Piercing the veil
Putting Canada’s multicultural mosaic to shame
JESSICA STEWIN
The fabricated controversy on whether or not Muslim women should be allowed to vote with covered faces was a direct result of incompetence and racial fear.
Some Muslim women choose to wear a niqab, a veil that covers the face. The veil is a traditional part of a Muslim woman’s clothing and, although it’s not their intention, it easily distinguishes a Muslim woman from a non-Muslim female.
Since the Elections Act was revamped in May, the Harper government has been made well aware that votes would be cast with niqabs covering the faces of some Muslim women. The reality is that the same very Act does not require photo identification for voters. With no photo comparisons required, there is therefore no need for a female who provides other methods of identification to reveal her face. Despite this reality, the Harper government attacked Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand for his response to the issue.
Mayrand stated that although women would be asked to remove the veil in a religiously respectful manner, if they refused they could present other forms of identification or have another elector vouch for their identity. Even after pressure from the Harper government, Mayrand stood by his decision, saying that the Act was clear and it would be up to the government to change it.
Mayrand also said that no Canadian Muslim had requested any special treatment. With only a few hundred women who wear the full face coverings, many had indicated a willingness to show their faces under proper circumstances.
One has to speculate why the Harper government would want Mayrand to ignore legislation and impose his own power over the election system. It seems to be an attempt to sidestep the wording of the current Elections Act. The Harper government, undoubtedly fearful of being accused with violating religious freedom, could not create an Elections Act that specified that niqabs not be worn. Thus, they have asked Mayrand to take the fall for them, by interpreting their legislation in a way that does not allow the veils to be worn.
The issue did not originate with Muslim women’s refusal to unveil their faces, but with a hypothetical question asked by a reporter. Wondering if a Muslim woman could vote without unveiling her face, the reporter asked a question that can only reasonably be seen as a rhetorical one. According to Elections Canada, there were over 80,000 people who voted by mail in 2006. I personally do not believe there were any clothing requirements for those who voted by mail, so why should it be any different for those who vote in person?
On one hand, Marc Mayrand acclaimed the accommodating nature of the Canadian voting system, with its many options for identification. On the other hand, the Harper government attacked Mayrand’s “interpretation” of the law they had ineptly created.
When trying to deal with this issue, Mayrand made poor attempts at political correctness. The Harper government was instead riding the currents of anti-Muslim feelings running rampant through our nation. Instead of educating themselves, both parties put on a grand display of racial fear and incompetence. You can cover your fear by being overzealous in your political correctness, or by trying to back-handedly violate religious rights. In either case, you are still putting to shame this supposed multicultural mosaic we all love to profess as our national identity.
Jessica Stewin is a U1 student at the U of M.
