ST. VINCENT-POLITICS-Prime Minister Gonsalves defends his decision not to meet Vincentians in the diaspora.

KINGSTOWN -- St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has defended his decision not to meet with Vincentians in the Canadian Diaspora when he attended the recent Canada-CARICOM summit in Ottawa, saying that he had a number of pressing matters to attend to in Washington and at home.

In an interview on local radio on Sunday, Dr. Gonsalves said he left Ottawa on Thursday to attend a fund raising function of the Mustique Charitable Trust, which took place that same night.

'First of all, I had to leave Ottawa Thursday to get to New York in time to go to a big fundraiser for the Mustique Charitable Trust,' Gonsalves said adding that 'they are the ones who raise $5 million U.S. to help St. Vincent and the Grenadines with the Soufriere. And they are involved with us with the housing programme - the 21 houses we delivered a few weeks ago and the 20 we going deliver on Thursday coming.'

He said he left New York on Friday to be back in St. Vincent in time to celebrate his mother-in-law's 95th birthday with her on Saturday and to attend the funeral of Famo Samuel funeral, 'a comrade from Chester Cottage'.

'If you have a choice between...coming to host your mother-in-law 95th birthday, which I did at Gorse yesterday or to talk to 50 people, Vincentians, important as they are, in Ottawa -' Gonsalves said on radio.

'... what's wrong with me coming back to be with...my mother-in-law at her 95th. Since her house get blown...