Saint Lucia Government defends COVID-19 legislation

The Saint Lucia Government is defending the COVID-19 (Prevention & Control) Bill even as the Bar Association of Saint Lucia urged it to defer its tabling in Parliament pending “pubic  consultation and review and comment” from the association.

“The passing of such an important Bill through all stages at this one sitting of Parliament without stakeholder consultation is unacceptable,” the lawyers said in a letter to Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and Attorney General, Stephen Julien.

“The Government of Saint Lucia would have had ample time to undertake the necessary consultation on this Bill and we should under no circumstances accept a compromise of our rights and civil liberties due to this lack of understanding of the necessity of public consultation, our democracy and the Rule of Law,” the Bar Association said, noting that it had only been made aware of the legislation last Friday through social media.

But Julien told reporters that the legislation, which is scheduled for debate in the Parliament on Tuesday, had been the subject of proper and sufficient consultation.

“I could give you the assurance that everything taken into consideration; time and the need to protect the citizenry, that this thing was done with sufficient consultation,” Julien told the online publication Loop News.

The main opposition St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) has also condemned the government’s decision to pass the legislation.

“As the Government attempts to pass the COVID-19 (Prevention & Control) Bill today, which effectively replaces the State of Emergency and will be in effect for two years, organizations are registering their concern and lack of public consultation on such a draconian bill.

“The Government should do the Honourable thing and defer the reading of the bill to ensure public consultation on such an important matter,” the SLP said in a statement.

Opposition Leader Phillip J Pierre urged St. Lucians to take a stand against the measure.

“St. Lucia, you have been repeatedly warned against the anti-democratic nature of this UWP (United Workers Party) government. Another draconian law will be passed today! A SoE under another name for two years. Enough is enough. We must stand and be counted,” Pierre said.

The government says the legislation replaces the State of Emergency (SOE) which comes to an end on September 30. The SOE had been put in place as part of the island’s measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has infected 27 people here since the first case was detected in March.

“We’ve always said we’ve used the State of Emergency specifically for COVID and now that we know at this stage, six months after the fact that COVID is going to be with us for a while, we have no idea when COVID is going to end and a requirement for Saint Lucia to remain on high alert is still there. So we’ve done a specific Bill which is for COVID,’ Chastanet said.

He said the COVID-19 Bill consists of several legislative authorities form different acts, adding “the fundamental thing to understand is that under the State of Emergency, the authority is the prime minister.

“In this act, what we have done is bring the authority back to the ministry as well as go the technocrats as well as the minister. I think this is a landmark legislation which allows us to proceed and this is not unprecedented.”

Julien said that the legislation had been “in circulation from last week and everyone had an opportunity to consume it, however, because of time and because of the national need we could not have consulted with everyone”.

But he assured reporters that that all stakeholders, including public health officials and other technocrats, were consulted.

“I can say to you that attorneys of quite a lot of experience have had sight of it,” Julien said.

The legislation is expected to be passed given the government’s majority and will remain in effect for two years.

The bill makes reference to declaration of quarantine facilities, social distancing and suspension of liquor licenses as well as COVID-19 protocols and COVID-19 certification for the tourism industry.

It also makes reference to travel requirements, and electronic monitoring to track those in quarantine.