The Senate meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday February 24th has been cancelled.
The meeting was announced 11 days ago as a virtual session. But, when the independent senators indicated that they would go to the senate chamber to log in from there - it created a point of contention with the President of the Senate, Carolyn Trench Sandiford and the Leader of Government Business, Eamon Courtenay. They believe the independent senators sitting in the chamber would make it a hybrid sitting and there is no provision for that in the Senate Standing Orders.
Responding with what can be interpreted as a flex, the President today cancelled the meeting.
But, were the independent Senators trying to show up the government for having another virtual meeting by going to the Chamber? We asked the Churches Senator Luis Wade via zoom:
Louis Wade, Church Senator
"I was prepared for the meeting and I believe my fellow independent Senators were prepared as well. We were also not given a reason why they wanted to have the meetingvirtual either. Virtual meetings are supposed to be for emergencies and such contingencies. And so, I live in Belmopan, just a stone's throw away from the National Assembly and my colleagues were already going to be be in Belmopan and so we collectively wrote the clerk of the National Assembly to have the use of, of the chamber, reason being because even for me it was difficult for me to find a location where I could have 6-8 hours of privacy, proper lighting, etc. and so we were already going to be in Belmopan. We had received approval from the clerk of the National Assembly to use the location so it came as a surprise that the meeting was cancelled."
"The interpretation may be taken that you all might not have been happy, you all might see it as an abuse of the provision 12a I believe it is in the standing orders which allows for virtual meetings under very specific circumstances and none of those circumstances currently pertain. Was it an act of mild defiance to say, you you all don't want to meet in the Senate, we will still be here in the Senate where Senators belong. Was it an attempt to show up the government's side?"
"Well I don't think its decision that the government's side should have made in the first instance because I think its, if the president is absent there's a process for that if a senator is absent there's a process for that and now we welcome a process wherein case of an emergency or such contingencies there's the opportunity for virtual meeting."
"I have enjoyed the work of the Senate, the business leader has done an excellent job at bringing the entire senate together to work on bills for the national good and yes we have had issues as it relates to specifically to smart and BTL that is not a secret we had press conference and press briefing but besides that I am not aware anything else."
The four independent Senators are those from the business community, NGO sector, labour unions and the churches.
