CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC) — Opposition legislators walked out of the St Lucia Parliament on Tuesday in protest at the decision of the Speaker, Leonne Theodore-John, to allow for a debate on an Opposition motion regarding the controversial Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP).

Opposition Leader Phillip J Pierre had questioned the absence of the motion from the Order Paper at the start of the sitting forcing an immediate apology from the Speaker over her failure to notify the Parliament of the change.

But she told legislators that that she had written to the Member of Parliament for the Castries South constituency, Dr Ernest Hilaire explaining that the motion would be deferred for a subsequent sitting of the Parliament.

But an infuriated Hilaire complained that he only learnt of the change ?when he arrived at the Parliament building on Tuesday and it was improper for a motion which was circulated to members to be altered at short notice.

But the Speaker indicated that making the adjustment was nothing new, as it had been done several times before.

She further explained that the request for the motion to be deferred to a subsequent sitting had come from Prime Minister Allen Chastanet.

Theodore-John sought to give the opposition and more specifically, Hilaire the assurance that the motion would be discussed at a subsequent meeting, but could not be accommodated given the day’s extensive agenda.

Despite her explanation, and her efforts to continue the proceedings Hilaire insisted that he be allowed to speak on the deferral, and after a number of exchanges across the floor, the Opposition parliamentarian, who is the St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) lead spokesman on the CIP, led his colleagues out of the Chamber.