- THE CANADIAN LORRAINE FRIDAY IS UNFIT TO LEAD IN SVG
THE ISSUE
Lorraine Friday, the President of the Opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), does not possess the fitness to offer himself to lead St. Vincent and the Grenadines in account of the acknowledged fact that he has been and is, by and his own choice as an adult, a citizen of Canada, even though he was born in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. According to him, he has his Vincentian passport in his “back pocket” and has in his “front pocket proudly” his Canadian passport. He actually proclaimed all this, in these very words, in the Parliament of SVG. Thus, Canadian Lorraine Friday, in the process, has been contemptuous of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Vincentians.
All right-thinking Vincentians know that anyone who aspires to lead SVG cannot be permitted divided loyalties between SVG and another country. If you want to lead SVG you cannot have one foot in Trudeau’s yard of Canada and another foot in the land of Chatoyer! Your commitment and loyalty to SVG must be absolute. You cannot place an each-way bet on our SVG and foreign Canada; that is to say, you cannot gamble on SVG and if lose you run way to Canada. Dog does run away, cat does run away, and Friday will run way too. This renders him unfit for leadership in SVG! This Canadian Lorraine Friday must stop this insult to SVG and Vincentians
This fundamental question of public political morality and fitness to lead has come to the fore with the Canadian Lorraine Friday’s act of disloyalty to SVG because of his pronouncement of his allegation of the lack of public safety in SVG with its “high crime problem” as evident from the placement by the NDP of a massive billboard, not-too-far from the airport on the main public highway, on the road to Leeward, on the way to Sandals Resorts. This act of pulling down SVG is central to the Canadian Lorraine Friday’s continued effort to mash down any progress in SVG. People remember, for example, his silly, desperate, and unpatriotic last-minute letter in February 2017, to the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) to try and stop the opening of the Argyle International on the ground of safety concerns. A complete rubbish letter! This Canadian Lorraine Friday repeatedly shows that the has no commitment to SVG and Vincentians.
UNACCEPTABLE, UNTENABLE, INCURABLE
In Jamaica, there is a similar situation of dual citizenship of the Leder of the Opposition, Mark Golding, except that Friday’s situation is far worse. Mark Golding was born in Jamaica of Britain parents, so he acquired his British citizenship by descent; Friday got his Canadian citizenship and passport by his own voluntary act and has so subjected himself voluntarily to the power and authority of Canada; Friday put himself under allegiance to Canada.
The NDP and the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica have fraternal relations, and are both in the pro-imperialist International Democratic Union (IDU), led by the Republican Party of Donald Trump, of which the Caribbean Democratic Union (CDU) is a constituent part; both the NDP and JLP are active members of the CDU. Friday has attended the JLP party conferences and has hugged up Andrew Holness in brotherly solidarity. In other words, Friday and Holness are bosom-buddies, at least politically!
Holness has made it clear that it is “unacceptable, untenable, and incurable”, for Mark Golding as a British citizen and a holder of British passport (even as he has his birthright Jamaican passport) to offer himself as the alternative Prime Minister of Jamaica. Holness insists that whatever the constitutional or legal considerations at play, it is immoral and wrong for a potential Prime Minister to have divided national loyalties. He is firm in his conclusion that such a person is unfit to led an independent country.
Holness goes further and contends that even if Golding gives up his British passport now and renounces his British citizenship, the egregious wrong committed by Golding is “incurable”; thus, according to Holness, Golding’s political unfitness for the highest executive office, persists. After all, he can at any time renounce his renunciation; so, Holness’ reasoning goes.
Most right-thinking Vincentians would agree that on this matter the reasoning of Holness is even more compelling and unanswerable when applied to the case of his political buddy, the Canadian Friday from Bequia; after all, as we reiterate, Friday got his Canadian citizenship and passport by his own choice as an adult; and Friday continues to poke Vincentians in the eye arrogantly with his proclamation that he has his Canadian passport “proudly” in his “front pocket”.
STAND DOWN FRIDAY!
If the Canadian Lorraine Friday has any sense of political decency and political morality, he will abandon his quest to lead. Not only should he follow the advice of Prime Minister Holness of Jamaica, he should listen and act in accordance with the treasured opinion on this matter of Dr. Raulson Nembhard, a priest, author, and independent commentator from Jamaica.
In an article written in a newspaper, The Jamaica Observer, on Thursday May 30th, 2024 under the caption “Stand down, Golding”, Dr. Nembhard, got to the heart of matter as follows:
“And what about your [Golding] dual citizenship status and wanting to be Prime Minister of Jamaica?
“—-Something smells rotten in the State of Denmark when one considers that someone who has allegiance to a foreign power would seek to exercise authority over the people of another nation. Many of us are calling this immoral. It just does not sit well. For this reason, I do not believe that any dual citizen should sit in the Parliament. If you are not bearing the heat and burden of the day, you should have no right making laws for those who have to. It is an essential moral question which cannot be easily shove aside.”
Well said, Reverend Dr. Nembhard! This, too, has long been the reasoned opinion of Frank Da Silva, a local political commentator.
CAMILLO GONSALVES DID THE RIGHT THING!
Let us look at how Camillo did his thing right!
Camillo was born in the USA of a Vincentian father and Jamaican mother. He was thus entitled to three citizenships and passports: American by birth; Vincentian and Jamaican by descent. As a child he obtained an American passport; this he renewed as an adult. As an adult he obtained, too, as of right, a Vincentian passport; the only citizenship and passport — Vincentian — he has had once he decided on a parliamentary career.
When he was informed that the Prime Minister of SVG was considering an appointment for him as a Senator and Minister, he swiftly embarked upon the process to RENOUNCE his American citizenship; this was accomplished before his appointment of Senator and long before he became a candidate for East St. George in the general elections of December 2015.
It should be noted that there was no constitutional or legal requirement for Camillo to renounce his American citizenship because it was not obtained as a voluntary act on his part; his mother gave birth to him in the USA, a matter over which Camillo obviously had no choice or control.
Camillo acted as he did to renounce his American citizenship out of a moral duty and unquestioned commitment and loyalty to SVG! Compare this honourable conduct to that of the Canadian Lorraine Friday from Bequia! Compare his conduct, too, to some others who lied about renouncing their American and other citizenship on their way to Parliament! One of these dishonest Americans prattles daily about matters Vincentian while clinging to his American citizenship and passports in his love not for God but for mammon.
Before Camillo’s selfless act, Sir Louis Straker had blazed the trail of political decency by renouncing his American citizenship before he became a candidate for Central Leeward in February 1994. Louis Straker had obtained American citizenship by a voluntary act, as an adult. The Canadian Friday has had Sir Louis as an example, but disregarded it.
NDP’S LACK OF PRINCIPLE
In the 2009 Referendum on the proposed reform Constitution, it was put to the people that dual citizens should sit in Parliament. The NDP opposed it; the NDP propagandised that Ralph wanted that provision to help Camillo enter Parliament. At that time Camillo was SVG’s Ambassador to the United Nations and had no intention then to enter Parliament. The people of SVG voted against the proposed Reform Constitution in this regard; we must accept this verdict unless changed by the people.
The unprincipled NDP has been trying to dance around the subject, but they cannot escape it now; not since their unpatriotic billboard on crime on the way to Sandals Resorts. That factual matrix prompts the urgency of the issue for the people of SVG. As Prime Minister Holness of Jamaica and Reverend Dr. Nembhard insist by parallel reasoning: “Stand Down, Friday”. Most Vincentians share this view.
NDP BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE OF SVG!
The track record of the opposition NDP is to advocate, metaphorically, the burning down of the house of SVG with no fire brigade at the rescue! They, in effect, chant: “Burn down the house of SVG and let us build it back.”
That mantra is reflected in their opposition to everything good for SVG’s development including their opposition to the following: The Argyle International Airport; the Rabacca Bridge; the Education Revolution; the Modern Medical Complex at Georgetown; the Sir Vincent Beache Stadium; the Modern Port Project; the Arnos Vale Cricket Stadium; the Housing Revolution; and so forth.
The NDP of the Canadian Lorraine Friday is a clear and present danger to SVG and its people! Yet again, the people are saying: “Always the ULP for SVG!”
