A national Muslim Canadian advocacy group is calling on the Speaker of Ontario’s legislature to reverse a ban that prevents people at Queen’s Park from wearing keffiyehs a checkered scarf typically worn in Arab cultures that can symbolize solidarity with Palestinians.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims says banning the keffiyeh from the legislature is another sign that Palestinian identity is being attacked.
Speaker Ted Arnott is standing by his ruling that bans people in the legislature from wearing keffiyehs, which he says are being worn to make a political statement, even after the premier and all opposition parties asked him to reverse it.
He says the legislature has a long-standing rule that members can’t use props, signage or accessories intended to express a political statement.
CANADIAN PRESS