Profile
The Firearm Licensing Authority Scandal
Montague resigned from Cabinet in March 2022. The resignation followed a damning Integrity Commission report on the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) which cited him for knowingly granting firearm permits to six people with criminal traces while he was National Security Minister. Jamaica Gleaner, March 2022
Overruled the FLA to Approve Applicants with Criminal Histories
The IC found that Montague overruled the Firearm Licensing Authority and approved gun permits to persons with criminal traces whose applications had been either denied or had their licences revoked. Criminal histories among the six applicants included lottery scamming, drug-related offences, illegal possession of firearms, and fraud. IC Report — integritycommission.gov.jm
Proven Fact — IC Report tabled in Parliament, 2022A Turbulent Ministerial Record
Montague's 2022 resignation was not his first controversy. His troubles began with a $400 million police used-car deal during his tenure as National Security Minister in 2017 — years later, the JCF had still not received the promised number of vehicles. Jamaica Gleaner, 2017
Before that: the Airports Authority of Jamaica controversy involving a potentially unlawful investment in a private equity firm, and the Clarendon Alumina Production Limited scandal. Each was a chapter in an extended saga of ministerial governance failure — leading to multiple reshuffles before the final resignation.
Montague's Defence
Montague contested the IC's characterisation in detail, arguing that his decisions were made "in accordance with recommendations" from expert panels, and that the report was "grossly misrepresentative and incomplete." He noted that in the only case where prior convictions existed, there had been a subsequent expungement which — in law — erases the criminal record. Jamaica Gleaner, March 2022
Disputed — Montague maintains decisions were lawful; IC reached contrary conclusions in its formal reportWhat National Integrity Action Said
At the time of Montague's 2022 resignation, National Integrity Action was unambiguous: they hoped there would be "no consideration for the foreseeable future of his reinstatement to ministerial office or to positions of authority, as has occurred in successive administrations in similar circumstances." NIA Public Statement, March 2022
Three years later, that hope was not honoured. Unlike Wheatley, who spoke freely to press after the swearing-in, Montague declined to answer questions from journalists, leaving without comment.
Proven Fact — NIA public statement; media coverage of swearing-in"No consideration for the foreseeable future of his reinstatement to ministerial office or to positions of authority."
— National Integrity Action public statement, March 2022. nationalintegrityaction.org
Governance Impact
Land titling and settlements is not a low-stakes portfolio. It involves significant property rights, vulnerable communities, and state land distribution — areas historically susceptible to political patronage in Jamaica. Placing a minister whose record includes documented IC adverse findings in this role, without any public accounting for those findings, raises legitimate questions the administration has not addressed. Montague's silence on the day of his swearing-in was, itself, a kind of answer.