An NDP motion to allow keffiyehs to be worn in the Ontario legislature has failed as it did not receive unanimous consent after at least one member voted against it.Tara Todras-Whitehill/The Canadian Press
A motion in the Ontario legislature to scrap a ban on the traditional keffiyeh scarf – often worn by Arabs and Muslims but also an emblem of the Palestinian cause – failed after at least one Progressive Conservative MPP blocked it, revealing a divide inside Premier Doug Ford’s governing party.
The Premier – as well as Official Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner – had urged Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse his recent ruling that the scarf is a political statement and disallowed under the legislature’s long-established rules. Other legislatures, including the House of Commons, have allowed the scarf.
Ms. Stiles rose in the legislature on Thursday, calling the keffiyeh cultural and not political and seeking unanimous consent to override Mr. Arnott, a procedure routinely used to allow the wearing of sports jerseys, or ribbons denoting support for a charitable cause. PC MPP Robin Martin was the only member who could clearly be heard saying “No.” Both Mr. Arnott and Liberal MPP John Fraser said they heard several noes.
Both Ms. Stiles and Mr. Fraser, the Liberal House Leader, said it was now up to the Premier to come forward with a motion to restore the keffiyeh and ensure his PC caucus supports it.
Thursday’s result means the scarf remains banned both in the chamber and the halls of Queen’s Park.
There has been continuing debate in the province and country at large over Israel’s assault on Gaza in retaliation for the attacks launched by Hamas on Oct. 7. But the keffiyeh episode also exposed divisions inside Mr. Ford’s caucus on an issue that has previously caused schisms in the Ontario NDP and the federal Liberals.
PC MPPs had been told by the Premier’s office to stay out of the chamber if they disagreed with the NDP consent motion, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source as they were not authorized to speak publicly about caucus deliberations.
The source also said the Premier had told his party’s MPPs not to speak about the issue, to avoid inflaming tensions ahead of the coming by-election in Milton, Ont., which has a large Muslim population. The PC candidate there, Zee Hamid, issued a social-media statement backing the Premier’s call for an end to the ban.
Mr. Ford, who was not in the legislature on Thursday, told reporters at an appearance in Oakville before the vote on the keffiyeh that he wanted to avoid more conflict on the issue.
“We see the division right now that’s going on. It’s not healthy and this will just divide the community even more,” he said, going on to add that he has many friends in the Jewish community and a Muslim son-in-law.
Caitlin Clark, a spokeswoman for the Premier, declined to comment on the party dissension or on what steps would be taken next.
It remains open for MPPs to move future motions to vary House rules and allow the keffiyeh. Mr. Arnott told reporters he would welcome any such motion but that his ruling on the scarf being political stands.
Speaking to reporters after the vote, Ms. Martin – a vocal supporter of Israel who represents Eglinton-Lawrence, a Toronto riding with many Jewish constituents – said she believed the Speaker was right to ban the keffiyeh as “political clothing” and that she didn’t know of any party sanctions she would face for defying the Premier.
“We can’t wear T-shirts that say ‘Free the Hostages’ or wrap ourselves in a flag or whatever,” Ms. Martin said. “We have to follow the rules of the legislature.”
Ottawa PC MPP and former cabinet minister Lisa MacLeod, who was not in the legislature on Thursday, supported Ms. Martin on social media. In an e-mailed statement to The Globe, she backed Mr. Arnott’s original ruling for keeping debate focused on the words in the House and not “political props.”
Mr. Arnott, who is also the PC MPP for the riding of Wellington-Halton Hills, told the House that he had come to his decision after “considerable research and reflection.” He told reporters after the vote on Thursday that he had made the ruling some time in the past several weeks, after an MPP – whom he declined to name – complained about another member seen wearing one. He said it reflected “long-established practice.”
Few if any MPPs have been seen wearing the keffiyeh in the chamber, other than former NDP MPP Sarah Jama. She now sits as an Independent after being ejected from her party and sanctioned by the legislature over comments she made after the Hamas attacks on Israel.
Jeff Gray
Laura Stone