Cabinet Brief Discusses Vaccines, Referendum and High Courts

The Ministry of Health and Wellness will be making available COVID-19 vaccines for children ages five to eleven in the days ahead. In a cabinet brief issued earlier today, Minister Kevin Bernard informed the Prime Minister that his ministry is working closely with the Ministry of Education to safely administer vaccines to students ahead of the new school year.  Elsewhere in the summary, cabinet acknowledges the receipt of signatures by the Governor General which will now allow the process of issuing a writ of referendum to commence. This is in respect of the passage of the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Control and Licensing Bill. In accordance with the Referendum Act, the petition will now go through the vetting process, as well as verification by the Elections and Boundaries Department. On another note, recommendation has been given to the Attorney General to introduce a bill at the next sitting of the House of Representatives to streamline the running of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal with the introduction of the Senior Courts of Belize. The Senior Courts Bill is a merger of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act and the Court of Appeals Act.