Niqab ban for public servants would be considered: Stephen Harper
Conservative leader speaks with CBC's Rosemary Barton on niqab, TPP, economy
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says his government would consider banning public servants from wearing the niqab, but rejects the suggestion that recent assaults against Muslim women should stifle debate about the issue.
"Look, I don'tthink you can use that kind ofthing to discredit legitimate political debate," Harper said in an interview withCBC'sRosemary Barton, host of Power & Politics, at a manufacturing company in Mississauga, Ont.
"Violenceagainstwomenisunacceptable, which is why our government hasbroughtforwardlaws to crack down on such violence."
The Conservatives'stepsto banwearing aniqabwhile taking the citizenship oath, along with the campaignpledge to create a "barbaric cultural practices" tip line, haveled some toaccusethe party of engaging in identity politics and fuelling anti-Muslim sentiment.
The latestniqab controversy arose afterZunera Ishaq, a Muslim woman,went to court to challenge the government's ban.On Monday, the Federal Court of Appealdenied the application for a stay of the Federal Court ruling in favour ofIshaq, clearing the way forher to wear aniqabduring acitizenship ceremony.
There havebeen at least two recently reported assaultson Muslimwomenin the wake of theniqabcontroversy. Twoteenagers on their bikes came up behind a pregnantMontreal womanand tried to rip off herhijab, causing her to fall.Another womansaidshe was "singled out" and elbowed by a man in a Toronto mall for wearing aniqab.
In an interviewTuesdaywith CBC Radio's The House, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said the public debate over the niqab has become too heated, and he made an appeal to Harper.
"To the prime minister directly: Stop this before someone truly gets hurt. We've had women attacked in the streets for wearing hijabs and niqabs. This is not Canada," Trudeau told host Chris Hall.
Asked about the possibility of banning niqabsfor public servants,NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said it contradicts what Treasury Board President Tony Clement said in March, when Clementtold iPolitics that women are free to wear niqabs in public service.
"I can tell you that in my 35 years of public service, I've never seen anybody like that," Mulcairtold reporters in Surrey, B.C.
Harper was asked why the government shouldbe able to tell people likeIshaqhow to dress and how to live.
He said that the governmentis trying to promote the broad viewthat Canada isan open and equal society and that there are times when people must reveal their identity.
'A matter we're going to examine'
Barton asked Harper whether public servantsshould be allowed to wearthe niqab.
"That's a matterwe're going to examine," Harper said."Quebec, as you know, has legislationon this. We're looking at that legislation. But as I say, we're a society of openness and of equality and this is what we want to promote."
Harper, whose government is taking the niqab issue to the Supreme Court,said his party is united with public opinion on this issue. He said it's the other parties who have made this an issue.
"It's not by any means the biggest issue for the campaign. The biggest issue is the economy, but I thinkour position here is widely understood and supported."
Harper also spoke about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a12-country trade bloc representing roughly 40 per cent of the world's gross domestic product.
He acknowledgedthere were many times during theyears of negotiations that he believed a deal couldn't be reached.
"Probably onlyin the last six,seven, eight months that Ithought, 'Yeah, you knowthis is starting to actuallycome together."
While the deal announced Monday will provide more access to internationalmarketsfor Canadian exporters, it willresult in lost revenue for Canadian farmers. The government announced it would be protecting supply management with a $4.3-billion compensation package to minimizethe effects on the dairy, poultry and egg industry.
Barton asked Harper why he didn't just blow up supply management if he really wanted to offer consumers cheap dairy products.
Harper said his government had made commitments to supply management farms, which he said are the backbone of the economy in many rural regions.
The TPP deal will eliminate many tariffs across a range of consumer goods, Harper said, adding thatthe biggestgains are on the side of workersand exportbusinesses.
Harper, who under his watch ran six budget deficits,dismissed Trudeau's plan to deliberately run three consecutive deficitsin order to invest money into infrastructure. He saidTrudeau's plan would result inpermanent deficits
Nothing will 'magically balance the budget'
"Once you lose the anchor of a balanced budget, you're alwaysunder pressure to spend more and notcover it. And we don't need to go back to that," he said.
"Nothing is goingto magically balance the budget afterthree years," he said.
Asked why he wantsanother mandate as prime minister, Harper said it's the best job in the best country in the world,but that Canada still facesglobaleconomic turmoil.
"We've come out of this global economicturmoil in pretty good circumstances. I think we have in this country a tremendous opportunity to now solidify the gains that we have made."
"I think we have a tremendous opportunity to really launch this country into many decades of prosperity, and Iwant to see that storythrough."
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