The NDP’s Heather McPherson was met with a wall of jeers in the House of Commons on Monday after comparing her watermelon pin to a Remembrance Day poppy.
McPherson, the MP for Edmonton-Strathcona, is one of the most vocally anti-Israel members of the House of Commons, and had just delivered a statement during question period accusing Israel of genocide before Speaker Greg Fergus cited her watermelon pin as a potential violation of House rules.
“I would encourage and remind all members to be careful with what they wear in the House to ensure that it would not be considered a prop,” Fergus said on Monday.
The watermelon slice has been adopted by the anti-Israel movement as representative of the Palestinian flag because it has the same colour scheme; black, red and green.
McPherson later rose on a point of order to say she was “deeply concerned” with her pin being characterized as a prop.
“I stand here proudly wearing a pin that shows that I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and members within this place are wearing pins for various reasons,” she said.
“One of my colleagues is proudly wearing the moose hide pin to show his support for causes that are important. People wear poppies within the House. I have many times worn a flag for Ukraine-Canadian — ” McPherson added, before being overwhelmed by heckling.
After the hubbub had died down, she would blame the Conservatives, and accuse them of imposing on her parliamentary privilege.