July 6, 2022

Thank you, Madam
President. And thank you to the Senator for this i mportant update.
Some of my questions have been covered.
They are clearly very important. The Statement did
state that, I think, licensing fee increase or increases
in licensing fees received have helped increase the
revenue. I am a little confused so I am going to seek
some clarification becaus e I believe that another part
of the Statement also states that the Government has reduced licensing fees as a benefit to the public. So I am struggling to reconcile those two things.
And I do recall from the budget that motor car
licensing fees were budgeted down, which I believe was also something that the Government had publ icised quite widely. But what did not get raised was the motorcycle licence fees. [They] were budgeted to i ncrease about the same amount in dollars as the motor
car fees were budgeted to go down. So those were
558 6 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate just three data points, and I am really trying to understand how those interact because what it sounds like
to me is overall people are paying more to gover nment for vehicle licensing fees. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions on this Statement?
Hearing none, then Senator Hodgson it is
over to you for a response.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, given the
request for technical data I would have to defer and wait until a time that I am able to collect the relevant
answers to all the questions presented this morning.

The President: Senators, you have understood that
Senator Arianna Hodgson will make every effort to
obtain answers to the questions you have r aised and
therefore she does not have her answers right now.
So we will wait to some future time. If it occurs before the end of the meeting, so be it. But if not, she has
given an undertaking to respond to the questions.
Senator Ben Smith.

Sen. Ben Smit h: Yes, thank you, Madam President.
I am just wondering whether those answers
will be given verbally so that the population has an
opportunity to hear the answers as well as the Senate
team. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Senator Hodgson.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I will
make every effort to do so.

The President: If the information becomes before we
finish today, then she will provide that. If not . . . well,
she will let us know.
Senators, that deals with the item on our
agenda regarding questions to Statements that have
been delivered this morning.
We will move on.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: The Order of the Day is the consideration of the North East Hamilton Local Plan 2022 t ogether with the Tribunal Report on the draft North East
Hamilton Local Plan 2021. That is in the name of
Senator Simmons, Junior Minister for Home Affairs.

DRAFT PLAN

NORTH EAST HAMILTON LOCAL PLAN 2022

~along with~
TRIBUNAL REPORT ON THE DRAFT
NORTH EAST HAMILTON LOCAL PLAN 2021

Sen. Li ndsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the Senate do
now take under consideration the North East Hamilton Local Plan 2022 together with the Tribunal Report on
the draft North East Hamilton Local Plan 2021 which is require d to be approved by resolution of the Senate
under the provision of section 11(8) of the Develop-ment and Planning Act 1974.

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

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that in accordance with section 11 of the Development
and Planning the Senate consider and approve the
North East Hamilton L ocal Plan 2022
.
Madam President, t he North East Hamilton
Local Plan 2022 (the Plan) has been prepared by the
Department of Planning (the Department) to guide
land use and development within the north- eastern
portion of the City of Hamilton. In order to reach this
stage of the process, the Department has undertaken
a comprehensive consultation strategy, the details of
which are set out within the Tribunal Report which
accompanies the Plan.
Madam President , before I provide an overview of the rationale behind the preparation of the Plan and its key components, I would like to take the
opportunity to inform Honourable [Senators] of the
overall approach to the preparation of the Plan. Madam President , the traditional plan- making process in
Bermuda has involved the release of a draft plan
which immediately becomes operative upon public ation. This means that there is no formal opportunity for
the public or ot her stakeholders to influence the content of the plan before it becomes operative.
Madam President, it is my belief that such an
approach devalues the importance of public consult ation to the plan- making process. Whilst land- use plans
can be technical doc uments, they should be infl uenced by the opinion of the people. Accordingly, I am
pleased to say that the Department adopted a different approach in the preparation of the North East
Hamilton Local Plan 2022 in that the draft version of
the Plan was releas ed as a non- operative document.
Madam President, whilst this may seem like a subtle change to the process, I believe it is significant in
sending out the message that public consultation is an
integral part of the plan- making process and the
community should be able to voice their opinion b efore an operative land use plan is released.
Madam President, the Department undertook
extensive consultation with internal and external
stakeholders prior to the public consultation phase of


Bermuda Senate the Plan. Further publicity of the Plan was carried out
throughout the month of July 2021 through the distr ibution of information leaflets, emailing of local bus inesses and stakeholder meetings.
Madam President, the formal public consult ation phase took place between the 2nd of Augus t and
the 8th of October 2021, wherein members of the public or any other interested parties had the opportunity
to submit objections or representations on the content
of the Plan. Details of the public consultation phase
were published in the Official Gaz ette and on the D epartment’s website. In addition, the Plan was hig hlighted by various local media outlets at key stages during the plan- making process. Furthermore, a virtual
town hall [meeting] was held on the 2
nd of September
2021 which was shown live on the Government’s
YouTube and Facebook channels, as well as CITV.
This method of consultation proved to be extremely useful with numerous questions being submitted by
members of the public. A press release was also i ssued before the closure of the consult ation period in
an effort to obtain as much feedback as possible.
Madam President, a total of three submi ssions were received as part of the formal public con-sultation phase —one “objection,” and two “representations.” The Department subsequently held discussions with each of the parties who made formal submissions. Following those discussions, it was confirmed that all of the cases received were to be treated
as “representations” and not “objections.” This is a
crucial difference as it meant that there were no formal requests to change the content of the document.
Madam President, the north- east quadrant of
Hamilton is an area with a strong sense of community
and culture. However, it is also an area which has experienced incremental social, economic and env ironmental decline to the extent that the character of this area differs significantly from the remainder of the city.
The area is in need of investment to instigate economic activity for the benefit of existing residents and
business owners. Madam President, these are the
underpinning reasons why the City of Hamilton Plan
2015 states that the area has a distinct urban fabric worthy of its own local plan.
In preparing a local plan for the area, Madam
President, the Department has considered a number of diff erent options. The driving force behind the preparation of the Plan has been to establish a framework
which facilitates investment in a manner which is int imately cognisant of the established characteristics of the area from both a built form and cultural perspective. Madam President, I believe that the North East Hamilton Local Plan 2022 has successfully merged
these challenging factors.
Madam President, the overarching vision of
the plan is to realise North East Hamilton’s economic
potential in a manner which is cognisant of the esta blished environment, sense of community and culture importance of the neighbourhood. Madam President, in order to realise this vision, the Plan sets a flexible
policy framework which affords greater decisionmaking discretion to the Development Applications
Board.
Madam President, the Plan offers no definitive
design parameters in an attempt to facilitate innov ative and contemporary forms of architecture. It does,
however, establish key design principles which must
be followed in all instances. In this regard, it is partic ularly relevant to note that the Plan places strong emphasis on ensuring that development proposals r espond appropriately to the existing scale, proportion
and character of the immediate and wider vicinity.
Madam President, such an approach ensures that
development proposals take design queues from the
established characteristics of the area. This assures
that whilst the Plan offers a flexible approach to de-sign, this has to be within the context of the demonstrable understanding of the established built form and
character of the area.
Madam President , the P lan establishes a
change of approach to the traditional interpretation
and application of planning policy in Bermuda. Speci fically, the Plan is to be applied in its entirety in the
assessment of planning applications. Such an approach allows for decisions to be taken through ba lancing all of the relevant factors and not mandating that a planning application must be refused because it fails to meet a single pol icy. Similarly, it also means
that an application does not have to be approved just
because it meets the preconceived requirements.
Madam President , this P lan allows for caseby-case assessments based upon the nature of development proposals and the circumstances of individual sites and encourages developers and architects
to put forward innovative designs which are respo nsive to the established characteristics of the area.
Madam President , within the context of ever -changing
social, environmental and economic dynamics, I believe that it is imperative to have a planning system
that has the ability to quickly pivot and respond constructively to emerging opportunities. I believe that the Plan can assist in successfully achieving this whilst
remaining true to sound planning principles.
Madam President , in accordance with the D evelopment and Planning Act 1974, a Tribunal was appointed by the Minister of Home Affairs on the 20
th of
January 2022 to process the submissions received. Madam President , as noted wi thin the Tribunal R eport, upon consideration of the consultation process
followed by the Department and the resolutions
reached, it was determined that no formal hearings were required. The Tribunal concurred with the D epartment’s recommendations on each of the three
representations and did not recommend any changes
to the Plan, with the exception of minor changes recommended by the D epartment. Having received the
final version of the Tribunal Report for the Minister’s
review in April 2022, the Minister of Home Affairs con560 6 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate firm his full agreement with the Tribunal’s findings and
recommendations.
Madam President , I believe that it is partic ularly pertinent to point out that the Tribunal concluded
that the lack of objections is reflective of the flexible
nature of the document, as well as the vigorous consultation process used by the Department. We wholeheartedly agree with these conclusions and believe that the Department has produced a document which
can be the cornerstone of a transformational approach
toward s planning within all of Bermuda.
Madam President , this Government announced as part of its General Election platform a desire to transform the City of Hamilton into a liveable
city and voiced its support for major public and private sector building projec ts, including residential deve lopment in North East Hamilton. Through its flexible approach and consistent support for residential deve lopment within the area, this P lan will play a [ critical]
role in achieving these ambitions.
Madam President , the 2021 S peech from the
Throne detailed a commitment to ensuring that the
North East Hamilton Plan would come before the legislature during this s ession. The presentation of the
Plan today delivers on this commitment to the people
of Bermuda.
Thank you, Madam Pres ident.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons, Junior Minister for Home Affairs.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS

The President: And before I open the floor to Senators, I would just like to acknowledge the presence in
the Chamber of the technical officers from the Planning Department. Their names are Mr. Paul Mc Donald
and Mr. Kenny Campbell.
Thank you for being here.

[North East Hamilton Local Plan 2022, together with
the Tribunal Report on the draft North East Hamilton
Local Plan 2021, debate continuing]
The President: Would any Senator care to comment
or ask question on this Plan?
Senator Robin Tucker, you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
And thank you to the Junior Minister for providing her Statement regarding the North East Hamilton Plan.
I first want to say, Well done, to the Depar tment of Planning, especially to Mrs. Pereira and her
team, the substantive Minister, and anyone who has been involved in developing this Plan. It is evident that
a lot of time and effort has gone into producing what we see now as a comprehensive planning document
and report.
I don’t have too much to say about it other
than I wish just to make a general observation and
comment. From my perspective as one who as a child
grew up in North Hamilton, my house was actually where Masters is right now. I think that it is pretty
shameful that North East Hamilton has not been given
the same attention as other areas in Hamilton and
around the Island, as some of the best businesses
and people hale from within North East Hamilton area.
For many years now the area has been in need of
investment and development which we already know.
So I was very happy to see that this Plan checks
many of the boxes, including its aim to preserve the
area’s historic significance and legacy.
While I think it is a good thing that this Plan
provides an avenue for North East Hamilton to get the
attention and uplift that it needs and deserves, I will
say, however, that I am worried that once the Plan
begins to take shape and work being done that there could be unintended consequences of seeing bus inesses, residents, and families who have lived in the area for generations displa ced over time as new res idential developments and commercial structures are built on approval of the new flexible planning fram ework.
I do have little doubt that once the Plan is approved it will generate the interests and investment
and development, and that the end result will be that it
will have greater appeal for those who wish to live,
establish businesses and visit the area. But the c onundrum, Madam President, may well be whether res-idents or businesses will be able to continue to live and operate t heir businesses from the area once it
has been redeveloped into a more “appealing” place
to reside, establish and build their businesses and
visit.
I am not sure if we know the answer to the
question, but I wonder if there were any consider ations given t o addressing the potential displacement of
current residential and commercial residents when the
development plans get fully underway.
Madam President, overall, I think the North
East Hamilton Plan is a good plan. But hopefully measures will be in place that balance the need to
attract the type of investment sought after to develop
the area to its greatest potential without displacing
people who have lived and run businesses there,
some for many generations. Admittedly, this will be no easy feat, Madam Pr esident, but I am hopeful that it
can be accomplished as doing so will prove not only beneficial for North East Hamilton, its residents, for
current and future businesses, and overall for Berm uda.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Sen ator Robin Tucker.


Bermuda Senate Would any other Senator care to ask questions or give a comment on the Plan that is presented.
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President. I will be brief because my colleague, Sen ator Tucker, did cover many of the points.
So, first of all, thank you to the Senator for
bringing the Plan and, like my colleague, I do believe
it is a good Plan and it is an important part of helping
to develop what is a valuable and an important part of Bermuda’s culture and heritage in North East Hami lton.
I am certainly a strong believer in the need for
Government to help create the conditions for success to enable people to be successful and to enable our
economy to grow and thrive, whether for the whole
country or in a specific area such as this. And this Plan is a good example of that and I do welcome it.
I do have a couple of concerns. We heard in
the Statement about the environmental and social declines that have led to how that area has developed or
failed to develop in the past. So it is one thing for us to
put this development Plan into place, but I wonder
how the Government, how we are addressing the underlying reasons that are preventing people from i nvesting and continuing to grow in this speci fic area.
And I guess it comes down to, How do we solve those underlying reasons and how do we encourage i nvestments?
We know that in Bermuda, in America and
around the world it is always an important balance.
And as my colleague, Senator Tucker, alluded to,
How do we correctly address the concerns of existing
residents who value the distinct character of their
homes, their neighbourhoods, where they are from
with the desire for there to be growth and change?
It is very hard. Sometimes people refer to the
concept of NIMBY, or Not In My Back Yard— you can
do it; just not here —or concerns about gentrification.
And I can’t pretend I personally know the answer. I know it is very complicated. But I do know that it i nvolves a strong vision that would engage all t he var ious stakeholders to work it out together.
So, while I welcome this specific development
Plan, I wonder, What is Government’s overall plan to
revitalise the area and how that would take into account the social and economic and cultural concerns?
Beca use I personally would love to see this area
thrive and I know we have all see starts at inves tments and development in the area that sometimes
does not quite pan out, and we have seen many initi atives in the past that perhaps have not arrived at the
desti nation that we would all like to see. So I welcome
it and I look forward to learning about the Gover nment’s fuller vision on what to do in North East Hami lton.
Thank you, Madam President. And thank you
to the Senator for bringing that Plan to our attention. The President: Thank you, Senator Douglas De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to comment or
ask questions on the Plan that has been presented?
[No audible response]
The President: At the moment the Senator is liaising
with the technical officers to obtain a response to the
comments and questions that have been raised.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
To answer Senator Robin Tucker’s question, it
is not an immediate concern. But if it becomes a concern the Government will look into this with the res idents of North East Hamilton.
To answer your question, Senator De Couto,
planning cannot solve all of the issues but what it can
do is put a framework, which is stated in my brief, to
facilitate responsible investments in the area that
would help to see it grow and help with the develop-ment for all involved.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons. With that said then, Senator Si mmons you
need to . . .
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the said Local
Plan be approved.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection. The Plan is approved.

[Motion carried: The North East Hamilton Local Plan
2022 was approved.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons, and thank you to all Senators who have commented or asked questions. Thank you, technical officers for your presence.
This completes the Or ders of the Day.
Senators, we will now move on.

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator Dill, Reverend Dr. Emilygail Dill, you
have the floor.

562 6 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Rev. Dr. Emilygail A. Dill: Thank you, Madam
President.
I would like this morning to offer congratul ations to Mr. Kelly Zuill as he celebrates today 59 years
as a gospel music radio announcer. His programme, Gospel Train, is heard Monday through Friday on I nspire 105 on the Bermuda Broadcasting Company.
And he also hosts us on Wednesday and Friday for the sitting of the House of Assembly. So we want to
congratulate Mr. Zuill for an outstanding career and
certainly encourage him as his sultry voice serenades us. He has such a wonderful voice, but most i mportantly, the inspiration that he provides to this community on a daily basis.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Minister Peets, you h ave the floor.

Yes, thank you,
Madam President.
I certainly want to wish a happy belated birt hday to Roger Dill, Valley Heights Road in Devonshire. It is part of my constituency, in constituency 10. He
celebrated his 65
th birthday yesterday. And I trust that
he had a great day.
But also, Madam President, on a sadder note,
we regret to announce the passing of Darlene Ric hardson. She was the mother of former Government
Senator, Curtis Richardson. So we certainly want to
send our love and our prayers for him as well as his
family regarding the passing of his mother. She was a
beloved person. She resided in St. David’s. She has
been living overseas for the last couple of years. We
certainly are thinking of him today. She loved her
family. She loved the Progressive Labour Party. We
certainly are wishing the very, very best for the family
during this difficult time.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets.
Would any other Senator care to speak?

Sen. Owen Darrell: I would like to speak.

The President: Senator Owen Darrell, you have the
floor.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like to start on a
sad note first. I am [sending] condolences to the fam ily of Mr. Arnold Todd. I met Mr. Todd when I was a
teacher at the Berkeley Institute. Mr. Todd used to
come in, along with his wife, Mrs. V eronica Todd, to
provide some much- needed substitute (as my princ ipal next to me could tell you) and some long- term
substitute support at the time, you know, when subst itutes were much needed. I do understand that Mr. Todd has been living back in England. But I remember
having some really good conversations with him just
about life in general. And I recall that as much of a
role model that he was to the students, especially the young men at the Berkeley Institute while he spent his
time there, I do know that he had a lengthy career in
other sectors of the community. But my time in knowing Mr. Todd came there. And I also spent a lot of time
there with one of his sisters, Ms. Ann Simmons, who
worked for many, many years at Tongate Electric with
my father. So I would just like to send condolences to
his family. I was actually shocked to read his age. He
passed at the age of 83. He never struck me as that
mature. (I will use that word.) So, yes, condolences to
Mr. Todd’s [family.]
On a happier note, along the same vein as
education, I got the opportunity last week to attend two graduations. And particularly the high school
graduations. The first one w as the Berkeley Institute’s
graduation of which I graduated from many years ago. And they had a great ceremony at the National Sports
Centre. It was great to see that there were 114 gradu-ates in that class. Of note that [stood] out to me was
that at Berkel ey Institute it was a 50/50 split, identical
between male graduates and female graduates. We
heard many speeches. We heard of students who had
done the Dual Enrolment Programme.
I would like to make particular mention of the
Teacher of the Year who was a f ormer colleague of
mine, a really good friend of mine, Ms. Michelle C amara, who won Teacher of the Year. She had been
the current S4 Year Head. And just to hear what the
students say about their teacher is always refreshing and rewarding to all teachers to know that at the end of the road students do appreciate and acknowledge
what you have done for them. So, congratulations to
her, all of the st aff at the Berkeley Institute, including
Principal Ms. Keisha Douglas; the deputy principals
and everyone else involved.
And then two days later I had the opportunity
to briefly go to the CedarBridge Academy graduation
where the speaker was former Cup Mat ch Captain Mr.
Jekon Edness. And his message actually stuck with
me and I want to congratulate him for giving that mes-sage. His speech was no more than, maybe, eight
minutes. And his speech was about your brand. And
he spoke to the graduates of CedarBridge Academy
about their brand and what their brand will look like
going forward and what that will mean for their lives.
So it was a very powerful message, albeit, very short.
And something that people could remember.
And talking about male/female ratios, at the
CedarBridge graduation, which some of my colleagues did attend with me, it was pointed out by
Principal Kenneth Caesar, that they had significantly
more males graduating from CedarBridge Academy
this year than females. I am not sure what that means, but usually when we go to these ceremonies and the
stats are read out the split does not go that way. So I


Bermuda Senate want to encourage Bermuda that we do have some
very talented young people doing amazing things in
this country. And a lot of that is fostered by indiv iduals
who work with young people, whether it be teachers, community workers, parents.
So congratulations to everyone at those two
schools, our two public high schools on this Island.
They definitely made me be proud to be a graduate of
public education as well as in the capacity now where
I speak on matters of education.
Thank you, Madam President.

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

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I want to begin by commending the Bermuda
Sloop Foundation and the crew of the Spirit of Berm uda for creating what I call a “living history lesson.” And
I know this will resonate with Senator Darrell, a former
history teacher. There is a group of Bermudian st udents who have a wonderful opportunity to sail to
Turks and Caicos, along with a big slab of Bermuda
limestone (I almost said concrete, [but it is] limestone), which they plan to exchange for salt which has been
raked in the salt ponds or flats of Turks Island.
This is a way of reconnecting with one of our
national heroes, Mary Prince, who we all know was enslaved in Turks Island. I believe accompanying the
group on the trip is Dr. Theodore Francis who is a Bermudian and is an Associate Professor of History at
Huston- Tillotson University in Austin, Texas.
During the voyage down to Turks, Dr. Francis
intends to help the students to come to terms with Mary Prince’s life as a slave and the resistance she
put up to fight her way out of slavery. I do not mean
fight literally, but to claw her way out of slavery. I know
some of the young people on board The Spirit on this
adventurous trip. And I cannot wait to hear of their
reaction to the voyage down, being in Grand T urk [I sland], and then coming back with salt which will then
be traded up again when The Spirit goes up to Can ada on another voyage later this year.
So, well done, Bermuda Sloop Foundation.
I also want to congratulate and thank the 21
new police officer s who took their official oaths before
the Governor, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Darrin
Simons, and of course, before Minister Michael
Weeks (last week). It is so gratifying to see young people stepping forward, willingly, and pledging their
commitment to upholding the laws of the land, but also willing to become role models for their peers.
So, Well done, new police officers, thank you
for your service. Thank you for your willingness to
serve. And then I just want to associate myself with
the remark s Senator Darrell made about Mr. Arnold
Todd. I certainly want to extend condolences to his wife Veronica ––I call her “his best friend,” his life par tner––their daughter, Robin, and her husband, Frank;
their son, Arnold, Jr. and his wife, Caroline; all the grandchildren; and his sisters, Ann Simmons and Lois
Harris. I found Arnold Todd to be a fun- loving person.
But he also knew how to be unflinching in matters
which really, really mattered.
He was one of the original Devonshire Colts
players on the very f irst team alongside some people
who are just legends. I know it must have been very
heart -warming for him to realise that his own grandson also became a member of Devonshire Colts and
was playing football for them as well.
I know that Mr. Todd had a foray into politics,
and I think he always kept it at the party level. But even when he was no longer actively involved in party
politics, he was always a keen observer and commentator (if you had the privilege of spending time with
him) of all that was happeni ng in Bermuda. He has
lived overseas for several years. We have missed his
presence in Bermuda, but I know that he was enjoying
the time being with his family.
Yes, he was a substitute teacher at Berkeley,
but before that he was a student. And he was also
Chairman of the Board of Governors for several years,
I have forgotten the period now. But it is a loss and we
just want to let his family know we are thinking of them
at this time.
And then finally from me, I would like to ask
that we send condolences t o the family of Mr. Stuart
Hayward, in particular, his wife, Dr. Jamie Bacon; his
sister, the Honourable Sylvia Hayward- Harris; his
step- daughters; as well as all his extended family
members. Stuart’s life was one of service to Berm uda’s natural environment, and by extension he served all of us because we all live in this natural environ-ment.
And it is really up to us to learn some lessons
from the legacy he has left behind. He has written at least a couple of books, which I would just like to mention: Berm uda’s Delicate Balance —People and the
Environment which was published many years ago,
but is still a wonderful book to help you to understand
the importance of Bermuda’s green spaces and the
natural environment. And then on a very different note, his most recent publication was My Bermuda;
Memoirs of an Island Boy. It is a collection of more
than 100 articles which he had written for The Berm udian magazine. I think [these articles] refer to his
childhood growing up in Bermuda. And also, of
course, as he bec ame an adult. So, again, another big
loss for Bermuda. May he rest in peace.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
564 6 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader [in the
Senate,] you have the floor.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
Firstly, I would like to be associated with the
remarks from the Junior Minister of Education for the graduates of both CedarBridge and Berkeley Institute.
As he said, it is really important that we highlight the
positive of our young people. They are about to start
their next step in life and I am hoping that this is an opportunity for Bermuda to reach out and give them
opportunities —opportunities for work, opportunities for
internship because we need them to be a flourishing
generation to come to help to take us to where we need to go. So I would like to congratulate the grad uates from both CedarBridge and Berkeley, and for all the graduates who have graduated in the last few
weeks because I know there has been a lot of cel ebrations for the people who have reached that level
and will be moving on to university or moving to jobs.
I would also like to congratulate the 22
swimmers who have been selected to participate in the Central American and Caribbean Swimming
Championships. They will be traveling tomorrow to go
to Barbados to participate in the Championship from
the 9
th to the 13th [of July]. I know all of them will be
doing their best to do Bermuda proud and try to bring
back personal best times. It is a large competition this
year with over 500 participants. So we are looking
forward to see what results they will bring back.
Because I will be traveling with that team, I
think it is important that I also send congratulations,
but it is actually a happy birthday wish to my mother
who will be turning 85 this Saturday and I won’t be
here to celebrate wit h her. Mary Fredericka Smith.
Those who are from the Somerset area will know her
as Fredericka Harney . So I would like to give her
birthday wishes for this Saturday.
Thank you, Madam President.

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

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I first want to congratulate
all the graduates of Happy Valley Child Care Centre
who graduated last week Friday. I was able to attend
and speak to the graduates. Happy Valley is an amazing school. I just want to congratulate Ms. Swan and
her team for the hard work and dedication that they
put in. They pour into our children, Madam President.
I believe that when we give our children a solid foundation from young, they become better members of
our society. When you have a solid foundation, you
always have something to fall back on. And with that, Madam President, I want to
highlight two young men who graduated from the Berkeley Institute. Kallan Richardson is the son of MP
Anthony Richardson. He graduated from Berkeley
Institute after already graduated from Bermuda College with his associate degree. You could tell that he
had a solid foundation, Madam President. I also want
to highlight Timothy Omias Lightbourne, another one
of our young Black men who is doing wonders in the
community. He actually graduated from the Berkeley
Institute two years early. Kallan graduated a year ear-ly from Berkeley Institute. They both skipped a year.
Timothy actually skipped two years.
So congratulations to them and their parents
for pouring into their sons. Than k you, Madam Pres ident.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay 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 . . . I have one condolence and
one congratulatory remark. So I will start with the condolence first.
I would like to express condolences to the
family of Mrs. Vida Smith. Anybody who knew an ything about Vida Smith knew that she was always i mmaculately dressed and represented Somerset C up
Match team very well at the game no matter where we were. Mrs. Smith was absolutely a fashion extraordinaire. So I just wanted to express condolences on her passing to her family: to her sons, Michael and Gregory; her daughter [Jeanie] Lori; her daughter Crystal
Burgess; her husband Randy; and the entire family.
Mrs. Smith will absolutely be a tremendous miss.
I also would like to associate myself with the
condolences of everyone, all the families who were
spoken of today. In particular, I would like t o extend
condolences to our former colleague, Curtis Richar dson, on the passing of his mother. Notwithstanding anything else that has been going on, he is a former colleague and a Bermudian and a person, and so I
want to associate myself with those condolences [that
were] expressed.
On a happier note, I would like to say co ngratulations to Coral Wells on receiving an honorary special recognition award from the Caribbean Women Inventors & Innovators Network [CaribbWIIN]. For a nyone who knows Coral, knows t hat she is the founder
and the executive director of Connectech Coding, which is Bermuda’s first technological training centre.
Coral has made and continues to make her mark in a
male -dominated tech industry and has not let gender
disparity on any level st op her from taking her proper
seat.
In researching on the website of the Caribb ean Women Inventors [& Innovators Network] website,


Bermuda Senate I came across a statement that was given by the
founder. It says that the Caribbean Women Inventors
& Innovators Network is a “platform for the gathering
of Ingenious minds that Stimulate Investment, Cel ebrates, Motivates And Rewards Innovation And Entr epreneurship.” And that is an award that is befitting of Coral. Thank you, Madam President.

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

Thank you, Madam
President.
First of all, I would like to associate myself
with Senator Simmons’s comments regarding the voyage of The Spirit of Bermuda . I think it is an amazing combination of a practical experience, a very i mportant topic, and a dynamic and impassioned educ ator there with Dr. Francis. So I think those students
will have a voyage of a lifetime. It i s quite amazing.
I would like to send good luck in advance to
Dame Flora Duffy who will be competing in Hamburg at the World Triathlon Championship Series.
I would like to congratulate Nicholas Narraway
who won the bronze medal in the men’s cycling road
race at the Caribbean Games in Guadeloupe. So I think that is a very nice piece of hardware to bring
home.
And I would just like to highlight Bermuda’s
youth sailors who are currently competing at the O ptimist World Championships in Turkey: Ethan Thom pson, Miguel Power; Sarah Davis; Sophia Dias and
Trystan Hocking. There are 276 competitors there and when I checked, Ethan Thompson was in 26
th [place]
out of 276. For those of you who do not know, to go
from sailing at an event in Bermuda’s waters to go to
an event of this size, it is not just more boats, more
activity, it is a whole ’nother level of ball game and I
think we can safety say that these sailors who are far
from home are getting a valuable experience in the
game at the highest levels. So I wish them all a good
time and that they return home safely.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Hearing none, then, I would just like to ass ociate myself with the condolences that have been expressed by Senator Michelle Simmons as well as
[Senator] Owen Darrell on Arnold Todd and Stuart
Hayward. I think you both certainly indicated what their lifespan was worth. They will be a great miss to
the Island. But they have a legacy that so many pe ople will remember, and the books that have been wri tten certainly by Stuart will also be. Maybe there are
some people who do not know them, but having heard
[of] them today will go and purchase [them]. I would also like to associate myself with Robin Tucker —her congratulations to Coral Wells. And
the reason I do is because she was most influential on my niece Kameron Young who is right now in London
studying. She has been exceedingly beneficial to my niece and all the work that she has been doing.
So, with that, it is now over to the adjour nment. Minister Peets, over to you.

Thank you, Madam
President, I [move] that this honourable Senate
Chamber adjourn until Wednesday, July 20
th.

ADJOURNMENT

The President: Thank you Minister Peets. Would any
Minister care to speak on the motion to adjourn?
Senator Robin Tucker, you have the floor.

GANG VIOLENCE IN BERMUDA
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I think that we have had some pretty good
discussion here today. I would like to take it just a tiny bit in a different direction, and I want to preface what I
am about to say by the fact that my comments are
coming from a place of concern for our communit y.
Okay?
Madam President, in my daily interactions
when I am just out and about canvassing [and] what -
have- you, I am always interested to know what co ncerns people have with the things that are going on within the community. What I am finding is that peop le
are just not feeling safe. Violence, sadly, is topping
the list of their concerns. This is a problem not only for
residents, but our reputation as a safe place to visit is
being impacted. So, it is not good for attracting visitors to our shores either.
Madam President, we all know that now the
current count is that we have had 72 murders in 20
years, which is astounding for our little country. Ma dam President, not unlike so many of us, I am tired. I am tired of it. I am tired of hearing about another
young Black male that has been injured in some type
of violent act. Just two nights ago a 17- year-old boy
was stabbed at Devil’s Hole in Smith’s. Madam Pres ident, not only am I tired of hearing about young Black
males getting killed or injured, [but] I am al so tired of
hearing that they are being arrested for committing
these acts as well.
Madam President, we have children going to
primary school and high school who are affected as
they either witness some type of violence or gang activities or something goi ng on in their homes. And we
wonder why some of these kids are acting out in the classroom or do not perform well academically. Some of these children are traumatised, while unfortunately
we have some parents ––who are supposed to protect
them and look after them and care for them ––look the
566 6 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate other way when they see illicit activities going on in
their households because to say anything might mean
that the rent does not get paid.
The sad reality is, I cannot remember a time
when I have [not] picked up the new spaper and read
reports of gunshots and stabbings. Recently there
were three incidents reported on the same day —
unheard of for Bermuda—three young Black males,
one murdered, two injured within days of each other.
At what point, Madam President, do we co nsider all this violence that we are seeing as a crisis?
What typically happens, Madam President, is we see .
. . We are becoming so desensitised in a lot of ways
to what is happening. We will hear the reports; we will
get shocked. We read the reports in the paper; we will
get shocked for a couple of minutes. And then we
move on. At what point do we as a community declare
a state of emergency? We need to wake up to the fact
that we are at a crisis point. Our young Black males
are killing each other.
And Madam President, I will go as far as to
say and to remind my Black community that we ca nnot blame this one on White people killing us. We are
doing it to ourselves.
The Minister of National Security, Michael
Weeks, was right when he said that we cannot police
ourselves out of this situation. That is very true. But as a start, we have to start looking inwardly amongst
each other. Madam President, to be clear, I am certainly not saying that it is only Black families that are
impacted, but we are a predominantly Black community. And this is what we see: Black families, Black
mothers, Black fathers, aunties, uncles, cousins. If you have young children or young adults, and you
know or suspect they are involved in criminal activity,
do something about it even if you have to turn them in
to get them help and give them a proper chance to
turn their lives around. But whatever you do, do not
turn a blind eye. The child’s future is at stake. The
future of Bermuda is at stake.
I recently read a 2000 study in the Caribbean
Journal of Criminology and Social Psychology on vi olence in Bermuda. It was called “Violence in Bermuda: The Perspectives of Violent Men.” The participants
were part of two focus groups that actually took place
at Westgate. These individuals were convicted of
committing violent crimes. Twenty -two years ago, the
researchers reported that the country’s challenging
economic situation was a source of frustration that
compelled them to pursue deviant and criminal lif estyles, drug selling, and other types of predatory crime, theft, robbery, so on. And that had been spo-ken of as and justified as a way for them to be able to
earn money and achieve social status within the street
culture. There is absolute truth to that, to the economic disparity and the impacts that when one is in an
economic disadvantage point survival sometimes will
lay a pathway for you to do things that you probably
would not necessarily do. I would say this though, Madam President,
that money, having money, does not necessarily solve the problem. Having a job is a great way to turn people away from those types of activities, but it is not the
panacea. Because if it was, we would not have gang activity, especially people who are making money
from it. We have, Madam President, a lot of dysfunctional homes, and they are not only just because people do not have jobs. Addressing violence in Bermuda
is a complex subject. I am not trying to make it sound
like it is easy. But the root causes for participation have to be addressed. Dysfunctional homes and
whatever is in that circle.
As Minister Weeks said in an interview, a collaborative approach is needed to make inroads. Police cannot do it alone. Teachers cannot do it alone.
Churches cannot do it alone. Parents and families, the police, teachers, churc hes can support you, but parents and family, it starts with us. We are the village
that we all sometimes casually talk about. We are the
village. And the village right now is not on its post, and
neither is the Government because it also has a part to play . The community, this community, is spiralling
further out of control and further into a cycle of vi olence.
We have, Madam President, a National Tourism Plan. We have an Intellectual Disabilities National Plan. We even have a National Space [Strategy]. But where is the national plan for addressing violence in
Bermuda? We need one. And I by no means mean
that as a dig toward Minister Weeks. He has just gotten on the scene. Or anyone . . . or even MP Ming. All
I am saying is that this cycle of violence in Bermuda
did not start yesterday. It has been going on for a long
time, so where is the plan?
A plan does not even need to be started from
scratch. There were reports done over the years that
could be used as a starting point. The Parliamentary
Joint Select Committee on Causes of Violent Crime and Gun Violence in Bermuda that was headed by the
Honourable K. H. Randolph Horton in 2010– 2011 is a
prime example. That initiative saw many entities that
are working on the front line such as the police, corrections, customs, education representatives, helping
agencies, support groups, [and] members of the pu blic. They appeared before committees and gave o bservations and suggestions on addressing gang vi olence.
In fact, this now eleven- year-old, comprehensive, 120- page report gives recommendations on what
the country could do to combat not only gang violence
but all kinds of violence in Bermuda. There were many
good suggestions that came out of that committee’s
report that are still relevant today but have yet to be
implemented. Why is that? We are in a crisis, and we
need confidence that the village and the Government are doing all it can to address gang violence in Ber-muda.


Bermuda Senate Madam President, our young males are being
killed or injured by their brother, possibly cousin or
some relative down the line. When will all of us who
say we care come together to be that village that we
talk about?
Thank you, Madam President.

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

GANG VIOLENCE IN BERMUDA

Sen. Lindsay Simmons : Thank you, Madam Pres ident. It is ironic that Senator Tucker is talking about
gang violence as today that was my topic I was going
to talk about, and I still am.
Madam President, in 2020 when I decided to
run for the PLP, my main reason for joining this party
was to continue their work, and if I wanted to be about
the change for my daughter, I had to dive in.
Madam President, I just want to highlight what
the Honourable Minister Michael Weeks stated on June 21
st at Baileys Bay Cricket Club at a townhall
meeting because I think these are important numbers to talk about. The first identified gang- related murders
occurred in 2001. Two years later in 2003 Bermuda had t he first gang- related murder that involved the use
of a firearm. Since 2001, we have had 71 murders in
Bermuda where a weapon has been used.
He paused so that number —71 in 20 years —
was able to sink in. We have become desensitised. These are not just peopl e in our communities. They
are our family members. So it is not just statistics.
Madam President, this includes 43 murders involving
a firearm and 20 involving a knife during this period.
We have had 294 confirmed firearm incidents.
Madam President, it is ironic that Minister
Weeks spoke about Verneil Richardson, his nephew.
He is also my nephew. He was 21 years old when he
was murdered in Bailey’s Bay nine years ago.
Madam President, it saddens me today to
have to talk about this topic, antisocial behavi our that
is plaguing our community. I say to you, Madam Pres-ident, and to the listening public: When will enough be
enough? Madam President, we are losing our Black
men and boys at an alarming rate. We have too many
of our Black men buried six feet under and many more
locked up for senseless crimes. Madam President,
this is affecting all of us. Madam President, we are at
war with ourselves. We are losing men, Madam President. Yes, yours and mine.
Recently, Madam President, a question was
posed to me: What is your Government doing to save
our men? As I thought to myself, Madam President, this question is deeper than any Government including this Government. Madam President, my reply was this: This Government works closely within our community. I have seen th is personally through the works of my colleague, for example MP Famous works
closely week on and week off with our young Black
men. MP Caines dives deep into the trenches with our
young Black men. This was seen just not too long ago
in Deepdale and other areas in the Hamilton area. Our Senate Leader Minister Peets works with our young
youth especially with our young Black boys in pr ogrammes. MP Jason Wade works with students at
CedarBridge Academy and males in his constituency.
Senator Arianna Hodgson . . . I have seen her on
phone calls trying to talk to some of our young Black
men on a daily basis.
Madam President, we have become so desensitised, it is scary.
Madam President, I just listened to what Senator Tucker said about what are we doing as a Go vernment. I listened to Minister Weeks speak the other day, and they are developing a comprehensive, multi -
agency national strategic plan to mitigate not only vi olence but drug trafficking—because this all plays a part—drug- related activities particularly targeting high
crime neighbourhoods. Madam President, he has
pledged that he will work closely with the borders to . .
. borders and drugs . . . to combat drugs and weapons. He has also pledged to target high- crime neig hbourhoods where residents live in fear. He is going to
turn the tables, with our help, on gangs. And he is also
going to help with family support.
But Madam President, this is not just a Government problem. It is a community problem. Not just
the PLP, but the OBA needs to do a part as well. So,
we as a community need to work together. We have
to take back our streets. We have to go back to our basics. Madam President, we have lost our way.
When the village stopped raising our children, that is
when the problems began. Madam President, we all
have a part to play. And let’s all stand up and do better. Stop pointing fingers at each other and know that
it is deeper than just one family.
I spoke about my nephew Verneil Richardson
who came from a Christian family. So, it is not just
mothers who are st ruggling and fathers who are
struggling. It is every Bermudian that is affected by
this. Madam President, we have a Minister of National
Security who is passionate about changing the mindset of our young Black men. He is committed and go-ing street to street and neighbourhood to neighbourhood, from east to west and everywhere in between,
but he alone cannot do it. We the Government cannot do it alone. We all need to buy in. We all must buy in
so that we can save our sons. Together we can
change the minds of some. One life changed is one life saved. I repeat that. One life changed is one life
saved.
I say to you, Madam President, we have a lot
of work to do. Let’s support parents, teachers, leaders, and the community to make Bermuda better
again, and safe. If you know of any antisocial beha viour that is happening in Bermuda, you have the po568 6 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate lice that you can reach out [to]. You can speak to any
police officer. You can reach out to our MPs. Staying
quiet is not an option any longer, Madam President.
We are at war with our own. When we as a community realise that we are only as strong as our weakest link, then we will do better.
Our community’s most valuable assets are
our people, and losing them should not be an option. When we realise this, and only when we realise this,
then can we begin to heal. Madam President, talk is
cheap. Let’s all combat the war against our people.
Thank you, Madam President, and as Minster
Weeks said, in three words what we need to do is
Operation Take Back. Take back our streets. Take
back our Island. And take back our children. Losing
them should never be an option.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak? Yes,
Senator Emily Dill, Reverend Doctor Emily Dil l, you
have the floor.

IMPORTANCE OF SETTING GOALS AND
WORKING TOGETHER AS COMMUNITIES

Thank you, Madam
President.
In my congratulatory comments earlier today,
I shared regarding the 59
th anniversary of Mr. Kelly
Zuill as a gospel radio announcer. I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Zuill recently, and I was both
amazed and inspired by his journey.
[His journey] began with a conversation with
an educator who challenged him to declare what his
interests were and what career he would like to pursue if given an opportunity to do so. This conversation
sparked a desire in Mr. Zuill to do all within his power
to work towards training to become a radio announc-er. Although that appeared to be a lofty goal for a
young Black male at that time, Mr. Zuill held fast to it.
And then he went out to work in another field and
saved his money until he along with his parents were able to save enough funds for him to travel overseas
to enrol in a course of study at the Royal Academy
that would prepare him for the career of his choice.
Mr. Zuill dared to believe that he could, and
he did. He put aside fears and negative pronounc ements, and he walked boldly into his destiny. The ex-ample set by Mr. Zuill to relentlessly pursue his personal career goal is a reminder to all of us of the i mportance of setting goals and putting a process in
place to ensure that the goal is achieved.
This morning, I listened to my colleagues, and
I heard their pleas. I too am disheartened when I hear
the gruell ing statistics regarding violent acts in our
community. But let us be reminded that this is sym ptomatic of the lawlessness which is pervasive throughout the world. This is not a situation that is
germane to Bermuda alone, but it is being exper ienced everyw here. But we as a community must
press on.
This morning we heard of a multiplicity of init iatives which are being put in place, and I am encouraged by that. We heard about the Skill Development
Program training. We heard about the launch of the
Bermuda UN economic partnership. We are excited
about the restructuring of our education system and
the introduction of our signature learning programme. We also were excited to hear about the plan for the
development of North East Hamilton. One of the
things that w as extremely encouraging was we have
heard over the last few weeks of the graduation of
students from inst itutions both here and overseas,
and, in particular, the graduating class that had a m ajority of males from CedarBridge Academy.
These and so many ot her stories, which rarely
make the headlines and often get relegated to the i nner pages of the Island’s daily gazette, give rise to our
spirits that we, as a country, are moving in the right
direction, and although we are coming through a very
difficult pe riod that has presented unprecedented
challenges, that we can move forward, that as we
continue to come here each week and pass Bills until
they become laws, as we continue to put our heads together to come up with strategies, that we as a
country can move forward with continued perseverance, strategic innovations, and a positive mind set.
We can indeed create a better and a fairer Bermuda
and provide strong leadership for all of us.
I want to thank all of my colleagues here in
the Senate, and our Members of Parliament, and our
Ministers, and our civil servants, and all of those that
are working and committed to making this community
the community that we need for it to be. And I am daring to believe that, like Mr. Zuill, if there is a goal that
you want to achieve, we can put our heads together,
we can put strategies in place, and we must positively
work towards a better Bermuda.
As Senator Lindsay Simmons just said about
the importance of every life and the importance of
each one of us doing whatever it i s that we can to ensure that each life is saved and that Bermuda conti nues to be an island paradise that we all can enjoy . . .
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Reverend Doctor
Emily Dill. Would any other Senator care to speak ?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

GANG VIOLENCE IN BERMUDA

Thank you, Madam
President. I was not going to speak on the gang vi olence thing originally, and I will just make a few comments. I never did the math like my colleague did. I never added up to get to 72 in 20 years, and that is a


Bermuda Senate sobering statistic that I will now carry with me. In my
constituency now I have a family, a good family. I b elieve the Reverend, or one of the other Senators, used the words a Christian family , You know, it is a quoteunquote “good family,” and their son succumbed to
the gang violence. It is reminder to us all how tenuous
things could be especially as a parent, how compl icated the situation is.
I am not an expert, but I am old enough to
know that if you want to solve a problem, you require
focus. You require commitment. And you require fol-low-through. And I believe one of the prior Senators
said talk is cheap. And indeed, it is. The focus, co mmitment, and follow through . . . And I agree with my
colleague Senator Tucker, just money and jobs are not going to make the problem go away. But we also
know —and we have seen this in other jurisdictions —
that throughout COVID -19 and the economic pressures people are feeling, this has increased crime and
violence as people become more desperate and more
stressed.
There is a saying that some people say: Money does not solve your problems. Well, if you do not have it, it actually does start to solve some problems.
So, it will be a part of the solution and could take
some pressure off of people. And while I appreciate
that solving this problem will require many actors to coordinate and collaborate together, it is this Gover nment that has the money, that has the resources, that can pass the laws and create the opportunity. So, will
this Government face the reality and take responsibi lity for a problem that has been growing for the past 20 years. And that is actually related to my next theme which is really about the economy.
This Government is saying thin gs that just do
not match people’s reality. They are not facing the
reality, and they are not taking responsibility. The
Government message is that the economy is improving. Tell that to retailers who had nine straight months
of retail decline. And that is including the economic
growth

COST OF LIVING IN BERMUDA

And that is including the
economic growth as the Island is coming back from
COVID -19. The Government is touting its $2.75- plus
per cent growth in pensions, backdated. I guess my
question is, What took them so long? And my second
[comment] is, That’s fine. But inflation is vastly ou tstripping that, despite what the Government states it is. Anybody can just go shopping for whatever it be, whether it be underpants, bananas [or] fuel. We know
that the cost of living is increasing.
And as I go through my constituency, ever ybody, except for what I would call the highest levels of
the economic ladder, everybody is commenting on
this. Whether they are struggling with the grocery bill,
whether they are lining up outside a church hall or a food bank for their meals, you can see this every
week here in Hamilton. This is new to Bermuda.
Whether they are trying to make rent, make a school
fee, because they do not have confidence in the education system (although we do look forward to the i mprovements), or mortgages. So pretty much ever ybody is c oncerned. The retirees, the seniors, [they
comment on] their healthcare costs. And I do not want to be a Negative Nelly, but we have to face the reality
of what is going on here in Bermuda. So will Gover nment face reality and take responsibility?
We have heard a lot about how much credit
they want to get for capping the fuel prices. And I believe Senator Smith, my colleague, asked a good
question, Madam President. What will happen when
we get the next shipment of fuel? We cannot expect
the fuel importers to take a loss on it. So eventually the bill is going to go up. And we know BELCO bills
are going up. So Government will talk about how ev eryone is saving money at the pump, you are getting a break on your car. That’s fine. But it is not particularly
well constructed to help the people who need it the
most. Those people with large, expensive cars that
use the most gas, they are getting the biggest benefit.
That family struggling who is struggling to make ends
meet that buys a cheap car, Class A, that doesn’ t use
very much fuel, and carefully manages their fuel use, they are getting the least dollar benefit. So why couldn’t Government come up with something that
was better targeted and more effective for those who
need it the most?
We heard about the COVID -19 relief which
was much needed. But we also learned that Gover nment could not effectively administer it. And they gave a lot of money away to people who were not eligible.
We are not in a position to do that. That is facing real ity. And with the departure of Minister Dickinson, I
wonder if the Premier and his Cabinet have the right
capabilities to properly solve this problem that is star-ing us down. We are inching and inching and inching
toward the cliff of economic disaster. Because I do not
see any evide nce of, number one, an honest and realistic assessment of our current economic situation,
both for the country as a whole, the budgets, the def icits, and what that means for our future, but for individual Bermudians who day -to-day are taking dec isions on b uying a prescription, paying for gas, buying
food.
Yes, COVID -19. Fine. But what is the plan?
Because, number two, I am not seeing . . . none of us
are seeing a proactive, coherent plan to address these underlying issues in the medium to long term.
Senat or Wight asked the same question that I would
have asked. What is going to go on with the debt ref inancing? The Government took a lot of credit last year for its ability, and quite rightfully and well -deserved
credit, for refinancing when global interest r ates were
low. Well, they have swung back and we are going to take a hit. And again, that reality does not seem to be
570 6 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate reflected in budgeting in the statements from the Government. It is not going to be a surprise when it comes
for those who know about thes e things. And it has
been raised.
What about tax reform? We have heard about
it. And here we are in July, and nothing has happened. Where are the realistic plans and initiatives for
economic growth that works in Bermuda? Instead we
see the Government chas ing shiny bobbles and tra veling around raising their profile. FinTech, crypto, digital asset businesses —we hear about them a lot. And
there is a kernel of something there that could bring a
benefit to Bermuda over the long term. It will take a
while to gro w, but not today. It is not going to move
the needle today or in the short term. Again, for those
who follow this stuff, globally, the digital asset or the
crypto business, as we might say, is imploding with
what you might best term a collapse of a bubble, or at
worst, in which many think is a collapse of outright
fraud and hucksterism.
So it is really important that Bermuda treads
this narrow path very carefully to nurture and develop
this industry in a way that maintains our global reput ation and builds o n our strengths. And I am not conf ident that we can. We know that in the past the bus inesses [which] Government have taken great effort to
associate itself with publicly has only brought embar-rassment to Bermuda in the international press.

POLITICAL INTERFERENCE
PREVENTS ECONOMIC GROWTH

I am confused because
I read that we have the Premier calling a business to
apologise for press coverage that is just basically a
repeat of international press coverage regarding an
overseas regulatory action.
The Premier stated, I called them to apologise
to say I am sorry that there were persons who want to
get at me. This is not about the Premier. This is about
Bermuda—Bermuda’s reputation; Bermuda’s economy. And frankly, it concerns a Bermuda business regulated by the BMA, that business’s actions in another country, and the actions of a regulator in another
country. And frankly, I would suggest that we as polit icians stay out of it. That is the strength of Bermuda, a
highly res pected, regulatory environment where the
politicians stay out of it.
Why am I getting into this topic of political i nterference when I started with the economy? It is well understood that political interference prevents ec onomic growth, it discourages peop le from investing
and it reduces confidence. The BTA has been unable
to work unimpeded under professional leadership for
any period of time. So when they are not delivering,
you can’t really blame them. The Travel Authorisation Form that is blocking touris m, adding expense. The
rest of the world is dropping them, and all advice from the tourism industry and the travel industry has been to get rid of it. But the Government’s not interested in
hearing about that. The failure of gaming to take off,
which I und erstand is due to banks not really being
willing to engage because of the political interference of the way the PLP Government has restructured our gaming commission. So those are examples of where
our economy in Bermuda’s success is being held
back.
Now, speaking of politics and speaking of
spending money, I recently received a flyer in the
mail, basically a political advertisement paid for by the Government. Now, I have done some political mai lings this year, and I did a back -of-the-envelope calc ulation. And my estimate is that it cost this Government
$50,000 to $60,000 to mail out that flyer. Now if you
recall, Madam President, last time we sat in this
Chamber we approved the legislation to give a land tax break to the nursing homes. And my understan ding is that the value of that break in aggregate to the
12 nursing homes was $55,000. So this Government
would spend as much money on self -promotion in a
baldly political ad, as it would then turn around and
crow about [their] successes and support of the nur sing homes is hardly what I would call prudent financial
management of the people’s money.
Madam President, what is going on with the
Economic Recovery Plan? Here we are again, July,
and as far as I can see there are no results. But we have a project management office. Now, that in and of
itself is not a bad thing, per se. Many organisations
have them for large projects. But to manage a vertical
farm project? Well, that is just a bad idea from the start. I know this because I spoke with the farmers.
The Government’s proposals will be too expensive
and too energy intensive. They don’t make sense.
The farmers I spoke with used the word “right
tech.” They have a bunch of ideas and initiatives. Why
doesn’t the Government work with them instead of
expensive, ov erseas consultants or people trying to
make a sale to Bermuda? We have people here who
have spent years, their lives, understanding how to do
this. So work with them.
The incinerator. If I recall, I believe there was
some funds allocated to pay for a consu ltant on this
project. So how does that overlap with the project
management office? Again, I just do not see that the
money is being spent wisely. Now I know what we will
hear. I can see, Madam President, probably my compatriot across the aisle there is go ing to come back
and say, Well, the incinerator was not properly managed by the OBA. For 20 out of 24 years , this country
has been run by the PL P Government —20 out of 24
years. Please take responsibility.
And finally, here is an idea. Why don’t we
have a national sustainability plant? As a small island
nation, we are at risk. We know we are at risk to the
weather, global warming. We are at risk to factors outside of our control. Madam President, the cost of
fuel, our energy security, our food security, and while I


Bermuda Senate welcomed again in our last [sitting] here, Madam
President, to hear about the regulation to allow experimental energy -generating ideas, those are fine. But
those are playing around the edges. If you look outside, it is sunny. We know solar is work ing in Berm uda. Why don’t we have a massive push on solar pr oduction and a vehicle electrification as a matter of national security? That kind of big thinking is what I am
looking for. But I have learned that this Government is
not interested in ideas or advice from the outside no
matter how beneficial or no matter the expertise or experience of the people involved.
This Government voted against adding more
training requirements to the South Hampton Fairmont Bill. It opposed adding protections to the parks and environment in the Motor Car Bill, and recently opposed the Equality Bill in the other place. I really can’t
wrap my head around it because those things are all
straight forward, positive outcomes for the country.
So my message to this Government, and
thank you for your patience, Madam President, is,
please, stop politicking and worrying about your image
and start governing to rescue our future before it is too
late and bring the benefits that all of in Bermuda need.
Thank you, Madam President.

The P resident: Thank you, Senator Dr. Douglas
De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Darrell.

POLITICS 101
Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I thought we were going to
have a peaceful lunch break today. I sat here and was pleased to hear how this motion to adjourn started
with some of the comments made by an Opposition
Senator on the realities of what Bermuda is facing
with violence and gun violence. Then I sat and li stened to my PLP Senate colleague expand on that. [I
will] give some kudos where kudos are due to indivi duals who are working hard to try to stop the violence and talk about some of the causes of violence.
And I feel that both of those speeches came
from a place of concern; a place of passion. And a
place where these two young ladies who attend this
Senate Chamber actually care about, and understand,
what is going on in this community. I know the Sen ator who spoke first has a very close and personal connection with someone who may see some of the
fall-out of this directly. I know that my Senate colleague works hard every day to try to assist those who
have been affected by some of this tragic gun vi olence.
And then comes the newest Senator in this
Chamber —or one of the newest Senators in this
Chamber —Senator Douglas De Couto, who started
by saying that he was not going to speak on that topic and then proceeded to speak on his constituency and
how his constituency has been affected.
I was a little confused, Madam President, b ecause when we usual ly talk about our constituencies
we talk about a place where we have been elected,
[but] no one in here is an elected official. So I was
confused when he spoke about his constituents.

I have a point of clarif ication.
Sen. Owen Darrell: I would like to proceed, Madam
President, please, with my presentation.
The President: It was not accepted.
So, carry on, Senator Darrell.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you.
So I could only think that he was talking about
the constituency of where he lives. I did a little quick
research and I see that he lives in an area of Paget.
And I am not sure that this Senator is qualified to
speak on the fallout that people who I have worked closely with and live close by and went to school with
are dealing with when it comes to the effects of gang
violence in Bermuda.
He talks about his neighbourhood. I would be
hard- pressed to think that his neighbourhood has
been affected by people in neighbourhoods in other
parts of Bermuda. So he probably should of taken the
tack of staying far away from this topic of the effects of
gang violence on this community if he has very little
experience.
Let me expand. I do not wish to brag about
this, but it becomes frustrating, and the number 72 is
extremely high. An d of late, when individuals send a
name or a picture across the WhatsApp or someone
who may have been unfortunately involved in one of
these incidents, far too often I find myself saying, I
taught him. Oh, wow, I taught him. One instance it was, I taught h er. Or it is, I went to school with his
mom. Or it is, I have worked with his dad. Or, Wow!
That’s my good friend’s brother. So when Senator De
Couto starts his comments by saying that his consti tuents or his neighbourhood had been affected, I am hard- pressed to believe what type of effects he has
experienced when it comes to this type of violence. Put that to the side.
Then he tries to transition a speech by saying
that he does not mean to be negative. Quite frankly,
572 6 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam President, I am sick and tired of Senator Doug
De Couto coming to this place to attack this Gover nment. Madam President, when Senator De Couto
talks about the leader of this country going across the
world, and he used the term, with shiny balls, let me
help him to understand something. One of the last
business trips that the leader of this country made
was to Austin, Texas at a conference called Conse nsus [2022]. And there were a lot of hard- working people who spent a lot of time putting together a schedule, a meaningful schedule that will bring fruit to Bermuda’s shores. At the last minute there was one particular meeting that went into this schedule and it happened to be with a CEO of a particular company. And
the leader of this country felt it important to make sure that he got up at 8:00 am to meet with the CEO of this
particular FinTech company.
Let me tell you, Senator Doug De Couto, what
shiny balls and these trips do. Two weeks after that
meeting the leader of this country came back to Bermuda and put it in his schedule to go to that company that has set up an office in Bermuda and has pledged
to hire over 15 young Bermudians. So Senator Doug
De Couto, you can go to your constituency, you can
go up and down this country and ask those individuals
how they feel about being employed in a new shiny
industry that is bringing fruit to Bermuda.
Why did the leader of this country call the
CEO after Senator Doug De Couto’s friends decided
to post something, ironically at a very interesting time,
to try to throw cold water on what thi s company is doing? Let me tell you.

Madam President, the
Senator is misleading the Senate by I believe he is referring to the Royal Gazette as my friends and I do
not know what kind of relationship he is trying to i mply, but there is no such relationship.

The President: That is not a point of order, Senator
De Couto. Senator Darrell —

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. —

The President: —carry on. —

Sen. Owen Darrell: —I am sure Senator De Couto
has many friends, so I am not sure why he would call
that particular friend out. But let’s continue on. The reason why the leader of this country felt
it necessary to call this CEO, was to let him know that
unlike some there are people in this country who are
actually committed to seeing Bermudians get work
and to grow this industry. That is not self -promotion;
that is called good leadership, Madam President.
And back to Senator Doug De Couto’s comment about I don’t mean to be negative. He goes on a
25-minute speech and I have heard nothing positive.
Maybe he was busy on Friday night when in another
place in another motion to adjourn, there was a full list
of initiatives that the Bermuda Government has put in
place to offer hope to young people and others in this
community. Maybe the Senator from the other side is
too busy looki ng for negatives when he does not hear
the Ministerial Statements that are put out in this place and another place week after week outlining the plans that we have in place, whether it be for education,
whether it be for the economy, whether it be to get
people back to work.
So, Madam President, I actually did not intend
to speak on motion to adjourn today. I thought that the
three female Senators who spoke earlier were doing a
good job speaking on the hurt that we all collectively
feel, and speaking on s ome of the progress that we
are making and trying to make to turn things around.
But then we have to sit here and listen to a Senator
say Stop politicking. I mean, he is, in my opinion, not
very good. But a statement of a list of negative things,
pointing the finger at the Government, I hate to break
it to him, it is Politics 101, Madam President.
So my suggestion to Senator Doug De Couto
from the One Bermuda Alliance is to take some time and maybe go with his other colleague to other constituencies, some constituencies other than where he
plans to run next time and where he presently resides
and see what some of the real problems in Bermuda
are. And talk to some people who are really hurting,
Madam President. And then read some of the Stat ements of what th e Bermuda Government is doing to
fix some of these problems. And then, Madam Pres ident, he may be able to increase his political knowledge and we can have a better debate in this
place going forward.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
We now have . . . Oh! Senator Ben Smith.

KEY QUESTIONS LEFT UNANSWERED BY THE
GOVERNMENT

Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, Thank you, Madam President.
I know that we thought it was going to be an
early session today but I would like t o just add a couple of words to the statements that have been made
today.
Really, the quick message that I was going to
give is that over the last couple of years since we


Bermuda Senate have been in this Senate Chamber, there have been a
multitude of questions that been asked and left unanswered. I bring that up because it has happened again
today. From the standpoint that if a Statement is
brought to this Honourable Chamber, and questions are asked, you would expect that there would be an
opportunity to hear that answer.
In another place there is a process that this
happens, but it seems that in many cases, and I am not going to say in all cases, because today we act ually heard some of the Junior Minister’s go out of their
way to get answers to questions. But it is dif ficult
when a complicated Statement is written that has a lot
of figures in it and questions are asked that are i mportant to the country when it . . . you know, we have
heard several times this morning about the impact that
it is having on our country, the economy and the i mpact that this is having when it comes to the violence with our young people. All of those pieces are connected. So when we ask the questions, it is really so
that we can have an understanding that everything possible is being done in or der for Bermuda to be in a
better place.
That is not to point a finger directly at any person because there are a lot of people who work hard
to pull together the plans and to do the work that it
takes to implement plans. But, Madam President, ha ving a pl an that is not actually implemented or having a
report done where the information is not used is not helpful. And then when we come here and we are
asking questions that do not get answered, once
again, [this is] not helpful.

PASSPORT AND WORK PERMIT RENEWAL S

Sen. Ben Smith: So, Madam President, I just want to
point out a couple of things. Recently there has been
communication to our community about passports,
what is happening with passports in Bermuda. And I
know that anybody who has been trying t o get a
passport recently because, obviously, with two years
of COVID -19 the amount of travel had been curtailed
significantly and now people are starting to move around again and they are realising, Oh, I need to get
my passport renewed. And this process already had
been increased to 11 weeks which was a long period
considering what it had been previously. And now we
are hearing that this number has been [increased to]
20 weeks, and I am hearing narratives that in some
cases that number has been significan tly longer than
20 weeks.
Madam President, I bring that up in light of
also hearing messages from the restaurant community that says that they are potentially downsizing in
some restaurants because they cannot get their work
permits approved. And I am al so hearing that there
have been long delays in work permit approval across
the board. The reason I bring this up is because I
know that the former Minister who was heading up the bipartisan immigration reform committee, Honourable
Minister Caines (and I wa s on that committee at the
time) reached out and hired a private company to look
at the inefficiencies within the Immigration Depar tment.
And he reported back to the committee that
there were very significant inefficiencies in how that
process happened; f rom step one to the final destination. And that was for work permit approval and that
was also for passports. The reason I bring that up is
because we fast forward now when he has not been the Minister for a significant amount of time and we
are hearing [about] increases in the amount of time.
So we seem to be moving in the wrong direction.
So I ask these couple of questions to the
Government: How much money did we spend to the
private sector to go through the process of finding out where the inefficiencies are? And what is the plan to
implement the changes so that we can reduce that
time?
The reason I ask that is because we have had
the Minister come out and talk about growing the res ident population and doing everything we can to i ncrease the business in the country and bringing outside income to the country so that we can increase
the job opportunities for our locals. But if we have a
log jam that is preventing that business from growing, and we are seeing issues where now we are having to bring 10 more people into a department in order to get
back to a normal level, which is already too long, how
are we fixing it? And this goes to the question. So I
am asking that question. It will be interesting to see if I get an answer to that question.

GANG VIOLEN CE IN BERMUDA

Sen. Ben Smith: Madam President, we have heard
several of our Senators today talk specifically to the
gang violence in Bermuda. I know that everybody here in this Chamber has continued to be touched by
the way this increase in gang violence and violent
crime in Bermuda is impacting our community. Ever ybody is being touched by it in some way. It might not be exactly in your neighbourhood, but Bermuda is t iny. It is all our neighbourhood. And if we don’t all start
to put our hand up and say, Well, how can we help?
How can we change this? Then we are just as to
blame as my colleague, Senator Tucker, was saying that there are some families who have been turning a
blind eye. If we are not willing to speak out to it, then
we are just as guilty. If we are not willing to make the
changes, then we are just as guilty.
Well, Madam President, we have heard over
the last few months that there are students as young as eight and nine years old who are being brought into
gangs, socialised into that gang culture. I ask the
question: With all the changes that are happening within the education system, please tell us what the
plan is —not the National Security Plan, the education
574 6 July 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate plan—of how we are going to deal with these young
people who are being preyed on b y this negative part
of our community.
Once again, that is a question. Where is the
plan? What are the details of the plan? And how will it
be implemented? Because we cannot continue to lose
our young people, and we are losing them younger
and younger. The result is the death of these young
Black Bermudians which we are seeing on a much too
regular basis. But the damage is being done at [age]
eight and nine. That is setting them up to not be a productive part of our society because of the impact
that is happening to them at a very tender age. We
need to know that there is a plan in place and that we
have all of the resources needed in order to impl ement that plan, to change what is happening in our
country so that we can be in a better place. One child
lost is too many.
But, Madam President, if you go back and talk
about the statistics over the 20 years, and I believe [there are] 72 people who have lost their lives, that number is much bigger than that. Look at the people
who are left the country because of the impact of being part of this lifestyle. Look at the parents who have
lost their child, the husbands or wives who have lost
their spouse, the children who are now impacted by
the trauma of losing a parent. It continues on and on and on.
So those are some of the questions that I am
asking. Madam President, it is our job to continue to
ask these questions and to seek the answers. And if
we do not get the answers the first time, I am going to
have to keep reminding us that we are not getting the answers.
We know that the situation that Bermuda is in
right now is complicated. But it is not the time to pat
ourselves on the back for all these wonderful things
that we are doing when too many people are suffering—far too many across our Island! We all see the
food banks. We see the articles in the paper. It is not just the gun violence. It is the knife violence. It is continuous videos being sent around the Island of people
getting into fights and getting beat up and all the bull ying and things that are happen ing in our community. It
is continuous.
How is our older population going to continue
to be able to pay for their healthcare and buy food?
Yes, it is important that there has been an increase in
the pension. But at 2.5 per cent, or 2.75 per cent,
when the food increases at 8.5 per cent? We can
freeze the gas price for a certain amount of time, but
at some point that avalanche is coming. So we have to start to actually have an open conversation with our
community. It is not about scaring them; it is about
preparing them for what is needed for all of us to survive what is coming.
The changes that are being implemented will
take a long time. But the now, the present, that [is
what] is going to be a struggle. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend it is not happening and
try to blame it on somebody else and point fingers at each other and say it is their fault, and this is what
happened because of a small amount of time that another party was [Government]. None of those things are going to matter when people do not have money
in their pocket and they cannot pay their bills. They
are not interested in that. It is our job to come here
and figure out how we can do better for our entire
community and for the generations who follow.
So, Madam President, I ask again that we can
start to get the answers to the questions that are be-ing posed in this Senate Chamber. And not just a note
that is given to a Senator weeks later, but a way for
the community to know, because the questions we are
asking are important. And they are being asked by,
not just the Opposition Senators but also the Inde-pendent Senator, and they are going unanswered.
The same way that you want to celebrate and pat
yourselves on the back for the successes, you have to
stand up and answer the tough questions.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.
Minister Peets.

PLP GOVERNMENT’S PROGRESSIVE AGENDA

Yes, thank you,
Madam President. Thank you for an opportunity to close out our m otion to adjourn today. I certainly want
to thank Senators who spoke earlier during motion to
adjourn. In particular, I want to thank my fellow Senate
colleague, Senator Darrell, particularly for his passionate motion to adjourn in reply to some of the
things that we heard from our Honourable Senator De
Couto.
I was making some notes, Madam President,
just for my own sort of reflection which also then
turned into a little bit of humour. I actually lost track of
how many things in the Senator’s motion to adjourn
that were actually inaccurate—not just misleading, but
just obviously inaccurate.
I am certainly glad this morning to be a part of
this Progressive Labour Party. Today’s motion to adjourn really reminds me of some of the things that are
in our election platform, which in my opinion, of
course, our social agenda is very, very progressive
and is designed to affect those who are in need. And I
know this Government is working tirelessly every si ngle day in conjunction with hundreds, if not thousands,
of civil servants to bring this country into a better
place.
So I can say categorically across the board,
any assertion that the Progressive Labour Party has not and will not take responsibility is categorically u ntrue. We are concerned about everything from fuel
prices to the economy, to universal healthcare, th ings
regarding the Economic Recovery Plan straight


Bermuda Senate through to the Southampton Princess Bill, whether it
be around sustainability or even to parks. We have
done an admirable job in my opinion in delivering on
our promises to the people.
I, for one, for exam ple, have had a few conversations over the last couple of weeks since that mailer has gone out to the general public. Most of the
individuals I have talked to and have reached out to
me are actually happy to get some good news in the
mail. We turn on our t elevision, we turn on our radios,
we hear bad news all the time. Not just local news but
worldwide news. So to get some good news in the
mail is certainly a step in the right direction. And I
must add, of course, to the listening public, that
comes at no a dditional cost to the taxpayers.
But I want to focus, in closing, Madam Pres ident . . . it is easy, of course, given the nature of our
work to get overwhelmed with some of the things that
are making our headlines. And unfortunately of course
a lot of negative things make our headlines, and
sometimes we can become disillusioned and discour-aged. I was encouraged today, particularly in the beginning of the motion to adjourn on how Senators actually highlighted what is happening with our youth in
a positive wa y, particularly the graduates from Berk eley and CedarBridge, for example.
I do not think it was personally pointed out by
anyone in particular but I believe, if my memory
serves correct because I was there at the CedarBridge Academy graduation (and congratulations to all
of those graduates) I believe that the principal had
indicated that this particular graduating class, the
number of males graduating outnumbered the number of females. To me, this is a huge, huge accomplis hment given some of the problems and some of the
issues that people around this country are facing.
I want to just encourage Bermudians who are
listening that all is not lost. We have more people doing what is good and what is right and what is positive
than we have people who perhaps have engaged in
actions and behaviours that are considered to be ant isocial. So I want to highlight in particular, of course, that we have individuals who are part of, for example, Future Leaders, who are doing a great job representing young people and doing positive things. We have
got people such as the Bermuda Youth Connect who are doing fantastic work as it relates to helping young
people engage in the civic process.
We do not want to leave out all of the hu ndreds, if not more than hundreds, of athletes out there
who are positive, who are doing the right thing, who
are engaging in classroom as well as engaging on the field. We have people like in our creatives, in our ar tists out there like Shanna Hollis and Gherdai Hassell
who are doing amazing things. So, these are the
types of things that I always try to remember and keep
in the back of my head. These kids and these young
people are doing fantastic things. Bermuda is in great shape as it relates to some of these young people
who I have mentioned.
So I do not want people who are listening t oday to be dismayed. We are going to be encouraged.
This particular Progressive Labour Party has Berm uda’s best interests at heart. We are dedicated. We are
committed to completing our agenda as it relates to
our election platform and I think this country needs
more good news. And the fact that we are able to deliver that good news to the people of Bermuda is an
amazing thing.
So congratulations to my colleagues in Cab inet. I can assure Senators here today that we are not
operating in silos. For example, I know myself and the Minister of National Security and the Minister of the
Economy and Labour are working together as it r elates to what we can do to continue to keep this sy nergistic sort of atmosphere so that we are wor king
together for the betterment of Bermuda, particularly
[for] our young folk.
So if you have not gotten involved, for example, I certainly encourage individuals to go to
youthpo licy.bm. Make yourself familiar with our youth
policy goals. These goals hav e the best of what we
can do for our country, particularly for our young peo-ple. And if you haven’t gotten involved, there are ways
that you can get involved, both small and great. And I believe that if we do that we can certainly bring about some better outcomes.
So, Madam President, I am very, very encouraged today. I thank you for this opportunity to speak during our motion to adjourn.

The President: Thank you, Senator the Honourable
Dr. E. G. V. Peets, Minister and the Government
Leader in the Senate. Thank you.
And thank you all Senators who have spoken.
Senators, we are now adjourned until July 20.
And we thank you very much for your comments and
statements today.

[At 1:13 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am Wednesday, 20 July 2022.]

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