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't think you can use that kind of thing to discredit legitimate political debate," Harper said in an interview with CBC's Rosemary Barton, host of Power & Politics, at a manufacturing company in Mississauga, Ont.
"Violence against women is unacceptable, which is why our government has brought forward laws to crack down on such violence."
The Conservatives' steps to ban wearing a niqab while taking the citizenship oath, along with the campaign pledge to create a "barbaric cultural practices" tip line, have led some to accuse the party of engaging in identity politics and fuelling anti-Muslim sentiment. [CBC News] Read more
