‘I was just wearing a T-shirt that was important to me and my family,’ says Espen Forest<\/p>\n
TORONTO \u2013 A northern Ontario MPP submitted a formal complaint to Queen\u2019s Park\u2019s house speaker on Thursday after security wouldn\u2019t allow observers into the gallery wearing an \u201cEvery Child Matters\u201d T-shirt, and in another case, a sewn patch of the Transgender pride flag.<\/p>\n
Thunder Bay-Superior North NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois sent speaker Donna Skelly a letter requesting clarity on whether the message arising from the discovery of First Nations child grave sites on the grounds of former residential schools should be interpreted as a political protest.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery Child Matters is a statement that should not be discouraged, in fact, it is a powerful message of support for those missing and murdered Indigenous children,\u201d Vaugeois wrote, citing similar messaging that is displayed in Queen\u2019s Park\u2019s public reception rooms.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you could make a definitive ruling on these forms of representation to clear up any misunderstanding, it would be greatly appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Queen\u2019s Park policy<\/a> is to ban all \u201cpolitical statements\u201d inside the provincial legislature.Last June, security removed several protesters<\/a> from the gallery following the majority-Progressive Conservative government passing its controversial Bill 5 mining law. Later that summer, security initially interpreted wilderness firefighters wearing their uniforms in the gallery as a political protest but the speaker resolved it and they were allowed to observe.<\/p>\n In 2024, former MPP Sarah Jama was removed<\/a> and banned from the legislature when she refused to remove her keffiyeh. Jama argued at the time that the ban on political statements is \u201cracist\u201d because it targets deeply meaningful cultural clothing, such as the keffiyeh.This week, the Premier\u2019s Office ordered the outdoor statues to be wrapped and protected<\/a> from vandalism in anticipation of protests. Police have been monitoring those demonstrations on horseback. Elected members wear \u201cEvery Child Matters\u201d shirts in the Legislature every September 30<\/a> to recognize the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.<\/p>\n Vaugeois, who has an \u201cEvery Child Matters\u201d flag hanging in her office, was writing on behalf of Espen Forest and their partner Emma Johnston.<\/p>\n