May 6, 2022

In the Honourable Minister’s
Statement, on page 3 he says: “ At the end of this fi scal period, the total amount of recoverable debt recorded was approximately $469,627. ” Does the Honourable Minister know how much it was in the prev ious year?

Hon. Jason Hayward: Mr. Deputy Speaker, again,
the Statement is a tabling statement for the actual r eport. The report does not have those figures in it, but
what I will do is endeavour to cross reference the pr evious year’s report so that I can pull those numbers and provide it to the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. With a sad heart I would like to send condolences
to two young mothers who have recently lost their
sons to violence. The first mother is Ms. Sandra Hill
who is a constituent of mine. I had opportunity to talk
with her and I cannot express the amount of sad ness
and grief she is experiencing with the rec ent loss of
her son.
The second mother is the mother of the r ecently passed young man yesterday who was also a
constituent of mine and I . . . it was very difficult
speaking with her and hearing her sobs and knowing that she has lost someone near and dear to her heart
that can never be replaced.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I ask that this whole
House join me in these condolences because we see that currently Bermuda is experiencing a lot of trauma.
Hopefully, together we will stand against the trauma
and show the families who are experiencing the pain that we are with them and we are doing everything
within our power (1) to help them get through it; and
(2), to help Bermuda come through this.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Thank you very much. Good morning, colleagues.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I just want to give some
congratulations to some students at the Purvis Prim ary School. Even though Purvis is not in my constitue ncy, the st udents who live in my constituency have
been selected as second tier of the school as Heads
and Prefects and are going to graduate next month.
So I just want to give congratulations to the Head Boy
and Prefect Charles Edney; Head Girl and Prefect
Sofia Lin do; Deputy Head Boy and Prefect Giovanni
Aruda ; and Deputy Head Girl and Prefect Tomea
Clemmons.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, as I said, these students
will graduate next year along with the other Prefects
which I will have to list at a later date.
Thank you, very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Weeks.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes, good morning to you;
good morning, colleagues.
I would like to start off, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
by associating myself with the remarks from the Member from constituency 3, MP Foggo, in giving the co ndolences to the two mothers that lost their sons. Act ually, Mr. Deputy Speaker, there are actually three mothers. The other being Sonia Jennings who lost her
son, Che, up at Warwick Workmen’s Club. So, you
know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, there i s a scourge that we
are faced with, and this is not the time to delve deep
1256 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly into it, but my heart goes out to those mothers and
those fathers and those other family members.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, while I have the micr ophone, I also want to send condolences out to the
Mascarinas family. The husband is the unfortunate
victim who died in the house explosion in Southam pton. So I would like to also send condolences to his wife and family.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like to close on a
happier note. I would like the House to send a letter of
congratulations to Dandy Town Sports Club. They are
double champions this year. They just missed out on
the Friendship, so I would like to acknowledge the
sports club for doing something good in our community.
Thank you, very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Unmute your microphone,
Ms.—

Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
I do want to send condolences to the family of
Omar Jennings. Omar Jennings, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
was a client, or service user, of K . Margaret Carter
Centre. Omar will be sorely missed. I just wanted to
send condolences out to his mother and his sisters
and his brother. I attended the funeral last week Saturday and, as Minister Weeks mentioned the death of Mr. Che Jennings, Omar is als o a family relative of Mr.
Che Jennings. So I just wanted to send condolences
out to the Jennings’ family on the death of their two
loved ones.
I also want to take this opportunity to give
congratulations to the Troika family. Anyone who knowns Troika, they are a performing arts establis hment, organisation. Since COVID -19, the performing
arts area has not had the opportunity to give perfor-mances and they had a dance show a couple of weeks ago (I believe). And it was amazing. They
worked so hard; all of the performers, all of our local
talent who were choreographers. Amazing work! I just
want to congratulate each and every one who was a
part of that Troika performance demonstration. I just
want to say Keep up the good work!

Thank you, Minister Furbert.
The next Member is the Honourable Member
Crystal Caesar. Ms. Crystal Caesar: Good morning and thank you,
Mr. Deputy Speaker.
I join this morning, and whilst I am not speaking on congratulations, I think it is appropriate for me
to also join with the Minister of National Security. As
we all know, and as the countr y is aware, there was a
large explosion in my constituency earlier this week
which has rocked not just the country, but specifically
that community, that is the Hilltop [Court] apartment community. And I send my heartfelt condolences to
the victim’s family , Mr. Mascarinas and to his wife. But
also to the other four families who were directly i mpacted. We send our sympathies. We send our support and love to those families as well. This has been
a traumatic experience, not just for them but also for
the neigh bours who have to come out right now every
day and be re- traumatised by seeing that vision. I
want to continue to offer my support as does (I am
sure he will not mind if I mention his name) MP Jason
Wade and also MP Wayne Caines, as they —

—as they stood with me. And
so, yes, I will associate the entire House. I am sure
that colleagues on both sides understand that this is a
tragedy that affects not just the area, but the entire
country.
Finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, another condolence that I would like to give is to another specific
constituent. It has been a few weeks since he has
passed, but I think the country knows of the Crown
Landscaping business, and the patriarch of that fam ily, Mr. Richardson, sadly did pass. And so I wanted to
send my specific condolences to his family at this di fficult time.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Good morning.



Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. L. Craig Cannonier: I just want to thank MP Cry stal Caesar for associating us to the unfortunate situation that happened at Hilltop. We know that it was
such a tragic event which affected many in the area
and Island- wide.
On another sad note, I was not quite sure if
anyone gave condolences to the Pearman family on
the passing of Joanne Pearman. She was a well -
known St. Georgian; always seen. I am sure you, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, have seen her on the Causeway
heading out of St. George’s and back into St.
George’s on a regular basis.

Absolutely! Associate MP
Swan of constituency 2, which I believe she lived in;
almost on the border of constituency 1 and 2, actually.
But certainly I am sure that Honourable Member
Foggo would like to be associated as well with this
here, knowing her, and yourself, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
as well. This is a well -known family, the Pearman
family. You know that her father was a centenarian
down in St. George’s as well. A staple family; a strong
family. My association with them goes back to People’s Pharmacy, having been the general manager for
the family there for many years. And so we want to
extend our condolences to the family. I had the fortune of being there at the hospital on another issue at
the same time when they were all there. It is a loss of
a wonderful person, a wonderful Bermudian.
I would also like to, on a higher note . . . Minister Weeks, I concur with the accolades to Dandy
Town. I am from St. David’s, but I am giving acc olades to Dandy Town. And what I would like to talk
about is the Junior team. My grandson plays on the
Junior Dandy Town team and they also were the wi nners of the Island- wide tournament, the Under 11
Tournament. This is a testament, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
to Dandy Town’s organisation. They are grooming
from very young. And for the same year that the Se nior team takes home trophies and cups, the Junior
team did the exact same thing. I only wish that the
Royal Gazette had highlighted them as well.
The football in Bermuda is just on a great footing. I am expecting for some of these young folk coming along, especially the ones under 12, that we are
going to see some professional players coming out of
this here. So I commend Dandy Town, the Associ ation, for all of the hard work that they are putting in.
This is fantastic; just fantastic to see.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Good. I am all right.
First of all, I would like to associate myself
with the comments for the Pearman family. They are a
long-standing St. Georgian family and I know my own
family has had connections with them for quite some
time, as Mr. Pearman, who passed some years ago,
worked with my grandfather over at the Base fire st ation for many, many years, before he went into the
pharmacy business.
On another sad note, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I
would like to give condolences and prayers to the
family of Mr. Freddy Hall, A young person from St.
George’s who passed a few weeks ago. Freddy was a
promising goalkeeper —

—that came through the St.
George’s Cricket Club, Junior [League]. He travelled
overseas. He lived overseas for some time and played
professionally as a goalkeeper. More importantly, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, he was an inspiration to all young
footballers who are coming up and who aspired just
like he did. And I just hope that we keep his memory
alive and remember the good that he did within our
community and those young people who he inspired.
And I just want his mom and his dad to know that they
are in our thoughts and prayers.
I would also like to associate MP Lovitta
Foggo with these comments and also MP Kim Swan
because there is truly a large loss for St. George’s.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Spe aker.

Thank you.
I would like to send condolences to the H arvey family, the family of Dr. Eugene Harvey, for the
loss of his beloved wife, Susan. She was a long -
standing Bermudian with a number of children, including my OBA colleague, Elizabeth Harvey, who has
stood for the OBA in previous elections. And we would
just like to recognise her passing and send our sy mpathy and love to the Harvey family as a whole.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Gryneth quite recently lost
two of her granddaughters. One will be buried tomorrow at the Trinity Church. She also lost her granddaughter, Dalana Robinson, daughter of Dawnelle.
Her other granddaughter is Devonna Robins on,
daughter of Dee Dee DeShields. So I would as k
the House to send condolences to the Robinson
family on this los s of two very young women in the
prime of t heir l ives.
Hon. Tinee Furbert: MP Dickinson, can I be assoc iated with that (Minister Tinee Furbert)?
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Also myself, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, Wayne Furbert; they are my cousins.

On a brighter note, I would
like to have the House offer congratulations to Bermuda’s CARIFTA team for their recent performance at
the CARIFTA Games in Jamaica. I am particularly proud to be giving congratulations in light of my
youngest child’s contribution to the efforts of the U nder 17 Girls 400 meter relay. My daughter, Elise, was
the anchor leg and was instrumental in helping the
team to secure a silver medal —

Mr. Deputy Speaker, in light
of the fact that I have congratulated one of my chi ldren, I would not want to then face the other two. So I
have some notable news for my younger son who is
today in the midst of taking IB exams and he is certainly feeling a high degree of stress. But John has
recently been admitted and accepted into Morehouse
College for this fall. And that he gets, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, from his father.
[Laughter]

I cleared my tie and ev erything.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like my condolences to be associated with the Pearman and Hall
families. Both constituents, as the Honourable Member former Premier Cannonier spoke, a true St.
George’s family through and through, up there on the
Hill. My condolences go out to that family deeply. And,
yes, Mrs. Pearman was the epitome of fitness, exercising greatly, often. And may she rest in peace.
And certainly my cousin, Freddy Hall, it was
as tragic to me as it was to all St. Georgians when we
learned of his passing, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I had
high hopes for him. He was such a great young man
and may he rest in peace. That is all I can say, Mr.
Deputy Speaker. It is a deep shock to us all.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Premier David Burt, you have
the floor.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, today I would certainly
like to be as sociated with the condolences offered
earlier today, certainly for the families of the young
men who tragically lost their lives to violence and also
certainly to the family of Freddy Hall. I certainly know
that the St. George’s community has experienced
quite a bit of loss in the last few months and so certainly I want to be associated with that.
I would also, Mr. Deputy Speaker, send condolences to the family of the late Ms. Linda Hill, who
sadly passed away on April 27. Persons would know
that Ms. Hill worked for the civil service for many years
in the Accountant General’s department. I was greatly
saddened to learn of her passing. She had a wonderful spirit. And I certainly wish to extend my deepest
condolences to her daughter, Diamond- Lynn, and certainly to her entire family.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would also ask that
condolences be sent to the family of my constituent,
Mr. Padam Ezekiel Nisbett, who recently passed away
in his 93rd year on Princess Estate Road. My deepest
sympathies certainly go out t o his wife, Mrs. Dolly
Nisbett, and his daughters, Deborah and Penny, and
to the rest of his family. Mr. Deputy Speaker, on a note of congratul ations I would certainly like to be associated with the
congratulations which were sent to our CARIFTA
medallis ts, both in swimming and in track and field.
We can certainly recognise the pride of the MP for
constituency 21 in certainly seeing his daughter
achieve that feat. And certainly our team represented
Bermuda well and will continue to represent Bermuda
well as we invest more in our elite athletes.
Finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like to
send congratulations to two local football teams who
are close to my heart. First, I would like to ask that a
note of congratulations be sent by this Honourable
House to the Devonshire Recreation Club for bringing
a trophy this year, and that was the Friendship Trophy
of which they won last month. Additional to that, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, I would like to extend congratul ations —and would certainly like to associate the Honourable Minister from constituency 16, the Minister of
National Security, with congratulations to be sent —to
the Western Stars Sports Club on their double this
year of winning both the Elite and also the FA Cup
Trophy. They dedicated their season to one of t heir
teammates who was tragically lost in a vehicle acc ident last year. And they certainly were able to win two
trophies. They were denied the treble by the Devonshire Recreation Club, but it is still good to see and
certainly proud for me that the two teams that I am
associated with were able to win silver this year. So I
want to thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for that.

Oh, please. Mr. De Silva, you
have the floor.

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like the House to
send condolences to Mr. Mike Moniz’ family. Mike was
a very good friend of mine, going way back. He died
very suddenly this week, Mr. Deputy Speaker. So my
condolences go out to not only his family, but his par tner of over 25 years, Mr. John Tartaglia, commonly
well-known by his nickname, JT. Those two were i nseparable, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mike was a man that
was certainly unique. I never met anyone like him in
my life. He totally sup ported many of the initiatives by
1260 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly this particular Government. You might remember, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, he was an IT icon known throughout
the world— not only in Bermuda, but he was known
throughout the world; certainly, a class above most in
his field. I wou ld put him up against most people in the
world in his particular area of expertise. So he will be
sorely missed, and I just wanted to pass that on and
make sure that the members of his family know that
not only me, but many Members of the Progressive
Labour Party will miss him dearly.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Member De Silva.
Any further speakers?
There appear to be none.
I will just close it out by also having this House
send condolences to the family of Ms. Jean Clarke,
one of my constituents. She was a member of one of
our most exciting churches in Bermuda, Bethel AME
Church. She leaves to mourn her daughter, Leslie
Robinson. Ms. Clark was certainly a gracious woman,
very pleasant, and always joyous to be around. She
will certainly be missed by her daughter, Leslie, and
the Bethel AME Church.

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Deputy Speaker, can I beg
you to associate me with that, please.

I think we have one or two.
Minister Scott.

FIRST READING

MOTOR CAR (LIVERIES) AMENDMENT ACT 2022

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. D eputy
Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am introducing the following Bill for its first reading so that it may be placed
on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting, nam ely, the Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment Act 2022.

Continue, Minister.

BILL

SECOND READING

FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON HOTEL ACT 2022
Hon. Vance Campb ell: Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Bill
before this Honourable House is not complex on its face. Although it proposes to extend relief for 15 years, it is in the form of those Tourism Investment
Orders that have already been made under the 2017 Act.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, even though this is a
very simple Bill, it causes us to review our tourism
past, capitalise on our tourism present and lay the
foundation of hope for our tourism future.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, as I indicated to Honourable Members and the public on t he tabling of this
Bill last month, it is of national importance. Let me r epeat that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, it is of national importance! The Bill supports the redevelopment of
more than an iconic hotel property; it is also a critical
part of the overall eco nomic recovery for Bermuda.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, to ensure that Honour able Members and the public have a fulsome understanding of the genesis of the Bill and its importance
to Bermuda, I will take the time to canvass several
areas related to tourism in an effort to elevate the di scussion from some of the very basic criticisms levelled
since the Bill was tabled.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, as part of the recent debate in this Honourable House on the Estimates of
Revenue and Expenditure for the fiscal year 2022/23,
Honourable Members also took under consideration
the 2021 National Economic Report. That Report set
out the state of Bermuda’s economy in 2021 and in referring to tourism said this:
“Although there was significant upward
movement from 2020, the 2021 Year -end statistics
highlighted stark declines in key metrics compared to 2019 baseline figures.
“● Total leisure air visitors down 71.2 per cent
compared to 2019.
“● Total air capacity was down 59.1 per cent
compared to 2019.
“● Total spend by air leisure visitors was down to
$122.57 million (69.3 per cent less than
2019).
“● Cruise Arrivals were 9 7.6 per cent down from
2019.”
It can therefore be seen, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
that the impact of the pandemic on Bermuda’s tourism has been harsh. But 2019 was not a year without
challenges and arguably signalled to Bermuda that
key elements of our strategy were not working.
The BTA’s [Bermuda Tourism Authority] 2019
Visitor Arrivals Report alluded to this, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, and said, in part:
“Decreased air capacity contributed to a more
challenging landscape for Bermuda’s tourism industry in 2019, resul ting in a measured year -over-year performance compared to 2018’s record- breaking results.
Yet, despite reductions in some areas, the island’s
overall visitor tally proved the highest ever, air arrivals
were the second- best in more than a decade, and i ncreasing investment in our tourism sector moved the island strategically forward.
1262 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly “Certain metrics fell due to recent barriers
forecast by the BTA early last year: Bermuda exper ienced a 5% decline in air capacity in 2019, [for example,] pushing down leisure ai r arrivals by 6%. Two ai rlines cut back flights from New York’s crucial John F
Kennedy hub, and flight schedules from Boston were
also reduced. As a direct result of lower volume,
spending performance by travellers was relatively flat,
with $419.3 million in leisure dollars (from both air and
cruise visitors) injected into our economy, up 2% from
2018.”
Mr. Deputy Speaker, that 5 per cent decline in
air capacity from critical markets was the beginning of
a challenge that we are yet to address. It tells us that
prior to the pandemic we had not successfully tackled
seasonality and that we were not doing the job r equired to fill planes. What was happening, however, was an increasing reliance on cruise arrivals. That
same 2019 BTA report confirms that “Cruise passe ngers made up the largest share of arrivals . . . .”
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I do not propose to r ehearse the well -known statistics on the contributions
of air versus cruise arrivals to the economy. That is a
well-worn argument with which we are all famil iar. But
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the welcome presence of cruise
ships and their passengers must be complemented by
an air arriving leisure component that justifies the marketing spend and strategy of the BTA and likewise
stimulates the economy.
Mr. Deputy Spe aker, this Bill has a direct
causal connection to the restoration and development of additional air service for Bermuda. The groundwork
has been laid for the public understanding of the i mportance of the redevelopment of the Fairmont Sout hampton Hotel and of the necessity of this Bill. I would
refer Honourable Members to a Ministerial Statement
made in this Honourable House in February by the
Honourable Premier in which he said:
1“Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will be
aware of the reductions in air servi ce to Bermuda and
the rationale publicly stated by our valued airline par tners. Their message is clear and we must heed it. We must address the seasonality of our tourism and r enew a targeted strategy of air service development.
“Mr. Speaker, two essential elements are r equired to give us the fighting chance to address the airlift issues. In this regard I would refer Honourable
Members to the [most] recent comments of the Pres ident of Skyport who, reflecting on the announcement
of seasonal reductions in air service to Bermuda by
JetBlue said, [and I quote:] ‘In addition to streamlining border entry requirements, getting the Fairmont Southampton Hotel property back online as soon as
possible, are absolutely critical to Bermuda recapturing the optimum number of air passengers and ult imately safeguarding our air service options.’”

1 Official Hansard Report , 4 February 2022, page 254 Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would invite Honour able Members to note the following:
• For the years 2016 to 2019, the Fairmont
Southampton guests represented 12 per cent
of Skyport’s total pas senger traffic .
• The hotel’s employment was a high of 845 people, 77 per cent of whom were Bermudian .
• The hotel housed 28.5 per cent of hotel
guests arriving in Bermuda.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have taken the time to
reiterate matters which are in the publ ic domain because they must not be forgotten in the course of this
debate. The Honourable Premier and Minister of F inance will speak to the terms agreed between the
Government of Bermuda, represented by the Ministry
of Finance and the owners of the hotel. But I wish to
make it clear that an argument about Government sacrifice of revenue and that being a flaw of this Bill
and this Government’s approach is nonsense.
It is nonsense, Mr. Deputy Speaker, because
when confronted with clear evidence of the i mportance of the hotel to airlift and air service development, when reminded of the millions of dollars paid by the taxpayers of this Island to Skyport because of
lacking passenger numbers through the airport; when
we know that hundreds of jobs can be created i n the
construction, redevelopment, design and fit -out sta ges; when we know that hospitality careers can be d eveloped for Bermudians by this redevelopment and
when we know how many sectors of this economy
stand to benefit from the commercial trade that comes
from a fully functioning hotel, it would be borderline criminal and undoubtedly tone- deaf to hide behind a
revenue argument. This is far bigger than that. And anyone who fails to understand that is either being
disingenuous or naïve.
In fact, Mr. Deputy Speaker, it makes me
wonder if those making this argument about how
much revenue is being sacrificed would prefer that the Government not provide the tax relief as outlined in
the Bill, and instead, have the hotel remain closed and
pay out millions of dol lars in financial assistance to
those workers who would otherwise be gainfully employed as a result of this redevelopment project.
That may be what others want for the people
of Bermuda, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but this Gover nment is determined to provide dignified work and ec onomic security for its people.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, most of us, if not every
Member of Parliament in this Honourable House, have
constituents who will have the opportunity to benefit
directly from the passing of this Bill. We are talking
about jobs! Which Member or Members are prepared
to knock on the doors of those constituents and say to
them, I denied you that opportunity by voting against
this Bill?
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Honourable Members
will by now have had the opportunity to review the
provisions of the Bill and will have noted that the Bill


Bermuda House of Assembly proposes to grant to the developer relief from customs
duty, hotel occupancy tax, land tax and the employer’s
portion of payroll tax for a period of 15 years. The
grant of relief is set out in t erms identical to the Tourism Investment Act 2017 . And Honourable Members
will note that the criteria of applicability and qualific ation for relief , respectively, are set out as terms and
conditions of the grant.
Additionally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Honourable
Members will note that the Bill specifically imports the
relevant provisions of the 2017 Act to provide the necessary oversight and safeguards t hat ordinarily
apply to the grant of relief in this way.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the grant of concessions
in support of hotel development has been the r esponse of governments t hrough a financial marke tplace that has become wary of investment in hospital ity co nstruction and development. They are incentives,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, designed to provide a counterweight to the aggressive stance taken by lenders who
are concerned at the risky or slow rate of return on
their investment. Modern luxury or resort hotel deve lopment, certainly in the 21
st century, must be suppor ted by such incentives.
It may assist Honourable Members to take
note of how other jurisdictions approach this process:
1. Barbados ’ Tourism Development Act 2002
makes a variety of provisions for the grant of similar and more expansive relief for hotel development , and in the case of customs duty
and investment tax credits , was amended in
2004 to increase it to a period of 15 years.
2. The Bahamas ’ Hotels Encouragement Act
provides duty free entry of approv ed construction materials, furnishings and fixtures for ho-tel development as well as provides for exemption from real property tax for the first 20
years of operation of a hotel or resort.
3. St. Lucia’s Tourism [Stimulus and Investment ]
Act 2014 provides for the grant of concessions for a period of not more than 25 years.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I could continue to list
the approaches of other jurisdictions but these three
regional tourism success stories are enough to paint
the picture. What we must do now is examine their
tourism performance. A snapshot of each shows the following for 2019, the year against which many seek
to make comparisons in measuring any tourism r ecovery:
• Barbados had 966,000 visitors (their first decline since 2012) .
• The Bahamas had 7.2 million visitors , of
which 1.7 [million] were air arrivals and 5.4
million [were] cruise arrivals .
• St. Lucia had 1.2 million visitors .
• Bermuda had 808,000 visitors of which only
191,000 were by air .
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the importance of the
grant of concessions which fuelled hotel development in these jurisdictions is borne out by these numbers. But there is more to note, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Whilst
the parameters of this Bill may not permit us to have a
broad debate on marketing, relevance and seasonal ity, we can look at product and in particular, hotel
product.
In Barbados they have Sandy Lane, the Fai rmont Royal Pavilion, the Sandpiper, and more. In The Bahamas they have the Rosewood Baha Mar, the
Four Seasons’ Ocean Club, and the iconic Atlantis. In
St. Lucia they have the Sugar Beach and the Jade Mountain Resort. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I mention
these properties because they represent what we
need more of. The St. Regis and The Loren have
made tremendous additions to our hotel stock and
have complemented the Rosewood, Tucker’s Point
and the Fairmont Hamilton Princess. Mr. Deputy Speaker, let’s not forget the Azura, a hidden gem of a
property on the South Shore.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, in these properties we
have a concentration of luxury hotels, but our product
offerings can and must be expanded to provide the choice that travellers demand and allow us to renew
group business for Bermuda.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I should also be clear
that the destinations I have mentioned do not owe their success only to hotel product. This is a key el ement of success, but it is only one of them. This also
may well be for another debate, but a hotel product
without an event strategy or brand relevance that
supports its price point is not enough to succeed. The
hotel product is part of a symbiotic relationship be-tween relevance, events and price point. Our success
will be defined by our ability to combine all those el ements. In basic terms, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we must
have things to do. We must provide our visitors with
value for the money that they spend.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Honourable Members
will be aware that the site of the Fairmont Southam pton Hotel was the subject of a Special Development
Order in 2009. I am advised that this Order remains
valid and that subject to its provisions the owners are
able to develop as it permits. I also understand, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, that as part of a consultative process
last year, certain entities met with the developers and were made privy to a conceptual rendering that varies
from the devel opment permitted by the 2009 SDO
[Special Development Order].
Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me be clear beyond a
shadow of a doubt on this point. Any development that
proposes to go beyond the parameters of the 2009 SDO will be subject to the ordinary processes under
the Planning legislation. As I will reiterate in Commi ttee, the Bill before this Honourable House makes it clear that nothing in the Bill shall be taken to modify the requirements of the Development and Planning
Act 1974 with respect to obtaining an y planning permissions necessary for the hotel redevelopment.
That could not be made any plainer.
1264 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Deputy Speaker, a hotel residential component is fundamental to modern hotel development
and each of the local properties I cited earlier has
such residences (save for the Fairmont Hamilton) and
this is part of their attraction and the formula for their success.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Honourable Members
will have noted that this Bill has a commencement
provision . Mr. Deputy Speaker, that means that the
provisions of the Bill will only be brought into operation
once the Government is satisfied that all necessary
provisions and conditions under the agreed terms and
related matters have been fulfilled. This is not a prov ision inserted by accident; it is deliber ate. The Go vernment has spent innumerable hours, days, weeks
and months hammering out an agreement that is designed to provide the maximum benefit to and for the
people of Bermuda. That agreement will be honoured
and this Bill will support that agreement.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, recent commentary suggested that this Bill and the proposed relief provided
was a rush job, being done “. . . in a hurry and with
inadequate scrutiny.” Mr. Deputy Speaker, this is a classic tactic employed by those who fear the success
of change. In the case of all aspects of this Bill and
the wider construct of the terms, nothing could be further from the truth. Since my appointment I have learned that these discussions have, in fact, been taking place over the past three years and hav e occupied
lawyers and technical advisors in several jurisdictions,
meeting and negotiating through countless meetings
on weekends, late nights and on holidays. However,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, beyond the undeniable man- and
woman- hours devoted to realising this redevelopment,
the entire initiative falls squarely within the goals and
objectives of Bermuda’s National Tourism Plan.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Honourable Members
will no doubt recall that the National Tourism Plan was
launched in 2019 and represented the results of leadership provided by the BTA, its Board and the Hon-ourable Members Jamahl Simmons and Zane DeSilva
who respectively had charge of the tourism portfolio.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, that Plan sets out a path
to success by 2025. There is no denying that path has
been interrupted by the pandemic, but the principles,
goals and objectives remain sound.
Mr. Deputy Speaker , a key success indicator
of the Plan aims to have tourism contribute $1.2 billion
to the Island’s GDP by 2025, requiring an average of
4.5 per cent growth in leisure visitors per annum. Having essentially lost two years of opportunity to achieve that growth, it is a definite challenge to meet that tar-get, but the development of the Fairmont Southam pton Hotel is the “shot in the arm” neces sary to make
that concerted effort.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, under the National Tourism Plan, that contribution to the Island’s GDP is to be
achieved through advancing specific strategic pillars.
There are seven pillars, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and for the purposes of this debate I would invite Honourable
Members to focus on four of them:
• Local Involvement —Growing through our
people
• Innovation—Thinking like a visitor
• Teams and Groups —Growing through groups
• Year -round— Embracing all seasons
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the National Tourism
Plan, although written in 2019, contains a call to action that is even more relevant today. It says in part:
“. . . [M]any young Bermudians currently don’t see
tourism as an appealing career. And many locals do not yet view tourism as vital to our economy. As the
largest private sector employer in Bermuda, and a proven growth engine, we need to change these perceptions and engage all residents in the tourism i ndustry.” . . . “It is imperative that all parts of the community believe in t he importance of tourism and its
ability to effect positive change for all residents.”
Mr. Deputy Speaker, that community ou treach, that stimulus of interest in tourism careers, that
engagement of Bermudians into the industry stands to
be achieved with this project. The sheer quantity of
jobs that will be available because of the hotel’s red evelopment will speak volumes to those persons seeking to start their working life, re- tool after another c areer or enter fresh into the industry determined to
make it their long- term employment choice.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, we must determine what
it is that our visitors are looking for from their Bermuda
experience. We must then ensure that we provide
what they are looking for, as stated in the National
Tourism Plan, ens uring that we all think like a visitor in
anticipating and meeting their needs.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the spectrum of tourism
stakeholders agree that our growth has been stymied
by an inability to effectively compete for group bus iness. Within the pent -up demand for travel post -
pandemic is the meeting/conference business. The return of a block of rooms of this magnitude will pos ition Bermuda for that opportunity. The BTA is purs uing a sports tourism strategy that forms part of this strategic pillar of the Na tional Tourism Plan. And the
ability to add to that marketing effort with a clear group
business strategy is key to tourism growth.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the National Tourism
Plan describes the opportunity in this way:
“Bermuda will become known as an excl usive,
convenient and sought -after destination for specific
groups —especially in the non- summer months.”
That, Mr. Deputy Speaker, leads to the final
strategic pillar of the National Tourism Plan to which I
have invited the attention of Honourable Members:
“Year -Round— Embracing all seasons”.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the National Tourism
Plan refers to the “massive ebbs and flows” encou ntered by tourism -related businesses and sets a goal
by 2025 for Bermuda to offer an attractive value pro position for visitors t o come any time of year; and sp eBermuda House of Assembly cifically indicates that success in this regard should be
measured by “more than 56 percent of our arrivals will
come from the non- summer months.”
Mr. Deputy Speaker, a hotelier with whom I
recently met gave the best answer to the question
how to address seasonality. And they said [it was] as
simple as, It’s about things to do! I endorse this view
100 per cent and will issue the challenge to the BTA
to capitalise on golf as the anchor but to extend to art,
fashion and film; things which are not weather -
dependent and which will drive both group and leisure
travel in those traditionally slower tourism months.
I am pleased to advise this Honourable House
that the owners of the Fairmont Southampton Hotel share this vision and as part of the redevelopment will
incorporate direct strategies to eliminate seasonality
and ensure higher occupancies in those months of the
year. Mr. Deputy Speaker, if we can eliminate seasonality, another benefit is that the industry becomes
more attract ive to Bermudians as a career choice as
they will know that they are guaranteed employment
for 12 months a year. This then feeds into the success
of the pillar focused on local involvement and growing
through our people.
Mr. Deputy Speaker , in his forewor d to the
National Tourism Plan, the then Minister of Tourism and Transport, the Honourable Member Zane DeSilva said this: “ . . . [C]onstant change now becomes the
norm, and as we all know, there can be significant inertia to change. However, we must overcome any
impediments to innovation and embrace a new mindset of change that will elevate entrepreneurs and i ncrease tourism’s attractiveness to our young people
when they seek careers. The necessity for agility cannot be stressed enough.”
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I like to look at it from
the point of view that if we fail to change, we end up
standing still ( or continuing with the status quo). If we
are standing still , we are actually falling behind our
competitors.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I wish to address one
more issue. Since the tabling of this Bill, one of the
sentiments that we have heard is that the Tourism
Investment Act 2017 only caters to rich overseas i nvestors looking to develop hotels and the Government is doing nothing to assist the people of Bermuda i n
this area.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, that could not be further
from the truth. The relief provided under the Tourism Investment Act 2017 [ TIA] is open to both overseas
and local investors who wish to invest in the following:
• a new hotel ;
• a refurbished hotel;
• a new restaurant ;
• an existing restaurant ; and
• an attraction.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Tourism Investment
Act defines an attraction as , and I quote, “a site that
residents and overseas visitors visit that has an ident i-fiable operation and management structure and can
be characterised as natural, historical, cultural or manmade”.
And it is this Government that brought this Act
. . . and it was passed under this Government. There
are specific criteria that must be met under each cat egory in order to qualif y for this relief. Mr. Deputy
Speaker, Mrs. Rhonda Woods -Smith of the Tourism
Regulations and Policy Unit will gladly assist interes ted individuals with any questions and provide them with the guidelines for the application process. Her email is rwsmith@gov.bm
. And I am sure she appr eciates me putting that out there.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, as Minister for Tourism, I
am not only committed to promoting the development
of hotels , I am also committed to the improvement of
our tourism product. As the Premier and Minister of
Finance stated earlier this year in the Budget Stat ement, we will be reviewing the Tourism Investment Act
and I am looking forward to bringing amendments to this Act that will further assist with the revival and r ebuilding of the tourism industry and the economic r ecovery of Bermuda. In bringing amendments to the Act, it is vital that we incentivi se investors locally to
invest in these types of products.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, there is further support
provided for the development of the tourism product
for interested Bermudians under the BTA’s Tourism
Experience Investment Programme . Qualifying appl icants can receive up to a maximum of $75,000 in
support of their tourism -related venture. Details of this
can be f ound on the BTA’s website gotoberm uda.com/bta.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Government has
been providing training and assistance to local entr epreneurs and small - and medium -sized businesses for
many years through the various programme s at the
Bermuda Economi c Development Corporation
[BEDC]. And we will be aware of their General Micro
Loan Program and their loan guarantees , as examples.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, in a 2019 Impact Report
conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Li mited on behalf of the owners of t he Fairmont Sout hampton Hotel, it was estimated that, if this hotel was
to close permanently the loss of contribution to GDP
[gross domestic product] f or the years 2022 to 2025
would be an accumulated $404.1 million, . . . which is
an average of $100 milli on loss on GDP per year. An
accumulated $404.1 million loss on GDP over a four -
year period! Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is a staggering
amount.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, if this hotel does not r eopen, there will be no business to tax. If there is no
business to tax, there is no tax revenue to collect. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Government will have more tax
revenue (both direct and indirect) with this hotel open and with this Bill passing than it will have without this
hotel and without this Bill. Without this hotel, there are
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Bermuda House of Assembly no jobs during the redevelopment phase or after the
reopening. There is no group business coming to the
Island. There is no enhancement of our tourism product, no improvement in our hotel bed capacity, no i mprovement in our attractiveness as a destination.
Without this hotel we fall further behind our compet itors. Without this hotel there is less work for our taxi
operators, less business for our restaurants and retail
establishments.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, if this hotel does not r eopen, we will hav e another massive structure, sitting
empty and dilapidated, situated in a prominent pos ition on prime real estate, dominating the skyline for
miles in every direction and spoiling some of Berm uda’s best vistas. Surely , Mr. Deputy Speaker, there
are no Members of this Honourable House that believe [having an empty hotel] is a better alternative to
passing this Bill, approving the tax relief and getting this hotel redeveloped and back open.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, as I commend this Bill
for the consideration of this Honourable House, I urge
the unanimous support of Honourable Members. This is the new mind- set of change that we must embrace.
We have a responsibility to channel and deliver hope
for the people of Bermuda; not to derail growth and
opportunity against a backdrop of worn- out, tone- deaf
arguments that are insensitive to the needs and aspirations of the people we serve. We are on the cusp of
that social renewal and economic recovery that this
Island so desperately needs and is counting on us to
deliver. T he vote we cast today is not just a vote to
pass a Bill, but it is an affirmation that we are pr epared to lead in these challenging times, defying our
traditional reserve and resistance to change and taking a bold step to create opportunities for success f or
the people.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you so much. And
thank you colleagues for the opportunity here to di scuss something that has become near and dear to all
Bermudians as we hav e been moving through the
passage of trying to revitalise our tourism industry.
It goes without saying that the tourism industry has been of much debate, going back to the establishment even of the Tourism Authority and trying to
find ways, of course, to invigorate the market and to
grow that contributor to our GDP that, I believe, is
probably in the range of between 5 per cent and 7 per
cent. We moved from being a tourism industry back in
the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and in the mid- 1980s we
transferred over to a business jurisdiction, and we
have seen the constant decline of tourism ever since,
[with] some highlights here and there.
So, yes, this can be a controversial subject.
This can cause much speculation and concern when there is a lack of information. But I do believe that
everyone is at the table today in earnest to ensure
that Bermudians and Bermuda benefit from this particular industry. I can recall some time ago the pushback when it came to the rental of the Twizy and
the likes so that tourists would be able to be in som ething that would be a bit more safer. A lot of pushback on it! And so I say to the Minister that this is just the
beginning of a portfolio that he has decided to take on that is riddled with arguments, difference of opinions and he is living it now as we speak. Only to say that
the Twizy now has become a huge success and now
everyone wants to try and rent these things.
So, as we move this debate today I believe
that it is important that we set some things in context. I
know that the Minister of Tourism has just simply taken over not too long ago so he is still getting up to speed on many of the challenges and issues that the
industry is facing. I hold him at no fault for that. He is still trying to get himself afoot on many of the things
that have taken place. But this whole [Fairmont] Southampton [Hotel] Act that we are debating today,
quite frankly, has not come without its challenges as
we have tried to move through to be successful in the
tourism industry.
I would like to be able to highlight some of the
things that the Minister has said. I must say I would have preferred to have heard more substantial information coming from the Minister concerning this particular project. He spoke very clearly that he is almost
working . . . that this Bill, as he mentioned, is a basic
Bill, a simple Bill, which I probably would not charac-terise other than if I am looking at it in isolation, just looking at the concessions. Okay, well, fine. This Bill
is simple. But the manner of what we are discussing
really and truly is as he said: It is of national i mportance. That is not a simple matter. And to characterise it in that light manner does not in any way r eflect on the importance of what it is that we are trying
to do today.


Bermuda House of Assembly So where are we today, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
as far as Bermuda is concerned, and tourism and our
economy? You know, we are billions in debt. And certainly COVID -19 has added to the complexities of our
economy, [and not to] the diversification of our eco nomy. COVID -19 certainly di d not do us any favours.
But what it did do is highlight the need to get and to be
innovative as we move forward.
You know, we are stressed, all of us as Bermudians, our own personal pockets. We are extrem ely stressed. The Government’s purse is stressed. And
at the end of the day, we have a Tourism Authority
needing to be subsidised, needing assistance from
Government, and herein lie many of the challenges as
we move out of this pandemic period and try to revita lise the economy. And one of these areas is t hrough
tourism.
Now, let me say this here, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I do not think there is anyone . . . well, I know for a
fact that there is no OBA MP who is refuting that we need to get something done on that Southampton Princess and that this is of national importance. We
have been there and done that during the 2008 reces-sion and trying to come out of the recession which
continued on to affect us well into the 2012 year. We
are well aware of the challenges of trying to get i nvestment into this country.

[Ms. Lovitta F. Foggo, Acting Speaker, in the Chair]

And so I am disappointed
that we did not hear more details from the Minister.
This is his portfolio. He is an astute Learned and Hon-ourable Member. I am sure he can be given information. We should not have to be waiting for som eone else to give us more information and for that matter, in my estimation, to be giving us information at
this point.
If this deal is so good, as he is said, then we
should be selling it. And we are more than willing, as
the OBA, to assist in selling this project. We already
support it in its basics as far as we need to get it open.
When you look at the Bill itself and the specific con-cessions, I think there is room for improvement. And
we will get into some of those details later and even
as we get into Committee, [Madam] Acting Speaker (I see the change) we can get into some of those details.
You know, the cruise ships are attempting to
get back to sailing and the airlines are trying to figure
out and be g iven a reason to increase their flights to
Bermuda, and so we have got some challenging i ssues before us. And the Tourism Minister is going to
have his hands full. This particular Bill has come with
some complexities. That is why there are so many
people adding to the comments. If you go online and you read articles in the newspaper and you read the
blogs and you walk on the street, everyone really has
got something to say about this particular Southam p-ton Princess Act, primarily because of the lack of i nformation, as opposed to it being very transparent and
clear as to exactly what the Government is attempting
to do here.
This Bill is isolated. It only talks about the
concessions. And I recognise that. It is not trying to go into the SDO or the . . . the M inister did bring up the
SDO, and I am sure that they are looking to revise it. I
do not know where they are with Gencom in trying to
sign off on these things. But we know that this thing is
fluid. And as it is fluid, it will be good to hear more i nformati on and get more statements from the Gover nment as to exactly what is going on with Gencom and
what it is that they are looking for. Otherwise, we are
leading to speculation. And that is really not where we
want to be.
I will follow up by saying that the c omplic ations here ––that the Southampton Princess Act has
not come without its complications. And the Gover nment is well aware of that. So when the former F inance Minister, Curtis Dickinson, mentioned (and I
paraphrase here) Let’s have an industry -wide look at
tourism and come up with a plan, today was the first
time that I have heard about $1.2 billion as something
that was estimated to try and get to and contribute to
our economy here by 2025. And forgive me if that was
mentioned in some statement before, but it is the first
time that some of us are hearing this.
It would have been nice to have heard this before in the plan going forward. But certainly when the
former Minister Curtis Dickinson was saying (I’m just looking at the quote here), Let’s have an industry -wide
look at tourism and come up with a plan, to me that
made sense. It made sense. Let’s not isolate each
project in the industry, but rather let’s rethink what is
necessary, and exactly what is needed.

[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the
Chair]

Now, some may argue or
refute, but this appears to be some of his reasoning
for stepping back. He said that, you know, this is the
reason why I am stepping down. Whether or not there
was a guarantee in place, there has been a lot of speculation because it has not been very clear as to
exactly where we are, and statements have been
made that not enough information has been repeated
in order for the public to be very clear on exactly
where we are with Gencom as we move through this
Act.
Now, again, as I said, I would appreciate what
the Minister has said when he says, and I am not tr ying to go into other projects . Basically that is what he
was saying. We are looking at this in its simplicity, that these are concessi ons, and we need to be transparent
here. We were looking for a meeting. I believe that a
meeting was requested of the Premier, and I do not
think . . . I was not a part of it so I don’t know. It did
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Bermuda House of Assembly not turn out to happen in the timeframe that I believe
our Opposition Leader was looking for. And so I believe that a reach- out was made and a meeting was
had. But one of the challenges that I did have with the meeting was that it was not forthcoming with any real numbers. And so trying to understand exactly where
Gencom is trying to take this, one thing is clear: They
want to get this place up and running, and they have
suffered through the pandemic in not being able to get
on with plans as they would have had liked to.
So we acknowledge that. We acknowledge
that it needs to happen. And for the Minister to . . .
and I just want to go back to his comments. I had to
write them down. (Excuse me, sorry.) For the Minister
to go on to say that, quite frankly, it is nonsense for
anyone to say that this Bill is flawed and it is borderline criminal to question . . . what I would say to that,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, is that I think it is nonsense to believe that people would not want to weigh in.
I mean, I do not know any Minister (certainly,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, you know this position) who,
when he is doing something is not going to come un-der a barrage of questioning with people trying to u nderstand exactly what is going on. To characterise the
public as being nonsensical and borderline criminal
does not add to the flavour of trying to get things
done.
I recognise and I understand where he is
coming from, but then to say, Well, look, this is bo rderline criminal, when no information other than the
incentives have been provided . . . no financials have
been provided. And I recognise that back when we
were Government, and rightfully so, the PLP as an Opposition demanded to have a fiscal financial report
laying out the benefits of why we were giving incentives. They vehemently asked for it, as I look back into
the Hansard.
Today, to not be provided with any kind of addendum or annex or the likes of any kind of financial
substantiating the incentives, could be considered as
nonsensical. That could be considered as criminal,
borderline criminal, that you would not give the public
the opportunity to see what it is that you have been
working on to get to the point that you are today.
That’s why people speculate; because they do not
have enough information. The speculation is, Are former Minister Curtis Dickinson’s numbers and what he believes right? Or is it the Premier who is right? Is it
the current Minister? Is he right? Again, it is not new
for the PLP; it is not new for the OBA. More information is required. And rightfully so.
As I said, the PLP demanded more information. I will n ot go into all of the different projects,
but we know that even [with] St. Regis [information] was demanded . . . Listen, where are the reports? If
we are going to be giving up money here, where is the
report substantiating this stuff? And we have nothing.
I recall back then the information was put out
that there was about $30 million in incentives that was going to be the total incentive package to the likes of
St. Regis. We have no clue right now of the value of
the incentives. We have attempted ourselves to look
at it, and based on the numbers that we are looking
at—and we are only speculating here because we do
not have anything— it is around $100- plus million. I
think we came up with a number of about $123 mi llion. And if there is a guarantee in place, what is it?
And what kind of shape and form has it taken?
Now, as I said, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I happened to have been a part of a meeting with some of the interests in Gencom that have not called it necessarily a guarantee, but that the Government would be
backing one of the entities that is involved in securing
this deal. So what we need to understand and know is
what is the value of that and the shape and the co ntext of that?
It would have been good in the opening
statement by the Minister of Tourism to have that laid
out already for us so as we go through this debate at least we have some information up front, even though
it is at this late hour. But, again, as I said, we do not
have anything that has been annexed. And in the
past, and rightfully so, when the PLP was the Oppos ition they demanded these things. So let’s get this stuff
on the table. Let’s practice what we preach and get on
with the project at hand.
I go back to my notes, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
You know, this whole thing is kind of like . . . you know
the game Connect 4? Sometimes when you are pla ying Connect 4 you can get so involved in trying to
connect your four, that you forget that there is a
broader picture and scale here of the Connect 4 that
you should be looking at. If you concentrate only on trying to get your own four together, then you might
get caught out. And so we want to make sure that we
can differentiate the trees from the forest. And Gov-ernment’s job is not only to look at the trees in the forest, but also to look at the fores t and the bigger pi cture. Today we only got a snippet of the bigger picture
here which is what I believe the former Finance Mini ster Curtis Dickinson was alluding to.
Now, you know, I am not going to get into the
debate of that. I am hoping that the former Minister
will speak today. I am hoping that he will give more details as to what he found and what he felt because I
believe that the former Finance Minister, that ever yone, is at the table with clean hands here trying to
make sure that we get this acros s the border and e nsure that what we estimate that this $128 million in concessions makes sense.
Now, I will say this. In discussions and looking
at Gencom and much of what they have had to say,
one of the owners, Karim [Alibhai ], has been in the
paper and he has spoken to some of the issues at
hand, even reflecting on other projects which I made it
very clear were a no- no for them to get involved in the
political arena. But he did say this, and it was a Royal
Gazette report where Gencom said that the airp ort


Bermuda House of Assembly was a game changer for them. He said that two years
prior they felt that. . . and this I believe was in 2017.
Sorry, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I should put where this
came from. It was December 5, 2017. And it is titled,
“Tucker’s Point Owner: Airport a Game Changer.” And
he said that they were not interested really in Berm uda two years before, but as they got to talk more with
Bermuda, and what was going on (and at that time we
were the Government), he was intrigued and that his
team was intrigued.
I quote him as saying, “[The] airport was a
major factor in the decision to buy the resort .” And he
was talking about, at that time, Tucker’s Point.
Now, what has transpired from that is the fact
that they now want to get even further involved. And I
believe that this has a lot to do with the OBA Gover nment, and I believe that this has a lot to do with the PLP Government in ensuring that we get this tourism
product up and going. But let’s not avoid the facts
here.
He went on in the article to say this, Mr. Dep uty Speaker. He said, “When we looked at the different
things that were being planned, we could come in,
make the investment and get what we and our inves-tors need to make a retur n.”
Now, I don’t have a challenge with the investor needing to make a return. W e know that they need
to make a return. The concern that I have is, In what
time frame? And what numbers are we talking about?
So there needs to be some transparency to substant iate this particular deal in order for us to be clear that
we are not giving aw ay the whole bucket here, the
whole basket of goods.
Now, I know —

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Unlike the airport.

Now, I know, and I am sure
that we are going to hear, Mr. Deputy Speaker, interpolations of other projects. I am not interested in that,
Mr. Deputy Speaker. There is enough mud to be
thrown around. And I have been involved with thro wing around figures and numbers going back and forth
between the UBP’s projects, the PLP’s projects, the
OBA’s projects. It is nonsensical, as the Minister said
earlier, to delve into that kind of area because there is enough room to throw around and enough dirt to
throw around.
All I am saying is that the investor, Gencom,
said that one of major reasons that he invested in
Tucker’s Point was because of the new airport. That’s
all I am saying. I am just quoting his words. And I am
glad that they made that decision because now, as a
PLP Government, they have the opportunity to expand on the generosity of Gencom in coming to the
Island to invest more money into the Island so that we can get Southampton Princess up and going. Do not
interpolate on the debate when no one is trying to go there. We are simply trying to get this thing done; to
ask the right questions and get this done!
With so little information, Mr. Deputy Speaker—

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Point of order, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.

What is the point of order?

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

1270 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you for that clarific ation. It is definitely misleading this House. To make a
statement that Gencom said, and Gencom said that
one of the major reasons for them to invest in Berm uda was the airport is nonsense and is BS, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, it is nonsense —

Yes, thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
As a point of clarification, I wi ll read . . . I said I
was reading from an article that was done in inter-viewing Gencom part owner, Karim , on December 5,
2017, (quote) “Karim Alibhai,” (I don’t know how to say
his last name well. I don’t want to mess it up.) “head of
Miami -based internat ional hotel ” (I am quoting what
he said) . . . “the airport was a major factor in the decision to buy the resort . . . .”
That is what I said, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I
want to be clear. Again, this is coming from an interview that was done of Mr. Karim [Alibhai] on December 5, 2017. So, with so little information—

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Point of order, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.

[Pause]

So, Mr . Deputy Speaker,
with so little information being given here so far today,
it becomes extremely difficult to ensure that Bermuda,
that we as an Opposition, and maybe even some PLP
Members, I don’t know, that we get a very clear pi cture of exactly . . . we know what we are attempting to
do here, but we need to be able to substantiate, as I mentioned before, quoting from the Hansard, where the Opposition when [the OBA] were Government,
was looking for information.
I want to make sure that Honourable Members know that homework has been done on this here.
It was in the Hansard from the 2018 Act where it was
brought up about a financial impact report that was
requested in 2015 and that we were bombarded in
2015 for a financial impact report, which is on page (I
am trying to find the number in the Hansard here) but
it is in the Hansard of the 20
th of July 2018.
So all I am saying is that if we are going to r equest . . . if the PLP as the Opposition was going to
request this report, we are basically saying the same
thing. It would be nice to have the report so that we
could have perused it, taken a look at it. More information leads to less speculation. And that is really all
that I was saying here, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
I will continue to quote, if I say anything that
someone has said, I will continue to quote and not
speak in third- hand of which I have not spoken third -
hand as of yet.
So, the question then is, as I asked, Where is
the financial impact report? You cannot (and I quote
PLP in the Hansard), expect for us to support the pr oject without it. We need to see the financial impact
report. And as I said already, we have speculated that
it is about $128 million in concessions that were given. If that is the case, that’s the case. But then substant iate it as we go forward.
Let me . . . there was another article, on
May 12, 2020, Mr. Deputy Speaker, in the Royal G azette. If you will, I would just like to read a quote from
there. On May 12, 2020, the
2Honourable Member
Finance Minister Curtis Dickinson [the Royal Gazette
“In our Opinion” ] said, “Bermuda is facing financial
disaster as a result of the coronavirus crises —a recession that will make the Great Recession of 2008 look positively buoyant by comparison.”
So these will be desperate times. [The article
went] on to say, “If groceries are not bought and rents, utilities and taxes are not paid, the whole economy
grinds to a halt.”
[The article] ends off by saying, “If the tourism
industry is being shuttered” (and it has been shuttered, we recognise that) “and the prospects for international business are limited, then revenues will not increase.”
So, with the former Finance Minister putting
that out there, I think the question that then came to
my mind was, All right. Well, we have got to find a way
to generat e revenue. And sometimes, and we recognise that the best way to gain is to invest, and so as a Government, the OBA Government and as the PLP
Government, we both recognise that sacrifices have
to be made in order to get projects going forward.
That goes wit hout saying. But here and now the un2 Royal Gazette “Doing the unthinkable” 12 May 2020



Bermuda House of Assembly derlying issues facing the tourism industry, quite
frankly on a broader scale, is the cost of doing bus iness. The invariable effects of investment and how
much the investors will seek to offset any investment
is still a question when it comes to the Fairmont Southampton [Hotel] Act that we are discussing.
One of the underlying issues for Government
is this: loss of revenue. So as we have had to go and borrow money, unfortunately, because of the pandemic we had to increas e our borrowing, we needed to
borrow more money, we are in an unenviable position
and it has put tourism in an unenviable position, and it
has caused Ministers of the likes now and even in the
past, to have to consider certain things that normally
they wou ld not have liked to consider. And because of
that, I recognise, for the tourism industry in particular,
hotel Bills and refurbishments are needed, badly
needed. So we concur, Mr. Deputy Speaker, with the
PLP Government that we want to get the Southam pton Princess up and going.
I have had no issues with returns [on inves tments], as I said, by investors. That is the only right thing. Any of us who invest would know that we are all
looking for a return. And so Bermuda, at this point in
time in its tourism p roduct or industry, is a bright light
to those investors who are looking to come in lean,
get in and make an investment, and get their money
back and move on.
Now, in the meeting that I was attending one
of the concerns that I did have, and I do still hav e with
this Bill, is the 15 years. And hopefully as we go along
and throughout this debate we are going to hear a
little more as to why it has to be this. But it was clear, and for the Honourable Member who was interpolating
earlier, this is a third- party, but it is coming from me in
the meeting, I have no reason to fabricate the meeting
at all. And Gencom can substantiate what was said. I asked the question, Well, when do you expect for you
to break even here and to start making money? And I
was listening very intently because they knew my
concern was the 15 years. And let me just say this, it was well before the 15 years of the concessions. So I
am hoping that as we go through this debate today, and I was hoping that the Minister would have—

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Point of order, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.

Your point of order, Member.

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: I don’t think the Member is
intentionally misleading the House on this matter, but
if he is going to say that he met with Gencom, the principals of Gencom, and they made that particular
statement, he should say who he met with. I think that would be only fair to Gencom and be fair to the listening public.

Point of order.

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]
Hon. E. David Burt: The Honourable Member is mi sleading the House. I have no idea to which meeting he
is referring to . And I would certainly hope the Honourable Member would clarify whether he is talking about
breaking even on the hotel or recouping the amount
that was spent on the investment, because they are
two different things. Any hotel that opens will have a
period of losses while things come up, before they
start to make a profit versus the other point of it ins ofar as paying back all the money that was extended. So I sincerely hope he will clarify of that. But I have no
idea of which meeting he is speaking about, Mr.
Depu ty Speaker.

Sure. Thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. I will clarify that.
I was not alluding or suggesting that the
Premier was in the meeting. I did say that a meeting
request was asked of the Premier. It did not happen in
a particular timeframe as to the Opposition Leader.
And then after we sought a meeting with the princ ipals, it was from the Opposition’s mouth that he r epeated to me that the Premier was aware that we had
met.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Point of order. Point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

What’s your point of order,
Member?
POINT OF ORDER

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: The Honourabl e Member,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, just . . . I won’t say lie. But we all
heard what he said. That is why the Premier came in
like he did. He said, ask my Premier , he was there. So
he needs to retract —
[Crosstalk]

Yes, thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
I am attempting to be as transparent as I can
on questions that were asked and meetings that were
had, so I appreciate . . . I understand the questioning.
And I appreciate being given the opportunity to give
clarification on this.
As I mentioned already, again, this is a very
touchy subject for many, I know. But I am attempting
to be as even- handed and transparent as I possibly
can concerning the matter and the meetings that have
[been] had.
One of the challenges as we go forward,
again, as I mentioned, is at this point in time, the Mi nister did say that information would be forthcoming. We do not have that information as of yet. We are debating the Bill as of right now. So here and now there are no details. And in order for us to be able to substantiate and give clear support, [for us to] give support to the project, but to be able to substantiate the
numbers and feel comfortable in our support 100 per
cent, then it would be important, it would be nice to be
able to have more information.
Unfortunately, because of the lack of information it leads to speculation. And at this point and juncture, you know, I would say titbits being given in
the media, sound b ites being given in the media wit hout being able to substantiate certain things, has not
led to what I would consider progressive democracy in
being able to —

Honourable Member, you have
to remember that this same debate as far as acces s
to information that was never received happened during the time that the OBA was in power. So, you
know, I think you just have to be careful of that. We do
no want to be throwing stones at each other . . . [as if]
it never happened.

Yes. I am mindful, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am not trying to throw stones. I am sim ply saying it would be nice to have more information at this point and juncture. That’s all I am saying. It would
be nice to have more information and I take to heart,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, what you have had to say.
So, you know, based on some of the specul ation that we are hearing, we are going to be giving away a whole . . . this is speculation of course that we
are seeing in the blogs and the likes. We are giving
away more. We are giving to the fat cats, [but] the
people on the low end of the totem pole are still going
to have to pay tax and the likes. It goes on and on.



Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Point of order, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
I would like to draw our attention, if we will, to
a recent article. And I want to t alk about synergies
here between governments. A recent article on May 5,
2022 , in the Royal Gazette
, where the Honourable
Crystal Caes ar mentions, on the bottom of the first
page of the article . . . and I am avoiding all issues of
investments under the OBA and the likes, the comments that were made there. But there is one comment that says, “Unlike the OBA” (and I am quoting here) “we have taken steps to ensure that the taxpa yer’s investment in Bermudian jobs and opportunities is not squandered.”
And the Honourable Member goes on to bu llet-point those opportunities not squandered. “The
creation of jobs and opportunities;” . . . “the res toration
of hundreds of jobs;” . . . “Hundreds of beds added to
our hotel stock.” And it goes on with a few things i ncluding “increased demand for travel to Bermuda.”
These are all things that were considered,
quite frankly, and I am not sure why the Hono urable
Member said “unlike the OBA we have taken steps to ensure that the taxpayer’s investment.” All of these fall under the same criteria that The Loren, the St. Regis,
and I might add, The Loren that was a new build and
St. Regis that also was a new bui ld, took into the consideration the bullet points that were put down. Even
to the one that was not accomplished and that was a
large conference centre.
When we were speaking with St. Regis, that
was a concern of ours in trying to see if we could get a
conference centre. But with the footprint that they had
in their plan, it was not possible. So what I will say in this: I am quite happy that she has highlighted these
things, but certainly they go no further than what we
were doing to secure the same interes t. And that is, Bermuda, Bermudians and our economy. So I am not
sure why that was put in there.
One of the things that I am happy about with
this project, in listening, because it has not entirely
been said much in the public, [when] speaking to the principals, they really are looking for Southampton
Princess to put on the table a conference centre. We
know we are losing massive amounts of business to
our neighbours that we can capitalise on, especially
because of our proximity to the United States. And s o
it was good to hear. I did not hear that from the Mini ster this morning, but it was good to hear that one of the main . . . well, I don’t know if was a main focus,
but one of the focuses for Gencom in this project is
the business of conferences that will be held by many,
many companies and that they would have a facility that would accommodate that.
That is a huge plus, a huge positive for us as
an Island. And I know that the PLP supports it as well
because they are going along with this project. This is
much needed. So I guess I was a bit taken aback
when I saw that this really did not add to the securing of anything that was different from what the OBA was
doing.
I know that in Committee we will get to certain
parts of it. But I want to highlight some of the areas
that I believe that we can improve, but we certainly will
go into detail, Mr. Deputy Speaker, when we go into
Committee. And some of those details go like this —
and I have been public about it. I spoke to the princ ipals about it. Based on the i nformation that was given,
that I supported the project to the nth degree. But for lack of information that was forthcoming, that it is supposedly forthcoming, for lack of information, I could
not see extending beyond the tradition of the 10 years of concessions, extending it to 15 years. And I did
say, Listen, why not do the 10- year concessions and if
it is needed that you need more, then by all rights,
submit and I am sure that the Government would
oblige because it wants a successful hotel there. It
want s to have these 590- plus rooms, close to 600
rooms, back on the table because we do agree that it
will help with airlift. We do agree that it will help with
many of the other contributing factors in the tourism
industry. The taxi drivers, the tour guides, you name it.
The underwater exploration scuba diving, you name it,
it will add to that product.
What was forthcoming as well was we heard
that there was going to be, potentially, either an
AW11, [rather] AW 12 -hole golf course, because they
believed that at the end of the day they wanted to a ttract more of a fun- type course and the people who
are very serious, like yourself, Mr. Deputy Speaker, in
this golf, and Kim Swan, and the like, you could go to
the other golf courses, Port Royal and the likes. So it was good to hear.
I will not comment on the SDO. I will not
comment on the number of residential units that they
are looking to build because, out of respect for the
1274 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Minister, he did say that he wants to stick, basically, to
the concessions here, so I am s ticking to that, but I
will say this. There are many, many questions and the
sooner that the Minister gets to the table, I would assume that there is going to be another amendment or the likes for the residential units, talking about concessions that are going to be forthcoming and we will
debate that and deal with that when it comes.
But it does lead to other questions that we
have been asking. If this deal is so good, as the Mini ster has said, well, what are some of the other negoti ations things that hav e made it well said. I know that
the union has weighed in and said that it is a good deal. So maybe they are privy to information that we
have not been apprised of as of yet. What are some of those negotiated deals? What are some of the negot iated deals by the Labour Minister when it comes to
building the hotel?
We certainly know that within this particular
Act it wants to ensure that 70 per cent are Bermudians . . . by the sixth year that it would have 70 per
cent of Bermudians working there. We have amendments that we believe could add there. And I think that
we when it comes to 70 per cent it should extend also
to the property including any outsourcing of external
services by the providers.
One of the other areas that we believe that
the Minister should seriously be looking at and making
amendments is when it talks about the enhancing of
training and the likes. It only speaks of management
training. And I know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, as a former
president of the union, you are big on training. It is
important, especially in this particular industry. And we know that there are so many other factors outside of
just management itself. It would be a good suggestion
for the Minister to go forward and to insist that training
be done across the board. When it comes to the hotel
staffing, I do believe that it is going to be a challenge
to get back to the 70 per cent within the timeframe of,
I think, of five to six years. It may be difficult, especia lly if you are starting out and trying to retrain people to
get back involved in the industry, that can take some
time.
I do not know what happens if they don’t
reach the 70 per cent. Certainly, as one of the cond itions, it was talking about if you do not have the
70 per cent of Bermudians by six years, you know,
you forfeit some of the concessions. That is going to
be a real challenge, because if the hotel is doing as
much as it can and it does not get to that point by that
period of time, we need to revisit that and maybe
ahead of time say, Look, that’s the goal that we w ant.
And we will do periodic reports and analyse to keep abreast of this here so that we ensure that we get to
that point. But I do not believe that in five or six years,
it may be a bit aggressive in hoping that we get to that
point, but it is impossible to ask for guarantee of that
because we do not even know if Bermudians are g oing to get back involved at that large . . . back to that point. Who knows? I don’t know. We do as much as
we can to ensure that this happens as a Government,
as an Opposition, but certainly that is going to be a
challenge for any hotel to reach that point. I know that
we were there —

Yes. The reason I am saying
that is because the tourism industry has changed. It
has become more competitive since we had that
77 per cent. And now that it has been closed, some
people have fallen away. So, again, I am hoping that we get to that point, but it could prove to be difficult.
And so hopefully the Minister will maybe put an annex in there that is going to say that we will annually record this here so that when that sixth year does come,
you know, we are not having to lay down the axe to an
investor who is attempting to do their best.
One of the other changes that I believe in
general, Mr. Deputy Speaker, was the change in pa yroll tax concessions. The payroll tax relief granted for
Bermudian workers, there is no reason to grant the
developers a multi -year payroll tax giveaway for all
non-Bermudians. And I think that this is something
that the Government can look at. Certainly, when w e
are attempting to get as much revenue as we can, we
understand the need to give concessions and payroll
tax to the Bermudians, but maybe we need to consi der . . . and I don’t know the complexities. Maybe we
can debate that. But maybe that is a good idea to look
at the non- Bermudians, that the payroll tax concession not be extended in that format.
But the highlight of this here, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, really truly is that, I believe, the best way
forward is to put it back to 10 years. And if they need
an ex tension, and I will qualify why I am saying this
here, if they need an extension, then they can apply
for it. And the reason I am saying that is because
there are other properties who may feel that they have
fallen now into an industry that has not made it competitive for them. They have 10 years, or maybe less,
when it comes to concessions. And they want to be
able to have a fair footing when it comes to being able to get people within their doors as well.
So, all of them will have to now, as the Mini ster has said, and I believe . . . I did not hear him back
it up today, but I am taking him at his word that other
hotels can ask for extensions on their concessions.
But if we were to make it uniform across the board at 10 years, and that everyone who wants an extension
can apply for it with a substantial validation of numBermuda House of Assembly bers, information that warrants it, I do not see why any
reasonable Government who wants to increase the
tourism industry to where they want it to be at the $1.2
billion —I think that is what was said. I apologise if I
got that [wrong] —by 2025, knowing that we were set
back by the pandemic.

Thank you. Thank you for
the heads up, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
What I am attempting to do is to highlight,
quite frankly, some of the concerns, and I think the
major concern that we are hearing is why the 15
years. And we do not, still to this date at this time,
have any way of being able to substantiate why the 15
years. It may be legitimate. It may very well pan out to
be the right thing to do, but we have no way at this point in time to substantiate th at. And so as we go
forward, we will be supporting the renovation of Fai rmont Southampton Princess. In my estimation as the
Shadow, I believe that the 15 years needs to be taken
back to 10 years, and in the [event] that extensions
need to be made, then those extensions should be made.
I appreciate some of the comments that have
been made by the Minister in somewhat attempting to
clarify things, but I do believe that not enough clarif ication has come from the Honourable Minister. And,
again, I don’t necess arily, entirely fault him. He is new.
Just getting his feet wet. But I certainly would have
expected, and I know that the civil service has been
negotiating hard on getting the right deal here. I would
have expected for the Minister to have given us a bit
more information that would help relieve some of the
challenges that we are having with the concessions.
The industry is vitally important. And knowing
that it only contributes about 5 per cent to 7 per cent
of the GDP, what we do know is this. It hires thousands of Bermudians. And so as far as a financial contributor to the economy, it may not necessarily
seem that large. But the impact of getting Bermudians
back to work, the impact of being able to ensure that people at this particular time in our history, after a
pandemic where many have lost their jobs and are
looking for opportunities, that we do the right thing and
get people back to work. There has been some question as to whether or not this is a construction Bill or is
this a tourism Bill? The Minister did say that they are looking at a broader scope. I recognise also that the
former Minister, Curtis Dickinson, did mention that he
felt a broader scale needed to be looked at for the
industry. And so we are looking for clarification of all these matt ers.
Again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I appreciate this
time. I do have . . . I probably could go into a few other things. One other thing that I do question, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, one more thing. It was not clear within the
Bill when it talked about this six -year period for land
tax as to what happens after the six years. Is land tax being collected at that particular time? And we can go into Committee and ask some questions about that.
But that was very glaring. We were not sure about the
way the Bill was written as to whether or not after six
years what is happening with land tax. Or is there already a concession in place that Gencom has when it
comes to land tax? We just do not know. And it will be good to be able to clarify that. So, I would like to be
able to hear a little more about that.
I guess my time is probably up right now. But I
appreciate this time, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And I hope that as we continue after lunch we can hear more
from Members about this particular interest.

Good afternoon, Members. I
trust you all have had a nutritious lunch. We are r esumi ng the debate on the second reading of the Fai rmont Southampton Hotel Act 2022. The next speaker
would be the Premier, the Honourable E. David Burt.
Premier, you have the floor.

BILL

SECOND READING

FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON HOTEL ACT 2022
[Continuation thereof]
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am grateful for the presentation by the
Honourable Minister of Tourism. His framing of this
debate provides the ideal point from which I can turn
to the fiscal aspects of this redevelopment.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Black’s Law Dictionary
defines fiduciary duty as, and I quote, “the duty to act
1276 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly for someone else’s benefit while subordinating one’s
personal interests to those of the other person.” The
parties to whom this duty of care is owed are the pri ncipals.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, we in this House are
charged with the duty to act for the benefit of the pe ople we serve subordinating our personal interests to
the interests of the people of Bermuda who are our
principals. There are some who might say this duty is
more significant in the office of Minister of Finance.
And there is an argument to be made in this regard. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that argument cannot be
used as a shield to defend against the realities of
leadership in these times. That argument cannot be
used as a sword to strike out suggesting that one indi-vidual gets to define how that duty is discharged.
That, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is not our system
of Government. The duty to act for the benefit of the
people we serve is equally on and rests as heavy on
the shoulders of the Minister of Finance as it does on
the entire Cabinet, our respective caucuses and ind ividual members. Each member must give an account
of their stewardship to their constituents, and in the
case of this Bill the q uestion to be asked is whether
we are prepared to act to the benefit of our principals,
the people of Bermuda, setting aside our narrow poli tical motivations.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the central theme of the
Bill before this Honourable House and, in fact, the
fundamental negotiation position of the Ministry of F inance on behalf of the Government of Bermuda is and has been maximum protection to appropriately mit igate risk. As the Honourable Member, the Minister of
Tourism outlined, this Bill contains the oversi ght and
protections set out in the 2017 Tourism Investment
Act.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Honourable House
and the people of Bermuda will painfully recall the
reckless guarantee pledged by the former Gover nment in support of the development at the former Morgan’s Point. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the One Berm uda Alliance Government guaranteed 100 per cent of
the debt financing for that project. I repeat, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, they guaranteed 100 per cent of the debt
with a guarantee that was put in place for that pr oject.
The balance sheets of the Government of Bermuda confirm this decision was indeed reckless and now
serves as a weight around the neck of the Treasury
and the neck of the taxpayers of Bermuda.
What is essential to note, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is that th e Morgan’s Point project was not fully
funded—

Thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
Hon. E. David Burt: What is essential to note, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, is that the Morgan’s Point project
was not fully funded which means that the developers
were relying on residential sales to earn the funds necessary to complete the project.
So, Honourable Members, I want to set the
table. The former Government guaranteed 100 per
cent of the debt for a project that was not fully funded
without the necessary and requisite protections that were needed to protect the taxpayers of this country. They cannot escape that fact. And no matter what
excuses may be made by the party opposite in this
debate today, those are the facts. And it was left to
this Government to clean up that mess. This Gover nment will not make the same mistake. In this deal, from the start of the negotiations, this Government has stated that any Government support of t he project
would require the development to be fully funded.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, there has been much
discussion in this Honourable House and in other
places around the country about the size and scope of
Government support of this project. It has been stated that the Government will provide a guarantee to assist
the development of this project, which is undoubtedly


Bermuda House of Assembly of national importance. What has been a fierce matter
of debate is whether or not there was an agreement to
provide the Fairmont Southampton de velopment with
a guarantee as part of a 2019 agreement to purchase the hotel.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I can confirm, just as the
Honourable Member for constituency 21 confirmed in
his personal explanation of March 25, that there was a
commitment to provide a guarantee. Yes, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, that commitment was subject to conditions.
And yes, Mr. Deputy Speaker, those conditions were not met. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, it is important to
note why those conditions were not met. And that is
because we all know w hat happened in March of
2020 —a once- in-a-century global pandemic. Any d eveloper would have struggled to raise funds at a time
when the future of tourism was in doubt while the
world battled the coronavirus and countries had
closed their borders.
Mr. Depu ty Speaker, that letter of intent expired in December of 2020. In 2021 the Government,
in response to a question from the media, replied, and
I quote,
3“The Government of Bermuda has not pr ovided, and is not committed to provide, any form of
financial guar antee to Westend Properties Ltd, Ge ncom or any other companies related to the Fairmont
Southampton hotel.” That was factual, because the letter of intent had expired. The government was not
under any condition to provide or any commitment to
provide a guar antee.
Additionally, Members have raised questions
as to why no guarantee was tabled in this Honourable House in line with the requirements of the Gover nment Loans Act 1978. That is simple, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, as guarantees are only tabled in this place
when they are fully executed. And given that the
guarantee commitment never [progressed] to be fully
executed it would not have been tabled in this House.
Therefore, it was accurate to say in March 2021 that no guarantee was provided. However, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, despite the expiration of the letter of intent
the developers kept working to put together a package
that would complete the reopening of the hotel.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, much noise in made
about whether myself or the Honourable Member for consistenc y 21 are correct. And Bermuda’s daily
newspaper has relished in running stories with questions about who is telling the truth. To put aside all
doubts so that this debate today can focus on the facts and not conjecture as rumour and innuendo––
[which] is not what the people this country elected us
to focus on–– I will for the information of this Honour able House and the people of Bermuda table the letter
of intent executed by then Minister of Finance on behalf of the Government of Bermuda that supported the
purchase of the Fairmont Southampton Hotel by Ge ncom in 2019.

3 Royal Gazette , 11 March 2021 As part of the negotiations to support the purchase of the hotel in 2019 the Government committed to providing, subject to conditions, credit support in
the amount of $50 million to take the for m of a Government guarantee. At that time, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
the project was estimated to be a $300 million project,
which included the purchase price, hotel renovation
and the working capital necessary to ensure that the
project was a success. The proposed $50 million
guarantee was to represent 17 per cent of the pr oject’s total cost at that time.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, during the time between
2019 and 2021 when the project was brought back to
the Government, the developers expanded the scope
of the hotel to add more amenities such as an additional pool, additional areas for meeting spaces to bet-ter aid the project success and to make this hotel a truly iconic property to enhance the tourism product
here in Bermuda. It was the intention of the developers, t he lenders, and the Government to have a deal
agreed upon in December 2021. And it was my hope
this agreement would have been announced in this
place before we adjourned for the Christmas break.
But that did not happen.
What is also essential to note, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, is that the more time that went on where there was no agreement the more difficult finding an agreement became. And why is that the case, Mr.
Deputy Speaker? We have all witnessed the global
supply chain challenges brought on by the pandem ic,
the increases in shipping costs, and the increasing
cost of materials. All of these put additional pressure
on the developers. And, in addition to additional inter-est costs that were being incurred, the need to come
to an agreement became even more urgent.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, no deal is perfect. And
there were three real options that faced the Gover nment of Bermuda: The first, demand that the develo pers downsize the project to remove the additional
amenities that were added. The second, require the
developers to put even more additional equity into the
project than the additional equity that they had already
committed since 2019. Or the third, enhance the Go vernment’s credit support to ensure that this redeve lopment took place and the hotel reopened.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, there was a fourth option. And that was to not reopen the hotel and let it sit
there as a monument to Bermuda’s tourism past. But
that was never under consideration by the Cabinet, as we all know how essential the Fairmont Southampton
is for our country’s tourism future.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will repeat what I said
earlier. We in this Honourable House are charged with
the duty to act for the benefit of the people we serve,
subordinating our personal interests to the interests of the people, who are our principals. So yes, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, the Cabinet decided to extend the period of
concessions to ensure that this hotel redevelopment with its intended investment in jobs, with its intended
1278 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly investment in jobs, airlift and additional reve nue to the
Government could become a reality. And yes, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, I decided, supported by my Cabinet
colleagues, to increase the size of the guarantee gi ven the increased project size, scope, increasing costs,
and the need to get this deal done. Mr. Deputy
Speaker, governing is not easy. But what I want for
the people of this country is a bright future. And this
Government will fight for that future.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, given the above facts
which set the context for the decisions the Gover nment w as required to make, I can advise this Honourable House and the public that the redevelopment of
the Fairmont Southampton Hotel is to be supported by
a Government guarantee. That guarantee is proposed to be for a maximum (and I will speak to this further,
later) of $75 million, which represents 21 per cent of
the revised costs of the total capitalisation of the pr oject which is now estimated at $376 million. Yes, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, that 21 per cent is more than the
17 per cent in the 2019 agreement. However, this li mited exposure on behalf of the Government of Berm uda is in direct contrast to the actions and decisions of
the OBA Government symbolised by their former Mi nister of Finance where all the debt was subject to a
guarantee and who, after taxpayers w ere required to
pay over $200 million, unashamedly said that he
would do it all again.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, just as it was in the 2019
commitment, which I tabled in this Honourable House
earlier, the mechanics of that guarantee will see this
$75 million loa n to the developers and the repayment
of the loan financed by the taxes collected through the
operation of the hotel. Let me repeat Mr. Deputy
Speaker, because this is important. The mechanics of
the guarantee will see that the $75 million loan to the
developers and repayment of the loan is going to be
financed by the taxes collected through the operation
of the hotel.
So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, there is no tax giv eaway for wealthy foreigners. What we have is a structure crafted to ensure that all parties do everything
possible to finish the redevelopment and open the
hotel for operations. Taxes will be collected in the
usual way. But they will be used for the repayment of
the guaranteed loan which will have been used to r edevelop the hotel. That redevelopment will provide
jobs and more tourists for Bermuda.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, this structure known as
tax incentive financing is common in many developments around the world, and I suspect this hotel will
not be the only hotel to use this form of financing, as the Honourable Minister responsible for Tourism will
look to advance additional Tourism Investment Act
orders to renovate the existing property or build new
hotels in Bermuda. Mr. Deputy Speaker, in this i nstance this loan is being guaranteed by the Gover nment of Bermuda as in this particular setting it is recognised that having Bermuda’s largest hotel with the capability of accommodating large groups upgraded
and fully operational is critical for Bermuda’s tourism
economy and critical for Bermuda’s future. Mr. Deputy
Speaker, getting to this point has been the result of
considerable time invested in negotiations to achieve the best deal for the people of Bermuda having co nsidered all of the relevant risks and benefits.
As a Government we learned from the pas t
and focused on ensuring that there were appropriate
protections in place. However, during the negotiations,
to come to an agreement we also worked on adding additional benefits for the people of Bermuda that
were not part of the agreement I tabled in thi s Ho nourable House earlier today. One of those additional
benefits is a profit -sharing component within the deal
so the people of Bermuda can benefit from any future success of the hotel. The agreement in place calls for 10 per cent of profits in excess of the equity invested
into the project to be shared with the people of Bermuda.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, in the PLP’s 2020 election platform we promised to, and I quote, “Create a
national fund called the Bermuda Trust Fund that will
benefit economically disadv antaged Bermudians to
reduce generational income inequality.”
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the proceeds of this profit sharing will be pledged to the Bermuda Trust Fund
on behalf of the people of Bermuda. The Progressive Labour Party Government believes that if the Go vernment supports projects of this nature on the people’s behalf with a sovereign guarantee, then the only
benefits to citizens cannot just be the opportunity to work in construction or hotel operations. There must
be a lasting legacy and a benefit to future generations.
And in this revised deal we are sealing this legacy.
And I look forward to bringing legislation to establish
the Bermuda Trust Fund to this Honourable House in the future.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, also in keeping with the
Progressive Labour Party’s 2020 platform, this Government is keeping its commitment to build a nation of
owners. This revised agreement advances that objective by making provision for Bermudians to directly
invest up to $10 million in this hotel redevelopment. If
the amount of this investment is fully subscribed, the
guarantee amount pledged by the Government of
Bermuda will decrease from $75 million to $65 million,
Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, it is time for a new par adigm and for us to approach these situations differently, and to allow Bermudians to invest in major local
projects that are guaranteed by the Government. We
have listened to the concerns expressed by Bermudians who wonder why they do not have the opportunity
to invest their own hard- earned money in Government
supported projects in their own country. In this agree-ment we will work to turn that desire into a reality.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Bill represents yet
another step in the move to close the financing for this


Bermuda House of Assembly project as it is part of the fram ework that will facilitate
the renovation and upgrading of a hotel property that
is a central part of Bermuda’s tourism sector. The development plan for this property will create a luxury
resort with first -class amenities aimed to increase
Bermuda’s attrac tiveness as a tourism destination and
play a critical role in the rebranding of our tourism
product. In this project the Government is partnering
with the developer with significant experience in the
tourism industry who has successfully built and operated hotels in key tourist destinations in the US, the
Caribbean, and Latin America, and since its inception
has completed directly or indirectly over $7 billion of
real estate transactions, including the Rosewood
Bermuda at Tucker’s Point. That level of exper tise
was vital in determining the nature and scope of support that the Government was willing to give to this
project, as these developers understand what is necessary to make a hotel property work and they have
experience in the Bermuda market.
Mr. Deput y Speaker, as noted earlier it has
taken considerable time to negotiate a deal that, if
successful, represents significant upside for Bermuda.
Still, in an effort of complete transparency, as in any
case involving a guarantee there is a risk to the Governm ent that this guarantee could be called. The
Government would have to find the funds to either buy
out the other lenders and complete the renovation
work or work with the other senior lenders to directly
complete the project. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the critic al
factor here, unlike the situation with Morgan’s Point, is
that the property already exists and the work is being
done to enhance and to upgrade the property. Ther efore, in a worst -case scenario the plan, in case of diff iculty, could be scaled back and s till provide benefits
for people of Bermuda.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, as I close I would certainly like to address some questions from Honourable
Members of which were raised and also I would certainly like to address the statement that was made by
the Leader of the Opposition in a press statement yesterday, where he said that the Government would be
giving up revenue that could be used for other pur-poses. Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me answer that question in two simple ways. The first (and I think that ev eryone i n Bermuda understands this, with the exception, clearly, of the Opposition), is that if there is no
hotel operating which is supported by this Bill there
are no taxes. You cannot give up something you do
not have. If there is no hotel operating there are n o
taxes. Simple!
This is also important, Mr. Deputy Speaker:
The Government would earn more money if this hotel
were to open with this Bill than if it remains closed.
That means that this Bill earns money for the Go vernment and the country; it does not lose money for
the Government and the country. And that is an i mportant distinction. Mr. Deputy Speaker, if this hotel is not to be
redeveloped the impact on our economy is significant. There will not be the 650 direct jobs in construction;
there will not b e the estimated 800 total jobs when the
hotel opens for operations. The tourism sector is a
feeder to many other industries —taxi drivers, souvenir
shops, restaurants, sightseeing shops to name a few.
Those businesses will lose out on additional tourism
dollars, and you would still have to pay Skyport the
minimum revenue guarantee costs, which has cost taxpayers more than the $43 million that we have al-ready had to pay. This is really the lost revenue to the
Government, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and there is no
tangible benefit to offset it.
So it is straightforward, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
without this Bill the Government loses, businesses
lose, families lose, union members lose, individuals lose, and Bermudians lose. On the other hand, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, if the hot el is redeveloped the Go vernment and Bermuda will benefit. The Government will collect revenue from the employee payroll tax from
the estimated 800 staff expected to be employed, which would not be collected if the hotel remains
closed. The Government will collect customs duty on
items not related to the development and upgrades,
such as different things to support the operations of
the hotel.
The Bermuda Tourism Authority will get more
money from the visitor fee, meaning they could e nhance the marketing efforts for the Island. Bermudian
businesses will benefit from increased visitors to the
Island who will spend money around Bermuda. And, most importantly, the Government will no longer have
to pay Skyport for the minimum revenue guarantee
and financial ass istance for those who find emplo yment at the hotel.
Again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Bill is not a
money loser; it is a money earner for Bermuda. And the success of this project will put the country in a bet-ter financial and economic shape, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The questions of which were asked earlier, which I
addressed earlier in my brief, stated that this money is
not going to the developer. This money is going to pay
off the guaranteed loan to ensure that we are protec ted and that this hotel can be built .
The calculation, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is that
the tax concessions would amount to $121 million. But
guess what, Mr. Deputy Speaker. That covers the
payment of the loan which was expected, and if interest rates change, almost about equally, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. That is what we are looking at, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. So, when we talk about this it is no surprise
that in other countries that are able to build hotels . . .
but we cannot agree amongst ourselves that we must
increase, match the concessions, do what other countries are doing to make sure we could attract that i nvestment. But we are not afraid, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
We are not afraid to press forward, because I know
that your constituents, my constituents, and every si n1280 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly gle one of our constituents want the jobs and the opportunity that this hotel provides.
So again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, based upon
the release last night from the Leader of the Oppos ition the Opposition wants to have it both ways. But
they cannot. They either support the reopening of the
hotel or they do not. There is no in between, Mr. De puty Speaker, no middle ground. If they support the
reopening they will support and vote for this Bill today.
If they do not support this Bill today the hundreds of
Bermudians who will be employed by the hot el both in
construction and when the hotel reopens and the multiple businesses who support hotel operation, the taxi
drivers who transport the guests who will stay at the
hotel, will always remember that the One Bermuda Alliance did not support the Bill in Parliament necessary to reopen Bermuda’s largest hotel.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, remember when we
were in Opposition? We supported the St. Regis development. And guess what, Mr. Deputy Speaker?
That Bill gave tax concessions in excess of what was allowed in l aw at the time, and contained the provision
for an extension of those concessions to 20 years, Mr. Deputy Speaker. So, what the Opposition is talking
about, they are trying to have it both ways. The work
we do in this Honourable House matters, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. And the jobs that will be provided will pr ovide hope for a better future for the people of this
country who believe in a better future for this country.
We have been through a lot Mr. Deputy Speaker. But
today we can demonstrate our unity. And we c an advance this project in the interest of the people who put
us here in this Honourable House to grow this econ omy to restore hope in a bright future.
So Mr. Deputy Speaker, as I finish I must take
this opportunity to thank the team at the Cabinet O ffice, the team at the Ministry of Finance, my Cabinet
colleagues, the team at the Bermuda Tourism Author ity, the leadership of the Bermuda Industrial Union and other stakeholders for their tireless efforts and work to
get us to this point. There is still more work to be
done. But today's progress and the passage of this Bill
today genuinely signals that we are moving beyond the pandemic and on the path to economic recovery.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you very much, Honourable Premier.
Are there any further speakers?
Any further speakers?
I recognise the Honourable Member Lawrence Scott.

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker .
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I know you are from
Hamilton Parish, and that they aren’t as churchgoing
in Hamilton Parish as they are in Warwick. So, when I say Matthew 5:[37], it might not be readily available to
know what that verse says .

I read it.

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: That verse says, Mr. Dep uty Speaker, to let your ye a be your yea and your nay
be your nay.
It is disappointing, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that
the Opposition are out in the press and even earlier
today in this House stating that they support the Bill
on one hand, but then try to point out negative aspects , and s eemingly only point out the negative aspects of the Bill . Yesterday in the press the Opposition
Leader said that there is an approximation of about
$100 million to $120 million in foregone revenue over
the course of the next 15 years . But, Mr. Deputy
Speak er, I think it was that same Member (who is now
Opposition Leader , and former Leader of the Government ), MP Cannonier, who sat in Cabinet and collectively agreed that giving away $1.3 billion . . . let
me repeat that number agai n, $1.3 billion or $50 mi llion a year —$1.3 billion in foregone revenue for the
next 30 years for us to have a new air terminal was a
good idea. So, for the Opposition to even suggest that
this Bill represent s something along the lines of a bad
deal is laughable, at best . And, once again , they will
say that and then follow that up by saying, But we
support the Bill .
Let your ye a be your yea and your nay be
your nay.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, now I am going to go
very briefly somewhere that I know you are not fami liar with , and it is the Mar vel Cinematic Universe . In
the Marvel Cinematic Universe there is such a thing
called a multiverse. The best way to explain that is if
you were to break a mirror and each piece of that mi rror represents different realit ies that are all happening
at the sam e time . So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let’s just
say somewhere in the multiverse out there is a uni-verse where the Opposition is actually correct ; that the
$100 million that they talk about over 15 years could
be better spent elsewhere.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I sit here today knowing
full well that this Ministry alone, the Ministry of
Transport , has received a proposal from an international entity outlining a quarter of a billion dollar i nvestment in Bermuda. Let me break that down . There
is an entity that wants to invest $250 million into Bermuda. That proposal is currently being vetted and going through the due diligence process , and if approved
could see shovel s in the ground as soon as next year .
Therefore, even if the Opposition were correct , which
they are not , that the $120 million could have been
better spent elsewhere, this is just one step in the
greater picture of a strategy to get Bermuda back to
where we used to be and then move forward from
there.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Deputy Speaker, I know you have heard it
said befor e that there is no tourism without transport
and that the Ministry of Transport ’s goals right now
are focus ed on creating an environment where job
creation is favo urable . Our focus is also on balancing
job creation and employment between the two pillars
of our economy , international business and tourism ,
and facilitating to have this country enjoy 1,000,000
arrivals annually starting in 2025/ 26. This Bill today is
an integral part of that . And let me explain why that is
to those who are not familiar .
The Fairmont South ampton in 2019 attracted
approximately 55,000 visitors annually . Just a few
thousand visitors shy of our entire population in one
year. That is approximately 9 per cent of available
airline seats to Bermuda. And if each one of those
55,000 people contribute d approximately $100 to
Skyp ort it helps to mitigate the risk of us paying an
MRG. So if you take the 55,000 individuals and each
one of them pay s $100, you get $5.5 million in tax
fees and revenue that goes to Skyp ort that does not
have to c ome out of the government ’s coffers . Fifty -
five thousand people represent roughly 12 per cent of
our total 2019 air arrivals .
In 2019 air arrivals for the airline load factor
averaged roughly 70 per cent to 73 per cent, meaning
airlines were coming in 70 per cent to 73 per cent full.
However , without the Fairmount Southampton load
factors are hovering around 58 per cent to 61 per
cent. In order for us not to trigger this MRG, which is a
product of the bad deal that the Opposition Leader
and the Opposition got us into that is costing us $1.3
billion over the next 30 years , in order for us to not
trigger that we need to see at the very least 65 per
cent load factors or higher .
Mr. Deputy Speaker, for those in the back of
the room , in order for us not to trigger the MRG , for us
not to have to pay millions of dollars a year , which we
just as of last month had to transfer another $3.1 mi llion, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and in order for us not to
have to transfer $3.1 million this quarter or millions of
dollars next quarter and millions of dollars in the quarter after that , in order for that not to happen, airline
load factors have to be at least 65 per cent. Therefore,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Bill getting Fairmont Sout hampton Princess back up and running, getting people
back employed, hundreds of Bermudians back into
employment , will also lead us not to have to have to
pay the MRG .
Once again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let your yea
be your yea and your nay be your nay.
Don’t sit here and say we support the Bill but
. . . Don’t sit here and say I support the Bill, but I don't
like this . If you are going to support the Bill , you vote
for the Bill . If you vote for the Bill , you speak in favou r
of the Bill . Don’t sit here and say I’m going to vote for
the Bill , but I’m not going to speak in favou r of it , because what you do is cheapen this process altogether ,
Mr. Deputy Speaker. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I challenge the O pposition to call for a vote at the end of this . I challenge
the Opposition to go on record so that people can see
where they actually voted , and what they vote d for, if
they voted f or or against the Bill . Because if they vote
against the Bill , Mr. Deputy Speaker, they vote against
the stimulation of outward/ inward investment in Bermuda, meaning they voted against people investing in
Bermuda, they voted against Bermuda looking at sectors to have our people go back to work , they are voting against job creation. A vote against this Bill is a
vote against the creation of employment opportunities
for hundreds of Bermudians. A vote against this Bill is
a vote against increasing airlift . A vote against this Bill
is a vote against mitigating our risk of paying the MRG
to Skyport .
Let your yea be your yea and your nay be
your nay.
Now, if you are going to vote for the Bill , as I
said before, speak for the Bill . If you're going to vote
against the Bill speak against the Bill . But don't sit
here and say that you are not in favo ur of this but you
are going to vote for it , because you are confusing
people. You are sowing seeds of confusion, and you
are being disingenuous. You are not, in the opinion of
some people, being an honest broker . You are now
trying to relegate this —

I think . . . well, I was going
to say not intentionally , but it is intentional . He is misleading the House. Just because someone questions
matters of the Bill does not mean they do not support
it. This is not a monolithic situation here. We have all
different opinions about the same thing. But we are on
the same side of wanting it done .

Understood.
Thank you Mr. Cannonier.
Continue, Minister .

Hon. W . Lawrence Scott: Matthew 5:37, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. Let your yea be your yea and your nay be
your nay.
If you are going to vote for the Bill say , I'm going to vote for the Bill and support this Bill . It is a good
deal; it is the way we need to go. And, yes, there
might be a question over there. But that is not enough
for us to now not support it. That's not what I have
been hearing. That is not what heard yesterday on the
news . That's not what I heard from any of the Oppos ition Members here today , clearly saying we support it,
and we love it, and it is going to move us forward. It is
always under a cloud of questions and innuendos.
Therefore, if you cannot clearly support the
Bill there are some who are only left to believe that
you are relegating this imp ortant decision to nothing
more than a political football trying to straddle the
fence, so we can't let the Government look as though
they are doing something good.
Previously a Member talk ed about their own
party ’s track record and tried to project that on to us .
When we were in the leadership role, when we were
making the decisions , we didn't do this step but we
want you to do that . That is not saying that [they] support the Bill. That is trying to make it seem like we are
skipping steps . Two years, Mr. Deputy Speaker, have
gone into us getting to this process . That is not a fast
pace by any means of the imagination.
Mr. Deputy Speaker , there are other implic ations to what is being said not just here in this House
in relation to this Bill , but also in the media. As I said
before, I know first -hand , as Minister of Transport , that
there are serious investors outside of Bermuda who
see us as a good and secure investment . They see us
as a place where they want to put their money . They
see us as somewhere wher e their investment can
grow and multiply in value. And they are watching how
we, not just as a Government but as a people , treat
new d evelopment s, how we process new investments ,
new ideas and concepts , and how these ideas are
received not just by us as Government members , not
just by us as Members of Parliament , but us as Bermudians . Is Bermuda really open for business ? This
Bill says yes . Does Bermuda really want to be competitive? This Bill says yes . Is the Government serious
about getting Bermudians back to work ? This Bill says
yes.
Anybody who says otherwise is either misinformed themselves or misinforming the public . Both
are a trazety . . . a travesty. Sorry . (These 15- point
Scrabble words get me sometimes, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. That's why I use the New I nternational Ver-sion instead of King James Version Bible. You know
all about that , Mr. Deputy Speaker.)
But I would not be surprised if this Bill is just
the first in a line of Bills coming to this House to facilitate out ward/inward investment in the country . I would
not be surprised if this Bill is just the first in a line of
Bills in tourism -related investments and improv ements . I would not be surprised that if in the coming
years we see outward/ inward investment coming to
this country by land, sea and a ir. Bermuda is back on
the map. I kn ow this first -hand ; I have been in the
meetings . And there is nobody that is going to contr adict me when I say that .
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I want us to look at this
for what it is . It is getting our people back to work, ge tting our product to be once again in a competitive way and to look at this beyond just one individual situation .
For far too long people have said that the Government
needs to look at things holistically and put things t ogether and make sure that this country runs like a
well-oiled machine. As a pilot, I know how important it
is for one system to work with the other and to amplify
the next so that you get to go where you want to go,
how you want to get there, in the manner you want to .
And this is part of our strategy to get us back there. I
can’t stress this enough. And I am purposely being
repetitious on that because repetition is the best form
of indoctrination. Meaning, Bermudians out there who
heard our voices as a Government the last two years ,
altho ugh we were fighting the pandemic we were also
laying the foundation for the future of Bermuda so we
could use this set back of COVID -19 as a set up for a
comeback . And this is the beginning.
There is light at the end of the tunnel . And that
light gets br ighter and brighter. And it is not just a
second coming. It is a renaissance. It is a revitalis ation. It is sort of shining up the jewel —which is Be rmuda—in the Atlantic for all to see. No, we will not
hide our candle under a bushel.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, can I ask that the offering plate be passed around at this time?
In closing, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Bill is
what everybody has been asking for . This Bill does
exactly what we promised we were going to do. We
said we were going to get people back to work . We
are doing that . We said we were going to get Fairmont
Southampton Princess reopened. We are doing that .
We said that we were going to revitalis e air service
development and bring back air arrival. We are doing
that. We said that we were going to show t he people
that Bermuda is open for investment and a good place
to invest and safe for investment . We are doing that.
Anybody who speaks badly about this Bill or
speaks against this Bill is once again, as I said, voting
against outward/ inward stimulation and investment for
Bermudians, against job creation, against employment
opportunity for hundreds of Bermudians, and against
increasing airlift , and against mitigating our risk of
paying the MRG for Skyport. So if you are not going to


Bermuda House of Assembly vote against it , don’t speak against it ; don’t leave this
to be a political football .
Let your yea be yea and your nay be your
nay.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, I was going
to base my c ontribution this afternoon around three
quotes. I read a few articles last evening that inspired
me to cue the fourth
My first quote today will come from the 44
th
President of the United States . President Barack
Obama famously said that the future rewards those
who press on . He said “ I don ’t have to feel sorry for
myself . I don ’t have time to complain. I'm going to
press on.”
Mr. Deputy Speaker, “press on” is exactly
what this Government has done and will continue to
do. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I will not bel abour the point
of the profoundly negative impact that COVID -19 has
had on Bermuda, and the entire world for that matter .
But it is important to first establish a bit of colou r, a bit
of background as to where we are economically .
Mr. Deputy Speaker, during these unprec edented times we find ourselves managing a situation where some are requesting tax relief whil st others are
depending on those tax dollars for the assistance they desperately need. All of this is happening at a time
when the country borrowed its maximum dollars to
cover the Morgan’ s Point deal and COVID -19-related
expenses . Therefore, we simply cannot afford to borrow any more. We are in a situation where less [money] is coming in to provide assistance and more
[money] is going out to provide assistance at a time
when we simply cannot afford to borrow any more. Mr. Deputy Speaker with this being our ever yday reality as a Government , still we press on.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the people of Bermuda
have been asking for affordable housing and so we
invested in the Harmony Hall project and recently upgraded the former police barracks at the East End.
We recently completed some major renovations and
properties in the West End. These properties are used
to provide affordable housing for our seniors and are
used for emergency housing for those in dire need, and they are also used for alternative options for
those low -income families .
Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is why I am proud of
our Government, because these accomplishments will not make the same headli nes. They will not receive
the same social media attention. They will not be the hot topic of the talk shows. But we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We don’t have time to complain. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we simply press on.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I can remember for my
entire life Bermudians, in particular elder Bermudians, imploring that this country reinstitute a trade or tech
school so that some of our young men and women
could learn the necessary skills to be masons and
mechanics and electricians and plumbers. People
have been calling for further investment in our artists
and athletes, enhanced programmes for those inter-ested in hospitality and insurance. This Government
has listened and has worked diligently. And starting
this upcoming September w e will roll out signature
schools that will accomplish just that. We will begin to
roll out signatures schools that will accomplish just
that. This is not political rhetoric. Despite the economic challenges we face, we are producing results. So
we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves [or] time to complain. We simply press on.
So now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, as the Gover nment continues to check off its election promises I am excited that it has brought us to this very Bill today, because, once again, des pite the limited resources ,
the global economic threats, a declining and ageing
population, this Government will close the largest h otel development project in Bermuda’s history. We will see hundreds of Bermudians employed. It will signif icantly help to stimulate our economy and overall enhance our tourism product so that we remain compet itive and protect one of our economic pillars.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, today is a fantastic day. I
look forward to speaking to my constituents of the employment opportunities that will come of this. As
the chairman of the BEDC [Bermuda Economic D evelopment Corporation] , I look forward to speaking to
entrepreneurs about the opportunities that this pr ovides them. I look forward to this project actually hel ping to stimulate and im prove our economy. I will r emind those listening about what the Premier said in
the Budget Statement , that if we outperform estimates
there will be more relief available to the people of Bermuda.
1284 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Deputy Speaker, we appreciate the words
of President Obama as this demonstrates that the f uture truly does reward those who press on.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, my second quote today
actually is from you, believe it or not. You recently
said in the House, and I believe you hit the nail on the
head, you said in negot iations you never get all that
you want. To me it is worth repeating because it arti culates our understanding that this deal will not be perfect for us, and it will not be perfect for those with
whom we are negotiating. But experience has shown us that the best deals are often when both sides can
find a way to come to the middle for the greater good.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I speak of the greater
good because it is incredibly predictable for the Oppo-sition to label this a bad deal by highlighting the pr oposed 15 years of tax relief. It is incredibly predictable.
But it does not take long for the average Bermudian to
understand that when you consider the increased pa yroll tax, the increased customs duty received from the
food consumed and the energy consumed and other
items consumed with this hotel, when you consider
that we potentially will no longer be paying Skyport,
when you consider the potential reduction in financial
assistance, or amounts paid out in financial assi stance, the significant visitor spending recognising that
those who arrive via air spend on average six times
more than those who arrive via cruise; when you co nsider all of these items , it becomes painfully obvious
that our focus on this deal as we progress has been
done in good faith or is being done in good faith certainly for the greater good of the people of Bermuda.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I mentioned, I threw in a
last quote. And it comes from MP Dunkley who asked
on March 4 in this House ,
4“And how about we embrace a new way of politics and actually work together
a bit to get things moving forward? Let us stop the
fighting over red and green, let us fight for Bermuda. ”
Mr. Deputy Speaker, many of my colleagues
called me naïve, that I actually believed him. I be-lieved that the One Bermuda Alli ance were prepared
to work together so that we can move forward, or so
that we can move things forward in this country. And on the eve of this debate where we are discussing the
benefits of this particular project, it was brought to my
attention two poorly written articles bashing this particular deal. So, once again, the OBA has shown their
true colours, because those articles lacked thought ,
lacked accuracy and perhaps most importantly lacked
the spirit of togetherness they were requesting only a
few week s ago.
So, finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, my fourth and
final quote is often credited to Bob Marley. He was
only singing the words of the Jamaican National Hero,
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who said, “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because

4 Official Hansard Report , 4 March 2022, page 489 whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves
can free the mind.”
The reason I mention the quote, Mr. Deputy
Speaker , is because while my colleagues before me,
and, I have reasonable confidence, those after me will
speak of the many benefits of the project, it is critically
important we do not overlook the key component, which is the opportunity for Bermudians to become
owners of this hotel.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, if we are to close the
economic gap that exists in this country, if we are to build on the legacy of those who fought before us, if
we are determined to establish a generational wealth
[provision] for our families, we must first see ourselves
beyond just being customers and workers. So with
this deal under the leadership of our Premier, t he
Government has ensured that there is a path for wor king Bermudians to own Fairmont Southampton Hotel.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, gone are the days when
opportunities such as these would benefit the few.
This Government clearly laid out in its 2020 election
platform that we are committed to building a nation of
owners. Many would ask, How will this be done? Well
the Premier sort of stole my thunder, but we plan to
establish the Bermuda Trust Fund on behalf of the
people of Bermuda. And the f und will receive a p ortion
of the profits of the hotel.
So what this means, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is
that we are ensuring that you do not have to be rich or
save for many years to participate. Government is
determined to find ways for workers in this country to
have a piece of ownership of this hotel. Gone are the
days Bermudians are being looked at as just the customers and the workers. “A Nation of Owners,” Mr.
Deputy Speaker . Let that be the headline.
So as I close Mr. Deputy Speaker, I commend
the Premier, the Minister of Finance, and his team. I
commend the Minister of Tourism and his team; all of
the civil servants and my Government colleagues, and
certainly all of those who contributed to getting us to
this point.
So that there is no question, let it be known
that this is unquestionably a major accomplishment for
this country. It has my unwavering support.
Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, six weeks ago I deli vered a statement by way of a personal explanation
setting out the reasons for my resignation as Minister


Bermuda House of Assembly of Finance. Mr. Deputy Speaker, in that statement I
advised this Honourable House and the people of
Bermuda, and I quote, 5“the quantum of and form of
the Government’s support of the redevelopment of the Fairmont Southampton wer e the primary reasons b ehind my resignation.”
Mr. Deputy Speaker, this legislation is among
the reasons for my standing down. Let me state at the outset, contrary to the views expressed by the Mini ster of Transport, that it is indeed possible to not support this Bill but still be in support of the redevelopment with Fairmont Southampton. I do not believe it needs to be said, but I will say it anyway . In this Ho nourable House we are a democracy and we are ent itled to differences of views. I now intend to pro vide
context on the reasons why I am not in support as a participant in this debate.
Before I address those specifics, I would like
to reiterate another part of my personal explanation,
and I quote.
6“Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I want
to make it abu ndantly clear that I was, and still am,
supportive of a level of financial support for this pr oject. There truly are numerous potential benefits of
renovating and reopening a large, iconic hotel of this
nature, especially at this time where economic recovery is vital. These include immediate and significant
stimulus, construction and related economic activity, a
large number of future hotel jobs, and a large increase
in hotel room inventory, which could help support more visitor demand and airlift capacity over time.
“However, Mr. Speaker, I was and continue to
be unable to ignore the principles and judgment gained through my ov er 30 years of experience in i nvestment and commercial banking.”
I would add, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that within
that 30- year career I have raised tens of billions of
dollars of financing that has resulted in the creation of
hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Now, my specific concerns: Given the Government’s fiscal position the proposed legislation is too generous. Let us start with the exis ting legislation.
Under the existing legislation, which provides for up to
10 years of relief, the developers would be entitled to
between $59 million (using the Government’s adv isor’s model) and $66 million (using Gencom’s model). This relief will be in t he form of hotel occupancy pa yroll tax and land tax relief. These figures do not i nclude approximately $60 million of custom duty relief that the project would be entitled to during the course of the redevelopment. When including the custom duty relief the total value of the Bermuda Government’s
support , through concessions only, in other words not
including any value that may be generated for r educed borrowing costs associated with the provision
of the Government’s guarantee, would total between

5 Members’ Proof Hansard, 25 March 2022, page 17
6 Ibid., page 18 $75 millio n and $82 million, assuming a 10- year co ncession period.
With the new proposed legislation, which contemplates 15 years of relief, the developers would be
entitled to between $98 million (using the Gover nment’s model) and $117 million (using the developer ’s
model). These figures, again, do not include $16 mi llion of customs duty relief that the project would be
entitled to. When including the customs duty relief, the
total value of the Government’s support through con-cessions only, in other words, not incl uding the value
that would be generated through reduced borrowing costs, the total is approximately $114 million to $133
million. The extension of these concessions from 10 to
15 years will provide the developers with incremental
value of between $39 milli on and $50 million. And
these are additional costs that will be borne by the people of Bermuda.
A second concern, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is
that there is no limit on the quantum of these concessions. They are open ended. Under the terms of the existing Speci al Development Order the developers
are allowed to develop hotel residences which would entitle them to the same customs duty relief and concessions on payroll tax, occupancy tax, and land tax
that they receive for the redevelopment of the hotel.
These amounts would be over and above the figures
that I mentioned above. In other words, the value of these concessions, or foregone Government revenue,
could be greater than the $114 million to $133 million
that I mentioned earlier. We have no idea what the
quant um of these incremental costs to the people of
Bermuda will be.
Thirdly, there exists a strong potential for further incremental costs. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will be
guided on this matter by a formal legal opinion on an
issue where there are different poi nts of view. That
issue is the Most -Favored -Nation provisions contained
in the Master Development Agreement for the St.
Regis property. I am of the view that the Master D evelopment Agreement between the Government and
the St. Regis owners provides them wit h an opportunity to be equalised for the provisions of the existing
legislation. The developers of St. Regis are currently benefiting from a 10- year concessions framework.
Passage of this legislation may give rise to additional benefit entitlements to thos e developers, the cost of
which is currently unidentified.
Additionally, I believe that there is a risk that
other hotel operators may approach the Government for retroactive relief. We have seen this in the case
where the owners of both Rosewood Tucker’s Point
and The Loren, who had previously been entitled to
five years of concession relief under the Hotels Concession Act 2000, sought and received approval to be
entitled to the benefits under the more robust Tourism
Investment Act 2017.
1286 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Again, Mr. Deput y Speaker, we are flying
blind here on what the potential cost of this legislation
will be to the people of Bermuda.
Fourthly, what is the deal? Today we are b eing asked to approve this legislation, which I under-stand to be a critical part of the Government’s deal
with the developers. Yet, as of this sitting we, as legi slators , remain unaware of the specifics of that deal.
How can we in good conscience allow ourselves to approve legislation without knowing the contours of
the overall Government deal? Why are we committing ourselves to a course of legislative action without
knowing the totality of what we are giving to the developers?
We are committing to giving someone more
than $100 million without having an understanding of
what more is to come.
What is the rush?
Why are we doing this now?
Mr. Deputy Speaker, a common feature of
debates, like the Government’s support of major pr ivate sector projects, is the back -and-forth exchange of
criticisms of the prior administration’s negotiated
deals. We have seen it here today. We have seen it
more recently on Mor gan’s Point, at the airport pr oject, and I suspect if given more time I could list prior
PLP Administration initiatives that have been the sub-ject of criticism from the Opposition. In the spirit of
advancing the quality of the debate on these matters
and stopping the cycle of the perpetual finger -pointing,
would it not be wise for the Government to provide
Honourable Members with more comprehensive i nformation on all of the aspects of the deal so that we
can all provide the support that our tourism industry so badly needs?
The Government has engaged professional
advisers to assist in the negotiations with the developers. Given the significance of the potential overall commitment by the Government, would it not make
sense to share their advice with Honourable Members?
Sixth : Is this legislation in the interest of the
people of Bermuda? Mr. Deputy Speaker, again I refer
to my March 25 statement where I stated the follo wing, and I quote,
7“the redevelopment of the Fairmont
Southampton, in my view, is a national strategic initi ative; one that requires that the Government be pragmatic in its approach to any support. However, the
national strategic importance does not give justific ation to the abandonment of best principles. To be
clear, I want to see the successful redevelopment and
reopening of the Fairmont Southampton Hotel. A r edeveloped hotel will see investment in Bermuda’s
economy, the creation of construction jobs, the re -
employment of many hospitality w orkers, and the r eturn of paying guests; all told a positive impact on
Bermuda’s economy.”

7 Ibid., page 19 Mr. Deputy Speaker, I can understand the desire to get the Fairmont Southampton reopened, redeveloped, opened for business. We all have an obliga-tion, in the executi on of our responsibilities as leaders
and legislators, to protect the interests of the people of Bermuda. There have been discussions of the ben efits that this project will bring to the Island and our
people. I do not believe that there is anyone who di sputes those assertions. There are also significant
costs and risks. A risk- free or cost -free solution is not
being sought. Instead, what I am looking for is a sol ution that seeks to provide support while protecting the interests of the people of Bermuda. I do not believe
that this legislation does that, as we have not been given sufficient information to make such a determination.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, in simple terms, the
Government and the people of Bermuda will be
providing this project with between $180 mi llion and
$200 million of support, assuming the inclusion of a
$75 million guarantee. A significant question that r emains unanswered is, What is Westend Properties’
contribution to this transaction? I suspect that it is nowhere near as much as the people of Bermuda are
being asked to put at risk.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, it has been suggested
that those who have concerns or who oppose this legislation are disingenuous or naïve and may not be looking out for the interests of Bermudians, especially
those who are employed in the hospitality sector. Mr.
Deputy Speaker, I will respond to those comments by
pointing out the following:
While serving as Bermuda’s Minister of F inance I led the team that paid local contractors who had been left unpaid by the developers at Morgan’s
Point.
I led the team that took steps to pay the wor kers at Fairmont Southampton when their owners r efused to honour their obligations.
And I have led the team that put in place an
unemployment benefit programme for the benefit of
workers who w ere negatively affected by loss of work
brought on by the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, with the greatest of r espect my bone fides on representing the interests of
employees , the people of Bermuda, are clear for all to
see. Any suggestion that my lack of support for this
Bill is based on a fixation with the numbers or a lack of
concern for the interest of Bermudian workers is not hing more (if I can borrow a word from the Minister of
Tourism) than nonsense.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, it has also been suggested that a portion of the concessions do not go to
the developers but instead go into a bank account
used to pay the $75 million of guaranteed debt. Are
we really suggesting that there is no benefit to be r eceived by the developers on this front? For the abundance of clarity, the debt is owed by the developer.
And while the concession money may not go into the


Bermuda House of Assembly developer’s hands, it is being used to repay their debt,
or for them to get a benefit.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, with the burgeoning national debt and little remaining debt capacity under the
current debt ceiling, the Government needs to be judicious on how it decides to forego future revenue. We
are at a reflection point , and everyone is watching to
see how we move forward. Our people are watching.
Our industry partners, both domestic and internation-al, are watching. And our bond investors are watching.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, it is my view that the existing concessions framework is more than enough to provide support to the developers while also preser ving the public purse. I cannot in good conscience support this legislation.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, MP Dickinson.
Are there any further speakers?
The Speaker recognises the Honourable Mi nister of Labour and Economy, Mr. Hayward.
You have the floor.
Hon. Jason Hayward: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I listened
carefully to the submission of the former Minister of
Finance. The former Minister of Finance asked one
important question: Why are we doing this now? I will attempt to answer that particular question.
The former Minister of Finance also indicated
that he is looking out for the best interests of the people of Bermuda. I do not question that. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the former Minister of Finance was in the
best position to assure that we had an outcome in the best interests of the people of Bermuda, and that ind ividual walked away from that position.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, we waited as a team for
this deal to be closed, without any success. So, to ask why we are doing this now, it is because we have
waited for far too long for the former Minister of F inance to close this deal and he was unable to do so.

You said you thought he was
unintentionally misleading the House.
Minister, continue.
Hon. Jason Hayward: Why are we bringing this now?
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Fairmont Southampton
Princess is a tourism pillar in our economy. It is Bermuda’s flagship hotel in our fleet of local hotel accommodations. Fairmont Southampton Princess, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, is an economic hub. It is one of the
premier business establishments in our country. It is
the best place to host both local and international conventions. It represents a significant portion of our
Island’s bed count. It supports our Island’s airlift and it
provides significant support to the international marketing of Bermuda as a first -class tourism jurisdiction.
The BTA estimates that Fairmont Southampton Pri ncess is responsible for 25.0 per cent of our hotel
rooms, 28.5 per cent of all air arrivals that stay in hotel
accommodations, and 9.0 per cent of our total airlift.
And we are asked the question why are we doing this
now?
This hotel is important to our economy. It is a
critical compo nent to our community. Mr. Deputy
Speaker, it is not uncommon for new hotel develo pment s worldwide to receive incentives from a gover nment. Incentives are there to support and stimulate
hotel development. The level of incentives has to be
proportionately w eighed against the economic benefit
that is derived from that development. We have to
[consider] both the short -term and also the long- term
assessment of the benefits and support of that development. Any rational person who looks at and weighs
out the economic benefit of that hotel being open will
conclude that this development is in the best interest of this country.
This hotel development, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
will have a direct impact on our local economy, an indirect impact on our local economy and an induced
impact on our local economy. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Department of Statistics produces what we con-sider to be a tourism satellite account. It actually
measures the value added of our tourism industry. It
1288 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly talks about the value added derived from the direct,
indirect and induced benefits of any hotel product in
our economy. Just to shed light on what I am talking
about, direct impact includes hotel revenues derived
from room revenue, food and beverage revenue, from
both banquet and restaurant services and revenue
received from other hotel amenities. These revenues
are not generated on their own. Employees are r equired to generate those revenues.
As it pertains to Fairmont Southampton Pri ncess with close to 800 employees , 70-plus per cent of
them are Bermudian employees. When we celebrate
International Workers Day, and then we celebrate Labour Day and we thank workers for the hard work and
dedication, and their contribution to making Bermuda a success, the workers at Fairmont Southampton
Princess are inc luded because it is the work that they
do to make that a first -class tourism accommodation
that drives economic activity throughout the rest of
this Island. These employees work in a large variety of
jobs, whether it be desk service jobs, hotel administr ation, front desk agents, porters, concierge, doormen,
bus service jobs, cleaning and maintenance jobs,
housekeeping, hostess, waiter service, cooks, chefs,
event planners, wedding planners, marketing indivi duals, and the list goes on.
We talk about economic growth, development
and the expansion of jobs in this economy. Here is a
project that brings economic growth, it brings economic development, and it brings the expansion of jobs in
this economy. And we are determining whether or not
the incentives we prov ide to achieve our outcomes
measure up to the economic benefits?
As it pertains to the indirect impact, let’s talk
about the telecommunication services that go into
supporting that particular hotel. The utility company
services that support that hotel. The support provided
by wholesalers and retailers. The Minister of
Transport said that hotel is responsible for 55,000
guests. Mr. Deputy Speaker, you tell me how many
additional hamburger s a wholesaler needs to import to
feed 55,000 guests. And what happens when you do
not have that additional 55,000 to 60,000 guests? It
[causes a] strain on every business in that hotel supply chain.
Landscaping companies are supported,
transportation services, travel agents, tour operators,
our retail sector is supported, and persons who are
vendors and suppliers of leisure services. The i nduced impact of that hotel includes the actual wages
that are paid to those employees . With 70 per cent of
those employees being Bermudian, those wages are
spent directly into our economy for rent, utilities, and
all other local consumer purchases.
The Minister of Tourism stated that the ec onomic benefit lost equates to $100 million a year for that property not being open. When I look at the quantum of the tax concessions , whether I use t he former
Finance Minister’s numbers, Gencom’s numbers, or the Opposition’s numbers, those tax concessions on
an annual basis equate to less than $10 million a
year. Over a 15- year period, if we [do not have this]
hotel we [will] lose $1.5 billion, accordi ng to the est imates. [If this hotel opens] w e receive $1.5 billion of
economic benefit for our investment over that same
period of time in terms of concessions at best around
$150 million. And that is using the high end of any
estimate that anybody is comi ng forth with. You
[might] ask one to rationalise making that decision ,
whether or not t hat would be like trading off $10 mi llion a year for $100 million a year.
But here is the kicker, , Mr. Deputy Speaker.
In an 18- month period, we spent over $80 million in
unemployment benefits. That is almost the quantum of
the tax concessions we are giving to a property that
will generate over $1.5 billion over a 15- year period to
our economy . I am going to say this again: Anybody
who has some sort of rational thought can conclude
that this may not be the best deal for the country, but
it is a good deal, because the best deal means that
you want to minimise your incentives and maximise your return. But in my former life I was not a banker ; I
was a negotiator. And I rec ognised that there is give
and there is take. And I had to weigh out what I was prepared to give for what I was supposed to get in
return. We gain more in this deal than we give away. I
will reiterate: This is a good deal for this country.
Let me say anot her thing. We take foreign direct investment for granted. Companies can spend
$300 million elsewhere. We ar e competing with the
rest of the world. We are not competing with the next hotel development down the line. So it is a bad thing
when we look at one hotel concession versus the next
and what we gave to St. Regis versus what we gave
to Morgan’s Point versus what we gave to The Loren.
That is not our competition in terms of who we are competing with in terms of attracting investment. We
are competing wit h the rest of the world. And we need
to ensure that developers choose Bermuda because
they can spend the capital elsewhere. We have to be
welcoming to business. We cannot just automatically
assume that we have this infinite value that investors
around the world know about.
Foreign direct investment is important because it supports economic growth and development, it supports the expansion of jobs within the economy,
it supports economic diversification. And it is important
for a government to ensure that w e have an environment, an ecosystem that is welcoming to that foreign direct investment. We need to tell the world that we are open for business so that we can attract more developers to our shores, so they can invest in more
products. And with this deal t he Government i s informing investors that we are open for business , that we
are prepared to do what it takes to get the benefits
that we require on behalf of the people of this country.


Bermuda House of Assembly So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, in closing, I support
this Bill 100 per cent. I think it is important that we
show the world that we are open for business.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr.
Deputy Speaker.
My concern today is focusing more on the
humanity behind this Bill. I would like to speak a little
bit about the vision, because I would imagine that there are a number of people that are sitting at home
right now wondering what has this got to do with me?
What am I, as an individual citizen of Bermuda, going
to get from this deal? What does it mean to me?
Mr. Deputy Speaker, my concern is an ec onomic divide. Now, I am going to preface this by sa ying that the vision based on statements coming out of
the PLP Administration that we have to be competitive
in our agreements with hotel developers, that we have
to be competitive with other jurisdictions, is a real
concern for me Mr. Deputy Speaker. Now the reason
why I am really concerned about that is because I have had a look at many of the other jurisdictions that
have similar concessions with these long- range years
of tax relief and what I see is a huge economic divide.
I see rows and rows of beautiful luxurious hotels. And I must say that I support the reopening of our
iconic hotel, the Fairm ont Southampton. But when we
look behind the scenes of these jurisdictions that have taken this route of this open- handed, blanket give- thedeveloper -what -they-want, [and then] you look across
the bay and you see people who desperately need,
desperately need the tax revenue from these hotels
and they are living in squalor, poverty . . . they have
no shoes . They have muddy streets to walk on. Think
about any of those jurisdictions. I have certainly been
to a number of them and I cannot believe it. I almost
feel guilty being in some of these jurisdictions where
they have got these beautiful hotels and yet their s ocial fabric is a mess.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, we have got to take our
time. The hotel has already been closed for two years.
What is another six months in the scheme of things?
And I say this from the perspective of the fact that
most of the conventions, the exhibitions, the large group events that come to Bermuda are not just going
to make an appointment or make a reservation to be
down here in October. They plan out their calendar of events years in advance. So yes, we absolutely have
to make movement toward reopening the hotel. But
we do not have to bow down to the first thing that
comes our way.
The reason I really feel bad about the fact that
we jus t simply rolled over and let the first person who
is coming on board to take over and wish out as much
revenue and benefit for our Island’s social fabric, is
that every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the industry of development seeing these concessions —

Hon. E. David Burt: Point of order, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.

Point of order, yes.

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

Hon. E. David Burt: The Honourable Member is mi sleading the House. When the Honourable Member
says it is the first person, it should be noted that this
property was for sale for a very long time. There were
multiple deals that fell through. So it would be incorrect for the Honourable Member to say the first person. It should also be noted that developers are the
ones who own the property. This is private property,
not public property. But this is not the first. Many deals fell through. And I am certain that Members opposite
who were in Government know the state of the attempted sale of that property to secure additional i nvestment as it was sorely needed. And if it didn't have
additional investment it would close.

Thank you. Thank you very
much Mr. Deputy Speaker. This speaks directly to my
point. We have on the table negotiations and agreements and terms of financing that we have not necessarily considered before. And if we had just taken a
few more months to have considered what potentially
could have been an industry -wide new structure
around conces sions and agreements with hoteliers we
could have come up with a very attractive innovative structure that would have been of great interest to
other jurisdictions.
But we will never know now. We will never
know. But we have the opportunity. And we have t o
realise no matter how much we may want to compare
ourselves with some of the jurisdictions that we consider ourselves to be competing with, that Bermuda is
a special place. And developers and the like know
that. They know the value of Bermuda. If we had just
used all of our resources to have come up with a structure that would have been attractive and fair to the people of Bermuda, fair for the developers, we
1290 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly would have seen more people more developers come
to the table. I am sure of it.
In the meantime, we have now come up with
this very generous Fairmont Southampton [Hotel] Act.
And I can almost guarantee this. There are going to be other establishments, whether they are existing
already in Bermuda and open for business, whether
they are closed and look ing to reopen, or whether
some future developer that may have an eye on Bermuda, they are going to be looking at this agreement
as lucrative as it is and they are going to demand it.
So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I go back to my first
point. If we are going to start giving concessions like
the concessions that we are looking to give in this Fairmont Southampton [Hotel] Act we are going to be losing tax dollars that are supporting our infrastructure
and our social fabric and we are going to completely
lose it.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
So with out the taxpaying dollars that we are
giving away, basically with the Fairmont Southampton
[Hotel] Act, and the potential that we have on Island
right now, existing properties that are closed, that will
be looking at this kind of concession and saying, We
want it too, which will be another layout of another
hundred million . . . we have Elbow Beach, we have
Ariel Sands, we have Bermudiana Beach, it goes on
and on. All of these folks are going to want to see a
similar concession Act for them. And many of our
open hotels are going to look to say, Hey, we want it
too. And that is a lot of taxpaying dollars that we are
going to lose.
We do not have enough police on the police
force now to keep us safe. We do not have enough
fire fighters to protect our property and our airport. We
are struggling with housing for people who need it.
Our social services for our seniors , our rest homes are
struggling to stay open. They need support . They
need the social programmes. Are we just going to i gnore that?
Are we just goin g to let the children who need
the support from social services just go without any kind of support system because of all of the taxpaying
dollars that will come with grants that will get reduced
and reduced and reduced and then forgotten?

Hon. E. David B urt: Point of order, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.

Yes, your point of order, Mr.
Premier.
POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

Hon. E. David Burt: The Honourable Member conti nues to mislead the House. It is established fact, as I
gave in my Statement, that the Government of Bermuda will make more money with this development
open than not. I t is established fact. There is additional tax revenue to the coffers if this property is open
rather than closed. And I am not understanding why
the Honourable Member is talking about reduced money to the coffers when that is contrary to the facts.
She is misleading the House and she should speak to
the fact that there is additional revenue to the Go vernment.

Thank you. I am going to
hang on to the word “if.” I am also looking to the future
and looking at this from a visionary perspective that
says that there is almost no way . . . there are existing
hotels on this Island, future hotels and closed hotels,
that want to reopen that will also want similar concessions. So we are just multiplying.
Now, whether the revenue comes in or not, I
am personally not convinced that we are going to be
getting any kind of support from a tax perspective for a period of t ime. And if we have other industries within
the Island within the hospitality industry, that are going
to follow suit with similar concessions, I see this as a
runaway railway train. I have no concept of the idea that this is going to be a one- off and we are going to
walk away with supplementary benefit from all of this. I am not convinced, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
I will move on.

[Inaudible interjection]

The St. George’s Resort Act.
Like most of us, I went back and looked through the
Hansard for that. And I could not help but raise my
eyebrows at the fact that the PLP Administration at
the time were most agitated to get as many details
about the St. [George’s] Resort Act as they possibly could. At the time the OBA Government did everythi ng
it could to provide whatever information they had as
soon as it was finalised. And if I can sort of list, there
were all kinds of site plans, and property plans, development plans, subdivisions. It does not matter. I understand that was a new constructi on at the time. But
the point is that we provided as much information as
we possibly could. And I think one of the things that is
really bothersome about this particular debate—
Hon. E. David Burt: Point of order, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.

A point of order, Premier?


Bermuda House of Assembly POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

Hon. E. David Burt: The Honourable Member is
again unintentionally misleading the House. The St.
George’ s Resort Act was not just a concessions Act
which was passed by the former Government, but also consisted of a ground lease. And the reasons why
those things were there was because the former Government, because it was public land, extended a 262year lease and had to change the use of the land. That is what it is.
This one is private land. So, I t hink that the
Honourable Member should understand that. There are differences between the two, so she should not confuse the issues. So when she is speaking about
why there is not these particular plans that are laid out
the 2009 S DO covers that . The 2015 Act , of which
they had granted planning permission, w e are making
this development follow the planning process. And I
hope she understands that.

Thank you, Deputy Speaker.
I will never profess to be the financial numbers person, but one of t he pieces that did strike me
was just a simple but major piece of information that
would have helped me. That is that there is a defini-tion in the Fairmont Southampton [Hotel] Act that
gives the definition of a guest room. In parentheses, it
says that the definition of a guest room is in a site plan
which has been delivered to the Minister by a certain
date. So, in all my due diligence, I went out and tried
my very best within the public domain to try to find the
definition of a guest room. I can’t find it. I wonder why
the Minister of Tourism or the Minister of Finance
could not just give us —well, maybe I’m the only one
that’s interested in it —even a definition of a guest
room.

One second.
Deputy Leader, do you have a point of order?

POINT OF ORDER

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Yes. I have a point of order.
Mr. Deputy Speaker.
I think the Member was referencing clauses in
the Bill, and, as you know, we haven’t gone to Com-mittee yet . It would seem that is a question that she
would be asking in Committee. I just wanted to make that reference point, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, Deputy S peaker.
Just making a point there.
In conclusion, I do not think that there is an ything much within these three pages that really gives
me and the constituents that I listen to who are concerned about the future, especially regarding the po-tential dilution of the tax revenue that will be reinves ted into the social programmes and the social fabric of
Bermuda . . . I do not believe that these three pages
are really going to give us that confidence that ever ything is . . . I want to say above board, so I might as
well go on and say it.
I am also very concerned that we do not really
have any real idea on what that cost overall is really
going to be for Bermuda. I do believe that we abs olutely need to reopen the hotel —

My final piece is the information around the employment at the Fairmont
Southampton. I know that may be down the road, and
that the unions are in agreement with some structure. But I am very interested in making sure that Bermudians are given a fair and a vast majority advantage
when it comes to employment once the hotel opens.
We have . . . or at least I have not seen a ny indication
of where or what has happened with the 800- odd employees that were made redundant last year or so, or
in 2020. I’m just also very concerned that we may get
so caught up in the numbers that we lose sight of the
humanity in this and to make sur e that, one, when the
negotiations continue that Bermudians are in the for efront for employment. I know that outsourcing is a very—

Honourable Member, let me
say this to you. You should know that if you do not
know the history of Berm uda Industrial Union, I would
ask you to go and talk to the union. They can tell you
what they have done and continuously do in the hotel
industry. And that is why you have many Bermudians in positions in the hotels. There is a history book you
can buy from the union if you want to know the history
of it.

Thank you, Deputy Speaker.
I guess my point really is that this is one of the
first really big deals that we have negotiated. And I know that we are negotiating with some seasoned
professionals, international developers. We just need
to keep our eyes open, stay alert, pay attention to d etails, and keep it as transparent as possible so that all Bermudians have an opportunity to survive this trans ition. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

I appreciate it, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, as I have listened to the
past few speakers, some things jumped out to me.
One is, why now? Another is, wait six months.
As the Honourable Member whose constit uency Southampton Princess falls in, that concerns me.
That is concerning to me because when you say wait
another six months . . . if I may tell a story, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. I received a call from one of my constituents maybe about a month ago, and they wer e desperate
for a job. I had to say to this young man . . . he actually referenced Southampton Princess. And I said to
him, The time is coming. He was a former employee
of Southampton Princess and was obviously made
redundant, and he started his own business when he
was made redundant that was going well. But he is
now very interested in getting back into the labour force, specifically going back up to South P. So, he is
desperate. He is desperate for a job.
It irks me —if I can use that word— when I hear
Members say, Why now? Let’s wait another six
months. This young man cannot wait another six
months. He needs to put food on the table for his kids.
So for me to tell him to wait another six months further after the construction is done at South P, I cannot do
that. In good conscience, I cannot do that because
you are basically telling him that he will not be able to
provide food for his kids because the Opposition
wants to wait a further six months or [say] Why now?
I cannot in good conscience and good faith go
back to him and say, Well, the Honourable Member
from the other side wants you to wait longer. I cannot
do that.
So as the MP for constituency 30, which
Southampton Princess falls under, I think about the
benefits of this deal to our constituency because that is what I think about when I think about South P. So
let me give you a list of local businesses that stand to
benefit from this development going through to coun-ter Why now?: Henry’s Pantry, the Wok Express,
places like Mr. Chicken, Pizza House, H orseshoe Bay
Live, Southampton Rangers Sports Club, which is
near and dear to my heart. And the list goes on.
These are just a few local businesses within the area


Bermuda House of Assembly that will benefit from the development and the reopening of Southampton Princess Hotel.
Then I talk about the jobs for my constituents.
I spoke about that one young man, but that is not to
mention the other 10 calls that I received within the
past few months asking: Where can we apply for
jobs? We’re excited at the fact that this deal is going through.
So let’s talk about taxi drivers, a job that is
near and dear to my heart because that is the job that
my father has been doing for the last 10 years; and numerous other constituents do. Taxi drivers benefit.
Taxi drivers have not had the opportun ity to go up to
South P for years. The reopening adds a source of
revenue for them.

Thank you, sir.
So, let’s talk about the 70/30. My colleague,
Minister Hayward, talked about the 70 per cent Bermudians minimum who will be working up at South P and the 30 per cent of others who will be coming in
and working at that establishment. Let's be real.
Where are those 30 per cent going to stay? They are
going to stay in apartments close to Southampton
Princess. They are going to stay in those accomm o-dations that fall within constituencies 30, 31, 29 —
walking distance to that hotel or a short bus route.
I know our constituents are going to be elated
at the fact that they can find people to rent their accommodations. But, Why now? Let’s wait another six
months when we do not have rent for our apartment. It
is insane to me that those comments would come
from the Opposition in that Why shouldn’t we wait a nother six months? It is insane to me. They obviously
have their apartments rented. They are making money hand over fist —

Thank you, sir. I apologi se.
So, let’s talk about the types of jobs that will
benefit. I always like to give examples. As a former
teacher, I like to give examples for the stories and for
my points that I am making.
I know of truck drivers who . . . Actually, I
know a former employee from Southampton Princess that formed a trucking company, a very successful
trucking company, after he was made redundant and
was paid his redundancy fee from Southampton Pri ncess. And they are looking forward to the construction
starting because they know that the contractors will be looking for truckers to work on the site. But if we wait
another six months or Why now? as the Member pr e1294 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly vious said, that is money out of honest working people’s pockets.
So, I do not want to belabour the point, but I
do want to belabour the point. It irritates me to no end
that the Opposition does not support this Bill and
would like us to wait another six months before we
push this Bill forward. I cannot speak to it enough because of the fact that I receive calls. I’m not sure if the
Opposition Members receive calls, if they give their
numbers out to t he constituents that they have. But I
give my number out personally, and I receive calls
daily asking: When is this project going to take off?
When are they going to open? and When can we apply for jobs?
That is what I am focused on. I am focused on
getting Bermudians back to work. Our Government
has a plan, and that plan is to put our Bermudians
back to work. And for the Opposition to keep on dela ying, delaying, and wanting to delay and pontificating
. . . It irritates me to no end, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
So, I promised I would not speak for long. I
just wanted to speak to the fact that our constituency 30 supports the redevelopment of Southampton
Princess. And we look forward to this Bill passing. It
has my 100 per cent support. I know that the economic boo m that will be felt within our community, within
the Island, will outweigh any of the concessions that
have been agreed to by this deal.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Member, Mr. Wade.
The next speaker is Mr. D e Silva.
Zane De Silva, you have the floor.

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me start like this. No
hotel equals no taxes and no jobs. Simple. Plain and
simple. I think that the Minister of Tourism and our
Premier outlined it perfectly. Really what should have
happened after the Premier and the Minister of Tourism spoke, we should not have had any more speak-ers. But of course, we had a few people get up and
speak, and of course, that leads us to have to repl y.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, just like Honourable
Member Wade just said, I am astounded by the comments that he is astounded by. What is the rush? A nother six months. Honourable Member Jackson, are
you serious? What is another six months? Tell that to
someone t hat has been out of work for two years.

That is not a point of order.
Mr. De Silva, continue.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
See? Those are the idiotic comments we get,
Mr. Deputy Speaker. Right?
I am going to repeat: Another six months to
get a good deal? We have been working on this for
two years. And I will take this opportunity to thank our
Premier for getting this thing across the line. With all
due respect to the former Minister of Finance, this thing was dragging on, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But the
Premier got it done.
Will we have to make adjustments in the f uture? Maybe so. But listen, when we have 800 people out of work and hundreds of others relying on this ho-tel, airlift relying on this, the increase of airlift relying
on the opening of this hotel, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we
are getting it done. Just like any other piece of legisl ation. How many amendments have we made to legi slation in this country just in my last 20 years, Mr. Deputy Speaker? Will we have t o make amendments?
Maybe. But I’ll tell you what. This is going to allow that
hotel to put shovels in the ground, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and put people to work.
As the Honourable Minister Jason Hayward
said, we have spent $80 million in the last 8 to 12
mont hs on financial assistance. To ask What is our
rush? We have people out of work. I know. I live it, Mr.
Deputy Speaker. People knock on my door every day
for work. I have hired people, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
and I do not have anything for them. You know personally, because you have sent people to me. People
are struggling out there. They are hurting. This legisl ation today, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is going to put people
to work. It is going to put people to work. And to hear Six months more, or What ’s our rush? We have been
dragging our tails, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We need to
get cracking.
One minute the Opposition says: What is your
economic recovery plan? Do you remember how
many times we heard that in the last 6, 8, 9, 10
months? But here we have this legislation here today
that is going to jump- start our economy. The Oppos ition has been saying it for months if not a couple of years: What is our economic recovery plan? We come
up with this, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and this is what we
get from them? They are not going to support it? We
should take some more time to get a better deal? This
is not government property. This is privately owned
property. These people could close the door and walk away tomorrow if they want to.


Bermuda House of Assembly Let me state this, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I do
not care if the guarantee was $200 million. I would
support it. Just like the OBA supported $200 million
for Morgan’s Point for a private deal (on government
land, but a private deal). And we are still spending; it might be $220 [million] by now. And it is not over. I will
tell you what. The difference, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is
this. We have someone who has purchased that
property, who has purchased property down at the
East End and Tucker’s Point. They have a track record. Gencom have a worldwide track record, Mr. De puty Speaker, and I will go with them any time. They
have already invested millions and millions of dollars
at Tucker’s Point and will invest more. And we want to
tell them, Look. Hold it. We are not ready yet? No.
Then we hear comments like: Is this in the
best interests of the people of Bermuda? Seriously?
You are going to tell me that we do not have the expertise and we have not had the expertise yet to make
these decisions? Tell all the people who have been
out of work for the last two and a half year if we have
their interests at heart by doing this. And when they
see shovels in the ground and they see people up at
that Southampton site working, ask them then what
they think.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Honourable Member
Jackson . . . I . . . I . . . You know what? Maybe I
should not even comment on it, when she talks about
humanity and we have to be competitive, we have to
take our time, and companies plan years in advance. I
am glad she said that, because guess what? She is
right. They do plan years in advance. And with them
hearing that this hotel is now going to proceed, maybe
they will start booking for when the hotel opens in
2023/24.
We have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in
large group business. Everyone in this House today
knows that. W hen was the last time we had a convention in Bermuda? We need this hotel. They are going to expand their convention space by like 50 per cent.
You have real land that has tennis courts on it. Where
in the world would you take a beautiful piece of property land and put a tennis court? They are going to
totally revamp that entire site. And businesses in this
country are going to get business. They are going to
employ more people because they are going to get additional work. It is a no- brainer.

[Ms. Lovitta F. Foggo, Acting Speaker, in the Chair]

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: When I hear people saying
they are not going to be support this, I have to wonder
if they have lost their marbles.
You have got to be kidding.
In this economic climate, we have someone
willing to invest in this country hundreds of millions of
dollars. I think just the opposite of the Opposition. I think that this development is going to increase the interest in this country, increase the interest in deve lopers coming to this country.
Look. We can talk about concessions. The
OBA gave a 30- year concession to the airport. If we
have new developers come along, whether it is Elbow
Beach as was mentioned earlier, the old Lantana site,
or Ariel Sands site, and these folks want to talk about
conc essions? Yes, we will talk about them, and we
will give them. Would it not be great to have hundreds
of thousands of tourists coming to this Island? Would
it not be fantastic to say, Wow, where are we going to
put all these people? We need to build some more
hotels. So, yes, if that is what it takes, that is what we
need to do.
We need economic activity in this country. We
need foreign investment, to use the favourite words of
the former Minister of the OBA Bob Richards. We
need foreign investment in this country. We need foreign exchange. You are damn skippy we do, and this
is going to do it.
I have many friends, as many of us do, in the
taxi industry alone. I was at Crystal Caves yesterday. They had about eight taxis there and another four
drove in as I was driving up. Those guys said, Man
this is fantastic. This is great! They have had two
years of zero. I just get . . . I am like MP Jason Wade.
I get ticked off when I hear the Opposition talking
about not supporting this Bill. You have got to be ki dding me.
This hotel was one of the largest and will be
again one of the largest employers on this Island. And I could go through statistics, Madam Acting Speaker, I could go through statistics after statistics after stati stics that our colleagues have done and will continue to do before this debate is done today, I’m sure. But the
benefits, the benefits . . . We could sit here and talk
for hours and hours about the benefits. I know we could on our side. There would not be enough time in
the day. We would have to extend Parliament over the weekend if we talked about the benefits. But what are
the risks? What are the risks if we do not?
This development could spark . . . I hate . . . I
know some people will not like this word. It could spark a platinum period with regard to tourism in this
country. If all of a sudden other investors said, Listen.
Hey. Look. These guys are . . . Look. Tucker’s Point is
going. St. Regis is going. Now this is going. Look. I
had better get on board in Bermuda, because I see
something bright, bright, bright in the future.
So, you know what? I am convinced that this
project is going to be successful, Madam Acting Speaker. It is going to be successful. I have a lot of
confidence in Gencom. I have confidence in our Cabinet. I have confid ence in my fellow Backbench colleagues. We know we have had these discussions for
the past couple of years. Hey, I have confidence in all
of us that we will continue to get things like this done. We promised the people of this country in our last
platform and the one before that that we are going to
1296 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly put their interests first. We are going to put Bermudians first. This is what is putting Bermudians first.
We are going to get this hotel out, gut this hotel, renovate it. We are going to see new things happening at that hotel. And I think other developers and
other hotel properties are going to follow suit because
they are not going to want to lose out. I think that pe ople worldwide will want to come to Bermuda. It is still, I
believe, the most beautiful place in the world. And I
have travelled all over the world. I have travelled all
over the Caribbean to our competitors, there ain’t nothing like Bermuda. Now I am not saying we do not
have more work to do. I would like to see more entertainment. But that is com ing.
But Madam Acting Speaker, I am going to
leave it there. I am going to leave it right there. B ecause with no hotel we have no taxes, and we have
no jobs. None. And I just . . . I am . . . I am . . . I am
hopeful. I am confident that this is going to produce
not only employment for our people in the hotel , there
are going to be construction jobs , there are going to
be taxi jobs. And you know what else? The entrepr eneurs in this country . . . the entrepreneurs are going
to grow because this is going to g ive them opportunities to do things as well. So, I am just excited about it.
I am not going to get hyped at the naysayers today. I
am going to be excited. I think our Premier carried this, got it over the line. And I am excited. I think the
Tourism Minster , his Cabinet colleagues and my fellow Backbenchers are excited. And we will do ever ything in our power to make sure it is successful.
Thank you, Madam Acting Speaker.

Thank you, Opposition Leader.
And I do not think that he was intendi ng to do that. I
think he was just trying to be courteous and allow anyone . . . because we do know that our numbers are
vast in the House. So, he was probably just trying to
give you an opportunity to speak.
I will ask the question again. Are there any
other Members who wish to speak?

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Madam Acting Speaker.

Is that the Deputy Leader? [Do]
you wish to speak Deputy Leader?
Hon. Walter H. Roban: I will. But I think this is also
about democracy and less about strategy. Those who
wish to have opposing views on matters of the Go vernment should b e prepared to speak on them in this
House, Madam Acting Speaker —

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Let’s go to C ommittee.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: —instead of howling in their
chairs.

Yes.
Minister, you have the floor. And the clock is
now tic king.

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Madam Acting
Speaker.
Yes, Madam Acting Speaker , we have had a
very interesting debate today. And I wish to thank,
certainly, the Government speakers who have spoken
up so far, who have given their support to this Bi ll.
This Bill, which I will remind the listening public, is the
Fairmont Southampton Hotel Act 2022 —a Bill to facil itate the investment in the Fairmont Southampton H otel with the support of certain Government incentives in a package aligned with the Touris m Investment Act.

[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the
Chair]

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I,
of course, enthusiastically support this Bill. I support
the endeavour this Bill is seeking to provide for our


Bermuda House of Assembly country , and t he opportunity. We are reminded that
this is a private development that is being invested in.
We are providing a measure of support to support a
percentage of the investment. And as we have also
been told, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this is not an uncom-mon thing. And we, having our own tourism inves tment regime, have had this for many years, going
back to the year 2000 (I think I am saying the year correctly, Mr. Deputy Speaker), a body of legislation to
encourage investment in tourism development in this
country. So, it is not an alien thing.
But what is different is that we are now 22
years on from that legislation and things have
changed. And the investment landscape, the tourism
market and the opportunities of that market have also changed. Despite the fact that we remain 22 square
miles, the world around us has changed. And the approach and attitude towards our Island when it comes
to the i ndustry of t ourism has also changed as well.
And we cannot make certain assumptions, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, which I know you will understand as a gentleman who has vast experience in the hospitality i ndustry and in many aspects of its operation, in the
personnel issues and even the wider needs of tourism, Mr. Deputy Speaker. You have quite a bit of experience in that. So, you co me as no alien to these
issues although many in the listening public may and
even some Members of this House might actually as well.
The reality is that we as a jurisdiction have to
respond to the environment that we are faced with. The environment . . . just as in the wider issue of cl imate change. Mr. Deputy Speaker, if I could just divert. The world around us is determining what hap-pens on our Island. What happens around us in our
ocean and our air determines it. We cannot necessar ily change it. We have to respond and mitigate neg ative impacts and support positive impacts. So, when it comes to the investment in tourism, we have to [do]
the same. We are a part of a global tourism market. So, we have to be responsive to what will support our
involvement wi th that market. And that means we
have to make ourselves attractive for investment.
So, having listened to much of what was said
today, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I heard certain M embers
spend a lot of time talking about and focusing on what
we should not be doi ng in relation to this Act, or what
they think this Act should not do or what is does not
do right. Well, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would hope that the majority of us in this House want to talk about
what we should be doing.
What we should be focused on, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, is what the Bill allows us to accomplish, the
possibilities, the potential, and the opportunities this
Bill creates. That, I think, is what is important. And
let’s also remember, Mr. Deputy Speaker, who we are here for, and why we are here. I think this question
has come up a few times. Why are we here? We are not here because of lawyers. We are not here b e-cause of an agreement, the headlines of the agre ements and then the specifics. We are not here be-cause of contracts. We are here because of people ,
because Bermuda’s tourism is essential to the people of this country, to their welfare, to their survival, to their opportunities.
That is the role tourism plays for us. We are
here for them. This Bill has been brought for them.
Not for Gencom . Not for the tax commissioner or the
licence fees that will be paid or other fees that will be paid. We are here for the people. This Bill is about the people of Bermuda and ensuring their survival. And I
thought, Mr. Deputy Speaker, many of us would understand that [fact], having gone through the last two
years of COVID -19. And the amount of people who
were impacted by the shutting down of this country,
our tourism and hospitality industry shutting down . . .
And again, not as much because of anything that we
ourselves had to do but because of what was happe ning around the globe.
Cruise ships could not come. Cruise ships became Petri dishes for COVID -19. Aircraft became P etri dishes for moving COVID -19 around the world. So,
we had to shut down. We had to c lose our industry
down. People were out of work. And from my observ ation, and I think the analysis supports this, the visitor
industry is the one industry where the majority of Bermudians were impacted. Other aspects of the Mi nistry in Bermuda kept going. But the tourism industry
and the hospitality industry and all the connecting i ndustries to them shut down. Restaurants, retail, those
who service the industries went into shutdown. And thousands of our people were out of work as a result
of the visitor industry having to shut down and the I sland having to close down. So, when we talk about this Bill, we need to talk about where this Bill will take
us. It will return hundreds of Bermudian, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, with jobs to work in tourism.
My colleagues have already explained the
type of ripples in where that goes. It will inject addi-tional construction activity to the Island. We know that.
It will return millions of dollars in revenue to the Island.
I believe the number that has been estimated is that
the operation of Southampton Princess generates
about $80 million of revenue annually to this country. You can correct me, Mr. Deputy Speaker, if I am i ncorrect. But those are astronomical numbers that are
attached with just one property. I heard a number
quoted— 55,000 visitors go through the doors of that
hotel historically on average. There is no other proper-ty in Bermuda that can generate that volume of activ ity. This is the anchor property for the Island.
What else will return? Due to those numbers,
that wil l mean positive influence on airlift. If we can
have a hotel like that back in operation and the level
of volume of people that can come, the airlines will
begin to provide more service. I am sure that is what the Minister of Transport is hoping for, Mr. D eputy
Speaker. It will create an environment where we can
1298 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly return to the market of the country and talk about opportunities around Elbow Beach and Lantana and
other potential properties to be developed because of
our success in getting this property back to being r edeveloped. It creates an eye on Bermuda that potentially makes those properties more attractive for a potential development. So, the ripples with this Bill being
passed and the success it can bring with the redevelopment of the hotel are astronomi cal.
There is no other property that brings that sort
of attention. With all due respect to St. Regis , with all
due respect to some other properties that have r ecently been redeveloped —The Loren, Azura —they
are not going to bring the type or level of volu me of
attention and credibility and activity that Fairmont Southampton will bring. In fact, I can attest myself, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, having had conversations with some
of the people who operate those hotels. They want to
see further redevelopment. They do not see it as
competition for them, whether it be Coral Beach or
Azura or The Loren. They see it as compl ementary
because with that sort of capacity available more people will begin to look at Bermuda and look at the options we have.
If we only have a few active hotels with minimal airlift . . . If people know they can get here and
have many options, they will begin to look at other options that are available if other developments are in
play.
We have to see this Bill as an opportunity for
us as a country , Mr. Deputy Speaker. What does it
bring? The Honourable Member of Tourism and the
Honourable Finance Minister have outlined this so
clearly already, but I would just like to reiterate because repeating is certainly helpful to our public. That
is who we ar e speaking to. This is about the people.
This is not about the lawyers or the developer. This is
about the people of our country having a redevelopment opportunity and an opportunity to re- engage with
Bermuda’s historically most successful industry, tour-ism.
It means, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that Bermuda
as a destination becomes something that more people
will look at it. It means a number of things. And the
Honourable Minster Hayward himself touched on this,
Mr. Deputy Speaker. You know, we all believe be-caus e this is our country, this is our Bermuda, that
Bermuda is the most beautiful place in the world and
that Bermuda is the best place to invest. We all believe that. When I go away, I say that. Whenever I talk
to anybody about my country that is what I say, The
most beautiful place in the world. We are open for
business, and it is a great place to invest. But guess
what. People can go elsewhere and invest too. And
they will look at the numbers. And it has been repeatedly said [Bermuda] is a challenging place for inves tments. Challenging investments do not necessarily
mean you cannot have success, but you have to
make yourself attractive to investors in ways that di s-tinguish you from others in the marketplace. That is
what this is about. It is about distinguis hing ourselves
from others where other people can go.
Investments are like water, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. It will go and follow where it is not impeded.
So, if they have a blockage here, the water just goes
to the other place. So, if there is a blockage in Berm uda, they are going to go to Jamaica. They are going to
go to TCI. They are going to go to DR. They are going
to go to St. Lucia. That is where the water will go. That
is where the investors will go. It is not going to stop and wait six months for us to be ready. Anybody who
suggests that . . . I have to borrow the language of
some of my honourable colleagues. I think there is a
bit of insanity in that comment , frankly. It does not
make economic sense for this country while people want jobs, people cannot put food on their table, to tell
them, Just wait six months. It will happen.
Do you want to have to go tell that same thing
to your constituents, Mr. Deputy Speaker? No, I do
not want to have to tell them. I want to be able to tell
the taxi drivers, the people who have concessions in
tourism, the people who are in retail, Yes, the hotel is
going to be open and it is going to mean a lot more
work for you. Just like having those cruise ships down
in Dockyard, another place that had certain pushback,
if you remember, Mr. Deputy Speaker . The two cruise
ships that have been down there over the last couple
of weeks . . . our taxi drivers and our retailers and
others who have tourism services are elated. This is
the sort of enthusiasm in hotel business we are try ing
to bring back to Bermuda—that enthusiasm.
We need more beds. There is nobody who
disagrees with that, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We need more beds. We are down on our bed count to attract
the volume of business that we need in this country.
Other Islands to the south . . . I just visited, and I will
just reflect, if you do not mind, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
on an experience I just had. I just went to TCI. And those of you who have been to TCI know what is going on down there. That place has been hopping since
they came out of COVID -19. Since they opened up
and started to allow people, they have hotels that are
one-year-old that have just been opened, brand new
hotels. That is what we are competing with. They may
only have a couple thousands of beds, Mr. Deputy
Spea ker. But guess what. They have 4,000 villas.
They have great capacity. They are also 600 square
miles of an Island, so they have a lot more develo pment opportunity and they can attract more develop-ers if they want to.
So, that is the sort of environment t hat we are
facing—an environment where down in the Caribbean
they are building and developing. So, there is money
there to attract. We have to make ourselves attractive
for some of that capital and investment as well. This
deal with Fairmont Southampton wi ll make us more
attractive for developers who are out there looking for


Bermuda House of Assembly places to invest. We have to do that, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
My honourable colleagues, including Minister
Hayward [and] MP De Silva and others have said it
like it is. We need to stop ac ting like Bermuda is so
special that we have to be so rigid on business as
usual. Business as usual is not going to get the i nvestment that we want —that we need —to continue to
advance the agenda of this Government, to continue to advance the opportunities that we want for the people of Bermuda. There are entrepreneurs —young, not
so young— who want to be involved with tourism.
There are many who started businesses prior to the
pandemic where they were trying to do new things in
tourism. As you know, we had a programme where
people [could] go to the BEDC and have tourism business opportunities invested in. Up to this point, it is almost . . . why would you invest in tourism right now
when we have only limited capacity? There is not that
market.
So, we have to create an environment wor king with investors so that our own people will feel pos itive about investing in tourism. We want more Berm udians not only just working at the hotel, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We want Bermudians to start their own
businesses to take advantage of the volume of people
that will be here visiting the country. That only comes if we grow our market, we grow our capacity, we grow
the activity around tourism in Bermuda. We need to
have new people coming in. We need to have activity
so that our fi sherman and our farmers also have an
opportunity in tourism.
So, this Bill is a part of a larger picture. And I
am not going to get more into a lot of the numbers,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, because guess what. The Mini ster of Finance, the Premier, and, I am sur e, the Mini ster of Tourism, Vance Campbell , will continue to rei terate that message along with so many other M embers of our team who are here who know the numbers, who know the messages. People like the Honourable MP Crystal Caes ar and others and yourself
who have intimate knowledge of tourism, MP
De Silva, others , the former Tourism Minister, people
like MP Jamahl Simmons who has a background in
the tourism industry, MP Kim Swan— all of them are
going to reiterate the facts because they are the experts that we have on our side in this industry. And I
look forward to hearing from them.
But I would like to talk of some other things ,
because this development as you know has had some
history. There is a S pecial Development Order ass ociated with it , and that has been spoken about. But I
can assure M embers that despite what was decided in
the SDO (and I speak now as the Minister responsible for Planning) , despite there being an SDO with certain
things that have been laid out, there is nothing in an
SDO that precludes the requirements for any of what
is listed in the SDO to have to still go through planning
approval. That is still required. SDO approv als are permission in principle only. So, they are subject to
the same requirements, including other requirements,
before they are actually fully approved. So, you still
have to meet pending requirements even though certain things are prescribed in an SDO. That is appr opriate due diligence.
There are certain things laid out in the 2009
SDO, but they are permissions in principle, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And they still have to follow the appropr iate scrutiny through planning. So, no one is running away from that . There is an SDO that has certain
things, but that is only to a certain portion of what that
development is. It does not prescribe for the whole
development like we are dealing with in the Act today.
And there are permissions in the Act which I am sure
will be discussed in Committee that speak to what the
planning requirements are and what this Bill upholds around the p lanning requirements.
I would also like to say some other things because, again, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we need to always
talk about what is possible. There is a possibility that
this particular property could be a showcase for con-servation and efficiency, r enewable energy. It has the
potential to have some very interesting things about
efficiencies because, as you know, hotel properties
use a lot of energy. We can talk to the developer. And
I am happy for my department to work with them to see what conservat ions and efficiencies can be built
into that development that has a showcase for energy
usage for the proper uses of water and other essential
items that we are concentrating on around our env ironment.
So, I wish to close there, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
I beli eve I am coming up to my 20 minutes. And I am
thankful for the opportunity to support this Bill in the
way I have been able to do. Thank you very much, Mr.
Deputy Speaker.

You can. Go right ahead, Mi nister.

Hon. Vance Campbell: Okay. Firstly, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, I would like to clarify something that was
said by the first speaker after me and maybe repeated
later on by another speaker. What I did not say is anyone who questions this Bill is disingenuous or naïve.
With your permission, I will read what I actually said
from my statement.

Continue.
1300 6 May 2022 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly Hon. Vance Campbell: This is from my S tatement:
“[B]ut I wish to make it clear that an argument about
government sacrifice of revenue and that being a flaw
of this Bill and this Government’s approach is nonsense.”
So, it was very specific to someone having an
argument about government sacrifice of revenue as
being a flaw to this Bill.
And then I went on to say: “ [I]t would be borderline criminal and undoubtedly tone- deaf to hide
behind a revenue argument. This is far bigger than
that and anyone who fails to understand that is either
being disingenuous or naïve.”
Those were my comments. I was not saying
any criticism of this Bill or questioning of this Bill would
fall under this; just the argument around loss of rev enue. That is the first thing.
I believe my colleague, Minister Hayward,
more than adequately dealt with the question of incen-tives versus the contribution made by this hotel to GDP. Using the high numbers provid ed by the est imate submitted to us by the former Minister of F inance, that amount, as pointed out by Minister Ha yward, was less than $10 million a year over the 15 years versus an estimated contribution of $100 million per annum from the hotel property. A lot of the, I guess, anxiety comes from wanting perfect infor-mation. Well, if we wait long enough, we will come as close as possible to having perfect information as we
ever would. What we will not have when we have that
perfect information is the opportunity.
We all have anecdotal evidence of people
who were interested in investing in Bermuda taking their money and moving it elsewhere because of red tape, because we do not move fast enough, we are
not nimble. And a lot of the arguments are around
what is unknown. And there is an inevitable lean t owards what is unknown that it is going to be negative. But an argument can be made that what is unknown has just as much of a chance of being positive and
that our predictions are much better and that the outcome is much better than what we can project right
here and now in time. It is extremely easy to say to wait another six months. Apart from the opportunity possibly not being there in six months and being lost. It is easy for someone who may have steady income,
who may not have any financial needs, to say, Let’s
wait six months . What will six months more mean?
What is the impact? It is six months more of not having jobs . It is six months more of not being able to go
after group business. It is six months more of not being able to sit down and negotiate greater airlift. It is
six months more of falling behind our competition.
In keeping with the argument of searching for
perfect information, the One Bermuda Alliance in 2015
passed the St. George’s Resort Act 2015 to pave the way for the development of the St. Regis hotel. A year later in 2016 they found it necessary to make amend-m
ents to that A ct. It happens. Perhaps they had better
information in 2016 than they had in 2015 which prompted the need for amendments. They could have waited until 2016, had better information, but we probably would not have a St. Regis Hotel. Clearly, in general there is support (I think I only recall one per-son saying they cannot support it) for this. So, there is
a recognition.
When you look at 10 years versus 15 years,
again you break it down on a per annum basis, the
number pales in comparison to what this hotel co ntributes to GDP.
So, with those brief comments, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, I move that this Bill be committed.
[No audible res ponse]
Hon. Vance Campbell: We cannot hear you, Mr.
Deputy Speaker.

I’m sorry. Can you repeat that,
Minister? I am so sorry.
Hon. Vance Campbell: I said with those closing
comments, I move that the Bill be committed.
The Deputy Spea ker: Yes. Thank you. My apologies
again.
The House will resolve in Committee of the
whole. And we ask the Acting Chairperson Ms. Lovitta
Foggo to take the chair of Committee.
House in Committee at 4: 56 pm
[
Ms. Lovitta Foggo, Chairman]
COMMITTEE ON BILL
FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON HOTEL ACT 2022

Okay. It has been moved that clauses
1 through 7 be spoken to.
Do the Members approve?
Minister, continue.
Hon. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, clause 1 is
self-explanatory.
Clause 2 sets out definitions used in the Bill.
The “hotel redevelopment” is defined as meaning the
Fairmont Southampton Hotel redevelopment, inclu ding renovation of the guest rooms, restaurants, bars,
meeting rooms, spa, pool, beach club, kitchen, laun-dry and staff housing, as described in the summary of
works and site plan submitted to the Minister on 19
April 2022. The “hotel developer” is Westend Proper-ties Limited.
Clause 3 sets out the customs duty and tax
concessions granted in respect of the redevelopment,
as follows:
(a) full relief from customs duty for a period of fi fteen years from commencement of the Bill in
respect of any building materials, furnishings,
fixtures and equipment which are necessary
for the building, furnishing and equipping of the hotel redevelopment;
(b) full exemption from hotel occupancy tax ot herwise payable in respect of the hotel for a period of fifteen years after the hotel’s opening
date;
(c) full exemption from land tax otherwise pay able in respect of the hotel for a period com-mencing six years after the hotel’s opening
date and ending on the fifteenth anniversary
of the opening date;
(d) full exemption from the employer’s share of
the payroll tax otherwise payable in respect of persons employed by the hotel for a period of
fifteen years after the hotel’s opening date.
Clause 4 sets out the terms and conditions
subject to which the concessions are granted. The
land tax exemption is subject to confirmation that in
years six through fifteen at least 70 per cent of the
hotel’s staff are Bermudian. The payroll tax exemption
is subject to the operation of a management training
programme at t he hotel for Bermudians.
Clause 5 subsection (1) applies sections 7
through 13 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017 (which
covers application of customs duty relief and duty
payable on diversion, offences, penalties, regulations and guidance) with necessary modifications as those
sections apply to a T ourism Investment Order made
under that Act. Subsection (2) also applies section 6 of the 2017 Act with the necessary modifications to empower the Minister, with the agreement of the Mi nister of Finance and foll owing the consideration of any
objections made by the hotel developer, to make an order modifying or repealing any provision of clause 3
or 4 if there is a breach of any term or condition to
which the relief is subject, if a false declaration is
made to the Collector of Customs, or if any goods
which were imported subject to customs duty relief are used for purposes which do not relate directly to the
hotel redevelopment. Such an Order is to be made by
the Minister subject to the negative resolution proc edure.
Clause 6 clarifies that this Bill does not modify
the requirements of the Development and Planning
Act 1974 as regard to obtaining any planning permi ssion necessary for the hotel redevelopment.
Clause 7, Madam Chairman, provides for
commencement.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I did not speak in the debate. So, let me
commence here and now what I am speaking by d eclaring my interest. I am a partner of the law firm C onyers Dill & Pearman who are the attorneys for the
developers in this cas e. And in accordance with
Standing Order 26(2), I will abstain from voting on this
Bill.
I do, however, observe that I am the Shadow
Minister of Legal Affairs, and I do have a question on
the wording of the Bill which I invite the Honourable
Member to address now in Committee.
That question, Madam Chairman and Ho nourable Minster, relates to clause 2 of the Bill, and it is on the second page of the Bill where we are getting
the defining terms. And at the top of the page, the
second defining term down is “hotel redevelopment .”
And it states “means the Fairmont Southampton Hotel redevelopment, including renovation of the guest rooms” et cetera.
My question for the Honourable Minister is
whether or not the hotel redevelopment concessions provided by this Act (which will extend to the guest
rooms) are also to be understood as extending to the villas or condos. I am not sure what the correct phr aseology is, but the additional free- standing units.
So, do es the hotel development and the phr aseology guest rooms ex tend to the condos and the
villas or not? Or does it extend to only certain [ones]
of them when they are in the hotel pool, et cetera?
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Yes. Thank you very much,
Madam Chairman.
Clause 3( c), where it mentions that “the hot el
developer shall be entitled to the following relief —for a
period commencing six years after the hotel’s opening
date and ending on the fifteenth anniversary of the
opening date, full exemption from land tax otherwise
payable in respect of the hotel .”
What I am trying to understand is land tax r elief commencing six years after the hotel’s opening date up until the fifteenth anniversary. What is ha ppening in the prior six years? Leading up to the six
years what happens with land tax? Are they paying
land tax or not?
Shall I continue or . . .

Okay. Under 4(1), terms and
conditions, the Minister has stated here “ To qualify for
the exemption from land tax [under section 3(1)(c)],
the hotel developer shall, for the relevant period, confirm in writing to the Minister that in years six through fifteen at least 70% of the hotel’s staff are Bermudian.”
I guess what I was trying to understand here
is up until that period of time, six years through fifteen, number one, how are we going to substantiate that?
And are we going to be assisting along the way to e ncourage and to help the hotel get to that 70 per cent
[Bermudian staffing] ?
As stated earlier in the debate, we know that
Southampton Princess has been over 70 per cent —a
stellar example of how to get Bermudians involved. But that was during its heyday. These are different
times. So, my concern is: How are we going to be
able to help in substantiating this? Or is the Minister
going to be working along with the hotel development
to ensure that they get to this point? If they do not
reach that point, of course we do not want the decl a-rations on clause 5 to kick into gear. So, I just want
some clarification there.
The second part of that is this stipulates b etween six years to fifteen years. What are we to assume after those fifteen years about 70 per cent
[Bermudian] employment? There does not seem to be
a clause to go be yond fifteen years. Southampton
Princess was around, my goodness, 50 years. And so, I am just curious as to how that is going to work
after fifteen years. This clause falls away after fifteen
years. And what are they going to do about that?
In addition to that, 4(2), where it talks about
under terms and conditions “ To qualify for exemption
from the employer’s share of payroll tax under section
3(1)(d), the Minister responsible for workforce development shall, for the relevant period, confirm in writing
to the Minister, annually, that a management training
programme for Bermudians is in operation.”
I was wondering if the Minister would consider
extending, not just for management training , because
this is going to be a complete refurbishment. And there are going to be tons of new people involved,
understanding that through the period of it being
closed down there will be many of those former wor kers who will not be coming back to the table. Can they
add [a stipulation] in here to ensure that training is
done throughout many of the divisions?
A hotel has so many divisions to it and aspects of it. What is happening to the training pr ogrammes for them? If we are going to stipulate for
management training, are we also going to ensure
that we stipulate for training in other areas which leads to management training?
I think that’s it. Thank you.

Thank you.
Opposition Leader, you have the floor.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: So, under the interpretation
“[hotel] redevelopment ,” it reads “means the Fairmont
Southampton Hotel redevelopment, including renov ation of the guest rooms, restaurants, bars, meeting
rooms ,” (et cetera) “as described in the summary of
works and site plan submitted to the Minister on 19
April 2022. ”
Can the Minister confirm when that site plan
will be made available to the House? We are approving this C oncession Act without view ing or input on
the site plan, so we are giving them a blank ticket because we do not know what is in the site plan as parliamentarians.
Then I would like to direct [attention] to the
customs duty section, that is [clause] 3. Just for clar ity, is this fifteen- year conces sion period that is applied
here going to be the standard for the PLP going forward? And why have they moved from ten years to
fifteen [years] ? Just for clarification for the community.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva : Because they want to put
our people to work .

Continue Opposition Leader.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: While on that same . . . on
[clause] 3(1)(a), it says “for a period of fifteen years
from the commencement of this Act, full relief from
[customs] duty in respect of any building materials,
furnishings, fixtures and equipment which are necessary for the building, furnishing and equipping of the
hotel redevelopment .”
So, what we are saying here is (and correct
me if I am wrong) after the hotel is open, there will be
no customs duties on anything that is not listed on . . .
Sorry. There will be customs duty applicable to ever ything that is not listed in this paragraph. This speaks
to the development ; it does not speak to what ha ppens after. So, they will be subject to customs duty on non-building material, so to speak, non- furniture
items. Is that the intention?

Okay. Thank you. I was going to ask
you to ask the question because I was not sure what
specifically your question was. But thank you. You did
that.

Hon. N. H. Cole S imons: Okay.
The second question I am just going to pigg yback on the Minister of Tourism’s question on [clause]
3(c). Is the hotel currently paying land taxes now? And
what is the scope of the current payment of the land
tax, if they are paying? Now I wo uld like to direct you to terms and
conditions, [clause] 4. And it says, in essence, “confirm in writing to the Minister that in years six through
fifteen at least 70% of the hotel’s staff are Bermudian. ”
Madam Chairman, I am in business as you
know. And people seem to get around this qualific ation by hiring contract workers so that they can keep
their employee numbers at a certain level —official
employees —but then they bring contract workers on
board to supplement. So, will that 70 per cent also
apply to contract workers if we are truly, truly interes ted in protecting and providing opportunities for Bermudians? Because I do not want to see that those
contract workers consist of 100 per cent nonBermudians and yet they are still economically benefitting fro m this hotel. As said earlier, we are for the
hotel. We are for the development. But we just think
that some of the concessions are too rich. And those
are my questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chai rman.
Just a question for the Honourable Minister as
it relates to clause 2. I know my h onourable colleague
has already raised a question on it. But I would like to
ask the Minister: When would he anticipate circulating
the summary of works and the site plan submitted to
the Minister on 19 April 2022?
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you, Madam Chai rman.
Minister [INAUDIBLE ], clause 4(1) speaks to
at least 70 per cent of the hotel staff being Bermudian.
Does the Ministry have a measurement period over
which the 70 per cent is to be determined?
1304 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly I raise this question because of the recent
changes in the CBA [collective bargaining agreement]
for Southampton Princess that moves the layoff
threshold from 70 per cent occupancy to 85 per cent
occupancy. Is there not a risk that the 70 per cent
threshold may not be achieved? And is there some
measurement in mind as respect to a timeframe that
the Ministry is considering so that we can be sure to
hold the developers to account for achieving this
threshold?
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Okay. Thank you.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I am going back to [clause]
3, custom s duty and tax relief. Can the Minister pr ovide an estimate of the quantum value of each of the
items listed in the customs duty relief, items (a), (b),
and (c)? We are talking about forfeiting revenues. Is
he in a position to provide the value of the amount in
concessions for each of the four items listed under
[clause] 3?
Thank you.

One question is: How
many jobs would be created if this deal were shelved
for six months? How many jobs would be created in
that six -month period?
The other question I have is: What would be
the value of all the concessions if this deal is not consummated in the not -too-distant future and the investors that are in place did not materiali se because they
went to Cayman or Turks or somewhere else? What would be the value added proposition that is being put
in a futuristic proposition as I hear now ?
Those are my two questions of the three.

Thank you.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Does the Minister think that
a delay with this project will benefit our people? Or
does he think that it has to be put through now in order to kick -start this economy?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Madam Chairman, how
does this pertain to clause 3 in regard to concessions? I am trying to make the connection to concessions.

I believe MP De Silva may
be inadvertently misleading the House.
Madam Chairman, the existing legislation currently provides for concessions. What is being s ought
here is an extension of the existing regime. So, if
nothing was done with respect to this legislation for six
months, the existing legislation that is currently in
place would apply. And so there would be no hardship
for the developers because they w ould be entitled to
year-one relief under this scenario, or under one in
which the benefits were extended for an incremented
period of time.
Now, I am making that point only with respect
to the start of concessions and not a point with r espect to the prior argument about the delaying of the
project. The project can start as soon as tomorrow if
there is an agreement with respect to the Government
and the developer. And those concessions that would
be operable would be the ones that are currently e nshrined i n law. All that is being done by this legislation
is an extension of those to years 11, 12, 13, 14 and
15. I hope that provides some clarity for those who are
confused.

Just put your question to me.

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: My question is: Does the
Minister think that if this clause 3(1)(a) and (b) are not
given to the developers that they will even start the
project at all? So, whether it is one year, two y ears or
three years, will they start at all? Is this a showstopper
in other words ?

Okay. Thank you, MP De Silva. I
hope that clarifies matters.
1306 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Are there any other Members who wish to
speak to clauses 1 through 7?
There are no other Member s.
Minister, do you have answers for the questions that have been put to you thus far?

Hon. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, I will do
my best. In regard to —

That’s okay.

Hon. Vance Campbell: In regard to the question in
clause 2, under “ ‘hotel redevelopment’ means ,” there
was some question of guest rooms. We do have an
inspection team who will inspect, do their job. And
what meets the definition that is included in this clause
will receive the relief but what does not meet the def inition will not be subject to the relief. But we do have an inspection team. I do not want to preclude what
they have to do. They have that due diligence that
they must perform in order for this redevelopment pr oject to receive the relief.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Thank you, Minister.
You referred to a definition of “ guest room. ”
Where is that definition to be found?

Hon. Vance Campbell: It says “ ‘hotel redevelopment’
means the Fairmont Southampton Hotel redevelopment, including renovation of the guest rooms .” So
that is a room available and accessible to the guests
where they will stay. So, if it is not available to guests
as a room, then it does not in general fit this definition.
But, again, we have a team who will be inspecting and
going through the process as the development pr ogresses.

Minister, that may be silent in the Act,
but I think you have said that if . . . I think what you
are saying is that if the accommodation is being used
as a guest accommodation for tourists, then it will fall
under the regulations that govern it. I think that is what
you are trying to say, in essence. And I don’t wish to
[INAUDIBLE ] but I am just trying to clarify.

Hon. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, I’m still . . .
In general, yes. That is the common- sense definition.
But I am not trying to preclude the work of the team
that will carry out inspections.
I believe there was a question about land tax,
the relief commencing six years after opening and
whether or not tax will be paid in years one to five.
The answer to that is yes. Land tax will be paid in
years one to five and the relief will kick in in year six if
the prerequisite of 70 per cent Bermudian emplo yment is achieved.
There was a question as to how that would be
substantiated. Well, we have the Minister of Labour
who collects data in this area. In addition to the report
received by the hotel operator, we can verify and
check that against the information that is contained
. . . that is in th e possession of the Minister respons ible for [Economy and L abour ]. The Minister for Economy and Labour has already been out on the road in an effort to talk about training and development and
lay the groundwork for that training and development.
So, from t hat perspective the Government will conti nue to assist.
The Act refers to management training. But in
order to be a viable hotel there must be training at
each level. And for historical reasons where opport unities were not available, the focus tends to be on the
management side, the training for management pos itions. But in order for a hotel to be viable, they have to
have appropriately trained people at each level.


Bermuda House of Assembly There were questions as to the site plan being
made available to the House. We will endeav our to
make that available to the House as soon as possible.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Supplemental, if you allow .
Hon. Vance Campbell: Yes, I will yield.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: So, are you saying if the
site plan is completed —

Okay. Thank you.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: So, my question is: If the
agreement is already dated, are you saying it is not
fully executed at this time? First question. And if it is
not fully executed, then I accept what you are saying.
But if it is fully executed, then I see no reason why it
cannot come to the House. The question is: Is the
agreement fully executed? If it is not fully executed,
then I accept your comments that you will bring it to the House when it is done. But if it is fully executed,
then I do not se e why it cannot come now. Can you
give an explanation?

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Just like St. George’s —
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Can you give an explanation as to why we cannot have it delivered to the
House now if it is executed?

Hon. Vance Campbell: Madam Chairman, I do not
have it in my possession, and I have made a commi tment to deliver it the House and make it available to
the House as soon as possible.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you very much.

Minister. Thank you.
Continue, Mini ster.

Hon. Vance Campbell: There was a question around
what items would be subject to the relief. I believe this
was on [clause] 3(1)(a). And it is only those items that
are listed under clause 3(1)(a) that will be subject to
the relief. There was a ques tion around a 70 per cent
requirement to be Bermudians and contract workers. I am not really understanding 100 per cent. The target
is to reach 70 per cent Bermudians. And there may be
contract workers that are required to be employed. But the 70 per cent is focused on Bermudian emplo yment and not contract workers.

I think the Minister is a ttempting to answer my question.
I guess, Minister, my question was we set a
70 per cent target of threshold. There has to be, I am
almost certain, a period of time over which you are
measuring date one to date . . . beginning to date end
when you are trying to assess whether or not the
70 per cent target has been reached. Has there been
any consideration given to what the contract is going
to look like ? Or is that something that needs to be further developed by the Ministry of Tourism? Hopefully
that helps to clarify the question.

Thank you.
Continue Minister Hayward.

POINT OF CLARIFICATION

Hon. Jason Hayward: As for most, Southampton
Princess has more than 10 employees. They are
mandated by law to complete the annual Em ployment
Survey submission. Now, that submission is done at a
time period where it takes into account seasonality.
So, the 70 per cent that will be required will be in
alignment with the reporting period for the annual E mployment Survey, and that is the period where we look at higher periods rather than periods of seasonality.

Thank you, Minister.
Minister Campbell.

1308 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Vance Campbell: I appreciate the clarification
from the Minister and hopefully that answers the ques-tion that was asked.
There was a question around the delay and
how I felt about that. You know, I do not claim to be able to predict the future. I do know that the Premier
and Minister of Finance spoke to the changing ci rcumstances in the world around supply chain issues. I
have first -hand experience ––in a different place where
I wear a different hat ––that costs continue to rise. So,
all of these things would have to factor into a develo per’s decisions going forward into the future. Hence, it
is important that this deal would happen now because
we do not know how the circumstances will change.
And just going back to an earlier question,
Madam Chairman, the principal Act, the Tourism I nvestment Act 2017, provides a definition of what a
“hotel ” means. And it says, under clause 2, interpret ation, it says “ ‘hotel’ means —
“(a) an hotel as defined in the Hotels (Licensing and Control) Act 1969; and
“(b) any other premises which the Minister is
satisfied are or will be used for at least six months in any year to accommodate paying
guests who are not ordinarily resident in Bermuda” .
So, I hope that answers or addresses concerns that were expressed.

Thank you, Minister.
Continue. Or is there any other person who —
Hon. Vance Campbell: I’m going through now to see
if the re are any questions that I have not answered. I
believe there was one around the breakdown of the
concessions.
What I will do is I will use numbers generated
by the Ministry of Finance. We have heard a number
of different examples of numbers reporting to repr esent the same thing, but I will use the numbers. We are working with a figure as provided by the Ministry
of Finance on the relief which estimates the relief to
be about just over $121 million for the 15- year period.
There is an estimate of $16 million for customs duty,
$7.7 million . . . sorry, customs duty on the construction of $16 million, an estimate of customs on the operations of $7.7 million, payroll tax of $20.7 almost
$20.8 million, hotel occupancy tax of $67.49 million,
land tax of $9.379 [m illion], and that makes up the
estimate as per the Ministry of Finance of $121 million and change.
Madam Chairman, I believe that answers all
of the questions that were asked.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Madam Chairman.

Yes, Opposition Leader .
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: There was one other question that I am waiting for a response to. And that is the
15-year concession period. Given that we have other
large investors on the horizon, will the 15- year co ncession period be the PLP’s standard for construction projects of this magnitude? And as we said earlier, we
know that another one is supposedly in the pipes. Can
they be guaranteed a similar 15 years or will they get
the 10 years? Is the 15- year [concession] going to be
the Government’s standard going forward or will 10
years be the standard and 15 years be an exception?

Thank you.

Hon. Vance Camp bell: And as it relates to what the
future will look like, I did in my brief indicate that we
are looking at the Tourism Investment Act [2017]. I am
not going to preclude what the amendments might be.
However, if we receive any applications, they will be
considered prior to bringing the amendments. We will
consider them on a case- by-case basis. And this is
something I said we would do when this Bill was t abled for the House.

It has been moved that the Bill be
reported to the House as printed.
Are there any objections?
Agreed. The Bill will be reported to the House
as printed.
Thank you, Minister.
Hon. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam Chai rman.

[Motion carried: The Fairmont Southampton Hotel Act
2022 was considered by a Committee of the whole
House and passed without amendment .]

That’s all right.
Are there a ny speakers?
Minister Diallo Rabain, you have the floor.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Wow! I didn’t even ask.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy Spe aker: I saw you up. You’re up there,
so you caught my eye. When you catch my eye, I call
you.

SIGNATURE SCHOOLS
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Okay. Well, thank you, Mr.
Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, earlier today we di scussed a Bill that represents another critical milestone
in the advancement of the economic recovery that this
Government is needing. While the Government is
committed to advancing the economic recovery of Bermuda, this Bill that we discussed and passed t oday signals to the world that tourism is alive and well in Bermuda and we are serious about making a r ecovery. We are serious about providing economic activity, economic growth, and career opportunities for
the people of Bermuda.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, while it might not be a pparent to som e of our colleagues, every decision this
Government makes has an impact on our children, our young people and their families. Whether it be
funding for schools, issues of social justice or major
developments like the one that was discussed today, the effects are felt in our schools which are a micr ocosm of our society, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like to start
with our youngest learners. It is a well -known fact that
our youngest learners have the best start in school when their par ents are meaningfully employed. With
joblessness comes loss of income, [which leads to]
families left without sufficient resources to meet the everyday basic expenses, families that are living u nder extreme stress and wondering how to make ends meet. That leads to an undesirable outcome for our
children, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
There is plenty of evidence that demonstrates
[the bad effects on children], how the extreme stress
of living under the pressures of trying to make ends
meet [affects children], and the negative impacts that
they have on our children’s health, social and em otional and cognitive development, behaviour, and of
course the education al outcomes . Simply put, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, children that experience these conditions with their families are more likely to experience a
wide range of health problems including poor nutrition,
chronic disease, and mental health problems.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, just for those reasons
alone, any chance, any realistic chance of getting Bermudians back into the workfor ce and increasing
productivity is critical for our youngest learners in the
start of life and education and deserves the full su pport of this House and our country.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, now I would like to talk
about our older learners. As the public and c olleagues
within well know, we have embarked on an ambitious
project to reform our public school system with the
goal of enabling every person to lead personally and
professionally, compete locally and contribute globa lly. One aspect of this, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is the i ntroduction of Signatures Learning Programmes in our senior schools.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, each Signature [Lear ning] Programme has been based on a sector of the Bermudian economy. For each signature, there will be
learning programmes and a range of learning oppor-tunities that enable our students to develop the skills,
knowledge and relationships to allow them to follow
their passions, build on their talents and achieve c areer and educational aspirations. Mr. Deputy Speaker,
both phases of an i nfrastructure project, like the one
that we discussed today, mean the construction, when
fully operational, will impact the learning and work opportunities for young Bermudians. It is clear that there
will always be a continuing need to maintain, redeve lop, and refurbish the buildings and physical infrastruc-ture across this Island of public and private sectors, starting with the Bill that we passed earlier today.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, in September 2023 the
Trades and Professions Signature Learning Pr ogramme will open at CedarBridge Academy. And pr ojects like hotel redevelopment are key to us being able to provide our children with the opportunities to thrive. The incoming S1 students at CedarBridge in fall 2022
will be entering into a Signature [Learning] Pr oBermuda House of Assembly gramme where they have now registered for Sign ature [Learning] Programmes such as carpentry, buil ding and construction, electrical, culinary arts, horticu lture and cosmetology. In addition to this, we intend to
open in December 2023 another Signature Learning Programme focused on hospitality and tourism.
Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I want to take this
time to stress that when we say hospitality and tour-ism, there are some people that think of only busboys
and waitstaff and those types of jobs. And we know
the stigmatism that goes with that. But, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, as you very well know , as a person who is
very well versed in the tourism industry, we have to
stop thinking about only entry -level jobs when thinking
of tourism and hospitality. We have to start thinking
about areas like management, chefs, conference and
event planners, sports tourism, managers in the hotels, maître d’s and jobs along those lines. This is
what we can prepare our children to be successful at.
They do not always have to be waiters and busboys
and working in the kitchen, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the development of our
Island’s infrastructure, which includes hotel develo pment like we discussed today, provides opportunities for our young people to apply when they are learn ing
in school through our Signature [Learning] Pr ogrammes. We are talking about internships, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We are talking about extended worksite
visits, shadowing industry professionals as they ha ndle and manage tasks, on- the-job opportunities for our
learners to apply the knowledge and skills through
project -based initiatives and solving real world problems. Potential employment contracts from this exposure can lead to jobs or trainee guarantees upon
completion of their studies. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will
never stop repeating over and over and over again
until we get it. We are all in this together. We understand the need for political games.
We all do, Mr. Deputy Speaker, in an attempt
to one- upmanship every time we come up here to di scuss something that could potentially lead to better
outcomes for our citizens. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
my heart was especially heavy when I was reading Opposition editorials this week in the newspaper. We
have an opportunity, as we discussed earlier today, to
invest n ot only into our future but into our people, but
some have chosen instead to take this opportunity to
use hollow, meaningless statements that help no one
at the end of the day.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, as we look to build better
opportunities for our students, I hope more investors
will want to come to Bermuda and invest based on
what we have talked about today. The decisions we
make in this House, Mr. Deputy Speaker, not only are
providing pathways to investing in infrastructure and
hotel redevelopments as we did today, we are inves ting in the future of our young people and the future of
our economy. Mr. Deputy Speaker, stop playing the games,
let’s get on with making Bermuda better than what it is
for the people not only who are here today, but the
children who are coming up.
Thank you for allowing me those few m oments, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I appreciate you.

It is a privilege for me to speak
this afternoon.
I was in Huntsvi lle, Alabama for a graduation
from local college and amongst the graduates was my
niece. As I walked Bridge Street Mall this afternoon I was amazed by how many Bermudian families that I have seen. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Bermudians graduating today from Alabam a A&M, from Drake Technical
College, from Oakwood University. It is a blessing and
a privilege to see Front Street and Reid Street and Back o’ Town and Somerset all in Alabama celebrating over the milestones of our young people in this
great state of Alabama.
I am excited. Just now went out and [heard]
Hey Bye! It was some of my friends and people [A UDIO SKIP 06:32:21] Bermudians. I was in the airport this morning picking up a rental car and I saw Mr. Douglas, he was the Chief Commissioner for the
Olympic Committee. He was there too, and his grandson is graduating.
So it is oftentimes we are very hard on ourselves, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but I see the fruit of our
Minister of Education, and the teachers of Bermuda and the families of Bermuda as they all come down to
celebrate our young people graduating with assoc iates and bachelors and masters and teaching degrees and degrees in accounting. Just so many. I
counted about 15 different families this afternoon, Mr.
Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, as you know and I have
shared with you personally, we have a challenge in
constituency 14. And I am going to tie this into tourism. We had some challenges in our constituency, Mr.
Deputy Speaker. We had an increase in gang- related
activity in our constituency.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I watched this community come together. I watched them not shake their fist
1312 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly in the face of our society. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
this community has come together, twice a week
community meetings. They have gotten together and
they have cut do wn all the trees in the neighbourhood
that were blocking and giving safe harbour to antis ocial behaviour. They have started as you know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, a community garden. Thank you to
MP Zane De Silva who donated six loads of topsoil,
and thank you t o Colonel Burch and his team for donating some of the mulch. There were so many peo-ple, both seen and unseen. This community came together to rid themselves of antisocial behaviour. But
this is where the story is unique.
The story is unique because one of the young
men came to me and he said, Mr. Caines, I get it.
Now that I am no longer doing what I know I should not have been doing, what do you have for me to do
now?
I thought; I pondered. I said, What do you
mean for me to do now?
He said, I am not out here doing this, ever ybody can judge me. If I have another opportunity, I can find another way . I can find other things to do.
So, I put away my hat of judgment as we are
oftentimes so prone to wear. And I asked him, What
would you like to do?
Mr. Deputy S peaker, he said, Anything in the
hotel industry. I am good with people. I would love to
work in the industry. I want to get my taxi licence, but
things are slow out there right now.
And I said to him, Are you familiar with w hat is
going to take place at the Southampton Princess in
the not -too-distant future?
Watch this, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I said, Are
you aware of what is taking place at the Southampton
Princess?
Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, a group of men
started gathering around. So, what are you talking abou t, Mr. Caines?
I said, In the not -too-distant future, man, we
are going to have some construction at the hotel. We
are going to see jobs ; we are going to see asbestos
abatement. You are going to see security . You are
going to see people doing the preliminary work, the
construction work. There are going to be people doing
demolition. There are going to be people up there who
are going to make lunch carts for people to eat during
the day. Everybody who wants work is going to be
able to get a job!
He said, What?
I said, That’s right ! Listen, take this number
down; call these people, yes? If you do not get work in
the next six weeks, you are going to get work directly after that. But everybody who wants work is going to
have an opportunity on this jobsite.
He wa s like, Really?
I said, Yes, gentlemen. Here are some numbers. Now, here we are and I heard the debate, I
listened to the debate, but understand, I am in a constituency where they have had a hard time. They have
not had work. They haven’t had opportunities . And I
am not making any excuses for illicit behaviour. I do
not want the record to reflect that. I am saying that I could not just look at them when I went to the consti tuency. I had to give them viable opportunities.
What the Southampton Princess oppor tunity
represents in the first instance is opportunity. It is
young men; it is a country! Fifty years ago, it was built. It was the best job opportunities in Bermuda at the
time when it was built. Why would it not be the same
now? Our community needs an influx and infusion!
And this project represents that.
So, when this young man came to me, I did
not give him empty platitudes. I did not give him blus-tering words. I gave him an opportunity. I gave him a
name; I gave him some people that [he] could reach
out to. Not just him —all of the young men sitting there,
they were all buoyed. Don’t we know that high tide
raises all boats? That the taxi driver when he goes and his taxi is full, and he goes to the airport three or
four times a day, that means his grocer y cart is full!
And the people at the grocery store eat! That means
those who are relying on him to pay the rent, they are
able to pay the rent! Those who are relying on him at
the water service to buy water from A rchie, from Sousa’s, they are able to buy water!
Do you not see the cyclical effect it would
have on our country when our people are working? Do you not understand that this is an opportunity for us
all? That the recently passed legislation is a good opportunity for this country. It is an opportunity for people to survive. It is an opportunity for people to thrive.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, we are looking at the
opportunity for group sales to drive Bermuda. What do
group sales mean for Bermuda? This means that the economic tables will turn in our countr y, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. Risk and reward? The reward is that a cou ntry that needs people on jet skis, the water ski, the jet
ski places? Guess what? They are looking for people
to work this summer, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The tour
operators are looking for peopl e this summer. As we
grow in tourism with this project, we will be able to see
people getting more opportunities.
I read an article by a good friend of mine, a
former classmate. And I read the article about the Southampton Princess, and I shook my head in
shame. I hung my head in shame, because som etimes you make decisions and write things, and we do
not understand that whilst you are trying to score a
point, some of us are trying to turn this country
around. And, yes, there must be solid Opposition.
There must be a robust Opposition. And we should
never lose sight of what this country needs. We need
opportunity. We need the opportunity not just to grasp,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, the opportunity to rise.


Bermuda House of Assembly For so long our people hated and ran from the
tourism industry because they could see us carrying a
tray, but we were not seen going through the upper
echelons in management and as general managers.
That all has to change directly. It is quite true. We have bartenders and taxi drivers and chamber maids
and servic e managers and hundreds of other pos itions that will be filled in Bermuda as a result thereof.
Service providers, groundsmen, technicians,
tourist attractions, event planners, florists. These are
just some of the names of the people that will benefit
from the aforementioned and recently passed legisl ation.
This is a good time for Bermuda. This is what
I will call the renaissance in tourism. As you know, I wear another hat in another place, and the team is
excited, they are buoyed and they are grateful for the
opportunity to see a renaissance, to have the ability to
say, Look everybody! Look at what we are doing at
Southampton Princess. We know that this will have a
domino- like effect and a good effect on other people
seeing Bermuda as a place for investment , seeing
Bermuda as a place for investment!
This represents a [ INAUDIBLE] tourism for
our beloved Island. Unlike most places with some
places say six degrees of separation, I say it is two or
three. Many of us are seeing our family and our friends struggl ing to make ends meet. I believe, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, that there is a correlation between antisocial behaviour and the lack of opportunity. I b elieve there is a direct correlation between antisocial
behaviour and the increase of crime. I believe there is
a direct correlation between the lack of opportunity
and apathy in our country. This is a promise made
and it is a promise kept.
This is something that we all have to be proud
of. Congratulations to all involved: the Ministers, the
Premier, the former Mini ster of Finance. Congratul ations to all who have been a part of this project. It is good for our country. It is good for Bermuda.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, so to the young men that
I spoke to, [as] I left and I said, Oftentimes we are gi ven responsibilities and our responsibilities vary. We have an opportunity now to take you to the water.
You know the adage, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
You can take a horse to water —watch this —but you
cannot make him think . You thought I was going to
say make him drink . Oh, no. You can take a horse to
water, but you cannot make him think. We want the
people of Bermuda to think of what the future looks
like, to think of what the opportunities look like. Roll up
your sleeves, get ready for the opportunities, go and
prepare yourself.
Get y our GED, get the training that you need.
The opportunity is not going to come and smack you
on the head. Now that the Southampton Princess is opening, you must now tool yourself, whether it is to
be a bartender, whether it is to be an HR director,
whether it is to be a manager of finance. We have the opportunity now to be ready for the opportunity. The
Government can only do so much. Now it is time for
the people to get ready for the opportunity. If you have
a trucking licence, prepare for the truck work. Y ou are
going to have to work weekends, you are going to
have to work Cup Match. You are going to have to
work at night. But the time is coming when people are
not going to be able to say there are no opportunities.
Now––and I do not believe this is an elix ir. I
do not believe that the Southampton Princess is an
elixir and I believe that financial pieces are important,
lest we think that the financial pieces are not important. I am saying that we have an opportunity as a country as this edifice is renovated, we can grow during the process. We can grow after the hotel is fi nished. But only can we have opportunities, or we have
the opportunity to return.
Now, when you look at tourism, this is not the
end-all, be -all to tourism. [The Bermuda Tourism A uthority] h as a tourism plan. They are looking at infl uencer travel, they are looking at experience travel, they are looking at all forms of tourism to get people on this Island. The team is ready, they are prepared.
They are led by Charles Jeffers, a talented leader .
They are led by all young talented Bermudians who
are ready, who are prepared. The visitor information
service, the VIC, the VIC is trained with young Ber-mudians. Look at all our people.
This weekend coming, the next weekend, Mr.
Deputy Speaker, you cannot get a room in Bermuda.
The country is sold out. Good news for us, yes! It is
good news for us all; it is good news for tourism, and we have the opportunity to keep the momentum. We
have the opportunity to now plan for group travel. We
have the opportun ity to get the football teams into
sports travel. We have the opportunity now with this
hotel on the horizon to give people a clear blueprint of
forming a schedule, if you please, as to what it looks
for.
So, wearing another hat as the Chairman of
the Tour ism Authority, I am happy about the recently
passed legislation. I am happy as an area MP that I
can say to my parishioners there is an opportunity
coming. But guess what? I am happy as a Bermudian.
I am happy to say that we can see a silver lining, that
we can see some hope, that we can say, Hold on!
Help is coming. Hold on! A career is coming. Hold on!
The Southampton Princess is coming.
And sometimes, Mr. Deputy Speaker, you
have to have a North Star. People think that the North
Star . . . yes, I am talk ing astronomically. I am talking
about hope, Mr. Deputy Speaker. So, let me tell you
what this represents for me. This represents a country
that has been struggling for a very long time. This is an ember. So, we can say, You know what? We can
do it!
Oh, w e have had a couple of failings in the
past. We tried, but we tweaked it a bit. We showed
how it was done and how we can do it differently. We
1314 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly have built on that and guess what? The country has a
hope. They have something to look for. It allows us to hope, to stick our chest out and say, You know what?
In my sphere as a business leader, I am going to be
ready . I am going to stand on my toes. In my business
as an educator, Southampton Princess —they are doing it. They are going in the right direction. I can s tand
on my toes.
This represents hope for our people. And do
not let the naysayers, do not let the people that are
archaic, that are aggrandised, that are having oppor-tunities to make this look bad, don’t play to their
hands. Let’s hold each other account able for the f inancial elements of it, yes. But more importantly and
equally as important, let’s look to the future, what it represents for tourism, for group travel, what it repr esents for sports travel, what it represents for emplo yment, what it represents for the cyclical parts. Let’s
talk about how that is going to affect Henry VIII , how
that is going to affect Gulfstream , how it affects the
taxi drivers, how it affects everybody. This high tide
will raise all boats.
So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am so exci ted
about the recently passed legislation. I am just so excited about tourism. I am excited about my country. In
the next six weeks they will roll out a new brand cam-paign. Mr. Deputy Speaker, you will love the campaign when you see what we look like, what we will
present to the world. We will be excited about the new
brand campaign that will be rolled out.
And so, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I thank the Tourism Minister for being our leader, for coming in and
taking this leadership mantle, for shepherding through this legislation, for making it clear to us that this country has hope, that we have an opportunity, the Sout hampton Princess, and that this is indeed good news.
This is indeed good news. This represents a
bright future. This is a renaissance for our country and
I look forward to the future.
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy
Speaker.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I start off my contribution
on the motion to adjourn this evening on a bit of a
sombre note to start off with because we have had some deaths in our community, in the same area. And
while some are under investigation, it certainly is tax-ing on the emotions of area residents. And I know I speak for all of us who are in St. George’s, who
whether or not it be a road traffic accident or wheth er
or not it is someone whose lifeless body is found,
there are people who live in close proximity around
where those incidents take place.
I am starting this off by acknowledging the
Minister of National Security, my friend, the Honour able Michael Weeks who has certainly come in as N ational Security Minister a baptism by fire. And I say
that because I remember when we first met. It was in
2009 when he was —

[Audio Skip]

And I am going to move
to a slightly different location which might give me a better connection.
When I met the Honourable Member Michael
Weeks, it was during the time period, Mr. Deputy
Speaker, when the gang violence was taking hold. I
spent a lot of time in the community of which he is the Member of Parliament. Prayer vigils, visiting families
and the like. And during that time there was a byeBermuda House of Assembly election and we will not go into the amount of votes
that he got and the amount of votes that the person
that I was supporting got, but it certainly was an eye
opener.
But notwithstanding that, Mr. Deputy Speaker,
it spoke to a situation that was certainly limited to the Black community. Whilst it had national impact, it was
being felt specifically in that community of which constituencies 15, 16, 14 hover around. Since that time,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, that particular problem has
spread itself to other communities t hroughout Berm uda.
I remember and I know you remember better
than I do probably, Mr. Deputy Speaker, when the former Premier, Dr. The Honourable Ewart Brown had a strategy to involve some top gang mitigators from
the United States, as Premier of Bermuda. But b ecause he was Premier of Bermuda in a colony which has a Constitutional Order that was issued in 1965, as
Premier of Bermuda and someone who certainly was
not afraid to make a decision, he was unable to act on
that strategy of which he was well famili ar with. He
presented that strategy to the Foreign and Common-wealth Office through Government House, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. And it was not accepted for this country.
So, let’s move forward some 15 years later
and some $10 million of investigating that same H onourable Member, and today we have had numerous
dozens of murders in this country. My first question
today is, Where is the Commission of Inquiry that has
been generated by the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office into the proliferation of murders in this country
which disproportionately impacts the young Black males of this country?
Where is it?
We see Commission of Inquiries on other
things that may be of a financial nature. If no one in the UK Government sees that this is a national crisis,
tell me why not? I want to know. I deserve to know!
We deserve to know! They put colony . . . we are a
colony with a Constitutional Order. They need to step
up to the plate and take ownership with something of
which they are totally responsible for.
We have national secur ity Ministers who have
limited budgets that are impacted by budget con-straints that have to make decisions based on whet her or not the money is going to go to one area or the
other. We know all about that. But saving lives, losing
lives, murders . . . the [number] of families that have
been disrupted, the generational problems that have
come with all these murders has not warranted a
Commission of Inquiry from the United Kingdom Gov-ernment! I am calling for the Commissioner for Human
Rights of Europe to look into that. Yes, I am! Because
in this small little colony, if we step out of line financially, they would be on us like a ton of bricks!
I am here to say that my people and our lives
matter! They matter! Mrs. Robinson who has lost a . . . Mrs. Tucker
who has lost a son, Mrs. Jo nes has lost a son! All
these families up and down this country, notwithstanding, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the young people who were
five and three and four when I first met the Honour able National Security Minister and did not know tha t
he grew up in that very community. Why did I not
know him? Well, I did not hang out there. I did not
know that he was related to 98 per cent of the people
in Pembroke and Devonshire and all around. I did not know his family came [ INAUDIBLE ], many people in
Bermuda probably did not know. But I am here to say
this, Mr. Deputy Speaker. That is the disconnect that
exists in this country.
But let me tell you this: when a murder happens on South Shore in Warwick it is less than a mile
away from South Shore or Harbour Road in Warwick.
It is getting close. Are we going to wait until something
happens in that realm, Mr. Deputy Speaker? I am cal ling on the British Government or the European Court or someone in Human Rights in this world to look at
the proliferation of murders that are disproportionately
ripping the soul out of our country and our people.
It is a national tragedy. It is not good enough
so say, Oh, well, they can go and leave and go
somewhere else. What disruption is that causing to
the social fabric of this country?
You know, when the police mis -stepped in
2016 . . . and I know very well. I had to look and weigh
out the evidence. The Governor did not waste any
time bringing in Mr. She ad to review, and I would urge
anyone to read his peer review and s ee the indictment
that he levelled out in a way in which a certainly Bri tish English language can portray very politely, tell you
very nicely that you have done wrong, any and many
utterances in that space. But we forget about that,
That was necessary. Why ? Because you had an ac ting Governor in 2016, the third Governor in that year
presiding over the country. You talk about instability?
In 2016, you had three Governors making nationally
significant decisions. What continuity was there, save
and except that all the players were being called in
from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office? So, it
was important to commission a peer review.
Why isn’t it important to commission a review
on releasing a national security that you preside over where almost 40 Bermudians have been murdered in
this country? Why isn’t that as important? Tell me
why.

[Ms. Lovitta F. Foggo, Acting Speaker, in the Chair]

And yes, I am going to
send these comments around the world to people I know in Europe that deal with human rights, and the
United Nations that deal with human rights, because
our country, our social fabric is being ripped asunder!
Our people are fleeing our country! Exodus!
You all listen to Bob Marley. Exodus is happening
1316 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly right here in Bermie. More of our families are in Bri stol, in Manchester, in Birmingham, in Nottingham than
in Bermie -ham! And that concerns me.
Now, I love the UK. I love playing golf. That is
where I plied my trade, but I love Bermuda ! And the
British government cannot sit ther e and look at Bermuda only from a financial standpoint. There is great
disruption in our social fabric, and if you preside over
the police, if you are responsible for external security,
our external security is at risk because, internally, we
have made a s ocial problem that is spilling over as
murder! “Murder She Wrote” is happening here!
Madam Acting Speaker, we have a $5 billion
problem. We have a $3 billion debt and I am sure we
will have $2 billion more in order to deal with certain things, save and ex cept for the fact that we found a
way to get some inward investment in this country. It
is not good enough for people to say, you need to get
an investment , and then when people who are already
committed to the country are here to invest inwardly,
we have got to start rowing.
You cannot talk about wanting to row in the
same direction and then doggone throw out stumbling blocks to prevent it. Because the whole . . . look, in
2005 when Bermuda enjoyed the best economy ever,
it was not under UBP. It was not under OBA. It was
under the PLP! And a global recession ripped the heart and soul out of Bermuda and out of the entire
world. But the detractors of the PLP framed it such
that many internally thought it was Bermuda- driven
decisions that were causing people to flee —nothing to
do with [Bernie] Madoff, nothing to do with [Allen] Stanford, nothing to do with the fact that XL went down to $2, nothing to do with AIG changing their
name. Nothing to do with decisions made in boar drooms. Only the PLP could cause a gl obal recession!
Only the PLP could cause a pandemic! Boy, we have
got some power, don’t we?
What time is it, Madam Acting Speaker? It is
time for Britain to take ownership for what it presides
over in one of its colonies that is seeing murder to a
great degree. I accept the fact that I am ruled by a
Constitutional Order. But I do not accept the fact that you are not taking ownership for what your respons ibility is under that Order. I have a problem with that, because I am tired of seeing my friends come and
say, My son has been murdered and no one is able to
investigate it properly , and the like, and I want answers. But it has gone deeper than that because it
has run into a second generation bordering on a third.
Even to this day, you do not have a Commi ssion of Inquiry on that, and this should bother ever yone in this country. You know, the Honourable Mem-ber Chairman of the Tourism Board . . . Madam Acting
Speaker how much time do I have left?
Sorry?
You are muted.

Member, you have fiv e minutes. Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. Swan: Oh, five minutes. I am
getting better. I asked when I have only got five and not one!
The National Tourism Strategy, the National
Tourism Plan has spelled its name Agility . And you
know, one of those is local involvem ent. The L in Agil ity is local involvement. Our people are paramount to
us moving forward. We want to invite Bermudians into the industry. We want to train Bermudians in the i ndustry. We want to involve Bermudian musicians in the industry. But we also want to convey to Bermudians that it is important that we have zero tolerance for
any type of, I would say, criminal activity geared at
visitors or locals . So, that bothers me, as well as
something we need to be mindful of. Because nothing
can do more harm in tourism than having bad PR g oing out by word of mouth. So, we have a job to play.
And we need to be a year -round destination.
That is the Y in Agility. And tell me, how can you be a
year-round destination if hotels are not flying to your
country? Tell me. It is impossible!

If you do not have people
flying to the country in airplanes to put people in the hotel beds, but you have got to have some beds for the people to want to make a decision to fly to Berm uda! And when you have sufficient beds to do so, they
will put on more flights . . . what? In anticipation. And
the T in the Agility is teams and groups. Because you
recognise even before the Fairmont closed this plan
came out. It says we need teams and groups, and
what happened during the pandemic is that it closed.
So, we needed teams and groups before, did
not have the capacity to deal with teams and groups
when they closed and so now, we have a strategy in
place to . . . what? To strategise and plan our strategy
around teams and groups in the not -too-distant future.
Who in their right mind would want to stop at
that opportunity? I wonder why if they do. And you
know what? I am running out of time, so I will just end
there, Madam Acting Speaker.
We have a $5 billion problem. It would be nice
to get a few billionaires loving Bermuda the same way
Mr. Ludwig loved Bermuda, the same way Mr. Juan
Trippe loved Bermuda. Because the top of the food
chain can make decisions on a dime that brings everybody along with them. I happen to have known one
or two in my lifetime. I happen to know one or two t oday.
So, my efforts going forward, Madam Acting
Speaker, will be to try to encourage greater inward investment. No matter where I am, no matter where I
sit, I will fight for Bermuda until I die. And I urge the UK Government to take seriously the murders hap-pening in our country. Thank you.



Bermuda House of Assembly The Acting Speaker: Thank you, Member Swan, for
those comments.
Are there any other Members who wish to
speak on the motion to adjourn?

Hon. E. David Burt: If there is no one else, Madam
Acting Speaker, I am happy to close.

And that is fine, Premier. I will
just put out one more call just in case someone did
not hear.
Are there any other members who wish to
speak on the motion to adjourn?
If there are not, the Premier will close us out
with his comments on motion to adjourn.
Premier, I think you have the floor. No one
has answered the call.

FAIRMONT SOUTHAMPTON HOTEL
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Madam
Acting Speaker.
Madam Acting Speaker, I will certainly be brief
today as we have had a lot of significant business
which we have done. But the most significant bus iness, of course, was the passage wit hout objection of
the Fairmont Southampton Hotel Bill.
Certainly, I wish to echo the words of some
speakers who have spoken for the excellent work
which has taken place to get us to this point. And
there is a significant amount of energy and effort that
has been expended. And as Members of the caucus
will know, it has not been an easy process. But I think
that the step today is a step in the right direction and
we are going to look to make sure that we can move
this deal to fruition.
Democracy is that not everyone is going to
agree. And one of the challenges is, of course, when you have a very large parliamentary majority that it is
difficult to get everyone to agree. But certainly, and of
course, Madam Acting Speaker, we know there are
Members who wanted to speak who didn’t and so that
is disappointing for me because it is a very, very, very, very big Bill. It is major and there are a lot of persons
who will be able to be helped and assisted should this
project come to final fruition. And that is the intention that the Government continues to work on.
So, as I said, this is another step, it passes as
a designated site order. We have gotten this done, read the heads of terms and are now trying to make
sure that we bring the deal to final close.

VIOLENCE IN BERMUDA

Hon. E. David Burt: As I speak, Madam Acting
Speaker, I will be very brief. I certainly want to speak
to the recent issues of violence inside of our comm unity, and I will be speaking later about Mother’s Day.
But certainly, as we heard during Congrats and Obits earlier, and as you would certainly know, Madam Ac ting Speaker, from your neck of the woods, there are significant losses that are being experienced inside of
our community. And I know that the Minister of N ational Security spoke passionately about this particular
situation. I know that Members on the ground such as
MP Caines, who spoke about the community work
and community effort of which we are doing, and we
know there are a lot of MPs who are involved in that
level of community work. And so, from that perspective I want to, I guess, encourage us as leaders in our
community to make sure that we do what we can to
engage directly.
This is not as the Minister said a police pro blem. This is an all -of-us issue , and we have to make
sure that we are engaging directly and not, you know,
turning a blind eye.
Madam Acting Speaker, I have challenges in
my own family. And it has been difficult to, you know,
grapple with those realities. And there is a sometimes
a sense of resignation. But the thing is that we cannot
throw our young people away. We have to make sure
that we engage and find ways to engage them pos itively. Certainly, economic growth and opportunities
will help. But we also have to recognise that even
when there is economic growth and opportunity, we
have to make sure that we are doing whatever we can to channel positivity into our youth.
So, I would like to certainly thank all of the
MPs who are doing their work inside their respective
communities and constituencies. And if you are not
doing work inside of your communities to engage young persons, then let us do more, because that is
what is necessary. The Minister of National Security
has said that he wants to make sure that we are convening everyone, getting us to continue to work and it
is vital that we do that.
You know, it is Heritage Month. The theme is
togetherness. And that is a fitting theme, but right now
it is understood that there is not the sense of toget herness in our community. And as leaders, we have to
make sure we represent that, you know, taking that on
and making sure that we embody that spirit which is
necessary for us to do.

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

Hon. E. David Burt: In speaking further, when we are
talking about our young people, there are people, Madam Acting Speaker, as you would know, who are
very important to young people in the community and that is our teachers. And this week is Teacher Appr eciation Week. And as a parent of school age children
in Year 1 and Year 3 at the Northlands Primary
School, I would lik e to recognise the invaluable work
of our teachers as we conclude Teacher Appreciation Week. And the fact is that teachers have been called upon to deliver in extraordinary circumstances over
the last two years. They have had to be flexible. They
1318 6 Ma y 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly have had to deal with lots of challenges with their st udents. They had to adjust. But they do not lose that, I
would say, drive to make sure they are imparting education for our young people.
I remember when I went to my parent -teacher
conference and I asked the t eacher, I said, You have
to do all of this? There is so much that teachers must
do. It is not just during that time, it is the preparation
afterward. And so, I want to make sure that I recognise our teachers on Teacher Appreciation Week.
Though, as will be known, we are continuing to work
with our union partners to make sure that we can pr ovide the best environment for our educators. I want to
make sure that they know and understand that they
are recognised and appreciated by everyone in this
Honourable House, who I am sure want to recognise
and appreciate the teachers of this country.

MOTHER ’S DAY

Hon. E. David Burt: I will close, Madam Acting
Speaker and this of course applies to you as well, as you are a former teacher, but also, you are a mother
and we celebrate in this country Mother’s Day on
Sunday. And mothers are without question a foundational part of our families and certainly of our comm unities. And as we look to celebrate the first fully, I
would say nonrestricted Mother’s Day since 2019, I
sincerely hope that as a community we can enjoy that
together and recognise the tireless work that mothers
have done over —

We are superheroes, I know
that!

Hon. E. David Burt: No question and certainly, you
know, I got to see the superhero power because Kri stin went away for a few days and my mother came
over to assist with my young children. And the fact is
that it was lovely to catch up and to speak, so we are
all going to be celebrating this weekend as a family for
Mother’s Day. But I certainly must recognise the tireless,
hard work that mothers have done over these last two
years in which things did not slow down. And a lot of
times pressures increased in families. In some cases, in many cases we know mothers are primary caregi vers and they became at -home teachers, teaching assistants, doing things, filling in, taking care of family.
So I want to recognise, celebrate in hono ur of my colleagues in this Honourable House who are mothers,
you, Madam Acting Speaker and the other mothers
inside of this Honourable House.
I do believe that every single Member of the
House of Assembly who is female is a mother. And I
certainly wanted to recognise and honour them in the
work which they do, not only, you know, service here,
but also raising families.
And certainly, there are the public officers as
well. And so, to all the mothers in Bermuda, I want to
certainly say on behalf of the Gov ernment of Bermuda
and all Members, I want to thank you for all that you do. It is certainly the love and nurturing of mothers
that help make us who we are. It is also your strength and the lessons you share with us that are guiding
lights to children as t hey navigate this journey called
life. And one day is not enough to celebrate what our
mothers mean to us, but I am happy that we will cel ebrate and recognise them on Sunday.
So, I just wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all of
our mothers in this place, and al l of our mothers in
Bermuda. And with that, Madam Acting Speaker,
thank you for your work and I am happy to see you in
two weeks.

Yes, thank you Mr. Premier,
and I would like to end by extending Happy Mother’s
Day on behalf of the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Derrick
Burgess, and myself. As I said, we know the stellar work that we do, us mothers, and I wish everyone,
every mother and more importantly, every grandmother a very, very Happy Mother’s Day. Thank you,
thank you all Members and have a wonderful weekend.