NDP Deputy Leader Megan Leslie is brushing off recent rifts among NDP MPs about the face-covering niqab, saying everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Leslie made the comments on CTV’s Question Period shortly after fellow NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice, one of the party's most outspoken Quebec MPs, said he doesn't think public servants should be allowed to cover their faces.
"I think we can all have personal feelings about all kinds of topics, but if you're a legislator, you have to look at what is reasonable and sound public policy," said Leslie.
Leslie said she thinks women should be allowed to wear a niqab at citizenship ceremonies -- and she said she did not agree with Boulerice that face coverings should banned for those in the public service.
"I don't know why a niqab would be a barrier to doing that job," said Leslie.
Leslie joins veteran NDP MPs Pat Martin and Paul Dewar in her thinking, who also disagree with Boulerice about niqabs in the public service.
Leslie brushed off accusations from Roxanne James, parliamentary secretary to the minister of public safety, and Liberal trade critic Chrystia Freeland that the NDP is talking out of both sides of their mouth on the niqab debate.
"This is why people are turned off of politics. I'm sitting here with two colleagues who said, ‘Oh you said something that's a quarter of an inch different from what someone else said.' Come on," said Leslie.
The niqab debate heated up last week when Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the House of Commons that the niqab is rooted in a culture that is "anti-women."
"Why would Canadians, contrary to our own values, embrace a practice at that time that is not transparent, that is not open and frankly is rooted in a culture that is anti-women," Harper said Tuesday in question period.
Harper’s comment came days after Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau accused him of stoking prejudice against Muslims as a part of his anti-terrorism agenda. Last month, Harper appealed a court ruling that struck down a ban on face coverings worn during citizenship ceremonies.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has said he agrees with the judge's decision to strike down the ban on wearing a niqab while taking the oath of citizenship. He has also accused Harper of fuelling "Islamaphobia."
Boulerice has called for a pan-Canadian commission to find a consensus on how far the country should go to accommodate minority religious and cultural practices.
Culture war in Parliament
Broader discussions of religion, culture and politics dominated Parliament Hill last week after Trudeau's major speech Monday night where he compared the Tories' current treatment of Muslims to the Second World War policies restricting Jews from entering Canada.
James called Trudeau's comments "outrageous."
But despite the heavy criticism from Conservatives and Jewish groups, Freeland said she was proud of Trudeau's speech Monday night.
"I have never been prouder to be a Liberal and to be a member of Team Trudeau than when Justin delivered that incredible speech and that incredible statement of what it means to be Canadian,” said Freeland.
Leslie criticized the Liberals and Conservatives' bickering over Trudeau's Holocaust comment.
"I have to sit there in the House and watch the Liberals and Conservatives trade Holocaust barbs to see who can have the worst Holocaust reference. You know what. There's nothing that compares to the Holocaust.
With files from the Canadian Press
