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Politics : The Truth About Islam -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FJB who wrote (9887)	9/9/2007 9:55:33 AM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Respond to of 20106

Allowing voters to wear veils goes against parliament, says Harper GLORIA GALLOWAY Globe and Mail Update theglobeandmail.com September 9, 2007 at 8:19 AM EDT SYDNEY, Australia — Elections Canada has undermined Parliament with a decision that Muslim women may vote, even if they refuse to confirm their identity by showing their faces at the polling station, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Sunday. In a strongly worded reproof, Mr. Harper urged Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand to reverse the policy that was announced last week and suggested there would be consequences if it is allowed to stand. “I profoundly disagree with the decision,” he said at a press conference in Sydney where he is attended a weekend meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders. Parliament adopted a law this past spring that required the visual identification of voters, he said. Suzie Tamas, pictured with husband Andy, dons a burka at her Almonte, Ont., home to illustrate its restrictions. (Bill Grimshaw/The Globe and Mail) “That was a law adopted I think ... unanimously by Parliament and I think this decision goes in an entirely different direction,” Mr. Harper told reporters. “And I have to say that it concerns me greatly because the role of Elections Canada is not to make its own laws, it's to put into place the laws that Parliament has passed. So I hope they'll reconsider this decision but in the meantime if that doesn't happen, Parliament will have to consider what actions it's going to take to make sure that its intentions are put into place.” Elections Canada says the current rules do not force women wearing niqabs or burkas to show their faces at the voting booth, as long as they show two government-issued IDs or have another voter vouch for their identity. A spokesman for Elections Canada says all parties were informed in July of the policy on face coverings. But other opposition leaders have voiced similar concerns to those raised by Mr. Harper about the Elections Canada policy would be put into effect in coming by-elections in Quebec. The Bloc blasted the rule as undemocratic, while the Liberal Party called on Elections Canada to reverse its stand. The NDP, however, said it can live with the current rules on veils in the three ballots on Sept. 17, while agreeing that changes could come later. Muslim leaders have said that veiled women would have no problem removing a niqab before a female voting official for identification purposes and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion says he agrees with that mechanism.