NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government’s intention to extend the public state of emergency and emergency orders for another month is “impermissible”, said Wayne Munroe, Q.C. yesterday.
Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday tabled a resolution extending the orders until October 31.
Parliament is expected to debate the extension at the next sitting of the House.
But Munroe insisted that the state of emergency is not necessary for the government to implement and force COVID-19 protocols and furthered that despite the Governor-General issuing a new emergency order, the state of emergency declaration should not go over six months.
“He doesn’t see the nonsense that’s suggested, he doesn’t realize you can achieve allot of this by ordinary legislation,” Munroe told Eyewitness News.
“He seems to be very lost. There are some countries that have not declared a state of emergency but were still able to enact the laws to require mask-wearing and all of that.
“It’s clear he doesn’t understand the significance of a state emergency.”
The governor-general made the initial proclamation of a public state of emergency in The Bahamas on March 17 after the country saw its first case of the virus.
That proclamation was allowed to lapse due to a “procedural oversight” and the Governor-General had to sign a new proclamation on June 29.
The new proclamation also restarted the government’s six-month clock to continue extending the order.
Munroe however noted that the government should not be able to declare two states of emergencies over the same crisis.
“I don’t agree with that and we are going to have to look at whether that is something we can question in this existing action we have filed, or whether we have to file a new one to challenge this now an impermissible one-month extension of the state of emergency,” he said.
“My proposition is that you get six months per emergency and as it is the same one, you don’t get to declare a second one.
“The constitution provides for you to aggregate certain rights by ordinary legislation by parliament…The significance is that under a state of emergency, he gets to play God. I gather he likes being God.”
Munroe further questioned whether there is really a state of emergency in the country given that the ease of restrictions when the country is over 3,000 cases but had everything lockdown at just one case.
“If there wasn’t one then when they decided that it was so serious that they had to lock us down completely and put everyone out of work, how could there be one while we are opening up?,” he said.
“What sense does that make? You have more cases but clearly you’re not as serious as before because our restrictions are less.”
On August 12th, Munroe’s firm filed a writ on behalf of 21 people – some of whom are business owners impacted by the orders and others who were charged and convicted for breaking the orders – submitting that the orders are unconstitutional.
Multiple attorneys across the country are set to join the action against the government over the state of emergency and emergency orders.
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