Ontario PC MPPs again veto lifting keffiyeh ban at Queen’s Park, despite Ford support

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Several Ontario Progressive Conservative MPPs have again opposed their own Premier and vetoed the lifting of a ban on the keffiyeh at Queen’s Park, leaving a ruling in place that the traditional scarf – long associated with the Palestinian cause – is a political symbol and not allowed.

On Tuesday, Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles moved a motion – the second attempt in less than a week – saying the scarf is cultural, not political, and seeking the required unanimous consent of MPPs to overturn the decision by Speaker Ted Arnott, which applies not just to MPPs in the chamber but to staffers and visitors in the building’s halls.

Despite Premier Doug Ford’s support for lifting the ban, a position shared with all party leaders at Queen’s Park, several in his PC caucus said No during the oral vote, including Toronto MPP Robin Martin and Ottawa MPP Lisa MacLeod. The House then recessed briefly after a small group of protesters in the public gallery were removed for taking out kaffiyehs and chanting “Free, Free Palestine.” Mr. Ford was not in the chamber.

Ms. Martin, a vocal supporter of Israel, had issued a statement before Tuesday’s vote saying she could face “political repercussions” for objecting to lifting the ban. Speaking to reporters afterward, she said the keffiyeh had once been a cultural symbol but that it had been “appropriated by the left” in the House of Commons, where it is allowed, and at Queen’s Park.

The Premier, who has called the Speaker’s ban divisive, told reporters later Tuesday afternoon that on this sensitive topic, he believed in letting MPPs vote as they please – with no punishment for disagreeing with his view.

“I believe in this one situation when it comes to something this significant, very sensitive in communities on both sides, they have a free vote,” he said after a PC caucus meeting.

He said all of his MPPs were all able to “speak freely” at Tuesday’s closed-door meeting and that they left feeling united and “1,000 times better.”

The Globe and Mail has previously reported that PC MPPs had been told by the Premier’s office to stay out of the chamber if they disagreed with the NDP’s first attempt at a consent motion last week. They were also told not to speak about the issue, The Globe reported, to avoid inflaming tensions ahead of the May 2 by-election in Milton, which has a large Muslim population.

Despite the ban, the only MPP who has worn a keffiyeh in the chamber recently – Hamilton Centre independent Sarah Jama – pulled one out and draped it over her shoulders right after the vote on Tuesday morning, wearing it for all of Question Period with no repercussions.

Ms. Jama, who was ejected from the NDP caucus and censured by the House last fall over statements she made after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, said it was “ridiculous” to debate what MPPs can wear amid the death of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Israel’s military action in Gaza.

“Cultural clothing gets made to be political all of the time,” Ms. Jama told reporters, saying the scarf was originally worn by Palestinian farmers to shield themselves from the sun.

The Speaker told reporters that from his seat at the front of the chamber he could not see the pattern on Ms. Jama’s scarf. She sits at the far opposite end of the House.

“I come into the chamber to start Question Period, I don’t do a scan of what everyone’s wearing as my first priority,” Mr. Arnott said. “If it’s drawn to my attention by way of a point of order, I’d obviously have to deal with it.”

The legislature’s rules have long banned political clothing or signs, but MPPs often move unanimous consent motions to allow the wearing of ribbons or buttons denoting support for charitable causes.

Before Tuesday’s vote, members of the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, wearing kaffiyehs, were denied entry to the legislative building where they were to meet with Ms. Stiles. She spoke with the group outside.