June 7, 2023

I too would like to certainly congratulate the Minister on the work that the Government has been doing in preparation for the Spe-cial Olympics. And there certainly is a buzz in the air as I am coming across young people and families who are
involved in this.
Ministe r, can you share with us some of what
the Government has been doing with regard to the
global preparation for the Special Olympics? I under-stand there has been a torch celebration. Perhaps you could share a little bit more in detail and clarify what I
am not able to express.
The President: Would any other Senator care to ask
questions on this Statement?
Senator Robinson.
QUESTION 1: SPECIAL OLYMPICS
BERMUDA 2023
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I was wondering if the Minister could also
maybe just speak a little bit more about the training preparations. I know he said he has been up there at
496 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate the National Sports Centre and has watched them. I
think just [a few words] to [give] the public a sense of what it must be like just watching them prepare as they go to the Olympics. Maybe even some of the conversa-tions that he may have had up to date with the partici-pants. So if he could do that for us, that would be good.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions? Only because I would anticipate the Minister would want to answer the questions.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President, and I thank the entire Senate for asking those very intriguing and important questions. And I will go through them one by one.
So first, yes, the Special Olympics, and I would
say this, is not yet a national sports governing body. So
we in the Ministry and the department have to be very
creative as to how we find funding. And we did find the funding, some funding, to help to support these ath-letes. However, as Senator Smith did point out, to get over to Berlin, Germany, is a very costly venture. So
this is why the Ministry as well as the department tried
our best to assist with the public campaign.
If you go to some of the government buildings
right now, you will see big blown- up posters of our entire delegation for going to the Special Olympics. And on the bottom of that poster you will see an HSBC account number where the public can actually go and donate to Special Olympics Bermuda. If you do not come
across one of those pictures, I think most people in this day and age do have Facebook. Special Olympics Ber-muda does have a Facebook page. All of the infor-mation for the games is on that Facebook page including the HSBC number where you can donate to the
Special Olympics Bermuda. So it is on the Facebook.
I mean, I do have the account number here. It
is HSBC 006 -024-277-001. I will say it one more time if
I may, Madam President?
The President: You certainly may.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: To donate to Special
Olympics Bermuda for this cause, it is an HSBC ac-count. It is 006- 024-277-001. I am sure that all of the
organisers and participants of Special Olympics wil l be
grateful for any further support that the public will give, as they do leave for Germany next week Tuesday, I be-lieve. So they are definitely on their home stretch of preparations.
To answer Senator Dill’s question on, What
have we done to assist with this global preparation? You will recall that, I think it was in November, the Spe-cial Olympics did reach out to me, as well as the Junior Minister, to support their torch relay. So the Special Olympics torch did come to Bermuda, and they had a full day of the inclusive games up at the National Sports Centre late last year. I did attend. Junior Minister Kim Swan did also attend.
And we will segue this to the third question by
Senator Robinson. You know, just to see the joy on these athletes’ faces that we were there to come out. There was a slew of volunteers. You can see that we
have 19 actual athletes, but 39 [people are] going on
the delegation. So there is lots of family support as well as community support to go with these athletes to put their best foot forward. But I do attend the National Sports Centre quite frequently after work, to try to stay fit, yes.
You will see these athletes come and, Madam
President, they literally run to train. They get out of the cars. They run over to the tracks, so some days they are doing track work. Some days they are in the Na-tional Sports Centre [NSC] gym lifting weights. And one
gentleman I like to call his name is Kimo. Kimo is a
sprinter. And he will gladly tell you that he is running in
the 100 metres. So he is always very excited. Coach
Quinell Robinson, I will say this, every single time I am
there he comes and he says, Thank you very much for your support.
I have this story that I will tell about the posters.
When I put up the posters at the entrance to the NSC
gym, the feedback that I got was that these athletes were so elated to see their pictures blown up to let the public know that, I am important. And I am an athlete.
And I am representing my country. So it is definitely a
sight to see.
Many people will also know Patrick. Patrick, I
can best describe him as a huge PHC fan and St.
George’s Cricket Club fan. And Patrick is going, and as I read in the Statement is doing bowling, Madam Pres-ident. And Patrick was really, really excited. And I alluded to it in my Statement, but I will just answer Senator Robinson’s question again. It was the delegation
who kept asking me, Well, Minister, you support sport. I hope you are coming to support us. I did say, Absolutely! I will be there. And from that day on they hav e
just been more than gracious that the Government ac-tually sees fit to recognise, big and bold, the athletes of our Special Olympics.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator have any follow -up
questions before we move on to the next Statement?
No.
Then thank you, Minister Darrell, and this concludes questions on the second Statement.
We now have the third Statement, which was
delivered by Senator Leslie Robinson, the Junior Min-ister of Economy and Labo ur.
Would any Senator care to ask any questions
on this Statement?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.

B ermuda Senate QUESTION 1: EMPLOYMENT (MINIMUM HOURLY
WAGE) ORDER 2023 AND EMPLOYMENT
(MINIMUM HOURLY WAGE ENTITLEMENT)
REGULATIONS 2023
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President,
and good morning to my Senate colleagues and the listening audience.
My question is a very basic one. I would like to
ask, In consideration of the fact that the cost of living increases often and consistently —I mean, we have recently seen a head of cauliflower for $20.55 in the paper and on social media —should we expect that the
hourly minimum wage rate will be reviewed annually
and possibly increase annually to keep pace with the cost of living? Is that something that we should expect?
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions
on this Statement?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: EMPLOYMENT (MINIMUM HOURLY
WAGE) ORDER 2023 AND EMPLOYMENT
(MINIMU M HOURLY WAGE ENTITLEMENT)
REGULATIONS 2023

Thank you, Madam President, and thank you to the Senator for the Statement.
On page 3, the Senator referred to a hybrid
payment structure for employees who receive a large
part of their compensation, their pay, via gratuities and service charges . And I understand and it makes sense
that if that, plus this base pay, does not meet the minimum wage it would have to be made up. So I definitely
support that.
What is not clear to me is, should that base rate
plus service charges, tips, gratuities and so forth ex-ceed the minimum wage, are there any protections or
guarantees in place to ensure that employees continue
to receive the upside of those tips, service charges and gratuities when and where they exceed the set mini-mum wage?
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions
on this Statement?
No.
Then it is over to you, Senator Robinson, to respond.
Se
n. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
To answer Senator Tucker’s question, yes.
There is a wage commission that is looking and will continue to look at the minimum wage. And that will be assessed on an ongoing basis. So $16.40 is the mini-mum at this point. But it will continue to be looked at and be adjusted if necessary.
To the second question just regarding hybrid
payment structure, the whole idea is that persons should be getting at least the minimum. And in the spirit
of fairness, there should be no reason why an employer
would want to . . . If a person, once they add on the
gratuities and the commissions, et cetera, and it comes out higher, there should be no reason why an employer would want to go to the minimum. Because the mini-mum is the floor. But if somebody is actually making
more than that, there is no reason why an employer
should then say, Well, I can only pay you the minimum. I mean, if the way your contract is already done and you are being able to be paid a certain amount, then an employer really has no right to be able to say, Well, we’re going to lower it to the minimum. So I just want to
make that clear.
The President: Senator De Couto, you have a second
question or a supplemental?
SUPPLEMENTARY

It is supplementary.
I just want to clarify. So there is nothing in the
regulations to ensure that, should the tips plus the base rate exceed the minimum wage that the employee is
guaranteed to receive those? I just want to clarify.
There is nothing about that in the regulations at this time?
Sen. Leslie Robinson: If there is an issue and an employee feels that they are not being paid correctly, then
they can always go to the Department of Labour and
make recourse there as far as what it is, how they are feelin g, et cetera, and show their evidence. So at this
point there is a process for an employee to be able to go and seek some recourse.
The President: Would any other Senator care to ask
questions?
Senator Tucker, you have a second question
or a supplemental ?
SUPPLEMENTARIES
Sen. Robin Tucker: I have a supplementary just based
on the Junior Minister’s response.
I just wondered if she could give a little bit of
clarification as to what type of evidence that the commission would be looking to see or the Ministry would
be looking to see? So for instance in a situation whereby, let us say, a waiter and there are pooled ser-vice charges, the waiter may not necessarily be able to provide specific evidence of all of the service charges or gratuities that have been paid on a pooled basis. So
498 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate it could be anecdotal just based on that particular person working and seeing people, serving people within the restaurant.
How does the average person who does not
have access to the records provide evidence that they may not be receiving the entire amount of funds that
they feel that they are entitled to if they do not have
those particular records? Just some clarification around how that would work for Joe Public.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Yes. So how that would work
would be you can go and make your initial grievance. And then that will trigger an inspector to come in and actually look at the records. So that is the way that the employee can go about being able to seek recourse
and get information on the records, because the inspector can go in and actually look.
The President: Senator Tucker, you have a second
question?
Sen. Robin Tucker: May I ask just another supplementary just based on—
The President: You are allowed two.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Two. Thank you.
So just for my own clarification, so is the Junior
Minister saying that an individual can actually just go and report without evidence, without that specific evi-dence to an inspector that may trigger an investigation? Just for my own clarification.
Thank you, Madam President.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: They can report whatever evidence they have. So there should be at least some sort of pay stub, et cetera. And then they can also state that,
Well, I can’t see the total compensation, et cetera. And that will then trigger persons in the Department of La-bour to then go and have an inspection so that they can see.
The President: Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader
[in the Senate], you have a question on this Statement?
QUESTION 2: EMPLOYMENT (MINIMUM HOURLY
WAGE) ORDER 2023 AND EMPLOYMENT
(MINIMUM HOURLY WAGE ENTITLEMENT)
REGULATIONS 2023
Sen. Ben Smith: Yes. Thank you, Madam President.
Just as listening to—
The President: The responses? Sen. Ben Smith: — the details that have been coming
out. So a wait staff whose basic pay is five dollars an hour and then they get their gratuities. So the gratuities now are going to take them up to the $16.40. If the ac-tual week is slow . . . we have had some really heavy
rain days recently. Let us just say that that restaurant
now was not making their normal amount of money. So
the $5.00 up to the $16.40, if you were not making enough money to get to the $16.40, but say the amount of money that was brought in brought you up to the av-erage, to your hourly number of $12.00, the difference now needs to be made up (according to what we are
implementing) by the employer.
So is that now something that has to be shown
on the pay stub that says that this is being made up by
the employer? And the reason I am asking that is be-cause then the aforementioned part should also be shown, which would then help with the answer that
Senator Tucker is looking for. So the way that pay stubs
would show the difference, I think, is something that we should be looking at so that people know exactly where those funds are coming from going forward to get to at least a minimum $16.40, because in hospitality there
are people who are making five dollars an hour prior to
their gratuities being brought into the system.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I would
like to declare my interest as I run two restaurants.
Yes, it has to show on the pay stub the gratuities and then the difference. There is obviously the slow week. The job has to cover up to $16.40. And if they have extra gratuities, that shows on a pay stub as well.
So yes, it does show on the pay stub.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons,
for that response.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions
on this Statement before we leave?
Hearing none, then I thank Senator Robinson
and thank all Senators for the questions on the Statement.
We will move on to the final Statement which is
the Statement that was given by Senator Hodgson, the
Monetary Authority Annual Report.
Would any Senator care to ask questions on
this Statement?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Thank you, Madam President.


Bermuda Senate I was interested to see the pay for the executives at the Authority. I know that those who are listening in might be somewhat gobsmacked. Most people
would; the numbers are quite high. I am going to get to
my question, but I want to just provide an important context to the question so the people listening understand.
It is important to know that the executives at
this Authority are r unning basically the major pillar of
our economy. And it is important that we get people
with a very unique, distinct not just experience, but set of skills to navigate a very intricate global situation. And
they are frequently in discussion with the CEOs and so
forth of these major international companies. And it is
important that the people in this position at the BMA
[Bermuda Monetary Authority] are well compensated
so that we get the best people. They are not distracted by whatever may have you which so metimes can happen when people in the government and regulatory
sector are relatively underpaid. So I am not saying we
do not support that. Certainly what I am trying to say is that we support that.
But what I would like to know is, What are the
criteria by which the BMA will assess the performance
of these executives to set the bonuses? Because it is quite clear in a profit -making business, the bonuses are
related typically to the company’s financial outcomes. And of course, that is not what the BMA is. S o perhaps
we could be educated, Madam President.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions
on this Statement?
Senator Tucker . . . oh, Vice President
Kiernan Bell, you have the floor.

QUESTIO N 1: BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you.
One may be a question or a request for clarification. I think I heard in the Statement that there was a
suggestion in the description of the insurance premiums that the movement between 2021 and 2022 gross
premiums was explained by the lumpy nature of the
long-term business. I think that may have been an error. So it is a request for clarification.
I think what was intended to refer to was the
2020 and 2021 gross premiums because I do not believe the 2022 numbers are currently available. So that
is a request for clarification of that for the record.
My question relates to the digital asset business sector. One of the things that I noted both i n the
BMA report itself and in the Junior Minister’s summary
provided today is that there is not a description as there
is for all of the other industries that are regulated by the BMA—(Sorry . . . I have got a bit of a thick congestion.
I apologise for th at).
The President: We can hear you.

Sen. Kiernan Bell: —of the assets that are regulated
by the Authority. So my question is, number one, How
many Full licences have been provided to digital asset
business providers? And what are the assets that are
disclosed on the statutory balance sheets for those industries? And the same question again for the Modified licences and the Test licences that may have been
given to digital asset providers. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Bell.
Senator Tucker, do you want to ask your question now?

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. Thank you, Madam President.
My question is, it comes from page 6 as it relates to the investment sector. I just wanted to know .
The Statement specifically mentions that the asset under management, 67 per cent pertain to European clients while 24 per cent pertain to Bermuda- based clients. I would like to know the missing 9 per cent. Where
does that percentage lie? What jurisdiction, what area
of assets under management applies?
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

[Pause]

The President: Just to be sure while Senator Arianna
Hodgson is getting the responses to the questions that have been asked, would any other Senator care to ask
any questions?
Hearing none, then we will wait for Senator
Hodgson to respond to the questions that have been asked so far.

[Pause]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I did just
want to suggest that we move forw ard perhaps with the
oral answers to the questions posed by the Opposition Senators. And I will endeavour to have the responses
to the —
The President: To the questions that have been posed
today.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes. That would be so—

500 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: I think that is a very good suggestion,
Senator Arianna Hodgson, because some of the questions were quite—
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Very technical, and I do want
to make sure I have the correct information —

The President: Make sure you have the c orrect answers to them.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes.

The President: So for the listening audience then,
there were a number of questions that were posed last
week. And the Senators promised to provide oral answers today.
So the first one that was promised was the
[questions with] oral answers that were presented to
Senator Darrell, the Minister of Youth, Culture and
Sport last week. Ben Smith had asked questions.

[Pause]

[Inaudible interjection]

The President: Oh, yes, the Parliamentary Questions.
[Crosstalk]

The President: It is on the Order Paper.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: All right. Great. So we
are doing Parliamentary Questions. Got it. Okay.
Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I do have the responses to
the Parliamentary Question s that were sent in by Senator Ben Smith.

The President: You can read the question and then
the response just so they are clear.

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA NATIONAL SPORTS
CENTRE ENERGY PROJECT

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Okay.
The first question that was asked was, Would
the Honourable Minister please provide the Senate with an update on the solar project at the Bermuda National
Sports Centre [NSC]?
As you can tell, Madam President, this question was quite timely, as I had a pr ess conference that
was held on Monday to give the public a comprehensive and detailed response to this exciting project that
is going to bring much relief to the public and the people
of Bermuda, and as well as the users of the National
Sports Centre. I k now the Senator is quite familiar with
the usage of the National Sports Centre, as the Aquatic
Centre uses up about 85 per cent of the energy. And
as the National Swim Coach, I know he will be very pleased with the facility of the National Sports Centre and, as I said in the press conference on Monday, how
this facility is world class. And I am sure the National
Swim Coach, Senator Smith, would attest to that.
And with that said, Madam President, the Senator and the public would know that the National Spor ts
Centre has sought many ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the facility and its associated energy costs.
In 2021 the National Sports Centre announced plans to
install an energy -saving micro- grid system. And this initiative includes the installation of real -time energy -
monitoring equipment, LED sports lighting and an energy-efficient pool heat pump, as well as a solar PV micro-grid system. The real -time energy monitoring system is 100 per cent complete and working effectively.
The LED sports lighting is 63 per cent complete. And the remaining South Field installation is
scheduled to commence the week starting June 20,
2023. All other lights have been installed but do require
us to spot them, which basically means make sure they
are pointing and directi ng in the right way.
The energy efficient pool heat pump is operational; however, the remote monitoring and operations
function still needs to be commissioned. Equipment
representatives are expected to arrive this summer to
complete the commissioning of o ther outstanding work
that is under warranty of that heat pump.
The solar PV micro- grid system is approximately 75 per cent complete, and the full completion is
expected in July. You will see as you go across the
Roberts Avenue side of the National Sports Centre that
the carport, the solar carport, the actual structure is complete.
And to date over 119 workers across 32 companies have carried out work on the site, including 9
guest workers who have been brought in for special
pieces of that project. So I am happy to report that
these efforts to save the country money in the running
of this NSC, especially the Aquatics Centre, are well
underway and progressing.

QUESTION 2: BERMUDA NATIONAL SPORTS
CENTRE ENERGY PROJECT

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The secon d question
that was asked by Senator Smith: Would the Honourable Minister please inform the Senate how much money
has been spent from the bank loan for the solar project
to date?
The total amount is a loan facility in the amount
of US$3,235,000. The total amount spent on the project
as of May is $3,095,343. And that was as of our last
report.

QUESTION 3: BERMUDA NATIONAL SPORTS
CENTRE ENERGY PROJECT

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: And question 3: Would
the Honourable Minister please inform the Senate as to


Bermuda Senate whether there have been any delays on the completion
on the project? And if so, please provide the details on
what has caused this.
And as the Senator would recall from another
press conference that I did hold on Monday, I have put this information in the public domain. It is, you know,
understandably and not surprisingly tried to be spun by
some other entities. But the project has experienced
significant delays. This is not out of [line with] what most
projects around Bermuda have also experienced; these
delays resulted from, as I stated on Monday, materials
shortages, post -COVID -19 shipping and logistical delays, seasonal work timing delays, inclement weather,
as well as the supplier Christmas holiday schedule and
the NSC events schedule.
Madam President, we have to be very careful
as to when we schedule these works as we do not dis-place national swim events, BFA [Bermuda Football
Association] football games and the like. So we have to
make sure that we delicately put the work so that we do
not displace any of our national sports governing bod-ies and the amazing work that they are doing at an
amazing facility.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Senator Ben Smith, do you have . . .?

SUPPLEMENTARIES
Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President. And
thank you to the Minister for the answers.
So, Madam President, the Minister did speak
of the other parts of the project that were not part of the question, because we wanted answers specifically on
the solar project . But thank you very much for providing
that information.
The Minister did say that on the particular solar
project, the micro- grid project, it was 70 [sic] per cent
completed. Is the Minister able to tell us what the cost
will be for the final 30 [sic] per cent that needs to be
completed? Considering that the Minister had said that
there have been significant delays, will there be any increased costs due to those delays? Thank you.

The President: Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam Pres ident, I
would just like to correct the Senator in his interpreta-tion of this project. As this was a Progressive Labour Party initiative, it was an entire energy project to assist
the reduction of energy costs for the National Sports
Centre. So there is no separation between, as he would
put it, a solar project and the other works. It is a total
project as I laid out in the Statement, Madam President.
This includes the changing of LED lights, and this is something that Bermudians will be familiar with because every Bermudian over the last couple of years has gone through the process of changing their tradi-tional lightbulbs to LED lightbulbs and can see the cost
savings that the regular Bermudian has. And I think that
this is an important step in this energy project to save
the Bermudian taxpayer some money in a project that,
as I will say again, Madam President, national sports
governing bodies use and are quite happy with, the
quality of service that the National Sports Centre puts
out.
As far as the other question that the Senator
asked, I think I was very clear when I answered the loan amount that was given, the amount that we have spent
so far. So a little bit of quick math there, Madam President, I think the Honourable Senator could actually find
the ans wer that he is looking for as to how much more
money will be spent on this project.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
So the Minister is saying that there will be no
adde d cost to complete the project. That was the point
of my question.
Considering the long delays, I believe the Minister has said it is about a year behind. And considering
that the savings would have started a year ago, it would mean that whatever cost has been incurred by the
power usage over the last year would have increased
the total amount of cost for the project. So can the Minister please let the public know whether there has been
any increase in cost on this project from the initial
amount that was stated?

The President: Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, it
brings me great joy to see that the Senator was actually listening to my press conference on Monday because
nowhere did I mention how far behind we are with a
delay in my Statement today. So he would also have
known from my press statement on Monday that we are
conducting a review of this entire energy project. And
until that review is done, the questions that the Senator
is asking will be just speculation on everyone’s part. And I do not think we should go down that road. Thank
you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister.
We will now move on to the questions that were
posed by Senator De Couto to Arianna Hodgson.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: But before I open the floor to you, Senator De Couto, I would just like to acknowledge in the
502 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Gallery, Minister Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour.
Welcome to you, sir.

[Question Period, continuing]

The President: Senator De Couto.

Yes, thank you.
Madam President, would the Minister please
tell us the total costs of servicing the loan to date, in-cluding any service costs, interest costs, any other fees
associated with it and so forth? Thank you.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Mada m President, that
question was actually answered in the Statement.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
We will now move on to the next questions that
were put by Senator De Couto to Senator Arianna
Hodgson, the Junior Minister of Fina nce. And these
were the questions that required oral answers.
Senator Hodgson, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON
PRINCESS
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
The first question was, Could the Junior Minister provide Senate with a description of the debt obligations and credit support on which a consultant was
hired as a strategic advisor to Government regarding
the proposed restructuring of certain debt obligations
related to the Fairmont Southampton Princess and the
position of certain credit support by the government including the amount in terms of the debt and the amount
in terms of the credit support? So the response is that a consultant has been
providing strategic advice in relation to all relevant mat-ters connected to the proposed guarantee of $75 million that the Government of Bermuda has committed to providing in relation to the renovation of the Fairmont
Southampton Princess. The Government hired the best
advisor possible to ensure that we do not repeat the mistake of the former Government, which led to the
$165 million guarantee being called at Morgan’s Point,
which taken with interest and payments to contractors
has actually costed the taxpayers of Bermuda over
$215 million to date.

QUESTION 2: FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON
PRINCESS

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: The second question stated,
Could the Junior Minister please inform the Senate as to why the aforementioned debt obligations need to be restructured?
So, I want to make it abundantly clear that
there is no restructuring of the government’s maximum $75 million guarantee. In the release that was referenced, the release produced by the Government of
Bermuda, the term “restructuring” was actually used as
it was included in the contract to hire Mr. Bond. This
was to ensure that the consultant’s significant experience and expertise in such transactions could be used in relation to all relevant aspects of this transaction. So we were looking to essentially provide the best protections for the people of Bermuda in relation to this guarantee.
Again, there is no change to the $75 million
guarantee of the Bermuda Government to Clarien Bank
in support of the reopening of the Fairmont Southamp-ton.

QUESTION 3: FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON
PRINCESS
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Finally, Would the Junior Minister please inform the Senate as to the advice or recommendations that the strategic advisor provided to
the Government for the restructuring, including whether
the advice or recommendations have been or will be
implemented?
Mr. Bond has not given any advice with regard
to the restructuring of any debt. Given the consultant’s
extensive experience and expertise, he has actually
been able to provide ongoing advice on ensuring that
taxpayers are protected in the event that the worst -
case scenario occurred and we had to look at providing
such guarantee.
Again, we hired the best advisor possible to ensure that we avoid the same mistake. I guess to the last point of the question, the advice received from Mr.
Bond has been extremely beneficial in advancing the
work necessary for the finalisation of the transaction,
which is of significant economic and financial importance to Bermuda. And I believe that we can all


Bermuda Senate agree that procuring the best advice is in the best interest of the taxpayers.
And it is actually interesting because in his
comments or questions about the Bermuda Monetary
Authority Report, Senator De Couto mentioned that we have these persons who are running major pillars of our
economy. He said that we want the best and that we
must pay them what they are worth. So I do hope that
we can put some of this to bed today.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
Senator De Couto, you have a supplementary
question?

They are a bit joined. Of
course, I used the word “restructuring” because of
course that is the word that the Government used to
describe the work that he was doing. But apparently that was not an accurate description of the original information provided by the Government. So I hope you
will give me a little leeway on this, Madam President. I can only go with what information I have been originally
provided.
What recommendations at all have been provided by this advisor? I am presuming we have got
some because that is normally what happens when you
pay these highly accomplished individuals.
And the second [question] is, Are there any aspects . . . So what spec ific recommendations has he
made? And what aspects or areas of financing debt structure has he advised on other than the aforementioned $75 million guarantee to Clarien? Thank you,

Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Sen. Ariann a Hodgson: Madam President, we actually will not go down the road, I guess, of the particulars
in terms of recommendations because we are still in
negotiations at this time. But I think we can share that
Mr. Bond was instrumental in helping to form the tax
rebate strategy. This was primarily to ring- fence the
cash flow, to repay the loan and the government’s ex-posure, but also to survive any form of insolvency or
restructuring. So again we were looking at workplace
scenario. Who was the best person in the r oom to ensure that we do not have to see what we have seen up
at Morgan’s Point?

The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson.
We will now move on, since the responses
have been given, to the last questions that were put from Senator Tucker. And that was for oral answers,
and these questions were put to Senator Leslie Robinson, the Junior Minister for Economy and Labour.
Senator Robinson, the floor is yours.

QUESTION 1: AUTOMATION DIGITISATION
PROJECT
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
The first question: Would the Junior Minister
please inform the Senate as to the total amount spent to date since the immigration automation digitisation
project began, including the purchase of the Microsoft
Dynamics system and any hardware or software for t he
automation digitisation project?
The answer is the total amount spent to date
on the Microsoft Dynamics system, including hardware
and software, is $111,880.

QUESTION 2: AUTOMATION DIGITISATION
PROJECT
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Second question: Would the
Junior Minister please inform the Senate as to the total number of consultants and part -time or temporary
workers hired to work on the immigration automation
digitisation project and the remuneration for each indi-vidual?
The answer is that government hired two consultants to work on the automation digitisation project. Each consultant has received $172,070 and $73,602,
respectively.

QUESTION 3: AUTOMATION DIGITISATION
PROJECT

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Third question: Would the Junior Minister please inform the Senate as to the current progress on the project and the expected roll -out date
for the automation digitisation?
The answer: The project is currently on hold
because Microsoft Dynamics does not fully satisfy the expectation for full automation digitisation of all applications processed by the Department of Immigration. The expected roll -out date has not as yet been determined. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Senator Tucker, do you have a supplemental?
Sen. Robin Tucker: I do, yes, Madam President.

The President: Ask your question.

SUPPLEMENTARY

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. Thank you to the Junior Minister for answering those quest ions.
504 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate I am a bit surprised. So, excuse me. But I am
surprised that the project is currently on hold considering that this conversation has been held now a few
years ago since the process first started. So I would like
to know from the Junior Minister, Where are we with looking at other systems? That is an update. Where are
we with looking at other systems? When can we expect
to be able to progress this? Because we have heard
pretty consistently over the last few years about how
we have to aggressively deal with particularly our work
permit processing challenges with everything being
manual and delays and so on.
So I recognise that the department is trying to
deal with the delay issue. However, the manual pro-cess still is quite a cumbersome process. And, you
know, we have waited with bated breath as to when we
will see progress in this area. So if the Junior Minister can let us know a bit more detail around when we can
expect an update on a new system, considering we already spent $100,000—$111,000, excuse me —on a
system that now we are not going to be using? And
from her explanation, it sounds like we are starting from
scratch. So if she can let us know where we are, that
would be wonderful.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you.

Sen. Lesli e Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
First of all, I need to remind Senator Tucker
and the listening public that the Minister has publicly stated that the project was on hold. So this is not new
information. Second, I want to say that a business analyst is currently reviewing the project to recommend
the way forward. And so once he has done that work,
we will know how to move forward. We will progress this digitisation of some applications shortly, but not the work permits. So some will be done with digitisation,
but not the work permits at this moment.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Senators, we will now move on to today’s questions that were put to the Statement. I think we have
spent enough time on the questions.
Today’s Statement was to Arianna Hodgson
and the Bermuda Monetary Authority [BMA]. And I
would like . . . You have answers to the questions. So I
will make the decision now that Senator Hodgson will
respond to the questions from her Statement as of today.
So, Senator Hodgson, if you have the answers
you can proceed.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes. Thank you, Madam
President.
There was a question posed by Senator
De Couto about the criteria by which the BMA assesses the performance of executives and how they ar-rive at their bonuses. The organisational strategic objectives are set and approved well in advance by the
board. The board is responsible for the strategy of the
organisation and holding the executive accountable.
Comprehensive quarterly reports are provided to the board, and end- of-year performances are reviewed and
challenged under a robust government process.
There was also a question from Senator
Kiernan Bell.
The President: Yes.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: And she did actually highlight
an incorrect number which was printed in my Statement
today. So the explanation of gross premiums should
actually be for 2021 and 2020. So thank you, Senator
Bell.
Finally, there was a question from Senator
Tucker regarding the description of the assets that are
regulated by the BMA and how many Full licences have
been approved, as well as Modified and Test licences.
And to respond, there are eight Full licences,
four Modified and four Test licences. Assets are actually not disclosed for business privacy purposes, considering the low number of registrants. And furthermore, considering the differences in business models,
some of these entities do not maintain custody of as-sets.
There was a final question I think from Senator
Tucker concerning the remaining 9 per cent of assets
outside of the European and Bermuda clients. The
BMA’s Annual Report illustrates total assets under
management for our jurisdiction. Regarding the remain-ing 9 per cent of assets, 4 per cent pertain to A sia and
Oceania; 3 per cent to the rest of Europe; 1 per cent to
the United States, Canada and the rest of America; and
the final 1 per cent to the Cayman Islands. Thank you,

Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
At the outs et I had indicated we would allow an
hour for questions dealing with the questions of last
week (or the last time we met), as well as today. So we
have two minutes left of the hour.
Senator John Wight.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I think I had asked a Parliamentary Question
last week, and it has not been responded to this morning. So —
The President: Do you want to ask the question again?
Sen. John Wight: I do not have the wording. I thought
it was going to be responded to this morning. So like I said, it was on the record last week, but I guess it was
not accepted . . . there was not —

[Crosstalk ]


Bermuda Senate The President: It was a question asked last week from
the Statement.

[Inaudible interjection]

The President: No.

[Inau dible interjection]
The President: Yes. You have answered all Parliamentary Questions.
Senator Wight, do you want to—
Sen. John Wight: Well, I was expecting the answer. I
do not have the specific wording to the question. But I thought it was going to be accepted and responded to
today.

The President: Senator Robinson.

Sen. John Wight: I was informed there would be at
least a written response. So that is not the case?

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, if I
may.
The President: Yes.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: It seems that Senator
Wight is seeking a written response. And I think according to your ruling a moment ago, we have very little time left. And I would agree that if Senator Wight would like a written response, we can send that over.
Sen. John Wight: I was actually looking for a verbal
response within that two- minute period . It was not responded to last week, and I was told it would be re-sponded to this week.
If need be, can we carry it forward to next
week?

2QUESTION 1: BERMUDA’S FOURTH QUARTER
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
The President: Yes. The question that I see here that
you had asked last week was, The report states that a decrease in the balance of payment surplus balance was as a result of decreases in the business services
account and transportation account. Can we please
have an elaboration on what these accounts are, what
the accounts are and why the decreases?
And that question was put to, I think, Senator
Robinson.


2 Question asked 24 May 2023 Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: There is a written response, Senator
Wight. You did indicate you wanted it verbally?
Sen. John Wight: Yes. The request was to have it verbally.
The President: Senator Robinson, you did write it out.
If you . . .
[Crosstalk ]

The President: We have a copy of the written response. So we will just hand that to Senator Robinson, and she can . . .

[Crosstalk ]

The President: Senator Robinson, would you just want
to give a verbal response to Senator Wight at this time?
And that will conclude our Question Period.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
Yes, we did prepare responses.
With respect to the question, services transactions realised a surplus of $45 million, narrowing $43
million year over year. The decrease in the surplus balance . . . sorry. I will just start again.
Services transactions realised a surplus of $45
million, narrowing $43 million year over year. The de-crease in the surplus balance reflected decreases in
the business services account and transportation ac-count balance. Service transactions are grouped into
both primary and secondary categories. The primary
categories are transportation, travel, business service
and government services. Business services is com-posed of four secondary categories: insurance, fina ncial, ITT and other services. Within business services, the balance, which is exports minus imports, for all four
secondary categories decrease year on year with the
greatest decrease being in other services. Three of the
four secondary categories showed decreases due to
the decrease in the exports of services being greater
than the small increases import of those services.
While financial services were the only service where
exports of services remained unchanged, the import of
financial services increase still resulting in a decreased
net balance.
Other services include but are not limited to
professional and management consulting services like
accounting and management services. Additionally,
transportation services are comprised of sea transportation, air transportation and other modes of transportation, and postal and courier services. Sea and air
transport are further categorised into passenger, freight and other categories. Imports of air passenger services
506 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate were the driving factor behind the decrease in transportation services. This was further supported by increases in the import of sea freight and sea other ser-vices. Overall, the imports within transportation ser-vices were substantially higher than the exports, further contributing to an overall negative net deferral.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Senators, I had indicated we would have an
hour only because we will be here for the rest of the time. And I think that we have had an hour of questions, and I think if there any follow -up questions . . . Senator
Wight, you have had a response to your question.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President. And
I thank the Junior Minister for that response. Much ap-preciated.

The President: Thank you very much. Thank you.
Senators, we have now ended the Question
Period for this session.

Madam President, I apologise. I do not mean to interrupt, I am not adding an additional question, but I wanted to go back to the an-swer that the Minister gave to my supplementary.
I believe he inadvertently misspoke in his answer, because he said that he answered the question in his remarks, but I have refreshed my memory from
my notes, Madam President, and I did not see him give the number that was paid for the interest and fees and costs for the debt that was incurred. So if he would be able to answer that now, with your indulgence, Madam President.

The President: Minister Darrell, you can answer verbally now or you can prefer to put it in writing.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I will
give the same answer that I gave previously, that the
question that was sent over to us to [answer] was the
total amount that has been spent out of the loan. I gave the total amount. And I think the Senator is trying to go down a different road which I do not think we are pre-pared to go down.

The President: Minister Darrell, thank you very much.
Senators, we will now move on.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: The first Order of the Day is the second
reading of the Financial Assistance Amendment Act
2023, and this is in the name of Senator Leslie Robin-son, the Junior Minister for Economy and Labour.
Senator Robinson, you have the floor and you
can start when you are ready.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President. I am happy today to speak to the Bill entitled
the Financial Assistance Amendment Act —
The President: Standing Order —Senator Robinson,
do you have the . . . I think part of your package . . .
Maybe, Minister Darrell, you can assist her?

STANDING ORDER 25
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Standing Order 25 be suspended that we can now proceed with the second read-ing?
The Pr esident: You are asking for Standing Order 25
to be granted?
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Yes.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Financial Assistance Amendment Act 2023 to be read a second time
on the same day as its first reading.]
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
[Pause]

Sen. Leslie Robinson: That the Bill entitled the Financial Assistance Amendment Act 2023 be now read a
second time.
The President : Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senator.

BILL

SECOND READING

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2023
Sen. Leslie Robinson: I am happy today to speak to
the Bill entitled the
Financial Assistance Amendment
Act 2023 . The purpose of this Bill is to amend the Financial Assistance Act 2001 (the principal Act) to pro-vide for new awards for eligible able- bodied recipients
whose initial seven- year term has extinguished.
Madam President, in June 2016 [the Financial Assis-tance Amendment] Regulations 6A was deemed to
have come into effect on the 1
st of April 2016, allowing
the then- abled -bodied recipients to remain on financial
assistance for five years ending March 31, 2021. In
2020, Regulation 6A was amended to allow able- bodied persons to remain in the programme for an addi-tional two years, totalling seven years. This was mainly
due to the challenges of the COVID -19 pandemic.


Bermuda Senate The first cohort of recipients extended to seven
years saw their financial assistance awards extinguished on March 31, 2023. Madam President, the
amendment, or proposed new award, will not affect or inundate the number of Financial Assistance recipients
and will ensure persons who fall within this category will
have the ability to meet their basic needs until they find
employment. As of March 31, 2023, there were 124
[able- bodied] recipients on financial assistance. Of that
total, it was determined that approximately 19 have
reached their seven- year term, and as a result their current awards are extinguished.
Madam President, to avoid further hardship for
these recipients, this amendment will allow them access to a new subsequent award subject to their meeting all of the eligibility requirements. This subsequent
award will provide a standard benefit to assist them in meeting their basic needs.
There are certain conditions that the director
may impose as eligibility requirements for the subse-quent award, which include requiring the recipient to
a. enrol and take part in an approved volunteer
programme for a minimum of 20 hours per
week;
b. enrol in a full - or part -time skills development
programme at the Bermuda College not to exceed 12 months. This requirement period is
intended to help persons be better prepared
for future employment opportunities in a timely
manner;
c. participate and complete a minimum of two
skills development and assessment programmes offered at the Department of Workforce Development. And for the same reason previously mentioned, such programme is not
to exceed 12 months from the commencement of the award; and
d. participate in such additional development
programmes as the director may determine
except that each additional programme selected shall not exceed 12 months from the
commenc ement of the award.
Madam President, all registered recipients will
be deferred to the Department of Workforce Develop-ment where the staff will work then to ensure they have
a personal employment plan. The personal employment plan sets out a development p lan and creates a
path to enhance their skills and competencies. Each
personal employment plan is designed specifically for
the respective recipient with the aim of better position-ing them to take up employment.
Madam President, the director is also able to
impose penalties on recipients for failure to comply with the eligibility requirements. A subsequent award can be
revoked or suspended by the director if the recipient is
found to be in breach of or contravening the require-ments. If recipients are aggri eved by any decision, they
have a right to appeal as set out in the legislation. Madam President, while the Department of Financial Assistance is committed to working with recipi-ents to help ensure their financial independence before
reaching seven years, continuing to assist those who
require support beyond the seven- year span is the humane thing to do. Madam President, recipients who
satisfy the eligibility criteria for the subsequent award
shall make application and be assessed for receipt of
the follow ing awards only: standard room rate, food allowance and health insurance coverage. No other ben-efits will apply.
Madam President, this new subsequent award
demonstrates Government’s continued and unwavering support for the vulnerable. Although significant ly
lower than the full Financial Assistance sustenance, it is believed that the new award will afford recipients
some form of financial relief in order that they are able to maintain a basic standard of living.
Madam President, thank you very much for allowing me to speak on this Bill.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
First, I want to start by saying that I believ e that
the Financial Assistance support, the entire programme is absolutely necessary. I have family, and I have had
family on financial assistance, and very close people at
that. So I understand the processes, and I certainly can
appreciate the needs of people when they find themselves on hard times.
I think that the ability for families to access financial assistance when they need it is vital for any
community. None of us knows if a devastating circumstance may arise that might actually impact us and we
[will be] finding ourselves on financial assistance. There is no shame in it. No person should be discriminated against because they need a helping hand. And
it certainly should be supported as such.
So, Madam President, I believe that this Bill
adds additional support and particularly for the 19 ablebodied persons who may be eligible, as the Junior Minister has mentioned. I think, Madam President, that a key component is ensuring that persons who are not
sustaining themselves within that seven- year peri od,
that when that benefit expires, they will continue to
have financial support and obviously ensuring that they have health care and food and housing. And that is to
say that there should be nobody in this country who
does not have those three very basic things to sustain
them.
While I wholly support helping families as they
need it, I have to say that I am a bit worried that the Government may unintentionally be laying a foundation
that could potentially lead to unintended dependency
on the system for s ome people; that is not to say everyone. And I also think that it is incumbent on me to
508 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate stress that could be . . . and I am just saying that we
have all heard the stories of people who are skirting the
system. And that is in no way implying that everybody
does it, and that is in no way implying that any of the
people who are currently eligible are doing it. I am just saying broadly, generally it could happen. So I think
that we have to be careful about making sure . . . the
Government has to be careful and be sure that we have
those protections in place as well on the other side.
So in sum, I think that providing the muchneeded social protection for people who need it, doing so must be balanced to ensure that the contributing factors do encourage people to get off the system. And in
that, we have to also equally make sure that Government is providing the quality child care, which I know is
being worked on, getting our education system right,
which is being worked on, and aggressively addressing the cost of living and stabilising the growing economy
so that there will be permanent jobs for people to go to
and be able to transition off of Financial Assistance and
making the added social protections that we are talking about here today absolutely, eventually un necessary.
That should be the ultimate aim.
So thank you, Madam President. Again, supporting our families is vitally important, and there is no issue from me on that front in terms of the support that
we provide. Thank you, Madam President.

The President : Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Emily Dill, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President.
I just would like to commend the Junior Minister
and the Ministry on t his Bill which has been put forward,
which certainly puts in place a safety net for some of
our individuals who, despite their efforts to move forward, still find themselves in need of additional support.
And I think that it is commendable as we continue t o
grow our economy that we ensure that those individuals who need further assistance, that this assistance is
available for them and that we also are providing guid-ance in terms of an opportunity for them to be able to
sit down and look at their situations , look at their gifts
and talents, and be able to develop, further develop if
needed.
As we can see, there are some challenges in
our economy with the majority of opportunities being in particular areas, while there is not so much of a need
right now in other areas. Sometimes people have to retool, et cetera. So I am totally in support of this Bill, and
I certainly congratulate the Ministry on the work that
they continue to do. And I encourage the team to just
stay on the wicket. And what do they say? Stay on the wicket and the runs will come. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill. Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Smith, you have the floor.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to echo the comments that have
been made so far that it is really important that we have
a safety net for our citizens who find themselves in this
particular situation.
I just had a couple of questions for the Junior
Minister. The first one being, Considering that March 31 has passed, what has been done to support
them in this period before we are able to make this extension?
The second question is, From the 19 recipients
that we are referring to, what were the benefits? The
Junior Minister said that there would be t hree benefits
that will be provided with this further extension. Were
they receiving more than the three benefits up until
March 31? Just so that we have an idea of what that
difference will be and potentially what the impact will be on these individuals.
My final question is, we know that there are 19
as of March 31. If the Junior Minister can let us know
what the number will be [of those who] will reach past the seven year [period] in the upcoming year? Just so
that we have an idea of how many people we have who have had to be in this system for this amount of time.
Because I think it is important that we understand that
these are individuals in our society whom we have to
support and how difficult that must be. And how many
people are in this situation s o that as we try to grow our
economy, we realise that we have to pay attention to
the people in our country who need this level of help.
So thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader [in the Senate].
Would any other Senator care to ask questions
or to speak on this Bill?
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like to first thank the
Minister and the Junior Minister for bringi ng this Bill forward. I think that it is important that we take the time to
make sure that these 19 individuals have this safety
net. And I really think that it is great that Workforce De-velopment is going to do personal employment plans
for these individuals so that they do have a way to get
out of the system and they are able to build confidence.
Because sometimes it is lack of confidence that is [a
problem], and with this Bill it is ensuring that these individuals are able to continue to go down a path t hat will
get them off of social assistance.
So I thank the Minister and his team for their
hard work and dedication to make sure that our people
are put first. Thank you, Madam President.


Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Arianna Hodgson, you have the floor.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President. And I will just be brief as well.
I just wanted to support the work of the Minister, as well as his team. In our 2020 platform we actually wrote that our next PLP Government will implement
reforms to Financial Assistance that will ensure all able-bodied persons have personal employment plans that
will place them on pathways to employment while also
ensuring that persons on f inancial assistance are not
penalised for working and that they will be allowed the opportunity to save and actually build their assets.
We also said that we would improve child care
support by implementing a savings system to allow persons with children to retain that 50 per cent of child support received to cover child -related expenses. And we
also said that we would allow Financial Assistance clients to be able to hold or receive gifts of significant
value to assist with certain household extraordinary expenses.
So as has been said, Madam President, most
persons do not want to find themselves on financial assistance. And when we think about the role of service
that they provide, we are actually talking about ensur-ing that Bermudians who do not have the financial resources to support themselves can actually have a place to find support. So I think that we actually under -
value the actual necessity, the support that this entity is
providing.
So when I think about Financial Assistance
programmes and unemployment benefits and the multitude of ways that this Government has stepped in to
support its people during such a rough time, I think it is important that we understand that we are ensuring that
not only basic needs are met, but that people can feel
support ed and valued by not only their community but
by their involvement so that they can actually get to a place where they can improve their mental well -being,
and so that they can reduce the stresses that they are experiencing so that generally we can have a healthier
population.
You know, we are looking at health care reform. And so many of these [reforms] play a role in en-suring that our people, that our families and that our
young people have the best start possible. I want to see
continued investment in e ducation and training programmes. And the Minister has done a great job in ensuring that those who want to re- skill and retool have
opportunities to do so. And I want to encourage members of our public to take advantage of those opportunities.
Again, none of us wants to find ourselves in this
position, but many of us have been in places that we never thought we would be in these past few years. So
again, I am encouraged by the work that we are doing. I know that we want to see more of it come, p erhaps
extend the benefits that are offered. But I think that this
is a great step. And it is not just a first step, but we will
continue to take the steps necessary to ensure that all
Bermudians can play a part and so that all Bermudians can enjoy the ben efits of being a member in this great
society.
I know we have had a lot of rain, and we have
had a lot of other things. But there is a lot to be excited
about. And I think that if we all pour in, if we all support
the Minister and his efforts to increase social pro-grammes, social assistance, we will be better off for it.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
Senator De Couto has indicated.
You can have the floor. Senator De Couto, the
floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President.
I do not think I need to provide much detail, as
it has been done more eloquently than I could by those
who spoke prior to me. But I just want to lend my support to this.
It is important that we take care of th ose who
need it most in our society, Madam President. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
And I am happy to hear that we have support
from across the aisle as well. You know, this Bill actually brings joy to my heart, Madam President, because
as we sit over here as representatives of the Progressive Labour Party and going out and doing the work,
this Bill is a shining example of the ethos and the ideology behind the Progressive Labour Party which we on
this side represent.
As we alluded to, in 2017, we were determined
and we said at that time to put Bermudians first. It does
not mean just Bermudians who are exceling or just Ber-mudians who are always doi ng well as we sometimes
see. We have Bills in this place that help those entities.
But this also shows as we demonstrated in 2020 that
the Progressive Labour Party is full of strong leaders. And this is another example of work that we are doing
for the people of this country that demonstrates strong
leadership.
As has been said many times, I just want to
commend the Minister, the Honourable Jason Hayward, my colleague, for [having] the foresight that this
was something that was important. And no Bermudian
was left behind. And also the Junior Minister for bringing it to this place, as well as all of the staff at the Department of Economy and Labour.
510 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate As you would also notice in the brief that was
[read] by the Junior Minister, [we are] happy to hear that
there are extensive plans that come with this Bill. Many
times, you know, sometimes measures have to be
taken and take notice, and people say, Well, what is the
plan? And as you would have heard and read through
this Bill, there is an extensive plan that goes to other
departments that are related to this Ministry as well, where there will be checks and balances to make sure
that, as Senator Tucker did say, no one is gaming the
system, [and the checks and balances] reduce the oc-currence of that.
Quite frankly, Madam President, this is, as was
stated, again the humane thing to do. And we know we are focusing on the 19 [people] in this Bill who are unfortunately going to continue to need our assistance in
the short term after that seven- year period has ended.
But I want to take this time to again commend the Department of Financial Assistance. Because, you know,
the numbers that were mentioned, there were 124 individuals in this cohort. Only 19—I say only—are going
to have to continue. So we have to highlight the 105
who actually were able to get themselves off of financial
assistance and try to progress to a normal life.
In another place and another position that I
used to sit in, many times in talking to the community
with individuals who may have been in this s ituation,
there was desperation in their voice. And they would
start the conversation with, I don’t wish to be on financial assistance. So I do not think that many people, if
any, like the fact that they, despite some of their best
efforts, are unfortunate and forced to go this way. And
this takes me back to one of my favourite teachers when I was at the Berkeley Institute. I took a course led by Mr . Hugh Glades. And you probably have heard me
mention his name a few times in here. It was an eco-nomics course, and it was my first foray into that course. And he always talked about wants versus
needs and the basic needs of individuals. And I am glad
to see that this particular Bill will definitely continue to
help the needs of those 19 individuals who are going to
get their [needs for] housing met, food met, as well as
health care met.
As Minister Tucker did point out, there were
checks and balances that are going on. I have all faith that the Minister and his department will be working
closely and making adjust ments to this Bill and to this
policy if they need to be made.
So there are 124 individuals, I have been made
to understand, who are still receiving benefits. So once
again this shows the ethos and the human side of what
the Progressive Labour Party has s tated many times in
their platforms. And I am glad to see that this is another
shining example of how the Progressive Labour Party
are putting all Bermudians first.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
I believe everyone has spoken. Therefore, Senator Leslie Robinson, it is over
to you.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
Yes, and just to clarify just one point that, yes,
the 124 persons are still receiving the financial assistance benefits. It was just that 19 have now reached
that seven- year term. And as a result, they are at this
position where they are not eligible to be on this part of
the programme.
I want to just turn again just to maybe highlight.
I know Senator Tucker mentioned about dependency.
The benefits are there for individuals in need. And we
are mindful of dependency as a result. We will focus on
empowerment of our individuals in the system. And I
think that is an important point, is that we are looking to
empower our persons. This c hange is one of the many
enhancements that we are making to strengthen social
protections in this Island.
Now with respect to Senator Smith’s question,
there is a retroactive provision in the clause, and individuals at this point have still been receiving benefits.
Second, the 19 are the people who are timing out. But
it does not equate to the number of individuals who will
continue to come on the system. So we have a certain
number, but others may come on. So the number continues to be fluid. I have been informed that at least one individual even now has found employment.
So with that said, it is very difficult to predict
how many people will max out at seven years, because the system, as I said, is fluid. But we will endeavour to
report future numbers.
I guess just to also clarify and to clarify to the
public as well, the benefit is a reduced benefit for all transitioning. The table of allowable expenses highlights the numerous benefits available based on household circumstances. The benefits obviously differ. So
with that, I think I have answered the questions.
The President: Yes. So, Senator Robinson, then you
can continue to proceed to move your Bill.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Financial Assistance Amendment Act 2023 be now read a second time.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, I move that
Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]



Bermuda Senate BILL

THIRD READING

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2023

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Financial Assistance Amendment Act 2023 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.
Sen. Lesl ie Robinson: I move that the Bill do now
pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
the Financial Assistance Amendment Act 2023 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: the Financial Assistance Amendment
Act 2023 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson, and
thank you, all Senators, for your participation in this Bill.
We now move on to the second item on our
Orders of the Day. And that is the Tourism Investment Amendment Act 2023, and this is in the name of Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell, spokesman on Tourism and the Cabinet Office, and Leader in the Senate.
You have the floor.

STANDING ORDER 25
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that [the provisions
of] Standing Order 25 be [applied] in respect to this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Tourism Investment Amendment Act 2023 t o be read a second time
on the same day as its first reading.]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I now
move that the Bill entitled the
Tourism Investment
Amendment Act 2023 be now read a second time.
The Pres ident: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
BILL

SECOND READING
TOURISM INVESTMENT AMENDMENT ACT 2023
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, the
purpose of this Bill before the Honourable Senate today is to amend the Tourism Investment Act 2017 (the Act) to permit the Minister responsible for Tourism greater discretion in the granting of relief under the Act to developers of or investors in new or refurbished hotels, new or existing restaurants, or attractions on the follow-ing terms:
• a new hotel from 10 years up to 15 years;
• a refurbished hotel from 5 years up to 15 years;
• a new restaurant from three years up to five
years;
• an existing restaurant from one year up to three years; and
• an attraction from three years up to five years.
Madam President, the Act is also being
amended to repeal the provisions whereby the developer upon receipt of a Tourism Investment Order is re-quired to maintain full and proper records of the goods to which customs duty relief has been applied.
Further, Madam President, the Act is being
amended to permit the Minister, upon receipt of an ap-plication for a new or refurbished hotel, to consider the planned estimate cost of the proposed development plus the aggregate value of the investment in the pro-posed development not exceeding seven years before
such application is made.
Madam President, Senators will recall that the
Tourism Investment Act 2017 became operative in No-vember of 2017. The primary objective of the Act is to make Bermuda more attractiv e to foreign investors and
to incentivise and assist local tourism- related businesses and owners to re- invest in their product. Madam
President, the Tourism Investment Act provides a scale of tax relief for five types of tourism products, including a new hotel, a refurbished hotel, a new restaurant, an existing restaurant and an attraction. The Act’s current construct permits a maximum of 10 years of relief in the
case of a new hotel and specifies the period of relief to
be granted in the case of the refurbishment of a hotel, a new or existing restaurant, or attraction.
Madam President, tourism is a key driver of
economic growth and development for Bermuda. And the Government’s aim is to remain oriented toward continuously enhancing the framework for sustai nable
tourism investment.
Madam President, Senators will recall that the
Hotels Concession Act of 2000 provided five years relief for a new hotel from land tax, hotel occupancy tax, payroll tax, customs duty relief until one year after the
512 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate hotel’s opening date, and landholding charges as a reduction on deferral.
Madam President, the Tourism Investment Act
2017 provides 10 years of relief for a new hotel —customs duty, hotel occupancy tax, the employer’s share
of payroll tax, landholding charges and five years relief
from land tax. Further, the same 2017 Act provides five
years relief for a refurbished hotel from customs duty,
hotel occupancy tax, landholding charges and the employer’s share of payroll tax.
Madam President, this [Bill] considers the entire tourism ecosystem. I will repeat that: This [Bill] considers the entire tourism ecosystem and includes three years relief for a new restaurant from customs duty, the
employer’s share of payroll tax; and one year relief for
an existing restaurant from customs duty; and three
years relief from customs [duty] for an attraction.
Madam President, during the period since inception of the framework established to stimulate investment in hotel and tourism development, there have
also been hotel -specific special Acts, the St. George’s
Resort Act in 2015, which was peculiar to St. Regis,
and the Fairmont Southampton Act of 2023. The latter,
though not yet in force, mirrored the 15- year relief
framework established in the competitive markets.
Madam President, in the Senate I will note to
you by way of comparison: The Tourism Development
Act of Barbados provides up to 15 years of relief. The Hotels (Incentives) Act of Jamaica provides up to 15
years of relief. And the Hotels Encouragement Act of
Bahamas provides up to 20 years of relief. Madam President, in keeping with this trend and in an effort to
secure further investment in Bermuda’s tourism product, the Senators will recall that this Government’s un-dertaking in a 2022 Speech from the Throne —may I ,
Madam President?
The President: Yes, you may.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: “The Government’s role
is to provide the legislation that will support a tourism recovery and as such, in this session the legislature will
take under consideration amendments to the Tourism
Investment Act 2017 to permit the Government greater
discretion in the grant of relief under the Act to developers and those investing in attractions, restaurants
and hotels. ”
Madam President, to this end I will provide the
details regarding the aforementioned amendments.
For a new hotel, we will
• increase the period of full relief of c ustoms duty
from the commencement of the Tourism Investment Order from 10 years to not exceeding 15;
• increase the period of full exemption from hotel
occupancy tax from 10 to 15 years from the hotel’s opening date; • increase the period of full relief from the employer’s share of payroll tax from 10 years to
15 years from the hotel’s opening date; and
• increase the period of full relief from land tax
from 5 years to 10 years. This exemption will
commence 6 years after the new hotel’s opening date, subject to the hotel verifying in writing to the Minister in year 6 through 15 that 70 per
cent of the hotel staff are Bermudian.
For a refurbished hotel, Madam President:
• increasing the period of full relief from customs
duty from the commencement of the Tourism
Order from 5 years to a period not exceeding 15 years;
• increasing the period of full exemption from a
hotel occupancy tax from 5 years to a period
not ex ceeding 15 years from the hotel’s opening date; and
• increasing the period of full exemption from the
employer’s share of payroll tax from 10 years
to 15 years from the hotel’s opening date.
For a new r estaurant, Madam President:
• increasing the period of f ull relief from customs
duty from the commencement of the Tourism
Investment Order from three [years] to a period
not exceeding five years;
• increasing the period of full exemption from the
employer’s share of payroll tax from three
[years] to a period not exceeding five years from the restaurant’s opening date.
And, Madam President, for an existing restaurant:
• increasing the period of full relief from customs
duty from a commencement of the Tourism Investment Order from one [year] to a period not
exceeding three years.
And finally, Madam President, for an attraction:
• increasing the period of full relief from customs
duty from the commencement of the Tourism
Investment Order from three years to a period
not exceeding five years.
Madam President, the Senate is reminded that
the tourism product extends beyond a hotel. Restaurants and attractions are an essential component of the
visitor experience and have long been associated with
visitor satisfaction. A high -quality product packed with
opportunity and diver sity is essential in delivering an
experience that stimulates word of mouth and gener-ates repeat visitation. It is therefore, Madam President,
imperative that we encourage investment in Bermuda’s
restaurants and tourist attractions. Madam President,
Bermuda boasts more than 100 restaurants that fall
within the definition of the Restaurant Act 1961. And
that is —if I may, Madam President?

The President: You certainly may.



Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —“any tavern, public
house or place trading for profit by provision to the public of food or refreshment with or without entertainment
. . . .” While currently these establishments are eligible
for duty relief on imported goods by way of the Restaurants (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Act 2002, the
Tourism Investment [Amendment Bill] provides an enhanced package with a view to stimulating sustainable
investment in the product, particularly for new restaurants.
Madam President, certainly the duty relief on
imported goods has been useful for the sector. H owever, the Tourism Investment [Amendment Bill] is de-signed to encourage long- term sustainable investment,
notably the restaurants. The Restaurants (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Act 2002 will ultimately expire in
2024.
Madam President, on the matter of attractions,
the Tourism Investment Act 2017 defines an attraction
as—if I may?

The President: Yes, you may.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —"a site that residents
and overseas visitors visit that has an identifiable operation and management structure and c an be characterised as natural, historical, cultural or man- made . . . .”
Madam President, consistent with this definition, the
Bermuda Tourism Authority’s website under “Things to
do in Bermuda” lists from Dockyard to St. David’s,
amongst others, arts, cu ltural and entertainment, water
and natural activities, as well as museum and historical
sites.
Madam President, the Senate will be aware of
the Bermuda Tourism Authority’s experienced investment programme designed to boost Bermuda’s inventory of memorabl e experiences and adventures. This
programme encourages new entrants into the tourism
attraction space. The Tourism Investment [Amendment
Bill] provides supplemental support for those attractions that qualify as new entrants, as well as those supporting for existing attractions seeking to enhance their
offer.
Madam President, the point is this: the Tourism
Investment [Amendment Bill] is holistic in scope. It em-braces the visitor experience by reaching beyond the
hotel and providing support for restaurants as well as
attractions. In large measure these restaurants and attractions are owned and operated by Bermuda’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. The [Bill] there-fore is designed to support our local business community.
Madam President, the debate in another place
focused exclusively on foreign investment and large hotels. But, Madam President, we in the Upper House
must recognise that this Bill is equally important to stim-ulating and supporting local investment in the delivery
of an authentic Bermudian product. This is a Bermu-dian Bill, Madam President. This is for Bermudian busi-ness owners. Madam President, a communications
programme to include workshops and seminars, in
partnership with the Bermuda Tourism Authority, the
Bermuda Economic Development Corporation and possibly other stakeholders designed to assist in creating awareness amongst restaurant and attraction owners on how to make application for concessions under
the Tourism Investment Act, is forthcoming.
Madam President, by way of housek eeping
measures, the record- keeping provisions contained in
the Tourism Investment Act 2017 are no longer required, as they are superseded by the more up to date
and comprehensive record -keeping provisions of the
Revenue Act 1898. The obligation to retain records arises upon each and every duty -free importation under
a Tourism Investment Order, and the Customs’ right to
inspect premises will extend six years after the last
duty-free importation.
Madam President, I have already referenced
the amendments to the Act which permit the Minister of
Tourism to consider the aggregate value of investment
in any property over a period up to seven years prior to
the instant application for relief. Therefore, Madam
President, I am most pleased to provide the Senate
with the summary of the amendments to the 2017 Tourism Investment Act. I anticipate that these amendments
will result in the fostering and securing of further investment in Bermuda’s tourism product —hotels, restaurants and attractions. Such amendments will support
the continued development of Bermuda’s tourism product and, by extension, sustained tourism recovery.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator and Minister Darrell.
Senators, I will open the floor now for anyone
who wants to speak on this Bill. But I would like to remind all Senators we will break for lunch at 12:30.
Would any Senator care to start to speak on
this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Madam President, it is a
bit of a clari fying question before I begin my remarks.
Are you saying we will truncate them after 10 minutes,
and then we would have to come back so that I may
continue them?

The President: Well, it is on the floor. Senators, we will
break for lunch at 12:30.
So my q uestion to you is, if you would rather
we have lunch and you do not want to start and then come back to it, then what is your wish?
Senators, do you want to break for lunch now?

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, if I
may, I think we have about 10 minutes left.

514 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Ten minutes. We have 10 minutes.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: So if I would put on the
floor that Senator De Couto can actually give his sub-mission. And then we can allow him to finish and then break after that?

The President: All right.

Madam President, I feel
I would be at a great disadvantage if my comments
were interrupted midway.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I think
we can let him finish and then we can break.

The Pre sident: Senators, there is another indication
on the floor from the Senator John Wight, who would
like to speak.
Therefore, Senator Wight, if you wish to start.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President. I will
be less than 10 minutes. So I will get us to our lunch
break starting at 12:30.
[Laughter]
The President: Thank you very much, Senator Wight.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
There were several issues which I considered
as I reviewed this important Bill. Clearly, we need an
improved tourism industry for Bermuda. First and foremost, we need it for the employment of so many Ber-mudians who are trained in and enjoy the hospitality industry to showcase our beautiful Island and its beautiful people. While Bermuda is unlikely to return t o the glory
days of tourism decades ago, we can and need to have
a vibrant tourism offering for tourists and our international business clients. And without a vibrant tourism
sector, we are seeing first -hand the challenges to airlift
that are posed by not having the available hotel beds in
Bermuda for airline revenue modelling to service our
Island.
While I see Bermuda as one of the most beautiful jurisdictions in the world for tourism and international business alike, I also understand the challenges
it poses for current and potential hotel and restaurant
investors. Bermuda is an expensive place to build and maintain infrastructure to support the operations of a hotel. Investors compare the financial returns they can
achieve in Bermuda against comparable r eturns elsewhere. And thus it is important that we entice continued
investment in Bermuda’s inventory of hotel and restaurant facilities through fair and appropriate concessions
such as those specified in this Bill.
In my view we should be thanking and su pporting investors currently owning our hotels and restau-rants in Bermuda. They see a future in Bermuda tourism and have contributed in many cases substantial
amounts of capital in their properties. Bermuda needs
this to continue into the future. What curr ent and future
investors in Bermuda’s hotels want is a level playing
field. By that, Madam President, I mean that they want
to know that there are not concessions made to one
facility that unfairly advantage that hotel or restaurant
versus theirs. The curr ent model is not fair and equitable because some hotels have already been granted concessions, and others have not been.
What businesses want and need is to be able
to compete on a level playing field based on service
and price like every other business. This Bill will facilitate every hotelier, current and future, to be able to do this. This is good for them and good for Bermuda. Thus,
Madam President, with optimism that we must and can improve our hospitality offerings to tourists and international businesses helping to support our Island, I am in
support of this Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
With that, would any other Senator care to
speak, provided you have five minutes [until] we are
going to break f or lunch?

Proceedings suspended at 12:24 pm

Proceedings resumed at 2:00 pm
[Sen. the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright, President, presiding]
The President: Good afternoon, Senators and the listening audience.
This morning we were debating the Tourism Investment Amendment Act [2023] . And the Minister in
charge is Senator Darrell. We did have one person who
spoke on it; it was Senator John Wight. And Senator
De Couto had indicated he wanted to speak, and so he
is . . . before he does . . .

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR
The President: I would just like to acknowledge the
Minister of Tourism. Minister, welcome. Sorry Minister
Campbell. Of course, we know you well. Welcome to
you this afternoon, sir .

BILL

SECOND READING

TOURISM INVESTMENT AMENDMENT ACT 2023



Bermuda Senate [Continuation thereof]

The President: We will now continue then with the de-bate on the Tourism Investment Amendment Act 2023.
Senator De Couto, you had indicated you
wanted to speak on the Bill, prior to lunch. The floor is
open to you.

Thank you, Madam Pres-ident. And thank you to those out there listening and good afternoon.
I am actually going to kick this off with a little
background for people listening because when we had this debate last year, people said, How come you did
not vote against that Bill? A bit of history to provide explanation of what is going to happen.
The Fairmont Southampton Bill did pass with
one Independent Senator speaking in favour of it. And
we already heard Senator Wight has spoken in favour. So, people will say, Well, you said you were against it,
Senator, De Couto, but you did not vote against it. And
the reason is because we know how the vote will go.
But we are against this Bill, Madam President. And we
are against this Bill for all the same reasons that we did
not support the Fairmont Southampton Bill, and that is [because] the concessions are too large in general and
give too much away.
We know that we had a standardised Bill, the
2017 Act. We know that there have been several projects that were built under the OBA successfully with
similar concessions —St. Regis, Azura, the Loren. We
also know that the Hamilton Princess was renovated.
So, we know that there are people out there who are able to make these projects work in a way that is ben-eficial for Bermudians , and it does not require the size
and length of the concessions in this Bill.
And while I would take Senator Wight’s point
that I guess one slight benefit of this Bill is that it puts everything on an even playing field, I will acknowledge
that on a technical basis, Madam President, we in fact
had an even playing field with that 2017 B ill. And it was
the Government’s actions in granting the overly large
concessions to the Fairmont Southampton project that have in fact, as we predicted at that time, put the Gov-ernment in the position of needing to create this even more generous legislation for developers. You know,
generally the approach that we would support would
perhaps be a more graduated approach. You could have that 2017 Bill, but you could lay out the conditions by which a developer might get more support should they be shown to be earning it. That would be a kind of
approach that we would like to see.
So, we talked about [how] the Fairmont Southampton project would in fact cause us to have to now give these concessions to everybody, and that is what this Bill is doing. In fact, it seems like this Bill is also

3 Challenges to Caribbean Tourism allowing the Government to provide retroactive conces-sions with that seven- year clause. And unfortunately, it
seems like we are giving credit to people for things they have already done, which I appreciate that the people who will receive that will enjoy that benefit, Madam
President. But the goal of this is to incentivise new investment, so it cannot really support incentivising investment that has already been made.
It is interesting because the Senator spoke
about what they are doing down in the Caribbean. And I will concede that they have very large timelines for concessions down there, which he stated. But I have
done a little bit of research, Madam President. I found
a research paper about tourism in the Caribbean, and there are a couple of highlights from that I think are im-portant to keep in mind as we think about this Bill.
So, the first thing is that this
3research paper
(and it is from the United Nations) says . . . and if you
will allow me to just quote rather than paraphrase, “The regime is biased in favour of larger hotels and other op-erators, which can exercise more political influence be-cause of their size, the number of persons they employ and tax returns .”
And then it goes on to say, “The incentive
framework for SMEs ” (that is small and medium enterprises ) “. . . should be made as favourable or even
more favourable than that for large firms . . . . ” So, what
it is saying is that the large firms, in fact, need less help than the small firms. And we would have liked to have
seen something like that in this Bill, Madam President.
We welcome some of the concessions for attractions and restaurants that were in there, and I certainly take the Minister’s point that this will benefit a lot of Bermudian businesses. They could have been made a bit more generous compared to what large overseas
investors are going to receive, and we kind of struggle
with the consistency of some of them. For example, if
you refurbish a hotel you used to get five years of ben-efits that would be on the customs duty and hotel occupancy tax and employer ’s payroll tax, and now you get
15 years. So, whereas a new hotel has gone from 10 to 15 [years], refurbished hotels have gone from 5 to 15.
And I cannot quite understand this, because it seems
like we would want new investment even more than we
want refurbishment. I mean we want both; but we really
would like to encourage new investment , let’s say at
Morgan’s Point , or let’s say other brownfield sites of
which we know there are numerous on the Island. So, that is a hard nut for us to swallow, Madam President.
I was talking about that research paper , comparing the periods of time in the Caribbean. There is other research that has shown that those lengthy periods of concessions have not in fact resulted in a sort of
net economic gain for the region. Put another way, they
perhaps should have stuck to the wicket, as it were, and kept tighter concessions and maybe found better part-ners. And as you know, Madam President, that is the
516 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate approach that we in the O ne Bermuda Alliance advocate here in Bermuda.
As we have said, we have seen projects like
the St. Regis be successful. And I would put it to you,
Madam President, that the success is less about the size and length of the concessions than the qualities,
capabilities and financial strength of the partner that is
working with the country. And I think, unfortunately, the
Fairmont Southampton has shown that to be true, because despite their long periods of concessions, which
unfortunately, as we have seen, has set the new bench-mark, over several years now we have yet to see anything happen there. And most of us are despairing. So,
we can see it is not the concessions that are going to
make those projects successful but the partner.
Madam President, the Senator s poke a lot
about this being a Bill for Bermudians. And I interpret that as him saying, Yes, restaurants and attractions are
going to be able to get these concessions and they are
generally mostly owned and operated by Bermudians .
So I will grant him that point. But whereas an outside
investor will come in with a hotel and now get 15 years
of concessions, that small Bermudian business that
runs an attraction or a restaurant , perhaps a coffee
shop or a café—and we know the struggles that those
businesses had to go through especially during
COVID -19—some of those things have risen from three
to five years of concessions.
Again, we will take it, but when you compare it
to what those big investors are getting, it is not particu-larly special. And the other thing I would have said, Madam President, is that I think the Minister was implying that this Bill specifically calls out Bermudian businesses when in fact it does not. And I think if the Gov-ernment was really serious about that, they could have
written that int o the Bill. They could have put in a clause
that businesses that are owned and operated by Ber-mudians or have majority Bermudian investors, for example, would receive preferential benefits. We could
see how people could support that, Madam President.
Mada m President, we spoke earlier today
about this high- priced consultant that the Government
has who has been advising on this Fairmont project. And when I look at the Bill, unfortunately, I do not really see much evidence of his advice being considered in
the Bill. So, let me lay out a couple of reasons where I
think his advice could have been taken into consideration.
For example, the Bill could have had a clause
instructing the Minster to expressly consider the finan-cial strength of the investor ; that is, if you want to come
in and you want to get these concessions, you need to
actually demonstrate you have the money and you
have the investment lined up. Why do I say this? Because I want to contrast it to the Fairmont Southampton
project where all the conce ssions have been granted,
and yet, as far as we can tell, no progress has been
made. If the Bill like this one had a clause like that, we would know that when the Minster was to say a deal had been done, a deal truly would have been done.
A second item tha t would have been beneficial
to see in this, which I think we have learned . . . we recently discussed here, Madam President, in the Senate, a revised version of the C oncessions Bill for the
Fairmont Southampton. And one of the features of that,
if you recall, was converting many of the tax concessions into rebates ; that is, if the investor performs and
does what they are supposed to do, then they can get
some of the money back rather than not having to pay it in the first place. So again, that is a less on learned
that could have been written into this Bill for further protection of the Island and to further incentivise performance from investors.
Madam President, when we have given all
these concessions to a company that we know de-faulted on its obligati ons to its employees, you can even
see why it is doubly important that this Bill could have
had something in there about considering the financial
strength of the investor.
So, let me recap, Madam President. We do not
support this Bill. The concessions are too big. They give
away too much. It does not seem to incorporate lessons learned. And to recap what those lessons learned could
have been . . . it could have provided explicit benefits
or protections for Bermudian businesses. It could have
explicitly dir ected the Minister to consider the financial
strength and resources at hand from a potential recipient of the concessions. And it could have put in some
of these hard- learned lessons about how to structure
the tax concessions and convert them into rebates.
Other ways this Bill could have been improved,
Madam President, that we would have supported,
would be, for example, sticking to 10 years but laying
out conditions by which a potential investor could come
back and request a further extension based on per formance, because that is how we would get the best results, Madam President. So, while we welcome and encourage and want desperately to get further tourism investment in Bermuda, we need to make sure, Madam
President, that it comes in a way that guarantees the
best result for Bermudians.
Thank you.
The President : Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like to thank the Minister and this Senate for bringing this Bill, this Act for-ward. If you would listen to the other place, our colleagues laid it out perfectly. And I would just like to kind
of recap what they said about why this Act is very important and it should be passed today. So, what is this
Bill? It is an established framework for hotel, restaurant


Bermuda Senate and attraction owners to apply for concessions for their
operation. It establishes or increases the concession
period for new hotels, refurbished hotels, new restaurants, refurbished restaurants and local attractions.
Madam President, new hotels —increase concession periods from 10 to 15 years. This relates to occupancy tax, payroll tax and land tax. Refurbished hotels—increase concession periods from 5 to 15 years,
the time period to be confirmed. And new restaurants can apply for concessions, Madam President. An example of this could be Mr. Thomas’s new restaurant in St. George’s. Refurbished restaurants can also apply
for conces sions. Attractions are an intricate part of Bermuda’s experience for visitors. The Government continues to demonstrate support by providing avenues for
new and existing attractions to obtain concessions to
start up or when they want to upgrade their premis es.
Madam President, what is the essence of the
need for concessions? Let me break it down for you,
Madam President. Bermuda is known to be an expensive place for all businesses. Concessions help to re-duce the initial and ongoing expenses for operations to
remain current. Continued upgrades are required to
meet visitors’ and local interest. Concessions are a
standard incentive for most jurisdictions —especially
our competitors to the south—to encourage investments in our hospitality sector. One example is bu ilding
a hotel in Bermuda. [The costs] might be two or three
times higher than anywhere else. Government, therefore, reducing the operation costs for a defined period
help defray certain costs. This is helpful, at least in the initial years when the operat ions might be required to
repay any bank loans associated with the operations. An advantage of this amendment is that all applicable businesses will be able to know what is possible when
they request concessions. The amendment therefore creates more certai nty since it is defined what the Minister can do with respect to concessions.
Madam President, let me explain what it is not ,
because that seems to be the problem here. The
amendment does not relate to any existing hotel applications —for example, the Fairmont Southampton Princess. It is a framework for future applications. It is not a money giveaway. Some may say that we are giving away too much, like we just heard. This is incorrect
since Government is not currently earning any funds
from, say, Elbow Beach , Lantana or Ariel Sands.
If concessions help these properties to open,
the broader economy will benefit from people having
jobs, an increase in visitors to Bermuda, an increase in airlifts and a reduction in its prices. Since airlines have
already said t hat increased hotel beds will result in increased airlifts, then taxi drivers, restaurants, et cetera
will also benefit from increased customer traffic. The amendment is not a benefit for Fairmont Southampton
since those negotiations are already underway and in-cluded in any agreed concession. The increased concessions are not a guarantee for success. Each operation will have to conduct its own due diligence for its proposed operations, Madam President. Concessions
are a small portion of the business and consideration
for operations.
According to the debate in the House of Assembly, the concessions are not supported by the OBA. And we just heard Senator De Couto state that,
as well. So, let me just say this, Madam President. The
OBA have to be consistent in t heir argument. If they
accept that hotels and restaurants employ many Ber-mudians as their first job, if hotels employ more people
per establishment than international businesses, there
is reduced hospitality investment in Bermuda, our competitors are attracting increased investment by offering
concessions, the successful offered concessions in the
past with St. Regis and the Loren, there will be significant and positive impacts if we have more hotels for
international businesses so their business guests and their families have more choices, new hotels help to increase Bermuda’s resident population in the long run,
the new amendment reduces the Minister’s discretion
and increases certainty for applications . So, Madam
President, if the OBA accepts all this, th en they must
support this legislation. It would be crazy if they do not.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President : Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Dill, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President.
I join with my colleague who has certainly
shared what this Bill is and what it is not. And I would like to congratulate the Government because I believe
that the presentation of this Bill is forward- thinking ,
which is designed to further advance the tourism industry and encourage both individuals and organisations —
both locally and internationally —to continue to invest in
Bermuda.
As an individual who believes in the unlimited
possibilities that exist for us , not only as a business
capital, but also as a thriving tourism destination, it is
encouraging to see that our Government is endeavouring to ensure that we remain competitive and has ex-panded concessions to include restaurants and attractions. As we continue to develop our tourism product,
these concessions are essential and provide an impetus for persons to get their creative juices flowing and
resources in place to build new restaurant s and develop new attractions that will showcase our beautiful Island and its people.
Without new investment, Madam President,
our goal to revitalise our tourism industry becomes a
pipe dream and a thriving, diverse economy becomes
less of a possibility for us. So, I am encouraging my
colleagues to support this Bill that wil l further enhance
our tourism product and advance our progress in the
revitalisation of our industry.
518 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Thank you, Madam President.

The President : Thank you, Senator Dill.
Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader in the
Senate, you have the floor.

Sen. Ben S mith: Thank you, Madam President.
So, Madam President, we have heard what the
Bill is and what the Bill is not from the Government in
another place. I believe the Minister in his brief explained that the debate went in a very specific direction. I think t he issue that we have with what this Bill is doing,
as my colleague mentioned, we started off a year ago
with a concession that was specific to one particular
project. Once you opened that door to that project, it
created an environment which meant that you had to
level the playing field for all other developers at that starting line, which I believe is what Senator Wight was
alluding to prior to lunch.
I think what we are saying is that we have actually had several hotels recently refurbished —Hamilton Princess, Cambridge Beaches, several hotels on
an ongoing basis. I believe that there is an ongoing refurbishment that has to happen within a hotel in order
for them to keep themselves at a certain standard for their guests. So, we are not saying that incentiv ising
them to have their product at a high level is not some-thing that we would support.
The question is if those hotels were doing that
refurbishment without 15 years and were not request-ing it, the fact that we are giving away revenue, future revenue that would help us to pave roads and take care
of schools and all the other parts that happen with that
tax revenue, it would have made sense for us to put in steps that led to the 15 years. So if at the five -year mark
they had been doing all the things that the Government
is expecting them to do, the application, because they need more, would have happened at that point for them
to then carry on to 10 years. And then the same thing
would have happened to go from 10 to 15 [years] rather
than giving it to them when, at present, we do not even
know whether they will need it deep into the future, con-sidering that we have had multiple refurbishments happen without the 15.
I think it is important that we look at the difference between a refurbishment and a new buil d. We are
looking for inward investment. We are looking for money to come in to develop because as everybody
has stated, tourism is important. And we need to have
tourism grow in the country to have a vibrant country, not just for international business, but just for a community that creates jobs, creates an environment where
things are happening that keep our citizens wanting to
be here in this country.
Madam President, as we have heard even today, a 70 per cent Bermudian staffing is one of the
markers. I guess the question is: What happens if they
do not reach 70 per cent? And how long do they have to hold the 70 per cent? Because how many of the hotels presently in Bermuda are at 70 per cent? Because
if this is a target that is reachable, we need to know that
date or we need to know that information that allows us
to say this is going to make sense in the future.
And the hard part is that we end up having to
connect what has happened with the Fairmont Southampton to this Bill because that was the opening of the
door that led to where we are right now. So, I also ask
the question: If there is no difference between refurbishment and new build, because we have moved everything to 15, why is there a difference in restaurant refurbishment and new build? As my colleague stated,
there should be a different level of incentive. We should
be trying to maximise the incentive that we have for
people to invest in the country. It just seems that we are
presently opening the door wide without knowing whether in some c ases, some of the people who are
already investing in the country were not asking for 15
years.
I am pretty sure we have also heard several
times that we also cannot clearly compare ourselves
with our competitors to the south because of the size of
our country. We do not have a lot of open space. And
that is the reason why when somebody comes in and
buys a property —and a tourism property at that —prior
to that there should have been some indication that
they had the money to do the development that they
talked about , because Madam President, we have
moved to 15 years and the project has not happened.
So what else will the country have to give in order for
us to get that development to start? And if we reach a
point where we have to keep moving the goalpost every
time somebody says , Well, that’s not enough, how
[much] will we have to give away?
We are not saying that we do not want refurbishments and new builds of hotels. We showed in the
period when we were Government, we were able to do
that without being at 15 [years] . The Government has
moved to 15 [years] . That development has not happened. We are now having to move the bar for everybody else. And the question becomes: When will they
start to actually develop and show that these changes
that they are mak ing are going to create the growth that
this country needs? Put in the steps that allow you to
do this in a way that protects our future revenue. The
opportunity is here, and it is here today.
Madam President, the rebate idea that was put
forward by my col league is another one. The accountability is important, holding the checks and balances in
place so that we know that the investment that has
been offered to Bermuda and the benchmarks that the
investors said they are going to do, the developers said
they are going to do , actually happen. When they do
not happen, we want to know we are not still on the hook for another 15 years , because when a developer
said that they were going to do certain things , but [then]
they have not been able to actually fulfil the obligations
that they had to their workers, we need to understand


Bermuda Senate that this is not the situation that we will continue to be
in into the future.
So, all we are asking for is if the Minister can
give us some indication on whether those steps are going to be put in place because they do not seem to be put in place at present. And if not, are those changes
that we will see coming shortly into the future? Because
we have seen amendments to these Bills happen
shortly after they are passed.
Thank you, Madam Pr esident.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader [in the Senate] .
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I too, along with my colleagues, support this Bill
wholeheartedly. One of the things that I would like to
touch on is the OBA and their constant reminder, I
guess, that during their time period they were able to have several hotels come on line, et cetera. What we
must remind ourselves and the general public is that
the economic conditions that allowed for investment,
refurbishing, et cetera, were different then than they are now.
We are now living . . . and I have to remind
even the general public that we are now living in a new world, in a new economic environment. And I am not
just talking about Bermuda, I am talking about the global economic environment. Things started to change when we had the global pandemic and things
shut down throughout the world. The entire world shut
down. Unprecedented. It happens every 100 years. None of us really expected it in our lifetime. With the
shutdown . . . and after that was the war in Ukraine.
And those two things actually helped to contribute to
supply chain shortages where developments and investors may have wanted to purchase and may have
purchased products, supplies, et cetera, but there was
such a long delay in getting them.
And then, of course, if you did get them, the
price was probably a lot higher because of the fact that
there was less being made, less being imported, et cetera, because there was less supply out there. So,
you had a pandemic. You had a war. And then of
course, now we are living in times of interest rates hikes
and understanding that we are dealing with a recession
as a result of the war.
So, interest rates are . . . we have an issue. We
have high interest rates. So now we are in a situation
where developers, investors, et cetera, interest rates
have increased on loans that they have. They may
have had to increase . . . and we all know about that
where we have to pay more now monthly. Many of us are suffering because we are paying more each month for our mortgage payments, et cetera. So, we have a
situation with high interest rates. We also have a situation with inflation where
the cost of everything is much higher, all to do with economic issues, the economic environment that we are
in. So, it becomes very difficult to be able to compare
what happened in 2013 , 2015, et cetera, versus what
is happening now —the economic environment that we
are in. We are trying to attract investors to help increase
our entire tourism ecosystem. And so, we must move
with the times. And the times are such that the type of
investors that we have . . . you know, it is harder for
them to even invest. So, we are allowing for them to
have concessions so that they can do what they would
like to do.
So, I applaud this Government for thinking forward, [for being] forward- thinking. We are not stuck in
the 2017 Act. We are now moving on because we realise that there will probably be continued economic challenges. And we are not just talking about Bermuda, because we operate in a global environment. And so, this
Government is putting in safeguards so that those w ho
want to invest will be able to have the time period so that they can make good investment s in Bermuda. And
also with the investments comes the jobs, the employment of our people. With the investments, with the attractions, et cetera, s mall business can develop and
Bermudians can be employed. And that is the end goal ;
we must always keep our mind- set on the end goal.
As I said, I support this Bill wholeheartedly. I
appreciate the Government’s foresight in understand-ing the economic times that we are in gl obally , and that
at this point we do not know when things may really turn
around. But we are doing things to be able to at least
attract business during this time of economic . . . I
would not say instability, but just the economic challenges of the global economic environment.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
No. Hearing none, then it is over to you Senator
Darrell.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam P resident.
Madam President, I do not wish to be too dismissive with my comments here, but I am a little disap-pointed that in this debate once again the One Bermuda Alliance has come with no tangible solutions ,
other than Senator De Couto broadly stating multiple
times in his submission that the One Bermuda Alliance
is against progress. And I am not sure why, —

He misleads the Senate.
I provided several very specific tangible things that we
would have done differently, Madam President, in my
remarks.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
quoted Senator De Couto when he says that the One
Bermuda Alliance is against this Bill. And what I hear . . . I will interpret that as a translation of what I hear ,
that the One Bermuda Alliance is against progress. I
will tag that along with —

He misleads the Senate.
We explicitly said we are pro getting tourism development on this Island, Madam President.

The President: Senator Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Well, Madam President,
it is very interesting that he says that. When you start
your comments with, We are against this Bill , you cannot then change it halfway through your speech—
The President: Senator Darrell, carry on with your response.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.
—to say that, you know, We are for progress .
The two do not match up.
And if I will bring in some of what Senator Smith
said, this is a key indication that the One Bermuda Alliance, unlike the Progressive Labour Party, clearly is
not tuned in with the com munity and what is actually
happening. It is interesting that people would often look
at the One Bermuda Alliance as the party that only goes
out and defends big business, when some of these
businesses are the [voices] crying out for this Bill to be
passed.
I mean, you have hotels such as the pending
Ariel Sands, you have Hamilton Princess, these are developments actually waiting for the passage of this Bill
so that they can recover 15 years and their financial
model can actually work. So, this is somethin g that not just the small restaurateur needs, not something that
Bermudians need to get jobs and get back to work, but
this is something that, you know, you might in another
place or another time feel that the friends of the One
Bermuda Alliance are the ones that actually are crying out for this the most.
So, it is shocking but should not be surprising
that once again the One Bermuda Alliance is not in tune with what actually is needed and wanted out in the community.
As I said in my brief and I would just like to reiterate, this Bill will assist local tourism -related business
owners. This Bill enhances the framework for sustaina-ble development investment. And I did have this note
here, so I am going to reiterate it again that I was a little
confused with w hatever was going on over on the other
side of the aisle , because it seems that one minute they
say they support small business, but I interpret that they
do not support this Bill, that they are against progress. So, I am not sure how both of those at the same time—

Senator, do you accept the point of information?
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: No. I would like to finish
this point that —

The President: Please carry on.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.
The whole premise of this Bill brought by the
able Minister of Cabinet Office and Tourism is to support the tourism recovery. And again, as I spoke earlier,
Madam President, that is the ethos of the Progressive
Labour Party. And that is what my colleagues, the Senate team behind me, come here every single week to
do.
In another place, we heard this debate go on
probably a lot longer than it should have because we
had to continuously make our point and push back on
things that the One Bermuda Alliance were trying to
take in a whole different direction. And just to point out
some of the points that were made and put some of the things to bed is that this amendment being considered
actually gives the Minister discretion up to certain limits.


Bermuda Senate This does not mea n that the maximum will automatically be granted. Even after the passage of this
Bill, applications for the Tourism Investment Orders under the Act will still be required to be brought before the
House and the Senate for approval. What this really
means, and I will get back to where I started, Madam
President (and I did allude to this in the brief), is that
more hotel beds allow us to have a greater number of
tourists coming to Bermuda. If you carry that on the line,
a greater number of tourists give us a greater demand
for airlift. And once you put all of those factors together, Madam President, what it means for Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Public on the street is jobs, jobs, and jobs. And when
people are working and people have money in their
pocket, the economy boom s all around in this country.
So, I am very disappointed, but unfortunately,
it is becoming a bit of a habit that the One Bermuda Alliance likes to go down a rabbit hole of what they
would like to get out in the public, but they do not see
the overall pict ure of how this can help everyday Bermudians. And as my Senate colleague did say , so I am
not going to get too much into that, we all know that conditions have changed since 2017, Madam President, whether it be COVID -19 [or] whether it be volatility
of the financial markets.
This Bill clearly lays out what potential investors in hotels, restaurants [and] attractions can reasonably expect. I mean, how can you come as a Government and put things in place when people do not feel
that the G overnment has their b est interest at heart ?
And that is what this Bill does. As much as the One
Bermuda Alliance would like to tag this solely to the delays in the Fairmont Southampton, these delays have everything to do with recent turmoil rather than what the concessions are here.
So, Madam President, as another one of my
Senate colleagues said, let’s push aside the rhetoric,
let’s push aside the politics that the One Bermuda Alliance would like to play and remember what this Bill is
about. And this Bill is about ways that w e will encourage
investment in Bermuda’s restaurants, renovations and tourist attractions for the betterment of Bermudians.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
Senator Darrell.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Give me a second to find my . . . Madam President, with that, I move that the Bill entitled the Tourism Investment [Amendment] Act 2023 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I move that [ Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect
of this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

TOURISM INVESTMENT AMENDMENT ACT 2023

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I now
move that the Bill entitled the Tourism Investment
Amendment Act 2023 be now read a third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I now
move that the Bill do pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
the Tourism Investment Amendment Act 2023 do now
pass. Is there any objection to that mot ion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Tourism Investment Amendment
Act 2023 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senators . And thank you,
Mr. Vance Campbell, Minister of Tourism for your presence here today .
Moving on then now with our agenda.

MOTIONS
The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES

The President: Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I would
like to congratulate the Bermuda Police [Service] for
Operation Vega because as we see daily, we have so
many accidents on the road. I want to thank the police
for clamping down because it really is getting really serious out there. So, I really wanted to take this oppor-tunity to thank the police and, you know, encourage
them to continue to monitor our roads and make sure
522 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate that our roads are safe because there are a lot of terrible accidents that have been happening recently. And they are clamping down. So, thank you to the Bermuda Police [Service].
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tuck er: Thank you, Madam President.
I will start my comments with a condolence
first. Many people would have heard me extend condo-lences to a number of people who I actually have only met on a very casual basis, and this person is also one of those people. I am actually one of those people who talks to everybody and considers everybody friends. So, even though we do not, you know, sort of socialise,
I do sort of see people that way. So, with that said, there
was a gentleman who was often on my walk route every
single day coming into the office and also when I left. He and I would exchange pleasantries every day. Every morning, every afternoon, we would chat on the
side of the road like we were old friends. I did not even
know his name. Right? And this has gone for the entire two years since I have worked in the same building. I
was very surprised the other day when I picked up the newspaper and I saw his picture in the paper and for the first time found out his name was Kelton Crockwell.
I do not know if anyone else sort of knows him or what
have you, but he just about every day sat in the chairs outside The Spot. When I was leaving in the evenings, he was often outside of Red Carpet. And as I said, we would always exchange pleasantries and chat along and whatnot . So, he was always very pleasant, very
nice, really a good person to meet. So, I do want to ex-press sincere condolences to his family and to his friends. And again, his name was Mr. Kelton Crockwell.
I would like to extend congratulations . . . I am
not quite sure if congratulations is the right word to use,
but I would like to associate the entire Senate minus Madam President, because this is about you. I was very happy and excited to read a story about you that Mrs. Snaith -Simmons was so kind [to write], and I will use
the word kind because she very systematically laid out
your many accomplishments and your journey through
your life, through your schooling journey, your journey
to becoming a nurse, your life in Ghana, your accom-plishments as director in many different places and your MBE. I mean the list of your accomplishments is exhaustive.
[
Desk thumping]
Sen. Robin Tucker: So also, I think that the title was
so apropos, “A humble woman with ‘the common touch.’” That is an awesome, awesome, awesome story to read, an inspiring story to read and a remarkable story to read. So with that, Madam President, on behalf of all
of us . . . I did not speak to anybody, so I am just associating you all anyway. But I just want to say thank you for your journey, congratulations on your journey. And also, again, just to reinforce how remarkable it is and inspiring it was to read about the many things that you
have gone through to achieve the things that you have
achieved in your life. It was absolutely inspiring.
Thank you, Madam President.
[
Desk thumping]
The President: Thank you very much, Senator. Thank
you all, Senators. I appreciate that.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Dill, you have the floor.

Thank you,
Madam P resident.
I would just like to take this opportunity to extend condolences to the family of Mr. Cyril Raynor. Mr.
Raynor was Bermuda’s . . . I am going to say he was
Bermuda’s top well driller. And some people do not really realise how critical that profession is for the building
of our infrastructure. It is not just about supplying water,
but they do the drains to eliminate road flooding and to
construct foundations in many buildings throughout the
city. And also, they are responsible for waste elimination in hotels and restaurants. Mr. Raynor —not only
was he a skilled labourer and a consummate professional , but he was committed to passing on his
knowledge to the next generation and he trained many
others in the field. Last but not least, on a somewhat
bittersweet note, it is important to note the contribution
that Mr. Raynor made to sports in Bermuda, and in particular, in recent years, his support of Bermuda’s Special Olympians and others who were exceptionally
abled. I am made to understand that he was looking
forward to journeying to Germany as a part of the Bermuda delegation to support his granddaughter, Exodus, who will be a part of this swim team. Mr. Raynor
generously contributed both his resources and his time
to support the Special Olympics. And he will be deeply
missed and fondly remembered by all who knew him.
May he rest in peace.
The second thing that I would like to highlight
. . . it was interesting to learn recently about a Bermudian, Dr. Lisa Boden , who has recently been named as
the head of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh. She will be leading the Royal (Dick) School of
Veterinary Studies. And she is only the second woman
to serve in this position in the 200- year history of that
institution. So, it is very . . . I would like to congratulate
Dr. Boden and her family on this accomplishment and
wish her all the best as she leads that institution.
Thank y ou, Madam P resident.
The P resident: Thank y ou, S enator D ill.
Would any other Senator care to speak?


Bermuda Senate Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President.
I have a few items, and I will start with perhaps
the least happy one. We read . . . I think many of us
understood about this accident up in St. George’s, and
the last I heard is that we have a tourist who is not in
very good condition in the hospital. And I would just like
to send our thoughts and prayers to him and his family.
And I know that there are many who are injured or hurt every day, but we never want to see a visitor in a tough
situation.
Moving on, Madam President. I just want to associate myself with Senator Tucker’s comments on Mr.
Crockwell. It turns out (I was thinking about it) I know
exactly who she is talking about. And w hen she said
where she would see him in the days and I would often
(and I still do) take my young boys to The Spot, and he
was always there with a joke, a smile, a laugh, and generous with his positive attitude and time, Madam President. So my condolences to his family.
I associate myself with the comments regarding you, Madam President. And so I do not embarrass you further, I will not speak further on that.
I associate myself with the comments on Dr.
Lisa Boden by the Reverend. We are a small place, and we like to think we punch above our weight. But I think we really do when we see the impact of Bermudians
such as Dr. Boden and many others out in the world
today. And she is an example of what I would call “Ber-mudian Excellence.” And I could go on about that, but I
think most people understand what I am trying to say.
I would like to extend [congratulations] to the
participants of the forthcoming Marion- Bermuda Race.
It is a yacht race that starts in Marion, Massachusetts
and they will be racing into Ber muda on the 16
th of
June. I want to wish them the greatest luck, a safe passage and, frankly, a boring race because that means
you get there all in one piece. And I am sure we all look
forward to their arrival and I know that they will enjoy
their stay her e in Bermuda.
We have five young sailors who will be going
off to the Optimist World Sailing Championship, I think shortly in Costa Brava, Spain. And again, I wish them
also the best of luck in that very high- level international
competition for their age.
And finally, Madam President, I want to extend
my congratulations to the Portuguese and Azorean
community of Bermuda and around the world for the forthcoming Portugal Day which I believe is on Saturday, the 10
th of June. I hope that they all enjoy their
celebrations. We all know that they are an integral part
of our society here in Bermuda and perhaps we could all celebrate with them, to be followed up by National
Heroes Day.
So, I will leave it at that, Madam President.
Thank you.
The President: Thank y ou, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
A couple things I want to highlight. First of all,
on May 20, I had the pleasure of being invited to th e
Bermuda Arts Council Annual Awards programme. I was there. The Minister was not able to attend. We had
the Junior Minister there as well. And it was just a lovely
affair at the Earl Cameron Theatre. And I just want to highlight the awardees. Lifetime Achievement Awards
went to Patricia Pogson- Nesbitt as well as Rosheena
Beek, posthumously, the late Rosheena Beek. Founder
Awards went to Mr. Richard “Rick” D. Spurling and St.
Clair “Brinky” Tucker. And the Patron Award went to
Clement E. F. Talbot. And I wi ll say that each of the
award recipients are awesome in their own right. They
have done so much for Bermuda. And you know, in particular, I think about the Founder Award with Mr. Spurling, how his baby is Carter House. And I would encourage any and every B ermudian to go down to Southside
and have a tour of Carter House. It has so much historical information on Bermuda. As well as St. Claire
“Brinky” Tucker who actually is a cousin of mine, and
how he has been able to introduce us to the North
American Indians, and how, you know, to celebrate the connection that the North American Indians have with
Bermuda and particularly with the St. David’s area here
in Bermuda. And an actual fact is he actually was asked
last year to speak at Harvard University, so he conducted an actual lecture on the connection of the North
American Indians to Bermuda. So, it was just a won-derful time that night. Even Mr. Clement Talbot who did
so much with the Ross ‘Blackie’ Talbot golf tournament
in honour of his father and the amount of money that
was raised over those years. So, I would like to congratulate all of them.
The second one is, I just want to say happy belated birthday to Mr. [Carlton] “ Pepe” Dill. I am sure all
of us here and most of the community would know Mr. Dill for his lifetime in sports, in particular in football. He
was a gentleman that I knew as a very little girl when
my father was actually refereeing at the time. He had
stopped playing football, but Mr. Dill was still playing football and, you know, he became a good friend of the
family but also became a wonderful mentor to so many
footballers and young men coming up.
And even though my dad himself did not have
any sons, [Mr. Dill] did impart so much to my father’s
nephews, and I know he did to so many others. So, we
wish him Happy belated 80
th birthday celebrations and
greetings , and we hope that you have many, many
more, Mr. Dill.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Hearing none, then it is over —
524 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President. I do,
please. Sorry.
Madam President, I am actually going to take
the tack today of congratulating many different sporting organisations as well as a couple of cultural occur-rences that have happened since we were last in the
Senate.
So, I will start with sport, Madam President.
And we do know that on Bermuda Day , which happened after we were last in the Senate . . . I want to
congratulate six -time winner of the Sinclair P ackwood
Memorial Race (and that is the cycle race ), Mr.
Domini que Mayho, a former student . And he was delighted with this sixth win , which I think makes him one
of the top winners in this particular race. A nd also the
female top rider, Ms. Panz y Olander , who finished
ahead of th e pack in her respective category . As well
as all runners who took place in the running race: Lamont Marshall , who was granted first place ; as well as
the individual who actually crossed the line first, Mr.
Dennis Mbelenzi; as well as the first female across the line, Ms. Ga yle Lindsay.
I would like to point out one other very special
gentleman that comes from my area where I live in the neighbourhood, 17- year-old Kallan Richardson, who
actually crossed the line in sixth place. And he is only
17 years old and [has been] away in college, so he did
come back to be very successful in this race. And he is
the son, as everyone would know , of my colleague in
another place, MP Anthony Richardson, who actually is my MP.
I would also like to congratulate, in a weekend
of lots of sport , the executive as well as members of
Bermuda’s newest national sports governing body, the Pickleball Association of Bermuda. They put on an extravaganza that has become the norm now. I was in the
drizzling rain all day on Saturday, bu t I did stop by with
both of my children , Oliver and Tatum. I know the Premier did stop by . And the turn out for this extravaganza
for, as I have said before, one of the largest growing
sports in the world was just phenomenal. I would like to shout out to Ms. Rochelle Quinn and her partner who
put some serious licks on myself and Bermuda come-dian, Mr. N adanja Bailey. I think , as they say , loved us
up. We lost 11- 0, and we did not have a chance. B ut I
will tell my Senate colleague I ndependent Senator Bell
that I am ready for her. So, whenever she is ready, I am getting a paddle. And I am so happy , and I want to congratulate the team at the Department of Youth, Sport ,
and Recreation lead by Mr. Jeko n Edness , who actually
took on the idea of the Pickleball Association of Bermuda and now has opened a public pickleball court for
all to enjoy.
And on that same theme regarding sports,
Madam President, I would like to congratulate the Ber-muda Cricket Boar d. Unfortunately, this cricket season
. . . As we know cricket is not played in the rain , and the
cricket season and the weather have wreaked havoc
on the season. B ut I did have the opportunity on the way from the beach with my kids on Sunday to stop by
the Sea Breeze Oval . And just to see the crowd that
was at, you know —our one sunny day that we had for
a long time —at Sea Breeze Oval for the game between
Bailey’s Bay and Western Star shows that the Bermuda
Cricket Board despite, you know, the interruptions by
weather , are still putting on a very good product. And I
am glad to see that league cricket is coming back to
where it was many years ago. And you know, I said all
that to get to where we are this Saturday , which brings
us to the showdown of the season. It will be B ailey’s
Bay Cricket Club taking on Cleveland County to see the
winner of the 50 Overs [Premier] League that will happen this Saturday I think at the NSC [National Sports
Centre] . So, I encourage everyone to show support to
the Bermuda Cricket Board and go out for the 50 O vers
finale . Hopefully which will be won by the boys in blue
and white this Saturday.
And finally, Madam President, going away from
sports but to an event that has much to do about the Minist ry of which I am the Minister, I w ould like to say
congratulations to all who were involved in putting on
and participating in our 2023 Bermuda Heritage Day
Parade. As I said in the last Senate session, there
would be very little that could stop the Bermuda resilience. And as such, Madam P resident, you did see in
the torrential downpours that [it] did not stop many of
the participants , dance groups, majorette groups,
sporting organisations from overseas, classic cars,
[and] the Royal Bermuda Regiment from strutting their
stuff and showing w hat true Bermudian resilience is all
about. So, I want to say a hardy thank you to the Department of Culture led by Dr. Kim Dismont -Robinson,
as well as Cultural [Affairs Programme Manager] Ms.
Carlita Lodge, [and] all participants. And Madam President, it was just a joy that brought tears to my eyes to
see the Bermudian public line the streets and continue
to show what being a Bermudian is all about. Congratulations to all.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: And thank you, Senator Dar rell.
I would just like to join you in the celebrations,
too, i n your comments regarding the celebrations of the
Bermuda Day because I was on Front Street and observed. And I think people were really, really pleased
and happy, and it was really exciting t o see the number
of people who stayed. People thought that , Oh, my
goodness, with all this rain, none of the dancers are going to come out. And it was so surprising. Not only . . .
The youngest . . . I think there w ere some probably twoyear-old, three- year-old dancers . They were on the
street , and it was just a joy to see them entertaining the
public and enjoying the day . And it was very pleasant
for the Governor and the others who were on Front Street to watch it. And so, I join you in your congratula-tions to all who were involved in that to bring it off. It
was really an exciting parade. And also, I will say that I
watched the runners on television, but it was good too.


Bermuda Senate That whole day, I am sure, all Bermudians who participated and who watched were really pleased with the
outcome. And so, I want to thank you, as the Minister ,
and all who were involved.
On a sad note, I would just like to ask that condolences are extended to the family of C arneal “Chocolate” Smith, especially to his partner , Ms. Veronica
Harvey, her family, and the children. Mr. Smith was an
avid footballer. I am sure, Minister, you would know
about it. He played for Devonshire C olts, initially , and
when injury stopped his playing, h e then served on the
football committees resulting in his becoming the honorary life president of the club. And in 2017, the BFA [Bermuda Football Association] awarded him the Order
of Merit for his life- long dedication to football. So, I just
want condolences to be extended to his family.
And that is it for me.
We will move on now to adjournment.
Minister? Leader in the Senate.

ADJOURNMENT

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. I ask that the Senate do now adjourn until
Wednesday , June 28.

The President: Thank you.
Would any Senator care to speak on adjournment?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.

ASSISTANCE FOR SINGLE PARENTS

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I promise to be brief. We have been here for a
little while now , but I actually wanted to speak about
two populations. One is : I want to speak about single
mothers. Single mothers, as we know, do double duty,
especially when there is not a father in the picture. And
they are holding it down for their children the best way
[they] can. Everybody mother in here knows that we will
leap in a single bound, like Superman, to work to make
sure that we do all that we can for our children and to
make sure that they have everything that they need.
Mothers are still struggling to get . . . some
mothers . . . let me just make sure I make that clear .
Some mothers are still struggling to get child support
payments . And I should actually say mothers and some
fathers as well. Right? They are still struggling to get
child support payments . And the system for making inquiries and applications just remains quite outdated
and a little cumbersome— quite cumbersome, in fact.
And this is a situation that I just wanted to speak about
here today , just to highlight it , that it does need attention.
It has been, you know, quite some time, and
we are still doing things quite manually. And I am hope-ful, Madam President, that the Government can sort of
look at and figure out a way to collect the outstanding child support payments, particularly from those delinquent parents. I know there is a system in place , so
please, people from the other side, do not jump on me because I am very much aware that there is a system
in place. But I mean, you know, I have been contacted
most recently by a single mother who has been trying
to get her back payments. She is owed several thousand dollars. And she is just still trying because her
child still has to eat; he still has to have a roof over his
head; he still needs an education, all of those things.
So what I would be hopeful of is that there
could be some way to tighten that particular hole or fill
that hole to make sure that the parents who are entitled
to have these funds to support their children actually get them.
There is a lot of stress put on single parents
particularly at this time. We are post -COVID -19. We are
in situations where the cost of living, providing food for
children and so on and so forth is skyrocketing. And you
know, I would hope also that perhaps there could be
something that the Government c ould look at in order
to increase the allowable amounts that the courts are giving to parents who have to support their children to
keep the cost of living and things in mind. Right?
I also wanted to make mention of the fact that
when parents are garnished, sometimes when their
wages are garnished, you know, the courts have difficulty tracking people down or even being made aware that this particular individual is no longer working in that
place. So as an idea —this is for Minister Darrell, since
he likes s olutions —my suggestion would be to perhaps
tie the individuals’ garnishment information to their social insurance number because no matter where you go
you have to provide a social insurance number because your employer has to pay social insurance for
you. So that is one way to keep track of delinquent parents and make sure that those garnishments take
place.
I did want to just ask that Government look at
those types of things and highlight if there are any single parents out there who are in these situati ons . . . I
just want them to know that we remember them—
something that we have not really talked about for a
while —and just let them know they have not been forgotten.

APPRECIATING IMPORTANT ROLE OF FATHERS

Sen. Robin Tucker: Also, I wanted to make men tion of
another population and that is a population that is often
forgotten about as well. And that is our fathers. We are
getting up to Father’s Day. And one of the reasons that
I would like to make special mention of fathers is because typically mothers normally get all of the attention.
But of recent I personally have just noticed more and
more fathers —whether they are biological or not —I
have seen more and more fathers, more and more men
out with their children either walking in the grocery
526 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate stores, you know, just seeing them at sports days, you
know, just seeing them out and about and involved.
So, I wanted to raise that today because no
matter if they are married or single and they are involved, they are biological, adoptive, or otherwise [and] they are involved, we need to celebrate them because
they are involved. Mothers, we know [are] always there.
Fathers have a very, very special place in the life of a
child, and their investment is so critically important. So,
I wanted to say first of all to the fathers that we appreciate you and we thank you for the contribution and the investment that you make in your children. And equally
that goes to mothers as well, but mothers tend to hear
that a lot more [commendation] than the fathers do.
So, I want to say thank you to the fathers because they do have a special place in the lives of their
children, and they do not often get the attention they deserve.
With those two things mentioned, Madam
President, I thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Robinson, I see your hand.

IMPACT OF INSURANCE MERGERS
AND ACQUISITIONS

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I just wanted to speak very briefly on the news
that came out yesterday. And that was about the Argus
Group acquiring a significant minority stake in BF&M
Limited. And I guess, more specifically, it is a subsidiary of the Argus Group that is acquiring a portion of BF&M
such that Argus will have 36.9 per cent shareholding in
BF&M.
I know for our community, I guess that came as
quite a shock because for so many decades Argus, BF&M, Colonial, [and] Freisenbruch have been about
[being able] to stand on their own and being able to provide the necessary insurance f or us. It is, I guess, in
persons’ minds, What does this mean?, because now
you are having somewhat of a shrinking of, I guess, companies being able to provide insurance. So, what
does that mean for policyholders, for consumers, for
the average person on t he street?
I know for some, for example, they are seeing
already an increase in their health insurance premiums
this year. And so of course the first thing is, Oh my gosh! Is my health insurance going up? Is my property
insurance going up? Is my motor insurance going up
because of the fact that there is now less competition?
Now in other countries, they have what is
known as antitrust legislation. And antitrust legislation
prohibits agreements between market operators that would restrict competition and the abuse of dominance.
Now we do not have that specifically here in Bermuda,
but what we do have are regulators that will need to review the deal and provide their consent to the deal.
Not just regulators in Bermuda, but also regulators
where other subsidiaries of thes e companies operate.
And so, I would say to and challenge the BMA [Ber-muda Monetary Authority], who is the primary regulator for both insurance companies as well as the Bermuda
Health Council, to carefully look at what is happening.
Now as we know, we live in a free- market society. Those companies are publicly listed and, of
course, at any time anyone can actually buy shares of
those companies. So, we understand that, and we get that. But we also have to look at and realise that we do
live in a small community and we have had the three
major insurance companies plus Freisenbruch—so
four—that have been able to provide insurance to our
persons. And at least with four of them— as much as
we feel that the premiums are high— with competition it
helps the consumer. It helps to stabilise prices a bit. But
then when you get fewer persons providing, then they
can have a dominance and so can force the premiums
up.
We know that in this economy there are so
many other things, you know, that are increasing, and
especially because we are living in inflationary times.
And we know that health care is a necessity for our people. [Therefore] I would hope that the BMA and the Bermuda Health Council will really take a look at this par-ticular deal.
I will say —and I am going to be for full disclosure, Madam President —the company that I work for is
[the] number three insurance broker in the world. And
a few years ago, the number two insurance broker in
the world wanted to merge with us, in fact, to create the number one insurance bro ker, and then the number
one ends up becoming number two. And so, it would
have been an environment where you have two major
insurance brokers providing property and casualty insurance to commercial insurers and then all the others
smaller brokers. And the two companies went through
a very long process. Actually, it was about a year and
a half, of course, because they had to get regulatory
approvals all around the world. And it came down after
about 18 months where the Department of Justice under the Biden Administration was really prepared to go
at the companies and their intention. And they were quite concerned about the consumers. And would there
really be fair competition in the marketplace if you have
got these two large insurance brokers and then everybody else? What would be the implications to the con-sumers?
So the Department of Justice under the Biden
Administration were imposing so many conditions on
the merger that after a while the company that wanted
to merge with my company decided, No, we are not doing it. It was just going to be too onerous. And so, when
you look at that, and you look at what the Government and the regulators . . . because they had laws that
would allow the government to step in, they decided,
you know, they were going to make it so onerous that


Bermuda Senate it just became impossible for the two companies to actually merge. It was going to take so much time to satisfy the regulators and the government. And so, you
know, at the end of the day, it was about: Would the
consumer be worse off when buying insurance, and what would happen to the employees of the companies?
Now, obviously, the BF&M and Argus situation
is nowhere near, you know, when we are talking about
these global insurance brokers, but the point is it does
make a major impact in Bermuda because of the size
of our community. And so, as a result, I am saying I
would hope that the BMA and the Bermuda Health
Council, who are the regulators of these institutions,
take a very careful and methodical look not just at what
the ending balance sheets are going to be like, the assets and surplus, but also understanding what the im-plications may mean to the consumer, to those of us
who have to buy health insurance because health insurance is a necessity.
Thank you, Madam President.
The Presi dent: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator wish to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

IMPACT OF INSURANCE MERGERS
AND ACQUISITIONS

Thank you, Madam President.
I am going to address this Argus BF&M thing.
And just to get it out of the way, I do own shares in BF&M, and I am an BF&M customer. Frankly I am not
sure this would be better for me or not on a financial basis, but I want to thank Senator Robinson for laying out a lot of the context and the issues there.
It is important for people to understand we
have to buy automobile insurance; that is by law. We
have to buy health insurance by law. If you have a mortgage, you most likely have to buy property insurance
and life insurance. And well, you probably ought to
have both if you can. So, the implications of this on our community need to be thought out very, very carefully.
It can have serious financial implications for our community, many of whom are very sensitive to their c osts
and their getting by day to day.
It is curious because I was original teeing up a
topic about acceptance of responsibility and accountability by this Government, and I also would hope that
the BMA and the Health Council will look at this carefully. But I am not the Government, Madam President.
If I was the Government, such as the Junior Minister
Senator Robinson, I would be doing a lot more than
hoping. I would be rolling up my sleeves, and I would be getting into this. And I would take accountabilit y and
responsibility for working with all the parties to make
sure we get the best outcome for Bermudians and [for] the importance of that sector which protects Bermudians.
It is funny. It is a bit of a theme because take a
look at the pollution of BELCO, Madam President. It
somehow does not seem to be the responsibility of any
department. It is somehow not the Regulatory Authority. And it is somehow not the Environment Minster.
And it is somehow not the Health Minister. But the people in Pembroke know they have pollution on their
roofs, and many others. So, for all this Government
likes to congratulate itself —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, point
of order, please.

The President: Minister Darrell, what is your point of
order?

POINT OF ORD ER
[Misleading]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.
The Senator, it is pretty cute how he took a left
turn with his speech just now, but he is misleading the
House because it is very, very clear and it is on record
the Minister who is responsible for these pollution issues that are going on at BELCO. And it is also on record, Madam President, that he has said multiple times,
along with other Ministers, what is in process of trying
to rectify this very serious and important issue.
So, Madam President, [to] continue with my
point of order, I think it is out of order that the Senator
will come to this House and pretend that he does not
know the Minister responsible and cast aspersions on
what is or is not being done with this very serious matter
that does not need us to come here and score cheap
political points .
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
Senator De Couto, be mindful of the comments.

Madam President, I
would posit that for the people affected by this, they
would probably be a little confused about what is going
on based on all the various messages. And so, while
the fact of the matter may be clear to someone who sits
in Cabinet, I would suggest that f or the man and the
woman in the street and their children, it may be a bit
more confusing.
So, as I was saying, Madam President. We
heard about the hotels and why it is so hard to get investors. It is the economy. Perhaps it is not that this
Government is tough to do business with. It is always
something. It is always some external thing. The arbi-tration centre— a hole in the ground. Oh, it is some
other reason. No one could put their hand up and say,
Actually, if you stop to think about it, it was not a go od
528 7 June 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate idea in the first place. You should have set up the institution and then built the building. Vertical farming. Oh,
the company . . . this, that the other thing. Anybody who
looked at you could tell you how it was going to work out. But let me get back t o the point at hand. I —

[Inaudible interjection]

Excuse me.
I do hope that the Health Council and the BMA
. . . I know, actually, that they will do their utmost professional jobs there. But there are certain things that
span th e national interest that are in fact outside of their
specific domains. And the Government needs to take a
position, and it is too early to know what this means for
people. It will have to be studied. I actually do not know
what the right outcome could be, but I am deeply concerned that this Government will fail once again to take
responsibility and accountability to create good outcomes. And I urge them to pay very close attention to
this, Madam President.
Thank you for your time.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator wish to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Hearing none, Senators, the Senate stands adjourned until June [the 28
th].

[Audio stopped abruptly]

[At 3:30 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 28 June 2023.]