June 8, 2022

Thank you, Madam
President.
I hereby present for the information of Senate
the Air Navigation (Fees for Certificates and Serv ices)
Regulations 2022 , as made by Her Excellency the
Governor in exercise of the powers conferred by Art icle 4(3) of the Air Navigation Overseas Territories O rder 2013 United Kingdom as applied to Bermuda.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.

NOTICE S OF MOTION S
The President: We have one notice of motion, and
that is the Lease Agreement between the Government
of Bermuda (Ministry of Public Works) and Gorham ’s
Limited. And that is in the name of Senator Owen Darrell, the Junior Minister for Public Works.
Senator Darrell, you have the floor.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you. Good morning, Ma dam President.
The President: Good morning.
516 8 June 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate AGREEMENT

LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA
(MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS)
AND GORHAM ’S LIMITED

Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I hereby pr esent for the consideration of Senate a draft Lease
Agreement between the Government of Bermuda,
represented by the Ministry of Public Works , and the
Gorham ’s Limited , regarding areas of all of that property shown hatched in red under the plan labelled
Sheet Number 453300810, dated the 27th of January
2020, which is attached to the Lease Agreement. And
I give notice that at the next day of meeting, I will
move that the said Lease Agreement be approved.

The Presiden t: Thank you, Senator Darrell.

PETITIONS

The President: There are none.

STATEMENTS
The President: We have one Statement, and that is
in the name of Senator O. K. Darrell, the Junior Mini ster for Education.
Senator Darrell, you have the floor.

BERMUDA COLLEGE GRADUATES —
CLASS OF 2022

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, the Statement that I am
going to read this morning is entitled the
Bermuda
College Graduates —Class of 2022 . Madam Pres ident, this morning I would like to share with the Senate information about the recent graduation event at
the Bermuda College and provide details of this i ncredible Class of 2022.
Madam President, like most universities and
colleges, commencement represents the culmination
and highlight of the academic year for the Bermuda
College. Bermuda College’s commenc ement also
marks the start of the graduation season in Bermuda.
This year , for the first time since the pandemic, Bermuda College h ad a face- to-face ceremony. It r eturned to the big tent on its sports field with entrepr eneur, author and community activist , Ms. Kristin White ,
as the c ommencement speaker. The Graduate’s Address was delivered by Miss Soleil Graham, who is a
dual enrolment student from the Berkeley Institute
who received her Associate of Science in Pre-Med.
Madam President, I am proud to note that
there were 93 graduates, with 47 per cent of the Class
of 2022 graduating with honours, earning either merit (GPA 3.0 –3.49) or distinction (GPA 3.5– 4.0) status,
and the Associate of Arts (Business Administration)
programme producing the largest graduating group
with 23 graduates. There was also one student, Mr. Isaiah Cabral, who earned both his Associate in Sc ience in Actuarial Science and his Associate in Arts in
Business Administration.
Madam President, please indulge me at this
time to share the number of graduates for other pr ogrammes represented on the graduation list, which include the following:
Division of Arts & Science
• Associate of Arts (Art & Design) —eig ht graduates;
• Associate of Arts —15 graduates;
• Associate of Arts (Early Childhood Educ ation)—two graduates;
• Associate of Arts & Science —two graduates;
• Associate of Science—three graduates;
• Associate of Science (Actuarial Science) —
three graduates;
• Associate of Science (Education) —two graduates; and
• Foundation Diploma Programme (UK) —one
graduate.
Division of Business, Hospitality & Technical Educ ation
• Certificate for Accounting Technician— one
graduate;
• Certificate in Applied Science Technology —
five graduates;
• Certificate in Electrical Wiring Technology —
two graduates;
• Certificate in Heating, Ventilation & Air Cond itioning Technology —two graduates;
• Certificate in Motor Vehicle Technology —two
graduates;
• Certificate in Plumbing Technology —two
graduates;
• Diploma in Culinary Arts —two graduates;
• Diploma in Food & Beverage Management —
two graduates;
• Diploma in Heating, Ventilation & Air Condi-tioning Technology —two graduates ;
• Diploma in Plumbing Technology —two graduates;
• Associate of Applied Science (Culinary
Arts) —one graduate;
• Associate of Applied Science (Hospitality
Management) —one graduate;
• Associate of Arts (Business Administration) —
23 graduates; and
• Associate of Science (Computer Information
Systems) —five graduates;
Division of Nursing and Allied Health
• Associate of Science (Nursing) —five graduates;


Bermuda Senate • Associate of Science (Pre- Health Science) —
one graduate; and
• Associate of Science (Pre- Medical Science) —
one graduate.
Madam President, I am m ost pleased to share
that seven graduates are dual enrolment students
who will be awarded associate degrees, diplomas or
certificates before receiving their high school certif icates later this month. I want Bermuda to know the
names of our public school students who have done
extremely well in this programme. They are as follows :
From the Berkeley Institute
• Jaden Anderson— Certificate in Applied Sc ience Technology ;
• Soleil Graham —Associate in Science (PreMed) ; and
• Kallan Richardson —Associate in Science (A ctuarial Science) .
From the CedarBridge Academy
• J’Kai Berkeley —Certificate in A pplied Science
Technology ;
• Rychus Symonds —Diploma in Culinary Arts ;
• Joshua Viera —Certificate in Applied Science
Technology ; and
• Aaron White—Certificate in Applied Science Technology .
A full 254 awards were earned from PACE
(the Professional and Continui ng Education Division)
including 73 City & Guilds Employability Skills Certif icates and 10 Nursing Assistant Certifications, also from both public senior schools.
Madam President, Other Outstanding Award
recipients include the following:
• Most Outstanding Arts Graduate—Caleb Scott
and Aaliyah Lee;
• Most Outstanding Actuarial Science Graduate—Isaiah Cabral ;
• Most Outstanding Education Graduate—
Malay Robinson;
• Most Outstanding Early Childhood Education
Graduate —Marina Shaw ;
• Most Outstanding Science Graduate —Soleil
Graham ;
• Arts & Science Distinguished Dean’s Award—
Maya Peart ;
• Overall Most Outstanding Division of Arts and Science Award Graduate— Isaiah Cabral ;
• Most Outstanding General Business Graduate—Richai Burrows ;
• Most Outstanding Management Graduate—Amber F urtado;
• Most Outstanding Accounting/Finance Gradu-ate—Isaiah Cabral ;
• Most Outstanding Information Technology
Graduate —Jhazii Johnson;
• Best Culinary Arts Graduate—Ondoua Ford;
• Business & Hospitality Dean’s Award for E xcellence —Miguel Simas ; • Most Outstanding Plumbing Graduate—Takai
Ball;
• Most Outstanding Computer & Programming
Graduate —Jaden Anderson;
• Most Outstanding Materials & Mechanics
Graduate —Aaron White;
• Most Outstanding Electrical/Electronics Grad-uate—J’Kai Berkeley ;
• Director of Nursing & Allied Health Leadership
Award —Rhonda Lynn Tacklin ;
• Excellence in Clinical Nursing Practice
Award —Riley Mello ;
• Nursing Impact Award—Char -Lee Simons &
Wanda Trott -Murray ;
• Nursing Academic Achievement Award—
Judith Shakir ; and
• Allied Health Academic Achievement Award—Soleil Graham .
Madam President, I would also like to take
this opportunity to congratulate the nine students who
graduated with their b achelor ’s and m aster ’s degrees
through the partnerships that Bermuda College has
with Mount Saint Vincent University and Miami Un iversity, respectively. There were six Mount Saint Vincent students who completed their Bachelor of Bus iness Administration d egrees in association with Bermuda College and three students who completed their Master ’s in Special Education with Miami University.
Madam President, I ask that you as well as
the other Members of the Senate join me in congrat ulating the Bermuda College Class of 2022, who di scovered and followed their path at the Bermuda College!
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

LAND VALIDATION AND TAX
AMENDMENT ACT 2022

ELECTRICITY AMENDMENT ACT 2022
The President: The following public Bills have been
received from the Honourable House of Assembly and
are now read for the first time. Their titles are, respectively, the Land Validation and Tax Amendment Act
2022 , and the Electricity Amendment Act 2022.

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS

The President: There are none.

518 8 June 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate QUESTION PERIOD

The President: Senators, the floor is open for questions on the Statement that has been given by Senator Darrell on the Bermuda College graduates.
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President. I apologise ; it is not a question. I just am
taken aback at the number of achievements and the number of individuals and their accomplishments. And
I want to thank the Senator for sharing that. And I
know we have talked about this before, and I know
there is another time. But I wanted to say it when I felt it. And apologies for abusing this time. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator Smith, Opposition Leader in the Senate, y ou have the floor.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you and good morning, Ma dam President.

The President: Good morning.

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA COLLEGE
GRADUATES —CLASS OF 2022
Sen. Ben Smith: I would also like to thank the Junior
Minister for bringing this to the Senate. When we have
the opportunity to celebrate our young people and
their achievements ––and I believe it would not just be
young people but people in Bermuda working hard to
better themselves and to graduate from the coll ege–– I
think it is important that we all take this opportunity to
celebrate them.
I just have a quick question. Just so that we
have an idea of the success rate of the Bermuda Col-lege, if the Junior Minister can give us an idea of what
the enrolment was t hat would have led to graduation
in 2022, because the number of graduates is very i mpressive, I just want to be able to compare that with
how many people started this journey and then were able to get to this destination.
Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Senator Smith.
Would any other Senator care to speak, ask a
question on this Statement?
No. Then it is over to you, Senator Darrell, for
the response.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
I do know that the leadership of the Bermuda
College are actually doing management leadership
training today. So that question for which I will give
credit to Senator Smith does come up, I think, every
year that the Bermuda College has graduation. It is one that is a little trickier to answ er than one may
think. So I will give Dr. Greene, as well as her leadership team, time to get that information and I will send
it over to Senator Smith when I do receive it.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell, and Senators who have responded.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: Before we move on, I would just like
to acknowledge the presence of Mr. Aubrey Penn yman, the Registrar General, who is with us in the
Chamber.
Welcome to you, sir.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

The President: The first Order of the Day is the second reading of the Marriage Amendment Act 2022, and this is in the name of Senator Lindsay Simmons,
the Junior Minister for Home Affairs.
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
Marriage Amendment Act 2022 be now read a second
time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

MARRIAGE AMENDMENT ACT 2022

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I rise to
introduce for the second reading the Bill entitled Marriage Amendment Act 2022. The Bill seeks to
(1) provide for the appointment of Deputy Registrars
to perform certain functions of the Registrar under the
Marriage Act 1944 (the principal Act); and (2) to
amend the principal Act and the Domestic Partnership
Act 2018 to extend the hours w ithin which marriages
can be contracted and domestic partnerships can be
formalised before the Registrar.
Madam President, this is a housekeeping B ill
which provides for more officers to conduct civil marriage ceremonies and extends the hours that civil m arriages can be conducted. Madam President , currently
civil marriage ceremonies may only be contracted b efore the Registrar General or the Assistant Registrar


Bermuda Senate General. However, with the expansion of venues
where a civil marriage ceremony may now be performed at locations outlined in the Marriage (Alternative Approved Locations ) Regulations 2016, greater
demand has been placed on the Registry General
staff to get to these designated locations , especially
when more than two marriages are scheduled back -
to-back at various venues.
Also, there is a challenge when a couple desires their civil marriage ceremony to be held on a date and time when both the Registrar General and the Assistant Registrar General are not available to
perform the ceremony at the schedule d time. Madam
President , the appointment of a public officer to be a
Deputy Registrar for the function of performing civil
marriage ceremonies will assist the Registry General
Department in providing wedding services on days
where multiple civil marriage c eremonies are scheduled at various locations , or in the event that both the
Registrar General and the Assistant Registrar General are not available at the desired time of the ceremony.
Madam President , the Bill empowers the Mi nister to appoint a public of ficer to be a Deputy Regi strar and to determine the terms and conditions of the
appointment. In order for a public officer to be eligible
to be appointed a Deputy Registrar , they (1) must be
of good character ; and (2) must be able to and will
conscientious ly perform the duties of a Deputy Regi strar for the purposes of conducting civil marriage ceremonies under the 19 44 Act. Additionally, the appointment must be in the public interest. Madam Pres-ident , the Bill also requires the Deputy Registrar to act
in compliance with the direction of the Registrar General when conducting a civil marriage to ensure that
there are no statutory missteps in how these cerem onies are performed or officiated.
Madam President , the Bill also seeks to extend the hours within which a civil marriage ceremony can be conducted or a domestic partnership can be
formalised before the Registrar General. Madam
President , at present , section 24(1)(a) of the principal
Act limits c ivil marriages to be contracted before the
Registrar between the hours of 10:00 am and 4:00 pm
on that date. Similarly, section 13(3)(a) of the Domes-tic Partnership Act 2018 currently limits the form alising
of a domestic partnership between the hours of
10:00 am and 4:00 pm. Madam President , the current
timeframe that these ceremonies can be performed is
too restrict ive. And the amendments to this Bill will
make Bermuda more appealing for couples who d esire flexible times in which their ceremonies can be
held, for example at sunset or sunrise.
In closing, Madam President , the Marriage
Amendment Act 2022 is our commitment to improve
upon the civil marriage and domestic partnership services provided.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons, Junior Minister for Home Affairs.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Yes. Senator Robin Tucker, you have the
floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President,
and thank you to the Junior Minister for bringing this Bill to us today.
I can say that the Opposition is in support of
this Bill. It is, as the Junior Minister did express, truly a housekeeping Bill. I do have a question, though. I
would like to know ––[since] the Junior Minister did
mention that these changes would be helpful in ma king us more appealing as a destination location ––I am
wondering if there was any consideration for now or in
the future to lifting the restriction on conducting we ddings or domestic partnerships during public holidays?
The second question would be if the intent is
to appoint a single Deputy Registrar or whether there
would be multiple Deputy Registrars appointed.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Senator Michelle Simmons, do you have a
question? You have the floor.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
As a housekeeping Bill, I think the amendments here make a lot of sense. Certainly we want to
see more flexible hours when marriages and domestic partnerships can be confirmed. I also think that the
appointment of Deputy Registrars is a great idea b ecause [only] two people within the Registry General
are able to conduct these ceremonies right now, and
there seems to be a demand.
My questions are about the appointment of
Deputy Registrars. First of all, I see that these folk will
be drawn from the ranks of public officers. So will
people be made aware that these positions are there?
And do they then apply for them? Or are these pos itions going to be filled just by reaching out to individ uals who may have already expressed an interest? So
do people have to apply? That is the first question.
Also, will there be remuneration associated
with these positions, and if so, how will they be rem unerated? So I only have those two questions, Madam
President, and otherwise I do support this Bill.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Senator Ben Smith, you have the floor for
questions.
Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
I said before that the Opposition is in support
of this.
520 8 June 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate After hearing some of the questions that have
been asked, just my follow -on question would be, Is
there some training that has to happen in order for
somebody to be able to perform this? And if that is the
case, would it be more likely that the deputies would
come from the Registrar General’s Office, or would
they come from outside? And to create that pool,
would the training be done in advance, and then they
can just draw from [the pool] ?
Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.
We will give Senator Simmons an opportunity
to get responses from the Registrar, who is here.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions?
Yes. Senator Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
Just to say that I am very much in support of
this Bill as well, and I think the questions that have
been asked by my Senate colleagues are very good
ones, so I look forward to the answers. But I am very
much in favour of supporting this Bill. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
I beg your pardon. Senator De Couto, I see
you. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President.
Just to reiterate, we do support [this Bill] , of
course, as my colleagues have already said. But one
question is, How long would the appointments be for,
and how would they be managed or revoked? Thank
you.

The President: Thank you.
[Pause]
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, at this time no consider ation is being given to conducting marriages on public
holidays.
We will have an on -call list that will consist of
at least five people.
And no, they will not be paid because it is a
volunteer position. The only time that they will be paid
is on a Saturday. But these are public officers who are
managers or directors or both. So they will already be
paid, and they will be volunteering to do these jobs.
And yes, they will be trained, as we do train
now. And they will be trained before they could per-form a wedding.
These are volunteer positions, so they will be
on [the on- call list] indefinitely unless they decide to
step down. Or if the Registrar feels that they are not performing their duties, then they will be revoked and
we will fill their position.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons.
Oh, Senator Tucker, you have a third question? Because you did ask two. Or a supplementary?

Sen. Robin Tucker: A supplementary.

The President: You have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Sorry, I just have a supplementary question as it relates to the positions being voluntary. If the Junior Minister could just clarify if there is
any incentive that will be given to people who will be
volunteering their time to perform these tasks, any incentives at all? That would be helpful.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
[Pause]

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, at this
time there are no incentives for people to sign up. But
we do have people who want to sign up already. So,
no. Right now we are not giving any incentives for people to sign up.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons. You
can then do the second reading.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled Marriage Amendment Act 2022 be
now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you.
Madam President, I move that [Standing O rder] 26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.

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

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended]
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you.
Madam President, I move that the Bill do now
pass.
The President: Do the third reading.



Bermuda Senate Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled the Marriage Amendment Act
2022 be now read a third time.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

MARRIAGE AMENDMENT ACT 2022
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. I move that the Bill do now pass.

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

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

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons, and thank you, all Senators.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you.

The President: We now move on to the second Order
of the Day, and that is the Motor Car (Liveries)
Amendment Act 2022. And this is in the name of Senator Rev. Dr. E. G. A. Dill, the Junior Minister for
Transport.
Senator Dill, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President.
The purpose of this Bill is to amend the Motor
Car Act 1951 (the Act) to create an offence for operating a minicar livery without a licence, to amend Part
VIB to expand the types of vehicles that can be used on a guided tour, and to address related matters in
attached legislation.
Madam President , this is the second time this
Honourable Chamber will be debating the Bill before
us, the Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment Act 2022. Except for changing the year from 2021 to 2022, the
content of the Bill is the same that was taken up last
year October. The Bill aims to amend the Motor Car
Act 1951 to create an offence for operating a minicar
livery without a licence. It amends Part VIB to expand
the types of vehicles that can be used on a guided tour and addresses related matters in legislation.
Madam President, Members of this Chamber
may recall that the Bill was taken up for debate within
the Senate on October 6, 2021. At that time the O pposition put forward a motion for an amendment. The
proposed amendment was for a new clause to be i nserted, “10A. Notwithstanding any other provision in
this Act or in t he principal Act, no Guided Tour Vehicle
shall be used within the National Park System (as defined in the Bermuda National Parks Act 1986).” The
narrative supporting the proposal was around the
safety of the public and the protection of the environment. Madam President, despite being fully informed
that there is an approval process for the proposed
routes for guided tour vehicles, there are statutory
protections for breaches in national parks, and the Government has demonstrated that it is fully commi tted to protecting all aspects of the environment. The
motion carried.
The Bill fell at the end of the parliamentary
session in December 2021. Subsequently, the Mini stry of Transport met with Members of the Senate, e nvironmental agencies and members of the publi c to
answer questions and address concerns about guided tour vehicle operations.
Madam President, the proposed amendment
would have meant that a tour vehicle would not be
legally permitted to enter a national park. Madam
President, you would be aware that public service v ehicles, taxies, limousines and minibuses take our vis itors on tours that drive through and stop for a visit to our national parks. Our visitors experience flora, forts, beaches, historical artifacts and the like. It is most unfortunate that the Opposition put forward a proposal
that was discriminatory toward guided tour vehicles, effectively rendering the service pointless, as they
would not have access to the areas that we most want
to showcase and that visitors come to Bermuda to see.
Madam President, I look forward to this Bill
progressing since the Ministry of Transport is aware of an entrepreneur who is eager to operate a guided tour
operation and is waiting for the statutory changes so
that their type of vehicle would be permitted to be l icensed as a guided tour vehicle. Thank you, Madam
President.

522 8 June 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator Rev. Dr. Dill, Junior Minister for Transport.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: Before I open the floor to questions, I
would just like to acknowledge the presence of the
acting Permanent Secretary, Ms. Jasmin Smith.
Welcome to you.

[Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment Act 2022, second
reading debate, continuing]

The President: Would an y Senator care to speak?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I am disappointed that, having had an
amendment made in the Senate last year to this Bill,
Government is intent on bringing it back in its original
form. I voted against this Bill, and the same reasons I gave last year remain this year. Let me remind my
Senate colleagues and listening audience of the reasons for my concerns.
For starters, you may recall that there was a
proposal in 2019 (I believ e it was) to have threewheeled guided tours in Sandys Parish. Public consu ltation was sought and 636 submissions made by res idents in confidential ballot form. Of those 636 submi ssions, only 2 were in support. Of the 636 residents,
634 were opposed to it. The solace that we all get
from enjoying our national parks should not be at risk
because of what this legislation will potentially do to
infringe upon that.
To be clear, this legislation may have the effect of committing three- and/or four -wheeled vehicl es
to make guided tours within the Bermuda National
Park System without limitation and will leave the dec isions primarily up to a single Minister or perhaps at
most two Ministers. Madam President, all Bermudians
want from this legislation is simple wording to the following: that none of the provisions are meant to permit the guided tour vehicles to be used in national parks —
plain and simple.
My understanding of this legislation is that the
Parks Department would set the licensing rules for the three- wheeled guided tours in national parks with the
Minister controlling the Parks Department, having a bsolute discretionary powers under the 1986 National Parks Act to ignore or arbitrarily overrule any advice
he receives from either the Parks Department or the
Parks Commission.
The National Parks System was established
in 1986 and was designed to give the people of Bermuda a network of land throughout the Island, specif ically set aside where residents and visitors could r elax, exercise, walk and peddle- bike. The obj ectives of having protected areas, as stated in the 1986 National
Parks Act, includes “ to provide for the use of the area
in its natural state with a minimum of commercial and
mechanized activity . . . .” “Minimum mechanised activity is necessary to keep t he parks clean, to cut back
on vegetation, remove garbage, police the areas and
maintain the parks. While all vehicles cannot be excluded entirely from access to national parklands,
their use and further encroachment in parks must be
strictly limited if th e fundamental objectives of a national park system are to be protected and achieved
for our resident users and visitors who seek a safe
place to walk, exercise and remain healthy and safe.
I am very disappointed, Madam President,
with having modified the l egislation a year ago to pr otect national parks for this generation and future ones,
that we are now faced with the potential of noise poll ution and reduced serenity in our national parks that so
many Bermudians treasure. Thank you, Madam President.

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

Thank you, Madam
President.
Now, of course, I was not able to have the
privilege of being here at the time last year where this
was discussed in great detail. Of course, I have conferred with my colleagues and reviewed the Hansard.
And Senator Wight before me has, I think, laid out
really the salient points of the case, why we should not support this Bill, whic h arrived here only eight
months ago and was not turned down by the Senate, but was in fact amended and sent back with amendments.
It is really unfortunate because there was a
clear path that could have been taken to avoid delay
and protect Bermuda’s natural environment. And the
Government was invited to take that path, but has
chosen to instead add additional delay, to which I feel
sorry for the entrepreneur, and ignore the collabor ative feedback that was provided. Part of the Bill is i mportant, and it is the minicar regulations. As we did at
that time, we still support those. But Senator Wight
raises an important point about the protection of our
valuable, shrinking and frankly irreplaceable parks, a
major component of Bermuda’s open spaces.
We know peop le have made analogies between Bermuda and other countries. Country “X” has tours, country “Y” has tours. I myself have enjoyed
tours on sand dunes in Oregon. But Bermuda is much
smaller than those countries. We do not have that
much open space. We are all living on top of each
other. Things like the Railroad Trail and the parks are
incredible gems, and it is important that we protect the
encroachment on them. There is so little of that space,


Bermuda Senate and it is vitally important to the nation that we protect
it.
The Government would argue that of course
the discretion of the Minister would be wisely applied.
But Senator Wight highlighted at least one example, but we know there are numerous fact patterns where
this discretion is in fact ill -used. I calculated out the
percentage of those numbers that the Senator called
out—99.7 per cent, 99.7 per cent of people were opposed to the usage of the ATVs [all -terrain vehicles]
on the Railroad Trail. An environmental impact as-sessment was not performed, and the Minister’s ru ling
was actually in contravention of planning regulations.
Luckily for the users of the Railroad Trail and those
who like to enjoy the natural spaces, this was taken to court.
So we actually fully support this legislation
being successful to add to part of Bermuda’s tourism
product. And it’s such an easy fix, and it could have
been done a long time ago. And I think Senator Wight
outlined that.
So I would invite the Government to withdraw
this or take it back and apply that fix so that their en-trepreneur can crack on and Bermuda’s environment
can be protected.
And while we are talking about government
processes and protection of entrepreneurs, I found it interesting to look today in the paper to see that the
Government failed to follow its own rules and pr ocesses, and a Minister had taken a decision that is
now going to go for review. Not only were they not
following their processes and procedures, but they
were doing that to directly compete with entrepr eneurs.

The President: Senator De Couto, you need t o address the . . . not something from the Royal Gazette
that pertains to another issue.

So the issue is the track
history of this Government in applying good discretion when it has been given too much discretion in its su pport for entrepreneurs, which the Government has
stated is part of this thing. And we invite the Gover nment to correct the legislation to easily provide the
required protections while supporting the entrepr eneurs.
Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
It has already been stated that the 2021 version of this Bill was debated here in this place on O ctober 6, 2021. At that time, I sh ared about four concerns that I had regarding the Bill. First of all, I was concerned about protection of the national parks.
Second, I was also concerned about who could operate these vehicles. Third, I was not clear about
whether these were the old ATVs that we had heard
about, or if it was a different kind of vehicle. And then finally, I was concerned about safety.
Madam President, I would like to address
each of those.

The President: You certainly may.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Since we had a briefing
with the Minister and his acting Permanent Secretary,
and I am afraid I cannot remember when we had the
briefing, but it was some time ago. But I found that
briefing very helpful because it helped to clarify some
of the things that perhaps had been misinter preted.
First of all with regard to protection of the national parks, as I understand it, the impact on our national parks will be minimal because these vehicles,
which are more in the form of Tuk Tuks (I think I have
that right) are not allowed to go off road. And if they
do, the operator of the business will suffer a huge fine,
up to $5,000, and possibly a prison sentence.
Further, licences can be revoked if terms and
conditions for importing and licensing these vehicles
are violated. Now, all of that is written in the Bill and in
supporting Acts. So the impact, as I see it, on the n ational parks will be minimal because these vehicles
can only go as far as the parking lots of the national
parks. And indeed that is where any vehicle—car,
bike—can go now. So I do not see that there will be a
huge impact on our national parks. So that is protection of the national parks.
Then it was, who can operate these vehicles?
I had assumed that the vehicles would be operated by
visitors or tourists themselves. But indeed these are
guided tours, and the only people who will be allowed
to operate the vehicles are persons in Bermuda who have valid Bermuda driver’s licences. So the vehicles
cannot be driven by our visitors.
Third, the issue of ATVs. As I understand it,
this B ill does not include the licensing of ATVs for
these guided tours. There is a difference between the
vehicles being proposed and the ATVs, which we know will cause a huge amount of noise and pollution
wherever they go. As someone has already stated, as
one of the Senators has already stated, Bermuda is a
small environment, and we know that ATVs produce a
lot of noise. Noise pollution is of concern. But as I u nderstand it, these are not ATVs.
Then finally, safety. I believe that the issue of
safety, for me, came up in October of 2021 when we
were looking at how the guided tours would operate.
But it appears that licences for these tours will have to
be applied for in advance to TCD [Transport Control
Department], who will then license a particular tour to which the operator of the tour must adhere. So it is not
like a tour operator can go wherever he or she wants
524 8 June 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate to. They will have to apply in advance, and they will
have to adhere to the route they have applied for.
That route will be part of their licence. And as I stated
earlier, Madam President, licences can be revoked if
the tour operators do not adhere to the conditions of their licence.
So, Madam President, in its current form I am
in support of this 2022 amendment. And I hope that this will help to bring some clarity to this debate today.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons, Vice President.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you Madam Pres ident.
I feel that my Senate colleague, Senator
Simmons, pretty much took everything out of my
head. She thoroughly went through and researched and was able to see that this Bill (this amendment) is
protective and that this Bill is definitely different, Senator Wight, from the 2019 proposal. It does not allow
vehicles to go through the parks. Like Senator Si mmons said, you have to show where you want to do
the guided tour, and it has to be approved by the Mi nister. And the Parks Act continues to prohibit private
vehicles from going into areas for walking and enjo ying the natural areas of the park.
So I am in full support of this Bill. I actually
thank the Ministry of Transport for bringing this
amendment back to the Senate because it is a great opportunity for entrepr eneurs to start a business. So I
am in full support of this Bill. Thank you, Senator
Simmons, for your great contribution.

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

Yes, thank you,
Madam President. I certainly thank the Junior Minister
for her brief. Of course, we have seen this Bill before
and we have heard these issues and concerns last time, and we have heard them today.
I just wanted the listening public to know that
if they are worried that these tour vehicles are going to be running amuck across our national parks, that is
not going to happen. That is not the intention of this
Bill. This Bill does not provide for that particular oppor-tunity. The Junior Minister just also mentioned—she
did not mention it by name, but she did it by reference—the Bermuda National Parks Act of 1986,
which prohibits these types of vehicles or any unau-thorised vehicles from being in the park system where
they are not permitted. And that particular Act is still enforceable. And this particular Bill, of course, runs in
conjunction with that.
So as I thought about the language of the
proposed amendment that came before us last year, I
wanted the public to know that if that amendment
would have passed, that would actually have prohibi ted the tour vehicles from even entering the park into
the parking lot. And if you cannot get the tour vehicle
into the parking lot, then what is the sense of actually
having a tour ? And that was what we were trying to
explain last time when this Bill was before us. So it is
disappointing that even after this has been explained
over and over, that particular information is still not
really understood and readily understood by ever yone.
So this Bill does not allow for these vehicles
into the protected areas of the park. The requirement,
of course, will require the tour operator to submit a
plan. The plan has to be approved. I have spoken directly to some of our tour operators, particul arly for the
Tuk Tuk, and they understand how important our n ational parks are. And their intention, of course, is to
promote Bermuda, but they are also just as concerned
as the rest of us about protecting our open area and
our parks. So I am very, very co nfident that the Mini ster and the Ministry have done a very stellar job in
ensuring that, one, of course we can offer a new
product to our tourists; but at the same time also [work to] to protect our parks and our environment.
So I am really, really happy that the Junior
Minister presented the Bill today. I certainly want to congratulate the Minister and his entire team on a very, very well -written Bill for this particular Act.
Thank you very much, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister, Dr. E rnest Peets,
Government Leader in the Senate.
And before departing, would any other Sen ator care to speak on the Bill? Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader in the
Senate, you have the floor.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, as we were preparing for
this debate today, you reflect on what we did in Oct ober last year, and then I was also part of the meeting
when it was discussed with the Minister of Transport
what the purpose of the Bill was and what they were
trying to achieve. And we also stated why we had the
objections that we had. And really, it was about trying to find a way to ensure that we were protecting the open space.
Recalling the debate that happened last year,
it was very specific that we were not looking to prevent entering into the park and being on the paved
path of the park. The part that was always worrisome
to us was coming off of that path. One of the things that is being brought up, and I continue to hear it
again today, it seems that we are looking at the speBermuda Senate cific entrepreneur that has brought the Tuk Tuk into
Bermuda. I do not believe the Bill was written just for
that specific entrepreneur, because it talks about
three- wheeled vehicles, it is identifying the different
kinds of vehicles. So that parti cular entrepreneur has
provided the routes that they would like to take when they are using the park. And for the vehicle that he
specifically has brought into Bermuda, not only is he
not interested in coming off of the paved path; [but
also,] that is not what that vehicle was designed to do.
So where Senator Wight brought forward what
has happened in the past when a decision was made, I guess the first question that I will ask for the Junior
Minister, because it is the same question that I asked
the Minist er, is, If the next entrepreneur comes forward and provides a route that comes off of the paved
portion of the park, because the vehicles that they
would like to bring in create enjoyment for coming off
of the paved portion, is it possible for the Minister to
approve that route? Because if that is the case, that
was the crux of the amendment that was put forward. We did not want to stop the enjoyment of the parks.
We did not want to stop an entrepreneur from moving
forward. The only piece we were trying to protect is
the future opportunity of somebody putting a route
forward that comes off of the path.
We understand that the minibuses and the
taxis presently go on the paved portion of the parks. The Tuk Tuk looks like that is the same path that they
would li ke to take. The [question] that causes anxiety
for the small community ––[a community] that does not
have a lot of open space and is trying its best to pr otect the open space that we have is ––Is there an o pportunity in the future for a guided tour to come off of
the paved portion of the parks and go onto the u npaved portion? And all we are trying to do is make
sure that this is not left up to discretion, because the
present Minister of Transport has stated that he personally would not accept that. But in the future, [will]
we have a Minister who thinks that the entrepreneur-ship is more important than the environment? So all
we are trying to do is get to the point of making sure
that we are protecting those open spaces for the f uture generations and for the pe ople who like to enjoy
open spaces.
So if the Junior Minister can tell us that the
answer to that question is, It is not possible for the
Minister to approve a route that comes off of that path,
then we will support the Bill and gladly move forward.
But i f that is not the case, then we have to reject the
Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then, Senator Dill, it is over to
you for a response.

Thank you, Madam
President, and to my Senate colleagues. I would like
to thank you for the questions that you have raised
today, and I would certainly hope that we could allay
any fears that you have.
One thing that is clear is that we are all on
one accord in our commitment to the protection of our
national parks. With regard to the concerns that have
been raised, it is important to note that there is a di fference between the 2019 proposal and what is be-fore us now. And as Senator Ben Smith has shared,
his concern regarding the passing of legislation and
the jurisdiction of the Minister to be able to approve a
route that would allow vehicles to go onto the greener
parts of the national parks and the areas which have
been raised today, the Minister does not have that
jurisdiction. No route that proposes to go off the paved road will be approved.
The Ministry of Transport is committed to not
approving any routes that are protected. As you can
see, this Government is committed to the protection of
the environment, and you [may] have [noticed], especially of late, the awards given to Minister Roban and
his Ministry in their efforts which are being noted not
just in this community, but throughout the world.
So with all of that being said, I want to also
thank Senator Michelle Simmons, who has done a
great job in answering many of the questions that were raised this morning. And I would reiterate that
we are committed to the protection of our national
parks. If you were at the par ade on Bermuda Day, we
actually had an opportunity to see the Tuk Tuks,
which are at this present moment the only vehicle that
has applied for the licence that we are discussing here
this morning. And we see that this is an excellent opportunity for us to expand our tourism product. As I did
a little bit of research, we see that these are becoming
popular not just in Asia, but in other jurisdictions i ncluding even the US in some of the tourist destin ations.
So with all of that being said, I am trusting that
we will be able to move forward with the passing of
this Bill and that we will continue to grow our tourism
product, support our entrepreneurs and move forward
with the advancement of this community, and certainly to remove any discrimination against ind ividuals who
would endeavour to engage in this business.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill. And with
that, you can do the second reading of the Bill.

Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment Act 2022 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, Madam President, because I
am not certain that the answer is that the Minister cannot approve the route, I object to the Bill being
read a third time.

The President: Are there any other objections to the
Bill being read a third time?
Senator Tucker .
Senator Wight .
In that case we will have to take a vote.

The Minister of
Transport cannot approve a vehicle to transgress or
trans . . . what is the appropriate word? That particular
ability and discretion does not fall to the Minister of Transport. He cannot approve a vehicle to go off of
the main road into a protected area.

The President: Minister Peets, we do have three objections, and we will take a vote.
[Crosstalk]

Madam President.
The President: Senator Dill.

[Crosstalk]

The Clerk: Okay, in this case, under the procedures
of Standing Order 35, we should point out that if there
are three objections on the third reading of a Bill, then
under Standing Order 35, if at least three Members
object to the motion for the third reading, “ in which
case the third reading shall be deferred to the next
day of meeting. ”
So that is Standing Order 35. Okay? So with three objections on the third reading,
by rule, the third reading would be carried over to the next day of meeting. That is, unless you suspend
Standing Order 35.
So, Madam President, unless you suspend
Standing Order 35 . . .

[Crosstalk ]

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 35

Madam President,
can I make a motion to suspend [Standing Order] 35?
The President: You may, yes.
The Clerk: Okay. Let me just not e the Senators’ o bjections [being], Senator Smith, Senator Wight and
Senator Tucker.
The President: Yes, and Senator De Couto. Yes. So
that was four.
The Clerk: The objection is to the third reading [I NAUDIBLE]
The President: Yes.
The Clerk: So that is settled there. Okay . So now we
have—
The President: —suspension of the third reading.

The Clerk: Senator —

The President: That is Minister . . . Minister Peets.

[Crosstalk ]
The President: Senators, the situation at the moment
is that four people have objected to the third reading.
And Minister Peets, the Leader of the Government in
the Senate, has suggested a suspension of Rule 35
. . . Standing Order 35. So, therefore, we would take a
vote on the suspension [of Standing Order 35] .
You are to move the motion to suspend
[Standing Order] 35.

The Clerk: That would be to move the motion to suspend —
The President: He did. He did.

Yes.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: I second it.



Bermuda Senate The President: It does not need to be seconded. We
take a vote on it from the Senators. That is suspending—

[Crosstalk ]
The President: This does not happen often, so . . .
[Crosstalk ]

The President: Just a reminder, Senators, that al though we have the [Standing Orders], there is an opportunity for Senate to suspend a particular [Standing
Order]. And so this is what is taking place at this time.
For the listening audience to understand . . .
there has been a motion to suspend [Standing Order]
35, which would allow us to proceed to the third reading. But we will take a vote on it.

The Clerk: Okay, Senators. We are voting on the m otion to suspend Standing Order 35. Those in favour
will say Aye and those opposed will say Nay. Okay?
Senator Smith . . . to suspend [Standing O rder] 35.

Sen. Ben Smith: Aye.
An Hon. Senator: Do you want to suspend, or oppose?

The Clerk: Those in favour of —

An Hon. Senator: How do you vote?
The Clerk: Those in favour of suspending Standing
Order 35 say Aye , and those opposed say Nay .
An Hon. Senator: If we suspend it, then —
The Clerk: Then we proceed to the third reading . . . if
we suspend [Standing Order 35] .
[Crosstal k]

Sen. Ben Smith: It’s Aye.
An Hon. Senator: Is it?

[Inaudible interjection]

The Clerk: Yes, but I am saying do you want to suspend it —

[Inaudible interjection]

The Clerk: Oh, okay, all right.

[Division continuing]
DIVISION
[Motion to suspend Standing Order 35]

Ayes: 10 Nays : 0
Sen. Ben Smith
Sen. Robin Tucker
Sen. Dr. D. De Couto
Sen. the Hon. Dr. E. Peets
Sen. Owen Darrell
Sen. Lindsay Simmons
Sen. Rev. Dr. E. A. Dill
Sen. John Wight
Sen. Michelle Simmons
Sen. the Hon. J. Dillas -Wright

Absent: 1
Sen. Arianna Hodgson

[Inaudible conversation]

The President: So the vote to suspend [Standing O rder] 35 . . . the total is 10. No one objected to suspend
[Standing Order] 35.

[Motion carried by majority on division: Standing Order
35 suspended.]

The Clerk: So now we will proceed through the third
reading motion again.
So, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Mr. Somner.
So we will now proceed with the third reading
again.
Senators in favour of the third reading? Sorry
. . . Senator, you need to move the third reading
again.

BILL

THIRD READING

MOTOR CAR (LIVERIES) AMENDMENT ACT 2022

Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Motor Car (Liveries)
Amendment Act 2022 be now read a thir d time.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, Madam President. We object
on the grounds that a Minister can approve a route
that would go off of the paved portion of the park . . .
not necessarily the Transport Minis ter, but we want to
put that protection in.
So for that reason, we object.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.
528 8 June 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Any other objections?
Senator Robin Tucker, Senator De Couto and
Senator Wight.
We will now take a vote on the third reading.

[Pause]

The President: Senators, we will now take a vote on
the third reading. And Mr. Somner will call names.

The Clerk: Okay. Those in favour of the third reading
motion will vote Aye ; those opposed will vote Nay.

DIVISION
[Third reading of the Motor Car (Liveries)
Amendment Act 2022 ]

Ayes: 6 Nays : 4
Sen. the Hon. Dr. E. Peets Sen. Ben Smith
Sen. Owen Darrell Sen. Robin Tucker
Sen. Lindsay Simmons Sen. Dr. De Couto
Sen. Rev. Dr. E. A. Dill Sen. John Wight
Sen. Michelle Simmons
Sen. the Hon. J. Dillas -Wright

Absent: 1
Sen. Arianna Hodgson

[Motion carried by majority on division: The Motor Car
(Liveries) Amendment Act 2022 to be given a third
reading.]

The President: Senators, the third reading is affirmed
by a vote of six Ayes and four Nays . So the vote is
carried. The third reading will proceed.

Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
The Bill entitled the Motor Car (Liveries)
Amendment Act 2022 is passed.
Thank you, Senators.
[Motion carried: The Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment Act 2022 was read a third time and passed.]
The Pre sident : We will now move on.

MOTIONS
The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak?

Thank you, Madam
President.
I certainly want to send my congratulations
out to our Senior Men’s Team. They lost yesterday, of
course, in Guyana, unfortunate for that. But I want to
congratulate Dante Leverock in particular. I received a
phone call from my son— he is a football player and
loves football and has aspirations one day to repr esent Bermuda. My son called me on WhatsApp video.
He was just so ecstatic yesterday watching one of his local heroes in Dante Leverock score yet again another international goal. So I just want to let Dante
know, as well as all of our other athletes who repr esent our country, Your performance on the field or in
the pool or on the track certainly is inspiring, not just
to us but particularly to the younger generation who are coming on behind you. So congratulations!
But I also want to say a huge thank you to the
Minister of Health and her entire team. They really, really helped the Bermuda Football Association r egarding the matter of Haiti just a few days ago. And I know the Department of Health presumably is dealing
with a lot of issues every single day to keep this cou ntry safe and to keep us healthy. And they probably do not get as much credit as they should. But I personally
want to extend to them my heartfelt thanks for all of
the support that they gave not just on that instance,
but what they do every single day including nights and
weekends. So thank you very much. I want to express
my heartfelt gratitude for them.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I would like to associate myself with the r emarks that Minister Peets just made about the Bermuda Men’s Football Team. I saw the goal that Dante
Leverock scored, and it was a such a beautiful goal. I
mean, I do not know how he did it. It was athletic. It
was almost like watching a gymnast score. So, Well
done, Dante, and well done to the Men’s Football
Team!
I also, Madam President, would like to ask for
us to join and send condolences to the family of the
late Mrs. Elizabeth “Betty” Kawaley. She was a devoted mother, also a veteran educator, author, former
President of the Bermuda Union of Teachers [BUT].


Bermuda Senate Her family desc ribed her as being patient, but princ ipled. And her students describe her as being calm
and very gentle. That was Mrs. Kawaley. She served
as BUT President between 1948 and 1949 and was
the second female to hold that post. Her husband, Solomon, is deceased, but I ask that we send condolences to her family, the former Chief Justice, the
Honourable Dr. Ian Kawaley and his wife Janet; and
the Kawaley daughters, Kathy and her husband Ric hard, and Sylvia.
Finally, Madam President, I would like for us
to send condolences to the family of the late Mrs.
Peggy Eloise Parfitt. She was a direct descendant of
King’s pilot James “Jemmy” Darrell, whom we have all
heard about. And every year when we had a special commemoration to remember Jemmy Darrell in the
cemetery at St. George's, Mrs. Parfitt was there. I believe she was there two years ago when we had the commemoration prior to COVID -19. Maybe it is three
years now. (Gosh, time flies.) But Mrs. Parfitt will be
missed, and we want to let her children, her gran dchildre n, her sister and all of her family know that we
send our condolences to them. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to congratulate the participants
who were in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Saturday morning. I had the pleasure and honour of attend-ing the event, and there were so many talented men
and women who paraded in front of all of the spect ators along Front Street. And whether it be the Reg iment or the other services that performed, they did
themselves very proud, and so doing the country as
well. So I would like to congratulate all of those me mbers who did such a great job. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I also would like to send condolences to the
family of Peggy Parfitt, whom I affectionately called
Nana Parfitt. She was actually my aunt’s mother -inlaw. So I want to say to Uncle Clarence, Uncle Karl,
Aunt Merle, Aunt Carol, Aunt Charlotte and Uncle
Quinton, and all of the grandchildren and great -
grandchildren, my deepest condo lences. Nana Parfitt
was the sweetest lady, who embraced everybody. So
condolences to the family. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons.
Senator Owen Darrell, you have the floor.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like to start my r emarks on a sad note and wish condolences to the family of Ms. Jennifer Rose Seymour. As you know,
she is the mother of Mr. Jesse Seymour and Mr. John
Seymour. And those two young men have had a
rough year with losses. And I would just like to say that Ms. Seymour was going through some challenges
over the last couple of years, but if you ever interacted
with her, you would have never known it. I had some
friends visiting from Canada last summer. And as you
know, her son Jesse actually performs at the Elbow
Beach. And she was actually in attendance. And he brought her to the front, and she was dancing and
really, really enjoying life. Some others may have i nteracted with her at her restaurant down on North Shore. Ms . Seymour was full of life just like her two
sons. And I would like to send my condolences to
them from all of us here in the Senate.
On a happier note, Madam President, I would
like to take this opportunity to thank the schools of this Island. As we know , we just came out of Heritage
Month. And schools have been operating under differ-ent rules and regulations over the past couple of years due to COVID -19, and we might not have been able to
do some of the traditional events that we had been
doing in the past couple of years. And I just want to really send a job-well-done to parents and school administrators and principals who have come up with
very unique ways of celebrating Bermuda’s culture,
Bermuda’s history in the ways of parades. You would
have seen on social media a lot of schools were ha ving their own Heritage Day parades.
I had the privilege of being asked to come and
be a judge at the West Pembroke school’s agricultural
exhibition. And I had no idea the amount of detail that
I was actually walking i nto. If I did not know any better,
I we have thought I was at the Botanical Gardens at
the real Agricultural Exhibit. And I did smile when I
saw friends of mine whom I went to school with. And I
am reading names and I am like, This has to be soand-so’s so n or so-and-so’s daughter. They even had
live animals in the assembly hall. So that was West
Pembroke. I have seen the others on social media.
Obviously, a shout -out to the school in my
neighbourhood, Harrington Sound Primary where my
two children, Tatum and Oliver go. Shout -out to their
mom who actually helped them with their project, and
everyone at that school. And I did have a conversation
with the principal down there yesterday. And I just
want to say congratulations. It was kind of throughout
the Isl and these schools that took the time and said,
Well, how can we still put on and give the experience
to our students to actually create baked goods and
530 8 June 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate lunchboxes and kites and everything else that the agricultural exhibition would normally have?
So, job well done to all educators in Bermuda,
parents and students alike, who put on and displayed
everything that Bermuda has. And I note that I have 30 more seconds. I do want to . . . I think this is the
first time back. If it is not, I do apologise. To all of the
public officers in Minister Peets’ Ministry who came
together, did put on an awesome Heritage Day (I want
to say May 24, but I will call it the Heritage Day) P arade on the 27
th of May. I know I can say that I abs olutely enjoyed myself with all of the displays, the dance groups, the trucks, the Gombey groups. It felt
really, really good to be back and celebrating the heritage of Bermuda, which if you know me well you
would know that that is my favourite holiday.
Thank you, Madam President.

The Presiden t: Thank you, Senator Darrell. I am sure
the entire Senate body joins you in the comments
about the Heritage Day Parade.
Rev. Dr. Emilygail Dill, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President.
I certainly want to join in with Senator Darrell
in acknowledging the outstanding job that Senator
Peets and his team did in [INAUDIBLE] the entire [I NAUDIBLE] activities and certainly, in particular, the Bermuda Day celebration. And I, like Senator Darrell,
absolutely, it was [INAU DIBLE] wonderful feeling to be
back out with one another. The highlight for me was
[INAUDIBLE] dance. If you go on Front Street, individuals from all walks of life, prior to the start of the
parade, they were out in the streets just dancing t ogether, every type of line dance song that was [INA UDIBLE]. They were [INAUDIBLE], their steps and [IN-AUDIBLE] sometimes there were big gaps in the parade so the [INAUDIBLE]. So it was certainly a wo nderful celebration and to Minister Peets I just —

[Inaudible ]

The Cl erk: Is your microphone on?

—celebrate your
team on a job well done.
I would also like to congratulate Her Excellency the Governor on her hosting of the Queen’s Plat inum Jubilee celebration in recognition of her 70 years
as the Queen of the British Empire. Truly much has
changed during the tenure of Queen Elizabeth, for I
can imagine that when she rose to the throne at the
age of 27, she perhaps never would have envisioned
a Black female Governor presiding over part of the
British Commonwealth. And so for me, I celebrate Her
Excellency the Governor, her presentation at the r eception, and basically on Saturday as you saw this Black female walking and inspecting the troops. It was
really wonderful.
There was the granddaughter of one of our
Members of Parliament who was sitting near me. And
she was asking questions, a brilliant young lady, five
years of age and she was very observant, a very crit ical thinker. She was asking questions about what was
going on—and to be able to share with her a bit of our history. So to Her Excellency the Governor, I say, Job
well done! You are certainly an example of Black girl
magic, and we celebrate your contribution and your achievements and certainly the example that you set
for young individu als in this community.
Thank you so much, Madam President.

The President: Yes, Senator Robin Tucker, you have
the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I would first like to begin by associating myself
with several comments that were made today, the first
being associated with the condolences sent to the family of Jennifer Seymour, and particularly to her
sons. Her sister, Sharon, is a really good friend of
mine, and so I wanted to make sure that condolences
were sent to Jennifer’s ent ire family.
Also, I would like to associate myself with
Senator Simmons’s comments as it relates to cond olences being extended to Mrs. Elizabeth Kawaley’s
family. I am one of the recipients who had the pleasure of being in her presence when I was a studen t at
Warwick Sec. And the comments that Senator Si mmons mentioned about what her students would say
about her —she was the sweetest, kindest, very soft -
spoken, but able to get what she needed done out of
her students. She was a very, very, very wonderful
lady. And of course, you know, students have their
favourites. And she would certainly be amongst those
as well.
I would also like to extend condolences to the
family of one of our colleagues, one of our OBA co lleagues, Elizabeth Harvey, on the passing of her mother, who is Mrs. Susan Harvey. So we would like
to extend condolences to Elizabeth, to Jeremy, and their entire family as well.
On an up note, I would also like to associate
myself with the comments extended by Senator Wight
as they relate to the recipients of the Queen’s Birthday
Honours. Congratulations to Mrs. Ercinda Swan, Mrs.
Cecille Snaith -Simmons on receiving recognition in
the form of the Queen’s Certificate and Badge of
Honour.
And I am really excited to actually say this
part. I would like to say a huge congratulations to my
former high school principal and former Speaker of
the House in another place, the Honourable Randy
Horton on being appointed as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his service to
sport and public service. Mr. Horton is a well -known


Bermuda Senate figure in Bermuda not only for his work in Parliament,
but in sports as well —football as a member of the
Somerset Trojans, and with the New York Cosmos.
And in cricket he was also captain of the winning Cup
Match team, which is Somerset.

[Laughter]

Sen. Robin Tucker: And I would like to say that I am
just one of countless other recipients of Mr. Horton’s
yelling. If anybody has ever been to Warwick Sec when he was there, they would know what I am tal king about, having all the students run and say, Ho rton’s coming! Horton’s coming! And everybody would
disperse in all different directions. But it was a test ament to his dedication to his students and keeping us
on the straight and narrow and not allowing us to
make excuses for poor performance and not doing our
best. So I want to take this opportunity to say a huge
Congratulations ! again to Mr. Horton and also to say
thank you to him and congratulations again on his appointment.
Thank you very much, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President.
What can I say? It was a very active weekend
and no shortage of things to celebrate. I would like to
specifically associate myself with a few previous
comments. There were too many, but let me associate myself with Senator Tucker’s comments on Susan
Harvey and her family; and her comments to celebrate
the award to the former Speaker, Randy Horton.
I would also like to associate myself with all of
the comments on the Bermuda Day/Heritage Day ac-tivities. What an amazing weekend! We predicted it,
but everybody was just very thankful for it. And luckily,
the weather played along. So thank you to everybody
who was engaged with that. Of course, also the
achievements of the football team.
I must associate myself with those comments
as well. I know that they had a lot of fans out on the weekend, and I heard quite a lot about it.
Finally, I would just like to send my congrat ulations to the Special Olympians who are attending
the Special Olympics USA Games. I wish them a
great experience and all the success.
Thank y ou, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
No.
Then I would just like to associate myself first
of all with Senator Simmons on the condolences to
the Kawaley family. I certainly know the fami ly quite
well, and I am sure that she is a great miss to the I s-land. And she was a wonderful teacher. Much has
been said as Michelle Simmons has indicated.
I would also like to associate myself with the
comments that have been made for the congratul ations to Minister Peets and the Culture team because I
think that Bermuda certainly really enjoyed that day. I
certainly was observing it. I could not participate as I
normally do, going out on the streets. But it was wonderful to watch. And I congratulate you all.
I would also like to associate myself with the
comments that have been made by Senator Dill with respect to congratulating the Governor Lalgie for recognising the Queen’s Jubilee. And certainly there
were a number of events that were held, certainly at
Government House as well as the parade and the
church service at the Cathedral, [at] which Senator
Michelle Simmons certainly read. I think all told, it had been a very lively and wonderful weekend for ever yone last week. So I want to acknowledge and to thank
everybody who had any involvement with any of it. It
was absolutely wonderful and I am sure was enjoyed
by everyone who participated.
So with that said, it is over to you, Minister
Peets, for the adjournment.

ADJOURNMENT

Yes. Thank you,
Madam President.
I do not get a chance to read the daily often. I
am just really, really super busy. But I did catch the
daily recently, and I was really overjoyed and really excited about the announcement that was in the
newspaper regarding the new bank licence for Jewel
Bank. That kind of sort of took me back a couple of
years. And I just wanted to say how excited I am
about this opportunity. Certainly I believe that Berm uda would also agree that this is exciting news for the
country.
One of the things that really sort of stood out
for me and the reason why I was really overjoyed and
excited about it is that I remember one of the things
532 8 June 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate that was part of the Government’s platform, which was
to create this new opportunity for investment, to attract
new investments and new jobs and to create an opportunity for all Bermudians to have a stake in this
economy and be able to be a nation of owners. I know that this digital bank is a key feature regarding the
Government’s FinTech strategy.
So I am not a banker by trade or by profession, but I would imagine the diversification and the new opportunity that this digital bank brings, it is a
huge development for the sector. So I am just really
excited. I think this is a really big win for Bermuda. I
think this is a huge win for the Government. And I certainly wish the very, very best to Jewel Bank and the
entire banking s ector. I certainly encourage any young
Bermudian out there, particularly if you are preparing
for full -time employment, to explore the opportunities
emerging from the FinTech sector.
So having said that, I just want to just sort of
congratulate the Government, as well as the principals
behind Jewel Bank, and to all of those who aided in helping this to come to fruition. This is a huge opportunity for the country, and I am just really excited
about the first new banking licence in [the] many years
as it has been. It has been certainly a long time. So I
just think this is a huge opportunity for our country to
really celebrate about a new development in the bank-ing sector.
Thank you very much, Madam President.

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

[Inaudible interjections]

The President: This has been a short meeting.
Senators, the Senate stands adjourned until
June the 22
nd. Thank you for your participation today.

[At 11:41 am, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am Wednesday, 22 June 2022.]