After almost a year of indecision the Canadian federal government announced on March 15 those Sikh members of the RCMP will be allowed to wear turbans with their uniforms.
Solicitor General Pierre Cadieux made the controversial announcement in a statement in the Commons this morning, reliable sources said,
RCMP Commissioner Norman Inkster requested permission last April to allow the force to change its dress regulations to permit baptized Sikhs to wear the turban instead of the traditional Mountie Stetson.
Inkster said he had received several legal opinions that to deny the Sikhs their religious rights without a “bona fide occupational requirement” would violate federal human rights laws.
The Sikh religion requires adult males to wear their turbans at all times.
But former solicitor general Pierre Blais delayed approving the dress code modification after a storm of protest erupted in Alberta, where thousands of people signed petitions against the change to the traditional Mountie uniforms.
Several Conservative MPs supported the turban opponents and lapel pins and calendars mocking turban clad Mounties became popular sellers in the West
The supporters of the anti-turban campaign spearheaded by a group called Defenders of RCMP Tradition denied they were racist and said they were merely trying to preserve a Canadian tradition.
Blais admitted last month it was mistake waiting So long in hopes of reaching a compromise and promised a quick decision, but he was shuffled from the solicitor general’s portfolio before any action could be taken.
Cadieux’s decision was all but sealed last week when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney told a multicultural conference that Canadians would look favorably on allowing the dress regulation change
The Sikh community welcomes the decision of the government of Canada upholding the Sikh’s right to turbans an integral part of Sikh Religion, while on active duty in the RCMP.
The decision confirms the sanctity and the validity of the religious freedoms, Charter of Rights, principle of equality and the policy of multiculturalism, in Canadian Society.
Announcement of the Government’s decision by the Solicitor General of Canada will help all ease the fears, apprehensions and growing uncertainty in the minds of many Canadians regarding the future pattern of our society.
The World Sikh Organization hopes that the awareness generated by a yearlong controversy surrounding the turban, will help all Canadians understand the rich cultural mix of our society and begin to view others as equal and integral members of the Canadian Family.
We further hope that this decision will clarify and reinforce the direction for Canadian Society and eliminate the possibility of similar painful, divisive and dissipative controversies in the future.
(WSN joins many U.S. Sikh organizations in congratulating WSO Canada and the Canadian Sikh community on this great success for the panth).
Article extracted from this publication >> March 23, 1990
