Mr. Speaker, I rise to second this motion. Mr. Speaker, it is a very important one that the Attorney General has brought forward. This Government in its wisdom has brought to the table, as one of the actions that we as a Government would like to move forward with, in the spirit of cooperation and transparency.

Mr. Speaker - As this Honourable House is aware, on 19th January, 2021 the former Governor, His Excellency Augustus Jaspert, appointed a Commissioner, Sir Gary Hickinbottom, to hold a Commission of Inquiry, to inquire into whether corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty in relation to officials whether statutory, elected or public, “… may have taken place in recent years.”

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions advises the public that the office will not accept written requests for ongoing criminal matters to be discontinued from any virtual complainant or witness.  If there are concerns about the case, virtual complainants and witnesses should report those to the law enforcement officers in charge of investigating their cases. 

Constitutional, public and criminal law expert Justice Darshan Ramdhani has joined the Virgin Islands’ bench as High Court Judge.

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) Chief Justice Honourable Dame Janice M. Pereira, DBE LLD said the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the courts of justice to adjust to be able to continue to provide for the needs of the region.

The public is reminded that CURFEW (NO. 40) ORDER, 2020 remains in effect. The imposed Curfew is between the hours of 2:01 a.m. to 4:59 a.m. daily until December 31, 2020.

El domingo 20 de diciembre de 2020, un nativo de la República Dominicana viajó a las IVB y posteriormente Inmigración le negó la entrada al Aeropuerto Internacional Terrance B. Lettsome. Luego, el pasajero fue transportado a Wyndham Tortola (Lambert Beach Resort) donde se esperaba que se pusiera en cuarentena y esperara la salida programada del Territorio el lunes 21 de diciembre de 2020.

I would like to provide an update on the status of the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Bill and the Cannabis Licensing Bill.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was recently made aware of a December 2, 2020 news article that inaccurately suggested that a man faced $100,000 bail and would shortly face trial in the Magistrate’s Court.

Attorney General, Honourable Dawn Smith attended her first meeting as Deputy Chairperson of the Virgin Islands General Legal Council last month.