Fellow St. Martiners,
Residents of our beloved island,
Brothers and Sisters,
Happy St. Martin Day!
As I address you today, looking out across this magnificent 37-square-mile rock that we call home, my heart swells with profound pride, but also with a sense of responsibility. Today, we set aside our daily routines to celebrate the rich tapestry of our culture, our shared history, our inspiring heritage, and the unique blessing of living together on an island where our geographical border has never truly separated our people.
For me, this unity is not an abstract political talking point or a line written for an annual speech. It is my life. It is in my blood. Like so many of you, my family tree does not stop at the boundary that divides the northern and southern parts of our island. I have family rooted firmly in the North and family deeply anchored in the South. When my family gathers, we do not ask whether someone lives under the French tricolor or the colors of the Dutch Kingdom. We do not ask which national anthem they sing, whether La Marseillaise or the Wilhelmus. We simply gather as one family, as St. Martiners. I personify this unity because I live it, breathe it, and love it every single day.
Yet, as we celebrate today, we must also be willing to reflect honestly on where we are and where we want to go as one island.
Where is our unity when the sun sets on November 11th? Too often, the deep-rooted oneness of our people seems to take a back seat to administrative boundaries, different policies, and systems that do not always speak to one another. We experience the island as one community, but too often our institutions operate as though we are worlds apart.
Just look at how our two administrations function. While we each have our own constitutional responsibilities and relationships with our respective European partners, there is considerably more that we can accomplish by working directly with one another. Our proximity, shared culture, family connections and common economic interests present opportunities that we should be making greater use of.
We are not thousands of miles apart, separated by vast oceans. We are neighbours sharing a coastline, a lagoon, an economy, a tourism product and, most importantly, a people. Our relationships with France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands are important, and we should continue to engage those partners constructively. However, we must also recognize that some of the solutions to our everyday challenges begin much closer to home.
We cannot continue to rely solely on ceremonial handshakes and joint declarations. For years, we have spoken about regional cooperation, joint development and shared prosperity. These conversations are important, but they must increasingly translate into practical action that improves the lives of our people.
Look at some of the critical areas where greater cooperation could make a meaningful difference.
Healthcare and Specialized Medical Services
We continue to maintain two separate healthcare frameworks, different systems for accessing medical services and separate administrative processes. Why should our people encounter unnecessary complications when seeking medical attention on an island where an emergency in Grand Case may require coordination with Philipsburg?
There is room for greater cooperation in specialized medical services, pharmaceutical procurement, emergency response and the recognition of medical prescriptions. Our patients, doctors and elderly deserve systems that make access to healthcare easier, not more complicated.
Waste Management and Environmental Sustainability
Garbage does not respect borders, and neither does pollution. The environmental challenges facing Great Bay and the northern communities ultimately affect our shared lagoon, our air quality, our marine environment and our tourism product.
Rather than addressing these challenges entirely independently, we should explore opportunities for coordinated waste management, recycling initiatives, environmental protection and more sustainable solutions. Working together could allow us to maximize resources, reduce duplication and achieve better results for the entire island.
Infrastructure, Traffic and Public Utilities
From our road networks to water and electricity management, our infrastructure requires greater coordination. We plan transportation, zoning and disaster preparedness within separate administrative frameworks, although the consequences of those decisions are often experienced across the entire island.
A more coordinated approach to traffic management, infrastructure development, disaster preparedness and public utilities would benefit residents and businesses on both sides.
Practical Cooperation and the Everyday Rights of Our People
Cooperation must also extend beyond major infrastructure projects and economic policies. It must address the everyday challenges that our people experience because of the administrative realities of living on a divided island.
One such area concerns individuals who are Dutch nationals but reside on the French side of the island, sometimes because they own property there or have established their homes and family lives across the border. Questions surrounding identification documents, passport renewals and residency requirements can create uncertainty and administrative difficulties for these individuals.
These are precisely the types of matters that warrant structured dialogue between our respective authorities and relevant partners. We should explore how better coordination, communication and practical arrangements can prevent our people from falling between two administrative systems.
Our citizens should not have to navigate unnecessary complications simply because their homes, families, properties or daily lives extend across an administrative boundary. This is not about compromising the responsibilities of either side, but about finding sensible and workable solutions that reflect the realities of living on one island.
Joint Procurement and Economic Resilience
As Minister of Finance, I look at our public finances every day. I understand the importance of responsible spending, efficient administration and making every public dollar count.
Maintaining two separate administrations comes with costs, but it also presents opportunities for greater efficiency through cooperation. Imagine what we could accomplish if we explored joint procurement for selected public goods, educational materials, medical supplies and major infrastructure projects.
Imagine the possibilities of greater economic coordination, where we could present the entire island more effectively to investors, encourage cross-border business opportunities and strengthen our collective tourism product.
We do not have to abandon our respective constitutional structures to achieve practical cooperation. We simply have to be willing to identify where working together makes better economic and social sense.
My brothers and sisters, it was not always this disconnected. There was a time when our tourism authorities operated a joint office in New York. There was a time when Marigot became the meeting place for the entire island on Saturdays, as people from the South travelled to the waterfront not only to purchase fish and provisions, but to socialize, reconnect with friends and family, and enjoy the richness of our shared culture.
Those experiences remind us that cooperation is not something foreign to St. Martin. It is part of who we are.
We must recapture that spirit, not simply through nostalgia, but through deliberate action. True fiscal responsibility and true patriotism require us to look at how we can better utilize our collective strengths, while continuing to maintain constructive relationships with our international partners.
As a St. Martiner with family on both sides, I refuse to accept that our administrative differences must determine the limits of our cooperation. I refuse to believe that we cannot do more together while our families, friendships and economic interests remain so deeply intertwined.
The opportunities are before us. We must have the willingness and the leadership to pursue them.
Let this St. Martin Day be a renewed commitment to meaningful cooperation. Let us move beyond annual declarations and ceremonial photo opportunities and work towards practical arrangements that deliver results.
Let us challenge our governments, our institutions, our business communities and our leaders, starting with ourselves, to identify opportunities to harmonize where possible, coordinate where necessary, share knowledge and resources, and build stronger working relationships for the benefit of the entire island.
Our ancestors built a peaceful, shared existence out of a rugged Caribbean landscape through determination, resilience, cooperation and a deep sense of community. They understood that living together required understanding, compromise and mutual respect.
That responsibility now rests with us.
We must come together not just on November 11th for celebrations, speeches and cultural festivities, but throughout the year, as a people who recognize that our shared future is greater than our administrative differences.
We can maintain our respective identities, constitutional arrangements and international relationships while still embracing the tremendous possibilities of working together. There is room for both.
And to all men and women of goodwill, whichever side of the island or ocean you may come from, who believe in the continued development and prosperity of St. Martin, there is a place for you in this journey.
May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless our entire, undivided St. Martin, North and South, now and forevermore.
Happy St. Martin Day!
