Quebec's federal and provincial political leaders of all stripes have united in opposition to an Elections Canada decision to allow Muslim women to vote while wearing a burka or niqab, which covers their face.
The Bloc Quebecois was the first to come out against the move, asking Elections Canada to reverse the decision.
Since then Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon slammed the decision, as did Premier Jean Charest and a host of others.
Electoral laws revised in June demand that all voters prove their identity and place of residence.
However, federal election officials announced new rules Thursday to allow women to vote without having to show their face. The controversial decision comes just prior to three federal byelections in Quebec on Sept. 17.
Women wearing the head coverings can vote by bringing a piece of identification with a photo and another document proving their identity.
If the women do not have the required documents, or someone to vouch for their identity, they will be required to show their faces before voting.
"This is the position of Elections Canada and we will hold the line,'' spokesman John Enright said Thursday.
But others felt just as strongly that it was a bad decision.
"We find it doesn't make any sense," said Cannon, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Quebec lieutenant.
"As a government and a political party, we do not agree with Elections Canada."
Charest also disagreed.
"For me, it's a bad decision," he said. "The federal chief returning officer should have done the same thing we did in Quebec, which is that everyone who presents themselves to exercise their right to vote must be clearly identified. For me, it's as simple as that."
The house leader of the ADQ, Sebastien Proulx, also criticized the ruling, calling it a tremendous error.
"This debate has already taken place in Quebec and we know how quickly it can get out of control. To allow someone to vote with their face covered, if we don't allow it to everyone, we shouldn't allow it for others either,'' Proulx said Thursday.
Opposition Leader Mario Dumont said it's not an option to permit people to vote with a covered face.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said "Canadian citizens have a responsibility to fully reveal their identities" when voting. He called on Elections Canada to rethink the decision.
Marcel Blanchet, Quebec's chief returning officer, says he will invoke special powers to force voters to show their faces before they can cast a ballot in the Charlevoix riding on Sept. 24.
Meanwhile, Muslims said they didn't request any special privileges, and Muslim women weren't even consulted by Elections Canada about the new policy.
Sarah Elgazzar, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations in Montreal, said Muslims don't necessarily support the ruling either.
"As much as I'm sure Elections Canada had great intentions, this was not the best way to make it an inclusive atmosphere to allow people to practice their democratic right in peace. This was ill-timed and badly managed," she told The Canadian Press.
Elgazzar said she doubts the policy will have any negative impact on the three coming byelections in the Montreal-area Outremont and rural St-Hyacinthe-Bagot and Roberval-Lac-St-Jean ridings.
"We're talking about a minority of a minority of a minority," she said. "It's a very small section of the practising Muslim women, which is already a small enough section of the Muslim community that actually wear the niqab.
"I can almost guarantee that in the Outremont riding . . . there won't be a single woman wearing niqab, so this debate is almost completely and utterly useless."
Last year, Elections Quebec reneged on a similar position during the provincial election after receiving threatening phone calls and emails. Quebec's three main political parties also fought the decision.
The Sept. 17 byelections are in the Montreal riding of Outremont, the rural riding of St-Hyacinthe-Bagot and the Roberval-Lac-St-Jean riding north of Quebec City.
The issue will probably play out the strongest in Outremont, a diverse multicultural neighbourhood.
With a report from CTV Montreal's Paul Karwatsky and files from The Canadian Press
