Opposition Senator Janelle John-Bates has been replaced with Opposition Senator Vishnu Dhanpaul as a member of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC).
Yesterday, Leader of Government Business Darrell Allahar laid a special report of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) in the Senate, at the Red House, Port of Spain. The report was also laid in the Parliament last Friday.
Rejects claims of disruption:
Opposition MP Camille Robinson-Regis.
It is expected that both the House of Representatives and the Senate will debate this report, bringing into the spotlight the actions of John-Bates, who assisted former health minister Terrence Deyalsingh in his witness statement which he submitted to the PAAC.
The PAAC, chaired by House Speaker Jagdeo Singh, has been conducting an enquiry into “The State’s Acquisition of Pharmaceuticals as it Relates to the Current Processes Applicable to its Importation and Approval”.
Speaking with the media outside Parliament yesterday, John-Bates addressed the controversy.
She said her removal would allow the committee’s work to proceed without distraction.
“I respect that decision. I think it will allow the important work of the PAAC to continue without it being overshadowed by any issue,” she said.
John-Bates: In the hands of
my political leader
The Opposition senator also responded to questions about her future in the Senate.
“I note what the committee has said. I know that a report has been laid in Parliament. I think that any facts that need to be established should be established through any appropriate parliamentary process, and of course, it is in the hands of my political leader, and I respect any decision that she makes,” John-Bates said.
Both John-Bates and Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi assisted Deyalsingh in his witness statement, which was evidenced by their remarks and suggestions in the document’s tracked changes.
The media also questioned Al-Rawi yesterday, but he declined to comment on the issue.
“I am an attorney-at-law. I am bound by legal professional privilege. I cannot discuss the matter,” he said.
On April 13, the PAAC held a meeting where concerns were raised about John-Bates’ involvement and the untenable position that arises given that she is a sitting PAAC member.
Meanwhile, in laying the special report in Parliament on Friday, the PAAC recommended that both the House of Representatives and the Senate take note of the conduct of John-Bates.
The PAAC warned that her continued presence could make other members uncomfortable and potentially undermine the effective functioning of Parliament.
According to the PAAC’s special report, a document submitted by Deyalsingh on April 8 contained tracked changes traced back to John-Bates, a sitting member of the committee.
Metadata further suggested that she may have assisted in drafting the memorandum prior to a key committee meeting on March 25.
The special report was signed by all committee members except Opposition MP Camille Robinson-Regis, who submitted a Minority Report, taking issue with the committee’s handling of the matter and the leak of information.
The PAAC special report stated, “The necessity to report at this stage arose because of a concern that a sitting Member of the Committee compromised the duty of impartiality and further, that the said sitting Member participated in what can be fairly described as a conspiracy to commit contempt of the Parliament. Upon being confronted with the electronic evidence, the said Member admitted to the said conduct.”
Probe into leak of
in-camera proceedings
The report stated that the committee was “concerned and troubled” that John-Bates’ actions placed a negative outlook on the committee’s proceedings, and she should be recused from the enquiry or replaced, as she herself admitted to making material changes and assisting in the preparation of Deyalsingh’s written memorandum of evidence.
The report also stated that the PAAC will continue to investigate the issue regarding the leak of the in-camera proceedings, and it was “strongly recommended” that a special report on John-Bates’ conduct be prepared for presentation in the House of Representatives.
The report stated that the committee is in the process of taking evidence and, therefore, no findings or conclusions have been presented as further work is required in relation to the enquiry.
However, Robinson-Regis has rejected the claim that John-Bates’ presence in the Senate could disrupt parliamentary work.
In a Minority Report submitted in response to the PAAC special report dated April 17, 2026, Robinson-Regis criticised the process by which the matter involving John-Bates was handled and the broader breakdown in parliamentary standards within the committee itself.
She took issue with the Special Report’s claim that John-Bates’ continued involvement “could make other Members uncomfortable.
“The Minority rejects, in the strongest terms, the conclusion that the continued involvement of the Member ‘could make other Members uncomfortable to the point of negatively affecting the work of the Parliament’. This assertion is speculative, unsupported by evidence, and constitutionally unsound,” the report states.
Robinson-Regis warned that such reasoning sets a dangerous precedent, adding, “Parliamentary participation cannot be curtailed on the basis of subjective discomfort.”
