May 24, 2023

Madam President, I
hereby present for consideration of Senate the draft
Rules entitled the Rules of the Supreme Court Amend-ment Rules 2023 in exercise of the power conferred by
446 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate section 62 of the Supreme Court Act 1905. And I give
notice that at the next day of meeting, I will move that the said draft Rules be approved.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
PETITIONS
The President: There are none.
STATEMENTS
The President: We have at least four Statements, and
the first is in the name of the Honourable Owen Darrell, the Minister for Youth, Culture and Sport , and Government Leader in the Senate.
Minister Darrell, you have the floor.
2
023 BERMUDA DAY PARADE:
A BERMUDIAN RENAISSANCE
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, thank
you.
Madam President, anyone who knows me on a
personal level would undoubtably know that Bermuda
Day is absolutely my favourite holiday of the year. For
years I have kept to the tradition of watching the runners in the half -marathon speed past ; enthusiastically
enjoyed the parade route and stopp ing along the way
to catch up with friends as well as family ; and enjoy ing
the sights and sounds of the many dance groups, gombey troupes, floats, majorettes, music trucks and walking groups that the Bermuda Day Parade has to offer .
Mada m President, I have joked with my team
at the Department of Culture, and I told them that they
cannot overload me with so many official duties that I
miss out on my favourite part of this day. And that is
celebrating being a Bermudian. They have pro mised ,
Madam President, to go easy on me! But in all seriousness , Madam President , this parade, this day , is an experience not to be missed. And in my role as the Minis-ter responsible for Culture, I have an even deeper appreciation for the hard work and planning that go es into
organising the parade as well as participating in the parade.
Madam President, this year’s Bermuda Day
and Heritage Month theme, as I have said before, is A
Bermudian Renaissance. With this theme, we invited
participants to think ab out an artistic rebirth and what
that might look like and mean for our community. We
captured some of this in our artwork and posters for this
event, which featured singer Canjelae Taylor, visual
artists Jahbarri Wilson and Yassine Chentouf, and footballers Jahni and Jahde Simmons. How might we best
celebrate and support the efforts of our creative community? How do we honour the innovators amongst
us?
Madam President, one of the ways that we offer this type of recognition is through honouring gr and marshals, and I would like to thank Mr. Milton Raposo,
Ras Mykkal, Christie Hunter Arscott, Gavin Smith, Dr.
Duranda Greene and posthumously Choy Aming, Sr.
for their many contributions, which I encourage you to
read about in the Bermuda Day booklet wh ich is being
published tomorrow.
Madam President, we are also experiencing a
bit of a renaissance in terms of participation, with approximately a 35 per cent increase in participant numbers when compared with the 37 entries we had last
year. This statistic is a powerful testament to our resili-ence, reflecting the value that we place on this specific
tradition , which has experienced this rebound following
the pandemic. I am pleased to note, Madam President ,
that this renaissance has also extended to some f irsttime participants in the parade, including the SMS Village Gombeys. We are also excited that the Bermuda
Powerboat Association will be showcasing boats
across multiple trucks. All of these different elements
will ensure that this year’s Bermuda Day Parade is
bursting with light, colour, music, sound, dance, costumes, regalia and extravagant displays of culture. This
parade is about all of us as Bermudians and is one of
the best opportunities throughout the year to celebrate
ourselves as a people.
Mada m President , although the Department of
Culture is assisted by several other stakeholders , including but not limited to the Bermuda Police Service
and the Department of Communications in creating the
environment and overall structure for the parade to take
place, the parade cannot and does not exist without
participants. It was this expanded sense of gratitude toward the parade participants that caused me to want to
find a way for the community to be able to better support them, since their involvement in this parade is their
contribution to all of us. And I will say that line again,
Madam President, please: since the participants’ in-volvement in this parade is their contribution to all of us. This, Madam President, is where the Bermuda Foundation was able to assist by creating the Bermuda Day
Fund launched last month for the purpose of charities
and other community groups to benefit from having the
costs offset for participation. This includes expenses
associated with music equipment, the purchase of costumes, truck rental as well as float construction.
Madam President, although I will provide fulsome details about this at a later time, for now I would
like to say thank you to individual as well as corporate
donors alike who have stepped up to the challenge and
generously contributed so that every parade participant who has applied for funding will be assisted by the Ber-muda Day Fund. This is a major accomplishment,
Madam President, and I cannot tell you how pleased I
am that our community recogni sed the need to help and
made it happen. I would like to thank the Bermuda
Foundation for all of their assistance in providing a vehicle for this.


Bermuda Senate Madam President , I would like to thank the
hardworking staff at the Department of Culture, particularly Ms. Carlita Lodge who is the lead organiser in the
Bermuda Day Parade. I can tell you that Ms. Lodge,
who you will recall was recently recognised as a Rising
Star in last year’s Public Service Excellence Awards
programme, puts in countless hours going above and
beyond the call of duty to ensure that the parade is
safe, successful, inclusive , and enjoyable for audiences and participants alike. Madam President , it is my
sincere wish that no matter how anyone chooses to enjoy the holiday on Friday, it must be done i n a way that
is safe . So please take care of yourself as well as others around you.
Madam President , I believe in my heart that it
is both an honour and a privilege to be a Bermudian.
And so I celebrate all that we are and all that we have
built together as a people.
Madam President, I wish you and your loved
ones a wonderful Bermuda Day filled with fun, fellowship and community spirit. Madam President , I would
also like to end by wishing our colleagues in the Senate, as well as the whole of Bermuda, a very happy Bermuda Day on Friday. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
The second Statement is in the name of Senator Leslie Robinson, the Junior Minister of Public Works.
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.

SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT
FOR BERMUDA’S FUTURE
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Good morning and thank you,
Madam President.
Madam President, outlined in the Government’s platform of 2017 were a number of commitments made that were designed to enhance the lives of our citizens. Specific to the Ministry of Public Works,
the Government committed to reviewing the approaches to public water supply and wastewater disposal systems. To that end, I wish to provide an update
on the status of one of the initiatives of the Wat er and
Wastewater Master Plan implementation—and that is
the establishment of regulatory oversight for the Water
Utility Sector.
Madam President , a study was commissioned
using the award- winning engineering consulting firm,
Associated Engineering (International) Ltd., to determine a long- term strategy for the Parish of St . George’s
water and wastewater systems. The necessity of such
a study was noted in the document “ Charting Our
Course: Sustaining Bermuda, ” which was developed by
the Sustainable Developm ent Unit. One action point
specifically states that a 20 -year strategy was needed
to ensure that the I sland’s future water needs were adequately met. The study report, entitled “ Strategy for Sustainable Water and Wastewater Servicing for St. George’s
Parish,” was completed in February of 2018 and provided conclusions and recommendations on the governance, policy and servicing strategies of the public
water supply and wastewater disposal sectors. The report had two core governance recommendations , one
of which was to establish a regulatory oversight body
for the water utility sector. Why might there need to be
a regulatory oversight for the water sector? Madam
President , for those who are not aware of the industry,
I am just going to highlight some issues the sector is
currently experiencing.
Number one, Madam President, the
wastewater treatment plants discharge into the ocean.
Our local w astewater treatment plants are d ischarging
minimally treated sewage through two outfalls operated
by the two respective municipalities. While one is currently being decommissioned through the Bermuda
Land Development Company (BLDC) Water and
Wastewater Infrastructure Project , the larger , second
outfall located off of Hungry Bay and fed from the Front
Street wastewater treatment plant remains in operation
by the Corporation of Hamilton.
This site discharges wastewater and occasionally grease into the Atlantic Ocean. When easterly
winds bl ow, greaseballs can form and wash up on
South Shore beaches. In addition to impacting the aesthetic value of the beaches, greaseballs are also a potential public health risk. While the C orporation of H amilton has attempted to mitigate this issue by impleme nting a fats, oils and grease policy in 2015, replac ing its
wastewater filtering screens and hir ing a retired health
inspector to work with restaurants to enforce the use
and regular cleaning of grease traps , more investments
are needed for equipment improvements.
Number two, Madam President, Bermudians
do not get as much water as they would like when rainfall is low. As we all are aware, Bermuda gets most of
its water from rain harvesting, with piped and trucked
water supplementing demand. Though rainwater har-vesting has functioned well for over 400 years, the current method has been and will continue to be impacted
by climate change. Climate change is expected to lead
to more severe storms and longer dry spells in Bermuda. Though total rainfall is likely to increase, it will
be in the form of more severe storms and hurricanes,
which can contaminate household tanks with saltwater.
During dry spells, household tanks are depleted and
the demand for trucked water spikes, which has led to
rationing in some cases.
Number three, Madam President , risk of consuming unsafe water by customers and tenants. The
monitoring of piped and trucked water quality is not
consistent across all providers. Some are very conscientious and follow best practices , while others are not
so reliable. The Department of Health does what it can with the resources available with regard to a drinking
448 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate water quality monitoring programme . However , currently water testing is usually done on a voluntary basis
or in response to specific comp laints from customers.
This creates a risk that customers could consume unsafe water , as it is difficult for them to evaluate the quality of the drinking water by themselves.
Additionally, if residents drink tank water that is
unfiltered, it exposes the i ndividual to potential health
risks. Homeowners are ultimately responsible for the
quality of the water in their tanks. To measure their
drinking water quality, they can have their water tested
by the Department of Health and private labs for bacterial and salt content , although no labs in Bermuda offer
chemical testing. However, it is more difficult for tenants in rental housing to assess the safety of the water
they drink.
And number four , Madam President , possible
price gouging and lack of incentives to keep costs low.
In any free market, competition between sellers helps keep costs low. When there is little or no competition,
businesses are less likely to provide efficient services
at the lowest cost possible, justifying the use of regulation to determi ne a price that is fair to both buyers and
sellers. Unlike water utilities in other countries, large public and private service providers in Bermuda are not
subject to economic regulation. Locally , private providers set their own prices. Since these companies are selling a basic daily need in a market without competitors, there is the risk that private service providers could
charge prices far above their cost of service.
Just to be clear, the Government is not accusing any company in the current market of undertaking
this. It is just a possibility that may occur in the future
resulting from climate change and drought periods.
In addition, without competition service providers are less likely to provide high- quality service and
expand coverage to less-profitable areas. For example,
if public providers cannot charge what it costs to provide services, there is a risk that they may postpone
maintenance or infrastructure investments, reducing
the quality of service and limiting their ability to connect
new customers.
Madam President , these four amongst other
problems in Bermuda’s water sector, as well as potential future risks, could lead to negative public health and
environmental outcomes. These problems and risks
may also contribute to higher costs for Bermudian
households and businesses. In addition, they could jeopardi se the country’s reputation as a premier vacation destination and an attractive location for global
business. Therefore, Madam President , in 2018 the
Cabinet authori sed the establishment of a working
steering committee under the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Works with the objective of implementing
the aforementioned recommendation to establish a
regulatory oversight body for the water utility sector.
Madam President , to assist in this initiative, in
2021 the Ministry of Public Works retained the international water consulting firm Castalia LLC to contribute in the development of a regulatory framework to address Bermuda’s water needs for the foreseeable future. This exerci se also included a review of similar
countries and how their water sectors are organi sed
and regulated.
Madam President , in September and October
of 2022 public consultation began for the possible establishment of regulatory oversite for the water sector
to ensure sustainable water management for Bermuda’s future. Through workshops with key stakeholders, online posts on the Bermuda Citizens Forum, social media live events, radio interviews and other outreach channels to determine their view of the state of
the industry to help guide regulation moving forward.
Arising out of this the Government has identified certain
current and future risks concerning the industry.
Madam President and Senate c olleagues,
these risks were then analysed by Castalia and technical officers who then incorporated the results to form
the basis for a second round of consultation which commenced on January 23, 2023, and is ongoing. Currently, outreach for this second round of consultation include s the following:
1. in-depth one- on-one consultations with key
stakeholders;
2. an information booth that was located at the
Agricultural Exhibition between the 27
th and
29th of April 2023;
3. another Facebook live event scheduled for
May 30; and
4. a post on Citizen’s Forum , at forum.gov.bm,
open until May 31 which includes the public
consultation documents for feedback and com-ments by the public.
This second round of consultation ends on the
31
st of May , and we welcome all feedback on this important initiative. The results from both consult ation periods will be taken into consideration when designing
the recommended regulatory framework for Bermuda.
The recommendation will address each of the risks
identified through the consultation process.
Madam President, this Government believes in
protecting our residents and Berm uda’s international
reputation by reducing the health risks associated with
a basic need. Without appropriate regulation, oversite
and anticipating future needs , we could not ensure a
healthy population nor a healthy environment.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson. I believe you have a second Statement. Please proceed when you are ready.

BERMUDA’S FOURTH QUARTER
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.


Bermuda Senate Madam President, I am pleased to rise here in
the Senate today to share with the M embers of the Senate the fourth quarter economic results.
Madam President , the quarterly GDP and economic performance for Bermuda's economy continues
to expand and show resilience. The Ministry of Finance
estimated that the economy in 2022 would have grown
by 3.4 per cent to 3.9 per cent . Quarterly GDP figures
reflect a strong trend in that direction. The quarterly
GDP estimates indicate that the economy has expanded by at least 5.9 per cent in nominal terms in
2022.
In real terms, the inflation- adjusted economy is
estimated to hav e grown by at least 2.9 per cent in
2022. Real GDP in the first quarter of 2022 has been
revised upward from a 5.2 per cent increase to a
5.7 per cent increase, second- quarter GDP has been
revised upward from a reported 3.9 per cent increase
to a 6.8 per c ent increase, and the 5.0 per cent contraction in the third quarter has been revised to a 2.9 per
cent contraction in quarterly GDP. In the fourth quarter
of 2022 the economy returned to positive quarterly
growth. After adjusting for inflation, the GDP in constant
prices increased by 2.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of
2022. The level of economic expansion was a direct result of increased household expenditure and growth in
the export of goods and services. GDP in current prices
increased by 5.6 per ce nt during the fourth quarter.
Madam President , consumer spending in the
fourth quarter increased 4.5 per cent year -on-year to
$795.2 million. Consumption of services increased
6.1 per cent year-on-year, reflected in higher expenditure for accommodation s ervices, air transport ation and
catering services. Spending on durable goods rose by
4.8 per cent due largely to increased expenditure on
furniture and furnishings, information processing equipment and motorcycles.
Madam President , employment income in t he
fourth quarter was 7.3 per cent above 2021 levels. Industries such as hotels, restaurants, international business, transport and communication reported strong
growth in employee remuneration. The results for g overnment expenditure showed that consumption declined 2.6 per cent during the fourth quarter, with lower
expenditure on equipment, rentals and salaries.
Madam President , with respect to business investment, we report that Gross Capital Formation declined 3.5 per cent to $208.9 million. Investment related
to construction fell 1.4 per cent , while investment in machinery and equipment decreased by 5.5 per cent due
to lower imports of agricultural machinery, office furniture and equipment , and industrial machine parts.
Madam President, the fourth quarter balance
of payments indicates that Bermuda ’s trade with nonresidents resulted in a $161 million surplus for the
fourth quarter of 2022, down $64 million from a year ago. Services transactions realised a surplus of $45
million, narrowing $43 million year -over-year. The decrease in surplus balance reflected decreases in the business services account and transportation account balances. The surplus on Bermuda ’s primary income
account rose by $12 million to $494 million due mainly to an increase in net employee compensation.
Further, Madam President, reports show that
the fourth quarter International Investment Position (the
IIP) for the stock of foreign assets held by Bermuda residents registered above its stock of foreign liabilities by
an est imated $43.3 billion. The net IIP increased by
$569 million from the third quarter of 2022.
Total business registrations, Madam President, increased by 0.8 per cent year -on-year bringing
the complete business register to 16,103. There were
132 new businesses registered in Bermuda during the
fourth quarter of 2022.
Madam President, in conclusion the Government continues to facilitate the expansion and sustainability of Bermuda’s economy by creating a business
environment which allows business to thrive. Within the
coming weeks, the Government will be releasing an
economic development strategy for Bermuda . The economic development strategy will provide a strategic
framework that will guide Bermuda to sustainable economic growth and development.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson. I believe you have a final Statement, a fourth Statement.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Yes, I do.

The President: You may proceed when you are ready.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you.

DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT:
EXPANSION OF SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
PROGRAMMES
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, this one is
in regard to the development —sorry, the Department of
Workforce Development: Expansion of the Summer
Employment Programmes .
Madam President, today I share the Government ’s continued efforts to provide invaluable opportunities for the next generation of workers. I am pleased
to inform Members of the Senate that the Department
of Workforce Development’s Summer Employment
Programme has increased the number of summer student placements from 130 to 180 spac es for the 2023
programme.
This increase is in direct alignment with Goals
1 and 2 of the Government’s Youth Employment Strategy, which speaks to increasing opportunities for local
training and expanding career support for young people
from high school through to early employment.
Madam President, summer student placements provide an excellent opportunity for young Bermudians to gain practical experience in a range of
450 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate fields, while also contributing to the work of our Government and the community. These placements are an
investment in our future workforce, and I am thrilled that
we will be able to offer these opportunities to even more
young Bermudians.
We recogni se the importance of these placements, not only for the students who participate but also
for the departments and agencies who benefit from the
fresh perspectives and innovative ideas these students
bring to the workplace. By expanding the number of summer student placements, we are creating more opportunities for collaboration and growth.
Madam President, the Department of Workforce Development offers two distinct programmes designed for students at varying levels in their academic
careers. The university and college student Summer
Employment Programme (SEP) provides college students with 10 weeks of work experience with a weekly
stipend of $600. The programme's objectives are to provide meaningful work experience, offer exposure to
careers and employment opportunities within the Government, create opportunities to gain leadership and
decisi on-making skills, and encourage citizenship and
service. Additionally, the programme aims to introduce
participants to career and employment competency
standards and to foster the development of career
goals by connecting work experience to academic
learni ng.
In 2022, this programme received a budget allocation of $450,000 and accommodated 80 students.
This year, with the department reallocation of
$154,000 , this cost centre titled “Contractors”
70000.5270, the programme will support an additional 20 placements making it possible for up to 100 college
and university students to participate.
For the high school student s summer internship programme, the number of placements has increased by 60 per cent from 50 to 80 [students], increasing the budget from $80,000 to $116,000. This
programme provides young people aged 15 to 18 with
practical and meaningful experiences in a safe, structured, and professional environment , mentored while
being coached by proprietors and business managers
in both the public and private sector. Students will be
afforded a "work shadow" experience in their career interests for four weeks during the month of July and will
be paid a stipend of $1,600 upon completion of the
work experience.
Madam President, the aims and objectives of
the two programmes vary . The distinction between the
two programmes is important as given the age demographic unique to the two groups. It is important to note
that the Department of Workforce Development intends
to reallocate $170,000 to accommodate the increase in
student placements for the 2023 Summer Employment
Programmes.
Madam President, I am grateful to the Government departments, private sector partners, and personnel who have provided our young people with such rich and meaningful summer experiences. I would like to
express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all of
our industry partners who continue to work with us in
support of our young people.
Madam President, I would like to encourage
the business community to consider extending summer
employment and internships to our young people this
year. It is crucial to provide our young people with opportunities for meaningful work experience so that they,
in turn, will become productive citizens within our community.
In closing Madam President, I look forward to
seeing the positive impact these programmes will have
on the lives and careers of the young Bermudians who
will participate.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESS
AMENDMENT ACT 2023

INSURANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2023

The President: The following Public Bills have been
received from the Honourable House of Assembly and
are hereby read for the first time. The titles are, respectively, the Digital Asset Business Amendment Act 2023
and the Insurance Amendment Act 2023. Senators,
these Bills will be taken up in our Orders of the Day later
on.

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS

The President: There are none.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: Before we proceed with [Question Period], Senators, I would just like to acknowledge in the
Chamber the presence of Steven Simons , the Policy
Analyst from the Ministr y of Public Works. Welcome to
you, sir.

QUESTION PERIOD

The President: The first statement is the Bermuda Day
Parade. Would any Senator care to speak on this Statement?
Senator Robin Rucker, you have the floor.


Bermuda Senate QUESTION 1: 2023 BERMUDA DAY PARADE: A
BERMUDIAN RENAISSANCE

Sen. Robin Tucker: Good morning, Madam President .
Good morning to my Senate Colleagues, the listening
audience and . . . I just want to say thank you, again, to
Minister Darrell for his Statement this morning.
I just have one question at this point, which is,
I am interested to know . . . well, first let me just say that
Bermuda Day, I share the excitement with him. I mean
Bermuda Day is a fantastic day and I also think it is just
wonderful to see how people come together and, you
know, support each other and everything that the holiday brings. So, I share the excitement there.
My question to the Minister is, I would like to
know if there are efforts that are being made by the department to more robustly attract other Bermudian
communities to participate in the Bermuda Day activities. I do recall a few years ago the Portuguese community, for example, participated in the parade, and it
was wonderful to see, you know, additional Bermudian
groups participate. So, I am just wondering if the Minister can tell us if efforts are being made robustly to attract others.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Statement . . . ask any questions?
Hearing none, then it is over to you Minister
Darrell.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President , and thank you to the Senator for her question.
I will tell you this, since I have been in this post,
my first official engagement was in October and at that
engagement it was a meeting for the National Sports Governing Bodies. And you may ask, Well what does
that have to do with participation in the parade? I was
tapped on the shoulder by a member of the staff and
they said, Well, at this meeting I am actually going to
give a presentation about participation in the Bermuda
Day parade . So, I can tell you that efforts to attract more
organisations in the parade go on year -round—whether
it is showing up to meetings . . . I know that t he department has reached out to over 600 businesses, clubs,
groups and given presentations to try to attract individuals in the parade.
One initiative that we did get started this year,
and it is unfortunate that it did not grow as much as we would have liked it to, but we reached out to every single primary school with an initiative of creating a box
cart so that all —it was 20- something primary schools —
could have a box cart in the parade. What we did was,
we tried to link it with the agriculture exhibiti on, you do
the box cart for that and then a month later you wheel
your box cart back out and you use it to parade.
So, there have been multiple efforts. I know
one particular group that was pointed out just now was the Portuguese community. I am happy to report that
they are in the parade this year. They have been in the parade since its inception. There was to be participation by another country that is celebrating a significant
milestone, but I do not think that is still happening. So, we have cast a ne t far and wide to try to get participation.
I will repeat what I said in the Statement. Unfortunately gone are the days where communities go
around and just say, Hey, let’s get together and bond
around putting together a float . Many organisations
just—wel l, some organisations —reject the amount of
time and effort that go into creating this because it is on display and because Bermuda Day has become so
popular. I mean if you are not going to do it, you know, to top- notch ability, some people shy away from doing
that.
But I am happy with the level of participation
that we have seen today. It has, as I said, increased —
a significant increase—and it will be a joyous day on
Friday. And as soon as we finish, we will do a post -
mortem and we will double down on our efforts to go
back to those same organisations that we reached out
to, as well as others. So, hopefully next year when
Cleveland County wins the league and county and everything else this year, maybe Cleveland County will be
in the parade to show off all of their trophies that they
win this domestic cricket season. Hopefully that is one.
If anybody from my club down in Devil’s Hole
is listening, we can put you on notice that they would hopefully be in the parade with the MP from the area as
well as Senator Tucker in her blue and whites to march
those trophies in the Bermuda Day parade next year.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: Before we move on to the second
statement, I would just like to acknowledge the presence of the Minister, [Lieutenant] Colonel, the Honourable David Burch in the Gallery. Welcome to you, sir, and the staff from the Ministry.

[Question Period, continuing]

The President: So, the se cond Statement that Senators can ask questions on is the Sustainable Water
Management for Bermuda ’s Future.
Would any Senator care to ask questions on
this statement?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

I was pleased to hear this
Statement. I know any resident in Bermuda has had
their struggles with water, wi th the amount of water,
with the safety and quality of water, and I also know that
many renters struggle to get the attention to their water
supply from the landlords that they would like. So, I was pleased to see this . . . and I was also pleased to hear
the acknowledgement of the role of climate change,
which is real. It is happening. It is sometimes hard to
figure out what it is going to do, but it is certainly going to create a lot of change in the patterns of how we live
and how we access our natural r esources. So, I was
glad to see that.
I think I had two questions, and for context of
the first question is . . . you know, we have a robust
Regulatory Authority that I believe is supposed to regulate BELCO. And we know that the people around the neighbourhood of BELCO, and in fact many areas of
the Island, are struggling with the pollution from BELCO
that is affecting their lives. But somehow between the Regulatory Authority and the Government there does
not seem to be any action over the many months of t his
that have been taken.
So, my question is . . . well, we can have a regulator. But will it have the right teeth, will it have the right ability to act to create the change required to protect the consumer? And how might that be different in this
situat ion?

QUESTION 2: SUSTAINABLE WATER
MANAGEMENT FOR BERMUDA’S FUTURE

My second question.
There was mention of the grease balls and how more
investment was needed. I wonder if that comment
takes into account . . . my understanding from quick research is that the City of Hamilton has in fact announced investment to install some very tiny, I guess
they call them screens. They currently filter waste from that pumping station at 3 millimetres and they are well
on their way to a project to reduce that down to .35 millimetres which, you know, you can see how not much
is going to get through that.
I understand that project is sitting in planning
and has budget and might even start this year. So, that comment about more investments are nee ded in the
Statement, I wonder, is that reflective or [does it] take
into account that investment that the city is already making? Or is there something else specifically that
they were referring to?
So, those would be my questions and just to
reiterate, I am glad to see the Government ’s attention
on this important topic for all of us here in Bermuda.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Wight.

QUESTION 1: SUSTAINABLE WATER
MANAGEMENT FOR BERMUDA’S FUTURE

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President , and
thank you to the Junior Minister for bringing forward this paper.
I just have one question, really. What is the
Government ’s model that Government is looking to establish in respect to this regulatory oversight? Is it likely to be a new authority, an independent authority?
That is my one question. Thank you, Madam
President .
The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
I believe Senator Smith, Opposition Leader in
the Senate, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: SUSTAINABLE WATER
MANAGEMENT FOR BERMUDA’S FUTURE

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President, and
good morning. Thank you to the Junior Minister for
bringing this important information to the Senate Chamber today.
One of the things that is an issue is cost when
it comes to people making sure that their water is safe. So, yes, you can bring a filtration system into your
house, but it is costly not only to implement that first
step but then also to have it maintained on an on- going
basis to make sure the filters are changed and the like.
But, Madam President, there is another piece
to this that, you know, used to be a point of pride for
Bermuda, and that is to make sure that we had those
pristine white roofs because you were maintaining
them on an ongoing basis. Anybody who drives around
Bermuda now will notice that in many cases those pristine white roofs are no longer what you see. And I think
a lot of it is just because people do not seem to have
the money to be able to continue to maintain their roof
at the level that it should be.
The reason I bring that up is because my question is that, as we are going forward with this, the idea that there are potentially r esidents who are ingesting
water that is unsafe . . . have we done just a sample
size of some of the houses in Bermuda to test the water
just so that we can have an example of potentially the danger that is happening? We would like to think that
people wou ld go through this process of getting tested,


Bermuda Senate but the truth is many people are not even thinking about
that.
So, is there a way for us to maybe just have a
sample size of houses to see if there is an actual contamination problem in the houses in Bermuda when it
comes to what is happening in their water, just as
maybe a wakeup call to local residents that they potentially are ingesting something dangerous?
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.
Would any other Senator —
Senator Tucker, you have questions, too?

QUESTION 1: SUSTAINABLE WATER
MANAGEMENT FOR BERMUDA’S FUTURE
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, thank you, Madam President.
I just have two basic questions and I am asking
because I legitimately just do not know and would like
to have an answer.
So, my first question is, why was not a local
company . . . or maybe I should be asking are there any
local firms, engineering firms or what have you, that could not have provided the water and water system
strategy for St. G eorge’s? I am just curious, because I
just think that nobody knows Bermuda water, water
catchments and all of that like Bermudians. So I am just
wondering, you know, if there is a local company and
why a local company was not used.
Also, I just have a comment as it relates to the
second round of consultations. The four points that were provided all seem to exclude people who (one) have not attended the exhibition, or (two) are not online.
So, I am just wondering whether there are any thoughts about expand ing the opportunity for second round consultation to people who are not social media savvy or
online.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Hearing none, then we will await a response
from Senator Robinson.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President .
Thanks for the questions.
Firstly, to the first question, as far as the actual
regulatory body, will it have enough regulatory teeth, I
guess (for lack of a better word), to be able to properly
regulate this? Regardless of what form the regulatory
body takes, it is important to exist in order to protect
both consumers and users of our water resources. A
big part of the consultation is to d etermine its best form.
Additionally, technical officers are reviewing all
possible solutions including legislative amendments, but they do not want to supersede the recommendations from the consultative process. We will keep the Senate informed on the pr ocess. So, I think the key
right now is to get the feedback through the consultative process.
Secondly, this was in, I think the second question with respect to the investments that the corporation has already been making. The further investment for
the Corporation of Hamilton plant is additional filtration
systems to further remove grease and the potential for
the grease balls. And, yes, it is considering, so we are
considering everything that the corporation is already
investing in.
The third question, will [there] be an independent authority? There is much synergy in expanding the
existing authority’s role to incorporate water regulation.
This would certainly reduce the cost of creating a new
authority, but it will be [an] independent authority. This
is being considered.
The fourth question I think was concerns
about, I guess, danger to citizens ingesting the water.
Water samples [are] under the role of the Health Department, and there are laws to ensure tank cleaning.
The regulation will have a focus more on the water
quality at the producers end rather than in the actual
tanks.
Just looking at . . . I think there was a question
about any local firms. I am still waiting for those answers, and also the consultation process for those who
are not social media savvy. I know I can say, and I do
not know if others have heard ads on the radio, and
those ads come on quite often, inviting persons to actually participate in the consultative process. You know,
there are persons who would want to . . . they can c ertainly listen to the radio and get the instructions from
that as well. So, that is [available] to be able to participate in that consultative process.
Regarding firms (and this goes back to, I think,
the question on local firms), the study itself was quite specialised and required expertise from other jurisdictions who already have water regulation. However,
much information had to be given to the consultants to
encompass Bermuda ’s specifics. So, yes, that is the
reason why we looked at a firm outside of Bermuda.
But we did give them much information on Bermuda itself.
Yes, so I think I have answered just about all of
the questions.
For the consul[tation] . . . oh, here we go for I
think the last bit, and I mentioned about the radio. The
consultation process is ongoing, and we will endeavour to gain as much input as possible from all sectors. The
stall at the Ag show was actually a great success and
we will seek to replicate this in the future at other public
events.
Okay, I think I have answered all the questions.
If there is anything . . .

The President: Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader
[in the Senate], you have a question or follow up?

454 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate Sen. Ben Smith: Just a follow up, thank you, Madam
President .
The President: A supplementary —
SUPPLEMENTARY
Sen. Ben Smith: I believe that the answer for my question was that there is some regulation on the cleaning
of tanks and that the focus is on the water from the source. So, the issue is if you put clean water in a dirty tank, you have contaminated the water. If there is regulation on the cleaning of tanks, can we have some insight into the enforcement of that? Specifically children are vulnerable, [they] are drinking water from the tap, usually not going to be at a house that is going to have
the filtration system, and bottled water in Bermuda is
expensive.
So, I am just asking if there has been any specific thought on this. Because if there is some kind of regulation on the tank cleaning, on what needs to hap-pen, it would just be good for the public to know what that is. So thank you.
The President: That is your third question. Thank you.
Oh, Senator Tucker, you have a supplemental?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes.
The President: You can ask your supplemental question.
SUPPLEMENTARY
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to know if the Junior Minister could
tell us, just give us some idea of what jurisdictions that our regulations may potentially be modelled after. She mentioned that other jurisdictions already have water
regulators, processes. I would just be curious to know
what some of those other jurisdictions might be.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam Presi dent.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Okay. With respect to the first
supplemental question, I guess, regulation on the cleaning of tanks. This is something that is being con-sidered; however, currently, enforcement is the respon-sibility of the Department of Health.
Again, the cleaning of the tanks falls under the
remit of the Department of Health. Generally, the water quality is good. But tank sediment is the issue, thus why all tanks are required to be cleaned every five years.
The other question was regarding other jurisdictions. And those jurisdictions include the US, Canada and the UK. The P resident: Senator Ben Smith, y ou hav e a supplementary?
SUPPLEMENTARY
Sen. B en S mith: Y es, s upplementary.
So considering that the remit of the tank cleaning regulation comes under Health, will there be any
synergy moving forward if we are moving toward a potential authority so that the cleaning and the regulation
of that is lined up with having safe water?
The President: Thank you. That is your sec ond supplementary.
Senator Tucker, you have [another] question.
You may proceed.
QUESTION 2: SUSTAINABLE WATER
MANAGEMENT F OR BERMUDA’S F UTURE
Sen. R obin T ucker: Thank y ou, M adam President.
I am just curious to know, and again I just want
to thank the Junior Minister for responding to my questions. I would just be curious to know the cost paid to
the consultants to provide these studies.
Thank y ou, Madam P resident.
The P resident: T hank y ou, S enator T ucker.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Senator Smith mentioned, I
guess, about the synergy. This is being considered.
However, we are still in the consultation period, and we
do not want to pre- empt any of that process. But this is
being considered.
As far as the cost of the consultant, we will endeavour to get that information. At this time it is unavailable but we will get it.
The P resident: Senator T ucker.
Sen. R obin T ucker: Thank y ou, M adam President.
I am thankful to the Junior Minister for her undertaking to provide the information. I just wanted to
know if she can give us an idea of when we can expect
to receive it. Should we expect [it at] the next meeting,
or a subsequent meeting? Thank you.
The P resident: T hank y ou, S enator T ucker .
Sen. L eslie R obinson: We will en deavour t o get i t as
soon as we can, Ma dam President.
The P resident: T hank y ou, S enator R obinson.
That c oncludes t he questions on t he second
Statement.
We will move on to the third Statement. But before we do, I would just like to acknowledge [gentlemen]
in the Chamber. . . .


Bermuda Senate ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: These gentlemen are from the Bermuda Monetary Authority. We have Ifor Hughes, we
have Marcello Ramella, and we have Christos Efthym-iopoulos .
Welcome to you gentlemen.
[Question Period, continuing]

The President: We are now moving on to our third
Statement. And it is also in the name of Senator Leslie Robinson, the Junior Minister for Economy and Labour
and Public Works.
Would any Senator care to ask questions?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA’S FOURTH QUARTER
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

Thank you, Madam President. And th ank you to the Junior Minister for this important information.
I was pleased to see some green shoots; however, I just needed to note that we have quite a lot of
work to catch up, especially when we compare it with
other economies around the world. You know, while we
have had some recent growth, which is great to see, I note that between . . . and I think the right way to look
at this, Madam President, is to go back to before COVID -19. Because that would be what I would call our
steady state. The United St ates had 5- plus per cent in
GDP. The Euro area had 2.3- plus per cent. And the
OECD had 4.0- plus per cent, whereas we are still at
only 1.0 per cent increase from prior to COVID -19. So
I am glad to see the increases, but much more needs to be done.
I sort of interpret some of those statistics as a
decrease in business confidence. When I see reduced
capital formation, reduced investment, so that is the
context to get to my question, Madam President.
You know, we currently have this Economic
Recovery Plan and I think that as I have discussed of-ten in the Senate, Madam President, this plan has not
worked. It has not done the job for Bermuda. And that
is reflected in those statistics I just noted for the Senate
and those listening. I was glad to see that the G overnment is considering a new economic development
strategy.
So, let me get to my question which is, What
have we learned from the prior Economic Recovery Plan and how are we going to do things differently to
get the results that we need for this countr y, Madam
President?
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto. Would any other Senator care to ask questions
on this Statement?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA’S FOURTH QUARTER
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
In reference to the fourth quarter balance of
payments reduction of $45 million year -on-year, those
reference to . . . the reasons being decreases in the
business services account and the transportation account bal ances . . . I am not sure I fully understand what
is included in those two accounts. So if the Junior Minister could just provide some, or elaborate a bit further
on what is included in those accounts, this would be
much appreciated.
Thank you, Madam Pres ident.

The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Senator Tucker, I believe you indicated you
would like to ask questions. You have the floor.

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA’S FOURTH QUARTER
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
My question is in relation to the part of the
Statement on page 3, the second paragraph where it
speaks about lower expenditure on equipment rentals
and salaries. I am just curious to know what accounts
for the decrease in salaries and if that equates to a decrease in positions or is that as a result of more contract
workers?
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Senator Ben Smith, do you want to pose questions?

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA’S FOURTH QUARTER
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, my first question is, it is
noted a couple of times on page 2 that there is an adjustment for inflation. I am wondering if the Junior Minister can tell us what inflation rate was used.

QUESTION 2: BERMUDA’S FOURTH QUARTER
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

Sen. Ben Smith: And also, if it would be possible for
us to have the comparison with 2019 which was preCOVID -19 so that we have a real indication of the
health of the economy?
Thank you.

456 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith for your
two questions.
We will await a response.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, I am just
conferring with my technical persons.

The President: Yes, Senator Robinson, when you are
ready you can respond.

[Pause]

Sen. Leslie Robinson: May I just . . . I just want to
make sure I have got all the questions here. The first
one was about what did we learn. And we will get answers.

The President: Senator De Couto.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Senator De Couto, can you repeat your specific question again, please?

Yes, thank you, Madam
President and thank you Junior Minister.
Given that we have done the Economic Recovery Plan and then now we are going to go into a new
plan, what have we learned through carrying out the
Economic Recovery Plan and what will we do differ-ently in the new plan?
Thank you.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: I will have to get an answer to
you on that one so that we can be as comprehensive
as possible.
The next one was about why did the balance of
payments . . . Madam President, I think I am going to
have to . . . because these questions . . . these are not
surface questions and [they] require more in- depth answers. I think I am going to have to come back with the
specific answers.
The second one was about balance of payments and why this has gone down. I think —
The President: That was from Senator John Wight.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: [Senator] John Wight.

Sen. John Wight: Yes, Junior Minister, it was just a
question on if you could elaborate on what is included in the business services account and the transportation accounts. Because that is the reference for the decrease in these —

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Yes.
Sen. John Wight: —from year -to-year of roughly $64
million.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: I will get back to you with that
answer.
I think the other one was just to talk about the
adjustments for inflation (I believe) pre- 2019.
Yes, Madam President, we will have to come
back with all of the answers.

The President: Senator Ben Smith, you have . . .
Sen. Ben Smith: Madam President, I just have a question concerning the statement that was made this morning. We have asked the questions; the ans wers are not
available. Will these answers be given in an oral way
so that the public is made aware of the answers? I understand that it is going to take a little longer to get
them, but the Statement was brought today with the
idea that if we asked the questions they would be an-swered. So, I just want to make sure that this process
happens the way it is supposed to happen, Madam
President.
The President: Thank you, [Senator] Ben Smith.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Yes, it will. Yes.

[Pause]

The President: Senator Robinson, are you anticipating
that all of the questions will be answered at a later time?
You don’t have any responses at the moment?

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Correct. I don’t have any responses at the moment; but we will ensure that they get
answered correctly and as in- depth as possible at a
later time.

The President: With that said then we will accept that
as a response and anticipate that the responses will be given probably . . . if it is going to be done orally, will it
be done at our next meet ing since it has been requested that [the responses] be in this forum?
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Yes, we will endeavour to get
the answers for the next meeting.
The President: Thank you, very much, Senator Robinson. And thank you Senators for your questions on that
third Statement.
We will now move on to the fourth Statement
which is also in the name of Senator Robinson and that is the Expansion of Summer Employment Programme.
Would any Senator care to ask questions on
this Statement?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: EXPANSION OF SUMMER
EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.


Bermuda Senate First, again, I will start by saying thank you to
the Junior Minister for bringing this Statement.
I just want to start by saying that I think that it
is great that the Government has the ability to be able
to expand the summer employment programmes. I think they are very beneficial.
My question is very simple. I just wanted to
know if . . . when the students are placed, are there follow ups with the employers and feedback sessions with
the students following their placement? The reason being is because obviously it is quite helpful to get the employer’s perspective on how the student has performed as well as getting an understanding from the
student as to what they have learned and that they can
perhaps take with them, you know, from the experience. So I would just like to know if any type of assessment is done on either end following the students’
placement.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions
on this fourth Statement.
Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader [in the
Senate] , you have the floor.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to also thank the Junior Minister for
bringing this forward, giving more opportunities for experience for our young people is a very important task
to have happen, knowing that in order for them to get full-time employment when they return from university,
they will need to have some experience under their belt. I have a couple of questions.
QUESTION 1: EXPANSION OF SUMMER
EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES

Sen. Ben Smith: The first one: The Junior Minister
spoke to in her Statement that there is both government
and private sector that would be involved in providing
these job opportunities. From last year there were 80
students in the college university programme. Would
the Junior Minister be able to give us the numbers that were employed under private [sector] and the numbers
of the students who were employed under government?

QUESTION 2: EXPANSION OF SUMMER
EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES

Sen. Ben Smith: Following on from that, my second
question is, Can the Junior Minister give us some details around the kinds of jobs that were available, the
kind of experience that they gave? [I ask] because I
think it would be important even for the public to hear what these experiences are.
QUESTION 3: EXPA NSION OF SUMMER
EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES
Sen. Ben Smith: My third point, there is a weekly stipend of $600 that the Junior Minister mentioned in the
Statement, Could the Junior Minister please let us
know what weekly hours are expected for the $600 stipend? I just think it would be good for us to also have
that information.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith for your
three questions.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Statement, or ask questions?
Hearing none, then we will await a response
from Senator Robinson.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Regarding the first question
about assessments, the students are actually assessed
on a weekly basis in order for them to actually receive
their pay. They actually have a session with their line
manager at the end of each week to go over certain skill
sets, values, et cetera, just regarding how they are. So it could be things like: Are you dependable, reliable, et
cetera? And you are graded, so the idea is that the student would have a . . . you know, their grades from the
beginning and then each week they can see how well they are actually progressing. So there is constant assessment and it [continues] on a weekly basis.
I will have to defer and get back to the question
regarding numbers of private versus numbers of government jobs. So I will have to get back to you with that information.
Regarding the kinds of jobs students are
placed in, when it comes to various government depart-ments, they are placed and they will do administrative
work and assist technical officers, et cetera, with administrative work. That could be anything from things like filing, things like inputting certain information into
the computer system. It could be doing certain receptionist work. So there are a variety of administrativetype jobs.
With regard to the . . . even with some of the
private sector, it is similar. So for example, there might be some at some of the mobile companies, so they may
be the persons who meet and greet persons as they
come in the door and show customers to exactly where
they hav e to go for their related question or need. So it
does vary. Some are customer facing and some are
administrative in nature.
And as far as the number of hours, it is six
hours plus their lunch, which is one hour.

The President: Senator Robin Tucker, you have a supplemental?

SUPPLEMENTARY

458 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate Sen. Robin Tucker: I do. I would just like to ask if the
Junior Minister can also . . . I thank her for her responses. And she responded as it relates t o ass essment with the students. But I did also ask if there were
feedback sessions from employers as well. So if she
can answer that. And if I can just add my extra bits before . . .
The President: Is it a supplemental or a third question?
Sen. Robin Tucker: [Nex t] question, please.
The President: M m-hmm.
QUESTION 2: EXPANSION OF SUMMER
EMPLOYMENT PR OGRAMMES
Sen. Robin Tucker: I would like to know, because she
did mention that the students are assessed on a weekly
basis to receive their pay. So I am just wondering what
the success rate (I guess) would be? Just in terms of
the students . . . what happens to the students who do
not meet requirements? Is there sort of a rehabilitation?
Is there a sort of exit strategy? How does that work?
That would be helpful to know.
Thank y ou, Madam P resident.
The P resident: T hank y ou, S enator T ucker.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: With respect to the second
question (I think). [Regarding] students, there is constant feedback. I think the goal is to make sure that
there is a win- win experience for both the student and
the employer. And so the whole idea of the, I guess the
weekly se ssions, is to ensure that at the end of the day
there are great outcomes for everyone. Everyone involved, both sides.
With respect to any issues, I think if there is a
general feeling on both sides that things are not worked
out, I mean, the student can leave. I will say that I don’t
know of any situations where a student has been asked
to leave. But as I said, the whole idea is about a winwin situation. And I think, really, through the application
process with the Department of Workforce Development, as they go through r ésumé s, they look to try to
place persons in the roles that they think that persons
would be keen in doing, based on their r ésumé, based
on their education qualifications, et cetera, at the time.
So the chances for things not to necessarily work out
also become reduced as a result of the fact that there
is a lot of upfront review before students are actually
placed so that they can be placed most appropriately,
as I said, so that there can be the win- win situation.
There was a question, you mentioned about
the feedback . . . maybe, Madam President, if Senator
Tucker could just state again, or restate that question.
I just want to make sure I understand. Feedback from
employers to whom? The President: Senator Tucker, you want to restate
your question?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, thank you, Madam President.
So to provide a little bit of clarity for the Junior
Minister, . . . Workforce Development are reaching out
to employers to see if they can have some arrangement
to have a student come and work in their environments. So what I am wondering is whether the Department of Workforce Development actually does a debrief or a follow -up session with the employers to find out what
their experience has been.
Thank you, Madam President.
The Presiden t: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Yes, absolutely, debriefs are
done, in particular, because the Government is grateful to private sectors for being able to participate in the pro-gramme. So of course, and as I said in the ending of my St atement, we are encouraging more, particularly
from the private sector, to be a part of. So it is important
that we do get that feedback and so I can say that
Workforce Development does have debriefing ses-sions, is in contact throughout the year with employers, potential employers, et cetera. Because, again, the more we can have participate that means that there is more available for students and there are more students who can actually apply. So, yes, those debriefing
sessions are very important and they do take place.
The President: Senator Tucker, you have your second
supplementary.
SUPPLEMENTARY
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, thank you.
I would actually just like to know, simply because the Junior Minister mentioned that the students
have weekly feedback, how often the Department of
Workforce Development is in contact with the employer when the student is engaged with them.
Thank you, Madam President.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Workforce Development is in
constant contact with the employers. Whether it is the time period of the students being there and/or whether
or not it is later on after the programme has been com-pleted for the summer. And additionally, at the end of the day, it is Government that pays the pay cheque and so the student . . . Workforce Development is going to
be apprised of those weekly conversations with the . . .
that the employer has with the student.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
I think those are all the questions that have
been posed and responded to.
And thank you, all Senators.


Bermuda Senate We will now move on.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

The President: The first Order of the Day is the second
reading of the Digital Asset Business Amendment Act
2023. And this is in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister for Finance.

STANDING ORDER 25

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like to request that
the provisions of Standing Order 25 be granted so that
I can proceed with the second reading of the Digital As-set Business Amendment Act 2023 and then followed
by the Insurance Amendment Act 2023.

The Presiden t: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senator Hodgson.

[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Digital Asset
Business Amendment Act 2023 and the Insurance
Amendment Act 2023 to be read a second time on the same day as their fi rst reading.]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Digital Asset
Business Amendment Act 2023 be now read a second time.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senat or Hodgson.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.

BILL

SECOND READING

DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESS
AMENDMENT ACT 2023
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: I am pleased to present the
Bill entitled the Digital Asset Business Amendment Act
2023 to the Senate. The purpose of the Bill is to amend
the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 to provide for the
following:
• to provide a framework for a consolidated exemptions regime;
• to provide that rules be made in relation to
cyber risk instead of cybersecurity; • to include the new digital asset business activities of digital asset lending or digit al asset repurchase transactions, service provider as activities for which the Bermuda Monetary Authority may grant a licence; and
• to clarify that the supervisory powers imposed
by the Authority include power to impose and
vary conditions of the grant of a licence.
Madam President, additional amendments wi ll
also be made to other provisions of the Act to address
reporting requirements, record- keeping and publication
of information on the Authority’s website.
Madam President, Bermuda’s financial services sector is subject to the regulation and supervision
of the [Bermuda Monetary] Authority. The Authority
was established in 1969 under the Bermuda Monetary
Authority Act 1969, and the Act provides the Authority
with the substantive licensing, supervision and intervention powers to, inter alia, regulate the digital asset
business sector in Bermuda.
Madam President, the licensing and supervisory process is prescribed by law and supplemented by
subsidiary legislation and guidance notes. These detail
the classes of licence based on the nature of business and related risk, reporting requirements, statutory financial statement filings and vetting of controller shareholders amongst other aspects.
Madam President, the Authority is authorised
to act as advisor to the Minister of Finance on policy matters related to any financial institution. Accordingly,
the Authority proposes laws where it can do so appropriately and consistently with its functions under the
Bermuda Monetary [Authority] Act 1969. And it can also
respond to an invitation to do so from international standard- setting bodies as well as other countries.
Madam President, the Senate should be aware
that the Authority actively engages with its international regulatory peers, ensuring that it remains abreast of international developments and best practices. One such
example of international engageme nt and collaboration
is the Authority joining the Global Financial Innovation Network [GFIN] in January 2019. The Global Financial
Innovation Network is a group of regulators committed
to advancing financial integrity, consumer well -being
and protection, f inancial inclusion, and financial stability
through innovation in financial services. It is comprised of 10 coordination group members (including the Authority); 66 regular members; and nine observers.
Madam President, the Act sets down a supervisory fra mework for the oversight of digital asset business providers. Unless exempted under the Act, before
engaging in digital asset business a person must submit an application to the Authority and obtain either a
Full digital asset licence (Class F), a Modified licence
(Class M), or a Test licence (Class T). The Senate is
advised that there are currently 10 Class F licence undertakings, six Class M licence undertakings, and four
Class T licence undertakings registered with the Au-thority.
460 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam President, the digital asset ecosystem
in Bermuda has significantly expanded since the enactment of the [original] Digital Asset Business Act back in
2018. It should also be emphasised that Bermuda
keeps attracting global players in the digital asset sector in the likes o f Coinbase and Cash App . All of these
are a testament to the robustness of the jurisdiction’s
digital asset framework.
Madam President, digital asset lending and repurchased transactions have grown significantly over
the last few years. This market, regul ated in the appropriate manner, can provide increased market liquidity,
flexibility and funding as well as trading efficiencies.
Madam President, digital asset lending is facilitated through intermediaries who connect borrowers
and lenders of digital asse ts. They facilitate loans by
matching borrowers’ demands with lenders supplies.
Borrowers typically use these loans for making markets, margin trading, short -selling, or other purposes,
while lenders earn a yield or return on their digital assets.
Madam President, the importance of regulations in maintaining stability for digital asset lending and
repurchase transactions cannot be overstated. And as
such, licensed persons will be required to adhere to the Act.
It is noted that these activities already f all within
the legislative and regulatory perimeter of the Act as the digital asset services vendor activity captures any
type of intermediation in relation to digital assets thus
including lending and repurchased transactions. And therefore entities conducting such activities already require a licence. This notwithstanding, by incorporating
a specific classification for these activities within the framework of the Act, the Authority will be better
equipped to establish bespoke guidelines. Further-more, this approach ensures a clear regulatory environment for all stakeholders involved. Entities licensed to
perform this activity will also be subject to frequent inspections by the Authority and will have an array of prudential conduct and anti-money laundering, antiterrorist
financing obligations to fulfil.
Madam President, the Senate would be aware
that the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, sets
down additional risk assessments and risk management requirements related to new technologies and
other matters . Recommendation 15 of the FATF standards, which is also applicable to designated non- financial businesses and professions by virtue of Recommendation 22, requires countries and financial institu-tions to identify and assess the money laundering or
terroris t [financing] risks that may arise in relation to the
following:
• the development of new products and new business practices including new delivery
mechanisms; and
• the use of new or developing technologies for
both new and pre- existing products. Madam President, in the case of financial institutions, FATF requires that such a risk assessment should take place prior to the launch of the new products, business practices or use of new or developing
technologies. They are also required to take appropr iate measures to manage or mitigate the risk.
Madam President, in furtherance of the aforementioned, the Senate is advised that a copy of the Au-thority’s anti -money laundering risk assessment has
been provided to the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the Ministry’s policy development process. Given
the fact that the proposal modifies an existing framework which has previously been subject to a comprehensive risk assessment, the Ministry of Finance is satisfied with the Authority’s assessment that no additional
risk arises in connection with this proposal.
Madam President, the digital asset sector, including cryptocurrencies and other blockchain- based
assets have grown significantly in recent years , fuelled
by increasing adoption and interest from both retail and
institutional investors. While this growth has not been
without its challenges, such as regulatory uncertainties
and market volatility, Bermuda has been able to establish itself as a credible [international] hub for digital asset businesses.
Madam President, by way of background, it
was determined from the outset that Bermuda would develop and implement a regulatory framework for the
digital asset sector, even before the Financial Action
Task Force or other standard- setting bodies had established any requirements in that regard. Over time Bermuda has taken active steps to review and update the
regulatory requirements as part of its work to ensure that its supervision is robust and appropriately addresses identified risks. Through this process Bermuda
is now favourably regarded as a jurisdiction with a
demonstrated commitment to developing this sector in a prudent and considered manner.
Madam President, it is crucial to acknowledge
the significance of appropriate regulation in the digital
asset industry, especially given recent events such as
FTX’s collapse. These events emphasise the need for
stability, which is increasingly sought after by consumers, investors and businesses.
Madam President, it should be stressed once
again that the incorporation of a specific classification
within the framework of the Act for a person engaging
in digital asset lending and repurchased transactions
will both provide greater legal and regulatory certainly for all stakeholders involved and better equip the Authority to establish bespoke guidelines for these types
of activities. This will allow Bermuda to embrace opportunities, balanced by robust regulation.
Madam President, a consultation paper, together with the draft Bill was published on the Authority’s web site, www.bma.bm from November 2021
through January 2022.
Madam President, we welcome the finalisation
of the Bill. In all this process the Authority, together with


Bermuda Senate the Ministry, has displayed a strong commitment to
transparency as to the standards that are expected and
the requirements that are imposed on the financial services sector.
Madam President, as per the Authority’s normal custom and practice, the Senate is advised that
these amendments appropriately take into the account
the feedback produced by various industry stakeholders. And I would like to thank all of those persons within the Authority, the Attorney General’s Chambers, the
Ministry of Finance and the private sector who have all assisted with the development of this Bill which once
again reflects our commitment to a strong and robust
regulation of this sector.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
Junior Minister for Finance.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you hav e the floor.

Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Senator Hodgson.
We are pleased to see this Bill. Regarding the
digital asset business in general, we are broadly but cautiously supportive. We are very keen to see legisl ation that brings additional powers and tools to the BMA. Some of the things that were mentioned in this Bill that I was pleased to see [were] about the ability to create
conditions on the licences, from reporting requirements, talking about cyber risk ins tead of cybersecurity.
I mean, if that is a little bit technical, but it means that
they will be more focused on the outcomes that happen
to these companies and their clients or customers as opposed to what they do. So I was definitely pleased to
see that because with these crypto assets, things like
hacking or loss of the data are incredibly impactful, so these need to be protected against.
I still . . . I am still worried, Madam President. I
am still worried. We have heard from the Junior Minister, Bermuda keeps attracting global players and Bermuda is an incredible hub for digital business. And I am
struggling in my mind to separate the broader concept
of FinTech, which I think could be a good match for Ber-muda, and what I consider to be a bubble around these
digital assets that is mostly fuelled by speculation. And
so when we hear that Bermuda is favourably regarded,
I guess my question on that is, by who?
So we think about the BMA, and we think about
the insurance industry, and I spoke about this last
week, but I will repeat it because I think it is important.
We are favourably regarded, not because we offer
something that people can’t get somewhere, but because we offer the same thing but in fact at an even
higher quality and you know some of the names that
have been mentioned, Coinbase, for example, and I am not prejudging their business model, but I do know that
they are embroiled in a controversy with the SCC, a
major regulator in the United States. So while I welcome them here, and hope that
their business is successful here, I sort of have to ask
myself, What are they doing that has upset the SCC?
What would the BMA’s view be on that? Is the SCC
concerned about something to protect consumers that we don’t really cover through our regulations, because
it is a different kind of business than, say, the insurance
business which we have been operating in for several
decades and are well -respected for?
It is important that we do not allow anything to
happen that would taint the credibility of the BMA. Y ou
know, I view the BMA and our regulatory regime as sort
of a major important leg of the tripod of Bermuda’s success. And just to kind of put some specific numbers
around that, I think I have got my numbers right, about
a quarter of the Bermuda Government ’s revenue
comes from payroll tax through international business.
And this would primarily be the insurance businesses.
[There are] other businesses that are regulated through
the BMA. So that just gives you a flavour of how important this is.
So another thing I noticed is that . . . in fact, just
yesterday there was a major report that came out on
Reuters , the bastion of business journalism, about Binance, one of these global players. Now I don’t believe
Binance is coming to Bermuda, although in the past
they have been widely promoted as coming to Bermuda but that did not pan out like many of the things
that were previously widely promoted by the Premier.
And this report is quite lengthy and I would urge everybody to take a look at it because it outlines some of the
issues. And it shows that this firm was regularly
comingling funds between its clients’ money and its own business money, and we know that is pretty much
a no- no when it comes to operating a business in the
interests of the client.
Now, we mi ght say that the Bermuda legislation that the BMA offers would not permit that. And that,
you know, is fine. The question is, Do we have the right
tools, the right resources to handle what I would call a
truly bad actor who would sign up to say they were f ollowing all the rules and regulations but were just sort of
interested in making a buck on the bubble of speculation that is going along the crypto things there.
So, I am glad to see this legislation. I am glad
to see all of the additional tools provided to the BMA. I
am not, in my opinion, 100 per cent convinced we have
the resources to handle some of these bad actors that
I see out there today. And I think we want to keep an ever-vigilant eye and not let our enthusiasm get ahead
of the reality of the s ituation here.
So I just want to thank the Junior Minister for
bringing this legislation that we do support.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
462 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I fully support this amendment Act 2023. I view
this as being more housekeeping to keep in line with
the fast -moving business world than anything else. I
have great confidence in the BMA to continue to do
what’s right for Bermuda for the business of Bermuda.
It is an extremely well -run independent authority and so
I support the amendment Act that is being put through.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
We aw ait the Junior Minister. She is conferring
with the Bermuda Monetary Authority team, headed by
Ifor Hughes. And she will respond when she has a moment.
[Pause]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Amongst the commentary, one of the first
questions that Senator De Couto asked was about who
favourably regards the work that we are doing here in
the digital asset space. And I can say that generally,
global industry, obviously, looks at us favourably. Bu t
there are also a number of regulatory systems who
have in many instances actually modelled the regime
that currently exists with the BMA, who actually look fa-vourably upon the relationship that exists between industry, the regulator, and the Government.
Then when we look at the comments between
the SCC, I think it is worth noting that when we look at
the SCC, they actually regulate via enforcement. And
that is definitely unlike the BMA who actually look at prevention as opposed to cure. So I guess to compare
the two would be inappropriate in this stance. When we look at stakeholders who are coming
to Bermuda, they are looking for certainty which is offered by the BMA. I hope this satisfies Senator De
Couto’s questions. But I also thank him for his forwar d
support in general. And I thank Senator Wight as well for his support.
The President: Thank you. With that, you can move
your Bill.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, I will definitely move
along, Madam President. I move that the Bill entitled
the Digital Ass et Business Amendment Act 2023 be
now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 2 6

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President. I move that Standing Order 26 be suspended i n
respect of this Bill. The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Digital Asset
Business Amendment Act 2023 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING

DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESS
AMENDMENT ACT 2023

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
the Digital Asset Business Amendment Act 2023 do
now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Digital Asset Busi ness Amendment Act 2023 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, very much, Senator Arianna Hodgson and other Senators who have supported
it.
Moving on now to the second Order of the Day
and that is the Insurance Amendment Act 2023 a nd that
is also in the name of the Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister for Finance. You have the floor.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Insurance
Amendment Act 2023 be now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

INSURANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2023



Bermuda Senate Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I am pleased to present the Bill entitled the Insurance Amendment Act 2023. The purpose of this Bill
is to amend the Insurance Act 1978 to provide for the
following:
• to amend the Act to grant the Authority a power
to make rules for recovery planning for the
commercial insurance sector representing
those insurers registered in Classes 3A, 3B, 4,
C, D, and E whose nature, scale and complexity leaves them to pose greater risk to policyholders, the insurance sector and the financial
system as a whole;
• to amend the Act to provide for the manner in
which the Authority may designate which Member of an internationally active insurance group
shall be its head.
Madam President , Bermuda’s financial sector
is subject to the regulation and supervision of the Bermuda Monetary Authority which has a well -deserved
reputation as a strong and effective regulator. This
Government recognises that a key strength of Bermuda’s reputation as a quality jurisdiction to conduct
quality business is its robust regulatory regime. In
keeping with that, the Authority in conjunction with the
Ministry of Finance, continually reviews, amends, and
updates its legislative framework as appropriate to ensure protection of consumers and other relevant stakeholders, to address financial stability matters, and to
promote compliance with international standards. This
Bill is yet another fine example of the positive work being done in that area.
Madam President, the Authority was established in 1969 under the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969. The Insurance Act 1978 provides the Authority with substantive licensing supervision and intervention powers to regulate the insurance industry in Bermuda. Madam President , the licensing and supervision
process is prescribed by law and supplemented by subsidiary legislation and guidance notes. These detail the classes of licence based on the nature of the business
and related risk, reporting requirements, statutory financial statement filings, and vetting cont rolling shareholders , amongst other aspects.
Madam President, the Authority is authorised
to act as an advisor to the Minister of Finance on policy
matters related to any financial institution. Accordingly,
the Author ity proposes laws, where it can do so, appropriately and consistently with its function under the Ber-muda Monetary Act 1969. It can also respond to an invitation to do so from international standard- setting
bodies as well as from other countries.
Madam P resident, you would be aware that the
Authority is a long- standing member of the International
Association of Insurance Supervisors. Presently, the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority serves as a
member of the IAIS Executive Committee while other senior members of the Authority serve as Chairs and are Vice Chairs of several subcommittees. More re-cently the Authority has been actively engaged in discussions and development of the recovery and resolution standards for the insurance sector as a member of the IAIS Resolution Working Group [ ReWG ].
Madam President, by way of background, the
Senate is advised that the IAIS is a voluntary member-ship organisation of insurance supervisors and regula-tors from around the globe. Established in 1994, the
IAIS is the primary international standard- setting body
responsible for developing and assisting in the implementation of supervisory material for insurance supervision.
Madam President, the mission of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors is to promote effective and globally consistent supervision of
the insurance market for the benefit of and protection
of policyholders and to contribute to global financial stability. The International Association of Insurance Supervisors has issued insurance core principles [ICPs] as a
globally accepted framework for insurance supervision.
Madam President, the common framework for supervision of internationally active insurance groups was incorporated into the insurance core principles [ICPs]
with effect from November 2019.
Madam President, the ICPs set out a globally
accepted framework for insurance supervision while
ComFrame is designed to address group- wide risks
and reduce supervisory gaps by coordinating the activities of and exchange of information by different regulators of companies within an internationally active insurance group.
Madam President, the IAIS has comprehensively revised the ICP 16.15 which sets standards for
supervisory requirements in relation to recovery planning. ICP 16.15.1 further specif ies that a supervisor
may require an insurer to produce a recovery plan that
identifies in advance options to restore the financial position and viability if the insurer comes under severe
stress.
Madam President, the recovery planning
framework is intended to achieve the following objectives:
• to aid the relevant insurer in understanding its
own risks from severe stress scenarios; and
• to help strengthen Bermuda’s insurance regulatory framework by ensuring that the relevant
insurer has a plan to act in an orderly and
timely manner when dealing with the situation
where an insurer is under severe stress.
Madam President, in support of the above, it is
proposed to amend the Act to grant the Authority a power to make rules for recovery planning for the co mmercial insurance sector, covering those insurers registered in Classes 3A, 3B, 4, C, D and E due to their nature, scale and complexity. The recovery planning
framework will be applied to those registrants using the
Authority’s risk -based approach to supervision to pro464 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate vide additional protections for policyholders and Bermuda’s insurance sector. The relevant insurers will be
required to maintain electronic copies and keep hard
copies of the recovery plans at their head offices in Bermuda. The requirements of the recovery plan shall be prescribed by the Authority in prudential or technical
rules.
The Authority has advised the Ministry that
rules be drafted in the near future, taking into consideration any feedback received from consultation related
to the Bi ll. As per the Authority’s normal custom and
practice, the rules will also be subject to public consultation.
Madam President, ICP 23 covers matters related to group- wide supervision. ICP 23 provides that
group- wide supervisors, in cooperation and coordination with other involved supervisors, are required to
identify an insurance group and determine the scope of
insurance group supervision. The Senate will recall that
the Act was amended in 2021 to provide a framework
for internationally active insurance groups accordingly.
Madam President, in addition to the above, ICP
23 provides that involved supervisors should seek
agreement amongst themselves on the head of an internationally active insurance group. ComFrame 23 requires group- wide supervisors to identify the head of an
IAIG on a control - and risk -basis as follows:
• the legal entity which controls all of the insurance legal entities within the group; and
• the non- insurance legal entities which pose
risk to the insurance operations.
Madam President, consideration of these factors will be made on a case -by-case basis by considering the IAIG structure, in particular where there may be
different entities exerting shareholder and operational
control to ensure that the entity designated will allow
the Authority to exercise its supervisory powers most effectively.
Madam President, in support of the aforementioned it is proposed to amend the Act to provide for the manner in which the Authority may designate which member of an IAIG shall be its head. Once the Authority
has made a determination, the Authority will be required to notify the relevant member of the IAIG of its intention to make such designation. The Authority will
also be required to take written representation from the
member into account when making its final determination.
Madam President, such a designation will allow the Authority to exercise its supervisory powers
over the IAIG most effectively. The Senate is advised
that the Authority is not currently the group supervisor
of any IAIG. However, the ComFrame requirements for
the internationally active insurance groups are being integrated into Bermuda’s insurance supervisory frame-work as it will allow the Authority to take on such a role
in the future if circumstances warrant it. Madam President, in accordance with the Authority’s normal custom and practice, the relevant consultation papers and stakeholder response letters were
published on the Authority’s website www.bma.bm as
follows:
• Recovery planning. The consultation paper
proposed the introduction of a recovery planning regime for the insurance sector , dated
June 2022.
• Stakeholder response letter. The recovery
planning regime for the insurance sector . This
was actually dated the 11th of October 2022.
And so some time elapsed between then.
• Internationally active insurance groups. The
consultation paper on internationally active insurance groups was dated May 2022. The
stakeholder response letter was actually dated
the 12th of October 2022.
• Guidance. Madam President, the Senate is advised that guidance will be issued later this
month for consultation.
Madam President, in conclusion, I wish to express my sincere thanks to the Authority, the Regulatory Unit within the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of
Legal Affairs, and various insurance stakeholder groups, in particular, the Association of Bermuda Ins urers and Reinsurers [ABIR], the Bermuda International Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers [BILTIR], for their assistance with the development of this Bill.
The strong collaboration that exists in Bermuda
between industry, the Government and the regulator, forged out of a shared commitment to compliance,
quality and transparency, is a key factor that has been
a significant contributor to Bermuda’s success. This Government will certainly continue its work to ensure
that our economy continues to strengthen and grow to
create a better quality of life for our residents.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
Junior Minister for Finance.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President.
We definitely support this Bill. I think the Junior
Minister outlined it very well and in quite good detail.
My understanding, although I do not have specific numbers, is that this is in fact already a practice carried out
by many companies who are doing it. And I believe the
Central Bank of Ireland also requires this. And that the PRA [ Prudential Regulation Authority ] will soon require
it and that is the regulator in the United Kingdom. So I
am not s urprised to see that we are up there in the forefront of these things. And I want to thank the BMA for
the good job that they do and we reiterate our support
for this Bill. Thank you, Madam President.



Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I am fully supportive of this Bill. I just had one
question. It was not clear to me when reading through the Act whether a company had to be in non- compliance before a recovery plan could be requested by the BMA, or whether the BMA could, under its own authority at any point in time, request this recovery plan of a
company. So that is my one question. But I am fully
supportive of the Act, Madam President. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
We will await a response from Senator Hodgson as she concurs with her BMA team here.
[Pause]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Senator De C outo, as well as Senator Wight.
The short answer is no. They do not have to be
in noncompliance before they go out and ask for the
recovery plan.
And with the support of those Senators I would
like to move that the Bill entitled the Insurance 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. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, 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.]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Insurance
Amendment Act 2023 be now read a third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING
INSURANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2023

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
the Insurance Amendment Act 2023 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Insurance Amendment Act 2023
was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
and all Senators.
We will now move on to the next item on the
agenda and that is on our Orders of the Day. That is consideration of the draft Regulations entitled Government Fees Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2023. And this is also in the name of the Junior Minister Senator
Arianna Hodgson.
You may proceed when you are ready.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that Standing Order 71(2) be suspended so that the Senate may now proceed with consideration of the draft Regulations entitled the Government Fees Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2023, no-tice of which was given earlier in the meeting.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senator Hodgson.

[Motion carried: Standin g Order 71(2) suspended.]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Senate do now take under consideration the draft Regulations entitled the Government Fees Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2023.

DRAFT REGULATIONS

GOVERNMENT FEES A MENDMENT (NO. 2)
REGULATIONS 2023
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, today I
present the Government Fees Amendment (No. 2)
Regulations 2023. These amendments pertain to Head
6 of the Government Fees Regulations 1976 and represent fee rates pertaining to the alien land licence process.
466 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam President, Part VI of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 outlines the alien
land licence process. This process requires (1) a restricted person to have a licence to hold or acquire land in Bermuda and prevents them from appropriating it; (2) obtain a licence to hold or acquire land in Bermuda
for the benefit of restricted persons; and (3) prevents
corporations from acquiring or holding land in Bermuda unless they do so in accordance with Part VI of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956.
Madam President, in the 2022/23 budget year,
the alien land licence process received over 120 applications, pursuant to Part VI of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956. These applications included land licence applications, permission to let applications, deferral certificate applications and applications under section 80 of the Act. These applications
resulted in a total revenue of over $280,000.
Madam President, the Government Fees
Amendment Regulations 2023 were recently approved by this House as part of the 2023 budget legislation. The alien land licence fees were inadvertently omitted
from the amendment regulations under Head 6 of the
Schedule.
Madam President, to ensure that the alien land
licence process continues to operate efficiently and effectively, this amendment regulation will correct the
Schedule to the G overnment Fees Regulations 1976 to
include the missing fees under Head 6. The fees will be
reinserted into the Government Fees Regulations 1976
with no change.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President.
We support this and are glad to see the fee issue taken care of. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I am fully supportive of this Bill. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Over to you Senator Hodgson. You have full
support.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Again, thank you all for your support.
I would like to move that the said draft Regulations be approved and that the following message be
sent to Her Excellency the Gover nor:
“May it please Your Excellency: “The Senate, having had under consideration
the draft Regulations entitled the Government Fees
Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2023, proposed to be
made by the Minister of Finance under the provisions
of section 2 of the Government Fees Act 1965, has the
honour to inform Your Excellency that the Senate has
approved the said draft Regulations.”

The President: Thank you, Senator.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: A suitable message certainly will be
sent. Thank you.

[Motion carried: The Government Fees Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2023 were approved.]

The President: We now move on to the next item on
the agenda and that is consideration of the draft Rules entitled the Rules of the Supreme Court Amendment
Rules 2023. And this is in the name of Senator Reverend Doctor Emily Dill, the Junior Minister for Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform.
Senator Dill, you have the floor.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)

I am pleased to present to this Honourable Senate the Rules of the Supreme Court Amendment Rules 2023, the Amendment
Rules. The Chief Justice in exercise of the power conferred by section 62 of the Supreme Court Act 1905
makes the amendment Rules. This presentation is
therefore undertaken in collaboration with the Chief


Bermuda Senate Justice and in accordance with his power to make these
Rules.
The amendment Rules amend Order 62 of the
Rules of the Supreme Court 1985 to include a provision
which provides that the Schedule to Order 62 shall ap-ply to scales of cost, fees payable and taxation of all
costs incurred in relation to matters heard in the Supreme Court. In addition, it revokes and replaces the
Schedule to Order 62 which provides for the court fees
payable into the Registry of the Supreme Court.
We are all starkly aware of the need to increase
the Island’s revenue stream to assist in stabilising our
economy . As shared by the Honourable Premier in his
Budget Speech for 2023/24 , I quote, Madam President,
“[A]n assessment has been completed comparing Bermuda court fees to those in other jurisdictions and Bermuda’s fees were found to be considerably lower than competitor jurisdictions.”
He continued on to disclose, and I quote, “As
Bermuda’s international business sector has devel-oped and grown, the number and complexity of court matters have increased significantly. A new scale of
fees, which will impact matters being conducted in the
Magis trates Court, Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal has been developed. It is anticipated that these
changes will yield an additional $750,000.”
We note, Madam President, that this figure is
an estimate of additional revenue projected. These amendment Rules are therefore the first round of
amendments necessary to rectify the existing judicial
revenue stream shortfall.
Madam President, for explanatory purposes, I
underscore that when documents are filed in the Mag-istrates ’ Court, Supreme Court or Court of A ppeal, collectively referred to as “the courts,” litigants are required to pay court fees. These fees are payable to commence a new action or at certain intervals when seeking to continue an action already underway.
Madam President, these amendments are long
overdue. These fees exist in the first instance as indeed
they do in other jurisdictions per the considerable cost
of facilitating the justice system that litigants rely upon
to resolve disputes. Remarkably, there has not been
any increase in any of our domestic court fees in almost
60 years. It should therefore come as no surprise that
research has shown that Bermuda’s current fee schedule for the payment of court fees is manifestly low especially when compared to other British Overseas Territories such as the Cayman Islands.
Madam President, the overall aim of the
amendment Rules is to correct this lagging oversight to ensure the sustainability and quality of our justice system. Sustainability in turn warrants that consideration is
also given to ensuri ng that the new fees accurately represent our present day economy.
Madam President, the Judicial Department
took into consideration many factors, including the anticipated impact [and] access to justice before increasing the rates. Accordingly, consultati on was undertaken with the Registrar for the courts, the Senior Magistrate,
the Chief Justice and the President of the Court of Appeal. In addition, input was sought from stakeholders
such as the Bermuda Bar Association. I reiterate that
these overdue reforms bring the fees outlined in line
with other similar jurisdictions. In particular, the Chief
Justice considers that the fee increases in commercial
cases are reflective of the increased judicial resources
required to deal with these cases on a timely bas is.
Madam President, measures in the amendment Rules will not result in any additional cost to gov-ernment. Rather, the increase in fees will lead to a welcomed significant increase in the overall revenue collected by the courts. It is noteworthy that the new fees,
in some instances, will be significantly higher than what
they were. Again, this speaks not only to current economic reality, but also approximately six decades of successive Governments not having undertaken this
exercise.
Madam President, pl ease permit me to add
noteworthy context and important technical clarification
to these measures. In 2005, there were amendments
to the Rules of the Supreme Court 1985 which repealed
and replaced provisions of Order 62, one of which referred to the Schedul e to Order 62. The 2005 amendment Rules also included the transitional provision by
way of Rule 15, paragraph (4), which says “ Part 1 (Fees
Payable into the Registry of the Supreme Court) of the
Schedule to Order 62” and by doing so reiterated for
the avoi dance of doubt that Part I of the Schedule was
not affected by the 2005 amendments which in turn has
been interpreted as Part 1 being valid.
Therefore, the applicability of Part 1 awkwardly
remained despite the provision referencing the Schedule to Order 62 being omitted. These amendments
therefore make provisions as follows:
1. To remove any lingering doubts as to Part 1, the provisions of these amendment
Rules reinsert into the Rules of the Su-preme Court 1985 language clearly giving
effect to Part 1 of the Schedule for legal
clarity and for public knowledge of the
court fees.
2. To update the title of the Schedule to reflect the [ correct ] reference for the new provision being inserted by the amendments.
Also, to allocate different fees for commercial litigant s, i.e., trade or commerce matters, and non- commercial litigants.
3. To provide generally higher fees for commercial litigants consistent with other juris-dictions. The demarcation takes into consideration not only the means of litigants
but the fact that com mercial litigation often
has a greater financial outcome and is
more demanding upon the justice system.
When the Rules have proceeded through both
Houses of the Legislature the Chief Justice can sign the
468 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Rules. The Rules will have effect once they have bee n
officially published.
A breakdown of total revenue received through
the courts in recent years reveals just how lagging
these reforms are, especially when compared to the cost of justice administration. It is discernible that the
very limited existing r evenue stream is particular ly vulnerable to systemic shocks such as the COVID -19 pandemic which began in early 2020 which undoubtedly
reflected in that year’s notable decrease in revenue collected. Year over year annual revenue collected by the court is as follows:
• in the 2019/20 fiscal year, $177,048;
• in the 2020/21 fiscal year, $17,027;
• in the 2021/22 fiscal year, $12,649;
• in the 2022/23 fiscal year, $24,622.
The amendment Rules seize the opportunity to
rectify this decade’s overdue modernisation of court
fees as well as a noted revenue shortfall. Updating the
court fee schedule as presented in these amendment
Rules will also provide the opportunity for more measured incremental increases as required in the future.
Madam President, these amendment Rules
will support an avenue for the Supreme Court of Bermuda to continue to properly administer justice for the foreseeable future.
I thank the Honourable Chief Justice, the Registrar of the Supreme Court and all public officers and stakeholders who contributed to the implementation of
this milestone. There is little doubt that this increase in
revenue through this and the tranche of court fee re-forms will benefit the entire community.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Emily Dill.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR
The President: Before I open the floor for comment
from the Senators, I would just like to welcome and
acknowledge the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry
for Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform, Ms. Gina
Hurst Maybury. Welcome to you.
[Rules of the Supreme Court Amendment Rules 2023, debate, continuing]

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. And thank you to the Senator for bringing these
Rules to us.
We know that our judicial branch needs more
funding. We know that they need to support the staff that are required. They need the right equipment, whether it be AV or projectors and the kinds of things that are used and how we go about our modern way
doing business even in the court space. They need the
appropriate space to carry out their business. So we
are glad to see that this provides more resources for
them and is another way for the Government to raise
some much- needed funds. And so we do we su pport
these Rules.
We support the commercial versus non- commercial distinction. We think that is important. We do
not want individuals to be unduly burdened. But we do
feel that perhaps there is a lost opportunity. Some of
you may recall that the OBA has in the past, for example, suggested a way of scaling the court fees on these
large commercial cases so that some of these cases ,
which can be from multi -millions or sometimes billions
of dollars . . . frankly, these fees that we are seeing
here wouldn’t ev en register next to a few hours of the
legal fees incurred. So I do think that there is a lost opportunity here that we could have looked to get even
more funds f rom those who were able to pay and
needed our services the most.
So overall support. I wish we had done more.
And perhaps look forward to seeing that in the future, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I support the Bill as presented. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
It is over to you then, Senator Dill, you have full
support.

Thank you, Madam
President and thank you, Senators. And certainly we are pleased with the work that has been done. And as
I noted in the brief, these amendment Rules provide an
opportunity for a more measured, incremented increases as we go forward. So we look forward to continued growth in this area.
With that being said, Madam President, I move
that the said draft Rules be approved and that the following message be sent to her Excellency the Governor:
“May it please Your Excellency:
“The Senate, having had under consideration
the draft Rules entitled the Rules of the Supreme Court
Amendment Rules 2023, in exercise of the power conferred by section 62 of the Supreme Court Act 1905 has
the honour to inform Your Excellency that the Senate has approved the said draft Rules.”
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
And a suitable message will be sent.
Thank you.


Bermuda Senate Moving on then to the next item on the agenda ,
and that is consideration of the following resolution on
the West End Development amalgamation. That is in
the name of Senator Leslie Robinson.
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
And before I present the actual resolution for
consideration, I would just like to read . . . just give a
brief overview of how we actually got to this point,
where we are at this moment.

The President: Yes, please proceed.

MOTION

DISSOLUTION OF THE BERMUDA LAND
DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (BL DC) SO THAT IT
MAY BE AMALGAMATED WITH THE WEST END
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (WEDCO)

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President and Senate
colleagues, for decades now successive Government
administrations have promised to cut costs, streamline
administrative processes and reduce the tax burden on
working class people.
Madam President, we can quote many of our
predecessors’ platitudes in this regard. For example, in
2002 the then Cabinet decided that the Government’s
Central Pol icy Unit should complete a review of 17
quangos which focused on the following objectives.
1. Determine whether Bermuda’s quangos as currently constructed are meeting Government’s aims and if not, recommend methods of
achieving alignment.
2. Determine whether t here is accountability to
the Government and if not, recommend an adequate structure to accomplish this.
3. Develop mechanisms for ongoing review.
The mandate of this initiative, Madam President, covered a review of the establishment and gov-ernance of each body, its existing relevance, feasibility, effectiveness, levels of accountability to government,
expenditure, income, whether the work could be more
efficiently or effectively carried out within government
proper, or by some other means and determine governance and best practice in other jurisdictions in comparison to Bermuda.
Madam President, this hard work by the Central Policy Unit culminated i n the production of the October 2003 report entitled “Untangling Bermuda’s
Quangos: A Review of Quangos in the Bermuda Government” in which it was recommended that there
should be a consolidation of various entities listed in the
report, amongst other thin gs. The then 2003 administration endeavoured to advance this consolidation
recommendation for the purpose of cutting costs,
streamlining administrative processes and reducing the tax burden on working class people. However, for reasons unbeknownst this con solidation never happened.
Madam President, in 2013, a decade after the
last report, expanding in government efficiencies, [the] SAGE Commission was established to perform an
overall review of the Bermuda Government fiscal and
personnel performance. Again, the goal of this was to
make recommendations for cost cutting and streamlin-ing administrative processes. This October 2013 SAGE
[Commission] report also recommended the consolidation of government quangos. Once again, this did not occur.
Madam President , between October 2003 and
July 2017 there have been five administrations under differing leadership, all of whom committed in various
ways to reduce the administrative costs of running the
government. Some may have done better than others; however, all fi ve did not implement the recommendation of the consolidation of quangos.
Therefore, Madam President, upon entering
Government in July 2017, this administration heeded
the advice received in both the October 2003 and 2013
reports and began the initiative t o look at how a possible consolidation of three quangos under the remit of
the Honourable Minister of Public Works can occur.
Leaders of these three quangos, the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC), the Bermuda Land Development
Company (BLDC) and the West En d Development Corporation (WEDCO) then began to meet on a regular basis to discuss the feasibility of such an action.
Arising from this, the Honourable Minister
made the following decisions:
1. In September 2018 a freeze on all new
hires was issued to all three quangos.
2. The CEO and CFO of the BLDC departed
the company.
3. Effective November 2018 the then BHC
General Manager, Major Barrett Dill, assumed management responsibility for the
BLDC as interim CEO, in addition to his responsibilities at the BHC.
4. Effecti ve November 2018 as well, this BHC
CFO, Mr. Mark Melo, assumed financial responsibility for the BLDC, in addition to his responsibilities at BHC.
5. Effective January 2021 the WEDCO general manager assumed responsibility for
BLDC as interim CEO.
Madam President, these changes as detailed
assisted in the formation of a 2022 recommendation to
the Cabinet for the amalgamation of the BLDC and WEDCO into one new entity as these two quangos
share similar objectives, mandates, skills, accounting
procedures and staff levels to which the Cabinet wholeheartedly agreed to the merger. As such, the Honoura-ble Minister of Public Works advised the Honourable
House of Assembly of the Cabinet’s decision in July
2022. If we are counting, Madam President, this is a full
470 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate 19 years since the first merging recommendation was
made and 20 years since the initiative began.
Madam President, in the last 10 months the
team of technical officers led by Andrew Dias in his current capacity as General Manger and CEO of WEDCO and BLDC, respecti vely, have been fervently working
to see this amalgamation come to fruition in line with
the roadmap that has been produced to systematically
get the initiative across the finish line.
But how will this merger actually occur, Madam
President? As the Honour able Minister detailed in his
Statement to the House of Assembly on March 24,
2023, the methodology of this approach will see
amendments made to the West End Development Corporation Act 1982, the dissolution of the BLDC, and repeal of Base Lands Developmen t Act 1996 which incorporated the BLDC as a limited liability company. However, we are not at the point yet in this process. There
is still work to be done.
Madam President, the direction to move to dissolve the company and repeal the Base Lands Developme nt Act 1996 is attributed to legal advice received
that detailed an arduous legislative process if the reverse would occur. As the BLDC is a limited liability
company in accordance with the Bermuda Companies
Act 1981, there is a set dissolution procedure, a precedent set forth in the Companies Act which much be fol-lowed. It is a simple process legal -wise. Once the company transfers its assets and liabilities to WEDCO
when it is dissolved, the Act can be repealed.
Madam President, obviously, as you can tell
this has been an all -encompassing initiative , but please
allow me to go into detail as to what has occurred up to
this point, to date.
1. The Minister of Public Works wisely began
amalgamating the boards of BLDC and WEDCO by ap-pointing some identical members to assist with the tran-sition.
2. The transition team has merged the
WEDCO and BLDC servers and software, initially running all finance and IT systems for both entities from a
single location.
3. There is now a joint marketing and PR strategy waiting f or the new entity.
4. The job description reviews and internal
quality assessments are nearly completed.
5. The respective boards have been discussing
the long- term vision for the new entity which will be finalised once the merge is completed.
6. Overseen by the transition team, the respective entities have entered into re-negotiations for new
identical collective bargaining agreements with union
partners, those being the BIU and BPSU, so when the
merge is complete there will be set agreements already
in place.
Madam President, it should be noted that attributed to this re- negotiation process , and as the Honourable Minister has stated, there are no redundancies
anticipated resulting from this amalgamation. The initial staffing of the new entity will see mi nimal dissipation of
roles, but notes that reductions will occur over time
through natural attrition through retirement. The rationale behind this directive is the benefit of ensuring
that any important institutional knowledge is retained in future operati ons while avoiding severance.
With all of the aforementioned stated, Madam
President, in preparation for the anticipated dissolving of the BLDC, the Minister of Public Works, as a member
of the company, is now seeking permission from the
Legislature to begin dissolution proceedings for the company in accordance with section [ 8](b) of the Base
Lands Development Act 1996.
Section 8(b) of the Act stipulates that unless
authorised by the Legislature a member of the company shall not procure the dissolution of the company
or its amalgamation with any other person or body. Therefore, Madam President, as stated on May 12,
2023, the other place passed a motion to dissolve the
BLDC so that it may be amalgamated with WEDCO.
Madam President, the administration views these
changes as an opportunity which will effect cost savings by reducing duplication of roles, combining responsibili ties, and bringing a sharper focus to deliver on
this Government’s mandate to control costs and operate more efficiently. To prove this initiative is financially
practical, we are anticipating a cost savings of $700,000 in this year alone.
Madam President, I am pleased to say that the
biggest approach to the merger is moving expeditiously. Thanks must be given to the team of technical
officers ably led by Mr. Andrew Dias in his dual role. I
would also like to take this opportunity to thank the BLDC Chairp erson, Ms. Lovitta Foggo, JP, MP, members of the BLDC Board, the WEDCO Chairperson, Mr.
Neville Tyrrell, JP, MP, and the Board of WEDCO for
their continued service during this ongoing initiative.
I now invite other Senators to participate,
Madam President.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson. But before I open the floor to Senators, I would just like to welcome back the Minister of Public Works, [Lieutenant]
Colonel, the Honourable David Burch, in the Gallery. I
do want to highlight and thank you for the work that you
do. I am sure the rest of the Senators join me in this.
But I welcome you, and I also welcome the policy analyst back , Steven Simons.
Welcome to you both.
Now the floor is open, Senator s, for comment.
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

[Motion to dissol ve the Bermuda Land Development
Company, continuing]



Bermuda Senate Sen. Dr. Douglas De Couto: Thank you, Madam President, and thank you to Senator Robinson for the fulsome description. It is clear the level of detail and intricate moving parts of this that are being addressed. We
in the OBA certainly welcome anything that brings efficiency, consistency, and a better result for the public of
Bermuda, so we are definitely in support of this.
I did have a few questions that occurred to me
and the Senator did answer a few of them. But, first in my mind is always, of course, when people say efficiency and synergy , other people as, where is my job?
So, I was glad to see the thoughtful approach being
considered here to undertake through a policy of attrition and not replacing roles and there was also a mention, of course, a hiring freeze has already been put in
place. So it is clear that the Minister is getting these quangos to run a tight ship, which we certainly appreci-ate, on behalf of the public of Bermuda.
My specific question here is that we did hear
about the quantum of savings being $700,000 this year
alone. With respect to that amount, I would be curious to know what it was in reference to the total budget of
those entities, you know was it a 10 per cent savings ,
or a 5 per cent savings? And as we look forward, say
long-term projections, what kind of percentage of dollar
savings could we imagine once the full amalgamation is completed?
I have a similar question related to the staffing
situation because clearly we have heard about some
staff changes that have already happened. We heard
about attri tion. But as we look forward, let’s say five
years or whenever this is wrapped up and going along, what percentage or number of staff reductions, this is
the total staff, might we expect?
And a third question, and it is probably illustrative of my lack of understanding of the detailed opera-tions, it does sound nice to talk about efficiency. But we
have to accept that WEDCO is in the west and BLDC
is in the east. So, you could certainly imagine that per-haps you would not be driving trucks back and forth
across the Island all day long. So, the opportunities for
consolidation may be less than we might hope for. So,
if the Senator has any comments on that to put my mind
at rest, I would certainly appreciate that.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
Combinations of organisations in the private
sector typically result in redundancies. And I under-stand that this is not the private sector, so I understand
the sensitivities around redundancies. I would just look
forward to having perhaps look forward to c ertain points
in the future around the $700,000 figure savings that
has been projected because I think unless there is rigour around those actual savings then the benefits of consolidation may not be quite as apparent as they
would appear to be now. So, I would just ask that we
receive success stories in the future as to whether that $700,000 in savings was actually achieved.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
No.
Then Senator Robinson, yo u have support and
a few questions .
Sen. Leslie Robinson: I will answer the question first
on staffing. Once the company is merged the respective boards will be able to then ascertain the best staffing levels needed. But we are expecting less staffing will be required.
Madam President, can we get Senator De
Couto to just clarify the budget question? I know he
mentioned . . . he started out talking about efficiencies
and synergies . I just want us to be clear on the question
to the budget on these . . . on he percentage of savings,
what is the full percentage of savings. Could Senator
De Couto just elaborate? I just want to make sure that
we are able to answer the question correctly.

The President: Senator De Couto, did you have a specific question on the savings?

Yes, thank you, Madam
President.
The question is, $700,000 is what percentage
of the total combined budget of the current entities, or
could you answer this by just giving us that total budget
so we could understand t he impact.
And if I may just follow up on the question of
the staffing levels, if you will permit, Madam President?
The President: Yes, if you need to ask a question—

I must admit, I am a bit
perplexed given the amount of detailed work that
seems to have been done on this that there does not
seem to be a specific answer on the staffing levels. I
can certainly tell you that should I have a project or an initiative in my business that I would be run through the
ringer on specific numbers of headcounts and what
would be happening before anything was approved.
Perhaps the Senator might ask the analyst to dig a little deeper or . . . I would certainly welcome a specific number or a range of numbers.
Thank you, Madam President.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, we will update on staff levels going forward.

The President: Fine. Thank you.
With that, you have support for this resolution.
Do you want to move it?
472 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that t he Senate do now take under consideration the following motion:
BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate in accordance with the provisions of section 8 of the Base Lands
Development Act 1996 approve the dissolution of the
Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) so that
it may be amalgamated with the West End Development Corporation (WEDCO).
The President: Is there s upport for that resolution?
There is support.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, I move that
the said motion be approved.

The President: It has been moved that the said motion
be approved. Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. It is approved.
[Motion carried: The Senate approved the dissolution of the Bermuda Land Development Company.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson, and
thank you all Senators. That concludes our items under
the Orders of the Day. We will now move on to item 14.

MOTIONS
The President: There are none.
Item 15, Congratulatory and/or Obituary
Speeches . Would any Senator car e to speak?
Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader [in the
Senate], you have the floor.
It’s already a quarter to one o’clock.
Minister Darrell, are you suggesting that we . . .

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
would ask that we please break for lunch.

The President: Senators, the Minister has suggested
that we break for lunch. Therefore, we will break for
lunch. We will return at 2:00. The Senate stands adjourned until 2:00. Thank you.

Proc eedings suspended at 12:43 pm

Proceedings resumed at 2:01 pm

[Sen. the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright, President, presiding]

The President: Good afternoon, Senators and the listening audience. The Senate is resuming with its order of business. And we finish ed all our bills this morning.
We are now moving on.
CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would anyone like to speak on it?
Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader [in the
Senate], you have the floor.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam Pr esident. And
good afternoon to everyone.
I would like to start off on a sad note to give
condolences to the family of Chris Wetherhill, specifically to his wife, Chrissy Wetherhill and the entire family. I was able to attend the service that they had next
to the ocean. It was a really well put together service to remember his life.
Moving on to some positive notes, over the
weekend the National Sports Centre was very busy
with the track event that happened on Saturday and
Sunday. Bermuda National Athletics Association
should be commended for having an outstanding event
that I think gave everybody an opportunity to see worldclass athletics including some from Bermuda, which is
always great to see our young athletes have that opportunity.
I would also like to give congratulations to the
winners of the different categories in the Bermuda Na-tional Swimming Championships that happened this
weekend. We were able to have swimmers that are
based in university and those based in overseas
schools [back in B ermuda] . And it was a great atmosphere to have our young people see what happens when they get to that next level of competition and training.
And finally, I would like to congratulate the athletes who were announced by the Bermuda Olympic
Association on Friday for the CAC Games. I know that
everybody will be continuing to work hard in preparation for the games that will happen in the end of June in El Salvador. So, good luck to everybody who was
select ed and good luck in your preparation.
Thank you.

Thank you, Madam
President.
I wanted to take the opportunity to offer condolences to the family of the late Mrs. Adulcie Zuill. Mrs.
Zuill is the mother of Mr. Kelly Zuill, a well -known gospel radio host and also the individual who hosts us each
Wednesday as we come together in t he Senate. Mrs.
Zuill lived to be in her 103
rd year. And we certainly offer
condolences to her entire family.
I would also like to offer condolences to the
family of Mrs. Frances Baker and also to the family of


Bermuda Senate Mrs. Cora Scott -White. We certainly are pray ing for
their comfort during this time.
On a more positive note, I would like to certainly congratulate the Department of Education and
the Spring into the Arts 2023, which has returned after a three- year hiatus , and it is under the direction of the
Actin g Arts Education Officer, Mrs. Shannon RoseRobinson. This is her first time, and she has done an exceptional job. There have been several performances, and tonight will be the final one at Sandys
Secondary Middle School where the western family of
schools will present. And we certainly encourage the
public to go on out and support our young people from both our public and private schools who are doing an
exceptional job.
Last but not least, I would like to offer congratulations and commendation to The Ber keley Educational Society in their continued activity celebrating 125
years. Their recent 125
th year art exhibition, which took
place in the History [Room], as well as the recent celebration that highlighted two former principals, one, our very own former Independent Senator, Mrs. Michelle
Simmons as well as Dr. Phyllis Curtis -Tweed. And they
had portraits that were unveiled. And there was a celebration of their contribution. They are both former Berkeleyites. And we certainly congratulate the Berkeley fami ly on all that they do. And we certainly look forward to their continued excellence in the field of educa-tion as we all celebrate what has been put in place by
our fore parents .
Thank you, Madam President.

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

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I just want to congratulate
PHC Majorettes & Drum Corps for continuing to push
forward with majorettes in Ber muda. It is a dying art.
And Tawana Lee and her mother, Bettyann Nolan have
really stayed in front of making sure that this tradition
stays alive and well in Bermuda. And so, as someone who was a part of the PHC and majored in Drum Corps
some 15 years ago to support my niece, I actually am
grateful that they continue to push forward through
these trying times because it is a very expensive sport
to be in. So, congratulations to Tawana and her mom
for continuing this great tradition in Bermuda and keep-ing it alive.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on congrats and obits?
Senator De Couto.

Thank you, Madam Pres-ident.
I would like to give my condolences to the families of two individuals. To the [family of] Catherine
Ziepniewski and to her husband, Bill and her brother,
John and their family on her passing. So, I send my
condolences out to them.
And I also would like to extend my condolences
to the family of Lily Mello, especially her sons Brian and
Kevin and their families. So, I hope that they will find
some peace at this tough time.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care [to speak] ?
Minister Darrell, you have the floor.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, first, before I start on my
submissions, I would like to be associated, please, with
the comments from Senator Ben Smith regarding the
sporting events that took place at the National Sports
Centre this weekend. I know that there was a track
meet and there also was a national swim championship. Although I was off Island, I was represented by
the Junior Minister, Minister Kim Sw an, and I appreciate him for attending those events while I was unable to do so. But I did hear much positive feedback from
the community about the shows that were put on over
the weekend at the National Sports Centre.
Also, Madam President, I would like to be associated with the Berkeley Institute and their art showcase that unveiled two principals that I am very familiar
with, as I am an alumnus of the Berkeley Institute. I actually worked with both of them and then was in the
Senate with one. So again, it looked like that was a
well-attended event and is keeping the legacy of the
Berkeley Institute alive and well.
I also would like to be associated with the comments about the PHC Majorettes group. Tawana Lee
was in my class at the Berkeley Institute. An d it is always a pleasure to see when the PHC Majorettes come
by. At my spot at the Bermuda Day Parade, I usually
have a whistle and a whole lot of other theatrics that go
with it, but they told me that I have to calm down this
year. So, I would like to of ficially say congratulations to
Tawana, her mom and all of the PHC Majorettes.
But Madam President, I do want to recognise
in this congratulations one of my former colleagues at
the Berkeley Institute, Mr. Troy King. Mr. Troy King started at the Berkeley Institute the Young Coders and
Engineers Club, which focused on science, technology,
engineering and math. And Mr. King is one of the top
and he has been one the of the top math teachers at the Berkeley Institute for many years now. He also received the Outstanding Teacher Award last year from
the Bermuda Education Network. So, I am happy to see
that his Young Coders and Engineers Club at the
474 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Berkeley Institute, which showed off their robots, was
finally recognised for their efforts. Connectech was also
part of this effort. And it was good to see that they have
been rewarded with some funds to take their club and what they are doing in coding and engineering to the next level. So, I did want to take this time to congratulate from the Senate one of Berkeley’s finest teachers,
Mr. Troy King.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Oh! Also, Madam President, before I go further, also it would have been in the
news this week that the outgoing president of the Bermuda Karting Club, Mr. Scott Barnes, after many years
at the Hamilton Bermuda Karting Club, is stepping down. You may recognise the name, Scott Barnes,
from being in the newspaper often from travelling overseas and carrying the flag of Bermuda, representing
go-karting. So, I wanted to congratulate him for his time
at the helm. He has put together different awards when it comes to sporting clubs. And he is taking a step
down. I know he is still going to be involved in the sport,
but he is handing on the presidency to someone else.
And I just want to thank him for the efforts that he has
done in Bermuda in go -karting.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Anybody else?
No.
If not, I would just like to associate myself with
the congrats regarding the Berkeley headmistress es,
Mrs. Michelle Simmons, former V ice President of the
Senate and Mrs. Tweed.
And I also would like to associate myself with
the congrats of the sporting event at the Flora Duffy
Stadium. I wat ched it on television. I was very proud to
see that Bermuda could host such an event. So, I am
sure everyone enjoyed it.
Moving on then with our agenda.
Minister Darrell, adjournment.

ADJOURNMENT
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes, Madam President.
I do now ask that the Senate do now adjourn
. . . let me just get the date . . . to Wednesday, June 7.

The President: Duly noted. So, Wednesday, June the
7
th.
Would any Senator care to speak on the motion to adjourn?
Senator De Couto, the flo or is open to you.

FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON SDO

Thank you, Madam President.
This week, Madam President, I have learned
quite a few pieces of fact, pieces of information that
frankly have me very upset, and a lot of people that I
speak with in person and online, are very upset. You
know, Madam President, we were talking about
wastewater earlier today and, you know, sometimes on
particular days if you are down across from the Supermart or in that area, there can be a certain whiff in the
air, a little bit of a smell. But I have to tell you, Madam
President, today I feel like as you walk along Front
Street to the west, that smell is now starting to come
from the Cabinet Office, Madam President, and I think
the Bermudian public is getti ng a stench. And we have
learned some of the details of things that are going on that I think people are going to be pretty upset with.
And Madam President, the aphorism that
comes to mind is that the fish rots from the head. This
Government has a track record of being, at best , misleading , and at worse providing patently false comments and statements and surrounding itself with oper-ators whose motives are questionable and certainly not
in Bermuda’s interest.
Now, I am going to start with the Fairmont
Southampton project. You remember, Madam President, last year we sat here and we had quite a lot of
questions and there was clear messaging from the
Government. This project was not about an SDO ; it was
not about condos. In 2021, there was an article in the
paper with quotes from the Premier and Finance Minister that the Government would not underwrite the development of this resort. The project would only go ahead if it ensured value for taxpayers. And I quote the
Premier, “I have no knowledge of any request for any
special permissions.”
But no w, I think that nobody could debate,
Madam President, that the message from the Government and the developer is that this SDO and these con-dos are essential to this project. And frankly, like, I feel
kind of insulted, and I think a lot of Bermudians do too
because I am not stupid and the people of this country
are not stupid. And when I put those two sets of contra-dictory statements together, I come up with three ways
of thinking about it. The first option is perhaps the Government and the Premier were told by the developer
and they did not notice—

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, the
Senator . . . Point of order, first of all. The Senator is
speculating. In his own words he has no factual infor-mation in what he is talking about. And I am not quite
sure also, Madam President, if the language that he is using is quite parliamentary. I just want to check.

The President: Senator De Couto, if you are speculating, then I will ask you to withdraw that comment.


Bermuda Senate Sen. Dr. Douglas De Couto : Well, Madam President,
I am applying logic to those contradictory facts, and I
am trying to suggest what could be explanations for
those facts. And I have two other options.

The President: These are from your own opinion?

No. They are my own
opinion, but I personally feel one of these three options
must hold just by applying logic, but the listeners could
decide for themselves.
So, when you have a fact , or the Government
says that there will not be any special favours granted,
but now we are being told that the special favours are required to make the project work, either they knew
about it and neglect ed to tell us or they were too naïve
and did not appreciate the situation. So, that is option
number one.
Option number two is they did know and selected not to tell us. You can draw your own conclusions.
Option number three is Gencom knew all the
way wh at they needed and withheld that information
from the Government, which tells us that they are not
an operator we want to get to. I could not tell you the
truth of those and we probably will never know , but I
suspect it is some combination of all three of those. And
the Bermudian public appreciates what I am talking
about.

CONSULTANTS ENGAGED BY GOVERNMENT
AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Now, speaking of that
hotel deal, we learned some information that was made
publicly available abo ut the list of consultants that this
Government is engaging. We know that they have engaged one consultant at $1,875 per hour as a strategic
advisor for that project. I looked that person up on the
Internet. I think they might be a partner at a major international law firm. I would love to know what advice he
is providing because either the Government is ignoring
it or he is providing bad advice. Because pretty much I
know everybody has come to the opinion that Bermuda
is in a very bad negotiating position in respect to this
hotel and the Government is not doing a very good job
of negotiating it. So, that does not sound like we are
achieving our value of money for that $1,875 per hour,
Madam President.
Let’s move on to the consultants in general.
And I want ed to highlight that since 2017, spending on
government consultants has increased 56 per cent after being seriously decreased under the One Bermuda Alliance, and that includes the report about independence for $50,000, which was something nobody in Bermuda needed or asked for and which does not solve
any problems. If you are out there driving today and you run over a pothole, ask yourself what that report did for that. Did that report help find whoever hit that young
man? Did that report improve education? No. That report provided no value to the people.
Moving on to education, several consultancies
are listed there. And I think we will all put our hand up and say, Yes, this is an important project and we want to bring the right expertise. So, you know, I do not criticise that concept generally. But we have two consultancies that add up to $400,000 and then we have another $125,000 communications consultant. And I have
to ask. What are we getting for our money from that
consultant? Either they are not very good, or their advice is being ignored, because I think we have all seen
what a fiasco the communications and the engagement with the community that will be affected by these education changes have been.
I mean, today could anyone tell me where the
Education Minister is? We have not heard anything
from him.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Point of order, Madam
President.
The President: Minister Darrell, what is your point of
order?

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: It is absolutely untrue for
the Senator to say that he has not hear d from the Minister of Education.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Senator De Couto, continue.

Recently, of course,
Madam President. Recently.
We move down that list. I do see some policy
analysts. And I think it is good that we are able to hire
young, talented Bermudians to assist with our national
issues. But I am scratching my head because neither
of them was there for very long and we know that the
kind of issues that need that sort of work require people to really dig in and spend some time understanding the
problem and how the Government works. My suggestion to the Government would be [to find] the right person who can build the right relati onships with all the
stakeholders and be in it for the long term, because
when you rotate people through positions like that, you do not get good results or good value for money.
Moving further down the list, $29,000 a month
with a company called Cyberdin e for a security consulting contract, some sort of IT contract. I bet there are a
476 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate lot of businesses on this Island that would have liked to
have the opportunity to have a $29,000- a-month contract. I can assure you I look at a lot of IT consultants in my line of work. That number boggles my mind. I would
never be allowed to spend that much money on any
consultant in that area. I cannot explain it. And I do not
know why the opportunity was not given to the many
local businesses that, in fact, serve many sophi sticated
international businesses on this Island in those same areas. So, those questions are more about value for
money, because I think I demonstrated why I do not believe that we are getting much value for money out
of that.
But now I am going to get into some more problematic issues. And again, this is all in the public domain. You know, Madam President, I have a daughter.
She is home from college. My company has an intern-ship programme, but I cannot have her apply to that
programme at my company. That is just not how it
works anymore. People understand what that conflict
of interest means and what it is about. But apparently, the husband of the Attorney General is being employed
as a counsel for Government at $14,000 a month.
Just on the face of it, Ma dam President, that is
not right. Maybe this is in the “unethical but not illegal”
[category]. I do not know. Like I said, I cannot even get
my daughter into my company for internship, so never mind hiring my spouse at $14,000 a month.
Let me move on to t he big- ticket item. This one
is lighting up the airwaves. A $240,000 contract . . . let
me just round that up a little bit, give it a good ring. A quarter of a million dollars for a Middle East —

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, point of order. In rounding up, he is giving inaccurate information to the Senate, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister.

Okay. Yes ma’am.
Now, this lady, her husband is the founder of a
company called Bitt Inc. The lady who has received this
contract at $20,000 a month, her husband wa s the former FinTech advisor to the Premier in 2018. I mean,
this is not sounding good. This looks like a massive
conflict of interest to me.
Let me make a little bit of a digression and talk
about these F inTech advisors. So, this gentleman who
is the F inTech advisor, the founder of a company called
Bitt Inc. . . . I do not understand how someone who is
directly affiliated with a company can be the sole advi-sor to the Premier in the area that this company operates in. I can understand you might have a consortium.
You might have an industry group. You might have a
counsel. I am involved, not directly, but my business is
involved in companies that band together for lobbying and that is how they work with governments so they can
work as a group. That way no one company is more
advantaged than the other.
And then the Premier did it again. He had another FinTech advisor who was on the board of one of
the local F inTech companies, first paid and then not
paid. I would advise that individuals not put themselves
in these kinds of compromising situations, Madam President.
But let me keep going and let me recap. This
lady who is getting $240,000 a year is married to a gen-tleman who is the former F inTech advisor to the Premier, who in 2020 announced on Twitter that he had sent
a $10,000 donation to the Progressive Labour Party.
Now, I guess this is not illegal here in Bermuda. But it
ought to be. The Premier has been speaking about leaks in the Middle East. There are a lot of leaks that I
have just mentioned that I think the people of Bermuda
would like to better un derstand. I do not know if we
should call it Bitgate or Fingate or how the people should think about it, but I think it merits a lot of digging.


Bermuda Senate So, as we have seen, Madam President, this
Government and its leadership is fully, fully contaminated with con flicts of interests.
Let me give you another small example but
very local. The Premier, who is the stakeholder of Hitch, a taxi dispatching or a ride dispatching company, is
speaking in the other place about how he is going to
direct the Minster to deal w ith taxis. Madam President,
I can think back to a time you would not even allow a Member of the Senate to speak on an issue that he had
a business affiliation with. And I am surprised that the Premier thinks that is okay. If he operated any kind of
normal organisation, he knew he would have to take a
backseat and let other individuals who are not conflicted deal with the situation , and [he would] stay out of
it.
Now, one thing we know, Madam President, is
you can have corruption or you can have the appearance of corruption, and once you have the appearance
of corruption, you have lost the trust and the faith of the
people. It looks bad and undermines leadership and it sets a bad tone for the whole country.
Under the One Bermuda Alliance, Madam
President, w e pledged to be transparent, accountable,
and always operating in the best interests of Bermuda and her people, and not just doing that but being clearly
seen to be doing that. And importantly, Madam President, we would actually deliver results for the people of Bermuda.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Leslie Robinson, you have the floor.

DIGITAL ASSET INDUSTRY

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I just want to speak a little bit about the digital
asset business, and I guess we can call it digital asset
industry. And also inclusive of FinTech and other technology. And the reason I want to speak on this, Madam President, is because over the last many months in par-ticular (except for today I will say) we heard from the
other side about bad actors, about certain companies,
and I will name one of the companies that we get told
about all the time which i s Arbitrade. We had comments
last week about the US questioning this industry, et cetera. Why is Bermuda doing it? I was actually
pleased today, Madam President, to hear the other side
say that they broadly support it.
And I will say that, you know, Madam President, the same discussion came up in another Chamber just recently, and I believe the reason it is now said
that it is being broadly supported is because through
those discussions, we found out that persons from the
other side are actually working ei ther in companies that are providing legal advice to these particular digital as-set companies or are even actually working on applications that are going to the BMA for these particular companies. So, after all of that you cannot just say that this
is not a good industry for Bermuda to be in, et cetera,
when we have people from the other side already working [in it]. And so, I am glad that at least now today we
are actually hearing from the other side that they
broadly support it. They have to support it. They have
their own people working in that.
What I want to do, Madam President, for just a
few minutes is talk about the parallels of how this industry is emerging and how our insurance industry actually emerged 60 years ago. And why I want to do this
. . . and it is really for the general public because, again,
we get tired of hearing all of the negativity about this,
all the sort of misleading and false statements about this. I want us to be able to understand that how this
industry is emerging is very similar to how the insurance industry, which we know is contributing to most of
our GDP now, emerged 60 years ago.
And what I want to say for full disclosure is that
I am an insurance professional. I have been in the industry. I am now in my 35
th year. And so, some of the
things that I am going to say this afternoon are things that I actually witnessed and went through, and some
of the other things that were earlier and before my time
are actually recorded in the book that was written by Catherine Duffy, who herself is a leading insurance professional, not just in Bermuda but globally. She works
for the global company AIG.
Her book is called Held Captive . It is no longer
out in print, but I know most international businesses
actually have copies of that book. And it is a wonderful, beautiful trace of the insurance industry as it has
emerged over the decades. And I will say that much of
that material used at the course up at Bermuda Col-lege, the Bermuda market cours e, comes from her
book.
So, Madam President, I would like to talk about
four points. I want to just mention, I guess, four points where you see the parallels. And these four points are,
first of all, number one, the Opposition speaks much about bad actors . And as I said and I mentioned earlier,
they always talk about Arbitrade. They also talk about
the company that did not do well with our brothers and
sisters down south, and so I am going to speak about
that. The next item I want to then talk about is the US
questioning the industry, because again you are going to see similar parallels when we talk about the emer-gence of digital assets versus the emergence of the insurance industry.
There were also comments , particularly during
the Budget Debate as well as during the time of the
Throne Speech, about Where are the jobs? Where are
the jobs? I am going to speak about that, again, as a
third point. And then fourthly, I am just going to talk about regulations in general and how we are always
having to catch up. And also, Madam President, for full
478 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate disclosure, in my long 35- year career in the insurance
industry, I was also a regulator for 11 of those years.
So, I am giving full disclosure to all of that.
So firstly, let’s talk about bad actors. And again,
Arbitrad e has been mentioned. I will say that Arbitrade
never got a licenc e in Bermuda. It was incorporated.
Never got a licenc e. Those on the Opposition side will
know that it is always a two- part process for companies
here in Bermuda. They can go through stage o ne,
which is to get incorporated and then stage two would be to actually get their licenc e with the BMA. So let’s
put that to rest. They were not doing any actual business with their licen ce here in Bermuda. That is one.
Because they did not have a licenc e issued by the
BMA.
But more so, I want to talk about when the insurance industry first emerged, which actually emerged
in the 1960s. It is an actual fact that we celebrated the
60
th anniversary of the first captive insurance company
being in Bermuda and i n the world, as a matter of fact,
because Bermuda was a leader. And I will say that at
that time, you know, it was the persons from the UBP.
And it is very much written out in and traced in the book
Held Captive of how you have prominent persons connected with UBP at the time who were going out and
meeting with persons overseas to speak to them about
coming here to Bermuda to incorporate insurance com-panies.
What they were doing back then is no different
from what this Government is doing today, which is go-ing out to countries and persons to invite them to come
and incorporate digital asset and related businesses in
Bermuda.
Now, I remember as things were emerging and
we got down to the 1970s and 1980s , in particular, a
number of these captive insurance companies, which actually were supposed to be just writing business for their parent —that is what a pure captive is —started to
take on writing third- party business because they felt if
they could do business for their parent, they could do
similar insurance b usiness for others. And I will say that
we ended up actually having some bad actors, so much
so that there were bad headlines about companies in
Bermuda that were writing insurance that were now fall-ing into difficulty because they were writing third- party
insurance. And of course, there was much noise about
Will this industry continue? Will it last?
So, I say this to say that as an industry
emerges, yes, we will get some bad actors, sometimes
through no fault of their own. Sometimes it is just a mat-ter of how risk is and business is. But sometimes, yes,
one or two bad actors may come. But look at our insurance industry and look at the few bad actors that we
have had compared to the thriving industry that we
have today.
I could mention also, and Mr. Wight w ould
know this as far as the old Bermuda Fire and Marine which is now BF&M, Bermuda Fire and Marine ran into trouble. There were headlines all over, not for any specific fault of their own but because they had reinsurance
and things that had problems. But we knew that BF&M
and at that time Bermuda Fire and Marine could not fail,
and so BF&M was created and we were able to continue on. I even talk about British American, and we
know so many of our people did suffer because of the problems that the parent company of British American
had. And thank all companies like BF&M that were able
to step in and help with the situation.
So, we will never be devoid of bad actors or
bad headlines. And sometimes, as much as we try to
protect our reputation, there will be times that our reputation will suffer. But we must continue on with the journey because when you think about it, suppose we
had stopped in the 1960s and 19 70s and 1980s when
those companies actually formed. We would not be
where we are today with this thriving insurance and reinsurance industry. Captive insurance was something
that no one understood at the time. But we had brains
in Bermuda, persons, as I said, connected with the
United Bermuda Party and our banking industry who
understood the concept and coul d foresee what Bermuda would become. And so, why is it that we are not
allowing this Government to do the same thing with digital assets?
The second point I want to raise as I mentioned
is about the US questioning this industry. When the captive insurance concept started, it was decades before the US came out with their own captive insurance
related legislation. And I want to say that again because
Bermuda started in the 1960s. It was not until the 1980s
that we actually had Vermont as the first state, the first
domicile to actually have captives in the United States. And for all that period of time, we had persons and
groups like the IRS and others questioning this particular industry, questioning the concept of captives, questioning whether or not there w as true risk distribution or
if there was true risk transfer with these companies.
So, it took the US decades to actually get a
domicile with insurance legislation for captives. And so
again, the US may be questioning now about digital assets. They have d iscussions going on. They are saying
right now, No. Maybe we do not want to do it, but Bermuda is. And so, I say the parallels between how the
insurance industry emerged and how the digital asset
business emerged are all very similar. Suppose we decided we wanted to stop when the US and the IRS
started questioning captives. Again, w e would not be
where we are today.
So, I want to say that now so much so that we
have most states in the US with insurance legislation
for captives , and in actual fact the US has now become
our major competitor when it comes to captives. They
realised at some point, Look at what Bermuda has
done. Let’s get on the train. So, I say that we do not
know what will happen in the future, but it is important that we get out there first and do what we have to do
and do the due diligence and get our industry started


Bermuda Senate because eventually other countries of the world like the
US will catch up and will want to then become our competitor.
Thirdly, Madam President, we talk about where
are the jobs. And I am going to say that with these businesses it does take time. But as I mentioned earlier ( as
it was said in another Chamber last week ), the fact is
that we already have persons who are working on ap-plications who worked for companies that provide legal
advice and consulting services to these businesses. And what I want to tell the general public is that when companies come to Bermuda to start, they do not come
and form a company in a vacuum. They come and they
rely on the service provider infrastructure that we have
garnished in financial services over the decades because of our thriving insurance business.
So many of those consultants and lawyers and
others have now turned to digital assets, FinTech technology, et cetera, because of the fact that they do have
skill sets garnished from insurance business. So, I want
to say that people are already working in the business, in the industry. And now, it will take time for companies
to actually start to employ persons themselves.
But let me, Madam P resident, give you just a
little peek of what I experienced when I was working in
the early 1990s at a management company. And at that
time, Bermuda was first moving. We had done captives. We had done excess liability with ACE and XL.
And now we were moving into property catastrophe for
the first time ever, and that was as a result of hurricanes
like Hugo that devasted South Carolina and Hurricane Andrew that devastated Florida and Hurricane Inik i that
caused damage in Hawaii all around the late 1980s, early 1990s. Well, it was a company that we all know
today called RenaissanceRe.
And RenaissanceRe . . . as we know and as
we drive in or out of Hamilton, we can look down East Broadway and see those buildings that they have built
over the years. RenaissanceRe started in a conference
room next to my cubicle at the management company
that I was working for. RenaissanceRe started with one
boardroom table, with one fireproof filing cabinet and
one underwriter. And all I say, Madam President, is look
at RenaissanceRe today —a thriving reinsurance company that has employed many Bermudians, many people, and has given back over and over. And it was even
just recently announced that they are looking to buy another long- standing company here in Bermuda.
And s o I say the jobs will come. I am telling the
Bermudian public the jobs will come. I know we live in an instant world now where we can just push the button
and everything comes on. We can even just call out
Alexa’s and Siri’s name and things are done for us . But
it will take time for these industries to grow and to develop, but we are asking the Bermuda public to allow
us the time. And all you have to do is look back and see what we did over the last 60 years with insurance and
say, Yes, we have the tools. And as I said, we have this wonderful, great service provider community in Ber-muda that helps these companies, that have garnished
experience over the years. And that is one of the reasons why companies come [here] because they know
when they talk to people in Bermuda, they know they
are talking to experts, persons who have been in industry, not necessarily in digital assets but in industry and can help guide them along the way.
And finally, Madam President . . . and I am not
going to take up too much more time. We understand
that regulation is key for this industry just like it was for
the insurance industry. And I will say that over the
years, regulation has always had to catch up with what
might be going on in the marketplace or what might potentially be going on in the marketplace. The wonderful
thing is that the Bermuda Monetary Authority, which is
a world- renowned, top- tier regulator, are the same persons who have done that in insurance and who are now
doing it for digital asset.
They are bringing all that talent, all that they
have garnished from the insurance industry so that we
could win Solvency II status and we could win Qualified
Jurisdiction status. They are bringing all of that to the
table now when it comes to digital asset. And I will say
that for this particular industry, unlike the insurance industry, legislation is moving like lightning. Because I remember when we first started the industry, it took us until 1978 to actually get an insurance
Act and then the class system did not emerge unti l
1996, and so it was a long period of time before there were any major tweaking and changes to the regulation.
But as you can see, it is almost every month,
every week sometimes, we are bringing something to the table regarding digital assets and legislation regulation, et cetera. And so, I will say that we are moving
at an even faster pace for digital assets because we
have garnished all that information from having gone
through the process with insurance.
Madam President, like I said, I could continue
on and on because this is the industry I have worked in
for 35 years. But I want the public to understand that this is something that Bermuda needs. It may take time
but just look at how we started from the insurance industry, from captives, to then excess liability compa-nies to property CAT companies to sidecars to IRS.
You name it, we have it here in Bermuda. And now we
are moving on to digital assets, FinTech technology,
et cetera. And so, I want our people to be patient. I want
us to understand.
And finally, Madam President, just in conclusion, I have been out canvassing. And you know, one
of the common things that I heard was from seniors,
and the seniors were saying, you know, it is tough. And
I understand. I might be someone who has been very
successfu l in the insurance industry but , trust me, I am
not removed from the struggle of everyday life. I told some of them I had to nurse my mother. I am an only
child and I had to nurse my mother through her health
480 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate conditions. And even with the income that I was making
and with some of the rent s that we were collecting, it
still sometimes was not enough to pay for everything.
I know what it is like when we have to choose
between Shall I pay some more for my health insurance
or should I buy my mother’s prescripti ons? Because
her prescription benefit had run out and we were having
to pay $300- $400 for just one bit of prescription drugs
for her. And so, I understand the struggle and I under-stand how people are feeling. And all I say to our people out there is to be patient and allow us to move for-ward with this industry because as this industry grows,
our GDP will grow and we will be able to then put together programmes for our people.
Thank you, Madam President, for this time.
And hopefully the general public out t here will get a better sense of how this digital asset is forming and that it
is no different from the insurance industry that formed
60 years ago. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.
Senators, I have omitted to remind you that you
have 15 minutes. I allowed a longer time for Senator
Robinson, but please be mindful that it is 15 minutes.
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.

SYMPTOMS OF A SICK COUNTRY

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, as a former health care professional yourself, you know that sometimes physical illness develops due to some type of deficiency in the
body. Sleep deficiency leads to chronic health problems , such as [heart] disease, diabetes, obesity. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a loss of bone density
which can contribute to osteoporosis and bone fractures. Madam President, the human body has a way of
drawing our attention when something is wrong.
Madam President, I would say that a country,
a population, does the same thing. When something is
wrong in a country, Madam President, symptoms ap-pear. And just like the physical body, if we ignore those
symptoms, over time they will get worse and the consequences of an action will undoubtedly have dire consequences. Madam President, Bermuda is showing
symptoms of illness. The symptoms are around us.
Now I will say, Madam President, that the Government does not like us to highlight the things t hat are
not going well. And I am not saying that there are things
that have not gone well, but there are some things that
are not going well. But Madam President, how could we
not highlight them if we have no hope (if we expect to
be able to address them), because if we do not highlight
them, there is no hope of addressing them. So, Madam President, before I am accused of gloom and doom . . .
my comments really are not meant to be about gloom and doom but more so about ensuring that we, the peo-ple of this c ountry, are alive to what is going on around
us and not lulled to sleep by the appearance of smoke and mirrors and political fluff.
Madam President, some of the symptoms in
the country include people leaving Bermuda, e migration. Many people, as we all know we have heard
countless times, are leaving because either they cannot afford to live here maybe due to income, they cannot afford health care or to retire here, or they just generally have no hope of making a reasonable life here in
the country that they were born in and that generations
before them were born in. There are groups of people
not being listened to—the farmers, the fishermen, the
taxi drivers. The list can go on.
Crime. W e saw in the media just the other day
where there were countless . . . there had to be at least
10 places that had been broken into. We already know
about the gang violence issues and those types of
things.
Our infrastructure, Madam President. Bermuda
was known for having well -manicured grounds. Just a
simple review of a lot of the sidewalks and there is nothing but weeds growing through them, not to mention all
of the other things that we already know about.
The condition of our roads. I will not even go
down that road because we already know that is beat-ing a dead horse.
We ha ve people who have a complete disregard at this point for the police. We see it in our traffic behaviour. We see it in other types of behaviour as well.
Substance abuse, Madam President. People
are self -medicating. I heard a story the other day about
somebody who just goes to get “medicine” (quote/unquote) —CBD type medicines —just in order to get to
sleep at night. That is a red flag, Madam President.
That is a symptom.
How we are treating each other disrespectfully,
a total disregard for life. A good example of that is Mr.
Warren’s situation.
Sexual abuse, child abuse, seniors abuse, and
not to mention, Madam President, feral animals. All are
symptoms of things that are happening in this country,
the state of this country.
Madam President, everyth ing rises and falls on
leadership. We have seen people who have been put
into certain positions of authority. Government boards.
Just a simple google search will reveal that there are
friends and family on many of the government boards,
and not to mention we recently learned about certain
MPs getting paid for government work that, in my opinion, should be considered part of the role that they have
already undertaken as a Member of Parliament and
their action should be covered by the existing salary
and not in addition to it.
What I want us to remember, Madam President, is that we—every single person who sits in this
place and in the other place—are servants of the people and not of ourselves.


Bermuda Senate So, Madam President, while that situation is
going on (collection of the additional salaries and all of
that), I am having people who are on financial assistance tell me that they themselves or their family are in
care homes having to turn over their entire pension funds, which is considered income, to the home because financial assistance does not cover the full payment to that home. So, some of these people who have
contributed to this country their entire working lives are
being left with nothing, zero dollars , not even two dollars to buy a cup of tea. So, they have t o . . . and actually they cannot even afford a cup of tea because I do
not know where you can buy tea these days for two
dollars . So, what they have to do is rely on other people
or seek assistance from charities.
I know of one situation where someone needed
to have some personal care items. They contacted . . .
this is a person in a senior’s home. They had to contact
one of their relatives who is also a senior relying on
their pension cheque coming in the door, because this
person needed something simple like toothpaste.
It may not seem like a lot, but when you are a
senior on a fixed income and you do not know where
your next meal is coming from and you are waiting by
the post office box for your next pension cheque to drop
in, eight dollars for a tube of toothpaste is a lot of
money.
We have parents owed child support payments
that they will likely never see. They are struggling to
feed their children, house their children, clothe their
children—j ust two examples of things that are happening in real life while some government officials are collecting multiple salaries. This is a symptom, Madam President, that the I sland is in trouble.
Bermudians were renowned for looking out for
each other, for caring for each other, and now it ap-pears that we have some who are taking care of them-selves. Madam President, whether or not we have a
formal title, we are all in positions of leadership in our
homes, in our jobs, or as public figures, and what we
do and what we allow or promote as leaders , it gets
passed on and grows whether it is good or if it is bad.
I will reiterate a call I made a while ago for the
public to hold their elected officials to account as doing
so can help mitigate the I sland’s symptoms of sickness.
No matter who you voted for, green or red, do not just
mark your “X” and walk away. Every elected official
works for you, Joe Public. You have an accountability
as well . And by that, I mean the public is accountable
as well to hold the elected officials accountable. Ask
questions and demand answers. B ermuda as a whole
will be better for it.
Madam President, as I said, Bermuda is showing symptoms of sickness. I pray that individually and
collectively even beyond politics, Madam President,
that we address our symptoms because if we do not ,
Bermuda will slowly and incrementally become a place
that none of us recogni se. Should this happen, it will be to our detriment and to the detriment of our future generations. Let’s collectively act now while we still can.
Thank you, Madam President.

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

PUSH PAST THE NEGATIVITY
AND WORK TOGETHER

Thank you, Madam
President.
I am sitting here, and I am listening with somewhat disappointment as I listen to my colleagues
across the room. Certainly, as individuals who serve as
public servants they would know first -hand the amount
of time and energy that goes into serving in these roles:
the number of calls that you receive all hours of the
night, the hours that you spend in your communities,
just the countless hours that are spent attending to the
needs of our community. And I believe that every
elected and/or appointed person is party to these experiences when they put up th eir hand and say, Yes, I will
serve. Yes, I will be your voice. Yes, I will join with you
as you face the challenges of life that each of us has to
face. Certainly, as I have, you know . . . we certainly
read in the newspaper, which unfortunately at times will sensationalise issues and certainly paint with a very
negative brush some of the decisions that are made.
Certainly, as we as a Government have had to
deal with the challenges coming back after, you know,
in the wake of heighte ned austerity measures that were
employed by the OBA Government including hiring
freezes and failure to upkeep infrastructures, our roads,
et cetera. Certainly, these are all things that were inherited. And as a Government and as a country we have
experienced just basically, you know, the incapacitation
almost of government as we have, you know, experienced attrition through retirement. We have lost a lot of
individuals in government.
You know, certainly with the hiring freeze and
not to mention the challenges that we face in existing
in an extremely competitive environment when a lot of
the individuals that have been trained in government and gained wonderful skills and are excellent administrators and certainly are able to transition into the internationa l business industry, you know, our government
has faced quite a challenging situation.
So, to sit here and listen to my colleagues
question every consultant that may have been employed who is basically charged with strengthening our
government as we conti nue to certainly provide all of
the services that are necessary . . . so, in one breath
we complain about the ineffectiveness and the challenges that we are facing, and in the next breath, you
know, when solutions have been found on a short -term
basis to be able to address the issues that we are facing, we are then again critiqued for that. But I certainly
482 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate encourage us to not become victim to the negativism
that is in our community.
I heard one of our colleagues talk about symptoms of sickness, and you know not all sickness is real.
You know, sometimes . . . sometimes there are sicknesses that are not real, and there are persons who
would make you believe that there is something going
on when in actual fact it is not. And while we have our
challenges in our community, we certainly are working
very hard to address them, and we must move forward as my esteemed colleague just shared that we have to push past the negativity, that we have to be willing to
take those risks, that we even have to be willing to do
the things that we believe are necessary in order to
move our country forward.
I believe that if we as a people will come together and we work together and support one another,
we will see Bermuda come forth strong in the midst of
having faced a global rise in inflation. These are not just
challenges that we are facing here in Bermud a, but
these are challenges that are being faced worldwide.
And we as a community, we cannot afford to divide
against each other. We must come together. We must
work together. We must support our elected officials.
And we must continue to build a better, s tronger Bermuda. And when we do that, we will come forth victoriously.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader [in the
Senate], you have the floor.

COMMUNICATION ACROSS THE AISLE RARELY
HAPPENS

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, the first thing I would like to
do is [say] that today is actually May 24, and for most
people that is the actual holiday. It is May 24. We still
call it by that [name] affectionately. And I was actually
going to give a speech today that would have been about what we should be thinking about and doing on
this very important holiday for Bermuda. I am going to
try to finish off with that, but I think it is important that I
touch on a couple of subjects that have been brought
up so far in the motion to adjourn.
First, Madam President, I would like to say that
I attended a Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast with Sen-ator Robinson l ast week, and it was very interesting because we were talking about how in the past parliamentarians would actually communicate across the aisle.
When you had differences of opinion, you might have
[had] that strong debate in the House or in the Senate, but afterwards it was okay to break bread with each
other. And the problem is that Bermuda politics has reached a point where the toxicity has meant that that very rarely can happen.
I will say that there are discussions with the
Members within the Senate, sometimes in the lunchroom, where we do take that opportunity to discuss what we are seeing in our community. Madam President, I bring that up because I think it is important that
we all understand what our role is, that we are representing the people of B ermuda. And there are times
that following the party line means that you are not ac-tually paying attention to what is happening in the coun-try. And sometimes I think we need to take a pause and
think about what that is, and are we saying exactly what
is in the best interests of everybody?
Sometimes when we take to our feet in these
opportunities to talk to the public, we have to be mindful
of those differences [and] how we are presenting them.
So the first thing I would like to say is that after
that conv ersation about, you know, what had happened
in the past in the parliament and how people were able to communicate across the aisle, I thought it was interesting to listen to Senator Robinson when she talked
fondly of some of the things that were put in place by
the UBP, considering that most of the time anything that
we ever hear is that that was the worst possible thing
that ever happened to Bermuda. And no one is allowed
to even mention those three letters.

FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON SDO
Sen. Ben Smith: Madam President, following the
speech from Senator Robinson where she talked about what happened 60 years ago and the fact that there were going to be some (I do not want to use the word
that everybody in Bermuda probably is saying today)
. . . there were some potholes that happened, that people made mistakes as they were going through that new
industry 60 years ago. But Madam President, in today’s
society where the industry that we have is the only pillar that is holding up our country, we do not have that same
ability to make reputational mistakes because every-where we look is a competitor.
Madam President, sometimes the Opposition
is put in a place because we are pointing out the things
that are going wrong, but part of our job is to make sure that we are thi nking about what we are doing each step
of the way. We want growth in the country, and I believe
that the Government wants the same. But sometimes
[when] making a decision, you have to think long and hard about: Is this the right thing to do, or are we jus t
making an announcement because it is for political gain?
So, when the Government Senators are saying
that we are always speaking negative against the items
that have been brought up by the Government and we
are only pointing out the things that are bad, a lot of
times it is because the Government has spent an enor-mous amount of time celebrating and patting themselves on the back before the deal is done.


Bermuda Senate My colleague talked about Arbitrade. The reason that the Arbitrade name keeps coming up is because th e Government celebrated it. The deal was not
done as Senator Robinson pointed out, but all indica-tions were that this was going to be one of the saviours for us. So, when the bad news comes about Arbitrade,
that is connected to us. We saw celebration and a big
press conference for the arbitration centre. But the deal
was not done. And Madam President, it is a hole coming into our city .
Madam President, [regarding] the Fairmont
Southampton SDO, we have heard several times that
the deal was done. And now everybody in the population is realising that we are being held ransom because
the deal is not done. And I listened clearly last week
when there seemed to be a conscious effort by the
Government in their motion to adjourn to try to get the population to embrace the project, to embrace what
has now become a bad deal for the country. And the
shame of it is, that should never have been what happened. Everybody wants the hotel to be reopened. They want to see the refurbishment and then everybody gets back to work, and we want to see that hotel
flourish. There is no one that is saying the opposite to
that. But Madam President, we have now seen over a
year that we have to give away more and more in order
to start the renovation of a hotel.
Madam President, last week we heard certain
Members in another place strongly come out to support
the development knowing full well that they will benefit
from the development, specifically that they will finan-cially benefit from that development. So, then the population questions, Why is it that we have to put up with
the bad deal? Because i t was not negotiated properly?
Progress is going to mean that we are going to have to
change what we do in planning, and there will be
changes in what happens for how we build. It is just what happens with progress. But we should not have to
make decisions based off of the fact that we as a population have reached a point of desperation.
Madam President, the Opposition gets to hear
it over and over again from the Government —the problem with the airport deal. We have heard it a million
times. We have heard everything that comes from the
Government on that particular issue. And I can bring it
up because I know the Minister will continue on it. But I
have something for him on that particular subject.

[Inaudible interjections]

The President: Minister.

Sen. Ben Smith: Because on that minimum guarantee
that they like to go on and on about and chirp about,
ask them if they had actually negotiated this Princess
deal properly, whether the 600 rooms that would have been opened would have had an impact on the amount
of airli ft that we had into this country, which would have
then impacted how much money we had to pay for that revenue guarantee. Because the truth of the matter is this Government has been in place since 2017. They
need to stop trying to blame it on everybody els e, and
they actually have to take responsibility for what they are supposed to do.
And I am going to be waiting to see if the Minister is able to actually speak specifically to the things
that my colleague brought up instead of giving the fluff
that we normally get to hear. And I am also hoping that
he is going to give an account to what is going to happen next in education considering that we have seen a vanishing act. And the apologies that needed to happen did not happen. So, I figure the Minister will be
busy. He has been making notes all day about what he
is going to say.
But just remember, every one of those Senators on the Government side needs to think whether everything that they are saying they believe 100 per
cent. When the Government does somet hing that is not
in the best interest, are they willing to look at it and say, I do not think that was the right thing ? Or are they being
forced to follow the line? Because Madam President,
when you give out information and use the wrong inflation numbers and you make up numbers so that it
makes you look better, the truth of the matter is what
my colleague Senator Tucker was talking about, what
the people in Bermuda are actually dealing with.
People are leaving in droves. [There are] lines
for food. It is not about doom and gloom. It is just the
reality of what people are living. And as they say, they
are knocking on the doors, so they are hearing exactly
what we are hearing, that more people are making decisions and plans of how they are going to leave the
country.
So, the Government needs to figure out how
they will get the deal over the line without giving away the entire country. The Government needs to figure out
how they will start to fix our roads so that people do not
drive into these giant potholes that everybody will be
driving through on their way home today. The people of
Bermuda need to know that the [Bermuda] Police Service will be funded at a level that will make sure that the
crime does not continue to rise. And Madam President,
when you spend a bunch of money on consultants to make sure that the reform of education is rolled out the correct way, and then you make the mistake of how you
actually roll it out, I am starting to wonder whether value
for money has happened.
Accountability. It is im portant that this is what
happens. So do not just speak on the political rhetoric that we hear many times. And I am hoping that is not
what the Minister is going to do. He is actually going to
give us facts of how things are actually going to be different than what we have heard up until this point and
how the Government is going to deal with this issue that is so big that our entire country is waiting to find out
what is going to happen with this project. And is it the
developer’s fault? Is it the Governme nt’s fault? It will be
interesting to know whether the Minister actually has
484 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate enough information to be able to give us real, kind of,
progress of what is going to happen because the date
of the start of the renovation gets moved as often as
. . . I do not even know what. I cannot even think of how
often it gets moved.

[Inaudible interjections]

SAFE AND HAPPY BERMUDA DAY HOLIDAY

Sen. Ben Smith: But Madam President, I said that I
would finish off on a good note. This weekend I hope
that everybody takes time to celebrate our wonderful
country, they celebrate our culture, they take time to be
with family and friends, and that we are safe on our
roads. If you are going to consume [alcohol], please
make sure that you are not in your vehicles. If you see people who are getting a little too agitated, try your best
to get them to calm down because we also tend to see
an increase in violence in this period.
Anybody who knows anything about the crimes
that have happened recently, please speak out. And I hope that everybody in the Senate Chamber and everybody in the country has a safe holiday weekend, and
we look forward to coming back on June 7.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader in the Senate.
Would any other Senator wish to speak on the
motion to adjourn?

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I cannot let this day go by, so I would love to speak on the
motion to adjourn.
The President: Minister Darrell, you have the floor.

FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON SDO

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, once again —and I thought
this was a thing of the past but the OBA seems to have
their standard playbook out as they come to this place,
Madam President. And as Senator Smith pointed out, I
do take copious amounts of notes so that I can recall
and rebut a lot of the fictional matter that they tend to
come up with when they meet for their, you know, practice runs before they come to this place.
Madam President, I would just like to start going backwards regarding the Fairmont Southampton
deal. The deal has long been done, Madam President.
And as we have said i n the public domain multiple
times, there are complex issues that are being worked
out by multiple parties that have nothing to do with the deal not being done that we are working on. I would
venture to say that there are other entities with other objectiv es that are preventing almost a thousand people getting back to work, whether it be construction or
whether —

How can he say the deal
is done and then say all kinds of things are still being
worked out?

CONSULTANTS ENGAGED BY GOVERNMENT
AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, thank
you.
I would like to go on to talk about a particular
matter that I take great offense to. And when we talk about the Combined Opposition, we talk about the One Bermuda Alliance and their friends. They have f riends
as well —associates , as they like to call them. It sounds
a little more posh and sophisticated than friends . So,
we will go with associates. But what I do not like is when
the One Bermuda Alliance and their associates like to
throw out the term friends and family .
See, what my father told me a long time ago,
Madam President, is that when certain individuals use
certain terms, it is a direct correlation to how they feel
about that individual. And Madam President, I will venture to say that when certai n individuals like the One
Bermuda Alliance and their associates use the term
friends and family , what it really means is that the individuals —they call them experts —that have been hired
in this field either are incompetent, they steal, or —a
word that we actually heard today —are corrupt.
Madam President, I have said it before. I will say it in
this place. I will say it —

The Minister is trying to
claim facts, but they are not what were said.



Bermuda Senate The President: That is not a point of order, Senator De
Couto.
Minister Darrell, please continue.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I will
not, I cannot, ignore the und ertones that come from certain segments of this society when Black professionals
of expertise are hired in certain places.
Let me help Senator Tucker real quick. She
has never been an elected official, and I am shocked
that her Senate colleague did not as sist her. I have
never been an elected official either, but I know this,
that the number -one goal, the number -one role —let me
put it in her terms —the job of a Member of Parliament
is to represent their constituents. Now if a Member of
Parliament like some of her colleagues that sit in another place do, happens to go out and get another job, why should they not be paid for that? It is a separate
job. So, for us to sit here and listen to stuff like, Oh, they
are getting paid twice. Yes, there are two different jobs,
Madam President .
And you may say, Well, why do they need to
go out and get a second job that may be closely connected to another place that they work? Because the
reality is this, Madam President, that individuals who
have been connected to the Pro gressive Labour Party,
individuals that have family members who have been
connected to the Progressive Labour Party, have long been shut out of opportunities in this country through
affiliations, through associations, or through the despicable tag of frien ds and family. So, let’s keep it real if we
are going to today, Madam President.
You know, I do not like to go back, and I have
individuals who listen religiously. And they say, You know, Senator Darrell, I do not like it when you remind
us about what the OBA did because they are not even
relevant. And I agree. They are one irrelevant bunch,
Madam President. But I will tell you this. They also —as
I have said this before— have probably the most obvious case of amnesia that I have ever seen. I mean, the
One B ermuda Alliance . . . maybe many of them were
not around when, you know, there was one particular
individual working over in Washington DC (who Senator Tucker should know) who was getting paid big
money as a consultant. I do not know what happened,
but she came back, ran in an election. And [that] probably is the reason why she is sitting in here with me.
So, I do not understand how, Madam President, the
One Bermuda Alliance Senators —
Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —have a case of amnesia.

The President: Senator Tucker —

Sen. Robin Tucker: —Madam President —
The President: —you have a point of order?

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, point of order. If the Minister
can explain what he . . . because I have no . . . he is
associating me with something in Washington DC. I
have no clue what he is talking about.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will leave (as Senator
Smith says) Senator Tucker to do her own research on
the third individual who ran against her in the last election. And the job that this individual —

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —may have held somewhere outside of Bermuda. I will let her do that re-search, Madam President .

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, I find that to be
highly disrespectful because he is associating me with
something, and I am asking for clarif ication because I
have no clue what he is talking about. And then he is
telling me to go and do my own research. That is unfair
and quite disrespectful.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, it
looks like I have struck a nerve today.
Madam President, I will end with this story on
this point. When you have got former OBA Senators
walking around who have the audacity to say to my face
that the job that I previously held was one of a yes -man,
I think Senator Tucker should go down a different road
with a different person when she talks about disrespect.
I will leave it there, Madam President.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, point of order.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: If the party of which they
represent —
The President: Minister Darrell, she has a point of order.

POINT OF ORDER
Sen. Robin Tucker: I do have a point of order, and I
would ask the Minister to not associate me with things that do not have anything to do with me. He has called
my name and in reference to him being called a yes -
man. I have never said that about him. It has nothing to
do with me.
486 24 May 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Thank you, Madam President.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I said a former Senator,
Madam President , called me a yes -man.
The President: Senator Darrell, if you are not referring
to—
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: A former Senator.
The President: Well, —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President.

The President: What I heard was you were referring to
Senator Tucker, so—
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: A former —

The President: —you need to—

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I made the correction. A
former —
The President: You need to withdraw the comment.

RESULTS OF THE PROGRESSIVE
LABOUR PARTY GOVERNMENT

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: A former Member.
Madam President, I would like to leave it here.
The individuals that the Government hires are
brought in on their merit, their expertise, and their experience. They work hard to deliver on behalf of this Government and the people of Bermuda. I have said it
before. It is disingenuous for anyone to imply that these
professionals, most of whom are Bermudian, are some-what unworthy to work hard.
Senator De Couto earlier said that the One
Bermuda Alliance will be transparent and deliver results. Again, you are spot on, Senator Smith. Results
such as the airport deal that cost the taxpayers of this
country tens of millions of dollars. He knows it. He is
even singing off of my points —a deal, Madam President, that I must remind him lacked any sort of transparency and that is one of which this current Government raised when we were in Opposition.
Results that Senator De Couto talked about —
maybe he is talking about the failed Morgan’s Point deal. Again, costing the taxpayers millions of dollars. So, I ask the Senator, hypotheticall y ask him, So, what
results does Senator De Couto actually believe that his
party will deliver? I mean, because we are standing
here running around trying to pay bills [for] a mess that
they left us? And they want to trickle it down because
that is the tal king point of the day, that there are potholes. Well, yes, potholes cost money.
Let me out my OBA Senate friends on the side
and tell them what success and results actually look like. The Progressive Labour Party Government has reduced taxes for 86 per cent of hard- working Bermudians and 86 per cent of Bermudian businesses. Since
we were first elected in 2017, workers earning $48,000
or less have a combined $7,000 less in payroll tax. [We] increased pensions for our seniors —I will say it again —
the same sen iors [for] which the One Bermuda Alliance
when they were in Government decided that their ta-gline was going to be Money does not grow on trees,
so go elsewhere and look for help.
We froze fuel prices. Twenty licensed digital
asset companies are now on our Island including big
companies such as Circle, Cash App, and Coinbase.
And yes, Madam President, these companies come
with Bermudians who are actually employed right here on our Island. I will leave a newspaper. I am sure they
get many delivered to them because there are associ-ations, but I will leave one.
So, the One Bermuda Alliance can actually
look at what we actually did this week in opening a new marina in St. George’s. That, Madam President, is what
success and results actually look like. And this is in keeping with an election promise to much needed investment and development to the St. George’s community. This country is going to see a minimum wage implemented for the first time on June 1 to provide and
promote fair compensation, Madam President, for employees to improve their quality of life and prevent the exploitation of workers, and Madam President, yes, to
ensure that working- class families stay above the poverty line and can receive a liveable wage. You would have seen just last week and hear d about the financial
assistance reform.
A Senator who just got up earlier [would] have
you believe that the Government is not doing anything.
Her words: doom and gloom. I will—

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President —
The President: Sorry. Sorry.
Sen. Robi n Tucker: He just . . . The Minister has again
attributed something to me that is not correct. He just said, “Her words: doom and gloom .” In my statement, I
said, I am not bringing gloom and doom. I am not
speaking gloom and doom. I am . . . and as far as the
seniors are concerned, some seniors are struggling de-spite the fact that the Minister would like us to talk about
financial assistance reforms. Some seniors are strug-gling.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The goal of this financial—

The President: Minister, you have two minutes left.



Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
The goal of this financial assistance reform is
to expand eligibility allowing recipients to retain some
of the income that they actually get from working, im-proving support to Bermudian children with greater access to childcare, adding a new funding schem e to allow the recipient to get gifts, bringing some dignity back
into people’s lives, Madam President. And these performed reforms or initiatives are [in] keeping again with the Government’s promises to continue strengthening social protections for Bermudians. That, Madam President, are results of what a Progressive Labour Party
Government looks like.
And Senator De Couto can talk about a smell
as he walks past the Cabinet Office. Let me tell you
what that smell is. It is the hard- working individuals of
this country who are working for the working class and
all of Bermuda. That is what he smells, Madam President. Hard works leads to sweat which may lead to a
smell which he smells.
Now, if you listen to the OBA, they are like the
rain. They would tell you that everything is bad, some
of the OBA. And in my one minute that I have left, Madam President, I am going to tell you what I missed
in the three speakers who came from the One Bermuda
Alliance. They said nothing about the increase of jobs
in Bermuda. They said nothing about how progress is being made, nothing about the minimum wage, nothing
about companies coming to our shores, nothing about
the accomplishments of Bermudians, nothing about Bermudians graduating from the Bermuda College that
came from our College Promise graduates. So, what
this is is an exercise in grandstanding. It is an exercise in them attempting to play politics that they have no
business playing because they do not know a thing about politics, Madam President.
So, in closing, I am goi ng to ask Senator De
Couto to do a little homework. If he can find me some-one in this country who is as qualified and has the expertise and experience of M s. Hefti, who was just hired
as a Middle East consultant, you bring me their resume
next week. And yo u sit with me, and we can start bringing business from the Middle East. Madam President,
he will not find it. He will not find it.
So, Madam President, thank you.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

[Desk thumping]

SAFE AND HAPPY BERMUDA DAY HOLIDAY
The President: With that said, that is the last speaker
for the day. We will now adjourn. Senators, Senate stands adjourned until June 7.
And I would like to wish each one of you a most
wonderful holiday, a safe holiday. And spend time with
family and really enjoy all the activities. And there is so much going on in the Island at the moment, but be safe
and spend time with family and enjoy. And I wish that
for the general public.
With that said, we will see you on June 7.
Thank you.

[At 3:39 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 7 June 2023.]



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