Jaspal Singh Gill said his dream of becoming a police officer was “broken”

A Winnipeg man has sparked a debate over religious freedom by claiming he was barred from taking a police recruitment exam because he was carrying a Sikh kirpan.Jaspal Singh Gill said his dream of becoming a police officer was “shattered” when he was allegedly asked to remove a ceremonial dagger before sitting for the Winnipeg Police Service recruitment exam.“A Winnipeg man says his religious rights were violated because he was not allowed to bring his ceremonial dagger to a Winnipeg Police Service recruitment exam. He is apologizing and says he may file a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission,” CTV anchor Daniel Helmerson said in introducing the report.Gill says he comes from a family of police officers in India and it had been his long-time ambition to join the force.“My goal was to become a police officer like my father and grandfather. […] I was told I couldn’t bring it [the kirpan] Inside. This is a violation of my religious rights,” he said.According to Gill, recruitment staff told him he would not be allowed to sit for the exam unless he removed the kirpan, which Sikhs are required to wear as part of their faith.“My long-time personal goal was to join the police service as my grandfather and father were police officers in India,” Gill said.He added, “The recruiting officer came up to me and told me, like, you have to take off your saber to take the test.”The Kirpan is one of the five ‘K’s’ in Sikhism and is considered a sacred article of faith symbolizing courage, justice and the duty to protect others. It resembles a small dagger but Sikhs claim that it is not intended to be used as a weapon.“We wear it to symbolize our courage and our responsibility to fight against injustice,” Gill said.Gill said he refused to remove the saber and instead decided to leave the examination centre.He said, “I had to do that, like my dream was shattered at that time. I believe it is discrimination because all the other participants were allowed, but I was not allowed just because I was wearing a kirpan, which is a symbol of faith in Sikhism.”In a statement to CTV News, the Winnipeg Police Service defended its actions, saying the Sikh applicant was offered a compromise of putting the dagger aside until the exam was over.A police spokesperson said, “We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and religious communities. The option to safely store the saber for the duration of the examination has been accepted by many applicants in the past and has enabled them to complete the testing process.”But Gill argued that his Charter rights had been violated and pointed to previous Supreme Court of Canada decisions protecting the wearing of sabers in public places.“Khalsa is allowed to wear kirpan in court, is allowed to wear kirpan in assembly, is allowed to wear kirpan in domestic flights,” he said.Legal expert Neil MacArthur, a professor at the University of Manitoba, said Gill may have strong grounds if he takes legal action.“Given that we have a Supreme Court precedent that was pretty clear, I think his chances in the court process are probably pretty good,” MacArthur said.Gill said he has already contacted a local MLA and filed a freedom of information request to learn more about the police service’s policy. Despite the controversy, he insists that he has not given up on his goal of becoming a police officer.