Governor takes ‘nuclear option’ on Ritch Report
(CNS): In the most emphatic effort yet by the authorities to keep a lid securely on the controversial Ritch Report, which was commissioned by the premier, the governor has signed a certificate declaring that the Information Commissioner’s Office cannot see this secret report. Using what can only be termed as a ‘nuclear option’, the certificate, which cannot be challenged in court, states that Governor Helen Kilpatrick “has determined that the examination of the record by the Information Commissioner would not be in the public interest”.
However, according to the ICO, Kilpatrick has given no further reasons. This gives rise to further speculation about what government is trying to hide in this now infamous report, which relates to a review of government’s immigration law and policies, as it is the first time this part of the Freedom of Information Law has ever been used. Even when the governor had her own protracted court fight with the ICO over the very controversial Aina Report, which related to Operation Tempura, she did not sign such a certificate.
According to Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers, on Tuesday the two applicants who had made freedom of information requests to see the Ritch Report had been told about the certificate, which was issued under subsection 45(2) of the Freedom of Information Law.
The law provides for the commissioner to see all documents, even exempt ones, in order to carry out an investigation when he is conducting a hearing for an appeal over a record that has been withheld so that he can determine whether a government agency has acted lawfully. Records can only be kept from the commissioner via this certificate from the governor, who can certify that releasing a document would not be in the public interest and, most importantly, it cannot be challenged in the courts.
The law states: “(3) A certificate given by the Governor under subsection (2) shall not be subject to challenge in judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings of any kind.”
Liebaers said he was now considering this new development. The chief justice ruled that he could not see the report as it was protected by legal privilege but he has already filed an appeal with the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal to have this decision reviewed. But he said this latest move from the governor added to a list of “firsts” when it comes to this FOI case.
He said it was the first case where an order from the information commissioner issued under section 45(1) requiring that a responsive record be produced was explicitly repudiated; it’s the first time that a ministerial certificate was issued under section 25(1)(b) stating that the record in question was exempt; the first time that a notice under section 48, in which the information commissioner certifies in writing a failure to comply with an order under section 45 was heard by the chief justice under the rules relating to contempt of court; and it was the first time his office had filed a case with the Court of Appeal.
And now it is “the first time that the governor has issued a certificate under section 45(2), stating that it would not be in the public interest for the information commissioner to examine the record”, Liebaers said. “We continue to assess the situation.”
But it is not clear where the ICO can turn to next to get access to what is meant to be merely a review by a local attorney of the point system that forms part of the immigration law that deals with permanent residency.
The more government tries to keep this document secret, the more the community speculates about the content. With an election looming, many people speculate that Premier Alden McLaughlin may want to keep a lid on the Ritch Report because it could indicate that government will need to address the mounting permanent residency backlog and the problems with the immigration law via some form of block grant or residency, or even Caymanian Status. But there is no certainty that this is the case.
One of the political footballs that has fueled the animosity between the PPM (led by the premier) and the CDP (formerly the UDP) has been the issue of the 2003 mass status grants. To reveal that his party may have inadvertently given rise to another such debacle could be just too much information, even for the man who introduced and steered through the FOI law.
Category: Local News
There’s obviously a lot of damning information in this report that the CIG and FCO are trying to keep from the public eye… This begs the question though, why do we need to ask for the report to be made public?
PR applicants should just put their money together and fund a similar Ritch report of our own and know exactly where we all stand… I for one would be willing to pay CI$350 to open the can of worms and publish the findings for all to see… 🙂
Instead of trying to screw the country that is giving you a chance at citizenship “cuz it’s taking too long…snif snif”, why don’t you abandon the application and use the money for a ticket home.
What would you tell the 11 million illegals in the USA screaming for their human rights?
If ever there was a poor question. Illegals is the operative word! You don’t have a right to land in another country outside of the law and demand protection within the law.
Comparing that situation to this one is not appropriate.
I wonder how much money has passed hands this time. Clearly this “governor” isn’t acting in the best interests of these islands with this very selfish act! I think it’s time for the public purse to stop paying her and for her to get out of these islands. It’s one thing to be put as basically a figurehead, but when you start meddling at your leisure that’s taking things too far.
I bet you now people will see who is really in charge of things. The U.K.
Of course they are. What, you want to cut the cord now? Good then we can change our motto to “he hath foundered it upon the seas”.
I thought Alden the coward was the stooge but it appears to be the other way around!! Red Bay, Newlands and Georgetown North and Prospect voters please send the PPM a very loud and strong message vote them out of office may 24
This will be another mess that will have to be addressed like the status grants. You cannot treat people this way, have their lives in turmoil for years. The typical Caymanian way of sweeping things under a rug hoping that it will go away. It won’t – it just gets worse. The irony of the status grants is you had a MAJORITY of the recipients who lived and worked here for years who dedicated themselves to the betterment of this country only to be shamed and disgraced by being on this “list”. What a welcome to being Caymanian. I was never so surprised when I looked at the list with people from all walks of life who greatly contributed to our way of life. Yet the hate and vitriol was unbearable and left a stain on what should have been a proud and memorable moment. Now we are heading in the same direction and Alden is playing politics. We sooooo need a statesman to make the tough decisions for the betterment of this Country not this pompous arrogant a** who only cares about being re elected at any cost! Someone please leak the report! Yes, for the nonsense debate to start I am a born Caymanian! I am from the school of thought that a Caymanian is Caymanian as long as you love this Country and assimilate within our society. Don’t get me wrong I know a lot of driftwood but that’s not the subject at hand, let’s elevate the discussion and find a solution to this very deep rooted problem.
You have elevated me, thank you.
100% agree with your post.
PR ….. Status grant or whatever… you all haven’t got the message yet??? we do not owe these applicants anything. It is what it is, you all had a good ride etc, etc.. What else do you all want. Do what us Caymanians have to do when we find ourselves in another’s COUNTRY and find ourselves in “limbo” …. hop on the plane. END OF SUBJECT
you can thank Alden for the entitled expectation of expats….he cares nothing about the Caymanian people.
Cayman peeps more in to “CaymanKind”. Talk lot’s of shit…
Fear not my fellow Caymanians. We all know they were will be a “natural” clearance when our next inevitable major hurricane does its handiwork.
These frauds are always exposed for the fakes they will always be.
Umm- wasn’t there a net increase in the numbers after Ivan?
The majority of comments here exemplify the limited understanding of the general public in an emerging state/country/territory. If the Cayman Islands had been a functioning political entity for the past several hundred years people would by now have come to realise that no government can function if every thought, report, assessment, study or discussion were made public. Government must be able to deliberate in secret whilst making it’s conclusions public at an appropriate time.
Journalists and political opportunists invariably think they have a right to know everything; they are wrong!
What absolute rubbish you write. This is a report about the public and paid for by the public, not a report on state security or its enemies it is about their own people and immigration. The ICO at least deserves to see if the government is telling the truth or whether it is anout politics.
And what qualifications does the information commissioner possess to enable him to be able to determine whether something constitutes legal advice?
Don’t give me the law says so…
Let us be objective. The only person capable of determining that is a judge in a court of law and we already had one who did that.
So what you all need to do is figure out who is financially benefiting from the acting ICO continuing this Duguayian vanity show.
Read the chief justice’s ruling. And translate it into French or Belgian.
Belgian?
Welcome to the William Pitt totalitarian state!
Well said 10:04am. Thank you.
No one should be surprised that the Governor has taken this action.
When she wanted to keep the Caymanian public from seeing the Aina Report that highlighted who had messed up on Operation Tempura while her office was fully responsible for law enforcement, she wasn’t spending UK money to try to keep the report under wraps. Our brilliant Premier was giving her the $100K’s that she needed pay the lawyers.
When she didn’t like the car that she was driven around in, even though it had less than 40Kmi on it, she told our brilliant Premier that she wanted a Jaguarrrrr. Do you think she’s ever owned a Jaguar in her life? No. But our brilliant Premier bought her one. And he bought her one in spite of the fact that as Minister of Health he knew that the Hospital needed an ambulance. But he couldn’t help them with that; sorry.
That left Franz and hundreds of people to run up and down the road to raise money for the Heart Fund to help buy an ambulance. And what did Lady Helen say in her Christmas message: “I never fail to be impressed by the generosity of the Cayman Island people towards others, and this year is no exception. This work has helped so many people in the Cayman Islands, for example, the Heart Fund has just presented the HSA with a brand new ambulance which will be of huge benefit to the community.” She left out “. . after I got my new Jaguarrrr”.
So we shouldn’t be surprised that when our brilliant Premier is caught in a corner with nowhere to run that he would turn for help from the one who he has helped so much and who shares his warped notion that it is okay to use the public’s money to gain knowledge for oneself BUT keep the public who paid for it ignorant.
We can all mourn Helen’s extension because there is little we can do about that. What we can do something about though is bringing our brilliant Premier’s reign of glory to an end on 24 May. Let us all work hard and try to ensure that the voters in Red Bay tell him in clear and certain terms what they think about him spending $312K of the public’s money for his own education, sitting on it for a year and leaving the whole of Cayman ignorant while he behaves like a ‘setting hen’.
Thank you for speaking the truth 4:55pm.
Wake-up Cayman, you have been fooled.
I wonder does the Jag’ have a 12 v cooler in the back ? Jeeves, time to top up the Gin T supplies , tonic water , bitter lemon and limes. Election day is nigh .
“Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves” lest we forget! Tempura, Ritch Report, what next? I for one cannot wait 30 years for the pressure cooker lid to come off this one! LOL. My bet is that it is a powder keg of human rights that could decide the fates of many PR applicants. No naked lights please.
Tears form at the eyes, because most people in Cayman have no clue how bad it is.
The U.K is not saint in all of this, neither is the FCO.
While she’s awake someone should get her to look at the Mexican family refugee letter.
Don’t be fooled luv, she is always awake!
Does anyone know if the Governor is MI6?
The Governor is employed by the FCO. MI6 reports to the FCO. Different functions, same boss.
Without seeing the Ritch Report. I think that the Governor have used the nuclear option in the case at the best time , and best intrest of the Islands purse .
Can we imagine this Report giving the Lawyer’s all the tools that would help them successfully sue the Government over the PR issue . The Cayman Islands would not be able to have enough money to spend on another project for the Islands .
What I say that we all should make sure of that all of the new Government coming sit down in a closed door session to discuss and debate this Ritch Report , and corruption , so that they can make a new PR Law , so that people who are applying for PR can be treated fairly and their lives are not left in limbo .
The Ritch report will most likely expose the plan to confer status on thousands of expats, effectively eliminating the voice of born Caymanians.
Some of us already know.
If indeed your suspicions are true, at least these will not be economic dependants and droves of their families who have swamped the social services.
Being born here does not confer any respectful voice for the land, people, businesses, or laws. You need only review the nationalities of those occupying Northward or those firms bulldozing the environment to confirm that. I’m glad to see the influx of deserved, law-abiding, contributing, and financially beneficial Permanent Residents. Welcome to all of them!
Was Robert Aspinall law abiding? Please….get over yourselves.
There is corruption everywhere. The Brits aren’t any different, neither the Americans or Europeans….you will always have corruption because the system we thrive on was built on it!!!!
11:50am, you got bigger balls than Trump! 🙂
Wow, honesty is such a turn-on these days, and dare I say refreshing!
Thank you, because this is the ugly truth ladies and gentlemen; read it, let it sink in and then realize what it means for you, your children and their children to come.
To all the greedy, self-serving Politicos who sold all their Caymanian people out for a dollar; may God have mercy on you all, because the people of these islands will not!
All this expat stroking is hilarious.
This is becoming a disturbing trend. 1st she obstructs justice by withholding a letter from the UNHRC regarding asylum, and now unilaterally deciding what the public can and can’t know.
I am already regretting the extension of her contract.
Do you honestly think this Governor or any other does anything without instructions from the FCO? 100 years ago when mail took a while, maybe, today with real time communication, no. The Governor position could be occupied by an iguana and the outcome on key policy decisions would be the same.
Excellent post. About time citizens/residents actually learn the roles of various branches of government and the separation of powers.
I absolutely agree with you, as to who is pulling the strings and should have included it in my post. That said, I stand by my comment about the trend.
Can someone Leak these reports?
I will tell you one ting this is the most vindictive and UK compliant government ever to set foot in that legislative Assembly!
This situation is nothing like the UDP/CDP status give-away. This is about getting the vetting process correct and fair. Yes it has taken too long but better late & correct than never.
The 2003 debacle was done with NO vetting whatsoever. A few were deserving and qualified but most were not.
So why did the PPM not act to revoke them?
Cabinet Grants cannot be revoked
Not true.
They cannot be revoked now. Local law will not trump ECHR obligations.
You dummy! The PPM deliberately stonewalled the legal right to a path to citizenship – worse, they paid an entire full time government Dept to do nothing for 4 years. Now we’re getting sued by 2. With tens and perhaps hundreds of equally valid claims to follow. How do you construe that it took 4 years to achieve “fairness”?!? Are you on crack?
No but sounds like you may be. Which “entire department” did nothing for 4 years?
The FCO are running the show. It bemuses me that there lack of openness transparency and accountability which they only adhere to when it suits them completely undermines there credibility and is insulting to the people of the Cayman Islands First all that Caymanian money wasted in trying to keep the Aina report quite and away from scrutiny. When Bridger raised his concerns with the Premier McLaughlin who is not interested in the truth hides behind slagging him off in the legislative assembly…..All music to the ears of the Fco. When is anyone in the Cayman Islands going to challenge those who selectively play games ‘with the truth’
Mckeeva come on man and say something or have the FCO now got you under control.
10:15 You ever tried dealing with anyone from the FCO face-to-face? Trust me I have and their job is to feed you tea, biscuits and complete bull***t!
McKeeva….? Please not him again , please save Cayman from another term of back room deals and vindictive silencing of anyone who would dares question what he does.
Stop your crying…your applications will soon be heard.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of the law is watching the news reporting on these matters with horror. The Ritch Report is legal advice and it is privileged. The contents do not matter. The circumstances in which the advice was given is what matters.
Implying the report is not privileged and/or should not be withheld is underhanded. Speculating about the contents, especially during election season, is abhorrent. I honestly can’t tell whether this is an attempt to force the Premier’s hand or just irresponsible reporting.
The ICO has demonstrated at every turn that they are irresponsible as well. Just because you have an power in law does not mean you can exercise it willy-nilly.
The misinformation is astounding. Hold strong, Mr. McLaughlin. Many of us know you are in the right here.
Thank you for this comment. Unfortunately the concept of legal advice privilege is lost on many.
Hmmm… well I do understand your comment @8:35am, but I’m wondering if it’s a bit limited. The government is an agent for the people, what it does should be in the interest of the people in general, right? Right. Which is why the results of the environmental impact assessment engaged by gov’t was distributed to the public because it was done in the public’s interest – regardless of the results of the assessment; although I admit that was a different scenario.
Looking at it from a purely legal standpoint; legal advice, no matter who the recipient is, is privileged information. If it is in fact the case that this CANNOT be shared with the public, why engage it in the first place? Understand me now, if the government’s job is solely to operate in interest of the people, theoretically, anything done should be open to public scrutiny, whether by the general public or a third party agent working on behalf of the general public who can advise the general public (such as the ICO or some other person/office) on the aspects of the request and the advice given for the betterment of the general public.
It appears to many that the gov’t received a self-inflicted political wound for using a significant amount of public funds for a legal research report that they apparently always intended to keep secret from public if its contents weren’t within the message they wanted to send to the general public. At this point their original intentions are less important than the poorly advised execution of the matter. In other words, they must have seen this coming – yet still they are playing catch-up and doing a lot of damage control.
My point is – why engage the report in the first place if t was not in the public’s interest? The question for me remains, ‘when does the gov’t interest and the public interest diverge when gov’t is acting on behalf of the public?’ Not to mention the delay in even beginning the process of completing CORE campaign promise, which was immigration reform.
Would like to hear facts & opinions on this point
The issue is not whether the report is privileged or not – which you are not in a position to comment on unless you have seen it and have the legal expertise to make that determination. Its the fact that the Governor has prevented the legal experts on the Court of Appeal from determining that point and acting in their role as a check and balance on the actions of the court of first instance. In simple terms the Governor is saying the Crown doesn’t actually care whether its privileged or not, IT doesn’t want it released for reasons they are not prepared to disclose. The Governors subsequent efforts to claim that she has determined it is privileged are not only laughable – she is a public finance accountant – but massively overstep the supposed separation of the executive from the judiciary.
But we paid for it. If it is legal advice for someone then that person should pay for it.
Since we paid for it, why can’t we see what we paid for? Something doesn’t seem right here.
The law is an ass~and far too many use it as an excuse for self-serving ends.
The ICO only wants to verify what is being said. If we can call anything ‘legal advice’ and spend vast amounts of public money on it, then the people deserve to know if the money is being spent wisely.
Read the Chief Justice’s judgment. If the ICO disagreed with the Premier, it could have ordered the release of the report without any further checks or balances. The law on this issue is that privileged material can be demanded for the purpose of an investigation, IF and only if that material is sure to stay with the person or body doing the investigating. The only way to confirm whether something is or is not privileged legal advice is to show it to…another lawyer or law firm. So before the investigation is complete, an employee of the ICO or that other law firm could leak the report. The law is not on the ICO’s side here, and the law is settled, not open to question or doubt. Hence the Governor’s certificate that inspection and investigation by the ICO and further litigation on the subject would not be in the public interest – not to mention, it would be unlawful.
So Alden adopts an immigration policy that is devastating to Caymanians (work permits and PR) but appeases the UK and now UK does his dirty work. Nice to see an amicable relationship between Cayman and UK….too bad it won’t benefit Caymanians. A vote for Adlen is a vote against Caymanians.
Ah the melodrama…
ah the arrogance and stupidity
Seems to me that there is quite a bit of public interest madam governor.
I will vote for the candidate that will promise to make this public! Its our money spent and we should be entitled to know what we spent it on.
The public interest is not the same as what the public may be interested in. This is a basic tenet of common law. Sorry to disappoint you but it doesn’t work the way you (and others below) seem to think.
I know what public means and I know what interest means. It is unfortunate that the pompous faction of the common population decide that it is to be somewhat esoteric. Instead of saying ‘not in the public interest’ they should say what they mean which is ‘we forbid the public to see it’, but I put it to you which one is intended to fool the public, and now perhaps you will see the intention of the comment above.
Wow! What’s democratic about such action?
Please Cayman vote out the worst government we have ever had the PPM another 4 years and nothing will be left for our children. They have simply sold us out to the Foreign Menace.
I for one cannot afford another year and my confidence cannot handle anymore rejection and belittling interviews. Alden and Marco have devastated the opportunities for Caymanians in their own country and made the expatriate the entitled. The UDP status give-away (which every politician was in on and gave a list) was not as destructive.
Greag to see that Rip Van Winkle has awaken from his 4 year nap just in time for the election.
It probably says that there is a great possibility that the applicants can bankrupt this country with law suits.
We will be giving them all Caymanian status too at this point
Bonus to 1000 new status grants is that in 4yrs we will have 1000 new voters who wont be bought with $50, or a washing machine or believe the utter BS that our supposed Leaders have fed this country for the last 20yrs. They will help to get rid of these idiots ruining our Country.
Oh please! There are 1000 potential claimants. The damages are realistically quite limited – loss of interest on the application monies, fear and uncertainty. Even if they were all awarded $50,000, that would only amount to $50m, chicken feed in relation to the budget – or far more pressing issues re CIGs bankruptcy, like the inability to meet the massive liabilities on pension and healthcare. It has to be something else – something embarrassing for HMG or resulting in a potential and major HMG liability, or a BOT wide precedent. Why else would the British government take a step they must know is going to be criticised by every civil liberties activist, and even worse the perception that they are taking sides in local politics. Someone in CIG needs to step up here and send a copy anonymously to WikiLeaks.
Alden prioriitized his party’s prospects in the 2017 election over making unpopular immigration policy decisions while in office this term.
There’s got to be something very embarrassing and potentially very costly to the UK government in that report.
Cayexit.
– Who
That would be funny. Would the last accountant or lawyer to leave the island put the lights out.
I trust you are also a “Remoaner” with that doomsday message of yours?
– Who
P.S. Look forward to the hypocritical stance in this regard though.
“Remoaner” – so reductive, so smug, so inane, so divisive, so Whodatis. Of course, now the UK government has produced a report saying Brexit will reduce GDP by 7.5%, now U.K. foreign investment is plummeting, now 30% of businesses are already planning job cuts and now commercial property development has shuddered into reverse overnight, the indicators are all showing the “Remoaners” are going to be proved right.
Didn’t I see earlier posting from you attacking Brexiteers as racist and protectionists? Or do you dislike both camps?
It is the lax intellectual rigor of the red-brick showing through.
That would lead to EXITcay stupid .
Remoaners out in full effect today. Awesome.
Who
If we had 3 Caymanians like you…just 3 I think counseling services would have to open an office in south sound and seven mile beach.
You totally own these bloggers.
-an admirer
Thanks poster.
Means a lot when one takes the time to post words of support.
– Who
All very well for the Governor to block this report being available as she has little to no concern, nor vested interest, that the impact an unclear and imbalanced immigration policy has on people’s lives. The Immigration issues impact all persons living on these islands from pension plans, property ownership, property prices and job security. Remember the mess of 2012 when so many work permits where due to expire? What’s happened to all those people? Still living in limbo?
No doubt this report is unfavorable to the government and that is why it can’t be released publicly. Or the gov are trying to hatch a plan to address the numerous abuses that the current laws transgress.
Stupid question? Which other country has/is giving PR to everyone who steps off of of a plane? Is this heaven let me die here? The Caymanian people are constantly being railroaded and the new commers are lifted to higher ground. When will the madness stop?
Permits should have limits, after which time you have to leave the country. The changes to immigration laws has proven to be detrimental to the local populace. Who is being protected??
You can only apply for PR after 8 years of uncontested grant of work permit. If those applications have been sitting for 2, 3, or 4 years, those that applied already have an ECHR right to abode, and the grant of PR. Application and Grant of Naturalisation can occur immediately after that (and eventually CI Status after 15 years) – and these people will have earned these rights.
only cause for refusal of permit appears to be board or department has friend or family interested in position or angry at applicant….suitable Caymanian is not even considered…thanks Alden
Just Another Day in Absurdistan
C’Mon Maaaan
WTH is in that Ritch report that has them all including Governor Kilpatrick so scared that requires all of this secrecy or protection? This is exactly like the Tempura files and AINA report all over again.
Is another government mass grant of PR or status on the cards by Premier Alden and his band of ‘progressives’ but they cannot afford to admit it or allow it to happen before the May elections?
They are sealing their political fate with the cover ups and lack of transparency just like like the UDP did with the status lottery.
PPM are trying to hide the fact that due to their reckless and irresponsible actions PR giveaways like the status lottery are now inevitable. Vote them all out for selling cayman out!
“Now that’s progressive”
Helen Kilpatrick is one of Cayman’s worst governors ever, a complete useless clown. She continues to show favored status to Alden McLauglin’s government in order to bail out the ppm at every turn. The question is WHY?
Useless clown she is, the reason she refuse this document to be made public is because the report is damning to ppm ( poor people’s mistake) and the British government don’t want them out of power. If these clowns lose power the British will lose their puppets. But hold on Ms. Useless not even brandy will save ppm they are gone, bye bye.
LOL … Yep … the Governor – AN UNELECTED OFFICIAL can at any time dictate and execute a law even against the wishes of our represented government …
LMAO :))) … Welcome to being a British Overseas Territory, or should I say colony :)))
She is appointed through a civil service overseen by an elected government, namely the national government in London. If Cayman does not want to send MPs there because it does not suit it to be part of the UK it cannot complain.
9:43 PM! Indigenous Caymanians are slowly coming to the realization that in terms of our political status we are the dregs of the most destrutive form of goverment that was imposed on any people in human history! COLONIALISM have never benifitted the idigenous people it was imposed on! The truth of the matter is.We are systematically being eliminated socio/ economically, so these islands can be the playground for the rich and famous! With an identured foreign labour workforce that keep our service oriented economy working! And to confirm the above statements just read the auditor general report on our health care system, and the UK assessment educational report! These two institutional foundations which determines the health, productiveness, and existence of any people was found to be failing the indigenous people of these islands! And when you have a people,that is poorly educated and unhealthy, is that not a recipe for genocidal and national disaster!
Indigenous Caymanians? No such thing. Just those that have had immigrant relatives here for more time than other immigrants.
11:47am What qualifies a inhabitant of a country to be called indigenous!
A common misconception:
“Indigenous peoples, also known as first peoples, aboriginal peoples, native peoples, or autochthonous peoples, are ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently.”
If when you arrive, no one else is there? You are indigenous, as are your descendants. Just because there weren’t any indians here when Columbus spotted us or when the deserters from Cromwell’s army came here doesn’t make the descendants of those deserters any less indigenous. We were here first, that’s all that matters.
First time I have seen anyone make this point despite the hundreds or thousands of posts on the subject over the year. Refreshing to see a logical argument instead of the usual yah boo sucks tactics. However, if the argument is that the first arrivals become the indigenous people, and the first arrivals were Brits from Cromwell’s army, doesn’t that mean the indigenous people are the Brits?
Intermixing with slaves is what has produced the Caymanian complexion, and cultural influences from around the region the culture of Cayman, but yes, the first settlers of Grand Cayman were British. More Caymanians than you might think can claim British ancestry. But the keywords are “were” and “can claim”, rather than “are” and “do claim”. Caymanians are not British in that sense any more than Brits with Norman ancestry are French. I appreciate my analogy is not perfect because in the latter case there are more centuries in-between, but the fact is thousands of Caymanians can trace their ancestry to the original settlement roughly 350 years ago. That’s quite long enough to say this is our land, and to observe a distinction between us and an economic migrant from the second half of the 20th century. I can trace back to the original settlement; I can also trace back to William Eden, who had Pedro Castle built with slave labour. There ARE Caymanians – and many of the loudest anti-expat views come from within this group – whose families have much less history and lineage here. Perhaps they came from Honduras or Jamaica or Trinidad 100 or 80 years ago, early enough before the boom that they were welcomed as more hands to make lighter work of living the civilised but simple life that then existed. They make an awful lot of noise about ‘foreigners’ now, but then it’s in their temperament to do that. The bottom line is that the Brits who come here now are not descended from those who settled the islands, so to answer your question in one word: no.
Except that the UKs governments position for decades with the BOT has been that if they want independence, they are more than welcome. Colonialism is hardly being imposed against your will. Don’t bitch about it if you cannot round up more than 50% of your fellow Caymanians to agree with you.
They know independence would crush their income and for all their huffing and puffing money always comes first. So they will bend over and take it, while moaning about the resentment for years and years. They love a good chip on their shoulder, look at the way they bleat about the status grants still.
This whole issue does not start to pass the “sniff test”
Let there be no doubt, the sheer incompetence and lack of integrity by those managing Cayman’s immigration system is incredible. The Governor has now thrown her lot in with those who ultimately may have destroyed the sustainability of our economy and wider society.
Not surprising, because, presumably after 8yrs of permit and 2-4yrs of delayed PR application, there will also be >1000 people that will be eligible for eventual U.K. ECHR citizenship once status is procured after yr 15.
Much more than 1000. You are ignoring their spouses and children.