About the terminology in the bill that refers to “without lawful excuse”, my question would be how does one define lawful excuse and whether you can provide examples of when someone might have a lawful excuse in order to conceal their identity? In other words, the concern that I have is that this bill might inadvertently have prejudicial impact on those who are legitimately seeking to conceal their identity, such as for example religious head coverings from Muslim women. Do you have any suggestions for us as to how we can clarify the term “lawful excuse” in order to ensure that innocent behaviour would not be criminalized, and that certain populations would not end up being targeted under this bill?
On May 1st, 2012. See this statement in context.