The issue of religious headwear is in the news again.
In an effort to recruit women from Edmonton’s Islamic communities, the police service there recently announced Muslim policewomen will be allowed to wear a hijab on duty.
Edmonton police say safety considerations would come first, and that they expect the hijab would be worn underneath a standard police cap. Unlike the niqab, which covers the full face except for the eyes, the hijab is a veil or scarf that wraps around the head but doesn’t obscure the wearer’s face.
Hamilton Police Service is researching the issue of accommodating the hijab, beards for male Muslim officers and carrying the kirpan (ceremonial dagger) for Sikh officers. I’m told this is very much in the exploratory stage.
The Edmonton and Toronto moves already have some people talking about the issue of cultural and religious accommodation. What is reasonable accommodation in police departments?
Anti-multiculturalism crusader and Toronto Sun columnist David Menzies, was outraged when the Toronto Police Services announced in 2011 it would allow the hijab as an option for Muslim policewomen. Menzies wrote these kinds of accommodations are “another assault against Canadian traditions.”
Similar arguments about traditions have been used to justify gender and race discrimination over the years. When women fought to enter non-traditional fields such as policing and firefighting, there was tremendous public pushback on the grounds it would destroy our traditions and would not be safe for women or the men they would work with.
Edmonton reportedly hired Canada’s first woman police officer in 1912; in Toronto, two women were hired as officers in 1913. Women broke into the male-dominated RCMP in the ‘70s.
Tell me, how does accommodating religious headwear lead to restrictions on other Canadians? Does wearing the hijab affect the quality of the services we expect from our police or other public employees?
Before we get up in arms about a uniform, it’s important for us to consider these questions.
This is not a new discussion. One of the most heated debates on the issue took place in 1990 when Baltej Singh Dhillon challenged the old guard of the RCMP and sought to wear a turban as part of his uniform. The question of whether one could serve Canada without compromising one’s faiths and beliefs became a national conversation. Eventually, Canada came down on the right side of the debate and Singh — and others who followed — were allowed to wear RCMP-issue turbans on duty.
More than a decade ago, police in London, England, became the first to permit female officers to wear an official hijab. It was designed for safety and to fit in with the black and white check uniform trim. Since then, other police services across the U.K., Norway and Sweden have adopted similar policies (as has, as I noted, Toronto).
Edmonton Police Service, like its Toronto counterpart, is taking proactive steps to recruit members from all backgrounds. Edmonton councillor Scott McKeen said the move is “gesture of inclusion.” He told reporters that allowing the hijab as an option for police recruits is “saying we want to have a diverse police service that reflects the diversity and multicultural aspects of Edmonton … I’m proud of us.”
At the end of the day, it is an officer’s ability that we should focus on: creating barriers to choosing a career has no place in our society.
I couldn’t agree more with the statement issued by Edmonton Police Service: “It is important that anyone who has a calling to serve and protect Edmontonians, and who passes rigorous police training standards, feels welcome and included in the EPS.”
It’s good to see some progressive steps being taken in places that have a reputation of being a conservative bastion.
Don’t get me started on the misguided Quebec charter of values.