Ontario Legislature upholds keffiyeh scarf ban

At least one Progressive Conservative MPP blocked the unanimous consent required to overrule a decision by the Speaker of the Ontario Legislature banning the traditional keffiyeh scarf – long an emblem of the Palestinian cause – for contravening the assembly’s rules against wearing political symbols.Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who had written to Speaker Ted Arnott to protest his ruling, moved a motion in the House on Thursday seeking the unanimous consent of MPPs to overturn it. Premier Doug Ford, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner had also called on Wednesday for the overturning of the ban.