The unusual dress code of Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley recently at a press conference at the close of the Canada Caricom summit has been explained. After the last few days had seen a number of divided views on Dr Rowley’s very casual dress code, standing next to formally dressed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Coming to Dr. Rowley’s defense is Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States, who felt compelled to issue a statement that defending Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s attire at the end of the Canada/CARICOM Summit earlier this week.
Sir Ronald Sanders wrote in his missive: “Regrettable comments have been made on FaceBook that do a great injustice to Prime Minister Rowley, who was an outstanding voice at the Canada-Caricom meeting on the issues that are important to us as a region. I can attest to this because I sat next to him at all sessions of the Meeting. The circumstances of his dress for a Media conference with Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, were that the Conference Chair, PM Skerrit of Dominica, had to leave early because of the prospect of Hurricane Tammy hitting his country. So he was not available for the end-of-conference media appearance. PM Rowley had dressed to leave the hotel for the multiple airplane journeys home, but in the absence of PM Skerrit, as he was leaving, he was pressed into service at the very last minute. He stepped up to the plate, and even though he was drafted with no prior notice, he spoke well for all. He should be lauded, not criticized.”
Dr. Rowley has not responded to the many criticisms leveled against him since the pictures of him at the press conference began circulating.