Mr. Speaker, a local Canadian Sikh was forced by passport officials to remove his turban in order to speed up his application and arrive in India in time for his mother's funeral. In another case, a lady was forced to remove her dupatta for passport pictures.
Sikhs' turbans are religious articles of faith. Canadian Sikhs have been battling prejudice and discrimination for years. Will the Liberal government and the foreign affairs minister give clear instructions to the passport department so that Canadian Sikhs will not face humiliation during future visits to the passport office?