Speaking to Evan Solomon in an interview on SiriusXM’s “Everything is Political,” Nenshi aired his frustrations over the ongoing court battle, launched by Stephen Harper’s government to prevent women from wearing face coverings, such as the niqab, during citizenship ceremonies.
In September, the Federal Court of Appeal sided with a previous ruling from a lower court that struck down a government policy banning face coverings during citizenship ceremonies. It has since cropped up as a political wedge during the election campaign with the Conservatives promising to take the matter to the Supreme Court and, if elected, introducing legislation to turn the policy into law.
Solomon introduced the topic roughly 14 and half minutes into an interview and Nenshi responded with the belief that banning face coverings during the ceremony was not widely supported in his home province.
“This is unbelievably dangerous stuff. I spoke with a group of mayors and councillors from all over Alberta last week… I stood up and said this is disgusting and it is time for us to say stop it — it’s time for us to say this is enough,” Nenshi said.
“I thought people would throw buns at me, but in fact I got wild cheers from these small town Alberta folks.”
He also said the Conservatives were spending millions of dollars of “your and my money” on what is basically an un-winnable appeal.
“If you’re doing it so you can gain a few points somewhere in rural Quebec, well, I expect more from my leadership than that.”
The mayor also noted that the citizenship ceremony is ceremonial and that women unveil themselves and provide identification separately.
The interview, first covered by National Newswatch, wasn’t limited to the niqab issue. Solomon and Nenshi also discussed city issues in the federal election and the Syrian refugee crisis. Nenshi was dismayed over the Conservatives’ early focus on security concerns, calling it “dog whistle politics.”
Original Article
Source: news.nationalpost.com/
Author: Monika Warzecha
No comments:
Post a Comment