OTTAWA — A 95-year-old Second World War veteran who famously championed the rights of turban-wearing Canadian Sikhs says he disagrees with limiting the freedoms of Muslims who wear religious face coverings.
Retired lieutenant-colonel Pritam Singh Jauhal and four friends were barred from a 1993 Remembrance Day ceremony at the Royal Canadian Legion Newton branch in Surrey, B.C. because of a rule that banned head coverings.
The national organization ultimately changed its policy, but the issue was an emotional one that reverberated across the country. One legion president in Ontario said at the time that vets who wanted to wear turbans should “go back to their country.” Other branches defied the policy read more
