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Monday, January 28, 2013 : EDMONTON - Alberta has come up with a policy to allow Sikhs to wear a kirpan in courthouses. Under the Justice Department policy, a person must tell security officers they have a kirpan and wear it in a sheath, under clothing. The blade of the kirpan can be no longer than 10 centimetres. The World Sikh Organization says Alberta is the first province to bring in such a policy, which is partly based on rules developed for courts in Toronto. The organization says Ontario is now working on a province-wide policy. The Alberta rules stem from a human rights complaint filed in 2008 where a man wasn't allowed inside a Calgary court because he was wearing a kirpan. |
 A Sikh priest displays a kirpan, a ceremonial Sikh sword, in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Sept.1, 2004. Alberta has come up with a policy to allow Sikhs to wear a ceremonial religious dagger called a kirpan in courthouses. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Manish Swarup |