Reverse needless kaffiyeh ban

New Democrat MPP Jill Andrew was tossed from the Ontario legislature Wednesday for wearing a kaffiyeh, defying the ban on political attire.

Her ejection from the chamber is further fallout from the emotional — and needless — showdown instigated by longtime MPP Ted Arnott, Speaker of the Ontario legislature. In mid-April, as the war between Israel and Hamas raged on, Arnott banned the wearing of the kaffiyeh in the Queen’s Park precincts after complaints that the black-and-white scarves violated a long-standing rule against the wearing of “overtly political” symbols.

The decision promptly blew up in Arnott’s face. Independent MPP Sarah Jama, no stranger to controversy, having been turfed from the NDP caucus over her comments about the Israel-Hamas conflict, refused the Speaker’s order to remove her kaffiyeh.

And the standoff was on.

The images of Jama, a Black, Muslim politician from Hamilton Centre who uses a mobility scooter, sitting almost nose-to-nose with a sergeant-at-arms tasked with removing her from her seat were not the sort to make Ontario look to be the progressive place it claims.

Neither was the province done proud when individuals arriving at Queen’s Park to meet with NDP Leader Marit Stiles were barred from entering because they were wearing kaffiyehs.

Critics said that, depending who is wearing it and why, the kaffiyeh may be cultural or political or both and it wasn’t the business of the legislature Speaker to define why any individual was wearing one.

The kaffiyeh has been a significant cultural symbol for Palestinians for centuries. It is widely understood in the Arab world and internationally as an expression of identity.

For her part, Stiles noted that MPPs have worn kilts, kirpans, kippahs and many other articles of clothing that express faith, identity, association and, in some cases at some times, politics.

Two motions to overturn Arnott’s ruling were defeated. Government members defied Premier Doug Ford’s urgings to undo the kaffiyeh ban. People watching from the public galleries who put on kaffiyehs were ejected by security.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association said the suggestion inherent in Arnott’s ruling that the legislature “is somehow not the place for politics is certainly questionable.”

Indeed, the proposition that provocative articles of clothing offend the “standard practice of decorum” in the legislature grants to the chamber a standard of dignity seldom justified by the political players and often inane antics therein.

In calling for an end to the kaffiyeh ban, the association said Arnott should not issue orders that “undermine some of the most basic human rights” of legislature members.

The Ontario Federation of Labour also called for an end to what it called a “racist and discriminatory ban,” saying it not only targets a particular community, but also those who speak out for them.

This week, Arnott clarified his ruling by saying kaffiyehs may be worn in the legislature building but not in the chamber. But the measure did not resolve matters.

Two NDP members — Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto Centre) and Joel Harding (Ottawa Centre) — were asked to leave the chamber for wearing kaffiyehs, despite Arnott’s ruling, and Jama left, too, because of the solidarity shown by other members.

At root, Arnott has essentially produced a solution in search of a problem. The wearing of kaffiyehs was scarcely the incendiary political statement the Speaker suggested. It was actually his ruling that thrust the garment into the spotlight.

For two weeks, the issue has consumed the legislature while more pressing matters and the urgent needs of Ontarians for better housing, health care and economic opportunity demand attention.

Arnott’s half-hearted climbdown is essentially an admission that the original action was misguided. But it only went halfway to correcting the problem.

He should rescind his ban, allow kaffiyehs and let the focus shift to more pressing business.