Leave of absence was granted to Sen. the Hon. Dr. Amery Browne and Sen. Laurence Hislop, who are out of the country and to Sen. Damian Lyder and Sen. Anil Roberts, who are ill. Ms. Yokymma Bethelmy, Mr. Michael Seales, Mr. Rishi Tripathi and Ms. Karunaa Bisramsingh were appointed temporary Senators in their place.

Temporary Senators Bethelmy, Seales, Tripathi and Bisramsingh took the oath of allegiance.

The Finance (Supplementation and Variation of Appropriation) (Financial Year 2023) Bill, 2023 was brought from the House of Representatives in the name of the Minister of Finance. The Acting Leader of Government Business, Sen. the Hon. Paula Gopee-Scoon, moved that the next stage of the bill be taken on Tuesday May 16, 2023. The motion was approved.

Six papers were laid. See Order Paper for details.

Four questions qualified for oral answer. All questions were answered.

The Attorney General, Sen. the Hon. Reginald Armour, S.C., moved the second reading of The Miscellaneous Provisions (Trial By Judge Alone) Bill, 2023. Debate began on the bill. Fifteen senators contributed to the debate before the wind up by the Attorney General. The adjournment of the Senate was moved during his contribution.

Sen. Wade Mark raised a matter on the adjournment regarding the need for the Minister in the Ministry of Finance to address the inconsistency in the information provided to the Senate and information contained in the CLICO 2022 Financial Statement on CLICO’s shares in Methanol Holdings International Limited. The Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Hon. Brian Manning, MP, responded.

Sen. Mark raised a second matter regarding the bulldozing of live crops on agricultural lands in Felicity owned by former Caroni workers, in order to build 630 homes. The Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Hon. Adrian Leonce, MP, responded.

The Sitting concluded at 6:58 p.m.