There are more than 4,000 religions in the world. Hockey, as fanatic a draw as it is, does not count among them.
But that won’t stop one Alberta man, Ken Egilsson, from declaring the sport as his religion as a measure of staunch defiance against rules that prohibit the wearing of caps in government ID documents. He was recently asked to remove his Edmonton Oilers cap when taking a picture for driver’s licence.
“We say all the time we have a separation between church and state in Canada,” says Egilsson.
“You should not be allowed to use any religious or cultural beliefs to circumvent laws that we already have in place. If certain people or certain groups are allowed to cover their head, then I should be able to cover my head based on equality.”
What he’s getting at, of course, is that since Muslims are allowed to wear head coverings for such photos, for example, he should be able to do the same because he really, really likes his Edmonton Oilers cap and has “personally been on skates since I was four years old.”
The issue has divided Canadians, though not by any reasonable standard. No, what Ken’s protest has done is polarize cap-wearers and those with undecorated heads.
“The guys that I know that wear hats support me,” he said. “The guys that don’t wear hats go, ‘What does it really matter?'” he says.
Opinion online is equally divided:
And if you think he’s f*cking around, you don’t know Ken Egilsson – the man says he’ll take the matter all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.
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Photo: CBC/Facebook