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1 Leave of Absence 2018.01.16 SENATE Tuesday, January 16, 2018 The Senate met at 1.30 p.m. PRAYERS [MR. VICE-PRESIDENT in the Chair] LEAVE OF ABSENCE Mr. Vice-President: Hon. Senators, I wish to advise that the President of the Senate, Sen. The Hon. Christine Kangaloo is currently acting as President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Hon. Senators, I have granted leave of absence to Sen. The Hon. Dennis Moses, Sen. Daniel Dookie, Sen. Saddam Hosein and to Sen. Melissa Ramkissoon all of whom are out of the country. I have also granted leave of absence to Sen. Taurel Shrikissoon who was ill. SENATORS’ APPOINTMENT Mr. Vice-President: Hon. Senators, I have received the following correspondence from His Excellency The President, Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona and also Her Excellency the Acting President, Christine Kangaloo: “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO By His Excellency ANTHONY THOMAS AQUINAS CARMONA, O.R.T.T., S.C., President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. /s/ Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona O.R.T.T. S.C. President. UNREVISED 2 Senators’ Appointment (cont’d) 2018.01.16 TO: MS. AYANNA LEEBA LEWIS WHEREAS Senator Daniel Dookie is incapable of performing his duties as a Senator by reason of his absence from Trinidad and Tobago: NOW, THEREFORE, I, ANTHONY THOMAS AQUINAS CARMONA, President as aforesaid, in exercise of the power vested in me by section 44(1)(a) and section 44(4)(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, do hereby appoint you, AYANNA LEEBA LEWIS, to be temporarily a member of the Senate with effect from 16th January, 2018 and continuing during the absence from Trinidad and Tobago of the said Senator Daniel Dookie. Given under my Hand and the Seal of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at the Office of the President, St. Ann’s, this 12th day of January, 2018.” “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO By Her Excellency CHRISTINE KANGALOO Acting President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. /s/ Christine C Kangaloo Acting President. TO: MR. NDALE YOUNG WHEREAS Senator Dennis Moses is incapable of performing his duties as a Senator by reason of his absence from Trinidad and Tobago: UNREVISED 3 Senators’ Appointment (cont’d) 2018.01.16 NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHRISTINE KANGALOO, Acting President as aforesaid, in exercise of the power vested in me by section 44(1)(a) and section 44(4)(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, do hereby appoint you, NDALE YOUNG, to be temporarily a member of the Senate with effect from 16th January, 2018 and continuing during the absence from Trinidad and Tobago of the said Senator Dennis Moses. Given under my Hand and the Seal of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at the Office of the President, St. Ann’s, this 15th day of January, 2018.” “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO By Her Excellency CHRISTINE KANGALOO Acting President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. /s/ Christine C Kangaloo Acting President. TO: MR. BRIAN BAIG WHEREAS Senator SADDAM HOSEIN is incapable of performing his duties as a Senator by reason of his absence from Trinidad and Tobago: NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHRISTINE KANGALOO, Acting President as aforesaid, in exercise of the power vested in me by section 44(1)(a) and section 44(4)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, acting in accordance with the advice of the Leader of UNREVISED 4 Senators’ Appointment (cont’d) 2018.01.16 the Opposition, do hereby appoint you, BRIAN BAIG to be temporarily a member of the Senate with effect from 16th January, 2018 and continuing during the absence from Trinidad and Tobago of the said Senator SADDAM HOSEIN. Given under my Hand and the Seal of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at the Office of the President, St. Ann’s, this 15th day of January, 2018.” “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO By Her Excellency CHRISTINE KANGALOO Acting President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. /s/ Christine C Kangaloo Acting President. TO: MR. ALBERT WILLIAM SYDNEY WHEREAS Senator Taurel Shrikissoon is incapable of performing his duties as a Senator by means of illness: NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHRISTINE KANGALOO, Acting President as aforesaid, in exercise of the power vested in me by section 44(1)(b) and section 44(4)(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, do hereby appoint you, ALBERT WILLIAM SYDNEY to be temporarily a member of the Senate with effect from 16th UNREVISED 5 Senators’ Appointment (cont’d) 2018.01.16 January, 2018 and continuing during the absence of Senator Taurel Shrikissoon by reason of illness. Given under my Hand and the Seal of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at the Office of the President, St. Ann’s, this 15th day of January, 2018.” “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO By Her Excellency CHRISTINE KANGALOO Acting President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. /s/ Christine C Kangaloo Acting President. TO: MR. JOHN HEATH WHEREAS Senator MELISSA RAMKISSOON is incapable of performing her duties as a Senator by reason of her absence from Trinidad and Tobago: NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHRISTINE KANGALOO, Acting President as aforesaid, in exercise of the power vested in me by section 44(1)(a) and section 44(4)(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, do hereby appoint you, JOHN HEATH, to be temporarily a member of the Senate with effect from 16th January, 2018 and continuing during the absence from Trinidad and Tobago of the said Senator Melissa Ramkissoon. UNREVISED 6 2018.01.16 Given under my Hand and the Seal of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at the Office of the President, St. Ann’s, this 15th day of January, 2018.” OATH OF ALLEGIANCE The following Senators took and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance as required by law: Ayanna Leeba Lewis, Brian Baig, Albert William Sydney and John Heath. AFFIRMATION OF ALLEGIANCE Senator Ndale Young took and subscribed the Affirmation of Allegiance as required by law. SENATOR’S APPOINTMENT Mr. Vice-President: Hon. Senators, I am just awaiting further correspondence in relation to the last temporary Senator. Once I receive that correspondence, I will seek your leave to revert to that Item on the Order Paper. TRIBUTES (PROFESSOR GEORGE MAXWELL RICHARDS, TC, CMTT, PHD) Mr. Vice-President: Hon. Senators, , as you are aware, Prof. George Maxwell Richards, former President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, passed away on Monday, January 08, 2018. I now invite you to offer tributes. The Minister of Energy and Energy Industries (Sen. The Hon. Franklin Khan): Thank you very much, Mr. Vice-President. Mr. Vice-President, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to pay tribute to our fourth and distinguished President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and, indeed, a most distinguished son of the soil. Prof. George Maxwell Richards TC, CMT and PhD, passed away UNREVISED 7 Tributes (Professor George Maxwell Richards 2018.01.16 TC, CMTT, PhD Sen. The Hon. F. Khan (cont’d) peacefully on January 08, 2018. He was 86 years old. His body lay in state in the parliamentary entrance yesterday where all parliamentarians had the opportunity to pay their last respects, as well as members of the general public. Prof. Richards’ life, in my opinion, can be easily categorized into four main domains: Firstly, Prof. Richards, the scholar and academic; secondly, Prof. Richards, the President; thirdly, Prof. Richards, the intense family man; and fourthly, but by no means least—and I will take the liberty here to call him “Max”—the quintessential Trinbagonian, lover of the culture, the arts and enjoyable time among friends and has been now known enjoying life to the max. Let me first deal with Prof. Richards, the academic and the scholar. He attained his secondary education at Queen’s Royal College in the 1940s. He became a staff trainee in 1950/’51 with what was called UBOT, or the United British Oilfields of Trinidad, which later became Shell Trinidad. And, Mr. Vice-President, let me tell you, to be a staff trainee in the ’50s as a man of colour, was a tremendous accomplishment. He held managerial positions at Shell from 1957 to ’65, along with another distinguished son of the soil, Prof. Ken Julien. He then entered academia as a senior lecturer in Chemical Engineering and worked his way up the academic ladder, so to speak, to become Professor of Chemical Engineering, Deputy Principal and Principal and Pro Vice Chancellor from 1985 to 1986. At the professional level, he served on the boards, inter alia, of Trintoc, the National Gas Company and Chairman of the Institute of Marine Affairs. He also has been a member and served in very distinguished professional societies and bodies, including the Association of Professional Engineers, the Institute of Chemical Engineers of London, the Institute of Petroleum of London, among many UNREVISED 8 Tributes (Professor George Maxwell Richards 2018.01.16 TC, CMTT, PhD Sen. The Hon. F. Khan (cont’d) others. Mr. Vice-President, an academic and scholar par excellence—one of a kind. Let me now deal with Prof.