"we have an open society that they should be adopting. "

Really?  Open society, huh?  So if I ask them their name, their bank account number, or their address, they should be obligated to tell me that too?  No?  Then why are they obligated to show me their face?

I'm not a big fan of the niqab, because I do think it is a message to others that no interaction is desired, but that's OK.  Strangers do not owe me any interaction.

Your argument justifying this bill, like all the other arguments here, makes no sense and collapses on the slightest examination, because the *real* reason for this act is to satisfy the symbolic politics of Muslim bashing, not some professed concern for social harmony or public safety.  I'm just here to point that out.