By Val Matthias. Updated 9:32 a.m., Thursday, September 18, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Talk-show host Luke Boyea has questioned whether Deputy Prime Minister and Central Kingstown MP Major St Clair Leacock has offered a sufficiently broad vision for resolving the longstanding street-vending problem in Kingstown.
Speaking on the Hot 97 Morning Show on Thursday, September 17, Boyea said he found Leacock’s recent comments on vending depressing, arguing that the issue requires a wider perspective.
“I think he lacks vision,” Boyea said.
He said the vending problem should not be approached only through the circumstances that currently exist, adding that he believed Leacock and others were being “pigeonholed” into an established way of thinking about the issue.
Boyea described Leacock’s comments as “depressing” and “unimpressive”, saying he expected the issue to have been given greater consideration.
Leacock, however, has outlined several possible measures for addressing vending while maintaining that vendors should not be treated as the cause of Kingstown’s wider problems.
Speaking on the NDP’s New Times programme on MondaySeptember 14, Leacock said government should never equate street vending with the untidy appearance of the capital.
He said vendors are entrepreneurs and business-people, and pointed to his own family history, noting that both his parents were vendors.
Leacock said one of the mistakes government could make would be to assume it already had all the answers without involving the major stakeholders.
He identified vendors, pedestrians, business houses and tourists among those who should have a voice in determining how vending is managed.
Among the ideas he raised was the introduction of standardised, collapsible vending stalls. Leacock said such stalls could follow a uniform design and colour, with food and produce kept off the ground for sanitary reasons and the structures packed away at the end of the trading day.
He also suggested a registration and licensing system, arguing that there should be a formal process to determine who is authorised to sell.
Another possibility he raised was restricting the number of days on which vending takes place. Rather than vending operating every day, Leacock questioned whether trading could be limited to certain days, including the possibility of concentrating activity around a Friday-and-Saturday market.
Leacock also suggested that the cost of standardised stalls could potentially be recovered through modest rental payments from vendors over time.
Importantly, he presented these as options under consideration rather than as final government policy. He also said a task force or designated person could potentially work with the relevant ministry and the Kingstown Town Board as the government develops its approach.
The comments come against the background of the Kingstown Town Board’s aborted attempt to remove vendors from Bedford Street, Bay Street and surrounding sidewalks.
The Board initially announced that vending would no longer be permitted in those areas from September 12, with vendors instructed to return to market stalls or apply for designated spaces. The decision was subsequently stayed following representations from stakeholders.
Leacock described decision not simply as a pause but as a “firm halt” while government develops what he called a comprehensive plan for the remaining redevelopment and refurbishment of Kingstown. He also said vendors would have a central role in the development process following proper consultation.
Boyea is questioning whether the thinking being presented amounts to the kind of broader vision needed to resolve the problem. Leacock, meanwhile, has pointed to a model based on regulation, standardisation, registration, consultation and the possible restructuring of when and how vending takes place.
The government has not yet announced a final policy based on the measures outlined by Leacock.
END
About the Author: This story was written and submitted by freelance journalist Mr. Val Matthias, a trained communicator with more than two decades in the media sector. All supporting materials for this story have been presented, vetted, and verified. Mr Matthias can be reached at [email protected]
