It turns out the boy was doing so at the behest of Sun News.
The Toronto Sun has the story here, and a related op-ed here.
From the story:
Three liquor stores in the GTA recently sold booze to a 14-year-old boy whose identity was hidden because he was wearing a full-length burka and face veil at the time.
The teenager, clad in an Islamic female’s traditional garb of a burka, headscarf and facial covering, shopped in three different LCBO stores north of Toronto last Wednesday.
In each location, the Grade 8 student paid cash for a bottle of Sambuca liqueur.
Ontario’s Liquor Licence Act requires that before liquor is sold, government-issued photo ID — a drivers licence, for example — must be inspected if the buyer is suspected of being under the legal drinking age of 19.
Under the LCBO’s Check 25 program, employees can ask for ID from people who appear under age 25 — a policy implemented in 1997 to prevent young people who appear older than their actual age from purchasing alcohol.
The stunt was co-ordinated and video recorded by Sun News Network host David Menzies, who has made a career out of lambasting Canada’s politically correct institutions.
Menzies said the unopened bottles — totalling just over $80 — were promptly taken from the teen at the day’s end but suggested the fact the boy was never asked to uncover his face or show photo identification at multiple store locations reveals a deeply ingrained reluctance on the part of Canadian institutions to challenge cultural practices, even when they conflict with broader societal goals such as preventing underage drinking.
“The reason why you have to unveil is that photo ID is absolutely useless if you don’t see the actual face of the person,” Menzies said, adding he came up with the idea after an acquaintance told him he had seen this happen at various LCBO locations.
“They didn’t ask for an unveiling, and they didn’t even ask for (photo identification) … You say you’re socially responsible, you have the policy codified … but nobody follows it,” Menzies said Monday.
From the op-ed:
One of the most significant local stories in recent times that has nationwide — if not worldwide — implications is the one that appeared in the Toronto Sun on Tuesday about the 14-year-old boy in a burka buying liquor with impunity.
Yes, it was a stunt orchestrated by Sun News host David Menzies, but it was not a stunt designed just to shock, but also to underline a problem.
And the problem is not 14-year-old Grade 8 boys buying booze, but of anyone wearing a burka or veil rarely being questioned.
Those who feel the staff are culpable at three LCBOs for not demanding the burka-clad person show a face, or at least ID as the law requires, miss the point.
Had they demanded the purchaser show a face or produce identity, they may well have feared being accused of prejudice or being motivated by hate.
Who can blame the LCBO cashier for not risking the wrath of human rights zealots who often seem to lack qualities of common sense that one would think would be a requirement for the job.
Nor is it unknown that Western “converts” to Islam use wearing the burka as a statement, and even a provocation.
The greater implications of this burka-and-booze story is that it could happen anywhere. Personally, I await with interest when the first burka-clad gang of robbers hits a bank, mindful of the Bill Murray movie Quick Change where the bank robbers were dressed as clowns to pull the job. Funny, but effective.
Pingback: Father Knows Best: Live Bait Edition « Patriactionary