Kirpan: Accused of armed assault, 13-year old pleads not guilty

During a fight with two other students, the young man shook a long hair pin in front of the two other students before pointing his kirpan towards them. His kirpan was wrapped in a piece of cloth. Suspended by the school, he was called by the west operations centre of the Montreal Police Department where he was questioned in the presence of his parents and his lawyer.

These accusations displeased lawyer Julius Grey who said that his young client never took out his kirpan and did not threaten anyone with it. “The decision belongs to the court but what shocks me is this case even exists. What happened was a simple fight between two 13-year old kids. We’re putting his education in danger. He has been falsely accused.”

An incident arose in an elementary school in LaSalle in 2006 when there was a debate concerning the wearing of a kirpan in school. On March 2, 2006, the Supreme Court decided in favour of Sikh students to wear the kirpan in schools, arguing that freedom of religion takes precedence over community security.