Spotting a policewoman carrying out her duties while clad in a burqa or niqab might strike many living in a western democracy as being bizarre. Yet, incredibly, the Toronto Police Service is actually open to the idea of burqa/niqab-clad police officers if such “reasonable accommodation” helps recruit more Muslim policewomen.
You heard that correctly: we’re talking Toronto’s police service - not Tehran’s.
The back story: last fall, I reported that the Toronto Police had quietly altered its uniform requirements to allow Muslim policewomen to wear the hijab.
Yet again, a public institution appears to be bowing to the tyranny of political correctness - bending over backwards to accommodate certain individuals, some of whom are quite unaccommodating of our cherished western values.
The question arises: What’s driving this directive? After all, contrary to popular belief, the Qur’an doesn’t mandate Muslim women to wear the hijab.
When my original Toronto Sun column appeared, a spokesman for Deputy Chief Mike Federico said the deputy chief would welcome an opportunity to talk about uniforms. Well, not really. It actually took a few months to get answers. But when I finally got the answers I was looking for, I was left gobsmacked.
For starters, I wanted to know how far the Toronto Police Service would go when it comes to haberdashery accommodation. For example, if a female Muslim police officer were to demand she be allowed to wear a niqab or a burqa on the job, how could such a request possibly be denied given the precedent that’s been set with the hijab?
I expected an answer along these lines: identity-concealing burqas and niqabs have no place as part of a Toronto Police uniform -- such garments would impede a policewoman in the line of duty.
What a naive fool I was in thinking that practicality and tradition would trump unreasonable accommodation. For here’s what Deputy Chief Federico had to say regarding the burqa/niqab: “Each request is dealt with on its merits, including compliance with uniform standards, and health and safety requirements.”
But wait a minute... Deputy Chief Federico isn’t being consistent here. After all, the reason the hijab is now allowed has precious little to do with “uniform standards and health and safety requirements.” Rather, in the deputy chief’s own words, Toronto Police takes its uniform cues from (drum roll, please) the Ontario Human Rights Commission and certain religious leaders.
Indeed, when Deputy Chief Federico was asked why female Muslim officers are now allowed to wear the hijab, he responded: “A request was submitted by a member. The TPS explored this request in consultation with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, our Muslim Community Consultative group, the Canadian Council of Imams, and the Muslim Canadian Congress as well as taking into account TPS uniform standards.”
Apparently, even with the police, political correctness now trumps “health and safety standards.”
How sad.