Opposition Senate Leader Wade Mark has said the Opposition will soon decide its next option on the passage of the Strategic Services Agency (Amendment) Bill and if to challenge it in court.
And one of the two Independents who voted for the bill says he was swayed by information on the bill received in Monday’s meeting, hosted by the Attorney General, with technocrats.
The controversial bill seeks to expand the power of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) to collect information on variety of serious crime, from treason to terrorism, excluding robbery. Concerns have been raised about its ability to undertake wiretapping for its work.
The bill, however, was passed without amendment at 11.22 pm in the Senate on Tuesday, despite deep concerns by Independent Senators and the Opposition which had tabled 58 amendments.
It was passed with the support of two Independent Senators— Hugh Roach and temporary Independent Justin Junkere—and despite non-support by the six Opposition members and seven other Independent Senators.
The Opposition’s amendments were also rejected by Government, Roach and Junkere. The other Independents abstained on voting on those amendments.
Roach and Junkere had attended a meeting the AG held on Monday to allow experts to clarify concerns senators had. Roach was unavailable yesterday to say why he supported the bill.
Junkere, an attorney, said: “I believed in what the Government was trying to accomplish so I gave the support. Yes, I had reservations, I never went in saying I supported the bill carte blanch, but my concerns were adequately addressed in the meeting the Attorney General held with senators and technocrats.
“As a result the concerns expressed in my contribution were allayed. I did have concerns, but when I measured them against the risk of not having the proposal put into effect as legislation, I made a decision.”
Junkere said if the bill wasn’t passed and T&T came out on the wrong side of compliance with international bodies in future, T&T would have paid for the situation down the road. He said while he understood the concerns about possible loss of privacy and other issues, the matter had to examined in the perspective of T&T’s greater good.
However, Mark expressed concern that Independent Senators who had called for safeguards, did not support the Opposition’s amendments and had abstained in voting on them.
“They (Independents) have a right to vote how they wish but there must be justification and rationale for action.
“The contributions by the two senators (who voted for the bill) and the outcome was highly contradictory and inconsistent. In their contributions they said they would support amendments and wanted safeguards but when safeguards were advanced, they didn’t support them,” he added.
Mark said with the bill’s passage, the Opposition’s caucus would decide in due course “what options” it should explore in the matter and take it to another level. Asked if the UNC would challenge it legally, Mark said it would be up to the leadership.
He said there was no genuine attempt by the AG to engage meaningfully on the Opposition’s amendments or with the larger community.