In Ontario, Sikh helmet law runs over human rights
Human rights matter. Motorcycles not so much. But in Doug Ford’s Ontario, the two have now been placed on an equal footing.
As of Thursday, observant Sikhs have gained a special exemption from the Progressive Conservative government to ride helmetless, at high speed, on Ontario’s highways. Promise made, promise kept. That’s a slogan you’ll hear the PC government recite endlessly in public. But Ford’s decision to exempt Sikh motorcyclists — who had lobbied previous Liberal governments and fought in the courts without success — merited a far more muted announcement last week.
Donning a leather vest, the premier was spirited to Brampton for an unannounced photo-op with Sikh motorcyclists, to which only local ethnic media were summoned. For some unexplained reason, all the major news outlets that cover Queen’s Park on a full-time basis did not receive the customary invitations to this media event, lest they witness Ford’s conversion to the cause.
The right to wear a turban on the job, and serve on our police forces, has long been Canadian law.
But the requirement that all motorcycle riders wear helmets has also long been Ontario law. It wasn’t always that way. Until a few decades ago, turbans were banned from legion halls and police forces — until society came to recognize the reasonable accommodation of a basic religious right.
Until a few decades ago, motorcycle helmets were voluntary — until governments came to realize that certified head protection was a reasonable infringement on personal freedoms.
Ever since, Sikh motorcycle clubs have advocated for special treatment on the grounds that helmets crimp their style — or more precisely, their beliefs. It would be wrong to say those appeals fell on deaf ears over all those years, but after careful consideration, our courts and governments rejected the arguments.
In 2008, a judge dismissed the claim by a Sikh motorcyclist, citing the “unquestioned safety and related issues” that make any accommodation unreasonable.
Jagmeet Singh, now the federal NDP leader but at the time an MPP, took up the cause in 2014. So, too, did several Liberal MPPs, who importuned then-premier Kathleen Wynne to grant an exemption.
Wynne responded with an open letter explaining that the data didn’t add up.
“A thorough review of five years of crash data showed that riders without helmets involved in a collision had a 17 per cent greater risk of being killed or seriously injured, “she wrote at the time. “Mortality rates for motorcyclists have gone down 30 per cent and head injury rates have gone down 75 per cent” with mandatory helmets.
Fast forward to 2018, with another premier courting the ethnic vote in much the same way. Except that instead of weighing the evidence, Ford has counted the votes.
Notwithstanding his aborted plan to suspend fundamental freedoms in the Charter of Rights — in last month’s mundane dispute over city council’s seat size — Ford has now found religion.
“We listened to the Sikh community and we intend to exempt them, “Ford declared. “Our government also believes that individuals have personal accountability and responsibility with respect to their own well-being.”
It’s an interesting argument, more ideological than religious. Which is what led the Sun newspaper chain to editorialize that the logical extension would be to let all Ontarians be personally responsible for their own wellbeing — and equally exempted from helmets.
But society has long embraced the utility — and necessity — of seatbelts and motorcycle helmets. Not just because they save precious lives, but save precious dollars when the injured are taken to hospital with preventable head injuries; it’s not merely the cost in blood, but the drain on the treasury (not to mention the potential rise in insurance premiums for all drivers).
There’s a reason that our laws recognized the rights of turbaned Sikhs to pursue their livelihoods — whether by modifying police uniforms, or designing special hair coverings that fit under helmets. Our society places the highest value on human rights.
But there is no human right to motorcycles.
Canada is not a developing country where motorcycling is an essential means of transport for the poor to get to work. If you can’t afford a car, you can always carpool, hop on public transit, or use Uber.
In any case, Sikh motorcyclists are hardly pleading poverty. They are crying discrimination.
Now, Ford is a fellow freedom rider, hopping aboard this selfstyled civil-rights cause while hoping most Ontarians won’t notice. Or is he taking them — and us — for a ride?