As the bombardment of Homs continued in early December and casualties rose nationwide as a result of the Assad regime’s ongoing crimes against the Syrian people, Canada’s largest petroleum producer, Alberta-based Suncor Energy, quietly issued a press release stating that the corporation was finally leaving Syria “as a result of sanctions on Syria announced by the European Union.”

The Dec. 11 release, an otherwise dry financial statement that positioned the move as a business measure, failed to state that the oil giant -- known in Syria by the name Petro-Canada --could no longer operate in a nation that for the past year had escalated the scale and brutality of the violence it had inflicted on its citizens for decades. Rather, it repeated the same pithy concern for the safety and security of the Syrian people that had been its line throughout a year when the corporation was forced to respond directly to the human rights questions raised by grass roots activists here in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, known to be bold, has taken another audacious, perhaps rash, step forward by decreeing that Muslim women who wear face veils must remove them when taking the oath of citizenship.

For many Canadians, this isn’t a major issue. While many Muslim women in Canada wear the hijab (head scarf), very few don the niqab or burqa that exposes just the eyes.

The decision, however, raises questions about how far the state should go to accommodate minorities and the lengths to which minorities need to go to adjust to Canadian ways in a country that is becoming more diverse. This matter is being debated in a low key.