Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) Bill will result in an onslaught on the constitutional rights of not only citizens but visitors to T&T as well.
She said so during a news conference following a parliamentary caucus at her office at Charles Street, Port-of-Spain.
The legislation, which was presented for debate by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi recently, seeks to give the SSA more powers and will allow for phone tapping without a warrant. Debate on the legislation is expected to resume in the House of Representatives this afternoon.
Yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said while the Opposition understood the need to support crime- fighting legislation, the measure must have the required checks and balances.
The former prime minister said there was little national commentary on the legislation and that situation should change as the provisions in the Bill would breach privacy rights of “every citizen and even non-citizens who may be visiting Trinidad and Tobago.”
According to Persad-Bissessar, the SSA bill will impact on every citizen “whether you are a businessman, a husband or wife, media personnel, politicians, trade unionist... it will impact on every citizen in terms of violations of rights to privacy which are enshrined in our Constitution.”
She said the legislation, if approved in its present form, would be like a molotov cocktail on the population and the matter should be put before a Joint Select Committee for special consideration.
“What is missing is the checks and balances that were necessary for proper protection of rights to privacy,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said her concerns must not be seen as being against crime-fighting measures but rather one for ensuring safeguards were put in place to protect citizens’ rights.
She said when the SSA Act was first approved several years ago, its mandate was limited to drug-related offences, adding that what the new amendment “seeks to do is to include every offence you can think about with a penalty of five years or more.”
The Opposition says there is need for oversight regarding the selection of the head of the SSA, executive, legislative and independent oversight.
Responding to a question on the repayment of money owed by Opposition MPs for employing relatives in their constituency offices contrary to the law, Persad-Bissessar said she was still awaiting word from the Clerk of the House on that matter.