Opposition leader protests “disrespect for Speaker!”

Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Assembly took a dramatic turn with opposition parliamentarians once again storming out of the House, this time in protest against Prime Minister Allen Chastanet’s refusal to follow a directive by House Speaker Andy Daniel. During Chastanet’s rebuttal on the Saint Lucia National Economic Fund Bill he referenced certain contributions by opposing MPs: “You know, Mr. Speaker, I sat quietly listening to what the members on the other side had to say, continuously misleading the House, continually lying, continuing to exaggerate the truth.” Daniel objected to Chastanet’s use of the word “lying” and requested he withdraw it. A short time earlier Chastanet had used the same word and withdrawn it on the Speaker’s intervention. Not so the second time around.   

While speaking on money derived from the Citizenship by Investment Programme, and the opposition’s claim that the government has not accounted for it, Chastanet read from the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure 2019/20, which he claimed showed how the money will be used. At this point, the Castries South MP, Ernest Hilaire, rose to inform the Speaker that the prime minister was misleading the House. Chastanet responded: “This is the problem, you know. It’s when members on the other side cannot even substantiate their own lies and misleading.”

Speaker Andy Daniel:  “It is unparliamentary to refer to any member as a liar. And to say a member has spoken lies is to call him a liar.” He called on the Micoud South MP to withdraw his words, to no avail. Instead, the MP said: “Mr. Speaker, I refuse to withdraw that statement.” His refusal inspired loud groans indicative of shock from opposition MPs. A back and forth ensued between the Speaker and Chastanet, which concluded with the Speaker ending the Prime Minister’s presentation by putting the question to the House. As usual, the government side’s ayes had it. At which point, predictably, the opposition picked up their papers and filed out of the House.

Later the House opposition leader Philip J. Pierre told the STAR: “The prime minister cannot afford to tell the Speaker that he is not doing what the Speaker asks. We think that’s wrong; we think it’s disrespectful to the House, so we walked out.” Pierre’s recommendation was that the prime minister should simply have followed the Speaker’s ruling since the Speaker always has the final word in the House. If only MPs consistently behaved according to Tuesday’s Pierre!