The government is pressing forward with a new Bail Bill, citing urgent public safety concerns, whilst facing criticism from the opposition over the speed of the legislative process.
Attorney General Dale Marshall and Senator Lisa Cummins, leader of government business in the Senate, have defended the government’s approach to fast-track the draft legislation. In a joint statement, they explained that the Bill was being treated as “a matter of urgency given its importance to improving public safety in light of the recent spate of gun crime and violence”.
“The government sees this matter of a new Bail Bill as critically urgent,” the two ministers said. “It is only in extraordinary circumstances that we will debate a Bill in all of its stages but that is why early notice has been given and the meeting was held to review the draft with the attorney general.”
The move comes after Marshall announced the government’s intention to introduce a new Bail Bill last Monday. At the time, he said: “I expect that a new Bail Act will be before Parliament; not tomorrow, but by the following week. Bail and how it is dealt with in the courts is something that we recognise, and the prime minister announced it is something that we have to grapple with and we think that we have a solution for it.”
But Opposition Senator Tricia Watson has raised concerns about the procedural process. In a statement read on the Down To Brass Tacks radio call-in programme Senator Watson said: “The government has put a new Bail Bill on the House order paper which was emailed to its members last Friday after hours, to be debated [Tuesday] in the Lower House; that’s one business day’s notice.”
She further added: “The government has informed the Senate that they intend to deal with the Bill in all three stages and debate it in the Senate the next day after it passes. Regardless of what the leader of government business in the Senate and some others would have Barbadians believe, the Bill cannot go on the Senate order paper before it is passed in the Lower House, hence the notice of our next sitting has no order paper attached. Which means that the senators are being given less than 24 hours’ notice of that Bill.”
In response, Marshall and Cummins said: “The Government of Barbados has been very clear that there are certain issues that should not be politicised. How we deal with crime so that Barbadians feel safe in their own homes is one of those issues.”
They explained that Cabinet had approved the proposed Bail Bill last Thursday, and that “even before Cabinet was finished, notice was sent to both the leader of the opposition for his benefit and early notice and to Parliament that we wanted to have this Bill done in all of its stages due to its urgency”.
The Cabinet members also revealed that a meeting was arranged for Friday to discuss the proposed Bill with all senators. “It was only fair that if we were planning to deal with urgent matters, that we shared what was being proposed and discussed it with all parties and further arranged for the attorney general to explain the Bill and its context,” they stated.
But the two government ministers noted that while all senators were invited, none of the opposition members attended. “Senator Ryan Walters acknowledged the invitation but sent his apologies . . . It was an invitation issued through the formality of the Parliament of Barbados. Senator Watson did not even respond,” the statement said.
Marshall and Cummins accused Watson of trying to stir conflict: “It is unfortunate that we now have this position being taken by Senator Watson who appears to be depending on the public’s lack of background information on the working of the Senate to create what is rapidly becoming constantly unnecessary conflict. It is also unfortunate that in the interest of fairness and balance, the email was read [on the radio programme] without seeking to get clarity from the government or indeed the Parliament as to what transpired or indeed what were their respective responses to the allegations.
The proposed Bill, which will repeal and replace the existing Bail Act Cap 122A in its entirety is set to be debated in the House before moving to the Senate for final passage by week’s end. The government maintains that the expedited process is necessary due to the Bill’s critical importance in addressing crime and public safety concerns.
