Photo: Anthony Paul Hunt, Sr.

Paul Hunt, Sr. steps away from NEAC’s Appeal Tribunal dealing with the Waterloo Cruise Port Expansion Project’

by Marco Lopez

BELIZE CITY, Mon. July 24, 2023

After a little over four months of serving on the Appeal Tribunal that will determine whether the twice-rejected Waterloo Port Expansion Project is allowed to proceed, Paul Hunt, Sr. has decided to throw in the towel. A long-standing stakeholder in the tourism industry, Hunt was hand-selected by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Hon. Orlando Habet, to serve on the tribunal that is hearing the Waterloo appeal.

He replaced Lucy Fleming, who was the initial choice as the private sector representative on the tribunal. She also recused herself from the panel.

Reports suggest that Hunt was advised to step aside by the outside legal counsel of the Department of the Environment after a private message between him and the counsel for the DOE was shared with all the parties involved in the appeal. Waterloo argued that his note was evidence of actual bias. After months of calls for Hunt’s recusal, and despite his earlier resistance, he sent a letter last Monday announcing that he would step aside.

The Waterloo Appeal Tribunal is subject to a proceeding in the Belize High Court at this time. The attorneys for the Ashcroft Alliance are seeking an order for the dismantling of the tribunal after citing an appearance of bias in Minister Habet’s decision to change the tribunal’s composition. The regulations governing the National Environmental Appraisal Committee (NEAC) tribunal were amended to remove the business senator as a fixed seat within the tribunal. At this time, the business senator is Kevin Herrera. He is the brother of the main local consultant hired by Waterloo to create its EIA, Alan Herrera. Minister Habet took issue with this and moved to make the necessary changes to have the former Herrera removed and replaced on the Appeal Tribunal.

But that has started a chain reaction of litigation coming from the project proponents – both in our local courts and internationally under the UK-Belize Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The work of the tribunal to hand down a final decision on the Waterloo project remains at a standstill and continues to face headwinds. The impartiality of all members of the tribunal has been subject to an onslaught of questions and accusations by the Waterloo team.

The regulations of the Appeal Tribunal mandate that the chairperson of the tribunal be a Justice of the High Court. Madam Patricia Farnese was selected to hold the post, but her appointment has also been called into question by the Ashcroft group. She was asked to recuse herself as a result of her close ties to and extensive work within the Green Party of Canada — an environmental and conservation-focused political party. There is no indication that she has decided to step down from the tribunal. Terry Hughes, who was also selected by Minister Habet, is claimed by Waterloo to have an open bias as it relates to the effects of dredging on coral reefs, and as a result is being accused of not being impartial.

Hunt, Sr., the latest of the private sector representatives, was first appointed on April 5 and immediately faced backlash from the Ashcroft Alliance. But he was reportedly prepared to resist the questions about his fitness to serve on the tribunal, and reportedly fought the opinion that the note in question was biased – but ultimately decided to avoid the hassle and stepped down.

The tribunal is once again one member short, and there is yet no indication who the DOE will select for a replacement.