Quotable Quotes From the House of Quotes! (What’s this thing between the LOO and Rats, Anyway?)

“My name is not written on any position in the SLP. My navel string is not buried in any position in the party. I did not enter politics to gather triumphs of personal distinction. No, it cannot be about the preservation of personal political power because we can only lead our party back to victory if principle and unity are values above selfish ambition.” – Alva Baptiste after his ouster as SLP First Deputy Leader (October)

“Obviously the criminals have taken their game to a new level and it is up to law enforcement to up our game.”– Police Superintendent George Nicholas (November)

“I am my own man. I don’t have to define myself. I will not be like a rat and say that I agree with this and I agree with that.”– Philip J Pierre (November)

“Listen, Mr. Speaker, that’s the party which speaks about friends, family and foreigners. But here’s what they did. They introduced VAT in a manner that gave foreign entities an advantage over local manufacturers. We’re finally putting that right today!” – Guy Joseph (November)

“I have ample time to serve the Speaker and serve him I will. Our Constitution is only a piece of paper; it does not defend itself. It needs the citizens to defend it. If the citizens don’t defend it, it will be trampled upon by the politicians; they love to do that. If we don’t, who will? You think somebody will come from Mars and do it for us?” – Martinus Francois (September)

“There are no plans to have her Majesty replaced on our banknotes. Until such time as we decide otherwise, that is part of our notes . . . As a legal matter, if we have to change the image of her Majesty, we have to seek the express permission of her Majesty, and obviously that’s a process and that takes time.” – ECCB Governor Timothy Antoine (June) 

“In the coming days people will feel the wrath of the police. People will really see what the police are doing. Not that we’ve not been doing, but we are going to intensify some of the things we’ve done.“ – Police Commissioner Severin Monchery (October)

“A Philip J. Pierre administration will not conduct an inquiry into a matter that it doesn’t think deserves an inquiry. That includes Grynberg and many other things.” – Philip J Pierre (May)

“They call it a hospital ship . . . but it’s also a hotel. Everything is nice here.
You get your food, they see after you night and day. I came in walking bent over but I’m coming out walking straight. Everybody should come. Bless up the Americans!”– Evan Jn. Baptiste (September) 

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing this morning from the member for Castries Southeast. He’s a seasoned parliamentarian of great dexterity, shall we say . . . ”  – Kenny Anthony (December)

“Listen to the dangerous part of it: We take our school children to visit that, we give them ice cream. I mean; this is cynical, Andre, it’s cynical! It’s disrespectful! Look at the number of investment projects that have happened in this country; have they ever brought children to view it? We build several hotels, we build HESS, we had so many major investments. But look at how the government believes that they can take people for a ride. So you give them ice cream. This is cynical and I don’t want to tell you what that means because I’ll be offensive if I say it on the air. It is cynical. So you bring them and you give them ice cream. Come and see, come and see horses in stables . . . So what are you doing? You nurturing a culture of gambling.” – Philip J. Pierre (November)

“The running of the inaugural Pitons Cup stamps Saint Lucia as the newest member of the international racing family. More particularly, it launches the Pearl of the Caribbean Development, a project of such breadth and sophistication, it may not only regenerate Saint Lucia’s south but be positively transformative to the nation as a whole.” – Sir Neville Cenac (December)

“Be careful of the United Workers Party, very careful of them. Do not fall for their tricks. And I’ll tell you something: you see all what’s happening in Dominica, that’s well planned. And it was planned in Saint Lucia, it was planned in Saint Lucia to happen in Dominica.”– Dr. Ernest Hilaire (December)

“If we have to go further, it’s also in our laws that a man cannot marry his sister, neither a woman her brother. So if two persons are grown and they want to do it, should we change the law to accommodate them? Should a mother be able to marry her son?”– Bishop Thomas Eristhee (October)

“You know, Mr. Speaker, I sat quietly, listened to what the members had to say; continuously misleading the house, continually lying, continuing to exaggerate what the truths are.”– Allen Chastanet (June)

“I see the DPP as being very ambitious. But the DPP needs to come out and tell us what’s happening with IMPACS. As we’ve said before, if he has evidence regarding any of the killings, he should prosecute. Let the courts decide the veracity of the evidence.” – PWA President Travis Chicot (July)

“I have no intention of answering any questions you ask. If you want to be a politician, be a politician. Then we will deal with it from a political perspective.” – Guy Joseph to Janeka Simon (June)

“As I have said before, journalists are political actors. I make no apologies for that.” – Janeka Simon (June)

“What’s the root cause of crime? One of the main ones is the number of young girls who are having children under the age of 18 and having children with different men, following the pattern of their mothers and their grandmothers.” – Allen Chastanet (May)

“Mr. Speaker, when I got the order paper and a copy of the amendment on Thursday or Friday, it looked very simple to me. But I had to look deeper to find out what was there, knowing the government has a tendency sometimes . . . that in order to kill a rat, they burn a house.” – Philip J. Pierre (November)

“I stopped listening to Dr. Anthony a long time ago. Once we get advice from the lawyers, one of the options clearly is to be able to have an inquiry to find out the details of the case. If in fact the former Prime Minister Dr. Anthony refuses to speak on the issue or to provide any of the details, then maybe he’s gonna have to do it in front of an inquiry.”  – Allen Chastanet (June)

“Don’t rough your life too much. If I had roughed my life when I was young, I wouldn’t be alive today!” – 108-year-old Annius Sonny (November)

“If you truly are sorry, I can speak for myself, I forgive you.  And I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you. Again I’m speaking for myself, but I love you just like anyone else. I’m not gonna say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did, but I personally want the best for you. And I wasn’t going to ever say this in front of my family or anyone, but I don’t even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you, because I know that’s exactly what Botham would want you to do. And the best would be to give your life to Christ. I’m not going to say anything else. I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want you to do. Again, I love you as a person and I don’t wish anything bad on you. “I don’t know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug please? Please?” – Brandt Jean (October) addressing the female officer found guilty by a Texas court of shooting his brother to death in his own apartment.