Leave of absence was granted to Sen. the Hon. Clarence Rambharat and Sen. Dr. Maria Dillon-Remy, who are both out of the country. Mr. Ndale Young and Mr. Josh O.W. Drayton were appointed temporary Senators in their place.

Temporary Senators Ndale Young and Josh Drayton took the oath of allegiance.

The Finance Bill, 2018 and the Miscellaneous Provisions (Proceeds of Crime, Anti-Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago) Bill, 2018 were brought from the House of Representatives. The Minister of Finance moved that the next stage of the Finance Bill be taken later in the proceedings.

Five papers were laid. See Order Paper for details.

Three reports were presented.

Three urgent questions were posed.

Ten questions qualified for oral answer. Question #69 was deferred for two weeks.

Sen. Anita Haynes sought request for leave to move the adjournment of the House on a definite matter of urgent public importance namely, the failure of the Government to pay outstanding back pay to terminated employees of Petrotrin. The President of the Senate was not satisfied that this matter qualified under this Standing Order.

The Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Sen. the Hon. Allyson West, moved the second reading of The Finance Bill, 2018. Debate began on the Bill. Following the debate, the Bill was read a third time and passed.

Sen. Wade Mark raised a matter on the adjournment regarding the failure of the Government to condemn security personnel at TSTT’s Nelson Exchange Office for ejecting the Secretary General of the Communication Workers Union from the building whilst he was conducting union business. The Minister of Public Utilities responded.
Sen. Mark raised another matter regarding the destabilization of the trade union movement. The Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development responded.

The Sitting concluded at 10:48 p.m. The Senate adjourned to Wednesday December 19, 2018 at 1:30 p.m.