Mark: Medical care for all parliamentarians

SENATE MINORITY lea-der Wade Mark said the death of Opposition Senator Arnim Smith underscores the urgent need to ensure that all parliamentarians are entitled to proper medical coverage. Smith, 57, died last Sunday at the St Clair Medical Centre from a ruptured aorta. Mark told Newsday yesterday he was hopeful that Smith’s untimely passing would bring home the message that there are no proper mechanisms to ensure that parliamentarians are taken care of should they fall ill. He explained that under Trinidad and Tobago’s “backward system of Parliament,” regulations dating back to 1959 only ensure that parliamentarians in the Upper and Lower Houses who are Government Ministers receive appropriate medical and financial benefits. Mark pointed out that under this system, Government MPs such as Fitzgerald Hinds and Eudine Job-Davis have little or nothing to receive should they require urgent medical treatment.

The UNC chairman added that it was the responsibility of the House Committees, chaired in the Senate by Dr Lenny Saith and in the Lower House by Trade Minister Ken Valley, to look after welfare of parliamentarians and he hoped that in the aftermath of Smith’s death, they will give the issue serious consideration. Mark dismissed continued media reports quoting anonymous UNC sources listing numerous names to replace Smith in the Senate. The UNC chairman said the party “will not be rushed” in naming a new senator and described the reports as “premature and highly speculative.” Former UNC Ortoire/Mayaro MP Winston “Gypsy” Peters was identified as a possible replacement for Smith but while saying he would be willing to accept the post if offered, Peters told Newsday last week that any such talk was speculative at this point and there was a procedure to follow. Mark added that the UNC was not “fast-tracking” any senatorial appointment and that an appointment would be made “in due course.” The UNC chairman also revealed that the party is continuing to support Smith’s family in whatever way it can in light of the fact that the family is not entitled to any benefits from Parliament upon his passing.