Elected officials at the Ontario legislature are preparing for another day of potential incidents inside the house as the NDP pledges to “defy” a ban on wearing the keffiyeh in an attempt to overturn it.
In a video posted to social media at the end of April, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles challenged Premier Doug Ford to get his caucus in line and work to overturn a ban on wearing the Arab headdress inside Queen’s Park.
“We decided to give the government until May 6 to reverse this unjust rule or expect us and the community to defy the ban,” Stiles said on April 26. “Doug Ford it’s time for you to do the right thing. It’s time to reverse the keffiyeh ban and it’s time for us to come together as one community and fight anti-Palestinian racism, hate and division.”
Speaker Ted Arnott banned the keffiyeh, a black and white checkered scarf typically worn in Arab cultures and often used to symbolize solidarity with Palestinians, this spring.
Arnott decided it was a “political statement” and therefore violated the strict rules that stop MPPs from using props or clothing to send a message while sitting inside the house.
After more than a week of incidents inside the legislature over the ban — opposed by Ford, the NDP, Ontario Liberals and Greens but not some within the Progressive Conservative caucus — Stiles said she was setting a deadline for the premier .
More on Politics
Neither Stiles, nor the NDP, have said what defying the ban might actually mean.
If members of her party wore the keffiyeh within the legislature it is likely they would be asked to removed by the Speaker and, if they refused, they would be told to leave. The Speaker has the power to order for them to be removed from the chamber if they disobey him but chose not to apply that to independent MPP Sarah Jama recently when she refused to remove her keffiyeh. Instead, Jama was ‘named’, which stopped her from voting or taking part in any other official activities like contributing to committees for the rest of the day.
As the Official Opposition, the NDP also has opposition motions it could potentially use to force a vote on the issue. The result of that vote, while potentially symbolic, would not actually compel either the Speaker or the government to do anything.
The party could also seek unanimous consent to overturn the ban, asking all members of the house to agree verbally to the move. Several attempts to remove the keffiyeh ban that way have already failed with Progressive Conservative MPPs voting them down.
The premier has called the ban “divisive” but after being stared down by members of his caucus has allowed his party to vote freely on the issue.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.