US apologizes to Canadian cabinet minister asked to remove turban

The U.S. is issuing an apology after a member of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet was asked to remove his turban by TSA agents.

It happened at an airport in Detroit. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains revealed in a televised interview to CTV News how security agents repeatedly asked him to remove his turban even after he’d already passed through security and was at his departure gate. Bains is a devout Sikh, writing on his Facebook page wearing a turban is “considered one of the most dutiful acts for a person of the faith.” He says he was only able to fly after showing his diplomatic passport.

According to French site La Presse, Canadian officials contacted the U.S. government to complain and received an apology.

According to the Washington Post, Bains says he decided to go public with his story to raise awareness about diversity and inclusion. Writing to his Facebook page, “Unfortunately these types of incidents do occur from time to time to minorities in particular. But it should never become the norm.”

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