He's a senior Minister of Government - and - elected since 2003 - one of the most senior politicians in the Briceno Cabinet. So what does Francis Fonseca think about the push by the churches to trigger a national referendum?
Yesterday, you heard Prime Minister Briceno kinda brush them off, saying that both he and his Minister of New Growth Industries have lamented the fact that the churches are pushing their petition after the Cannabis Bill has received full Parliamentary approval. It now only needs the assent of the Governor-General for it to become law.
So, should government push on? Or should it appease the churches?
Here's what Fonseca had to say today:
Hon. Francis Fonseca - Cabinet Minister
"Well, let me say that listen, the cabinet approved that bill. The National Assembly, of which I am a member, approve that bill and passed it into law. The Senate approved the bill and passed it into law. So, that is where it is, that obviously the bill has the support of the Cabinet. It has my support as a member of the Cabinet, as a member of the National Assembly. So that's where it is. That's where it is. The issue of a referendum, let's see what happens in terms of - we have yet to receive word from the Governor-General that any petition has been lodged with her office. At that time, we will take a look at it."
Daniel Ortiz
"So, what if the church actually gets to that 10% threshold? They make the case that no matter what has happened, the government, like any other citizen, has to comply with the law. And the law says if 10% of the registered voters have signed on to say they want a national referendum on it, shouldn't the Government comply?"
Hon. Francis Fonseca
"Well, that will have to be a decision of the Cabinet. So will we look at it at that time? As you know, there is case law that says declare dicta. In that case, the law says that the referendum cannot come after the first reading. So you can take a look at the Vellos case in which that matter was discussed. So the law - you know, you could argue both sides of the law, and obviously, the churches is quite free to challenge, in court, any decision that we ultimately make."
