Leave of absence was granted to Sen. the Hon. Hassel Bacchus and Sen. Evans Welch who are out of the country and to Sen. the Hon. Donna Cox, who is ill. Mr. Ndale Young, Mr. Michael Seales and Mr. John Heath were appointed temporary Senators in their place.

Seven Papers were laid. See the Order Paper.

One Report was presented. See the Order Paper.

Two Urgent Questions qualified for oral answer. See the Order Paper.

Six Questions on Notice qualify for oral answer. All questions were answered. See the Order Paper.

The Soroptimist Club of Port-of-Spain (Incorporation)(Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Trinidad and Tobago Association for Retarded Children (Incorporation)(Amendment) Bill, 2022 were introduced by the President of the Senate.

Debate resumed on a private motion moved by Sen. Amrita Deonarine calling on the Government to table in Parliament, within six (6) months, a comprehensive policy framework that will guide key stakeholders, including MSMEs, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and Commercial Banks on how the Government intends to navigate the tightness in the foreign exchange market to overcome downside risks in the medium and long-term. Ten senators contributed to the motion before the wind up by Sen. Amrita Deonarine. The question was put on the acceptance of two amendments to the motion, one proposed by Sen. the Hon. Randall Mitchell and the other by Sen. Deonarine. Both motions were not carried. The question was then put on the original motion. 15 members voted for and 15 members voted against, with no abstentions. The President of the Senate made the casting vote. The motion was not approved.

Sen. Paul Richards raised a matter regarding the need for the Ministry of Education to take immediate steps to stop teachers employed by the Ministry from providing private extra lessons in contravention of the Ministry’s policy. The Minister of Education, Hon. Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, MP, responded.
Sen. Wade Mark raised a matter regarding the price hike on the population through increases in super gasoline, diesel and premium. The Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Hon. Brian Manning, MP, responded.

The House brought greetings to the Muslim community on the upcoming celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr. The Sitting concluded at 7:35 p.m.