Kirpan Shouldn’t Be Banned from Parliament, Ignatieff Says

The Liberal leader has rejected a Bloc Québécois proposal that the Sikh ceremonial dagger be banned from government buildings.

The kirpan has become the centre of national attention after four men carrying them were denied entry into Quebec’s National Assembly earlier this week. The Bloc, reflecting the strict secularism of most francophone voters, has since proposed that the daggers should also be banned from parliament buildings in Ottawa, but speaking in Quebec Thursday Ignatieff said that such a policy would violate the religious freedom of Canadians. ““All Canadians have the right to access their democratic and parliamentary spaces,” he said, emphasizing his belief that the daggers are not weapons. The NDP made similar statements this week, while the Conservatives say they will not interfere with whatever parliamentary security officials decide.