Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre says Cabinet will today consider a request from the family of the late Joy St Omer for an independent Commission of Inquiry, stressing that the Government has neither accepted nor rejected the proposal.
“We have not said no. We have not said yes,” Pierre told reporters at the pre-Cabinet briefing on Monday morning.
The Prime Minister said the request was received shortly before Cabinet met last week.
“That request came to me on Monday morning at 20 past ten in the morning, and the Cabinet met at 11,” Pierre said.
Pierre said establishing a Commission of Inquiry requires careful Cabinet consideration and cannot be reduced to an immediate yes-or-no decision.
“A Commission of Inquiry is not something that I can just say yes or no,” he said. “I just want to make it clear that the Government is very concerned as to the circumstances that surround all deaths.”
Several ministers were away on Monday, and Pierre said he did not have a full Cabinet present. Nevertheless, he said Cabinet would consider the request.
Asked when the family and wider public could expect a decision, he indicated that the process could take up to two weeks.
According to Pierre, even if Cabinet makes a decision on the matter immediately, it would still have to go through the necessary ratification process before it could be formally announced.
“If a decision is made today, it’ll be ratified next week,” he explained.
He said the time required for the process should not be interpreted as a lack of urgency or concern.
“It’s not because we’re tardy, not because we do not care, but because there are processes, because Cabinet decisions are important decisions, they have repercussions,” Pierre said.
He added that the Cabinet must be given sufficient time to consider all relevant factors before reaching a final position.
The St Omer family formally petitioned the Governor General last week, under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, seeking an independent examination of the systems and institutions that responded to Joy’s requests for help before her death.
The family has made clear that it is not seeking an inquiry into the criminal case arising from the 24-year-old’s death, which is before the courts. Instead, it wants the proposed inquiry to examine the institutional response, including the handling and enforcement of protection orders, communication between agencies and procedures for dealing with domestic and gender-based violence cases.
Pierre said that if the circumstances surrounding St Omer’s case point to a need for changes to existing systems or processes, his administration would act.
“If the circumstances warrant any changes in the system, in the processes, the government will surely initiate it,” he said.
The Prime Minister also rejected any suggestion that his administration had been indifferent to the circumstances surrounding Joy’s death.
“I wanna say to you that the Government did not sit idly by and allow this young lady to lose her life,” Pierre said. “It’s something that we’re very concerned about.”
