Ontario legislature keffiyeh ban loosened, but not overturned as Hamilton MPP ejected

By

Published May 6, 2024 at 1:05 pm

The Speaker of Ontario’s legislature says politicians, staff and visitors will be allowed to enter the building while wearing a keffiyeh, but he is upholding his ban on the scarf inside the legislative chamber.

Sarah Jama, who sits as an independent after being booted from the NDP caucus last year over comments about the Isreal-Hamas war, put on a keffiyeh as question period started today, in defiance of the ban, and was asked to leave.

Members of the NDP caucus, Joel Harden and Kristyn Wong-Tam, also put on scarves and left in solidarity with Jama.

A keffiyeh is a checkered scarf typically worn in Arab cultures that has come to symbolize solidarity with Palestinians, and Speaker Ted Arnott says he concluded that it is being worn to make an overt political statement, which is against the rules of the legislature.

Jama was previously asked to leave the legislature for wearing a keffiyeh on April 25. However, that time she refused to leave. Arnott faced significant criticism for trying to eject Jama at the time, including from her federal counterpart Hamilton MP Matthew Green.

Videos

national bank brampton
5 styles of desserts in Tokyo: Top 5 in Tokyo with Khaled Iwamura, S4 EP1
the urban farmer in burlington ontario

Arnott says since his initial ruling the issue has become politicized and fostered division, so before the start of question period today he says the ban will not apply to people entering the legislative precinct, only within the chamber.

Arnott noted that if a member asks for and receives unanimous consent to wear a keffiyeh in the legislature from all members of provincial parliament, it will be allowed.

The Canadian Press with files from Liam McConnell, Insauga

INsauga's Editorial Standards and Policies