 Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today February 28th, 2023 will go down as a day of resolute decision Mr. Speaker. Today February 28th, 2023 the member for Castries East, my good friend, has taken the boat of decades of effort to shore. I joined my colleagues in the parliament today to pay homage to all those who toured throughout the years Mr. Speaker. I pay homage to those like the member of parliament for view for itself Dr. Kennedy Anthony who pioneered the process along with groups over the years who have been fighting for justice, liberation, independence and freedom in the Caribbean, the unions, the Rastafari movement, the cultural heritage movement, all progressives over the years for Mr. Speaker, the independence of the Caribbean and the movement for an independent Caribbean civilization, this movement has been driven by the sacrifice, energy and fire of many grassroots indigenous movements and all of this energy fed into the work which was done by Dr. Kennedy Anthony and others in the region to bring us here today. We await the culmination of this movement or another step in this movement rather we await with bated breath the day when we will become a republic Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the absence of the opposition is also a powerful demonstration of how the leader of the opposition, how he thinks about us. And today therefore the debate about the amendment to the constitution in relation to the CCG is very important. I'm proud Mr. Speaker, I'm very proud to be here today to join my colleagues in this historic moment. But I want to take a few minutes Mr. Speaker to look at this debate and this amendment. First of all Mr. Speaker, many people speak about the Privy Council and they talk about the virtues of the Privy Council. But why was the Privy Council really formed? But very briefly Mr. Speaker, I'm sure you will recall that it was way back in the days when the monarchy, whether it be a king or a queen, they wanted people to advise them on matters of state. And I heard it before in the debate. In those days what would be matters of state for the kings and the queens. Possibly how to plunder another country, maybe how to invade another small island. Possibly how many hundreds of slaves would be on that particular island. Just as an example. So the Privy Council was formed to advise the kings and the queens. I don't want to go into the details. What is the Caribbean Court of Justice and why was it formed? It is the court of final appeal. It's been said before, it was established in 2001 and we are very fortunate to have one of the signatories here with us. It began operating in 2005. It has two jurisdictions, the original jurisdiction and the appellate jurisdictions. In the original jurisdiction, it is used in respect of the interpretation and pronouncements of treaties such as the revised treaty of Shagoramas. The treaty which established the Caribbean community. So immediately you begin to see the difference Mr. Speaker. And it is very important to establish these very foundation issues so that our people understand when people are debating why do we go to CCJ, why not stay Privy Council and so on. And even though we don't have all of the time today, it is important very briefly to establish those very base arguments. The appellate jurisdiction Mr. Speaker. The CCJ has appeals as the court of last resort in both civil and criminal matters from the member states which have ceased to allow appeals to the Privy Council. Mr. Speaker, if we just go back to 2018, we have the K-2 news editorial of Guyana. We went on to explain the whole history of the formation of the Caribbean Court of Justice. I will not go into it because the member for view for itself did a great job this morning. But the both of the CCJ, again very very important and another picture of our journey to independence of our Caribbean civilization. It is very interesting that Jamaica, a country which had the six Caribbean heads of government conference in Kingston, that delegation tabled a proposal to establish original court of appeal. But it is very interesting that they are not a member of the CCJ. Again, the ups and downs of our history and our struggles in the Caribbean to ensure we attain an independent Caribbean civilization. We continue to work in the Caribbean. If I may go for a little of Sir Dennis Byron's mind. And we have spoken of Sir Dennis Byron. He was in the chamber this morning. And he spoke about the role of the CCJ and the importance of the Caribbean judicial and economic development. In 2013 he spoke about the importance of settling trade disputes. He spoke about the vital importance to the entire region to facilitate the single market and economy. So it's very important for trade and how we succeed in the economies of the Caribbean. And there are several examples of cases which have gone to the CCJ. The cement manufacturer in Trinidad and Tobago in relation to tariffs on the imports of cement from the Dominican Republic successfully done. Complaints from manufacturers of wheat products to compare the Surinamese government to impose tariffs on imports from the Netherlands. Another example. And the member for VFO South spoke of the Shannik Mairi case. I can remember during that time the excitement that was all around the Caribbean when this lady decided to be bold enough to challenge the government of Barbidas. So Dennis Byron goes on to indicate that the CCJ assists with expense and in the complexity of lodging cases. And the member for VFO South and others have spoken about the number of Caribbean people who are accessing the court. In a case, Rose versus St. Clair from Guyana. This was a lady whom it was proven that she came from very modest means and she wanted to lodge an appeal. She was afforded the opportunity without charge. So when the member for VFO South spoke about individuals who want to access the court, we have an example there in Rose versus St. Clair. The use of technology, videoconferencing, audio conferencing. But Mr Speaker, we have heard an elaborate description of the history and so on from the member for VFO South. But it's very interesting to go back to read what the law laws themselves from the Privy Council had to say about justice for people in the Caribbean. And I want to go all the way to 1830 to 1834. 1830 to 1834. Lord Brougham, Lord Chancellor of England, between 1830 and 1834. He had to say about justice in his far out regions, Mr Speaker. And I quote, Lord Brougham said, It is obvious that from the mere distance of those colonies and the immense variety of matters arising in them, fall into our habits and beyond the scope of our knowledge, any judicial tribunal in this country must of necessity be an extremely inadequate court of redress. And I quote. That's from 1932, sorry, 1832, 1834 you know. A lord, Lord Chancellor of England said so. But in 2023, the leader of the opposition want to tell us that we cannot proceed with our independence. And the member, my colleague, the member for Labry, spoke about Lord Hoffman. And when he said that I smile, at the annual dinner of the lost station of Trinidad and Tobigo, he indicated and I quote, Although the Privy Council has done its best to serve the Caribbean and I venture to think has done much to improve the administration of justice in parallel with improvements in the United Kingdom. Our remoteness from the community has been a handicap. My own view is that a court of your own is necessary if you are going to have the full benefit of what a final court can do to transform society in partnership with the other two branches of government. That's another lord, Lord Hoffman. And I can go on and on and on. You just have to do the research. This is not magic. It's there. It's not rocket science. You can do the research and you'll find it. The last one, Francis Jacobs, a Privy Councilor and former Advocate General of the European Court of Justice in 2008. Here's what he said that I quote, a supreme court of high caliber has been established in the Caribbean which would be able to take account of local values and develop a modern Caribbean jurisprudence in an international context. It is regrettable that political difficulties have obstructed acceptance of its appellate jurisdiction and that the outdated jurisdiction of the judicial committee of the Privy Council survives. For many of those states, all possible steps should be taken to encourage the Caribbean states to accept the appellate jurisdiction of their own supreme court. Let's Francis Jacobs. So I took you from 1830 and brought you to 2008. To her what? The lords of England, the lords of the Privy Council themselves are saying, Mr Speaker, but yet in St. Lucia we have for political and other reasons people who are supposed to be fighting for Caribbean independence and the independence of the Caribbean civilization, of course we have our political differences. But they are now telling us that we are not good enough and about being good enough we have had so much this morning. So I end Mr Speaker by going back to very briefly going back to the writings of Sir Dennis Byron. And so Dennis Byron quotes the right Honourable Tellford Judge. And the right Honourable Tellford Judge said, a compromise of sovereignty for us to remain, it's a compromise of sovereignty for us to remain wedded to a court which is part of the former colonial hierarchy. And if I may, if I am allowed to Mr Speaker, I will go for another very well respected law professor. Dr. Kenny Antony, former PM of St. Lucia puts it this way and I quote, The court has always been about the need for all the people of Caricom to assert their confidence in the integrity, the civilization and in themselves. No self-respecting nation should allow its sovereignty to be at large. And I end finally, if I'll be allowed to, I use some words from our own Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre who says all the time, We need to believe in ourselves, we are great as a people, we need to build more self-confidence in ourselves, we need to hold each other and advance our progress. So Mr Speaker, on behalf of the people of V4 North, I support this amendment and I say forward ever to the advancement of the independence of our Caribbean civilization. This is just another step and I congratulate all those who worked throughout the years to bring us to this point today. And I'm happy that I sit here today with a Prime Minister who has brought it to this stage and with a former Prime Minister who was a signatory of the original agreement. I am not sure Mr Speaker, that we understand the value of today. Someone who signed in 2001 in the same party and a Prime Minister who's brought it to this stage. I thank you Mr Speaker.