Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles is set to lay out the “next steps” Tuesday in a bid to overturn a controversial ban that prevents keffiyehs from being worn in the provincial legislature.
Stiles’ latest effort comes after a unanimous consent motion to have the prohibition overturned tabled by the NDP last week failed.
At least one Progressive Conservative MPP voted against it, despite Premier Doug Ford also calling for a reversal. Ford has said the ban “needlessly divides the people of our province.”
House Speaker Ted Arnott, himself a PC MPP for the riding of Wellington–Halton Hills, instituted the ban earlier this month.
Keffiyehs are a commonly worn scarf among Arabs, but hold special significance to Palestinian people. They have been a frequent sight among pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the violence in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war continues.
Arnott says keffiyehs are being worn to make an overt political statement and that the ban conforms with longstanding conventions of decorum in the legislature. In a statement last week, Arnott said he would reconsider the ban if the house passes a unanimous consent motion calling on him to do so.
The Liberal and Green parties have also requested the prohibition be lifted.