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For the Barrow Administration which has long been at odds with the Bar - which it says is pro PUP - it is a signal accomplishment - for the PUP it is an extension of a police of discord:..

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Leader of The Opposition
"The purpose and intent of the body and the association is a public purpose and if there are difficulties with the performance of the Bar then lets address those, but this attempt as the bill seeks to, to really undermine the Bar Association and really to dismantle the Bar Association in our view. It certainly not something we should support. It's a bill that's truly reflection of this UDP government; if I cant control you or don't like what you are saying or what you are doing, then I will seek to destroy you, to undermine you, to discredit you - to use the power of the state against you. I mean that really is not the direction that Belizeans want to see the country going. Not just because a government feels that the Bar is a bunch of PUPs that means that you must then resolve to destroy the Bar and break up the Bar? That is absolutely ridiculous man, it's crazy - dividing our society, destroying our society."

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"You are saying that if it isn't broke don't fix it? Well Mr. Speaker I am here to tell you that it is broke and has been broke for a long, long time. With respect to the question of discipline, this must be the only jurisdiction in the world with respect to lawyers where no lawyer has ever been disbarred. I don't know of any lawyer ever having been punished and you are telling me that the way the general legal council of the bar which is in fact given the jurisdiction in terms of discipline - you are telling me that the way that general legal council has been functioning has been effective? I don't know if anybody having been punish and God knows there have been complaints. Legions of complaints made by members of the public. As it is now everybody must pay a membership fee to them whether you want to belong to them or not - no man, I don't care. You say that there is nothing unconstitutional about that mandatory enforce membership of the Bar Association. Well if it's not unconstitutional and I would argue that, it is wrong, it is morally wrong. How will you force me to belong to a bar association because I am a lawyer if I don't want to belong to the Bar Association and speaking for myself I do not want to belong to your bar association."

Today's debate on the bill - which was dominated by the lawyers who are parliamentarians - was unusually unkind to the Bar Association - and we'll have some choice sound bytes from that for u tomorrow.