This was a routine parliamentary session focused on government reports and ministerial statements. The Deputy Premier presented population statistics showing births decreased while deaths increased significantly in 2021, with overall population declining to 63,648. The Education Minister announced that 289 new S1 students began specialized programs in areas like healthcare, finance, STEM, and trades at the two senior schools. The Health Minister outlined progress on universal health coverage planning, including new stakeholder groups and digital health initiatives. The Works Minister announced a major housing renovation program costing $21.6 million to bring 77 vacant units back into service for affordable rentals.
Registry General's annual report for 2021 showing population and vital statisticsLaunch of new Signature Learning Programmes at Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge AcademyProgress on universal health coverage planning and stakeholder engagementBermuda Housing Corporation's renovation program to add 77 affordable rental unitsTourism recovery update showing visitor spending up 32% despite lower overall numbers
Bills & Motions
No bills were introduced, read, or voted on during this session. This sitting consisted entirely of routine business including minutes confirmation, report presentations, and ministerial statements providing updates on government programs and initiatives.
Notable Moments
First formal in-person introduction of Assistant Clerk Ms. Kara Beale, who joined during the pandemic
Education Minister emphasized this represents the change the community has been demanding for years in public education
Works Minister highlighted that no new housing construction occurred during the previous OBA government term
Debate Transcript
613 speeches from 36 speakers
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning, Members. Ms. Beale will lead us in prayer. PRAYERS [Prayers read by Ms. Kara Beale, Assistant Clerk ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Ms. Beale. Members, the House is now in session. Please be seated. [Gavel] CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES [Minutes of 30 September 2022 ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, the Minutes of the September 30 sitting have been circulated. Are there any amendments, corrections or omissions to be acknow ledged? There are none. The Minutes will be confirmed as printed. [Minutes of 30 September 2022 confirmed] MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER OR MEMBER PRESIDING FORMAL INTRODUCTION OF MS. KARA BEALE, ASSISTANT CLERK
The SpeakerThe SpeakerFirst let me . . . I was going to say “i ntroduce.” I am sure you have all known that Ms. Beale has been with us for a peri od of time now, but last week I realised afterwards that this is the first time that she has actually …
First let me . . . I was going to say “i ntroduce.” I am sure you have all known that Ms. Beale has been with us for a peri od of time now, but last week I realised afterwards that this is the first time that she has actually been in Chamber and met everybody because she joined us during the pandemic when we were in virtual space. So this is the first time in person that you have all seen her. So just know that this is Ms. Beale here. And we have long welcomed her to the team, and she has fitted into the team quite nicely. So thank you for that. APOLOGIES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI would also like to announce that I have received notice from three of the Members indicating their absence today : Minister Hayward, MP Dunkley and MP Anthony Richardson will all be absent today. Thank you. MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PAPERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are three this morning. The first is in the name of the Deputy Premier. Deputy Premier. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Good morning to the listening audience and Members of this Chamber.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. ANN UAL REPORT OF THE REGISTRY GENERAL 2021 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Speaker, I have the ho nour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Annual Report of the Registry General 202 1, in accordance with section 19 of the …
Good morning.
ANN UAL REPORT OF THE REGISTRY GENERAL 2021 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Speaker, I have the ho nour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Annual Report of the Registry General 202 1, in accordance with section 19 of the Registration (Births and Deaths) Act 1949. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. The next [ paper] is in the name of Minister Furbert, Minister for the Cabinet Office. OFFICE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT AN D PROCUREMENT 2021 ANNUAL REPORT Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, everyone. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for …
Thank you. The next [ paper] is in the name of Minister Furbert, Minister for the Cabinet Office.
OFFICE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT AN D PROCUREMENT 2021 ANNUAL REPORT
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, everyone. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly [the] Annual Report for the year ending D ecember 31, 2021 for the Office of Project Management and Procurement , in accordance with section 1790 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly 32E(2) of the Public Treasury (Administration and Payments) Act 1969. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. And the third [ paper] is in the name of the Minister Tinee Furbert, Mi nister for Social Development and Seniors. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Good morning, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2021 Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2021.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are no ne. STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS AND JUNIOR MINISTERS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThis morning we have five such Stat ements. The first is in the name of the Deputy Premier. Deputy Premier, would you like to present your Statement? [Pause] Hon. Walter H. Roban: Sorry , Mr. Speaker . Sorry. I was giving some assistance to my colleague.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNo problem. No, that is quite al l right. REGISTRY GENERAL ANNUAL REPORT 2021 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Speaker, today I laid for information the Annual Report of the Registry General for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Registrar General recogni ses the essential role that vital stati …
No problem. No, that is quite al l right.
REGISTRY GENERAL ANNUAL REPORT 2021 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Speaker, today I laid for information the Annual Report of the Registry General
for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Registrar General recogni ses the essential role that vital stati stical information plays in planning for the provision of services in areas of tourism, health, education and housing, to name a few, and has performed his duties to a high standard in the recording, collating and pr esenting of the data to be included in the annual report . Mr. Speaker , in accordance with section 19 of the Registration (Births and Deaths) Act 1949, the Registrar General shall, within 90 days after the expiration of each calendar year, compile for publication in such form and manner as the Minister may approve a summary of the births and deaths which occurred dur-ing the year, together with a general report on the increase or decrease of the population of Bermuda. The Registrar is required also under section 35 of the Marriage Act 1944 to publish a summary of marriages conducted each year. In preparation of the report , the Registrar has relied on information received from the Records Office of the King Edward VII Hospital relating to births; from the local funeral directors and medical practitioners in relations to deaths; and from local marriage officers and m asters of Bermuda registered ships in relation to local and maritime marriages, r espectively. Mr. Speaker , the report , which deals primarily with the vital statistics pertaining to the Island’s res idential population, indicates that there has been a slight decrease in the number of births. In 2021 there were 494 births , a decrease of 47 (or 8.7 per cent) over the 541 births recorded in 2020. Also, the live birth rate of the population has decreased by 0.7 point per thousand, from 8.5 in 2020 to 7.8 in 2021. There was one baby born at the residence of the parents for the year ending 2021, which was the same number of babies born at home in 2020. Mr. Speaker , the distribution of live births by nationality, based on information provided by the parents at the time of the registration of their child’s birth for 2021, reflects that 76.9 per cent (or 380) of the total live births have at least one Bermudian parent. In 2021, there were 114 (or 23.1 per cent) births that have parents who are both non- Bermudian. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members are a dvised that in 2021, there were 727 deaths recor ded among residents. A death rate of 11.4 per 1,000 of the population for 2021 reflects an increase of 161 ( or 28.4 per cent) from 566 recorded in 2020. The report also indicates that there were three deaths in respect of non-resident persons, which brings the total number of deaths recorded for 2021 to 730. Also, there were no stillbirths recorded in the 2021 period. Mr. Speaker , there was a decrease of 233 in the estimated resident population at the end of 2021, at 63,648 as opposed to the 63,881 reside nts in the population estimated in 2020. At the end of 2021, there were 2,468 more females than males in the population figures. However, from the report given and statistics recorded since 2017 and statistics pr ovided for 2021, it would appear that there has been a significant drop in the population from statistics recorded prior to the year 2017. Honourable Members will note that the population estimates were re- based in 2016 after the conduct of the 2016 Population and Housing Census Report . The re-base of the data is the reason why the population estimates are lower from 2016 forward. Mr. Speaker , for the year ending the 31 st of December 2021, there were 313 marriages performed in Bermuda, an increase of 65 (or 26.2 per cent) from the 248 marriages rec orded in 2020. The increase can be attributed to the relaxation of social gatherings and
Bermuda House of Assembly international travel restrictions due to the COVID -19 pandemic, which appealed to couples wanting to marry that year. During 2021, marriages between parties who were both non- residents accounted for 66 (or 21.1 per cent) of the total of 313. This figure, for the second consecutive year, breaks the trend w here marriages between non- residents exceed the number of marriages between residents and [the number of] marriages between residents and non- resident parties. The report also shows that there were 211 marriages between parties who were both residents and 36 marriages between a resident and non- resident. Mr. Speaker , of the [313] marriages recorded in 2021, three were same- sex marriages , which re presents a decrease of seven (or 70 per cent ) from the total of 10 same- sex marriages in 2020. All three same -sex marriages were performed by the Registry General Office as civil ceremonies. During 2021, same -sex marriages between parties who were both residents accounted for two (or 67 per cent ) of the total of three marriages. The report also shows that same -sex marriages between a resident and nonresident accounted for one ( or 33 per cent ). There were no same- sex marriages be tween non- resident couples in 2021. Mr. Speaker , 28 marriages were performed on board 28 Bermuda registered ships in 2021. This total represents a decrease of 42 (or 60 per cent ) from the 2020 total of 70. Of the 28 maritime marriages, one was a same- sex marriage ceremony. The decrease is due to the COVID -19 pandemic that brought the cruise line industry to a halt in March of 2020 and did not resume operations until October 2021. There were 28 maritime marriages registered between October and December 202 1. The cumulative number of marriages (local and maritime) processed through the Registry General for the year ending the 31 st of December 2021 was 341 as compared to 318 for the year ending 2020. Mr. Speaker , the Domestic Partnership Act 2018 allowed for the formali sation of unions between parties. In 2021 there were six domestic partnership unions recorded for that period. Five of the domestic partnership ceremonies were performed at the Regi stry General Office, and the remaining one ceremony was perfor med at an alternative approved location as allowed for under the Domestic Partnership Act 2018. In closing, Mr. Speaker , the Annual Report seeks to provide an illustrative statistical digest of vital events such as live births, deaths, stillbirths, marria ges, domestic partnerships, adoptions and re-registration of births for the year ended December 31, 2021. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Deputy Premier. The next Statement this morning is in the name of the Minister of Education. Ministe r. INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. And welcome and hello to the listening audience. Mr. …
Thank you, Deputy Premier. The next Statement this morning is in the name of the Minister of Education. Ministe r. INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. And welcome and hello to the listening audience. Mr. Speaker, this morning I rise to provide this Honourable House and the community at large with an update on the opening of Signature Schools and the introduction of Signature Learning Programmes in our two senior schools, the Berkeley Institute and C edarBridge Academy. This is undoubtedly a significant milestone achieved in the ongoing work of education reform for our public school system, w ork that has covered some 30 months of belief and determination. Mr. Spe aker, much work has been [happening] and continues to happen to ensure that our chi ldren, Bermuda’s children, have an educational exp erience that prepares them for their future and con-nects them with their community. As you have heard me say on several occ asions, Bermuda’s children are Bermuda’s future. With this, Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and gratitude [that I] inform this House that on Monday, September 12, 2022, we celebrated a new chapter in education reform. On this day, a total of 289 inc oming S1 students entered the Berkeley Inst itute and CedarBridge Academy to undertake Signature Learning Programmes in Health and Social Care, Finance and Insurance Services, STEM (or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), and Trades and Professions. Mr. Speaker, in celebration of this new chapter in learning for our children and Bermuda, the school hallways at both the Berkeley Institute and C edarBridge Academy were lined by students, educ ators, school leaders, Ministry and Education Depar tment staff, alumni and community partners as they clapped [during] the procession of incoming S1 st udents who will be embarking on a transformative journey and a new way of learning. Mr. Speaker, I was deeply moved while we lcoming our S1 students at both schools, k nowing that the work and effort, some 30 months ’ worth, had been put into implementing the Signature Schools and their Signature Learning Programmes —programmes that will serve our children well for years to come. Mr. Speaker, this is the change our communi ty has been demanding for years. Learning for our children that is personali sed, flexible, relevant, future- focused, inspi ring and authentically Bermudian. Areas of learning that students have chosen for themselves. Learning that will open up further study and career opportun ities. Mr. Speaker , the Signature School at t he Berkeley Institute will feature Signature Programmes in the following: • Financ e and Insurance Services , which i ncludes programmes in o Accountancy ; 1792 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly o Banking and Financial Services ; o Business Administration and Ma nagement ; o FinTech; and o Insurance. The other Signature Programme is • Health and Social Care, which includes [ programmes in] o Holistic and Allied Health Care Services ; o Medical Sciences and Services ; and o Social Sciences and Services . Mr. Speaker , the Signature School at CedarBridge Academy will feature signature program mes in the following: • STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), which includes [ programmes in] o Animal and Veterinary Sciences ; o Computer Science; o Creative Technologies ; o Engineering; and o Environmental Sciences ; • Trades and Profession Learning Programme, which includes programmes in o Automotive Technology ; o Carpentry ; o Cosmetology ; o Culinary Arts and Hospitality ; o Electrical; o Horticulture; and o Textiles and Design. Mr. Speaker, in my press release on the first day of the academic year, I said that this change has been built by Bermudians for Bermuda through e ngagement with teachers, students, parents, and bus iness and community leaders. I take this opportunity to acknowledge and sincerely thank every educator, school leader, learning partner and team member who has contributed to the most significant and essential cause of doing what is best for our children's future. Mr. Speaker, the learning that our S1 students are currently engaged in will create a generation of young people who are engaged, adaptive, entrepr eneurial, innovative, culturally connected and empowered. These attributes will shape our young people to be the creators of future jobs , to be active citizens and to tackle increasingly complex challenges. Mr. Speaker, while I am very excited for what we have achieved to date, this is just the beginning. While our educators at the Berkeley Institute and C edarBridge Academy are delivering our first year of Signature Learning Programmes, they are also begi nning to work on developing what is required for the S2 and S3 levels. And we are not stopping at just what happens in the Signature Learning Programmes. Teams of teachers at both senior schools are also focusing on redesigning the first two disciplines in the core curriculum , Mathematics and Science, and on scaling a new model of advisory which caters to the more critical -than- ever area of social –emotional lear ning. Mr. Speaker, w hile so far my S tatement has been f ocused on providing updates on the achiev ements and work underway in our Signature S chools , it would be remiss of me not to quickly refer to the r emainder of the school transformational work underway. This includes the developmental work to prepare for a t hird Signature Senior School offering, Hospitality and Tourism ; and Education Services Signature Learning Programmes ; and the phased introduction of parish primary schools at the Francis Patton and Purvis Primary School sites. Mr. Speaker, w hether it be the 93- year-old Mr. Furbert whom I spoke with at the Parish Primary School Pop- Up at Crawl Hill Gas Station last week ; the parent I spoke with at the Senior Signature School Pop-Up at the National Library last week, Friday , who sent her children overseas f or school ; the young pr ofessional who spoke about her child at a public prim ary school when I stopped to visit the team at the Pop-Up at Lindo ’s in Devonshire on Monday evening; and lastly, the mother who told us about her older chi ldren's struggles in the public system and the hope she saw for her younger children, at the Pop- Up on Nellie’s Walk on Wednesday , the thoughts expressed have been the same, that this is the change our community has been asking for. Mr. Speaker, b efore coming into power, this Government made an earnest promise to Bermuda and her people that it was to “Reform public education by phasing out middle schools and introducing signa-ture schools at the secondary level . . . .” Our public school system is moving in this direction. The legisl ation was passed last year to shift from a three- tier to a two-tier system. This year the phased introduction of Signature Learning Programmes for our S1 students was achieved. We will continue in a staged way to transform the quality of public education so that each and every young person in Bermuda can achieve great learning and life outcomes. Mr. Speaker, this Government is serious about transforming [public ] school education because we value our young people. This is demonstrated not only by our com mitments but by our approach to delivering on those commitments. Of course, we are f ocused on quality and fidelity, but given that much work is unprecedented in Bermuda, we need to balance that with a new set of practices centred around col-laboration, a learning mind- set, and large doses of determination and perseverance. This will ensure we can continue the work to reform our public school sy stem. Mr. Speaker, i mportant work is to create the necessary opportunities for our children to follow their passions and interests, build on their talents and c apabilities, and achieve their careers and further aspi-rations. We will continue to be relentless in our focus and efforts because the work is to impact future genBermuda House of Assembly erations, and it is not just our children who depend on the work, but also the success of Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. The next Statement this morning is in the name of the Minister of Health. Minister, would you like to present your Statement? Hon. Kim N. Wils on: Yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. NEXT STEPS FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members, last year the Government of Bermuda took the first steps toward delivering on its promise to implement universal health coverage for all residents. Our vision for health care seeks to ensure that “ …
Go ahead.
NEXT STEPS FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members, last year the Government of Bermuda took the first steps toward delivering on its promise to implement universal health coverage for all residents. Our vision for health care seeks to ensure that “ all people have equitable access to needed informative, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative essential health services, of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that people do not suffer f inancial hardship when paying for these services and critical medicines .” As I have said before, Bermuda is very fo rtunate in that we have a health system that is well-developed and well -supported by dedicated professionals. However, the overall lack of affordability and sustainability of our health system is alarming for this Government. Bermuda has one of the highest per capita health expenditures globally, but our population health outcomes do not reflect this. Mr. Speaker, this journey of change is complex, but our goals are clear. We must achieve better health outcomes, particularly of chronic disease management. We must ensure the availability of essential health services [which] residents can be confident that they can afford when they need them. We must strive to be efficient and effective in the delivery of these services, and eliminate waste and duplication w here it occurs in the health system. Just how important is this journey of change? Mr. Speaker, Dr. Dean Okereke of the Bermuda Hospitals Board is the project lead on an eye - opening study of superusers of the hospital’s emergency department. Superusers are individuals, often with complex care needs, who make disproportionate use of health resources. Of the 778 emergency department visits in a year made by the top 50 most frequently attending superusers, there were 101 admi ssions resulting in 1,002 inpatient bed days. While 10 per cent of attendances at emergency are for scheduled visits such as IV medications and blood transfusions, 60 per cent of patients present with the same issue nearly every time, and chronic conditions are a recurring theme. I know I need not remind this Honourable House that emergency department treatment is one of the most expensive ways to receive regular medical care. But if you are uninsured or underinsured, it can be viewed as the viable option. A [ revamp] of our health care sy stem is necessary to help these indivi duals access care more appropriately, to ensure that we as a community make best use of our vital hospital resources, and to deliver better value care for all of us. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will recall last y ear the Ministry of Health brought together a core group of stakeholders from across our health system to serve as the UHC [universal health coverage] Steering Committee. Supported by KPMG, the Steering Committee developed a high- level roadmap for strengthening Bermuda’s health care and delivering on universal health coverage. The committee took note of health care systems in other jurisdictions, and it is clear there are many different systems used worldwide to achieve universal health coverage. Ho wever, i t bears repeating that the approach taken here on our I sland must be Bermuda- centric. Mr. Speaker, we know that the goal of achie ving universal health coverage will be accomplished in stages over several years. During this time, this Government will work with our many stakeholders to ensure our decisions and actions are based on and framed by a patient -focused approach that puts p atient experiences and outcomes at the centre of the work on universal health coverage. Mr. Speaker, since delivery of the roadmap, the UHC Steering Committee has restarted its work and is expanded now to include the Chief Medical O fficer, representation from the Department of Information and Digital Technologies and new patient representatives. In this foundational year, the Mi nistry is working with the Steering Committee on a number of priority projects , as follows: • The National Digital Health Strategy —a project working group is set up to deliver on a Throne Speech initiative to develop a national strategy for digital health th at leverages health information systems and connectivity to capture improvements and efficiencies for patients, health care providers and health sy stem payors. Digital health innovation is more than electronic medical records. It has the potential to be a key enabler in the transformation of Bermuda’s health care system . • Merging government insurance funds — another project working group is driving forward the merging of government insurance funds, which is also a Throne Speech initi ative. The group is startin g with the administr ative merger of the government employee health insurance [GEHI] with the Health I nsurance Department. Management Consulting Services is working with the different depar t1794 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly ments to develop a new [ organi sational ] chart, and identify and [assess] service efficiencies and gaps . • Agree our starting points —the work of determining the baselines of our population’s health needs is just starting now. It is important to know and agree our baselines to ensure our efforts are aligned with what the comm unity really needs. With that established, the baselines provide a meaningful starting point for the metrics that will monitor and measure our performance in the future. It is not enough to simply make changes ; we must know the improvements those changes bring and know also when we need to correct course. We are fortunate to have project management assistance for this with this particular element from public registrars in trai ning with the U nited Kingdom Health and Safety Agency. Mr. Speaker, I will pause here to bring to the attention of Honourable Members a survey currently being conducted by the Bermuda Health Council. The purpose of the survey is to understand the different views of people about health and illness. The survey is intended to support and enable improvements to the health care system. This is another step on our journey, and I would urge the public to go to bhec.bm
to express your interest in participating so that we can continue to build our information base. • Integrated Care Pathways . Work on this Throne Speech initiative is due to begin shor tly. Supported by KPMG, the intention is to map selected patient care journey s to provide a comprehensive view of the current state of care for the specified conditions. The objective is to address the highest priority and highest care needs first, [then] deliver value and be patient -centred with an integrated approach to the care delivered. The mapping exercise will bring out opportunities to improve care and address pain points , both clinical and organisational , along the whole pathway , and we welcome this . • Develop Pan- system for Governance. There are many stakeholders involved in Bermuda’s health care system, and the transitional governance framework is organised to provide a structure for contributions and informationsharing across the whole of the system. With the UHC Steering Committee overseeing overall progress toward univer sal health coverage, a number of additional stakeholder working groups and forums will provide a cr ucial opportunity for joined- up and timely collaboration on projects, policies and plans. Mr. Speaker, these stakeholder working groups and forums are being formed now. They are as follows: • The Clinical Senate comprising a wide range of the system’s practitioners and professionals, plus the statutory board chairs, will focus on medical and health matters . • Health Financing is a group for those involved in rev enue raising, pooling of funds, purchase and provision of health services, where the chief focus is on strengthening health system financing. We expect employer groups to be well represented here . • Health Insurers have been invited to form a group to provide critical technical input on risk pooling, benefit design, service costs, med icine costs, usage, value, waste reduction, et cetera. [as these matters] arise . • The Health Advocacy forum will advocate for patients’ health and well-being, with a focus on heal th [equity ]. We anticipate active participation and engagement on the part of patient groups, unions and third sector organisations . • The Service Providers Forum will engage the range of provider organi sations and practices working within the health system , such as diagnostic labs, health and hospital centres and medical practices. The chief focus will be on business operations and access to care. It is distinct from the Clinical Senate [ in] that it is business -centric, rather than [ treatment - or care- centr ic]. Mr. Speaker, we recognise there is overlap between these stakeholder working groups and f orums –and indeed overlap of representatives between the groups —and that is fine. The main aim is to pr ovide a structure that supports opportunities for partic ipation, information sharing and feedback, as well as discourages silos. Invitations to participate in the stakeholder working groups and forums are being i ssued now. I would appeal to the chairs of the numerous boards, councils and associations who have r eceived or will receive an invitation to select designates from among your group to be a part of this transform ational programme. As I have stated before, it is vitally important for the work on universal health coverage to include engagement of and collabor ation with the wide range of stakeholders who form part of Bermuda’s health system. We have a direction of travel, but there are many questions to answer and decisions to make that will need broader input than [is] represented solely by the UHC Steering Committee or the Ministry itself. We know the insight and feedback of our health system partners will be invaluable as we improve health care access, experiences and outcomes for all who live here. We look forward to all of the many contributions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. The next Statement this morning is in the name of the Minister of Works. Bermuda House of Assembly Minister. BERMUDA HOUSING CORPORATION RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNIT RENOVATION PROGRAMME
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchGood morning, Mr . Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring extremely positive news in relation to an election pledge made by this Government in its 2020 Election Manifesto—to i mprove the quality of life for all Bermudians. Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues in the Chamber today and the listening public …
Good morning, Mr . Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring extremely positive news in relation to an election pledge made by this Government in its 2020 Election Manifesto—to i mprove the quality of life for all Bermudians. Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues in the Chamber today and the listening public shall already be acutely aware that housing prices, mortgage inter-est rates and rental prices have been on a continuous rise worldwide. In Bermuda, the monthly rental rates range as follows: • for a studio apartment, $1,100 to $1,800 per month; • for a one- bedroom apartment, $1,500 to $2,000 per month; • for a two- bedroom apartment, $2,200 to $3,000 per month; and • for a three- bedroom apartment, $3,200 to $5,000 per month. Mr. Speaker, there is no denying that our I sland has an ext remely high cost of living, routinely in the top five in the world. I ask Members of this Hon-ourable House, Do we expect families to pay these exorbitant rates in comparison to their monthly income just to have a roof over their head, while in addition paying high utility bills (energy, Internet and phone), high fuel costs and paying the ever -increasing grocery costs to simply survive in a modern world? The simple answer is no. This administration does not expect hard- working families to live in this manner without help from their Government. While I fully support my Cabinet colleague, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, in tabling the Fuels Act 2022 for the purpose of protec ting the interests of consumers by ensuring fuel prices are fair and tr ansparent, the Government realises that this is not enough to combat the heightened cost of living. Having frozen the price of fuel at the pump in February, more needs to be done such as the duty reductions on essential goods. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that in addition to our efforts to assist in lowering the cost of living, the Cab inet has recently approved Phase I of a new housing initiative, a renovation scheme of 137 older housing units owned by the Bermuda Housing Corporation
[BHC] to increase the amount of affordable housing options for Bermudians. Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind colleagues that the mandate of the BHC is to provide affordable, quality and adequate housing and to promote home ownership to all Bermudians. The corporation oper-ates 700 residential rental units and is currently at maximum capacity with a waiting list of approximately 129 families (inclusive of single individuals), a list that is ever increasing. Mr. Speaker, since January 2022 the BHC has been engaging in renovation works to several properties under its remit. As of September 2022, a total of 17 units have been renovated and returned to the rental unit stock, 13 units as part of the routine maintenance programme while the other four units have been completed under the Government’s Ec onomic Stimulus Programme. Through the Economic Stimulus Programme, a further 13 units are still under renovation in v arying stages of completion, either awaiting planning approval from the Department of Planning or awaiting the conclusion of a procurement process. Mr. Speaker, this Government realises that this is not nearly enough to address the aforemen-tioned waiting list. To that end we can report that the BHC has 137 older housing units that are in need of renovation to bring them up to the relevant building codes; 60 of these units are occupied, while the r emaining 77 are out of service and will be added as new uni ts to the inventory. This work will extinguish the entire vacant and derelict units owned by the corporation. Mr. Speaker, I know I have just announced numbers, so let me recap for those who may be fol-lowing: • The BHC has 700 units that are presently occupied, the maximum capacity . • This renovation programme as approved by the Cabinet will provide an additional 77 units to the inventory, bringing the total amount of rental units to 777. Mr. Speaker, to adhere to its mandate of providing affordable housing, the BHC will continue to use the rent -geared- to-income- based scheme which is capped at 35 per cent of the total household income for these additional rental units. This system allows for low- and middle- class income families to afford a quality standard of living as well as save 10 per cent of their household income. Mr. Speaker, for emphasis, that is 77 add itional affordable rental units set to be available through this Residential Renovation Programme and the Economic Stimulus Programme, though the Mini stry and the BHC are working diligently to continue i ncreasing the stock. The total cost of the programme is estimated at $21,605,000 and will be spread over the next three- and-a-half fiscal years with an initial $4,250,000 capital grant set to be given t o the BHC forthwith for the commencement of the programme. The remaining funds will be requested through the relevant year’s budgetary process. Mr. Speaker to be more fiscally prudent in the completion of the pr ogramme, the Cabinet also waived all customs duty fees associated with the importation of goods r equired, with an estimated savings of $3,240,750. 1796 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, in its 2020 Election Manifesto under the category for Improving the Quality of Life for All Bermudians, this Administration pledged to conti nue increasing the stock of affordable housing through-out the country, expand rent -geared- to-income pr ogrammes and construct residential developments in the economic empowerment zone to increase the supply of quality affordable residential accommodation and drive down rental costs. This renovation plan does just that, the first phase of addressing affordable housing needs. Mr. Speaker, the next phases of this plan will include the development in the Hamilton Economic Empowerment Zone, the construction of affordable units for sale and the expansion of the Private Sector Rental Programme. This programme allows for pr ivately owned units to be rented to the Bermuda Hous-ing Corporation with guaranteed rent and intervention by the corporation when tenants do not honour their commitment. The rates are less than market rates, but the rent is guaranteed to be paid on time and the unit returned to its original state at the conclusion of the tenancy. Separately, we are looking at new ways to address the privately owne d vacant and derelict properties to bring them back online. It has been more than 10 years since there was any type of building programme. The Perimeter Lane condos were the last construction carried out by the corporation. None occurred during the OBA ter m. So we are starting again to increase the inventory. So, Mr. Speaker, I join the Bermuda Housing Corporation Board, management and staff in expressing our delight that funding has been provided for this initiative and we can further deliver on the BHC mandate of providing affordable housing for Bermudians. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. The last Statement this morning is in the name of the Minister of Tourism. Minister. STATE OF TOURISM Q3 2022 Hon. Vance Campbell: Yes, Mr . Speaker. I rise to provide an update on the state of tourism. The State of Tourism Hon. Vance Campbell: Mr. Speaker, …
Thank you, Minister. The last Statement this morning is in the name of the Minister of Tourism. Minister.
STATE OF TOURISM Q3 2022
Hon. Vance Campbell: Yes, Mr . Speaker. I rise to provide an update on the state of tourism.
The State of Tourism Hon. Vance Campbell: Mr. Speaker, as we look back at the third quarter of 2022, Bermuda has seen m omentum build after two years of a decimated global tourism industry . By the end of August, Bermuda welcomed over 98,000 air visitors to the Island. While we are seeing growth year over year, we have not yet achieved the volumes of 2019. The Bermuda Tourism Authority projects Bermuda’s year -end visitor volume to be approximately 56 per cent of 2019. Mr. Speaker, some tourism measures have exceeded 2019 figures. Per -person spending by air leisure visitors was up by 32 per cent this summer. This means that today’s leisure visitor provides more value to the economy. More is being spent in Berm uda’s hotels, shops and businesses at $2,030 per person than they did individually in 2019 when each air leisure visitor spent $1,534 on average. The average length of stay year to date shows that Bermuda’s leisure visitors are booking vacations that are 11 per cent longer than in 2019. The vacation rental category connects a wide cross section of Bermudians with a new category of visitors looking to explore Bermuda from a local va ntage point. It has been a vital shot in the arm to a segment of locals looking to play a part in tourism and earn extra income during challenging times. Signif icantly, occupancy in the vacation rental sector has grow n more than 13 per cent over 2019 measures through the end of August. Mr. Speaker, cruise travel is a critical revenue earner for Bermuda’s tourism economy. Bermuda has enjoyed a strong cruise season with 116 cruise calls to Bermuda by mid- September. The t eam at the BTA [Bermuda Tourism Authority] projects cruise visitor volumes up to 400K passengers contributing $162 million to the economy. As the pandemic has waned, Bermuda has relaxed some of the stringent requir ements for travellers. Unvaccinated travel lers are now being allowed to travel to Bermuda with some testing requirements currently in place. And the industry has been energised by news of more welcome changes to come. Mr. Speaker, airlift and hotel capacity have not yet returned to pre- pandemic levels. Hotel inventory has proven to be a limiting factor in the Island’s bid to restore air capacity. So the growth of our hotel bed count is a pressing need for tourism’s recovery. It is a challenging environment; however, there are some promising developments on the hotel front. Azura hotel has announced that it will complete its final phase of construction this fall and that its second property, Nautilus, is progressing well with a sold -out phase one and hotel opening slated for 2024. The Bermudiana Beach Hotel, a Tapestry R esort by Hilton, is set to add 110 much- needed hotel rooms into the inventory in 2023. Likewise, Rosedon Hotel, which has developed an award- winning su stainable farm -to-table culinary model at the property’s restaurant, will reopen its boutique hotel next year with 12 luxury rooms. Cambridge Beaches has i nvested in renovations to the property and the opening of new food and beverage outlets. Mr. Speaker, the Fairmont Southampton deal continues to move toward finalisation, with all parties working through final documentation in the knowledge that this redevelopment represents the single most important game changer on so many fronts in tourism.
Bermuda House of Assembly Local Engagement
Hon. Vance Campbell: Mr. Speaker, the Bermuda Tourism Authority cites local engagement as a key pillar of the country’s National Tourism Plan. This summer, The Loren hotel resurrected its annual C elebrity Chef Summer Culinary series. The South Shore pro perty featured Ghanaian American celebrity chef, Eric Adjepong, and Chef Tiffany Derry for fully subscribed culinary experiences for our visitors by incorporating a community engagement component. In partnership with the team at the BTA, The Loren and the world -famous chefs created intimate learning experiences with young Bermudians interes ted in a career in the culinary arts. Chef Eric hosted a Chopped- style experience for a dozen young boys aged 13 to 18. These young men were from the Bermuda Government S ummer Day Camp programmes and were introduced to the basics of food preparation. [They were] presented with a mystery basket of ingr edients and instructed to collaborate with their fellow participants to produce a dish using the available tools and ingredi ents. Similarly, Chef Tiffany Derry spent an afternoon sharing the joys of a career in the culinary arts with a group of young women from summer camps around the Island. I wish to thank the team at The Loren for cr eating an opportunity to show the potentia l of a career in hospitality. Mr. Speaker, on World Tourism Day, the BTA celebrated sustainability with the theme “ ReThink Tourism .” The Authority launched a supporting social campaign recognising faces in tourism outside the traditional realm whose work c ontributed to sustainability and an eco- conscious approach to hospitality. The Bermuda public can expect more communic ations that will showcase unexpected ways that locals can engage and participate in the tourism sector in alignment with the National Tour ism Plan.
Maritime Strategy —Yachts and Superyachts
Hon. Vance Campbell: Mr. Speaker, the organis ation’s maritime strategy has already exceeded 2022 targets as of August. A critical component of our mar itime strategy has been the growth of the superyacht segment. The strategic integrated marketing partnerships initiated in 202 1 have positioned Bermuda to make significant inroads in increasing awareness and engagement with the superyacht industry. Since 2020, Bermuda’s focus on attracting superyachts has created opportunities for growth. Bermuda has welcomed 79 superyacht calls to date in 2022 compared to 37 in 2021. Superyachts can have a significant impact on any local economy with expenditure on berthing, fuel, maintenance, and supplies, as well as onshore spen ding by crew and guests. Through August 2022, $3 million ($1.1 million in 2021) in economic impact has been realised from superyachts in Bermuda. Bermuda’s Entertainment Sector
Hon. Vance Campbell: Mr. Speaker, historically, Bermuda’s entertainment sector has always repr esented an exciting, memorable part of Bermuda’s tourism product. The BTA has made 2022 the starting point for revitalising and investing in Bermuda’s entertainment product. The Government collaborated with the [Bermuda Tourism] Authority to invite tourism entrepreneurs and promoters to provide unique, culturally authentic entertainment experiences. The Great Sound Entertainment Series was launched in August featuring local entertainment showcases including a revival of the popular Made in Bermuda Nights series. Bermuda’s entertainers, whose livelihoods were a dversely impacted by the COVID -19-induced lockdown, restrictions, and drop in visitor arrivals are finally b eginning to see more opportunities. Mr. Speaker, with BTA -sponsored events and grant programmes for qualified experiences, this A dministration i s committed to providing a boost to local entertainment. We salute the local promoters and business owners for their role in creating opportunities to enjoy Bermuda’s culture with weekly musical line - ups around the Island. Mr. Speaker, the Government is proud of the support it has provided for live entertainment through the Great Sound Entertainment series. The Saturdays at Woody’s series wrapped up last weekend with a stellar performance by one of Bermuda’s most prolific creators of original Bermudian mus ic, Arijahknow Live Wires and The Kings Band. The series included performances by some of our most talented bands including Hindsight, Working Title, Paradise Band and more. This weekend the Great Sound Entertainment series concludes with the inaugural Swi zzle Festival in Barr’s Bay Park.
The Brand Campaign
Hon. Vance Campbell: The Bermuda Tourism A uthority has launched a high -impact, visually appealing brand campaign titled “Lost Yet Found.” The ca mpaign leverages themes of authenticity and curiosity that shift the narrative about who and what Bermuda is. The creative strategy was developed based on i ndustry data and targeted research identifying specific decision -making drivers for the country’s target visitor. They will be using all media platforms to t ell and share stories about the breadth and depth of Bermuda and her people. Bermuda’s new advertising campaign is live in households around the world and has already had 5.2 million views due to strategic advertising placements. The campaign is ongoing, and early performance numbers are outperforming historical brand performance metrics. The BTA has created a mobile booth experience that will draw in prospective Berm uda visitors, which will launch toward the end of this 1798 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly month in highly visible locations i n Miami, New York and Boston. Lastly, Bermuda will launch an in- airport campaign targeting holiday travellers in Philadelphia and Charlotte. The campaign is a data- driven tool to entice visitors to the Island. That is why the BTA’s marketing includes ongoi ng study and analysis of the campaign’s impact and reach, including tools to also measure overall consumer sentiment toward the campaign.
Public Relations and Communications — USA, Canada and UK
Hon. Vance Campbell: The distribution report for the Lost Ye t Found announcement, which led with the headline “Bermuda’s Lost Yet Found Campaign Lures Visitors for a Deep Dive into the Destination’s Unique Culture,” was received well and had a combined audience of 89.5 million through 110 pieces of coverage to date.
The People
Hon. Vance Campbell: Mr. Speaker, our people will be the engine driving the revitalisation of tourism in Bermuda. And the team at the Bermuda Tourism A uthority has been aggressively focused on that aim. The organisation has been restructured to achieve the goals of the Tourism Strategic Recovery Plan. Under Ms. Berkeley’s leadership, the [BTA] has made pr ogress on staffing gaps with the appointment and pr omotion of qualified, experienced professionals to sev-eral key posts in the marketing and sales divisions.
Events and Experiences - Q4—What’s on Deck
Hon. Vance Campbell: Mr. Speaker, after a robust calendar of events in July, August and September that saw entertainment, sporting and group events, as well as a rebound in leisure, business and wedding travel, Bermuda will see a solid calendar for the next few months as part of our strategy to attract year -round visitation. Building year -round business is a vital part of the National Tourism Plan and is key to attracting and retaining an engaged workforce, driving visitor spending and building the case for more airlift year - round. The BTA supports sporting, culinary, entertainment, group and cultural events which will either attract visitors or entertain those already on the Island. The calendar is built out through a combination of BTA- led, BTA -sponsored events and existing on I sland events that the [BTA] promotes on its channels. Mr. Speaker, October began with the City of Hamilton’s hugely successful Taste of Bermuda event, and the finale of t he Government -supported Great Sound Entertainment series. It continues with the Community and Culture Department’s Bermuda International Gombey Festival. Sports events such as the Rugby World Classic, the PGA Tour, Butterfield Ber-muda Championship, APGA [A dvocates Pro Golf A ssociation] Tournament, the PGA Magazine Lyles Foundation event and Bermuda International Gig Championship are expected to attract hundreds of visitors to Bermuda for a post -summer boost in visitor arrivals. The Bermuda Festival of the P erforming Arts returns on November 4, and Dame Flora Duffy returns to compete on home soil for the World Triathlon S eries. The Loren Hotel will be hosting a culinary fest ival, the Food Harvest Journey, which celebrates Ber-muda’s culinary heritage and highl ights Bermudian artisans, farmers, fishers, and local food stars. Bermuda is invited to the BTA Tourism Summit on N ovember 18, which will be an opportunity for tourism stakeholders to come together with the Bermuda Tourism Authority to explore the future of tourism in Bermuda, learn about upcoming initiatives, get trai ning, and network with industry players.
Conclusion Strategic Recovery
Hon. Vance Campbell: Mr. Speaker, we are at a crit ical juncture in our efforts to reverse losses incurred by the pandem ic. The Bermuda tourism strategic recovery plan has been the guiding document for the men and women of the [Bermuda Tourism] Authority who work each day to restore the industry. Rebuilding the tourism sector is a nonnegotiable exercise, and the BTA team i s committed to the effort. I would like to encourage those who have just joined the sector, and those who have been ser ving critical roles on the tourism frontlines and the back -of-house for many years, to continue in this effort to renew tourism for Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the resourcefulness of all who have played a part in keeping this essential industry on the path to recovery. In clo sing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to salute the dedicated BTA staff, board of directors and their industry partners who work diligently toward the success of this country’s vital economic pillar. I encourage everyone to lend your support to the work being done to rebuild this critical economic sector. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. This brings us, Members, to the end of the Ministerial Statements. We now move on. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. QUESTION PER IOD Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: This morning we have questions from the Statements that were given this morning. And we will note the time for it and start our 60 minutes. The first question this morning is on the Statement from the Deputy …
There are none.
QUESTION PER IOD
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: This morning we have questions from the Statements that were given this morning. And we will note the time for it and start our 60 minutes. The first question this morning is on the Statement from the Deputy Premier. Deputy Premier, the Opposition Whip has a question for you.
QUESTION 1: ANNUAL REPORT OF THE REGISTRY GENERAL 2021
Mr. Jarion RichardsonThank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues and the listening public. Would the Honourable Minister pleas e explain the mechanism used by the Registrar General to d etermine current resident population? Thank you. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Registrar confers with the Statistics …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues and the listening public. Would the Honourable Minister pleas e explain the mechanism used by the Registrar General to d etermine current resident population? Thank you. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Registrar confers with the Statistics D epartment, in addition clearly taking into account the births and deaths that will be reported to the Registrar to take a count of the births and deaths that ultimately come into an estimation that is on population numbers.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Thank you. That brings us to a close for the questions on your Statement, Minister. The next Statement that had questions this morning is that for the Minister of Education. Minister, the Opposition Leader would like to put a question to you. QUESTION 1: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES …
Okay. Thank you. That brings us to a close for the questions on your Statement, Minister. The next Statement that had questions this morning is that for the Minister of Education. Minister, the Opposition Leader would like to put a question to you.
QUESTION 1: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to begin by thanking the Minister for the work that he has done so far on the Signature Schools. My question to the Minister is this: Can the Minister provide details on the curriculum alignment from the middle school to the senior schools in regard to the Signature Programmes in that they are so specialised that we would want there to be some type of alignment so that the students transferring or trans i-tioning from middle school are qualified to do some of these subjects?
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that question. It is actually very topical. For the initial group that has entered, S1 st udents, that programme was developed called the Taster Programme. The Taster Programme is a pr ogramme in which the students are exposed to the par-ticular signatures that give counselling preferences. And it is not just them who are exposed; it is their parents as well as the teachers. So they are in a better position to decide which signature more suits their aptitudes and their likes. The incoming M3 students wi ll begin that Taster Programme this month with the M2 students beginning the Taster Programme in January of next year.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: What support does the Mi nistry give S1 students, the new S1 students who act ually enter and choose a Signature School Programme, but yet they do not have the prerequisite skills to ac-tually enter like the finance or veterinary or banking …
Go ahead.
SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: What support does the Mi nistry give S1 students, the new S1 students who act ually enter and choose a Signature School Programme, but yet they do not have the prerequisite skills to ac-tually enter like the finance or veterinary or banking and finance programmes. Even t hough they are attracted to it, they may not have the prerequisite skills. So what support has the Ministry given to those chi ldren to bring their skills up to the level that will enable them to qualify to go into some of these Signature Programmes?
The S peaker: Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, thank you. Again, thank you for that question. And I appreciate those questions coming, because some of —this particular question has been answered dozens of times in the various public presentations that we do give on education. Unfortunately, and I am not playing politics; I do send these notices to the Opposition. And unfortunately, they do not show up to any of these briefings. Mr. Speaker, the Signature Programmes are currently a four -year progr amme. They will convert into a five- year programme. The first year is what we call introduction into the various programmes. This gives the students an opportunity to see if this is exactly what it is they want to do. It is an introduction. Think of it as college where you are doing 101 classes, classes that will just give them a taste of what is 1800 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly going to be coming, what is going to be the beginning of moving forward. So for example, you take— and the Opposition Leader did speak specifically of finance, the finance one. I spoke to several Signature Programmes that are across the finance signature. However, in year one what the students take is identical across [the courses] because it is an introduction to all of those different courses. The courses given during that first year are courses that are applicable to all students who are entering into those particular signatures. When we get to CedarBridge and we are talking about trades and professions, it is slightly different because when you talk about trades and professions, what you are learning initially to get you interested in carpentry is slightly different from what you would use if you are getting into culinary arts. So all of those first -year courses are very introductory courses to give students an op portunity to see if that is really where they want to go. One of the questions, I just want to expand on is this. One of the questions that we continuously answer is, Well, what if my child doesn’t like . . . and they want to switch? And that is quite pos sible. They will be able to switch. They will even be able to switch schools if there is space at the other school that we are looking at. I also think it is really important to point out that the Signature Programme part makes up 30 per cent of the stude nt’s time in school. A full 70 per cent is on the regular curriculum. The math, the science, the social science and the English language subjects, which is our core, what we call our core curriculum. And then you have the [noncore] stuff, which would be art, drama, dance and the physical education, and different things like that. So they will be given the core curriculum, the [noncore] curriculum, and then the Signature Programmes will make up around 30 per cent, a maximum of 30 per cent of what it is they are doing through their school career.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Is there a supplementary? Second question? Go right ahead. QUESTION 2: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: The Minister indicated that the teachers were all welcoming and so on. And I saw that for myself. And I was just alarmed to …
Thank you. Is there a supplementary? Second question? Go right ahead.
QUESTION 2: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: The Minister indicated that the teachers were all welcoming and so on. And I saw that for myself. And I was just alarmed to see today’s newspaper in regard to teachers’ not being paid on time. Can you speak to that, please?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, even though the Statement did not mention or speak anything about teacher salaries, I do believe it is a topical question. And I was shocked to see that in the newspaper myself this morning. Well, this morning—actually, that story was printed last …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, even though the Statement did not mention or speak anything about teacher salaries, I do believe it is a topical question. And I was shocked to see that in the newspaper myself this morning. Well, this morning—actually, that story was printed last night . I immediately reached out to the Royal G azette because we received an email for comment at 6:14 pm. The story went live at 6:43 pm. And at the bottom of it, it said, reached out to Ministry for comment, which I find quite interesting. So I reached out and it said—I will not go into what the response from the Royal Gazette was, but I was less than pleased to hear what the response was on why you asked for a comment and then printed a story literally 20 minutes later. But, Mr. Speaker, I have asked my team for an explanation of what had happened there. Because I do know that unfortunately the letter that the Berm uda Union of Teachers forwarded to the press was a letter that had been received on the 30 th [of September], last week Friday, and it had been responded to by the 3rd of October, stating that yes there had been an error. And I am trying to find out what that error was. But there was an error in processing payments. But all teachers would be paid by the end of the first week in October. That is exac tly what the response to the Bermuda Union of Teachers was. So I was very surprised to see that appear in the newspaper. But I have asked my team to look into it so they can get me some further answers of exactly what happened there.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I would like to thank the Minister for his comments.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary or another question? Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Yes, this is supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: So, can [the Honourable Minister] confirm that this is a reoccurring problem from year to year and why it could not have been a ddressed during the summer period?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, from my u nderstanding, the bulk of these errors stem from paperwork not being submitted by the [employee] on time. However, as I have stated, I have asked the team for a complete update of what exactly happened. I do know that …
Minister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, from my u nderstanding, the bulk of these errors stem from paperwork not being submitted by the [employee] on time. However, as I have stated, I have asked the team for a complete update of what exactly happened. I do know that when this particular email or this parti cular letter was responded to, I asked, What was the problem? And that was the answer given, that the bulk of the persons who were unable to be processed had
Bermuda House of Assembly not submitted some relevant paperwork in time to the Bermuda Government so that payment could be pr ocessed. But it had been sorted, and those payments would have occurred by the end of the first week in October, which actually would be today.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Yes. The supplementary is, Is this the first time that it has happened? The S peaker: Minister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: The simple answer to that is no. And as I answer it, I thought I answered, but maybe it did not come …
Supplementary? Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Yes. The supplementary is, Is this the first time that it has happened? The S peaker: Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: The simple answer to that is no. And as I answer it, I thought I answered, but maybe it did not come across. This happened last year, and the rationale given last year was, we are waiting for employees to submit paperwork so we can make the payments. So again, I saw the email that came . I was apprised that it came in, and [I saw] the reply that had been sent back. And that is how I know what was actually said. The Minister does not write cheques for employees to be paid. But I asked questions of the technical officers of what happened. And the answer that did come back was, from what they could see, some particular bits and pieces of paper-work they had not received yet for payroll.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThird question? Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: My second supplemental?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou have done your supplementals. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Okay, my third question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. QUESTION 3: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS Hon. N. H. C ole Simons: Can the Minister make a commitment that his Ministry will ensure that this will not happen again going forward?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I can make a commitment to do is to ensure that the request for paperwork is submitted on time so that the payment can be made on time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Done? Okay. Thank you, Opposition Leader. Minister, you have further questions. The next question this morning is from MP Famous. MP, would you like to put your question? QUESTION 1: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Mr. Christopher FamousGood morning, Mr. Speaker. Good morning to the listening public. Minister, I have several young relatives and constituents with children in M3. Can you tell us what is being done to guide them to the proper choice in Signature School, please?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you for that question. I spoke to it earlier, but I will speak to it again because it is important that persons know exactly what is going on. We have developed what we call a Taster Programme, which gives an overview of all …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you for that question. I spoke to it earlier, but I will speak to it again because it is important that persons know exactly what is going on. We have developed what we call a Taster Programme, which gives an overview of all of the Si gnature Programmes, all of the signatures and the Si gnature Programmes that fall under those signatures. Those programmes were administered last year to the M3s. This year they will be administered to the M3s and the M2s as we move forward. However, I must speak to the totality of our education reform. And that is, when we remove the middle schools or phase the middle schools out and return to a primary and senior school setup, those Taster Programmes will be baked into the curriculum at the primary school level. So students will not just get a Taster Programme where they are being told, This is what it is goin g to be and share examples of what it is going to be. They will be baked into the curriculum that they will learn as they enter into P7 and P8 prior to their going on into S1 and senior school. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. Ch ristopher FamousYes, Mr. Speaker. Minister, can you tell us how many persons have been involved in these Taster Programmes so far? Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: The Taster Programmes involve the M3 students. As I stated in my Statement, we have nearly 300 M3 students who have gone on to S1, …
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Minister, can you tell us how many persons have been involved in these Taster Programmes so far? Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: The Taster Programmes involve the M3 students. As I stated in my Statement, we have nearly 300 M3 students who have gone on to S1, so it would be 300. Currently now, I do not have the exact figures in front of me, but we are looking at around 90 students at Whitney, 90 students at Del lwood, probably around 80 students at Sandys Secondary and more ar ound 30 students (when we are talking about the M3 students) at Clearwater. I can get that [information to the] Member, the exact numbers of those students. And then we add in the parents and the teachers. So you are looking at well over 500, around 1802 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly 500 people who will be exposed to the programmes. Notwithstanding also the Taster Programmes, we put them online for anyone else to look at them because what we do realise is we will only reach our public school students. We will not reach our private school students. I am happy to say that I did run into some private school students who had come back after looking at the Taster Programmes at the various schools when I was there welcoming the new students in.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister, the next Member who has a question for you is MP Jackson. MP Jackson, would you like to put your question? QUESTION 1: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Ms. Susan E. JacksonGood morning, Mr. Speaker. Actually, many of my questions have been answered previously. But I do have one other question. And that is what the Minister might be preparing in the form of a contingency plan to make sure that the communications and relations between those teachers and stakeholders who …
Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Actually, many of my questions have been answered previously. But I do have one other question. And that is what the Minister might be preparing in the form of a contingency plan to make sure that the communications and relations between those teachers and stakeholders who are providing support to the students, to make sure that we will have as close to an uninterrupted school year as possible. So what contingency plans are being put in place to make sure those relationships remain healthy?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you for that question. It is critically important that what we are doing is transforming a system and running a system and run-ning the current system at the same time. S o it is a lways a struggle to find persons to come …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you for that question. It is critically important that what we are doing is transforming a system and running a system and run-ning the current system at the same time. S o it is a lways a struggle to find persons to come out of the classroom and to volunteer their time to do the work necessary to what we call co- develop what we are moving forward with. So we use very creative mechanisms. Teachers are volunteering their prep time that they would not normally be in classroom, and after - hours time, to help with moving this forward. We meet on a continual basis with our community partners, with parents, and we try our very best to be as least di sruptive to the school operations as possible. It is a massive amount of coordination that is going on. And what we have learned, now that we have opened our Signature Schools and we are starting to work on the primary schools, we are looking at how we can do this differently. And one of the things that we are looking to pull together is a permanent team that is pulled out of the classroom or out of the d epartment and so they are working on this on a perm anent basis versus someone who is in class, but might be in class three days a week but not those other days. So we can have some consistency in the clas sroom and some consistency in the department, while we also have consistency with the work that needs to move forward. In terms of a communications plan, the whole development of education reform, if you look we have an almost 90- page- thick communications plan that we have worked that actually takes us month by month as we develop the different things where we are going out, how we are interacting with the public. As you heard me talk about the pop- ups that have been going on, that is part of what we call the socialisation, communication where we are going to the public instead of asking them to come to us. So we have setups at Nelly’s Walk. We have had setups at Crawl Gas St ation, Lindo’s. We even had one outside of Spinning Wheel last night. We have had them at the Bermuda College and at CedarBridge and at various other points where they are set up, and the purpose of them is the general public can come and just ask any questions they want and give suggestions. Because that is how we are doing this, collaboratively. I do want to thank —I was made aware that the Opposition Whip stopped by one of our pop- ups outside of Nelly’s Walk earlier this week. So it is wor king and we are getting some really good feedback from the public on what they perceive, what they know, what they do not know. And it gives us that opportunity to get out there to them versus setting up something and then saying, Please show up at your convenience or when you are on your way to work. So we are really working hard to make sure that comm unications part is there.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? SUPPLEMENTARIES
Ms. Susan E. JacksonYes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. So having heard that most fulsome commi tment to the Signature P rogrammes and the work that will be carried out throughout the year to make sure that there is continuity and that learning continues, et cetera. But my question is really focused on the …
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. So having heard that most fulsome commi tment to the Signature P rogrammes and the work that will be carried out throughout the year to make sure that there is continuity and that learning continues, et cetera. But my question is really focused on the support, making sure that there is attention and priority or equal ba lance given to the teachers and the support staff who are making this new school reform work and making sure that they receive the continuity of services in the form of payments, in the form of their benefits, et cetera. There was so much discussion about this last year, and I just want to make sure that as we enter this new school year that we are prioritising our
Bermuda House of Assembly teachers and support staff. So I am really just asking, What is being done to make sure that the services are provided to our teachers to make sure that we will have an uninterrupted school year?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am hoping I am able to answer it this way, because I did not quite understand the last part about the continuity of our schoo l year. We did take a look. One of the things that we have …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am hoping I am able to answer it this way, because I did not quite understand the last part about the continuity of our schoo l year. We did take a look. One of the things that we have done is consistently look at how things are being done and how they are being accomplished and how we can do things better. The team spent this summer developing what a stipend package would look like for all persons working on education reform. Because we realised there is only so much you can ask persons to do out of their personal time to come and continuously give, give, give and not give back. So there is a stipend package that has been put together that we will be starting to apply for persons who are moved [to give help], who are providing the services that we need in order to co- design and move our system forward. So I am hoping that is the answer you are looking for. But we have budgeted for, we found the money, we have taken . . . we have done all that we need to do. And we believe it is a very attractive stipend that will be given as a way of saying, Thank you for your extra time that you are spending.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Speaker. So my final question really is that having st ipends and making special arrangements to make sure that teachers and sports staff are being recognised— but I also have to ask whether the actual framework, the systems, the communication with the unions are all in place …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my final question really is that having st ipends and making special arrangements to make sure that teachers and sports staff are being recognised— but I also have to ask whether the actual framework, the systems, the communication with the unions are all in place so that there is a clear understanding that any stipends, regular salaries, et cetera, will be paid and that there will be conti nuity of service to provide the teachers with what they need so that they are happy and going to work every day to give the best they can for our students.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I am not quite understanding the question. All of our teachers are contracted teachers. They receive a regular salary no matter what, you know, as long as they come to school, do what they are supposed to do and …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I am not quite understanding the question. All of our teachers are contracted teachers. They receive a regular salary no matter what, you know, as long as they come to school, do what they are supposed to do and teach. When I was speaking of the stipend, this is for the ext ra work which they do, which is voluntary. We have people who come in and come out and say, I just can’t do this anymore. I just don’t have the time. I’m sticking to my regular schoolwork. Or others will say, I can take on more. So the stipends that we are talking about are in addition to the pay that they already have. So that is already there. We cannot not pay. Although we heard there were some issues with teachers at the beginning, and these were mos tly, from my understanding, new teachers or substitut e teachers. But the teachers are already salaried individuals who receive their pay on a monthly basis [or] however it is that they do get paid. And the stipends that we are referring to are additional for additional work that they do. So with that in mind, yes, the budget is there to pay all of the salaries of the teachers, the principals, the support staff and everything, because that is what we have to do.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. No further questions, right? Minister, other Members still have questions for you. MP Wade, I believe you have a question for the Minister.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. QUESTION 1: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Mr. Jason WadeAs many of you know, I am the Chair of the CedarBridge Academy Board of Governors. So I have been intimately involved with this pr ocess. Minister, would you be able to give our colleagues and the listening public an estimate of what time commitment was required of those particip …
As many of you know, I am the Chair of the CedarBridge Academy Board of Governors. So I have been intimately involved with this pr ocess. Minister, would you be able to give our colleagues and the listening public an estimate of what time commitment was required of those particip ating in the necessary planning to get to the point that we are at?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, MP Wade, for that question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMP, one second. Have a seat while the Member is on his feet. You could have sat at t hat one where the m icrophone is. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: It is actually quite difficult to quantify the exact number of hours each person has put into this. [Some] …
MP, one second. Have a seat while the Member is on his feet. You could have sat at t hat one where the m icrophone is.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: It is actually quite difficult to quantify the exact number of hours each person has put into this. [Some] people have come and given much more than others. Some people have come to 1804 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly seminars and s at in seminars and given their partic ular thoughts and perhaps not come back. There are others who have been there every single time and not come back. So let me just take you through some of the things that did have to happen. We welcome anybody who comes and wants to give. We have always said what we really want is the people who are the naysayers, because those are the ones who will really give us insight. We do not want the people who are already singing from the same hymn sheet. But this journey began in 2020, as you heard me say earlier, some 30 months ago. And it began with initially putting out notices of interest to people to come in. And before you could get put on a team, there were various interview processes that we went through. I do understand it was about 45 minutes per interview, and they actually interviewed hundreds of persons for that before they whittled down to the final—I believe it was around 130 persons who moved forward with that. After that we came [and did] the research r equired to develop what we call the Future World of Work document that we did. That document was something that not only talked to our teachers, our parents, our students on what it is they want; that is also talking to industry of what it is that Bermuda will need to thrive not just today, but five, ten, fifteen, twenty years from now. So that document is a living document, and it can be accessed by anyone on the learningfirstbda.com website. That gives an understanding of what Bermuda is doing in terms of e mployment needs. That was a document that took around six months to pull together. The next was the requirement of the c onsult ation and engagement of taking that document and converting it into what would be the final 10 sign atures. And I think it is important that I talk about the final 10 signatures because actually when we came from that document, there were 11 signatures with entrepreneurial being an actual signature. Once we developed those, we went back and did more consul-tation, more discussion, more talking. And that is where entrepreneurial fell away, and it actually was written to be included in the curriculum that will be eventually developed going all the way from primary through high school because it was deemed that i mportant to have that based in the curriculum and ev erything that we learned based on that versus having it as a separate entity. So that was another process that took probably around six to seven months. The next part of that was pulling together the team to talk about how we will develop what will be taught in the classroom. Those were, I believe, around 23 workstreams that went along with that. A nd that developed the various bits and pieces of what happened in the classroom. There was work being done externally, talking to the public. There was work being done inside of the schools. So that ended up being for the time it took place, that was meeti ng a minimum of twice a week and sometimes in the evenings to speak to what my honourable colleague Jackson talked about to prevent any sort of disruption or the least di sruption as possible within the school term. So when I add that up and when we talk about this and we really try to put our heads around this, we estimate that anyone who was in this from the begi nning to the end for the full term had spent just shy of 600 hours working on this, outside of their regular work. And when we factor in what 600 hours means, you are talking about the commitment you would put into actually pursuing a post -graduate degree, 600 hours of work. And the work was done in such fidelity that everyone can appreciate it. And this is why we hear from persons, you know, We really get this and We really understand this and We really want to be a part of it. This is how we continue to get people to want to come on and be with us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister, the next Member who has questions for you this morning is the Opposition Whip. Member, would you like to put your question? QUESTION 1: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Mr. J arion RichardsonThank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Honourable Minister please clarify to this Honourable House the state of the develo pment of the existing Signature Programmes? That is, 289 S1 students are now currently in the signatures of financial an d insurance services, health and social care, science, technology, engineering and …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Honourable Minister please clarify to this Honourable House the state of the develo pment of the existing Signature Programmes? That is, 289 S1 students are now currently in the signatures of financial an d insurance services, health and social care, science, technology, engineering and math, trades and profession learning. Would he please clar ify the Statement on page 4 that the work at the S2 and S3 levels is not yet completed?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Yes, Mr. Speaker. As I have stated, the Signature Programme is for the incoming S1 students. The bulk of the work that has taken place over the previous year was to get the S1 programme up and running. We are currently now developi ng …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Yes, Mr. Speaker. As I have stated, the Signature Programme is for the incoming S1 students. The bulk of the work that has taken place over the previous year was to get the S1 programme up and running. We are currently now developi ng what S2 and S3 would look like so they are in place for S2 being in place for 2023, and S3 being in place for 2024.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? Bermuda House of Assembly SUPPLEMENTARIES
Mr. Jarion RichardsonYes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Honourable Minister be able to tell us if there are any backup plans in case the develop-ment is not implemented in time?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can confidently say that there is no backup plan because that is the plan that will be in place come 2023.
Mr. Jarion RichardsonSecond supplementary. Would the Honourable Minister be able to outline, what are the steps required for the S2 and S3 levels to be brought online?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the development of the S1 phase, the S2 and S3 were looked at. So what it is, the develo pment of these particular programmes does not happen overnight. It requires both looking at curriculum, development of curriculum, the tweaking …
Minister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the development of the S1 phase, the S2 and S3 were looked at. So what it is, the develo pment of these particular programmes does not happen overnight. It requires both looking at curriculum, development of curriculum, the tweaking of curriculum. In some cases, we can get curriculum off the shelf; in some cases, we develop it ourselves. We talk about this being for Bermuda by Bermuda. It just takes that time to take what it is that we have and convert it and make sure that it is authentically specialised for Bermuda. As I said, in some cases we get it and it is like, Wow! We can utilise it just as it is. In other cases, it has to be tweaked. Teams are working on that, and we are confident, based on the schedule we have and the milestones that we are hitting, that it will be in place by the time we get to 2023. In fact, it will be fi nished before we get to the beginning of the school year. So, we will know well ahead of time if there is any additional work that needs to be done to get it ready.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. QUESTION 2: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Mr. Jarion R ichardsonWould the Honourable Mini ster be able to explain when the student completes the S3 level, will they have professional qualifications? My question relates specifically to the trades and professional learning signature at CedarBridge Academy.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Signature Programme is that our students, when they leave our schools —and it will not stop at S3. There is still S4 and then S5 to be developed as well. But when our students …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Signature Programme is that our students, when they leave our schools —and it will not stop at S3. There is still S4 and then S5 to be developed as well. But when our students leave our schools, they will not only leave with what we call a Signature School Diploma. That Signature School Diploma will contain additional credits from what they would have normally earned if they went through the regular track. And those credits are based around specific milestones that they will hit within their particular signature. The purpose of this is to give our students the opportunity that once they leave our school system, they are ready for the workforce or they are ready to go on to tertiary education. That includes having any sorts of credentials that go along with those particular programmes, whether they be international, regularised, recognised credentials or locally recognised cr edentials; whether they be internships. And one other thing that is kind of special about this is something we have developed called externships . These are programmes for our teachers as well, to go out in industry and actually learn what hap-pens in industry. Because when you have a teacher who is teaching math, for instance, math at an insurance company is slightly different from just the regular math you would have in a regular classroom. So that is part of this as well. So the short answer to your question is yes, they will have qualifications that they will be able to carry with them and say, Yes, I have done this. But the qualification will actually depend on what it is that they are doing. So as you talked about with trades, there are City & Guilds that are already being worked on, ty pes of qualifications that they will be able to get. When you are talking about finance or accounting, we are talking to ACCA [Association of Chartered Cert ified Accountants], to bring in ACCA. So our students when they are looking at finishing high school , they will already have credit toward gaining their qualific ations in an ACCA -type path. So there are different things for different wants. I cannot speak to every si ngle one of them, but that is the idea, to continuously develop programmes on a continual basis. So what we have developed today and what we are talking about today five years from now might be different. Because it will always be looking at what is happening in industry, what industry needs.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? 1806 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Jarion Richardson : No, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Third question?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThird question. Go right ahead. QUESTION 3: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Mr. Jarion RichardsonI thank the Minister for his answer. Would the Honourable Mi nister please explain any impact or anticipated impact we will see to Bermuda College enrolment or their PACE programme as it relates to development of the Signature School Pr ogramme?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And speaking specifically of the PACE Pr ogramme, the PACE Programme is for adults. The entry age for the Bermuda College, unless you are participating in a dual enrolment, is 18 years. They make special provisions for persons who may …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And speaking specifically of the PACE Pr ogramme, the PACE Programme is for adults. The entry age for the Bermuda College, unless you are participating in a dual enrolment, is 18 years. They make special provisions for persons who may leave high school early on an individual basis. But I cannot see the work that we are doing at the high school level impacting the work that is put in place almost excl usively for adults who wish to go to the Bermuda Co llege and update their skills. So I do not anticipate much impact on the Bermuda College at all.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister, there is one other Member who has indicated that they have questions, and that is MP Adams. MP Adams, would you like to put your question? QUESTION 1: INTRODUCTION OF SIGNATURE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND SENIOR SCHOOLS
Mr. Jache AdamsThank you, Mr. Speaker. I first want to join the Opposition Leader in commending the Minister and his team for the work that they have done with the Signature Schools. Minister, you speak to external partners being involved all the time with the reform effort. Can you give examples of …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I first want to join the Opposition Leader in commending the Minister and his team for the work that they have done with the Signature Schools. Minister, you speak to external partners being involved all the time with the reform effort. Can you give examples of who has worked alongside the Mi nistry to get us to this point?
Hon. Diallo V. S. R abain: Thank you, MP Adams, for that. It is critically important for our Signature Pr o-gramme to have partnerships with external partners in order for them to continue to give us ideas on what our children need to learn. What we are looking to do is sign MO Us with these partners so there is an understanding of what they will be providing for us and what we need to provide for them. I can state that we are in the process of —we have draft MOUs in place for BIOS [Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences], BUEI [Berm uda Underwater Exploration Institute] and BAMZ [Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo] at the moment that are being vetted. Other companies that we are in discussions with for MOUs are companies such as KPMG, EY [Ernst and Young], First Class Electrics and virtually all of the government depar tments as well, as we move forward. We have had also some conversations with Arizona State University in looking to sign some pr ogrammes with them. They are keenly interested in doing some work not only with the Bermuda Coll ege here, but also with public school students as well. So that is looking quite promising. And I just want to say thank you to the US Consulate General for helping to facilitate some of those conversations with Arizona State University.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. Jache AdamsYes, Mr. Speaker. Just a little bit of asking the Minister to give a bit of clarity as to how some of the students are i nvolved in that process.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Ra bain: Yes. The students would be involved. The idea of looking at these companies is to get them to sign on to MOUs to either allow for st udents to be on their premises to learn, or in some cases we are looking at …
Minister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Ra bain: Yes. The students would be involved. The idea of looking at these companies is to get them to sign on to MOUs to either allow for st udents to be on their premises to learn, or in some cases we are looking at them actually sending persons to us who can be in the classroom and teach. And we are looking at working with the BEC on developing a special licence for persons who can do that. Persons with industry coming and talking and giving presentations to students in the class is a lot different than a teacher trying to say, Well, this is what it’s g oing to be like out there. So that is how the students get involved. They either will be on some of these sites — and as I spoke earlier, depending on the signature, it will require them to be on those sites lear ning things, but also for them to send us people who can actually speak to the students as a de facto teacher in front of the class.
Mr. Jache AdamsNo. That is it for me, thanks. Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Okay. Minister, that is the clos e of questions for you this morning. Thank you. Members, we now move on to the next Statement this morning. Minister of Health, you have a [question] from MP Pearman. MP …
No. That is it for me, thanks.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Okay. Minister, that is the clos e of questions for you this morning. Thank you. Members, we now move on to the next Statement this morning. Minister of Health, you have a [question] from MP Pearman. MP Pearman, would you like to put your [question]?
QUESTION 1: NEXT STEPS FOR UNIVERSA L HEALTH COVERAGE
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you, Mr. Speaker. My thanks to the Honourable and Learned Minister for her Statement to the House about health today. Honourable Minister, at page 2 of your Stat ement you make this alarming statement that “Bermuda has one of the highest per capita health expenditures globally, but our population …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My thanks to the Honourable and Learned Minister for her Statement to the House about health today. Honourable Minister, at page 2 of your Stat ement you make this alarming statement that “Bermuda has one of the highest per capita health expenditures globally, but our population health outcomes do not reflect this.” My question to the Honourable Minister is, What do you think is the primary cause of that i ssue?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N . Wilson: Thank you to my honourable and learned friend for that question. Regrettably, I think the primary cause with respect to our highest per capital health expenditure as well as our health outcomes is the fact that people do not control what they ea t. …
Minister.
Hon. Kim N . Wilson: Thank you to my honourable and learned friend for that question. Regrettably, I think the primary cause with respect to our highest per capital health expenditure as well as our health outcomes is the fact that people do not control what they ea t. It is a matter of inactivity. It is a matter of lifestyle choices. We have three out of four individuals of adult age are either overweight or obese. And 50 per cent of our adults have chronic health conditions. Unfortunately, we are living longer, but we are living sicker. So we do have a very unhealthy population, which of course increases health costs due to utilisation and the like. We spend over $770 million a year on our health costs. And when you look at those figures compared to the regrettable physical condition of our adult population, as well as our children because we are seeing increases of obesity within our children, the two do not manner up. So it is twofold. One is the lack of personal choice and personal responsibility as it relates to taking care of our own health. And then that obviously adds up to utilisation, and the costs conti nue to grow because of that.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you. Other than obesity as you have just identified, what specific outcomes that you refer to in your Statement are falling short? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. Specifically, we are speaking about chronic diseases, in particular hypertension, diabetes and the like. Again, many of those chronic conditions, regrettably, …
Thank you. Other than obesity as you have just identified, what specific outcomes that you refer to in your Statement are falling short? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. Specifically, we are speaking about chronic diseases, in particular hypertension, diabetes and the like. Again, many of those chronic conditions, regrettably, are as a direct result of lifestyle choices. So again the statistics are really, really sobering. And the chronic diseases that we are seeing in this particular population are very, very alarming.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you. You have announced a National Digital Health Strategy to tackle this. What is the budget for that strategy, and is it on budget?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson : With respect to the budget, I do not have that information. It is all part of the rollout of universal health coverage. Insofar as any type of budgetary items as it relates to technology, that will obviously be budgeted within the Health Ministry and …
Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson : With respect to the budget, I do not have that information. It is all part of the rollout of universal health coverage. Insofar as any type of budgetary items as it relates to technology, that will obviously be budgeted within the Health Ministry and we will bring that to Parliament. Right now the commi ttee has just started meeting, and they are looking at ways in which they can use technology, for example, to help to foster better health outcomes, efficiencies of scale and so forth. And so it is a working group. As I indicated in the roadmap when I first announced the roadmap last year, there are a number of working groups. One of them in particular is the working group that deals with the National Health Strategy. So what they will look at is from a str ategy point of view nationally, what kind of use do we have for technology and the like to provide economies and efficiencies of scale?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo right ahead, Member. QUESTION 2: NEXT STEPS FOR UNIV ERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you. Honourable Minister, on page 3 of your Statement, you introduced the concept of “superus-ers.” And that is in reference to people who are overusing the hospital services. How is a superuser measured? Is there any number of attendances or threshold?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead, Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I thank the Honourable Member for your question. Thank you for that question. 1808 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Dr. Okereke has been studying the number of individuals who do attend to th e hospital, as well as …
Go ahead, Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I thank the Honourable Member for your question. Thank you for that question. 1808 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Dr. Okereke has been studying the number of individuals who do attend to th e hospital, as well as the reasons why they are attending to the hospital. And as you will see from page 3, those numbers are very dire.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister, just one second. MP Tyrrell, could you come sit in the Chair for me for a minute? [Mr. Nevill e S. Tyrrell, Acting Speaker, in the Chair] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: So they have been measured. So there are, as is indicated, some 50 superusers. And when they do …
Minister, just one second. MP Tyrrell, could you come sit in the Chair for me for a minute?
[Mr. Nevill e S. Tyrrell, Acting Speaker, in the Chair]
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: So they have been measured. So there are, as is indicated, some 50 superusers. And when they do come into admissions, they monitor what the reason is for their admission as well as the servic es that are being provided. So those data were very critical for them to be able to produce this partic ular report that is evidenced in page 3.
SUPPLEMENTARIES
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you, Honourable Minister. My question was how it was measured. If yo u could address that, then I will pose my supplemental with your leave, Mr. Acting Speaker. What is proposed by the Government to solve the issue of superusers? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Acting Speaker, I do …
Thank you, Honourable Minister. My question was how it was measured. If yo u could address that, then I will pose my supplemental with your leave, Mr. Acting Speaker. What is proposed by the Government to solve the issue of superusers?
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Acting Speaker, I do not know specifically how Dr. Okereke conducted t he survey and how he measured the results. But I will under-take to get that information and provide it to my honourable and learned friend. One of the things that we have spoken about previously in this House is as we continue to explore how to roll out universal health care, one of the things that has to be considered in the package is prevent ative care. If individuals do not have preventative care, then they cannot attend for a doctor’s appointment, et cetera, to make sure that they take control of their health. These individuals whom we are speaking about, regrettably, are not even having preventative care. They are using the hospital as their preventative care. So rather than going to a doctor to have their blood pressure monitored, et cetera, they are going to the hospital to have that. As we all will appreciate, it is far more expensive to provide services through the ER as opposed to going to their general practitioners or alternatively to the health clinic.
Mr. Scott PearmanSecond supplemental. Thank you. I appreciate that you have ident ified the issue. But what has actually been done to solve this issue to date? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Acting Speaker, as we have indicated, we are in the throes of reviewing and providing for the universal health coverage. …
Second supplemental. Thank you. I appreciate that you have ident ified the issue. But what has actually been done to solve this issue to date?
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Acting Speaker, as we have indicated, we are in the throes of reviewing and providing for the universal health coverage. One of the items that we have spoken about concerning universal health coverage will be looking at a patient pathway, will be looking at the provision of services within a benefits package that will include preventative care. Right now the standard health benefit does not i nclude preventative care. It is for hospital care and cer-tain diagnostic testing. What we would like to do eventually when we roll out the pathways, as well as a premium packet for universal care, is to ensure that it includes prevent ative care, which is not the case right now.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerMP Pearman. QUESTION 3: NEXT STEPS FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you. My third question, Mr. Acting Speaker. Honourable Minister, at the bottom of page 4 of your Statement, you state that the UHC [universal health coverage] Steering Committee has just “r estarted its work.” And a moment ago you said that they have just started meeting. My question is, …
Thank you. My third question, Mr. Acting Speaker. Honourable Minister, at the bottom of page 4 of your Statement, you state that the UHC [universal health coverage] Steering Committee has just “r estarted its work.” And a moment ago you said that they have just started meeting. My question is, Why has that work not been ongoing throughout?
The Actin g Speaker: Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes. With the greatest respect, Mr. Acting Speaker, I do not want to seem crass, but it can be answered in one word: COVID -19. The team at the Ministry of Health that is charged with assisting driving universal health coverage forward have been otherwise en-gaged for the last two and a half years in a pandemic. Now that the pandemic is —it is still here. But now that we are rolling back and we are starting to progress other initiatives, this is one of the initiatives , and it is a platform and a Throne Speech initiative from the Government to universal health care. But regrettably, we have been otherwise engaged over the last two and a half years with other more important and pressing i ssues.
Mr. Scott PearmanMy first supplemental, yes. When did the work of the committee restart?
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I believe when we—I do not have the exact date, but I believe in the begi nning of the year we started having more meetings with the stakeholder groups. And the Universal Stakeholder Committee started meeting I think in the new year in January. And …
Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I believe when we—I do not have the exact date, but I believe in the begi nning of the year we started having more meetings with the stakeholder groups. And the Universal Stakeholder Committee started meeting I think in the new year in January. And then they started meeting at that point.
Bermuda House of Assembly Many of the subcommittees, as I have ind icated here, are just being formed as we speak. We have been able to engage the services of KPMG, who are actually helping to drive this particular reform. And I can assure members of the public, not only will I con-tinue to keep members abreast of the dev elopments, but the team is working very, very hard. It is very sim ilar and akin to what Minister Diallo spoke about earl ier. There are a number of stakeholder groups who are volunteers who are also participating. However, the reality of the situation is that there were otherwise events that unfortunately interfered with the progress heretofore.
Mr. Scott PearmanSecond supplementary and final. Thank you, Honourable Minister. Notwit hstanding your response in relation to why, are you concerned by the lack of progress on this point to date?
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Acting Speaker, I do not think “concern” would be a proper word. I would have liked to have seen more progress heretofore. But I am also cognisant of the fact that this same team within the Ministry of Health, as well as doctors and …
Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Acting Speaker, I do not think “concern” would be a proper word. I would have liked to have seen more progress heretofore. But I am also cognisant of the fact that this same team within the Ministry of Health, as well as doctors and other stakeholders who are part of the medical profession, have been otherwise engaged in helping Bermuda address and steer through a pandemic. Many of the doctors and the medical professionals who are now engaged as stakeholders in the clinical setting and the like were using their time to assist Bermuda get through the pandemic by either volunteering at the vaccination clinic, alternatively doing testing and the like. The majority of those individuals are now sca ling back on their COVID -19 participation for obvious reasons. And the reality is we will now move ahead, full steam ahead.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. That brings us to the end of your —
Mr. Scott PearmanPoint of clarification if the Mini ster will take it, Mr. Acting Speaker. Will you accept one, Minister?
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister, you will accept a point of clarification? POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Mr. Scott PearmanJust on the superusers, are those insured or uninsured, or do we not know? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The majority of those superusers, Mr. Acting Speaker, are uninsured.
Mr. Acting Speaker.
The Acting SpeakerThank you, Minister. That brings us to the end of the questions of that Statement. We will now move on to the Statement from the Minister of Works. You have a question from MP Cannonier. QUESTION 1: BERMUDA HOUSING CORPORATION RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNIT RENOVATIO N PROGRAMME
Mr. L. Craig CannonierThank you and good mor ning, Mr. Acting Speaker. I believe it is page 2; I am not sure exactly the page. There is an initial grant of $4.2 million that is going to be granted toward this particular renovation project. I guess what I wanted to know from the …
Thank you and good mor ning, Mr. Acting Speaker. I believe it is page 2; I am not sure exactly the page. There is an initial grant of $4.2 million that is going to be granted toward this particular renovation project. I guess what I wanted to know from the Mini ster is, that is just for this initial year as they get up and going. The question is, What should we anticipate since we already know an approximate amount of the renovations? Should we anticipate more grants bein g given for the following years, considering the num-bers?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Acting Speaker, yes. The Cabinet has approved the whole $21.6 mi llion, as well as out of that will be $4.25 million imm ediately. And in subsequent years there will be applic ation for the balance of the $21.6 million.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierYes, supplemental. Okay, yes, I am glad the Minister clarified that because as I read throug h it, it was not quite clear how this was working. So then I guess my supplementary would be, considering that there is also an add ition to this approval of the $21 milli …
Yes, supplemental. Okay, yes, I am glad the Minister clarified that because as I read throug h it, it was not quite clear how this was working. So then I guess my supplementary would be, considering that there is also an add ition to this approval of the $21 milli on, there is also an approval of $3.2 million for customs duty. Is that incl usive of t he $21 million or is that something that we are working out as we go along?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Acting Speaker, the $21 million is inclusive of customs duties. So that amount should be reduced by the $3 million that is estimated for customs duty. 1810 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Acting Speaker: Supplementary?
Mr. L. Craig CannonierYes, second supplementary. So just to be clear then, so then essentially what we are approving is about $18 million? Is that what the Minister is saying?
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Do you have another question? QUESTION 2: BERMUDA HOUSING CORPORATION RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNIT RENOVATION PROGRAMME
Mr. L. Craig CannonierYes, second question. Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. Just doing some quick calculations, I may have to adjust now because it is $18 million; I was not quite sure of that. First let me say that the Bermuda Housing Corp., they do a fantastic job. And I have always said …
Yes, second question. Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. Just doing some quick calculations, I may have to adjust now because it is $18 million; I was not quite sure of that. First let me say that the Bermuda Housing Corp., they do a fantastic job. And I have always said that from the beginning. And I am grateful to the Minister for bringing this here because it is a very important thing considering rents. So I want the Minister to know that. I did some quick calculations and it appeared, based on the numbers for the 77 units with the rent - geared- to-income scheme that is in place, which is a very good one, it looks about $1,000 per unit of the 77 units that the Housing Corporation would probably be looking for if I deduct several of the customs duty and the like . And we are now down to [$18,000,000]. I was wondering if the Minister actually does have an average based on prior rentals of what that rent-geared- to-income [RGI] is bringing in per unit? Is it $1,000? Is it $800? Do we have an average?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Acting Speaker, I do not have that figure at hand. But I am sure we can get it. But I do want the Shadow Minister to understand the rent -geared- to-income is done on each ind ividual household. So you could hav e a half -a-dozen units of two …
Mr. Acting Speaker, I do not have that figure at hand. But I am sure we can get it. But I do want the Shadow Minister to understand the rent -geared- to-income is done on each ind ividual household. So you could hav e a half -a-dozen units of two bedrooms, every single one of them is a different rental amount. Because each household’s rent is assessed, and a quarter of that becomes the rent. The other thing that we have noticed through experience in doing this now, particularly during COVID -19, is people were losing their jobs. So there was a reassessment of the household income and an adjustment in what their rent then would be.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierYes. Supplementary to that. And I figured that this was the case. Does the Minister then know . . . so the rent geared is . . . what is it? Thirty per cent, 35 per cent and then additionally 10 per cent has to be saved s o that …
Yes. Supplementary to that. And I figured that this was the case. Does the Minister then know . . . so the rent geared is . . . what is it? Thirty per cent, 35 per cent and then additionally 10 per cent has to be saved s o that they reduce the 35 per cent ? Do they do it by a percentage? Is that how they reduced it?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchNo. It is by dollar amount. So in other words, if the household income was $4,000 a month, the rent would be $1,000 plus another 10 per c ent for savings. If the household i ncome was reduced to $2,000 a month, then the rent would be $500 and 10 …
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerNo further questions. Thank you. I note the Speaker has the Opposition Whip to ask a question on this Statement. QUESTION 1: BERMUDA HOUSING CORPORATION RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNIT RENOVATION PROGRAMME
Mr. Jarion RichardsonYes. Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. Would the Honourable Minister please clarify a stat ement on page 2 that 60 of the units being di scussed are currently occupied, although they are not in compliance with the building codes?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchYes. That is correct. So of the 137 units, 77 of them ar e vacant. And so there are no occupants. Sixty of them have people living in them, but they require renovation. And I will give you a practical example. We have 40 units at Harmony Club that are …
Yes. That is correct. So of the 137 units, 77 of them ar e vacant. And so there are no occupants. Sixty of them have people living in them, but they require renovation. And I will give you a practical example. We have 40 units at Harmony Club that are partially occupied at the m oment. There are 32 of them that are occupied, and there is one building that comprises eight units that is under renovation. So we will renovate the eight units, and there is a plan to increase that number by utilising some of the units in the main building so that we act ually get 16 unit s renovated so that we can then trans ition those people who are in the other two buildings into one of those units, renovate them and then trans ition the other folk into the renovated space and have space for 16 new people at the end of this process at Harmony.
Bermuda House of Assembly There are a couple of other properties that fall into the same category that are a lot smaller than Harmony. But that is the basic underlying principle.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerSecond question. Go ahead. QUESTION 2: BERMUDA HOUSING CORPORATION RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNIT RENOVATION PROGRAMME
Mr. Jarion RichardsonThank you. The Honourable Minister had mentioned (I want to say on page 2 again) t hat this BHC [Bermuda Housing Corporation] renovation scheme was mentioned in the Throne Speech as well as in the Ec onomic Recovery Plan. Would you just clarify that is the case, it actually is …
Lt. Col. Hon. David A . BurchThis scheme was not mentioned in the platform. What was mentioned in the platform was providing affordable housing for Berm udians. This is a step in meeting that commitment.
Mr. Jarion RichardsonThank you ver y much, Mr. Acting Speaker. Would the Honourable Minister be able to clarify whether or not these projects would . . . I’m so rry. Please disregard, Mr. Acting Speaker. Third question.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. QUESTION 3: BERMUDA HOUSING CORPORATI ON RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNIT RENOVATION PROGRAMME
Mr. Jarion RichardsonWhen will the total 137 units be added to the stock? Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchWell, let me clarify that we are not adding 137. We are adding 77. There are 60 that are currently occupied. The plan is over the next three and a half years, and that is with the ability to accelerate if a number of factors are available to us. We …
Well, let me clarify that we are not adding 137. We are adding 77. There are 60 that are currently occupied. The plan is over the next three and a half years, and that is with the ability to accelerate if a number of factors are available to us. We expect that with the coming online of the ren ovations at the Fairmont Southampton that there will be a race to get contractors to do our work as well as theirs. And we are seeing some of that now in some of the work that we are doing that contractors are having to juggle two or three jobs. So that is the reason for the timeline. If we can accelerate it and get the personnel to do the work, then it will be in a shorter space of time.
Mr. Jarion RichardsonYes. Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. Would the Honourable Minister be able to point out where this scheme fits into the Economic Recovery Plan?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Acting Speaker, I did not mention the Economic Recovery Plan, but this does fit into it i n the sense that it will provide emplo yment for folk to do the renovations, as well as it will reduce the cost that people will have to pay for rent for …
Mr. Acting Speaker, I did not mention the Economic Recovery Plan, but this does fit into it i n the sense that it will provide emplo yment for folk to do the renovations, as well as it will reduce the cost that people will have to pay for rent for apartments that we are providing, thus contributing to the Economic Recovery Plan. And we also re - emphasise that this is phase one. The other phases are those that can go on concurrently. One of the biggest challenges in this, partic ularly with the private sector vacant and derelict pr ogramme, we have been at this for about a decade and have had very little success in convincing families who would much rather fight over a deteriorating and no nproducing asset than allow us to renovate it and rent it and provide them with some income. We are seeking legal advice about how we might be able to give them greater encouragement to participate in such a pr ogramme because in a country of 21 square miles we cannot afford to have the number of vacant and der elict properties that are currently existing and not being properly utilised. So we are looking at a number of wa ys to fi gure out how we can encourage folk to participate so that they can fight over money as opposed to a det eriorating asset.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerWe have time for one more supplementary, I am sure.
Mr. Jarion RichardsonYes. Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. From my experience in the Bermuda Police Service, I definitely know that it is those vacant prop-erties that also add to the reoccurring problems that we have in our communities. Mr. Acting Speaker, I would ask the Honour able Minister, What are his t …
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. From my experience in the Bermuda Police Service, I definitely know that it is those vacant prop-erties that also add to the reoccurring problems that we have in our communities. Mr. Acting Speaker, I would ask the Honour able Minister, What are his t houghts on when he will update us on the later phases as it relates to these derelict properties in those communities? Thank you. 1812 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Acting Speaker: Minister.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchI did not understand what he was asking. [Timer chimes.] The Ac ting Speaker: I cannot say I did either. But we have run out of time, really. We have run out of time, Members. So, Minister, you are off the run on this one. [Crosstalk ]
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, we will now move on to the next item. CONGRATULAT ORY AND/OR OBITUARY SPEECHES
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerWould anyone wish to speak? I guess not. We will move on then to the next item. MATTERS OF PRIVILEGE
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister of Health. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes. Good afternoon, Mr. Acting Speaker. With y our leave, we would like to proceed with Standing Order 8, first ask pursuant to Standing Order 14(3) (and I quote), “ Government business shall be set down on the Order Paper in such order …
Minister of Health. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes. Good afternoon, Mr. Acting Speaker. With y our leave, we would like to proceed with Standing Order 8, first ask pursuant to Standing Order 14(3) (and I quote), “ Government business shall be set down on the Order Paper in such order as the Government shall in writing direct the Clerk. ” So with your leave, I would like to proceed with [Standing] Order 8 first.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister, can I just confer one second? [Pause] The Acting Speaker: Members, bear with me one second, please. Minister, please. [Pause]
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerFor the benefit of the listening audience, we are just conferring on our next item, please. [Pause] [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you for being in the Chair, MP Tyrrell. Thank you, Members, for your participation in the question- and-answer period. Thank you for the condolences period. ORDERS OF THE DAY
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe are now on the Orders of the Day. The first Order is Order No. 1 in the name of the Minister of the Cabinet Office. Am I correct? Thank you. Proceed. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker. [Pause] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, with the Go vernor’s recommendation …
We are now on the Orders of the Day. The first Order is Order No. 1 in the name of the Minister of the Cabinet Office. Am I correct? Thank you. Proceed.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker. [Pause] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, with the Go vernor’s recommendation I move that the Bill entitled the Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022 be now read the second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAny ob jections? There are none. Proceed. BILL SECOND READING PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT AND VALIDATION (NO. 2) ACT 2022 Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to this Honourable House the Bill entitled Pa yroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022. This Bill includes …
Any ob jections? There are none. Proceed.
BILL
SECOND READING
PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT AND VALIDATION (NO. 2) ACT 2022 Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to this Honourable House the Bill entitled Pa yroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022. This Bill includes both substantive and consequential amendments which are aimed at clarifying and updating our tax laws. Mr. Speaker, this Bill will amend Pa yroll Tax Act 1995 and the Miscellaneous Taxes Act 1976 to clarify that certai n gratuitous payments r eceived by employees are not subject to payroll tax. This change is intended to eliminate uncertainty in the
Bermuda House of Assembly hospitality industry in relation to customer gratuities, or tips, as most of us often call them. Mr. Speaker, it is quite n ormal for customers receiving personal service or hospitality -related service to leave tips for their service provider, whether the gratuity is paid separately in cash or included as a line item on the customer’s bill, as we are all familiar with. We put t he 15 per cent or the 20 per cent, whatever you want to do. In Bermuda it has become co mmon practice to include a suggested gratuity amount on a customer’s bill. The suggested amount is based on a standard percentage and may be increased or even decreased by the customer. Mr. Speaker, while this practice is convenient for the customer, it is also quite beneficial to emplo yees. Customer tips provide a much- needed boost to the salary or wages of many employees working in the hospitality industry —
The Speake r: Minister. MP Jackson, can you take the seat for me, please?
[Pause] [Ms. Susan E. Jackson, Acting Speaker, in the Chair]
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerPlease proceed. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: As I said, Madam Acting Speaker, while this practice is convenient for the customer, it is also quite beneficial to employees. Customer tips provide a much -needed boost, as I mentioned, to the salary or wages of many employees working in the hospitality industry, …
Please proceed. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: As I said, Madam Acting Speaker, while this practice is convenient for the customer, it is also quite beneficial to employees. Customer tips provide a much -needed boost, as I mentioned, to the salary or wages of many employees working in the hospitality industry, which can be signi ficantly impacted by the seasonal nature of the bus iness. The customer gratuities can help to offset any reduction of income during the times when there is a slowdown in business. As this part of an employee ’s income is provided by the customer, it is not consi dered part of the employer’s payroll for tax purposes — very key. It is not considered part of the employer’s payroll for tax purposes and should not be treated as such. Mr. Speaker, while this is generally the approach taken by employers for most customer gratui-ties, some employers in the h ospitality sector have treated automatic gratuities as subject to payroll tax, while others have correctly excluded them. The different treatment is very likely due to a lack of clarity in the law that will distinguish gratuities initiated from and paid by the employer from those paid by the customer. The result is an uneven application of the payroll tax law where some employees are erroneously pa ying tax on customer tips while others are not. This proposed change to the legislation will make it clear spec ifically to employers in the hospital ity industry that customer gratuities are not subject to payroll tax. Madam Acting Speaker, there are some who think that we are giving too many concessions or too many exemptions from taxes. However, Madam Ac ting Speak er, this Government is committed to provi ding relief and assistance to people of this country who need it most. Madam Acting Speaker, the relief pr ovided by this Bill is not an introduction of new tax r elief. However, it is a codification of the existing p olicy approach that has been administered by the Office of the Tax Commissioner for decades and will help workers who can certainly benefit from such action. It should also be noted that currently the office receives a number of calls from employees seeking clarification about the tax treatment of customers’ gratuities generated from their services. Handling these calls and processing refunds for erroneous payments of tax uses critical resources in the Office of the Tax Commi ssioner that would be better all ocated to other necessary tasks. It is vital to both the community and the government to ensure that tax laws are applied evenly and that no undue tax burden is placed on persons working in this sector. Madam Acting Speaker, as we have conti nued to highlig ht, the Government has been consistently working to ensure that those who are most vulner able or who are the lowest income earners receive the help they need to continue to subsist in a time and place where the cost of everything has substantially increased. This Government has also pledged to give more support to Bermudian entrepreneurs. In cases where we have viable opportunity to eliminate unnecessary financial burdens that disproportionately i mpact local business owners and self -employed pe rsons, we wil l do accordingly, Madam Acting Speaker—this Bill will exclude from tax the value of the employer contributions to contributory pensions, health insurance or approved schemes in respect of self - employed persons and deemed employees. These amounts are alread y excluded from tax in respect of standard employees. But there is no exclusion for payments made in relation to self -employed persons and deemed employees. Madam Acting Speaker, this amendment will broaden the application of the law and bring equity to the treatment of employees, self -employed persons and deemed employees within the payroll tax regime. This Government wants to encourage self -employed persons and deemed employees to develop schemes and benefit plans that provide similar benefits as those t ypically afforded to employees. We believe that this Bill would be an enabler for greater incentives to be realised by local business owners and self - employed persons. Finally, Madam Acting Speaker, today’s Bill will validate the priority polic y determinat ions and treatment of customer gratuities as excluded from r emuneration for payroll tax purposes. This Bill will also validate any orders made by the tax commissioner on behalf of the Minister of Finance to approve, vary or 1814 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly revoke approval of contributory pensions, health i nsurance and other approved schemes. Last year changes were made to the Payroll Tax Act 1995 authorising the Minister to delegate authority to make these types of orders to the tax commissioner. The aim of this delegated power is to reduc e bottlenecks and improve efficiency in the approval process. That delegation order has now been published. This validation will cover any such orders made by the tax commissioner since April 1, 2021. Madam Acting Speaker, in closing I would like to thank the technical officers in the Office of the Tax Commissioner for the work on this Bill and for their continual work on behalf of government, providing tax administration services to the people of this country. I would also like to thank the staff in the Mi nistry of F inance and the Attorney General’s Chambers for as-sisting in this effort to bring forth this Bill. Thank you, Madam Acting Speaker. I wait to hear from others. Thank you.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Is there anyone else who would lik e to speak to the Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022? Opposition Leader, you have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Madam Acting Speaker. Thank you very much. I see this here as an …
Thank you, Member. Is there anyone else who would lik e to speak to the Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022? Opposition Leader, you have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Madam Acting Speaker. Thank you very much. I see this here as an opportunity to help small businesses duri ng these difficult times. Under the 1995 Act, which is the Payroll Tax Act of 1995, it states that the prerequisite for filing includes bonus, salaries, wages, vacation days, commissions, gratuities, et cetera. This legislation clearly takes out the gratui ties once it is passed. The previous speaker i ndicated that he was talking about specific gratuities. I would like to see where that falls into line with the le gislation. Madam Acting Speaker, I would not restrict this to the tourism industry because ther e are a number of professions that deal with gratuities, and gratui-ties form a large part of their salaries. And I am think-ing of attendants at service stations. They make 7 per cent, possibly, of their salaries from the gratuities. So again this can apply to other service providers across the Island. The challenge or the question that I have is, if we are adjusting and taking out gratuities for the pa yroll tax purposes, how does this align with the minimum wage? I know the Honourable Derrick Burgess is wo rking . . . was the Chairman of the Minimum Wage Commission. And this would be directly related to the minimum wage because if the employees have the gratuities stripped away, then what will their basic wages look like? The other question that I have is i n regard to regulations on these gratuities. Because we know if we go into a restaurant and our service providers, they have in their pricing structure a line which says either 15 [per cent] or 17.5 per cent for taxes. And that is automatic. And that is spread throughout the service providers, let us say a restaurant. So management gets a piece, the chef gets a piece, the waiter gets a piece, the dishwasher gets a piece. So how is that managed? Or is it totally left to the discretion of the financial instit ution or the service provider? And how are we going to ensure that those employees in essence get what is due to them, Madam Acting Speaker? The other question is the legitimacy of how these gratuities are arrived at. Because some restaurants may have 15 per cent, others may have 17.5 per cent and others may have 20 per cent. Who is authorising those additions to one’s restaurant bill or hotel bill? How can that be addressed? Because we are taking gratuities out of the purview of the payroll tax calculatio n, and that was as I said earlier a crucial part of employees’ salaries and there was some degree of control and regulation. But now they are taken out, and they are in a separate basket, and I think more examination needs to be adhered to—
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Point of order, Madam Ac ting Speaker.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, Minister. What is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: There is no separate basket. They are just not being taxed. The same way they get it, they will get it the same way. But they are just not being taxed. Hon. N. H. Cole …
Yes, Minister. What is your point of order?
POINT OF ORDER
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: There is no separate basket. They are just not being taxed. The same way they get it, they will get it the same way. But they are just not being taxed.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you. But while on gratuities, because the whole Bill revolves around gratuities, I would like to know, if we go from one restaurant to another restaurant, from one hotel to another hotel, embedded in their final i nvoices is a line for gratuities. The only way that we can ensure that our service providers get money in their pockets is for the guest or clients of these hotels or restaurants to take and put $10 in the hand of their waiters or waitresses, or service attendant. But yet, the hotels and restaurants are able to charge a 15 [per cent] to 17 [per cent] or in some cases try to get 20 per cent for their gratuities. So again, I think there should be some method in place to gi ve the community comfort as to how these embedded gratuities are arrived at. And maybe it is time to look at some type of regulations on that. Because at the end of the day, people are saying our destination is very, very expensive. And I think these embedded gratuities may lead to that. So I would just like, before we get into Committee, to register my concern in regard to how these
Bermuda House of Assembly gratuities are managed now that they have been taken out of the calculations for the payroll tax. I know it helps the small businesses, but how does it help and what are we doing to protect the waiters, the gas st ation attendants? What are we doing to protect them in regard to their gratuities that go in their pockets to help to sustain them? Thank you.
[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess , Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the Chair]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Scott Pearman.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And I thank the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Wayne Furbert, for holding this Bill in the Premier’s absence. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I just have two short points to follow on from the primary speaker from the Opposition Leader. The first is really, What is …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And I thank the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Wayne Furbert, for holding this Bill in the Premier’s absence. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I just have two short points to follow on from the primary speaker from the Opposition Leader. The first is really, What is this Bill doing? And I would, with your leave, Mr. Acting Speaker, quote fr om the Explanatory Memorandum on the back page. It states this: “This provision clar ifies the current practice that a gratuity originating from the customer for services rendered does not const itute remuneration.” So even the Explanatory Mem orandum of this Bill explains that all it is doing is co nfirming current practice, which begs the question, Mr. Acting Speaker, Why and why now? Why announce what already exists? Why create the impression that something is being done when, with the greatest r espect to the Acting Minister, it is not? I am grateful that the Minister recognised in his own speech that this is not new relief . And we r espectfully agree with him. So if it is not new relief, why is the Government telling the public, “ This Gover nment is committed to providing relief to those who need it most ”? This is no new relief. This is just confirming an existing position. It is nothing new. It is like taking credit for the sun rising. The sun was rising anyway. And so why are we doing this? And why are we doing it now? The reality is this Bill is not going to save an yone any money because it just reflects what already happens to people’s tips. It is completely revenueneutral. And I am grateful for the Minister’s recogni sing that when he opened the Bill by s aying, It is not new relief. My second point, even shorter, is just on the bit about self -employment. Again, this is nothing new. Unfortunately, because of poor drafting previously, self-employed people had to actually pay tax on their own premiums for their health insurance. And that is daft, and it never happened. So the idea that it did happen or the idea that there was a bottleneck which is now being cleared again is complete and utter nonsense. No self -employed person in Bermuda has been paying tax to the Government on their health insurance premiums. It does not happen; it has not happened. And I am glad that the Government is clar ifying it; but again, why? Why now? Nothing is being done here. The sun will rise anyway.
[Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Sp eaker, in the Chair]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWould any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? There are none. Minister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It shows the difference between a lawyer and an accountant. So if your gross pay is $1,000 [sic] and inside that was a deduction of $1,000 …
Would any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? There are none. Minister.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It shows the difference between a lawyer and an accountant. So if your gross pay is $1,000 [sic] and inside that was a deduction of $1,000 for health insurance and $500 was supposed to be for your employee and $500 for the employer (because that is what he had to pay), now the individual does not have to pay taxes on that $500. So t he payroll tax —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading ]
Mr. Scott PearmanThe Honourable Member is mi sleading the House. We were talking about self - employed people, so there is no deduc tion by the employer.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, let me explain to the lawyer once again. If I am self -employed and I get a gross pay of $1,000 [sic], that deduction which included me paying on my health insurance, which includes the . . . I pay the payroll tax, …
Minister.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, let me explain to the lawyer once again. If I am self -employed and I get a gross pay of $1,000 [sic], that deduction which included me paying on my health insurance, which includes the . . . I pay the payroll tax, I cannot reme mber what the percentage is. But [say] 8 per cent on the $5,000, all right? Now I can deduct my portion of my health insurance that I paid for myself, an employee and employer. So set up a deduction of payroll tax on the $5,000, I now deduct —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mr. Scott PearmanAgain, the Honourable Minister is misleading the House. It is not a deduction. It is an exclusion. And you are amending an exclusion. 1816 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Minister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, I am not going to keep on …
Again, the Honourable Minister is misleading the House. It is not a deduction. It is an exclusion. And you are amending an exclusion.
1816 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Minister.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, I am not going to keep on going over this again. But there is a difference between paying payroll tax on $5,000 and pa ying payroll tax on $4,500. There is a difference between paying payroll tax on $5,000 and payroll tax on $4,500 because it now allows the self -employed who has now paid $1,000 to BF&M for his portion and the employer’s portion because you pay half/half. B ecause right now for your port ion you only pay yourself as an individual who works for a company, you only pay on your portion. So when the BF&M bills me, they bill me at $4,000. Anyway. So he said “no new relief.”
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint o f order. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mr. Scott PearmanThe Honourable Minister is mi sleading the House. The Honourable Minister said, This is not new relief. Not me.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, there is no d irect relief coming from the Government, per se. We all agree with that. But the employee who was paying on the gratuities . . . I get $1,000 salary, and then I get $500 in gratuities. So that is …
Minister.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, there is no d irect relief coming from the Government, per se. We all agree with that. But the employee who was paying on the gratuities . . . I get $1,000 salary, and then I get $500 in gratuities. So that is $1,500. Instead of paying a percentage on the $1,500, I now pay a percentage on only the $1,000. So this is a relief for the individual. It is the difference between lawyers and accountants. I’m assuming!
[Laughter]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I am sorry. Not my friend. But there is a difference. So that person instead of paying 8 per cent or 6 per cent on $1,500, it pays 6 per cent on the tho usand. It is simple. It is not hard. So now the Gover nment is allowing that individual to take home more money! It is straightforward. So it allows individuals particularly in the hospitali ty industry —and if you are in the gas station and get a tip, you also do not have to pay. Now, there are some who put it in their pocket. I accept that. And that is why we spoke about the individuals who were not paying for it. But if you were caught up in the restaurant, if you are the president of a company and get a tip, then you do not pay. Bas ically it covers anyone. It is not hard to understand, everybody. So the minimum wage. The Honourable Member, Leader of the Opposition, mentioned about the minim um wage. This will be addressed by the Honourable Member Jason Hayward as time goes on. But the Government has looked at the tips, or gratu ities, in that also. So that will be answered by the Mi nister when all that is done. And it is not restricted to jus t the hospitality industry. It is restricted . . . it is [for] everyone. If you get a tip, whether it is at the gas station, whether somebody is cleaning your car, whatever it is, as long as it is a tip, gratuity, we know that as a tip, then you do not [pa y tax]. Now, there are people who did not pay; we know that. And there are industries that did pay it. So overall, it benefits the employee to a great [extent] —so, thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. We are going to Committee now, Deputy. Because Minister Furbert is the one who led the debate. Are you ready to go to Committee? It is 12:30. I would suggest that we go to lunch and then come back and go into Committee. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move that this Honourable House do now adjourn until 2:00 pm.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAny objections? There are none. The House now stands adjourned till 2:00 pm. [Gavel] Proceedings suspended at 12:30 pm Proceedings resumed at 2:03 pm [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood afternoon, Members. The House is now back in session. [Gavel]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, have a seat. When we adjourned, the Minister was about to take us into Committee. Would you like to proceed into Committee, Minister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that the Bill be committed. Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Okay. Thank you. Hon. …
Members, have a seat. When we adjourned, the Minister was about to take us into Committee. Would you like to proceed into Committee, Minister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that the Bill be committed.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Okay. Thank you.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, if all Members are okay [with this] I would like to move—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, well, let’s go to Committee first. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Sorry. Yes. We do have to do that.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDeputy. Yes. Thank you, Deputy. House in Committee at 2:05 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chair man] COMMITTEE ON BILL PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT AND VALIDATION (NO. 2) ACT 2022
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in Committee of the whole [House] for further consider ation of the Bill entitled the Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022 . Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to move all clauses.
The ChairmanChairmanYou may. Hon. Wayne L . Furbert: Mr. Chairman, clause 1 pr ovides the citation for the Bill. Clause 2 amends section 7 of the principal Act to remove from the definition of “remuneration” the reference to “gratuity” as what is intended to be caught by the reference to “gratuity” …
You may. Hon. Wayne L . Furbert: Mr. Chairman, clause 1 pr ovides the citation for the Bill. Clause 2 amends section 7 of the principal Act to remove from the definition of “remuneration” the reference to “gratuity” as what is intended to be caught by the reference to “gratuity” is sufficiently ca ptured under section 7(1)(i) of the principal Act. This clause also amends section 7(2)(a) of the principal Act to broaden the application of that provision. Presently, section 7(2)(a) excludes, from remuneration, pa yments made under the Contributory Pensions Act 1970 , the Health Insurance Act 1970 or under an approved health insurance, hospital, life insurance or retirement scheme with respect to employees only. Finally, this clause inserts new section 7(2)(ba) into the principal Act to expressly exclude from remuner ation any gratuity, when paid by a customer directly or paid by an employer or self -employed person from a fund constituted entirely of gratuities from customers. This provision clarifies the current practice that a gr atuity o riginating from the customer for services rendered does not constitute remuneration. Clause 3 amends the Miscellaneous Taxes Act 1976 to bring certain sections of that Act, where relevant to employment tax, into harmony with the changes made to the principal Act under this Bill as well as to replace the reference to “life assurance” with “life insurance” in keeping with the principal Act. Clause 4 makes a consequential amendment to the Tax (Accounts and Records) Regulations 1991 to remove the reference to gratuity in keeping with clause 2 of this Bill. Clause 5 validates any determination made or action taken under section 7 of the principal Act or under section 13 of the Miscellaneous Taxes Act 1976 for the purposes of determining remuneration, where such determination or action, although made or taken prior to this Bill coming into effect, could have been made or taken pursuant to the changes made under this Bill to exclude from remuneration (and therefore payroll tax liability) any gratuities that originat e from the customer. This clause also validates, as of 1 April 2021, any order made by the Tax Commissioner to which section 23(5) of the principal Act refers, and any action taken pursuant to such order. Clause 6 provides for the commencement of the Bill, which is to occur on assent. However, the provisions of the Bill which broaden the exclusion from remuneration of payments made under the Contributory Pensions Act 1970, the Health Insurance Act 1970 or under an approved scheme will come into effect on such day as the Minister may appoint by n otice published in the Gazette .
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Are there any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Oppos ition Leader, Cole Hedley Simons. Mr. Simons, you have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you. Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to direct the Mini ster to [clause] 3[c](iii)(i). “[A]ny other benefit …
Thank you, Minister. Are there any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Oppos ition Leader, Cole Hedley Simons. Mr. Simons, you have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you. Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to direct the Mini ster to [clause] 3[c](iii)(i). “[A]ny other benefit of any kind whatsoever, whether provided in cash or otherwise than in cash.” Can the Minister provide some details as an example of what they mean by “otherwise than in cash”? Some examples how this is being operated at this point in time.
The ChairmanChairmanOne second, Mr. Simons. Where are you at? [Clause] 3(i)? Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Page 2.
The ChairmanChairmanPage 2, yes. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: [Clause] 3.
The ChairmanChairmanI’m sorry. [Clause] 3(i). Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: [Clause] 3(c)(iii)(i).
The ChairmanChairmanOkay, got you. 1818 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: And they talk about rem uneration or benefits other than in cash. So, I just would like to have some live examples of what they mean. And by “otherwise than in …
The ChairmanChairmanMinister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, should I answer all the questions or do you want me take one at a time?
The ChairmanChairmanYou can answer that one. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Okay. That one is an example. If your employer had given you a plane trip, then that should not be included. Normally it should be. It is a benefit to the employee.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any further speakers? There appear to be none. Minister, would you like to move the clauses? Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you. Mr. Chairman. I moved that preamble be —
The ChairmanChairmanClauses. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Sorry. I’m sorry. I move all clauses to be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the clauses be approved. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 6 passed.] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I move that the preamble be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the preamble be approved. Any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I move that the Bill be r eported to the House as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as pri nted. Any objections to that? There appear to be none. The Bill will be reported to the House as approved. [Motion carried: The Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022 was considered by a …
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Speaker. House resumed at 2:11 pm [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair] REPORT OF COMMITTEE PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT AND VALIDATION (NO. 2) ACT 2022
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Deputy, thank you. Members, are there any obj ections to the Bill entitled the Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022 being reported to the House as prin ted? There are none. The Bill has been reported as printed. This now moves us on to the next …
Mr. Deputy, thank you. Members, are there any obj ections to the Bill entitled the Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022 being reported to the House as prin ted? There are none. The Bill has been reported as printed. This now moves us on to the next item on the Order Paper which is the s econd reading of the Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022. Again, it is the Minister for the Cabinet Office who is going to lead the debate.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, with the Go vernor’s recommendation I move that the Bill entitled the Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022 be now read the second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAny objections? There are none. Continue. BILL SECOND READING STAMP DUTIES AMENDMENT ACT 2022 Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present the Bill entitled Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022. This Bill makes changes to the Stamp Duties Act 1976 in rel ation …
Any objections? There are none. Continue.
BILL
SECOND READING
STAMP DUTIES AMENDMENT ACT 2022 Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present the Bill entitled Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022. This Bill makes changes to the Stamp Duties Act 1976 in rel ation to the exemption from stamp duties for qualifying first-time homeowners and qualifying mortgage r efinance transactions. So, first -time homeowners and qualifying mortgage refinance transactions. Specifical-ly, this Bill will (1) eliminate the three- year requirement to live in or complete construction of the subject property for any first -time homeowner to obtain the exem ption; (2) establish a pre- qualification procedure for determining eligibility for the exemption; and (3) clarify the application of stamp duty exemption to mortgage refinance transactions.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, we are all aware of the rising cost of living in Bermuda and other places around the world. Over the years it has become increasingly diff icult for first -time homeowners to contend with the ri sing cost to purchase a home, particularly since they do not have the option to use the proceeds from the sale of an existing home to offset purchasing costs. Banks are also providing lower ratios of mor tgage financing as related to the value of the home being purchased. So, down payment requirements have also increased. You recall when years back there was 100 per cent financing. Now, I think it is 20 [per cent] or 30 per cent or it could even be more in some banks, compounding the effects of higher sales prices. Mr. Speaker, for a first -time homeowner, the combination of these things can be a significant barr ier to buy a home in Bermuda. This is especia lly true for working families who are already feeling the pressure of rising prices for household items and everyday living expenses. Mr. Speaker, the Stamp Duties Act 1976 currently provides an exemption from stamp duty for qualified first -time homeowners in relation to purchases of $750,000 or less. However, the exem ption is conditioned on the first -time homeowner resi ding in the property for three years or completing construction of a residential property within three years of the purchase date, in the c ases of land. As a result, first-time homeowners must pay the estimated stamp duty, which is held in escrow until the Office of Tax Commissioner confirms that the exemption applies. Following that confirmation, the first -time homeowner is able to receive a refund of the stamp duty amount paid at the time of the transaction, or given back to him as the money [which] may be held in escrow by a law firm, or whoever. Mr. Speaker, while the current process has been in place for some time now, it creates an undue financial burden for the first -time homeowners. We must also recognise that many Bermudian homeow ners either cannot afford to live in their own homes or choose to rent their properties out and take advantage of rental income opportunities. In the case of the new construction, there are any number of things that may occur that are outside the control of the property ow ner, but which may cause substantial delays in compl etion of the residence, like supply chain disruptions. Mr. Speaker, the current requirements related to occupancy and construction are simply unhelpful to first-time homeowners who try to navigate the property market in Bermuda. These restrictions create fina ncial, and in some cases, operational pressures that do not serve the best interests of first -time homeowners, the Government or the public as a whole. Mr. Speaker, we have seen time and time again the positive financial impact that investing in real property can create. For many families, hom eownership is a useful tool for creating intergeneratio nal wealth. In today’s economic climate, however, it has become more and more difficult for first -time hom eowners and working families to buy properties. While we are not in a position to alleviate all of the challenges of potential barriers to homeownership for first -time buyers, we can provide some help by making the law better. Mr. Speaker, this Bill will eliminate both of the three- year post conveyance requirement s for res idences and construction. Instead, a pre- qualification process will be impl emented during which eligibility for the first -time homeowner exemption will be determined by the Office of the Tax Commissioner in advance of the conveyance. Going a step further, the Bill will provide assurance to first-time homeowners, f inanciers and ot her parties to a transaction for a successful pre- qualification for the exemption, [and] will eliminate the need for first -time homeowners to p repay the stamp duty. First -time homeowners will undoubtedly benefit from this change. In addition, Mr. Speaker, this Bill will clarify the law to reflect an express exemption from stamp duty in respect of mortgage refinance transactions of $750,000 or less. This change is in line with the exemption for any transfer or assignment of a mortgage up to the same amount. Mr. Speaker, mortgage refinancing is sought for various reasons, including better interest rates, better payment terms or to extract equity from a prop-erty where the outstanding principle of the loan is substantially less than the fair market value of the property. In any case, the outstanding balance of the mortgage being refinanced is paid out of the proceeds of the new mortgage. From a practical perspective, a refinance transaction may be completed with the same or a different lender from that which issued the prior mortgage. As such, there may be no actual transfer of assignment of the mortgage being r efinanced. Mr. Speaker, when the current stamp duty exemption for transfer or assignment for qualifying mor tgages were inserted in law in 2012, the intenti on was that eligible mortgages issued to refinance the prior mortgage would be covered by the exemption. Ho wever, in the last 10 years there have been few, if any, exemptions requested for refinance transaction. This may be the result of how exemption is i nterpreted by industry professionals and borrowers. The lack of a specific reference to refinancing may not have effectively conveyed the intent to include qualifying r efinance transactions as eligible for exemption. Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, this Bill wi ll clarify the exemption to refer to any transfer, assignment or refinance of a mortgage of $750,000 or less. This change will remove any actual or perceived doubt about applicants of the exemption to qualifying refinance transactions. Mr. Speaker, the changes proposed in this Bill will not result in any new tax relief. Instead, we are clarifying the existing relief while also making it more 1820 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly accessible and more useful for the people of this country who need it. Since being elected, this Government has consi stently worked to provide relief from undue financial and administrative burdens for Ber-mudians. We are delivering on our promise and doing the hard work necessary to improve our laws so that they work better for all Bermudians. We have already reduced pay roll tax for people earning less than $96,000 a year, reduced vehicle licensing fees by 10 per cent, provided land tax relief for charities and registered care homes, limited increases in fuel prices and introduced a multi -layered economic relief pac kage to help support Bermudians. And today, Mr. Speaker, we are debating multiple Bills to provide a dditional support for Bermudian homeowners, emplo yees, entrepreneurs and businesses. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the work that we have done as a Government to help the people of this country in these uncertain economic times. I want to thank the technical officers within the Office of the Tax Commissioner for the work on this Bill and for the f uture work that will be done to implement these chan ges. I would also lik e to thank the staff of the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General’s Chambers for their effort to bring forth this important piece of legisl ation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? MP Pearman, you have the floor.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you, Mr. Speaker. And my thanks to the Honourable Minister for the Cabinet Office, Wayne Furbert, for presenting this Bill in the absence of the Premier. Mr. Speaker, there is t he old adage that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And this Bill, or indeed …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And my thanks to the Honourable Minister for the Cabinet Office, Wayne Furbert, for presenting this Bill in the absence of the Premier. Mr. Speaker, there is t he old adage that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And this Bill, or indeed the original Bill, the original amendment which occurred back in about 2009, I believe, or thereabouts, is a perfect example of why that adage holds true. We had a good idea, some might say a great idea, in 2009 or thereabouts ––the PLP, it was the PLP’s idea. And it was their Bill that sought to r elieve stamp duty for first -time buyers. The problem with that idea is that it was not really thought through. It was half -baked. And some bright spark came up with the idea that in order to get stamp duty relief as a first -time buyer, you had to live in the property you were buying for three years. I only have to state that for you, Mr. Speaker, and others to see immediatel y the problem. How do I get stamp duty relief when I am buying the house if I will not be able to show for a period of three years that I have lived in it? And so what happens? No stamp duty relief. We do not know if you are going to live there for three years and therefore we do not know if you are entitled to this relief. And so we will tell you what, you live there for three years (having paid full price with no relief) and if you are still there after three years and you can prove it to us, well, then we will give you the relief. That doesn't really help a first -time homebuyer, does it? No stamp duty relief at the time of purchase, when what they really need is more cash in their pocket to get a cheaper house. And, sadly, that is a classic example of dec ision-making in a vacuum. It is a classic example of the lack of joined- up thinking. And it is a classic example of half -baked legislation that is rushed to the House to give the appearance that things are being done when in fact they are not. So here we are, 13 years later, fixing that problem. And we are glad we are fixing it. Now, my question is whether or not this fix is also half -baked. I hope it's not, but it really depends on how this is going to work in real life. So let’s take a look at that. Her e is a young Bermudian, first -time homebuyer, and they would like to buy a house. Now this restriction applies to houses at $750,000 and be-low, something like a unicorn in today’s Bermuda, I appreciate, few and far between. But let us say a first - time homebuyer identifies that house, and he or she wishes to have stamp duty relief to assist them in purchasing their piece of the rock. How will it work? Well, they are going to go and get a notice from the Tax Commission saying that they are a qualifying buyer . Now, that as an idea, is a great idea. The question is, Will it work in practise? Because that person will not be the only person trying to buy the house, probably, particularly a house of this value, [there are] few of them around in Bermuda t oday, sadl y. There will be others who will be cash purchasers. And so the advantage is only going to assist first-time homebuyers if they can get the preapproval swiftly. And so, practically speaking, to make sure that this Parliament, and I say that collectively, does not pass another half -baked piece of legislation, let’s hope that it actually works in practicality. The next question that I have for the Honourable Minister Wayne Furbert, is this: The $750,000 cap, i.e., this only applies to houses below $750,000. Back in 2009, there may well have been lots of properties available to first -time homebuyers at $750,000 and below. But in 2022 I have to say, I doubt there are very many, if any. And so I would invite the Minister to consider whether or not that number should in fact be moved up. Again, it is a suggestion. But it is trying to make legislation that actually achieves the purpose rather than passing something, saying how great we are, and actually not achieving anything at all. I have two more questions on the Bill. You will be relieved to hear only two. The next one is the ref-erence to refinance. Refinance is being added in as the Honourable Minister said in his opening stat ement. And that is at [clause 3] (d), page 2 at the bottom, “assignment or re- financing.”
Bermuda House of Assembly I could not locate a definition in the main pr imary Act, or indeed elsewhere, as to what refinancing will actually mean. And I just want to know if perhaps it has been defined or if there is a clear idea of that. I appreciate one could say, Well, refin ancing is ref inancing. But, you know, I am a lawyer. I was criticised earlier by the Honourable Minister for being one, put five lawyers in the room and asked them what ref inancing means and you might get five different answers. And so respectfully, I think the fact that ref inancing is being put in but not being defined could be another potential flaw in the Bill. My third point is, it is not clear that this amendment is retrospective. (I will wait until the Hon-ourable Minister is ready.) But no, no, just m y third and final point. It is not clear that this Bill is retrospective and therefore, as I understand it, anyone who was a homebuyer between 2009 and 2022, that 13- year period, is not g oing to get this benefit unless they had the three- year residency requirement demonstrated. So it is not going back to solve the problem for anyone. It is just going forward. It is not retrospective. My understanding is that the Bill is not retr ospective, so it will only apply on a go- forward basis. And I would just like t he Minister to confirm that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? Opposition Leader, you have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just have a couple of questions. I think the easiest question is this: I heard the Minister indicate that the …
Thank you. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? Opposition Leader, you have the floor.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just have a couple of questions. I think the easiest question is this: I heard the Minister indicate that the mortgages will go up to $750,000 and that the limit on the property is $750,000.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Speaker, the instr ument, the instrument, the mortgage instrument. So my question, Mr. Speaker, is this. If we issue a mortgage instrument, the charge of our property, the value of the debt, somewhere in there most [mortgage borro wers] would have had to pay a down payment. And so if they have a mortgage of $750,000, then the property would be valued above that because most institutions do not provide 100 per cent financing. I am [wearing] my banking hat now. And so I think the Shadow Mini ster on our side was correct to say that it is t ime for us to consider raising that $750[,000] to a more reasonable level, given the current markets. Now, I have been told from my banking perspective that the real estate market is hot in Bermuda at this time because people are not investing in markets [ but] they are buying real estate. So the prices are beginning to be off the chain. And so, Mr. Speak-er, as was said earlier, we need to possibly review the $750[,000] threshold, and that should not be just the mortgage value but the sales price for the transaction. I am saying that because we also have a lot of young Bermudians in IB buying their first homes and they are finding that their first homes are costing them $1 mi llion, $1.2 million, $1.5 million. And they do not qualify for this type of support. And so, in the end we are di scriminating against a certain sector of our young Bermudians who are trying to buy their first home. And so I think it is very important that we continue to consider raising the level of the exemption from a sales point of view. Preapproval, again, when I was working in banking, we provided preapprovals all the time. And basically, the preapproval was based on the client’s ability to pay. And sometimes we will look at the pro perty and see how we can apply this preapproval to thi s property. So again, let's be sure that we embrace not just a certain sector of our community, but all first-time Bermudian owners. You have a young son who r ecently married. He and his wife have decent jobs, and their first house may be $1.2 million and they will not be able to enjoy this benefit. And they have worked as hard as anybody else in this community. And so I would invite the Minister to reconsider the $750[,000] level. I think it is important that we have an equal pla ying field for all of our y oung Bermudians. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? There are none. Minister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank the O pposition Member, Mr. Pearman (I don’t see him right now) who congratulated the …
Thank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? There are none. Minister.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank the O pposition Member, Mr. Pearman (I don’t see him right now) who congratulated the Progressive Labour Party in 2009 for making this move and allowing the first - time homeowners to have an exemption on stamp duty at . . . for the value of the property, $750,000. It is not a mortgage. But $750,000 is what they are paying. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Leader of the Progressive Labour Party, right now the Honourable David Burt, now the current Minister of Finance, has listened, hence why this Bill is here today. So, we have been hearing it for years. It is not like the Opp osition did not hear this from 2012 to 2017. This is not the first time a first -time homeowner will have brought up about stamp duty. If it is . . . I doubt it. So at least during this time, Mr. Speaker, the Government of the day, which they were from 2012 to 2017, either did not listen or did not care. But this Government has li stened and has shown that it has cared. And hence today, we have the ability to bring this Bill to the Parliament and say that no more will that be in place. In 1822 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly 2013, they had to live in their property for three years, under another Government. In 2014, they had to live in a house for three years, under a former Gover nment. In 2015, they had to live . . . But Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Honourable Premier, currently the Minister of Finance, who has listened and brings this particular Bill to Parliament today. The Honourable Member, the Leader of the Opposition, spoke about a million dollars. It is on the value of the property for $750,000, not a mortgage of a million, and you are paying $750,000. If the value of your property is $750,000 or less, than you could qualify based on these pre- qualifications. And the prequalifications have to do with a whole slew of things. You have got to be Bermudian. You got to be . . . not own more than 25 per cent of the value of any other property. There are a whole slew of things. So once the Office of the Tax Commissioner approves that, then they are home free. And another thing that the Honourable Member [questioned] was [the definition of] refinance. Well, we are not going to need a lawyer, because at the end of the day, there is only one person who makes a decision whether it is a refinance mortgage. And that is the Office of the Tax Commissioner. We all know what refinancing a mortgage means. If we all had to go to a lawyer to ask what the meaning of “refinance” means, I'm sorry, we are in trouble. But everyone in this room understands what refinancing their mortgage means. And so w hen that person goes to the Office of the Tax Commissioner and says, I'm refinancing $750,000 from Clarien to HSBC , or whatever bank, that is what it means. But to a certain degree these individuals, first-time, had to almost borrow $25,000 [to pay that stamp duty]. It could be a maximum of $25,000. Now they do not have to borrow it. That is money that they do not have to pay out in interest because this Government heard, listened, cared and has taken action to make it happen. Should we raise it to a million dollars or $1.5 million? The Government can consider it in time as we go along. But right now we are at $750,000, and I believe a lot of Bermudians who are buying some homes . . . there are some homes out there for $750,000. There are some condominiums out there for $750,000 or less that will qualify for this procedure. So we are glad, Mr. Speaker, as I said, that the Government has listened, showed that it cared, and now has taken action today. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe Speaker[You can] move us into Committee. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill be committed.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Deputy. House in Committee at 2:37 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chairman ] COMMITTEE ON BILL STAMP DUTIES AMENDMENT ACT 2022
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in Committee of the whole [House] for further consider ation of the Bill entitled the Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022 . Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will move all clauses, 1, 2 and 3, if there …
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Clause 1 provides a citation for the Bill. Clause 2 amends the principal Act in section 77 to empower the Minister to prescribe a pre-qualification procedure that is to apply to consider an application by a first -time homeowner seeking exem ption from stamp duty …
Continue.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Clause 1 provides a citation for the Bill. Clause 2 amends the principal Act in section 77 to empower the Minister to prescribe a pre-qualification procedure that is to apply to consider an application by a first -time homeowner seeking exem ption from stamp duty in relation to the final transaction of the conveyance. Clause 3 amends the princ ipal Act in the Schedule in Heads 14 and 31. In Head 14, paragraph (b)(C) is repealed to remove the requirement for a first-time homeowner to live in the purchased property for at least three years or complete construction of the property within three year s. Head 14 is further amended to insert a new paragraph (c) to provide for the exemption from stamp duty relating to the instr ument of conveyance where the Tax Commissioner grants to the purchaser a notice of pre- qualification in the case where the purchas er has met the criteria under Head 14(b) and (c). Head 31 is amended to cause the exemption under paragraph (ab) to apply, in add ition to transfer or assignment of a mortgage, also with respect to refinancing of a mortgage. Mr. Chairman, if you do not mind, there was a question asked by the Honourable Member. Can I answer this, or should I . . . What do you want me to do?
The ChairmanChairmanThey have not asked any questions in Committee. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Okay.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any further speaker s? The chair recognises the Honourable Member Mr. Scott Pearman. Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Pearman: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I actually do not have any questions, but I do believe some of my Members do.
The ChairmanChairmanThe Chair recognises the Honourable Member Jarion R ichardson. You have the floor, Mr. Richardson.
Mr. Jarion RichardsonThank you, Mr. Chairman. The Honourable Minister spoke on clause 2, specifically, that there will be an assertion to prescribe a procedure to enable the Tax Commissioner to grant a pre- qualification. I was hoping the Honourable Mi nister could speak to why the Tax Commissioner is the best-placed person …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Honourable Minister spoke on clause 2, specifically, that there will be an assertion to prescribe a procedure to enable the Tax Commissioner to grant a pre- qualification. I was hoping the Honourable Mi nister could speak to why the Tax Commissioner is the best-placed person to undertake the qualification pr ocess? My information is that the officers at the Land Registry, before they register a land or can transfer it, they have to undertake a process requiring them to make sure that stamp duty is properly paid. So we seem to have a step in the process, or [we are] adding a step in the process, or rather not removing one. Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further s peakers? Minister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, it is our view that the Office of the Tax Commissioner Office is the right place to be. They are the ones who collect the taxes. And all this time, since 2009, they have been the organisation that gi …
Mr. Jarion RichardsonYes, thank you, Mr. Chai rman. Another question: My understanding is that there have been a number of delays [with] the Tax Commissioner –– [prev iously] it was quite the process. And so some of these conveyances took quite some time, and they were delayed by way of the involvement …
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chai rman. Another question: My understanding is that there have been a number of delays [with] the Tax Commissioner –– [prev iously] it was quite the process. And so some of these conveyances took quite some time, and they were delayed by way of the involvement of the Office of the Tax Commissioner. Could the Honourable Minister speak to how that will be expedited under this new regime?
The ChairmanChairmanMinister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, we have i mproved efficiencies within the department and now things are moving along quite smoothly.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Any further speakers on this Bill? There appear to be none. Minister, do you want to move the clauses for approval? Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, I would like to move clauses 1 through 3. The Chairman: To be approved? Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: To be approved, …
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that cl auses 1 through 3 be approved. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 3 passed.] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I move that the preamble be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the preamble be approved. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I move that the Bill be r eported to the House as printed or amended.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the Bill be reported to the Hous e as printed. Any objections to that? There appear to be none. The Bill will be reported to the House as printed. [Motion carried: The Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022 was considered by a Committee of the whole …
It has been moved that the Bill be reported to the Hous e as printed. Any objections to that? There appear to be none. The Bill will be reported to the House as printed.
[Motion carried: The Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed without amendment.]
The Cha irman: Mr. Speaker.
House resumed at 2:43 pm
[Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
STAMP DUTIES AMENDMENT ACT 2022
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Deputy [Speaker ]. Members, are there any objections to the Bill entitled the Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022 being reported to the House as printed? There are none. We now move on to the next item on the O rder Paper which is the Customs Tariff Amendment (No. …
Thank you, Deputy [Speaker ]. Members, are there any objections to the Bill entitled the Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022 being reported to the House as printed? There are none. We now move on to the next item on the O rder Paper which is the Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022 in the name of the Premier. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good afternoon to you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood afternoon. 1824 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report B ermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, with the Governor’s recommendation I move that the Bill entitled the Customs Tariff [Amendment] (No. 3) Ac t 2022 be now read for a second tim e.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAre there any objections to that? There are none. Continue, Premier. BILL SECOND READING CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT ( NO. 3) ACT 2022 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members are now requested to give consideration to the Bill entitled the Customs Tariff Amendment …
Are there any objections to that? There are none. Continue, Premier. BILL SECOND READING CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT ( NO. 3) ACT 2022 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members are now requested to give consideration to the Bill entitled the Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022. Mr. Speaker, this Bill proposes to amend the Customs Tariff Act 1970, the principal Act, with measures that 1.create specific national tariff codes for certain essential commodities and assign a rate of duty of zero per cent; 2.make consequential amendments to t he t ariff codes as a result of the creation of new national tariff codes; 3.amend the duration of duty relief availableto the Bermuda Hospitals Board; and 4.insert duty relief to the local commercial manufacturing of bread and baked goods. The various measures of the Bill affect both the First Schedule and the Fifth Schedule of the prin-cipal Act. Mr. Speaker, in June of 2022 the Cost of Li ving Amendment Act 2020 was brought into force. It is the recommendation of the Cost of Living Commission for an essential basket of 33 commodities to be implemented and further recommendation for duty rates on the essential commodities that were not already zero per cent to be reduced to zero per cent and therefore eliminated. Mr. Speaker, the Cost of Living Commission further recommended the implementation of a new duty relief for local bakers and home bakers to include commodities deemed essential for the local bakers of bread. This was required as such businesses were not included in the definition of specified businesses under the Cost of Living [Commission] Act 1974. Mr. Speaker, the major features of the Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022 are adapt ations to extend the essential commodities list of 2018 which at that time eliminated duty on eggs, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, turnips, oranges, apples, cereals and products of the milling industry which would include flowers, starches, malt, inulin, and wheat gluten. These changes were part of the first budget of this new PLP Government as a move to reduce pricing pressures on essential and healthy goods to assist hard- working Bermudian families with the cost of living. The recommended commodities to be changed to a zero per cent duty rate are: ground beef, chicken (fresh, chilled or frozen), turkey (fresh, chilled, or frozen), butter, green beans, fresh bananas, pep-per, cooking oil, tuna (can and dry packed), pasta, bread (fresh or chilled), jam, peanut butter, tomato ketchup and other tomato sauce, bath soap bars, laundry detergent, dish detergent, napkins and napkin liners for babies, sanitary towels, pads and tampons. Mr. Speaker, we live in unprecedented times and we lived through a- once- in-a-century pand emic. Now we are facing global inflation not seen in a generation due to the coronavirus pandemic and supply chain issues that have risen from the pandemic and also from the war in Ukraine. The cost of food is i ncreasing throughout the world. In the United Kingdom, soaring prices of essential items such as milk, eggs and cheese pushed their inflation rate as high as 10.1 per cent in July. In May, Canada saw food prices rise by 9.7 per cent with items such as chicken increasing from $12.58 in April 2021 to $15.32 in April of 2022, and ground beef rising from $9.19 in April 2021 to $10.82 in April 2022. The United States, which all Honourable Members in this House are aware is where we import the majority of our food items from, has seen year -onyear increases in the month of August 2021 to August 2022 as high as 39.0 per cent for essential items such as eggs. And even in Japan, which has one of the lowest inflation rates in the world's major economies at 2.8 per cent, customers are still feeling the effects of rising prices, with food prices in that country i ncreasing by 10.0 per cent. These unprecedented times and the challenges that we are facing require caring leadership and decisive action. This Government is determined to do all that it can to provide rel ief for the hardworking families in this country as global prices continue to rise. Mr. Speaker, in the 2022/23 Budget Statement delivered to this Honourable House, I prom ised relief now and more relief to come. And in that Statement, I announced a number of relief measures to support Bermudian families and bus inesses, such as a 10.0 per cent reduction in private vehicle licensing fees, reduced taxes for workers, tax relief for charities and care homes, and no across the board increase in government fees, halting a standard practise to increase all government fees by 5.0 per cent every other year. And equally important, we pledged that 50.0 per cent of any budget surplus will be returned to the taxpayer so that the success of the Government is a shared success with taxpayers. Since that Statement in February, we have continued to keep our promise of relief now and more
Bermuda House of Assembly relief to come. In March, we froze fuel prices at February levels, saving families $23 at the pump and taxi and minibus operators an average of $35 each time they refilled their vehicles. We have provided $150 to support parents of public school students with essen-tial supplies, and next week the application for the payroll tax rebate of $250 for persons making under $60,000 and $100 for persons making under $96,000 will go live and will put more money back into taxpa yers’ pockets. Mr. Speaker, eliminating duty on 21 more essential items is a further step that the Government is taking to provide relief to the people of this country as we do all that we can to assist our citizens with rising global inflation. The delivery of this important initiative is thanks to the work of the Cost of Living Commission under the diligent leadership of the Honourable Deputy Speaker, MP Derrick Burgess. And the Cost of Li ving Commission, Mr. Speaker, was tasked by the Government with developing a basket of essential goods and recommendations on how the cost of these goods could be reduced. Mr. Speaker, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Cost of Living Commission and the cooperation of local grocers, I am pleased to say that three major grocery store chains on Island have confirmed an agreement to reduce items in the basket of essential goods by at least 10.0 per cent. This i ncludes those goods where duty was previously elim inated in July 2018 and the 21 items covered in the Customs Tariff Amendment [(No. 3)] Act that we are debating today. Mr. Speaker, they are also ready to compete against one another to offer the best price on essential goods. I am sure that the Honourable Deputy Speaker will further elaborate on this during his contribution to this debate. Mr. Speaker, I know that many are concerned about seeing a reduction in food prices in our local stores. However, I can say that in meetings I have held with grocers and wholesalers, as well as me mbers of the Cost of Living Commission, I am fully confident that they will continue to work collectively to e nsure that Bermudians will see savings on essential goods. Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that in add ition to the 21 essential goods in this Bill, which I will list with their according current duty rates: ground beef, 5.0 per cent; chicken, 5.0 per cent; turkey, 5.0 per cent; butter, 5.0 per cent; processed cheese slices, 5.0 per cent; cheddar cheese, 5.0 per cent; green beans [and] fresh bananas, 5.0 per cent; pe pper, 5.0 per cent; cooking oil, 5.0 per cent; tuna, 5.0 per cent; pasta, 12.5 per cent; bread, 12.5 per cent; jam, 5.0 per cent; peanut butter, 5.0 per cent; bath and soap bars, 12.5 per cent; laundry detergent, 12.5 per cent; dish detergent, 25.0 per cent; diapers for babies, 6.5 per cent; and sanitary towels, pads and tampons, 25.0 per cent. So those, Mr. Speaker, are the goods that we are reducing today, which are inside of the essenti al basket of goods. But as I said, Mr. Speaker, due to the hard work of the Cost of Living Commission, gr ocers have also committed to making sure they make goods inside of the basket available and a reduction of at least 10.0 per cent on eggs, milk, can mi lk, flour, rice, carrots, oranges, hot cereals and salt. And these are things, Mr. Speaker, that are already at zero per cent duty. Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate this, as I think that it is an important point for Honourable Members to understand and also c ertainly the listening [public] — and of course, Mr. Speaker, soon to be watching public—to realise that the reductions of at least 10.0 per cent will also be made on the items where duty was previously zero per cent due to the agreement reached between the Cost of Living Commission and local grocers to ensure that Bermudians have lower prices on essential items. And, Mr. Speaker, to confirm that these reductions are being passed on to consumers, the Cost of Living Commission will require prices of essential goods to be electronically reported and that information will be accessed by the public. And, Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Attorney General, who the Department of Consumer Affairs falls under, is currently working with the Cost of Living Commission to put together the regulations to ensure that these costs are reported electronically. Mr. Speaker, the elimination of duty on more essential goods is a win for consumers and is a win for hard- working families and taxpayers of this country. It also shows that th e Government is using the full talent of its team to deliver on the promises it made to the people of Bermuda to provide more relief in these unprecedented times. Mr. Speaker, there are some who will argue that this relief is too broad. However, I do not a gree. Anything that this Government can do to reduce the pressure that global inflation is having on working families in Bermuda should be welcomed. The Government made the decision to extend the duty cut to all importers so that relief can be as wide as possible from the largest grocers to the vendor selling laundry detergent on the side of the street. Later, Mr. Speaker, I will be offering an amendment that will allow the Cost of Living Commi ssion to not only get electronic pricing information from local grocery stores, but also from wholesalers of food and other essential goods. This amendment has been shared with the Clerk and also with Members of the Opposition. Finally, Mr. Speaker, in our discussions with grocers and wholesalers, there was extensive discu ssion regarding the sugar tax in Bermuda. Honourable Members should be aware that the Ministry of Finance is currently carrying out a review of the sugar tax to [reduce] the number of items to which the sugar tax is currently being applied. Some of the changes will be able to be done administratively. Others may require that we come back to this Honourable House to make 1826 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly further amendments to the Customs Tariff [Act]. That work is being led by the Honourable Minister for the Cabinet Office and we will l ook to complete this review quickly so that items that have a small amount of add-ed sugar are not subject to the sugar tax. The grocers and wholesalers have assured me that any changes reflected in this review will be reflected in pricing going forward. Mr. Speaker, returning to the principle of the Bill, the changes are not confined to creating new specific provisions for the essential basket of 33 commodities recommended for duty reduction. The amendments also include clarification of text to ensure the application of the nomenclature to assist the i mporter. For example, ground beef will have a specific national code, and sliced cheese will also have a specific national code. Mr. Speaker, all of the Customs Tariff Amendment [(No. 3)] Act 2022 related changes to the First Schedule to the principal Act referred to as the “Bermuda nomenclature,” are to reduce the commodities deemed essential commodities to a zero duty rate, as well as insert applicable tariff codes related to the relief to be granted to local bakers and home bakers of bread. Mr. Speaker in order to assist with the recommendation of the Cost of Living Commission, the Bill proposes to introduce in the Fifth Schedule to the principal Act the new end- use Customs Procedure Code [CPC] 4241, providing 100 per cent duty relief for goods imported and wholly and exclusively used in the local manufacture of bread and baked goods by an approved business. Under this new end- use relief, the Minister will have enhanced authority and flexibility to approve appr opriate businesses and goods for i mport duty relief. This new relief requires the Minister to publish policy guidelines on the approval of the scope and quantity of goods for any particular approved businesses. The policy guidelines will be published on the Government website. Mr. Speaker, I now progress to the proposed amendment to an existing relief that was introduced by the Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2022 for the benefit of the Bermuda Hospitals Board. The customs procedure code 4240 was intr oduced a nd came into effect on the 1 st of April 2022. The purpose of that relief was to offer assistance to the Bermuda Hospitals Board offsetting additional operating expenses on hospital consumables, operating and operating supplies. Mr. Speaker, today I am also happy to update this Honourable House on another form of relief that the Government is providing to the people of Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, as I close, these are unprec edented times for Bermuda. But just as we rose to meet the challenges of a once- in-a-centur y pandemic, together this country will rise to meet the challenges of global inflation not seen in 40 years. Bermudians can be assured that this Government will also meet these challenges and is committed to easing the burden on rising prices due to global inflation. As I said previously last week in this House, Mr. Speaker, as our budget deficit has narrowed and our financial projection has improved, we will be ou tlining further relief measures in the coming weeks. I did give a press conference yesterday a nd alluded to one which is certainly something that Honourable Members in this Chamber should look forward to–– although it is handled under negative resolution–– but [also to] members of the public, to increase day care assistance and increase the threshol d for day care assistance as there are many young parents who are being crushed under with rising prices that are exis ting [and] that are being crushed by the costs of healthcare. Something that was introduced by the Progressive Labour Party Government in 2008, Mr. Speaker, but certainly something that we must review and make sure that it is appropriate for today's time. And as I said, Mr. Speaker, in the coming weeks we will outline more relief measures and will return more funds to working families who it need the most. Mr. Speaker, as I close, this Government will keep our promise and ensure that our improved financial results are shared with the taxpayers of this country as our economy continues to rebound and grow. Since the financial crisis, Mr. Speaker, we have been talking about shared sacrifice, and now it is time that we turn our attention to shared success. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution? Opposition Leader, you have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying that we are in difficult times and a lot of the things the Premier has said …
Thank you, Premier. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution? Opposition Leader, you have the floor.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying that we are in difficult times and a lot of the things the Premier has said in regard to the global economy I have to agree with. I agree, Mr. S peaker, that COVID -19 has put a wrench in the global economies. I have to agree that the war in Ukraine has also challenged our supply chain globally and resulted in global inflation. So the Premier is right on putting in a framework in regard to the global economy and how it trickles down to Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, what we are going through today in regard to addressing the cost of living, a similar de-bate is also going on in other parliaments around the world, be they the UK, US, Canada, Japan. The Premier said inflation in Japan was around 2.8 per cent, the highest in 40 years. The UK is around 8 [per cent] to 9 per cent. The US is 9 [per cent] to 10 per cent. I agree. I have watched this continuously; I look at the markets. There is no escaping it. And so countries, governments, are trying to find ways to provide
Bermuda House of Assembly relief to their citizens and we are no different. So, what the Premier is doing, what the PLP Government is doing is in line with what is expected from other juri sdictions. Mr. Speaker, let me go o n to say that as there is no end in view in regard to the unrest in the Ukraine, what is the Government's long- term plan in regard to how they plan to manage and provide ongoing relief to the people of this country? As you will note, the central banks are having difficulty bringing inflation under control. And as long as they have their challenge, the prices will go up. So again, what is the long- term plan for Government in addressing this? Because the challenge that we face, like other jurisdictions, is t hat this infl ation will go on for another 18 months to two years. And we are fixing problems now. So the Premier and the Government have made concessions . . . and I have to admit, quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, the concessions that he made today I would have wondered whether he was in our caucus room because a lot of things that he mentioned, when the legislation was tabled, I, you know, scratched my head and said, What the devil is going on here today? Because I have had a caucus meeting and everything word for word was said, and it caused me great —great — anxiety, Mr. Speaker!
Hon. E. David Burt: Anxiety or joy?
[Laughter]
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Anxiety! [Laughter]
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Because I see that this man is talking about concessions that we agree to.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSame conversation, eh? Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: So, we are on the same page as far as some of these concessions are concerned. Mr. Speaker, but one thing that is very different— Hon. E. David Burt: Ah! Here it comes! Hon. N. H. C ole Simons: —is the sugar …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerUh-huh. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: If they are very concerned about the cost of living, the Premier and the Finance Minister —who, by the way, is the same person—can with the stroke of a pen, get rid of the sugar tax today.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersHear, hear! Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: They have the ability. The Finance Minister says, We have a cost of living team that will be examining this. I am not saying do not examine it. If you are serious about helping people at t he tills, get rid of the …
Hear, hear! Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: They have the ability. The Finance Minister says, We have a cost of living team that will be examining this. I am not saying do not examine it. If you are serious about helping people at t he tills, get rid of the sugar tax now. And I am not saying you cannot revisit it in the future, three years down the road once the economy has turned around, but if you are serious about helping people that are struggling now—get rid of the sugar tax now! You can do it. Mr. Speaker, the other issue that I would like to address is this. We understand that by reducing these taxes, it may prevent retailers from putting up their prices because the wholesale prices continue to escalate. So, does the reduction in customs duties, tabled today, actually hit the pockets of the average man in the street when they go and do their grocery shopping? And will they see the total cost of their gr oceries at the till go down? Are we sure that our retailers are committed to reducing and passing on those benefits to the people of Bermuda who need the most? Is it enough to say, We will stop you from increasing the cost (because [of] the inflationary increase in wholesale goods ) by reducing the taxes to zero? But does reducing the taxes to zero and the spiralling wholesale costs result in a benefit to the retail grocery store or does it accrue to the benefit of the consumer? And I take a view that the consumers are not getting the best part of the deal. And so Mr. Speaker, I would want the Minister of Finance and the Premier to get a commitment from our retailers to let them know that these savings for the people have gone to the people.
Hon. E. David Burt: Point of order, Mr. Speaker. Point of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. POINT OF ORDER Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I do believe that my brief addressed the very points of which the Honour able Member is speaking of.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHe is reinforcing those points. [Laughter] Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Speaker, he di d not provide a definitive stance as I am. He did his political dance as he is well known for, Mr. Speaker. We want definitive action, Mr. Speaker. And just as he has taken measured, …
He is reinforcing those points.
[Laughter] Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Speaker, he di d not provide a definitive stance as I am. He did his political dance as he is well known for, Mr. Speaker. We want definitive action, Mr. Speaker. And just as he has taken measured, definitive steps for his leadership, he can do the same thing in helping our Bermudian consumer, Mr. Speaker.
[Inaudible interjections and laughter ] 1828 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: My position is secure, sir.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersOoh! All right! Fire! [Crosstalk] Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Speaker — [Inaudible interjections and laughter ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDirect your comments to the Chair and you will be all right. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I have— [Crosstalk]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDirect your comments here. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Speaker, the other piece of information that I was li stening for from the Minister of Finance was what the quantum value of these savings was, these support programmes that he is proposing today. And I think the community needs …
Direct your comments here.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Speaker, the other piece of information that I was li stening for from the Minister of Finance was what the quantum value of these savings was, these support programmes that he is proposing today. And I think the community needs to know how much these savings, reductions in customs, translate into. I remembe r when he was the Opposition [Shadow Minister of] Finance. It was said Where is the financial memo? What was the total dollar value of this piece of legislation? And here we are, the tables have been turned, and he has not provided [this i nformation] on a number of pieces of legislation, Mr. Speaker. And so if you can ask for it when you were Opposition, one would have thought you would have done it when you are the Minister of Finance. So, Mr. Speaker, that is an issue that I would like to have addressed. I think those are my only comments, and I would like to continue the debate. I may have a few other colleagues of mine who would like to participate in this debate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member . . . Deputy Speaker, you have the floor. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the Price Commission members, and particularly Anthony Santucci, for this task that was …
Thank you, Member. Does any other Member . . . Deputy Speaker, you have the floor. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the Price Commission members, and particularly Anthony Santucci, for this task that was given to us by the Premier, (because when we started it was under him), then it was Minister Roban, and now [it is] the Attorney General Simmons. And they all have been very helpful during their tenure as the Minister responsible. Then, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Lindo’s, MarketPlace, and the [Supermart] for their cooper ation in some difficult talks. I thought they contributed a great deal, and here we are today. I think we have got an understanding and an agreement that the savings have to be transferred to our shoppers, Mr. Speaker. And Mr. Speaker, I would like to also thank the farmers. A lot of people do not really appreciate our farmers. But without the farmers, we do not eat. Our local farmers have challenges acquiring Bermudian staff because it is not the, I guess, the most attractive job to them. And consequently, they have to bring in employees from overseas. But they have their challenges with the weather, the night workers who work illegally, and just the cost of getting supplies into Ber-muda, Mr. Speaker. This t ask was difficult because people think that the Government should control the prices. Mr. Speaker, that is literally impossible because prices . . . and where we import from, today they are increasing just as we sit here, seems like every minute. And so we did not even try to even address that in any substantial way because of that. The wholesalers that bring this stuff in, we have wholesalers, retailers bringing in containers of food. They are facing some challenges. Even the shippers, Mr. Speaker, becaus e the prices in the Uni ted States since COVID -19 have really increased. Not only in the United States, Canada and Europe, wher-ever we get . . . trucking, shipping, all of this has i ncreased. In fact, as they educated us, one time you had a price for trucki ng from one state to wherever you wanted to go, now there is not a set price. They give you a price and you take it or you leave it. So they have their challenges. The cost of bringing in containers has i ncreased substantially. And as the grocery shops and wholesalers told us, bringing in 40- foot containers would be a savings instead of bringing in 20- [foot co ntainers]. But they are not easily handled in Bermuda. There are only two shops that can handle them in certain areas, so you still got to strip the c ontainers and take it somewhere else. So there is another cost. We are not really geared for 40- foot containers. Plus, when the trucks normally pick up a 40- foot container, they need escorts. It is difficult. So if you save in one area, you are paying some where else, Mr. Speaker. So there are challenges there. There are challenges with the shippers themselves when they bring in stuff. Because what you try to do is bring in a full load. Bringing that craft across that . . . the boat across the ocean, if it i s just half full or full, it is the same price. And that cost, somebody has got to pay that. And then there is the challenge for the supermarkets and wholesalers in filling a container because they would want to fill the container because it is a savings t o them and a savings to the consumer if you bring a full one as opposed to a half a container. So that is not always possible, Mr. Speaker. So, these are some of the challenges that we have in Bermuda. We are way out here. And then you get that boat that c omes in here full and it goes back
Bermuda House of Assembly empty. Unlike other areas, you can go in full and leave full. And if we had that, certainly it would be much more reasonable for us. So as people criticise ––and I have done it myself over past years until we got with them and learned all this stuff. There are some challenges. It is not so easy. It is not the easiest business. When you bring in fresh food, most times you have to fly it in. So that is another price. And if you are bringing in meat, and [with] the health reg ulations, it is more expensive for obvious reasons. You got to handle it with more staff and [there are] certain preca utions you have to take. So going into a shop and trying to buy a tenderloin, you will probably pay $40 a pound, and that fluctuates here and there. So, we understand that. And then there are challenges of fresh food, whether it is meat or vegetables, which is the shelf life. Once you buy that product at wherever, it has to get on the boat and come to Bermuda. After you buy that, that is a p art of the shelf life and that decreases every day. So, there is going to be [waste] or spoilage, or whatever you want to call it. And we cannot expect the retailers to just stomach that loss. As they do worldwide, the consumers pay for that. Bermuda is no exception, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, when we talk about eggs, [the cost of] eggs has increased, as you probably know. You eat a lot of eggs, Mr. Speaker. And the [cost of] eggs has increased substantially because they had to kill off a lot of the chic kens. And they did say, Well, once they replenish that group, then you should see some reduction there . So, it is not that they want to put up the price of eggs, it is what they are facing coming in, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we talk about the sugar tax. T his Government is . . . will . . . they are working on it now to make some adjustments there. Because when you look at the sugar tax, some of the items that are on there, you got items that are what we call “health friendly.” For example, like, All -Bran. A ll-Bran is a f ibre. And if you eat a couple of All -Bran Buds, you will get more—
[Inaudible interjections and laughter ] Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: No, no, I am just using that as an example. You get more than half the required fibre in your body.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberIt’s all about fibre. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: It is all about fibre. So if those with the high cholesterol, take a couple cups of All -Bran, or you can take flax seed or chia seeds, anyone of them. Right? You can do all of that, Mr. Spe aker, …
It’s all about fibre.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: It is all about fibre. So if those with the high cholesterol, take a couple cups of All -Bran, or you can take flax seed or chia seeds, anyone of them. Right? You can do all of that, Mr. Spe aker, in addition to your greens, your broccoli and Brussels sprouts, and all that, Mr. Speaker. But the aim of the sugar tax —and if I got it wrong, I know the Premier will correct me—was to get items like soda. Most soda has got about 12 te aspoons of sugar in it.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberTwelve? Thirty -three! Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: [There are] 12 . . . 12. No, not 33. No [soda] has 33 teaspoons of sugar. They have maybe between 40 and 48 grams of sugar. Four grams make one teaspoonful. And you will find that grape juice even has more …
Twelve? Thirty -three!
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: [There are] 12 . . . 12. No, not 33. No [soda] has 33 teaspoons of sugar. They have maybe between 40 and 48 grams of sugar. Four grams make one teaspoonful. And you will find that grape juice even has more than that! So people will drink juice. Oh, this is healthy. There is a lot of sugar in that. A lot of sugar in that! So, I think the sugar tax was geared at candy and sodas. That stuff will take you out! Because I know some of my mates drink about four cans of soda a day. Some people drink more. That is putting . . . and with the country, predominantly Black, with diab etes, this does not help. So, the objective of the sugar tax is a worthy one. It is trying to improve our heal th. And if you look at this country, quite a lot more than what we consider average, have diabetes. And so the aim of it is certainly what we wanted it to be. Mr. Speaker, the total of 33 items, what we call “essential items,” all of those items can be found in the basket of goods put out by the Statistical D epartment. And some items like, say, bananas and carrots, even though they are there, they may not be available because of the season and availability of them. So, the grocery shops will replace them wi th something else. They may put frozen carrots or som ething like that, Mr. Speaker. So, I do not want people thinking, Well, it is on the list , but you do not have any. So we have to have some flexibility there. And the Premier and the Minister understand that. And we are not going to be hard and fast on that, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, we thank the Finance Mini ster, who happens to be the Premier, for the assi stance. I think it is going beyond and above what most Finance Ministers do worldwide to address this issue. And it has been very [beneficial] in getting at least [a] 10 per cent decrease in these essential items. And while we say at least 10 per cent, the grocery shops say to us, Sometimes we can get some items that will give you more. You might even get 18 per cent (because our requirement was higher than that ). But they said that many times they get specials from their sup-pliers and they are prepared to pass that on. So, you may see some items on there that might get 15 [per cent] or 16 per cent [d iscount], depending on what specials they get from their suppliers. So we thank them for that, Mr. Speaker. And again, we want to thank the retailers, wholesalers, and particularly our farmers, and, again, the Price Commission for the cooperation that the y have given us over this little journey. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
1830 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Thank you, Deputy [Speaker]. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMP Cannonier , you have the floor.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierThank you, very much. I would like to start off by saying thank you to the Honourable Member Burgess for his efforts. I certainly have shared with my team many of the ideas that I thought could be and still c an be implemented. Having been in the grocery industry …
Thank you, very much. I would like to start off by saying thank you to the Honourable Member Burgess for his efforts. I certainly have shared with my team many of the ideas that I thought could be and still c an be implemented. Having been in the grocery industry as well, many moons ago, it is not easy. And it is not an easy bus iness. But I will thank you for the efforts and where we are today and what has culminated as the Minister and our Premier has brought about a package that continues to assist. One of the challenges that we will continue to have is we . . . there is just a limited amount of controlling of cost. And one of the gripes that I have had back when we were making money hand over [fist], in the 1980s and 1990s, there were opportunities where we could have changed the structure of how we i mport goods and who imports them, but because we were making so much money, we did not put enough resources into, unfortunately, looking at other options. And what do I mean by that? So when COVID -19 came along, we were not able to get certain products into the Island. You know, you could not get Bounty [or] Scott towels. And so we had to look at other options. You could not get, and I will speak to this personal ly, which goes to some of the sugar. I like a Cadbury chocolate every so often. Okay? Not every day, and not every other day, maybe sometimes once a week. Right? I'll have a Cadbury chocolate. I must admit, it is a big one, right? But if you go and get a big one right now, any of you who eat chocolate, you know it is going to cost over $8. Right? To get a decent size chocolate, right? What I found out was, if I buy a Waitrose chocolate that is the same size, it is half the price. And so what happened is tha t we go to the supermarket and we are stuck on these brands, rather than looking at the alternative. Like when you go to the pharmacy, which, of course, I declare my interest, [I was] general manager for People’s Pharmacy for many, many moons, many, many years. People come in, and rather than get the generic, which is the exact same thing! The first thing they say to you, Cannonier, I want the brand. You know, I want the brand. I am asking . . . Listen, I'm trying to help you here. This is too expensive. T his is costing you $55, and you can get the generic for $20. No! No! We will not make good decisions about the future. And so here we are now, and I know it is unfair to Government. We have been Government, so we know what it feels like. You are scrambling to try and figure out, What can I do? In some ways, as a Government and Opposition, it feels unfair. We got to figure this stuff out. How do we cut costs? So I am going to make a public appeal to the Honourable Member Derrick [Burgess]. I need to speak t o that panel because there are some things that we can do. The challenge is this: it upsets the wealth structure that we have in the Island today. And so we have been unwilling in many ways to get involved, maybe out of fear, not knowing. But I can assure you, one of the challenges that the grocery stores have is they continue to buy from the same “jobbers” as we call them, the same large wholesalers. And so the pricing structure never changes. Okay? It does not change. And what they are guilty of, and I s upport them because they do not gouge. I mean, people keep talking about them gouging. I do not see that. What they have had to do with the sugar tax is spread the cost of other things to survive. That is just a by - product of it. But what has happened is, we did not look at other jurisdictions where we could be getting the same product, the exact same product, and for a better price. I saw bananas, my goodness, almost a foot and a half for a quarter of the wholesale price that we bring in right now. And that is because we have not done our work to explore the options that we do have. Why? Because everything has got to come from the States. We need to educate Bermudians that the Waitrose chocolate is just as good as Cadbury. And it is slightly bigger, just s lightly bigger. Okay?
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. L. Craig CannonierWaitrose. Yes. Milk choc olate. They got dark chocolate, which is better for you, more antioxidants, right? [Inaudible interjections]
Mr. L. Craig CannonierNo, no, no. Yes, yes, I love dark chocolate. My wife is dark, right? [Laughter and i naudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerKeep your conversation flowing this way.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierSo one of the challenges that we have, and as leaders we got to do more to educate, and w e find ourselves in a position right now where we are backpedalling because we are trying to figure out how [to] help. And the side effect is that we are …
So one of the challenges that we have, and as leaders we got to do more to educate, and w e find ourselves in a position right now where we are backpedalling because we are trying to figure out how [to] help. And the side effect is that we are in a financial position where it is tough. It is difficult. And so one of
Bermuda House of Assembly the challenges that I had was, you know, I am just now hearing that the Government is considering some kind of, I don't know, process to the sugar tax. My i ssue is you put the sugar tax in place and Bermudians, local entrepreneurs, went out of business. They are not coming back. They are gone. And here we are now, considering years later, W ell, maybe we better do something . And quite frankly, had we done away with the sugar tax, we might have been able to leave some of the duty on some of these products, maybe at 5 per cent as opposed to 10 [per cent], and just take away the sugar tax, because the sugar tax increase costs of goods across the board. You cannot sell a chocolate for $12 or a drink for . . . my goodness, you go get a Vita water . . . Vita water. Not so bad. Not too much sugar is it, Derrick? (Wherever he has gone.)
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberTo get some Vita water.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierBut it has some healthy [benefits] to it. That thing costs $450 . . . $4.50. [Laughter]
Mr. L. Craig CannonierMight as well be $400! The other drink was . . . What's it called? B -A-I, or . . .
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes, B -A-I.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierThat drink was recommended. This is a great drink for you. [Just] 1 per cent sugar in it, C annonier. You should try this here. Four dollars and seventy -five cents? I was like, Oh, my goo dness ! Oh, my goodness ! Yes, and it says on there, “enhanced …
Mr. L. Craig CannonierRight? So, we have gotten ourselves habitualised to stop this killing us. Habitualised! And I am not just talk ing about the sugar; I am talking about the cost. The cost! And so we got to do more homework, and Government has to do more talking to industry stakeholders to …
Right? So, we have gotten ourselves habitualised to stop this killing us. Habitualised! And I am not just talk ing about the sugar; I am talking about the cost. The cost! And so we got to do more homework, and Government has to do more talking to industry stakeholders to figure out . . . And I am not just talking about the grocery stores because they are still buyi ng from the same places, [we need to talk to] other entrepreneurs, who know where some of this stuff is, and we can get the product here. We are all complaining about fruits and vegetables. You know, we are getting second and third tier fruits and vegetables. All right? You get your tomato and in two days it is gone. Well, there are other places we can get this stuff from. Other places! And we need to explore that. But again, it means us pooling our efforts together, pooling our money together, and it means that we are going to upset the wealth basket here because those who have been doing all along . . . No, no, no, no. We got a new bye that we are bu y-ing from now. Start bringing it in for a much better price and it tastes good, and it is healthy. So this sugar tax has got to go, as the Opposition Leader said. That should have been the first. My opinion would have been that this is the first point of attack, right there. Because we all know it is not doing what it is intended to do, because diabetes ain’t going down over the years. We are just buying a Waitrose chocolate, same amount of sugar. So we have not improved our position. And that's my concern! We have got to find a way to help our people find other options. To help entrepreneurs to find other options on how we can bring goods in. And maybe we can get some assistance, if possible, from Government in making it happen. So I am going to say this here. I declare my interest . I started a business with two other Bermudians, trade business. Just started it. Selling commodities. You can get sugar, granulated sugar for between $350 to $400 a metric tonne. Imagine when you go to the store to buy a five- pound bag of sugar, it costs you more than $8. We could be selling it in Bermuda for around $3 because we can get it in bulk. And the rest of the container ship can go down to the Caribbean to our brothers and sisters. They will buy it too. You want to know why? Because they are suffering from the same issues we are. Two of them, their cost of living is up there j ust like ours. You saw the list, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierAnd they will take it. And they produce sugar themselves as well. We have got to do something about this here. In competition, one of the challenges is, it always seems to be like a race to zero. All right? Where nobody then benefits and people, businesses, die off. And …
And they will take it. And they produce sugar themselves as well. We have got to do something about this here. In competition, one of the challenges is, it always seems to be like a race to zero. All right? Where nobody then benefits and people, businesses, die off. And we are in a race to zero. You can see, duties down to zero. That is a challenge. That is going to be a challenge for Government. And so we got to f igure out ways to increase our revenue and be resourceful by consulting one another more and more about other options. All of us have been touched because all of us probably know somebody who lost their business when the sugar tax was put in place. We got —
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. L. Craig CannonierYes, Sweet S AAK. Yes, yes. We got to figure out we got to figure out a nother way. We got to figure out another way because Government now is at zero per cent duty, and there is more to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. 1832 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Does any other Honourable Member wish to make a contribution at this time? No other? Deputy Premier. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, very much, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to speak on this measure, …
Thank you, Honourable Member. 1832 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Does any other Honourable Member wish to make a contribution at this time? No other? Deputy Premier.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, very much, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to speak on this measure, the Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022. There have been some very good contributions by Members today around this particular measure. And I wish to congratulate the Premier, the Chairman of the Cost of Living Commission, and the Minister who is respons ible for Consumer Affairs, and the teams who have worked with them in getting this here. The issue of the cost of food is not a new i ssue for Bermuda, but the recent turn of events over the last two years has made it a particular period of concern. And certainly, as the Minister who has r esponsibility in relation to agriculture, . . . and also in itially had responsibility for Consumer Affairs, it is something that I have had a particular interest in. I wish to commend the Chairman of the Cost of Liv ing Commission, the Honourable Member who sits for constituency 5, for his comments in relation to local agriculture. Because despite the fact that much of this will pertain to the importation and the goods that are imported, Mr. Speaker, local agriculture has a specific important role in this process of feeding our country. And we all know that 100 years ago this was an agricultural society. And there are a lot more peo-ple [now]. And some people came here to participate in that agricultural industry that dominated Bermuda. Now those times are gone. But agriculture continues to be a very important part of the local landscape, and I would say that it is extremely important that we support local agriculture. A lot of the concern is around what is impor ted bec ause, unfortunately, we import most of our food. We are not much different from most of the j urisdictions like us in the region. Most of the Caribbean does the same thing. Some of the islands that we might think aren't [importing], [or] don’t, do. And ther e are actually some things that we are doing better than some of the islands, our family, to the south. For instance, you know, we virtually have control of our milk supply. There are some islands much bigger than us that import more than half of it. And there are some milk products that we do import because they are not produced here. But by and large, this is one aspect of our food supply that we control. And in the past, we did control more. And it is essential that we support local agriculture in ways that we can either increase aspects of our food supply, because this will help to sort of in some ways deal with the cost that we . . . and provide more of a control. But also there is a very key component to this, Mr. Speaker, and that is our own habits. Let’s face it. [Over] the last 60 years we have gotten pretty wealthy. There was a time, when many of us grew up, we ate what we could get, what was grown. We ate more seasonal. We ate the carrots and the sweet potato and the onions and other things that our families could access because there weren't a lot of shipping of things from overseas. And it wasn't that efficient to bring in a lot of goods from overseas. Perhaps with, you know, the coming of the [U.S. military] base lands and our stronger connections with the United States that created a much more efficient food chain for us. So as agribusiness in North America has grown, so has our efficient access to certain foodstuffs, like artichokes, and all these sort of things that most Bermudians , perhaps not too long ago, did not even want to eat. You know what they are. You know, pomegranates, things that we do not grow here, but people have gotten or . . . and other manufactured products that we have gotten accustomed to and see as essential to how we liv e now, because we are wealthier and we have a much more cosmopolitan appetite. And, of course, who we host here because of the international component of our environment. Their demands as well also influence what we buy and what we eat. But part of this pi cture also has to do with our own behaviour. Certainly, the issues of health have a lot to do with our behaviour, and what we eat impacts our health. And I did hear some persons commenting that they still do eat what they grow, and that is great. And I wou ld have to say, I believe over recent years, I think many of us have noticed it, a lot of people in our community are growing more of their own food, car ving out little patches in their yards, creating square box gardens and even growing carrots and things in buckets, and other, you know, stuff that they have claimed. And they .are actually eking out a nice little bit of food for themselves. And that's great! So, part of this is also about behaviour. Yes, and in some cases, because the cost of things is so high, we have to go without. And I think that in some ways that is what we also have to think about as a community. Behaviour has a lot to do with it. The inc idences of heart disease, incidence of diabetes also have to do with behaviour and what we have decided due to our lifestyles that we want to eat. Things that perhaps in the generation prior to us, our grandparents and parents, they did not eat. So their health pr ofile was much healthier, more fresh vegetables, more things were cooked at home. You know , going out, as many of us do to eat in restaurants every day, or [we] eat a lot of package items. That was not a part of the lifestyle of Bermudians of the past. But that has unfortunately . . . and that is why the cost of health care and the cost of what we eat has accumulated, Mr. Speaker. And so part of this effort, and certainly this piece of legislation, is a part of this [effort] for the Government to help people deal with costs. But a lot
Bermuda House of Assembly of the costs, whether it be food costs, whether it be energy costs, or the other costs that we find ourselves imposed with, can be mitigated by changing beha viour. And certainly all of this is dealing with food. There is a cost of energy. There are some very key things [in] our community that are essential. Certainl y, electricity is essential, just as food is. And we as a community must think also about the behaviour around these things. Things are going to be done and things are being done to deal with some of these i ssues. But we also must think about behaviour. I would encourage persons to buy more local. You do not necessarily have to [start] your own home garden, but you might know somebody who does, and maybe you will find a way to get it from them. And there are a number of people in Bermuda now who have taken on gardening as a passion, perhaps mot ivated by the pandemic. But also, I can tell you that certainly our local farmers remain passionate and r emain committed to ensuring that Bermuda is supplied with healthy produce. And, yes, it is seasonal. And sometime s like, for instance, as we know, perhaps around Cup Match up until about September, usually your local gardening does not stand out. Because, frankly, it is not the growing season from about late July up until about now —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerToo hot. Hon. Walte r H. Roban: —there is not much in the ground. There are certain things. You will get your kales and some of the much more of the . . . your squashes and some other things you will get that are not . . . because …
Too hot.
Hon. Walte r H. Roban: —there is not much in the ground. There are certain things. You will get your kales and some of the much more of the . . . your squashes and some other things you will get that are not . . . because the ground is just too hot. You can put a see d in the ground. It will burn if you put it in during that time. So only certain types of things are able to be grown, and we should seek those things out. Again, I think part of the Bermuda history was that we ate what we could provide ourselves with, and that led to a healthier . . . because people grew food seasonally and they grew it themselves. And even though we cannot do that, you can still maintain that sort of way of living if you, you know, try. It may mean you are eating less of certain other thi ngs, but perhaps eating less of those certain other things is what we need to do, Mr. Speaker. I referred to a comment by the Honourable Member who sits in [constituency] 12. Yes, that might upset a few people who rely on importing for their business. But ultimately, who are we more interested in? The few or the many? And the many is who we are, I believe, up here to legislate on behalf of. And we must make steps to benefit the many. This Bill is a part of that, and I am happy this Bill is coming, and I look forward to other things that, as a Legislature, we can contemplate to help people. Mr. Speaker, a few other things I would like to touch on because, again, I very much appreciate this discussion. I believe its elements of interest are wider than just what we import. It is about, basically, how we have got to take care of ourselves in an affordable way. And I would also suggest that we all must take a little bit more time to perhaps educate ourselves about what we are buying, where we are buying it, and whether it is a worthwhile purchase. Because of my Ministry, I spend a lot of time talking to those in agr iculture and spending time ensuring that I am aware of what is happening in agriculture in Bermuda. And there is an interesting relationship between the far mers and the grocers in Bermuda. And certainly there is also a sort of system of embargoes that we often put in place so that certain types of produce that is pr oduced here seasonally gets a preferred price. And it is brought when the demand is high, like potatoes, like carrots, like other things that are grown here during certain seasons of the year, [such as] broccoli and other things that are grown that we certainly . . . coming into this latter part of the year everybody will be looking forward to, as you know, during the Chris tmastime certain staple vegetables that are on the seasonal table because there is a holiday season coming up, you know, whether it be if you support C anadian or American Thanksgiving or even Bermuda during like Christmastime. We all like certain things on our table, and so there are certain steps taken to ensure that now that the growing seasons if going into the end of the year, Mr. Speaker, they are available. But I would also suggest that people take some time to really look at pri cing and asked some hard questions when you go to the grocery store. And I know sometimes Bermudians do not like being assertive in certain areas, but maybe it is about that as well. So when you go and you see perhaps a package of tomatoes for $5, $6 or $7, and you know they are locally grown, go to the grocer and ask them, Why is this the case? I can tell you I know how much it costs on average to grow a tomato. And if you go in the store and you see a package of five or six tom atoes, I would say above the price of perhaps $5, you should ask the question to that grocer. Why are you charging this much when you know that growing one average tomato, which is about two ounces, is less than 50 cents? I am talking about what it cost the farmer to grow i t. I am perhaps giving some hypothetical . . . I can give you more precise numbers, but I will say that for now. But I am just trying to give some analogy. Not to put anybody on the spot, Mr. Speaker. But to suggest to us we all need to spend a little more time as king the right questions when we go to the grocery store. This is also our responsibility. This is a free s ociety. This Government, and I do not think most governments, see price control as a tool that can be effectively used. But part of the real control is our own choices and our own willingness to ask the questions. Why are you charging that much? 1834 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly If you have a conversation with a farmer, for instance, there is no cost for . . . because most farms are within a shortl distance from the grocery st ores. They are not paying transportation cost. The grocery stores are not paying really the labour for anything, or handling. So it is pretty much farm to table in Berm uda, particularly when certain . . . you know, during seasons when your carrots and other things . . . so why would you see a bag of carrots necessarily at $10? Ask that question everyone. And encourage people around you to ask those questions to the gr ocer. So, I am not trying to put anyone on the spot. I am just trying to emphasise, Mr. Speaker, that even with what we are doing, part of what we should be doing is also ourselves as individuals asking those questions and being more educated about the choices that we make. And I believe that this will also [help] in all things that we do, and when we engage in [all] sorts of purchases, but like particularly food. And so I believe that this piece of legislation, along with other things that each individual resident of this Island can do in making good choices and better choices for themselves, c an aid in us getting a hold of some of the costs that we have. Clearly, there are a whole lot of international factors and other things, and persons like the Honourable Deputy Speaker has out-lined them. I do not even have to talk about that, but those are some of the things over the last couple of years that I myself have not gotten very familiar with. The Honourable Deputy Speaker has articulated very clearly some of the issues that our people in the food chain here [are confronted with] from a non - jurisdi ctional standpoint. But what about what goes on here? That is what we can control. And I think part of that can be addressed by, yes, legislation, education, and also empowering ourselves to the choices that we make, Mr. Speaker. So, I support the legislat ion, of course. Certainly in my role I am responsible for environment and farming and I will continue to work with our far mers to make sure that they can do what they need to do to continue to be productive and provide more of what we know and we benefit f rom so that we all can have fresh, nutritional and affordable food. And maybe even bring some other new activities in agriculture here to benefit us going forward. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? Any other Member? Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honourable Members for their contributions to this debate on this particularly important Bill. I think there were …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? Any other Member? Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Honourable Members for their contributions to this debate on this particularly important Bill. I think there were a few ques-tions from the Honourable Opposition Leader. I think he asked about the estimated costs of this particular package. This was actually discussed, Mr. Speaker, in July when we had outlined the $15 million relief pac kage and the amount of duty estimated of what these things will cost on an annual basis. Of course, this fiscal year is well in train. But on an annual basis there is an estimate of $3 million which is about 1.25 per cent of estimated customs duty revenue. With that, Mr. Speak er, I move that the Bill be now committed.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Deputy. House in Committee at 3:54 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chairman ] COMMITTEE ON BILL CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT (NO. 3) ACT 2022
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in Committee of the whole [House] for further consider ation of the Bill entitled Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022 . Premier and Minister of Finance, Mi nister Burt, you have the floor. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I …
Honourable Members, we are now in Committee of the whole [House] for further consider ation of the Bill entitled Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022 . Premier and Minister of Finance, Mi nister Burt, you have the floor. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to move clauses 1 through 3, if I may.
The ChairmanChairmanYou may. Continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Clause 1 provides a t itle for the Bill. Clause 2 amends the First Schedule to the principal Act to reduce the rate of import duty to z ero [per cent] for 21 categories of essential goods …
You may. Continue.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Clause 1 provides a t itle for the Bill. Clause 2 amends the First Schedule to the principal Act to reduce the rate of import duty to z ero [per cent] for 21 categories of essential goods as follows: ground beef; chicken (fresh, chilled or frozen); turkey (fresh, chilled or froz en); butter; processed cheese slices; cheddar cheese; green beans; fresh bananas; pepper; cooking oil; tuna (canned and dry packed); pasta; bread (fresh or chilled); jam; peanut butter; tomato ketchup and other tomato sauces; bath soap bars; laundry detergent; dish detergent; diapers for babies; and sanitary towels (pads) and tampons. Amendments to a number of tariff codes are made in consequence to that. Clause 3 amends the Fifth Schedule to the principal Act to extend the duty relief period for the Bermuda Hospitals Board and to insert a new end- use relief as follows: • Paragraph (a) amends CPC 4240 (end- use duty relief for hospital operating supplies). This amendment seeks to assist the Bermuda Hospitals
Bermuda House of Assembly Board in offsetting additional operating expenses. The period of the new relief is to be restricted for 18 months, from the 1st April 2022 until 30th of September 2023. • Paragraph (b) of clause 3 inserts a new enduse relief (CPC 4241) which provides a zero per cent rate of duty for goods imported for, and in use only in the local commercial manufacture of bread and baked goods by a business or organisation approved for this purpose by the Minister in a notice published in the Gazette .
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Mr. Premier. Are there any further speakers ? Mr. Richardson, you have the floor.
Mr. Jarion RichardsonThank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the Honourable Premier to speak to clause 3 where in it reads (I am looking at the Explanatory Memorandum) “. . . a 0% rate of duty for goods imported for, and used only in, the local . . . manufacture of bread and …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the Honourable Premier to speak to clause 3 where in it reads (I am looking at the Explanatory Memorandum) “. . . a 0% rate of duty for goods imported for, and used only in, the local . . . manufacture of bread and baked goods by a business or organisation approved for this purpose by the Minister by notice . . . .” One of the absurdities in Bermuda, Mr. Chairman, is the lack of industrial bakeries in Berm uda and it looks like this might provide some relief t oward that. My question to the Honourable Premier is by what criteria will the Minister use to issue such an approval to enable for the manufacture of bread and baked goods at such a reduced rate?
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Any further speakers? There appear to be none.
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David BurtpremierThank you, Mr. Chairman. One of the things that was done in consult ation, of course with the committee that you chaired, was the issue of the elimination of dut y on bread. Bread at any point in time would be considered a st aple item. And certainly there were …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One of the things that was done in consult ation, of course with the committee that you chaired, was the issue of the elimination of dut y on bread. Bread at any point in time would be considered a st aple item. And certainly there were a lot of duty items that were eliminated in 2018. The decision at that point in time was made not to eliminate the duty on bread as the view at that point in time was to protect the local manufacturing industry of bread and bakers of bread here locally. I do not want to get into, you know, industrial scale production and all the rest. There are bakers in this country who bake bread, who supply bread to l ocal p ersons. And so from that perspective, that is what was intended. Now with the bread, of course, was 12.5 per cent which was even above the lowest duty rates that were in the customs tariff prior to 2018 for food, which was 5.0 per cent. Bread was at 12.5 per cent, at a higher level. And there were discussions, of course, which took place as to whether or not we wanted to continue to have this rate to protect persons who are manufacturing bread locally or whether or not we wanted to reduce it. And if we red uce it, what would we do in return? And this is what we have done in r eturn: Any importation, of course, of items by commercial bakers would be able to be imported at a zero duty rate, and it covers all of the various items which those persons may use to produce said goods. So, that is the reason why that was inserted. And the way in which the criteria will be used is if someone is manufacturing bread and selling it to other persons. So it is commercial. It is not, you know, I'm going to bake a pie in my house. But you know, the thing is, baked goods, it might be a pie. You know, my constituent, you know, Stephen’s Pies, and all the rest. There might be others. There may be persons who are making bread and other types of things.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. E. David Burt: What? You have a commercial baking licence?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHe is in retail sales. [Laughter] Hon. E. David Burt: Exactly. So, it is just from that perspective, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Are there any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member, Ms. Jackson.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonYes. Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I am just curious. It seems as though these local bakers will have to be approved. And I am just curious if there has been any movement to already establish who or how many bakers would be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanOkay. Hon. E. David Burt: I can say, Mr. Chairman, I do not have that information. I am certainly happy to try to get that information for the Honourable Member. But I cannot say I have that information. We are certain the CPC code [is] there to make sure that …
Okay.
Hon. E. David Burt: I can say, Mr. Chairman, I do not have that information. I am certainly happy to try to get that information for the Honourable Member. But I cannot say I have that information. We are certain the CPC code [is] there to make sure that on a broader level . . . from a basis of policy where we have r educed, we want to make sure that local bakers are not put at a disadvantage.
The ChairmanChairmanA ny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Scott Pearman. 1836 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Pearman: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Honourable Minister, if it is a new CPC code, then presumably there are no applications because it is a new …
A ny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Scott Pearman.
1836 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Pearman: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Honourable Minister, if it is a new CPC code, then presumably there are no applications because it is a new code, and it has not y et come into force.
Hon. E. David Burt: I’m sorry. I’m not understanding exactly what is being spoken of.
Mr. Scott PearmanI’m sorry. I will clarify. The Premier in his opening remarks said that the code 4241 was a new code. So, if it is a new code and we are just getting it in now, presumably there are no applications yet because it is a new code. Hon. E. David …
Mr. Scott PearmanYes. The b akers. Hon. E. David Burt: So, there would not be any applications.
Mr. Scott PearmanRight. That is the point that I am asking the Premier. So, zero. There are none as of yet approved. Hon. E. David Burt: I mean, Mr. Chairman, we have not put this into place. It has to go through here. It has to go to another place. It has …
Right. That is the point that I am asking the Premier. So, zero. There are none as of yet approved.
Hon. E. David Burt: I mean, Mr. Chairman, we have not put this into place. It has to go through here. It has to go to another place. It has to go to be commenced. Then, upon that, that would be what would happen for the applications to make sure that persons can enjoy zero duty. So, I accept that.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Mr. Pearman understands that. I think that is what he was saying. Any furth er speakers?
Mr. Cannonier. Honourable Member.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierThank you, Mr. Chairman. The clause for the manufacturing of goods and the likes. Just a question. Would it be simpler for this (because this process seems fairly simple) to just include sugar tax in this as well —
The ChairmanChairmanWhat clause are you speaking from?
Mr. L. Craig CannonierYes. Page four. Where it says “goods for local commercial manufacturing of bread and baked goods.” The process to get duty -free for sugar rate now for bakers is a bit convoluted. That is what I am being told. Having to write in and the likes. Would it not be …
Yes. Page four. Where it says “goods for local commercial manufacturing of bread and baked goods.” The process to get duty -free for sugar rate now for bakers is a bit convoluted. That is what I am being told. Having to write in and the likes. Would it not be easier with this to include the sugar in it so that it is just the one process , done? And it is simplified so that we do not have s o much admi nistrative work being done.
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, there is already a CPC code that allows end- use relief or in the same vein for any manufacturer products that use sugar. So, fo r instance, down in St. David’s, Double Dip ice cream, other persons who …
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, there is already a CPC code that allows end- use relief or in the same vein for any manufacturer products that use sugar. So, fo r instance, down in St. David’s, Double Dip ice cream, other persons who are using sugar in manufacturing in the exact same way, not to disa dvantage local producers in that way so that does apply. There is a separate code. But what I would say , understandi ng where the Honourable Member is coming from, is that we did have a conversation on the side in regard to the complexities. I pledged to go ahead and look into it. I asked the Honourable Member to write me and to make sure that we can make this process as efficient as possible. It is not intended to be difficult. It is something that can be simple. One of the things that the Government has done is that we have created a form which has put about 70 Government forms online to make application processes easi er for these particular matters. And we want to make sure that we make it as smooth as possible. So, there is a separate CPC code that already does exist for anyone who is using sugar in the manufacture of any locally produced items. And we are certainly happy to take anything that the Honourable Member may have on this under advisement.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Mr. Premier. Any further speakers? There appear to be none. Do you have an amendment? Not on this, is it? Hon. E. David Burt: No. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 1, 2 and 3 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that c lauses 1 through 3 be approved. Any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1, 2 and 3 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. At this point in time, I would like to move the amendment. …
It has been moved that c lauses 1 through 3 be approved. Any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1, 2 and 3 passed.]
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. At this point in time, I would like to move the amendment.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Mm -hmm.
NEW CLAUSE 4
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, I move that the Customs Tariff [Amendment] (No. 3) Act 2022 be amended by inserting after clause 3 the following clause which amends the Cost of Living Commission Act 1974: “[4] Amend section 1 of the Cost of Living Commission Act 1974 “Section 1 of the Cost of Living Commi ssion Act 1974 is amended by repealing the definition of ‘business undertaking ’ and substituting the following: “‘Business undertaking ’ includes — “(a) a business or company in Bermuda operated on a self -service basis that offers a wide range of food and other household goods, including essential commodities; and “(b) the suppl ier in Bermuda of the bus iness or com pany referred to in paragraph (a) .”
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Any speakers to the amendment? Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, I am happy to speak to it. I would just to like to move . . . would you like to speak to it now?
The ChairmanChairmanYou can. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in moving this amendment, as you would note in conversations with retailers and wholesalers , and in the discussions of course with the Ministry of Legal Affairs, there was a question in r egard to the ability of …
You can. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in moving this amendment, as you would note in conversations with retailers and wholesalers , and in the discussions of course with the Ministry of Legal Affairs, there was a question in r egard to the ability of the Cost of Living Commission to require the electronic supply of price information from wholesalers as well. The [paragraph] (a) in this amendment, which is repealing and replacing [par agraph] (a) , reads exactly as it already does in the Cost of Living Act. And the only thing that is being inserted technically is [paragraph] (b) which says, “the supplier in Bermuda of the business or company referred to in paragraph (a).” Of course, this will appl y to companies like BGA (Bermuda General Agency), Butterfield & Vallis, Dunkley’s, and other persons who are . . . Viking Food, Bermuda Import Outsource who are, you know, supplying MP Cannonier and his stores and other things. But in saying that, Mr. Cha irman, that is what this is about. We wanted to ensure that . . . there was a question in regard to unfairness possibly: What about wholesalers? The question, of course . . . the enforcement powers are for the Cost of Living Commission to make sure that the Cost of Living Commi ssion can look into this . And recognising that import duty can be extended to all importers , the view is to ensure that those costs are being passed on to end users. So, that is the reason for this amendment, to bring wholesalers int o scope for reporting requir ements to the Cost of Living Commission.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Mr. Premier. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Cole Simons. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Just one question. I heard the Premier speak about the whol esalers. And while he was speaking, I was thinking of: Will there be any support or relief for the …
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Cole Simons.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Just one question. I heard the Premier speak about the whol esalers. And while he was speaking, I was thinking of: Will there be any support or relief for the pedlars — people with pedlar’s licences—who may be baking bread, who may be selling other wares ? And will they be able to enjoy similar benefi ts?
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Finance Minister. Hon. E. David Burt: I am sure he is not speaking to this particular clause. He is speaking to a clause of which we already did. But for . . .
The ChairmanChairmanWe’ll let . . . Hon. E. David Burt: We will allow it. The fact is that we want to support entrepr eneurship at any point in time. So, the answer is we will certainly do that if we can. There is no question about it.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Any further speakers? There appear to be none. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that the amendment be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the amendment be approved. Any objections to that? There are none. Approved. [Motion carried: New clause 4 passed.] Hon. E. David Bur t: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to c lause [5] and move c lause [5] …
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, c lause [5] provides for the commencement of the Bill, and it is stat1838 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly ed that it will b e commenced on a date of notice in the Gazette .
The ChairmanChairmanAny speakers to that? There appear to be none. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that c lause [5] be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clause [5] be approved. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. [Motion carried: Clause [5] passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that the preamble be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the preamble be approved. Are the re any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Bill be reported to the House as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as amended. Ae there any objections to that? There appear to be none. The Bill will be reported to the House as amended. Mr. Speaker. [Motion carried: The Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022 was considered by …
It has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as amended. Ae there any objections to that? There appear to be none. The Bill will be reported to the House as amended. Mr. Speaker.
[Motion carried: The Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed as amended.]
House resumed at 4:09 pm [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT (NO. 3) ACT 2022
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, are there any objections to the Customs Tariff Amendment ( No. 3) Act 2022 being reported in the House as amended? There are none. The Bill has been reported with its amendment. That now moves us onto the next item which is the Fuels Act 2022 in the name …
Members, are there any objections to the Customs Tariff Amendment ( No. 3) Act 2022 being reported in the House as amended? There are none. The Bill has been reported with its amendment. That now moves us onto the next item which is the Fuels Act 2022 in the name of the Deputy Premier. Deputy Premier. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Good af ternoon, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood afternoon. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill entitled the Fuels Act 2022 be read a second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAre there any objections? None. Continue. BILL SECOND READING FUELS ACT 2022 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to introduce the second reading of the Bill entitled the Fuels Act 2022 to provide for the s upervision, monitoring and regulation of the fuel s sector by …
Are there any objections? None. Continue.
BILL
SECOND READING
FUELS ACT 2022 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to introduce the second reading of the Bill entitled the Fuels Act 2022 to provide for the s upervision, monitoring and regulation of the fuel s sector by the Regulatory Authority , known as the RA. This Bill is a landmark Bill for the local fuels industry as it will be the first time that all matters r egarding the business of fuels will be regulated under one piece of legislation. This Bill is a framework that defines the power of the regulator and the Minister, the purposes and principles under which will define the regulations defined at c lause 42 of the Act. Mr. Speaker, the Bill enshrines in legislation the goals and principles outlined in the [National] Fuels Policy of 2018 under the sections: 1. Enab le a least -cost fuels sector . 2. Ensure a secure supply of fuels . 3. Promote efficient procurement of fuels . 4. Maintain a safety regime for the fuels sector to protect public health and the environment . 5. Promote low -carbon alternatives, energy eff iciency , and fuel conservation for transport and stationary uses of fuels . Mr. Speaker, you will note that certain goals and principles in the [National] Fuels Policy 2018 are also included in the Electricity Act of 2016. Mr. Speaker, you will agree, I am sure, given that t he policy was published in 2018, the fuels legi slation is long overdue. In fact, Mr Speaker, you may be aware (if not, you will be aware after I state this) that the work of the Fuels Policy was initiated in 2015 under the former OBA Administration. And a first draft was produced in 2017 prior to the general election when the PLP was elected the Government. The final draft policy was published in 2018 by this Gover nment. Mr. Speaker, the operations of the F uels legi slation will be included in the RA’s work plan and budgeted for the next year of 2024. And, Mr. Speaker, if you would indulge me slightly, I just want to show you. This is a copy of the public consultation document that was published in May 2017, in case there is some
Bermuda House of Assembly question as to if what I am s aying is accurate. This is it, presented to the public under the previous A dministration. So, this policy has been in place for quite some time prior to proceeding the legislation that we see here today. Mr. Speaker, the benefit of introducing this Bill includes transparency in pricing, codification of sectoral market rules, more effective management of cri tical infrastructure and effective monitoring and enforcement. This legislation will ensure that consumers will get some level of comfort that prices ar e what they should be, and new fuels (which are on the near hor izon) can be integrated safely and seamlessly to Bermuda’s energy mix when they are commercially vi able. If we fail to plan for the future eventualities caused by climate change, supply chain i ssues, global market forces, and evolving technologies, we surely will struggle when these events come upon us. Mr. Speaker, this new Bill is purpose- driven, quite analogous to the Electricity Act of 2016, and embraces the same basic intentions outlined in clause 5 of the Bill, ensuring the reliability of supply, ensuring operational and environmental safety, ensuring ec onomic efficiency, ensuring, in relation to the fuels sector, security and continuity of services, ensuring re asonable pricing to customers and providing opportunities for competition. These should all be familiar echoes of the effective legislation in place for other regulated industry sectors. This is consistent across telecoms and in the energy sector as well when it comes to the basic framework of legislation, Mr. Speaker. This is not to say that the fuels industry has been acting contrary to those purposes. No one is saying that, Mr. Speaker. Now this legislation will provide assurance that these purposes are enshrined in the industry’s very ability to operate. That is what has not been going on at the moment, ensuring that all actors in the sector are r esponsive to the needs of our people, our environment and our economy. Mr. Speaker, it should be noted that a number of government entiti es are responsible for the oversight of different components of the fuels sector. In respect to pricing, the Ministry of Finance is currently the market regulator and responsible for pricing. And that has been the case from the beginning. Matters of environmental protection and certain permissions are under this respective Minister and the Ministry of Home Affairs, specifically the departments of Pla nning, Environment, and Natural Resources. Matters of occupational safety and health are under the Ministry of Health. Infrastructures [are under] the Chief Fire Officer, who , as you know , is under the Ministry of National Security. There is a lack of central coordination that ties all of these areas together. This Bill makes the Regu-latory Authority (RA) the nexus with the ultimate r esponsibility for oversight of these areas. Under this new legislation the market regulation of the fuels sec-tor will be moved under the auspices of the RA, which was always designed and intended as a multisector regulator. Mr. Speak er, Honourable Members will likely be mainly concerned with pricing. And rightfully so, as the cost of fuel drives up the cost of nearly every good and services activity, and electricity in Bermuda. D ating back to 1974, and in response to the 1973 oil cr isis (a few of us might have been alive then, Mr. Speaker) , the fiscal regulation of fuels has rested with the Ministry of Finance. In the intervening 48 years since then, the fuel industry has seen a great deal of change. And shifting the work of pricing to the RA will modernise the process, allowing an organisation that specialises in market regulation to do what they do best. They regulate at least two markets, Mr. Speaker. And they do it reasonably well. Mr. Speaker, as with other sectors that the RA regulates, the F uels Bill prescribes principles under which the RA must operate. And the rules of engagement are clearly laid out. The very specifics of how change of margin approvals is conducted will be de-termined by the RA in a consultative and iterative pr ocess through the General Determination procedure just as it has been with the sectors it regulates at pr esent. Mr. Speaker, the Bill provides principles of the pricing methodology, which the RA are bound to by law. So, the Minister cannot get up and mes s up their pricing as some people might seek to suggest. That is not within the power of the Minister. That will be with the RA. Right now, actually, the Minister of Finance is involved with pricing. That will evolve to the regulator. So, that is a change, Mr. Speaker. These principles are familiar and emphasised in other sectors adapted specifically for the fuel s sector. Broadly, the principles of pricing include pricing must be based on actual justifiable cost to the licensees on use and useful assets and an agreed rate of return. The methodology must be transparent. Pricing must allow the licensee to always remain whole for the prudently incurred expenses, a necessary part of any good regulatory covenant. And pricing must pr otect the interest of consumer s. Mr. Speaker, the most important elements of the market regulation of the fuels industry are transparency and fairness . I repeat : transparency and fai rness, Mr. Speaker. One of the hallmarks of the good governance of which the RA has become renowned is the transparency [with] which it operates. Every dec ision the RA renders can be found on its website known to the public , and is required to be published by law, as are the necessary submissions from the regulated entities. The published information includes the legi slative authority of which [decisions] are made and d etails the r ationale and deliberations of the RA. This should be welcome news for not only the customer but also regulated entities because they will have con1840 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly fidence in the rigor of the proces s and in the reasons the RA has for any decisions it makes. Another assurance for both customers and industry is that no dec isions are capricious. No decision can be unduly de-layed. This should be a regulatory certainty that will translate into investor confidence which is beneficial to everyone. Mr. Speaker, while there are environmental and safety regulations in place under other legisl ations (which will remain), the added layer of vigilance this Bill provides is ensuring that the variability to carry out business in the fuels sector will be completely and inextricably tied to the compliance of other areas. To put it clearly, the buck stops with the RA. Repeated offenders in the space of environmental protection or occupational safety and health may find t heir ability to continue to do business affected through legal ac-tions, fines and potential suspensions or revocation of licence in the instance of egregious or repeated offences. Mr. Speaker, our fuels industry has done an admirabl e job over the years in ensuring continuous assurance and safety. But the stark reality is that it is an industry with multiple single points of failure. This reality is born out of necessity. It is not part of any nefarious design. And the other side of the coin is that with mul tiple single points of failure there is a risk to the customers, the environment and, ultimately , Bermuda’s economy. The Bill seeks to mitigate and man-age those risks, to ensure that those elements of the fuel industry’s critical infrastructure are given t he st atus and attention they deserve. This legislation will help ensure that critical infrastructure remains well - maintained, protected from neglect and wilful damage alike. By defining and identifying these elements of critical infrastructure, the best interest of the economy environment will be an additional layer of protection than what is already in place. Mr. Speaker, with lofty goals of good gover nance come the necessity for real robust enforcement to ensure that those goals and purposes are met. The Bill lays out the ability for the RA to gather information, to monitor and to ultimately enforce the requirements of licensure. The information- gathering powers of the RA are brought under this legislation but cannot be abused by the regulator. Information must be gat hered for the purposes under legislation and not on a whim. Mr. Speaker, I must reiterate that the Bill seeks to protect all parties in the fuels sector —the consumer and the licensee alike—at all times. The RA will, under this legislation, be held to high standards of practice, transparency and confidentiality just as it must do with other industries that it regulates. Mr. Speaker, the RA will have the ability to issue penalties for offenc es, another means of which the goals and purposes of thi s new legislation will be effectively met. The Bill broadly defines the offenc es to an operator , [and it will also mean] that their assets and operations will now have additional protection under the law. These penalties will be proportional and actionable in the courts. Mr. Speaker, resiliency in the face of climate change is where we must remain ever vigilant and unwaveringly focused. By turning our attention to this framework now, we are planning for our future in a sensible and measured fashion. Too of ten it is easy to put off this future- proofing because it does not directly reflect current reality. But to put this on the horizon rather than in the present would, frankly, be irrespon-sible. Mr. Speaker, I would like to again note that this Bill is a goo d and robust foundation, with the detail being defined further in the regulations quite analogous to the development of regulation, in electronic communications, electricity, and subsea cable sectors of which the RA already has a very long experience in regulating, Mr. Speaker. The regulations will be developed in consultation with industry. I want to repeat that. The regulations will be developed in consultation with industry and are defined in clause 42 of the Bill. These regulations will: 1. further provide for applications for fuel l icenc es and types of classes of those l icenc es; 2. provide for all actions to the licenc es and conditions of those licenc es; 3. provide measures that require the licensees to provide and/or publish various i nformation; 4. define critica l infrastructure assets and prescribe rules governing those; 5. prescribe thresholds or restrictions for the licensees ; 6. provide for safety measures, service standards and consumer protection; 7. define offenc es and prescribe penalties for those offenc es; 8. provide for objections and appeals ; 9. provide for savings and transitional matters; 10. provide for exercise of any of the functions of the Regulatory Authority under this new Act or the Regulatory Authority Act of 2011; and 11. prescribe any other matters or measures the Minister may deem necessary for the Regulatory Authority to carry out its functions and duties in relation to the fuels sector. Mr. Speaker, I would like to emphasise that we have assured the fuels sector ––and there was extensive consultation around this Bill before coming here–– that we will be consulting with them on each of these regulations prior to them being finalised. I can also state that this Bill will not be enacted until a num-ber of regulations required to allow for effective oper ation of this Act has been produced.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, and lastly, I would be remiss if I did not recognise the efforts of the many people r esponsible for bringing this Bill here and producing its legislation , including Mr. Denton Williams, the former CEO of the Regulatory Aut hority ; Mr. Richard Ambr osio of the Regulatory Authority ; Ms. Jeane Nikolai, who is the director of the Department of Energy ; Mr. Adrian Dill of the Department of Energy ; and Ms. Lorraine Welch of the Attorney General’s Chambers. This has been a very long, exhaustive slog and I commend all those who have been a part of it other than myself. I bring nothing here without a lot of hard work being done by a lot of people, Mr. Speaker. So, I have to mention all these people. Mr. Speaker, I now move that the Bil l entitled the Fuels Act 2022 be read for a second time. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDoes any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? MP Pearman.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me start by recognising that the Minister kindly arranged for the Opposition to meet with certain civil servants on Wednesday afternoon of this week so that we could see and discuss the Bill. And I would like to positively thank the Director of …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me start by recognising that the Minister kindly arranged for the Opposition to meet with certain civil servants on Wednesday afternoon of this week so that we could see and discuss the Bill. And I would like to positively thank the Director of the Department of Energy , and Mr. Dill, the c ivil servant, who were kind enough to be present and discuss the Bill with several Members of the Opposition who took advantage of that meeting. I do appreciate when the opportunity is afforded to the Opposition in advance of coming to Parliament to see and discuss a Bill. The reason for that is it really does not make for good legislation when people stand up on the day that the B ill was being considered and point out flaws, some of which are fundamental. It just really is not a good way to pass legislation in Parliament. And this applies to all of us. I am also grateful for having been provided a copy of the National Fuels Policy [2018] by those civil ser vants present. And I am grateful for that additional i nformation to help inform our decision- making. Where I would respectfully say that the Mini ster rather fudged the position on his opening stat ement is in whether or not there has yet been consult ation with industry. Our understanding on this side is that there has not been consultation with this industr y. And I note that the Honourable Minister stated specif ically—
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. POINT OF ORDER (Imputing improper motive) Hon. Walter H. R oban: To some degree, the Honourable Member . . . I do not think he is doing it deliberately . But he is imputing improper motives that I would state something to this Parliament that is not …
Point of order. POINT OF ORDER (Imputing improper motive)
Hon. Walter H. R oban: To some degree, the Honourable Member . . . I do not think he is doing it deliberately . But he is imputing improper motives that I would state something to this Parliament that is not true. I can assure you that there was consultation with industry back in . . . earlier this year when the Premier and I met with the fuels industry about the issues raised around fuel prices. I committed to meeting with the fuels industry. Every fuel operator whol esaler was there at the time. Not only meeting with them , but ensuring that they would get to see the pr oposed legislation in advance of us tabling it. That hap-pened. There was a two- week consultation period given to them, not only to the wholesalers but also to the retailers. That happened. That is a matter of public record. I am not going to stand here and be [accused] that I stood up in this House and lied. That did happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Member, be mindful of the update that the Minister just provided.
Mr. Scott PearmanTh ank you, Mr. Speaker. With the greatest of respect to the Honourable Minister . . . [Inaudible interjection]
Mr. Scott PearmanMr. Speaker, with the greatest respect to the Honourable Minister, I am not imputing his motive. I am not asking what his motive was —if he did or did not consult. What I am stating to this Hon-ourable House is that we, the Opposition, including myself, have been expressly told …
Mr. Speaker, with the greatest respect to the Honourable Minister, I am not imputing his motive. I am not asking what his motive was —if he did or did not consult. What I am stating to this Hon-ourable House is that we, the Opposition, including myself, have been expressly told by industry that there was not consultation, and I am pointing out that fact. I am not questioning the motive of the Mini ster. I am pointing out that fact. That fact may be right. That fact may be wrong. I am simply stating what I was told.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI think the Minister provided another perspective on what has been done.
Mr. Scott PearmanYes. His answer is that there was a truncated two- week period of consultation. I do not know precisely when that was. He also said in his 1842 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly opening statement that we will be consulting with i ndustry on the …
Yes. His answer is that there was a truncated two- week period of consultation. I do not know precisely when that was. He also said in his 1842 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly opening statement that we will be consulting with i ndustry on the regulations , which is forward- looking in terms of consultation. I will leave the point as to the Minister’s efforts there. But I will make a more general and broad point on consultation. The idea that governments w ould consult on legislation is a relatively new concept. It has arisen in the last two decades. Governments would not consult on legislation 30, 40, 50 years ago. They would just do what they thought was best. But now in the modern era, consultations are a necessary part because you want the stakeholders to be on board. And actually, stakeholders tend to know more about the area that is being legislated than the legislators or indeed the civil servants. So, when you do consult, you are able to anticipate th e pitfalls. You are able to hear the pro blems and you are able to work around them. I will not reflect on a debate. But we pointed out what went wrong when stakeholders were not consulted with on an earlier B ill today. So, there is a question mark at the very least over the degree of consultation. Again, I do not impute any motive. But there is a question mark about the degree and suff iciency of consultation with the industry. And I leave that point there. More troubling is the suggestion positively made by the Minister in his opening statement that there will be consultation with industry over the regul ations. Why is that more troubling to me, Mr. Speaker? It is more troubling to me because it really is not a very good way to legislate —to pass law and to have all the details in the regulations but not have the draft regulations available when Members of Parliament on both sides of the House are asked to vote on the law . Let’s decide if this is a good Bill or not. But, hey, we do not know what the regulatio ns are. We do not know what the details are. We will find those out later. But now we as parliamentarians with duties to the public and duties to the C onstitution should be voting on or down a Bill without actually knowing what the detail is. Again, it is a cliché, but the devil is so often in the details. So, it is unfortunate that we do not have draft regulations. We understand that draft regulations are being prepared. We understand the fact that they exist, but they are in a very early stage. So, it is unfortunate that [considering] the trouble having been taken to allow us to have a meeting (for which I am very grateful), we were not able to at least see the regul ations. Because it is in the regulations where we are going to know how this thing works, the meat on the bones. I would also make the practical point that this Bill has had a long gestation period. The Minister r eferred to the first impetus being way back under the previous Government. I was not around then. But what I am wondering, given the question mark over consultation and given the absence of the details in regulations, is what it is that is causing us to acceler-ate the pedal to get this thing done now with a blin dfold on. And I make the further point. Let’s test this , what we are doing today , against the practical reality of what is going to happen. Is the RA going to impl ement this in the coming days? Of course, they are not. In fact, the RA has gone so far as to say that this is not likely to be implemented in the next 12 months. That fact was shared with us by the civil servants. Further, the RA has not adjusted its budgeting. This is now a whole new area of industry that the RA will have to regulate. One would anticipate that the budget of the RA would need to increase for that. Yet further, the RA has not adjusted its staf fing levels. This is an area where no small amount of expertise is required by those making these important decisions. And therefore, the RA will need to staff up and staff up with those who actually understand what is going on in the fuels sector. So, against all of those question marks, again, why are we pressing the accelerator to squeeze this Bill in, together with six others, on seven days’ notice from tabling last week ? The best answer we have been given (and when I say “we,” I do not just mean the Opposition; I mean this whole House) is the Mini ster’s statement, and I quote, that this Bill is purposedriven. Well, purpose driven for what purpose? Put it a different way , what problem in Bermuda is this legi slation trying to solve? And the Government seems to be suggesting that the problem that they are trying to solve is a problem of fuel cost. That seems to be the only answer that has been afforded to the question: What problem is this trying to solve? And l et’s test that because it is not entirely clear how the problem of fuel cost will be solved by this Bill. Again, let’s stop and just have a bit of a reality check. The main driver of fuel cost is the cost of fuel that gets to the pump in Bermuda. That is the base cost. That is where the cost lies. My understanding . . . and I am not an expert in the field. Although I know I have an Honourable Member on the Oppos ition side who has worked in this field throughout his entire career . . . well, most of it anyw ay. But my u nderstanding is that the margins between what is act ually put into the pump and what comes out of the pump—the margins that are actually retained in Bermuda—are paper thin, very small. But again, I am no expert. But the reality of the point is if you want that fuel to be less expensive, it is the base cost that really needs to be looked at. And unfortunately, because of the whims of global economics, we as a Government here in Bermuda have very little ability to deal with that base cost. And not hing in this Bill is going to change that. The Minister anticipated that it might be commented about ministerial interference. I take it that this comment was foreshadowing my comments on the point because I did raise a concern about the Bill with
Bermuda House of Assembly the civi l servants when I and others met with them. And I know it is not appropriate in my opening speech or my responsive speech to get into the details of the Bill, and I will wait until Committee to do that , but the clause that is relevant is clause 6. And not to talk about the clause, but just to talk about what the Bill is trying to achieve, it provides that the [Minister] can give policy direction to the RA. And to me, that is a concern. And I raised that concern with the civil ser vants because that goes bey ond the way the primary legislation used to work. The primary legislation used to involve consultation and it provides what the Mini ster may do and what the Minister may not do. But when we get into declarations of established policies , as the section does , that rings alarm bells to me, particularly with the RA being an independent authority. But anyway, we will deal with that point in Committee. What I also have a concern about . . . and again, it was a concern that I raised with the civil servants who had kindly met with us. And again, I will not get into the Bill, but I will just tell you what [clause] it is so that people know. It is [clause] 46. And my concern . . . again, not speaking to the [clause], but my concern is this. [Clause] 46 provides that i f som eone does not comply with the direction of the Minister, that non- compliance, that failure to comply with a mi nisterial direction can lead to not only a fine, which is what the Minister mentioned in his brief, but also, p otentially, imprisonment. Now, from my part, is that really the kind of law that we want the Bermuda Parliament to pass where someone has the direction from a Minister with which they do not comply and they are imprisoned as a result? Respectfully, I would say no. I did raise this very same concern over a previous Bill from this Minister. I understand the benefit of civil penalties in add ition to criminal penalties. I understand the benefit of civil penalties. I understand that they help to make people comply. But when we tag on to those civil pe nalties imprisonment, the risk of incarceration in what is really a civil context, to me that should sound alarm bells. So, those are my very brief points that I would make. Again, my overarching question is: Why is this being done now? Why is this being pressed forward with, at the very least, a question mark over consult ation? Why is it being done now without the regulations (which, admittedly by the Minister, are going to contain the details and about which there will be further consultation) ? So, what looming deadline is driving this bullet train of a B ill? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to make a contribution at this time? MP Cannonier.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierYes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must say to the Deputy Premier , Minister, thank you for your overview. I think in this particular industry it has to be said that I do not think the fear is regulation. I think that it is fair. And we are at this …
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must say to the Deputy Premier , Minister, thank you for your overview. I think in this particular industry it has to be said that I do not think the fear is regulation. I think that it is fair. And we are at this point. I do hav e concerns about being at this point at this moment , because at the end of the day I do not believe that we have done enough with this particular Bill. And that primarily is because we are making assumptions about the industry. The Minister is correct whe n he says that this is a landmark B ill. And he is correct , yes, they did have a session of consultation. And they did speak at some point in time about pricing. Yes, these things happened. I think that we are at this point right now because we recognise that worldwide issues brought this to the forefront with fuel skyrocketing. There was fear that —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet me just ask you to remember to declare your interest.
Mr. L. Craig Cannonier—dealership and ownership of stations with Sol. So, thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, there are many factors that are involved here. And invariably when we start look ing at regul ation of an industry . . . and in particular this being a landmark Bill and many corporate entities are …
—dealership and ownership of stations with Sol. So, thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, there are many factors that are involved here. And invariably when we start look ing at regul ation of an industry . . . and in particular this being a landmark Bill and many corporate entities are i nvolved. And as I had gone through the Bill, I do have some concerns , and will bring those up in Committee, because what invariably happens is if . . . Just like with the Electricity Bill, the Minister said that there is comfort here. I do not think there is comfort here yet just like there is not comfort with the regulations and what is going on in the electricity world. People are still very much concerned as to how we got to where we are today where your service charge can be more than your actual electricity itself that you used. So, I do not think that there is comfort. And when there is not comfort, that means that people still need to be dialogued with to ensure that they understand exactly what is going on. Now, I have been saying up here for many years that we certainly need to do something about regulation when it comes to the fuel industry. Because being a retailer of that, I have seen the corporate side of it. I have seen the Government side of it. And invar-iably at the end of the day it is the small guy that loses out. And that is where I have a challenge with where 1844 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report B ermuda House of Assembly we are going with regulation. I do not know if the reg ulators are even going to be ready within a year’s time. So, what are we racing for? There is still more time for consultation in this industry. They are not going to be ready. In fact, to do what this Bill says they are going to have to hire someone who really under-stands the industry itself and how this works. Well, we certainly know that for many years now, like clockwork (for the public to understand this) , every month Government looks at whether the fuel is going to go up, go down, or stay stagnant and the same —every single month , without fail. Now, a little bit about the industry in and of itself. These are things the public needs to know. Back in the day, when it was primarily those not of my complexion, just slightly lighter than me . . . they ruled this industry and were making [money] hand over foot. Right? So, as I had already said, yes, we need to bring regulations in. And we need to be looking at the corporate side and saying: How much more can they do? I have already given a suggestion last week about what they should be doing with the corporate side. The corporate side is taking up the Queen’s Bottom. If any of you in this House, 36 of us, go and build a dock, do something on the Queen’s Bottom, they are charged for it. We are not charging the industry f or it. [It would be] a very easy way to increase revenue. Sit down with the stakeholders and say , Look, first of all, how can I . . . I would think that the Premier is concerned about raising revenue with all the giveaways that we have and the subsidies and the likes and the grants and the likes. This is an opportunity. Easy money. The pipelines, the infrastructures going through parks, Queen’s Bottom. And [there is] plenty of it. And if something happens which has happened in the past, yes, they will clea n it up. Because one thing I know about the fuel industry is it self - regulates itself far greater than this Government can. Big time. Safety and security are of utmost [concern] . And the end guy , who is the retailer who is out there with the gas stations, he is paying through his ears to ensure that the corporate side can do all these things. So, invariably what is going to happen with this particular Bill is we are going to have more licenc e fees for the retailer ( which is in here) , more licen ce fees when they are already struggling. Why? Because the corporate side, which I have not heard discussed at all today, is making [money] hand over foot . And let me tell you, this industry is almost 100 per cent Bermudian owned and Bermudian run, including the corporate side. So, what is going to hap-pen, invariably, based on what I see thus far, more costs are going to be incurred. And so, many in the industry are already saying, Okay, we are going to have to lay off people. Back in the day, we made a pact with the former Premier, Honourable Paula Cox. And we said, Listen, if we can get a slight increase, we will hold off on laying people off . And it was given. The industry is more than a decade behind —a decade, more than that —in the margins that should be had. Just like the taxi drivers are complaining, well, the fuel industries were complaining as well because those margins are in the pennies. It is in the pennies. And we all know that the model in Bermuda . . . because you have a fixed number of people. You keep someone for a couple of years. You are paying your cashier $20 to $25 an hour because she has been around for a couple of years. And people think , No, they are just making like $16. No , they are not. And the pump attendant who comes in and starts out maybe making $16 an hour is pretty soon making $18 and tips, Mr. Speaker. They are making dollars. And I had students who used to come in, home from school , these guys were making hundreds of dollars in tips. Hundreds of dollars in tips. So, I am very much concerned when I read the letter here that was sent to our Government off icials. And I think that they are . . . Listen , the Gover nment officials are doing a good job. Let’s just face it. It is not easy when you have to deal with the corporate world, right? But some of the wording that is in this particular Bill states that basically we are going to tell you, corporate, whether or not your CEO, your director, is qualified to be in that position. What other i ndustry are we doing that in? I will point it out. It is in here. I will point it out. We are not doing that to the exempt companies. Okay. I am hoping it is not true. Because what I am reading basically is saying that. So, let’s hope that it is not in there when we go through our clause by clause. So, you know, when I read the first sentence, they replied . . . so the first consultation to have a consultation was to invite people on Zoom because of COVID -19 and all of that. And the industry replies. The corporate side replies b ecause, quite frankly, many of the retailers have not had a chance to read completely through this here. Do you want to know why? Because they are working 15 hours every day. They are a seven- day business. So, they have not had the time to go through all of this here. So, a co uple of sessions should have been had to ensure that everyone understands and [that a] full consultation has been had. Because if you are only going to the corporate side and talking to them , you are not going to get the full complexity of what is going on. You are not going to get it. Second paragraph says this, and this is a r eply from the corporate side, “whilst we appreciate and understand that there will be regulations to follow with its own consultative process” (it goes on to say) “we want you to understand that the industry stakeholders have not been provided with adequate time to properly consider the proposed Bill, providing meaningful feedback and commentary.” This is what I have to say. There has been no reply to the letter [from corporate]. No reply [from Government]. So, [c orporate] h ave responded. They
Bermuda House of Assembly have some concerns. And invariably what is going to happen is the concerns on here as we go through, they are simply going to pass it on. They are going to pass on whatever costs that are there. They are going to pass on whatever they can because they are al-ready doing that. As I said before, back in the day with the i ndustry, Mr. Speaker, people were making [money] hand over foot. It is not like that anymore. And people are trying to hold on and ensure that proper pricing is in place. And let me just say this here. As far as pri cing is concerned, if fuel comes in at $7 and it is agreed at the end of the month, O kay, we have di scussed with Government. It comes in at $6 and it is going to be $7 , of that one dollar that is put on top of the cost , 50 cents go es to the Government, 27 cents go to the retailer and 23 cents go to the wholesaler of the corporate business. Now, you might think , How come the corporate is getting less? Well, guess what? Not really. B ecause they are good at business. They also charge, in addition to that, another 7 per cent on all goods sold from the service stations. So, now they are up to 30 per cent —30 per cent ! And you know what ha ppens. People start complaining. And who do they go to? They are not going down to Ferry Reach. They are not going to go up to whatever floor the Ministry is on and complain. Well, we are hoping that, like I said, this is regulation. But there is no comfort right now like I already said. The electricity regulations were referred to. No one is comfortable right now with what is going on. So, I am hoping that this is going to lead us to the place where we need to be, understanding that the Regulatory Authority is not going to be prepared within the next year f or this. Okay? So, maybe what we need to do is in another couple of months sit down and make sure that all stakeholders understand exactly what is going on so that we do not have any mishaps and businesses go out of business like [what happened with] the s ugar tax. Now, understand that this is not an attack on anyone. This is just saying that we need to extend the consultative process to make sure you and everyone understands the process and what is involved. So, I get it, you know. And I understand smiles are going back and forth and we are trying to figure out , Well, we have been doing this and we have been doing that. Well, on the ground, where neither the civil ser vant nor the Government Minister is on the ground, I am telling you what has happen ed. And they are concerned. When you cannot reply to a corporate letter to say, Okay, well what are the concerns? How can we work with this here? People then fill in the gaps, O h well, they do not care. Now, I know some retailers who actually have tried to find a way to talk about this here. And I also know that an increase on fuel has been put in this as well. I doubt if that is going to ha ppen. I doubt for sure that is going to happen. But we can be at the point whereby as a Government we feel like, Oh well, yo u know, someone writes us a letter and we are not going to talk to you anymore. And then when an extension was asked for because a hurr icane came, we said no. No, we are not going to extend the time to you. Now, I will say this on behalf of the corporate sector. They do a lot for Bermuda. Okay? You can raise your head all you want. They do a lot for Berm uda. I know that for a fact.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. POINT OF ORDER Hon. Walter H. Roban: The Honourable Member appears to be addressing the civil servants in a way that is somewhat intimidating. I think he should direct his comments to you. Civil servants are here to support the process, not to be intimidated by the …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. I did not see who the comment was addressed to—
The SpeakerThe Speaker—at the time , but all comments should come this way.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierWell, the expression was expressed to me first. I am responding to that expression. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Point of order, Mr. Speaker
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe flow should come this way.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierConceded. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, all I am saying is that here we are now, and we have seven days since this Bill has been pr esented. We got to consult on Wednesday as a team , quite frankly , and many questions were unanswered. A lot …
Conceded. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, all I am saying is that here we are now, and we have seven days since this Bill has been pr esented. We got to consult on Wednesday as a team , quite frankly , and many questions were unanswered. A lot were answered but many were unanswered. 1846 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly [Inaudible interjections]
Mr. L. Craig CannonierUnanswered. So, Wednesday we consulted. We asked questions. Here we are on Friday, putting the Bill forward. As I have said before, no one has an issue with regulation. I have been saying all along that the corporate side needs to be regulated. All along, because they are taking too …
Unanswered. So, Wednesday we consulted. We asked questions. Here we are on Friday, putting the Bill forward. As I have said before, no one has an issue with regulation. I have been saying all along that the corporate side needs to be regulated. All along, because they are taking too much of the share. And when I asked the question, Okay, well if the Pr emier is handling the financial side of things and the Finance Ministry, how much are they giving up? Because they are getting 50 per cent right now, half of what ever yone else is taking. So, where are we going to land with this here? What exactly are we g oing to do? And the reason I raise that question is this. Because thus far, the Premier said that he froze pri ces. It is the corporate side who froze the prices and gave up. The Government has not given up any of its fee on this, on fuel. And they are goi ng to have to pay back the difference which was promised to the corporate side. So, we may have stagnated the prices and set it here. But the corporate side said, Look, you are going to have to come back to compensate us for this. So, what benefit did we get? I want to hear what benefit did we actually get? Because all we have done is defer the cost down the road. We are still go-ing to have to pay back to the fuel stations. So, hopefully with this Bill, which is why it is being introduced I am hoping because we do not know yet, that there is going to be a reduction in the fee by Government. Maybe on the corporate side as well. I do not know. But let’s see what happens. My concern at the end of the day with this particular Bill is that we still need to spend a little more time understanding the industry. And I brought up in our debate . . . in our di scussions the other day that I am not sure if they even understand what the corporate structure is that they do and how they price things, because there is anot her fee that is involved here. And that is not to say that someone is more understanding or knows more about the industry than the other, but I have not heard an yone talk about the fee structure of the corporate side. Once they do some investigation into that, they will find out a little more, because these ships are sitting out there and the cost of those ships that are sitting out there in the ocean just waiting to be delivered somewhere . . . there is another fee that is added. So, hopefully we will get t o that point, but in my estimation we need a little more time before we pass this Bill because I do not want a mishap here. Because what invariably happens is afterwards we try to fix it, and it is too late and people have lost their jobs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? Opposition Leader, you have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a former MP said once in this House or many times in this House, A bull in the China …
Thank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? Opposition Leader, you have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a former MP said once in this House or many times in this House, A bull in the China shop will get you nowhere. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the Honourable former Premier, Craig Cannonier, has just said, What is the rush? The truth of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, this rush is unnecessary. We have a piece of legisl ation here which o bviously is thought through. A lot of work has been put into it. And again, like the Honourable Scott Pearman, I would like to thank the Minister for inviting us to have a briefing with the director and her team. The briefing was very inf ormative. So we really, really appreciate their efforts and we learned quite a bit from the meet-ing. But my concern is this: We are rushing here today to get this done, and there is no reason why this could not have been deferred for another week or two. I am saying that because this piece of legislation will be managed by the Regulatory Authority. Mr. Speaker, you might remember the Regulatory Authority already has the Submarine Communi-cations Cables Act and responsibility which is another oversight piece of legislation of 2020. We have the Electricity Act of 2016. We have the Electronic Communications Act of 2011. And then they have their own legislation, the Regulatory Authority Act of 2011. So again, [there are] one, two, three, four, five meaty pieces of legislation that they have to adhere to, and then they have to take on the Fuels Act of 2022. Mr. Speaker, you have seen today that the former CEO of the Regulatory Authority has moved on to another business as CEO of the private sector, in the private sector. So right now, the Regulatory A uthority is not in a position to take any of this business. And from my understanding, they will not be able to take this business on for another year or two. The point is —
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Point of order, Mr. S peaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. POINT OF ORDER Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Speaker, you can give me guidance, but I think it is not necessarily appropriate for a Member of this House to speculate on what is happening with an independent body that cer tainly is not under the control of …
Point of order.
POINT OF ORDER
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Speaker, you can give me guidance, but I think it is not necessarily appropriate for a Member of this House to speculate on what is happening with an independent body that cer tainly is not under the control of the Government or anyone else. He is suggesting that because personnel has changed at the regulator that they somehow are inc apable of dealing with matters which may become their responsibility. I do not think that is appropriate b ecause it certainly casts questions that neither I can certainly answer in this role but neither the Honour able Member can answer. And it is not appropriate b eBermuda House of Assembly cause he is certainly bringing questions into a body that is properly constituted under the law and operates with certain responsibility. I will take your guidance on it, but I think his comments are really inappropriate.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHe was more . . . I took it more as an expression of concern that it has got a little while to get up to speed. I did not take it as demeaning. I just took it as a general observation because the CEO has left. But, be guided …
He was more . . . I took it more as an expression of concern that it has got a little while to get up to speed. I did not take it as demeaning. I just took it as a general observation because the CEO has left. But, be guided by the concerns expressed by the Minister.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you. I will say it a nother way. The Regulatory Authority is in transition right now, Mr. Speaker. They are in transition because they are looking for a new leader. In addition, with this piece of legislation coming under their purview, they also need to have some guidance on additional r esources to support this ne w responsibility. And where is the human capital for this new piece of responsibi lity? Now, as we said, I met with the Director of Energy. Is she going to be able to be transfer over there in the interim to get it set up so that we know that it will be well placed and well managed until permanent staff come on board? That issue was not addressed in the Minister’s brief, Mr. Speaker. So all I am saying, Mr. Speaker, is that we have to position all the stakeholders in this legislation to ensure we get the best outcome for this country. This not only deals with the retailers and the corporate and the consumers. We also need to provide the support for the organisation who will be managing and be responsible for doing a great job in regulating this industry. And at this point in time, I am not confident that the infrastructure is in place to accept this legislation at this time, Mr. Speaker. So, I invite the Minister and his Government to slow down and do a better job in managing the whole spectrum in regard to how Bermuda should go for-ward with the administration of the Fuels Act. Again, the Regulatory Authority has quite a bit on its plate already, and they are in transition. And I would like to have heard some comfort from the Minister stating what is being done to beef up the resources —be it human capital and economic capital —to ensure that when the legislation has fallen under their responsibi lity, they can be managed in a fashion that provides the best outcome for the people of this country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? No other Member? Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to have had such a vibrant d ebate and still . . . that is the way …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? No other Member? Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to have had such a vibrant d ebate and still . . . that is the way Parliament needs to operate. Obviously there is great enthusiasm for being back in the Chamber, Mr. Speaker. It is great to have such strong contributions around this Bill. And much has been said. Seems as if the thrust of the argum ents has been: Why has this been rushed? And Why now? [There were] even suggestions that somehow this is going to put some people out of business. Interesting comments, Mr. Speaker. And I am happy to address some of that, at least those that merit a response from this station. There was a comment made by one of the Honourable Members around consultation. And this also perhaps speaks to the Why now? question. Well, Mr. Speaker, as evidenced by my submissions, this is a policy that has been worked on since 2015, to be exact. So, I am trying to figure out what the definition of “rushed” is. Is taking five years to do something or put something in place a rush? The process for this particular legislation started in 2015 under a previous Administration from whi ch a policy was formulated. That policy was in a draft consultation— as I have ev idenced —since 2017. So, since 2017 there has actually been a practical policy in place. That was the product of extensive public consultation itself at the time. The legislati on frames the policy. The policy informed the legislation. The very legislation that we have in front of us today is a framing of that policy that has been in place, that was contemplated by a previous Government, that was inher-ited by the following Government. We have a restat ement of that policy in 2018. And now it has become legislation. Anybody who seeks to properly review those documents will see that. So, this is not a rush. This is a product of a contemplated process that started years ago. So that [comment about why now] essentially does not have merit. [We have] 2017 consultation, April 26, 2017, workshops, consultative process, [and] August 2017 consultations were carried out with the wider public with a draft policy. The legislation only frames . . . I will say it again. That very policy that started . . . the pr ocess was started in 2015. So, the statement that this is rushed, I do not think has merit.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I believe that the Honour able Member is misleading the House unintentionally. The fact of the matter is, yes, there were di scussions back in 2017. There were no official policy positions in the end. And, Mr. Speaker, …
Point of order.
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I believe that the Honour able Member is misleading the House unintentionally. The fact of the matter is, yes, there were di scussions back in 2017. There were no official policy positions in the end. And, Mr. Speaker, the legislation, 1848 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly the final legislation that prescribes the framework, was tabled just last week. Yesterday when we discussed it in caucus it was less than a week old. Fortunately, on Wednesday we had a discussion. So, to say that a meaty piece of legi slation like this was not rushed through—
[inaudible interjections]
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Speaker, I have the floor.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerFinish your point of order. Finish your point of order.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWhat’s the point of order? Hon. N. H. Col e Simons: He’s misleading the House, Mr. Speaker. What I am saying is this. To do the public service and to show the respect for Members of the House, a meaty piece of legislation like this should be on the Order …
What’s the point of order? Hon. N. H. Col e Simons: He’s misleading the House, Mr. Speaker. What I am saying is this. To do the public service and to show the respect for Members of the House, a meaty piece of legislation like this should be on the Order Paper for at least two days [sic], Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Two weeks. Sorry.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSo, your point of order was that the length of time was not sufficient? Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: The length of time was not sufficient for Members of this House —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Got it. Hon. N. H. Co le Simons: —to give a responsible—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGot it. I was just putting it in a nutshell for you. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue, Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was looking for . . . I was really looking for the nutshell. And thank you for helping me find that. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOne second. One second. One second. Mr. De Silva, you know, we have not had any of that today. If you cannot contain yourself, you may need to step outside. We have not allowed any going back and forth. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Got you, Mr. Speaker, but …
One second. One second. One second. Mr. De Silva, you know, we have not had any of that today. If you cannot contain yourself, you may need to step outside. We have not allowed any going back and forth. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Got you, Mr. Speaker, but you did not hear what the Honourable Member there just said, did you? And that was out of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. De Silva, I did not hear it. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Speaker, look, if that, if he repeats himself . . . you can throw me out.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. De Silva, I did not hear it. I did not hear it. But yours was quite loud that the whole room heard your comment. We have not had that all day. Please, Members, contain yourself. I singled you out only because I heard your voice. I did not hear …
Mr. De Silva, I did not hear it. I did not hear it. But yours was quite loud that the whole room heard your comment. We have not had that all day. Please, Members, contain yourself. I singled you out only because I heard your voice. I did not hear the other comment. Please contain yourselves, Mem-bers. Minister.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: That was out of order. Okay?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI did not hear the comment. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Ask . . . He’ll get it again.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. De Silva, Mr. De Silva, I am going to suggest that maybe you are a little worked up right now. Take a little walk. Get a little fresh air. And come back. Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You greatly assisted me with comprehending the long, …
Mr. De Silva, Mr. De Silva, I am going to suggest that maybe you are a little worked up right now. Take a little walk. Get a little fresh air. And come back. Minister.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You greatly assisted me with comprehending the long, l aborious effort at a point of order. As we know, points of order should be precise and clear. But in a nutshell, Mr. Speaker, I state again . . . and I think I am a bit puzzled coming from that Honourable Member and others, Mr. Speaker, when those who sit in Cabinet —
POINT OF ORDER
Mr. Scott PearmanPoint of order, Mr. Speaker. I apologise for interrupting the speaker, but one of my former colleagues in thi s House just used extremely rude unparliamentary language on the back of the warning that you just gave him and, in ad dition, I believe threatened me as a Member of …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, I am trying . . . Members, I am trying to pay attention to the Minister, who is giving a response. The Minister got on his feet just now saying how robust this has been. He acknowledged how good a debate it is been thus far. I agree to …
Members, I am trying . . . Members, I am trying to pay attention to the Minister, who is giving a response. The Minister got on his feet just now saying how robust this has been. He acknowledged how good a debate it is been thus far. I agree to all of that. All of a sudden inside of a split second we are going to a level that we need not go to today. We really do not need to go there. We are all Honourable Members in this House! And the public listens to us every day. And it is this type of exchange that just took place that takes
Bermuda House of Assembly away that honourability from who we are. They do not do it to us; we do it to ourselves. We have to be men and women and mature enough to understand we are here to represent the people who put us here, and they expect us to do it in an honourable manner. And if you cannot, then it is time for you to leave this place. End of story. I do not intend to get up again on this matter unless I am putting people out. Now, Minister, continue.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I will continu e with my submissions of answering matters that were raised in the debate. Mr. Speaker, I reiterate the point that the pr ocess that brought this Bill here to this House was a product of many years of not only consultation but of documents that have been readily available to the public. The policy informed the legislation. The legisl ation is here today. The policy has been in place. It started in 2015 as a process of consultation, drafted in 2017 for public consultation, printed, and made avai lable since 2018. And I know for a fact in my own role, as I am responsible for energy, I interacted with the wholesalers and others around the issues of this pol icy in my responsibility as Minister for Energy. So, this has been a well -known policy to the industry. We now have legislation that is informed by that policy. And that is what we have here today. Those who have sat around Cabinet know the policy informs the legislation. You have to have policy first before you draft a Bill. I have the Attorney General here w ho can confirm that this is the process as her Chambers rigidly require us to adhere to this process. Policy informs legislation. That is where it starts. Mr. Speaker, I can continue. The process of consultation that we have had, we have done this with other major pieces of legislation we brought here around subsea cables and the regulatory sandbox. We have had extensive consolations around Bills that we have brought here. So, that is the normal process that we have engaged in. [As to] the question of the reason why we are bringing this legislation, [it is] because there are i ssues which we must ensure are properly regulated. The fuel industry in Bermuda is not appropriately regulated. And let me just state for a fact, Mr. Speaker, there are two major suppliers of fuel to this country, the wholesalers. Those two entities operate in over 20 countries alone. They are international companies. They are not just companies germane to Bermuda. They operate in jurisdictions where they have to deal with extensive legislation and regulation in how they operate. They operate, and by and large, these companies actually operate fuel, servicing operations in those countries. They purchase their assets like they did here from major fuel companies particularly that sp ecialise in providing fuel in those local markets at the retail level. So, they are very familiar with this type of business. They are extensively involved with it in other parts of the world where they have to deal with regul ation. So, the process of looking at and dealing with this Bill was not new to them. That was very clear with our extensive consultations with them. I know that there is an issue about the time. Two weeks they were given. So not only [did] they locally have a chance to discuss it, but thei r corporate representatives in other countries also had time to look at it as well as here. So, their . . . you know, whatever was sent to them was sent by email (I am sure) not by carrier pigeon or by post. They received those documents immediately and could begin the process of consultation, which is normal to what we do here in this country when it comes to, certainly, certain pieces of legislation. This Ministry has con-ducted extensive consultation on many of the major Bills we have brought here. So, we conducted [this consultation] the same way with them. Moving on, Mr. Speaker. I say the fuel industry in Bermuda has not been [during] its history well regulated. As my introductory comments said, there are components that are regulated, such as the health and safety part, and about facilities. But when it comes to other aspects of how it operates, it is not. This Bill brings that under an umbrella so that safety, critical assets, infrastructure, ensuring that maint enance is maintained on critical points of the infrastructure, and operations are done in an industry that essentially has very few players. And how it functions on the Island is heavily controlled by very few operators. I believe that the Honourable Member who spoke on the other side—some of his questions frankly have nothing to do with the Bill but perhaps were inform ative all the same—speaks to that and perhaps speaks to some of the issues he as an experienced retailer in the space is experiencing. So, the reality is that there is a whole part of this industry that is essentially —and I am not saying this to disparage anybody in this House—like the wild Wild West. We are just trying to bring some structure to it so that how it is handled is of best practice. Mr. Speaker, as I move on, there was a question about [clause] 47. It really has to be read in con-junction with the relevant sections of the Regulatory Authority Act of 2011, sections 7 and 8, which should inform MPs appropriately. There was a question regarding [clause] 14[(1)](d) probity concerns in reference to CEOs being vetted. The Member raised concerns about why the regulator would be sort of involved with that. Well, this is no different than . . . there are sections of the Companies Act which have the same sort of provisions for a local company, making sure that people are fit for purpose in the role that they are being appointed to. This is no different. No different. And I certainly have no role in that process. That is a regulatory matter. 1850 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Fees on fuel, as in taxes: not reall y the subject of this Bill, at all. Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, we can only regulate what is going on in Bermuda. There seemed to be a lot of talk about other things. This Bill has jurisdiction about what goes on in Bermuda. And there was talk about what happens on the sea. That is not really my remit. That is a matter for the Ministry of Transport. And note that the RA has to put in their budget the capacity to deal with this. The RA does not have the capacity to predict the future in how it oper-ates when it comes to these matters. When having specific direction, or when they are informed by legi slation, they then can plan out. That is what they will do. It has been specifically outlined in my brief, Mr. Speaker, that they will put [in place] what they need to have in their work plan. The work plan is a part of a regular requirement every year that the RA informs the Government, and that Government was informed the same way as to what their plans are for the year. As additional responsibilities come on, they wi ll plan it out, and there is a process for how they deal with that. They will deal with this in the same way. And they will have to have the capacity because they may have to hire certain consultants to deal with this area. But I can tell you, Mr. Speaker , the Regulatory Authority of Bermuda is considered internationally one of the best run regulators in its space. It was designed as a multidisciplinary regulator to be able to regulate different sectors as it does, and they will take the appropriate steps to be able to do this sector. They already have people who have great skill there in market analysis and regulation and analysing pricing. That is all a part of their skill set as it is now, and they do that across different industries. What makes you thi nk that they cannot transfer that knowledge and that skill set to this new industry? Pricing is about numbers, fundamentally, and developing methodologies that you can do to analyse that in a particular sector. And they do it in multiple sectors already. T hey will acquire the necessary skills. It is my hope that it will be Bermudians who they will be able to employ in here. They may have need of some international help. [Currently], they get intern ational consultative advice, but it is mostly Bermudians over there running the show. And it is my hope that this creates another opportunity for Bermudians to actually develop a skill set that can continue the high regard that the RA has already developed for itself. [There were] q uestions, again as it relates to capacity. There seems to be an assumption that the RA is somehow deficient due to the departure of the CEO, the recently departed CEO, Mr. Williams. I do not believe this is the case. They have a very capable team over there. They run their operation with no interference from the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Minister responsible for Regulatory Affairs. And, as we all know, they have had in the past some issues of change in leadership, and they have handled them in the appropriate way. The transition to a new CEO . . . Even now I am dealing with them in a very appropriate and professional manner on other matters of regul ation, and it is going fine. I do not doubt that this will continue until they ultimately finish their process to appoint a new CEO. So, I do not take on the comments of any question on that, Mr. Speaker. I think Members should . . . I would like to just comment a little bit more because some points were raised, Mr. Speaker, about consultation and who was spoken to. If you will just give m e a moment, Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring up some information that will help inform that question that was raised because—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —it was actually raised in the affirmative like it did not happen. Not that I h ave a question that it happened. We were definitely told in this House that it did not happen. So, I think it is i mportant that I inform …
Go ahead.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: —it was actually raised in the affirmative like it did not happen. Not that I h ave a question that it happened. We were definitely told in this House that it did not happen. So, I think it is i mportant that I inform this House and the people as to what did happen, other than what I already said. Mr. Speaker, on September 2, as part of the process that we committed to (as I said earlier in my debate), earlier in the year, in a discussion around fuel and pricing that I attended with the Premier and ot hers, I committed, and my Ministry committed, to pr ovide from my Ministry draft copies of this Bill for the industry to consider, of which they were very pleased that I did so. I made that commitment. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, part of our effort to get this Bill done was so that we could do that because we did not want there to be any question that we were going to fulfil our commitment to the industry. We understand the issues that are going around the fuel i ndustry right now. They have their own concerns about things. And we wanted to make that we were dealing with them as an honest broker. So, Mr. Speaker, there was a meeting on September 2. And the attendees were . . . and I am going to name them all because I want to be clear, Mr. Speaker, that we kept our commitment. And not only that, but we fully informed the industry of the intention and the willingness to meet with them.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDo you want to name the individuals or the organisations? Hon. Walter H. Roban: I am going to name . . . I am going to go through a comprehensive list of names. These Minutes will be available to the publ ic if som eone makes a PATI request. I …
Do you want to name the individuals or the organisations?
Hon. Walter H. Roban: I am going to name . . . I am going to go through a comprehensive list of names. These Minutes will be available to the publ ic if som eone makes a PATI request. I am going to say it right here. This is not to disparage, this is to inform the public.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Because we are mindful of individuals who did not have the opportunity to be in the room — Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Walter H. Ro ban: That is fine. But I am merely saying they were [attendees] . I am making a record of attendance —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —so that we fulfilled our commitment, Mr. Speaker. And I think it is important there because of the way the comm ent was made that it did not happen. There is no question about it. It happened! Sol Bermu da: Nick Ball, Alcindor Bonamy, Creig …
Okay. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —so that we fulfilled our commitment, Mr. Speaker. And I think it is important there because of the way the comm ent was made that it did not happen. There is no question about it. It happened! Sol Bermu da: Nick Ball, Alcindor Bonamy, Creig Kinch, Stephanie Simons, Je- Ell De Rosa. Esso Service stations: David Mitchel l Paget Esso : Ernest Marshall . Port Royal Servic e Stati on: Joseph Marable, Lorna Dixon Marable, Robert Holdipp, Dale Jackson, Renee Jones, Walter Smith. RUBiS service stations in Bermuda: Michael Tercira, Graham Hagen, K ristina , Garon Dowling, George Dowling, George Dowling III. Those are the attendees. There are other people in the public service, and they attended ful-filling their responsibilities. So, I just want to be clear, Mr. Speaker, there was a comprehensive effort to ensure that there was proper representation by this Government and Mini stry to this process. I am not going to say anything about what the Opposition said, but I think it was i mportant for this House to know that we went through a consultative process. Two weeks were given to these organisations to review the legislation as we promised. Now I know how this works because I have been through it before, about dealing with industry and consultation around legislation. I am confident the time was given. They are sure . . . this is the fram ework. And as was in my brief, Mr. Speaker, the regul ations which will have the meat and the detail of how the industries are going to be, and certainly they are going to be regulated. Specific parts of their activity will be dealt with in the regulations. There is a process of consultation that the R A, who will facilitate the drafting of those regulations along with the Government, follows —general determ inations. There is a process in law that has to be followed. That does not include what the Government itself may undertake. So, there will be a compr ehensive effort, a very public effort, for industry to inform and be informed around the regulations so that there will be the comfort that the Honourable Member said is being looked for. I just hope this is clear, Mr. Speaker. I would not conduct this process because this Bill was too i mportant and too substantial in its impact to not ensure that it was handled properly. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill be committed.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you for that , Deputy Premier. Deputy Speaker. Hous e in Committee at 5:33 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chairman ] COMMITTEE ON BILL FUELS ACT 2022
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in committee of the whole [House] for further consider ation of the Bill entitled Fuels Act 2022 . Minister Roban, you have the floor. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. May I begin, Mr. Chairman?
The ChairmanChairmanMost certainly. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank y ou, Mr. Chairman. This Bill seeks to provide for the supervision, monitoring, and regulation of the fuel sector by the Regulatory Authority (the Authority) to provide for matters connected therewith to make consequential amendments to the Regulatory [Authority] Act of 2011 and …
Most certainly. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank y ou, Mr. Chairman. This Bill seeks to provide for the supervision, monitoring, and regulation of the fuel sector by the Regulatory Authority (the Authority) to provide for matters connected therewith to make consequential amendments to the Regulatory [Authority] Act of 2011 and to certain other legislation and related incidental and connected matters. I am sorry, Mr. Chairman. I did not request your permission to move certain clauses.
The ChairmanChairmanI understand. Hon. Walter H. Roban: May I ask your permi ssion to move clauses 1 through 25, please, Mr. Chairman, and also the House. I’m sorry I did not do that earlier .
The ChairmanChairmanNo apology necessary, you can continue, Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you. I will do clauses 1 through 25, Mr. Chair man. Clause 1 provides the title of this Bill. Clause 2 provides definitions for the interpr etations of the provisions of this Bill. Clause 3 provides that this …
No apology necessary, you can continue, Minister.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you. I will do clauses 1 through 25, Mr. Chair man. Clause 1 provides the title of this Bill. Clause 2 provides definitions for the interpr etations of the provisions of this Bill. Clause 3 provides that this Act constitutes sectorial legislation pursuant to the Regulatory Authority Act of 2011. This cl ause also provides that the pr ovisions of the Act shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with this Act. Clause 4 provides that this Act applies to the fuel sector. Clause 5 sets forth the purposes of this Act. Clause 6 specifies the general functions of the Minister including power to make ministerial declar ations concerning policy. Clause 7 lists those functions in respect of which the Minister may issue directions to the Author i1852 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly ty, requires publication of ministerial directions, but allows the Minist er to redact information, for example, in the interests of national security. This clause also provides that the Authority must comply with the directions of the Minister issued in accordance with this clause. Clause 8 confirms that the Minister may r eques t technical analysis and advice from the Authority if necessary for the performance of the Minister’s duties. Clause 9 sets out the various functions of the Authority. Clause 10 deals with the performance of functions by the Authority. Clause 11 provides f or those functions that the Authority may delegate. Clause 12 lists the activities that are to be regulated by the Authority and imposes the requir ement for a licence in order to carry out the activities listed in that clause. Clause 13 makes provision for the types of l icences in the fuel sector that may be granted by the Authority to be prescribed. Clause 14 specifies the criteria for the grant of each licence. Clause 15 provides for the grant of licences. Clause 16 provides for the licence conditions. Clause 17 requires a notice to be published in respect of licences granted by the Authority. Clause 18 provides for the maximum duration of licences, terms, and renewal of licences. Clause 19 allows the modification of licences. Clause 20 sets limitations for the transfer of l icences. Clause 21 sets out the preconditions for rev ocation or suspension of licences. Clauses 22 through 24 make provision with respect to the procedures where the Authority intends to revoke or suspend a licence. The clauses provide as follows, starting with clause 22, Mr. Chairman: • [Clause 22] sets forth a procedure for the issue of warning notices. A warning notice is the initial step in any action that the A uthority proposes to take with respect to the revocation or suspension of a licence. The warning notice must set out the pr oposed action and the reasons for it. The notice provides a period of not less than 28 days to enable the licensee concerned to make representations. The Authority may extend this period. • Clause 23 sets out a procedure for the i ssue of decision notices. A decision notice informs the person concerned that the A uthority has concluded that it is appropriate to take the action in respect of which a warning notice has been issued. The decision notice must set out the particulars of the decision and the reasons for the ac-tion and inform the licensee concerned of its right to appeal to the court. The A uthority is required to make a determination within 90 days after a warning notice is given and if no decision notice i s given within that period, the Authority shall be treated as having discontinued the action. • Clause 24 requires the Authority to give a notice of discontinuance to the person concerned if following the issue of a war ning notice the Authority decides not t o proceed with the proposed action. Clause 25 applies where the Authority determines that a licence application should be refused. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Mr. Minister. Are there a ny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Scott Pearman. You have the floor, Mr. Pearman.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you Honourable Minister. I appreciate the question in relation to clause 6(2), which is page 6 of the Bill. And what that says is that the Minister may issue ministerial declarations that establish policies for the fuel sector. My question for the Minister is: …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you Honourable Minister. I appreciate the question in relation to clause 6(2), which is page 6 of the Bill. And what that says is that the Minister may issue ministerial declarations that establish policies for the fuel sector. My question for the Minister is: How does he envisage that the ministerial declaration will work, what will be its standing, how will it interplay with the regulations themselves, and how does it differ from the existing ability of the Minister to give directions to the Authority in clause 7?
The ChairmanChairmanMinister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: This operates similarly to what operates in other regulatory Acts, Mr. Chairman. [Inaudible interjections] Hon. Walter H. Roban: Just a moment, Mr. Chai rman, if you could oblige.
The ChairmanChairmanCertainly. Most certainly. Hon. Walter H. Roban: This is very much similar to how it operates in other sectoral legislation wher e the Minister has the capacity to give directions on policy, strictly on policy. But specifics as relates to the regul ations will be informed by policy and the …
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Any further questions?
Mr. Pearman.
Mr. Scott PearmanYes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Bermuda House of Assembly So, Minister, if the Minister issues a ministerial declaration on policy, how does that interact with the Regulatory [Authority’s] independent ability to make policy decisions? [Pause] Hon. Walter H. R oban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for obliging me a bit of …
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bermuda House of Assembly So, Minister, if the Minister issues a ministerial declaration on policy, how does that interact with the Regulatory [Authority’s] independent ability to make policy decisions?
[Pause]
Hon. Walter H. R oban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for obliging me a bit of time to get advice. I will split this up into two pieces. The Minister, as I already informed, would make declarations on policy, I mean, directions on policy. But a declaration would be something sim ilar to . . . because in the Bill (which we have not got to yet) there are certain things set out as to the types of fuels that can be in Berm uda. The Minister could make a declaration that a certain fuel is or [is] not allowed. That will be in the form of a declaration. I hope that is informative. That is what a declaration might pose. So, I can say you can have a certain type of biofuel or you cannot have a certain type of other fuel, which an application may come for.
An Hon. Minister : Or not. Hon. Wal ter H. Roban: Or not.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Any further questions?
Mr. Scott PearmanYes. I am sorry to press on with this, Mr. Chairman, but I am just trying to get to the bottom of it. So, what is the standing of that ministerial declaration? Would the Regulatory Authority be obliged to comply? Hon. Walter H. Roban: Yes. And I will give another …
Yes. I am sorry to press on with this, Mr. Chairman, but I am just trying to get to the bottom of it. So, what is the standing of that ministerial declaration? Would the Regulatory Authority be obliged to comply?
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Yes. And I will give another example, because that is the best way to crystalise the comments. These are fair questions, Mr. Chai rman. There was a period of time where the Regul atory Authority . . . there was different advice being gi ven on operations in the telecommunications sector. So, following advice, the Minister at that time. I am not sure if it was me, I am just . . . if it was me I’m speaking in the third person. [The Minister] would have made a declaration that we could not have a certain type of technology here such as —I am just making reference, hypothetical —5G. So, for a period of time, as you know, there was a prohibition on that, so the Minster made declarati on that there would be no such type of technology operating in Bermuda and there would then have to be a process upon which that declaration could be changed. That is a form of a declaration which is a real - world example which I hope has helped the Honour able Members to understand the contrast between declaration and, like, directions. The Chairman: Thank you, Minister.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any other speakers to clauses 1 through 25? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Mr. Cannonier.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierThank you, Chairman. And I believe the Honourable Member did answer a question I had already asked on page 9 under Part 4, Licensin g. And at the end of page 9 where it talks about directorship and controls and the likes, the question that —
Mr. L. Craig CannonierIf we follow over to the following page (I just want to make sure I get this correct), page 10, where it says “Grant of licence.” Clause 15 [(1)(a)] there. “The applicant pays the Go vernment authorisation fees.” And what I was not quite sure of was: Does this relate …
If we follow over to the following page (I just want to make sure I get this correct), page 10, where it says “Grant of licence.” Clause 15 [(1)(a)] there. “The applicant pays the Go vernment authorisation fees.” And what I was not quite sure of was: Does this relate . . . I am assuming this relates to retailers as well as wholesalers, t hat this is an additional licence fee to what is already established in the industry. Is it?
The ChairmanChairmanMinister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you for the question. That will depend, Mr . . . . I’m sorry. May I respond, Mr. Chairman?
The ChairmanChairmanCertainly. Yes. Most certainly. Hon. Walter H. Roban: This will depend on the type of licence. And that will be devised in the regulations because obviously there are different types of licences for different provisions of types of fuel and different types o f operations. It will be linked to …
Certainly. Yes. Most certainly.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: This will depend on the type of licence. And that will be devised in the regulations because obviously there are different types of licences for different provisions of types of fuel and different types o f operations. It will be linked to that, but that will come with the development of the regulations and other details of which we have already committed to working with industry on. 1854 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Thank you. Any further questions on clauses 1 through 25? There appear to be none. Minister, do you want to move clauses 1 through 25?
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wish to move clauses 1 through 25 as wri tten.
The ChairmanChairmanMove to approve. Hon. Walter H. Roban: I’m sorry. I move to approve clauses 1 through 25 as written.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 1 through 25 be approved. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 25 passed.] Hon. Walter H. Roban: May I co ntinue, Mr. Chai rman?
The ChairmanChairmanMost certainly. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you. I wish to move clauses 26 through 52, I believe. Yes.
The ChairmanChairmanYou can continue. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Clause 26 provides the definition of “critical infrastructure.” Clause 27 confers certain powers on the A uthority to gather information for the purposes set forth in this clause. Clause 27 also provides for designation of entities, by regulations, that …
You can continue. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Clause 26 provides the definition of “critical infrastructure.” Clause 27 confers certain powers on the A uthority to gather information for the purposes set forth in this clause. Clause 27 also provides for designation of entities, by regulations, that are determined to have a part with r espect to critical infrastructure. Clauses 28 and 29 provides for the Authority to set prices for retail of fuel and the principles to be taken into account by the Authority when it sets retail tariffs. Clauses 30 through 33 provide for safety measures and service standards that are in line with industry best practice and the functions of the Author ity as they relate to the protection of consumers or end-users. Clauses 34 through 37 set forth the compl iance powers of the Authority and provide for invest igations and enforcement by the Authority. For this purpose, the said clauses incorporate the relevant provisions of the Regulatory Authority Act 2011. Clauses 38 through 41 set forth measures to protect the Authority from suit provided the Authority acts in good faith and sets forth provisions related to confidentiality. Clause 42 makes provisions for regulations. Clause 43 provides for appeals to the S upreme Court. Clause 44 provides that this Act binds the Crown. Clauses 45 through 48 provide for offences. Clause 49 amends the Regulatory Authority Act 2011 to add the fuel sector as one to be regulated by the Authority. Clause 50 enables the Minister to amend existing provisions relating to the fuel sector if the amendments are necessary as a consequence of enactments of this Bill. Clause 51 provides for savings and transitional matters. Clause 52 provides for commencement. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Mr. Minister. Are there any further speakers under clauses 26 through 52? Mr. Cannonier, you have the floor.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierThank you, Chairman. Page 14, hopefully that is helpful, on Part 5 “Critical infrastructure,” clause 27[(1)(c)]. It states there “any other prescribed purpose.” The first part of course being “The Authority shall use its informationgathering powers” (and goes on under) “sections 60, 61, 62 and 89 to 92 . . …
Thank you, Chairman. Page 14, hopefully that is helpful, on Part 5 “Critical infrastructure,” clause 27[(1)(c)]. It states there “any other prescribed purpose.” The first part of course being “The Authority shall use its informationgathering powers” (and goes on under) “sections 60, 61, 62 and 89 to 92 . . . to collect from any licensee or other entity that performs any function in the fuel sector . . . .” When you say “any other prescribed purpose,” I am just trying to understand what that might be. I am not sure. They have infrastructure.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierClause 27[(1)](c) says “any other prescribed purpose.” I am just trying to understand what possibly could that be, like what kind . . . any other.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you. I think perhaps the Honourable Member perhaps will understand when I ex plain this. I think you know that there are certain aspects of the operation that maybe are for a certain purpose that supports the safety and operation of the handling of …
Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you. I think perhaps the Honourable Member perhaps will understand when I ex plain this. I think you know that there are certain aspects of the operation that maybe are for a certain purpose that supports the safety and operation of the handling of fuel. And it may be that as we take on new fuels we will need to have specific pres criptions on how those
Bermuda House of Assembly fuels have to be handled. So again, this Act contemplates what may come as well as what we have. It may be quite standard operating procedure how things are done now, but what if we take on a nother new fuel? We will need to prescribe specifically how that fuel will be handled. It may need certain types of processes or even equipment that may not be currently available, and we need to make sure that in the licence those things are properly prescribed or any [new] procedures [required] are properly prescribed as well.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Any further questions on clauses 26 through 52?
Mr. Scott PearmanYes, Minister, clause 46. This was so mething foreshadowed in the debate. At clause 46 there is a provision that the fai lure to comply with the direction from the Minister amounts to an offence liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for six months. I …
Yes, Minister, clause 46. This was so mething foreshadowed in the debate. At clause 46 there is a provision that the fai lure to comply with the direction from the Minister amounts to an offence liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for six months. I was just wonder ing why the Minister feels that impri sonment is justifiable in these circumstances. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Fuels can be not only . . . obviously, they are very important to us, but they can also be very unstable and toxic and dangerous el ements. If somebody wilfully does something contrary to their licence that brings about an event that …
Thank you. Minister.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Fuels can be not only . . . obviously, they are very important to us, but they can also be very unstable and toxic and dangerous el ements. If somebody wilfully does something contrary to their licence that brings about an event that could bring about an explosion or contamination or some other thing that is damaging to the environment or community or people, and it very clear that they acted [recklessly] , wilfully, this provision is meant to capture all that possibility. I think we all can appreciate that fuels are often dangerous elements. I do not think this provision is any different . . . any . . . trying to impose any . . . because of what we . . . of any current conduct by a nyone. But I think that if we are to take safety and env ironmental issues seriously, we must have provisions that capture and express the gravity of anyone who may wilfully do something that is contrary to their l icence or certainly in the interests of the community. That is why the provision is crafted in that way, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Thank you, Minister. Any further speakers? Mr. Cannonier, y ou have it.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierYes, just one more here. Under . . . back to [clause] 27 on page 14. [Clause] 27(4)(a) states “For the purposes of this section, the Minister, on the advice of the Author ity, may, by regulations,” and essentially, I am assu ming it is saying designate whoever is running …
Yes, just one more here. Under . . . back to [clause] 27 on page 14. [Clause] 27(4)(a) states “For the purposes of this section, the Minister, on the advice of the Author ity, may, by regulations,” and essentially, I am assu ming it is saying designate whoever is running the fuels in this area that it can designate to them other things outside of their licence, that the Government can ba-sically say, Look. We want such and such to come in at this particular area. That is w hat it sounds like it is saying. I just need clarification.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has got as defined by regulations .
Mr. L. Cr aig CannonierYes. As that term is defined by regulations. So, are we saying we will have to wait for regulations to understand that a little better.
The ChairmanChairmanWell, I will let the Minister . . . Hon. Walter H. Roban: I beg your indulgence, Mr. Chairman. What provision was the Honourable Mem-ber referring to?
The ChairmanChairmanIf you look on page 14, (4)(a). Hon. Walter H. Roban: Ok, 14, (4)(a). Is it clause 14(4)(a), Mr. Chairman, or page 14 (4)(a)?
Mr. L. Craig CannonierClause 27(4)(a). Hon. Walter H. Roban: Yes. That will be informed by the regulations that will come. I believe that is the best appropriate answer for that, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers on clauses 26 through 52? There appear to be none. Minister, you want to move? Hon. Walter H. Roban: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. 1856 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly I wish to move clauses 26 through 52 as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 26 through 52 be approved as printed. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 26 through 52 passed.] Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Chairman, I wish to move the Schedules if applicable. There are no Schedules, …
The ChairmanChairmanNo, there are none there. Do the pr eamble. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Okay. I’m sorry. I wish to move the preamble.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the preamble be approved. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. The preamble is approved. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wish to move that the Bill be reported to the House as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the B ill be reported to the House as printed. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. The Bill will be reported to the House as printed. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Members, MPs. Mr. Speaker. [Motion carried. The Fuels Act …
It has been moved that the B ill be reported to the House as printed. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. The Bill will be reported to the House as printed. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Members, MPs. Mr. Speaker.
[Motion carried. The Fuels Act 2022 was consi dered by a Committee of the whole House and passed wit hout amendment .] [Pause]
House resumed at 5:56 pm [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
FUELS ACT 2022
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, are there any objections to the Fue ls Act 2022 being reported to the House as printed? There are none. The Bill has been reported as printed. We will now move on to the next item on the Order Paper, which is [Order] No. 5, the West End Development …
Members, are there any objections to the Fue ls Act 2022 being reported to the House as printed? There are none. The Bill has been reported as printed. We will now move on to the next item on the Order Paper, which is [Order] No. 5, the West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2022 in the name of the Minister of Works. Minister.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that the Bill entitled West End Deve lopment Corporation Amendment Act 2022 be now read the second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAre there any objections? None. Continue. BILL SECOND READING WEST END DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AMENDMENT ACT 2022
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker and Honourable Members of this House, I introduced the Bill entitled the West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2022. This Bill seeks to amend the West End Development Corporation Act 1982 for the purpose of i ncreasing the time within which the West End Development Corporation [WEDCO] is …
Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members of this House, I introduced the Bill entitled the West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2022. This Bill seeks to amend the West End Development Corporation Act 1982 for the purpose of i ncreasing the time within which the West End Development Corporation [WEDCO] is required to send its annual statement of accounts to the Minister and the Auditor General an d to make its annual comprehensive operational report to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, over the past decade WEDCO has encountered issues in adhering to the financial audits and annual report time frames as set out in sections 22(2) and 24 of the [principal] Act which r equires annual submission of the copy of the statement of its accounts to the Minister and to the Auditor Ge neral within three months after the end of each financial year, in addition to an annual comprehensive report being submitted on the oper ations of the corporation within six months after the end of each financial year respectively. On occasion, WEDCO has been unable to produce reliable financial accounts within three months of the year end. That can be attributed to the increased complexity and compliance requirements in compiling financial accounts together with staffing challenges resulting from the worldwide shortage of auditors. I am sure my colleagues with financial bac kgrounds will be aware of this ongoing issue. Mr. Speaker, subsequently this delay in financial reporting causes a cascading effect that in turn affects the timeliness of the corporation’s annual comprehensive report that includes the audited financial statements. As the deadlines for both submissions
Bermuda House of Assembly are legislated, the Auditor General rightfully indicates that this is a cause of concern. So, Mr. Speaker, rather than digging deeper into the public’s purse to hire external auditing firms that could cost tens of thousands of dollars annually, this Government supports a mor e financially practical option by simply extending required submission deadlines. Mr. Speaker, this Bill amends section 22(2) by increasing the deadline to submit a copy of the stat ement of accounts from three months to six months. Further, the Bill amends section 24 by removing the six-month deadline to submit the annual comprehensive report and clarifies that the report must be sub-mitted as soon as may be after the corporation has received the Auditor’s written report, thus providing a more streamlined approach to ensure compliance with the Act. Mr. Speaker, the amendments detailed in this Bill have precedent as the verbiage before this Hon-ourable House stays very similar to that in the current sections 18 and 19 of the Bermuda Economic Deve lopment Corporation Act 1980. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And now I invite colleagues to participate.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution? MP Cannonier, you have the floor.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierThank you, Mr. Speaker. Basically, there is not much to say here. I concur with the Minister and the need for extending, based on what he had to say, from three to six months. You know, West End Development Corpor ation has always been responsive. So I see no need …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Basically, there is not much to say here. I concur with the Minister and the need for extending, based on what he had to say, from three to six months. You know, West End Development Corpor ation has always been responsive. So I see no need to delay this her e and deliberate any further than to say we concur; make it six months.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMP Lister, you have the floor.
Mr. Dennis Lister IIIGood evening, Mr. Speaker. My comments are going to be brief and short in support of this legislation brought by the Minister. I will declare my interest first. As the Deputy Chairman of WEDCO, it is something I have looked forward to coming. As the Minister has said, at times …
Good evening, Mr. Speaker. My comments are going to be brief and short in support of this legislation brought by the Minister. I will declare my interest first. As the Deputy Chairman of WEDCO, it is something I have looked forward to coming. As the Minister has said, at times we have not been able to meet the deadline of three months. So the extension to six months, we support it and we look forward to going forward in the years to come that we will be able to meet that deadline in six months when it comes to the audit. So, those are my short, brief comments, Mr. Speaker, in support of the legislation coming from the Minister. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution? MP Tyrrell, you have the floor.
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellThank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to speak on the West End Develop-ment Corporation Amendment Act 2022. I, like my previous colleague who spoke, declare my interest as the Chairman of WEDCO. But I want to support the Bill f or the same very reasons that my colleague said. …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to speak on the West End Develop-ment Corporation Amendment Act 2022. I, like my previous colleague who spoke, declare my interest as the Chairman of WEDCO. But I want to support the Bill f or the same very reasons that my colleague said. It gives us a little more breathing space, of course, but I think it's the right thing to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Any other Member?
Mr. Jarion RichardsonYes, thank you, Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Honourable Minister as it relates to moving the timelines. I note that the Auditor General released a statement saying that the Bermuda Land Develo pment Company [BLDC] is three years in arrears on its audit, and WEDCO is one …
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Honourable Minister as it relates to moving the timelines. I note that the Auditor General released a statement saying that the Bermuda Land Develo pment Company [BLDC] is three years in arrears on its audit, and WEDCO is one year in arrears in its audit. And the Minister had raised the logic that this prov ision, this amendment, is already in place with BLDC. So, my question . . . and I am also mindful that BLDC has merged their back office with WEDCO. So, if the Minister would speak to why this change will, in fact, improve WEDCO’s timeline for getting their arrears sorted out for the audit when it looks like the change that took place under BLDC, or the circumstances that happened for BLDC are resul ting in them taking even longer with their audits. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Would any other Member like to make a contribution? Minister.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchI never mentioned Bermuda Land Development Company in my presentation, and I presume that he is talking about what I said in relation to the Bermuda Economic Develo pment Corporation [BEDC]. And what I said was that the wording in this amendment mirrors what is in the BEDC re port. …
I never mentioned Bermuda Land Development Company in my presentation, and I presume that he is talking about what I said in relation to the Bermuda Economic Develo pment Corporation [BEDC]. And what I said was that the wording in this amendment mirrors what is in the BEDC re port. 1858 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Thanks for the clarity.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDeputy [Speaker]. House in Committee at 6:04 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL WEST END DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AMENDMENT ACT 2022
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in Committee of the of the whole [House] for further consideration of the Bill entitled the West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2022 . Minister, you have the floor.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThank you, Mr. Chai rman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to move all clauses 1 through 4.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Chairman, as pr eviously stated, this Bill seeks to amend the West End Development Corporation Act 1982 [the principal Act] with respect to the time within which the West End Development Corporation is to send a statement of its accounts to the Minister and to the Auditor, and to …
Mr. Chairman, as pr eviously stated, this Bill seeks to amend the West End Development Corporation Act 1982 [the principal Act] with respect to the time within which the West End Development Corporation is to send a statement of its accounts to the Minister and to the Auditor, and to make its annual comprehensive operational report to the Minister. Clause 1 is self -explanatory. Clause 2 amends section 22(2) of the princ ipal Act by providing for the Corporation t o send a copy of the statement of its accounts to the Minister and to the Auditor within six months instead of three months after the end of each financial year. Clause 3 amends section 23(1) of the princ ipal Act to provide for the Auditor to also make hi s report on the Corporation’s accounts to the Corporation. Clause 4 amends section 24 of the principal Act by providing for the Corporation to make its co mprehensive operational report to the Minister as soon as may be after it receives the Auditor’s writ ten report for that financial year.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Are there any further speakers? There appear to be none. Minister.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 1 through 4 be approved. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 4 passed.]
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as printed. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. The Bill will be reported to the House as printed. [Motion carried: The West End Development Corpor ation Amendment Act 2022 was considered by a …
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Speaker. House resumed at 6 :06 pm [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair] REPORT OF COMMITTEE WEST END DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AMENDMENT ACT 2 022
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, is there any objection to the Bill entitled the West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2022 being reported to the House as printed? There are none. The Bill has been reported as printed. This moves us on to the next item which is the Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022 …
Members, is there any objection to the Bill entitled the West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2022 being reported to the House as printed? There are none. The Bill has been reported as printed. This moves us on to the next item which is the Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022 in the name of the Minister of Social Development and Seniors. Minister, I will give you just a few moments. Thank you.
[Pause]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister, we will just give you the o pportunity to introduce y our Bill. Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNo problem. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Youth Culture and Sport, I now move that the Bill entitled the Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022 be read for a second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAre there any objections? There are none. Continue, Minister. BILL SECOND READING PARISH COUNCILS AMENDMENT ACT 202 2 Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Bill is to correct critical deficiencies that have be en identified with the Parish Councils Act 1971 and which will present a legal …
Are there any objections? There are none. Continue, Minister.
BILL
SECOND READING
PARISH COUNCILS AMENDMENT ACT 202 2
Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Bill is to correct critical deficiencies that have be en identified with the Parish Councils Act 1971 and which will present a legal or financial risk for the Gover nment. Mr. Speaker, the Government Authorities Act of 2019 provided for certain government authorities to transfer appointment functions from the Governor to the relevant Minister. However, the Act did not amend the Parish Councils Act of 1971, which still has the Governor appointing members. The Bill seeks to pr ovide for the Minister to make appointments to Parish Councils. Mr. Speaker, 12 member s are currently r equired for the composition of Parish Councils. This number is not strictly necessary at all times or in all cases. The Bill seeks to provide for 3 to 12 members, which will provide flexibility in the appointment pr ocess and allow, at the very least, for a chair, a treasurer and a secretary. Mr. Speaker, the Act currently requires that there shall be a Parish Council for each parish. This Bill provides for the Minister to undertake a review of a Parish Council. The review can be initiated upon a council’s request or by the Minister’s following consi deration of individual council circumstances. Mr. Speaker, this will provide councils who have expressed an interest in independence with a path to proceed. Parish Councils will continue to be ap pointed as normal. Mr. Speaker, Government is currently liable for Parish Council expenses undertaken with the approval of the Minister when such expenses cannot be paid out of council funds. This provision has not been used in recent history and is a fin ancial risk to the Government. Accordingly, the Bill seeks to remove this provision. Councils will continue to receive funds per current practice, but the Government will not be liable for funding beyond what is appropriated for Parish Councils through the budget process. Mr. Speaker, one of the existing functions of Parish Councils is the administration of parish rest homes. This function has been in place for over 50 years and was included at a time when the care of our seniors was still very much a parochial undertaking. Mr. Speaker, rest homes are now high risk clinical settings with vulnerable seniors and ought to be managed by an agency which has expertise in such matters. The Bill seeks to remove the responsibility for rest homes from Parish Councils . Mr. Speaker, there is only one council operating a rest home. And that is Warwick, which admini sters the Lorraine Care Home. Discussions ongoing between the Warwick Parish Council and Government with regard to the best oversight options for Lorraine Care Home are ongoing. Mr. Speaker, this amendment will not come into operation until such time as a suitable solution has been identified. Until then, the Warwick Parish Council will continue to operate the facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Would any other Member care to make a contribution at this time? MP Jackson, you have the floor.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to share a few words. Certainly, the Parish Councils are an integr al part of our neighbourhoods, our parishes. There are huge histories behind them, people who have very fond affiliation to Parish Councils. But at the same time, there is …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to share a few words. Certainly, the Parish Councils are an integr al part of our neighbourhoods, our parishes. There are huge histories behind them, people who have very fond affiliation to Parish Councils. But at the same time, there is certainly an understanding that the model has changed. Times have changed. Resources available to Parish Councils have changed. Therefore, this would be a very good time to redefine, to review and to see what the evolution in the next generation of Parish Councils may look like. But, you know, I certainly don't want us to r eview and mayb e even look to dismantle or, you know, sort of phase out Parish Councils without recognising the cultural and the historical significance of these councils. I mean, I have heard stories of Bermudians whose families were able to go to Parish Councils during hard times and have had all kinds of support from Parish Councils, whether it was monetary or whether it was familial support of the village raising the family, et cetera. And so, I just do not want us to one day wake up and realise that the Minister has reviewed a number of Parish Councils and the Parish Councils have now dwindled down to two or three that are still operational and all of that historical significance is lost. So, I am certainly hoping that this will be considered by the Minister as he goes through any of the reviews to move the Parish Councils either to a phased out or a more independent status. 1860 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, last weekend, last Friday in the House of Assembly, we did certainly have those conversations about the financial viability of many of the accounts and organisations that the Auditor General is faced with. And to be perfectly honest, the Parish Councils have also been in the spotlight over the years as having a very hard time getting those financial statements together in a timely fashion and being able to be audited and presented by the Auditor Ge neral as having completed the exercises. That has been going on for years where we are just not getting the Parish Councils where they need to be financially. So that puts a lot of pressure on the councils. I believe that the council's will have to have very serious consideration about their financial viability moving for-ward. And the Minister has made it very clear that the Government is just not going to necessarily cover those financial liabilities in the future. And so the Parish Councils are really going to have to be serious about how they want to progress in the future. I have certainly done some work and had some experience working with rest homes, the regul ations, the Act. So there are more and more sophist icated and complicated aspects of running rest homes and making sure that they are operational. I could just imagine that for a Parish Council that may be histor ically managing a rest home that over the years and the decades and the g enerations that the model between the Parish Council and a functioning rest home would become quite different, that there would be a gap there. So I can certainly see that, one, it would be a good idea to have all of the rest homes kind of coming under one umbrella to make things simple. And then the other side would be that we would certainly want to see rest homes evolve. If the Parish Councils are finding it more challenging, whether it is from human resources to manage the council or whatever their set backs may be and their challenges, that the rest homes would be able to move forward and be able to remain within the community of other rest homes in Bermuda. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I will take my seat and wait for us to go into Committee. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to make a contribution? MP Pearman, you have the floor.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a few quick words, largely driven by the importance that Parish Councils have to our parishes. I did check the primary legislation, the 1971 Act, to see that the Minister responsible is said to be the Minister responsible for Parish Councils. I am as-suming that …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a few quick words, largely driven by the importance that Parish Councils have to our parishes. I did check the primary legislation, the 1971 Act, to see that the Minister responsible is said to be the Minister responsible for Parish Councils. I am as-suming that this is the Minister who has presented this Bill today. It’s Culture? The Spe aker: The Minister of Sport. He sits in anot her place, so—
Mr. Scott PearmanI see, on behalf . . . someone else in the other place spoke.
Mr. Scott PearmanWell, let me . . . I will ask my question of the Minister, but I apprec iate that she is holding the brief. As I understand it, this legislation is proposing that a review will be carried out by the Minister. And one outcome of that review is that …
Well, let me . . . I will ask my question of the Minister, but I apprec iate that she is holding the brief. As I understand it, this legislation is proposing that a review will be carried out by the Minister. And one outcome of that review is that a particular Parish Council might be granted independence to function outside of the umbrella of Government. And I abs olutely understand the desire to extinguish liability on behalf of central government for those councils’ o perations. I also understand the point on the operation of a rest home in Warwick. I believe Warwick is the only parish where there is a rest home. But I guess the question I would have is this: Would the review . . . if the review were to lead to an outcome where ind ependence of a particular Parish Council was not the desired outcome, is this contemplating the cl osure of any Parish Councils? And if it is —and I am not saying it is; I am just not sure if it is or it is not —would a Parish Council be closed down again against their wis hes? If they were not financially able to become independent without a revenue sourc e, but nonetheless wanted to soldier on, would the Minister be closing these down against their wishes? So those are the questions I have. I think it’s a fair question because obviously, Parish Councils do contribute at the local level and do a lot of good in Bermuda, albeit sometimes unnoticed by those of us here in the Chamber. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Would any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? Any other Member? MP Ming.
Mrs. Renee MingGood afternoon, Mr. Speaker and listening audience.
Mrs. Renee MingMr. Speaker, I will start by saying that . . . let me first of all say that I did serve on my Parish Council for, I think, probably about six years. And I can say that it was, one, a rewarding exper ience; and two, it allowed me to …
Mr. Speaker, I will start by saying that . . . let me first of all say that I did serve on my Parish Council for, I think, probably about six years. And I can say that it was, one, a rewarding exper ience; and two, it allowed me to see just how important a Parish Council can be to its specific area. Mr. Speaker, the amendments that are being brought here today . . . I can say that I definitely supBermuda House of Assembly port the amendment with regard to the rest homes because the operations and management of the rest homes is probably better served by the persons who are experts in that space. But I will say that as we move forward with reviews of Parish Councils, I would hope that as we go down this path that the results of any review be shared and it be a consultative and transparent process, and that we actually do not look to diminish the role and the importance of Parish Councils to the various areas. I still remain actively involved with my P arish Council. And I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I was extremely proud of them over the last two years as they pivoted during the pandemic. They were able to think outside of the box, Mr. Speaker, and they offered assistance, whether it be thr ough vouchers for groceries or for utilities. But one thing I thought that they did, which was a real outside- the-box thinker, was have a cash balance at the pharmacy in St. George’s. It was money there to assist seniors with their prescriptions if they di d not have enough money to purchase. And so the funds that were there from the Parish Council could be used to assist in that r egard. Many of my seniors appreciated that, and they used it. And the Parish Council now is in their fundraising mode, because th ese things we know cost money. And they will be having an event in, I believe it is next month, Mr. Speaker. So there is a lot of merit in Parish Councils, and I would hope that we in no way diminish the role of Parish Councils. I see in the amendment where it speaks to the membership can be anywhere between 3 and 12 members on the council. I would hope that we would always have 12 members, Mr. Speaker. I have in my one little parish down there, which is act ually God’s country, the parish—
Mrs. Renee Ming—there are close to 8,000 regi stered voters. And that does not include their families and unregistered voters. So I would hope that, you know, we could always find 12 people that would be willing to serve and to assist in terms o f the Parish Council. I would also …
—there are close to 8,000 regi stered voters. And that does not include their families and unregistered voters. So I would hope that, you know, we could always find 12 people that would be willing to serve and to assist in terms o f the Parish Council. I would also hope, Mr. Speaker, that we, who sit in this Chamber, would be active in our Parish Councils as well, and be known to these persons who serve on our Parish Councils. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to hear that the Government wil l continue to pay the stipend because it is not that . . . it is $40,000 a year, actually. So I am happy to see that the Government is willing to conti nue to pay the stipend. And I also hope that the amendment also allows for the Government to e ndorse and further support and encourage Parish Councils. We do recognise that there may be some who want to change and look at other paths. But we need to remember why we have Parish Councils and that in some communities they are a viable option for assi stance and help because the members of the Parish Councils are on the ground. They know what's happening, and they are willing to work and assist for these persons. So, Mr. Speaker, I will end my comments in that regard.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Would any other Mem ber wish to make a contribution at this time? MP Tyrrell, you have the floor.
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Again, I wish to support this Bill, the Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022. But first, let me declare a little bit of interest. For the last two weeks, I have been made the Chairman of the Warwick Parish Council. That's my declaring of interest …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Again, I wish to support this Bill, the Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022. But first, let me declare a little bit of interest. For the last two weeks, I have been made the Chairman of the Warwick Parish Council. That's my declaring of interest right there. Let me say that in my short brief with the su bstantive Minister, he has assured me that he has touched base with t he relevant stakeholders. He's done his roadshow on this. So I certainly support what he's done. This amendment is way, way needed to be updated. The Parish Councils needed this sort of clean up if I could use that word. Let me say, first off, that I have always known . . . I live in Warwick, so I am very familiar with the Warwick Parish Council, anyway. And I know they are a vibrant council, so I do not expect that they are go-ing to be phased out. I would hope not anyway, but certainly not under my tenure. I would hope not. But let me also say that I certainly think it makes more sense for the Minister to be making the appointments to the board. And I have no disrespect for Her Excellency, but I think the Minister is certainly closer to the ground to be able to make whatever ap-pointments are necessary. So I certainly support that. The expression of independence, as it has been called by the Minister, is a good idea for him to certainly consider anyway, because, as I said, Wa rwick Parish Council is a very strong and vibrant council. So I think the independence of that will certainly go a long way. Let me just finally wrap this up by saying that, yes, the Warwick Parish Council has under its wing the Lorraine Care Home at this time. But I certainly agree that it should be run by experts. And I think that is what the Minister is looking to do. So I certainly, again, support him in that. And I certainly look forward to my tenure there. And, again, I support the Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, MP Tyrrell . MP Famous, you have the floor. 1862 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Christopher Famous: Good afternoon, Minister. I'm sorry, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Christopher FamousMy apologies. When I initially heard of this move, I was a li ttle bit, how can I say, reluctant to accept it based on the historical context of what the Parish Councils mean to us. Over the interim time in between when it was first presented to now, the …
My apologies. When I initially heard of this move, I was a li ttle bit, how can I say, reluctant to accept it based on the historical context of what the Parish Councils mean to us. Over the interim time in between when it was first presented to now, the Minister has taken time to consult with the Parish Councils and did some modifications here and there. And in speaking with the members of the Devonshire Parish Council, the parish that everybody has got to go through one way or the other, they have now agreed with this. So I just want to speak on behalf of Devonshire Parish Council and say we support the Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to speak ? Deputy Premier. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to see these measures come to our Parish Councils. Reform is long overdue. An o pportunity for them to shape their reform is also i mportant. I …
Thank you. Does any other Member wish to speak ? Deputy Premier.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to see these measures come to our Parish Councils. Reform is long overdue. An o pportunity for them to shape their reform is also i mportant. I think we can accept that the Parish Councils evolved out of another system of administration rather ancient to Bermuda, where these were vestry bodies in a previous time. And they performed particular functions, taking care of orphans, burying the dead and other sort of very fundamental things, to a much more different community in generations past. They evolved in the 1970s to, you know, as we became perhaps a much m ore formalised government. Let’s accept that these councils emerged and evolved. And I am talking about vestry to Parish Councils from an era when we did not have a strong central government. Clearly, that Bermuda evolved over time. And we have a stronger central government administration that has the capability and resources to dispense with certain services that the Parish Councils in that earlier era, in their even their earlier exis tence, took on with each respective parish, St. George’s to Somerset, t o Sandys. Well, here we are again. And certainly even the Progressive Labour Party, in its own earlier time, had a different view around these issues related to Parish Councils, and perhaps was more fundamentally interested in them being independent bodies. But from the standpoint of . . . and philosophically, even though the PLP has evolved in its view on this, fundamentally, we still see the Parish Council as a central component of the community. They give an opportunity for residents to be empowered in certain areas of interest and commitment to their community, which I think is something that we all actually support in this House. I do not think there will be anybody who does not support the ability of members of the community to feel more empowered wi thin their respective neighbourhoods and have a more community -focused effort. I think we all support that. And that, fundamen-tally, I believe, is how we are looking to see these bodies go. They will still remain an essential component and perhaps instead of the cookie cutter legislation that they currently have, there is an opportunity based on some of these amendments and perhaps future changes that will come that will allow each council to tailor itself to the needs of the respective parish and empower them to address certain community -based issues that are specific to their parish and engage people to be involved with these efforts and work with others, whether it be third sector or other community organisations, community clubs and others. And the council can tailor themselves. Some may choose, ultimately in the evolution of how things will go, because things change, Mr. Speaker. Some may choose to be like they are. And there are some very robust councils. As a Minister I once had responsibility for Parish Councils. So you have some Parish Councils that are quite robust, quite active, quite participatory in the community, and their structure, even under the current structure, is very strong. And there are some that are not. And there are some, like the Warwick Parish Council, that have a specific responsibility that many others in the past did have, particularly as it relates to elder care in the community. I happen to think that the changes that have been prescribed in this legislation by the Minister b eing carried by the Honourable Member, Tinee Furbert are good ones because the particular responsibility that the Warwick Parish Council . . . and I am pleased to know that it's under the able leadership of the Ho nourable Member who sits in constituency 26. That r esponsibly that it has for Lorraine Rest Home literally dominates their activity, despite the fact that the Parish Council has other responsibilities in the community. And they have been saddled with that. I think what has been prescribed by this legislation will help to put the responsibility in its proper context. As the Honourable Member for constituency 26 said, there will be an allowance that such services, even though the Parish Council will still own that property , will be in the hands of professionals and not be the burden of members of the council on a day - to-day basis that really takes them away from the ot her valuable community activities they have. We know that Parish Councils afford scholarships and have the opportunity to give scholarships to residents of that community. And many have aided in the educational aspirations of members of their community. And they can give more focus to things like that.
Bermuda House of Assembly I look forward to knowing in the future that Warwick Council will be able to not onl y take care and be responsible, as all councils are, for the needs of the elderly and families , but also will be able to be more receptive to their other responsibility in the community and not be just burdened and saddled with taking care of the rest home, which, under any ci rcumstance, whether you are the Government or other operators , is an extremely laborious responsibility and should be in the hands of those who have the skills to do it. And councils should be resources to the com-munity and assets to t heir communities. I believe that the amendments that have been brought today will help every council across the Island to better manage and prescribe going forward how they can best serve their respective parishes in a much more prescriptive way that will strengthen our country. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Deputy Premier. Does any other Member . . . I recognise Honourable Member Swan from the East End.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanThank you ever so much for the opportunity. Certainly the history of Parish Councils dates back many, many, many decades in Bermuda. I think the Deputy Premier provided a pretty good outline of some of those historical connections as it related to the parish vestries. In some respects, Mr. Speaker, …
Thank you ever so much for the opportunity. Certainly the history of Parish Councils dates back many, many, many decades in Bermuda. I think the Deputy Premier provided a pretty good outline of some of those historical connections as it related to the parish vestries. In some respects, Mr. Speaker, it was a steppingstone ground for persons who served who may have wanted to aspire to political heights. There was a society in Bermuda that required a great deal of assistance. We certainly were a soci ety, when you go back beyond 50 years ago, of less affluence, greater wealth of character and spirit, I might add, and greater values embraced, and we cer-tainly knew how to take one lobster and feed an entire family or two, whether or not it be making curried lo bster or lobster salad, whereas, right now, one person wants a whole lobster all to themselves. So that pr esents a different dynamic in a country that has a need for a Parish Council. I agree that the modernis ation of the Parish Council is necessary. I certainly feel, and will be e ncouraging, that we need to take the opportunity to look at what the needs are in our society. Any one of us who are Members of Parliament, no matter which side of the political aisle we sit, will have received complaints about the Railway Trails not being cut on a regular basis, or the streets needing this and that, or whether or not people are in need. The Member for St. George’s, [constituency] 1, MP Ming, rightly high-lighted some o f the great work that has been done by the St. George’s Parish Council during the pandemic, meeting the needs through vouchers, which they pr ovided through Members of Parliament to help dissem-inate to members, and by the things that they did on their own, keeping connected. These types of problems are not going to go away. So if we could look at what problems face our society on a daily basis, the grass is always going to grow faster than the Parks [Department] can get to it. That's a fact. But maybe there is a modernisation that incorporates the Parish Councils to empower people within our communities to take on some of these hustle-type of jobs through the connectivity that happens with them in their communities. I take with note, and Warwick is very str ongly represented so I do not want to speak from Warwick, but I certainly have a few relatives in Warwick, so I'll take a Warwick liberty. I pass through Warwick most days anyway, so I will take this liberty to speak. But there is a template for modernisat ion of a Parish Council as it relates to a rest home. The St. George’s Parish Council operated what was referred to as the poor house on property that was bequeathed to the Parish Council, and there was some history. And during the late 1990s it became ver y much a political football. I want to speak of two good things that occurred as a consequence of having a rest home in the Parish Council, and how it was transitioned to a modern facility today. Project Action, which I will declare my interest, is a char ity that's run by my wife, who was [operated] with Judith Stewart for 25 years, 24 years since 1998. It started because they used to read to seniors at St. George’s Parish and felt that seniors needed to get out of the parish. An elderly gentleman who sti ll had his facu lties about him, well in his eighties, the late Sir John Plowman, convinced them that it was better to buy a bus for the entire Island rather than one bus for one Parish Council. Hence, you know, although we age, Mr. Speaker (and I speak fro m that I picked up my senior citizens card today), we still have very powerful minds. We have a lot more wisdom and were pr epared to give a contribution to our country notwit hstanding. So, we have an example there, where a rest home provided the impetus for something that carried on the legacy for 24 years following the closure of the St. George’s Parish rest home in the location of Secretary Road. However, the modernisation that Warwick needs to look at is probably one of the greatest examples of modernis ation by a Government, which was the Sylvia Richardson facility in St. George’s. And I have to give Jack his jacket, because the Progressive Labour Party took that on. And look, it was a political football. It becomes fodder to tickle a government up, Mr. Speaker. And tickle they did!
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Bermuda House of Assembly An Hon. Member: Yes.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanTickle, tickle, tickle on many things —fast ferries, and the like that we will not do without today. But Sylvia Richardson, transforming a former school building that sat there being used for varying purposes, today is a staple seniors facility in our community that services not only St. Georgians, the …
Tickle, tickle, tickle on many things —fast ferries, and the like that we will not do without today. But Sylvia Richardson, transforming a former school building that sat there being used for varying purposes, today is a staple seniors facility in our community that services not only St. Georgians, the entire country. And I would say that we need to look at all of these buildings that are up and down this country, lodges that w hether or not . . . not too much Freem asons lodges but certainly Odd Fellow lodges that sit in this country derelict, that could be very well used. Not necessarily as a Sylvia Richardson, but I am familiar with the Charles Griswold [Center] in Atlanta, Georgia. You can google it and find out what they do. They provide senior day care, where seniors can go and have a quality interaction with their fellow seniors. We see that taking place at the RAA seniors [RAA Seniors Activity Club, Royal Artillery Ass.], how they embrace and do things together. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. We can look to see what other jurisdictions have done. We can purpose some of these buildings that are sitting empty, and we can galvanise around some organis ations that already exist and provide the opportunity for seniors and the like in this country and provide far more opportunity for them to live a quality life. And I can tell you. My father -in-law was quite a suave guy. When he drove up in his car he was, you know, the proud rooster walking into the Charles Griswold Center, because there even were Bermuda ladies that were there. And, of course, having his car and walking in amongst all the senior ladies, he enjoyed quite a high quality of life there.
[Laughter]
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanMr. Speaker, I have mentioned Works. I have certainly mentioned how we can tie in. But everyone knows that we in this country, as the Minister of Health said this morning, are . . . a high percentage of us are overweight or obese. An alar ming number. And we …
Mr. Speaker, I have mentioned Works. I have certainly mentioned how we can tie in. But everyone knows that we in this country, as the Minister of Health said this morning, are . . . a high percentage of us are overweight or obese. An alar ming number. And we cannot keep encouraging our people to treat the symptoms. We need to get into changing lifestyles. And the Parish Councils could be enlisted because the Parish Councils up and down this country touch people. And I have mentioned mi nistries that could allocate government . . . we have a CMIT, which is Cross Ministries [Intervention Team]. They can take a little bit from here, and a little bit from here, and a little bit from here and it adds up—25 from here, 25 . . . my math says 25, 25, 25, 25, equals 100. And it's coming from different areas, and you have different remits that tie in to it. So already we are looking at Parish Councils to help us with our overgrowth through enlisting pe o-ple in our community, but might need a hand- up with some work. We are reaching out to seniors who could be enlisted to be able to even provide some tutoring and the like, just thinking outside the box a little bit. You know, when I hear disband, this worries me a little bit because this disband means that I may want to just get rid of the problem because there may be a little bit of auditing concerns. And yes, we should be concerned about them. But the modern day model, and with computerisation, and the Honourable Member, my good friend, Mr. Campbell, and all those accountants that are in the House know that you can have one system that takes care of . . . you can centralise that portion of it, and maybe you can even look at doing things more regionally. We all know there is cross pollination between St. Geor ge’s and the people up in Baileys Bay and Flatts and the like. I mean, we can have a little eas tern section with representation from every area ther eof. And then it focuses in on a central accounting sy stem that keeps it honest. Therefore, the Auditor Gen-eral is not looking to audit them because, I can tell you what, the Auditor General has more work on her plate than what they can keep up. That is why they have to subcontract it out. And they are not perfect. I know. And when I ran a government department , I knew some of the problems that used to take place between the Auditor General trying to figure out what is going to happen between cost accountants and revenue accountants, the Accountant General versus Works and Engineering. So, you know, it's not an idealistic world there. But if you can minimise the amount of places they have to look to have reconciled, therefore we are eliminating some of the problems. But the problems we really need to make sure we tackle are the social problems in this country that are not going away. Last time I checked, and this is a very difficult dynamic to swallow, because I spoke cer-tainly spoken about this for 25 years or more. The most alarming statistic in this country is the statistic that qualifies a family, a household, to be poor or near poor. So, you know, you might be dressed like me today, but you know, you are just a paycheque or two away from poverty. Many families are like that. Many! And many seniors are suffering in silence who could benefit from some initiati ves that are more tailored to what their needs are. And that is the way in which we need to cause, Mr. Speaker, a greater a ppreciation between what people do technically and what we do politically. People are quick to discount our value in a community. Bec ause of our very nature we might understand the problem going into comm unities providing food or the like, or giving a voucher or quietly doing something for someone that no one had never known about for 25 or 30 years. Those are the types of things that w e need to make sure we do not discard, because at the end of the day, when you have a country where the poverty line is defined as
Bermuda House of Assembly $75,000 per household that qualifies you to be in there, there are a great [number] of persons who would look at someone suff ering, making [$50,000] and say, Why can't you make it ? without looking at the circumstances. Now, a person who may fall in that category that doesn't have a mortgage but still doesn't have the income that they once had is still struggling as well. But wh at about the person that still is out there paying rent? There are many. And that is where you see init iatives by the Minister of Works, who has built more houses in this country as a Minister than any Minister in the history of representative Government i n Berm uda. The only one that comes anywhere near him is dead and gone, my friend, the Honourable Quinton Edness. Quinton was known for building houses, but the Colonel passed him a long time ago building places. And he could! He was tickled up in doing so, mo dernis ing derelict buildings as you go. But meeting the needs of a community, Mr. Speaker. So I just spoke on just a few initiatives that we need to not discard that are real in our community, up and down this community, persons finding it hard to make ends meet. And what is the evidence of that? The mass exodus. The mass exodus that . . . I spent a lot of time in the UK. But not for the same reasons as a lot of my friends. That is where I plied my trade. So I am there plying my trade for good reason r ight now. But I can see why young people are opting to make somewhere else their home, or even older people making somewhere else their home. That was not available when I was plying my trade. That same Bri tish passport was made far more difficult back in 1981. In fact, the rules were tightened up because of Hong Kong existing. So, Mr. Speaker, as we look at this and, by the nature of what has been presented it is still a work in progress, let the progress take into consideration that up and down this country people are hurting. Let it take in consideration that people are making choices between whether or not they pay their light bill or whether or not they get their medicine or whether or not they buy what’s right. Let it not be . . . let it not be . . . let it not be, and understand that when people go to the grocery store that the price . . . of you know the grocers know what to mark up. They know where people go. Do they know that I like a little rat’s cheese because it was cheap? Look at it now. I avoi d it. I do not even look in its direction. People are buying cat food instead of tuna fish now. Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah. And persons are ma king choices because if you are . . . if, if, if your debt and poverty line says it is $75,000 per household defines whet her or not you are poor, take some time and understand what that means to that family. And take into consideration that if it is a single mother with two or three children and having difficulty getting some support . . . and the family unit is not what it used to be. The extended family unit is not what it used to be.
[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the Chair]
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanMy contention is that there is more need for us to wrap our collective minds —collective, I say. Not be ing political. Because I see a properly functioning Parish Council, as I men-tioned, a regional type of situation embracing some of those more wealthy parishes were the . . . …
My contention is that there is more need for us to wrap our collective minds —collective, I say. Not be ing political. Because I see a properly functioning Parish Council, as I men-tioned, a regional type of situation embracing some of those more wealthy parishes were the . . . what do you call it? The land valuation might be a little bit higher, because ever ybody wants to be somewhat benevolent. Make it across the board so that this country does not experience the great disconnect. And the great disconnect takes place because of a lack of cross pollination participation. The Two Bermudas still exist, whether or not anybody in this House wants to [accept it] I can take them and I can show it to them. I t ell them, Walk down the street right now and look at some restaurants there. You can see it; it exists. If you do an audit of bank accounts across this country, you can see where it exists. But we can start off by holding hands toget her. Project Action was an example of that where J udith Stewart ––the late, may she rest in peace–– and my wife came from two different backgrounds, but had a great deal of similarity, took some advice from an old man. And whilst he still was giving and did som ething that still lasts for today. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member, Ms. Simmons -Wade.
Mrs. Ianthia Simmons -WadeYes. Good afternoon, Mr. Deputy Speaker. First of all, I would like to declare my interest. I am the administrator of Warwick Nursing Home, Lorraine Nursing Home, which is the Warwick Parish Council nursing home. First of all, I certainly appreciate and understand the need for modernisation for the Warwick …
Yes. Good afternoon, Mr. Deputy Speaker. First of all, I would like to declare my interest. I am the administrator of Warwick Nursing Home, Lorraine Nursing Home, which is the Warwick Parish Council nursing home. First of all, I certainly appreciate and understand the need for modernisation for the Warwick Parish Councils and all councils in the Island. In 1920 was when the vestries changed to councils. During that time, many of the parishes actually r an nursing homes. At this point, Warwick Parish Council is the only Parish Council that runs a nursing home. I heard the Deputy [Premier] talk about being saddled with the burden of running the nursing home. Lorraine Nursing Home has been in existence for 60 years. I applaud the Warwick Parish Council for wor king and having the dedication and commitment to con-tinue to have these homes operating. 1866 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Yes, it is easy to talk about closing homes. And I appreciate the fact that [the] clause says it will give suff icient time for the Parish Councils to deal with rest homes. But the reality is when a Parish Council is running a rest home or nursing home, it is not for prof-it. The rest homes and the nursing homes now are running for profit. So when you close a facilit y that, one, gets a grant, and, two, is not in it for profit, where does that leave our seniors in terms of finding beds? Yes, I do appreciate the fact that expertise is required in regard to running nursing homes. But at the same time, my concern is the availability for affordable beds in this country. By 2036 w e are going to have approximately 33 per cent of our seniors over the age of 65. Yes, we do encourage people to age in place, but very often families are not in the position to keep family me mbers at home. Mind you, with the low fertility rate, the numbers are going to drop. But in the meantime, we will need beds. So, yes, this legislation does address the fact that they will provide time in order for the Warwick Parish Council to find expertise to run the homes. But at the same time, we as a country have to stop and start to think about our seniors, think about the accommodations for our seniors, quality accommodations. Warwick Parish Council has worked hard for 60 years, and it showed significant dedication and commitment to our seniors. So, yes, I do believe there needs to be modernisation of the Warwick Parish Council and all councils. But at the same time, we as a country and we as a population cannot dismiss the importance of senior long- term c are accommodations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member, Ms. Simmons -Wade. Are there any further speakers? The Chair recognises Honourable Member Jamahl Simmons. You have the floor.
Mr. Jamahl S. SimmonsThank yo u, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and good evening to all. First of all, I will echo the comments of support for the legislation made by my colleagues and the Members opposite. I think , you know, that this has all been said. But I do want to commend the …
Thank yo u, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and good evening to all. First of all, I will echo the comments of support for the legislation made by my colleagues and the Members opposite. I think , you know, that this has all been said. But I do want to commend the substantive Minister, the Minister who sits in another place, because he's been spending a great deal of time, parti cularly in the Sandys area talking to the Sandys Parish Council. And I am aware that they have been very difficult conversations. I think that as we pr oceed and go forward as a Government, we recognise the need to consult. And we need to recognise that as we consult , our leadership must take people with us to help them become a part of the vision, help them be a part of the ownership of the vision and not just feel like passengers on a runaway train. And so, with the Sandys Parish Council and those difficult conversations, I think as we go to the next phase and look at modernisation, it is my hope, and I am very optimistic because we have a listening Minister. We have a caring Minister, a compassionate Minister and, like you, he is a good man of the church, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I believe that he will give them the opportunity to not just be heard, but to be listened to and to be a part of the process becaus e that is important. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Mr. Simmons. Are there any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member, Mr. Richardson. You have the floor.
Mr. Jarion RichardsonThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I rise this evening to support and encourage reform in our Parish Councils. They have played a crucial role in the development of Bermuda and our society, and it is a role that has been waning som ewhat over the years. And it is quite …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I rise this evening to support and encourage reform in our Parish Councils. They have played a crucial role in the development of Bermuda and our society, and it is a role that has been waning som ewhat over the years. And it is quite important to mo dernise their roles. When I had the opportunity to work with parish constables and work in communities that were in need of uplift and members were in distress, one of the good places to get a lot of information and a lot of assistance was the Par ish Councils. They acted almost as a sort of central clearinghouse of information. They almost knew who lived in what house and for how long. You could find out an incredible amount [of information] . But also it acted as a way to centralise and funnel all of our efforts. So, because they have lots of eyes in the community, that meant that they could speak to infrastructure issues far earlier than any of us could. And that also meant that they had a kind of soft power. So the letter coming from the Parish C ouncil was far more useful than a letter coming from just any one person. You can get KBB [Keep Bermuda Beaut iful] involved a lot earlier. You can get company sponsorships into that community. The Honourable Member Caines had spoken last week about a proj ect in one of his communities. And that is the kind of thing, project we would undertake with the involvement of the Parish Councils. So, it was always an area that I felt was lacking. You could definitely tell when you when you went into an area with a st rong Parish Council. Typically, the area was . . . well, I can say that you could tell the difference. Now, with that being said what I would want to say this evening is just to encourage a lot of people, inasmuch as possible, to participate in the Parish Council. Even though some of them are well attended, they do have neighbourhood meetings. But they do need volunteers; they need members. And I think that it is a role that Bermuda has been sorely lacking. We cannot look to centralised government to funct ion in
Bermuda House of Assembly all ways , and when you have a much smaller group of people looking at a much smaller area, all of a sudden problems can be taken proportionately and then if problems manifest themselves to such a degree that it cannot be dealt with in that smaller area, then it can be brought to central government. Although, to be fair, like I said, most Parish Councils I have worked with had a tendency to reach out to charity groups and the like. So I just want to take this opportunity to say that the Parish Counci ls that I have worked with in my career have been . . .[it has been] an incredibly helpful learning experience. They clearly have a larger role to play in our society. And I would encourage members of the public to find out who is on their Parish Coun-cils, where they meet, when they meet, and to offer their assistance. Thank you.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Mr. Richardson. Are there any further speakers on this Bill? There appear to be none. Minister. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I want to thank my colleagues and Members for their support for this Bill this evening. I want to send a special thank you …
Thank you, Mr. Richardson. Are there any further speakers on this Bill? There appear to be none. Minister. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I want to thank my colleagues and Members for their support for this Bill this evening. I want to send a special thank you to all of the Parish Councils that we have in Bermuda that have been around for a very, very long time—half a century. We do not want to discount or not value the work that our Parish Councils have participated in and done for us over the past many years from providing persons with grocer-ies, food vouchers, our very famous senior teas, to our scholarships. And I am actually a scholarship r ecipient of one of our Parish Councils. So, we definitely are not discounting the value of our Parish Councils. I want to say, you know, that some of the Parish Councils are more active than others. MP Ric hardson had mentioned people getting involv ed, kno wing that boards and councils and different organis ations do struggle with getting enough people on their board, people who will do the work. Sometimes you can have 12 people that are part of the organisation or council, but there are only two or three persons who are actually doing the work. So, we want people to continue to be involved in their parish and definitely know that their Parish Councils require their assi stance to work and to serve. So, again, we encourage that human capital and that hum an connection that our Parish Councils work very hard to achieve. I just want to speak to a question that had come up. I want to echo some of the sentiments of some of the other Members. The Minister responsible for this Bill has worked very hard and dili gently to e ducate, to hear the concerns and comments from the Parish Councils and to get their feedback, and to make sure that they had an understanding that this Bill was not to abolish the councils. Actually, the Mi n-ister has discretion to review. But th is will only be done as needed. And there is absolutely, at this point, no desire to have to allow councils to go under review. So it is not something that will be done yearly. It really [will be done] as needed. Actually, the Bill allows the Minister to consi der the circumstances of a council on a case- by-case basis. And such consideration must include a Parish Council and consultation with the actual council. So no decision will be made independently of a council. And if they seek to become independent of gover nment, then they would put this in a request, in writing, and provide supporting documentation and make sure that their assets are in order. So again, this is at the discretion of the Minister as needed. It is something that will not happen . . . there is no anticipation that this will happen unless that actually comes from the council itself. I also just want to recognise even about rest homes and councils being responsible for rest homes as it stands now in the Act . We have mentioned earl ier that rest homes have evolved and people in our country have had, and continue to have more chronic health care needs; chronic and complex health care needs. Actually, if you are following the news, Lorraine Rest Home, is now called [Lorraine] Nursing Home, whic h indicates the actual complexity of our seniors’ health care needs. Our homes for our seniors are evolving and they are providing more skilled care which requires persons who know about this industry so that we can make sure that our seniors are getting the most appropriate care that they deserve. So the removal of the rest homes out of the current Act is something that is much needed to make sure that we are staying on top of the complexities that many of our . . . that the health care needs of our senior s bring. Mr. Deputy Speaker , currently Warwick Parish Council is the only Parish Council that is operating a rest home. And I would like to also echo that they are doing a wonderful job. I also want to echo the fact that they did have a very difficult tim e throughout COVID - 19. But the staff . . . the staff , I just want to shout out and give them a big thank [to those] who worked, worked, worked hard to maintain the safety of our seniors. But we are looking forward to better [things] for all of our seniors. The Bill provides for any council who wishes to be independent to have a pathway to become ind ependent . But it does not provide unilaterally for ma king all Parish Councils autonomous. And so if a cou ncil wants to take that route of becoming independent, then a pathway has been created for them to do so. And some Parish Councils may decide to take that up, and some Parish Councils may decide not to take that up. But that will be at the desire of that particular council. And with that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the Bill entitled the Parish Councils Amendment Act of 2022, be now read the second time. 1868 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Deputy Speaker: You need to move that the Bill be committed.
Hon. Tinee Furbert: I move that the Bill be commi tted.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMr. Tyrre ll. House in Committee at 7:09 pm [Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell, Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL PARISH COUNCILS AMENDMENT ACT 2022
The ChairmanChairmanWe are now in Committee of the whole [House] for further consideration of the Bill ent itled Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022 . I call on the Minister in charge to proceed. Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. This Bill seeks to amend …
We are now in Committee of the whole [House] for further consideration of the Bill ent itled Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022 . I call on the Minister in charge to proceed. Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. This Bill seeks to amend the Parish Councils Act of 1971 to provide for certain matters related to Parish Councils, including the constitution and composition of Parish Councils, Parish Council functions, validation of certain appointments to Parish Councils and connected and related matters. Mr. Chairman, with your leave, I wish to move clauses in groups starting with clauses 1 through 4.
The ChairmanChairmanYou may proceed. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Clause 1 provides a title for the Bill. Clause 2 inserts section 2A in the Act to pr ovide for a ministerial review of Parish Council s. This clause also sets forth criteria for the Minister to co nsider when determining matters relating to …
You may proceed.
Hon. Tinee Furbert: Clause 1 provides a title for the Bill. Clause 2 inserts section 2A in the Act to pr ovide for a ministerial review of Parish Council s. This clause also sets forth criteria for the Minister to co nsider when determining matters relating to review of a Parish Council. Clause 3 amends section 3 of the Act to permit the Minister to appoint at leas t three, and no more than 12 Parish Council members. This clause also transfers responsibility for the appointment of me mbers of a Parish Council from the Governor to the Mi nister. Section 3 of the Act currently provides that the appointment of members of a Parish Council are to be made by the Governor on the advice of the Minister. Clause 4 repeals paragraph (f) of section 5 of the Act to delete the responsibility for parish rest homes from the list of Parish Council functions. Transitional matters consequential upon the repeal of paragraph (f) will be set forth in the new Third Schedule of the Act. Mr. Chai rman, I now move that clauses 1 through 4 be approved. The Chairman: Thank you, Minister. Does any Member wish to speak to clauses 1 through 4? I recognise MP Jackson.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a quick question around the Mini ster’s ability to make a recommendation whether to continue a Parish Council or not. So it is clause 2A that “the Minister may carry out a re view of any Parish Council to determine whether there should …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a quick question around the Mini ster’s ability to make a recommendation whether to continue a Parish Council or not. So it is clause 2A that “the Minister may carry out a re view of any Parish Council to determine whether there should continue to be a Parish Council for that parish —”. And I just want confirmation from the Minister, because she made reference that the Minister would not ever cancel or expire a Parish Council. B ut in the in the legislation, it does sound as though the Minister would have the ability to shut down a Parish Council.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, MP. Are there any other Members who wish to speak to clauses 1 through 4? Seeing none, Minister. Hon. Ti nee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To that question, I had mentioned earlier that a review would only be on a [as] needed basis, and for a council …
Thank you, MP. Are there any other Members who wish to speak to clauses 1 through 4? Seeing none, Minister. Hon. Ti nee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To that question, I had mentioned earlier that a review would only be on a [as] needed basis, and for a council to be abolished it would have to be in consultation with the existing council. The Minister will not make that decision independent ly. So that will have to be in consultation with the council.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. You may pr oceed. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Chairman, with your leave I now wish to move clauses 5 through 11.
The ChairmanChairmanProceed. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Clause 5 amends section 8 of the Act consequentially upon the repeal of section 9 of the Act. Clause 6 repeals section 9 of the Act, which provides for payment of expenses of a Parish Council if the expenses are incurred— The Chair man: Minister, can …
Proceed.
Hon. Tinee Furbert: Clause 5 amends section 8 of the Act consequentially upon the repeal of section 9 of the Act. Clause 6 repeals section 9 of the Act, which provides for payment of expenses of a Parish Council if the expenses are incurred—
The Chair man: Minister, can I interrupt? I do apologise. I went ahead of myself. Can you move clauses 1 through 4, please?
Hon. Tinee Furbert: Yes. Mr. Chairman, I now move that clauses 1 through 4 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, are there any objections to that? Clauses 1 through 4 are approved. Thank you, Minister. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 4 passed.] Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: You may proceed now. I do apol ogise. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, with your leave, I …
Members, are there any objections to that? Clauses 1 through 4 are approved. Thank you, Minister.
[Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 4 passed.]
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: You may proceed now. I do apol ogise.
Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, with your leave, I now wish to move clauses 5 through 11. Clause 5 amends section 8 of the Act cons equentially upon the repeal of section 9 of the Act. Clause 6 repeals section 9 of the Act, which provides for payment of expenses of a Parish Council if the expenses are incurred in accordance with the conditions set forth in that section. Clause 7 inserts a new section 12A in the Act to include a Third Schedule that provides for cons equential and transitional provision to be made, purs uant to the enactment of this Bill. Clause 8 inserts a new Third Schedule in the Act to provide for consequential, savings and trans itional matters pursuant to the enactment of this Bill. Clause 9 provides for the validation of certain Parish Council member appointments and perfor-mance of functions. Clause 1 0 and the Schedule provide for savings and transitional matters with respect to amendments made by this Bill. Clause 11 provides for commencement. Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Does any Member wish to speak to clauses 5 through 11? I recognise MP Jackson.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonJust a quick question on clause 6 and repealing section 9, which speaks to the Government no longer going to pay expenses to help a Parish Council if they run into financial difficulties. So if the government is going to continue to give grants to Parish Councils can the Minister …
Just a quick question on clause 6 and repealing section 9, which speaks to the Government no longer going to pay expenses to help a Parish Council if they run into financial difficulties. So if the government is going to continue to give grants to Parish Councils can the Minister confirm that grants would still be applied? Then should the Parish Council get into any financial challenges is the Minister now saying they would have to figure that out on their own without any government support, even though it is government money, taxpayer money?
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, MP Jackson. Does any other Member wish to speak to clauses 5 through 11? I see none, Minister. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, MP Jackson, for that question. The Parish Councils can definitely still apply for grants. I just want to let Members know that Parish Councils at …
Thank you, MP Jackson. Does any other Member wish to speak to clauses 5 through 11? I see none, Minister. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, MP Jackson, for that question. The Parish Councils can definitely still apply for grants. I just want to let Members know that Parish Councils at the moment do provide for their own f inancial funds. So they do take care of their own fina ncials currently. And so, any expense incurred by a Parish Council with the approval of the Minister that cannot be met out of Parish Council funds will be met out of government funds. And this amendment r emoves that provision so that government will not be responsible for councils’ expenses. And so it is a change from government to the actual Parish Council. Again, the Parish Council will still be able to apply for grants.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Minister, you may move the clauses. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Chai rman, I now move that clauses 5 through 11 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, it has been moved that clauses 5 through 11 be approved. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing none, Minister, you may proceed. [Motion carried: Clauses 5 through 11 passed.] Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Chairman, I now move [the] Schedule.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that [the] Schedule be approved. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing none, Minister, approved. [Motion carried: The Schedule passed.] Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I now move the preamble.
The ChairmanChairmanIs there any objection to the moving of the preamble? Seeing none, approved. Minister. Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Chairman, I now move that the Bill entitl ed Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022 be reported to the House as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, it has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing none, agreed to. The Bill will be r eported to the House as printed. Mr. Deputy Speaker. Thank you. [Motion carried: The Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022 …
Members, it has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing none, agreed to. The Bill will be r eported to the House as printed. Mr. Deputy Speaker. Thank you.
[Motion carried: The Parish Councils Amendment Act 2022 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed without amendment.]
House resumed at 7 :20 pm
[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr. , Deputy Speaker, in the Chair] 1870 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly REPORT OF COMMITTEE
PARISH COUNCILS AMENDMENT ACT 2022
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Mr. Acting Chai rman. Are there any objections to the Bill being approved? There appear to be none. The Bill is a pproved. The next order of business is the Garages Licensing Act 2022. Minister Scott, you have the floor. BILL SECOND READING GARAGES LICENSING ACT 2022 Hon. …
Thank you, Mr. Acting Chai rman. Are there any objections to the Bill being approved? There appear to be none. The Bill is a pproved. The next order of business is the Garages Licensing Act 2022. Minister Scott, you have the floor.
BILL
SECOND READING
GARAGES LICENSING ACT 2022 Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Good afternoon, or good evening, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The Bill presented today is the Garages Licens ing Act 2022. Mr. Deputy Speaker, section 98 of the Motor Car Act 1951 grants the Minister general supervision of public garages in respect of their eff iciency and operation. This includes the repairing and servicing of motor cars and keeping or storage of m otor cars. Additionally, section 99 of the Act addresses the control of the use of public garages and prescribes that no person shall use or cause or allow to be used as a public garage any premises except under the authority of and in accordance with the terms of a l icence granted by the Minister. Section 99 further states that the M inister may refuse to grant a licence for two reasons. Firstly, on the ground that the premises themselves or by reason of their situation or use would be likely to entail risk or serious inconvenience to vehicular traffic or adjacent or nearby highways or estate roads. Secondly, a l icence may be refused if it would be likely to prejudice the safety or health of persons using premises or working thereon or using the approach is thereto. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Ministry of Transport is very concerned about the number of garages and unauthorised premises repairing motor vehicles wit hout a valid licence as per the Public Garage and Fil ling Station Regulations 1952. There is a method by which operating unlicensed garages can be addressed by section 120 of the Act, which is a general provision regarding contraventions. However, no specific offence or penalty in the Motor Car Act 1951 handles infractions. Therefore, most transgressions go unpunished. Mr. Deputy Speaker, failure to meet specific safety requirements contravene the Regulations. For example, operating a facility without the required saf e-ty equipment, such as a fire extinguisher. It is also an offence to hold one ’s self out to be registered or to be a registered automotive mechanic if one is not regi stered or if one’s registration has been suspended. However, although offences are mentioned in the Act and Regulations, neither piece of legislation assigns penalties [for] any offences. Mr. Deputy Speaker, a more pressing issue is that current legislation only allows the Minister to r evoke a garage licence where it appears that the prem-ises in respect of which the licence was granted, are no longer being used as a public garage. The Ministry believes that creating specific offences and penalties to deal with those who operate garages outside the confines of the law will enhance vehicular safety and protect consumers and the environment. Mr. Deputy Speaker, in recent years, the Transport Control Department [TCD] and the Office of Consumer Affairs have received numerous complaints from members of the public. For example, TCD has received complaints regarding increased levels of noise and air pollution, the servicing and repairs of vehicles at private residen ces, substandard work pr oduced by unqualified individuals, vehicles parked and abandoned on public roads and in public parks, conducting business during inconvenient times, like very early in the morning or late at ni ght, and restricted road access when vehicles in for repairs are parked on public roads preventing the passage of public emergency or garbage collection vehicles. Mr. Deputy Speaker, these complaints cannot be adequately addressed by the Act, the Regulati ons or the Clean Air Act 1991. Primarily, it is for this reason that the Ministry recommends the revocation of the Public Garage and Filling Station Regulations 1952 and the creation of the Garages Licens ing Act 2022. This new Act will provide the required tools to take action against offenders. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Bill establishes eight different licences and the process by which the r espective licences can be acquired. Also included is the process for renewing licences, the duration and the reasons w hy a licence may be revoked. Further, it specifies the right to enter or inspect garages and how and why the Director of TCD may issue a stop order, who will now assume the administrative role previously held by the Minister, and what can happen if a stop order is contravened and how to launch an appeal. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Bill also sets out the safety requirements, offences and ticketing requir ements of automotive and cycle service technicians. Mr. Deputy Speaker, in short, the Garages Licens ing Act 2022 is a total regulatory overhaul for public garages by introducing new garage classes, licens ing and renewal fees and creating offences for noncompliance. An additional benefit of this change will be the ability to curtail the operations of unlicensed f acilities and mechanics to protect the consumer.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Deputy Speaker, other licens ed industries pay a fee to operate. Since 1952 the public garages have not paid a fee. So this is part of the modernis ation of this area included with the new types of licenc-es. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the most crucial aspect of this new legislation is that regulators finally have the legal authority to address noncompliance. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Minister. Are there any other speakers?
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Chair recognises the Ho nourable Member, Susan Jackson. Ms. Jackson, you have the floor.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Deputy Speaker. Well, it was with interest to listen to the Mini ster give his brief because, certainly, it was a bit of a surprise to see that this legislation was tabled and then up for its second reading and debate within se ven days. And, of course, …
Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Well, it was with interest to listen to the Mini ster give his brief because, certainly, it was a bit of a surprise to see that this legislation was tabled and then up for its second reading and debate within se ven days. And, of course, my first defensive act once reading through this legislation was that it appeared to be so squeaky clean. And I immediately wanted to jump to the defence of what about all of those m echanics that are trying to make a go of it? Well, the Minister has made it very clear that it goes a little bit further than good intentions without the resources, that there must obviously be some garages out there that are completely disregarding any of the Regulations and such. And when we deal with veh icles in particular and the hazardous materials that they often use, we just cannot play around with that as it exposes us to hazards , both health and safety. So, reading through the legislation itself, as I said, it smells like a brand- new car dealership. I mean, this legislation is clean. And certainly is what I would suspect is req uired, especially in this new world where we have the electrification of cars. So, we have got electric cars coming online. We have got computerised discs in cars and things have become technolo gically advanced. So, I can understand why, one, the substanti al part of this Bill is around certification of technicians. And another substantial part around this is the actual licensing and what is required in order to hold a garage licence in Bermuda. So, I cannot complain or really fault that, but I am concerned about the Bermudianisation of the industry. Motor vehicle mechanics is sort of the equiv alent in Bermuda of a green thumb. So, it is almost the natural talent of so many young people and also a tinkering of those that have reached more mature ages to meddle with mechanical car and vehicle maint enance, et cetera. If we are going to have such stri ngent licensing, I am just a little concerned about how our Bermudian technicians will be able to maintain a footprint in this career in this industry. So, right now I understand by virtue of exper ience and my own visual identification that many of the technicians in Bermuda are not from Bermuda. And I understand that as many as 80 per cent of the technicians working in the motor vehicle industry are not from Bermuda. And we are looking at maybe 20 per cent who are Bermudian. And of course, on top of that, with all of the licensing and certifications that are needed to be a technician moving forward under this Act, that the need for Bermudians to get the training to get the certification is going to be a main part of keep-ing Bermudians even in the industry. I will be curious to hear what the Minister has to say around how we might be able to support this, or what programmes of training may be taking place at the Bermuda College or otherwise to help our technicians who do want to pursue and maintain a job, a profession in the industry, to be able to get the certification in order to be registered and continue their business within the m echan ic industry. I have a couple of other pieces that I am just also curious about that the Minister might be able to speak to. I noticed in reading through this legislation that there is very little, if anything, really said around how to manage any kind of accidents that may occur. So, whether there is a contamination or there is a horrible oil spill into a canal or somebody's backyard or it gets into a pit, I don’t know what, but I do know that many, if not all of these garages do use very toxic chemicals and toxic materials. And although the legi slation absolutely does speak a bit to inspectors coming out and inspecting and making sure that ever ything is safe, and they have a whole section on safety, I am a little curious about what we would do if there was an accident and we were look ing at the enviro nmental impact, which is a little different than being safe and having fire extinguishers, et cetera. So if the Minister might speak to how that will be addressed, if there were something that was environmentally ha zardous that takes place. The other piece that was of interest to me as well is the actual fees themselves. I noticed that there is quite a bit of financial commitment. I do understand having listened to and spoken with many of the sort of medium sized and then very well establi shed car dealers and car mechanics on the Island, that the application fee, which is non- refundable, the licensing fee, which is annual, that you have to pay, and then if you are doing more than one particular service within your garage, you would pay for a specific licence for a specific expertise area that you are working in, be it detailing or whether you are a garage that deals with selling cars, et cetera. So, it could and it looks like quite a revenue generat or. I do not know how many garages there ar e on Island, but it would be interes ting to know maybe before the budget of next year, if he can't answer today, but just what the proposed revenue generation would be in the form of taxes. 1872 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Certainly these mechanics, especially the garages where it is sort of medium size, have quite a few taxes that they pay on top of the licensing fees that would be required under this new Bill. You know, they are paying duty on parts, which I understand can be as much as 35 per cent. They have got to still pay land tax a nd payroll tax. Health care can be astronomical for them. I would imagine they have to pay insur-ances and the like. And so I am just very sensitive to the fact that there is a financial piece to this Bill, and I certainly would not want to have any of our garages that are really trying hard to maintain the status quo and remain licens ed and conduct their business, f inancially they are finding themselves strapped b ecause there are so many more fees now than there may have been prior to this Bill being introduced. I believe that this may be about all . . . Again, I probably would say that my greatest concern right now is the technicians and how we are going to be able to support any of the Bermudian technicians who want to get the certification , who want to b e registered and what we can do to put something in place so that that is achievable. I do understand that this has been a bit challenging over the years. And I do not know enough about the industry or the profession to be able to provide any real expertis e in that area, but I certai nly am concerned about and interested in finding out how technicians will be able to remain active in the local industry. Thank you.
[Ms. Lovitta F. Foggo, Acting Speaker, in the Chair]
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Are th ere any other Members who wish to speak to the Bill entitled Garages Licensing Act 2022? I recognise the Member for constituency 26. Member, you have the floor.
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellThank you, Madam Acting Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to s peak to this Bill, the Garages Licensing Act 2022. I certainly wish to commend the Minister and his technical people for the modernisation of this industry. The Act that we are working under now is 71 years old. …
Thank you, Madam Acting Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to s peak to this Bill, the Garages Licensing Act 2022. I certainly wish to commend the Minister and his technical people for the modernisation of this industry. The Act that we are working under now is 71 years old. So it is obviously about time that something of this nature takes place. And before I go on, let me say that it appears that the Opposition supports this Bill. So I will not need to say too much in support of it, but I do have a couple of points that I wish to make. This Bill itself, in my opinion, gives protection to the consumer as well as the operators of these garages. So I think that is certainly good, because now people know where to look for satisfaction if something actually goes wrong. And that's both sides. But certainly from the consumer side. It also, in my opinion– the licensing of garages at various levels as to what it is that they can do I think will eliminate these fly-by-night operations that come up who probably take a consumers’ car with the intentions of fixing it, but probably are not qualified themselves enough to do it. And then the consumer is left with a car and has to go somewhere else to be fixed. So I am certainly glad that the Minister and his technical people have also looked at that, and certai nly the fact that it now gives more teeth in terms of any infractions that are made now that the TCD can act ually get on things a lot quicker now and know that they are supported by this Bill. So, Madam Acting Speaker, as I said, it looks as if we have support for the Bill. I understand the questions that have been asked of the Minister, and I am very sure that he is capable of answering those questions, and will do so. So, with that, I will take my seat. Thank you.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Are there any other Mem bers who wish to speak to the Garages Licensing Act 2022? There being none, I recognise the Minister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Madam Acting Speaker. Being an individual that is a self -proclaimed . . . actually, I think I …
Thank you, Member. Are there any other Mem bers who wish to speak to the Garages Licensing Act 2022? There being none, I recognise the Minister.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Madam Acting Speaker. Being an individual that is a self -proclaimed . . . actually, I think I could say that I am a c ar guy. I like building. I like speed. That is why I fly. And I don’t drive fast (just to put that on the record) anymore.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Anymore, as I said. But the thing, what this is doing . . . and as the Shadow Minister asked the question about the tec hnical courses and certification, I want to make sure that it is crystal clear that, one, a Lawrence Scott who is into mechanics , is into working on cars and into v ehicles can always go to Bermuda College and get certified. So we can get the certifications necessary here on Island, although I do know that a lot of Bermudians tend to go to Florida and/or New Hampshire to do so. So those who have the ability [can] go overseas and go to Florida, I happened to be in Florida, which at the time was the street racing capital of the world, actually second street racing capital of the world next to J apan. I built my own race car while I was out there. So I know a thing or two. But I was not certified. So if we wanted to, we could do the certifications here on I sland. But you also have those who can go to Florida and New Hampshire. This Bill also speaks to allowing the gover nment to provide the environment where we can allow for modernisation, allow for the new trends. As we see right now, electrification is coming. And we can just make sure that our garages are not being reactive to technology but that they are proactive as they come down, and we can ensure that we are not just keeping
Bermuda House of Assembly the mechanic safe, but also consumers and cus tomers safe as well. So, when it comes to that, you know, it is something that helps to benefit everybody in the i ndustry, even the small garages themselves. Now, when it comes to spills or environmental protection, this is already covered under the primary environmental legislation, which would be something like the Clean Air Act. So we are not amending the Clean Air Act or anything. We are just having it so that if a garage was to breach said Clean Air Act, the Ministry of Transport would be able to hold them accountable, which is not something that can be done now and has led to several breaches going on and not being a ddressed as I spoke about in my brief. The Shadow Minister asked about how many garages [are there] . There are 73 garages on Island right now, and that is as of 2019. I do not want to read each one out by name, but I will just say 73. I believe that this is basically answering all these questions. But once again, I want to just point out that this is actually something that the Ministry a nd the Government benefit from, because when it comes to technical training and certifications, we have several specialists in Marine and Ports and DPT [Department of Public Transport] and all of that working and servi cing our public fleet. So once again, that is where we are. And I just wanted to now say that I would like to . . . I move that this Bill now be committed.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerIt has been moved that the Bill entitled Garages Licensing Act 2022 be committed. I am sure all are in approval. I now call on the Member from constituency 26 to take the Chair in Committee. House in Committee at 7 :44 pm [Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell, Chairman] COMMITTEE ON …
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in Committee of the w hole [House] for further consider ation of the Bill entitled Garages Licensing Act 2022 . I call on the Minister in charge to proceed. Minister, you have the floor. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the …
Honourable Members, we are now in Committee of the w hole [House] for further consider ation of the Bill entitled Garages Licensing Act 2022 . I call on the Minister in charge to proceed. Minister, you have the floor.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the purpose of this Bill. This Bill seeks to reform the current law relating to public garages , to update terminology from “public garage” to “garage, ” to add various types of garage licenc es, to enable the Director of the Transport Control Depar tment to grant, refuse to grant, renew, revoke, suspend or vary licences to operate the types of garage, to set fees for an application for and to obtain a type of l i-cence, to provide penalties for v arious safety contr aventions, to create offences and penalties, to create a ticketing scheme and to provide consequential and related amendments. Mr. Chairman, I would like to move clauses 1 and 2.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 1 and 2 be approved. Is there any objection to that? Seeing none, Minister, proceed. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you. Mr. Chairman. Clause 1 provides the title of the Bill. Clause 2 provides the meanings of terms used in the Bill.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Min ister, proceed. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you. I move that clauses 1 and 2 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAnd I will say it again, the motion is that the clauses 1 and 2 be approved. Any objection? Seeing none, approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 and 2 passed.] Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I would like to move clauses 3 through 17.
The ChairmanChairmanBefore you move to the further clauses, can I ask if any Member wishes to speak to those clauses? I recognise MP Pearman.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Minister for a most detailed presentation. As my colleague, Susan Jackson MP, said before me, we are supportive of this Bill. I do have three questions for you. Just one in this range of clauses and it is at page 8 and it is …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Minister for a most detailed presentation. As my colleague, Susan Jackson MP, said before me, we are supportive of this Bill. I do have three questions for you. Just one in this range of clauses and it is at page 8 and it is claus e 12. It just struck me as odd. It was describing what the requirements of a licence holder were and how a licensee could lose his or her licence or its l icence. At the top of page 8, (a)(iii) one criteria or ground for loss is if the person is no longer a fit and proper person. Now that, to me, is sort of financial and compliance language. And I am assuming that this is in context. It is no longer a fit and proper person to operate a garage. I mean, we would not hold a garage operator to the same standard, presumably, that we might hold a fiduciary at a trustee company. I mean, it is in context, is that correct?
The ChairmanChairmanMinister . Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: That is correct. 1874 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Pearman: Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanDoes any other Member wish to speak to clauses . . . and Minister, can you tell me which clauses again we went down to? Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I am moving clauses 3 through 17, please.
The ChairmanChairmanPlease proceed. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Clause 3 provides the various types of licence the Director may grant under the Bill. Clause 4 provides that a person may apply to the Director for the grant or renewal of a licence. Clause 5 provides that the Director …
Please proceed. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Clause 3 provides the various types of licence the Director may grant under the Bill. Clause 4 provides that a person may apply to the Director for the grant or renewal of a licence. Clause 5 provides that the Director may r efuse to grant a licence on the grounds of: [(1) (a)] an incomplete application, [(1)(b)] not satisfying the crit eria for approval issued by the Director or [(1)(c)] nonpayment of the prescribed fee. It also provides that an incomplete application is one that does not contain the particulars or informat ion required by the Director in clause 4. Clause 6 provides that the Director is to give an applicant written notice of a decision to grant or refuse an application, with reasons given should the application be refused. Clause 7 provides the information to be spec ified in a licence. Clause 8 provides that a licence is valid for a period of one year or a shorter period as may be spec ified in the licence. Clause 9 provides that a licence may be r enewed on application for a further period of a year at a time s ubject to there being no breach of the terms and conditions attached to the licence. Clause 10 provides for the display of a licence in a prominent place at the address provided in the licence and creates an offence for failing to display in the required m anner. Clause 11 provides for the Director to keep and publish a register of licences in the Gazette and make the register available for public inspection in a manner to be determined by the Director. Clause 12 provides that the Director may r evoke a licence at any time in given instances. Clause 13 provides that the Director may suspend or vary a licence in the given instances. Clause 14 provides that before the Director revokes, suspends or varies a licence, notice must be given, in writing, of the ground or grounds on which it is intended to do so. It also gives the licensee the opportunity to object to the intended revocation, suspension or variation in writing. Clause 15 provides that a licensee may surrender a licence on written notification to the Dir ector and creates an offence for failing to surrender the l icence. Clause 16 provides that a licensee will advise the Director of any intended change in address of the premises and creates an offence for failing to do so. Clause 17 provides that an applicant is able to appeal any decision of the Director to refuse to grant or renew a licence, to revoke a licence or to suspend or vary a licence to the Magistrates’ Court.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Does any Member wish to speak to clauses 3 through 17? Seeing none, Minister, you may proceed. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I move that clauses 3 through 17 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 3 through 17 be approved. Is there any objection to that? I see none, Minister. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 3 through 17 passed.] Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to move clauses 18 through 22.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, you may proceed. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you. Clause 18 provides that examiners and traffic officers at the Transport Control Department are i nspectors for the purpose of entering and inspecting a premise or place operating as a garage to inspect that premise or place. Clause 19 gives …
Minister, you may proceed.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you. Clause 18 provides that examiners and traffic officers at the Transport Control Department are i nspectors for the purpose of entering and inspecting a premise or place operating as a garage to inspect that premise or place. Clause 19 gives the Director the power to serve a stop order on a person in circumstances where the Director believes the person has contr avened or is contravening the Bill, or the person has failed to comply with any regulation or any term or condition of a licence. It also provides that a stop order requires the li censee to immediately stop the contravention or matter of failed compliance. Clause 20 creates an offence for any person who contravenes a stop order. Clause 21 provides the ways in which a stop order may be enforced should a licensee not comply. Clause 22 provides that a licensee is able to appeal a decision of the Director to serve a stop order to the Magistrates ’ Court.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Does any Member wish to speak to clauses 18 through 20? I recognise MP Jackson.
Ms. Susan E. Jac ksonThank you. I just have a couple of questions. One is on clause 18, the right of entry and inspection. Bermuda House of Assembly So the traffic officer, the examiner also r eferred to in this law as inspector, I am just curious what training or expertise that member would …
Thank you. I just have a couple of questions. One is on clause 18, the right of entry and inspection.
Bermuda House of Assembly So the traffic officer, the examiner also r eferred to in this law as inspector, I am just curious what training or expertise that member would have, and whether that would be a requirement, or if it is just a general inspector that would go into the facility. And a couple others here. I'm also curious . . . I did note that there is a sort of a three- month waiver, but wo ndering under clause . . . have we gone as far as clause 26?
The ChairmanChairmanDoes any other Member wish to speak to clauses 18 through 22? Seeing none, Minister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you. The answer to that is that it would be the same individuals who are enforcing or trying to enforce the regulations now. So, all of the TCD staff are …
Does any other Member wish to speak to clauses 18 through 22? Seeing none, Minister.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you. The answer to that is that it would be the same individuals who are enforcing or trying to enforce the regulations now. So, all of the TCD staff are listed as enforcement officers. And when I say TCD staff, I do not mean those persons that help you behind the counter, but those who are specialised and focused on compliance.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, do you wish to — Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I would like to move that clauses 18 through 22 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 18 through 22 be approved. Is there any objection to that? Seeing none, approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 18 through 22 passed.]
The ChairmanChairmanMinister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I would like to move clauses 23 through 31.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 23 through 31 be moved. Does any Member wish to speak to clauses 23 through 31? I recognise . . .
Ms. Susan E. JacksonYes, just a couple of quick questions. So clause 26, register of automotive service technicians. Will any of the technicians who have been in the industry that have well earned their rep utation . . . will any of them be grandfathered in? Or will they have to either, you …
Yes, just a couple of quick questions. So clause 26, register of automotive service technicians. Will any of the technicians who have been in the industry that have well earned their rep utation . . . will any of them be grandfathered in? Or will they have to either, you know, update their certific ation or even get their certification for the first time? And then my other ques tion is clause 28 the registration of automotive service technicians. Is there a fee involved in registering to become a service technician or to be included on the register of service technicians?
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, I did not give you the opportunity to speak to your clauses first. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: No worries. Thank you. That's fine. In answer to the Shadow Minister, the prov isions are already in place, when she asked her question about clause 26. So, they are already in …
Minister, I did not give you the opportunity to speak to your clauses first. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: No worries. Thank you. That's fine. In answer to the Shadow Minister, the prov isions are already in place, when she asked her question about clause 26. So, they are already in place, would be th e answer to your question. They would be grandfathered in because we are already doing it. So there is nothing new. And in clause 28 there is no fee. I would like to move clauses 23 through 31.
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, it has been moved that clauses 23 t hrough 31 be approved. Is there a ny objection to that motion? Seeing none, approved. Minister, you may continue. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: So I actually have to read clauses 23 through 31. I did not read them . Clause 23 …
Members, it has been moved that clauses 23 t hrough 31 be approved. Is there a ny objection to that motion? Seeing none, approved. Minister, you may continue.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: So I actually have to read clauses 23 through 31. I did not read them . Clause 23 provides the meanings of terms used in Part 4 of the Bill. Clause 24 provides that certain provisions r elating to automotive service technicians in Part 4 of the Bill also relate to cycle service technicians. Clause 25 places a duty on the Director for the registration and supervision of automotive service technicians. Clause 26 provides that the Director must keep and maintain a register of automotive service technicians. Clause 27 provides that the Director must publish the register of automotive service technicians in the Gazette and m ake the register available for public inspection in a manner to be determined by the Director. Clause 28 provides that a person holding a national occupational certificate as an automotive service technician may apply to have his name entered in the regist er of automotive technicians. Clause 29 provides the circumstances in which the Director may suspend the registration of an automotive service technician. Clause 30 provides that an automotive service technician may appeal a decision of the Director to suspend registration to the Magistrate’s Court. Clause 31 creates an offence for a person who does not hold a national occupational certificate as an automotive service technician, or who has been suspended, to purport to be an automotive service technician. 1876 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Thank you, Minister. Does any Member wish to speak to those clauses? Seeing none . . .
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I would like clauses 23 through 31 to be approved. The Chairman: Thank you. Members, there is a motion that clauses 23 through 31 be approved. Is there any objection as printed? Any objection? Seeing none, Minister, approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 23 through 31 passed.] Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I would like to move clauses 32 through 40.
The ChairmanChairmanProceed Minister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you. Clause 32 provides a safety precaution for the installation and operation of elevating- type vehicle lifts in a garage and creates an offence for a person who contravenes that precaution or operation. Clause 33 provides for elevating- type vehicle lifts to be …
Proceed Minister.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you. Clause 32 provides a safety precaution for the installation and operation of elevating- type vehicle lifts in a garage and creates an offence for a person who contravenes that precaution or operation. Clause 33 provides for elevating- type vehicle lifts to be equipped with a safety device and for a per-son operating, or being in charge of operating, the vehicle lift to ensure the safety device is operated safely. It also creates an offence for any person who contravenes the provision. Clause 34 provides the safety measures to be used when a service pit is installed in a garage and is not in use. It also creates an offence for any person who contravenes the provision. Clause 35 provides for a separate room for spray painti ng that is sufficiently ventilated and equipped with the amount of fans the Director consi ders necessary. It also provide that the fans must be operational while spray painting is being conducted and creates an offence for any person who contr avenes the pr ovision. Clause 36 provides that fire extinguishing apparatus must be ready for use on the premises of a garage and creates an offence for any person who contravenes the provision. Clause 37 provides that any inflammable substance on the premises of a gara ge must be kept in a closed container designed to hold the inflammable substance and creates an offence for any person who contravenes the provision. Clause 38 provides the fire precautions when pouring, or causing to be poured, fuel in various ways on the premises of a garage and creates an offence for any person who contravenes the provision. Clause 39 provides that no person shall smoke, or allow another person to smoke, on the premises of a garage and creates an offence for a person who contravenes the provision. Clause 40 provides that first aid equipment of the type and quantity approved by the Director must be kept on the site of a garage and creates an offence for a person who contravenes the provision.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Does any Member wish to speak to c lauses 32 through 40? Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I move that clauses 32 through 40 be approved as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 32 through 40 be approved as printed. Is there any objection? Seeing none, Minis ter. Agreed. [Motion carried: Clauses 32 through 40 passed.] Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I would like to move clauses 41 through 45.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, proceed. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Clause 41 creates the offence of operating a garage without a licence. Clause 42 creates an offence for operating a garage on a premises that is not provided in a licence. Clause 43 creates an offence for making false representation on procuring or producing …
Minister, proceed.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Clause 41 creates the offence of operating a garage without a licence. Clause 42 creates an offence for operating a garage on a premises that is not provided in a licence. Clause 43 creates an offence for making false representation on procuring or producing a forged, altered or counterfeit licence. Clause 44 creates an offence for transferring a licence or making use of another person’s licence. Clause 45 creates the general penalty of $15,000 and $30,000 for the same second or subs equent offence, that the court may impose for offences committed under the Bill.
The Chai rman: Thank you Minister. Does any Member wish to speak to clauses 41 through 45? Seeing none, Member.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I move that clauses 41 through 45 be approved as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 41 through 45 be approved as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing none, approved. Minister. [Motion carried: Clauses 41 through 45 passed.] Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I would like to move clauses 46 through 55. Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: …
It has been moved that clauses 41 through 45 be approved as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing none, approved. Minister.
[Motion carried: Clauses 41 through 45 passed.] Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I would like to move clauses 46 through 55.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Proceed, Minister.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott : Clause 46 provides the meaning of terms used in Part 7 of the Bill. Clause 47 provides for a ticket summons to be issued for offences specified in Schedule 2 of the Bill. Clause 48 provides that the form of ticket will be as prescribed in regulation. Clause 49 provides for the issuance of a ticket where an inspector has reasonable cause to believe an offence is being or has been committed. Clause 50 provides for the delivery of a summons. Clause 51 provides for the payment out of court of a specified penalty. Clause 52 provides for the information part of a ticket. Clause 53 provides the circumstances the court is able to impose a penalty authorised by law. Clause 54 provides for the record of convi ction. Clause 55 provides that the Minister may make regulations to prescribe the form of ticket.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you Minister. Does any Member wish to speak to clauses 46 through 55? Seeing none, Minister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I move that clauses 46 through 55 be approved as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, it has been moved that clauses 46 through 55 be approved as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing none, approved. Minister. [Motion carried: Clauses 46 through 55 passed.] Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I would like to move clauses 56 through 60.
The ChairmanChairmanProceed, Minister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Clause 56 gives the Mini ster regulation- making powers, with regulations made under the Act being subject to negative resolution procedure. Clause 57 provides for the consequential and related amendments as set out in Schedule 3 to the Bill. Clause 58 provides the saving …
Proceed, Minister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Clause 56 gives the Mini ster regulation- making powers, with regulations made under the Act being subject to negative resolution procedure. Clause 57 provides for the consequential and related amendments as set out in Schedule 3 to the Bill. Clause 58 provides the saving and transitional provision. Clause 59 repeals Part VI, Public Garages, of the Motor Car Act 1951, revokes the Public Garage and Filling Station Regulations 1952. Clause 60 provides for the commencement of the Bill by publication of notice in the Gazette .
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Does any Member wish to speak to clauses 56 through 60? Seeing none, Minister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I move that clauses 56 through 60 be approved as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, it has been moved that clauses 56 to 60 be approved as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing no objection, approved. Minister. [Motion carried: Clauses 56 through 60 passed.] Hon. W. La wrence Scott: I would like to move Schedules 1, 2 and 3.
The ChairmanChairmanProceed, Minister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Schedule 1 is the applic ation, licence and renewal fees. Schedule 2, offences and penalties. Schedule 3, consequential and related amendment s.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, thank you. Does anyone wish to speak? Ah, I didn't see you on your feet, there.
The ChairmanChairmanI recognise you, MP Pearman, yes.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Quick question, Minister. I'm at Schedule 1, page 21 of the Bill. And if you look at the various fees that are set out there, there are three categories: application fees, li cence fees, renewals. In licence fees, you see six different categories, right? …
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Quick question, Minister. I'm at Schedule 1, page 21 of the Bill. And if you look at the various fees that are set out there, there are three categories: application fees, li cence fees, renewals. In licence fees, you see six different categories, right? At number one, for example, is Dealer Garage; at number two is Garage; number four is C ycle Garage; [number five] Body and Paint Garage; and [number 6] Detailing Garage. My question is this: If I am a Garage at number two, but I am also a Cycle Garage at number four, do I pay the higher amount? Or do I add the fees and pay both? It is likewise for [numbers] five and six. If I'm a Garage [at number two], but I do Body and Paint [at 1878 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly number five] and Detailing at [number] six, do I pay all three? Thanks.
The ChairmanChairmanDoes any other Member wish to speak to the schedules? Minister. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: You would pay all fees that apply.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, do you wish to move the Schedules, please? Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I move that the Schedules 1, 2 and 3 be approved as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, it has been moved that the Schedules 1, 2 and 3 be approved as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing none, approved. Minister. [Motion carried: Schedules 1, 2, 3 passed.] Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I move that the preamble be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIs there any objection to the preamble being approved? Minister, it is approved. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I move that the Bill be r eported to the House as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? Seeing none, approved. The Bill will be reported to the House as printed. [Motion carried: The Garages Licensing Act 2022 was considered by a Committee of the whole House …
The ChairmanChairmanDeputy Speaker. House resumed at 8:07 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the Chair] REPORT O F COMMITTEE GARAGES LICENSING ACT 2022
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Mr. Acting Chai rman. Are there any objections to the Bill being approved? There appear to be none. The Bill is a pproved. We have one last item on the agenda. It is the Public Health (C OVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) Order 2022, in the name …
Thank you, Mr. Acting Chai rman. Are there any objections to the Bill being approved? There appear to be none. The Bill is a pproved. We have one last item on the agenda. It is the Public Health (C OVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) Order 2022, in the name of the Minister of Health, Kim Wilson. Ms. Wilson, you have the floor.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that consider ation be given to the draft Order entitled the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) O rder 2022, proposed to be made by the Minister of Health in exercise of the power conferred by section 107A of the Public Health Act 1949.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMm-hmm. Continue. DRAFT OR DER PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19) EMERGENCY EXTENSION (NO. 1) ORDER 2022 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Deputy Speaker , I am pleased to invite this Honourable Chamber to consider the Order entitled Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) Order 2022 . Mr. Deputy Speaker, …
Mm-hmm. Continue.
DRAFT OR DER
PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19) EMERGENCY EXTENSION (NO. 1) ORDER 2022 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Deputy Speaker , I am pleased to invite this Honourable Chamber to consider the Order entitled Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) Order 2022 . Mr. Deputy Speaker, Members will be aware that the current Public Health Emergency Order is scheduled to lapse on 25 October 2022. The Emergency Orders, which ha ve been in place since 30 June 2020 , following the state of emergency put in place on the 1 st of April 2020, are made pursuant to section 107A of the Public Health Act 1949, and d eclare that a public health emergency exists in Berm uda due to a communicable disease that poses a threat to the Island. Mr. Deputy Speaker, over the past two years, health systems around the world have grappled with millions of severely ill patients and extraordinarily sad deaths. These health systems experienced enormous pressur e brought on not only by the original wild- type virus, but also by the successive waves of coronavirus variants such as Alpha, Beta, Delta and Omicron. In Bermuda, the Government took immediate steps to ensure that our health system, including the Island’ s only acute care hospital, would be capable of coping with the anticipated high levels of sick indivi duals in hospital admissions. Our safety measures i ncluded stay at home orders, remote learning and r emote working, curfews, restrictions on group activit ies and border controls. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Deputy Speaker, since March 2020, our small Island has rec-orded 18,220 coronavirus cases and, sadly, there have been 148 coronavirus -related deaths.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Deputy Speaker, the most recent extension of the pub lic health emergency Order approved by Parliament was in July for expiration on 26 Se ptember 2022. Subsequent to that and with the approval of Cabinet, I exercised the power available to me under the Act to make an Order to declare a public health emergenc y for 30 days expiring on 25 October. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Honourable Members will be aware that the first emergency extension Order of this year was made on 17 January 2022. It extended the Public Health Emergency Order 2021 ( BR 5/2021) made on 22 January 2021. All of the extensions subsequently approved by Parliament up to and including the July extension, served to extend the emergency Order made in January of last year. The emergency extension Order before this House now seeks to extend the 30- day emergency Order made in September, which is due to expire on 25 October 2022. It is the first extension of that September emergency Order, and it is not an additional extension of the January 2021 emergency Order. And Mr. Deputy Speaker, I say all of this b ecaus e the Attorney General’s Chambers did determine the need to distinguish this extension Order from the extension Orders that were made previously in the year. As such, the new Order is being distinguished from further Orders by inserting “ (No. 1)” in the ti tle. Together with the BR number and the date of the O rder the (No. 1) will indicate where this new Order fits in the sequences of Orders made this year. Mr. Deputy Speaker, as reported last week, it is this Government’s intention to bring an end to the public health emergency in Bermuda. The Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) O rder 2022 before the House today will extend the current Order for 37 days from 25 October, which would take us to 30 November 2022. Mr. Deputy Speaker, it has bee n two and a half years since that day in March 2020, when the Government decided it was necessary to stop commercial flights to the Island. A few days earlier, the United States’ CDC had issued a No Sail Order which put an end to cruise sailings, and by April the Island was in lockdown. The public health and safety measures made possible by successive Emergency Orders, followed the initial state of emergency , were necessary to r educe pressure on our health system and to save lives. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Honourable Members and the public may not remember those first few months of the pandemic when the Government shifted into high gear immediately. For the Ministry of Health, it was a time of many unknowns . But some things we did know. We needed personal protect ive equipment. We needed reliable and swift testing. It was clear early on that the entire country did not have sufficient personal protective gear, or PPE, for the longevity and magnitude of the oncoming pandemic. Supplies were purchased on the basis of ensuring that Bermuda was cared for as a whole, and procurement proceeded in that principle. Small to large orders were made locally and overseas to prevent Bermuda from having a PPE shortage. With respect to testing, the Caribbean Public Health Agency, or CARPHA, located in Trinidad, was engaged for this important task but was limited to 20 tests per week , and the results were received in approximately five working days. So, the Ministry engaged Helix Genetic and Scientific Solutions under the directorship of Dr. Desiree Spriggs, which pr oduced results within 24 to 48 hours, which was a great feat at the time. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Cabinet Office then set up the Molecular Diagnostics Lab led by Dr. Car ika Weldon, and Bermuda established comprehensive comm unity, traveller and student testing, supported by a massive contact tracing and case management pr ogramme. These proved to be tools that we needed to counteract the novel coronavirus until and while our mass vaccination campaign got underway. Mr. Deputy S peaker, as I [previously] mentioned in this House, our vaccine campaign was a r esounding success. When the Ministry shut the last community clinic in June of this year, 75 per cent of our population was vaccinated, and this number rises to 84 per cent when you consider just those who are eligible for vaccination. It took the collective efforts of the Ministry of Health staff, as well as nurses, doctors, EMTs, pharmacists and volunteers in our community to make Bermuda among the top countries in the world for vaccinations administered per capita. And this, of course, is a great achievement indeed. Technology also played a significant part, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The main application used to assist in pandemic management was resQwest. The functionality of the sys tem includes booking, recording and providing COVID -19 test results for residents, trave llers and students, managing registration, appointments and certificates for vaccinations, and managing the application and vetting process for travellers to Bermuda. G o.Data has also [proven] to be an i mportant software solution. It is an outbreak investiga-tion tool for field data collection during public health emergencies that was developed by the World Health Organization. The Ministry launched it in May 2021 for the Case Management team. Go.Data includes functionality for case investigations, contact follow -up and visualisations of chains of transmissions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, these are only some of the steps the Government took to protect our Island community. Even t hese plans would not have come to fruition without the Ministry of Health team. And I would like to pause, Mr. Deputy Speaker, to thank them all for their unwavering dedication, tremendous hard work and constant commitment to keeping Bermuda safe. Mr. Deputy Speaker, throughout the pandemic, the Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit has moni-tored the Island’s COVID -19 indicators, and we know 1880 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly the Island is in a much better place now than it was two years ago, or even six months ago. The Bermuda community has been incredibly resilient throughout this global pandemic, which is not over yet. Even with this resilience, bolstered by that impressive vaccina-tion rate, in early summer the Island experienced a spike in infections, increased hospitalisations and, unfortunately, additional deaths. This reminds us that the coronavirus continues to be a threat to our health and well -being, though not at the same levels as it was this time last year. On balance, however, and taking all these factors into account, the decision was made to bring an end to the public health emergency. Mr. Deputy Speaker, some may ask, Why not end the public health emergency right now ? Mr. Deputy Speaker, as was reported last week, the consensus among most public health experts is that this upcoming autumn and winter season is important. Around the world there is a relaxation of public health measures to control this coronavirus, including the Omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5, which are driving infections at the moment. This is coupled with the waning protection from vaccines across the world. With the colder months approaching, a new, more infectious or deadlier variant can cause havoc. Mr. Deputy Speaker, for this reason, the Go vernment has decided upon a phased roadmap out of the public health emergency in the coming weeks, rather than ending all remaining public health and safety measures all at once. This phased approach will allow the continued assessment of the prevalence of infection in the community and, most importantly, its impact on our healt h system, while the legislative weight of the public health emergency remains in place. Mr. Deputy Speaker, while there will be questions regarding the future of the Travel Authorisation [TA], it is important to recognise that health travel documents are not new to international travel. Certain countries have had entry requirements such as proof of yellow fever vaccination for a very long time now. The difference is that those types of entry requir ements were limited to specific countries. However, the global pandemic caused the majority of countries around the world to implement and enforce COVID -19 travel document entry requirements. And in our case, the Travel Authorisation, which was put in place as an effective part of our COVID -19 border controls, has served to provide key information to the Bermuda Tourism Authority and has assisted the Department of Immigration and HM Customs as well. The Government, currently, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is having further discussions regarding Bermuda’s travel entry requirements, taking into consi deration what is appropriate and necessary in light of the ongoing pandemic. And this will include what i nformation needs to be collected and whether any fees need to be applied. Many people will be pleased that the regul ations are being removed, but this does not mean that we can stop being responsible for our own health and the health of others. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we continue to urge the whole community to carry on with sensible public health and safety measures; that is, use personal protective equipment such as facemasks, practise physical distancing, good hand hygiene, and i mportantly, stay at home when you are sick. Avoid close spaces, crowded places and close contact settings, and take a risk -based approach to mass gatherings. Mr. Deputy Speaker, a number of businesses do and may continue to require masks to be worn to enter their premises. This is a decision made by the business operator and legally must be honoured by all staff, customers and patrons. We must be careful and safe for ourselves and our community. Mr. Deputy Speaker, as the Minister of Health, I consulted the Chief Medical Officer and determined that a communicable disease of the first category, namely COVID -19 and its variants of concern does persist and contin ues to pose a severe threat to public health in Bermuda. To control and contain the spread of infection, public health measures, such as those provided in the regulations pursuant to section 107B of the Public Health Act 1949 will continue to be rel evant a nd necessary beyond 25 October 2022. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Order before us now will extend the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Order 2022, made pursuant to section 107A of the Public Health Act 1949, and empower the Governor to make public health emergency regulations pursuant to section 107B of that Act which imposed extraordinary measures necessary in the interest of public health to prevent, control and suppress COVID -19. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Honourable Members will be aware that the Public Health ( COVID -19) Emergency Order 2022 was made under the negative resolution procedure for 30 days expiring on 25 Oct ober 2022, at a time when the House would not have been in session. However, we know the COVID -19 pandemic continues globally and is pervasive in Be rmuda. We also know that a public health emergency will continue to exist on our Island beyond 25 October 2022. Therefore, Mr. Deputy Speaker, in accor dance with sections 107A (3) and (4) of the Public Health Act 1949, I bring the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) Order 2022 to this Honourable Chamber to seek approval for the extension of a public health emergency for a further 37 days, ending on 30 November 2022. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourab le Minister. Are there any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Scott Pearman. You have the floor, sir. Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Pearman: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Thank you, Honourable and Learned Minister for your presentation in relation to the Public Health …
Thank you, Honourab le Minister. Are there any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Scott Pearman. You have the floor, sir.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Pearman: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Thank you, Honourable and Learned Minister for your presentation in relation to the Public Health (COVID - 19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) Order 2022. I am holding the responsive brief on behalf of my co lleague, Michael Dunkley, the Shadow Minister of Health. Minister, I know you tried to bring this on at about 11:30 this morning, and I would have been grateful personally if you had done that, so we would not be here now. But, so it goes. As the Minister said, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this extension Order amends BR/97 of 2022 which was made on the 21 September 2022, and which ends on 25 Oc tober 2022. The point of making that statement is that this refers to an extension of 37 days, which might confuse people. It confused me when I saw it. It is because the previous Order was going to run to 25 October, and it is those 37 days that are being added. In reality, this extension is extending the restrictions by 54 days from today. It is just that the previous O rder carried over and we are ahead of it. It took me a little while to figure that out , but, hopefully, that is hel pful for those who are listening. It will come as no surprise that we in the O pposition are pleased to see these powers being di scharged. We have said this repeatedly, and for many months, and I do not need to go back into our arguments. I understand the arguments of the Honourable and Learned Minister. In simple terms, we believe that emergency powers are properly reserved for just that—emergencies. And whilst COVID -19 is still with us, and whilst we must appreciate that there are still people in the world and in Bermuda sufferi ng from COVID -19, the reality is that the collective emergency has passed, and I would go on to say it passed some time ago. I note that this Government, in fact, said very many months ago that we need to learn to live with COVID -19. And part of learning to live with COVID -19 is to recognise it for what it is, which is disease, which does not necessarily require emergency powers to be imposed on the populace and citizenry. I do have a question for the Minister. I was going to be slightly cheeky, but given that she raised it herself in her Statement, I would be grateful to know when the resQwest c ontract comes to an end. I do not think I need to say much more. We are obviously de-lighted to see that these things are coming to an end. In summary, the One Berm uda Alliance’s position is this: It is none too soon, and it's really a shame that we must wait another 54 days until 30 N ovember. We would have preferred to see it gone a few months back when we announced that position. On a personal note, and without emphasising policy differences between us, I would just like to say that it must have been a very difficult two and one half years for the Honourable and Learned Minister to deal with the situation that she had to face. And so, I am personally grateful for her being at the helm during that period. I would also like to thank the medical community and, indeed, other frontline workers for the sacrifice that they have made over this very tumult uous period. And finally, it would be remiss of me, back to politics, n ot to just say that the TA needs to go, and it needs to go now. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member, Mr. Pearman. Are there any further speakers? Yes, the Deputy Leader, the Honourable Walter Roban. You have th e floor, sir. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I would like to certainly echo the sentiments that have been already put forth in this …
Thank you, Honourable Member, Mr. Pearman. Are there any further speakers? Yes, the Deputy Leader, the Honourable Walter Roban. You have th e floor, sir. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I would like to certainly echo the sentiments that have been already put forth in this House as to being pleased to see that we are coming to a certain chapter of this experience that we c an now close and move on to a new one, irrespective of the views and opinions of some that have been mentioned, and I am not going back to rehash old debates, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But I think we should actually be grateful [for] how much of this operated f or the past two years [in] that the political and the medical were separate, and that decisions were informed by medical advice, not just by political interests. And this afforded us the opportunity to benefit from clear scientific data, informed decisions from experts to make sure that we attempted to always make the best decisions. I think we are grateful that we have come to a chapter now where the advice is saying we can now move on and bring a close to this experience and move on to a type of management of having learned quite a bit over the past two years where we can manage the situation going forward without some of the requirements that were put in place because of the emergency that was here. I would also like to, and I'm going to come to a close here, commend the Minister and all of her team at the department and the Ministry of Health and all the people who as part of our structure—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAssociate the House. Assoc iate the House. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —and the whole House–– that w ere brought in to create the capacity for us to deal with what we have for the past two years, and all those who gave quite a bit of energy and time to …
Associate the House. Assoc iate the House. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —and the whole House–– that w ere brought in to create the capacity for us to deal with what we have for the past two years, and all those who gave quite a bit of energy and time to hel ping this country stay alive. And irrespective, we still mourn those who have passed related to this disease. We commend those who fought hard to try and keep them alive in our hospitals, in our care homes, in their own homes and in this community. They also, I am sure, sacrificed 1882 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly and we know, sacrificed a great deal and we are grateful for the sacrifice they put in, because they were on the frontlines protecting us. And I would like to, also again, remember the families who have lost [loved ones], whom we must remember in all of this. They are still dealing with that loss. As we move on, they are still grieving. We must remember that. And I think we all in this House do remember that. I do not doubt everybody in this House does remember that. And I would also like to perhaps make a personal comment of the Minister, a person whom I have known for a long ti me. I want to just say she was built for this job. Yes! And I hope the Minister takes my compliment that there are very few people that I believe who could have put up and dealt with this once-in-a-lifetime crisis and be in a leadership role that she [was] . I am sure she herself has had a lot to carry and has carried a lot, not only in behalf of herself, her family and this country. She should be commended, along with all the other people who were out there fighting on the front lines. She took the brunt of much of the criticism and the weight of the decisions that had to be made around this. And not many people, I believe, could have done that. But Minister Kim Wilson, whom I have known for a long time, I honestly believe was built for the role that she ha d to take on. And I commend her and thank her for the role that she has played, along with so many others in dealing with this. But now we can move on, and that is what we are attempting to do, and this measure is a clear indi-cation that the country is moving to another chapter. Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you for your comments, Deputy Leader, Walter Roban. And thank you, Mini ster Wilson. And [thank you] MP Pearman for your comments. Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and I thank the honourable colleagues for their contribution. I wish the other, I guess, 16 iterations …
Thank you for your comments, Deputy Leader, Walter Roban. And thank you, Mini ster Wilson. And [thank you] MP Pearman for your comments. Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and I thank the honourable colleagues for their contribution. I wish the other, I guess, 16 iterations would have gone as smoothly as this one just did. But, in any event, I think we are all very happy to be able to, in unison, provide a sigh of relief. There was one question with respect to resQwest and the Honourable Member would probably recognise that it is due to expire on the March 31, 2023, but there are early termination clauses. With that, again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like to just thank Honourable Members for their contr ibutions and thank particularly members and the public for their efforts in helping to address this very, very once- in-a-lifetime pandemic. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like to move that the said draft Order entitled the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) Order 2022, extending the public health emer-gency to its conclusion on 30 November 2022, be ap-proved, Mr. Deputy Speaker , and that a suitable message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there any objections to the Order being approved? There are no objections. The Order is approved and the message will be sent to Her Excellency the Governor. [Motion carried: Draft Or der entitled the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 1) Order 2022 was approved.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThat was the end of the Orders of the Day. We need third readings. [We will have the] third reading of the Payroll Tax Amendment and Valid ation (No. 2) Act 2022. [Inaudible interjection] SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Walter H. Roban: I move that Standing Order 21 be …
That was the end of the Orders of the Day. We need third readings. [We will have the] third reading of the Payroll Tax Amendment and Valid ation (No. 2) Act 2022.
[Inaudible interjection]
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Walter H. Roban: I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move the Bill ent itled the Payroll Tax Amendment Act —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYour microphone is not on, cousin. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —the Payroll Tax Amendment Act 2022 [sic] be now read a third time by its title only.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there a ny objections? No objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT AND VALIDATION (NO. 2) 2022 Hon. Walter H. Roban: And I will just clarify, I meant the Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYes. Hon. Walter H. Roban: But I move that the Bi ll now be read a third time by its title only and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerNo objections? Approved. Bermuda House of Assembly [Gavel] [Motion carried: The Payroll Tax Amendment and Validation (No. 2) Act 2022 was read a third time and passed.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe next [Bill] is the Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move the Bill entitled the Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2022 be read a thi rd time …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there any objections? No objections, approved. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING STAMP DUTIES AMENDMENT ACT 2022 Hon. Walter H. Roban: I move that the Bill be now read a third time by its title only and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe next one is the Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enab le me to move the Bill entitled the Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022 be …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there any objections? No objections, approved. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READ ING CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT (NO. 3) ACT 2022 Hon. Walter H. Roban: I move that the Bill now be read a third time by its title only and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? Approved. [Gavel] [Motion carried: The Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act 2022 was read a third time and passed.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe next Bill is the Fuels Act 2022. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to mov e the Bill entitled the Fuels Act 2022 be now read a third time by …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there a ny objections? None. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING FUELS ACT 2022 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the Bill be now read a third time by its title only and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Bill is passed. [Gavel] [Motion carried: The Fuels Act 2022 was read a third time and passed.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe next Bill is the West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2022 in the name of the Minister of Public Works, Colonel Burch. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled the West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2022 be now read the third time by its title only.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? Continue. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING 1884 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly WEST END DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AMENDMENT ACT 2022
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAny objections? The Bill has passed. [Gavel] [Motion carried: The West End Devel opment Corpor ation Amendment Act 2022 was read a third time and passed.]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe next one is the Parish Council s Amendment Act 2022 in the name of Minister Tinee Furbert. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Tinee Furbert: I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move the Bill entitled Parish Council s Amendment Act 2022 be now …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? Continue. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READI NG PARISH COUNCIL S AMENDMENT ACT 2022 Hon. Tinee Furbert: I move that the Bill be now read a third time by its title only and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? No objections. The Bill has passed. [Gavel] [Motion carried: The Parish Council s Amendment Act was read a third time and passed.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe next one is the Garages Licensing Act 2022, under Minister Lawrence Scott. Minister Scott, you have the floor. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move the Bill entitled Garages …
The next one is the Garages Licensing Act 2022, under Minister Lawrence Scott. Minister Scott, you have the floor.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move the Bill entitled Garages Licens-ing Act 2022 be now read the third time by its title on-ly.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there a ny objections? Continue. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING GARAGES LICENSING ACT 2022 Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I move that the Bill be now read a third time by its title only and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? No objections. The Bill has passed. [Gavel] [Motion carried: The Garages Licensing Act 2022 was read a third time and passed.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerI think this brings us to the close of the day. Oh, Minister Roban, are you going to let us go home early? ADJOURNMENT Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. At the close of a session with a lot of interes ting occurrences, I move that the …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections to that? Oh, we have got Mr. Famous. Mr. Famous, you have the floor.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThat’s wonderful. BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
Mr. Christopher Famo usYou can start my 20 minutes in the next five minutes. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I am wearing pink today, and other Members of Parliament will be wearing pink today in recognition of breast cancer awareness. Bermuda House of Assembly The Deputy Speaker: Oh yes.
Mr. Christopher Fam ousSo we just want to show our support. There was a time in our lives that, as a man in Bermuda, you wouldn't be caught dead wear-ing pink. But we have matured. And we realise that our mothers, our wives, our significant others, our daughters all need to make sure …
So we just want to show our support. There was a time in our lives that, as a man in Bermuda, you wouldn't be caught dead wear-ing pink. But we have matured. And we realise that our mothers, our wives, our significant others, our daughters all need to make sure that they get their mammograms. So as men we just want to encourage our women, especially our Black women, because there is more propensity, to please get your annual mammograms. And don't be ashamed o f that.
LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT HUMAN RELATIONS
Mr. Christopher FamousMr. Deputy Speaker, I want to move on to another subject. It is called human relations. Over the last few weeks, perhaps even lon ger, we have been inundated with things on social m edia attempting to dictate how the PLP runs their internal affairs. Sometimes it is laughable to …
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I want to move on to another subject. It is called human relations. Over the last few weeks, perhaps even lon ger, we have been inundated with things on social m edia attempting to dictate how the PLP runs their internal affairs. Sometimes it is laughable to read this stuff, but this is what I want to say, and I want to say this to all my fellow MPs and those aspiring to be MPs. You cannot judge the pulse of the country by what you see on social media. You cannot judge the pulse [by what] anonymous bloggers are writing. The true pulse of the people is when you interact with them. There are people in this House who have won seats where people would say they were not winnable because of the demographics. A seat is not winnable if you do not go knock on people's doors. You can not change people's hearts and minds through what you see on social media. It’s interaction. Last week I was accused of inciting Kumbaya in this House. Well, here is the thing, Mr. Deputy Speak er. Earlier, all of us had supper inside that common room that the Opposition Leader spoke about years ago. There was PLP, there was OBA. Not everybody is on the same wavelength at any given time. But we all sat around that table, cracking jokes. The Oppos ition Leader was trying to share his flatbread pizza. You know, others were sharing calamari. The point I am getting at, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is human relations. We may differ in how we think. We may differ in our aspirations. But it is about human relatio ns. So I say to those who are out there blogging anonymously , especially, that the division that you are attempting to perpetrate is not real. We are not united. We are not all on the same wavelength. But we all sit down at the same table inside of this House. Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me move on. Let me encapsulate with that. Tip O’Neill . . . does anyone know Tip O’Neill?
Mr. Christopher FamousDoes anyone know what his most famous saying (with no pun intended) was? An Hon. Me mber: All politics is local.
Mr. Christopher FamousAll politics is local. So, for those who are aspiring to any given office, all politics is local. It's about human relations. Touch base with the people you think do not like you, or may not vote for y ou. It doesn't matter. People want to feel that interaction. Right? …
All politics is local. So, for those who are aspiring to any given office, all politics is local. It's about human relations. Touch base with the people you think do not like you, or may not vote for y ou. It doesn't matter. People want to feel that interaction. Right? Mr. Deputy Speaker, another thing that's been floating around on the media is saying that this party, your party, Jarion Richardson’s . . . Honourable Member Jarion Richardson’s family’s party, the Progressive Labour Party, is no longer “progressive.” Som eone today wrote, Oh, you're not really a labour party . So I asked the person, How many times can you reinvent the wheel? You can only invent the wheel once, you know. If we as a party, a long with our union brothers and sisters, have done “X” amount for the labour movement, we cannot go back and say, You know, let's bring back some legislation called m aternity leave. Let's bring back some legislation called vacation pay . That's been done. So, there will be those who say, Oh, you're not bringing progressive legislation, blah, blah, blah. But the reality is that we have evolved with the times . At the time when the party was formed 60 years ago, many Blacks were not even given the opportunit y to go to high school, much less college. We have evolved, Mr. Deputy Speaker. A large percentage of our people have been to university and college, they have a master’s degree, some have a doctorate. They have never worked on a breadline or did the tr aditional things called labour. But all labour is labour, Mr. Deputy Speaker —blue collar, white collar, no matter what. So we have evolved with the times. Now one of the things I can agree on with some of the critics is that we have not in the last few years had the opportunity to afford to build enough affordable housing. When I drive across Frog Lane I look at the affordable housing built down there [by] the UBP at the time. When I drive across Loughlands, I look at the affordable housing built by this part y under the leadership of that gentleman, Lieutenant Colonel David A. Burch, and I am proud of that . When I see that Bermudians can drive home and say, I have a piece of the rock , albeit maybe a small piece of the rock, but a piece of the rock . . . a piec e of the rock that, I may add, people in Paget did not want at the time . . . but I will leave that at that. Mr. Deputy Speaker, today we sat here and we heard some progressive legislation. There's some back and forth about garages, back and forth about , I don’t know , fuel. Most people do not care about that. What they care about is, C an I afford rent ? Are my children going to have to sleep in one house, can they afford to sleep in one house? Or do I have to put one with the granny one with the god mom? The Bermuda Housing Corporation, Mr. Dep uty Speaker. A few months ago I was asked, because 1886 7 October 2022 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly of a vacancy, to join the board of the Bermuda Housing Corporation. I was like, Well, I don ’t know , Minister, because I don't have that much experience on that board. They said, Listen, do you care about Berm udians ? I said, Y es. [They asked] Are you willing to work hard? I said , Yes. They said, Okay, you are on the board. Mr. Deputy Speaker, one of the challenges of the board has been that because of all the financial issues we are dealing with, we did not have enough money to build more affordable housing. Anybody looking on social media could see people asking for affordable housing. This is middle class people asking for affordable housing. And it hurt my heart being a member of that board, which I am proud to be on, that we cannot satisfy all the needs of the people. I did not say wants ; needs. So to hear today that the Government, through the advocacy of the Colonel, has seen fit to grant $21 million—$21 milli on—that is going to revitalise 60 units that are already occupied, 77 units that are laying vacant at present , over the course of three years , this is just the first phase. What does that mean in real terms, Mr. Deput y Speaker? Some people think it is just a number. What it means is that hundreds of Bermudian tradesmen are going to be working. Plumbers, carpenters, electricians, tilers, painters, you name it, are going to be working. What does it mean, Mr. Deputy Speaker? It means that as each unit is fini shed or, as they say , in a make -ready status, one less Bermudian family is going to say, I can't find a decent place to rent . Why is that? Because the rent is built geared to income. Whatever your income is, 35 per cent of that is what you are paying. It's not, you know, maybe it is not ideal in a financial sense. But a book . . . but our Go vernment is not here to be all about the money. So I say all of that to say that it is my honour to serve on that board under the Colonel. He does not say much, but ever ybody knows what they have to do. There is hard- working Bermudian staff there. It is a hardworking board. And with this grant we will be able to do what the people want —progressive things. So I go back, as I close Mr. Deputy Speaker, to each one of you a ll. Today is my birthday.
Mr. Christopher FamousAnd it just so happens that the first time I was able to give a maiden speech was just around five years ago on my birthday. And my maiden speech was based around lead ership. So I say to anyone, each one of us, all of us are leaders. We …
And it just so happens that the first time I was able to give a maiden speech was just around five years ago on my birthday. And my maiden speech was based around lead ership. So I say to anyone, each one of us, all of us are leaders. We are leaders of our communities. Right? It's not about what you see on the blogs. Do not believe the hype. Leadership is about human relationships. Even if you disagree with somebody , talk to him. I don’t agree with MP Scott Pearman on most things. I notice he is now wearing a different tie. He hasn't brought me any banana bread lately, but we have a relationship. I've just gotten to meet MP Jarion Richardson. We will have a relationship. There are people on my side, our side. We do not agree, because they are for Somerset, like her , MP Ianthia Simmons -Wade. But we have a relatio nship. So I say to anyone, I close with this. Leadership is not about what's on the blogs. That is not the true barometer. Leadership is, Hey, can we have a conversation? Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I notice the timer hasn't started, but . . .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Famous. And happy birthday. The next speaker is Colonel Burch. AUDITOR GENERAL —SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF ARREAR AUDITS
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchI wonder if you would indulge me for a few minutes as I read from a doc ument. It will become clearer as I proceed, why I am doing this.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThank you, Mr. D eputy Speaker. This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Royal Gazette called 1“Damning report must wake up our legislature.” And one of the par agraph says, “In short: her report is an indictment of our present system of governance and its failures …
Thank you, Mr. D eputy Speaker. This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Royal Gazette called 1“Damning report must wake up our legislature.” And one of the par agraph says, “In short: her report is an indictment of our present system of governance and its failures — another in a long line of reports from her office and, frankly, it was way past time something was done about it. “Some will sati sfy themselves simply by blaming the former government, the Progressive Labour Party that is in Opposition now, and it is true that it shoulder blame for what happened under its stewar dship. But if you think that is the only problem, or even the problem, y ou are sadly mistaken, in my humble view. This has been developing for some time, dating back to the days of, you guessed it, the United Bermuda Party. I kid you not. Check out past reports if you think I'm wrong. It's all there in black and white, and not just in the fine print, either.”
1 Royal Gazette 26 November 2015
Bermuda House of Assembly That's an article that was written, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and published on the [26]th of November 2015, and it's referring to an Auditor General’s report. And it identifies the Progressive Labour Party as part of the problem. And I accept that argument. We are part of the problem. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the current Auditor General commented on my comments last week or r esponded to them and was aided and abetted by the Leader of the Opposition, the current Opposition. And I quo te him from the article. “The opposition One Bermuda Alliance has described the revelations made by Ms. Thomas as ‘abominable and outrageous.’” He goes on to state. 2“‘It is ironic that the r esponsibility for these audit challenges, and the 100 plus fina ncial statements arose under the leadership of the two PLP finance ministers, both of whom are vying to become Premier of Bermuda later this month.’” Mr. Deputy Speaker, one more quote: “Mr. Simons added that it was ‘unforgiveable’ that arrears in a slew of funds were allowed to build up for more than 11 years.” Well, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me start by sa ying more than 11 years means that this includes the entire five years that they were in Government. So they must be partly responsible too .
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Deputy Speaker, 131 accounts. The Auditor General, no matter who it is, is never going to be able to clear those 131 accounts on the current trajectory, no matter what any Minister of F inance does without a nuclear option. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Government is now, as then, …
Mr. Deputy Speaker, 131 accounts. The Auditor General, no matter who it is, is never going to be able to clear those 131 accounts on the current trajectory, no matter what any Minister of F inance does without a nuclear option. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Government is now, as then, as they probably will say too, in favour of helping the Auditor General meet her commitment to the people of Bermuda. And I will quote her. “‘The responsibility of auditing public money — your money —is not transferable.’ (No problem. ) “Ms. Thomas said today that her constitutional and legislative role was to make sure the Government spent residents’ money wisely and ‘to enhance public sector efficiency, transparency and accountability through the financial statements audits.’” Well, I would suggest that she is failing in her job miserably. And it's not all her fault, I accept that. But it is her fault if she is not prepared to work with whatever Government of the day to come up with a nuclear option, which means allowing other people who can count to audit the accounts and bring them up to date. And I would submit that some of these accounts are never going to be able to be brought up to
2 Royal Gazette 4 October 2022 date if what's missing out of them , as reported b y her , You ain’t going to find that stuff! So you are going to have to make a firm dec ision that says, Right. We draw a line in the sand. We spank everybody who was guilty and we move on. Because, Mr. Deputy Speaker, in doing research for this, I spoke on this subject in 32020 when the four quangos that I am responsible for . . . all of them are in arrears. And every member of all four of those boards can tell you that I attend our board meetings and I ask at every board meeting, What's the status of the a udits? Because I want them resolved. And many of those cases, Mr. Deputy Speaker, are cases where we said, hire an outside auditor . You can oversee and do whatever it is you need to do. But I would trust them , Mr. Deputy Speaker. They have a fiduciary dut y to carry out those responsibilities with integrity. So, to suggest that only she and her office can do this means that we are always going to be talking about this. People who succeed all of us in this place will be standing up 20 years from now sa ying there are 150 organis ations that aren't properly audited. Mr. Deputy Speaker, at the end of the day, if we are genuine about solving the problem, then we need to come up with a method and a mechanism together that does that. You will be aware, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that earlier in this session we passed a Bill for one of my quangos to extend the timeframe so that we would be outside of the criticism that is currently being levelled. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am telling you, first of all, I am willing to partici pate in any exercise that is going to help this be advanced. But I am not prepared to wait forever. I am . . . well, I have to wait until after the 20 th to see whether I still have this responsibility. But be that as it may, I will still be a Member of the Legisl ature, and I shall still push for a resolution on these i ssues. And I can tell you, if I have this responsibility I will come back to this House again with a similar amendment that was passed today for WEDCO for the other three quangos that I have if I believe and am advised that this is going to help us get to the point where we are up to date with those four. Something more dramatic needs to happen with the other 127 of them. That's huge! The problem is sizeable. It is not enough to sit in your office and say it's their fault and for us to come here and say, No, it’s your fault . Well, I am going to say today we all have a stake in this, and we are all partly responsible for the circumstances under which we exist. So let’s stop spinning wheels. Let ’s stop talking and pointing fingers, and let’s have a conversation about how it is that we can address clearing a significant number of the 130 that exist this year and probably the other half
3 Official Hansard Report 2 March 2020, p. 3294
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Bermuda House of Assembly next year, and come up with a means that addresses the problem and not have to engage in what I consi der to be a turf war. Is it my responsibility? Yes, it's your responsibility . Just as we all have responsibilities as Members of the Legislature and Ministers. But we do not do the job ourselves , all by ou rselves. We have to have help. And I am suggesting that enough is enough! If we want to fix the problem and meet the legislative commitment to the people of this country , then let's sit down and come up with a mechanism that gets us to the point where the pro blem is resolved and were not playing this tit for tat. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. Thank you, Mini ster. The House stands adjourned. [Gavel] [Inaudible interjections]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. We will meet again on November 4. Have a nice weekend and a nice break from Parliament. Thank you. [At 8:58 pm, the House stood adjourned until 10:00 am, Friday, 4 November 2022.]