Speaker of the House of Assembly Corine George-Massicote has rejected the former Premier Andrew Fahie’s Notice of Absence for the current and future sittings of the House of Assembly.
The Speaker made the announcement during today’s sitting of the House of Assembly, stating that she felt it would have been inappropriate for her to make a public comment on the matter outside of the House.
Mrs. George-Massicote revealed that the former premier cited his bail conditions as the reason why he was not able to attend the House of Assembly for the previous two sittings.
She said while the same reason was cited for the present and the upcoming sitting, the main factor that changed and result in her decision not to grant Fahie’s request, was the delaying of his trial from July 18, 2022, to January 2023.
The Speaker also made it clear to all members that the submission of notices of absence is not automatically approved.
She broke the criteria used to approve the previous two notices which were submitted by Fahie.
The Speaker said that due to the vagueness of Standing Order 84 (2) which does not vividly define the criteria by which a Speaker should use to grant leave, she had to resort to the use and practice of the House of Commons to make her decision on Fahie’s previous request.
The speaker also explained Standing Order 84 and spoke about the importance of members requesting notices of absence.
The order states that failure to do so can result in members having to vacate their seats.
This decision by the Speaker to reject Fahie’s request can ultimately lead to him having to vacate his District One seat.
More to come on this developing story.