Wanting to ban the veil, Quebec bans sunglasses, too

IN QUEBEC, Canada’s French-speaking province, it is illegal to talk to a librarian while wearing sunglasses. So is using a bus pass while shrouded in a scarf, no matter how bitter the weather. These prohibitions are the consequence of a law enacted in October whose real purpose is to ban Muslim women from wearing niqabs, or face veils, when they provide or receive public services. By widening the ban to all sorts of face covering it seeks to deflect the charge that it is based on religious animus. It does the job as well as a see-through burqa.