OTTAWA - Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight says she respects the independence of Nova Scotia's judiciary in determining judges have the right to ban the poppy from their courtrooms.

Earlier this week, the heads of Nova Scotia's supreme and provincial courts expressed their support for judges who ban court staff from pinning poppies to their robes during proceedings.

The judges gave an example of a non-veteran charged with assault of a veteran walking into a courtroom where staff are wearing poppies, suggesting it could make the accused doubt the neutrality of the process.

"The poppy is a powerful symbol of remembrance for all who have served and sacrificed on behalf of Canada, and something that I wear with pride," McKnight wrote in a statement.

"As the directive originates from

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