Gilles Duceppe explains niqab position shift

Bloc QubcoisLeader Gilles Duceppesays banning the niqab in public service will be a priority of his if elected.

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"I think it's important, it is a question of principle of women being equal to men in our society," he said on CBC Daybreak on Tuesday morning.

That's a far cry from his stance several months ago, when in an interview with CBC Daybreak host Mike Finnertyhe said, "We have to debate politely with people if we want to convince them."

Duceppe said he never agreed with Quebec's proposed charter of secular values.

Rather, he said, he still believed in the recommendations made by the Bouchard-TaylorCommission on religious accommodations in Quebec namely, that people should have their faces uncovered when receiving or giving state services.