Ignatieff: Quebec niqab rule a 'good balance'

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is defending theQuebec government's moveto requireMuslim women or others who wear face coverings such as niqabs to remove them if they want to work in the public sector or do business with government officials.

Speakingat the start of his party'sweekendthinkers' conference on Friday, Ignatieff said he thinks the province'slegislationtabled this weekistrying tostrikea "good Canadian balance" between reasonable accommodation and respect forreligious freedom.

"There is always a balance we must keep," he said.

Bill 94, tabled by QuebecJustice Minister Kathleen Weil, lays out the accommodations public institutions can make to employees or to the public.

The proposed legislation defines a reasonable request as one that does not create any undue hardship or expense for the state. For example, a woman who insists on being served by a female civil servant for religious reasons would have to wait in line until one was available.

By tabling the controversial law, the government is responding to a debate that has been raging since 2006.

In 2007, the province launched the Bouchard-Taylor Commission on issues of reasonable accommodation following concerns over reports that members of religious and cultural communities were making special requests at public institutions.

More recently, the debate was stirred up by an Egyptian woman who was expelled from provincially funded French-language classes after she refused to remove her niqab a style of veil thatleaves only the eyes exposed.