Toronto Sun Pulls Burka Stunt

[tropaka]

This newspaper bugs the shit out of me. A few days ago one of its columnists took the time to try to get an airport cab with a dog - targeting muslim drivers of course - and then writing a column on how they get special treatment (yes, prayer mats on concrete next to vending machines - special!). Now, one of their columnists sent a young teen boy into the liquor store (government regulated) in a BURKA, where the idiots served him (they must id if they can't tell the age and a female clerk could have done it; and a burka in a liquor store should have been a tip off that it was a sham).

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/07/24/bu ... qus_thread

TORONTO - One of the most significant local stories in recent times that has nationwide — if not worldwide — implications is the one that appeared in the Toronto Sun on Tuesday about the 14-year-old boy in a burka buying liquor with impunity.

Yes, it was a stunt orchestrated by Sun News host David Menzies, but it was not a stunt designed just to shock, but also to underline a problem.

And the problem is not 14-year-old Grade 8 boys buying booze, but of anyone wearing a burka or veil rarely being questioned.

Those who feel the staff are culpable at three LCBOs for not demanding the burka-clad person show a face, or at least ID as the law requires, miss the point.

Had they demanded the purchaser show a face or produce identity, they may well have feared being accused of prejudice or being motivated by hate.

Who can blame the LCBO cashier for not risking the wrath of human rights zealots who often seem to lack qualities of common sense that one would think would be a requirement for the job.

Nor is it unknown that Western “converts†to Islam use wearing the burka as a statement, and even a provocation.

The greater implications of this burka-and-booze story is that it could happen anywhere. Personally, I await with interest when the first burka-clad gang of robbers hits a bank, mindful of the Bill Murray movie Quick Change where the bank robbers were dressed as clowns to pull the job. Funny, but effective.

The burka is an ideal disguise in our country because we are so sensitized to pretending it’s normal that we are reluctant to cause a scene by asking questions.

One only has to think back to when the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan and enterprising Western reporters periodically tried to enter the country disguised as women in burkas. It didn’t work too well then because the guys in burkas were much taller than most Afghan women, and stood out.

Then there was a case in Florida a few years ago where a burka-clad Muslim woman wanted her photo for a driver’s licence taken with her face covered. When she was told to show her face to the camera, all hell broke loose as she and others demanded her “human right†not to show her face.

The same argument has occurred over Muslim women testifying in court and insisting they have the right to be in disguise. Quebec is one province that has taken a lead by insisting the burka is taboo when applying for a government job or appearing as a witness in court where the accused has a right to face an accuser. That sort of thing.

Wearing a burka or veil has little to do with religion, and everything to do with cultural mores.

Many feel that when people from other cultures come to this country, they should at least go through the motions of adjusting to the new culture to which they’ve been granted citizenship. That doesn’t seem too much to ask. And, in fairness, most who emigrate here do adjust and add diversity to the existing culture.

The David Menzies story in the Sun nicely defines the problem, and readers are fortunate columnists like Tarek Fatah, Farzana Hussein and Salim Mansur have the courage to defy extremism, and put a touchy problem into perspective.

Love the wankable first line.

[xDreamerx]

It's the Sun franchise. This kind of stuff is pretty predictable from them.

[tropaka]

I know, I know, but it must be Islamophobia week over there. Here's Levy's article on Airport Limos where she basically slags muslim drivers as getting special treatment and of being dirty (a not so subtle reference to an unused shower stall).

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/07/22/pe ... rivers-say

TORONTO - It happened again last Friday at Pearson Airport.

My wife came home on an afternoon flight from Ft. Lauderdale with our other little dachsie, nine-pound Flora.

The airport was a madhouse.

At least this time there were plenty of Commissionaires and security staff to help me out — unlike when I arrived two weeks ago at 1:30 a.m. with Kishka.

That night, when two limos turned us down, there was not a Commissionaire or a security staffer to be seen, even though I’m told they are supposed to be on the job until the last flight of the night clears.

With Flora in her travel bag, I approached a Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA)-licensed limo to take us.

The driver, his eyes covered by dark sunglasses, refused twice.

His excuse?

“This is not a dog car,†he said rather arrogantly.

Frankly, I had my car at the airport and had no intention of taking a limo.

I just wanted to see if this kind of thing also happens in full view of the Commissionaire and security staff.

Obviously it does and the GTAA staff stood there and did nothing.

But that is not at all surprising, say two drivers of the some 750 pre-arranged limos and vans that pass through Pearson each day — cars which are not licensed by the GTAA but pay a special fee to the airport authority each time they pick up a fare.

That fee is subsequently passed on to the customer.

The two drivers were among the dozens of people who contacted me after my initial column on this controversial subject appeared last Monday — a practice, I might add, that is not confined to Toronto’s airport or to the taxis that cover Toronto proper.

It is happening in Melbourne, Australia, various parts of England, in select U.S. cities, in Vancouver, and in Edmonton and Calgary.

I also heard from a number of passengers — including those with service dogs — who’ve been refused a ride.

In fact, Gail Beck-Souter, general manager of Beck Taxi, confirmed this is happening throughout Toronto and that some of her drivers “feel unclean†taking dogs.

This revelation so concerns Councillor Cesar Palacio he’s planning to investigate this as part of the review currently underway of Toronto’s taxi industry.

The two limo drivers, both of whom take dogs, say it’s no wonder clients with dogs are being turned away — they too feel they are being treated like second-class citizens by the airport authority.

“The GTAA caters to its licensed cars at the airport,†one told me over coffee, asking that I not use his name. “The majority of them are Middle Eastern.â€

The driver, who’s been in the business for 30-odd years, calls the GTAA policy that if drivers take a dog they have to conduct a “full cleaning†of their vehicles, a “bunch of baloney.

“When I started driving I was told I could not refuse a fare unless I felt threatened,†he said. “They have clout ... strength in numbers.â€

Gaetano Giornofelice, who operates A Happy Day Limousine out of Hamilton, says the GTAA-licensed drivers get “pretty much anything they want.â€

Giornofelice, who once took a snake as a passenger, says all you have to do is compare the two compounds — separated by a concrete barrier — where the 636 GTAA-licensed drivers and the pre-arranged drivers wait for their fares.

During a tour last Friday afternoon, I saw GTAA drivers gathered under a shady overhang doing their prayers on special mats and playing cards at bridge tables.

They also have a full-service cafeteria, a special shower stall (that is never used) and a variety of washrooms.

The other compound has no shade, two pop machines only and two stalls.

“It’s really appalling,†says Giornofelice. “Second class ... we’re lucky if we’re 90th class.â€

To add insult to injury, the GTAA is planning to raise their fee per limo ride from $13 to $15 starting Sept. 1 with no plans to improve what they are given in return.

In fact, GTAA spokesperson Trish Krale says the fees are being increased as part of the airport’s requirement to “generate non-aeronautical revenues†to offset the cost of airport operations and help reduce landing fees.

Asked whether the GTAA-licensed drivers will see a similar increase on their monthly fees, she responded not at this time.

The 30-year limo driver hinted at possible legal action to fight this purely “arbitrary†increase.

Meanwhile — despite the extra fees and the fact that the GTAA does not present a level playing field — he says their business keeps increasing precisely because of the demands of the GTAA drivers.

“We’re finding that our customers don’t mind paying (the extra) exactly because of the nonsense you went through,†he told me.

To that I will add a variation of the comment I made in last week’s column.

These drivers are in Canada now and if they refuse to take everyone, they should either be charged a penalty or lose their licenses.

They do so in Australia.

After all, if dogs are off limits, one can only wonder if they also refuse or drive past women they consider are dressed inappropriately.

Now if we could just get officials of the GTAA and the limo and taxi companies who pander to this nonsense in the name of political correctness to grow a spine.

*****

They’re taking us for a ride:

Number of limos and taxis licensed by the GTAA: 636

Monthly fee paid to GTAA per car: $650

Total paid yearly: $4.9 million

Amount monthly fee increasing Sept. 1: $0

Amenities for drivers: Compound with full-service cafeteria, a variety of washrooms, a shower, shaded area to pray.

No. of pre-arranged vehicles (sedans, vans, stretch limos and buses) estimated to pass through Pearson each day: 850

Sample of fees paid per ride (fees passed on to customer)

$13 for sedans, van, SUV

$90 for tour buses

Total paid yearly (estimated) by all categories: Up to $10 million

Fee increase Sept. 1:

$15 for sedans

$93 for tour buses

Amenities for drivers: Compound with two soda pop machines, two stalls and one urinal, no shade

The photo in the article makes it quite clear that the shaded prayer area is, um, not luxurious....

[Arete]

I'm just used to rabid carding, am I mean an obvious senior citizen is going to be asked to cough up ID at my grocery store because the policy is that EVERYONE has to show ID when buying liquor. No exceptions. You do not have to rely on the judgement of the cashier. Problem solved.

Fine the drivers that refuse dogs or revoke their priviledges to pick up at the airport. There is a kernel of truth here, in that if you give drivers the right to start refusing certain fares for religious reasons, any religious reason, it leaves the door wide open to refusing women, people they feel are gay, whatever happens to be railed at in any driver's particular religion.

As for the 2 stunts, Meh.

[Minerva]

Oh Lord, the people at Sun media are racist bastards. I have literally never seen or heard of a burqa being worn in Ontario besides when these idiots make a white kid wear one. Are they confusing the Niqab with a burqa again? Are they really that uneducated?

And LCBO staff have never carded my white ass, and I look about 16. You know, since we're relying on anecdotal evidence here.

[sippin0nsunshine]

I don't get this, really. I thought women in Burqa are allowed to show their faces as long as it is to a woman? So why couldn't the store have a female associate check the "woman" and her ID to make sure they match? They can't blame this on women in Burqa or even Islam in general, it's merely the store owner/cashier's fault for not doing what was necessary to make sure this wasn't an illegal sale.

[Deleted03]

Oh Lord, the people at Sun media are racist bastards. I have literally never seen or heard of a burqa being worn in Ontario besides when these idiots make a white kid wear one. Are they confusing the Niqab with a burqa again? Are they really that uneducated?

And LCBO staff have never carded my white ass, and I look about 16. You know, since we're relying on anecdotal evidence here.

I was carded every damn time. While in Montréal I was carded only once in 5 years and I was younger!

I would expect it from a small liquor store like in the US but in a government regulated store it's weird. Although it just proves that anyone can take advantage of that situation and buy liquor!

And Ottawa was super annoying : cats forbidden on buses and then only half the cabs would accept you with a cat in its box.

[tropaka]

I see the occasional burqa or niqab here in TO - but not in the LCBO. and yup - a female employee could've checked the id. I think really it's a matter of staff at LCBO not doing their job.

I think cabbies can refuse animals as long as it's not a service animal. Many muslim cabbies don't have an issue with dogs (or cats etc and so on) and some people are allergic; to me it's clear the columnist wanted a veiled muslim bashing story to fill her quota so she set it up.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Most of Sue-Ann Levy's columns are about bashing City Hall and claiming there's too much waste and/or incompetence. She's fiscally conservative, but conservative in Canada can still mean flaming liberal by American fundie standards. Ms. Levy, for example, wrote about her same-sex wedding where the rabbi was Debra Landsberg - daughter of a prominant left-wing feminist and sister-in-law of Naomi Klein.

From what I could tell, the article was a rant about the airport limos and their licensing fees and rules. Ordinary cabs aren't allowed to pick up fares at the airport, unless they are specifically called by a customer. She's giving ink to some of these non-licensed cabbies to vent. Quite frankly, this rant didn't even make much sense.

Dogs are not people (sorry, dog lovers!). Limo drivers have to comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, race, disability, etc. They are required to accommodate service dogs, as part of the requirement not to discriminate against people with disabilities. They are not required to accommodate pets in other situations.

Sure, some drivers are Middle Eastern. Others are from India or Africa. I've got a limo driver as a client who lists Diwali gifts as a business expense.

[Minerva]

I see the occasional burqa or niqab here in TO - but not in the LCBO. and yup - a female employee could've checked the id. I think really it's a matter of staff at LCBO not doing their job.

I think cabbies can refuse animals as long as it's not a service animal. Many muslim cabbies don't have an issue with dogs (or cats etc and so on) and some people are allergic; to me it's clear the columnist wanted a veiled muslim bashing story to fill her quota so she set it up.

Yeah, animals besides service animals are banned from most businesses, and I can't imagine cabs would be an exception.

[sassycupcake]

Is this Sun newspaper affiliated with SunTV? I was under the impression that SunTV is the Canadian Fox News, so if they're the same company, I'm not surprised.

[xDreamerx]

Yes, they are the same as far as I know.

I don't really have a problem with anything mentioned, except the possibility of refusing service to those with dogs. That shouldn't allowed even if someone is Muslim because it's something the person needs for their disability. Though I suspect that might be put in just to added just to adjitate people. I googled "cab drivers refusing service dogs" and came up with no news hits. The only web hits came from similar-minded sites like the Daily Fail and a website called "jihad watch" which I did not click because it's name speaks for itself.

Edit: I did find this about.com article from 2007. I can't say I agree.

http://atheism.about.com/b/2007/08/24/c ... qually.htm

The LCBO thing is just an issue of the employee not doing their job.

[Terrie]

All I can think is that someone who wears a burqa for religious reasons probably also follows the taboo on drinking alcohol.

[Minerva]

All I can think is that someone who wears a burqa for religious reasons probably also follows the taboo on drinking alcohol.

Exactly! Another reason why this stunt was beyond stupid.

ETA to be fair, I have a Muslim friend who bought his roommate beer for his 19th birthday (he bought the first case he saw in The Beer Store because he had no idea which brands are good, and his roommate ended up throwing it all up). Still, that 14-year-old boy is probably the first person in Ontario to buy liquor in a burqa/Niqab.