Independent Senator Kevin Boyce has thrown his support behind the constitutional amendments brought to the chamber on Monday, saying they do not reduce citizens’ rights, even as he questioned the manner in which the country’s supreme law was being debated.
Senator Boyce stated that the original plan was to reform the Constitution incrementally, with a chapter addressed each month; however, that approach had not been followed.
He said: “So we find ourselves having to have these debates without the necessary historical or analytical assets to really do it in a fulsome manner. So I believe when the response comes, as it invariably will, as to why, that’s an issue which we need to look at, sir, the topics covered by the proposed amendment… of all the times we’ve amended it.”
He warned that frequent amendments could create interpretation challenges.
“Without having certain established guidelines, precedent either in case law or convention, it leads to difficulties with interpretation. So when we have these debates, I hear talk about expertise and constitutional scholars, all that is relevant, but a lot of it is a determination which we as legislators are seeking to make for the future of Barbados. That’s the preamble.”
As a senator appointed under Section 36(4), his test was whether rights were being reduced, and he concluded the amendment does not diminish citizens’ rights.
He raised concerns about appointing a speaker from outside Parliament and the implications of such a person holding a casting vote.
“The statement that I would ask the government to consider is that the requirement now is that we’re moving from an elected MP being a speaker to a position that the speaker shall not be an elected person. So we are saying we are done with having an elected person as a member, as we’re saying that no longer shall an elected MP be able to sit as Speaker of the House.”
He described the legislation as “interesting”, particularly the provision that “when the House of Assembly first meets after any dissolution of parliament and before it proceeds to the dispatch of any other business, it shall elect a person who is not a member of the House of Assembly or Senate to be the speaker.”
“I think that that limits the options which the government is seeking to create this independent post because it may be that you want an MP in the future to be your speaker.”
“You may be restricting the operation of the government in the future by saying that the person who is to be speaker shall not be an MP. The other issue, sir, is that the speaker who is not an MP has a casting vote.”
Senator Boyce acknowledged that other Caribbean countries have similar provisions but often allow more flexibility.
“In Dominica, the constitution allows the speaker to be elected either from within the House or from outside. So they give the option to either pick someone who is an MP, or you go outside… I believe there was some public discourse about that appointment towards the end, but Dominica is one of the Caribbean territories that actually exercised the power to elect someone from outside of the members of parliament to be speaker.
“In St Kitts, it provides for the speaker and the deputy speaker that when the National Assembly first meets after any general election and before it proceeds to the dispatch of any other business, it shall elect a person to be the Speaker of Assembly and that person may be elected from among the members of the National Assembly or from persons who are not members of the assembly, but who are qualified.
“In Trinidad – the constitution under Section 50 allows the speaker to be again elected from outside of parliament, but in practice, say for example received from the leader of government business, most speakers have been current or former MPs.”
He noted that where speakers are external, casting votes are often limited, and warned that Barbados may be restricting itself more than comparable jurisdictions.
“Do we say we like to follow, or we don’t follow or rely on the precedent? The understanding is that you have a speaker who is supposed … who is independent, and the other parties, the major ones, don’t run against the speaker. That’s the understanding. We are trying to establish our own conventions as a new republic.”
He questioned whether the government had considered the implications of a non-member speaker having a casting vote and whether flexibility had been built into the legislation.
“Adjust the wording, which says it shall be from outside of the MPs, to give the option that it could be within or without in terms of the person who is selected as speaker. The principle, sir, I have no issue with. I believe that it certainly makes good sense. I believe it is something which encourages the independence of the office.”
(LG)
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