Update: Oops. Never mind.I haven't been openly critical of Jack Layton and the NDP on this blog; I like to think that their heart's in the right place, even if their collective head isn't always screwed on right. But this is both dumb and nasty:Canadians hoping to vote in the next federal election with a veil, pumpkin, sheet or anything else covering their faces will soon be out of luck as the Conservative government has secured enough support to pass a bill forcing voters to show their faces.
See, it's that last part that's really crucial. What the government is contemplating is a move that singles out a single ethnic/cultural/religious group among Canadians, and does so for no actual reason. It's trying to prevent them from doing something that everyone knows by now they have no intention of doing in the first place.
NDP MP Yvon Godin told Government House Leader Peter Van Loan yesterday during a committee review of the bill that his party will support the proposed law. That ensures the government has enough votes to pass the bill through the House of Commons, though it would still have to clear the Liberal-dominated Senate. The position of Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs on the committee was unclear yesterday as both parties expressed concerns.
Mr. Van Loan said it is unfortunate that the Muslim community has been forced to debate a right that they had never asked for, but noted the controversy has inspired a wave of mischievousness that must now be addressed.
There were 70 cases during this fall's three by-elections in Quebec where people showed up with their faces covered, he said, including one man wearing a pumpkin on his head. Mr. Van Loan said he was not aware of any serious requests by Muslim women to vote with a veil during those by-elections.
The whole "veiled voter" non-controversy has been a pretty sorry spectacle, really. It has made clear that MPs from all parties don't understand the laws they pass or even the workings of a parliamentary system, that national journalists are even more clueless than the MPs they report on, and that some regular citizens are just idiots. At this point in this dumb, stupid, nasty affair, the progressive and idealistic NDP are giving support to a government whose policies they despise (They do, don't they? Don't they?) in order to single out a minority group who provably did not do the thing they're being accused of doing, by means of passing a bill that will solve no existing problem but plays into the worst kinds of xenophobia.
Tommy Douglas is rolling in his grave.
Update: Oh dear God, it's even worse than I thought:
And glory be, they fucked it up again. This bill does not require that voters be visually identified at all—indeed, the ID requirements remain unchanged. Canadians can still "prove" their identity with "two pieces of [non-photo] identification authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer each of which establish the elector’s name and at least one of which establishes the elector’s address." But to do so, they'll have to show their faces.
So, let's follow along. The concern was that a veiled woman could provide photo ID but not have to show her face, rendering the photo ID pointless. All hail the new reality: a veiled woman can provide non-photo ID but has to show her face, rendering the unveiling pointless. Well, I should say, pointless when it comes to ensuring the integrity of our electoral system. But it's been a long time since anyone could assume with a straight face that this had anything to do with the Elections Act. It would almost be better if there were aspiring veiled voters out there—at least then we could legitimately discuss how they fit into the process. At the moment it's difficult to conclude anything except that the Tories—and any other party that doesn't come out against this in the strongest possible terms; Mr. Dion, I'm looking in your direction—are content to score points off the imagined humiliation of Muslims.
0 Responses:
Post a Comment