Quebec has a fairly large immigrant population from countries like Egypt and Libya and many are Muslim so it's not surprising that they bring the niqab with them.  A girl from Egypt went to a class to learn French but she wore her niqab and disrupted the class.  The teacher feels that teaching pronunciation requires that the face be visible but the girl wants to be protected from the prying eyes of the mostly male students.  When she refused to remove the niqab during lessons, she was expelled and has now taken the case to the human rights commission.

The case has caused a stir in Quebec  because most people view the niqab as a symbol of oppression of women.  "French Québécois women come up to me and say, 'We really worked hard to get our women's rights and now you're going to take them away from us,' " says Miriam Abushaban, a 22-year-old Concordia University student from New Jersey who wears a niqab.
And Muslims in Canada do not generally support niqabs: "The niqab has absolutely no place in Canada," said Farzana Hassan, of the Muslim Canadian Congress in an interview with the National Post. "In Canada we recognize the equality of men and women. We want to recognize gender equality as an absolute. The niqab marginalizes women."  Most describe it as a cultural thing and not a religious belief.

And it's not as if there was no attempt to accommodate the girl - the Ottawa Citizen reports:

A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Yolande James, attaché Luc Fortin said Immigration Department officials did their best to accommodate the needs of the woman, who began language classes in late August and was expelled at the beginning of November.

She initially agreed to remove her niqab when meeting with a female student adviser and when posing for her school ID card. She also agreed to receive some instruction without the niqab from a female teacher in an isolated area of the school.

The teacher allowed her to give an oral presentation at the back of the classroom, facing away from other students. She complained that some male students could still see her face, however, and asked that they be moved to a different part of the classroom.

Her demands created a tense atmosphere and caused problems at the school....

The student was the only one expelled over the issue among 39,000 who took the French course last year.

The Montreal gazette reports:

...the incident shows the simmering passions over the accommodation of cultural and religious minorities have not been calmed since the Bouchard-Taylor commission, which held hearings across the province in 2007. Its 2008 report called for an official policy on Quebec as a secular society, more funding for diversity programs and better training for institutions on handling cultural minorities....

Last year, the Fédération des femmes du Québec raised a storm of protest by proposing that religious symbols not be banned from government offices, schools and hospitals, thus endorsing wearing of the hijab and other religious garb.

In 2007, Quebec's chief electoral officer backed down from a controversial decision to allow women wearing a niqab to vote. Later that year, Canada's chief electoral officer refused to compel Muslim women who wear a niqab or burqa (a long garment) to remove their veils to vote.

In the face of this controversy, Quebec's deputy premier, Nathalie Normandeau, has now said that the government intends to require all citizens to have their faces uncovered when dealing with the state and receiving public services.

Montreal Gazette

Update March 9, 2010

The woman who had been expelled from the class went out and enrolled in another language course at a Montreal community centre.

But provincial government officials met with the woman this morning and repeated their ultimatum.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Yolande James says the woman again refused to remove her niqab and was expelled from the course.

The government says it was acting on complaints from teachers at the community centre.

CTV

Update March 10, 2010

The Globe and Mail quotes Quebec Immigration Minister Yolande James "There is no ambiguity on this question: If you want to [attend] our classes, if you want to int egrate in Quebec society, here our values are that we want to see your face. "  Like the French, Quebec sees the burqa as rejecting French Culture - a big no-no in Quebec!!

Update March 15, 2010

It is being reported around the world that a cartoon published by the Montreal Gazette is offensive to Muslims!  The cartoon is at right.  First, the niqab is not a Religious thing it's a cultural thing.  Second it's obnoxious.  I say that anyone offended should get a life. One India

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