No. 2 THURSDAY Second Session 10 th January, 2002 Seventh Parliament SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES THE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) ADVANCE COPY OFFICIAL REPORT CONTENTS Thursday 10 th January 2002 Prayers 6 Announcement by the Speaker 6 Congratulatory Remarks 6 Minutes 14 Statements 14 Questions 20 Motion 48 The National Parks Bill, 2002 (First reading) 48 The Order of Nationals Heroes Bill, 2002 (First and second readings) 49 The Immigration (Restriction) (Amendment) Bill, 2002 (First and second readings) 76 Suspended 117 THE THE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES OFFICIAL REPORT PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE SECOND MEETING, SECOND SESSION OF THE SEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES CONSTITUTED AS SET OUT IN SCHEDULE 2 TO THE SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES ORDER, 1979. th SEVENTH SITTING 10 January 2002 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY The Honourable House of Assembly met at 10.10 a.m. in the Assembly Chamber, Court House, Kingstown. PRAYERS MR. SPEAKER IN THE CHAIR Honourable Hendrick Alexander Present MEMBERS OF CABINET Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Planning, Economic Development, Labour, Information, Grenadines and Legal Affairs. Dr. The Honourable Ralph Gonsalves Member for North Central Windward Attorney General Honourable Judith Jones-Morgan Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Trade. Honourable Louis Straker Member for Central Leeward 3 Minister of National Security, the Public Service and Airport Development Honourable Vincent Beache Member for South Windward Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Honourable Michael Browne Member for West St. George Minister of Social Development, Co-operatives, The Family, Gender and Ecclesiastical Affairs Honourable Girlyn Miguel Member for Marriaqua Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries Honourable Selmon Walters Member for South Central Windward Minister of Health and the Environment Honourable Dr. Douglas Slater Member for South Leeward Minister of Telecommunications, Science Technology and Industry Honourable Dr. Jerrol Thompson Member for North Leeward Minister of Tourism and Culture Honourable Rene Baptist Member for West Kingstown Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports Honourable Clayton Burgin Member for East St. George Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries Honourable Montgomery Daniel Member for North Windward Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Trade Honourable Conrad Sayers Member for Central Kingstown Minister of Transport, Works and Housing Honourable Julian Francis Government Senator 4 Honourable Edwin Snagg Government Senator, Parliamentary Prime Minister’s Office, Special Responsibility for Labour and Grenadines Affairs OTHER MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE Honourable Arnhim Eustace Member for East Kingstown/ Leader of the Opposition Honourable Terrance Ollivierre Member for Southern Grenadines Honourable Juliet George Government Senator Honourable Andrea Young Government Senator/Deputy Speaker Honourable Gerard Shallow Opposition Senator Honourable Major St. Claire Leacock Opposition Senator ABSENT Dr. the Honourable Godwin Friday Member for Northern Grenadines 5 SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY THURSDAY 10 TH JANUARY, 2002 PRAYERS Honourable Mr. Speaker, read the prayers. ANNOUNCEMENT BY MR. SPEAKER HONOURABLE MR. SPEAKER : Before, the Obituaries and before I take my seat, I want to take this opportunity to wish every member of Parliament and public in general, happy and a prosperous New Year. And for us here in Parliament I hope that we continue to have co- operation as we conduct the business of the people here in this Honourable House. Thank you, very much. [Applause]. CONGRATULATORY REMARKS DR. THE HONOURABLE RALPH GONSALVES : Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, I would like very much to congratulate the following persons who have been given awards by Her Majesty the Queen, in the New Year’s Honour list 2002. The matter has already been made public, but I think this Honourable House ought to put on record our appreciation for six Vincentians who have been granted, these awards. Christian Ivor Martin, Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G. for his services to the Financial Sector. He is well known Mr. Speaker. Mr. Martin is a distinguished scholar, of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, he worked for many years before Independence and after Independence in the Ministry of Finance and at one time, he was Cabinet Secretary, and was the architect of the economic development programme under the late great Rt. Honourable Milton Cato. And he went off and was a Senior Lecture at a University, in the United Kingdom, the University of Bradford, then worked for dozen or so years, with the very impressive United Nations Organisations, UNEDO, and he returned here in retirement, and when we asked him to take on the job as Fiscal Advisor to the Prime Minister he very kindly consented to take up that appointment. I notice in one newspaper, Mr. Martin is prematurely knighted. He is called Sir. In fact I thought it said Rt. Sir Ivor. The C.M.G. is not a knighthood, it is one of the highest honours a public servant can get. The knighthood would be the K.C.M.G. Then Joel Fitz-Gerald Huggins who has been awarded the O.B.E., the Office of the most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his distinguished services in the area of electricity. 6 Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, I feel a particular personal pride in this honour to Mr. Huggins, we were at the Grammar School and we taught at Bishop’s College Georgetown for a year before we went off to University and he has served with distinction as General Manger of the St. Vincent Electrical Services under three successive Governments and I think that is an excellent record and it speaks to his own professionalism and I would like to congratulate him. And then there is Leopold Parnel Errie Stoddard, the Office of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, the O.B.E. for his distinguished services in St. Vincent and the Grenadines Royal Police Force. Mr. Stoddard has retired some years from the Police Force, but he has made policing his life. He rose to the rank of Deputy Commissioner. Mrs. Pearl Agatha Elritha Best of Park Hill and Bellevue has been awarded the M.B.E. She is a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her distinguish services in Education. She has been a Primary School Teacher for all her working life, and she has been excellent at her job and it is important for us to recognize the teaching profession, this profession being the one more than any other that moulds and trains our children. Ms. Rhonda Patricia Fraser, popularly known as Pat Fraser, the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her distinguished community services. Pat Fraser, has done outstanding work in community services, in the NGO movement, a social worker. She currently heads the Public Assistance Board and Ms. Fraser is from Sandy Bay, she is a Calinargo, a Garifuna, I believe that she is probably, -- if she is not the first, I believe she is the second individual from the so-called Carib community to have been honoured by Her Majesty. Then Aldric Peter Williams, member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E, for his distinguished services in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Royal Police Force. Mr. Williams is also retired, and he rose to the rank of Superintendent of Police and has given excellent service to this country, in the security force. Mr. Speaker, if I may just say, that there have been discussions about the issue of National Honours, and this Government intends to bring to Parliament a Bill on National Awards, on National Honours. But this is a matter that we have to subject to wide spread consultation. Because there are various models to be implemented. Barbados I believe, has these traditional honours and also national honours existing side by side. Some other countries only have their national honours. Some only have these particular honours by our Head of State, Her Majesty, and the Queen. And since this is an issue that concerns everybody I don’t think it is a matter upon which any one of us should impose our own personal view, my own views are well known, but I believe that the country should have a say on these matters. Of course, when we have constitutional reform, and if the people of this country decide that they would wish to have a Republic System of Government as distinct from a Monarchial, I no doubt it would follow inexorably that Honours emanating from Her Majesty will then no longer be applicable, because you will not have Her as the Head of State. But in so far as these are the only honours which currently exist, I think it is important to say that they ought to be continued until we have 7 a departure in formal legal terms. I know that there are many persons from the Black Power Movement and anti-colonialist who are willing and readily accepted these honours. And this is no discredit to them. I am not making a point, which is adverse, I am simply stating a fact, different persons may draw their own conclusions, I am not drawing any. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, I would also like to congratulate the Seventh Day Adventist Church who will be celebrating their 100th Anniversary of Adventism in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Seventh Day Adventist work started in St. Vincent in 1902 when a foreign-based Missionary Elder Van Deusen arrived in the island and began street meetings in Kingstown. The first parcel of land was purchased in April of that year and the first church building was dedicated in July of the same year.