Jaspal Singh Gill said his dream of becoming a police officer was “shattered”.
A Winnipeg man has sparked a religious freedom debate after claiming he was prevented from writing a police recruitment test because he carried a Sikh kirpan.Jaspal Singh Gill said his dream of becoming a police officer was “shattered” after he was asked to remove a ceremonial dagger before taking a recruitment test for the Winnipeg Police Service.“A Winnipeg man says his religious rights were violated after he was not allowed to bring his ceremonial dagger to a Winnipeg Police Service recruitment exam. He is demanding an apology and says he may file a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission,” CTV anchor Daniel Hjalmarsson said while filing the report.Gill says he comes from a family of police officers in India, and joining the force has been his long-time ambition.“My goal was to become a police officer like my father and grandfather. […] I was told I couldn’t bring it [the kirpan] inside. “This is a violation of my religious rights,” he said.According to Gill, recruiters told him he would not be allowed to write the exam unless he took off the kirpan, which Sikhs are required to wear as part of their faith.“My personal goal for a long time has been to join the police service because my grandfather and father were police officers in India,” Gill said.
He added: “The recruitment officer came to me and said, ‘You must take off your kirpan to take the test.'”The kirpan is one of the five elements in Sikhism and is considered a sacred article of faith symbolizing courage, justice and the duty to protect others. It looks like a small dagger but Sikhs claim it is not intended to be used as a weapon.“We wear this hijab, which symbolizes courage and our responsibility to fight injustice,” Gill said.Gill said he refused to remove the kirpan and instead chose to leave the examination centre.“I have to, just as my dream was shattered at that time. I think this is discrimination because all the other participants were allowed to participate, but I was not allowed just because I was wearing a kirpan, which is a tenet of the faith in Sikhism,” he added.In a statement to CTV News, the Winnipeg Police Service defended its actions, saying the Sikh applicant was offered the compromise of keeping the dagger aside until the test was over.A police spokesperson said: “We welcome applicants from diverse religious backgrounds and communities. The option of storing the kirpan securely for the duration of the test has been accepted by many applicants in the past and has enabled them to complete the testing process.”
But Gill said his Charter rights had been violated, and pointed to previous Supreme Court of Canada rulings protecting the wearing of a hood in public.“The Khalsa are allowed to wear the kirpan in the courtroom, they are allowed to wear the kirpan in gatherings, they are allowed to wear the kirpan on domestic flights,” he said.Legal expert Neil MacArthur, a professor at the University of Manitoba, said Gill may have strong reasons if he resorted to legal action.“Given that we have precedent in the Supreme Court that was fairly clear, I think his chances are probably pretty good in the court process,” MacArthur said.Gill said he had already contacted his local MLA and filed a Freedom of Information request to find out more about the police service’s policy. Despite the controversy, he insists he has not given up on his goal of becoming a police officer.
