Niqabs and pipelines: Mulcair will be the main punching bag in French debate

I stole Blazing Cat Fur's art for the pic on this one and it isn't fair without a link.

http://www.blazingcatfur.ca/2015/09/24/ ... de-elxn42/

Here's another one from BCF, I think, illustrating what the problem is going to be for Mulcair and maybe Justine going into tonight's French debate.

Niqab controversy flares up at French-language debate


"Tonight's French-language debate quickly devolved into a series of heated shouting matches, with the five party leaders battling over issues including the economy, the Senate and the question of the niqab and whether government services should only be given to those who reveal their faces.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair accused Conservative Leader Stephen Harper of raising the issue of the niqab as a distraction rather than dealing with troubling economic questions.

"Mr. Harper is trying to hide his record behind a niqab," Mulcair said.

Harper responded that he would never tell his daughter that a woman should cover her face because she is a woman.


"Tackle the oppressor if you believe that there is oppression there," Mulcair shot back, adding that Harper was using the issue as a "weapon of mass distraction."

The controversy over the niqab was inspired by a recent court ruling saying a woman can wear the face veil while taking her Canadian citizenship oath. The Conservatives want to fight the decision before the Supreme Court.

Bloc Qu�b�cois Leader Gilles Duceppe said it wasn't a divisive question in his province, saying Quebec's National Assembly and mayors of major cities, as well as most Quebecers themselves, were in agreement that the niqab shouldn't be allowed in these scenarios. He said it was a question of equality of men and women.

Both Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said they supported the right of women to wear the niqab."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/french- ... -1.3242417

I was reading why this issue matters for the NDP, but can't remember where.

As I recall the problem is Mulcair needs the seats he thought he was going to get in Quebec to remain relevant.

But this Niqab issue broke and Mulcair is on the wrong side of it as far as Quebec is concerned.

Or at least that's the way I heard it.

NDP has been pushed back to 3rd place where they belong.

This definitely won't help Angry Tom in Quebec and Western Canada.