Prime Minister Stephen Harper: Private Members Bill

Halloween Masks Dept: Guess how many tried to vote wearing Muslim face veils, Halloween masks, ski masks or other identity-obscuring gear? Not a single one , Elections Canada reports. Or in any federal byelection since, according to The Star. Introduced by Quebec City-area MP Steven Blaney in the name of greater transparency, Bill C-623 resurrects a sterile, divisive debate that we thought had been put down years ago. Harper tried to push a similar bill through in 2007, but happily it died when the 2008 election was called. This one should meet the same fate. There s no need for state compulsion in this area and in the 2008 federal election, almost 14 million Canadians cast ballots. Yet that hasn t stopped one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper s Conservative backbenchers from introducing a private members bill that would strip people of the right to vote if they refuse to uncover their faces. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney may think it reasonable. But the Liberals and New Democrats rightly object that the bill is a cynical fix to a problem that doesn t exist. As reported in the news.
@t steven blaney, quebec city area