MP De Weever tells MP York to "Wheel and Come Again” with misrepresenting her role

GREAT BAY--Tensions rose in Parliament on Tuesday during the continuation of the meeting with the police union, when MP Ludmila De Weever pushed back against what she described as an incorrect framing of her role by fellow MP Darryl York. De Weever, visibly annoyed, firmly clarified her position and told York not to twist her words. "I understand very well my role. So wheel and come again with that," she said.

In her initial presentation, MP De Weever focused on the long-standing issues affecting justice workers: communication failures between the unions and the executive branch, the unclear alternative for insurance coverage, and ongoing delays in the processing of LB's (landsbesluiten). She stressed that breakdowns in communication had left justice workers waiting nearly a year for answers, saying that this was unacceptable and had to be resolved.

She further explained that while she was not a mediator between the Minister and the unions, she was very aware of her parliamentary powers. “I know what I can do as a Member of Parliament. I can write letters to the ministers inquiring why this isn’t done. We can call for question hours. We can call for meetings where we give questions in advance. But is that going to resolve the issue? That is the discussion we are having here.”

Following her remarks, MP Darryl York took the floor and suggested that Parliament should not dismiss the role of mediation altogether. He reminded colleagues that in the previous meeting with the fire and ambulance unions, it had also been stated that Parliament could not do anything. York said, “I would like to just remind all my colleagues that we are here to serve the people in any way, shape or fashion that we can. And if they don’t know what they want exactly from us, it is our job to figure out how we can help them.”

De Weever, clearly irritated by York’s comments, immediately responded to what she saw as twisting of her intent. “Let me just make sure that I’m very clear. Plain English is easily understood. So when I say that I’m not a mediator, I am saying that in the context of trying to understand exactly where we are with the back and forth. When I say I’m not a mediator, I am saying I am not a mediator between the minister and the union. And I give a follow up after that stating specifically, I know exactly what I could do as a Member of Parliament. I could write a letter to the minister, I could call a question hour, I can call her over if three people sign on to it. So when I say I’m not a mediator, make sure everybody understand very clearly that I understand my role here in Parliament.”

De Weever stressed that her comments were taken out of context by MP York. Comments that fit into the very same mold of what he intially said, which was to help the people of St. Maarten in whatever they can as MPs. “So don’t try and play it that I don’t want to represent nobody here today. I understand very well my role. So wheel and come again with that.”

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