Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau: The prime minister ratcheted up the rhetoric against the niqab even as Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau accused him and his ministers of stoking prejudice against Muslims, according to CTV. Harper ignored those examples and returned instead to his assertion last month that it "offensive" for someone to wear a face-covering niqab while taking the oath of Canadian citizenship and - Stephen Harper doubled down Tuesday on his aversion to face-covering veils worn by some Muslim women, calling them the product of a culture that is "anti-women." Among other things, Trudeau pointed to Immigration Minister Chris Alexander calling the hijab -- a head scarf worn by some Muslim women -- a perversion of Canadian values, and New Brunswick MP John Williamson, a former Harper communications director, referring last weekend to "whities" and "brown people." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.