A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Visitors to Queen’s Park started to yell when Government House Leader Paul Calandra responded to questions about the ban by talking about how his party has a “diverse caucus.”
The legislature was put on recess for 15 minutes.
The Ontario New Democratic Party made its first attempt to reverse the ban last week. It did not get unanimous consent.
The decision to ban the scarf, which is worn by Palestinians, Muslims and Arabs was made by House Speaker Ted Arnott, who argued there is a “long-standing” policy about wearing political symbols in the House.
“It’s extremely politically sensitive, obviously, but procedurally, I believe I made the right decision in the sense of past rulings of Speakers and precedents and traditions,” he told reporters last week.
One of the members who voted against the motion is PC MPP Robin Martin, who released a statement Tuesday saying that she intends to continue to vote against it
“The rules of the legislature are clear that props and clothing that makes a political statement cannot be worn in the chamber,” she said.
“These rules exist to keep the peace in our democratic institutions and to ensure that we use only our words to debate and persuade each other. I believe these rules are important to the proper functioning of the legislature and must be upheld.”
On Tuesday, Independent MPP Sarah Jama was also spotted wearing a keffiyeh openly in the legislature. As of noon, she remains in the House.
Earlier in the morning, a group meeting with the NDP to discuss anti-Palestinian racism was told they couldn’t come in wearing their keffiyeh.
“They’re literally stripping me of my dignity and this is why we decided we wouldn’t take off our keffiyeh to go inside,” Dania Majid with the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association told CTV News Toronto.
This is a developing news story. More to come.