Citizenship Ceremonies and New Democrats

: Even though the controversy surrounding the niqab risks dealing New Democrats a body blow in Quebec, the NDP leader doubled down on his opposition to banning women from wearing the veil during citizenship ceremonies. "Governing is about leading," Mulcair told a news conference northwest of Quebec City. "Leading is about setting your priorities and telling people who you are and what you believe in." The issue is particularly tricky for Mulcair, who needs to retain support in Quebec, home to many voters who back Conservative and Bloc Quebecois calls to bar women from wearing a niqab when they swear the citizenship oath. "I'm going to continue to make the point that we live in a society where we're lucky enough to have individual rights," Mulcair said. "You either believe in those rights, which is my case, or you find a way around them." Conservative Leader Stephen Harper headed straight for Quebec south shore, to a riding that went to the New Democrats by a hair breadth in 2011, happy to talk more about a wedge issue designed to bleed NDP support. "I'm regularly told we want to pay less taxes and not more, according to Hamilton Spectator. We want neighbourhoods that are safe. Tom Mulcair, however, was hardly hiding. We want new citizens that take the oath with their faces uncovered," he said in his speech. "We want a proper future for our young people; we want a future that worthy of the sacrifices and contributions of our seniors; and we want to protect ourselves against fanatics." Afterward, however, Harper found himself defending Canada military vehicle deal with Saudi Arabia. Human rights groups have warned that the Saudi regime might use the vehicles against its own people. "Notwithstanding its human rights violations, which are significant, this is a contract with a country that is an ally against the Islamic State, a contract that any one of our allies would have signed," Harper said in Riviere-du-Loup, Que. "We expressed our outrage, our disagreement from time to time, with the government of Saudi Arabia for their treatment of human rights, but I don't think it makes any sense to pull a contract in a way that would only punish Canadian workers." Questions about the deal came up during Thursday debate in connection with the jailing and lashing of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, whose wife lives in Sherbrooke, Que. The $14.8-billion contract to sell light armoured vehicles to the Saudis is said to be worth about 3,000 jobs across southern Ontario, including with manufacturer General Dynamics Land Systems. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.