A fight for religious freedom on the open road

Photo from Sikh Motorcycle Club of Ontario

“To many drivers, the sight is inconsequential: a turban-wearing man riding a motorcycle. Others may note that it’s unsafe, and signals clearly that Ontario law is being broken. What many people outside the faith are unlikely to do, even in post-multicultural Canada where the sight of a turbaned man is commonplace in most cities, is grasp the magnitude of what they’re seeing.

The fight for Sikhs to get that small freedom, the choice to legally leave the helmet behind, continues inside the legislature at Queen’s Park, despite the fact that many jurisdictions, including other Canadian provinces, long ago crossed the legislative line to allow the exemption.”

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Working in Brampton where the large majority of the population are visible minority, it’s allowed me to explore many topics that are completely unfamiliar to me, this story being one of them. I needed to do quite a bit of research to familiarize myself with both the practical and religious issues that are at play here, but all in all I think it turned into an interesting read.

Published on October 28, 2018 in The Pointer - Brampton