Also at today's sitting, the House passed three bills in time to meet the end of year deadline for compliance with the CARCICOM Single Market and Economy. Three pieces of legislation, the Caribbean Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in serious criminal matters, justice protection and the Caribbean community movement of factors amendment went through all three readings today. But the Opposition didn't see the bills until this morning. It's a practice of late delivery of legislation that even PUP backbenchers have publicly complained about and today, UDP Collet representative Patrick Faber says it's reached the breaking point.
Hon. Patrick Faber, Collet Area Rep.
"We on this side feel disrespected every time these bills are pushed down. Its not to say that we are unsatisfied with what the content of these bills are, but if we are to pass these things into law, and I am making the request again to the government Madam Speaker, let us know what we are passing. It is unfair to not only the members on this side, but members on the other side too who may not have even seen copies of these bills."
Hon. Francis Fonseca, Attorney General
"There is no great secret about any of these matters. They are obligations the country of Belize has had for many years to fulfill. We're fulfilling them now, there is a deadline of December 31st, 2005. These bills have all been forwarded and we've had discussions with the Bar Association of Belize, the judiciary. So it is up to the Opposition to do their work. We're not here to do their work for them, they have to do their work."
Hon. Patrick Faber,
"We in this House have not even seen a copy of this bill. They are going to send it to a committee that will meet and when they get up there they will pass you a copy of the bill for the first and then you are expected to make comments and to try and make amendments and decide what is going on with the bill and in many cases Madam Speaker, what is required is that you have to look at a principle act. All of these things take time and it cannot be done in ten minutes. It is not fair to the Belizean people."
Elizabeth Zabaneh, Speaker of the House
"Honorable member while I do agree with you in that maybe you would need to have time to look over these things, the government has been given a mandate by the people and you say that the Prime Minister passes it but the people don't know, but the Prime Minister's government represents the majority of the people and so I will have to accept the explanation of the Attorney General that if some work had been done on this before, maybe you should have been aware."
Rt. Hon. Said Musa,
"It should be known that when the Bill was first introduced, a copy was delivered to the Leader of the Opposition..."
Hon. Patrick Faber,
"Madam Speaker the Prime Minister makes a valid point and that is another point that we complain about, the Leader of the Opposition is the Leader of the Opposition, all of us are members of this House."
