Ontario Premier Doug Ford is shaking up his education and energy portfolios in a cabinet shuffle, as the legislature heads into its summer break.

The Speaker of Ontario's legislature is allowing politicians, staff and visitors to enter the building while wearing a keffiyeh, loosening what had amounted to a ban on the scarf, while maintaining a prohibition inside the legislative chamber.

Voters in two Ontario ridings head to the polls in a pair of byelections Thursday, but most eyes will be on Milton, where the tight race comes with high stakes for both the premier and the new Liberal leader.