House heats up

THE SYNCHRONOUS sittings of the House of Representatives and the Senate today, December 5, provide a vivid snapshot of the scope and ambition of the government’s legislative agenda.

MPs and senators will assemble in the Red House to do the people’s business. It is the second occasion in the space of a week in which this will occur: there were also concurrent sittings on November 26.

“This is not unusual,” said Barry Padarath, the government whip, this week in an interview with this newspaper. Marvin Gonzales, the opposition whip, was similarly nonplussed, saying, “Nothing unusual to me.” The Red House, reopened after renovations in 2020, has two chambers designed to facilitate simultaneous meetings.

Yet, the rate at which Parliament has been sitting tells another tale. In its first seven months, the UNC government has convened 27 sittings across chambers. That almost equals the total number in the same period in the first Keith Rowley administration. However, when we consider the fact that the August break occurred within the current administration’s first few months, it means the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration might be on course to exceed the pace of her predecessor.

Considered today by MPs will be the Finance Bill, separate from the Appropriation Bill, and amendments to the Virtual Assets and Virtual Assets Service Providers Bill.

Senators, meanwhile, will continue to mull over the Home Invasion (Self-Defence and Defence of Property) Bill.

The latter was on November 26 passed by a margin of 23 votes for, ten votes against in the House. An earlier version of the bill published by the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs had suggested it would need a special majority but that requirement appears to have been removed, raising questions among lawmakers about whether the law has been watered-down or whether it has simply been repackaged to secure passage.

Thus, the fate of this so-called stand-your-ground legislation will further illuminate the extent to which the government will be able to keep its campaign promises. An earlier test of power came with the passage of legislation to strip Stuart Young of prime ministerial pension back in June, when some independents helped carry that measure. In October, the government announced a constitutional right to a speedy trial – something that will plainly require a supermajority down the road.

Amid the cluttered agenda, which has already seen laws passed to abolish the TTRA, change the Children’s Life Fund, modify citizenship, ensure FATF compliance and give JPs more power, there have been seeming slippages. Colm Imbert this week grumbled about short notice for legislation.

Today’s sittings might not be unusual for legislators. But for citizens who expect MPs to keep their promises, demanded now is anything but business as usual.