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Canadian Province Ontario Requests that Even The Sikh Wear Helmets

I guess I am not the only one who believes that every now and then, religion is used a bit too often and in too many situations to get all sorts of exemptions, and I am not referring to a specific religion. The administration of the Canadian province of Ontario seems to believe this, too, after CMG reports that prime minister Kathleen Wynne informed the Canadian Sikh Association about the decision to enforce wearing an approved motorcycle helmet even by the Sikh.
Sikh rider wearing a turban 1 photo
Photo: prevenblog.com
Even though the baptized Sikh have been exempted from wearing a motorcycle helmet in other areas, it appears that the Ontario administration has a more pronounced focus on safety, which, at least in my book, is good. Religion or no religion, the brains spill on the road the same way when the unhelmeted head hits the asphalt, and honestly, there’s nothing religion can do to change this.

In an official letter sent to the Canadian Sikh Association, prime minister Wynne says: “After careful deliberation, we have determined that we will not grant this type of exemption as it would pose a road safety risk. Ultimately, the safety of Ontarians is my utmost priority, and I cannot justify setting that concern aside on this issue.”

Baptized Sikhs are required to wear a special turban called Dastaar, a symbol of self-respect, piety and seemingly, a symbol of Sikh identity. However, only few places around the world have an exemption from the local helmet laws. Among these places we can mention Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, Australia and two Canadian provinces, Manitoba and British Columbia.

While the debate on helmet laws is not the point of this article, I’d say that religion, with what comes from it is a choice, just like the choice to ride a bike. And if for some reason, these two don’t seem to work together, then they probably shouldn’t have been together from the beginning.
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