00:00The national consultations on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, CSME,
00:05implementation arrangements and procedure began on Tuesday following an
00:09event at the Foreign Ministry with comments from Foreign and CARICOM Affairs
00:14Minister Dr. Amy Brown, Trade Minister Paula Gopi-Skoon and Minister in the
00:19Office of the Attorney General Renuka Sagram Singh-Suklal. During the closing
00:24session on Friday at the UWE St. Augustine Campus Teaching and Learning
00:28Complex, Trinidad and Tobago's Ambassador to CARICOM, Jennifer Marchand, spoke
00:33about a pending deadline. Among the critical areas of discussion was the
00:39important work being undertaken by the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs
00:44to advance the mandate set by CARICOM heads for the full and free movement of
00:51all CARICOM nationals by 1st June 2025. Ambassador Marchand then made reference
00:58to the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. Certain key milestones in that regard
01:04have been established and that includes the Domestic Legislative Drafting
01:09Committee that was referenced earlier, which has in fact worked towards
01:15identifying 60 pieces of legislation that would require amendment in order
01:23for Trinidad and Tobago to meet this particular objective. So indeed we are
01:30laying the groundwork for the eventual realization of full and free movement
01:37across the community by the stipulated deadline. The Director of CARICOM Single
01:44Market and Trade at the CARICOM Secretariat, Leo Preville, said Trinidad and
01:48Tobago has legislatively recognized all of the existing 12 categories
01:53member states have approved for free movement where work is concerned. With
01:58respect to your skill certificate system, Trinidad and Tobago is employing a digital
02:05approach which I believe in all fairness is perhaps the best model we now have in
02:10the community and that other member states have in fact been examining that
02:15closely with a view to replicating as much as possible. However, Director
02:21Preville identified a concern regarding the right of establishment and the
02:25provision of services. The area we perhaps would want to flag and we in
02:30discussions recognize that this is a matter that has received considerable
02:36attention from the government of Trinidad and Tobago and the cabinet is the
02:40persistence with respect to the the need for a police certificate of
02:45character even at the stage where one is applying for a skill certificate. There
02:51is a decision on that by the conference but it has been explained to us for the
02:56purpose of national security that this is an area that Trinidad and Tobago
03:00continues to maintain but we discovered in the discussions that it is an area
03:06they are still willing to re-examine. Director Preville said it is an area
03:10being looked at for further reform which quote would put Trinidad and Tobago at
03:15the top of the mountain with respect to facilitation and quote June Brown TV6
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