Quote:
Originally Posted by New Brisavoine
I'm surprised the keffiyeh is banned in Ontario in the first place. It's not even banned in the French Parliament!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
I doubt it will be banned for long at Queen's Park, which is the Ontario provincial legislature.
This sounds like an overstep by the Speaker of the Legislature, who didn't consult anyone. He's going to get overruled, somehow.
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In Canada (not 100% sure if this is common to all Westminister parliaments or not), it is considered a violation of parliamentary tradition/custom to use political props in Parliament (so things like holding up signs, infograpics, using objects during a debate, etc.). The current dispute is over whether or not wearing of a keffiyah is considered a "political prop".
To me, if some white progressive MPP from Toronto wears a keffiyah as an explicit pro-Palestine gesture, that is definitely a political prop and it should remain banned. But if some MPP who is actually Arab wears it in a more everyday context, it's simply a clothing choice and shouldn't be banned.
The solution here, IMO, is to simply give the speaker discretion to decide, on a case by case basis, whether any specific use of a keffiyah by a member is "political" or not (and if so, they should be instructed to remove it or leave the House).