Canadian TV puts T&T envoy in bad light
T'dad Guardian 01.04.2006

A Toronto television station has put an embarrassing spotlight on T&T’s High Commissioner to Canada, Arnold Piggott, pitching him as an example of diplomats who get away with breaking the law because of diplomatic immunity.

A story broadcast by CTV-News on Thursday claimed Piggott was pulled over by police for suspected drunk driving on Ottawa’s Vanier Parkway in March last year, and was charged with “driving impaired and refusing to provide a breath sample.”

It added that “because of his diplomatic immunity, though, he hasn’t been prosecuted,” but his driver’s licence was suspended for a year.

The report said Piggott was one of seven people with diplomatic immunity, whose status shielded them from prosecution after being stopped for suspected drunk driving in 2005.

“None of last year’s suspected drunk drivers face prosecution, because none of their countries agreed to waive diplomatic immunity. In Piggott’s case, he did agree to voluntarily hand over his driver’s licence for a year, but that suspension is now up—and he’s free to drive again,” the station stated on its Web site yesterday.

This, it said, was something the Canadian government had pledged would never happen again—after an impaired Russian diplomat struck and killed Ottawa lawyer Catherine MacLean in 2001.

The foreign affairs minister at the time, it said, vowed there would be “zero tolerance.”

People with diplomatic status had 35 run-ins with Canadian police last year, CTV reported.

The alleged criminal activities included assault, domestic assaults, public intoxication, theft and shoplifting.

It added that there were three times as many police incidents last year as in 2002, the year after MacLean was killed—the first full year Ottawa started keeping the statistics.

The Canada government has attempted to get tough by keeping track of alleged offences and requesting diplomats to hand over their licences for a year, if they’re suspected of impaired driving.

CTV reported, however, that “critics are frustrated that it doesn’t seem to be having much effect.”

Attempts by the Guardian to contact Piggott yesterday were unsuccessful.

T&T open for business in Canada
Friday, November 18th 2005
http://www.thetobagonews.com/index.pl/article?id=4702784