So now we know. If re-elected, Stephen Harper may well bring down the full weight of his Conservative government on the heads of the vanishingly few Canadian women who veil their faces for religious or cultural reasons. Vote Tory, vote for a culture war on a handful of women.

After trying to prevent a Muslim woman from taking the citizenship oath while veiled, and being slapped down by Federal Court, Harper is at it again. Taking a nasty cue from Quebec’s sterile and divisive identity debate, Harper is “going to examine” forcing women who work for the federal government to go unveiled when they deliver services to the public, and forcing anyone who gets services to be unveiled as well.

Great. Service Canada Centres would suddenly be niqab-free zones. Would that speed things up?

Just how low are the Conservatives prepared to stoop in order to cling to power? There doesn’t seem to be a floor. Just how far are they prepared to go, demonizing law-abiding, tax-paying Canadian citizens who happen to be Muslim, as they troll for votes in the darker recesses of the voter pool?

Let’s be clear: A lot of Canadians are uncomfortable with the veil. Some see it as oppressive to women. Others see it as a sign of alienation from the wider culture. Some even take it as a positive rejection of our society. The Conservatives have exploited this antipathy ruthlessly, throughout the campaign.

But for the women who wear the veil, and who have chosen to make Canada their home, it is chiefly a sign of religious identity, not of hostility to others. In that sense it differs not a lot from the wimples worn by Christian nuns and wigs worn by Orthodox Jewish women. Yes, in some Muslim cultures the face is covered. But who does that hurt? Exactly no one. To this day, some brides veil their faces walking up the aisle, unoppressed and unalienated.

Most Canadians may not like the veil, but most would agree that a woman’s religious freedom counts for something. So does her right to dress as she pleases. And her right, as a member of a minority group, not to be discriminated against.

That’s the principled stance taken by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who has all but begged Harper to stop fanning division. “Stop this before someone truly gets hurt,” Trudeau said this week. “We’ve had women attacked in the streets for wearing hijabs and niqabs. This is not Canada.” He’s right. We are better than this.

New Democratic Leader Tom Mulcair, too, has distinguished himself by boldly denouncing Harper’s “dangerous game.” If anything Mulcair has more to lose than Trudeau by taking the high road, given that the NDP party’s strength is in Quebec where anti-niqab sentiment runs deeper than elsewhere. Mulcair’s decency is a badge of honour.

Had this election been fought a generation ago, the Harper Conservatives would no doubt have pandered to anti-Sikh prejudice by vowing to deny Mounties the right to wear turbans. Back in the late 1980s when Harper served as the old Reform party’s policy chief, that was official party policy. Today, it’s all about niqabs.

As the Star has argued before, Harper and the Tories have spent much of this election campaign fanning socially corrosive hostility toward Muslims and pandering to nativist sentiments by hyping a manufactured issue: the veil. While the tactic may resonate with a segment of the public, it is a ploy to distract attention from Harper’s dismal record on accountable government, respect for the Constitution, job creation, social investment, fair taxation and the environment. Those are the things that matter.

Canadians deserve better than a cynically hyped furor over an issue that, in the words of Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, “is relevant to exactly no one.” On Oct. 19, voters will get the chance to pass judgment on this ugly campaign.

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