There are rules regarding what you can and cannot wear in the Ontario legislature. One rule is that a MPP cannot wear anything that’s deemed to be a political statement. This would include the wearing of the keffiyeh, the black and white checkered scarf that is frequently worn by pro-Hamas demonstrators.

Ted Arnott, the Speaker of Ontario's legislature, informed MPPs that the rules are the rules, and the keffiyeh could not be worn in the chamber. Failure to comply would result in expulsion.

And that’s what happened recently on a couple of occasions involving a showdown with Sarah Jama. She currently sits as an Independent after being booted from the NDP caucus last year for — shockers! — making antisemitic pronouncements.

Jama donned the keffiyeh in defiance of the ban and was promptly asked to leave each time.

Alas, there was uproar over the expulsion by the usual suspects (i.e., members of the NDP, Liberal, and Green parties). But there was also uproar emanating from a very unusual suspect indeed: namely, Premier Doug Ford.

How curious. After all, a keffiyeh is not a religious garment. And it has most assuredly emerged as a political statement. If a MPP were to wear a MAGA cap or a T-shirt proclaiming, “I love fossil fuels,” that would not be tolerated either.

But we appear to live in a society in which, to paraphrase a classic line from George Orwell’s Animal Farm, “All political statements are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

And so it is that apparently, for some murky rationale, those on the left are implying that a keffiyeh should be given an exemption to the rule forbidding apparel conveying political statements. But why?

Another key question: why would Premier Ford side with his political enemies on this matter?

Gracious, do you think it had anything to do with a byelection that took place in Milton earlier this month? Of note: this riding has a significant Muslim population.

We think that’s both a safe bet and a solid theory given that nothing else adds up when it comes to justifying a double standard vis-à-vis political apparel.

Also of note, it wasn’t until after the byelection was contested (and won by the Progressive Conservatives) that Premier Ford finally spoke out about the “Little Gaza” tent city encampment at the University of Toronto. Then again, as they say in politics, timing is everything and Ford likely didn’t want to offend the sensibilities of any pro-Hamas constituents in Milton.

Bottom line: clearly Ontario’s chief cherry cheesecake enthusiast is no longer all that concerned with ethics, morality, and even the rules of the legislature. The premier is all about winning these days — at any cost.

Put another way, they don’t call him “Doug Fraud” for nothing.