Gonzales reviewing Morris-Julian fire report

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Gonzales is reviewing the report on the fire that killed former MP and junior minister Lisa Morris-Julian and two of her children.

"Once I'm finished with it, it will be tabled at the National Security Council meeting with the appropriate recommendations," Gonzales told Newsday. The council is chaired by the prime minister.

After being sworn in as national security minister on March 18, Gonzales said one of the first things he would do would be to find out the status of the report.

Prime Minister Stuart Young chaired his first National Security Council meeting on March 24 at the National Operations Fusion Centre at Knowsley, Queen's Park West, but Newsday was unable to ascertain if the issue of the Morris-Julian fire report came up for discussion at that meeting.

Morris-Julian, the then D’Abadie/O’Meara MP and Minister in the Ministry of Education, and her daughter, Xianne Julian, 25, and son, Jesiah Julian, 6, lost their lives in a fire that gutted the family’s Farfan Street, Arima home on December 16.

Speaking with Newsday on March 24, Gonzales, when asked if the Morris-Julian family would have an opportunity to review the document, before it is made public, said: "Those matters will also be addressed at the National Security Council."

Gonzales said he was "all for disclosure and transparency."

At his swearing-in, when asked if he would publish the report, he said, "I have absolutely no difficulty making this report public so the citizenry can understand what took place in this unfortunate incident."