Hansard Will Bear It Out—That CDAP Drugs Are Not Good
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1 Leave of Absence 2017.05.15 SENATE Monday, May 15, 2017 The Senate met at 1.30 p.m. PRAYERS [MADAM PRESIDENT in the Chair] LEAVE OF ABSENCE Madam President: Hon. Senators, I have granted leave of absence to Sen. Daniel Solomon who is out of the country. SENATOR’S APPOINTMENT Madam President: Hon. Senators, I have received the following correspondence from His Excellency the President, Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona O.R.T.T., S.C.: “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO APPOINTMENT OF A TEMPORARY SENATOR 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. TO: MS. CHRISTLYN MOORE WHEREAS Senator DANIEL SOLOMON is incapable of performing his duties as a Senator by reason of his absence from Trinidad and Tobago: UNREVISED 2 Senator’s Appointment (cont’d) 2017.05.15 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)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, acting in accordance with the advice of the Leader of the Opposition, do hereby appoint you, CHRISTLYN MOORE, to be temporarily a member of the Senate, with effect from 15th May, 2017 and continuing during the absence from Trinidad and Tobago of the said Senator Daniel Solomon. 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 15h day of May, 2017.” OATH OF ALLEGIANCE Senator Christlyn Moore took and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance as required by law. CONDOLENCES (MR. RENNIE DUMAS) Madam President: Hon. Senators, as you are aware, former Senator and Minister, Mr. Rennie Dumas passed away on Sunday, May 14, 2017. I now invite you to offer tributes. The Minister of Energy and Energy Industries (Sen. The Hon. Franklin Khan): Thank you very much, Madam President. Madam President, it is with the deepest regret and sadness that I rise to pay tribute to a former colleague, friend and in PNM terms, “A true soldier in the Red Army”, Mr. Rennie Dumas, aka “Stretch”. His death means something very personal to me, because both of us became ill UNREVISED 3 Condolences (Mr. Rennie Dumas) (cont’d) 2017.05.15 Sen. The Hon. F. Khan (cont’d) around the same time in December of last year. I recalled vividly, immediately after my surgery, a couple days after, when the Prime Minister visited me at the hospital, he indicated to me that, “Boy, you know, Stretch suffered a stroke”, and since then I have been getting almost weekly updates of his health from Aunty Joan, whom I call the mother of the PNM. Madam President, Trinidad and Tobago, and in particular, the people of Tobago, have lost a true patriot, a hard-working and dedicated public servant and a Tobagonian to his heart. Mr. Dumas and I served in the Manning Cabinet when he was Minister of Public Utilities and, later, Minister of Local Government. After the 2007 election, he was appointed Minister of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development. And the parliamentary document outlines, in some details, his career but I will just go through his Ministerial responsibilities: Minister of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development from November 2007 to May 2010; Minister of Local Government from November 2003 to November 2007; Minister of Public Utilities and the Environment, October2002 to November2003; Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, December 2001 to October 2002. He was an Opposition Senator from January 2001 to October 2001. Then he became the Member of Parliament for Tobago East in 2007 to 2010. Madam President, as a Minister, an MP and a Senator, he was clear and articulate and had an organized and an analytical mind and I must say, he performed creditably in all the various portfolios that he held, and in particular, when I joined this Government in 2015 and I was given the portfolio of Minister of Rural Development and Local Government where we championed the local government reform process, Mr. Dumas was very instrumental in assisting me in that exercise. UNREVISED 4 Condolences (Mr. Rennie Dumas) (cont’d) 2017.05.15 Sen. The Hon. F. Khan (cont’d) But, Madam President, my closest association with him was through the party. He served as Education Officer and Research Officer of the Tobago Council of the PNM. He was the Tobago’s representative on the General Council of the People’s National Movement. He was one of the more influential voices in the PNM changing its constitution which resulted in the formation of the Tobago Council of the PNM, the single act that has caused us to rebound in the politics of Tobago so that today we are an extremely strong force on our sister island. He was elected Member of Parliament for Tobago East in 2007. He played a critical role in all THA elections. And I must say today that, probably bar Orville London, he is one of the most influential persons responsible for the current strength of the PNM in the island of Tobago. In the last couple of years he played a leading role in the drafting on the policy of Tobago’s autonomy and full internal self-government. He even went ahead and became the Campaign Manager for Mrs. Ayanna Webster-Roy who successfully contested election in Tobago East and won. Whenever called to serve, in whatever capacity, big or small, in front or from behind, he was always willing, a true servant of the people. On behalf of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the Members of this side of the Senate and on behalf of the PNM family, I extend my deepest condolences to his family and friends, especially his wife and children, to the people of Tobago and in particular the people of Tobago East. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Sen. Christlyn Moore: It is with great regret that I offer my condolences to the family of the deceased, Mr. Dumas. This regret is really heartfelt because he was a family friend. In fact, his friendship crystalized through his relationship with my father. They were inseparable for a number of years. They were cronies, they UNREVISED 5 Condolences (Mr. Rennie Dumas) (cont’d) 2017.05.15 Sen. The Hon. F. Khan (cont’d) Sen. Moore (cont’d) were best friends, they were partners, they were confidants and I would bump into them in the oddest of places. They were inseparable for a time before my father had his own stroke and Mr. Dumas, “Stretch”, became a real helper. The people of Plymouth, Tobago offer their condolences because their relationship with Rennie Dumas was much more personal. He was a son of that community, a member of the Men of Exile, “Rat oil”, “Stretch”. He was one of ours. He could be found at village watering holes and at community activities in Plymouth and across the island. My last encounter with Rennie was at a political meeting that my party held in Plymouth and he attended. He would attend all my political meetings held in that constituency out of respect for the relationship that he had with my father and out of our long-standing relationship. He would always stay to offer words of encouragement and advice and to give me a hug and to share some moment of levity. Rennie Dumas in the last months of his life really experienced a reality that was different. He suffered great hardship. Great personal hardship befell him and he appeared to be alone. Personal hardship, Madam, is not a stranger to any of us and it is in these times where we are stretched that indeed we seek the comfort of Almighty God and the comfort of our friends and our family. When Rennie Dumas found himself at the feet of hardship, his friends and family, his true friends and his real family were there to support him, to anoint him, to pray for him and to administer to him. On behalf of the people of Plymouth, on behalf of the people of Tobago, on behalf of the Tobago Forwards and on behalf of my own family, I offer sincerest condolences for the great loss to the community of Plymouth and the people of UNREVISED 6 Condolences (Mr. Rennie Dumas) (cont’d) 2017.05.15 Sen. The Hon. F. Khan (cont’d) Sen. Moore (cont’d) Tobago on the passing of Rennie Dumas. May his soul rest in peace and may he be received into the company of angels. [Desk thumping] Sen. David Small: Thank you very much, Madam President. The Independent Bench learnt with deep sadness of the passing of the former Member of Parliament, Senator and Minister, Rennie Dumas. He served the people of Trinidad and Tobago with distinction in these various capacities for just over a decade. With the passing of “Stretch”, as he was affectionately known, I want to share that when he was Minister of Labour—the Ministry to which I was attached, the Ministry of Energy, we shared the same building, a building just down the street there, and because we shared the same building and we would also meet each other at events throughout the Ministry and he was one that was always known as one of the most affable Ministers that we had at that time.