I have no problem with a Muslim hijab, nor a Sikh turban, nor a Christian cross, but a niqab or burka is a step too far.  Some accommodation is needed by immigrants to this country as well.  Requiring them to show their face in public is not too onerous.  If they really can't then they need to stay inside their own homes.  If their religion and families require them to be that cut off from society that they cannot have normal Canadian interaction face to face, then I don't see much difference.  The Koran asks for modesty.  That can be attained by a hijab - which is what the majority of Muslim women have worn through the centuries.  Only male dominance and subjugation of women is gained by a burka. If the women wearing them believe they have more freedom (from male looks) in them, it speaks more to the misogyny allowed and encouraged in their own culture than to religiosity.