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Yesterday, the B.C. legislature unanimously approved a motion by Surrey–Green Timbers MLA Rachna Singh to allow head coverings in the legislature. It ensures that people who wear turbans or hijabs can participate in debates if they're elected.

You can read the debate below.

Rachna Singh (Surrey Green Timbers): Mr. Speaker, on October 3, I wrote a letter to your office regarding a ruling on Standing Order 36. Standing Order 36 states: "Every member desiring to speak is to rise in his or her place, uncovered, and address the Speaker." I said in the letter that it is my understanding the term "uncovered" made reference to anything covering the head. My concern was if a member of the Legislative Assembly wore a turban, kippah, head scarf, Indigenous headdress or any other traditional and spiritual symbol, would they be permitted by you to speak in the Legislature.

I understand that Acting Clerk's report on dress guidelines says, certainly: "Indigenous attire, traditional cultural attire and religious attire continue to be considered appropriate dress." But it was not clear how that guideline pertained to the rules that are set out in the standing orders.

My question to you was to make an official ruling on whether Standing Order 36 or any other rule of the Legislature attempts to prohibit religious and Indigenous head wear in the chamber.

As I also said in my letter, at a time when we are seeing alarmingly frequent expressions of hate and racism, our Legislature must be a reflection of the great diversity in our wonderful province. We must also acknowledge that we can all do more to push back against those who seek to divide us.

I thank you for your response that I received earlier today, which made it clear a change to the order would be necessary in order to ensure the Legislature remains a welcoming space for all Canadians. I'm making this important and urgent motion to change the standing orders to reflect our mutually held values of diversity, religious freedom and reconciliation.

There is a precedent across Canada for updating standing orders to include religious, cultural and ethnic dress. Therefore, I look forward to unanimous consent and support from this House on this motion for British Columbia's Legislature. Further, I hope to see this guarantee extended to every public institution in our great and diverse province.

Stephanie Cadieux (Surrey South): I'd like to thank the member for bringing the motion forward. To be honest, I don't think I ever noticed that that would be a problem in the standing orders. While I hope and fully expect that the Speaker would have seen fit to overlook this for the purpose of respect of an individual's religion or Indigenous attire, I certainly think there are plenty of things that this House can disagree on, and this is definitely not one of them.

Just as the dress code needed a reboot, things change. It's surprising to me, however, that this is something that has stood in the standing orders for as long as it has. In a country that places such great value on our diversity and multiculturalism, in our communities where we are all friends and neighbours and respect each other's religions, cultures and celebrations that we gather together so frequently for, it is surprising that we have not noticed this and done something about it sooner. I thank you the member for bringing it forward.

When I heard about this, I reflected upon images that I can recall observing in the United Nations. We can all have our opinions on the work of the United Nations, but one of the things that I always found most powerful images that I can recall observing in the United Nations. We can all have our opinions on the work of the United Nations, but one of the things that I always found most powerful and one of the things I enjoyed most was seeing the photos or the images of the United Nations and all of the different people and all the different genders and all of the different attires — business, cultural, religious — coming together to have discussion, to learn from one another and to come together on issues of common purpose, much as we do here.

While we do often find plenty to disagree upon, diversity is not something that I believe the members of this House disagree on. Religious freedom is not something I believe members of this House disagree on. Certainly, we are happy to put our support behind this motion for a change in the standing orders. It is a small world after all.

Sonia Furstenau (Cowichan Valley): I'm delighted to stand up today to support the motion brought forward by the member for Surrey–Green Timbers to make this adjustment to the standing orders.

I want to echo her comments as well as the comments from the member for Surrey South that, particularly in a time when politics has a tendency to be more of a divisive force than a uniting one, it really is up to us all the time to recognize the very serious responsibility that we have in a country that is built on multiculturalism, that is built on diversity, that is built on respect for a wide variety of religious traditions and a deep acknowledgment of the Indigenous foundation of this nation. I am very happy that there is support from all of the caucuses to move forward with this change to the standing orders and delighted that we are so united on moving forward in this manner.

I want to thank both of the members.

Speaker Darryl Plecas: Seeing no other speakers, you've heard the question.

Motion approved.

Speaker Darryl Plecas: I just want to thank the members, the member from Green Timbers, the member for Surrey South and the House Leader for the Third Party, for so well articulating this. It's great to see. Thank you.