00:01Opposition Chief Whip Marvin Gonzalez says,
00:05Democracy is being undermined in the Parliament.
00:08He contends that the opposition holds a minority position
00:12and the government, with its numerical advantage,
00:15continues to treat the PNM with prejudice,
00:18a situation he believes is being permitted by the Speaker of the House.
00:24Gonzalez maintains that while the government will inevitably have its way,
00:29the opposition must still be allowed its say.
00:33He adds that the persistent denial of that right
00:36has left the opposition with no choice but to stage a walkout.
00:41All of that level of obstruction from the government
00:44and from the presiding officer, just 13 of us,
00:47and we indicated that we had enough
00:50and we are going to walk out of the Parliament
00:52so that the people of this country can wake up
00:55so that they can understand what is taking place.
00:58And we are inviting the citizens of this country
01:01to observe the conduct of our democracy in the Parliament,
01:07observe what is taking place,
01:10and we will do whatever we can within the confines of the law,
01:13within the confines of the standing order,
01:15to highlight and to prosecute these matters.
01:18The MP also responded to political analyst Dr. Winford James,
01:24who on Saturday told TV6 that the walkout amounted to political chatter,
01:29saying the PNM is trying to find something to say
01:32and if they can't find an issue with real substance,
01:35they will invent one.
01:37The issues that I've just raised, that should also alarm him
01:40as a very famous commentator on political issues in Trinidad and Tobago.
01:46Those issues should not have required the Chief Whip to come to TV6 to highlight it.
01:52Close observers of our parliamentary democracy should have allowed people like Winford James
01:57and the likes of him to start raising alarm bells as to what is taking place in the Parliament.
02:03The opposition Chief Whip tells the Morning Edition,
02:06as government presents its national budget,
02:09the country is facing another urgent challenge,
02:12a surge in violent crime.
02:14He says Trinidad and Tobago has just emerged
02:18from one of the bloodiest weeks of 2025,
02:21with more than 20 murders reported nationwide.
02:25Gonzalez emphasizes that this is a situation the opposition bench is watching closely.
02:32As a party when the PNM was in government,
02:34we faced similar types of situations
02:36and rightly we were criticised for it.
02:39If Minister Hines was the Minister of National Security,
02:42he would have been hearing calls for his resignation.
02:45And when you look at the conduct and the behaviour of the Minister of Homeland Security,
02:50blowing into plastic bags as though this is theatre,
02:53as though this is a joke,
02:55conducting yourself in a way that does not bring respect to your office,
03:00the people of this country should be very concerned.
03:05The opposition Chief Whip believes the government lacks a concrete plan
03:10to address crime at its root causes.
03:12Instead, he says, it relies on figures like the Minister of Homeland Security,
03:17Roger Alexander, engaging in what the MP calls theatre and distraction.
03:23Nicole M Romany, TV6 News.
03:35Yes.
03:36Since Mr. Penn Attorney...
03:45You were looking at the judge's advocacy.
03:47You were not who you are
03:50waiting to hear from us.
03:51As a matter of fact,
03:52however,
03:53I am not a fan of features that often
03:54take a long line of our poor and our KENNES الي violence...
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