PGC Communication Bills

July 23rd, 2013

COMMUNICATION

TO THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

BY

THE PRIME MINISTER

& MINISTER OF FINANCE

AND MEMBER FOR CENTREVILLE

THE RT. HON. PERRY G. CHRISTIE

Mr. Speaker:

It gives me great pleasure to foreshadow the introduction and first reading

later this morning of four (4) separate bills to amend the Constitution of

The Bahamas. These four bills, representing the first round of

constitutional reform, are bound together by a common thread: the need

to institute full equality between men and women in matters of citizenship

and, more broadly, to eliminate discrimination in The Bahamas based on

sex.

It will be recalled that the Constitutional Commission, in its Report last

year, made specific recommendations concerning this matter. The

Commission has now presented to Cabinet and Cabinet has approved -

the four bills that will be introduced in this honourable House this morning.

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The Government wishes to record its gratitude to the Constitutional

Commission, under the chairmanship of Sean McWeeney QC, for its work in

overseeing the preparation of the bills, with the technical support of the

Attorney Generals Office and the Law Reform Commission, and for the

ongoing role the Commission has agreed to play in relation to constitutional

reform, particularly in relation to public education.

In this latter regard, I have been informed by Chairman McWeeney that

Retired Supreme Court Justice Rubie Nottage, supported by other members

of the Constitutional Commission, has agreed to spearhead the public

education campaign that will begin very shortly.

The Government also wishes to place on record its appreciation of the

entirely constructive and commendably statesmanlike contribution the

Opposition has made to the preparation and finalization of the bills that will

be introduced today. In this regard, I would especially like to commend

the Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament for Killarney, Dr.

Minnis, and Senator the Hon. Carl Bethel. This kind of bi-partisanship on

matters of high constitutional principle augurs well for the ongoing

maturation of our democracy.

It is the Governments intention, subject to further consultations with the

Opposition, to have the four constitutional bills debated and passed in both

Houses of Parliament in the shortest possible time so as to maximize the

time available for discussion and dialogue throughout the country in

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advance of a national constitutional referendum to be held on the 6th

November, 2014.

Mr. Speaker :

Members are aware, of course, that under the Constitution the four bills in

question must in each instance be approved by at least three-quarters

(3/4ths) of the members of the House of Assembly. The bills must then go

to the Senate where they must also be approved by three-quarters

(3/4ths) of the members of that legislative body. Following passage in the

Senate, the bills must be approved by a simple majority of voters in a

national referendum. Only after going through the entire process can the

Constitution be altered.

Mr. Speaker:

Although I shall have more to say on the bills on a later occasion, I should

like to give just a brief snapshot of what each bill essentially says so that

the public can be guided accordingly.

Bill # 1 : The Bahamas Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2014

This bill seeks to achieve gender equality in a very important respect: it

seeks to give a child born outside The Bahamas to a Bahamian-born

mother and non-Bahamian father the same automatic right to Bahamian

citizenship that the Constitution already gives to a child born outside The

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Bahamas to a Bahamian-born father and a non-Bahamian mother. The bill

is therefore simply equalizing the sexes and, in so doing, eliminating an

area of discrimination against women that has persisted for the past 41

years.

It is important to emphasize, however, that in keeping with the present

Constitution, the right to automatically pass Bahamian citizenship to ones

child will continue to operate only where the Bahamian parent is himself, or

herself, a native-born Bahamian. This will not change under this

amendment.

It should also be noted that this change in the Constitution, if approved,

will not operate retroactively.

However, I wish to announce that my government will, as a matter of

administrative policy, grant Bahamian citizenship to all applicants born

abroad after July 9th, 1973 (and before the law changes) to a Bahamian-

born mother and non-Bahamian father, subject, of course, to the

exceptions, and in accordance with the procedures, already prescribed by

law.

Bill #2 : The Bahamas Constitution (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2014

Bill #2 also seeks to achieve gender equality in another respect under the

Constitution: it seeks to enable a Bahamian woman who marries a foreign

man to secure for him the same access to Bahamian citizenship that a

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Bahamian man has always enjoyed under the Constitution in relation to his

foreign spouse. In short, the bill seeks to achieve gender equality in this

regard.

I hasten to add, however, that this bill contains provisions that are

designed to ensure that foreign persons, be they male or female, who

enter into bogus marriages with Bahamian citizens, will not be assisted by

this constitutional change.

More specifically, a foreign spouse who wishes to acquire Bahamian

citizenship based on his or her marriage to a Bahamian citizen will not be

able to avail himself or herself of the constitutional change if he or she is

no longer married to a Bahamian; of if he or she is married but has no

intention of living with the Bahamian spouse; or if it can be shown that the

foreign spouse only married the Bahamian in the first place in order to

access Bahamian citizenship. In all these cases, Bahamian citizenship

applications will be denied. Indeed Mr. Speaker, this is consistent with

existing policy and will therefore not come as any great surprise.

I should also mention that in common with the other three bills, this bill will

not apply retroactively.


Bill #3 is of particular interest because it seeks to remediate the one area

of the Constitution that discriminates against men. At present, an unwed

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Bahamian father cannot pass his citizenship to a child born to a foreign

woman. This bill seeks to change that. It will give an unwed Bahamian

father the same right to pass citizenship to his child that a Bahamian

woman has always had under the Constitution in relation to a child born to

her out of wedlock.

This bill, however, will require proof of paternity by one or other of the

methods prescribed by law.

I should also mention that a bill for a short consequential amendment to

the Status of Children Act has also been prepared and will be tabled either

later today or at the next meeting of the House (or) sitting of the House.

However, this bill will not be brought into force unless or until Bill # 3

completes its passage through both Houses followed by approval in the

referendum.


Finally, Bill #4 seeks to end discrimination based on sex. This involves the

insertion of the word sex in Article 26 of the Constitution so as to make it

unconstitutional to discriminate based on whether someone is male or

female.

It is for me to caution, however, that this bill makes it clear that the

existing exceptions will continue to apply. In particular, this bill will not

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make same-sex marriages lawful. Such unions are already treated as void

under the Matrimonial Causes Act and the genesis of this particular legal

position pre-dates the Independence Constitution. This will not change

under the proposed amendments to Article 26.

Mr. Speaker:

Before closing, I wish to advise that preliminary preparations are already

underway for the Citizenship Commission recommended by the

Constitutional Commission in its Report. I expect to be able to announce

the members of this commission in the near future. The purpose of this

new commission will be to study and definitively address the status of the

numerous persons who were born in The Bahamas, albeit to non-Bahamian

parents, and who have never known any home other than The Bahamas.

As the Constitutional Commission has so sagely warned, we ignore this

problem at our peril.

The focus for today, however, rightfully rests on the four bills that will be

tabled very shortly. The changes to the Constitution foreshadowed by

these bills will not only help remediate the problem of structural gender

inequality and discrimination in our country but will also assist in bringing

greater inclusiveness and cohesion to family structures while at the same

time ensuring that The Bahamas lives up to its international obligations in

these matters.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your indulgence.

Documents

PGC Communication Bills