The controversial keffiyeh ban at Queen’s Park has led to one elected official facing removal from the chamber.
Independent MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Ontario legislature Thursday morning after refusing to remove her keffiyeh, which the speaker has designated to be a political prop and thus banned from Queen’s Park. Jama has refused to leave, despite the speaker’s request Jama was allowed to stay in the legislature Wednesday after refusing to adhere to the ban.
The same day, protesters brandishing keffiyehs in the gallery disrupted the provincial legislative session, causing Arnott to call for a recess three minutes after question period began.
When asked about the incident at a press conference today, Premier Doug Ford told reporters he had nothing to do with it.
“The speaker runs the legislature, I don’t, that was his choice and he is the one who runs the legislature,” Ford said.
Government house leader Paul Calandra has also stressed that the speaker – not the government – made the decision.
The keffiyeh has been a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israel since the Arab Revolt in Palestine in 1936. The armed uprising sought an end to Jewish immigration and independence from British rule. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the keffiyeh has had renewed use by activists aligning themselves with the Palestinian cause.
NDP MPP Joel Harden said in the legislature that the scarf represents trade routes, fishing nets and olive trees in Palestine and should be celebrated, not banned.
“The ban on the keffiyeh in this house, in my opinion, only contributes to the rise of dehumanization, polarization and hatred that we have seen, it divides us,” Harden said. “When the civil liberties of Palestinian Canadians are under threat, I believe it impacts every single person in this building, it is a stain on the fabric of this house.”
Jama, the only person wearing a keffiyeh in the house, is not Palestinian.
Jama was not immediately available for comment.
