SPEAKER Andy Daniel gave MP Guy Joseph an ultimatum — either withdraw a statement he uttered, or leave the House. Joseph opted not to apologize — and walked out.
The situation arose Tuesday during a back-and-forth parliamentary exchange between the Government and Opposition sides of the House, after the Member for Castries South Dr. Ernest Hilaire challenged the Government’s decision necessitating the acquisition of visas by Venezuelans coming into St. Lucia.
The Prime Minister had been offering reasons why the decision had been taken and linked some of the recent violent crimes on island to gangs and drugs, blaming some of that on Venezuelan criminal activity.
According to Chastanet, “St. Lucia does not have the resources Mr. Speaker, in order to deal with that Venezuelan situation, once they arrive in St. Lucia.”
He added, “We are working with the Venezuelan government and we’re also working with the regional forces in order to ensure that we can secure the boundaries of St. Lucia and that we can try to reduce on the number of gang killings that have taken place.”
He recalled that “Last year we had a record number of killings 60, of which my Government feels incredibly bad about and is concerned about. And the fact is of the sixty killings, forty of them were gang-related and drug-related.”
He then explained that “Venezuela has been very high on the list,” when it comes to answering the question of where much of the arms and drugs come from.
“So, we are now working in order to secure our borders” he concluded.
Dr. Hilaire rose and other Opposition MPs rose in unison to condemn the Prime Minister’s assertion, accusing him of blaming the crime situation on all Venezuelans.
The Government side defended their leader, claiming he hadn’t said, and didn’t mean that Venezuelans were responsible for all violent crimes.
Joseph had been surprisingly reserved up until that moment. But the anticipation for his introduction into the fray was palpable – and when it came, it didn’t disappoint, as he took aim at Dr. Ernest Hilaire and said: “You have a vested interest in the arms coming in…”
The “ooohs” in reaction came not only from those on the Government side, but also from those watching.
The insensed Opposition immediately demanded that Joseph retract the statement.
Following a brief moment of to-and-fro exchanges by both sides, the Speaker intervened and sought retractions and/or apologies.
He turned first to Joseph. “Honourable Minister, I would like you at this time to withdraw your statement.”
“What statement?” Joseph asked.
But the speaker was having none of it and issued Joseph a choice. “Minister, if you are not going to withdraw, I’ll ask that you leave the House please.”
Joseph remained sitting for a while, chose to defy the request for a withdrawal and opted instead to stand, take his belongings and walk out of the chamber.
The Speaker then turned his attention to Dr.Hilaire and instructed him to retract, which he did.
Meanwhile, there’s been much discussion since the Tuesday action by MP Joseph about the implications of his decision to leave the house instead of withdrawing the statement.
Questions have arisen surrounding the interpretation of the Standing Orders of the House, especially regarding whether or not Joseph is still required to withdraw his statement at the next sitting he attends.
Efforts by the VOICE to contact Speaker Daniel for clarification proved futile. So did efforts to contact former House Speakers Joseph Baden-Allain, Peter Foster, Rose Marie Husbands and Sarah Flood-Beaubrun.
However, this reporter contacted former Speaker of the House Matthew Roberts, who clarified that in the circumstances under review, MP Joseph is not required to withdraw his statement at the next or any subsequent sitting of the House.
According to Roberts, “Not if he is given and option. If he was given an option – and he exercised an option – that’s the end of the matter.”
……..that a boy;….big Balls Guy!!