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A devout Sikh man who was told he couldn’t write a Winnipeg police recruitment exam unless he removed his kirpan \u2014 a ceremonial religious dagger \u2014 is hopeful a forthcoming policy will allow him to adhere to his faith while applying to the force. <\/p>\n
Jaspal Singh Gill left the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters late last month feeling “shocked” and “disappointed” after being told he couldn’t write the exam.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now WPS is developing a new policy to allow people to wear a kirpan during the application process, a spokesperson confirmed to CBC News on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Singh Gill long dreamed of becoming a police officer while growing up in India, always looking up to family members who took that path.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I used to see my grandfather and my father wearing the police uniform and serving the community. So that was my dream, that one day I will become a police officer,” he said.<\/p>\n
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A kirpan is a ceremonial dagger carried by devout Sikhs. (Brett Purdy\/CBC)<\/p>\n
But Singh Gill, who came to Canada in 2021 and moved to Winnipeg last summer, feared that dream was “shattered” when he was told to remove his kirpan. He said it felt like he had to “choose between employment and my faith.” <\/p>\n
The kirpan is one of five articles of faith that initiated Sikhs must wear at all times. Singh Gill said it is not a weapon but a sacred religious symbol that represents courage, responsibility and “our duty to protect the weak and stand against injustice.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
“For Sikhs, it serves as a reminder to act with compassion, discipline and justice,” he said. <\/p>\n
Devout Sikhs in Canada have the religious freedom to wear a kirpan under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Supreme Court of Canada decided in a unanimous 2006 ruling<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some Canadian police forces have policies outlining how Sikh articles of faith can be incorporated into the uniform. For example, the Toronto Police Service’s uniform standards<\/a> say initiated Sikh members can wear all five articles of faith, including a kirpan, which can be no longer than about 19 centimetres in length (7.5 inches).\u00a0<\/p>\n Toronto’s police force also offers police-issued turbans to which a member attaches a badge and a coloured stripe reflecting their rank.<\/p>\n Singh Gill hopes the WPS policy will have a “reasonable accommodation where security and citizens rights will be balanced.”<\/p>\n