July 20, 2022

Thank you, Madam
President, and thank you, Senator, for introducing this
Act. It clearly has good intentions and good objectives and is not out of line with things happening around the
world. If I am correct, I believe it will work together
with some of the things we will talk about later today.
I did have two comments. You did mention the
digital asset business. I certainly look forward to
codes for that area of business coming into play. You know, I think at best we could say right now that area
of business is a Wild Wes t. It will be very important for


Bermuda Senate Bermuda as a jurisdiction to set itself apart from the
rest of the world in how it handles that business so
that we can get the best benefit from it without tarnis hing our hard- earned reputation thanks to the work of
the BM A [Bermuda Monetary Authority] and prior governments of various stripes.
My other comment is, having worked professionally in areas impacted by this is, these codes can be onerous and have many negative effects on how
companies operate if they are not han dled well. By
that I do not mean, Oh, they just get in the way of the
companies. I mean depending on how the regulator
deals with the companies in the monitoring and ex ecuting of these codes, they may not actually achieve
their ends. But they may just put a drag on business.
That has been seen in some jurisdictions. And I would
say that a deft and experienced touch is going to be
required by the regulators, the BMA.
I am sure that they are up to it. And I think that
their approach to how they operate has been proven to be very successful for Bermuda and internationally. And I look forward to them doing a good job with this
to the benefit of Bermuda, Bermudians and the bus inesses that operate in Bermuda.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then, Senator Arianna Hodgson, it is back to you.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendm ent Act 2022 be now read a
second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of t his Bill.

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

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING
BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2022
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2022 be now read a
third time.

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

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

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act
2022 do now pass.

[Crosstalk]

The President: The Bermuda Monetary Authority
Amendment Act 2022 is now passed.

[Motion carried: the Bermuda Monetary Authority
Amendment Act 2022 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, Senators.
We now move on to the second item, and that
is the second reading of the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2022. This is in the name of Senator the
Hon. Dr. E. G. V. Peets, spokesman for Legal Affairs
and also Government Leader in the Senate.
Minister Peets, you have the floor.

Madam President,
with your permission I am pleased to advance the Bill
entitled the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2022
. This
Bill seeks to repeal the temporary or the sunset clause
provision in the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2012
which inserted the criminal offence of instructing a
588 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate person to participate in unlawful gang activity and i nstituted increased sentences for offences where unlawful gang activity is a feature of the criminal activity
into the Criminal Code 1907 for a limited period of
time. The 2012 measures were modelled on the C anadian anti -gang legislation enacted in 2009.
Madam President, the 2012 Act prescribes as
follows. Section 33A criminalised instructing a gang member to commit an offence. Section 70JA defined
unlawful gang and unlawful gang activity. And section
70JB provides the court with the power to increase a sentence on conviction where the offence is connec ted to or arises from unlawful gang activity.
This amendment Bill seeks to repeal th e temporary or sunset clause provisions in the 2012 Act, thereby permanently codifying sections 33A, 70JA
and 70JB into the Criminal Code of 1907. These now
indispensable sunset provisions have been kept in
operation via statutory instruments published in the
Official Gazette extending their effect since July of
2012.
Madam President, Senators and the public at
large are agonisingly aware of the unprecedented
scourge of gang- related criminal activity which has
come to light in Bermuda society. Looking back to
when the 2012 Act first became law, Bermuda society
was gripped for the first time in its history with i ncreases in violent crime, demonstrating the hallmarks
of criminal organisation into groups verily called
gangs.
In 2012 the PLP Government and polic e were
cautious based on pervasive public attitudes to give credibility to the fledgling groups demonstrating gang-like behaviours and organisation. As the provisions
and the gang phenomenon were unprecedented at
that time of enactment, legislators support ed emplo ying temporary enactments via a sunset clause to run
in conjunction with other gang- curtailment policy and
policing measures. In fact, Madam President, the ten-or of the parliamentary debate in 2012 focused on a
shared hope that future generations of young people
could be spared from being enticed into unlawful
gangs and from participating in unlawful gang activity. For that, it was not envisioned that these provisions
would be needed some 10 years later.
Madam President, those same hopes and
prayers over our youth remain as alive today as they
did in 2012. But we must also take collective societal, legislative and policy action using all of the tools
across the continuum of prevention, deterrence, effective punishment, rehabilitation and restitution to pr otect the peace and order in our community.
Madam President, recently the Honourable
Minister of National Security presented a comprehen-sive update on the initiatives and actions taken across
government to tackle unlawful gang activity and ant isocial behaviour. This Government continues to
commit resources, programmes and best efforts to dampen crime and gang- related activities. Bermuda is not unique in the fight against unlawful gang activity.
Our geographical isolation and small size no longer
buffer us from global influences across media, entertainment and social media platforms which glorify vi olence and criminality.
With that backdrop, Madam President, we
come to this moment in time, which regrettably r equires us as legislators to consider the intr actability of
gang- related crime in Bermuda despite sustained policing efforts and inventive government -wide policies
to dissuade young people from joining unlawful gangs and participating in unlawful conduct. But starkly, the
real-life consequences of gang membership and acti vity include physical and sexual abuse and the explo itation of others, exposure to illicit drugs and alcohol,
isolation from family, difficulty in securing emplo yment, imprisonment, and even death at the hands of others who wish violence.
Madam President, I anticipate the debate will
touch on all of the nuanced complexities of gang and
crime issues that we live with and live under, including
criticisms of the government’s responses to it. This Government remains open to considering all viable
suggestions, no matter where they originate, to aid in
the collective solutions to the gang problem.
As stated in this Bill as it relates to the Stat ement, the Criminal Code must contain appropriate
offences to match the criminal activity known to exist
in society, with crime and punishment being effective
and dissuasive. These gang- specific provisions widen
the tools available to police, prosecutors and the
courts to bring offenders of crime- related offences to
justice. They give the courts adequat e powers to ensure sentencing reflects the seriousness and extent of the offending. In doing so, it shows that society d enounces the unlawful conduct in question and d emands that offenders are removed from society based
on the severity of the offence commi tted. This is necessary to maintain a just, peaceful and safe society.
Madam President, the Bill before us, in its
purest sense, is a piece of legislative housekeeping. I
bring this Bill with the full support of the Director of
Public Prosecutions and the Commissioner of Police,
who have each indicated the continuing need for these provisions to be codified as a deterrent for un-lawful gang activity. I can report that there were two
indictments before the courts where offences from the
2012 Act have been charged and/or will be subject to
the aggravating sentencing for gang- related criminal ity. This highlights the real -time need for the statutory
provisions of this Bill to be made permanent, as recent alarming public execution- style shootings made their
way t hrough the judicial system. Between July 10,
2012 , and January 30, 2022, there were 186 confirmed firearms incidents, all linked to gang- related
activity.
Madam President, magistrates, judges, prosecutors and defence counsel are fully competent with
navig ating all of the evidential requirements necessary


Bermuda Senate to prove the existence of gang- related activity in the
circumstances of each case. This may include the use
of expert testimony, cell site analysis, forensic and
ballistic evidence, CCTV footage, police body camera
footage, et cetera. It is not said with any pride that in
the Bermuda case of Myers v. The Queen [2015] , the
Privy Council issued guidance on the admissibility of evidence relating to gangs, their existence, their terr itories, their feuds, allegi ances and members’ affili ations and activities. The opinion of the Privy Council
has proved useful for English and Welsh prosecutors and courts when analysing admissibility of evidence
under their own gang laws.
Madam President, as you can imagine, many
questions have been posed about the gang issue in
Bermuda. One that comes to mind is whether the ad-ditional penalties imposed by the 2012 Act have
worked. This is difficult to ascertain from the recorded
indictments alone, but the dissuasive effect of a cri minal sanction is exceedingly difficult to assess based
purely on whether or not the crimes have been charged or successful prosecutions have ensued. The
myriad of factors at play suggests , at least anecdota lly, that without these provisions we would send a
message that as a society we do not take gang-related crime and punishment seriously. One can
question whether the prescribed penalties are tough enough. Keep in mind that these provisions prescribe
additional penalties in a similar way as found in the Misuse of Drugs Act. But the underlying offence may
already be subject to harsh and severe terms of i mprisonment. In some instances, the penalty is already the maximum life sentence, for instance, in firearms -
related murder cases where the mandatory sentenc e
is life imprisonment.
Ultimately, the question arises as to whether
these deterrents are effective at all. Criminal law pol icymaking is predicated upon the notion that penalties
befitting the crime consistently enforced, along with
other measures to dis courage criminal behaviour, will
yield positive results. Hence, there are prevention,
rehabilitation and treatment programmes in place in tandem with these criminal law enforcement
measures to achieve the desired results overall.
Madam President, the 2012 provisions remain
temporarily enforced as a necessary tool against the scourge of gang violence. They send an unmistakable
message that brazen criminal acts or coordinated,
premeditated discharge of firearms in successful and
unsuccessful attempts to take life will not be tolerated.
Neither will other unlawful gang activities. Therefore, dispensing with the Bill’s offences and increased pen-alties would remove a vital tool needed to counteract
any escalation.
Madam President, now 10 years since the
enactment of the 2012 Act, it is overdue to legislate
for its permanent codification. Accordingly, this Bill
quite straightforwardly asks us to consider removing
the sunset clause from the 2012 Act so as to make those provisions permanent in the Criminal Code Act
1907.
Madam President, I dare say that public outcry demands severe punishment for criminality cen-tred on gang activity. We are continually being cha llenged to use every means at our disposal to eradicate criminal gangs, gang violence and criminal gang
activity. The permanent enactment of these provisions
is another answer to that call.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets, Spokesperson on Legal Affairs in the Senate.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Ben Smith, you have the floor.
Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to thank the Minister for his thorough Statement. I think everybody in Bermuda would agree right now that the gang violence has continued
to be a real problem throughout our society. And it is
touching everyone in every part of our community. When somebody googles Bermuda, we show up as a
violent place to be because we have a small popul ation size, which means that our murder -to-population
rate is high. This is the op posite of who we are as a
people. So, a small portion of our population is i mpacting the whole.
When you have this, it is a shame, but that is
really how society works. We have to put in stronger
restrictions and stronger punishment not for the majority, but for the group that even today is not listening to
the statistics and the words that came from Minister
Peets. It is the group who have continued to just i gnore what is happening to the rest of the country. Their self -centred behaviour to not only creat e violent,
criminal activity throughout our country, but to encour-age young people to be part of that. The fact that we
have children in primary, middle and secondary schools who are being recruited into these gangs and
we are seeing the result of the viol ent acts that are
happening, but do not understand that those violent
acts are also creating an environment that makes
more young people feel that they have to be part of a
gang to protect themselves. That is the shame of it. It is increasing that because of this behaviour.
So, what we have is a situation where we
have to look at our policing. They have to look at what we are doing in our courts. We have to look at what
we are doing in our families. We are also going to
have to look at what we are doing in our schools to
make sure that all of us together are doing everything
we can to turn this tide. Yes, this is a step in that direction. I am hoping that we will see more legislation
that will make it even more restrictive for people who
are behaving in the way that they are. Connecting not
just the perpetrator, but the people who are protecting
the perpetrator. Because we cannot continue to have
a small society like us who are being ravaged by an
590 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate even smaller portion of our population. This behaviour
can no longer be accepted.
So, the Minister stated that there were two
occasions in the last 10 years that they have been
able to use this particular legislation. We support any tool that can be given to the courts to help us in this
battle. And we are looking forward to seeing more that
will help us in any way to not only prevent the next
crime, but also prevent the next young person from
being enticed into this lifestyle.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith, O pposition Lea der in the Senate.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I believe that when the original amendment to
the Criminal Code was passed in 2012, the whole
community was hoping that this would help us to see
a reduction in gang activity and most especially gang
violence and the recruitment of young people into
gangs.
Unfortunately, just as Minister Peets has said
and Senator Ben Smith has reiterated, we have not seen this. Gang activity is still, unfortunately, a . . . I
do not want to say cornerstone, but it has become
part of our community. And it is impacting on ever yone. But the people most impacted are families. So in
my opinion, that is where the attention needs to be at
the very, very beginning.
Until we get it right within our families, we will
continue to see young people recruited into gangs. So
while this legislation is only about the punishment aspect of the gang activity that is going on within the
community, and it is trying to ensure that those who are involved in gang activity recognise that there are
serious, life -altering consequences for their actions,
until we get our families right, we are not going to see
the improvement that we need to see.
So, in my opinion it is a sad day that we have
to suspend the sunset clause in this legislation. But it has to be done. And therefore, I do not think we have any choice but to support this Bill. So, Madam Pres ident, I just once again urge our families t o take charge
of their children.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons, Vice President of the Senate.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then, Minister Peets, it is over
to you.

Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2022 do now
pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Criminal Code Amendment Act
2022 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets and all of
the Senators who have spoken.
We will now move on to the third item on our
agenda, and t hese are the items that may be consi dered under the provisions of Standing Order 25 or the
suspension of Standing Order 71(2).


Bermuda Senate This is the second reading of the Bermuda
Monetary Authority Amendment (No. 2) Act 2022, and
that is in the name of Senator Aria nna Hodgson.
She has just stepped out. We will give her a
few minutes.

[Pause]
The President: Here she is. Yes.

STANDING ORDER 25
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the provisions of Standing Order 25 be granted so
that the Senate may now proceed with the second
reading of the public Bills entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment (No. 2) Act 2022, the
Banks and Deposit Companies Amendment Act 2022,
the Domestic Partnership Amendment Act 2022, and
the Quarantine Amendment Act 2 022.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on.
[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Bermuda
Mone tary Authority Amendment (No. 2) Act 2022, the
Banks and Deposit Companies Amendment Act 2022,
the Domestic Partners hip Amendment Act 2022 and
the Quarantine Amendment Act 2022 to be read a
second time on the same day as their first readings .]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Bermuda Monetary Authorit y Amendment (No. 2)
Act 2022 be now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2022

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I am pleased to present the
Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment (No. 2) Act 2022 . The purpose of the Bill is to
provide for the following: to update certain provisions
under the Third Schedule of the Bermuda Monetary
Authority Act 1969; to primarily correct these incorrectly stated under certain headings of the Fourth
Schedule of the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act
1969; and to make consequential amendments to the Banks and Deposit Companies (Fees) Act 1975 to
correct an annual fee incorrectly stated under Part 1
of the Second Schedule.
Madam President, by way of background, the
Bermuda Monetary Authority undertook a comprehensive review of its target operating model, together with
its fee structure, in 2018. At the end of the review pr ocess, which culminated with a comprehensive stak eholder consultation process, the Bermuda Monetary
Amendment (No. 3) Act 2018, which contained the f ee
schedules for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, was
passed by the Legislature. Madam President, in 2021,
the Fourth Schedule of the Act 1969 was repealed
and replaced with a consolidated fee schedule, and
the reference to individual fee schedules by year w as
removed. A similar exercise was also completed in relation to the Banks and Deposit Companies (Fees) Act 1975.
Madam President, section 20A of the Berm uda Monetary Authority Act 1969 provides that “(1) Every person, body or entity specified in the Third
Schedule . . . operating in or from within Bermuda
shall be subject under this Act or the Regulations
made thereunder to supervision, regulation and i nspection by the Authority.” As noted, it is proposed to amend the Third Schedule to the Bermuda Monetary
Authority Act 1969 to update certain provisions.
Madam President, it is proposed to update the
Third Schedule of the Act by making the reference to
investment business similar to the manner in which
other financial institutions are referenced in the
Sched ule. The existing provision reads, “An inves tment provider licensed under the Investment Business
Act 2003” and the proposal is “An investment provider
as defined in section 2 of the Investment Business Act
2003.”
Madam President, Senators will recall that the
Fund Administration Provider Business Act was e nacted in 2019. The Fund Administration Provider Business Act 2019 sets down a framework for fund
administration business. Madam President, prior to
the enactment of the Fund Administration Provider
Busin ess Act 2019, matters related to fund administr ation businesses were set out under the Investment
Funds Act 2006. Senators will recall that the Inves tment Funds Act 2006 now provides a supervisory framework for investment funds.
Madam President, it is prop osed to update the
Third Schedule of the Bermuda Monetary Authority
Act 1969 by re- assigning the definition of the term
“Fund Administration Provider Business” to the “Fund Administration Provider Business Act 2019”, existing
provision, “fund administrator ,” as defined in section 2
of the Investment Funds Act 2006, with the proposal
“A fund administration provider business as defined in
section 2 of the Fund Administration Provider Bus iness Act 2019.”
Madam President, section 20B of the Act pr ovides that “T he fees prescribed in the Fourth Sche d592 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ule” (of the Bermuda Monetary Act 1969) “shall be
paid by certain financial institutions, in accordance
with the legislation specified in the various Heads in
the Fourth Schedule, to the Bermuda Monetary A uthority.” As noted, it is proposed to amend the Berm uda Monetary Authority Act 1969 to correct fees incor-rectly stated under certain headings of the Fourth
Schedule.
Madam President, the Senate is advised that
the Heads of the Fourth Schedule of the Bermuda
Monetary A uthority Act 1969 under which some minor
changes to fees are proposed are as follows:
• the Insurance Act 1978;
• the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing Supervision
and Enforcement) Act 2008; and
• the Digital Asset Business Ac t 2018.
Madam President, a summary of the changes
proposed in respect of the fees set out previously is
as follows:
• The registration fee for Class 3A insurers carrying on run -off general business where gross
reserves are less than $35 million and assets
are less than $70 million shall be changed
from $28,500 to $33,600. The registration fee for Class 3A insurers carrying on run- off general business where gross reserves are less
than $100 million and assets are less than
$200 million shall be changed from $33,600 to
$38,760.
• The annual fee for insurance marketplace
providers where the gross premiums are expected to exceed $5 million but not exceed $100 million shall be changed from $12,000 to
$9,000.
• The annual fee for insurance marketplace
providers where gr oss premiums are expected to exceed $100 million shall be
changed from $15,000 to $11,500.
• The annual fee for collateralised insurance
where assets held as collateral exceed $350
million but not exceed $2 billion shall be changed from $30,000 to $22,000.
• The annual fee for Class IIGB [insurers where
gross premiums are expected to exceed $20 million but not exceed $35 million shall be
changed from $30,500 to $30,000.
Madam President, as has been noted, it is
proposed to amend the Fourth Schedule to the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969 to primarily correct
fees incorrectly stated under certain headings of the Fourth Schedule of the Bermuda Monetary Authority
Act 1969. In this case, the error appears in the endnote. Accordingly, it is proposed to delete the reference to 2021 in the endnote.
Madam President, the relevant changes to be
made in this area are as follows:
Application fees. Madam President, the appl ication fee payable by an entity seeking a Class T l i-cence pursuant to section 12 of the principal A ct [Dig ital Asset Business Act 2018] will be separately r eflected as $1,000 to distinguish this fee from the fee of $2,266 payable (also pursuant to section 12 of the
principal Act) by entities seeking a Class F licence or a Class M licence.
Registration fees. Madam President, the 10
different subparagraphs within paragraph 2, which currently set out the fees payable by digital asset
businesses upon the grant of a licence pursuant to
section 16(1)(a) of the principal Act are to be rationa lised into four subparagraphs, being subparagraphs
(a) through (d). This change is designed to achieve
presentational simplicity and will not result in any ent ities being subject to a different fee than the one prev iously consulted upon.
Annual fees. Madam President, consi stent
with the change to the registration fees, the present ation of the corresponding annual fees will be similarly rationalised. Accordingly, the 10 different subpar agraphs within paragraph 3, being subparagraphs (a)
through (i) which currently set out the annual fees
payable by digital asset businesses pursuant to section 16(1)(b) of the principal Act are to be rationalised
into four subparagraphs, being subparagraphs (a)
through (d). Again, this change is designed to achieve
drafting and presentational s implicity and will not r esult in any entities being subject to a different fee than
the one previously consulted upon.
Madam President, the annual fees for the
banks are set down in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to the Banks and Deposit Companies (Fees) A ct
1975. As previously noted, it is proposed to amend
the Second Schedule to make consequential amendments to the Banks and Deposit Companies (Fees)
Act 1975 to correct an annual fee incorrectly stated
under Part 1 of the Second Schedule. Madam Pres ident, in furtherance of what has just been noted, it is
proposed to amend the annual fee for banks holding
consolidated gross assets exceeding $5 billion but not
exceeding $10 billion, to $1,772,680. The fee was
changed to $1.25 million in error in 2021.
Madam President, I wish to reiterate that the
amendments will result in the establishment of fees
that were the subject of previous engagement with industry. Furthermore, while it is important that these
amendments be approved so that the relevant Schedules are accurate and comprehensive, I wish to advise
Senators that the number of institutions to which these
specific amendments apply is very small and the fees
actually paid by them this year were in keeping with what had been previously consulted upon.
Madam P resident, clause 5 provides for the
Bill to come into operation on the 1
st of January 2022
to align the effective date of the Bill with the actual due date.
Madam President, in closing, I would like to
thank the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Attorney


Bermuda Senate General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Finance for
their assistance with this Bill. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister of Finance.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor .

Thank you, Madam
President. And thank you, Senator, for that introduction.
Certainly, simplification and streamlining of
the fees and legislation is to be commended. I was a
little disturbed that parts of this Bill, or this amendment, are required to correct mistakes in the fee schedules. I certainly know that if a business was to
submit information to the BMA [Bermuda Monetary
Authority] with mistakes that would be a hot topic of
discussion. So I wonder how many more sorts of mistakes are in our Bills. I wonder if the Senator could perhaps comment on the reason for the mistakes in these Bills, how many there are, because I think we
need to understand the root causes.
As we can all understand, Madam President,
if we cannot . . . one of the strengths of our system is
the transparency and that you can go and pull up the
laws and read the written laws. That is really what di fferentiates our kind of system from many of the others
in the world that do not operate as well. While I know
that these are not intentional mistakes, you can u nderstand the friction and stress that this would create
for businesses not being able to have confidence in
people who can read and interpret the law and take decision on that. So, I would appreciate some co mments from the Senator on that.
But otherwise, you know, this looks like an
important thing to get done. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then, Senator Arian na Hodgson, it is back to you.

[Pause]
The President: Senator Hodgson, are you ready?

[Crosstalk ]

[Pause]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President.

The President: Yes, Senator Hodgson.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes.
In response to Senator De Couto’s question, I
would like to say that the fee schedules are very de-tailed and inherently complex. There are almost 400
different fee provisions spanning more than a dozen
sectors. It is quite a bit of material to cover.
I would say that in the process of repeal ing
and replacing the fee schedules in place for 2021 there were, unfortunately, a small number of errors
and omissions. But I would like to highlight that there
were less than 10 errors that did occur, so a relatively
small number. And I would like, just for the knowledge
of persons in here, to say that companies actually did pay the correct fees in keeping with what had prev iously been consulted upon. So hopefully these matters will be addressed today and we can move forward as needed.

The President: Okay. So you can now continue to
pass the Bill, the second reading.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment (No. 2)
Act 2022 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of this Bill.

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

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment (No. 2) Act 2022 be now
read a third time.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2022
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. I move that the Bill do now pass.

594 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment
(No. 2) Act 2022 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Bermuda Monetary Authority
Amendment (No. 2) Act 2022 was read a third time
and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson and
Senators.
We now move on to the next item on our
agenda, and that is second reading of the Banks and
Deposit Companies Amendment Act 2022. And that is
also in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior
Minister for Finance.
When you are ready, you can begin.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Banks and D eposit Companies Amendment Act 2022 be now read a second time.
The Pre sident: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

BANKS AND DEPOSIT COMPANIES
AMENDMENT ACT 2022
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, the primary purpose of the
Banks and Deposit Companies Amendment Act
2022
is to provide the Bermuda Monetary Authority [the A uthority] with an express power to issue codes of conduct in relation to the manner in whic h an institution
conducts deposit -taking business and to allow for the
regulation of banking fees similar to provisions that
exist in other major countries.
This is also seen as an important provision to
enhance consumer protection in this sector. Madam President, section 8(2) of the Banks and Deposits
Companies Act 1999 requires the Authority to keep
under review the operation of the Act and develop-ments in the field of deposit -taking which appear to
the Authority to be relevant to the exercise of its po wers and the discharge of its duties.
Madam President, Senators are advised that
the Authority before this point did not have a specific
power to enforce consumer protection. However, certain Acts make explicit note of the Authority’s role in
protecting the clients and potential clients of regi s-trants. It is noted that the relevant provisions are pr imarily concerned with preventing breaches of law r ather than focusing on fair outcomes for consumers specifically.
Madam President, following discussions with
the Ministry and relevant stakeholders, the Bermuda
Monetary Authority proposes to expand its statutory
remit to include protection for customers and the pr omotion of the fair treatment of financial services customers. The new regime is intended to build upon existing conduct requirements to create fairer outcomes
for customers as they engage with the financial services marketplace.
It is also proposed that the requirements will
be based on the standards set down by the following:
the International Organizat ion of Securities Commi ssions [IOSCO]; the International Association of Insur-ance Supervisors [IAIS]; the Bank for International
Settlements [BIS], the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ] [OECD]; and the G20
high-level principles on financial consumer protection.
Madam President, the Authority’s proposed
approach to the supervision of conduct of business
has been encapsulated by six high- level principles as
follows:
• The firm must ensure fair and equitable trea tment of its customers.
• The firm must have continuing regard for the
interests of its customers in the conduct of its business.
• The firm must ensure that communications
with customers are fair, clear and not misleading.
• The firm must ensure the protection of the
customers’ assets a gainst loss, fraud and
misuse.
• The firm must handle complaints and errors in
a manner that is fair and expedient.
• Where dealing with retail customers, the firm
must ensure that individuals are aware of their
responsibilities within the business relatio nship and have access to appropriate financial
educational resources.
Madam President, in furtherance of the for egoing, the Authority proposes to amend existing codes
of practice and conduct for each regulated sector to
specifically include conduct of busines s principles on
a phased basis starting with the banking and insur-ance sectors. The codes will cover matters related to duties, requirements and standards to be complied
with, and the procedures and principles to be o bserved by the persons licensed or regi stered under
each Act.
There will be a requirement to amend the i nterpretation provisions under each Act as a cons equence of this proposal. Madam President, further to the aforementioned, there will be a requirement for the
Authority to publish draft codes. As well, the Authority
will be required to take into consideration any repr eBermuda Senate sentations made to it about draft codes prior to final isation. Failure on the part of an institution to comply
with the provisions of such codes shall be taken into
consideratio n by the Authority in determining whether
the business is being conducted in a prudent manner
as required by the minimum criteria set for licensing.
Similar provisions relating to codes have a lready been set down in section 2BA of the Insurance
Act 1978. M adam President, section 39(1)(a) of the
[principal] Act gives the Authority a power to obtain information and reports from a licensed institution. It is proposed to repeal section 39(1)(a) by replacing it
with a provision that expands the Authority’s power s
to obtain information and reports regarding a code of
conduct and the implementation of such a code from a licensed institution. It is also proposed to amend this
provision to include a power to obtain information and
reports regarding safeguarding the i nterests of clients
and potential clients of an institution. A similar prov ision has been set down in section 29B(4) of the I nsurance Act 1978.
Madam President, the minimum criteria for l icensing are set down in the Second Schedule of the Act. The minimum criteria include matters related to
the directors, corporate governance, conduct of bus iness, consolidated supervision, integrity and skill, and minimum net assets which is presently set at $10 mi llion for a bank and $1 million for a deposit company.
Madam President, paragraph 4 of the Second
Schedule of the Act covers matters related to the conduct of business including but not limited to matters
related to capital: financial resources, liquidity, depr eciation or diminution in the value of assets, recordkeeping and systems; as well as requirements to
comply with the Act, laws pertaining to anti -money
laundering and anti -financing of terrorism, and international sanctions. It is proposed to amend paragraph 4
of the Second Schedule by including obligations to
comply with codes of conduct.
Madam President, Senators are advised that
the consultative process commenced in August 2020,
concluding in February of 2021. Reference is made to
the following consultation papers:
• the Bermuda Monetary Authority Discussion Paper;
• a conduct of business regulatory fram ework for Bermuda August 2020; and
• the Bermuda Monetary Authority Consultation Paper Proposal for a Conduct of
Business Regulatory Regime December
of 2020.
Madam President, the consultation package
targeted a wide range of stakeholders, both the general public and relevant organisations and institutions. A stakeholder s’ response letter was also published on
the Authority’s website in April of last year to address the queries raised during the consultation process.
Madam President, among results that can be
extracted from stakeholders’ replies, the most prom i-nent areas of actions include those related to scope,
timing and retail versus nonretail customers. What
follows is a summary encompassing the main findings
of the consultation.
Madam President, the Authority advised that
the new provisions will be incorporated into the exis ting sector -specified codes of conduct. Where there is
no such existing code as in the case of deposit -taking
institutions, a new code will be drafted for consult ation. The Authority also advised that the codes reflect
the diversity of Bermuda’s financial services market.
Madam President, after consulting on draft
codes for each sector, the codes will come into effect
upon publication. A transition period will be determined for each sector to provide institutions with the
time to adjust to the new requirements.
Madam President, the Authority consulted on
a draft code of conduct for deposit -taking institutions
which is expected to be is sued as soon as the necessary legislative amendments are enacted. The Author-ity proposes a six -month transition period for deposit -
taking institutions to comply with the code.
Madam President, Members are advised that
amendments to the insurance code of c onduct have
already been consulted on and will also be updated
later this year to capture the conduct of business r equirements in addition to other matters.
Madam President, Senators are further advised that consultation on the draft amendments to the
code of practice for digital asset business will begin
this summer. Madam President, the Authority advised
that the codes are intended to be proportionate to the nature of the customer and that initial implementation
will be primarily focused on retail customers.
Madam President, the Authority advised that
the codes are intended to be applied in the same
manner as all other provisions of the relevant fram ework. The Authority also accepts that an entity may
comply with what they deem to be a higher standard required by a foreign jurisdiction.
Madam President, Senators are advised that
the Authority conducted jurisdictional review and not-ed that while some jurisdictions such as New Zealand
have separate supervisory authorities for each financial sector, the sam e regulators also have responsibi lity for prudential and conduct supervision. In the UK
[United Kingdom], the Prudential Regulatory Authority
acts as the prudential regulator for banks and insurance companies together with other financial instit utions, but the Financial Conduct Authority has a wide
conduct remit including protection of consumers and financial markets.
The Central Bank of Ireland has responsibility
for multiple sectors for both prudential regulation con-duct of business and consumer protection concerns.
Given the scale of the Bermuda financial services
market, it is feasible for the Authority to assume the conduct of business mandate alongside its prudential
responsibilities. Madam President, Senators are ad596 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate vised that the Authority is committed to working with
stakeholders to ensure that the conduct of business
regulatory regime is aligned with international standards while proportionate and effective for the Bermuda
market.
Madam President, Senators are advised that
the customer -facing compo nent of the conduct regime
will be addressed through a fit -for-purpose regime
which will come under the aegis of the Consumer A ffairs Department under the Ministry of Legal Affairs.
Madam President, section 60 of the Act gives
the Minister of Finance, act ing on the advice of the
Authority, the power to make regulations describing a
variety of matters including fees. It is proposed to
amend the Act to grant the Minister power to make regulations for the purpose of regulating any commercial or operational business fee, charge or penalties
paid by the clients of an institution licensed to carry on
deposit -taking business for services rendered. This
power will allow the Minister to issue regulations on
the advice of the Authority who under this legislation will now also have powers to play a greater key role in
conduct matters. Madam President, fees charged to, in partic ular, individuals and small retail customers have been
the subject of many discussions, and we received a
number of letters, phone calls and emails expressing concerns on this subject. Therefore, this Government
believes that addressing such matters is critical.
Madam President, introducing regulations of
this type is not unique to Bermuda. Our research has highlighted that putting restrictions in place on the
fees that can be charged by banks is part of the conduct framework in many of the jurisdictions including
our key major trading partners. We recognise that f inancial institutions have obligations to their shar eholders, but it is important to ensure that there are
mechanisms in place to safeguard the fact that customer rights and needs are given necessary consideration. Getting the right balance and ensuring fairness
and equity are key aspects of this Government’s platform, and we see this l egislation as another important
and necessary component of our financial services
framework.
Madam President, in progressing the fee r egime, I am certain that the Authority will ensure that there is appropriate consultation with all stakeholders
and will allow both the general public and financial
institutions to provide their views. Careful consider ation will be given to all feedback so that we can have an appropriate framework that works for Bermuda.
Madam President, we have already highlighted the sign ificant challenges that an increasing cost of
living is having on our residents. This Government has already taken steps to provide more relief within the
framework of a prudent and robust fiscal and econom-ic strategy. This Bill today will allow for simila r consi derations to be in place within a key financial services sector. Madam President, banks globally have put
even greater focus on the generation of fee income to supplement declining interest income while global i nterest rates were at historically lo w levels. This has led
to excesses in certain areas, and governments and regulators have taken actions in other countries to
address these issues. Bermuda is no different, and
this Government will ensure that in Bermuda we will
do likewise.
Madam President, the Bermuda Bankers A ssociation is aware of the Government’s position and have taken steps to improve transparency in this area.
It is my hope that they will collectively address the
escalating fees and also address the charges that are
outside of globa l norms. Madam President, the Mini ster of Finance has made it crystal clear that he prefers not to have to take a heavy -handed approach to ensure that customers’ interests are appropriately pr otected. So, we will continue that dialogue with the
hopes that they can come to an appropriate resol ution. We want to ensure that customers have fair ac-cess to banking services, and they should not be di sadvantaged by punitive fees when compared to res idents in other jurisdictions.
Madam President, I wish to express my si ncere thanks to the Authority, the Ministry of Finance,
together with the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the
Bermuda Bankers Association for their assistance with the development of this framework.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister of Finance.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: And, Senators, before I open the floor
for you to comment on the Bill, I would like to
acknowledge the presence in the Chamber of the Minister of Public Works, Lt. Col. the Hon. David Burch,
OBE.
Welcome to you, sir.

[Banks and Deposit Companies Amendment Act
2022 , second reading debate, continuing]

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

Thank you, Madam
President.
As I stated before on some of the prior Acts
we looked at, this is clearly a Bill that goes in the right
direction and will hopefully bring important protection
for consumers.


Bermuda Senate I did hav e a few questions. It is clear that this
Bill actually adds in specificities of the code of conduct, which work together with the prior BMA [Berm uda Monetary Authority] Amendment. But I was con-fused, and I hope it can be explained to me, about some of the deep details. And the Senator did mention around specific sections where language has
been added to specifically regulate specific types of
fees, or language was added to specifically regulate
or create the power to compel information reports
around enforc ing the code.
And of course, having gone and looked at the
original Act, I was confused why it was required to add
in these extra details, because by my reading, there
was already in the Act the allowance for the regulation of fees, which by my (perhaps) s implistic reading
would cover everything that was already covered in the newly added language. And again, there was already a power for the BMA to receive the information
reports, allowing it to carry out its functions which now
would include such things as dealing with the code and so forth.
So perhaps this can be explained. Because I
think all else being equal, we should avoid adding extraneous language. And frankly, I would suggest it
might be a little political.
So, this Bill is around the enforcement of
these things. And I hope that the Government has some actions to work on the more proactive side, because invariably when consumers interact with a bank
it comes down to a contract. It is something somebody
signs, and we know for legal reasons the banks are
not inclined to simplify the language. They have to
produce a thing that protects them the most in law.
And I think there is a real role here for Consumer A ffairs, for example, or some other part of the gover nment to help consumers be educated on what to look
for, what to watch out for, and things to keep in mind.
You know, it might be said that some people,
maybe even myself, might spend more time shopping for a suit than they might spend reading the fine print
on a credit card application or a loan application. And I
think it would behove everybody to have the oppor-tunity to better understand how to work with these
banks and what they are signing up for.
So other than that, this is a good Bill. [I am]
just unsure that some of the language was strictly required to achieve the stated outcomes, desired out-comes. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, it is back to you, Senator Ar ianna Hodgson.
Sen. Arian na Hodgson: Madam President, I do not
have a specific answer yet to [the Senator’s] question
regarding the wording chosen. But I am assuming these are the language and terminology that was
used. It was essential in this instance. And so it was
what needed to be done.
I can wait, and if I am given additional information, I can provide that.

The President: If you get the information later, then
you can relay it to Senator De Couto.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Okay. That is fine. That is
fine as well.
As long as there are no further questions,
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled the
Banks and Deposit Companies Amendment Act 2022
be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Ari anna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Banks and D eposit Companies Amendment Act 2022 be now read a
third time.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

BANKS AN D DEPOSIT COMPANIES
AMENDMENT ACT 2022

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

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Banks and Deposit Companies Amendment
Act 2022 do now pass.
Is ther e any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

598 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate [Motion carried: The Banks and Deposit Companies
Amendment Act 2022 was read a third time and
passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson
and Senators for your support.
We move on now to the next item on our O rders of the Day. And this is consideration of the draft
Order entitled the Contributory Pensions (Amendment
of Benefits) Order 2022. That is also in the name of
Senator Arianna Hodgson.
When you are ready, Senator Hodgson, you
can begin.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that Standing Order 71(2) be suspended so that Senate may now proceed with consi deration of the Contributory Pensions (Amendment of
Bene fits) Order 2022.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Senate do now take under
consideration the draft Order entitled the Contributory
Pensions (Amendment of Benefits) Order 2022.

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

DRAFT ORDER

CONTRIBUTORY PENSIONS
(AMENDMENT OF BENEFITS) ORDER 2022
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I am pleased to present the Order entitled the
Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Benefits) Order
2022 . The purpose of the Order is to increase pensions and other benefits as described in the Contributory Pensions Act 1970 by a rate of 2.75 per cent.
This rate will have a retroactive effective date bac kdated to August 16, 2021
Madam President, the Contributory Pensions
(Amendment of Benefits) Order 2022, tabled on the 1st
of July 2022, is a reflection of Government’s commi tment to improving the quality of life for our senior cit izens.
Madam President, the Government’s 2020
election platform declared that this Government would put our seniors first and implement annual cost -ofliving increases for social insurance pensions that will be linked to the rate of inflation to help lessen the
hardships that too many of our seniors now endure.
Madam President, Bermuda, similar to most
other countries, currently provides retired individuals with a combination of social insurance from the Contributory Pension Fund in addition to the occupational
pension from their employer. Through no fault of their
own, currently a number of retired persons are not
receiving an occupational pension and are therefore
relying on their social insurance as their sole source of
income. Madam President, this is not an ideal situ ation, and the Government continues to do its utmost to
ensure that seniors who rely heavily on their social
insurance benefits are cared for suitably.
Madam President, notwithstanding the foreg oing, the CPF [Contributory Pension Fund] benefit continues to provide an important base for timely income
for many. Currently, the maximum pension paid under
the CPF remains around 26 per cent of the median
annual gross earnings for Bermudians, as indicated in
the Bermuda Job Market Employment Brief produced
by the Department of Statistics. This compares closely
to the UK where the full basic state pension as a percentage of average earnings is around 24 per cent.
Madam President, as mentioned, the purpose
of the Order is to increase pensions and other benefits
under the Contributory Pensions Act 1970 by 2.75 per
cent, backdated to August 2021. This is when i ncreases are typically made to the benefits. Per the Government Actuary, the 2.75 per cent increase in
benefits would represent a small negative impact to
the overall development of the fund at an approximate
cost of $4.4 million.
Madam President, there are currently seven
types of benefits payable under the Contributory Pensions Act 1970. All of the pensions and allowances
will be increased by 2.75 per cent. These pensions
and allowances are as follows: contributory old age pension; cont ributory old age gratuity; contributory
widows’ or widowers’ allowance; contributory widows’
or widowers’ gratuity; contributory disability benefit; non-contributory old age pension; and noncontributory disability benefit.
Madam President, the maximum basic co ntributory pension is currently $1,077.14 per month.
The maximum contributory pension currently payable,
which would include additional increments added to the basic pension is approximately $1,570.00 per
month. Although some 14,990 persons currently receive benefits under the Act the proposed 2.75 per
cent increase with additional increments will raise the
basic contributory pension to a maximum of $1,106.76
per month and the maximum benefit, which includes
increments, to approximately $1,607.00 per month.
The retroactive payment will be reflected as a
lump sum in the September 15, 2022, payment.
Thereafter, beneficiaries should expect to see their


Bermuda Senate 2.75 per cent increase in their regular monthly pa yment on the 15th of each month.
Madam President, the 2.75 per cent increase
marks the 14th pension increase that this Progressive
Labour Party Government has put through in its time
in Government, since taking office in November 1998
and now.
This Government has put the 13 increases
prior to this one. In August 2000 when we increased pensions by 3.0 per cent; August 2002 when we i ncreased pensions by 3.0 per cent; August 2003 when
we increased pensions by 3.0 per cent; August 2004
we increased pensions by an extraordinary 9.0 per
cent; August 2005 we increased pensions by 3.5 per
cent; August 2006 with an increase of 4.0 per cent; August 2007 with an increase of 4.5 per cent; August
2008 with an increase of 5.0 per cent; August 2009
with an increase of 5.0 per cent; August 2011 with an increase of 3.0 per c ent; August 2017 with an i ncrease of 1.7 per cent; August 2018 with an increase
of 1.4 per cent; August 2019 with an increase of
1.2 per cent; and August 2021 with an increase of
2.75 per cent. In every case the benefit increase has either exceeded the pre vailing rate of inflation or has
been in line with the underlying trend growth, thereby
placing seniors’ pensions under the Consumer Price
Index in good stead.
Madam President, there has currently been
much discussion surrounding the Consumer Price Index [CPI]. As mentioned during the tabling of the
Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Benefits) Order
2022, the overall CPI rate increased 0.5 per cent during the period from August 2019 to July 2020 and
0.4 per cent from August 2020 to July 2021. However,
it was noted that the food component for the relevant
periods increased 2.8 per cent and 2.3 per cent, r espectively.
Madam President, the Government understands the importance of health and wellness, [the] overall well- being for seniors. It was determined by
the Ministry of Finance that an increase above the
prevailing CPI rate would be appropriate in the ci rcumstances. Honourable Members are advised that
that based on the CPI by the Department of Statistics,
the cost of living has increased by 2.5 per cent s ince
the last increase was granted. Therefore, the pr oposed benefit increase fully covers the prevailing rate
of inflation but also allows for some recognition on the
specific impact on seniors on limited incomes due to
the increase in food prices.
Madam President, I would like to remind the
Senate Chamber that the 2020 Actuarial Report for the Contributory Pension Fund was tabled on Febr uary 4, 2022. The 2021 increase in benefits would
normally be accompanied by a corresponding i ncrease in contributions b y an actuarially recommended rate of 4.0 per cent above the benefits rate. Ma dam President, it should also be noted that contribu-tions were last increased in August 2018 by 4.2 per
cent.
Honourable Members will recall that in the
2018 Throne Speech the Government announced that the Bermuda social insurance system would be changed from a fixed- rate contribution to one based
on a percentage of income. Therefore, it is proposed
that contribution increases will be incorporated into
the proposed changes in the framework which is expected to be completed during this financial year.
Madam President, in that regard, I would note
that during the tabling of the 2020 Actuarial Report on February 4 of this year, important work continues to
be done over the past several months by the Pension
Reform Committee which was highlighted. This com-mittee, which includes officials from the Ministry of
Finance and the PFIC, assisted by consultant McKi nsey & Company and Morneau Shepell has been assessing the current state of the PSS F and the CPF.
The work consisted in developing a common
set of facts around each fund's status, developing a
preliminary set of recommendations, and engaging key stakeholders in our unions, business community
and the Berm uda Government. Legal analysis of the
various options is ongoing, and it is intended that
these discussions will result in changes to address the
critical issues in relation to funding, that have been
further highlighted in this report and result in a more
progressive framework for contri butions.
Madam President, Honourable Members are
advised that both the benefit and the contribution
rates increased during the in ter review period of the
actuarial review between 2017 and 2020. Benefit
rates increased by 1.7 per cent, 1.4 per cent, and
1.2 per cent, effective August 2017, August 2018, and
August 2019, respectively.
Madam President, contribution rates i ncreased once over the period by 4.2 per cent effective
August 2018. Considering the relatively strong pos ition of the fund, it is anticipat ed that the fund can wit hstand another year’s delay in contribution increases.
However, it is critical at this juncture that any future
increases in contributions come into force next year,
August 2023.
Madam President, as of December 31, 2021,
the fund had net assets of over $2.3 billion, represent-ing approximately 12.4 times the annual value of be nefits paid in the 2020/21 fiscal year. The effect of this
is that if the CPF [Contributory Pension Fund] r eceived no further contributions it could still conti nue to
pay out pensions at the prevailing rate for almost 12 years. However, the reality is that contributions will
continue through time and will be increased from time
to time. In addition, the prudent investment of the
pension fund assets is also an important factor in the
fund financial position. In this regard, Government’s
investment strategy for pension fund assets is achiev-ing good results.
600 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate As mentioned, as at December 31, 2021, the
Contributory Pension Fund stood at $2.3 billion. The
nominal rate of return for the 10 years preceding July
2020, has been 6.1 per cent.
Madam President, as evidenced in the 2020
Actuarial Report tabled in the Honourable House of
Assembly on 4 February 2022, the viability of the fund
in the short to medium term is good with the fund being positive for the next 22 years to 2044. However,
recognising the long- term challenges of the fund, the
Ministry will continue to closely monitor the performance of the fund. And it should also be noted that
the funding policy for the fund is not based on full actuarial funding but based on sustainable funding. That
is, contributions plus investment income should cover benefits and administration expenses on an annual
basis while the fund builds up sufficient reserves to
cover several years of benefits and expenses to wit hstand future adverse circumstances.
Madam President, despite the encouraging
short - to medium -term outlook of the fund, what is
clearly evident from the latest Actuarial Review is that
Bermuda, like most of the developed world, is faced
with the challenges associated with the growth of an
ageing population. This increase in our seniors will
obviously place a greater strain on the country’s pension system. It is therefore essential that Government continues to closely moni tor the performance of the
fund and our overall pension arrangements to ensure the long- term sustainability of the fund. However, taking care of our seniors is also a priority for us. We r emain confident, Madam President, that we will conti nue to strike the right balance between social and fiscal responsibility.
Madam President, in closing I wish to again
assure Senators and, more importantly current and
future pensioners, that the Government is sensitive to
the challenges facing pension plans of this natur e. We
will therefore endeavour to take the appropriate steps to enhance the benefits paid from the National Pension Plan as well as ensure that the fund has the ongoing ability to pay for such benefits.
As such, I am proposing that this Bill be
passed int o Law. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister of Finance.
Would any Senator care to speak on this O rder?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President, and thank you Senator for that present ation.
I understand from the presentation the Government’s view that these increases are outpacing the
cost of living. But to be frank, I think everybody reco gnises that the actual cost of living is far outpacing what we are officially reporting here in Bermuda. It can be seen on the streets, it can be seen in the gr ocery stores, fuel bills, the rents, electricity. We see it in the overseas inflation reports and, of course, most of
what we use, buy, eat, consume here is shipped in
with an additional cost for the shipping, which is al-most like a double tax [because of] the inflation. I
know that in reality, while this will be welcomed by
seniors, and why, frankly, I suspect it has been bac kdated for the lump sum, it is not going to be sufficient.
What plans does Government have to arrive
at a more realistic CPI that reflects what people are
actually experiencing? And when might we expect to
see that? And . . . well, really, that is the question.
While this will be w elcomed by people, it is clear that it
will not be enough. And it is hard for people to have confidence in the Government’s numbers when they
know that it does not match the reality that they feel and hear every day. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, S enator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Order?
Senator Michelle Simmons, Vice President,
you have the floor.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. I will be very brief.
I just want to thank the Junior Minister for
bringing this Order before us today, and to say that
even though it is not a huge increase in the pensions, I think it is going to be welcomed by seniors, many of
whom are really facing some very, very tough times during this period of economic challenge (I will call it
that).
So, taking the whole picture into consider ation, I think that Government has stepped forward in a
positive way to try and recognise that this support for
seniors —and I have to say that I am included in this —
will be received in a posit ive way. I just hope that
Government will continue to follow up on its efforts to do something about the cost of living in Bermuda. And
a big part of that is the work that is being done t owards the development of a living wage.
So, I said I would be brief . I just want to say
that I support the Order and I thank the Government
for looking out for our seniors. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Order?
Hearing none, then Senator Arianna Hodgson
it is back to you.

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Madam President, given
that I did not hear a clear question from Senator De
Couto, other than the challenge around the figures that have been provided by government departments,


Bermuda Senate I would like to proceed, if that is all right with you. Or
does he have another —
The President: Senator De Couto, did you have a
specific question?

Madam President, I believe the question I thought I was asking, and I apol ogise if I was unclear, was, What steps is the Gover nment taking to arrive at a more realistic CPI that
matches what people are feeling in their wallets today. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. Given that there is no appropriate answer to that
question I would like to proceed.
So, Madam President, I move that the said
draft Order be approved and that the following message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor:
May it please Your Excellency: the Senate,
having had under consideration the draft Order ent itled the Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Ben efits) Order 2022, proposed to be made by the Minister
of Finance in exercise of the power conferred by section 37 of the Contributory Pension Act 1970, has the honour to inform Your Excellency that the Senate has
approved the said draft Order. Thank you.

The President: Is there any objection?
Hearing none, then the [message] shall be
sent.
Thank you, Senators. Thank you , Senator
Arianna Hodgson.
[Motion carried: The draft Order entitled the Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Benefits) Order 2022
was approved.]

Thank you for the
accommodation.

The President: Yes.
Senator Hodgson, when you are ready you
can move o n to your second reading of the Quara ntine Amendment Act 2022.

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Quarantine Amendment Act 2022 be now read a
second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

QUARANTINE AMENDMENT ACT 2022

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I rise to introduce the Bill
entitled the Quarantine Amendment Act 2022 . Madam
President, this Bill amends the Quarantine Act 2017 to
ensure that emergency orders made by the Quarantine Authority, such as the Quarantine (COVID -19)
(No. 3) Order 2020, which applies to all travellers
whether resident or visitor, applies also to any officer or member or crew of certain armed forces who are
travelling to Bermuda.
Currently, the Act and regulations made under
the Act do not apply to any conveyance forming part
of the UK or Com monwealth armed services or the
armed forces of any country designated pursuant to
the UK’s Visiting Forces Act 1952.
Madam President, the first line of defence
from global public health threats is the security of our
ports and airport. Control of the arr ival of travellers,
ships and aircraft at our borders is fundamental for the
safety of Bermuda to protect against imported communicable diseases. The Quarantine Act was promul-gated in 2017 exactly for the purpose of modernising
and strengthening our response to international public
health threats.
Madam President, Honourable Senators will
know that the world continues to suffer because of the
highly infectious disease COVID -19 caused by the
novel coronavirus. This led to the World Health O rganization declaring a public health emergency of i nternational concern in 2020.
The World Health Organization actually reaffirmed the public health emergency as recently as last week. This Bill ensures that the provisions of the
Quarantine (COVID -19) Order apply as necessary to
certain armed forces while a public health emergency
continues.
602 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate To be clear, Madam President, the amendment to the Act will ensure that only emergency orders made by the Quarantine Authority apply to armed
forces conveyances travelling to Bermuda. Outside of
a public health emergency, the Act and regulations made under the Act continue to be not applicable to
the previously stated armed forces.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson. You were speaking then in your capacity as Junior Minister of Health. I just wanted to say that.
Would any Senator care to speak on the
Quarantine Amendment Act?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
And thank you to the Junior Minister for bringing us
this piece of legislation today.
I would say that the Opposition will support
this piece of legislation. I do want to say that it is obv iously quite clear that the amendments seem to close a gap that was previously overlooked. So, it is clear
that it is necessary to do that for this particular purpose.
I would like to say, Madam President, that
while we support the extension and also recognise
that part of the purpose of the Quarantine Act is to
also support the travel authorisation as well. I could
not speak to that without speaking to the travel authorisation, which I do not support, by the way. But I would
just like to know if the Junior Minister could share with
us what signals would the Government have to . . . or,
what are they looking for in order to bring the regul ations . . . or, sorry, this particular Act to an end? What
is the benchmark? Where are we headed? And what
would signal that it would be safe to go ahead and
bring these to an end?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader in the
Senate. You have the floor.
Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
So, Senator Tucker was touching on the t ravel
authorisation specifically because I believe that it
comes under this Quarantine section. And for that
reason, I guess the more specific question would be
what indications would we have to have to remove the travel authorisation prior to the intended deadline,
which is at the end of the fiscal year in 2023.
The reason is because it is having an impact
on people traveling to Bermuda and obviously it has been confirmed in this Chamber that it is a tax. That is
what it was put in place for, and the mone y is being
collected. But it has been put in that position because it is supposed to be for health reasons. So, either we
change it to a tax that is to collect the money and r emove it from being considered for health . . . so the
question is, What benchmar ks do we have to have to
say we do not need the travel authorisation, because
of the frustration it has caused and because of the
impact that it is having on people visiting our Island?
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.
Would any ot her Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Minister Peets, you have the floor.

Yes, Madam Pres ident, given the fact that actually this particular matter
that the Junior Minister is speaking about is the Quar-antine Amendment A ct, the questions from the Opposition Senators are certainly noted. But I would imagine that they are more appropriate actually for the
draft Order entitled, Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 5) Order, which we will do next.

The President : Thank you for that observation.
Senator Ben Smith.
Sen. Ben Smith: Sorry, Madam President, the reason
we are [asking] the questions on the Quarantine
[Amendment] Act, and not in the [Order] that the Mi nister just referred to is because in another place this
exact discussion happened. And everyone in that House was told that they had to put it in this part and they had not done that. So that is the reason we are
asking these questions here and not in the [Order]
that is coming after this.

The President : Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.
Senator Hodgson, then it is over to you for
response.

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. I also listened to the Members’ debate in the
House last week Friday, and I do believe that the Mi nister provided the necessary responses. As we know, we are still in a public health emergency. To be quite honest, there need not be a response to those questions, since they are not relevant here. Right now we
are looking at amending the Act as it relates to the
applicabi lity of emergency orders to the armed forces
of the UK or the Commonwealth or any country desi gnated pursuant to the UK’s visiting forces. So I just want to remind us that this is the matter at hand.
In light of that, I move that the Bill entitled the
Quarantine Amendment Act 2022 be now read a sec-ond time.

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



Bermuda Senate SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended in
respect of this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled the Quarantine Amendment Act
2022 be now read a third time.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

QUARANTINE AMENDMENT ACT 2022

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you.
Madam President, I move that the Bill do now
pass.
The President: It ha s been moved that the Bill ent itled the Quarantine Amendment Act 2022 do now
pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill has passed.

[Motion carried: The Quarantine Amendment Act 2022
was read a third time and passed.]

The Pre sident: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, and Senators who have spoken.
We will now move on to item 8, and Senator
Hodgson you are going to do this one, which is the
Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension
(No. 5) Order 2022.
You have the floor.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that Standing Order
71(2) be suspended so that Senate may now proceed
with consideration of the Public Health (COVID -19)
Emergency Extension (No. 5) Order 2022.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]
Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Senate do now take under
consideration the draft O rder entitled the Public Health
(COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 5) Order
2022.

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

DRAFT ORDER

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19) EMERGENCY
EXTENSION (NO. 5) ORDER 2022

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I invite this Honourable
Chamber to consider the order entitled Public Health
(COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 5) Order
2022 .
Madam President, Senators will be aware that
the current public health emergency Order is sche duled to lapse on the 29th of July 2022. The emergency
orders which have been in place since the 30th of June
2020 are made pursuant to section 107A of the Public
Health Act 1949 and declared that a public health
emergency exists in Bermuda due to a communicable
disease that poses a threat to the Island.
Madam President, the virus that causes
COVID -19 spreads easily and quickly, but we can
slow its spread by following basic public health advice
such as wearing a well -fitting mask to cover our nose
and mouth, as well as physically distancing and practicing good hand hygiene. We can also avoid the three
Cs of clos ed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings to reduce the opportunities for infection to
spread. In addition, Madam President, getting vaccinated adds a layer of protection particularly with r espect to the likelihood of hospitalisation or death.
We are fortunate that in Bermuda the community has responded well to the Government’s mass
vaccination campaign as well as the vaccine offered
to participating medical practitioners, health services
and pharmacies. The COVID -19 vaccinations were
available from the 11th of January 2021 until the 30th of
June 2022. And we have now fully vaccinated 75 per
cent of our population. That figure rises to 84 per cent
when you consider just the eligible population. And we will be seeking more of the COVID -19 vaccine in the
autumn.
Madam President, as the Government has i ndicated many times it is clear that we must ensure that
we live safely with COVID -19 because it will be with
us for a long time both locally and globally. Even now
there are greater numbers of people visiting the hosp i604 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate tal’s emergency department with symptoms, and
KEMH admissions are increasing. The novel coronavirus was declared as a public health emergency of
international concern by the World Health Organiz ation, again, in January 2020. It was confir med as a
global pandemic in March 2020. Unfortunately, two years later the COVID -19 pandemic is not over yet.
In fact, Madam President, as reported in the
House following deliberations of the 12
th meeting of
the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on the 8
th of July 2022, the World Health
Organization Director General reconfirmed that the pandemic continues to constitute a public health
emergency of international concern. In light of this, it
is important for all of us to understand the pandemic
state of play in the world right now.
Madam President, at the IHR Committee
meeting on the 8
th of July, concern was expressed
regarding the current COVID -19 situation globally.
Cases of COVID -19 reported to the World Health O rganization increased 3 0 per cent in the two weeks
preceding that Committee meeting. The case count is largely driven by the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5
and the general relaxation of public health measures
around the world. Madam President, please note that
this concern is based on reported cases.
Like Bermuda, changes in testing policies
globally, being a reduction in official testing and an increase in- home testing, means that there is under -
counting of actual COVID -19 cases. Worryingly, this
impedes assessments of circulat ing an emergent variance as a reduction in testing also results in a reduction in genomic sequencing.
Madam President, as noted by the IHR Committee, there is an urgent, ongoing need to reduce the spread of SARS -CoV2 virus. The epidemiology of the
novel c oronavirus remains unpredictable as the virus
continues to evolve through sustained transmissions in our communities. To quote the final statement of the IHR Committee, “. . . the trajectory of viral evol ution and the characteristics of emerging variants of the
virus remain uncertain and unpredictable, and, in the
absence of the adoption of public health measures aiming at reducing transmission, the resulting selective pressure on the virus increases the probability of
new, fitter variants emerging, with di fferent degrees of
virulence, transmissibility and immune escape potential.”
Madam President, it is not possible to repeat
this too many times. It is critically important for all of
us to be responsible, consistent and unrelenting in our
use of personal protective equipment, such as face
masks, in our behaviours, such as practising physical
distancing, good hand hygiene and staying at home
when we are sick, and in our activities by avoiding
closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings, as well as taking a risk -based approach to mass
gatherings. The World Health Organization continues
to recommend countries apply public health measures which are in proportion to their situation based on di sease prevalence, population protection and health system capacity.
On these points, Madam President, let us be
clear. Bermuda is in a state of community transmi ssion with respect to the highly infectious omicron var iant. While we are fortunate to have a high vaccination
rate, we continue to experience hospital admissions
and deaths. Our health system is susceptible to signi ficant pressures due to COVID -19. Madam President,
as we all know, Bermuda only has one hospital. Currently about one third of the acute care wing at KEMH
is occupied with people who, unfortunately, are suffering from COVID -19. Further, Madam President, two
long-term care wards at are in quarantine due to add itional positive cases. This means that people in acute
care beds cannot be transferred to the long- term care
ward even if they are ready. A further knock -on effect
is that the acute care beds become unavailable for
those of our community needing admissions post -
surgery. And that can cause surgeries to be pos tponed.
While the Government has relaxed various
public health measures, there are some settings where restrictions cannot be eliminated. Madam President, as a reminder we must all wear a face mask
when travelling by bus or ferry, excluding the outdoor
decks; taxi limousine or minibuses, both passengers and operators; while working in or visiting our health
service providers, such as doctors or dentists, nurses,
physiotherapists, occupational therapists, et cetera,
and health services, such as the hospital dental facil ities, laboratories, residential care facilities, et cetera; whilst vis iting or working at the correctional facilities,
and while inside the L. F. Wade International Airport
building.
Also, Madam President, several businesses
have set their own mask requirements for staff and customers. These are appropriate for their establ ishments, and all members of the public must comply with their requirements. This includes those working in
or visiting or using government services as masks are
required by all staff and customers in all government
buildings and offices.
Madam President, the coronavirus is very
easily transmitted. It is mainly spread from person to
person by small virus -containing droplets that are exhaled when an infected person is speaking, singing,
coughing, sneezing or breathing. This is why mask
wearing is important. COVID -19 is a respiratory di sease. Well -fitting masks are a simple and very effective form of personal protective equipment, forming a
barrier from getting and spreading respiratory infections. In addition to the continued requirement to wear
masks indoor s as previously stated, we also recognise it is important to apply essential controls at our border which are specific to and meet the challenges of the impact of COVID -19 on our Island community.


Bermuda Senate Madam President, the Minister of Health consulted with 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 continues 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 for in regulations made under section 107B
of the Public Health Act 1949 will continue to be rel evant and necessary beyond the 29th of July 2022.
Madam President, this Order before us now
will extend the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency
Order 2021 made under section 107A of the Public
Health Act 1949 and empower the Governor to make
public health emergency regulations under section
107B of that Act which impose extraordinary
measures necessary in the i nterest of public health to
prevent, control and suppress COVID -19.
Madam President, Honourable Senators will
be aware that the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extensions (No. 4) Order 2022 was made under the affirmative resolution procedure for 60 day s
expiring on the 29th of July 2022 when Parliament is
not in session. However, we know that the COVID -19
pandemic continues globally and is still pervasive in
Bermuda. We also know that a public health emergency will continue to exist on our Island beyond the
29th of July 2022.
Therefore, in accordance with sections 107A
(3) and (4) of the Public Health Act 1949, I bring the
Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No.
5) Order 2022 to this Honourable Chamber to seek
approval for the extension of the public health emergency for a further 60 days ending on the 26th of Se ptember 2022.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister of Health.
Would any Senator care to speak on this O rder?
Senator Robin Tucker, you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
And, again, thank you to the Junior Minister for bringing this piece of legislation, this Order to us today.
Notwithstanding I asked this question on the
Quarantine Act, I would ask the same question as to
whether there are any benchmarks that the Gover nment may be looking for that would trigger the potential for us to be able to stop extending these orders. I recognise that we are still in a COVID -19 environment. That is a given. However, we are told constantly
that we have to learn to live with COVID -19. And as
we all know, it has been debated in various places , if
there became a pressing need to reinstate any of these orders it could be done very easily, very quic kly.
So, it ju st sends a bit of a confusing message.
I am just wondering . . . I do not believe, based on what we have seen here today, unfortunately, that
there will be an answer to that question. But I just
want to put it out there anyway. Thank you, Madam
President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Order?
Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader in the
Senate, you have the floor.
Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I think that it w ould help
everyone in the Senate and in the community if we
had maybe a better idea of what impact COVID -19 is
having in the community right now, because we have gone through this over the past couple of years. So,
we know that there are people in the hosp ital. We
know that we still have people dying from COVID -19.
So, my question is, because we have such a high
percentage of our population who are vaccinated, are
we seeing fully vaccinated people ending up in the
hospital and then, unfortunately dying? And the reason I ask that question is because I think with the m ajority having been vaccinated, they thought they were
going to be protected.
So, when we keep coming here and asking
why are we going through emergency order after
emergency order, we are just l ooking for is there an
end in sight? The population wants to know if there is
an end in sight to this. If we are going to continue to
have COVID -19 sickness for years to come, we can’t
stay under emergency powers forever. So that is why we are asking the question. What is it that we are
looking for so that as a community maybe people will
feel a little more comfortable knowing that we are not
quite there yet, but this is what we should be getting
to. Because at present, you leave Bermuda, and you
get on a plane, and no one has any regulations at all.
You come back to Bermuda on the plane, you walk into the airport, and you have to put your mask on.
When you walk out of the airport you take your mask off and go about your business. We are about to have a real ly huge event next week, where people are going to be going back to what all of us would hope would be a normal and wonderful holiday, but COVID -
19 still exists. That is what we are discussing.
So maybe if we got a little more detail of what
it is that’s happening, I think people would even be
more cautious in the upcoming week knowing what the impact could be. Thank you.

The President: Thank you Senator Ben Smith.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
606 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate There is no doubt about it. We are still in a
pandemic. And COVID -19 hasn’t really gone an ywhere. It keeps mutating. The virus keeps mutating
and now we have, I think, omicron . . . I’ve forgotten
what letters come after its name. But it seems to be
even more virulent than the previous version of om icron which was quite virulent. So, we still need to be
careful.
And it takes each one of us in this community
to be part of the protection that we need for ourselves and for other people. So, one of the things the Junior Minister mentioned that really got my attention was
that one- third—one- third—of the acute care wing at
King Edward [Memorial Hospital] is occupied by
COVID -19 patients. I think the latest figure I heard of
hospitalisations was about 58. If we were to take that
number and match it to statistics that we had about a
year ago in terms of looking at the number of cases in
the community at large, I think that we would be quite
shocked by that number, bec ause we all recognise
that there is under -reporting of current COVID -19
cases. So if the number right now out there is 200- and
something, you can probably triple it and that would
be a more realistic view of the number of cases out
there.
But I want to s hare something with regard to
surgeries at King Edward [Memorial Hospital]. I have
a friend who has been waiting for a very long time, it
could be upwards of a year, to have surgery. It is elective surgery. But, as COVID -19 cases rise in the hospital, the hospital management had to make decisions
about how they were going to manage those cases. In many instances they have had to close the hospital to elective surgeries. So my friend is one of many who
have been waiting for a very long time to have an
electi ve surgery.
She is about a week away from having her
surgery. And hearing of the escalation of cases at the hospital, of course there is anxiety that her surgery
may be cancelled yet again. So, in my opinion, we
need to be aware of the fact that these emergency
orders are not taken lightly. Therefore, I recognise that
Government needs to be in a position to be able to take action (well, it’s really the Governor) to protect
the whole community.
So, while this is not anyone’s preference to
keep re- enacting these emergency orders, I just see it
as something that is necessary. So let’s pray that, yes, we do see a decline in COVID -19 cases in Bermuda. But we have to also realistically understand
that we have to deal with the situation as it comes.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Minister Peets, you have the floor.

Yes, Madam Pres ident, thank you.
I certainly appreciate the conversation t hat we
are having today. Of course, everything that we say is
reported in Hansard. So, I certainly want to make
known that the Senators were correct to actually raise
this question under the Quarantine Act. I did a little
digging, and they were actually correct to raise it during that particular part of our proceedings today.
Of course, this particular conversation . . . it is
very clear to me that this particular Order expires on
the 29
th of July. I just think it is really prudent and r esponsible of the G overnment to extend it, given the
fact that we are still in the midst of an emergency. Yes, it is possible for the Legislature and Parliament
to reconvene a special session, but it is so much more
convenient and prudent, in my opinion, to extend it so that we do not have to worry about trying to convene
Parliament, for example, in the event that the unfor eseen or the possible actually occurs.
We have been on a very, very steady, but
important glide path as it relates to restrictions. Right
now on Island th ere are virtually no restrictions as it
relates to what we may have experienced in months
or years past, save the fact that under certain circumstances and certain environments there needs to be a
mask mandate in order to protect our vulnerable popu lation in the hospitals, rest homes, in prisons, for
example.
So, obviously I am in support of this. I certai nly thank the Junior Minister for her presentation and I
just thank the public also for their cooperation. We
have to get through this situation together . Obviously,
the TA has been a significant bone of contention on
social media, et cetera, et, cetera, over the past couple of weeks and months. But the Government has
been responsive to those things as well. The TA has
undergone a bunch of modifications to make it simpler
and easier and so forth.
So, this is the type of thing that we certainly
have to thank our public health officials and all of
those who are responsible for keeping us safe. It is
not an easy task. I do not think we actually thank them enough for how they have managed this COVID -19
pandemic over the last two years. So, I am certainly proud to support them and to recognise their work, but also to thank the public for their contribution and what
they are doing to keep us safe.
So, I just wa nt to applaud the Junior Minister
today. She has worked extremely hard. This is her last
[Order] today, and I think she has represented herself
really well.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets.
Before moving on, I would just like to say . . . I
beg your pardon. Senator De Couto, did you want to
speak? I’m sorry. I was going to make a comment, but
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.



Bermuda Senate Sen. Dr. Douglas De Couto: Thank you, Madam
President.
I was just listening. I had not planned to
speak. Many interesting areas have been covered on
this. This is a tough topic and we have heard from Minister Peets, Senator Simmons, and Senator Hodgson. We understand. It can be true that we ought to
have the Order in place now. But it can also be true,
Madam President, that we should expect our Government to have a plan as to when it should go away.
That is the nature of an extraordinary thing, such as this O rder. We should not blindly roll it forward.
It can be true that we can congratulate and be
proud of our health care professionals and our civil servants, which we all are. We are grateful for them. It can also be true that we are disappointed that the
Government as a whole does not seem to have a plan
or understanding of when to get rid of this emergency
order. That, I think, is what my colleagues were trying
to get at, Madam President, and that is what is co ncerning to me, and to us.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
I would just like to say that as a health professional mys elf, and as someone who was the CEO of
the hospital, I know many of the people who are wor king at the hospital, the nurses, the doctors and wh oever. I can assure you that on this Island of 60whatever thousand people, to have a hospital that has
that number of COVID -19 patients in it is a very ser ious thing that we cannot ignore.
COVID -19 has been around for some time
and if you are looking at the news overseas and the
people who are traveling, you can see that everyone
is struggling with dealing with COV ID-19. But we have
to face with what we are dealing with on this Island.
And I can assure you that when I heard that there
were over 50 patients in the hospital with COVID -19,
and that the number may be even more than that out-side the hospital, because people are not declaring it.
So we need to be very, very, very cautious, very, very
circumspect in the decisions that we make either in the other House or here. It is absolutely critical. This is
not a decision that is made lightly. It is made with di scussion s with health professionals on this Island. And
I think that when such an [Order] is brought here that
we really need to look at it for what it says, and for
what it is worth and be mindful of this Island and the
one hospital that we have here.
I mean, there is no other hospital. We cannot
ship people out. We have to deal with them here. And I go to the hospital. I talk to the professionals. And
they are very, very concerned. Heaven forbid if any of
the staff . . . and that is the other issue that we also
need to be mindful of. The staff themselves could be
exposed, and then when you have shortages of staff
who is going to be here to care for these patients? I
mean some of them may have secondary conditions. We have a very, very high rate of diabetes, hyper tension, kidney disease in this Island.
So, when decisions like this have to be made,
I think we need to be very circumspect and also sup-port such decisions. This is not a decision that has been made lightly. So I would just implore each of us ,
when we are considering this, that we do not look at it
from just one aspect, but that we look at it as a whole.
And as a health professional I can tell you that I am
glad this has been brought. I am glad that the Go vernment is responding in the manner that it is because, heaven forbid. We do not know what tomorrow
or next week or next month is going to bring.
So, I thank the Junior Minister of Health for
bringing this [Order] and I support it wholeheartedly. And the questions that you are asking . . . we do not
have an answer for right now. But what we do have is
that the Government is responding and we need to support [that response]. So, with that, I support this
extension Order wholeheartedly and I thank the Government. And I thank you, Senator Hodgson, for bri nging it and presenting it in the manner in which you
have.
With that, I hand back over to you.

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident, and with your comments, I can move along as
well. You have taken most of what I planned to say.
Unfortunately, the global pandemic does continue to exist, and it poses a significant threat to our
Island, in particular where our health care system is already stretched. Again, I want to say that it is not fair to say that the Government does not have a plan.
From day to day the situation changes. As was said in
the House last Friday, I would hope if the Opposition
was in Government that they would take the necessary steps to protect our Bermudians, particularly our
highly susceptible populations.
So, Madam President, I move that the said
draft Order be approved and that the following message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor:
May it please Your Excellency: The Senate,
having had under consideration the draft Order ent itled the Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (Nol. 5) Order 2022, proposed to be made by the
Minister of Health under the provisions of section
107A of the Public Health Act 1949, has the honour to
inform Your Excellency that the Senate has approved
the said draft Order. Thank you.

The President: Is there any objection to the message
being sent?
No objection. Therefore, the message will be
sent.
Thank you, Senators. Thank you, Senator
Arianna Hodgson. You have had a very full day! But I
want to applaud you for the work that you ha ve done
today.

608 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate [Motion carried: The draft Order entitled Public Health
(COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 5) Order 2022
was approved.]
The President: Senators, it is past lunch, and I need
to ask the Senate whether or not . . . we still have two
Bills t o do. And [one] is item 6 on the agenda, which is
the second reading of the Domestic Partnership
Amendment Act 2022, and we also have consider ation of the draft Order Tourism Investment Cambridge Beaches Resort. So, my question to you is, do we
break for lunch and do you want to take a lunch?

Go for lunch.
The President: Go for lunch.
With that then, the Leader in the Senate has
spoken. Senators, we will break for lunch and we will return at 2:00. The Senate is adjourned.
Thank you, Senators.
Proceedings suspended at 12:46 pm
Proceedings resumed at 2:01 pm
[
Sen. the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright, President, pr esiding]
ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: Good afternoon, Senators , and the
listening audience. The Senate is back in session, and we are continuing with our Orders of the Day. We have two orders that we need to deal with this after-noon.
The first one that we are dealing with is item
number six, which is the second reading of the D omestic Partnership Amendment Act 2022 and that would be in the name of Minister Peets who will be presenting this Bill this afternoon.
Minister Peets.

I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended in r espect to this Bill.
The President: This is the second reading . . . sorry. Sen. the Hon. Dr. Ernest Peets: Thank you. See, I
was moving to m otion to a djourn.
[
Laughter]
The President: You are in a hurry this afternoon.
BILL
SECOND READING
DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP
AMENDMENT ACT 2022

Yes. Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Madam President, I am very pleased to offer
for a s econd reading the Bill entitled the Domestic
Partnership Amendment Act 2022 .
T he Bill seeks to (1) extend the transitional
period under section 54 of the Domestic Partnership Act 2018 which is the principal Act, to the 14
th of
March 2022 to confirm the validity of same -sex ma rriages formalised according to law of Bermuda prior to
the date of the Privy Council judgment and (2) to recognise certain same- sex marriages formalised overseas during the extended transitional period.
Madam President, section 53 of the princ ipal
Act provides that a marriage is void unless the parties
are respectively male and female. Madam President,
section 54 of the principal Act provides for a trans itional period (a) during which certain same- sex ma rriages entered into in Bermuda or on Bermuda regi stered ships would be valid, and (b) before or during
which certain overseas same- sex marriages could be
recognised in Bermuda. The transitional period was defined as the period from May 5, 2017 (the date of
the Supreme Court judgment in Godwin and DeRoche v.The Registrar General and others ) until immediately
before the commencement date of the principal Act on
the 1
st of June 2018.
Madam President, on June 6, 2018, the S upreme Court (Chief Justice Kawaley) determined that
section 53 was unconsti tutional, but his judgment was
stayed pending an appeal. On the 23rd of November
2018, the Court of Appeal upheld the Supreme Court
decision (though on different grounds) and refused to
extend the stay previously granted by the Supreme Court. Consequently, from that date, same- sex ma rriages conducted in Bermuda and on Bermuda regi stered ships were not invalidated by section 53, and certain overseas same- sex marriages could be recognised in Bermuda.
Madam President, on the 14
th of March 2022,
the Privy Council overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal and determined that section 53 was not un-constitutional. This cast doubt on the validity of samesex marriages conducted in Bermuda or on Bermuda
registered ships since June 1, 2018, and the recogn iB ermuda Senate tion in Bermuda since that date of overseas same- sex
marriages. Madam President, the uncertainty over the
validity and recognition of same- sex marriages potentially has widespread negative effect on the rights pr eviously enjoyed by the couples involved who married lawfully under the law as it existed at the time and who may suffer the loss or interpretation of certain
rights and benefits. It is therefore not tenable to leave
the Act as it is without making the appropriate amendments.
In closing, Madam President, the Domestic
Partnership Amendment Act 2022 will ensure that the appropriate amendments are made to safeguard the
legitimacy and the acceptance of marriages between
same -sex couples who are married under law as it
existed at the time.
Madam President, I now move that the Bill entitled Domestic Partnership Amendment Act 2022 now be read for a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

Thank you.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
And thank you to the Minister for bringing the amendment for consideration.
We all know that the topic of same- sex ma rriage has been an ongoing topic of discussion and
point of contention for some. Notwithstanding one’s
personal views, approximately 20 couples did get married at a time when it was legal in Bermuda for
same -sex couples to wed.
The amendment ensures that same- sex co uples that were married when it was lawful to do so will
continued to be recognised as such. And the Oppos ition is in support of this amendment. Madam Pres ident, it is the right thing to do. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, it is back to you, Minister
Peets. Sen. the Hon. Dr. Ernest Peets: Thank you, Madam
President. [I am] a little slow following our lunch break.
I move that [Standing Order} 26 be suspended in respect to this Bill. Or I can do the third reading.
The President: No, that is the second reading.

I move that, finally,
the Bill entitled the Domestic Partnership Amendment Act 2022 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection.
Thank you, Minister Peets.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
SENATE VISITORS
The President: I would just like to acknowledge that
we do have the Permanent Secretary, Ms. Rozy
Azhar in the C hamber.
610 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate And thank you for your . . .
I’m not sure what you . . .
[
Crosstalk]
The President: . . . with the Attorney General’s
Chambers. Welcome to you both.
With that said the Bill . . .

Thank you. I move
that the Bill do now pass.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion ?
The Bill is passed.
Thank you, Senators. And thank you, Minister
Peets.
[
Motion carried: The Domestic Partnership Amen dment Act 2022 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: That completes . . . That will now
move us on to the next item on our agenda and that is
item nine which is the final Bill on our agenda today.
And that is the consideration of the d raft Order entitled
the Tourism Investment (Cambridge Beaches Resort
and Spa) Order 2022. And this is in the name of
Senator Owen Darrell, the Junior Minister for the Ca binet Office.
Senator Darrell, when you are ready you can
present the Bill.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71 (2)
Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam
President, I move that the Standing
Order 71(2) be suspended so that Senate may now
proceed with consideration of the Tourism Investment (Cambridge Beaches Resort and Spa) Order 2022.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[
Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]
Se
n. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I move that
the Senate do now take under consideration the draft
Order entitled the Tourism Investment (Cambridge Beaches Resort and Spa) Order 2022.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senator Darrell.
DRAFT ORDER
TOURISM INVESTMENT (CAMBRIDGE BEACHES
RESORT AND SPA) ORDER 2022 Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, the purpose of
bringing this Tourism Investment (Cambridge Beac hes Resort and Spa) Order 2022 before the Senate is
to enable the grant of tax relief to the developers i nvesting in the tourism product Cambridge Beaches Resort and Spa, Cambridge Beaches Holdings Lim-ited, which is in the national economic interest of
Bermuda. Madam President, I am pleased to invite
Senators to take this Order under consideration.
Madam President, a key element of success
in business is investment in the product to ensure it is always fresh and serves to meet the demands of the customers that business es aim to serve. Madam
President, in the hospitality busines s, this is no diffe rent. Destinations, hotels and attractions that seek to trade only on reputation can often lose sight of their edge, proving to be more of what they were than what they need to be. Success in this aggressive and com-petitive tourism marketplace demands that every affi liated tourism business consistently stay s on the cutting edge. Madam President, the Order before the Senators today represents that kind of investment in a product proposed to be made by a key tourism site in Bermuda.
As I in dicated in the Senate on the tabling this
Order, Cambridge Beaches is an iconic property l ocated on the west end of the Island. The current ow ners have taken the foundation laid by their predeces-sors and have determined to grow the status of the hotel to meet the true luxury standard befitting its loc ation. There have been upgrades to the property a lready. The owners now plan to renovate all the exis ting cottages, restaurants, spa, public areas including the tennis courts, pools and grounds.
Madam President, Senators will note that the
terms of the Order are consistent with the Tourism
Investment Act 2017 and provide the relief sought for
a period of 10 years. That relief is set out in clause 3 of the Order and again is consistent with the principal Act. Mad am President, I would invite the attention of
Senators to clause 4 of the Order which sets out the
important means by which the hotel qualifies for the
exemption from employer’s share of payroll tax and for the exemption from land tax. They require a man-agement training programme and 70 per cent of Bermudian workforce, respectably. I ma ke this point,
Madam President, to emphasise that the field is set
for Bermudians who choose a career in the tourism
industry. The opportunities are there. They are there to be taken.
Madam President, I would echo the comments that were previously made in the Senate with respect to the Tourism Investment Act. The relief pr ovided by the Act is not just available to hotels. The Schedule to the Act sets out how new and existing restaurants can qualify for relief and, likewise, how an
attraction can qualify. Madam President, the Gover nment’s goal is to create the conditions that inspire i nvestor confidence at every level of the tourism econBermuda Senate omy, sparking a desire to invest and reinv est as we
continue to see the recovery of tourism for Bermuda.
Madam President, I am pleased to commend
this Order for support of the Senate.
Thank you, Madam President.

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

Thank you, Madam
President and thank you, Senator Darrell for that overview. Much appreciated.
As we have stated before, we, the OBA, are
certainly in favour of supporting the Tour ism Industry
through concessions such as these. And of course,
we have to make sure that the amount of the concessions is in keeping with the benefit received for the
country.
I do have a few questions. My understanding
is that this is a renovation. And i f I have read the 2017
Act correctly, I believe the concession should only be
for five years. I presume that this must imply that this
renovation value was more than 50 per cent of the
appraised market value. I would like to understand, if
the Senator coul d perhaps enlighten us, as to when
and where the appraised market value of the current
property was obtained. Would that value have included the upgrades already made that were referred to,
or not? And what, in the estimate of the Government,
is the value of the renovations as a percentage basis
of the current market value? And do we know what
the opening date is when the renovations are supposed to be completed?
Thank you very much.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator car e to speak on
this?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
In reviewing this Bill, I went back into the records to see how it was in keeping with the Tourism Investment Act and with other similar Bills, or A cts
now, or O rders , I should say , which have been passed
for other entities. One of the, I guess, properties which
has already received an Order under this 2017 I nvestment Act is St. George’s Club, and that was in
2020. The [Order] under consid eration right now with
regard to Cambridge Beaches and Spa is almost identical to that Tourism Investment (St. George’ s Club)
Order 2020.
And therefore, I fully support this [Order] because I think it will bring welcome tax relief to a tourism property that is trying to upgrade itself and make it more attractive to our visitors. We know Cambridge
Beaches [Resort] has a really good reputation in the
local community and internationally. And this upgrade
hopefully will spark even more interest locally and i nternationally. So, I do support this mainly because it is
in keeping with other Orders that have [already] been
passed.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Order?
Hearing none.
Then, Senator Darrell, it is back over to you.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
So, the [draft Order] says that it will be within
three years for completion. I think that is the answer to Senator De Couto’s question. But it is i mportant to
note that he said “opening date. ” The hotel is actually
still currently open. The O rder is vetted by the T ourism
Regulatory Unit and the BDA [Bermuda Business D evelopment Agency] and the Ministry of Finance, as
well as Chambers , to ensure that it meets the criteria
of the [draft Order] .
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Yes. So, those are the answers to the
questions. So, you can now move the Order.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the said draft
Order be approved, and the following message be
sent to Her Excellency, the Governor:
May it please Your Excellency: The Senate,
having had under consideration the draft Order ent itled the Tourism Investment (Cambridge Beaches R esort and Spa) Order 2022, proposed to be made by
the Minister responsible for Tourism together with the
written agreement of the Minister of Finance dated the
16
th of June 2022 in exercise of the power conferred
by section 5 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017 has
the honour to inform Your Excellency that the Senate
has approved the said draft Order.

The President: Is there any objection to that Order
being sent?
No. Hearing none, t hen a suitable message
will be sent.
And thank you Senator Darrell and Senators
who have spok en.

[Motion carried: The draft Order entitled the Tourism
Investment (Cambridge Beaches Resort and Spa) Order 2022 was approved.]

The President: We will now move on to the next item
on our a genda.
612 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES

The President: Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I would like to begin by offering heartiest congratulations to Dr. Claudette Flem ing who has been at
the forefront of Age Concern for the past 22 years and
will be retiring as its executive director in September.
She has built what was a small charity, not really in
the forefront of things, into a significant organisation which has as its mantra the overall well -being of persons in our community who are ageing. I would like to wish her well in her retirement. But I also believe that
we will still hear her voice in advocating on behalf of
Bermuda’s seniors, and that will be most welcome.
I also want to offer congratulations to a young
woman named Chloe Morton. She will be studying at the United World Colleges [UWC], Mahindra College.
And she is being sponsored by the local branch of the
United World Colleges Committee. That committee is
actually comprised of former graduates of the United
World Colleges. I think it is really commendable that
they come together and make sure that the next ge neration coming along will have a similar opportunity.
So, I congratulate Chloe and wish her all the best at
UWC Mahindra College which is located in India. She will be in a two -year International Baccalaureate pr ogramme. And I am sure she is going to have a really enriching experience.
I noted yesterday, Madam President, that Mrs.
Myrtle Edness celebrated her 108
th birthday. Oh my. If
God would bless us in the same way that he has blessed her . . .

[Laughter]

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Mrs. Edness, as far as I
know, has her faculties. She is in good health. And
she was surrounded by family and friends to c elebrate
this milestone. So, I am sure we all want to wish her
well.

The President: Absolutely.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: I also want to commend
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold [Award] winners who
were recognised at Government House recently. I believe there w ere 13 of them, 13 young people who
earned that award. And during these difficult times in which we are living, I think it is really commendable
that these young people still stuck to their guns and
completed all the requirements for their gold certif icates, their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards. So, co ngratulations to them.
And then on a sad note, I would like to extend
condolences to the family of Mrs. Clara Williams who
was recently laid to rest. She had been a friend of our
family for many, many, many ye ars. And I am asking
that we send condolences to her husband, Quintin
and her children Beverly, Larry and Marsha and their spouses as well as her grandchildren.
And then, finally, for me, Madam President, I
would like to ask for condolences to be sent to the family of one of my music teachers at the Berkeley
Institute, Mr. Eustace Jones, who died recently. Mr.
Jones was one of the people who helped to inspire me to an interest in music. He, along with Mr. Ric hards, they were the two music teachers at Berkl ey at
the time I was there. Mr. Jones did the choral music especially and Mr. Richards, he introduced us to a lot of classical music. But music is one of my passions
and I definitely can trace my love of music back to the
exposure I had through Eustace Jones at Berkeley. I
am thinking particularly right now of his extended
family, especially his brother, Winston J. R. and his
wife, as well as Mr. Jones’s nieces and nephews who
are scattered across the globe. So, may he rest in peace.
Thank you.

The Presid ent: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Robin Tucker, you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to start with condolences . Actua lly, can I just back up one second? I would like to a ssociate myself with Senator Simmons’ s congratul ations to Dr. Claudette Fleming on her retirement.
I would like to express condolences to the
family of Angela Ackah Simons. I worked with her a
number of years ago at Conyers Dill & Pearman.
Again, a very lovely lady. We lost touch over the
years. But I just want to express condolences to her family and to her friends.
Also, I would like to express heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Saadia Bean. Her work in Bermuda spans over five decades. And she recently received
an honor ary doctoral degree in Natural Health Sc iences from the College of Natural Health Sciences in Bermuda in recognition of her pioneering, stellar,
transformative, revolutionary, gentle work as it pertains to the well -being of p eople. Dr. Bean is the ow ner of the Family Intimacy Centre. And anyone who know s her would know that this is an absolute description of her. She is an absolutely fantastic lady.
So, I just want to express congratulations to her.


Bermuda Senate Thank you, Madam President .

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

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to give congratulations to Sebastian Kempe for his second- place finish in the Youth
Sailing World Championships. Bermuda has a long history in sailing events, but it is great to see that we are really showing our worth at the world stage. B ecause I follow that on by also congratulating Benn
Smith for his second- place finish in the US National
Championships. That’s a different Benn Smith.
[Laughter]
Sen. Ben Smith: That is in the Laser Class.
I would also like to congratulate all the swi mmers who participated in the CCAN Championships
that we just returned from. We were abl e to come
back with several medals, including a relay medal that was really exciting to see as Jesse Washington had to
catch up to get to that medal. It was a really exciting
event, and all those swimmers did us proud.
I would also like to take this oppor tunity to say
good luck to all of our athletes who will be travelling and participating in the Commonwealth Games. I
know that they will do us proud. Obviously, we have
our “Golden Girl” [Dame Flora Duffy] who will be going
over there after what she has just accomplished r ecently. But to all those athletes that I know have been
working hard through the pandemic, this is our opportunity to really shine and show that they continued that
hard work while the pandemic was going on. So, congratulations to them and good luck.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith, O pposition Leader in the Senate.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time?
Minister Peets, you have the floor.

Thank you.
I certainly want to congratulate and give a
shout out to the Bermuda Sloop Foundation. You guys may have noticed on social media, particularly on F acebook for example, if you follow them on Facebook,
they had a wonderful trip from Bermuda down to
Turks and Caicos and back, tracing the story, of
course, of the beloved Mary Prince. I know it was a wonderful sailing for them. I think they described it as
“champagne” sailing. And their experience, I have
been made to understand, has been absolutely phenomenal. So, I certainly want to congratulate all [them for] the wonderful work that the Bermuda Sloop Foundation does. Also, I had an opportunity on this past weekend, Madam President, to attend the Awards Cer emony for the Shotocup which is a part of the Bermuda Karate Federation. And it was a real, real treat over
this last year to see the resurgence of martial arts, particularly in the discipline of karate. So, I certainly
want to give a shout out to all the organisers for the
Shotocup regarding their events this past year.
Also, in my cons tituency, one of my favourite
constituents (if there is such a thing as a favourite
constituent) . . . She is just always really, really nice.
And I certainly enjoy my time when I do see her. She
is celebrating her 60
th birthday today. So, happy birt hday t o Shirlene Fray.
I would also like to join in wishing best luck to
our Commonwealth Team. It is a really, really good
team. I got a chance to meet them. They are really, really stoked and ready to compete and represent our
wonderful Island. So, best of l uck and congratulations
in advance for your performance.

The President: Thank you.
Senator De Couto, I was just going to ask if
someone else . . .
Senator De Couto, you have the floor. I see
your hand and you want to speak.

Thank you, Madam
President. Much appreciated.
Many people already spoke on the congrat ulations which I wanted to associate myself with. Certainly, Dr. Fleming, I certainly want to associate myself
with that.
As a sailor and, to be honest, as a family
friend of Sebastian Kempe (to declare my interest), I
also want to associate myself with the congratulations.
And I believe he may have been a little disappointed
with his second place because he was the defending
champion. But it is amazing what he has achiev ed as
a young man.
I would also like to congratulate Nicole Stovell
who participated in the same event in the women’s single- handed event, and she came 23
rd out of 45th
[sic]. Now, this to some people may not sound like
something worth bringing up but I c an assure you,
Madam President . . . I did this event a very long time
ago. And I will not bore you or embarrass myself but if
I had gotten a 23rd out of 45 [sic], I would have been
. . . it would have been, not champagne sailing. It
would have been champagne all the way home.

[Laughter]

So, I just want to co ngratulate Nicole as well.
Also, I want to congratulate the National Museum of Bermuda. And, again, I declare my interest. I
am Chairman of the Board there. But tomorrow ni ght
they are having one of their online lecture series, I
614 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate think at 5:30 on Zoom (look for it on Facebook or Twi tter or their website), about the friendly societies. And
that is not what the congratulations actually are for.
This is one lecture in a series of lectures that they
have been organising and presenting since the begi nning of COVID -19 to provide education and information about our history to everybody on the Island.
And the level of professionalism that the staff at the
museum and those associated with putting on these
programmes to make them available to the public . . . I
just want to congratulate them for that and for suc-cessfully putting on so many different events that c overs some really important topics such as the friendly
societies.
So, thank you for that time, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time?
No.
Then I would just like to associate myself with
the well wishes for Dr. Claudette Fleming whom I
have known for y ears too. And she has done stellar
work. And as Senator Michelle Simmons has stated,
she will continue to advocate for seniors in this Island,
and I am sure that she will do exceedingly well in re presenting them.
And I would also like to associate myself with
the well wishes for the Bermuda teams that will be
participating in the events going forward and those
who have already achieved success.
And with that, Minister Peets, it’s adjour nment.

ADJOURNMENT

Yes. Thank you,
Madam President. This has been, not a long day necessarily, but certainly a long legislative session. So,
perhaps a summer recess is certainly due to us.
I motion that this Honourable Chamber adjourn until September 14, 2022.

The President: Thank you for that.
Would any Senator care to speak on the m otion to adjourn?
Senator Michelle Simmons, Vice President,
you have the floor.

ALARMING BELCO EMISSIONS
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I was not sure if I was going to speak on the
motion to adjourn today, but there is something I just
cannot get out of my mind. For the past week, we
have been bombarded with information regarding
emissions coming from BELCO, the Bermuda Electric
Light Company Limited. We have seen the unfort u-nate plight of residents who live near the generation
plant, and I would suggest that we look at the entire neighbourhood surrounding that plant.
Residents are very, very, very concerned
about their health. They are concerned about their properties which have been, in my opinion, bombar ded with unnecessary pollutants. Some people are sa ying, Oh, it’s rust . However, who is testing what is coming out of BELCO? Who is looking closely at those
emissions to find out what is really there? I do not
think it is just rust. I know I am just a biochemist, but
the truth is somebody needs to begin to take the plight
of those residents seriously. I do not think that for emost in the minds of the residents is the fact that their properties are diminishing in value, [which] they are.
But once you lose your health, you cannot get it back.
This has been going on for years.
I used to work in that area. And for 20something years we were bombarded with pollutants
coming out of BELCO. The plant has been expanded
over the years, and I am sad to say some of it is property was sold to them by a certain school I am closely
associated with, i.e., the Berkeley Institute. Hindsight
is 20/20 vision. [They] cannot go and take it back.
But we have a Clean Air Act. Is BELCO being
held accountable for w hat it is doing to those res idents? I wonder, because in other jurisdictions they
would have been saddled with a hefty fine by now. And I think, as I said a minute ago, it is time to take
this seriously. It does not seem to be an emergency
situation for an yone other than the residents. But they
need to be protected from what is going on at BELCO.
And I am not trying to slam the electric generation f acility, but I am pleading with the Government and those who have responsibility for monitoring and looking into what is going on there at BELCO to take the
plight of the residents seriously.
It is grossly unfair what is going on. And no
amount of roof washing, painting of houses, sweeping
up or vacuuming of the debris is going to be sufficient
in my opinion.
So, Madam President, I just could not get the
vision of what is going on there out of my mind. As I
said, we have seen this situation. We have heard that
it is because an engine was taken down and then it was restarted and, poof, all of this happened. But let ’s
be fair. Let’s be considerate. Suppose we were living
there. Thank you for listening.
The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time?

Yes. Thank you,
Madam President.
I know the listening audience cannot see what
we are doing today but they would be impressed. T oday, the Opposition came in with coordinated red and
blue. But I also want the listening audience to know
that there is a fair representation of blue and blue here
in the Senate Chambers. So, both Houses, of Somerset and St. George’s are adequately represented here
today.

[Laughter]

PLP GOVERNMENT
DELIVERING ITS ELECTION PROMISES

If we decide to
make a count . . .
I certainly want to just pause really quick. And
I promise I will keep my comments brief. But yesterday of course was the fifth- year anniversary of the
July 17 general election. Obviously, I was a new person to the political arena, having spent most of my time professionally just doing the very best I could to
make a difference in individuals’ lives and trying to make a positive contribution to the country —my cou ntry, or this country, our country —which I love very,
very much. Since then, of course, I have had an opportunity to learn and to grow as an individual as well
as a Minister in Cabinet as well as a Senator here.
And I have certainly enjoyed my time and I thank ev eryone for their patience as well as your amazing tut elage. It has been absolutely amazing.
I can say of these last five years, if I could just
speak for a moment about the Progressive Labour
Party and this particular Government, in my opinion
they have worked extremely, extremely hard to deliver
on their election’s promises. No one would have anti cipated, of course, the rise of a global pandemic,
which, of course, has affected us all. And w e are still
dealing with that. But I am certainly grateful for the
leadership during that particular time. And as we are
coming out of that and moving forward, I am certainly
grateful for this particular Government and its passion for its people as well as for delivering for its people.
So, I believe today, you know, is a real good
opportunity for us over the summer to enjoy ourselves with our families. Obviously, there is so much to be
proud of as it relates to the things that we have accomplished. You know, I have an opportunity, of course, to see things from a different lens. But having
said that, there are some positive things that we have
done regarding education reform. I am really excited
about the work that we did with the [National] Youth Policy. I was extremely happy with Ministry’s production of the Cultural Policy. I know that there is still work and amazing work that has already been done to date. But as we continue to work for more healthcare
reform, I just love the fact, of course, that we have
done some amazing things to support relief for our
seniors as well as, of course, my Cabinet colleagues
are out working on modernising transportation. So, I am really excited about coming back in September. I
hope we all have a wonderful summer recess.
To the parliamentary team behind me, thank
you for your sacrifice and for your passion for Berm uda. Thank you also to my colleagues from the Oppos ition. And thank you to the Independent Senators as
well. We certainly have enjoyed our time during this
parliam entary session and look forward to everyone
coming back in September to continue to do what we
can to move Bermuda forward.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets, Gover nment Leader in the Senate. And thank you to all Sena-tors for your hard work during this session.
Yes, we do have a few weeks of holiday. And
as Minister Peets has said, we want to have a blessed
time, an enjoyable time, a safe time. And I mean that
for not just us here in the Senate but also for the general public who are listening, that we want to take time
to enjoy ourselves with our families but be mindful of
the fact that we all need to be safe and to be our
brother’s keeper and to support and help one another in any way that we can.
So, with that, Senat ors, I would want to wish
you all well. Enjoy yourselves, whichever team you decide to support. There are only the two of them. We are well represented here. So, with that, we will return
on September 14, as has been stated. Be safe.
The Senate is now adj ourned.
Thank you.

[At 2:52 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 14 September 2022.]



616 20 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate



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