A motion on Trinidad and Tobago’s water crisis, tabled by Opposition MP for Arouca/Lopinot Marvin Gonzales, could not proceed after he failed to move the motion before his allotted time expired.
The Speaker of the House, Jagdeo Singh, said the time had been closely monitored, including a final warning just seconds before it ran out.
“The Standing Orders are clear, the mover of a motion has 45 minutes. Let me have recourse to the electronic record. At four and half minutes, the honourable Member inquired of me how much time he had and I said, you have four and half minutes. At 20 seconds before the expiration of the time, I said to the procedural clerk loud enough for the Member to hear, he has 20 seconds again.”
But when the allotted time expired, the motion had still not been moved.
When another Opposition MP subsequently attempted to second the motion, the Speaker ruled that there was no motion before the House to second.
“There are two things that happened here, the time expired, the Member failed to move his motion in time, the Member then took his seat, then the member for Diego Martin North East attempted to stand to move a motion, to second a motion which had not been moved. The broad conceptual issue is does a motion which has not been moved survives? And the answer to that is a plain and obvious no.”
The Speaker then said there was one possible way forward, but it required the agreement of the House to suspend the Standing Orders.
“There can be a consensus as to the suspension of the Standing Orders pursuant to Standing Order 122. If the House agrees, we will suspend the Standing Order, allow you to do it. If the House doesn’t agree, members regulate themselves.”
That agreement did not come from the Government.
Leader of Government Business Barry Padarath made the position clear: “Mr Speaker, the government will not engage in an infraction against the Standing Orders of this House.”
In a statement after the sitting, Minister Padarath accused the Opposition of derailing its own business, while insisting the Government was prepared to defend its record on improving the national water supply.
He said, however, that the Government would not compromise the Standing Orders or parliamentary procedure.