Amid questions regarding the method Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald used to retrieve the private emails of several Save the Bays members, Data Commissioner Sharmie Farrington-Austin said over the weekend that the tabling of private correspondence in the House of Assembly is a "dangerous trend and opens the society up to chaos".

Her statement came more than a week after Fitzgerald read and tabled an email thread in the House of Assembly, as he sought to paint the environmental advocacy group as a "political organization" bent on entrapping fashion mogul Peter Nygard and destabilizing the Christie administration.

As he contributed to the mid-year budget debate, Fitzgerald said Save the Bays was using "millions and millions of dollars" to carry out its plot.

In a strongly worded statement, Farrington-Austin cautioned public officials against tabling private documents in Parliament and added that certain aspects of the case appear to have national security implications.

"It is my considered view that members of Parliament ought to be cognizant of the fact that members of the public expect that their members of Parliament will be held to the same standard as ordinary citizens in relation to the commission of a criminal offense," Farrington-Austin said.

"No citizen should be above the law. This office cautions against the practice of obtaining private citizens' correspondence and tabling them in the House of Assembly. This, in my view, is a most dangerous trend and opens up the society to chaos.

"Citizens have a right to expect that their private communications would enjoy the protection afforded them under the laws of the country."

Farrington-Austin noted that information tabled in the House of Assembly falls outside of her jurisdiction as MPs enjoy privilege.

She said, "...the data protection commissioner is not the appropriate authority to make any rulings/comments with respect to the admissability of correspondence in the House of Assembly.

"Certainly, if actionable, the issue as to whether personal emails can legitimately be determined as a part of the deliberations/proceedings of the Parliament ought to be properly determined by a competent court of law."

During his contribution, Fitzgerald also claimed that certain Save The Bays members make over six figures annually and said he had financial information to support his claims.

Farrington-Austin said the relevant data protection issue in this matter "concerns whether [anyone] gained unauthorized access to the said private emails before they were tabled in the House of Assembly".

"It is noteworthy that not one of the complainants provided this office with any evidence to assist this office in its investigations," she said.

"Most importantly, none of the parties allegedly affected have made any direct complaint to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner."

However, she added that section 23 of the Data Protection Privacy of Personal Information Act indicates that a person who obtains access to personal data without the "prior authority of the data controller or data processor by whom the data are kept and discloses the data or information to another person, shall be guilty of an offense".

"I have confidence that the commissioner of police and his team would have put the relevant and necessary questions to the parties and is conducting its investigation as to how the said information was obtained," Farrington-Austin added.

She added her office will lend support to the police.

Response
In a joint statement, Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell and Fitzgerald, the MP for Marathon, said they "note with interest that no formal complaint has been received by [Farrington-Austin] and therefore her statement and commentary in the absence of a formal complaint is indeed curious".

"We merely point out to the public this matter is not about unauthorized emails," the statement said.

"As we said in Parliament, this matter is about a well-funded environmental organization that is not about the environment, but Save The Bays is about politics and destabilizing the government of The Bahamas and has spent millions of dollars to do so.

"...Further, the matter has been formally referred to the Committee on Privileges and that committee has the power to send for persons and papers. We will cooperate with the committee of the House fully. It is the House committee that has complete jurisdiction over MPs.

"Let the public be assured that neither of us is a party to any unauthorized access to emails."

They added that the matter now rests with the police and the Office of the Attorney General.

"It is ironic that the same people who were fighting for freedom of information and transparency are now running to the court to stop the same freedom they were supposedly fighting for," Mitchell and Fitzgerald said.

"What a difference a day makes. A bunch of self righteous hypocrites."

The police launched an investigation after members of Save The Bays alleged that Nygard and lawyer Keod Smith were plotting to have them murdered. Both Smith and Nygard have strongly denied those allegations and have vowed to defend their names.

Assertions relating to the alleged plot are contained in an affidavit from John DiPaolo, an investigator hired out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The matter has consumed public attention since March 9 when the Save The Bays members filed a court action.

The plaintiffs, including its Chairman Joseph Darville, have refuted the assertions that they were involved in any activity to destabilize the government of The Bahamas.

Diane Phillips, a public relations specialist who has since resigned from Save The Bays, said there ought to be an investigation into how Fitzgerald got his hands on her private emails.

Billionaire Lyford Cay resident Louis Bacon, who funds Save The Bays, said certain actions of Bahamian political leaders in this matter are "highly disturbing" and contended that those actions are negatively impacting "already frightened victims..."

Save The Bays has secured an injunction prohibiting the publication of "information", including emails and bank statements, regarding members of the group and its directors without their consent. However, the court has no jurisdiction over speech in Parliament.

By Krystel Rolle-Brown

Guardian Staff

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

THE Free National Movement has condemned the Christie administration’s proclamation that remediation is in place at the New Providence landfill, saying it is “now patently clear” that Renew Bahamas is incapable of managing the fire-plagued property.

The party said the “epic failure” by Renew Bahamas should be viewed as a clear indication that the Progressive Liberal Party has wasted the “hard earned monies” of the Bahamian people.

Last night, Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett released a statement that said officials from his ministry are holding discussions with Renew Bahamas and police “to assess the present security regime at the landfill to ensure its maximum impact.”

“While Renew is responsible for providing security, the government is assessing the adequacy of the security measures in place in light of the recent fires and the suspicion of arson,” he said. “Security at the site is critical and is not a small task as the site is over 100-acres within a 300-acre plot of land. I have impressed upon all stakeholders that there must be a concerted effort to ensure that resolution be brought to this situation as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

He also said Renew Bahamas has made progress since it was contracted in 2014 to remediate the landfill, which was expected to reduce fires.

Another massive fire erupted at the site on Sunday night, the third in about three weeks.

“Renew Bahamas had not delivered and thus they have further exposed the government’s lack of commitment to the promotion of health and safety in our communities. More clearly, it demonstrates to the people that environmental and health issues are not given priority by this government,” the FNM said.

“The FNM and the Bahamian people continue to be concerned about the ability or lack thereof, of this company. Consequently, we demand that the government explains how this company was selected.

“Additionally, they should also explain how a contract was given without a request for proposal (RFP) or public tendering. The government is yet to disclose who are the principle owners and shareholders in the company, yet they were given a lucrative contract by the government. What does the government have to hide from the Bahamian people in this deal?”

The FNM said since Renew Bahamas was contracted, fires have “gotten worse with no end in sight.”

When contacted by The Tribune on the matter, Renew Bahamas CEO Gerhard Beukes and Chief Commercial Officer Michael Cox called the criticism “unfair.”

They said the record would show that the company has worked tirelessly to curtail recurrent fires.

They added that the nature of the latest fire has led officials at the landfill to consider that recent blazes are more to do with materials coming in to the site, rather than materials already on the site.

According to Mr. Beukes and Mr. Cox, there are already a series of procedures being carried out at the site to ensure that flammable materials are handled in a manner that does not cause new fires.

The treatment of flammable materials being introduced to the site was something that Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller yesterday took issue with, suggesting that the efforts being carried out by Renew were being limited by “bad and unrealistic habits” that predates the company.

According to Mr. Miller, the source of many of the recent fires at the New Providence landfill site appears to be predicated on the burning of tyres, plastics and a number of other combustible materials dumped at the site.

He told The Tribune that during his most recent visit to the landfill he saw loads of tyres being dumped, while officials worked to extinguish a blaze.

“This has got to stop,” the Tall Pines MP said, as he described his constituents’ complaints about the recurrent fires.

“For God’s sake, the people, my people, all people deserve better than this nonsense. It must stop. I mean look - it is not only unhealthy, it isn’t fair to the residents that have to deal with this on a day to day basis.”

The Tribune understands that the presence of flammable materials at the site has become a contentious issue between Renew Bahamas and the Department of Environmental Health Services, the government department with the most immediate oversight of the landfill.

Sources at the DEHS have confirmed that Renew Bahamas has made a point to ask that flammable materials be removed from waste-loads prior to loads being offloaded at the dump, an issue the source said has been met with opposition because of the amount of money it could cost the department.

The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) advises that at 3:25 pm today, a Jet Blue 29 Embraer 190, inbound to LPIA from Washington Dulles Airport (KIAD), with 97 souls on board, declared an emergency to Nassau Approach control, due to a landing gear problem.

It was initially determined by CAD and LPIA officials that only the right main gear was extended, and that both the left main gear and the nose gear were not. The pilot in command made a decision to attempt a landing at LPIA, and after burning some fuel, executed a safe landing at 4:36pm, with the use of both the left and right main gear only. The nose gear was not extended. All passengers and crew were determined to be uninjured.

As a result of the incident, the main runway at LPIA, 14 / 32 is temporarily closed, until the aircraft can be removed. Aircraft operations continue on runway 09 / 27 with minimal delays.

The Department of Civil Aviation commends the pilot, the Air Traffic Control staff, the Airport Authority, the Nassau Airport Development Company, the Airport Crash, Fire and Rescue officers at LPIA, and the Royal Bahamas Police Force firefighters, for a job well done.

The public is informed that the Accident and Investigations Unit of the Flight Standards Inspectorate will immediately conduct an investigation into this incident, with a view to determining the circumstances which led to its occurrence.

By the Bahamas Department of Civil Aviation

Source: Bahamas Information Services

IAN ROLLE, GBPA PRESIDENT, PART OF THE FULL HOUSE ATTENDANCE AT DRIVE IN MOVIE NIGHT: ​​“We are extremely pleased by the turnout this evening” said Ian Rolle, President of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA), peeking his head out of a his parked car. “The community’s participation is evident that we need to host more events like this, bringing the community and families together, while supporting the local economy.”

Parking areas were packed to capacity, as cars lined the streets of the Downtown center this past Thursday. Scores of residents gathered for the historical viewing of the first ‘Downtown Drive-In Movie Night’, a partnership initiative of the Downtown Freeport Business Association (DFBA) and the Invest Grand Bahama Small Business Bureau (IGBSBB).

“We are extremely pleased by the turnout this evening” said Ian Rolle, President of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA). “The community’s participation is evident that we need to host more events like this, bringing the community and families together, while supporting the local economy,” stated Rolle.

Featuring the box office hit “WAR ROOM” in HD format, a twenty-five ft. by sixteen ft. screen lit up the night sky, and could be seen from as far back as the Produce Exchange building, while viewers tuned in on radio dial 95.5FM to pick-up the film’s audio.

STRONG ATTENDANCE FROM FREEPORT'S YOUTH CONFIRM THAT DRIVE IN MOVIE NIGHT RECEIVES THEIR SUPPORT “The success of this event effectively demonstrates and validates market readiness for the concept of a Drive-In Movie; one that features family centered entertainment, that both children and parents can enjoy,” stated Derek Newbold, Sr. Manager of Business Development and Invest Grand Bahama.

According to Harveyann Newbold, DFBA president, the movie night initiative has been in their project line-up for just over a year. “We’ve had this project in the pipeline for a while, but we wanted to offer it as a free event. Thanks to the support and sponsorship of the IGBSBB we are now able to do so,” she said. “The response this evening is overwhelming, definitely confirmation that we would want to add this to our calendar for future events.” Newbold continued.

Complete with fully stocked concession services, movie goers enjoyed numerous theatre favorites including, popcorn, nachos, hot dogs, hamburgers, and others. Frank’s famous ice-cream van also made an appearance, offering sweet cold treats to young ones, and the young at heart.

Senior Manager of Business Development and Invest Grand Bahama, Derek Newbold, shared that the initiative also served as a pilot project to assess interest level and judging from the overwhelming response can become a viable small business opportunity.

“The success of this event effectively demonstrates and validates market readiness for the concept of a Drive-In Movie; one that features family centered entertainment, that both children and parents can enjoy,” declared Newbold. The IGBSBB and the DFBA have done an excellent job of organizing and promoting this event. We would also like to thank the Royal Bahamas Police Force for doing such an outstanding job with directing traffic and ensuring a safe and successful evening. It was a great team effort,” he concluded.

Surrounding stores remained open past the usual closing times, allowing residents to pick-up last minute items before the Easter holiday. Business Services Manager for the IGBSBB, LaShawn Dames, said she was pleased with the overall event.

“Tonight Downtown was showcased as a place for family entertainment, shopping and fun. We are very pleased with the level of turnout, support and participation from surrounding stores, the community, and other licensees who made the event possible and successful,” Dames stated. The IGBSBB is pleased to support these types of initiatives, as they support local businesses and help to build our economy,” she continued.

Complete with fully stocked concession services, movie goers enjoyed numerous theatre favorites including, popcorn, nachos, hot dogs, hamburgers, and others. Frank’s famous Ice-cream Van also made an appearance, offering sweet cold treats to young ones, and the young at heart.

WAR ROOM ATTENDEES CONFIRMED THAT THE PRE-GOOD FRIDAY DRIVE IN MOVIE WAS A HIT! Featuring the box office hit “WAR ROOM” in HD format, a twenty-five ft. by sixteen ft. screen lit up the night sky, and could be seen from as far back as the Produce Exchange building, while viewers tuned in on radio dial 95.5FM to pick-up the film’s audio. to young ones, and the young at heart.