Advocacy group questions Canada’s influence on Jamaica’s Constitutional Reform Committee

The Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) notes that the Government has finally named the members of the Constitutional Reform Committee. The composition of this committee, however, is an insult to the very effort that it was established to undertake.

It is inexplicable that the Government thought it necessary to include a foreigner on the committee.  This is disrespectful of local expertise on constitutional matters. Ironically, the foreigner is not from a country that has liberated itself from its colonial masters, but from Canada, which itself remains a Constitutional Monarchy.

To add insult to injury, the foreigner, Professor Richard Albert, holds views on sensitive matters that are alien to the views of the majority of the people of Jamaica. Professor Albert's publicly expressed views on abortion, buggery and same-sex marriage are positions that have been rejected by the majority of Jamaicans.

One cannot help but notice the deep interest that the Canadian government has taken in Jamaica for many years. In particular, the Canadian government has made significant and strategic investments in the Jamaican justice system. For example, in January 2023, the Jamaican government received CAD$12-million to boost the newly launched Social Justice (So-JUST) Project which is to run from 2021 to 2028 (JIS news).

Could this explain Professor Albert’s presence on the Committee?

Canada’s current laws and culture reflect a woke LGBT+ tyranny which among other dangers, indoctrinates Canadian children into the distorted concepts of ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’. Bill C-16, for example, erodes parental rights by punishing parents for not using their confused children’s preferred pronouns. These aspects of Canada’s legal and constitutional journey are not to be replicated in Jamaica by the intrusion of flawed foreign philosophies.

Notwithstanding Professor Albert’s apparent expertise as described in the Gleaner’s article “Attorney quota justified, says Canadian expert” (28/3/2023), we can see no benefit in having Professor Albert sitting on Jamaica’s Constitutional Reform Committee.  In principle, the JCHS would have no objection to technical experts offering advice to the committee, nevertheless Professor Albert should neither be on, nor have any vote in the Committee.

A nation’s constitution is no small instrument to change. It reflects the worldview and philosophy that guides a nation’s laws and thus influences its culture.  In light of the importance of this document for ourselves and generations to come, it is imperative that the composition of the Committee reflects the desire for freedom from our colonial masters rather than a mere transition from one master to another.