10 March 2015

Face-covering veils are ‘anti-women,’ Harper says

Prime Minister Stephen Harper condemned the wearing of a niqab or face-covering veil as “rooted in a culture that is anti-women” as he defended himself against Liberal charges the Conservatives practice divisive politics.

Harper was clearly stung by a speech Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau gave Monday in Toronto that condemned the Conservatives for rhetoric he said threatens to expose Muslims to the same bigoted fears that Jews faced in the 1930s and ’40s.

Trudeau jabbed again at Harper Tuesday in the Commons, citing recent comments by Conservatives about hijabs and temporary foreign workers. Instead of dividing the country, Harper should “get his priorities straight” and table an economic plan, Trudeau said. [Toronto Star] Read more