Bodden Town West MP Chris Saunders has withdrawn his Consumer Protection and Guarantees Bill, saying he intends to make amendments to the legislation, which would require further public comment, before tabling it in Parliament.
Saunders made a motion to withdraw the bill in Parliament Tuesday afternoon, 27 Feb., following, he said, advice from House Speaker Sir Alden McLaughlin at Monday’s sitting.
McLaughlin had cautioned against making “material” changes to legislation by way of amendments without first seeking additional public comment on the proposed changes.
“There are going to be some material changes to the bill and, as such, I would like to leave of this House to withdraw the bill at this time, pending those amendments being made and also further public consultation as a result of those amendments,” Saunders told fellow lawmakers.
Deputy Opposition Leader Joey Hew seconded the motion.
Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly expressed the government’s gratitude for the withdrawal of the bill to consider the feedback submitted by the public and for further discussion with the United People’s Movement administration.
‘It is not over’
The Consumer Protection and Guarantees Bill, which was highly anticipated by many in the community, sought to address consumer-related issues that dealt with quality of service and goods, and sought to provide for redress.
Saunders, speaking with the Cayman Compass on his decision to pull the bill, said he wanted to incorporate the feedback provided by the public during the consultation period.
“Based on feedback received from the public,” he said, “they believe that the bill needs to address many other transactions, like those that are related to financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies, and so forth.
“This will be a material amendment to the bill and it goes against the spirit of the Constitution to introduce a bill and then make a material amendment without any input from the public.”
This is not the end of the bill, Saunders assured, as he said work on researching the amendments has already commenced.
He said he is also looking at existing pieces of legislation that address elements of consumer protection, such as the Utility Regulation and Competition Act or the Monetary Authority Act that deals with financial institutions.
He added that it will take two-to-four weeks to complete the research and necessary amendments before gazetting the revised bill for public consultation.
Saunders said he is hoping to enlist the assistance of attorney Steve McField, who has championed consumer protection for years, in the revision of the bill.
Additionally, he said, he will be commencing a roadshow starting, in North Side with Minister Jay Ebanks to elicit further comment from the public before final amendments are made.
“We want to see if there are any other issues that the public would like for us to include in the bill, rather than just start right away. It is a comprehensive bill and we want to make sure everyone understands what is going into it and what other bespoke legislation that speaks to other issues is available for [consumer] recourse,” he added.
Saunders stated that he could not say if the bill will be ready by for the next sitting of Parliament because he has no idea when the House will next be called.
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