RED DEER ALTA: The secretary of the Alberta Liberal party wants a written apology for being ordered to remove his turban at a Royal Canadian Legion branch. And a partial apology might be offered said Red Decr Legion spokesman Don Campbell but his branch wasn’t likely to amend its dress code as Ram Raghbir Singh Chahal also requested.
The branch might apologize for hurting Chahal’s feelings Campbell said but not for its bylaw banning all types of headwear in some parts of the building.
Chahal of Calgary was heckled Tuesday as he walked through the branch’s canteen to attend a Liberal party fundraiser on an outdoor patio
“I won’t leave this matter alone until it is cleared up” said Chahal who also is president of the Canadian branch of the World Sikh Organization.
He said he would consider taking the matter to the Alberta human rights commission if the Legion didn’t amend its dress code.
Commission head Fil Fraser said human-rights tribunals had already ruled that turbans could be worn in Legion facilities that hold public functions and thus become public places with open access. The Red Deer branch statement of Chahal “files in the face of established laws” said Fraser.
For moral reasons he said the branch should conform with the earlier rulings even though legally it wasn’t bound to comply.
Manager Gary Cicconi said the branch bylaw banned headwear to show respect for Canadian soldiers lost in war and the ban was upheld at a convention in Vancouver last year soon after the commission ordered an Edmonton branch to amend its dress code after a Sikh was barred from attending his wife’s Christmas party.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 23, 1991
