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The Speaker of Ontario’s legislature says politicians, employees and guests might be allowed to enter the constructing whereas carrying a keffiyeh, however he’s upholding his ban on the headscarf contained in the legislative chamber.
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Sarah Jama, who sits as an impartial after being booted from the NDP caucus final yr, placed on a keffiyeh as query interval began right now, in defiance of the ban, and was requested to depart.
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Members of the NDP caucus, Joel Harden and Kristyn Wong-Tam, additionally placed on scarves and left in solidarity with Jama.
A keffiyeh is a checkered scarf sometimes worn in Arab cultures that has come to represent solidarity with Palestinians, and Speaker Ted Arnott says he concluded that it’s being worn to make an overt political assertion, which is in opposition to the principles of the legislature.
Arnott says since his preliminary ruling the difficulty has turn out to be politicized and fostered division, so earlier than the beginning of query interval right now he says the ban is not going to apply to individuals coming into the legislative precinct, solely throughout the chamber.
Arnott famous that if a member asks for and receives unanimous consent to put on a keffiyeh within the legislature from all members of provincial parliament, it will likely be allowed.
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