Former Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who was the head of government and also chairman of the National Security Council when the illegal wiretapping occurred, was not present when MPs took the vote.
Manning did not speak in the House during Friday's debate. However, he held a news conference at which he insisted he was never benefited from any information gathered during the illegal wiretapping of telephones and interception of private emails.
He insisted that his government had planned to bring legislation to the Parliament to legalise wiretapping but that was not possible because the defeat of his party in the May 24 general election upset his agenda. The legislation was scheduled to go to Parliament in May, he said.
In her contribution to the debate Friday Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissesssar took issue with Manning for the manner in which he handled the matter.
She said Manning's plan was a frightening one since he admitted that he had decided to do something illegal without Parliamentary approval and introduce legislation if the plan worked.
She noted that such actions went against the very heart of the country's democracy and put eveyone's freedom at risk. She said what was worse was that Manning was in breach of his oath as an MP and as Prime Minister in which he swore to uphold the law and defend the constitution.
She also praised the opposition for its support noting that although her government had the majority need to pass the bill alone she wanted full agreement from both sides of the House. She thanked all members of the opposition who participated in the review of the bill as well as other interest groups, including the Law Association.
Opposition whip Marlene McDonald described the collaborate work of the government and opposition as an example of democracy at work.
One of the principal changes to the original bill is the section that determined who could ask a judge to approve eavesdropping. Initially only the national security minister would have that power.
The revised clause will extend it to the Chief of Defence staff, the commissioner of police and the director of the strategic services agency in order to remove any chance of political interference. Persad-Bissessar stressed that the change had nothing to do with the capabilities of the current minister of national security.
The new law, which still has to be approved by Parliament and get presidential assent, will allow wiretapping of conversations relating only to crimes deemed to be serious.
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