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Niqab war of words sparks #PeopleLikeNenshi on Twitter

Niqab war of words sparks #PeopleLikeNenshi on Twitter

It’s not called the politics of division for nothing.

A war of words has broken out between Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Conservative candidate Jason Kenney over the Tories’ take on the niqab issue.

Nenshi sparked the verbal spar during an interview Wednesday on the radio show “Everything is Political.”

“This is unbelievably dangerous stuff,” Nenshi said. “I spoke with a group of mayors and councillors from all over Alberta last week, and in my speech with all of these people from small town Alberta, I stood up and said this is disgusting and it is time for us to say stop it — to say this is enough.”

The Calgary mayor decried the “dog whistle politics” being played out on the federal hustings, noting that millions of dollars of taxpayer money is being spent on a federal appeal to try and hold up the ban.

The comments did not go unnoticed by Kenney, who was the citizenship and immigration minister that brought in the ban on women wearing a niqab while taking their oath of citizenship — a ban that has affected all of two women since the rule went into place in 2011.

It’s “unfortunate that some politically correct liberals have rushed to the defence” of the niqab, Kenney told the Calgary Herald.

“If anything’s dangerous, it would be legitimizing a medieval tribal custom that treats women as property rather than people,” he told the newspaper.

“It seems to me that it’s the mayor and people like him who are politicizing it. I don’t think this should be an issue of contention.”

Nenshi responded via Twitter.

“People like me,’ eh? Let’s just assume (Jason Kenney) means ’thoughtful people,’ shall we?” he posted on the social media site, where he has an impressive following.

The Twitterverse responded with the hashtag #PeopleLikeNenshi, which was quickly trending in Canada.

“Canada is lucky to have #peoplelikeNenshi who stand up to the politics of fear & division. Thank you @nenshi for joining this conversation,” Justin Trudeau posted on the social media site.

“If the HarperCONs represent what being Canadian means, I will take #peoplelikeNenshi #thosepeople and #rogues any & every day,” wrote Tanya Kappo, @nehiyahskwew.

#peoplelikeNenshi is righteous, but it should be #FascistsLikeKenney,” added Glen type guy, @canadianglen

“Mr. Kenney, when you say #PeopleLikeNenshi, do you mean mayors? Progressive thinkers? Or something of a different shade?” Marty Chan, @Marty_Chan.

The niqab issue has become a top issue in the campaign — and not by accident.

A few weeks ago the Tories brought in as a campaign adviser Australian political strategist Lynton Crosby, whose resume includes the successful campaigns of British Prime Minister David Cameron and former Australian prime minister John Howard.

He is also the man credited for what has come to be known as the “dead cat strategy” in the United Kingdom. Former London mayor Boris Johnson explained the approach a couple of years ago.

“Let us suppose you are losing an argument,” Johnson wrote in the Telegraph. “The facts are overwhelmingly against you, and the more people focus on the reality the worse it is for you and your case.

“Your best bet in these circumstances is to perform a manoeuvre that a great campaigner describes as ‘throwing a dead cat on the table, mate.’”

The niqab issue, which Harper’s critics deem a “dead cat,” has led headlines and cost Tom Mulcair support in the NDP stronghold of Quebec.