a religious symbol and we have to respect it."

Liberal MP Navdeep Bains, who has spoken openly about wearing his kirpan in the House of Commons, accused the Bloc of "fear-mongering" earlier this week for portraying the kirpan as a security threat.

In issuing their own condemnation, the NDP sought to upstage the Liberals.

A statement issued by the party said New Democrats were the first to propose a parliamentary motion defending Sikhs' five articles of faith, which includes wearing the kirpan at all times.

The 2001 motion "failed to pass when the Liberals refused to support it," the statement said.

"We stand with the Sikh community in solidarity," it added.

Such opposition to the Bloc proposal might kill the attempt to change the security rules at the Commons' board of economy, which require all-party consensus for any modification.

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 21, 2011 A17

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