Canada: Over 100 Sikh Security Guards Lose Jobs Under A Public Health Rule Mandating Them To Be Clean-shaven

Since April this year, more than 100 Sikh security guards stationed at various properties in Toronto have been laid off, relocated, or demoted to lower-ranking positions under a rule requiring them to be clean-shaven.

According to city's public health regulation in light of COVID-19 outbreaks, security guards are required to wear N95 masks when they are working at city facilities.

In a compliant, the World Sikh Organisation (WSO) said that security guard contractors for the city were not accommodating Sikh employees who have facial hair for religious reasons and cannot wear N95 masks.

The WSO also has demanded that the city authorities immediately address the issue and change what it called a "discriminatory" rule that require security guards to be clean-shaven.

The WSO demanded that the city change what it termed a "discriminatory" rule included in its contracts that require security guards in some settings to be clean-shaven.

The organisation called urged the city authorities to compensate and order its contractors to reinstate about 100 bearded Sikh guards lost their jobs due to the rule.

In March 2020, the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) mandated N95 masks for all its members. But the police retracted the decision six months later, after a campaign by the World Sikh Organisation.