A Liberal MP was told to remove a lapel button in the House of Commons after the Speaker ruled it broke long-standing rules against props or silent slogans.Blacklock's Reporter says Liberal MP Stephanie McLean, who represents Esquimalt–Saanich, B.C., and serves as secretary of state for seniors, was cited by Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia after showing up in the Commons wearing a button that read, “I love the RCMP.”“I see the Secretary of State is wearing a button,” Scarpaleggia said. “Unless it says ‘have a nice day,’ I would say it would not be permitted.” McLean quietly removed the pin and made no comment.Commons rules forbid “props of any kind used as a way of making a silent comment on issues,” according to the official Procedure and Practice manual — a rule that has been enforced for decades.Conservative MP Martin Shields from Bow River, Alta., was twice reprimanded in 2021 and 2022 for wearing buttons that read “I love Canada” and “I love Canadian oil and gas.” .At the time, Shields defended his choice, saying the slogans reflected his “deeply held personal opinions.”His protest drew complaints from opposition MPs. Green Party leader Elizabeth May said she sympathized but noted the rule was clear. "I certainly have a number of buttons I would like to wear in the House,” said May. “However, the member for Bow River, who is a good guy, is thwarting and flaunting the rules of this place to continue to wear a button that says ‘I heart oil and gas.’”NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Que., also took issue, asking, “Have the rules of the House of Commons changed? I too have a few buttons I could wear on occasion.”.NDP MP Heather McPherson of Edmonton Strathcona was reprimanded last November for wearing a Palestinian solidarity pin and drew jeers from across the floor when she compared it to a Remembrance Day poppy. “I stand here proudly wearing the pin that stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people,” McPherson said before being drowned out by shouts of “shame.”Similar disputes stretch back decades. In 1988, Conservative MPs were told to remove pro–free trade buttons, and a decade later, Reform MPs were barred from displaying Canadian flags on their desks. “It’s not about patriotism,” Speaker Gilbert Parent ruled at the time. “The basic principles at issue here are order and decorum.”
