“Let’s Get On With The People’s Business”
[Updated] “Let’s get on with the people’s business, let the will of the people prevail and let the House sit,” the “We Support A Pathway To Bermuda Status” group said today.
House Session Delayed
Their statement follows after the postponement of the House of Assembly session, with Monday’s sitting cancelled as MPs could not enter the building as the demonstrators formed a ‘human wall’ around the entire building serving to block MPs from entering.
The House was then supposed to sit on Wednesday, however that session was cancelled the night before, and as it stands now, the House is scheduled to sit again on Friday.
People have remained gathered on the House of Assembly grounds on Friday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and today; and are expected to also gather tomorrow – when the House is scheduled to be in session again.
Group’s Statement
The statement from the group said, “The current impasse over Pathways reminds us of President Obama’s efforts to nominate a Supreme Court justice.
“All he wants to do is perform his constitutional duty and for his colleagues in the Senate to do the same. His judicial nominees deserve at the very least a debate and an up-or-down vote.
“In Bermuda, we face the same conundrum. Our Government has a constitutional duty to propose laws and our Legislature has a constitutional duty to consider and scrutinize those laws. However, this process falls apart when a small minority takes it upon themselves to physically prevent MPs from debating this legislation.
“We, the people, deserve a debate and an up-or-down vote on Pathways. Not only are there more supporters of Pathways than there are opponents, there are more people in favour of the Government’s proposals than in favour of “Bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”
“All we want is for the Government and Legislature to be permitted to do their job and give effect to the will of the people.
“We urge all persons to email the Premier, the Speaker and Governor with one simple message: let’s get on with the people’s business, let the will of the people prevail and let the House sit. In other words, let’s have an up-or-down vote.”
You can follow our live updates on the matter here.
Update 9.51pm: Following the announcement that the Government has agreed to withdraw the Bill and will “enable further community input” and Parliament will “consider immigration reforms in stages, the We Support A Pathway To Bermuda Status group said, “We are disappointed that the OBA Government has withdrawn the ‘Pathways’ Bill.
“However, we still have hope that the Government is dealing with the important parts of the legislation in a staged approach. We will continue to monitor developments and to hold the Government and all community stakeholders accountable. We also hope that this will be an opportunity to improve the legislation.”
