For the first time ever, Jewish RCMP officers can now wear kippot on duty

RCMP officers at Richmond Jewish Day School in Richmond, B.C. (Photo courtesy BC RCMP's Facebook page)

While RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki has been in the hot seat all summer, facing an inquiry into the mass shooting that struck Nova Scotia in 2020, she’s also been quietly working on another project with a huge impact on Canadian Jews. For the first time in the history of the RCMP, Jewish members and cadets will be permitted to wear a kippah while on duty.

It began with a request—which was denied—from a Jewish officer in B.C. to wear the Jewish head covering. B’nai Brith’s human rights arm got involved, snowballing into an official move by the federal police to match what they’d already done for turbans and hijabs: pay for the design and creation of a regulation RCMP kippah. While we won’t see it for a while, in the interim, Jewish staff can bring their own.

Marvin Rotrand, the director of B’nai Brith Canada’s League for Human Rights, joins to discuss what went on behind the scenes of this groundbreaking move for Canada’s national police.

What we talked about:

Credits

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