A group of local bikers think the Alberta government erred when they introduced an amendment in the Traffic Safety Act, exempting practicing members of the Sikh religion who are over the age of 18 from wearing a helmet while operating a motorcycle.

In order to make their voices heard, they are planning a Civil Disobedience Rally, where bikers are planning to ride from Lacombe to the Alberta legislature building in Edmonton, with some riders planning to ride without a helmet in protest of the amendment.

Jannaleigh Miller is one of the organizers of the event, and she says the purpose is to bring attention what she believes is the inequality of the law, which she says was created by the government.

“Am I comfortable being on Highway 2 without my lid? Absolutely not. But you can’t make exemptions for some. Under the Charter of Rights, it actually says we are to be all treated equal under the law. Well what they’ve done, is actually made discrimination within themselves, by changing the laws to exempt some… it negatively affects me because it takes my choice away whether I want to wear one or not.”

Miller says this isn’t about targeting the Sikh community, but about applying the law fairly to all people. She goes on to say that she gives them props for “beating the system”.

“Well the law says you have to wear a motorcycle helmet, so what’s the next thing, certain groups are gonna be exempt from hard hats on jobs because they don’t want to wear one,” she says.

“If you really want to be technical we can read the Bible and bring up Corinthians, and it says ‘No man ought to cover his head, for he was made in the image of God.’ So if we want to bring religion into it, therefore any man that believes in the Bible should also not have to put on a helmet because he is covering his hair. You can’t have double standards.”

Keith Wegner, another organizer of the Civil Disobedience Rally, says for him it’s not about being able to ride without a helmet; it’s about applying the law evenly to all groups.

“Personally I don’t want an exemption; I will wear my helmet whether the law is there or not. I think motorcycle riding is inherently dangerous, more so than driving any other automotive vehicle. So for me, I just want to be able to choose. I know what my choice already is, but I want everyone to have the right to choose. If one group has the right to choose we all have the right to choose.”

'The law treats us differently,' law prof says

Eric Adams is an associate professor of law at the University of Alberta, specializing in constitutional and employment law.

Adams says when it comes to religious exemption laws, it’s all about balancing religious freedom against public policy, and disagrees with Miller when she says that everyone is supposed to be treated equally under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Employers or institutions, under human rights law, have to treat people differently all the time on the basis of their human rights. So, if you run a bakery, and someone says that, ‘I’m not able to work on a Saturday because I’m a Seventh Day Adventist,’ the bakery can’t force you to do so. They’ve got to respect your human right to a religious freedom that would prevent you from working on a Saturday, so that people of different faiths can still have jobs and function, and have their religious freedoms protected,” he says.

“Now if I’m not a Seventh Day Adventist and I work at that same bakery, I’m going to have to work Saturday… the reason the law treats us differently is because we are differently-situated. In one case, one of us because of an honest religious rationale, can’t work on Saturday, and for me, I would just prefer not to work on Saturday. Those two things are not equal obligations, so the law treats us differently, and demands different treatment under the law.”

Adams also points to an exemption to the Alberta Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Regulation, which was in place until 2003, which allowed about 450 Hutterites in Alberta to be exempt from having their photos taken for their driver’s licence, citing religious objections. More than half of those were from the Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony in southern Alberta.

The Supreme Court of Canada eventually ruled Hutterites had to take photos for their licences.

When it comes to some non-Sikh riders saying they are being discriminated against contrary to Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guarantees equality rights regardless of race, sexual preferences, mental or physical disability, Adams says that argument has been used unsuccessfully in court before, and it likely wouldn’t succeed in this case.

“That is because courts have said the equality rights provision in the Charter does not demand that people are treated the same. It demands that people not be discriminated against, by having their disadvantages exacerbated,” he says.

“It prevents people from being discriminated against who are already suffering inequalities because of a disadvantaged position they are holding in society, or because courts have also said because of stereotyping, or prejudice, that those people are not equal.”

Valuing the lives and dignity of the individuals wearing the helmet is the reason for the helmet law in the first place, Adams says.

But if it’s so important, why allow some individuals to be exempt from it?

“Because some individuals, because of honest, good faith religious reasons, are not capable of riding with a helmet,” he says.

“Then we want to have a law that actually allows their participation in this lawful activity, which otherwise they would be excluded from participating in because of a mandatory helmet law.”

Adams says from the government’s point of view, it’s a relatively small number of riders who willingly take the risk, with their religious objection putting them in a different category than the motorcycle rider who just wants to feel the wind in their hair.

According to the 2011 Census, Alberta had more than 52,000 people who identified as Sikh, the third largest population in Canada.

Alberta joined Manitoba and British Columbia, who already offered the helmet exemption for Sikh riders.

The Civil Disobedience Rally is on Sept. 15 at noon, with the starting point being Michener Park here in Lacombe.

Hats intended for humor, says organizer

Hats are also available for pre-order for the event, at a small cost. They display a red turban on a black background with the words ‘ACME Turban Company’ on the front.

ACME is a reference to the fictional company in Looney Tunes, whose products are used by Wile E Coyote to catch the Road Runner. Some of those products include anvils, magnets, traps and explosives.

Miller says, “it’s a bit of humor, saying the hats afford us the same protection of a turban.” 

The hat for the rally, available by pre-order

When asked if she’s worried it might offend or paint their group as being insensitive, Miller says, “Everybody thinks too much of sensitivity. Honestly everything seems to offend everybody, or everybody is too sensitive. If it offends you or hurts your feelings then that’s fine, you’re allowed to feel that way, but that doesn’t necessary mean they’re right or I’m wrong. Or vice versa. Everybody can have their opinion, but it doesn’t mean it’s right and doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

Riders can choose whether or not to wear a helmet during the rally, but will be at risk of getting a ticket if they are non-Sikhs.

Lacombe Police Chief Lorne Blumhagen says the bikers absolutely have the right to protest, but peace officers will still be enforcing the law that day.

“We will have further conversations with the organizers and let them know that this will not be sanctioned by the police, and that we will still have an obligation to enforce the Traffic Safety Act and regulations.”

Last checked the Civil Disobedience Rally Facebook page had over 1,000 members.

bike rally poster