Conservatives stop short of ruling out ban on niqabs for public servants

Conservative candidate Pierre Poilievredidnot rule out the possibility of a re-elected Torygovernment pursuinga ban on face coveringsfor public servants during a Thursday morning press conference in Ottawa.

Poilievre, who is the lead minister for the National Capital Region and running for re-election in the Ontario riding of Carleton, met with mediato discuss an open letter fromConservative Leader Stephen Harper to the country's public servants that outlined the government's commitment to resolving a number ofcollective bargaining issues.

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During the question and answer period with journalists after the announcement, a reporter brought up the government's attempt to impose a ban on face coverings during the oath of citizenship which the Tories have attempted to enshrine in law.

The ban was struck down by the courts, but the Conservatives have vowed to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Poilievrewas asked whether, given the heated debate around the wearing of niqabs at citizenship ceremonies,aTory governmentmightalso try to impose a similar niqab ban forpublic servants.

"In Quebec, they have this idea of public servants not wearing a niqab. Is that something you guys would ever consider if re-elected?" askedB.J. Siekierski ofiPolitics.

The PartiQubcoisunsuccessfullyattempted tobanovert religious symbols, includingniqabs, in the public service as part of theQuebeccharter of values in 2013.

"What I can tell you is that our existing policyis that it is completely reasonable to ask someone to show their face while their giving an oath of citizenship," Poilievre said in response to Siekierski's question. "Itis completely reasonable to ask someone to show their face while they're giving an oath of citizenship.

"I have been at citizenship ceremonies where people have attended wearing a face covering, and I have witnessed them remove those face coverings. And I think that's entirely reasonable."

He said the oath is a "sacred moment of citizenship and loyalty to country," which is also why it must be taken in person.

The reporter followed up, asking, "Would it be fair to say that that is the extent of any sort of niqab ban, or may we hear other things down the road?"

After a brief pause, Poilievre said, "Well, you'll have to wait until we're down the road to find out what's down the road, but what I can tell you today is that this is the message that I have to share with you."

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It was not the first time the Tories have hinted, albeitindirectly, that if re-elected they may attempt to impose further measures regarding religiousface coverings through legislation.

In June, for example,the Liberal government in Quebec tabled Bill 62, aimed at barring public servants from wearing face-covering religious garments at work.At the time,Tory candidate and Minister for MulticulturismTim Uppal weighed in, saying the Toriessupport the proposed legislation.

"We broadly support Quebec's legislation regarding the uncovering of faces for giving and receiving public services," Uppal said, adding thatthe Conservativegovernment "will consider what other measures may be necessary" beyond a ban on face coverings at citizenship ceremonies.

Contentious talks with public service unions

Poilievrewas in Ottawa in aneffort to repair relations with public servants, many of whom feel disillusioned about the government's attempt in the last budget billto save $900 million by overhauling sick leaves and disability programs.

Thirteen federal public service unions have filed legal challenges to the budget bill.

The government wants to replace the current system of banking sick days with one that provides public sector employees access to short-term disability benefits provided through a privateinsurer. The debate over sick leave has been extremely contentious since the newest round of collective bargaining began in 2014.

Pierre Poilievre defends Conservative position on public sector benefits

9 years ago

Duration 3:24

Conservative candidate Pierre Poilievre says his party is protecting sick leave and pension benefits.

In Harper's open letter, the Tories argue that more than 60 per cent of public servants don't have enough sick days banked to cover a full period (13 weeks)of short-term disabilitywhile 25 per cent have fewer than 10 days of banked sick leave.

Many new and young employees have no banked sick days at allwhile a "select few of long-tenured individuals" have amassed more days than they could ever "reasonably need," according to the letter.

Poilievresaid that the NDP and Liberals have intentionally obscured the facts on the campaign trail by saying that the Tories wouldtake away banked sick days without compensating for the time lost and would jeopardize employee pensions by moving away from a defined benefit plan to a definedcontribution planor other shared-risk pensionmodels.

Poilievre said such allegations are categorically false.

"There will be no changes whatsoever to the pension plan going forward, nor have any been considered," he said.

Trudeaupromises better relations

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau released an open letter to the federal public service on Sept. 25, promising to patch up damaged relations.If elected on Oct. 19, he said, a Liberal government would respect the collective bargaining process in any changes to the sick leave regime, address mental health issues in the workplaceand give professional workers the tools they need to provide topquality service,

"Respect and trust for our public servants by the federal government has never been so low, and I want to take this opportunity to assure you that I have a fundamentally different view than Stephen Harper of our public service," Trudeauwrote in the letter.

"Where he sees an adversary, I see a partner. I believe that in order to have a public service that is valued by Canadians, and a source of pride for its members, it must be valued by its government."

On Tuesday, five NDP candidates from the National Capital Region unveiled their party's plan to strengthen the public service, includingreforms that wouldhalt patronage appointments, better protect whistleblowersand limit the use of temporary workers, to protect full-time jobs. The NDP also promised to toughen upethics rules around cabinet ministers and their staff.

"The Conservatives' attacks on the public service have harmed front-line services and made life difficult for thousands of public service employees in the National Capital Region. Now the Liberals are promising more cuts," said NDP Ottawa Centre candidate Paul Dewar in a news release outlining the plan.

Read Stephen Harper's open letter to the public service

Mobile users can view the letter here