Eden presides as MLAs add new standing order
(CNS): Ten MLAs met in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, with Anthony Eden as the temporary speaker, and amended Standing Orders, the rules that govern the parliamentary proceedings, to add a new one. For the first time in the history of the LA, the new rule will allow members to attend LA meetings via electronic or virtual means rather than in person during emergency circumstances, such as the current COVID-19 health crisis.
Practicing social distancing and with some wearing masks, the minimum number of members required for a quorum made the changes, paving the way for the rest of the members to join in tomorrow using video conferencing. During that sitting the members are expected to amend four pieces of legislation that will help with the current shelter-in-place order designed to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in Cayman.
As has been widely documented, the Pensions Law will be amended to allow a ‘holiday’ from mandatory payments and for people to access the money already in the funds.
The Immigration Law will be changed to address the legal status of those trapped here without work and other issues thrown up by border closures. The traffic law will be amended to allow people to license their vehicles without an inspection. The Labour Law will also be changed to allow employers to suspend the job of an employee during this crisis for 60 days before they have to give them severance pay.
The members will also be required to elect a deputy speaker.
Anthony Eden, the opposition member for Savannah, temporarily took the chair on Wednesday because McKeeva Bush, the current speaker, is facing criminal allegations and is on a leave of absence, which as yet has not been confirmed as constitutional.
Given the serious nature of the well publicised accusations against him, Bernie Bush resigned his position as the deputy speaker in protest, as he and other MLAs believe Speaker Bush should have stepped down from the office.
But faced with the current health crisis and the need to make legislative amendments to help the country through this unprecedented situation, the MLAs are forced to set aside their concerns regarding the speaker’s role and elect a new deputy on Thursday, to ensure that the proceedings that day are lawful.
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NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Not Barbara…this will not end well..
Seriously look at the illiterate that she’s replacing. Anyone’s better than Bernie, the one time he actually had to do his job and he couldn’t handle it. Lol
True pro port supporters wear red masks.
Why is Barbara wearing a diaper on her face?
They are all wearing them, they are specially designed to make you choke if speak for more than 32 minutes.
not classsy
Alcohol is an antiseptic, home repair goods are not.
I need a certain lightbulb for my room. Only at a hardware store.
Hurley’s sells candles.
I’d prefer a lightbulb
Non essential
Like your input.
How about a match?
Hurley’s also sell lightbulbs!
Not the kind I need
Why is alcohol deemed an essential good that can be openly purchased but vital home repair goods are not even permitted to be delivered?
Simple question.
Ask why island supply can deliver food and cleaning supplies but we’re visited by cops when they tried to bring in chemicals to keep pools sanitary and told those items aren’t essential. Hmmm, seems like Alden and co have a vendetta against pools. Does that even make sense? Nope.
12.25pm Not only cleaning supplies, but coffee supplies and there must be others. Pest control companies can spray liquor stores for rodent/vermin infestation, but not private homes. I hope in time common sense will overcome prejudice and the hundreds of pools turning into green swampwater can once again be somewhere for the children of the household to play in and cool off in, in this hot weather, when they are not allowed out of their own gardens.
Confucius say
Give home repairs the middle finger
and stay pissed as long as virus lingers.
.
Dwayne Seymour told us there were boxes of PPE going to the MLAs to distribute to the community. Did they not get these?
And you thought you were going to get some? How precious!
No, the MLAs pictured are wearing handmade masks.
Some people don’t need masks they’re too scary already. As your neighbors if you meet the requirement.
Sounds like post Ivan supplies liberated by a well known whatever.
You know, there’s still a bunch of stuff in storage…
There still seems to be widespread dichotomy over the applicability of the 6 foot social distancing requirement in force under the Public Health (Prevention, Control and Suppression of COVID-19) Regulations, 2020, particularly as the supplemental law applies beyond the threshold of the supermarket entrance. There still are frequent concentrations of shoppers in the produce, dairy, and baking aisles, often within 6 inches of each other. There are stocking employees and supermarket supervisors who seem to feel they are exempt from the law. Even the Police officers outside are action-less as shoppers collect by shopping carts in the line to get inside. The Foster’s Food Fare PA system on April 22nd was suggesting customers (only) to “practice social distancing of 3 to 6 feet”, which is not the law AT ALL. Social distancing not a request. We need Police that (a) know what they are supposed to be doing at the supermarkets, and (b) permitted inside the vital food supply chain stores. It’s hopelessly out of order right now.
There’s no police at supermarkets in Florida. No crowds either. Everyone is wearing masks. Voluntarily. Distancing is advised, but no one is policing it.
And Florida has become the standard for… really?
It is up to EACH of us to enforce the distance wherever we are. Everyone is now aware, so simply ask/remind the other person(s) to give you the space. It is for their protection as well as yours.
Listened brah, I am going to the US or Canada to spend the summer. Not going to be locked down on the Alden dream pipe. US and Canada are opening up. Going to hedge to split from this Banana RepublicHopefully back before Xmas.
Adios!
Cant you get a flight before Christmas? Bye
Be glad you have that option..the rest of us that can’t move to another country will stay here and rebuild so that when you come back you will have the opportunity to use us again…
Please don’t call me brah, I’m a guy but I don’t wear one! And please, please don’t come back.
Toodles. Brah. I don’t blame you for going. Your manner of leaving us with insults leaves a lot to be desired, but really, who cares. I hope you are prevented from returning.
Be safe out there bouncing around two countries, telling everyone about the backward ‘Banana Republic’ from which you just narrowly escaped. Watch out for the second wave while you’re out there intentionally not practicing any personal protective measures at all.
Certainly wish there were more bananas growing on island. Think it is more of a “Mango Republic” here.
Mmmmmmm…. mangoes. Just around the corner.
I’d never eaten a mango until I came here. Now I eat nothing else. Yum.
We love our banana republic.
And we love Canadian women😜
1:37 wish you well, when did you last look at the US NEWS!
What an absolute embarassment today. I hope no overseas persons were watching. We have become a joke with the representatives that we have. Shameful. Almost like watching a bad comedy farce but waiting for the final joke. Good grief, i find most of these MLAs like the sound of their voice more than their people. Vulgar bunch!
Oh they are
I can’t believe as a nation in an active hurricane zone we don’t have 1/2 the laws they are panicking to put in place. Also the curfews don’t seem legal, we have fundamental rights, we should not have to carry id and show papers everywhere. How about some bloody trust, if residents don’t take precautions we will spread the virus. Mind you how many police outside supermarkets are not wearing masks or gloves. The people packing meat no masks and supermarket stackers pushing past less than 2 feet let alone 6. What is the point in locking up people when it’s being flouted by so many “essential“ workers.
sort out the enforces set examples in the supermarkets and stop so many restaurants flouting the rules
why oh why is haggen diaz an essential business to deliver ice cream when there product is in every supermarket. meanwhile 100’s of business are closed who could be responsibly work with social distancing maybe with staff on alternate days. we are crippling the country for a virus that can be tested for, we have test kits but can’t seem to test many people
Jersey bought a lot of kits to test for antibodies, I think they will come out of this in a much better position than us and I guarantee they will test a lot more people a lot quicker than cayman.
if we do have community spear then we need the antibody test as well then people can return to work safely.
Please please please test supermarket and bank workers this week then resturant staff, if they have it we may as well open up now as it will be everywhere
good luck cayman
All of these things would not be an issue if we started doing mass testing…We have 200,000 test kits and to date have only been able to use approximately 1500 of these, more than half of those have not even been processed yet…
The CMO and by extension the Premier needs to get a hold on this situation and demand better when it comes to testing…
Having publicly sold and delivered many, we should have a little less than 100,000 PCR reagents. Those are not full “test kits”. We still need more swabs, sample extraction tools, and other supporting materials (expected on BA flight next Tuesday). Many people and facilities are involved in the testing chain, it’s not a smooth conveyor belt and will take time for all the contributing talent and facilities to get up to speed, while taking necessary care to preserve accurate readings. The PCR test will identify if sample tested are incubating and unknowingly spreading live virus in community. It doesn’t test if you’ve had any prior form of coronavirus, recently recovered from Covid-19, or are carrying COVID-19 IgG antibodies, and/or necessarily any lasting immunity.
How do the insurance companies feel about un-inspected vehicles?
Disaster in the making. Another one.
How about insurance companies give us a break since we are barely driving.
They have employees to pay too and when you do drive you are covered.
So! First world countries are doing it.
We are not First World here.
It’s becoming appallingly clear. I can’t wait for the lawsuits that are going to mount up in all aspects of the handling of this.
How about pay as you go, but don’t think they’d go for that?
US insurance companies have been reimbursing
9.23pm The UK has just announced a 3 month moratorium on vehicle testing with the proviso you are still legally required to maintain your vehicle in a roadworthy condition.
Awesome photo leading the article CNS. Speaks volumes.
Contradictory to the advice of the World Health Organization however.
color coordinated
They have time on their hands and our money to play with
Don’t worry; their voices won’t be muffled by the masks. Their voices are only muffled because they are sitting down.
Lol
Joey sporting a red one, how very auspicious, I guess he’s subtly sending a message to China. Puuuuulease help us.
If he had worn a black mask that would have created a wave of politically correct nonsense too.
Just get it DONE! I don’t really care for Mr. Eden as the Deputy Speaker, but whatever it takes to form a working government to pass legislation, get it DONE!
We are sequestered in our homes, and most of us understand and agree with the process; we can see that it has worked elsewhere and we hope it is working here.
Government MUST be solid and whole, and they have to work on the processes that guide us forward from here. The next wave of CV later on in the year will be worse. We need direction.
thank you, CIG. I believe in your purpose.
Beaumont, I think Mr Eden is the best of the poor bunch for Deputy Speaker. His religious beliefs should not impinge on any of his fellow MLA’s.
Can’t hurt to have a man of God as the speaker in these times.
Yes it can hurt when the man is prejudice, homophobic ass. For someone who was supposedly raised on Christian values the man has allot of hate. He is the last person we need in charge of anything.
As speaker he cant vote. Whats ur problem?
They all are men of god they say. Typical nonsense from people who make big bucks by keeping people poor.
Science will solve the problems we have at the moment. Eden believes in his micro-managing god and rejects science.
THAT is why it is dangerous to have him in this position.
Wasn’t Mac a born again? Look what a disgrace he turned out to be. We need clear separation of church and state. The hypocrisy, dogma & rhetoric have no place in any government.
So if a car not road worthy it ok to drive it and indanger someone. Makes a Lot of sense
What happens to the employee during the 60 days without severance pay is the Government to take Care of them.
Smart very Smart ..
The quantity of unroadworthy/unlicensed/uninsured vehicles on our roads “remains stable”.
A slap in the face of human rights
Have you heard of respect. Learn to respect who the people elect. Learn to respect Cayman’s culture. If you don’t like it, go to the States or UK where draconian lgbt laws have been made, and where they qualify what one do in the bedroom as deserving a special “human right” category. If you can’t respect our leaders who stand for Cayman’s values, then this place is not for you !!
The fact that you’re talking about respect and then telling people to go home when you don’t even respect your fellow gay Caymanians rights is hilarious and speaks volumes about your idea of what a Christian nation is.
Maybe God is punishing the entire world because most countries don’t respect human rights. I mean that’s just using your theory of a God punishing people.
I think poster was saying: if you are unwilling to follow the lawful orders that temporarily suppress right to assembly, then perhaps this isn’t the place for you to ride out your COVID-19.
I’m well aware of what they were implying.
8:02 am – You do NOT speak for many. I am a 30 year Caymanian and your view above is completely disrespectful. AND! I DID NOT wote that clown into public office. Of all of the MLA’s, he is the ONE I would remove for being a cave dweller. I didn’t mention that other buffoon because he is doing himself in all on his own.
But his heart are pure and his hands is clean !
I will not respect bigots and hypocrites. Never have, never will.
The Right to Public Assembly is temporarily suspended out of an abundance of concern for community Public Health, via Supplemental Regulations 29 to Public Health Regulations. The Supplemental had a 10 day expiry period unless extended (which it was). It’s not a permanent state of affairs. Please fly somewhere else if you refuse to abide it.