#BTColumn – Apparitions: Where is Gline Clarke?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today Inc.

by Guy Hewitt

I was contacted by a fellow citizen suggesting that she recently saw Gline Clarke in the vicinity of St. George Parish Church. I advised that it must be an apparition as our High Commissioner to Canada must be hard at work in Ottawa.  How wrong I was.

When I perused the Government of Canada’s website on Foreign Representatives in Canada: Heads of Missions, I was shocked and dismayed to discover that Barbados has no representative listed, not even a chargé d’affaires.

I could not conceive that Canada, one of our strongest and most strategic trading partners, would be snubbed diplomatically by Barbados. But then again, we are sending a boy to do a man’s job elsewhere.

I raise this not just as another concerned citizen but also out of the mandate given to each Barbadian by PM Mottley when she said: “Gimme de vote and watch muh.” So said so done; we are scrutinising. Recently a member of the Senate sought to enquire as to my qualifications to question the Government.

Therefore, for purposes of elucidation, I share my Twitter profile: Child of God, husband, father, friend, social development specialist, West Indian, Anglican priest and former Ambassador. While it may be a challenge to some in the current Administration, I can walk and chew gum at the same time.

What was the rush to recall Reginald Farley and leave Ottawa unattended? There was no urgency to remove Sir Richard Cheltenham as President of the Senate. He could easily have served in that role along with his brother Chief Justice Patterson Cheltenham, just as brothers Jack and Robert Kennedy did in the US and David and Ed Miliband did in the United Kingdom. Perhaps there was more in the mortar than the pestle.

So why is High Commissioner Clarke here? This question is of particular concern at a time when Barbados faces its most severe recession, and Barbadians face the highest levels of unemployment and financial uncertainty. At this time of fiscal crisis, with the already ‘ginormous’ size of the Cabinet of Barbados (or better yet a wardrobe), and a ‘bariffle’ of economic advisors, how do we justify possibly having more ambassadors on payroll in Barbados than working abroad?

So why is High Commissioner Clarke here? It shouldn’t be insufficient time for him to relocate, as we were told in September that he would be resigning from Parliament on September 30 to take up the post of Barbados’ High Commissioner to Canada. Nearly eight months later he is still in Barbados, presumably on payroll. My paid orientation before deployment was one month.

So why is High Commissioner Clarke here? It shouldn’t be that he couldn’t travel? We all saw the reports of Pierre Arcand, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec, holidaying in Barbados for New Years. We know the Government of Canada only suspend all flights to and from the Caribbean on January 31. Further, flights have been operating through Miami to the greater US and Canada.

So why is High Commissioner Clarke here? It shouldn’t be that he is having second thoughts about giving up his Canadian Citizenship as PM Mottley assured us that he agreed to renounce this. Perhaps he appreciates the real cost of surrendering it particularly Canada’s health insurance card, especially given the emerging challenges at the Queen  Elizabeth Hospital.

For those who wonder how I didn’t encounter similar problems as Barbados’ first London-born high commissioner to the UK, my being ‘London-born’ was of significance. Having being born in the UK, I took no oath of alliance. To become a Canadian citizen you must swear an oath that you “will be faithful and bear true allegiance” to Canada and “fulfil duties as a Canadian citizen.”

So why is High Commissioner Clarke here? Perhaps of greater relevance to his being a Canadian citizen is that under the Constitution of Barbados on Disqualifications for membership of Assembly, Section 44. (1) a) stated up to 2018 that: “No person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly who is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign Power or State…”

The Clerk of Parliament would need to confirm whether the Constitution was breached, which should be of interest not only to all concerned citizens but I presume Canada as well. Perhaps the Minister of Foreign Affairs can shed light on High Commissioner Clarke’s situation.

To all those who have reached out to me, I thank you for your support. As Barack Obama assured us, “In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.” May God continue to be our people’s guide.

Guy Hewitt is committed to Barbados. He resides in Florida.