Wever: Ironic that MPs skipped Nature Policy meeting, then grandstand over tree incident

GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Chris Wever has accused opposition members of political grandstanding following the Simpson Bay tree incident, saying their public reaction stands in sharp contrast to their absence from a parliamentary meeting scheduled just one day earlier to discuss the country’s nature policy.

MP Wever said it was “ironic” that members who now claim to be standing with the public on an environmental matter failed to attend a meeting where Minister of VROMI Patrice Gumbs was present to address the Nature Policy Plan.

According to Wever, the meeting had to be postponed because of a lack of quorum. He said opposition members admitted they were in the Parliament Building, but did not attend the meeting.

The MP said the contrast between the postponed meeting and the response to the tree incident in Simpson Bay should not be ignored.

“Just yesterday, the same Minister was here to discuss a nature policy plan, and the meeting had to be postponed because of lack of quorum,” Wever said. “But today, because a tree fell in Simpson Bay and they see an opportunity to grandstand, they want to fool the people into believing they are standing with them.”

In speaking to The Peoples' Tribune, Wever said the issue is not whether environmental protection is important, but whether Members of Parliament are willing to do the actual work when the opportunity is formally placed before them. He said attending meetings, asking questions, reviewing policy and holding ministers accountable in the proper forum are the real responsibilities of Parliament.

He argued that public outrage cannot replace parliamentary responsibility, especially when meetings are called specifically to address the broader environmental framework affecting the country.

The MP said St. Maarten’s environmental issues, including trees, public spaces, coastal protection and nature management, require serious policy discussion and consistent participation by Parliament. He said those discussions cannot be treated as important only when a public controversy creates political attention.

Wever said the public deserves consistency from its elected representatives. He maintained that if MPs want to stand for nature, they must also show up for meetings where nature policy is being discussed.

He said the postponed meeting was an opportunity to question the Minister, discuss the policy direction and address broader environmental concerns in a structured way. Instead, he said, the lack of quorum delayed the process.

Wever described the situation as an example of selective outrage, saying some MPs appear more interested in the public optics of an incident than in the parliamentary work needed to prevent such issues from recurring.

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