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Kirpan Ban in Canada court revives
issue
WSN Network
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Sikhs in
Canada
Canadian Sikhs are one of the most prominent non-Christian
religious groups in
Canada, and
form the country's largest South Asian ethnic group. According
to the 2001 census there are 278,000 Sikhs in
Canada,
and this is likely an undercount. Mostly, in Canada, Sikh
kirpans are allowed in some public buildings such as the House
of Commons but banned from airplanes. |
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 CALGARY:
Calgary based Sikh youth Tejinder Singh Sidhu who was disallowed
last week from entering local courts because he was wearing the
traditional Sikh kirpan, an inherent part of a Sikh's attire, now
says he's considering launching a human rights complaint.
Tejinder, 25,
says he's worn his kirpan without incident for years, including
during a visit to the House of Commons in Ottawa but on January 14,
as he stood in line at the airport-style screening point, he was
told by a security sheriff at the Calgary courthouse that he can't
wear the kirpan inside the courtroom - a decision the Solicitor
General's office has since stuck to.
The government
department said it will review the overall policy. But Sidhu said
he's going to put in a formal complaint to the Solicitor General's
office - and is looking into human rights action.
Ironically,
Sidhu was there to help the process of law. He had been subpoenaed
to appear in court to testify as a witness in a trial relating to a
fatal car collision, and was told to show up or risk facing a
warrant for his arrest. He hasn't heard anything back from the Crown
or the trial judge.
The entire
experience was humiliating, he said. Torn between his civic duty and
his faith, the situation forced him to do something he'd hoped never
to face:
"I consider
myself a Canadian Sikh, but on Monday I was made to decide - I have
to be a Canadian or a Sikh. That's a decision I never wanted to
make."
Sidhu has worn
the kirpan since he was baptized as a preteen. He never takes it
off, even when sleeping, and keeps another one in the shower.
The kirpan is
one of five religious symbols, mandated to be worn at all times for
baptized Sikh men and women.
Though concerned
over the amount of time a formal complaint could take, he said the
issue needs to be dealt with on a wider scale in the province. The
Sikh community clearly sees it as an issue that concerns the entire
collective of the Sikhs and not just Tejinder, something that gives
heart to the young man and lends significance to the whole issue.
Andy Weiler,
spokesman for the Alberta solicitor general's office which oversees
courthouse security, had earlier admitted that kirpans are on the
list of items banned from Alberta courthouses but had said the
department will review the incident and examine how other
jurisdictions in Canada handle the issue.
23 January 2008
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