
(Peter Mccabe/Canadian Press)
Quebec politicians, Muslims slam new election rules on veils.
Federal law now allows women wearing niqabs or burkas to vote with their faces concealed.
Friday, September 7, 2007 CBC News
Quebec Premier Jean Charest is slamming new federal election rules that will allow Muslim women with concealed faces to vote in coming byelections, calling the policy a bad one.
(snip)
Muslim women wearing niqabs or burkas over their faces won't have to remove them to vote in the three byelections, according to Bill C-31, a new federal law.
Elections Canada spokesman John Enright says new electoral rules enacted in June provide guidelines to identify registered voters whose faces are hidden for medical or religious reasons.
The new rules give electors wearing niqabs or burkas an option for providing identification: they can present two pieces of ID, of which at least one must state their address, or they can have another voter registered in the same district vouch for them.
Veiled voters who only present one piece of government identification will have to show their face to confirm their identity, Enright said.
READ MORE...
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/06/qc-niqab0906.html