OTTAWA -- Conservative leadership candidate Steven Blaney says he would reintroduce a bill calling for women to show their faces when they vote or deal with federal departments.
In his first policy announcement since revealing his leadership bid on the weekend, Blaney said today it's time for a discussion on Canadian identity .
The former Harper cabinet minister says he would bring back a new face-covering law as a way of stemming what he calls the "slow and steady erosion" of Canadian values.
A Blaney-led government wouldn't hesitate to use the notwithstanding clause to stop the Supreme Court of Canada from striking down the measure.
The former public safety cabinet minister says the discussion has been going on for years in Quebec, which is playing a leading role in dealing with the challenge.
He believes Canada is ready to have a similar "robust, mature" discussion on identity.
"We must ensure that these new Canadians that we welcome understand how we live," Blaney told reporters Monday. "We do not want our country to become like the country they left."
