March 16, 2022

Madam Attorney General, you have
your three minutes.
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I
come t o this Honourable House to offer condolences
to the family Mr. St. Clair O’Bri en who passed away
on Sunday. Mr. O’Bri en, Mr. Speaker, is the father of
PS Marva O’Bri en—
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Oh, no!
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: —Dennis, Claire and
Norman. A nd I share your sentiment of distress and
horror and sadness today as we remember that family
who not even a year ago lost their mother, Sophie.
Mr. O’Brien was a feature of my childhood. A
patriarch of the Loyal Hill community as his wife was
the matriarc h. And he could always be relied on to
reach you with his infectious smile, [a] handsome
man, his infectious joy. But when I think of Mr. O’Brien
I think of my father and that generation of fathers who
were our tradesmen, our carpenters and who worked
tirelessly in the very unfortunate social and economic
circumstances of our people at that time, to build lives
for their families, to be joyous in the face of adversity ,
and to enjoy the richness of the legacy of education,
experience and family life that the y bestowed on their
children. And so today, Mr. Speaker, as PS Marva and her siblings, and the whole community and their
family remember their loved one, I just ask the House
to remember them for their kindness and honour in our hearts as we send condolenc es to that family. And
general ly, Mr. Speaker, to remind Members of the importance of spending time with our loved ones and to give back some of what was given to us throughout
[our] lifetime.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Good morning, Mr.
Speaker.
I would like to associate . . . as a proud De vonshire person, I would love to associate myself with
those remarks for Mr. O’Brien. The O’Brien family is
one of the cornerstones of the Devonshire community.
I last saw Mr. O’ Brien during Christmas when his representative, Minister Peets, had sent a turkey for him.
I got to speak to him for a few minutes then. So he will
be a great miss in the Devonshire community.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to bring condolences
to the family of Mr. Leonard P ostlethwaite , originally of
St. George’s , but married my cousin and moved to
Chaingate Hill, Devonshire. He passed away a few
days ago. He was a master HVAC technician. That is
meaning refrigeration, heat and ventilation and air
conditioning. He leaves a son, Trae and his lovely
wife, Erlene, who has taken care of him for the last
few years that he has had challenges. And also to his sister, Tracey , who I went to school with, and the rest
of the Post lethwaite family.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Deputy Premier, yes, you have your
three minutes.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you. I won’t be long. (I
will turn on my camera.)
I wish to be associated certainly with the co ndolences to the O’Brien family, as with my colleague
who sits in constituency 11, and constituencies 13,
and 14. We all are Devonshire representatives and
the name O’Brien withi n the Loyal Hill PLP Devon-shire community is a name that we all know and we
are all strongly familiar with the members of the family
that carry the name O’Brien, especially with their
presence and strong involvement with the Loyal Hill
community. So I wish to be associated with those actual condolences, but I am sure all of my Devonshire
colleagues, including constituencies 11, 13 and 14 all
would want to be associated as well. Thank you, very
much, Mr. Speaker.

Deputy Speaker.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, I would
like to be associated with the remarks [for condolences] to the O’Brien family. As we all know, his daughter
is one of our Permanent S ecretaries.
And also the remarks concerning Leonard
Postlethwaite , who was at one time a constituent of
mine —and a friend of mine, Mr. Speaker.
Also, Mr. Speaker, I don’t think they have
done condolences to the family of Charles “Jimmy”
Marshall, father of Charlie Marshall, the great Cup
Match player who gave Somerset Cricket Club many a headache, his father who passed was funeralised on Friday. Jimmy was a staunch member of the St.
John’ s AME Church and a loyal fan to the Cleveland
County Cricket Club, H arris Bay . And I tell you that
when Harris Bay played Bailey’s Bay in County Cup,
he was Harris Bay, even though he wished his son, my cousin, Charlie, well, but he wished for his team ,
Harris Bay of the Cleveland County to beat Bailey’s
Bay. So Jimmie will be sorely missed. He was one of
the bedrocks, the foundation, of the St. John’s AME Church. And the membership of St. John’s and the
pastor and everybody will certainly miss him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to extend
my condolences to the family of Marian Desmond.
Marian Desmond, as we know , was a fashion icon of
Bermuda. She dressed many brides, many students
going to their proms, as well as many young ladies
and older ladies who went to church in their fabulous
hats, et cetera. I also take this opportunity to extend
[appreciation] to her f amily who provided the support
and love all through the later years in her life. I take

B ermuda House of Assembly this opportunity as well to remind famil ies the i mportance of (1) preparing for your old age, and (2) also
being there for the people that you love and that you
care for. Her family was there to support her, probably for the last five or six years and allowed her to remain in her home surrounded by the people who we love.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Premier. Yes.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to be associated
with the condolences that have been offered to the
O’Brien family. Mr. Speaker, as many would know, the
O’Brien’s, or at least the children, live next to my
homestead in Pembroke. So I am certainly very close to Delroy and certainly PS O’Brien. I certainly want to be associated with condolences to them. And as the
Attorney General mentioned, certainly they did lose
their mother not too long ago. And so it is certainly a
difficult time for them. I would certainly like to be as-sociated with the condolences there.
Mr. Speaker, on a brighter note, what I would
like to do certainly, and I am uncertain if it was done
on Monday, is that I certainly would like to on behalf of
the Minister of Sport, who sits in another place, to congratulate the athletes of the year who were awar ded their awards on Saturday at the Annual Sports Awards—the Youth Athletes of the Year or Junior At hletes of the Year. Mr. Sebastian Kempe was named
the Junior Male Athlete of the Year and Caitlyn Bobb
was named the Junior Female Athlete of the Year.
And in the Senior Category for Athlete of the Year on
the male side we had Mr. Jah- Nhai Perinchief , who
continues to excel overseas. And also on the female
side, no surprise, Athlete of the Year was named Flora Duffy. And I just wanted to ask the Honourable House to send a letter of congratulations to those four
individuals for being named Bermuda’s 2021 Athletes of the Year.
The Government will continue to support at hletics in this country and as you would note from the budget presentations that we are going to make sure that we even increase our support to our elite athletes to ensure that those individuals can continue to excel and represent this country on the world stage. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There is one Bill to be introduced this
morning and that is by the Minister of Finance.
Mr. Premier, would you like to introduce your
Bill?
FIRST READING
NATIONAL PENSION SCHEME
(OCCUPATIONAL PENSIONS) AMENDMENT
AND VALIDATION ACT 2022
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please
give me one second. I am just making sure I can find the correct recital. Mr. Speaker, I am uncertain that I
have the correct recital so I am going to do my best.
Mr. 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, and that is the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pe nsions) Amendment and Validation Act 2022.

Thank you. There are no further Government Bills. There are no notices of motions and
that now leads us to the resumption of the debate in the Committee of Supply for the further consideration of Estimates of R evenues and E xpenditures for the
year 2022/23.
Again, for the listening audience, each day
that we are in the Budget Debate on the resp ective
Heads, there is an eight -hour time period that is set
aside for those debates and during that time the
Speaker is out of the Chair because the debate in the
Committee of Supply is under the guidance of the
Deputy Speaker who is the head of the panel of
862 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Chairs and the respective panel members sit in the
Chair when it is their time to be in the Chair.
Today, the two Ministries that are up for debate are the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of
Transport, each of which will have four hours for those
particular debates . This morning we will have MP F amous in the Chair as the first panel Chair represent ative to conduct the business of the House this mor ning. At this time, we will call on the Premier to move
us into Committee of Supply.
Premier or Minister —

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now
resume in Committee of Supply to consider the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for fiscal year
2022/23.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Good morning Honourable Members and
good morning to the listening public. Today we are now in the resumption in Committee of Supply for further consideration . . . I am hearing some background
noise here . . . we are now in resumption in Commi ttee of Supply for further consideration of the Est imates of Revenues and Expenditures for the year 2022/23.
This morning, we will be debating the Cabinet
Office, Heads 9, 43 and 51. I now call upon the Ho nourable Premier to give this presentation.
Honourable Premier, you now have the floor.

CABINET OFFICE

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman. Mr. Chairman, if you will allow me, I will move
all of the Heads if I may, and of course, I will be doing
the three that you mentioned and the Honourable Mi nister for the Cabinet Office will be covering the other three Heads.
So, if I may, I move the following Heads:
• Head 09— Cabinet Office;
• Head 13— Post Office;
• Head 26— Department of Human Resources;
• Head 43— Department of Information and Di gital Technologies;
• Head 51— Department of Communications;
• Head 61— Department of Employee and O rganisational Development; and
• Head 80— Project Management and Pr ocurement.

Yes, so moved, Mr. Premier.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I will go ahead and begin. First,
I will deal with Head 9.

HEAD 9 —CABINET OFFICE

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the Cabinet Office
operates at the centre of the public service providing
leadership advice and guidance to ensure delivery of
the Government’s policies and Government’s services. This leadership is to be seen in the fiscal disc ipline within the Cabinet Office and the example set in
the reduction of expenditure to ensure that critical
programmes in other areas were able to be funded.
It gives me great pleasure to present the
budget for Head 9, the Cabinet Office, found on pages B-40 through B -46 of the Budget Book.
Mr. Chairman, the total expenditure as seen
on page B -42 is estimated to be $32,162,000 for
[2022] /23, and represents a decrease of $6,860,000,
or approximately 18 per cent less than the current
budget of 2021/22. A portion of this decrease is owed to the transfer out of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation grant as well as the Bermuda
Business Development Agency grant to the Economic
Development Department which now lies within the Ministry of Economy and Labour. In addition, Mr.
Chairman, the responsibility for the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (MDL) will now reside with the Mi nistry of Health which accounts for the $1.9 million decrease under the National Health Emergency , the last
line item on the general summary of page B -42.
Mr. Chairman, the subjective analysis for the
Cabinet Office can be found on page B -43 of the E stimates Book. Please allow me to highlight the mater ial object code increases as well as decreases.
Salaries, line item 1, estimated at $6,866,000,
represent an increase of approximately 9 per cent, or
$539,000 compared to the current 2021/22 budget


Bermuda House of Assembly provision. This increase is due to the Cabinet approved addition of two permanent secretary posts,
which comes as a result of Cabinet’s recent approval
of a minimum structure for each Ministry to include a
permanent secretary, a controller, a policy an alyst as
well as an administrative assistant. The increase will
also fund a legal counsel post within the PATI/PIPA
unit.
Mr. Chairman, legal advice is required for the
implementation of privacy and compliance, with PIPA
in particular, third- party and vendor contracts . Sharing
and cross -border transfers of personal information
necessitate thorough reviews by privacy trained legal
counsel in order to minimise adverse consequences
to the protection of personal information. Legal coun-sel will also be required as Bermuda establishes an
international adequacy framework. Additionally, interpretation of elements of the PATI Act will benefit from
legal advice facilitating targeted respons iveness in this
linked to the application of the Act.
Mr. Chairman, within wage s, line item 2, there
is a decrease of approximately $450,000, or 75 per
cent. These wages relate to weekly paid temporary
additional staff within the allocation for the National
Health Emergency Fund that, Mr. Chairman, as has
already been mentioned, will transfer to the Ministry of
Health as of April 1
st.
Mr. Chairman, while on the topic of MDL,
please allow me to present a quick overview of MDL’s
activities over the course of this past year. MDL met
the country’s needs by expanding testing capacity for
the SARS -CoV-2 virus. In 2020, MDL averaged 3,000
monthly tests. However, in 2021, at the height of the outbreaks, the lab was conducting the same volume of tests daily. Testing during the various outbreaks led
to the identification of more than 8,000 posi tive cases.
The high transmissibility of the latest Omicron variant
produced our highest positivity rate yet, 17.28 per cent
in January, or almost one positive result in every five tests processed.
The ability of the team to adapt to the i ncrease in sampl e collection and laboratory testing
was largely due to MDL moving to Warwick, to a pur-pose built and renovated facility in June of 2021. The new lab has a greater storage capacity, more space
for tandem PCR runs , and its central location allows
for faster specimen reception.
Mr. Chairman, in addition to the change in l ocation, the MDL team improved efficiencies in the
identification and public health management of cases by modernising the result notification process. Clients
were [emailed] their positive results directly, allowing
for fast action for isolation or quarantine. MDL also
provided four -hour expedited service for travellers
who opted to pay. This was an example of our teams
working more effectively and strategically to protect
our communities duri ng a pandemic that has been
challenging to the economy. During 2021, Mr. Chairman, MDL focused on
internal staff development finding ways to encourage young Bermudians to engage in science. MDL hosted
three summer student programmes during which the MDL t eam taught methods and walked students
through the sophisticated molecular diagnostic pr ocesses occurring in the laboratory. The youth engagement extended to the community testing teams
as MDL began its school testing initiatives during the
regular school term and summer vacation.
In October of 2021, MDL began a partnership
with The New York Genome Center to gnomically sequence known SARS -CoV-2 positives. Mr. Chai rman,
through this partnership, MDL was able to ident ify the
first instance of the Omicron var iant on the I sland.
In 2022, MDL will continue its work supporting
the pandemic response. At the start of the new fiscal year, a long- term strategy for laboratory operations
and research will be established. MDL, which is currently provisionally register ed with the Bermuda
Health Council, is working toward full ISO accredit ation this calendar year and is seeking laboratory tec hnician certification in molecular diagnostics for rel evant team members.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, as has been the case
from the day it was formed, MDL with its new partners
in the Ministry of Health, will be committed to operating a highly effective lab network, for the people of
Bermuda, by the people of Bermuda. This was
achieved through the commitment and dedication of
Dr. Carika W eldon who led the MDL team through the
most challenging periods of the pandemic.
Mr. Chairman, returning to the variances, this
transfer out also accounts for decreases in:
• Transport —line item 5 —of $50,000 representing the freight charges related to the import of
COVID -19 medical supplies and equipment;
• Rentals —line item 10—in the amount of
$33,000; as well as
• Equipment —line item 15 —a significant decrease of $912,000 relating to the transfer out
of funding for C OVID -19 medical supplies and
equipment.
Mr. Chairman, although the transfer of MDL to
Health did result in a decrease within Professional
Services —back up to l ine item 9—overall, there was
an increase of $224,000, or 9 per cent [compared] to
2020/21. Please note Mr. Chairman this represents a
reprioritis ation of funds to provide for a centralised
Government Wellness Programme.
As a reminder, the Government of Bermuda
Employee Wellness Committee was established to
address the employee wellness objective as set out in
the Government’s Reform Initiati ve to ensure health
and well -being of its officers. An objective of the people component of Government Reform was to have 50 per cent of public officers participate in a Gover nment Wellness Programme.
864 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly As the pandemic proved to be ongoing it was
imperative that the corporate wellness programme
continue and as an employer, the Government was
forced to adapt to approaching employee wellness
differently.
The health crisis ushered in significant wor kplace challenges and changes , and while the Go vernment was w orking tirelessly to adapt to the public
health crisis and massive economic and social cha llenges defined by the pandemic, we were also r equired to focus on our employees and the health of public officers to enable continuity of services. R esearch has suggested, and is naturally apparent, that
the pandemic required and continues to require greater focus on mental health.
Consequently, the Employee Wellness Pr ogramme in 2021 was Mental Health and Well -being
under the theme of “Mental Health Matters.” Improving
the mental health of public officers, making them mentally resilient to stress from the pandemic assisted and
continues to assist in improving thinking, decision-making, workflow, and relationships at work resulting
in increased productivity.
In addition, Mr. Chairman, an employee wor kplace stress survey was conducted in June 2021 to identify the impact of workplace stress and the factors
contributing to stress for public officers with the aim to develop and offer programmes to reduce stress levels. Survey result highlights indicate that 44 per cent
of employees feel stressed at work in a typical day.
The top three causes of work stress are nature of the
job and its responsibilities, volume of work, and rel ationships with other employees. Forty -two per cent
stated that they worked very long hours, and 46 per
cent stated that they too had too much work allotted to
them.
Further results highlight recurring themes on
what the organi sation can do to help employees cope
with work stress, such as therapeut ic support, mental
health GEHI coverage, realistic expectations/spread work evenly, improve staffing levels, and more options
for the wellness programme, mental health wellness
days/stress days, incentives, improve leader-ship/management training, and flexi bility with remote
working and improved work schedules.
Based on the survey results, Mr. Chairman,
there is a need to continue to strengthen the wellness
programme. For 2022/2023, there is a total allocation
of $340,000, the amount of which is not fully r eflected
in the stated increase of Professional Services due to
the already mentioned decreases in other areas such
as the transfer out of MDL.
The budget will be used to organise mental
health courses, workshops for leadership, management, and employees with mental health providers as
well as activities and events deigned to continue pr omoting mental health wellness in the public service and assist to achieve our Government Reform wel lness objectives. Mr. Chairman, the Government of Bermuda is
determined to recogni se and assist our valuable public officers in managing the stress of work. The cont inuity of services is critical to the Island’s stability and
in innovative ways public officers have met this challenge. The allocation of this funding is a tangible
measure to demonstrate our concern for these women
and men and their well -being.
Mr. Chairman, it will be recalled that an I mplementation Team was budgeted for in the previous
year and I am pleased to confirm that the Implement ation Team funding has been renewed and is in General Administration cost centre 19000 at page B -42 in
the amount of $750,000. In this fiscal year, the princ ipal focus has been the advancement of the Economic
Recovery Plan. Efforts to stand up the Economic R ecovery Plan Project Management Office (PMO) co mmenced during the current fiscal year. KPMG was r etained to undertake preliminary work to activate the
PMO. The work resulted in recommendations to focus
immediate activity around four lead initiatives and ot her specifics regarding goals, economic outcomes, approach to action planning for lead initiatives, the
alignment of resources and activities to be undertaken
by the Economic Recovery Plan Project Management
Office.
Mr. Chairman, I think it is important to note, as
earlier t oday I was with the Association of Bermuda
Insurers and Reinsurers where there was a question
in regard to the Government focusing on these four
particular points . But there are the 31 particular points .
And the question was raised, what about the other
31? I think that it is important to note that many of the
31 have already been completed. All of the 31 are
progressing. But the four specific focus areas are f ocus areas that could deliver the most immediate benefit on the impact of jobs.
So, there are Economic Recovery Plan initi atives such as the energy regulatory sandbox, which
the Deputy Premier will speak about, which are more
longer -term, strategic initiatives, healthcare reform,
tax reform, which are more longer -term strategic initi atives, but there are also other items that can have i mmediate impact on jobs. And those four were identified
by KPMG that of advancing and finalising the . . . getting casinos up and running in the country, developments in North East Hamilton Economic Empowerment Zone, the work over at Tynes Bay, and the other
one, Mr. Speaker, of vertical farming, which were
thought as the most immediate job creators and that is
the reason why, Mr. Chairman, those are the ones
that are focused on. So, I do not want Honourable
Member s to be confused that the Government has
dropped 31 initiatives and is only focusing on four. All
the initiatives are progressing. They continue to be
worked on. But these are the ones that we are going
to throw additional resources at to accelerate the em-ployment due to the immediate impact of which they
can have on the job situation, and that was what that


Bermuda House of Assembly was about. So, there might be some unclarity there
and I want to make sure that this is clear for Honour able Member s and certainly the listening public.
KPM G was supported by a P roject Management Office (PMO) Consultant Project Coordinator,
Ryan Robinson Perinchief. He continues to provide
project management support in the areas of research and analysis, planning, scheduling, and monitoring
activities. Further, he is engaged in providing policy
development support on specific social development
initiatives under the ERP such as the Cheaper Food initiative.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, returning to the subjective analysis, the remaining material variance is seen in Grants and Contributions —the last line item —which
shows an allocation of $ 20,165,000, a decrease of
$6,274,000 below 2021/ 22. This is a result of the already mentioned transfer out of the Economic Deve lopment Department of both the Business Development Agency (BDA) and the Bermuda Economic D evelopment Corporation (BEDC) grants —the briefing of
which had already been detailed in Monday’s debate
of the Economic Development Department. Mr.
Chairman the Bermuda Tourism A uthority grant, r educed for 2022/ 23 by $1, 460,000, is highlighted on C -
17 of the Budget Book and will continue to reside wit hin the Cabinet Office.
The Bermuda Tourism Authority

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda
Tourism Authority operates as the destination marketing organisation for the Island’s crucial tourism sector. The global tourism industry has faced wide- reaching
challenges over the past two years and Bermuda has
not been spared.
The Authority continues its mission to develop
Bermuda’s tourism industry by growing the number of
visitors to Bermuda, increasing visitor spending and nurturing an environment for job creation.
Mr. Chairman, for the 2022/23 fiscal year, the
Government will invest $20 ,040,000 into the Bermuda
Tourism Authority to support the crucial tourism indus-try for the purpose of rebuilding our economy and
building workforce capacity pipelines.
Total income for the B ermuda Tourism Authority is forecast to be $28.6 million. The additional
$8.6 million is forecast to come from fees paid by vis itors staying in our hotels, vacation rental units, and cruise ship passengers.
Accurately estimating total income remains a
challenge, but, as in previous years, the BTA will regularly review all expenditures and take any necessary action in light of new information affecting income
streams. As is always the case, the vast majority of
BTA funds is spent on selling and marketing the des-tination. When adjustments are necessary, funds all ocated for sales and marketing are prioritised. Of the estimated income for 2022, the Sales
and Marketing Division will be allocated $21,446, 000
representing 76.1 per cent of total expenses; Bus iness Intelligence and Technology Division will be all ocated $1,407,427 representing 5.2 per cent of the total
expenses and the Operations Division will be alloca ted $5,282,011 representing 18.7 per cent of total expenses.
Mr. Chairman, the BTA is also working with
the Bermuda Business Development Agency and the Economic Development Department to reinvigorate interest in new and existing hotel develo pment sites
across the Island. Additional rooms and conference
facilities will open the Island up to more group bus iness, stimulate investment opportunities, and support
demand throughout Bermuda.
Without additional hotel capacity, Bermuda
will be challe nged to plan for group business sales
and increased airlift, which underpins so many el ements of our tourism growth strategy.
Bermuda has suffered the impact that sudden
changes in the major airline carriers’ schedules inflict
on our tourism industry. Ai rlift and hotel inventory are
interrelated and co- dependent. Bermuda's reduced
hotel inventory has had a negative impact on Berm uda's airlift. The BTA are focused on partnering with the
airlines and developing co- op programmes to fill exis ting flights and fuel demand to necessitate an expan-sion of the schedule.
BTA works closely with its partners at the
Bermuda Airport Authority, Skyport and the Ministry of
Transport to shape and execute Bermuda's Air Ser-vice Development Strategy. The BTA gathers and
shares vital data on Bermuda's visitors and works to
build demand and fill seats, continually striving to expand airlift. Though extremely challenging during the
disruption of COVID -19, there are several accomplishments to note. Bermuda negotiated and secured
a switch from Gatwick to Heathrow with British Ai rways, opening up greater connectivity to Europe.
Our collaborative partnership with American
Airlines yielded expanded service from their Charlotte hub that proved so successful that it is now a part of
their permanent schedule.
Routes lost during C OVID -19 that have not
yet returned were winter service from Boston, and summer service from Washington, DC. These two
markets are always in the top five visitor source markets even in times without direct flights. The B ermuda
Tourism Authority recogni ses the importance of ha ving direct service to and from these markets and will
support airlines willing to serve them with marketing
co-operative programmes.
The return of cruise ships will play an i mportant role in the sector recovery in 2022, contri buting to local businesses, tax revenue and jobs. Bermuda looks forward to welcoming more than 170 cruise ship calls this year.
866 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, articulating the value propos ition for the BTA is more critical now than ev er.
Through organisational reform, there is a laser -focus
on managing operational and organisational efficiencies and a strategic staffing plan has been designed to position the organisation to lead and support reco very work for the industry.
Staffing and operational costs are being held
in line with last year’s budget. Pre- pandemic the BTA
had a budgeted headcount for 55 roles. The BTA now fulfil the same functions with a current headcount of 34, of which 91 per cent are Bermudian and spouses
of Bermudians .
Mr. Chairman, each year the BTA sets objectives to keep momentum towards achieving the long-term National Tourism Plan objectives while addres sing the immediate needs of the Tourism Industry.
The objectives set out for the BTA team to
achieve in 2022 are to:
• increase visitor spending to $260 million or 50 per cent of 2019; from $126 million in
2021;
• increase visitor spending directly influenced by the BTA to $64.3 million or 75 per cent of
2019 (this includes group and event bookings
and leisure promoti ons that can be directly
tied to BTA activities);
• increase the share of leisure visitors coming
from UK and Europe from 8 per cent in 2021
to 14 per cent;
• increase superyacht economic impact to $2.6 million;
• increase air and cruise visitors' likelihood to
recommend Bermuda to their friends and rel atives to 81 per cent.

Brand Study

Hon. E. David Burt: The Bermuda Tourism Authority
conducted a comprehensive RFP for a Brand Study
and selected Proverb, a Boston- based agency, led by
Bermudian Daren Bascome. T he study was conduc ted to better understand the new post -COVID traveller,
and adapt the way that we communicate, promote, and serve the market. As the travel industry spends
billions of dollars luring eager travellers to their dest inations, this brand stud y provided a full audit to help
identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current
brand strategy, messaging, and visual identity. This
led to a full brand assessment and will inspire the direction of new sales and marketing materials.
This brand shift w ill reflect the findings and
provide a new direction for the BTA as they bid to r ecapture Berm uda's share of the surging travel industry. Pro verb will assist in providing clear strategic
brand direc tion as it is infiltrated across all of our marketing chan nels.

Marketing and Communications

Hon. E. David Burt: Traditionally, 15 per cent to
20 per cent of Bermuda's visitors come from Europe
and Canada. The Bermuda Tourism Authority has
partnered with Reach Global in Canada, and Hills -
Balfour Agency in the United Kingdom, to represent
Bermuda and build customised travel packages to restore and grow these important markets. The Bermuda Tourism Authority are working directly with Bri tish Airways, Air Canada, and WestJet to build and
drive demand.
The Bermuda Tourism Authority are hosting
familiarisation trips (better known as FAMs) for tour operators and media to provide a first -hand, persona lised experience and education to take back and raise awareness for Bermuda throughout Canada and E urope. With the nego tiated switch from Gatwick to London Heathrow, Bermuda has gained powerful access
to significantly more European and international connections, and Bermuda is poised to take full advantage.
Customised co- op marketing programmes are
now in development wit h Air Canada and every major
US carrier that services Bermuda, to partner with ai rlines to create and drive the demand. The Bermuda
Tourism Authority’s focus on niche and group travel will be critical to achieve the incremental visitation and demand needed to incentivise airlines to return to a
more robust schedule.
With the further relaxed protocols that went
into effect on March 7
th, the Bermuda Tourism Author ity is introducing a new comprehensive marketing campaign, informed and directed by the aforementioned brand study conducted last year. The BTA is
rebuilding and will soon relaunch the Go To Bermuda
website to feature improved navigation and searchability to make it easier for visitors to connect with Bermuda in a more personal way.
Using a “person alisation” platform we can derive specific information about the type of accomm odation they prefer, the types of activities they enjoy, and experiences they are looking for —the new we bsite will connect travellers with the Bermudian exper ience that is just right for them.

Sales

Hon. E. David Burt: A large part of the Bermuda
Tourism Authority’s sales strategy is to establish Bermuda as a year -round destination with more balanced
seasonality by pursuing groups to fill our traditionally softer months. Despit e the closure of the Island's lar gest conference facility, Fairmont Southampton, the
Bermuda Tourism Authority sales teams have not let that deter them from securing group business and
have pursued niche travel opportunities to grow sales.
Sports is provi ng to be a powerful engine for
new business. In addition to being an important part of


Bermuda House of Assembly Bermuda's legacy, we offer an attractive destination
with world -class facilities, from our beautiful golf
courses to the National Sports Centre and an ideal
sailing envi ronment. We are filling the 2022 calendar
(and beyond) with competitions that bring visitors back
to Bermuda, fuel our air and hotel demand, create
excitement, and pride in our community, and deliver
valuable media coverage, such as the recently s ecured US Track & Field (USATF) Bermuda Games
that will be broadcast live on NBC, with rebroadcasts
around the world representing millions of dollars of media value. This is a testament to Bermuda's capac ity as a destination to deliver high profile sporting
events.
Moving on to a very important part of tourism,
Mr. Chairman, and that is workforce development and
making sure that we have Bermudians ready, willing
and able to enter the tourism industry.

Workforce

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, to understand the
industry’s workforce demands, in July 2020 the Bermuda Tourism Authority commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to engage the Hotelier group to report
on their workforce challenges, including the impact of
COVID -19 and the closure of the Fairmont Southam pton.
Not surprisingly, the data showed an oversupply of hospitality workers from around 575 to 716,
but those numbers were derived from assumptions
that the worst of coronavirus would be behind Berm uda and that there would be a confirmed opening date
for the Fairmont Southampton. We will commence an
update of the industry workforce analysis to get a truer
understanding of where the capacity gaps exist, so
that work can commence on addressing the gaps
through core training, leadership readiness and upskilling initiatives . And through these initiatives of
course, Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Tourism Authority works with the Department of Workforce Development
and also the Bermuda College in ensuring that the
programmes that are here on- Island are fit for purpose
to make sure that we get more persons ready to enter
the tour ism industry.
The first hotelier stakeholder meeting of this
renewed push was held on 1 December 2021 to di scuss plans that sought to address the capacity gap and ways hoteliers can collaborate and speak with
one advocacy voice. The immediate action resulting
from that meeting was the first collaborative recrui tment drive which saw around 200 applicants competing for a myriad of hotel roles for the upcoming season.

School Programmes

Hon. E. Dav id Burt: The BTA is also in the Schools.
And the Bermuda Tourism Authority will continue sup-porting and implementing hospitality skills and career
priming program mes into local middle and high
schools, both public and private. The Hospitality Skills
Equals Life Skills programme supports career pat hways by creating interest within primary school -age
children for the possibility of a tourism career. With respect to the signature schools, the BTA will be wor king with the Ministry of Education and other relevant
parties on assisting with the creation of academic
modules, appropriate practical skills training, individu-al and group projects focused on real -world issues,
including internships and meaningful work placements
to ensure that the tourism signature schoo l will make
sure that we get Bermudians ready for a career in
tourism.
Mr. Chairman, in closing, while the trajectory
of the pandemic and the potential impact of the war in Ukraine is uncertain, we continue to move forward to
build the foundation of a thr iving tourism sector.
From a public health perspective, the Island
has shifted gears and the Bermuda Tourism Authority
has transitioned its approach to consider the lowered risks and the heightened understanding of the new
global landscape.
It is impor tant to note that while the Bermuda
Tourism Authority’s focus on infrastructure, inventory
and airline capacity remains steady, the BTA in co ncert with partners in Government and the private sector will continue to roll out training and development
initiat ives to prepare the Bermudian workforce for f uture growth.
Beyond the sector’s human capital, we are
seeing progress in improvement of the hotel stock. From the opening of the Tapestry by Hilton Berm udiana Beach Resort in 2023, the refurbishment of Cambri dge Beaches, the continued expansion of A zura and its sister property Nautilus, and the impending return of the Fairmont Southampton. Accelerating hotel investment thr ough changes to the Tourism I nvestment Act aggressively leveraging group sales o pportunities and building capacity through marketing
are critical for our recovery.
Despite the challenges over the past two
years, the Bermuda Tourism Authority is building the foundation to not only meet but eventually exceed 2019 levels. The organisation will pursue the ambitious goals outlined in our National Tourism Plan to
provide sustained growth for the future.
Mr. Chairman, as I close and move on, I wish
to thank the team at the Bermuda Tourism Authority,
led by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the
Honourable Member for constituency 14, MP Wayne
Caines, the Board of Directors including the Honour able Member for constituency 2, Kim Swan, and the
leadership and staff of the Bermuda Tourism Authority
led by the CEO, Mr. Charles H. Jeffers II.


868 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Manpower

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman—and this is going
back to the Budget Book , because I have completed
the portion that is covering the Tourism Authority
grant. Mr. Chairman, as seen on page B -44—
Employee numbers —there is a total increase of four
FTEs in 2022/ 23 compared to the 2021/22 original
FTE estimates. This results from the already mentioned two additional permanent secretary posts under
Business Unit 19000—General Administration—as
well as the legal counsel post in the PATI/PIPA Unit
also mentioned within the explanation provided for the
increased Salaries line items. The additional full -time
equivalents within the code 19085— PATI/PIPA Unit is
technically not an increase but merely a prolonged administrative task to transfer a final post out of the
already dissolved ICT Policy and Innovation Depar tment that should have been reflected in last year’s
employee figures.

Capital Expenditure
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, you will note that
in accordance with page C -4, there are funds allocated for C apital Development in the amount of
$570,000. This is a reduced carry -forward from the
original 2021/22 allocation of $1,070,000 for the
Shoreside facilit y which, Mr. Chairman, you will note
was entirely unspent in 2021/22.
As seen on pages C -9 and C -10, there were
no capital acquisition submissions for 2022/23 for the
Cabinet Office.
Mr. Chairman, the Cabinet Office has been
pleased to demonstrate this Government’s support for
the Island’s community clubs and will continue and
execute and deliver on its platform promise made in
2017 and also during the time of the pandemic to
make sure that we make investments in our community clubs to support the reopening and the develo pments. During fiscal year 2022, a total of $425,000 in
capital development funds was made available to 15,000 clubs. In our 2020 election platform, the Gov-ernment recognised that community development and
sport play an important role in bringing Bermudians
together. The Government believed it was essential to
continue the capital development grant programme
and extend our support for deserving community and
sporting organisations who play an invaluable role in
our country and are cornerstones of community and
culture.
Additionally, the impact of the pandemic
forced many local clubs to suspend their community
outreach programmes while limited funds hindered
much needed improvements to their facilities. The
financial resources awarded to these clubs supported youth programmes, assisted clubs in upgrading their
facilities and purchasing new equipment while also
providing work opportunities for Bermudians. To date, the Government has awarded a total
of $882,122 in capital development grants to local
community clubs. One example of the success of this
programme is the recent reopening of the H arrington
Workman’s Club after extensive renovations to their
entire clubhouse. The Government recognised how
important this club is to the Harrington Bay and Devil’s
Hole community and was proud to support them with
$100,000 in capital development grants to assist in
these upgrades. I look forward to joining them on the
26
th of March, Mr. Chairman, for their official ribbon
cutting ceremony.
It is also important to note, Mr. Chairman,
even though it is not specifically within the Cabinet Office but it is regarding this programme is that we
have also awarded a total of $124,500 to 10 local
community clubs and youth programmes . So, not just
community clubs but youth programmes, youth organisations which do not have to be community clubs.
Bermuda Sloop Founda tion, martial arts foundations
from the Confiscated Assets Fund to support youth
programmes and youth development.
Mr. Chairman, I shall now turn my attention to
Output Measures.

OUTPUT MEASURES

Hon. E. David Burt: The performance measures developed for the Cabinet Office are found on pages B -
45 and B -46. The majority of these measures outlined
in 2021/22 have been or are anticipated to be realized
by March 31st with continuance throughout the
2022/23 period. Mr. Chairman, kindly allow me to
highlight a few of the measures.
Business Unit 19035— the London Office,
achieved the majority of the objectives set out especially the first target of assisting Bermudians living
within the U nited Kingdom, including students , which
was clearly put to the test but no tably demonstrated
during this pandemic.
As was previously seen on page B -42, the
London Office has a budget allocation of $1,176,000
for the 2022/23 fiscal year. Mr. Chairman, as known, this office continues to provide a service to the Go vernment by mai ntaining our relationship with the Uni ted Kingdom, through high- level dialogue with the
United Kingdom Government, particularly through i ncreased engagement with departments of Her Majes-ty’s Government (HMG) across Whitehall. While doing so, this office works in cohesion with Governments of
the Overseas Territories on shared policy areas
across the Territories. The London Office is respons ible for engaging with
• both Houses of Parliament ;
• the UK Diplomatic Corps, such as Embassies
and High Commissions ;
• the U nited Kingdom Overseas Territories A ssociation;


Bermuda House of Assembly • the Commonwealth Secretariat, along with all
UK based Commonwealth Associations ;
• Bermudians living in the UK including st udents ;
• the general UK public, to include private companies ;
• Civil Societies ; and
• all those who have a general or vested interest in Bermuda.
For fiscal term 2021/22 the primary function of
the London Office was to provide the necessary i mmediate assistance and guidance through its consular function to Bermudians living and studying in t he Uni ted Kingdom and throughout Europe as a result of the impact of COVID -19.
The nature of consular assistance continues
to range in levels of varying circumstances from as-sisting students with transition to the United Kingdom, to matters of critical n ature such as repatriation as
well as the provision of advice in matters of hardship. The office works with local UK councils and authorities
to ensure Bermudians are afforded their rights and
entitlement while in the United Kingdom, and in most cases, cla rifying the right of British Overseas Territory
Citizenship which impacts on Bermudians obtaining
housing and employment.
Mr. Chairman, similar to the objectives and
targets achieved in 2021/ 22, the functions of the Lo ndon Office for the fiscal term 2022/23 will be:
• to continue to support Bermudians in the United Kingdom within its consular affairs;
• maintain dialogue across the UK Parliament by engaging with UK Members of Parliament ;
• to continue engagement with UK civil servants
in Departments across Wh itehall on all policy
matters relating to Bermuda;
• to support Bermuda’s Financial Services r egime ; and
• to implement the political commitments made
through the Joint Ministerial Council in N ovember 2021.
For fiscal year 2021/22 the Government held
chairmanship and presidency amongst the Overseas
Territory Governments through the United Kingdom
Overseas Territories Association. During Bermuda’s
presidency the London Office was ultimately respon-sible for representation and coordination amongst
fourteen Overs eas Territories for our presence at
COP 26 in Glasgow under the Leadership of the Deputy Premier. Our presence and involvement gave
Bermuda the opportunity to present our success in
environment protection on the world stage.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, as not ed in the Manpower section, the London Office has not increased
the number of full -time equivalents . But I would like to
mention that it does provide experience to graduates
through its current internship program.
Mr. Chairman, on the topic of internships, the
Brussels Office will also provide opportunities to young Bermudians to gain experience working in
Brussels. The office, as seen on p age B -42, has been
allocated $344,000. It is managed by the UK Repr esentative through the London Office while work on the
ground is overseen by the Government’s Senior Adv isor of European Affairs and Policy, Ms. Aliyyah Ahad.
The objectives of the Office for fiscal term
2022/23 will continue to be:
• maintaining close dialogue with the European
Commission, Council and E uropean Parli ament and other EU institutions;
• facilitating access to the Premier and Mini sters key persons in upholding the Gover nment’s presence in Europe; and
• working in cohesion with the Ministry of F inance to support Bermuda’s global position as a robust regulatory financial regime. In particular, focusing on Bermuda’s removal from
Annex II in the next relevant meeting of the EU Council of Finance Ministers, currently scheduled for October 2022.
Mr. Chairman, still on page B -42, you will note
that th e DC Office shows an allocation in the amount
of $244,000 for rent and insurance expense only. Whilst there was a determined effort to sublet it in accordance with the existing lease, a sub- tenant was not
secured— which of course you can imagine that it
would be very difficult in a time when offices are ha ving more persons work remotely. However, Mr.
Chairman, I am pleased to confirm that the office will
be staffed this year. An individual has been identified
and discussions are now underway to e ffect an engagement for a representative presence in Washington DC.
Mr. Chairman, let me redirect to the measures
on page B -46, where I would like to turn your attention
to Business Unit 19080—Head of the Public Service. I am pleased to provide an update on the second measure to develop a five- year public service plan
that requires the review and justification of services provided by Government by June 2020.
Honourable Members will recall that this
measure derives from the objectives as set out in the
Government Reform Strategic Framework and that
the development of the Plan has not yet been rea lised. The recommendations that will inform the Plan
depend largely on data gathered as a part of the zero-based budgeting process. An analytical tool to assess the public valu e of government services was tested
during the 2020/21 budget cycle, refined, and impl emented in earnest as a part of the preparation for the 2021/22 budget.
A quantitative analys is of the data was completed and a qualitative review followed. The data wil l
now be reassessed drawing on the output from the
2022/23 budget data and further decisions will be
made with respect to the future of public services. The data will enable the Government to determine the
relative public value provided by each government
870 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly service. Thereafter the Government will be able to
make data driven and informed decisions regarding
the services it is able to provide to the public.
Mr. Chairman, with respect to Customer
Complaints, the third output measures, while the
feedback system has not yet been implemented, d evelopment is a work -in-progress and it is expected to
launch in the coming months. Mr. Chairman, you may recall that the feedback system is designed to enable
the public to easily report via an online system their
satisfacti on or dissatisfaction with any government
service. Members of the public will be able to identify
those public officers providing exemplary services,
and similarly, those whose service fails to meet the
Government's standards for service delivery.
Meanwhi le, Mr. Chairman, the Government
has completed a Service Standards Policy. The policy on Service Standards has been implemented go vernment -wide in order to standardi se customer service approaches and provide direction to departments on the expectations of their service delivery. The en-tire public service is engaged in service standards
awareness training with a target completion date of
March 2022. All public service employees will have an
understanding of the Government service standards;
their responsibil ity to uphold them; how they can use
the standards to promote a culture of service excellence; and the benefits for being a service provider of
excellence.
Mr. Chairman, with respect to the final measure, a total of 31 public officers participated in the Pilot
Leadership Programme. The Public Service Leadership Programme is a structured programme designed to develop key leadership competencies and is
aligned with the succession planning programme. It
was ultimately determined that the pilot programme,
which included three management training groups at
the executive, management and introductory levels,
would continue for a two- year period to allow officers
sufficient time to complete the activities set out in their individual development plans. The pilot gro up will
conclude the programme in the early summer of this
year and a new cohort will commence the leadership development programme in the fall.
Mr. Chairman, the programmes mentioned
above (and also the programmes that I mentioned
earlier in regards to employee wellness ) are all ev idence of steps taken towards the implementation of
the Government Reform Plan which has our people,
that is, our employees, and IT infrastructure as its current priorities. Other work implemented or commenced in accordance wit h the reform agenda include
the public service excellence awards initiative, the
employee wellness programme already mentioned
and the completion of the succession planning policy
and commencement of a government -wide compensation strategy review to name a few.
Mr. Chairman, five cases of gross misconduct
remain outstanding and our ability to meet the perfor-mance target in this regard has been hampered by a
dispute between the Office of the Head of the Public
Service and the Bermuda Industrial Union over t he
authority of the Head of the Public Service to conduct Gross Misconduct Hearings. The matter has been referred to the Employment and Labour Relations Tr ibunal for consideration and the Government awaits
the decision.
Mr. Chairman, allow me to turn your attention
to, as well as to expand on, the last business unit under Performance Measures ,19085, where we see the
first measure as achieved.
The PATI -PIPA Unit is responsible for the c oordination of Public Access to Information (PATI) and
the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). In addition, the unit maintains the PATI Code of Practice,
provides general advice and guidance to public au-thorities, Information Officer training and carries out
administrative responsibilities assigned to the Minister
in accordance with the Act. PIPA responsibilities i nclude the development and implementation of the Pr ivacy Programme for the Government of Bermuda, as
well as the establishment of the Privacy Adequacy/Equivalency strategy to enable the smooth flow of
personal information between Bermuda and other i nternational jurisdictions.
The unit ultimately supports the Government
in creating a beneficial , transparent and data protection environment that underpins our economic ecosy stem. This unit works in collaboration with the Offices
of the Information Commissioner and the Privacy
Commissioner to both ensure information and privacy rights in the jurisdiction. The work of the unit also
plays a key role in the Government’s effort towards
transformative change in the how the Government
and our jurisdiction manage information.
The Government of Bermuda interacts with
the public, the broader community , and international
entities and individuals on a regular basis. This inter-action includes the collection, exchange, retenti on and
disposal of personal information using physical and
electronic methods in the course of conducting ever yday business and social processes. As such, the
Government handles and holds a great deal of information related to such processes, as well as a signif icant amount of personal information. It is therefore
important that the rights of access to information and
privacy principles are ingrained in the Government’s
operations and culture.
Mr. Chairman, the PATI /PIPA Unit has been
allocated $881,000, a n increase of $417,000 which,
as detailed under the subjective analysis, specifically
salaries, mostly relates to the transfer of one post
from the already dissolved ICT and the department of
ICT policy and innovation as well as the legal counsel.
Requir ements specified for the unit, Mr.
Chairman include:


Bermuda House of Assembly • development and implementation of an organisational structure to enable the requirements
of the unit;
• implementing strategic, programme, oper ational and administrative measures to deliver
upon the requ irements of PATI and PIPA;
• policy, procedure, guidance and template a dministration;
• liaison with the respective regulatory author ities; and
• training, awareness and communication deli very.
The unit will play a significant role in the administration and facilitation of compliance requir ements for both Acts.
Mr. Chairman, in line with the 2021 Throne
Speech undertaking, a full review of the PATI fram ework, both legislative and operational , will be co nducted. The law and internal administrative processes
must keep pace with the increasingly complex work of Ministers and public officers.
In determining how to manage documents for
which requests have been made, it is critical to the
efficient management of Government that information
officers can properly apply the law.
The last year has seen much development in
the world of data protection and privacy. Brexit, the
passage of significant pieces of privacy legislation in
United States and globally, the increase in data
breaches and the impact on customers as well as the
requirements for cross -border data transfers has underlined the importance of data protection and privacy to a jurisdiction. The unit has worked in collaboration with the Privacy Commissioner and the Information
Commissioner to examine PIPA ahead of the next
phases of it coming into force. We will soon see
amendments to PIPA and the harmonisation of PIPA
and PATI. Additionally, harmonisation of PIPA with
other pieces of legislation will continue to be identified and brought forward according ly.
Mr. Chairman, when PIPA is fully in force, it
will have significant implications for the entire jurisdi ction. The Privacy Commissioner has responsibility to provide guidance relating to the implementation of
PIPA in the jurisdiction. Guidance notes related to the
elements of PIPA, as well as best practice advice for implementation, are available on the office’s website
(www.privacy.bm).
The unit has integrated this best practice into
the Government’s privacy programme and encour-ages all organi sations to become familiar with the i mplementation steps that will help them comply with the
Personal Information Protection Act. Those are:
• conduct an inventory and classify or, "map" the personal information that is used in their processes;
• document, in policies and procedures, how
personal information is to be “used” in the organisation and how PIPA requirements will be met, such as for individual access requests
and incident response;
• provide appropriate training and awareness to
staff and others, like vendors and service pr oviders, who have access to the organisation’s
data; and
• analyse the privacy risk to the organi sation,
using tools such as "Privacy Impact Asses sments ."
Mr. Chairman, in addition to the steps mentioned above, all organi sations, including the Gover nment, will be required to notify residents as to how
and why their personal information is collected, used
and stored through “Privacy Notices .” PIPA also i mpacts interactions with other organi sations, including
vendors. Risk assessments will therefore become i mportant in the contracting process for the Government
of Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, privacy intersects with many
other requirements and processes underway within
the Government. For example, information technology
security, or cybersecurity, which is the protection of electronic data from criminal or unauthori sed access
and use, is an important component of PIPA compl iance. The PATI/PIPA Unit will work in collaboration with the Ministry of National Security, the Information
and Digital Technologies Department (IDT) and the
Cybersecurity Governance Board to support the i mplementation of the Bermuda Cybersecurity Strategy, specifically in relation to data breach requirements.
The unit will also ensure that it leverages and pr omotes the Government’s records management r equirements, complying with the regulatory requir ements while also reflecting good governance. Addi-tionally, the unit will aid in the ongoing reform pr ocesses , helping to ensure that privacy by design and
default is an integral component in Government pr ogrammes and objectives .
Mr. Chairman, as I conclude my presentation
of Head 9, I would like to take this opportunity to ex-tend my thanks to all of the staff at the Cabinet Office
for their ongoing contributions and dedication to ser ving the people of Bermuda. I would like to specifically
recognise, of course, the Cabinet Secretary, Major Marc Telemaque, the Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office, [Lt.] Col. Edward Lamb, the Head of
the Public Service, Dr. Derrick Binns and the Deput y
Head of the Public Service, Mrs. Cherie Whitter for
their continued work and efforts.
And, Mr. Chairman, and I will say as we are
witnessing public servants who execute the policy of
the Government being attacked publicly by persons, I
wish to maintain and state for the record that we un equivocally support the work of the public service in
executing and carrying out the policies of the Go vernment of the day. It is unfair and unfortunate that on
days like this we witness attacks of public officers who
do their best, work day in and day out, work hard and
872 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly strive to ensure that the country is run well, properly
and efficiently, Mr. Chairman.
I stand by the public officers of this country,
and I am incredibly fortunate to be in this office and to
be supported by an incredibly dedicated team led by the Cabinet Office but throughout the Government of
Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my presentation
of Head 9 and with your permission I would move to
Head 43— Information and Digital Technologies.

The Chai rman: Mr. Premier, I want to pause you
there for station identification.
I just would like to remind the Honourable
Member s and the listening public that we are in
Committee of Supply for further consideration of the
Estimates of Revenues and Expenditures for the year
2022/23. We are listening to the budget estimates on
the Cabinet Office by the Honourable Premier who
has just concluded Head 9.
Honourable Premier, you may resume . . . and
one other thing, for those who are listening via radio,
you can a lso listen to this online at parliament.bm and
you can hear previous recordings there.
You may resume, Mr. Premier.

HEAD 43 —THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION
AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES (IDT)

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, I will now move
on to Head 43. It gives me great pleasure to present
the budget for Head 43, the Department of Information
and Digital Technologies (IDT), found on pages B -57
through page B -60 of the Budget Book.
The Mission of the department is t o provide
Information and Digital services that streamline pr ocesses to facilitate the Government’s strategic bus iness ob jectives.
The department seeks to fulfil its mandate by
securing and maintaining its IT infrastructure that
hosts applications that are used within government
departments. IDT will continue to provide governance
and oversight to monitor and control the use of key systems. IDT will also provide analysis tools which will
allow for data driven decision making. The department
delivers and manages IT and Telecom services used by government departments, and the department has
started the planning phase for delivery of an ePa yment solution for the whole of government, as well as
a digital reform solution for select government bus iness processes.

Expendit ure Overview

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the total current
expenditure for the Department of Information and
Digital Technologies is found on page B -58 and is estimated to be $7,708,114 for fiscal year 2022/23. This is a decrease of $224,000, or 3 per cent, over the 2021/22 fiscal year. This decrease is due to, as I mentioned in my previous brief and was mentioned in my
briefs, the leadership that was demonstrated by the
Cabinet Office to reduce budget funding to ensure that
deficit and deficit targets could be met and funding could be reprioritised to other priority departments
such as the Ministry of Education. This decrease is
due to the mandated budget decreases and, unfort unately, Mr. Chairman, includes the temporary defunding of five positions.
The Subjective Analysis of Current Account
Estimates of the Department of Information and Digital Technologies is found on page B -58. The focus will be
on the four line items with the greatest absolute
change.
Salaries , line item one, decreased by
$315 ,000 or 7 per cent due primarily to the postponing
in hiring and the temporary defunding of the five v acant posts, which were approved by the Cabinet in
2020. Additionally, Mr. Chairman, there are eight other
vacant posts that have been funded in this budget to
be filled. All of these positions, the eight that are fund-ed and the five which are temporarily defunded, were
critical to the long- term operational success of the department, as well as to the Government’s information
and digital strategies. They ar e also vital to the digit isation of our systems, for example, the move and a dvances [to] a paperless government.
Mr. Chairman, you will note that the software
maintenance funding was miscoded and placed in
Insurance and not Repair and Maintenance object
code. Therefore, it shows I nsurance and not R epair
and Maintenance object code . . . sorry, Mr. Chai rman, I am going to start again for clarity for the Members of the Opposition.
Mr. Chairman, you will note that the Software
Maintenance funding was miscoded and placed in
Insurance and not Repair and Maintenance object
code. Therefore, it shows Insurance as $517,000 under for 2022/2023 and R epair and M aintenance as
over. This was corrected in the 2021/22 Revised
Budget.
Mr. Chairman, the budget for Communications
line item five on page 58, decreased by $105,000 or
6 per cent. With this adjustment, IDT will focus on
maintaining the existing network infrastructure for this
year. This funding will be used to perform needed
maintenance on our systems in the 2 022/23 fiscal
year while plans are developed for future upgrades.
Mr. Chairman, the budget for Rentals will i ncrease by $30,000, from the original estimates for
2021/ [22] to $803,000, an increase of 4 per cent.
The increased cost for facilities and host ing
allows for an expansion of Link Bermuda, which is a secure data facility that holds all of government’s crit ical infrastructure. Rent for office space will decrease due to IDT’s plan to vacate Channel House in St . David’s and move to office space in Hamilton. It is antic iBermuda House of Assembly pated that this move will be complete by September
2022.
Mr. Chairman, the budget for Professional
Services will increase by $24,000 to $90,000. This is
due to the additional consultants engaged to assist with the massive project of di gital transformation of
government services.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. E. David Burt: The Capital Acquisitions for the
Department of Information and Digital Technologies ,
found on page C -9, makes provision for new capital
expenditure in the amount of $3, 280,000, which is a
decrease of $695,000 from the capital budget of
2021/22. It should be noted, Mr. Chairman, that due to
the increase in capital expenditure in the previous two
budget years, 2020/21 and 2021/22, IDT was able to
complete critical investme nts in infrastructure. And it
should be noted that the budgeted amounts in those
years were record infrastructure investments in infor-mation technology which totalled just under $8 million
over a two- year period, Mr. Chairman.
These investments contributed to an improved
centralised communication/collaboration system, up-grades to remote access systems, upgrades to
back end database infrastructure and upgrades to IT
security infrastructure, to name a few.
The 2022 budget adjustments in capital expenditure affect the following areas:
• decreased funding for PC purchases —
$75,000.
• decreased funding for development projects —
$470,000.
• decreased funding for IT security —$350,000
(However, it should be noted, Mr. Chairman,
that IT security funding was the first time i ncluded in the budget last year and there were
significant security upgrades that were completed last year in the budget. );
• increased funding for eGovernment initi atives—$200,000.
Mr. Chairman, there are no further increases
in the 2022/23 Capital budget outside the $200,000
for the eGovernment initiatives.

Manpower

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the manpower for
the Department of Information and Digital Technol ogies, shown on page B -58, has decreased by five.
There are 46 full -time equivalents in 2022/23, less
than the 51 in 2021/22. There were five funded vacant
positions which are going to be temporarily defunded
in the 2022/23 budget, as I mentioned before. The
Information and Digital Technologies Department is
working with the Department of Empl oyee and Organisation Development to fill eight additional vacant funded positions to increase the operational capabil ities of the department and to meet the mandate.
The most pressing recruitment for IDT was
that of the Deputy Chief Information Officer and that
recruitment was completed. Some of the other critical
positions to be filled include:
• Two Assistant Network Engineers: One will focus
on Unified Communications (the Government’s
telephone system which was transferred to IDT
from Public Works in pr evious budget years) and
the other Network Assistant will focus on network
operations. These two posts will significantly r educe the risk of a single point of failure for the
government -wide phone system.
• The IT Project Manager: Due to the multitude of
projects that IDT is working on, this post will bring
much needed organisation and project manage-ment support to the department and to various
government departments as we progress IT development initiatives.
• Operational Analyst: This post is critical for the
provision of technical support throughout gover nment and will help reduce the amount of time and
delays in IT support to departments.
• Portals Administrator: As the government is upgrading its portal to achieve the digitisation of our
systems, this additional resource will provide
much needed support to the Portals team.
Mr. Chairman, in the previous budget in
2021/22, following the reorganisation that was approved by Cabinet, IDT received funding from Shadow
IT posts in various departments that contribute d to
IDT’s ongoing recruitment program. I should state, Mr.
Chairman, for the record that Shadow IT posts is a
name that is used internally to government, but the public and Honourable Members may not understand
[that] those are posts within government that perform
IT-related functions within other government depar tments and do not report directly to IDT. So, they may be placed in other government departments where
previously they had permission to recruit an IT officer,
in-house support officer, to support various IT items.
In 2020, as part of the reorganisation of government information technology, the Cabinet approved the transfer of most Shadow IT posts from the
various government departments to IDT. These transfers have provided additional resources to IDT to better serve all government departments.
And it should be noted of course, Mr. Chai rman, that for the Shadow IT posts that were located in
various positions such as, for instance, the Depar tment of Immigration, the transfer of those posts allow those persons and IDT to continue to support the D epartment of Immigration but also to allow [them at]
other times to support other offices. And it was the
view and thought that the IT posts that were located in
various areas may not have been used full -time for
the 40 hours or the 35 hours a week and they could have used that portion of time to support that depar t874 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ment while also supporting other departments and
that certainly led to an increase that Honourable
Members would see in the amount of posts that were
in IDT over the years from 2020/21 to where we see
the posts up to now of . . . a total amount of approved posts of 51, but, as we know , the temporary defunding
of those [five] posts to 46.
Mr. Chairman, ongoing IDT recruitment will
enable the departm ent to better manage the gover nment’s IT resources and consequently, allow for more progress in meeting the department’s goals.
For example, it will enable the department to
reduce service response times, improve technical
support where needed and, by ha ving more persons
in critical positions, to approve additional resources
where there are risks and single points of failure.
Benefits will also supplement project man agement
resources and oversight with respect to gov ernment -
wide IT projects. Additional staff will also a llow IDT to
support a future forward digital gover nment.

Output Measures

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the D epartment of Information and Digital Technologies Output Measures are found on page B -59 and B -60 of the
Budget Book. Selec ted indicators under each Bus iness Unit are outlined as follows:
• Business Unit 53030: Device Support
o Indicator: Resolve and repair service tic kets within service level targets. The target for 2021/22 was 85 per cent to be completed within service level tar gets. Actual
Outcome for 2020/21 was 85 per cent
achieved within service level target due
primarily to recruitment in this section, which is now fully staffed. The target for
2022/23 is 85 per cent due in part to filling
an additional post and implementati on of
modernised device management systems
and desktop upgrades throughout the
Government of Bermuda.
• Business Unit 53035: Network Support
o Indicator: Network monitoring, resolve and repair service tickets within service
level targets. Target 2021/22 was 85 per
cent forecasted. The actual outcome
achieved was 85 per cent due to tel ephone system stabilisation initiatives r elated to telephone incidents. The target for 2022/23 is likewise 85 per cent.
• Business Unit 53040: Service Support
o Indicator: Manage and r esolve account
administration within Service Level Targets. The Target of 2021/22 95 per cent
was forecasted. The actual outcome that
was achieved was 85 per cent in 2021/22
and the revised outcome and outlook for
this year is 90 per cent. The target for 2022/23 is 95 per cent compl etion within service level targets due in part to conti nued roll out of self -service online tools, such as ,
password.gov.bm, service desk logging, and single
sign-on.
And just basically what that means, Mr.
Chairman, is before when persons may have had
trouble, they may have been locked out of their account, they have been locked out of various items,
may have had an issue, they would have to call the
service desk, wait on hold sometimes and the service desk would have to go ah ead and process that.
Due to the record investments that the government has made over the last few years in infor-mation technology, capital projects to upgrade our
systems, they now have deployed self -service tools
which will allow government officers and persons to
automatically set their passwords using two- factor
authentication and other items which will remove the
need for IT officers to do that so they can focus on
more significant tasks that do not necessarily, that are
not more mundane and run -of-the-mill tasks.

[Inaudible]
Hon. E. David Burt: Sorry, Mr. Chairman?

Webex.

Hon. E. David Burt: Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Moving on [to the next one]:
• Business Unit 53050: Digital Services
o Public satisfaction with the availability and use
and selection of Government online services.
The target 2021, 80 per cent was forecasted.
The actual outcome that was achieved—
sorry, the revised outcome and target outcome this year is 80 per cent and the fact that
this is expected to be achieved is due to add itional full -time equivalents, which we mentioned earlier, working in this unit, which is fully staffed.
• Business Unit 53060: Business Systems Support
o Conducting routine monthly service level r eview meetings with key departments, annual review o f service level targets with depar tments and manage application support tic kets. In this particular item, the target forecast
this current fiscal year was 80 per cent. The
actual outcome that was achieved was 80 per
cent. The 80 per cent was the review of se rvice level meetings. The annual service level
review meetings was 85 per cent that was
achieved and the target for both as we go
forward in 2022/23 will be 85 per cent.
• Business Unit 53090: Security
o Finally, moving on to the last business unit
that I w ill highlight is disaster recovery exercises, planned service. The target for this parBermuda House of Assembly ticular fiscal year on disaster recovery exercises was 50 per cent and the revised for ecast this year is 50 per cent.
The reason this was 50 per cent certainly and
not m oving higher , although it did meet the target , was
due in part of the focus the Accountant General’s D epartment in developing and implementing the E1 sy stem. Now, as we move forward, Mr. Chairman, the
target for 2022/23 is 100 per cent as all E1 upgrades
have been completed and working along with the A ccountant General, will focus on coordinating and ex ecuting a full disaster recovery exercise.
Mr. Chairman, before I move to the items
looking forward to what will be achieved in IDT in the
upcoming year, I want to focus on the projects of the
past year.

Projects in the past year

Hon. E. David Burt: I did highlight some of the capital
development projects which have been implemented
as we move forward . . . sorry, that have been impl emented over the past. But I also want to state that the
following IT projects were completed during the
2021/22 fiscal year:
• iSeries upgrade to Power9
• External firewall upgrades
• CISCO Unified Communication/Webe x, which
is now 55 per cent complete and is progres sing
• Office 365 pilot implementation
• GEARS upgrade and expansion
• Infrastructure and server upgrades
• Ministry of Finance economic dashboard, which has been completed
• Digital Services (eForms (ongoing) —a number of forms which I will speak about later
which have been put onl ine.
Mr. Chairman, moving on to the plans for the
upcoming year.

Plans for the upcoming year

Hon. E. David Burt: The Department of Information
and Digital Technologies will continue the development of its core services in the upcoming year by f ocusing on five key strategic areas:
1. Infrastructure stability and securing the network: work in this area will progress by enhancing the government departments’ network inter -building
communications performance by continuing to i ncrease bandwidth requirements. This is anticipated to
continue over the next two to three years and will i mpact more than 140 government locations across the
Island. Yes, Mr. Chairman, 140 locations which are
serviced by the Department of Information and Digital
Technologies.
IDT will work with the Ministry of National S ecurity to make sure that they implement and upgrade cybersecurity strategy as the Government enhances
the online presence and looks to automate more pr ocesses. As the Government of Bermuda moves forward with improving its presence online, we will be
better enabled to interact with our citizens and allow businesses to interact more efficiently with our go vernment. As we do that, it is paramount to make sure
that the cybersecurity requirements and monitoring
are in place to id entify vulnerabilities, and threats to
our IT systems to avoid any compromise.
Further, IDT will continue to roll out self -
service systems which will empower users to make
their own changes, such as account password management where users can reset their o wn passwords
without contacting IDT and having to wait for assi stance. There will be improvements to the overall network security with state- of-the-art security monitoring
and management systems.
The department will continue the roll out of a
new state- of-the- art phone system. This will replace
the current aged and unstable phone systems with the introduction of a full collaboration suite of features which will enhance the productivity for public officers
to work in office and/or remotely. Features will consist
of the following: New and improved auto- attendants,
new corporate directories, integration into the WebEx
system which of course we are using now, Mr. Chai rman, mobile remote access (soft phones) where people can use their phones through their mobi le devices
and also desktop computers or tablets and enterprise
integration. Better inter -departmental communications
as most departments will be on the same system will
be the result and this project, as I stated Mr. Chai rman, is 55 per cent complete.
IDT will continue to focus on leveraging the
use of local Cloud services to facilitate the delivery of
specific applications (such as Office365 and E xchange online) with far less technical complexity and reduce the need to rely on strained IDT engineering resources; thereby allowing those IDT resources to
focus more on business value and less on complex IT
engineering builds. This change in IDT strategy will
facilitate efficiencies in IDT as we move towards digital automation. Sending services to a secure platform
will allow for increased flexibility when accessing and retrieving information.
2. Budget Efficiency Initiative: Work is continuing
on streamlining specific core IT services to achieve greater economy of scale through ongoing renegoti ation of vendor ser vice agreements, leveraging prev ious services or product agreements across gover nment, and more use of common government systems.
3. IT Governance: An IT governance committee
has been formed and this committee is updating and enforcing policies that will res ult in IDT ensuring that it
oversees all IT projects and acquisitions. And when I say this, Mr. Chairman, it is to ensure that projects and acquisitions throughout government departments
[will] be done.
876 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly This will ensure that IT purchases and the
business needs are properly aligned, therefore creating greater efficiencies within government and
strengthening government's return on investment, as
well as ensuring the proper fit between technologies and business operations. This is important to ensure a
unifie d system of procurement of IT products such as
the latest software and hardware. This will enable us
to have better controls of IT systems throughout government thus avoiding the duplication of spends on IT
systems.
And in practical terms, Mr. Chairman, t hat
means when government departments are looking for
various systems what we want to also make sure that
what we do is we check to make sure that there may
not be similar systems that are operating in gover nment departments.
As we move more to Cloud- base d services,
some of those services can be expanded. They can
still be segregated to keep data separate but they can still be rolled out and expanded, therefore not to cr eate an additional procurement but just to expand the
service offerings from various department s or expand
the contract from various department s to another go vernment department which reduces spend and also requires us not to engage in an entirely separate IT
procurement. We have seen this happen and the IT governance model is to ensure that these types of
things do not happen as we advance.
4. Digitis ation: Moving towards a digitised government for the people of Bermuda is a goal and objective certainly of the Government Reform Initiative,
and IDT is working closely with g overnment stak eholders to continue to identify key areas of digitis ation,
such as ePayments and a unified electronic identific ation.
One of the key initiatives that the IDT will continue to work on this year is the digitisation of the A ccountant General’s cash desk service. This will create a digital payment solution for citizens of Bermuda to
pay for any and all government services online. Further, the digital electronic identification (eID) strategy
and plan is ongoing and will begin to be implemented in 2022/23. The purpose of this digital electronic ide ntification is to help to identify clients of any gover nment service across multiple systems. This will help streamline the processing of government services.
IDT has identified, as appropriate, at least 20 per cent
of current IT applications and systems which also
qualify for Cloud services. IDT has completed the IDT
strategic plan, which sets the direction for digital government.
IDT in conjunction with Management Consul ting Services (MCS) will continue conducting depar tmental assessments to determine process improv ement related to IT and the f ull digitis ation of the Government of Bermuda is at the heart of this initiative.
The IDT will continue to work on updating the strategic
plan to address the matters related to digital reform , and IDT and other stakeholders have just completed a
workshop to ensure that the digital transformation strategic plan is updated.
5. The IDT Portal Team will continue to work and
digitis e and create electronic forms. The Portal Team
did a fantastic job in converting paper forms to electronic based forms on the g overnment website this
past year. Some examples include the contact tracing
form, public service excellence award, and expressions of i nterest for government boards and c ommi ttees, just to nam e a few.
In total, Mr. Chairman—and this is i mportant —30 applications, some which are single
forms, some which have complex workflows behind
them, were created and moved from paper based
forms to online applications. Thirty different gover nment processes . The results of this conversion have
allowed for quicker access to documents that need to be completed for g overnment services and quicker
processing.
One of the things, Mr. Chairman, that I always
share with Minister s and with departments when we
meet is that . . . I will be touching on communications
in my next brief. But the one thing that we were f amous for of course is sending out emails from the
Government of Bermuda and saying, you know,
please email your information to this particular email address . Now, that is a practice that we rarely use
unless it is an emergency and we now make sure that
we can implement online forms. Those online forms
are not only implemented by the Portal Team, but we
are also rolling it out to various departments so they can create online forms.
The system of which we are using is intended
to be something as simple as creating Google Forms
which some persons may be familiar with. What that
makes sure happens is that the correct information is
submitted and that information can be recorded and
processed on the backend. So, you will very rarely see the government putting out press releases saying
please go to, or please send an email to this with your
information. We direct persons to these forms. The
forms teams assist govern ment departments in putting
that together and we can make sure that we get the complete information one time with name, correct email address, validation built in. Those things can be
processed and they can be processed on the backend
very efficiently. Thi s certainly stood out during the
pandemic at the very beginning where the forms team
was put into place.
We retain and use college graduates which
were just graduating from college, people of the tec hnology leadership forum to make sure that they could
join the team and to augment the team, and there has
been significant success and I want to highlight that
again, Mr. Chairman. Thirty different government
forms contribute to making sure that we continue to
move government services online. So, when persons say that we are not advancing these initiatives, that


Bermuda House of Assembly we are not progressing on these initiatives, I think it is
also important to note that while there are some areas
that progress has not happened, there is significant
progress that has been made [in oth er areas] .
Mr. Chairman, i n the 202 1/22 Budget Brief ,
and that was two years ago, it was stated that in 2019/20 IDT underwent a comprehensive review by
Management Consulting Services to ensure proper
alignment of IT —

[Emergency vehicles heard in the back ground]

Hon. E. David Burt: You might hear some bac kground noise, Mr. Chairman. It seems emergency
services are going by.
[Pause]
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, I will try to start
again. Can you hear me, or do you just hear the s irens?

—and we pray that wherever they are
going people are safe.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I will
start again with this section. I n the 202 0/21 Budget
Brief, which was two years ago, it was stated that in
2019/20 IDT underwent a comprehensive review by
Management Consulting Services to ensure proper
alignment of IT resources and structure that would
meet the government’s ever -growing IT demands.
Thus, it was necessary to increase IDT’s staff
with the posts mentioned earlier in this b rief. As government looks to further digitis e it is necessary for IDT
to support the future government state and IDT wi ll
continue to move ahead with moderni sing the depar tment as indicated previously .
Mr. Chairman, it is important to note that with
the recruitment of a CIO and as set out, the CIO Mr.
Daron Raynor does now attend at the public service executive meetings to assist in providing strategic advice and future planning at the senior executive level
of the public service. Attendance at these meetings
also allows the CIO to gain insight into the various activities and departments that the government and
various government ministries are initiating.
Mr. Chairman, as I bring a close to my
presen tation on this particular Head, I wish to thank
the entire Information and Digital Technologies staff
for the excellent service that they continue to provide to the Bermuda Government, especially with multifar ious challenges and staff shortages. They have done a great job over the last year servi cing the department
and I commend them for their sterling efforts.
As you know, 2021/22 has been challenging
for everyone, as was the previous year , including IDT.
I certainly will extend thanks to IDT for establishing
communications via Webe x and other technologies to
keep Government open and running at the beginning
of the pandemic two years ago. The reason that we
are work ing remotely today , Mr. Chairman, is due to
their quick action in standing up remote platforms.
As I close this section, I think that it is also
important to note that this G overnment continues to
make record investments into technology, and I have
no doubt that these investments will yield significant
productivity improvements in future fiscal years.
Before I close, I will just refer back to the
Budget Statement of where I state out of the c apital
acquisition budget this year, 44 per cent of those are
IT acqui sitions and so we are making sure that we
invest in information technology to make government
more efficient and also to make sure that our students
in schools and other departments have access to the latest technology.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That concl udes my
presentation on Head 43 and I will now move to Head
51, Mr. Chairman—

Yes. I am just letting the listening audience know that we will be going towards lunch at
12:32. Thank you, Mr. Premier.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman.

HEAD 51 —DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, it gives me great
pleasure to present my final Head for today before I
hand it over to the Mi nister for the Cabinet Office, the
budget for Head 51, The Department of Communic ations, found on pages B -61 through B -64 of the Budget Book.
The mission of the Department of Communications is to be the trusted source of information for
Bermuda.

Expendit ure Overview

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, on page B -61
there is a general summary for the departments. Cabinet Office departments have taken the lead in cutting
government expenditure to make sure that we can
reprioritise and devote resources to other critical government ministries to make sure that the Government
is meeting its objectives in educational reform and
878 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly healthcare reform. And thus, the Department of
Communications has been able to reduce its overall
budget for 2022/23. The total current ex penditure for
2022/23 is estimated to be $2,808,000. This is a de-crease of $82,000, or 2.8 per cent, in the 2021/22
budget.
Mr. Chairman, the Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates can be found on page B -62 of
the Budget Book. In this year’s Communication Budget, in line item 6, there is an allocation of $209,000 for
advertising. We have reduced this line item and redi-rected some of the funds to our Creative Services and
CITV Sections to provide modest increases in their
budget.
This was done t o support and meet the demand for the creation of more visual materials and the
hosting of live online public awareness events. With
the modest increase in these sections’ budgets, they
are able to conduct further upgrades to key technical
software.
A red uction of the advertising budget also correlates with the fact that such funding levels are not
needed, given the curtailing of major national COVID -
19-related awareness programmes. These included
the vaccine express, vaccination and booster awar eness, unemployment benefits and other pandemic
related initiatives.
Mr. Chairman, communications, line item 5 on
page 62, has increased by $17,000, or 30 per cent to
$73,000. This increase represents software needed to
transmit live Government events to the publi c as well
other communications needs. Repairs and maint enance has increased by $38,000 or 271 per cent to
$52,000. This is a cost transferred to Communications
from the Portal Management’s Team move to IDT.
This increase will cover annual software licences .
Materials and Supplies, line item 10 on page
B-62, has increased by $8,000, or 29 per cent, to
$36,000. This represents materials to maintain two
vehicles, backup services on the government server
and specialised computer software.
Equipment (minor capital) has increased by
$1,000 from $6,000 last year to $7,000 this year.
These funds will cover costs upgrades to CITV’s
equipment. This increase represents additional
equipment to replace or support ageing equipment at CITV. These funds have also been all ocated to pay
for the station’s editing and graphics software pac kages.
Other expenses have increased by $3,000 or
43 per cent to $10,000. This increase represents i nternet upload and download speeds to bring the st ation in line with current demands and s tandards on the
government’s various social media platforms.


Staff
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the Department of
Communications has an all -Bermudian staff, all of
whom work tirelessly to achieve the department’s
mission. Currently there are 28 full -time funded employee posts. This includes full -time posts for our S ocial Media Officer and a Content Officer, those posts that are currently vacant.
Mr. Chairman, the sections within the depar tment are comprised of the following:
• Administration;
• Communic ations;
• CITV;
• Creative Services; and
• Telephone Customer Service Represent atives—who are the Government telephone
operators
Mr. Chairman, there are currently five posts to
be filled within the department. This includes the d irector’s post, two communicati ons officer posts, a s ocial media officer, and a content officer. For the direc-tor and communications officer posts, of which there
are two, it is anticipated that these posts will be filled in the coming months. I can advise that the recrui tment process f or the remaining two positions is underway.
Mr. Chairman, as we entered the second year
of the pandemic, like other Ministries and Departments, the Department of Communications worked to navigate through this unprecedented period in our
Island’s history. However, the team never wavered on
their commitment to ensuring that it provided necessary and critical information to the people of this I sland. As we discuss staff, I must highlight the various
sections within the department. They are as follows:
Communi cations Section : This section currently comprises of an assistant director of communications and four communications officers. Mr. Chai rman, our communications team continued to provide
outstanding service during these unusual and extraordinarily demanding times. In addition to ensuring that
pandemic and vaccination related material was at the
forefront of their communications duties, communic ations officers continued their goal of ensuring that residents were also informed about the government’s
other programmes, policies and legislative initiatives.
The communications officers worked tirelessly
this year to help shape the government’s messages —
through Ministers’ speeches, press conferences and
communications related events. Within the public service, com munications officers ensured that public officers were also fully aware of what was happening
around government. This provided employees with
knowledge and understanding about the organisation
in which they work, which further enhances employee
engagement.
Mr. Chairman, online methods of communicating continued to drive the public’s desire to receive information, and through the combined reach of the
Government’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,


Bermuda House of Assembly WhatsApp, ZOOM, Webex, StreamYard, and
YouTube platforms, the communications team facil itated real time updates to thousands of individuals on
a weekly basis. This ensured that the community had
the latest information on several matters, including public health guidelines, travel guidance, return to
school policies, ec onomic and employment support
and helping services for the vulnerable.
Mr. Chairman, I will certainly thank them later
in my brief, but I certainly want to pay homage to our
communications officers because public officers also often get a bad rap. I have no idea why. But these are
officers that were replying to emails 9:00, 10:00, 11;00
at night making sure that they were handling gover nment communications items, work on the weekend,
work on Sundays, work on public holidays and the
communications team is incredibly dedicated and I
just want to make sure to certainly pay homage to them.
CITV : Mr. Chairman, CITV is composed of a
general manager, programme manager, senior pr oducer, television editor and two full -time videogr aphers. Mr. Chairman, over the course of 2021/22 pr oduction standards at CITV in terms of quantity, quality
and speed, continue to evolve and improve. During
the last budget year CITV was innovative and adaptive in producing programming in the environment of
the pandemic, and the station a lso continued to create
signature programmes such as Health & Family , CITV
[Today ], and a new programme from the Ministry of
Finance, Your Money Your Future.
The station also produced and facilitated several virtual town hall forums, panel discussions and several public information announcements relating to
the pandemic, employment, the environment, ec onomic stimulus, and education.
Mr. Chairman, this past year CITV upgraded
its digital encoding equipment which is vital for stream ing on government’s onlin e platforms. This
equipment has enabled a higher quality of live feeds to YouTube, Facebook and the government website.
This new streaming technology was used to
provide live coverage of the celebrations held last O ctober to recognise Flora Duffy’s gold m edal achiev ement, as well as other government events. These i nclude the Bermuda Day celebrations at the National
Stadium, the reading of the Throne Speech and the
Remembrance Day Parade, to name a few.
Certainly, the last years have transformed the
way th at the CITV team performed their duties, and
after nearly 15 years of operating the last two years
have seen a greater workload than in any other period in the station’s history.
Mr. Chairman, as the country and the Go vernment moves beyond the pandemic CI TV will co ntinue to provide relevant quality programming to e nsure that viewers have access to critical information
about the government’s services that affect their lives.
As an example, they are working with the Ministry of Home Affairs to highlight the importance of elimination
of single use plastics.
They are also working with the Tax Commi ssioner’s Office to create a series of payroll tax tutor ials. This series of self -guided video tutorials can be
accessed 24 hours a day to ensure that the public ca n
review the information at their convenience.
And lastly Mr. Chairman, with the resumption
of the Bermuda Day Parade this year, I am pleased to
share that CITV will once again provide live coverage
of the parade to tens of thousands of people, both locally and abroad. This signature cultural event has
been absent from our calendar for the last two years.
CITV is delighted to be able to provide full coverage
which will showcase our glorious heritage and our tr aditions to all of Bermuda, and others around t he world.
Creative Services: Mr. Chairman, I now turn
to the Creative Services section. This team includes
the assistant director of Creative Services, three
graphic designers, two photographers and one photo
librarian. This small team works together to pr ovide all
of government’s signage, posters, fliers, social media
graphics, print ads and photography.
Mr. Chairman, the Creative Services section
has proved to be an invaluable resource to certainly the Government of Bermuda, myself and to Gover nment Ministers and departments. Not only have they
continued to serve ministries with their day -to-day
graphics and photography needs, but also they prior itised the numerous and sometimes short -order r equests on various public health updates from key mi nistries at the forefront of the pandemic, including
Health, Labour and Education.
The team created all aspects of the graphic
design work that supported the government’s goal of
making sure that the public remained abreast.
Creative Services also lend support to the
numerous government departments to create doc uments, reports, household mailers, posters, fliers, s ocial media graphics, infographics, government building signage, commemorative stamp issues, and various
forms and support documentation to inform the public
and to assist the access to public services.
Creative Services are an integral component
in the cost saving necessary to make public infor-mation quickly accessible to the broader community.
They also lend a considerable amount of support to
CITV and the portals team.
It should be noted, Mr. Chairman, just like with
communications officers, and I did not necessarily
mention CITV, but they of course have to work week-ends, sometimes late nights to make sure that they
are facilitating the broadcast for v arious government
programmes. The Creative Services team also does
quick turn arounds ––holidays, weekend working and
evening working is no stranger to them as well, Mr. Chairman.
Customer Service Representatives : Mr.
Chairman, t he Customer Service Representatives
880 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly team currently consists of two full -time employees.
Government’s switchboard continues to be one of the
most active switchboards in Bermuda, fielding dozens
of calls a day. Customer service representatives continue to be on the frontline, answering questions, assisting and directing callers.
This year, the department will work with IDT to
migrate the switchboard from a manual desktop tel ephone system to a web- based platform. This will
modernise the system, providing enhanced cell service options f or residents which will improve customer
service and the customer experience.
Administration : Mr. Chairman, this section
comprises the director —a post which is currently v acant, an administrative officer and an accounts assi stant. They are responsible for the efficient and effective administration of the department.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the capital expenditure for Communications listed on page B -63 of
the Budget Book is $24,000. These funds are allocated for new equipment to upgrade the existing telev ision station system. These upgrades will replace
equipment that is no longer fit for purpose and ult imately, will enable the CITV team to improve the quality of their productions.

Performance Measures

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the output
measures for Communications are listed on page C -
10 of the Budget Book. The continued demand for
CITV, Business Unit 61040 on page 63 of the Budget
Book, to provide live coverage of Government events
has increased tremendously.
CITV will seek to ensure that Government
press conferences are successfully carried live on
CITV and streamed live to the government portal, F acebook and YouTube without an interruption of the
broadcast signal 100 per cent of the time. Thus the
increase that I mentioned previously in equipment and
purchasing and upgrading of equipment and bandwidth to support that.
CITV will also seek to gauge customer sati sfaction on the services provided by the station using
electronic survey forms where customers will have the
opportunity to rate various aspects of the services offered by the station— able to be created through our
new forms investment, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the Creative Services section,
listed as Business Unit 61050 on page 63 of the
Budget Book, pr ides itself on speed and efficiency.
Ensuring that the government has the visual materials
needed to help tell a compelling story to the public is critical. In the last year, Creative Services’ graphic
designers have taken over 900 requests for artwork,
resulting in 3,500 individual pieces of art designed. And if you bring that out, Mr. Chairman, that is just
about 10 per day —not workday; 10 per calendar day.
Creative Services will seek to ensure that
there is a 100 per cent turnaround timeframe on the
production of photography and graphic design mater ials.

Major Policy Changes

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, our online platforms —the Government’s Facebook, Instagram, Twi tter, WhatsApp, TreeFrog, ZOOM, Webex,
StreamYard, and YouTube—continue to drive how
residents wish to receive their information.
These web- based and online forums play a
significant role in how the Government now communicates with the public. We will continue to use these media platforms to share information to the people.
One partic ular tool is the Government’s
WhatsApp, which has more than 8,200 subscribers.
WhatsApp is considered to be the most popular global
mobile messaging app worldwide with approximately two billion monthly active users.
For the Government, WhatsApp has proven to
be very effective communication tool. We will look to
further utilise this very popular texting tool as it has
greatly assisted in sharing in real time a variety of Government related messages directly with the com-munity. Mr. Chairman, it is important to note that we
use that not only for Government related messages
but also when there is an emergency, you know, hur-ricane times, et cetera, that is also used.

Plans for the upcoming year

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the Department of
Communications will continue to provide guidance
and support to Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and
Heads of Departments as they work to deliver their message both internally and externally. Communic ations also will support the government ’s awareness
efforts by assist ing the necessary information about
programmes and initiatives which are supporting
Bermuda’s social and economic recovery.
Key programmes that the Department of
Communications will assist departments in highlight-ing include creating communications strat egies that
will support the awareness for the E conomic Recovery
Plan, healthcare reform, education reform, renewable
energy and climate change; to name a few.
In addition to continuing to support the Government in communicating its priorities to the publi c,
the department will work to enhance how it communicates and engages with its online users, analysing
engagement data to determine what works best for
the identified demographics and local target markets.
Mr. Chairman, we introduced late last year the
audio recording . . . I am sorry, we introduced and I
want to say in 2017 or 2018, the recording of weekly


Bermuda House of Assembly House of Assembly Ministerial presentations for the
benefit of the public. These are shared government -
wide to the public service, also shared via WhatsApp,
and are featured on all of our social media platforms
to further make sure that people of the country are informed of the latest happenings within the Gover nment of Bermuda. We will continue to provide this
easy, unfiltered access to the House of As sembly pr oceedings as it helps to ensure a well -informed populace.
Internally, to support our public officers and
highlight the outstanding work they do, the Depar tment of Communications will continue to work closely
with the Department of Employee and Or ganisational
Development to highlight several government initi atives, such as the Public Service Excellence Awards,
the Government’s General Service Standards Policy,
and several health and wellness programmes aimed
at encouraging healthy lifestyle choices and a successful work -life balance.
Mr. Chairman, as I close, I wish to express my
sincere thanks and appreciation to the entire team at the Department of Communications. The Department
of Communications is an interdisciplinary team that
focuses and work s tirelessly to keep the public
abreast of the latest developments.
While this past year continued to be one of
change there were also several learning opportunities.
We live in the constantly developing digital age. In
years past, the Government of Bermu da had very few
methods for communicating Government pr ogrammes, policies, and messages. Basically, it was limited to print or broadcast media. Today, we have a multitude of methods to communicate with the public.
The entire process of determining the bes t
way to reach specific demographics to connect with
the many audiences has changed dramatically.
I commend the entire Communications team
for their ability to adapt and adjust —and most of all,
being able to perform under challenging circumstances.
The Department of Communications is a talented and professional team that can be relied upon
to creatively design advertisements, marketing mat erials, videos, social media posts, radio advertis ements, digital presentations, print advertisements to facilitate public media forums and to assist all go vernment departments in getting their messages out to
the community. They often work late nights, on hol idays and weekends with stretched and limited r esources with one goal in mind, Mr. Chairman, and that
is to keep the people of Bermuda informed.
I wish to take this opportunity to publicly thank
each of them for their unwavering and stellar service and recognise the contributions of the former director
who has moved on, Ms. Aderonke Bademosi Wilson
and certainly w ish to welcome and thank the contributions of the Acting Director, Ms. Nea Talbot for the
stellar support they provide to my office, personally, but also to the leadership that they provide to the D epartment of Communications which is an unsung hero of the Government of Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my budget
presentation for Head 51 and thus concludes the Heads of which I will present and with your leave, Mr.
Chairman, I will now yield to the Minister for the Cabinet Office who will present the ot her Heads that I did
move.

Thank you, Mr. Premier.
Minister Wayne Furbert of the Cabinet Office,
you now have the floor. I remind you and the listening public that we shall pause for lunch in approximately
nine minutes.

Hon. Wayne L. Furbe rt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
recognising that it is nine minutes, did you want me to
continue, or do you want to go right for lunch?

I would like for you to continue on
until 12:30, Ministe r.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the Premier, the Minister of Finance, for his briefs. I will be co vering Heads 13, 61 and 80. As you know, it is the O pposition that picks the Heads. They also put down 26
but I will remind the public and the Opposition that on
Head 26, Department of Human Resources, as you
can see from page B -55 that is down to zero because
all that information has now been transferred over to a
new department, the Department of Employee and
Organisational Development. So, Head 26 was r emoved last year, as a matter of fact, over to Head 61, Department of Employee and Organisational Development.
I will start today on Head 13 which is the Post
Office.

HEAD 13 —BERMUDA POST OFFICE

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, I am happy to
present the budget for Head 13, Bermuda Post Office,
and you will find that, colleagues, on pages B -47 to B -
53 of the Budget Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office is
governed by the Post Office Act 1900, the Post Office Regulations 1933, and the Post Offi ce (Departmental
Administration) Regulations 1933. Postal services are provided from the General Post Office (also known, as we all know, the GPO), located on Church and Parliament Street, the Mail Processing Centre (also
known as the BMPC) located at New Venture House
on Mills Creek, and currently the seven sub- Post Offices located throughout the Island. Sub- Post Offices
are located in one of the best places in Bermuda,
Crawl, and of course your place, Chairman, Devo n882 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly shire, Flatts, Mangrove Bay, Southampton, St.
George’s, and Warwick.
Mr. Chairman, the Perot Post Office was converted to a COVID -19 testing site in 2020 and conti nues to be used for that vital function. Postal services
that were normally available there before COVID -19
continue to be provided at the General Post Office.
Mr. Chairman, the mission of the Bermuda
Post Office is To provide the general public with accessible, affordable and efficient postal service.
The Bermuda Post Office is a member of the
Universal Postal Union (UPU) and works to ensure
that it meets its universal service obligations to the
residents of Bermuda as Bermuda’s national postal
service provider. The Post Office aims to deliver mail consistently within four working days. In fact, the Post
Office delivers 98 per cent of all local and international
letter mail received in Bermuda within four working days and all arrival notifications of international parcel
mail, to advise customers of incoming parcel mail,
within two working days.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Post Offic e is
increasing its relevance in this current age of e-substitution and e- commerce and has taken advantage of global opportunities in e- commerce. For
example, MyBermudaPost was implemented in late November 2021. To date, they have over 1,500 MyBermudaPost members and have re- assigned staff
for this new initiative, while still maintaining local de-livery and service requirements.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office has
set the following strategic priorities for 2022/23:
• continue implementing digital soluti ons in service, home delivery and local logistic services;
• generate additional revenue through its new Philatelic website, to extend the customer base and online sale of postal stamps and
postal products;
• increase overall efficiency via implementation
of online forms, a more user -friendly website
and direct payment functionality for P.O. Boxes and other payment fees for customers; and
• become more customer focused and will conduct extensive customer service training for its
staff.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office hopes
to continue its success story in meeting the mandates
and challenges to reform its business model. That is:
• meet the postal needs of the people of Bermuda;
• meet the mandates of the Government of Bermuda in service, policy and mail deliver y;
• provide an efficient postal service.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office is not
just a local Post Office. It continues to play its part in
global security through its international obligations and
compliance requirements with its global postal par tners regarding electronic advance data (EAD) trans-mission and increased standards in delivery and qual i-ty of service. It is also hoped that during 2022/23 EAD
data for all incoming and outgoing mail items will be
transmitted electronically to Customs to assist with
their border control and revenue protection respons ibilities.
Mr. Chairman, it is a well -known fact that tr aditional letter mail is declining. And that is without a
shadow of a doubt. The Post Office must retool itself
to survive and to remain relevant. The Post Office is a
government asset that should be both sustainable and competitive in order to survive.
As mentioned previously, MyBermudaPost,
online payments, home delivery of parcel mail, and a
renewed focus on customer service, quality i n service
and individual accountability, will assist in transfor ming the Post Office. This, coupled with increased emphasis on staff training and development, and the use of technology to drive postal improvements, will make
the BPO a preferred option for local residents.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office new
website www.bermudapost.bm
continues to be a benefit to customers. Post Office customers can track and
trace incoming and outgoing mail items, open an online account and find information on all postal products and services, in addition to links with various
government departments.
Mr. Chairman, the Post Office will continue to
utilise its Island -wide network to improve revenues
via:
• promotion of local e- commerce shopping;
• promotion of bulk mail services and delivery;
• promotion of direct and national flyer mail and
marketing mail services; and
• improved logistics services and local package
delivery.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office recognises that to r emain relevant it must continue to
generate additional revenue and be innovative. The
Bermuda Post Office’s current business plan will be
evaluated to explore new product and service opportunities while improving customer service as both an
effective marketing strategy and an expansion of cur-rent services.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office is
comprised of the Administration Division and the O peration Divisions. Although the head positions of both divisions remain vacant, the Administration Division includes administration and finance, information tec hnology and philatelic services, whilst the Operations Division is made up of the BMPC (Bermuda Mail Pr ocessing Centre), the General Post Office (GPO), SubPost Offices and facilities department.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, let us look at
the expenditure overview which, colleagues and
Member s, you will find on pages B -49 and B -50 of the
Budget Book. The Bermuda Post Office has been alBermuda House of Assembly located a total of $8,935,000 for the financial year
2022/23. This amount reflects a decrease of
$259,000, or 2.8 per cent, from the budget that we
had in 2021/22. At that time it was $9,194,000. But as you will see from the revised aspect on B -49 we came
in at $9,150,000.

Yes, to the listening public, we are in
Committee of Supply for the Cabinet, estimates and
revenue for the year 2022/23. We are debating the
Cabinet Office. Minister Wayne Furbert is giving the
presentation on the Post Office and we shall resume
at 2:00 pm sharp where the Honourable Neville Tyrrell
will b e the Chairman.
I thank you.

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Proceedings in Committee suspended at 12:30 pm

Proceedings in Committee resumed at 2:00 pm
[Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell, Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2021/22

CABINET OFFICE

HEAD 13 —BERMUDA POST OFFICE

[Continuation thereof]

Good afternoon, Honourable Members and the listening audience. We will continue in
Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2022/23. We are presently debating the Heads under the Cabinet Office and this is a four -hour debate and it
is anticipated to end at 4:02.
Honourable Minister, please proceed.

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, good afternoon, MP
Tyrrell thank you for . . . I hope everyone had and e njoyed a very good lunch.
Mr. Chairman, just before we closed for lunch,
we were on Expenditure Overview, that is on [pages]
B-49 to B -50. I had mentioned that the budget for the
Post Office was $8.9 million, and to be correct,
$8,935,000. And I mentioned that it was an increase of $260,000 . . . $259,000 to be exact, or a 2.8 per
cent increase . . . or decrease over last year.
Mr. Chairman, I will now move to salaries and
wages, and this is on, as I said, you can refer to page
B-49.

Salaries and Wages

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Salaries and wages continue
to be the largest expenditure item at 90 per cent . . .
sorry, over 82 per cent of the total expenditure. The
total estimate of salaries and wages for 2022/23 is
$7,368,000; we are down from $7,613,000 which was
allocated or budgeted in 2021/22, although you will
see the revised totals, a decrease of $289,000 or
3.9 per cent of that amount. The establishment list as
far as employees was 133 individuals in 2021/22 and
that number remains the same for the budget year
2022/23.
Mr. Chairman, operational expenses for the
Bermuda Post Office make up the remaining 18 per
cent of expenditure for 2022/23. The major operational expenses include d in the 2022/23 budget are rent,
repairs and maintenance, energy costs, and materials
and supplies. As you can see, Mr. Chairman, our rent
for 2022/23, for this year it is $319,000 compared to
$257,000 we had budgeted for last year.
Mr. Chairman, training costs for the 2022/23
budget is $12,000, which is exactly what we had for 2021/22, as more United Postal Union (UPU) training
and industry workshops will be held online in 2022.
Staff continue to be encouraged to take advantage of
this training to increase their technical knowledge skill
sets and overall Post Office efficiency.
Communications expense is estimated at
$72,000 for 2022/23, an increase of 3 per cent from
the 2021/22 figure. So, $72,000 for 2022/23. A revised total for last year . . . as you can see, last year we
were budgeted at $73,000 and the revised figure for 2021/22 is $70,000, so we are up just $2,000 over the revised figure but down $1,000 over the amount that
was budgeted for 2021/22. This expenditure, Mr.
Chairman, includes telephone rental equipment, local
and overseas calls and GPS devices. The increase in
communication expense includes mobile devices for
the MyBermudaPost couriers for customer communications in delivery and eventually, to make online d elivery scans for customer si gn-off and mail track and
trace purposes.
As I mentioned earlier, the rental expense
2022/23 is $319,000. These funds are allocated as
rent for the Mail Processing Centre, which we are all
aware remains at the New Venture House located in
Mills Creek.
Just to pause, Mr. Chairman, our goal is to try
to eventually move all of the Mail Processing Centre
actually at the GPO (the General Post Office). Hope-fully next year we will be able to decrease the amount
884 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly of rent by $319,000. But this year we have to move
ahead with it as it stands.
Repairs and maintenance expenses totalling
$463,000 for 2022/23 include charges for New Ven-ture House, building repairs, cleaning contracts, cycle and vehicle repairs, and security services. Expenses
are estimated to decrease by $2,000 compared to the
previous 2021/22 figure.
Handyman tools and BMPS fit, mail trays and
racks, et cetera, increase to $20,000 for 2022/23, due
to increased preventive maintenance to ensure lon-gevity in usage.
Materials and supplies, as you can see on the
subjective analysis of current account estimate r evised to $189,000 was the revision for 2021/22. We originally had budgeted in 2021/22 $197,000. So, we
went down by $8,000 in 2021/22 as far as the revision
is concerned and we are even down further over last
year’s budget by $2,000, Mr. Chairman. So, the actual
materials and supplies for 2022/23 will be $195,000.
That is the figure that has been budgeted for, but con-sidering the precedence that we have had in the past,
that may even come even a lit tle bit lower, but not
much. The materials and supplies expenditure line
includes costs for stamp production, printing, stationery and office supplies.
Mr. Chairman, I would now like to go back to
the smaller line items. The budgeted Transport costs, which include freight charges for the transport and
handling charges of mail to foreign postal administr ations. These are expected to remain the same in 2022/23 at $46,000, as the Post Office looks to continue efficiencies in mail transport, frequency and route effectiveness.
Travel costs to support BPO required conferences, et cetera, as a member of the UPU and Cari bbean Postal Union, remain at $7,000 compared to 2022/23 budget period.
Advertising and promotion expenses to cover
philatelic and increased BPO marketing efforts via
print media, Facebook, Instagram, et cetera, is est imated at $49,000, which is lower than the 2020/21 budget by $54,000, or 9 per cent. So, if colleagues
were to see the actual figure there for professional
services, they will see that the amount for professional
services says budget for $48,000 this year and $68[,000] budgeted for . . . sorry, a budget amount of
$89,000 last year.
The budget for e nergy costs, which includes
electricity, gasoline and diesel for 2021/22 was r evised to $216,000. The budget estimate for 2022/23 is
$213,000.
Insurance expenses to cover vehicle fleets
remain the same at $12,000.
Mr. Chairman, uniform expenses will also r emain the same during the 2022/23 financial year at $60,000 to meet negotiated obliga tions as the Post
Office transitions into new uniforms for all staff. An annual savings of approximately $20,000 per year is expected from 2023, and the Post Office is grateful to
its Union partners for making the new uniform and
exchange policy a reality.
Other Expenses include World Post Day
recognition, staff -related expenses (retirements, et
cetera), office supplies, paper, debit/credit card commission fees, et cetera. The 2020/21 revised budget
for this line item was $48,000. An increase is expected i n 2022/23 to $51,000, or 6 per cent of the actual budget.
Mr. Chairman that concludes commentary of
the Bermuda Post Office 2022/23 current account expenditure.

Revenue Overview

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda
Post Office continues to provide postal and other services as mandated by the Government and regulated
by local legislation and [UPU] regulations. The total
revenue estimate for the year 2022/23, which can be
found on [page] B -50 is $3,312,000. This is an i ncrease of $296,000, or 9.8 per cent, from the 2021/22
revised estimate of $3,016,000.
Mr. Chairman, despite COVID -19 interruption
to local and residential activities, the Bermuda Post
Office collected more revenue for government d epartments in 2021/22.
In 2021/22 (to 28 February 2022), the Berm uda Post Office collected agency receipts of $923,000,
which is more than the revenue collected in 2020/21
of $794,500. This is a reflection of the COVID -19 impact in 2020/21 and also points to the relevance of the
Bermuda Post Office to local residents, as Bermuda’s
national postal provider.
This amount is broken down as follows: HM
Custom duty collected $432,000; Department of Pub-lic Transportation bus passes, tokens and tickets sold,
$197,000; Department of Education pre- school and
after school vouchers sold, $255,500; Department of
Environmental Protection dog licence fees collected,
$38,500. So, these are departments that the Post O ffice has been collecting fees on their behalf.
Mr. Chairman, these amounts, plus the no
cost deliver y and courier services the Bermuda Post
Office continues to provide to other Government de-partments and to Government House, are not included in the Post Office Revenue figures. So if you are
looking for those figures, Mr. Chairman, and colleagues, you wil l not have seen those figures actually
on page B -50. But we actually collect these fees on
behalf of other government departments. So, it is very
important that we inform you about that. But they
should be recognised in each respective department
when they report on their budget estimates.
The services provided by the Bermuda Post
Office in this context, adds to government -wide eff iciencies and effectiveness and the greater role the
Post Office plays to provide service opportunities for


Bermuda House of Assembly government departm ents while helping to reduce its
annual operating costs.
So that is all, Mr. Chairman, to do with eff iciencies. And [if] you look at the total there is probably
about almost just under a million dollars that the Post Office has collected for other government depar tments.
Mr. Chairman, the main revenue sources for
the Bermuda Post Office are frankpost, or postal m eter sales, bulk mail, P ost Office Box rentals, terminal
dues revenue, and general stamp sales.
Mr. Chairman, frankpost or postal meter sales
is budgeted for 2022/23 at $400,000, with express
and Parcel Post estimated at an additional $57,000.
Postal meter sales is a more efficient way for small to
large businesses to apply postage to letter mail and
packages without having to buy physical stamps.
Bulk mail budgeted for 2022/23 is $427,000—
if colleagues want to follow me, I said you will find it
on page B -50 and you will find it under revenue
source number 8641, bulk mail. So $427,000 is the
revenue anticipated this year. We are down $350,000
as far as the budget figure from last year.
Traditional letter mail volumes from business
have been steadily declining over the years, Mr.
Chairman, due to other communication methods and
e-substitution for bills, statements and e- mail corr espondence. As w e all know, many of us probably use
the Post Office Box or even go less than we used to.
Everybody is either WhatsApp or emails you are getting from your supplier or you are getting it from
your—as far as a bill from individual BELCO bill or
whatever bill you are getting, people are now sending
it through email. So, that is where a lot of the de-crease is taking place within the traditional mailing
system.
Business mailers continue to take advantage
of flyer mail rates. This service is an inexpensive a lternative as compared to other traditional and electronic media to market and reach 38,000 residences,
businesses and Post Office Box holders.
Mr. Chairman, the value of offering lower delivery and marketing rates, and having the exclusivity
with letter mail in Bermuda has helped the Bermuda
Post Office to offset annual income . . . or annual d ecline, I should say, in traditional letter mail revenue. This is reflected by increased postal meter sales by
$50,000 in 2022/23.
Total [philatelic] sales for local, f oreign and
general stamp sales is budgeted for 2022/23 at
$91,000 . . . $95,000, I should say, Mr. Chairman, and
is expected to increase with the launch of the Berm uda Post Office’s new philatelic website. The new and
completed website is expected to drive online sales
and increase [the philatelic] standing order customer
base, as well as promote other postal retail and [phil atelic] item sales locally and internationally.
Direct stamp sales revised revenue for
2021/22 was $439,000 and is expected to increase by $50,000 to $489,000, or 11 per cent. Again, Mr.
Chairman, colleagues can find it on [page] B -50 and
they will see it under revenue source 8629. The Post
Office expects increased marketing efforts will be r eflected in higher stamp sales revenue as the COVID -
19 impact on business and local needs decreases.
An additional $75,000 is estimated as revenue
from postal parcel sales during 2022/23.
Mr. Chairman, Post Office Box rental fee revenue is expected to remain relatively stable, with pr ojections ris ing to $619,000 in 2022/23. It is interesting,
Mr. Chairman, that although we have seen a signif icant decline in mailing, people are still holding on to
their post office boxes. I just think as an individual who
has one, as much as we do not use it that much we
still kind of hold onto it in case something changes, I
guess. So, that will go up to $619,000 in 2022/23, compared to $589,000 that was in 2021/22. The Post
Office will continue to market PO Box usage, as an
affordable, secure and private 24- hour service to i ncrease Post Office Box rental revenue.
Terminal Dues, or mail revenue received from
foreign postal administrations for the Post Office to
deliver mail received into Bermuda, is expected to
decrease [to] $450,000. This is due to the decline of
international letter mail volumes year -over-year, the
COVID -19 impact on mail transportation, and overall
reluctance to resume full air carrier service around the
world.
Customs declaration fees, to be split and renamed MyBermudaPost Processing, and Inboun d
Mail Processing Fee for 2022/23 is estimated at $553,000. Just so colleagues can be aware of which
one I am talking about, that is again on [page] B -50
and you will find it on 8312.09 C ustoms declaration
fee. As you will see, we are projecting $553,000 t his
year. When you compare it with . . . the original budget last year 2021/22 was $203,000. The revised figure
[was also] $203[,000], the reason why [it increases to] $553,000 is because of [adding in] MyBermudaPost
Processing. The projected increase is attributed to
expected increased parcel, as I said, volumes through
MyBermudaPost, a value- added service for the Post
Office and from current and new customers.
Moreover, a future home delivery option for
UPU inbound mail products, or regular mail, should
result in increased revenue for the Post Office.
Mr. Chairman, other smaller revenue line
items include mail handler licence fees that is $45,000; courier service fees of $32,000; postage
paid indicia fees of $15,000; and late PO Box rental fees of $29,000, plus other packaging supply and r etail sales items. None of these revenue items are expected to experience significant increases compared
to 2021/22, but it is anticipated that new Post Office
efforts to better market and sell its products and services will be reflected in increased revenues.
Mr. Chairman this concludes our commentary
of the Bermuda Post Office account revenue. As I
886 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly said, the total amount we expect to receive this year is
$3.3 million.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Cha irman, you will see
capital expenditure on page C -9, and the c apital acquisition Estimates Schedule C. The Bermuda Post Office has been allocated an amount of $39,000 for
new computer equipment and the purchase of new
delivery cycles to help replace part of its ageing fleet of cycles, with an expected reduction in annual
maintenance costs to service and to fix old cycles.
This capital expenditure compares to a revised
2021/22 allocation of $44,000 and is a decrease of $5,000 or 11 per cent.

Major Policy Changes

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, I thought I
would touch a little bit on the major policy changes
that will be taking place at the Post Office. This Budget Statement of the Bermuda Post Office is a test ament that the Post Office has shifted its focus to be
more innovative, efficient and customer focused.
The Post Office is not afraid to compete for a
greater share of Bermuda’s postal market. The local
market is unregulated, not price sensitive or affordable
for all, and the Post Office will take advantage of this
opportunity, as does other local freight, parcel and
document companies.
The Universal Postal Union recognises the
annual declining letter mail volume, increased competition (this [fact] is from the UPU postal service). In this
vein, op portunities are recognised by the Bermuda
Post Office and postal operators worldwide, to become more innovative and compete to survive.

Plans for the upcoming year
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda
Post Office philatelic website is now operational. Current and new philatelic customers can now open a BPO account to order stamps, purchase first day
stamp cover issues, [philatelic] supplies and manage
standing orders and account balance top- ups.
The Bermuda Post Office plans to have three
stamp issues and one presentation package in
2022/23. The stamp programme will include:
• 100
th Anniversary of St. George’s Historical
Society —which will come out on May 19,
2022
• 70th Anniversary Queen’s Accession—June
10, 2022, that is a tentative date for that particular one
• St. David’s Islanders Native Community Pow
Wow —July 21, 2022 • Presentation Pack 2022—November 18,
2022. This is to be a combination package of
all stamps issued in year.
Mr. Chairman, postal legislative amendments
to the Post Office Act 1900, the Post Office Regul ations [1933], and the Post Office (Departmental A dministration) Regulations 1933 are planned as the
Post Office ensures compliance with UPU Acts and
Conventions. These legislative amendments will con-tinue to facilitate postal onl ine services, home delivery
or parcel mail, online forms , etc.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Post Office has
not had a rate change since 2015, though inflation and the cost to provide delivery services locally and
internationally continue to increase annuall y. Ther efore, there will be a recommendation made to increase postal rates during the 2022/23 budget year to
help offset the Post Office’s annual operational deficit.
Mr. Chairman, as the only government department that has direct competition, the Post Of fice’s
deficit reduction strategy is based on the tenets of tel ling its story, better utilisation of a Bermuda national
asset and its universal service obligation to provide a
postal service that is affordable.
Investments have been made, and will conti nue to be made, to improve the Bermuda Post Office.
Technology and infrastructure improvements will make for a more lean and competitive service.
Mr. Chairman, we are confident that the Bermuda Post Office will continue to improve and achieve in spite of resource limitations. The Post Office’s new
organisation structure is in place. The objectives,
goals and projects set by the Bermuda Post Office for
2022/23 will continue to move its mission statement
and business plan forward, to be more innovative and
customer focused. Job descriptions continue to be
updated to reflect a future postal state, with emphasis
placed on staff training and development to facilitate
the needs of Post Office customers.
Mr. Chairman, I thought I would touch just a
little bit on th e performance measure as you see here
on [page] B -52 to B -53. Performance measures, as
you will be aware, Mr. Chairman, are where depar tments set out goals and try to [achieve] those goals
and performance for the upcoming year. And you will
see on page B-52, under corporate services, pr ogramme 1309 administration and finance, that this
year we are trying to increase the amount of revenue
earned by 15 per cent , compared to last year . We had
budgeted for an increase of 10 per cent.
We are trying to improve t he submission of
employee performance appraisals even more. We
look at programme 1309 IT services (again, this is on
page B-52, if Members are following) [this is to] ensure that contingency plans are in place for IT services and infrastructure to continue service due to
natural disasters, system failure and unplanned d elays; ensure minimum business impact in the event of


Bermuda House of Assembly an IT service [change] as measured by the [amount]
of application related unplanned downtime.
Mr. Chairman, if you look at the part reg arding
operations, the BPO ranking is amongst the 198 countries within the UPU for on -time international delivery
standards and ranking for Express Mail [Service], or
what we would call EMS, inclusive of a 95 per cent
on-time delivery standard. EMS [on -time] delivery performance against UPU benchmark of 95 per cent . . .
we are trying to reach that goal this year. The parcel
delivery performance against U PU global target of
95 per cent, we are setting our goal to be 98 per cent
this year.
In regard to Cen tral Mail Processing Unit, the
percentage of outbound international mail ready for transportation within two working days of receipt at the
Central Mail Processing Unit, we are setting our goal
to be at 100 per cent, to ensure that these things gets
out on a timely basis.
Mr. Chairman, lastly, increasing postal rev enues also, as I said, remains the Post Offices’ strat egic objective. The industry has changed. E -commerce
and logistics into the parcel market is a growth area.
The Post Office will also be lo oking to i ncrease revenues by expanding its courier services for
MyBermudaPost and by increasing its logistic potential and network, to provide local entrepreneurs and e-commerce businesses with an affordable local last -
mile delivery service called Drop- and-Deliver. Bus inesses can drop parcel mail off at any Post Office and
delivery will be made to any Island- wide address wit hin 24 hours.
I would encourage, particularly small bus inesses, Mr. Chairman, to take advantage of this.
Reach out to the team at the Bermuda Post Office and
see how this can work in [your] favour. And so, as I
said, businesses can drop off mail at the Post Office
and delivery will be made to any island- wide address
within 24 hours. That is the goal set, Mr. Chairman. If a business cannot drop off their mail, the Post Office
will pick up and deliver it for them. So, I encourage
small business es, and I am having a word with the
Minister responsible for BEDC, Minister Hayward, to work with BEDC in regard to helping small busines ses, partic ularly, to make this happen for them. So,
people do not have to leave their houses if they do not want to. They can have something ordered and it will
be delivered to them, like I said, within 24 hours.
Postal products will be marketed to increase
knowledge amongst both staff and the general public,
to improve and establish the BPO brand and service
levels.
Mr. Chairman, the Post Office’s strategic decision is clear to make: They can close their doors, or
transform from just a delivery service for letter s, to
parcel delivery and logistics management services,
which support all residents. You heard me earlier, Mr.
Speaker, this affects 133 employees —133 emplo yees. And, as I mentioned Mr. Chairman, this Post O f-fice’s strategic decision is very clear to us . And I know
many people said we should close the Post Office
down. But it will not happen under this Government,
Mr. Chairman. We will [transform] them from just a
delivery service for letters to parcel delivery and logi stics management services which will support our res idents and will support our staff and individuals who
we really appreciate [them] for all their hard work.
The COVID -19 pandemic helped to accelerate
postal transformation or the future new norm. Berm uda has one of the best, inclusive and accurate addressing systems in the world. The Post Office will
capitalise on its addressing infrastructure to benefit
parcel mail delivery. Additional enhancements in
2022/23 include the following:
• Touch screen kiosks in selected P ost Offices
and public Wi -Fi access within the General
Post Office (GPO) and mobile computer usage for home delivery.
• Renovat ion ( this is what I mentioned to you
earlier, Mr. Chairman) and rebrand ing of the
General Post Office (GPO) mail letter floor
and closure of Parcel Post, to merge both for
better economies of scale, increased efficien-cy—I am going to emphasise that again, i ncreased efficiency —and better management
of staff.
• Increase the weight and size of mail items transported to Bermuda via MyBermudaPost
to meet the greater needs of residents and l ocal businesses for goods not found in Berm uda.
• Explore postal legislation opportunities to en-gage in financial services or activities via the
UPU’s financial services postal infrastructure and the international postal footprint.
• Work with local vendors and e- commerce
providers to benefit their logistics and delivery needs.
Mr. Chairman, this is very laudable and encouraging and exciting progress that the Post Office is going to make in this year coming and they have the
full support to move ahead.
Mr. Chairman, I conclude, by adding that the
Universal Postal Union’s Extraordinary Congress
meeting in 2023 may lead to a significant shift in the
postal market in the future. That is, the opening up of
the Union to wider postal sector players. This means
that international couriers such as DHL, UPS and FedEx will have access to UPU product offerings and
vice-versa.
Mr. Chairman, let me thank the hardworking
and dedicated staff of the Bermuda Post Office, who
are ably led by Postmaster General Mr. Sam Brangman [Jr.] . Mr. Brangman just came on [this] year, between [our budget debates], so this is the first time we
are able to announce his name, but we would like to
thank Mr. Brangman for all his hard work and his senior management staff. Staff have worked through
888 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly COVID -19 and have continued to deliver mail and
provide excellent service to Bermuda
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Now we will move
on to Head 61. As I mentioned before, the Head 25, is not . . . sorry 26, although it is down to be debated, it
is all there because it moved from Human Resources
to Employee and Organisational Development.

HEAD 61 —THE DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYEE
AND ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, it gives me
great pleasure to present the b udget for Head 61. The
Department of Employee and Organisational Development is found on [page] B -65 to B -69 of the Budget
Book.
The mission of the Department of Employee
and Organisational Development is t o optimise talent
and transform the organisation. The department’s objectives, Mr. Chairman are found on [page] B -65, are
to
• function as the Programme Management O ffice of the Government Reform Initiative ;
• advance initiatives arising from the Gover nment Reform Plan;
• facilitate organisational improvement of mini stries/departments and government entities
through operational/organisational and strat egic reviews ;
• improve government -wide performance management in accordance with the Government
Reform and other strategic planning fram eworks ;
• ensure the processi ng of weekly and monthly
payroll for the Government of Bermuda employees and pensioners is timely and acc urate—and I am sure everybody likes that part;
• administer the Public Service Superannuation
Act and the Ministers and Members of the
Legislature Act —I am sure every Member of
Parliament is very happy with that one;
• process pension payments in accordance with the relevant Acts ;
• provide a sustainable, effective approach to
the recruitment, retention, assessment and
development of public officers at all lev els of
service ;
• promote employee wellness in the service.
So, this is the mission statement and the department objectives.
Mr. Chairman, the total current expenditure
estimate, which you will find on [page] B -66 of the
Budget Book, is $6,704,000 for the year 2022/23. Mr.
Chairman, when you compare that with 2021/22, the
original estimate was $6,897,000. We are down
$193,000. When you look at the revised figure for
2021/22, it was actually $6,069,000.
Mr. Chairman, the subjective analysis for the
depart ment is on page B -66, as I mentioned. Salaries are estimated at [$5,999,000] and represents an i ncrease of 4 per cent, or $214,000 compared to the
current estimate of 2021/22 of $5,785,000.
Mr. Chairman, you would recall that last year
we had a lot of austerity measures in place, so this
increase has to do in significant amount with the r emoval and the ending of austerity measures which
previously impacted on the annual salaries.
Wages are estimated at $69,000 and repr esents a 1 per cent difference in comparison with
2021/22. These are costs associated with the fees
paid to the members of the Public Service Commi ssion.
Other personnel costs are estimated at
$13,000 for 2022/23 to cover expenses related to ac ting allowance and bonuses. You will see from the
Budget Book on page B -66 that the original amount
for this particular objective code was $22,000 and it
was revised to $3[,000]. So, it is now budgeted for
$13,000 in this year which makes it a 41 per cent d ecrease in comparison to 2021/22 budget.
Training, Mr. Chairman, the estimate
$132,000 represents a $30,000 decrease. A majority
of these funds will cover the annual bursary awards
and the remainder will be allocated to assist with mi nimum overseas training funding for persons in the pr ofessional and technical training scheme and training
for the department staff.
The Public Service Bursary Award Scheme
awards bursaries to Bermudi ans who are enrolled in
courses of study in the university, college or other training institutions in order to acquire professional or technical qualification for posts being critical or are
difficult to fill.
Transport: The estimated $15,000 represents
a 25 per cent decrease which will be allocated for
costs associated with freight allowance benefit for new employees rel ocating to Bermuda, inclusive of Be rmudians . . . sorry, inclusive of Bermudians, and from
Bermuda . . . and from Bermuda if they did not secure
other employment locally.
Travel. The estimated $35,000 will be used to
cover airfare for new employees relocating to Berm uda, inclusive of Bermudians, and from Bermuda if they
do not secure other local employment.
Communication, Mr. Chairman: The estimated
$25,000 which represents a $9,000 increase over
2021/22, will cover expenses associated with tel ephone char ges (local and overseas) and staff mobile
phones.
Advertising and Promotion: The allocated estimated $16,000 will cover costs of advertising vaca ncies in the local Gazette. This category has been decreased by, as you can see, Mr. Chairman, $40,000
as com pared to 2021/22. So, the amount that was
budgeted for advertising and promotion was $56,000
last year. The revised figure was $0.00. We spent z ero dollars in there. But the amount that is estimated for


Bermuda House of Assembly this year is $16,000, which is realistic when you consider when you spent zero dollars last year.
Professional Services: This is estimated at
$316,000 in comparison to $627,000 for the budget of
2021/22. Mr. Chairman, you will see that although we
have budgeted for $316,000, and last year we had
budgeted $627,000, the amount that was actually
spent, Mr. Chairman, or has been revised for 2021/22
is $136,000 for P rofessional Services. So, $316,000,
again, is realistic. It is pretty well half of what was
budgeted last year. The costs with this category are asso ciated with such areas as annual employee assistant programme fees, consulting fees for local and
overseas facilitators to provide services in relation to tele-management and local fees associated with work
undertaken by the Public Service Commission.
Mr. Chairman, I think it is very important that I
point this one out. On rentals, you will notice on [page]
B-66, it is at $0.00. Well, that is not quite true, Mr.
Chairman. The amount for rentals is to be roughly
about $353,000. You will see that formerly u nder
Head 26. But Mr. Chairman, these funds, all these
zeros, the funds of $353[,000] . . . again, the gover nment being efficient and working within this depar tment, those funds will come out of the salaries of the
$5,999,000. That is where the funds will be found. So
there are currently six funded and unfilled posts valued at $516,000 in that roughly $6 million of salary.
So, that is where the $353,000 will come out of.
Unfortunately, we did not have time to make
the changes before this final draft went o ut. So, that is
where the . . . the total amount of $6,700,000 does not
change, but the reallocation within the department will
change. So salary will go down by X and rentals will
go up by X. I hope that is clear to everyone.
Repairs and Maintenance: The estimated cost
of $383,000 represents a $10,000 increase in comparison to the original 2021/22 figure. These funds will
cover costs associated with areas such as monthly
office cleaning services, roughly about $26,000. The
annual licensing of the human resource information
management system and software licence which is
$246,373. Boardvantage which is $15,796 and the
maintenance fees for the pension and vacation liability
tracking system, $72,500 and other office equipment
totalling approximately $23,000. So, that is what makes up the $383,000 in repairs and maintenance.
Mr. Chairman, funding for this area, again,
you will see that the amount that we have here is $55,000. That amount should have been roughly $80 -
some thousand, let us say $84,000 as you can see
under energy for . . . the revised came to $84,000 in 2021/22. You will see the original was $0.00 and that
is because a lot of the staff were pooled together in
this department, as I said, it came from Human R esources over to here and so the addition al $30,000
will be also made up out of the funds found within the department and again out of the salary. As I mentioned that the funded and unfilled posts are valued at $517,000. Of that, $3,000 will be used for rent, and we
will top up and make [it so] t hat the energy is covered
in that. So, there will be some adjustments.
Materials and Supplies: It is estimated at
$69,000 which represents a decrease of 19 per cent.
It will cover costs associated with office educational supplies.
Equipment, which is major and minor capital,
$9,000 covers costs associated with the annual ph otocopier lease.
Other expense: $12,000 will be allocated to
cover settlement allowance for new employees who are relocating to Bermuda. This allowance is a benefit
outlined in the employment contract.
Receipts credited to programme: This is attributable to the estimate recharges back to the Public Service Superannuation, Ministers and Members of
the Legislature , Pension and Government Employee
Health Insurance Funds. These funds wi ll cover the
administrative costs incurred by the Compensation
and Benefit Business Unit.
Manpower: The manpower estimates for the
department as outlined . . . so you will see, Mr.
Chairman, on [page] B -66, the employee number at
67. That number should be the same as last year. It
should be 60. So, there are some adjustments in
those totals, but the total [number] is 60 compared to
the same as last year. Although you can see the r evised figure was 53. So, that is on [page] B -66.
Capital acquisition for the department: You
will find this on page C -10 of the Estimates Book. The
estimated $46,000 is to cover the replacement of out-dated computer equipment, various laptops, monitors
and monitor stands.
Mr. Chairman, let us take some time and look
at the performance measures. Colleagues will find this
on [page] B -67 and B -68. Performance measures developed for the Department of Employee and Organ isational Development, you will see . . . I will briefly
expand on the 2021/22 original and revised forecasts
for a f ew business units.
The Management Consulting Services (MCS)
team (and you will find that, Mr. Chairman on page B -
67 at the very top, Business Unit 71000). The Management Consulting Services team continues their work in assisting the government to solve complex
operational problems with a view to improving organ isational performance. One of their core functions i nvolves the conduct of organisational needs analysis
across government . During fiscal year 2021/22, while
their target was 10 reviews, the MCS in f act completed in excess of 10 reviews.
The objective of this work is to ensure that
Ministries and departments are functioning in an eff icient —including cost -efficient —and effective manner
with the overarching objective of achieving greater
public value. I t is expected that in 2022/23, 10 or more
targeted reviews will also be conducted.

890 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Minister, can I pause you there. I am
being replaced at this time by the Honourable Kim
Swan. Brother Kim —Honourable Member are you
taking over?

[Pause]

Thank you, Honourable Member Ty rrell.
Minister, you have the floor. Continue on .

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Welcome to your part which you are doing.
I hope you do not mind, Mr. Chairman, I am
just getting a glass of water to clear my throat. I do not
want to be coughing. All you guys will t hink I got
something.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Chairman, if you are talking,
you are muted.

Continue on, Minister.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Okay. Mr. Chairman, a nu mber of significant changes and initiatives are in cha nnel in accordance with the Government Reform str ategic planning framework. Many of these initiatives
affect the entire organisation and require the engag ement and participation at the ministry and department levels. Therefore, to track the delivery implementation
of their various strategic initiatives, the department
has selected a C loud-based solution that is [INAUDIBLE] inclusive of 100 users with a view to rolling out
the platform across the public service.
The platform is being used to monitor and r eport on the implementation of the Government Reform
Initiative (GRI). The system is also being used to monitor and track the implementation of the Economic R ecovery Plan (ERP) by the Project Management Office
(PMO). Therefore, by using one system the Gover nment will provide departments with the ability to report progress as well as provide executive management with the ability to monitor implementation of selected
strategic initiatives , thus, enhancing one of the Go vernment’s commitments of accountability.
Mr. Chairman, the compensation section co ntinued work towards the programme need (and you
will find that, Mr. Chairman, page B -67 as the Bus iness Unit 71010, compensation) . The compensation section continued work towards the programming needed to establi sh free flowing information between
human resource information management (HRIM)
system and Enterprise One version 9.2. This work
was not completed due to other critical E -1 systems’
integration work the Accountant’s General department was required to complete as a first step. Once completed, the integration of the HRIM system will ult imately improve the onboarding experience while at
the same time reduce the administrative burden.
Mr. Chairman, Honourable Members are r eminded that the people component of the Government Reform Initiative aims to realise the aspirational objective of the public service being an employer of choice,
where talented individuals are rewarded fairly and
valued over the long term until the retirement of their
contributions to enhance the lives of Bermudians. This has been achieved through a focus on people capabi lities and benefits.
A critical enabler for the success of the department is the harmonisation of human resource pol-icies and the collective bargaining agreement. Ther efore, one of the harmonisation initiatives is the determination of a compensation strategy as briefly mentioned under Head 9. This strategy will lay out how the
Government will determine equitable pay and benefit
for all employees. The varied processes for determi ning compensation for staff across the Public Service result in different approaches to base pay and ben efits. Just one minute, Mr. Chairman, I am just going to
get some water here.
[Pause]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: This results in perceived
inequity across the service. Not having a unified, well -
articulated strategy to drive the approach also has
implications on the Government’s collective bargai ning process and its ability to attract and retain its talent
pool.
Phase 1, which comprises an assessment of
the current state of compensation with a focus on base pay and benefits , was completed during
2021/22. The review of job evaluation approaches across the service to include a comparison with indus-try practi ce, including the testing of various schemes
and tools has commenced and is ongoing.
Mr. Chairman, due to the [INAUDIBLE] of the
service, the HR business partnering section had to
realign its priorities which impacted its ability to
achieve the performance measures to develop human capital plans for assigned Ministries and D epartments,
hence the revised forecast.
The talent management services section supported the organisation by developing succession
plans with ministries as needed. Mr. Chairman, you
will find this on [page] B -68, Business Unit 71 060. In
addition to the section partnering with client ministry
departments to provide work experience for bursary


Bermuda House of Assembly students during summer and winter breaks. Two bursary students have been released from the pr ogramme, one for non- performance and the other due
to change of study plans. One bursary student completed his studies and is in transition to becoming a trainee community health nurse. The remaining four
bursary students are performing well in their studies.
Mr. Chairman, the tele- management team
continues to partner with client departments to ensure
trainees transition to substantive posts as expected.
Upon successful completion of training contracts, it was forecasted to have two trainees transition before
the end of this fiscal year. However, one terminated
employment to pursue another job opportunity. The
other trainee, Vernon Harrison, was scheduled to transition to a substantive post of branch pilot with the
Department of Marine and Port s during 2021/22. It is
expected that Mr. Harrison will be ap pointed in April
2022.
Current year achievements : Mr. Chairman, in
2021/22 MCS engaged with the 55 departments in
relation to the Public Value Assessment to assist them
with better understanding their services and the public
value added from the delivery of these services to various population groups. The Management Consulting
Service (MCS) as the designated Project Manag ement Office for the Government Reform Initiative
(GRI) continues to assist the Deputy Head of the Pub-lic Service with the mobilising of the associated pr ojects with much success.
Mr. Chairman, in accordance with task for ces—

[Feedback]

Minister, can you hold for just a m inute. Can I please ask all Members to mute their m icrophones? Thank you.
Continue on, Minister.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Give me time to drink some water.
In accordance with the priority of several tas kforce groups, there continues to be activity engaged in
delivering future forward initiatives under the operating
components know n as “ People,” which are gover nment employees , and Platform , which includes go vernment IT infrastructure. The “ People” -related initi atives fall into three key areas: organisational effectiv eness; talent management ; and performance management. People projec ts advanced as a part of the initi ative in the current year include, but are not limited to: performance management initiatives, related to performance appraisals, the online assessment phase of
the performance appraisal process which went live in
May 2021 for employees and posts represented by
the Bermuda Public Service Union. The next phase of
the initiative address es introduction of performance
appraisals to certain groups. In the future, work on the alignment of existing tools being used by other subgroups across the service will occur.
Meanwhile, other process automation work in
the area of performance management included the
digitalisation of the current paper phase probationary
report for employees in posts represented by the
Bermuda Public Service Union.
Mr. Chairman, talent management initiatives,
such as the leadership programme and the introduc-tion of the service standards of policy have already
been covered under the Head 9 brief. These pr ogrammes are sponsored by the Cabinet Office and
adminis tered by department Head 61.
Mr. Chairman, organisational structure and
effectiveness initiatives , such as ongoing assessment
of the government recruitment process to further
streamline and expedite recruitment while adhering to the requirements as set out in the Public Service
Commission Regulation governing recruitment with
the service are in channel.
Also, the continued harmonisation of the human resource policies intended to create a single
standard across the organisation for all public officers
has been advanced. Policies completed this fiscal
year include the introduction of the revised condition
of employment and code of conduct —for the first time
in 20 years for the traditional civil servants —followed
by steps taken to create a unifying code for the ba lance of the service.
Also completed is an involved drug and alc ohol policy which will see its introduction to the service following the completion of a procedure manual, co nsultation with union partners and training for the management team.
Mr. C hairman, under the Platform IT component of the Government Reform Initiative, the Management Consulting Service in collaboration with the
Department of Information and Digital Technology
completed business process reviews of 20 high vo lume, public facing d epartments. The intent is to
streamline the process and digitise customer facing
forms. The digitised forms work as it relates to Go vernment’s 2022/23 paper initiative—and I think some
of this information has already been mentioned by the
Premier.
Mr. Chairman, the Project Management Office
is also working closely with IDT to establish framework
to rationalise all government telephone landlines under one universal, modernised platform, thus creating
greater efficiency and reducing costs.
Mr. Chairman, e mployee wellness, as you
have already heard, remains a focus for the Gover nment , and the department will continue to implement
wellness strategies to impact the overall physical and
mental health of all public officers. Specifically, the
employee wellness initiatives included , inter alia , organisation training for managers to support staff in
crisis in the workplace and to understand issues that
cause stress and mental health problems ; organising
892 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly lunch and learn sessions with mental health providers
for emp loyees or mental health wellness and suppor ting people in crisis ; partnering with Bermuda Economic Development Corporation to co- sponsor the printing
of the booklet, Embracing Selfhood by Dr. Jana
Outerbridge with distribution to employees, providing
resources and promoting healthy lifestyle practi ces,
selfcare practi ces that reduce stress such as wel lness . [INAUDIBLE] tips on generalising yoga, preparing for sleep and organising 30- day wellness cha llenges.

Plans for the upcoming year

Hon. Wayne L. Furbe rt: Mr. Chairman, the Management Consultant Service in their capacity as the Pr oject Management Office for the Government Reform
Initiative will continue to oversee the implementation
process for many of the initiatives. It is expected recommendations based on the top evaluation research ,
which, as stated earlier, is currently being undertaken
towards a compensation strategy will be produced.
The project team will oversee the commencement of
phase 2 of the paperless initiative which addressed
the content management and database components
of the programme. The focus of this phase is to ensure that the systems infrastructure is in place to su pport the transition to a more advanced paperless env ironment.
In addition, Mr. Chairman, the Management
Consultant Service section in consultation with the
Department of Information and Digital Technologies
will be involved in training power users to develop digital forms at the department level. This will build a
system -wide capacity and capability for the ongoing
production of digital forms.
Mr. Chairman, during the fiscal [year]
2022/23, additional task force groups under the direction of the Project Management Office will be activated. Further, the team will engage senior management
across the service in another ser ies of workshops as
the government seeks to build capacity and improve
performance management. It is also expected that there will be increased use of programme and performance management systems across the Government
of Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, employee wellness will conti nue to be a focus for the government . Therefore, during
fiscal year 2022/23, the government employee wel lness programme under the theme “Nurturing the
Whole Self” will create new ways to engage public
officers to incorporate wellness in their daily lives by participating in the programme.
Mr. Chairman, let me take this opportunity to
acknowledge and thank the dedicated and hardwor king staff of the Department of Employee and Organi-sational Development (DE&OD), under the leadership
of the Chief Employee and Organisational Develo pment Officer. Despite the DE&OD team having to transition during a difficult time due to the pandemic
. . . by the way, the Chief Employee and Organis ational Development Officer is Mrs. [Carlita] O’Brien. I should mention that —they persever ed. Throughout
2021/22 they delivered a range of human resource
services to Ministries and D epartments despite staff
shortages.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I will now bring Head 80, that is OPMP.

Continue on.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Just by the way, let me give
a few budget brief things that should be overall. The
amount of people that were employed as of 31 D ecember 2021, was 4,499. Curr ently, Mr. Chairman,
the amount of people that are employed on the government payroll is 4,471.
All right, let me just touch on the Head 80
OPMP and this will be the last Head that I do before it
is turned over back to yourself, Mr. Chairman, and
whomever shall follow.

Thank you. This debate continues
until 4:02 and the Minister is moving on to Head 80
which is found on [page] B -69.
Continue, Minister.

HEAD 80 —OFFICE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
AND PROCUREMENT

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The mission statement for the Office of Pr oject Management and Procurement [is] to provide
oversight and guidance in project management and
procurement and to ensure transparency and value
for money.
The department objectives are
• Reform project management, procurement,
contract, and compliance practi ces;
• Inclusi on (Social, Economic and Environmental (SEE) —Assure local benefits are captured
in the relevant capital projects, procurement, and contracts .
• [Accessibility] —Work with Ministries and D epartments to improve accessibility to Berm udian owned businesses, local suppliers, m icro, small and medium enterprises .
• [Contracts] —Facilitate improved project, pr ocurement, and contract management .
• Track dollar values of all procurement and
projects that OPMP were asked to review, assist, or advise during this period, by categ ories low, intermediate, high value or by Ministries and D epartments.


Bermuda House of Assembly • [Compliance] —Assure compliance of project
and procurement activities to the statutory,
regulatory requirements , applicable rules, po licies and procedures for projects and pr ocurement.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, you will see
that on page B -70 the current expenditure is estimated to be $800,000 for the fiscal year 2022 /23. You will
see that t here is an increase in the budget from the
previous year’s original estimate in the amount of ,
roughly, $118,000. This is mainly due to the funding
being made available one vacant post.
Mr. Chairman, the [Subjective] Analysis of
Current Account E stimates of the Office of Project
Management and Procurement is found on pag e B70. Let me highlight some of the aspects of it . It
should not take too long, Mr. Chairman, to go through
this.
• Other Personnel Costs are $3,000, which is
the same as last year' s budget .
• There is no change in Local Training, which
remains at $3,000.
• There is no change in Communications, which
remains at $4,000.
• There is no change in Rental Expense and remains at $1,000.
• There is no change in Repair and Maint enanc e. It stands at $4,000.
• There is no increase in Materials and Supplies, you can see there, $24,000— well, there
is a slight increase in Materials and Supplies ,
$24,000 budgeted for 2022/23 compared to
$22,000 last year. And the revised figure
came in at $22,000. So, there is an uptick of
$2,000 for Materials and Supplies.
But the overall budget is $800,000 compared to, like I
said, $682,000 last year and uptick as I mentioned
due to the uplift on an additional staff for the depar tment.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. Wayne L. F urbert: There are no capital funds
allocated for this department for 2022 /23.

Current year achievements
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, the Office
provided the Minister and Cabinet with the required
quarterly waiver reports and analysis.
From 1 April 2021 to the present, the Office
completed the Cabinet Memoranda reviews and ensured that the reviews were vetted within five bus iness days after receipt 95 per cent of the time. Really
pretty good, Mr. Chairman. In fact, I would say very good. If we can do things within five business days a lot more things can be done.
Additionally, Mr Chairman, the Office co mpleted five virtual training sessions on the Introduction
to the Code of Practice for Project Management and Procurement for 60 participants. The Office also co mpleted five Project Management training sessions for
37 participants.
RFx Drafter (Orbidder 2.0) in- person training
sessions were not done due to COVID -19 restrictions.
Instead, the Office worked with the RFx drafting sof tware service pr ovider to enhance their offering. The
aim was to ensure that public officers involved in pr ocurement and the preparation of RFx documents had
access to online service training, a help desk, and
how-to guide videos for this application.
Mr Chairman, the Office enhanced the online
depository in the RFx Drafter software to store other
prescribed templates such as Evaluation Matrix, Contract Award Recommendation document, the Pricing
Schedules, Social, Economic and Environment form,
etc.
The Office released a new template called the
Invitational Request for Quotation (IRFQ) that Mini stries and Departments can use to obtain quotes for low-value procurements under $50,000. The IRFQ
may also be found in the Local Vault.
The Office revised all the prescribed Req uest
for Proposals (RFP), and Request for Quotations
(RFQ) templates to include clauses referring to the
Privacy/Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA),
the rectification period, et cetera. These templates
have been uploaded into the RFx Drafter applic ation.
Mr. Chairman, in response to the gover nment's shortage of disciplines specialising in producing cost estimates for project and procurement needs,
the Office met with and provided costing tools to 12
public officers. The Office proposed to assist these
officers in establishing a cost management system for
developing, monitoring, and controlling project and
procurement costs until departments are staffed with
the requisite disciplines.
The Office is a member of the IDT Gover nance Committee, the Economic Recovery Program
Committee and other internal working groups such as Education Reform and the Health Care Reform.
The Office is a member of the National Anti -
Corruption and Bribery (NACB) C ommittee and has
contributed to the United Nations Convention against
Corruption (UNCAC) assessment.
Plans for the upcoming year

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, the Office will
produce quarterly waiver reports for Cabinet.
The Office will complete the Cabinet Mem oranda review within five business days after receipt.
Our goal is to complete 95 per cent of the time within
the five business days , as mentioned earlier .
894 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Office will increase its efforts to ensure
public officers understand its oversight and advisory
roles for capital projects and acquisitions. This will be
accomplished by delivering virtual training sessions
and one- on-one sessions to ensure project and pr ocurement policies and procedures are understood and
followed.
Additionally, Mr Chairman, the Office will offer
two virtual training sess ions on the Introduction to the
Code of Practice during the next fiscal year.
The Office will work with IDT and the Pape rless Committee to develop and introduce a new internal online waiver request form and a contract register
to streamline these processes. These activities are
due to be completed in the new fiscal year.
The Office will work with programme managers after the capital budget is released to assist them in prioritising their capital projects and helping them
gain an early start on the procurement planning and
bidding processes.
The Office plans to deliver the first Annual
Report for 2021/22. This fiscal year, the O ffice will
also be amending the Code of Practice for Project
Management and Procurement.
Mr. Chairman, the Office will continue to a dvise, guide, and support the development of, and a dherence to, project management and procurement
regulations and policies. It will also help develop pu blic officers on procurement and project management best practices to raise the level of expertise in these
areas across the government.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, the O ffice will diligently provide oversight and guidance on all gover nment procurements and simplifies these procedures
and processes while building capacity for procurement
and project management.
Mr. Chairman, let me take this opportunity to
acknowledge and commend the Office of Project Management and Procurement Team and the Acting
Director, Elaine Blair -Christopher, for their hard work
and dedication.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This concludes my
budget presentation for Head [ 80]—and concludes the
presentation by myself and the Premier for Heads 9,
13, 43, 51, 61 and 80.
Mr. Chairman, we will turn it over to you and
we will take all questions before we answer anyone.
So, we will ask that anybody who wants to speak to
put on all the questions from Head 9 to 80 and we will
respond accordingly.

Thank you very much.
I noticed that the original estimate and the r evised estimate both equal the same—$21.5 million. And the estimate for 2022/23 is $20.04 million. And I
was not quite sur e if the Premier . . . he read relatively
quickly through his statement. I was trying to gather
whether or not he said the total forecast for income
was $28.6 million. Or was it $21 million? And I am still
not quite sure which figure that was as he was reading
through. I was hoping that he could clarify that for me,
because it does reflect on some of the other questions that I may have.

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, if the Honourable
Member will yield.

Great. Thank you.
So, considering that the forecast total for i ncome is $28.6 million, I was tryin g to gather then, understanding from last year that it was about $7 million
plus, that outside of the grant —the $21 million that
was granted last year —with the $20 million this year
being forecasted, I was hoping that the Premier could
give us an idea of how much in fees he expects to
come in then in tourism by our visitors , whether it be
through cruises, hotels, vacation rentals and the likes. How much of that, in addition to the grant, does tour-ism actually expect to gain from the fees of these
cruises, h otels and vacation rentals? That will be
good.
Also, the Premier mentioned that there were
previously 55 roles in this particular area and that
there were now 34 roles. I was wondering: Of those 34 roles are any of those still vacant? Because I recognise that we may have 34 roles, but they may not


Bermuda House of Assembly all be filled positions. So, are all 34 roles as of this
point for 2022/23 actually manned by people? Are
they filled, or are we still looking to fill some of those
roles of the total 34?
In addition to that, t here was talk about add itional beds and getting more airlift here. And he men-tioned about partnering to expand on the loss. And I
wanted to know if he could maybe flesh out a little
more when he said partnering. I assumed that he was
talking about partneri ng with other airlines and the
likes. But was he also anticipating with airlift partnering with maybe other interest groups and the likes?
That would go a long way in trying to get our airlift up,
understanding that it is considerably down now. How
are we actually partnering? What is the mechanism
that we are looking at? Are there any particular demographics that we are looking at outside of just the
airlines themselves in partnering to get more people
back to the Island?
Also, I just wanted him to clarify if it was 170
cruise ship calls this upcoming year that we anticipated. And I take heed if he can answer that right now.
But if not, I will continue on.

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, will the Honour able Member yield?

Okay. So, I was just curious.
Will any of the 170 cruise ship calls involve St.
George’s in any kind of way? Understanding that we heard St. George’s has, as of late, felt a little left out,
that they were not getting enough at tention. [I would
like to know] whether or not the Tourism Authority is
looking at any of those cruise ships actually coming to
St. George’s? And if they are not coming to St.
George’s, has anything been worked out as far as
transportation is concerned in getting many of these
people who come on cruise ships from Dockyard to St. George’s [in order] to improve the numbers there?
In addition, I was asking the question about
airlift. And one of the other parts that I wanted to go
back to was with this partner ing. I know we have this
drive to increase more airlines we are looking at, but
what about our brand awareness in and of itself? And
so again, I am hoping that the Premier can help us out
with some of the demographics of where we are look-ing to scratch int o new areas. He mentioned the E uropean market, that 15 per cent to 20 per cent of that is actually a part of our tourism product. But how are
we going about it? And I know the Premier travels
quite often and I myself am travelling. I am always still quite amazed by the fact that we do not have awar eness in many other jurisdictions, not as much awar eness as we would like. And personally speaking to it, I know that India has a proliferation of multimillionaires
that are extremely young. [I would like to know]
whether or not we are looking at some markets like
that to attract some of this money to the Island. That
will go a long way in helping with revenues in the tourism area.
Also, the Premier talked about niche markets.
And I was just . . . If he could give us an idea of some
of these niche markets that he is looking at. I know
that we have been hearing from people, and [som ething] that comes up is this term called “the sno wbirds .” Those who are living in colder jurisdictions during the winter are looking for somewhere to go. Many of them head to places like Florida, whether or not from Canada and the likes. Have we taken that to be
one of these niche markets that we are looking at?
We already know that the sports area is one of those
niche markets. But outsi de of sports, what are some
of those other niche markets that we are looking at? It could be any number of things, I don’t know. So, it would be interesting to see that.
Also, in the sales area. As the Premier was
speaking, he spoke about golf and sailing. What I
would like to know is what are some of these upcom-ing events for 2022/23 that the Tourism Authority has
scheduled? What are some of those things that are
already in place that we are looking forward to in the
sports arena that would bring more traf fic to the I sland?
Also, I know that Mr. Jeffers, the Head of the
Tourism Authority, has talked about timelines and it
being important to have a timeline for [Fairmont]
Southampton Princess. Is the Premier any closer to
getting a timeline as to sealing a deal or contract or
whatever it is with Fairmont Southampton? Understanding that it is a challenge, according to Mr. Jeffers, not knowing when it will be back online when it comes to planning. I am just quoting from what he has
said in the past.
So, do we have or are we any closer to sealing a deal with Fairmont Southampton and [do we have] a closer or better idea of the reopening time?
Certainly, we do not anticipate it being open a year from now. So, what is that time? Also, because of the
speculation, I was just curious as to whether or not we
can kind of just get to a conclusion here. Is there a
guarantee in place in this present time for [Fairmont]
Southampton Princess? I think most people are for
getting it open. So, it would be nice to know that the Government is backing it with some form of a guarantee to get it moving. And there probably would be
896 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly some yays and nays against that. But certainly, we
know we need to get it up and going. Could he let us
know whether or not for sure the Government is looking to [provide a] guarantee and in what amount?
Also, as an ongoing solution for some of the
challenges of St. George’s I would like to know about those transport links that the Tourism Authority is
looking at as we move forward to this new season.
Addit ionally, I remember the Premier mentioning last
year that we were outpacing some of our other Cari bbean islands and the likes. I might beg to differ on
some of those islands, because if you look at the
GDPs of some of these places like Aruba and the
likes, they are going through the roof. They are gro wing exponentially. And it is in the tourism industry.
So, I was just wondering whether or not we
have been looking at our sisters and brothers down in
the Caribbean and some of the success that they are
havin g, whether or not that has been looked at, because they have been extremely successful with their
tourism products. And as I have mentioned before, the
Economist (and I know that the Premier is a fan of the
Economist ) does list out the top growing GDPs around
the world. And it has many of the Caribbean Islands in there. And it is all due to tourism. We certainly are
nowhere close to the numbers that they are at. So, I
want to know whether or not we are looking at some of those models that they are using. Certainly not all
of it can be used in Bermuda, but maybe there are
one or two we could pick from that which might assist
us.
I know that we are limited on time. And it
looks like we only have 15 or so minutes left. So, one
more question for Tourism, becaus e I know that the
Opposition Leader has a lot of questions for the substantial part of this debate. My last question would be:
Does the Premier believe that the fee—the [ Travel
Authorisation ] fee that is in place when you travel on
airlines of $75, to go down this April —has affected or
contributed to our lower numbers anticipated for arr ivals?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Honourable Member, you are using
up your time. You allocated seven heads for four hours. If you divide that by four, that does not leave
much time for the Minister to provide any subs tantive
information, so continue on.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank
you.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I will continue.
With my first item, under Cabinet Office, there
was a nine per cent salary increase and the Premier
and the Minister of Finance indicated that this was for
two additional Permanent Secretary [PS] posts. My
question is: Are they in addition to the two that you
allotted last year? Because the last year’s Hansard
says that they have two PSs as well. So, is this the same two or are we having two new ones last year
and two new ones this year?
We spoke about the MDL [Molecular Diagnostic Lab]. Obviously, the public knows that most of
those employees will be made redundant at the end of March. And it will be interesting to see what will be left
when it is shifted to the Ministry of Health. So, I would
have thought that the Minister would have provided
more clarity on that.
The other issue on the Economic Develo pment site, under administration, we spoke about vert ical farming and the jobs that would be enjoyed as a
result. How much has been budgeted for that? I did
not see that anywhere. And that is in the Economic
Development Plan.
Under Tourism again, and that is under the
grant on page C -17, the Premier spoke about the
[Prover b] brand study with Daren Bascome. And my
question is, as this is such a crucial issue for Berm uda: Can the Premier table the [Proverb] brand study in
this House so that the people of Bermuda and the
Parliament can look at it and have some input?
My colle ague spoke about snowbirds. Yes,
those people have been flocking to Florida. And I think
that could be a lucrative market for us. These are r etirees predominately from North America and Northern
Europe. And they have money and they come to stay
two or thre e months and they can help us. So, I think
that this is a market that we can look at as well as the
mass markets of the middle -class market.
My colleague touched on Fairmont Southam pton. Again, as the CEO of the Tourism Authority ind icated, we have to hav e an updated product. Where do
we stand with Caroline Bay? They have been quiet on
that. How is that going to help the Bermuda Tourism
Authority if we do not what is going on in regard to
where it is going and where we stand currently in r eviving Caroline Bay?
The capital expenditure on page B -42. I was
listening attentively to see if we could get some details
on the Shoreside facility. Last year, we allocated
$1.07 million. Where do we stand now? And I underBermuda House of Assembly stand that they may be moving, or are moving it from
St. George’s to somewhere in the West End. So, if the
Premier could give an update on that.
I am just going by quickly. The Brussels Office
on page B -42. Their expenses were down 13 per cent.
I would just like to have a reason for that reduction.
And what type of budget assignment do we have for
the Washington DC Office?
Under the digital technology side, on page B -
57, the Premier said that last year the IDT identified
that approximately 20 per cent of current IT applic ations and systems qualify for the Cloud services. And I
am saying “Cloud services” for efficiency. What are
the projections as far as qualifying for the Cloud services this year? Last year was 20 per cent. Are we going to increase that target or is it going to remain
the same? Because if we are looking at efficiency, I
think that if we increase that percentage, it may bode well for various ministries.
Again, IDT said that they would also deliver
automated self -service systems. I know the Minister of
Cabinet Office touched on this. I wo uld like to have
some further amplification on that as well.
Again, on IT, under c apital expenditure, last
year we had an upgrade new software licences. I find it interesting that in 2022/23, we are not allocating a nything for upgrading or having newer and renewals of
software licences.

Hon. E. David Burt: Could the Honourable Member
just tell me specifically what Head he is speaking to
on that question so I can get him the right answer?

Address the Chairman. Don’t leave
me out, Premier.

Hon. E. David Burt: I just want him to give the page
so I can get it right. Sorry.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Okay, hang on. That is on
capital expenditure, page C . . . Let me come back to
that because I am running out of time. I just want to
get some more points in before it runs out. I will get back to you, Premier.
Okay, the next issue that I would like to address is the issue on page B-61. I will pass on that.
I am going to Head 13, Post Office. I think the
first interesting thing on Post Office is that in essence
the department is running a deficit of around 6 or 7 . . .
$6 million per year. And I think that somehow, we
have to come to grips with how we are going to r educe that deficit. The Minister indicated that the rev enue was $3.312 million, of whic h $1 million was for
other departments, revenue collected for other de-partments. And yet, we had the expenditure for
$8.935 million. So, in essence if you take off $1 million from the revenue side, you have $2.312 million and
you will find the Post Office is running on a deficit of
approximately $6.623 million for 2022/23. Last year, I did a similar calculation, and the deficit was running at
$6.134 million —

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Chairman, point of order

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: So, again Mr. Speaker, we
have to come to grips with —

Opposition Leader, someone has
called for a point of order.

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: The Honourable Leader said
that the revenue includes the $1 million collected from
other Governm ent services —that is not true.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I am just going by what you
said.

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I did not say that, Honour able Member. I said it excluded that.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Okay. Well then, if it is e xcluding, the deficit for 2022/23 is $5.623 million. And
last year, the deficit was $6.134 million. So, if we are
talking about sustainability and efficiencies, somehow, we have to come to terms with the management of
such a large deficit.
The other issue is energy. Again, that was
$213,000. Can the Minister speak to why we cannot
provide some type of solar solution that will reduce
our carbon footprint as well as reduce the energy cost
for our Post Office?
How much time do I have left? Eight minutes?

Five minutes.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you.
Page B -53 . . . No, I will skip that for now, because I am trying to quickly go over my more i mportant issues.
Oh, I know. Page B -69, performance
measures under the employee organisation develo pments. There were a number and the . . . YES, B- 69,
under performance measures, waiver reports. How
many waiver reports were produced in one quarter?
And how are we embarking upon the management of
the reduction of various waiver transactions?
We have the procurement process there, and
that is under Head 80. We have the procurement pr ocess for a reason. And you can circumvent that by
having so many waivers, then it really undermines the
procurement process. So, what type of management
is the Minister putting in place to reduce the number of
waivers that are presented each year and approved by Cabinet? Because if you do not have a management reduction programme, it undermines the whole
898 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report
Berm uda House of Assembly purpose of the Office of Project Management and
Procurement.
I think those are my top questions . I will let the
Ministers respond accordingly. And I will get back to
the question that the Premier asked me about.
I have more, but I would like to have a few
comments from the Premier.

At 3:58, Premier. This debate ends at
4:02. You can answer and then move all your heads pretty soon.
Hon
. E. David Burt: I will do my best to answer as
many questions [as possible]. First thing that I will say, Mr. Chairman, is that the Bermuda Tourism Authority services runs itself. The Government does not involve itself in the operations of the Bermuda Tourism Au-thority. And I am happy to arrange a briefing with the Shadow Minister, a tour of the BTA so he can get indepth answers to a number of the questions certainly
of which he is speaking about.
On the matter of cruise ships to St. George’s,
which was one of the matters of which he raised. On the next Head, the Minister of Transport will be speaking about that. But, I mean, the Minister of Transport
has announced already that the Dockyard to St. George’s ferry will be in place this year.
There was a question about the income from
the Bermuda Tourism Authority. What fees from other sources? From cruise ships, $3.6 million; from hotel
fees, $4 million and from vacation rentals, $0.5 million,
or $500,000.
Under niche markets —sports, multigener ational travel, weddings, small incentive groups and Black travellers —those are the various niche groups.
There was a question in regard to events this
year. Bermuda will host the Caribbean Grand Prix Pro Qualifier in March after a two- year hiatus, SailGP for
2022/23, Bermuda Triple [Crown] Billfish Champion-ship, Butterfield Bermuda Championship Tour, Black
Golfers Week, World Rugby Classic, and this year will
also have the rescheduled World Triathlon [Championship] Series. In addition to that, we spoke about the
track event as well and the BTA will continue to add more events to the calendar.
To make life easy on Caroline Bay, I advise
the Shadow Minister or the Minster to discuss that
tomorrow when we are dealing with guaranteed management. We might have a little bit more time. I am
happy to discuss that there.
In regard to the salaries, the 9 per cent increase, the question was whether or not the two posts were the same PS posts. They are new. Last year, the
two additional posts were a result of two posts not
previously included as they were acted on and not
budgeted. This year, the result of Cabinet approval for the basic structure for each Ministry was to include a PS, a c ontroller, et cetera for each, as discussed in
the b rief. There was a question on the Brussels Office.
Why there is a decrease to the Brussels O ffice. The
decrease is that previously there was a budget for two interns, the decrease is the removal of budget for that
intern i nterviewed in the London office and the Cabinet Office itself and also from the Brussels side and
funded out of the main items. There is a question in
regard to the b udget to support the DC O ffice. This
same post will likely be converted to support the e ngagement of a DC rep. And no new money will be r equired.
And then the question about partnering with
airlines. There is numerous partnering that we do our-selves. But cooperative partnering with airlines —
whether or not you are saying airline vacations, where
they are doing thi ngs, where they are featuring you on
their website, that type of stuff, working with the ai rlines to go ahead and make sure to drive traffic.
I know we are short on time. I will yield to the
Minister of the Cabinet Office.

Premier, that is a very good gesture,
but there is no more time. And we have to move heads 9, 13, 26, 43, 51, 61 and 80. If you or the Cabinet Office Minister could do so, that would be great.
I need a motion to move heads 9, 13, 26, 43,
51, 61 and 80 before moving on to the next series.
Hon
. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, Mr. Chairman. I move
heads 9, 13, 43, 51, 61 and 80, Estimates of Revenue Expenditure for 2022/23.

We will now move on to the next
Heads scheduled for today, a four -hour debate on
transport, Heads 48, 30, 34, 35 which comes under the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Lawrence Scott. Minister Scott, yo u have the floor.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I move the following Heads, 48, Ministry of
Transportation Headquarters; 30, Marine and Ports; 34, Transport Control Department and 35, Public Transportation be now taken under considerat ion.

Thank you, Minister. You may pr oceed. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT


Bermuda House of Assembly HEAD 48 —MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT
HEA DQUARTERS

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, today I am presenting the
budget for the Ministry of Transport Headquarters,
Head 48. The budget appropriation for the entire Mi nistry totals $72,037,000 as found on page B -198 of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2022/23.
The departments which come under the Mi nistry include:
• Ministry Headquarters (HQ) —Head 48
• Marine & Ports Services (M&P) —Head 30
• Transport Control (TCD) —Head 34
• Public Transportation (DPT) —Head 35
In addition, the Ministry of Transport maintains
oversight of the:
• Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority
• Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority
• Bermuda Airport Authority

Ministry Headquarters —Head 48
cost centre 58000

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, it is the Mi nistry Headquarters which is responsible for transport ation matters within Bermuda.
Found on pages B -198 through B -202 of the
Estimates of Revenue a nd Expenditure for the year
2022/23, the mission for the Ministry of Transport
Headquarters is, Transporting people and goods eff iciently and safely.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Transport
strives to provide an environment where job creation
and entrepre neurship in the transportation industry
are favourable. The importance of transportation in
our community cannot be [overstated] . Transportation
enhances the reach of businesses and people to find
relevant services, jobs, activities, goods, and productivity. It is vital for our tourism sector; for transporting
visitors to the Island and moving them around the I sland—in essence, there is no tourism without
transport.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Transport,
Headquarters, Head 48, includes two business units :
An Administration S ection and the Transportation
Planning Team.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the total
current expenditure for the Ministry of Transport’s
Headquarters, Head 48, is estimated to be
$30,054,000 for the fisc al year 2022/23. This repr esents an increase of $14,550,000, or 94 per cent over
the prior year’s budget of $15,504,000.
The increase is primarily due to the inclusion
in this budget cycle the “Project Agreement” Guaran-teed Minimum Regulated Revenue (GMRR ). The
amount, included in the operating grant for the Ber-muda Airport Authority (BAA), is equal to $11,000,000
and represents the amount to be paid to the Bermuda
Skyport Corporation Limited, should Skyport’s actual regulated revenues fall below that of t he GMRR. The
particulars of the calculation are set out in the Project
Agreement.
The majority of the remaining increase, or
$4,000,000, has been allocated to air service deve lopment. In 2022/23, air service development will be
expanded to position Bermuda for transformational
change in the post -COVID -19 commercial aviation
industry, aid economic recovery and enhance the lives
of Bermuda residents. The Bermuda Airport Author ity's Air Service Development Committee will expand current air service to protect our key gateway cities and enter and expand into new markets.
The remaining increase of $504,000 includes
general operational expenditures and a $200,000
grant to the Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Author ity.
The Headquarters budget includes funding for
the two business units mentioned previously, as well
as the Current Account Operational/Expenditure
Grants and Contributions as seen in the Ministry of
Transport Headquarters Subjective Analysis of Cur-rent Account Estimates, Grants and Contributions, budget line located on page B -200 and Schedule 1,
Grants and Contributions on page C -19 of the Budget
Book.

Administration
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the Admi nistration Section within the Ministry of Transport
Headquarters, cost centre 58000, will have a budget
of $29,919,000. Much of this allocation comprises the
grant for the Bermuda Airport Authority, about which I will provide more information later in this brief.
For now, I will move onto the Transportation
Planning Team.

Transportation Planning Team

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the Transportation Planning section sits within the Ministry of
Transport Headquarters, cost centre 58010, and is
allocated a budget of $135,000 and can be found on
page B -199 of the Budget Book.
The Transportation Planning section oversees
cruise ship contractual, operational, regulatory, and logistical matters to ensure the efficient integration of
transportation services to meet expectations in Bermuda. In addition, this section spearheads various
transpor tation projects and policy research initiatives
deemed important by the Ministry.
Mr. Chairman, by way of some background,
before the COVID -19 pandemic of 2019 was Berm u900 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly da’s last full cruise ship season bringing 185 cruise
ship calls to Bermuda and generat ing $167.7 million in
economic benefit to Bermuda’s economy.
In early 2020, before the pandemic brought
the cruise ship industry to a halt in March 2020, the
Ministry of Transport had projected 193 calls with an
estimated economic impact of $171.4 million. Sadly,
Bermuda only received four cruise ship visits that year
generating approximately $1.5 million in passenger
and crew spending, falling outside of the tax period
from April through October.
Mr. Chairman, in 2021 the pandemic conti nued to disrupt t he cruising industry worldwide, lasting
longer than anyone could ever have imagined. The Ministry of Transport , working closely with our cruise
line partners, the Ministry of Health, the Bermuda
Tourism Authority, the Meyer agency, and 72 local
agencies, m anaged to secure 36 calls between V iking, Crystal, and Norwegian Cruise line in 2021,
which brought $9.4 million in much needed economic
activity to Bermuda in 2021. It was during this time that “homeporting” became a reality due to the hard
work of many.
The Ministry of Transport is actively attracting
more high- end homeporting opportunities for Bermuda
in 2023/24 when additional smaller luxury ships come
into the marketplace. As an example, the Ritz -Carlton
Yacht Collection has already confirmed one call in
April 2023, and one homeporting turn- call in April
2024. Homeporting is not an economical option in
Bermuda compared to ships that embark passengers
in the United States and who can drive by car to the
port. It is for this reason that we are focusing our at-tention on the smaller luxury market where cruise
lines can build their additional expenses of homepor ting, including airfare, airport taxes, transportation into
the cost of a cruise.
Mr. Chairman, even though our cruise line
partners appear bullish o n the 2022 season, we do
remain conservative. And for consistency purposes I
will now report the estimated economic impact num-bers that our Ministry provided to the Ministry of F inance. This estimate includes approximately 180 calls
at 50 per cent capacity in 2022, bringing an estimated
281,841 passengers to Bermuda. Cruise ship revenue projections include: $12.8 million in passenger taxes; $3.8 million in tourism fees; $5.9 million in transport
infrastructure tax; and $68.6 million in passenger and
crew sp ending, and $11.2 million in Travel Authoris ation fees, for an estimated total of $103.3 million in
economic activity.
I’m trying to contain my excitement, Mr.
Chairman.

Well, you know, Honourable Member,
I did see a big smile on your face, so continue on and
stay focused.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Yes, thank you. I thought
you would take real note and be excited about that
Ritz-Carlton cruise, small enough to fit into some of
these ports around here. But I will get back to my brief.
Mr. Chair man, Bermuda will also see eight
new cruise ships in Bermuda in 2022:
• The Norwegian Joy
• Azamara Onward
• Celebrity Beyond
• Celebrity Reflection
• MSC Seascape
• Mariner of the Seas
• Norwegian Prima
• Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth, not the monarch but the
ship. Due to onboard COVID -19 ship protocols, ina ugural calls which traditionally have plaque exchange
ceremonies may be handled differently this year, on a
ship-by-ship basis.
Mr. Chairman, the 2022 cruise ship schedule
can be downloaded from the Department of Marine and Ports website at www.marineandports.bm
. Cruise
ship calls can change, so it is updated regularly.

Manpower

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the Ministry
of Transport Headquarters employs four ful l-time
equivalent [FTE] employees under the following cost
centres:
• 58000– Three persons: The Ministry comptroller, an accountant administrative officer, and an executive assistant; and
• 58010– One transportation coordinator.
Compensation, not including ov ertime, is e stimated at $410,000 or 1.4 per cent of the budget.

Revenue
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Initially it was anticipated
that in 2022/23, the Ministry Headquarters will gener-ate approximately $17,800,000 in revenue from the
Bermuda Civil Aviation Aut hority Revenue Share,
which is up from $10,000,000 the prior year, primarily
as the previous year had been conservatively est imated owing to the impact of COVID -19 the year pr ior. However, given the impact on the Registry by the
current sanctions on Russia, this amount would be
revised on completion of a full assessment. Note: The
“revised” BCAA revenue for 2021/22 was
$16,375,000.
Mr. Chairman, I would now like to discuss the
year ahead with respect to the Bermuda Airport A uthority.

Bermuda Airport Auth ority’s 2022/23 Highlights



Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the only
Authority which receives a grant from the Ministry of
Transport is the Bermuda Airport Authority.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Airport Authority
is nearing the end of its fourth fiscal year as a quango
under the Ministry of Transport. The current account
expenditure can be seen in the Ministry of Transport
Headquarters, Subjective Analysis of Current Account
Estimates, Grants and Contributions, budget line l ocated on pages B -200 and C -19 of the Budget Book.

Mandate or Mission

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the Berm uda Airport Authority delivers a range of essential air
navigation services, also known as retained gover nment services, at the L. F. Wade International Airport,
including air traffic control; air traffic engineering;
Bermuda public and aviation weather; aeronautical
information services and the Authority’s facilities, v ehicle, and equipment maintenance.
On behalf of the Government of Bermuda, the
Airport Authority, as owner of the airport, also oversees the performance of the airport developer and operator, Bermuda Skyport Corporation Limited (or
Skyport), and its 30- year concession to operate, mai ntain and redevelop the L. F. Wade International Ai rport. Substantial completion of construction at the new air terminal building was achieved in September 2020,
followed by the official opening in December 2020.
Both the completion and opening of the new passenger terminal by Skyport were delayed approximately
four months due to the onset of the COVID -19 pa ndemic.
Oversight of Skyport includes the monitoring
of key performance indicators, such as compliance
with standard airport operating procedures, international aviation regulations, and building and equi pment maintenance s pecifications; growth of the airport
revenue streams; and ensuring efficient airport term inal energy consumption.
The Airport Authority regulates the airport fees
charged by Skyport to airport users. These regulated revenues were significantly lower than originally pr ojected due to the reduced frequency of commercial airline flights and lower passenger volumes during the pandemic. As a result, the Airport Authority was r equired to fulfil its contractual obligations under the
Project Agreement to fund a port ion of Skyport’s
shortfall in guaranteed minimum regulated revenues.
The Airport Authority, in coordination with the
Tourism Authority and Skyport, also leads Bermuda’s
air service development with a focus on rebuilding
Bermuda’s air service. Despite the pandemic, these
efforts have maintained air service links with our key
overseas markets and facilitated the much- anticipated
move of our main UK/Europe air service connection to
London’s Heathrow Airport.
Expenditure Overview

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the total
Ministry of Transport operational expenditures grant to
the Bermuda Airport Authority will be $14,400,000 for 2022/23, representing a decrease of $300,000 over
the fiscal year 2021/22 allocation. This is the result of
a reduction in costs for the air service development
activity, airport insurance and airport terminal energy
usage, and a slightly lower headcount in the retained
government services operations.
Mr. Chairman, the Airport Authority currently
employs 47 full -time equivalent staff. The mostly Bermudian professional workforce have the mandate to
provide essential retained government services as
direct employees of the Airport Authority, thus enjo ying long -term job stability under the management of a
local leadership team with a high- performance culture.
Mr. Chairman, as noted previously, the airport
terminal building portion of the redevelopment project was completed during the current fiscal period and
several other capital projects are required to be under-taken to support ongoing operations at the airport.
The 2022/23 capital grant request for the Bermuda
Airport Authority totals $2,000,000, which represents
no change in comparison to the prior fiscal year.
These funds will be allocated to several ongoing key airport infrastr ucture and Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) related projects including, but
not limited to:
• Instrument Landing System Replacement (using the new Ground Based Augmentation
System technology, GBAS);
• AIS to AIM Organizational Transition —
acquisition of t he IT infrastructure required for
certification of the Authority as an air navig ation service provider;
• Bermuda Weather Service—AviMet equi pment upgrades and website development;
• Immigration e- Gates for the new airport term inal building.
It is anticipated that a number of these capital
projects will be completed during a timespan covering two or more fiscal year periods.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the dedicated teams at the Ministry Headquarters and the A uthorities under the Ministry for their unw avering commitment to service during what will probably prove to be one of the most challenging years for Bermuda in
recent history.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This concludes
Head 48. Ministry of Transport Headquarters. I now move on to Head 30, Marine and Ports Services.

Thank you, Minister, continue on.

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, very much, Mr.
Chairman.

902 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly HEAD 30 —MARINE AND PORTS
SERVICES

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Marine and Ports Services
is found on pages B -203 through B -208 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2022/23.
As stated on page B -203 of the Budget Book,
the mission of the Department of Marine and Ports
Services (“Marine and Ports”) is the regulation and
safe operations of Bermuda’s maritime affairs inc luding marine border security, search and rescue and public transportation.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the total
current expenditure for Marine and Ports, Head 30, is
estimated to be $19,713,000 which represents an i ncreas e of $141,000, or an increase of approximately
0.72 per cent over the 2021/22 budget. To address
Marine and Ports staff shortages, funding was ap-proved for 12 of the defunded vacant posts to allow
the department to provide the required services as per
its international obligations.
The 2022/23 budget remained relatively sim ilar to the prior year as cost savings were achieved by
the cancel lation of the Pink Harbour Ferry Route
where ridership continued to remain low pre- COVID -
19 pandemic and is now at an ext reme low during the
pandemic and to date, and a decrease in the fuel
budget across the department.
Marine and Ports expenditures are set out
under the following three business units and can be
found on page B -203 of the Budget Book:

Programme 3006— West En d (Dockyard)
• Navigational Aids, cost centre 40040—
$741,000;
• Tug Service, cost centre 40140— $1,234,000;
• Tender Service, cost centre 40210—
$339,000;
• Dockyard Maintenance, cost centre 40260—
$3,362,000.
Programme 3007—Central (Hamilton)
• Ferry Services, cost centre 40090—$6,600,000;
• Mooring and Boat Registration, cost centre
40150—$293,000;
• Administration, cost centre 40220—$2,684,000.
Programme 3008— East End (Fort George)
• Maritime Safety and Security, cost centre
40100—$2,551,000;
• Pilot Service and Offshore Search and Rescue, cost centre 40180 —$1,909,000.


Revenue

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Revenue is provided on
page B -204 of the Budget Book. Mr. Chairman, it is
anticipated that in 2022/23, Marine and Ports will generate approximately $5,487,000, keeping in mi nd
these anticipated revenues may be adjusted based on
the continued impact from COVID -19. This will be r ealised primarily through fees charged for the provision
of:
• ferry services;
• tug services;
• boat haulage;
• pilotage fees;
• boat moorings; and,
• port dues.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Capital acquisition expenditure for the department, found on page C -13 of
the Budget Book, is set at $3,629,000. Mr. Chairman, $250,000 is set aside for navigational aids, which represents an increase of $80,00 0 above the budget of
2021/22 and $74,000 is set aside to replace a de-partment truck beyond repairs. The capital budget for
the Vessel Traffic Management Information Systems is set at $280,000, which is an increase over the
2021/22 budget of $130,000. The capital allocation
provided for ferries in the amount of $3,000,000, represent funds for the department’s vessel fleet refit and
replacement project, and $25,000 for the department’s
Search and Rescue program me.

Manpower

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: The depar tment’s full -time
equivalents, found on page B -205 of the Budget Book,
have increased from 148 to 160 through returning
funding to vacant posts to address the staff shortages
within the department.
The department’s performance measures,
found on pages B -206 to B -208 of the Budget Book,
remain positive despite the challenges presented by
the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It is important that
Marine and Ports continues meeting its performance
target measures to meet the required international
standards. Maint aining these levels continues to be
challenging with the rapidly ageing fleet that requires
extra maintenance. Nonetheless, the department continues to work diligently to manage these processes
and to ensure the delivery of safe and reliable services is ma intained.
Mr. Chairman, Marine and Port represents
one of the most critical operational arms of the Government of Bermuda as it facilitates the movement of
vital shipping commerce in and out of Bermuda’s
ports. There was a total of 659 international ship
movements in Bermuda waters since 1 April 2021.


Bermuda House of Assembly The services the department provides include pilot
boats, tug boats, tender services and Bermuda Mar itime Operations Centre. Additionally, the department
is responsible for the coordination of international
search and rescue operations in this region of the
North Atlantic and retains oversight of overseas seaport security and marine border control in compliance
with international standards. During the 2021/22 fiscal
year, the department responded to over 421 s earch
and rescue cases assisting both ships and aircraft, locally and internationally.

Minister, that is a good place for me
to just get you to stop. MP Neville Tyrrell is going to
come to my rescue (as you are now on search and
rescue). I thought it would be a good segue for me to
thank you for your presentation in the important Head
of Transport.
MP Tyrrell is now the Chairman.

[Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell, Chairman]

Honourable Member Swan, I hear
you. I will now take over. Thank you.
Honourable Members and listening audience,
we are still in Committee of Supply for further consi deration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
for year 2022/23. The Minister is on Head 30.
Minister, please proceed.

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the 2022 cruise ship season is
on target for receiving almost 180 cruise ship visits to
Bermuda, a marked improvement over the last two
years, a much needed boost to Bermuda’s economy.

Output Measures

Hon. W. Lawrenc e Scott: Mr. Chairman, the target
outcomes for Marine and Ports operations for 2022/23 are to continue delivering the required marine services
in a timely and professional manner to ensure customer satisfaction.
Mr. Chairman, over the last two years, the
government’s revenues have been widely impacted by
the COVID -19 pandemic and Marine and Ports continues to look for cost -saving measures by revisiting
low performing services that the department provides.
The Pink Ferry H arbour route has been identified as a
low performing route since the closure of small guest
accommodations along the Pink Route stops over the
years. Ridership data collected confirms low ridership,
hence the decision to cancel this route for the 2022/23
budget year in an effort to reduce op erating cost s and
redeploy staff on other ferry routes in an effort to save
on the department’s annual overtime cost. The loss of this route for 2022/23 is an opportunity for on- water
transportation providers to service those areas by a scheduled or maybe on-demand service for a nominal
fee.
Mr. Chairman, during the coronavirus pandemic, the Orange Route was suspended because of very little cruise ship traffic. To support the movement of cruise passengers between Dockyard and St.
George’s , the Ministry has budgeted for the resum ption of the Orange Route ferry for 2022/23 once the
department’s staffing levels can support a safe return
of this service.
The Orange Route provides critical and cr ucial connectivity between cruise ship passengers and businesses in St. George’s, allowing economic benefits for those businesses and cruise ship passengers
to enjoy restaurants, souvenir shops, and attractions
in the area.

Major Policy Changes

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, Bermuda
performed extremely well during the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Audit in December 2021. We will proceed with bringing the remaining sections of
the Marine and Ports Service Act 2021 into operation
and drafting supporting regulations.
Stakeholders continue to be consulted including ongoing meetings to ensure a smooth transition to
the new legislation.

Plans for the Upcoming Year

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, plans for the
upcoming year will include
• continued training of departmental staff to international standards once the travel restrictions for government business are relaxed to ensure the
department meets its international obligations in
line with safe running requirements ;
• continued progress with the department’s succession planning to ensure highly technic al posts
within the department are filled by qualified Bermudians as we currently have three potential
Bermudian candidates identified for key posts
within the department ;
• training for tug captains and engineers of the department’s state- of-the-art tugs w ill continue to
ensure all personnel are fully trained;
• continue with the refit and replacement of the department’s ageing fleet of vessels which is i mperative for the delivery of reliable services ;
• progress the renovation project of Marine and
Ports works hops in partnership with the Depar tment of Works and Engineering;
• continue repairs/replacement to our navigational aids and offshore beacons as per our international
obligation;
• continue reviewing legislation amendments to assist with the removal of abando ned derelict boats
across Bermuda left behind by hurricanes ;
904 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • continue with the public -private partnership pr ogram me for the removal of derelict boats.

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, I would like
to thank the staff of Marine and Ports for their excel-lent search and rescue and piloting services as well
as for delivering an efficient, consistent, and reliable ferry service.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes the brief for the
Department of Marine and Ports Service s, Head 30. I
now move to Head 34, Transport Control Department.

Continue, Minister.

HEAD 34 —TRANSPORT CONTROL
DEPARTMENT

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the budget
for Head 34, the Transport Control Department , better
known as TCD, can be found on pages B -209 to B -
212 of the Budget Book. The Transport Control D epartment’s mission is t o assure the safety of all road
users.
Mr. Chairman, TCD administers the operation
of all motor vehicles and road users on Bermuda’s
roads. The department monitors and regulates the
sizes, functi onality, roadworthiness, physical appearance and quantity of all vehicles by carrying out the
following activities:
1. oversees the management of the vehicle
safety and emissions inspection pr ogramme;
2. administers the registration and licensing
of all vehicle s;
3. conducts practical riding and driving examinations for all riders and drivers;
4. regulates traffic by monitoring drivers and
vehicles;
5. issues permits on behalf of the Minister
for the operation of commercial and Public Service vehicles; and
6. implements road safety initiatives.
Periodically, the department inspects public
garages, filling stations and rental mini -car and cycle
liveries to ensure compliance with the conditions of
their respective permits. The department also issues
special permits, such as o ne-day permits which allow
a person to use an unlicensed motor vehicle (usually
driven to be repaired) or to the department for inspection, and Sunday permits for commercial vehicles.

Department Overview

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, TCD is divided into five separate business units: Registration,
Examination, Traffic Enforcement, Road Safety, and
Administration.
The Registration Section is responsible for
registering and licensing all vehicles, issuing driver licences and other documents to all persons who operate vehicles, and collecting revenue for every trans-action conducted by the d epartment.
The Examination Section conducts all driving
and riding tests to ensure that applicants are proficient at operating the vehicles on Bermuda’s roads. The
examiners also inspect all vehicles that use public
roads for roadworthiness and carry out write- off pr ocedures for private motor cars prior to their disposal.
The Traffic Enforcement Section is respons ible for the enforcement of road traffic and motori ng
laws, issuing moving violation and parking tickets, i ssuing permits for the movement of oversized trailers with heavy or wide loads, unlicensed vehicles, and
occasional Sunday permits. This s ection also monitors
the Electronic Vehicle Registration (EVR) system and
works alongside the Bermuda Police Service to sup-port its traffic enforcement efforts.
This section assists the Public Service Veh icles Licensing Board by conducting investigations on its behalf and monitors the use of public service and
commer cial vehicles on our roads.
The traffic enforcement officers are also deployed on street patrols to ensure all vehicles operated in Bermuda comply with our legislation. They are
also responsible for ticketing abandoned vehicles and
co-ordinating with sist er departments to arrange for
their removal and disposal.
The Road Safety Section is administered
through the Road Safety Officer. The p rogramme
promotes road safety awareness through education,
training, and public events, for example, Project Ride,
which became mandatory in 2010 and Road Safety
Week. This section works closely with the Road Saf ety Council to advise the Minister of Transport on matters pertaining to road safety and devises and impl ements strategies and programmes to address trending
motori ng issues.
The Administration Section is responsible for
the overall operation and administration of the department and its three facilities : North Street, Rock away and Southside. This includes professional services for the management of the safety and em issions
programme as well as external IT support for the
eTCD online programme, the Driver and Vehicle Re gistration System (DVRS), the Appointment Manage-ment System (AMS) and the EVR system. All these
systems are critical to ensuring optimum customer
servi ce.
Customers now can manage their own appointments online through the AMS and the depar tment has partnered with the four major motor insurance providers for “ real time” electronic transfer of
policy information to the DVRS. I think that is worth
repeatin g. Customers now can manage their own a ppointments online through the AMS and the depar tment has partnered with the four major motor insurance providers for “real time” electronic transfer of
policy information to the DVRS.


Bermuda House of Assembly I would like to take this oppor tunity to encourage all motorists to go to the eTCD website and book
online today. Skip the line and book online! I should
get into marketing. No laugh, Mr. Chairman? Okay. I
got you smiling.

[Crosstalk]

I giggled.

Hon. W. Lawren ce Scott: Thank you. Thank you. I
knew somebody would appreciate my dry sense of
humour.
Mr. Chairman, TCD continues to implement
and maintain an effective and convenient vehicle examination and registration programme which is i ncreasingly more “ user-friendly.” Customer interaction
with today’s TCD is less bothersome than in previous
years.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, TCD’s
budget allocation of $4,482,472 for 2022/23, is a
$13,863, or a 0.3 per cent, decrease over the alloc ation for 2021/22 and can be found on p age B -209.
Under the General Summary of expenditure
per business units, you will find that the estimates for
2022/23 for each business unit have changed som ewhat from the 2021/22 estimates. Although the core
allocation of funds has not varied much from last year’s budget, funds have been re- distributed due to
the ever -changing customer demands and the department’s procedural adjustments to become more user-friendly.
Mr. Chairman, it should be noted that around
65 per cent, or $2,918,000 of the total budget of
$4,482,000 is allocated to salaries. Also, external pr ofessional services is allocated $379,000, or 8.4 per
cent of the next fiscal budget. This allotment is used
for external IT support for the Electronic Vehicle Registration (EVR) system, eTCD, the department’s operating system ( known as the DVRS ) and Appointment
Management System (AMS), all of which are critical to
the department’s daily operations and maintaining its
excellent customer service levels. The remai ning
funds are used for general operating expenses such
as utilities, repairs and upkeep of the facilities, vehicles and equipment, printing, office supplies and
Boards and Committee fees.

Examinations
(cost centre 44000)

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Cha irman, for this fi scal cycle, the estimated budget for the Examinations
Section is $1,164,000 and represents a decrease of
$48,000 over the prior year.
Registration
(cost centre 44040)

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the estimated budget for the R egistration Section is $799,000 for
the fiscal year 2022/23. The amount represents an
increase of $27,000, or 3 per cent [increase] over the
2020/21 budget. The increase represents funds to
cover staff wages.

Road Safety
(cost centre 44090)

Hon. W. Lawr ence Scott: Mr. Chairman, there will be
no change in the estimated budget for this section. It
is important to note that currently there is no substantive Road Safety Officer in the post due to a resign ation prior to the 2021/22 fiscal year. However, the p ost
is being covered by another TCD employee who has
been seconded from another section.
Mr. Chairman, this post was defunded during
the 2021/22 fiscal year and has remained unfunded
for the 2022/23 fiscal year. Therefore, as a result of
budgetary restric tions, no recruitment will take place
for a substantive Road Safety Officer. Of the $165,000
allocated to the Road Safety Section, as seen on
page B -210 of the Budget Book, the Road Safety
Council will receive a grant in the amount of $50,000, and $90,000 has been allocated to the Project Ride
programme.

Traffic Enforcement
(cost centre 44110)

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the estimated budget for the Traffic Enforcement Section will be
$504,000. This represents a 7 per cent increase, or
$34,000 over the prior year’s budget. The allocated
funds are again for the section’s wages.

Administration
(cost centre 44210)

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the estimated budget for the Administration Section will be
$1,850,000. This represents a decre ase of $27,000,
or a decrease of 1 per cent .

Revenue

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Revenue is found on page
B-210. Mr. Chairman, it is anticipated that during the
2022/23 budget cycle, the TCD will collect $29,244,000 in revenue. This represents a decrease
of 1 per cent over the prior year.
As a point of correction to the Budget Book ,
on page B -210, please note there will be a 10 per cent
reduction in licensing fees for private motor cars as announced by the Premier and Minister of Finance on
906 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly February 25, 2022. It is therefore estimated that the
revenue for private motor car licence fees will decrease from $17,008,000 to $15,307,200 , a decline of
$1,700,800. Unfortunately, the above is not reflected
in the 2022/23 Budget Book but an adjustment will be made.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Capital Expenditure is
found on page C -13. Mr. Chairman, the sum of
$1,389,000 has been allocated to begin the long
overdue repairs and upgrades to the vehicle testing
equipment in the department’s three faciliti es: North
Street, Rockaway and Southside. The majority of
these funds will go to the aforementioned project,
whilst the remainder of $13,000 is for the purchase of
new auxiliary bicycles for the Project Ride pr ogramme.

Human Resources

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, Human R esources is found on page B -211. The 2022/23 budget
estimates include funds for 42 full-time equivalents
(employees). The full complement of staff at this department is 48. Therefore, this number represents the
six posts that were defunded to reach mandated
budget targets.
Mr. Chairman, I take this opportunity to thank
the staff of the Transport Control Department for their
efforts in delivering a high level of customer service.

Plans for upcoming year

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the
Transport Control Department will continue to review
and update the Motor Car Act 1951 and the Auxiliary
Bicycles Act 1954 and their ancillary regulations. For
example, recommendations have recently been su bmitted to reduce the legislated waiting times between
driving test failures.
Mr. Chairman, in 2022/23 the department will
focus on modernising public service vehicles through a process that has commenced with consultation and
feedback of key industry stakeholders, including mini-buses, d ispatchers, limos, and taxis. Phase I of this
initiative includes proposed amendments to motor car
legislation to improve the public service vehicles sec-tor to ensure improved service, customer and driver
safety, and consumer protection. The overarching ai m
is to strengthen the transportation support to meet the
increased service demands in preparation for i ncreased air and sea and cruise passenger arrival
numbers and provide a level playing field to better
deal with the continuing and inevitable changes an d
meet customer s’ needs. It will also increase the likel ihood of profitability for all public service vehicle oper ators while reducing key liabilities. Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Road Safety
Council will work in conjunction with the Road Safety Officer to c ontinue the implementation of Operation
Caution, the Government's five- year Road Safety
Strategy , which started in 2018 and is subject to end,
or was proposed to end in 2023. Operation Caution
will be extended to 2024 to implement those items
that were not funded to date, including the s toplight
cameras and Project Ride training course.
One of the key deliverables of the Strategy in
2023 will be recommendations for enhancing the Pr oject Ride programme for students to gain on- the-road
training. The Road Saf ety Council will continue educ ation and awareness of good driving habits. The goal
remains preventing collisions and decreasing serious
injuries , more importantly, decreasing road fatalities .
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, this concludes the
brief for the Trans port Control Department , Head 34. I
now move to Head 35, the Department of Public
Transportation.

Proceed, Minister.

HEAD 35 —DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the budget
for Head 35, the Department of Public Transportation
(“DPT”), is found on pages B -213 through B-216 of
the Budget Book. The department’s mission is Moving
Bermuda with a quality public bus service.

Expenditure Overview
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the total
current expend iture, page B -213 of the Budget Book,
is estimated to be $17,788,000, which is $2,574,000
less than the 2021/22 budget.
The department has three business units:
Transportation, Maintenance, and Administration. The
budget breakdown is as follows:

Programm e 3501—Transportation
• Bus Operations, cost centre 45010 —
$9,959,000.
Programme 3502— Maintenance
• Repair Servic ing, cost centre 45090—
$3,792,000;
• Inventory Management, cost centre 45115 —
$1,074,000.
Programme 3503— Administration
• Administration, cost centre 45120 —
$2,225,000;
• Management Support, cost centre 45200—
$738,000.
Transportation —Bus Operations

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the public
bus service operates 18 hours per day, 7 days per


Bermuda House of Assembly week. Additionally, the school bus service operates on
weekdays during term times. The current account expenditure for Bus Operations, cost centre 45010, is
estimated at $9,959,000 for 2022/23. This is an i ncrease of $312,000, or 3 per cent more than the prior
year’s budget.

Maintenance —Repair Servic ing

Hon. W. L awrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the department employs a team of professionals in Repair Servicing to maintain the fleet of public buses, support
vehicles and equipment. The current expenditure for
Repair Servic ing, cost centre 45090, is estimated to
be $3,792,000 for 2022/23. This is a decrease of
$447,000, or 11 per cent less than the prior year’s
budget, largely due to an anticipated reduction in di esel fuel cost as a result the new electric buses.

Inventory Management

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Parts for vehicles and
equipment are procured, stored, controlled, and i ssued by the Stores Section, which falls under Invent ory Management. The current expenditure for Inventory
Management, cost centre 45115, is estimated to be
$1,074,000 for 2022/23. This is a decrease of $582,000, or 35 per cent less than the prior year’s
budget, largely due to the retirement of aged diesel buses.

Administration

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: The Administration S ection
is primarily responsible for developing department
strategy, policy, and procedures —ensuring that the
people, processes, and resources are available to deliver a q uality public bus service. The expenditure
for Administration, cost centre 45120, which accounts for salaries, utilities and shared services is estimated
to be $2,225,000 for 2022/23. This is a decrease of
$1,016,000, or 31 per cent less than the prior year’s
budget due to reduced contractor, minibus , and sec urity expenses.
Management Support

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: The Management Support
team is responsible for selling and processing bus and
ferry fares; and providing administrative services for
accounts, procurement, and human resources. The
expenditure for Management Support is estimated to be $738,000 for 2022/23. This is a decrease of
$11,000, or 1 per cent less than the prior year’s budget.
Revenue

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, it is antic ipated that in 2022/23, DPT will generate approximat e-ly $2,864,000 in revenue. [This is on] page B -214 of
the Budget Book. This will be attained primarily from
bus and ferry fares.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the capital
acquisition estimate for the d epartment, as seen on
page C -14 of the Budget Book, totals $2,574,000.
This is primarily for the acquisition of new electric
buses consistent with the procurement strategy for replenishment of the aged bus fleet.
The automated bus washer and recovery tow
truck are both past their useful service life and will be replaced.

Manpower

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the total
compl ement of full -time equivalents in the new
2022/23 fiscal year is 223, as recorded on page B -215
of the Budget Book. This is unchanged from the
2021/22 budget. The breakdown of FTEs by each
section is as follows:
• Bus Operations, cost centre 45010, has 156
full-time equivalents, unchanged from the pr ior year’s budget.
• Repair Servicing, cost centre 45090, has 46
full-time equivalents, unchanged from the pr ior year’s budget.
• Inventory Management, cost centre 45115,
has been allocated five full -time equivalents ,
unchanged from the prior year’s budget.
• Administration, cost centre 45120 , has four
full-time equivalents, unchanged from the pr ior year’s budget.
• Management Support, cost centre 45200, has
12 full -time equivalents, unchanged from the
prior year’s budget .
Mr. Chairman, I take this opportunity to thank
this dedicated team at the Department of Transport ation for their efforts in delivering a safe public bus service.

Major Policy Changes

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, the department is focused on de livering reliable public bus services. To this end it is replenishing the aged bus fleet,
recruiting operat ors and maintenance staff, and i nvesting in new technology.
During COVID -19, minibuses have been contracted to provide transportation specifically to get
students directly to schools in a safe environment. As
we transition to “l earning to live with the virus ” and
once the bus fleet reaches 88 operational buses, we will no longer provide independent transportation for school students.
908 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly In February 2022, the department took deli very of Bermuda’s first electric buses —a significant
milestone on the journey to zero emissions public
transportation for Bermuda. And Mr. Chairman, with
your indulgence I think that it would be important for me to repeat so that we can set expectations now
that, as we transition to “learning to live with the virus”
and once the bus fleet reaches 88 operational buses,
we will no longer provide independent transportation
for school students.
The new 8 metre electric bus is appropria tely
sized for our roads and is significantly less expensive
to own and operate than the previous diesel bus. The
new electric bus fleet is more fuel efficient, emits zero
roadside emissions, and is safer for our road.
The department’s moderni sation plans a lso
includes the introduction of solar power infrastructure to support electric bus charging stations, digital fare
media, real -time passenger information and computer -
aided dispatch.

Plans for the upcoming year

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Mr. Chairman, DPT is
committed to Moving Bermuda with a q uality public
bus service. To achieve this, the department will i mplement initiatives that ensure reliability, dependabi lity, improve the passenger experience, and enhance operations.

Electric Bus Project

Hon. W. L awrence Scott: In April 2022, the first 30
electric buses will enter into service. Replenishment of the fleet will continue with a second order of electric
buses in 2022/23. To support this, charging infrastructure will be expanded at the Fort Langton bus depot.
By 2023 more than 50 per cent of the operational fleet
of buses will be electric, and the average age of the
bus fleet will have reduced from 12 years to 6 years. I
think that also bears repeating, Mr. Chairman. By
2023 more than 50 per cent of the operational fleet of
buses will be electric, and the average age of the bus
fleet will have reduced from 12 years to 6 years.

Asset Management

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: With the introduction of
new technology, the department is committed to tec hnical leadership and enhanced asset management.
Continuing investment will be made in the training,
development and recruitment of technicians and trades responsible for fleet maintenance. The department will establish a “ Work Planning ” function and
retool the maintenance section to support the next generation of buses. Considerable improvements are underway to [facilities ] and infrastructure.

Passenger Experience

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: The Department of Public
Transportation aspires to be Bermuda’s preferred
transportation solution. To achieve this , the department will focus on improving the passenger exper ience, both in person and through technology. The
Ambassador Training programme will continue in
2022 for all frontline representatives. The advanc ement of projects such as digital fare media and real -
time passenger information will improve access to the
public bus service and provide for a safe and co nsistent “frictionless” travel experience.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes the brief for the
Department of Public T ransportation Services , Head
35.
Mr. Chairman, in closing, I want to reiterate
that the Ministry of Transport focuses on providing an
environment where job creation and entrepreneurship
in the transportation industry are favourable, transporting our residents and visitors to the Island and
moving them around the I sland, safely.
I would also like to give special thanks to the
Ministry’s Acting Permanent Secretary, Jasmin Smith;
the Director of the Department of Marine and Ports
Services, Rudy Cann; the Acti ng Director of the
Transport Control Department, Terry Spencer ; the
Director of the Department of Public Transportation, Roger Todd; the Ministry’s Controller, Mannard Pac kwood; and the accounts teams throughout the Ministry
for their hard work during the budget preparation pr ocess.
And Mr. Chairman, I understand that we are in
difficult times and that tough decisions need to be made. I want to put out there now that I am aware
through area residents that they are reliant on the
Pink Route, and what the Min istry will do, as of right
now, we are minded to suspend the service of the
Pink Route, but we will do all that we can to try to keep it in operation. So it is not an easy decision for
the Pink Route suspension, but we will be looking at
ways to try to keep it in place. We still have a few
more weeks and a few more options to look at.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This concludes the
brief for the Ministry of Transport.

Thank you.

B ermuda House of Assembly I would like to go back and begin, if you don’t
mind, with the Ministry Headquarters, Head 48, Ministry of Transport, page B -198. And I would like to
spend a little bit of time just talking about the Airport Authority and what we are going to need to do in order
to get our air traffic, our air passenger, our airlift vo lumes back up to a point where we are earning some
revenue.
Having a look at the numbers, and what the
Minister . . . he was talking quickly there so it was a
little difficult to keep up in the beginning, but I will do
the best with the notes that I have. But looking back when we were able to earn enough revenue to cover
our expenses seemed to have been at least in 2019,
at which time we had about 270,000 air arrivals com-ing through the L. F. Wade International Airport, and
looking at the estimates for 2022 . . . the Minister in a
previous Ministerial Statement had made a suggestion that we might need as many as 500,000 coming
through the airport. And I am just curious exactly what
the airport traffic numbers would need to be in order
for us to reduce or, better yet, eliminate the guaran-teed minimum revenue.
And at this stage, I have come to the realis ation that it makes no sense to cry over spilt milk . I believe that when it comes to our airport, no matter what, by this ageing stage in our lives and the airport’s lifespan, we would had to have some form of loan or debt service in order to have our airport running eff iciently. And the choice has been made. We have an
award -winning airport of which we should all at least
be somewhat proud of. And so with that we have a
financial obligation. And I believe that we would have had a financial obligation no matter what choices we had made as a country regarding the airport. But at this point it is up to us now as a people, as a Gover nment, to pick up the pieces from a pandemic and ci rcumstances of which no one could have ever ex-pected and get those air arrivals —

Yes. I am di scussing the
Ministry of T ransport, H eadquarters on page B -198,
and I am s peaking in particular t o the Bermuda Airport
Authority. I guess i f you wanted a specific num ber
item, w e could refer t o the grant, which is al so on
page C-1 9, 7099, where we have $30,653,000 put
aside for the grant for the Bermuda Airport Authority.

Yes, thank you. So, again, my question is, How many air tra vellers would have to come through our airport in order for us to get to a point where we no longer are sub-jected to the guaranteed minimum revenue?
And acknowledging the fact that we do have
the extra surcharge that Skyport has included in the price of the ticket of 6.2 per cent, it would be interes ting to find out what that number would be because the number of air travellers that we get coming through
our airport is what is going to be the answer to the problem and it will save us, potentially, tens of millions of dollars that we will no longer have to pay to service the underfunded debt payment. So, it is up to us.
I am also curious to find out what exactly the
Bermuda Airport Authority, the Bermuda Tourism Au-thority and Skyport are doing to make sure that we are able to continue to maintain our commercial airlines that are coming through the traditional gateway cities that we have traditionally serviced. And also, any additional ideas that may be on the plate as far as getting more air traffic into Bermuda and increasing the
number of travellers who are coming.
So, I would like to hear a little bit more about
what the plans are to see what we can do to reduce
those numbers and reduce the payment of the guar-anteed minimum revenue because it is in our hands at this point.
I also noticed when I was reading through my
notes that there is . . . I noticed that through the Bermuda Airport Authority that the Menzies ground transportation has been advertising for additional emplo yment. I saw that there were 10 ramp agent emplo yment ads, 2 for mechanics, 1 for auto body and 10 for
customer service. And I am just curious why or what
the increase in employment will be for, whether that is replacing vacancies or whether we are adding to the
team because there is something in the works and we
would need the additional employment support.
Before we leave the airport, the Travel Authorisation form has been a real thorn in many of our travellers’ sides. I am just curious with (1) the additional
$40 that is put per person on travellers entering Bermuda, as well as (2) the idea that many . . . well, we
have had one country so far completely remove travel restrictions. That is the United Kingdom. I believe they announced that yesterday or this morning.

All right. Even though it
would impact the possibility of attracting additional
travellers to the Island, it still has an impact and I just wanted to mention it. I won’t ask a question about it
910 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly then. But certainly we need to do everything that we
can to gain the attention of visitors to come to Berm uda and be as price- attractive as possible.
With that, Mr. Chairman, still on Head 48, but I
will move on to page B -199 and take a look at line
58010, and that is the Transportation Planning team.
And so the Minister said that this position is respons ible for cruise ship contracts, operations, regulations,
logistics, and other projects. And I am wondering if the
Minister could just give an update on the progress of
long-term porting. He did mention that it was not possible for this year. He also mentioned that it is improbable that any larger ships will have the homeporting in
Bermuda, but the potential for boutique ships, and I
am just curious what that would look like and if the
Minister could shed a little bit more of an explanation
around that. What kind of infrastructure would be
needed? What kind of employment opportunities
would be there and, of course, what potential revenue
could be generated from the idea of having boutique
ships here for homeporting? I think it is an attractive idea and certainly if the Transportation Planning team
is able to proceed with their investigations into this
area it certainly sounds like an att ractive proposition
for Bermuda.
I would just like to spend a little bit of time on
the cruise strategy. I am still under Transportation
Planning team on page B -199. In 2019, we had 185
cruise calls and we earned $167 million. That, I be-lieve, equated at full occupancy we were looking at a
little over a half a million passengers coming to the
Island. And this year, 2022, I had recorded 177 cruise
calls, but I heard the Minister say we are now up to 180 cruise calls —which is great! And the potential to
earn $103 million. The question begs answering, if we
are going to be at 50 per cent capacity on the cruise
ships, which would be, sort of, the half of 540, so if we are looking at high 200,000 passengers, maybe
250,000 to 280,000 passengers coming here, I am
wondering how are we expecting to make up the di fference in the revenue to meet that $103 million target. Or, has the Minister already calculated the r educed number of passengers?
I am also curious too that the passenger tax,
we would only be earning hal f of the passenger tax if
there are only half of the passengers coming, and
what the difference in that calculation would be between 2019 and 2022?
Again, this might not be for the Transport Mi nister, but I am going to ask anyway. I was wondering if
the Minister could confirm whether the cruise passengers would also have to pay the $40 Travel Authoris ation [fee] if they are coming into Bermuda by a cruise
ship. And if so, how does it appears as a line item? Or does it go directly into the Consolidated Fund? Or is
that incorporated into the $103 million revenue num-ber that the Minister had projected or estimated for the
2022 cruise season? I am also curious as to how much is expected
in the transportation infrastructure tax. So, just for
those who may be listening, it is my understanding
that the transport infrastructure tax is based on the
size of the ship. Am I correct, Mr. Chairman, as you have stood in the transport space? But what would be
the expected revenue coming from the transport infr astructure tax this year? And does the transport infr astructure tax feed into the total of that $103 million in revenue? Because it would be interesting to get a bit
of a breakdown in how we are earning that $103 mi llion.
Still remaining in Head 48, Ministry of
Transport Headquarters, overview, page B -199. The
Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority [BCAA] falls under
the Minister’s remit. I am curious whether there will be
any transfer of funds into the Consolidated Fund for 2022 given the circumstances of coming out of t he
pandemic and now facing the unfortunate circumstances around Russia’s operations and the holding of
airlines, air planes in Russia and at present not r eleasing them back to the leasing companies. There
are 36 employees who work at BCAA and I am sure that many of them are beginning to wonder what their
future prospects may be and if the Minister might be
able to give us an update on that.
Given that the operating revenue of the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority ––which holds the regi ster of airplanes and aircraft on the Bermuda register ––
given that the operating revenue does consist primar ily from the issuance of the certificates of airworth iness, and in 2020 it was $31,332,000 that we were able to raise or earn in revenue through the BCAA,
and I am just curious whether the Government is pr epared to financially support, step in to assist the BCAA should the issuance of the certificates of airworthiness
not be issued/renewed for 2022 and what we will do to
cover the BCAA or whether they may have the funds
themselves to sustain [themselves] through these very
trying times until we are able to build up the register
again?
But I did notice in the annual report that . . .
and I am not huge with numbers, but it did seem as though the cash reserves for the BCAA d o not seem
to match up with the amount of revenue, by any
stretch of the imagination, and whether their cash r eserves will be able to sustain them financially or
whether they will be needing some financial support
from the Government.
Moving on to Head 30 , Marine and Ports,
page B -204. I would like to start with line 8183, port
dues.

Thank you.
I am raising the port dues and I am still keeping the connection with the cruise ships in Bermuda.


Bermuda House of Assembly In 2019 we earned [$730,000] and we had
187 cruise ships calls. In 2022, the line item at 8183,
on page B -204, reflects the same amount of
[$730,000] and I am just wondering how with fewer cruise ships coming this year we are still able to earn virtually the same amount of revenue.
Now, I don’t know whether the Minister can
tell us where there are more ships that are coming in, like fuel ships or cargo ships or whether the cruise
ships themselves are a bit larger, because I understand that part of the dues are based on the size of the vessel. So if the Minister can explain to us why the
revenues are remaining the same but the cruise ships
calls at least will be lower this year.
I would also like to move on to 8185, pilotage
fees. Our revenue was $1.1 million w hich is 5 per cent
less this year. And again, if we are having fewer
cruise ship calls, what is the pilotage fee doing to
make up the difference? I don’t understand how the
pilotage fees can only be 5 per cent down if we are
getting as much as sort of a 10 per cent drop in the
number of cruise ship calls. So, again, it may be b ecause there are other ships that are scheduled to arrive here that are not cruise ships, but I am curious to
see why that is only 5 per cent less and what we are
doing to make up any difference in the revenue.
[Business Unit] 8187, those are the ferry r eceipts. Now the ferry revenue and the ferry service is
an interesting one. So we are projecting or estimating
$650,000 in revenue, which is down 41 per cent this
year. And I am wonder ing why the ferry receipts are
not going up. And the reason I am asking that is that just the other day the Minister announced that we are going to have the Orange Route, which will go from
Dockyard to St. George’s and so, to me, there would
be additional ferry receipts far beyond any losses from
the Pink Route. Especially since, apparently hardly
anyone was on the Pink Route anyway. So why aren’t
the ferry receipts going up if we are going to have the
Orange Route?
I am also curious what the ticket price will be
for the Orange Route. And I am also interested in how many daily runs [there will be] on that Orange Route. And also if there is a ticket price involved, what is the
forecast revenue all told for the Orange Route?
As far as the expenses are concerned for the
ferry service, this is 3007, line item 40090, the ferry
service, even though we are only bringing in $650,000
we spend $6.6 million every year for the ferry service.
And I am wondering . . . this expense is actually down,
but we are adding the Orange Route. So I am curious
what the added Orange Route costs are going to be. Did we have to bring in a new ferry boat? I am just
curious what we will have to spend in order to get the
Orange Route up and running.
I am also interested in finding out w hat the actual savings will be to cancel the Pink Route. So if we are spending $6.6 million on the ferry service, we are
dropping the Pink [Route], potentially, and we are adding the Orange [Route], I am curious why are we
spending the same amount of money and ultimately
we may have fewer routes? If the Minister can just
clear that up a little bit, it just seems unclear and I am
sure it would be interesting just to find out exactly how the new and changed routes will work.
I am also curious too about what the Pink
Route . . . the Minister did say in his brief that the staff
involved in the Pink Route would be redeployed to other routes and help to relieve some of the overtime.
But at the same time I noticed that on page B -205 we
have actually increased the ferry service staff nu mbers by 11. So if the Minister could just give us that
. . . and in general, I am just also wondering why are
we increasing ferry staff and we are spending $6 mi llion and we are only earning $650,000 and we have
got 41 per cent less ridership.
So it just begs the question, At what point will
the Ministry give a good hard look at the ferry service
model in general, maybe survey the customers and
just find out what might work and is not working so
that we can get some balance here. Because it seems a shame that we are spending so much money on a
ferry service and ridership is down 41 per cent. We
are not earning much revenue from it, so there must
be some more efficient way in which we can manage
the ferry service to get a more balanced model for the public service overall.
Certainly, I have spent a lot of time on the ferries, and for years using the ferries on a daily basis. It
is a wonderful experience. I think that everybody
should get out on the water as often as possible. So it is not that I am questioning the value of the ferry service, because it is a valuable part of our public trans-portation. But it just seems to me as though it may be
model that needs some reorganisation or a good rethink to make it as efficient as possible.
I would like to now move to . . . just going
back again to page B -203, still Head 30, Marine and
Ports. And I would like to just speak for a minute u nder 3008, line item 40100, maritime safety and secur ity. Now that is $2,551,000 that is budgeted for thi s
year, which is an increase of $679,000. I am not completely sure what maritime safety and security is about
but I would suspect it is around Harbour Radio and things like that. Maybe some search and rescue; I am
not sure. If the Minister might just explain exactly what
maritime safety and security is, that would be great.
But my question is, What are the opportunities
here? If it is a search and rescue and it is Harbour
Radio, I am just wondering whether there isn’t an op-portunity for us to earn some rev enue in this space.
Again, because I am not exactly clear what that line
item involves, but it sounds to me as though it is
providing a service. So, if we are spending as much
as $679,000 on this line item, to just understand ma ybe what that is and whether there is an opportunity for
us to earn revenue. Certainly, if it has anything to do with offshore rescue this would be an opportunity, I
912 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly would imagine, that if it has to do with commercial
vessels, search and rescue, or something like that,
that we would be able to attach a fee to that and earn
some revenue to balance out the costs of providing the service.

Thank you. Before I leave
line item 40100, maritime safety and security, I just
got a little note here. Back when there was the training
accident with the pilot boat and the Northeast Breaker
Beacon was hit, I was just curious whether there was
any damage to that beacon and whether that may fall
under this $2,551,000 expenditure and whether the
increase of the $679,000 has anything to do with the replacement of that beacon. And if not, if the Minister
can say whether we did have to incur any costs to
repair that beacon, it would be interesting to find out
please.
Now I would like to move to line item 40180,
and this is the pilotage service offshore. We spend $1.9 million each year for this service offshore. Is this
the cost to take the pilots to the sh ips? I was just
wondering why, if that is the case, that this is the service to take the pilots to the ships, why do we pay
more than we earn. Because when we turn to page B -
204, 8185, pilotage fees, it shows that we are estimat-ing to earn $730,000. Last y ear we only earned
$200,000, but [with] the pandemic and no cruise ships
that is understandable. So my question is, Why are
we . . . wait a minute. No, I’m sorry. It is $1.1 million
that we earn in pilotage fees, which is down $59,000.
Last year during the pandemic we only earned
$550,000. So this year we are expecting it to go back
up to $1.1 million. But we spend $1.9 million on the
service. So I am just curious why we are not or why
we cannot charge more money so that at least the
pilotage service offshore pays for itself, if not earning
us a little bit of revenue.
Staying on page B -204, the subjective anal ysis, I just had a couple of questions. And again here, I
question under repair and maintenance, we have got
a spend of $2,065,000 which is an increas e of
$511,000. I am not sure whether this has to do with
the pilot refitting of some of our older boats, our older
tugs and pilot boats that need to be refitted, or again,
if this might be where the Northeast [Breaker] Beacon may have been repaired. But I am noticing that we are
spending a good bit extra, whether it is under maritime
safety and security or whether it is under repair and
maintenance. In both instances there are substantial
increases of over $500,000 in each line item. And so I am curious what is in those costs.
I would like to move over to the C section. I
believe there is a line item, capital acquisition, on page C -13, line item 76540, new ferries. We have $3
million estimated for this year. I am just curious, in 2021 we spent $2,103,000 on this line item, for new
ferries. And I am wondering if that is for the refit of the
Resolute, or if this is for a new ferry that has been
purchased. And the fact that in this year, 2022, we
have got another $3 million budgeted, I am just wondering what th at is the purchase for. I don’t know . . .
are we purchasing the ferry for the St. George’s O range Route? Or what is that all about?
And while asking, if this is the new ferry, if this
has anything to do with ferry that will be used for the St. George’s r oute? Are we purchasing a ferry for that
route? Or are we leasing it like we have in the past? I
believe we used to lease that Dockyard to St.
George’s ferry from Rhode Island. [I wonder] whether
we are having a similar arrangement for this year or
not.
Still on Head 30, page B -204, 8173, which is
boat moorings, I am just curious. So this year the boat mooring revenue is estimated to be $901,000. But last
year we only earned $700,000. So I am just wondering why . . . it looks as though we were not able to get
fees of almost $200,000. And so I am just curious
why. Did we have an issue collecting the fees for
mooring licences, or mooring dues in 2021? Because
it is substantially lower and it seems to be consistent
on most years, but last year it was quite low . So I am
just curious whether that is $200,000 that we were not able to collect for moorings.
I am also curious as well that if our . . . and
don’t know if it works this way and the Minister can certainly correct me, but if we registered line item (just
above there) 8169, boats private, we earn consistently
$500,000, looks like everybody pays it every year.
And even if we added the 8171, boats charter, which
is $110,000 that we earn, it is still just over half of the mooring revenue. So I am just curious why we are
earning all of this revenue for moorings, but we only
earn $500,000 for private boats.
So I don’t know if this is part of (which doesn’t
quite make sense) the Minister saying one boat, one
mooring, which of course would reduce our mooring reven ue quite a bit. Or if it is that half of the boats that
are on the moorings are not registered. I can’t reconcile how we only have half the number of boats and
twice the number of moorings. It should be one- forone. So if I am thinking this through we should be earning closer to $1 million in boat licences and then it would make sense that $900,000 for moorings. It
seems they should balance a bit more than that. I


Bermuda House of Assembly don’t know; if the Minister could just explain that it
would be much appreciated. And, of cour se, we could
be losing revenue.
Line item 8169, which is the boats . . . I guess
I asked all those quest ions. Okay, that’s great . . . just
going through the list. All right, I believe that I have
now asked all the questions for Head 30. And I would
like to move on to Head 34, Transport Control D epartment.

That is on page B -210. And I
would like to ask a question about line item 8467
which is motorcycles. I am just curious if the Minister can explain to me why the revenue that we are going
to earn from motorcycle registration is going up by $866,000. Are we quietly increasing fees? Are there
more bikes than ever before? We are expecting a total
revenue from motorcycle licensing of $2.5 million,
which i s up $866,000. This is a 53 per cent increase.
And I just curious what is creating that increase.
And then I would like to ask a question about
8471, private cars. So the Minister . . . it is published
at $17 million but with the licence reduction that i s being given as a tax break, it is now calculated that the Ministry or the Department of Transport Control will earn $15 million from private cars. And my question
around this, or maybe more a comment is, given . . .
you know, people will get a break from their licence.
But the $823,000 that we are not earning . . . I just
can’t help but wonder, and I guess because it has not
happened in the past there is no expectation it would happen now. But certainly as a Member of Parliament
I receive from the doorste p an awful lot of questions
around the condition of our roads.
Now I know that is Public Works, but it does
become a safety issue and I am just curious why or whether at some point some consideration cannot be
made on how we might be able to put aside som e
funding, maybe through the private car licensing fee,
put aside some funds that could be used and applied
to road safety. And a substantial amount so that the road safety officer, the powers that be within the
Transport Control Department might be able t o put
their heads together to come up with a way to collaborate with other ministries and do something to provide
extra safety on our roads, as far as the infrastructure
is concerned.
I do believe that there are a number of drivers
out there that if $100 or $200 in our pocket is going to
disappear, but the cost of replacing tyres, realigning steering, and the like that we incur from the daily use
of roads, I am sure that people would appreciate [it
more] if they were able to extend the life of very expensi ve investments in their cars, in their vehicles,
than to have $100 worth of cash. But that is an argument that we will leave for another day. Now I would like to move to 8473, commercial
vehicles. Presently we are earning $4.8 million, which
is up about $96,000. I am wondering if the Minister
might be able to provide a brief overview of the public
service vehicle consultation that he referenced in his brief and maybe give us an idea of when final dec isions might be made, or a timeline when changes
may be m ade around commercial vehicles, and
whether this is going to increase the cost to consumers in any way, if there is going to be an impact on the
consumer around any changes to the commercial v ehicle model. If we might get just a little more information abo ut that; much appreciated.
Line item 8480, the truck permit fees. So right
now we earn $613,000 in truck permit fees. I am not sure, because it hasn’t ever really been broken down,
whether that includes all the trucks including the big tractor -trailer truc ks. But I am wondering whether the
department is discussing solutions to the difficulty of
the impact that these large trucks are having on our
roads. And I know this is a little big of an aside, but it
does get back to truck permit fees.
It is my underst anding that less and less of
our shipping suppliers are providing the smaller 20foot containers that we are presently using in Berm uda to ship in our goods. And these trucks are carrying
[containers] throughout our Island in order to disperse
to the different owners of businesses. And there is this trend that soon it will be hard to find a 20- foot contai ner and the only containers that we really are going to
be able to find, at least at a reasonable price, will be
40-foot containers.
So I am just wonderin g if the Ministry, the D epartment of Transport Control, is giving some thought to the idea that we may be working with tractor trailers
and the permits, et cetera, that are required for these
tractor trailers that may become somewhat obsolete
because it wi ll become more and more difficult to actually find the containers that will be able to fit on
these trucks. And I am also curious that given the fact
that these trucks, and, again, I have to guess, that the
truck permit fees include tractor trailers, why t he fees
for the trucks are so low when they have such a
greater impact and stress on our roads.
They are commercial vehicles. And yes, we
know that businesses are not wanting to have any additional fees. But the trucks have a major impact on
the condition of our roads. And if this were a way in
which we might be able to generate revenue to be
able to contribute [to a] better infrastructure of our
roads then I am just asking the Minister whether an yone has considered why these fees for trucks are so
low and if there is any adjustment that could be made
in that area.
This is also a non- financial question about the
trucks, but I am going to ask it anyway. And that is
whether the Department of Transport Control has ever considered looking at the access of truck s on our
roads and whether . . . I know that there are certain
914 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly roads, a few roads on our Island where trucks do not
have access. And whether there would be the pote ntial to consider that again. I know that there is an ord inance in place for trucks, especially the larger tractor -
trailer trucks coming out of the docks, and whether
there can’t be some greater thought about [restricting]
some of the roads that some of the larger trucks do
traverse, especially when it comes to residential areas
and some of our w inding roads that tend to be a little
more dangerous.
Still on Head 34, page B -209, line item 44090,
road safety, I understand that there is one seconded
member of staff who has filled the shoes of a road
safety officer. But I am wondering what the public
might expect in the form of a tangible strategy, in particular to tackle drunk driving and dangerous driving
on our roads in 2022. Project Ride is positive and we
have got the 16- to (let’s say) 18- year-olds under our
belt. They are coming on to the roads through Project
Ride in good stead. They understand the rules. But we definitely have a population of a middle group . . . I
haven’t done the statistics and maybe the Minister can
provide those statistics, but it seems that sort of between 18 and the maybe 45, 50 age group where we
are really seeing a bulk of our severe accidents and
where maybe more of our speeding offenders are.
Again, I have not done the statistics and the Minister might be able to shed some light on that.
But I am just curious if there isn’t more that we
can do with the budget that is here with the officer
who is dedicated to road safety and to try to tackle this
issue, because we cannot really wait any longer ––for
more deaths on our road ––to [tackle] this problem.
We have to think of s omething else. Maybe the Mini ster can share some light on this for me, but I was not
aware that stoplight cameras were an issue. I thought
that it was more the speeding. And certainly, I am li ving here in Hamilton right now and I live on a stretch
of road that is . . . I mean, I did not know that vehicles
could go that fast, Mr. Chairman. Every night! It is not like it is just Saturday night leaving the bar. Every
night! And I do not understand.
And yes, it may be a national security issue
and a budget item, but if Transport Control and the
road safety officer, with a strategy of some sort, might
be able to work to figure out how we can arrest —and I
don’t mean that in a police way, I mean arrest meaning slow down and stop so many speeders on the
road. Because it just takes an instant for a child, a dog
or a distraction of the rider and I just cannot even i magine the severity of an accident on the road of which I live should anyone of those vehicles get into an ac-cident at any particular time. By the sound of the
speed it would be severe. And I believe that we are
really playing with fire allowing this to happen night
after night, day after day. And we have a budget, we have a road safety officer, more can be done to address the issue. I now would like to mov e on to Head 35, pu blic transportation.

That is on page B -123, Head
35, public transportation. I would just like to preface before I ask any direct questions. My question to public transportation is wh ether we are looking into the
future, and yes, we are. We are getting electric buses and that is wonderful. But I would like to just take a slightly different slant on this. And that is whether we
really are looking into the future to have the foresight
to be able to provide transportation to really meet the
needs of the country.
Now the reason I am asking that, Mr. Chai rman, is that this year (and this is not going to take
very long) the rising price of fuel to fill up our cars and
our bikes and our vehic les is going to become astr onomical. Already it is rising. And I have just declare that I have given up a car and gotten myself a little
electric pedal bike because the idea of putting $150, $200 to fill up a tank of gas is going to become financially unsustainable—the cost of spare parts, the cost
of repairs —people are going to at some point have to
consider public transportation more often.
We have a decent public transportation sy stem. We are electrifying the buses. They are new.
They are comfortable. T hey are state- of-the-art. They
have Internet in them. I am hoping that we are able,
just on the basic principle, to attract more people to
use our public transportation. But there may also be a volume of people who are going to have to use public
transport ation because it is just too expensive to use
their own private vehicles on a daily basis. And whether the Department of Public Transportation is
aware of this, should there be an increase in demand,
an increase in volume for our public transportation
whet her the department is taking that into consider ation. And part of my reason for asking that it is my understanding (and I am now going to move to line
45010, bus operations, which is on page B -213) that
the electric buses are smaller.
I understand that we are going from 30- odd
seats to about 10 less seats or so. So we might be
going from 36 seats to 26 seats. And again, the Mini ster can correct me if I am wrong. But with the smaller
buses . . . and again I am not sure how long it is going
to take for us to get up to our full complement of 88
buses running daily. But I am just not sure that even if
we have 55 to 60 buses running every day and we have the electric buses ––when there is a full compl ement we will have 30 electric buses ––if 30 out of
those 60 are available and on the road, that’s great in
numbers of vehicles. But will there be the volume to
carry the additional passengers within those buses?
And my point that I am getting at, aside from
the fact that people in Bermuda in general may start using public transportation more for the reasons of


Bermuda House of Assembly which I have previously stated, but we also have the
issue that —hopefully, fingers crossed—Dockyard will
once again be bustling with our cruise ship passengers. And we know that once those passengers get on
those buses, it is very difficult for anyone on the other
side. On the eastern side of Watford Bridge, you can
forget it. By the time the bus gets to Somerset and the
middle of Somerset Village the bus is full. So there are
going to be a number of people who ar e left stranded.
Now, the Minister might be able to give us a
little bit of an assurance that this has been taken into consideration. I don’t know whether the Department of
Public Transportation is considering having special
buses for the tourists. We hav e had that in the past. I
don’t know whether that is going to come on board or
whether the public transportation is speaking to the
public service vehicles to arrange that kind of transportation for our tourists, but I just am not seeing that.
Potentially , we are going to have an imbalance again, which caused so much frustration for so many bus riders, in particular, in the past. And to be honest, after two years of pandemic to see a bus full
of tourists makes me want to get down on my knees
and praise the buses as they pass. But we still have to
get to work and we still have to traverse the Island
and so there has to be room on the bus for the res idents. So I just want to make sure that the Minister is
aware of that.

[Mr. Scott Pearman, Chairman]

The Cha irman: Thank you. I trust you can her me,
MP Jackson. I am taking over the chairmanship now from the Honourable Member Neville Tyrrell with
thanks for his chairing the debate thus far.
Honourable Members and members of the
public, we are now in the Commi ttee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2022/23. This debate is a
four-hour debate on the revenues and expenditures of
the Ministry of [Transport]. More specifically, Heads
48, 30, 34 and 35 which c ommence in the Budget
Book at page B -[198] . You have been hearing from
the Honourable Member for [Transport], Lawrence
Scott. And we are now hearing questions and observations by the Honourable Shadow Minister Ms. Jac kson.
Ms. Jackson, you have the floor .

Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman.
I am on page B -213. I am presently on line
item 45010, bus operations. I am going to switch a little from the actual buses, and I am not exactly sure
where to ask this question because I could not find it
in the line item. So I am going to go out on a limb here, Mr. Chairman, and I hope that you will indulge
me. But we have got as many . . . eventually, and I have heard that as soon as April 2022 we would have
a very nice complement of electric buses.
The Minister did say that there was one
charging station that was being put in place, I guess at
the bus depot, for the initial shipment of buses. But
there has not been any discussion around the cost of
the charging stations, the installation of the charging
stations or who is installing the charging stations. And
so I would like to ask the Minister in the first instance
who and what and how much for the first charging
station that was put (I believe at the bus depot), but in addition I understand that over the coming year there
will be as many 30 charging stations installed at the
various bus depots and mini depots.
I know there is one in Somerset, there is one
in St. George’s, there is one in Dockyard, et cetera.
Who is going to be installing them? How much do
these charging stations cost us and any other information around how the charging stations will be commissioned? And if there is a line item, that would be
great if the Minister could just direct us to that. (I am
just having a quick [look] at my notes, Mr. Chairman.)

Thank you, Honourable Member.
As previously indicated we are in the Commi ttee of Supply for further consideration of the Est imates of Revenue [and Expenditure] for the year
2022/23, being Bermuda’s budget. At the moment we
are looking at the Ministry of Transport and at this
specific moment we are looking at Head 35, public
transportation. And Shadow Minister Susan Jackson
was just putting questions under Head 35, which can be found at page B -213 of the Budget Book .
When you are ready, Shadow Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am still on the same line item, 45010, bus
operations. But I have moved over to page B -215
which is the employee numbers. I see that under bus
operators we are inc reasing our complement of bus
drivers by 14 staff members, so that the complement
is 156, which seems to be the same as 2021.
I am just curious about this increase of 14 [in
staff members]. Is this now at a total of 156 bus o perators? Is that our full com plement including any additional drivers and staff around the electric buses and
the additional electric buses that are coming in the
future? Or whether there will be more employment
opportunities for bus operations in the future, or
whether that additiona l 14 over the last couple of
years is going to be the total staff number.
Still on Head 35, public transportation. I did
not hear the Minister mention this in his brief, but certainly reading through notes and Ministerial Stat ements and the rest, with these electric buses there will
be no accommodation for wheelchairs. And I do not
believe that there will be much accommodation for those who may need assistance physically getting on
and off of the buses. There was at some point the
916 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly conversation around havin g a paratransit strategy. I
am just curious if the Minister might be able to give us
an update on any strategy that is being put in place to
accommodate those who are living in wheelchairs or
may need assistance getting on and off of vehicles, in particula r large vehicles such as buses.
I would like to now turn to page B -214, which
is just moving back a page to bus training. It is under the subjective analysis. It is only slotted for $20,000
and that is revised down from last year of $40,000. It
is not the dollar amount that I am interested in so
much in this case, but I am curious to know about the
training in preparation for the use of the electric buses
and whether there are going to be any costs involved.
The Minister has made it public knowledge
that the manufacturer, Golden Dragon, has sent or did
send down trainers to not only teach bus operators on
how to drive the buses. But then I understand there is
also training going on from a mechanical perspective
for the maintenance of the buses and how to m ake
sure that this new electric component versus the di esel engine will be maintained. I am just curious if the
Minister can give us a little information about any
payment to cover the costs of these trainers.
I understand they are coming in from overseas . Are we paying for their travel, their living expenses, their room and board? Are we paying them a stipend to be here? If we could get a little more information. I would suspect that wherever, if we are
spending money, I am not quite sure where it would
be as the training that I am seeing under public transportation I believe is $5,000. So I don’t know whether
we have already paid for it or not. Excuse me, training is $20,000. So, anyway, it does not seem like it
matches up. And if the Minister can just gi ve us a little
more information about those costs.
I now would like to move to page C -14. I
would just like to talk to line item 76912, the digital fare media. Now, in 2021 it was estimated that
$457,000 was being spent on a digital fare media. So
I am curious if maybe the Minister can confirm whet her that package . . . I am not sure whether it is a sof tware programme or whether there is software and
hardware. I am not quite sure what is involved. But the
Minister might describe that in more detail, and
whether we have already paid for the system at
$457,000 or if that is still in the mix, as it is slotted for
2021/22.
But the digital fare media, I just wanted to ask
a couple of questions around that. I am just curious
who we are buying that from. It is my first time and I
am a novice in the transportation industry. But I would
be interested in finding out a little bit more about
where we are buying this digital fare media from. I
don’t know if it is a programme or a product and what
exactly it is going to do. I believe it is an app- based or
product where people can buy their tickets using the
app, and maybe there is some kind of scan code that
you use when you get on the bus and it will deduct from an amount of money that you can put on it. But I
would just like to get a little bit of information, esp ecially given that it is almost $500,000 that we are going to spend on it.
Who are we purchasing it from? Will there be
any annual fees? Will this now become a regular line
item within public transportation that every year we
are paying fees for administration, for maintenance of
it, for upgrades? ]Since] it is a digital fare base I would
suspect that if prices change it would have to be recalibrated. I am just not sure. I would like to get a little more information about that, whether we have to pay
an annual fee for this particular product.
My other question around the digital fare m edia is if we are purchasing at this amount of money, are we going to keep the paper tickets and monthly
passes and tokens? Will they still remain in place
while we have this digital. . . or are we going to phase
out the paper and tokens for this digital? If the Minister
could just shed a little more light on that for us.
My concern, I have to be fair, has come from
the recent report from the Ombudsman who brought
up a valid point. Not everybody has . . . I know 98 per
cent of Bermuda has Internet access. But not ever ybody is walking around with a phone, especially those who may be on the buses. And in particular . . . well, if
you are over 65, you do not even have to pay. So,
other than showing your proof of age, you can just get on the bus. But certainly there may be younger chi ldren, young people getting on the bus or those who
just do not have the financial means to have a cell
phone that would have an app on it where they would
be able to access this digital fare media in order to
pay their way. If this becomes the sole means of traveling on the buses, are we disenfranchising some
people who are not digitally inclined?
I also am of the understanding, and I would
like the Minister to just give some clarity around
whether this digital media is also going to be able to provide updates on scheduling of buses. I know that
over the past few years now we have really struggled
with canc ellation of buses, and that is going to conti nue to happen. Bus drivers will get sick, a bus might
break down, anything can happen, and we do not
want passengers having to wait for extended periods of time, especially after dark or on cold, wet rainy
days, not knowing whether the bus is coming or not.
And so I am not sure, and if the Minister can provide
information on whether this digital fare media would
provide those kinds of scheduling updates as well on
this particular app or within this programme.
I think that is all that I have for the digital fare
media. But before I move on, and this is not a financial
question, but I am curious if the Minister might be able
to give us an update on the bus scheduling and cancellation and how the notification system is going. It
certainly has been a sensitive matter for many of the passengers. And I am also curious too whether the
Department of Public Transportation collects any st aBermuda House of Assembly tistics on exactly who rides the buses, because I am
sure that this would help them an awful lot to determine what would be the best way to communicate
with our bus passengers, et cetera. So I am curious
whether we do collect any data in that realm.
Mr. Chairman, I think at this point I would like
to take a break and have the Minister ans wer some of
those questions, or if another Member would like to speak.

Thank you, Shadow Minister.
Does anyone else have questions for the
Honourable Minister of Transportation Lawrence
Scott?
If not, Honourable Minister would you like to
address some of the questions now posed by the
Shadow Minister?
While you are getting ready, let me just r emind the members of the listening public that we are
in the Committee of Supply for consideration of Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2022/23, focusing on the Ministry of Transport, and
more specifically the Heads 48, 30, 34, and 35 of the
budget. There has been four hours allocated for the
debate on the Ministry of Transport. This debate will
end at 8:03 pm.
Unless I hear someone else for questions, I
will pass over to the Minister to respond.

Thank you, MP Cannonier, for that
question.
Minister.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Yes, sir. I am excited to
now answer these questions and I am going to start
with the Department of Public Transportation, right
where the Shadow Minister left off. I just wanted to share the fact with the Opposition and the general public that the remainder of our
20 electric buses will ar rive in New York from China
on Friday. After that, we will have 10 buses arrive in Bermuda on the 28
th of March and another 10 [will
arrive] a week later on the 4th of April.
Now, I want to take this opportunity to just ask
the general population, the peo ple of Bermuda, for
patience as we are in a transition period between now and the 2
nd of June, which is approximately the next
four to six weeks, while we get these operationalised and the like. And while I speak about operationalising
the buses, these 30 buses will allow for us to have
approximately 80 operational buses in our fleet.
Now, we have to keep in mind that it takes
roughly about 88 . . . a minimum of 88 operational
buses to provide what is called the “winter roster.” The
winter roster is the sc hool runs, getting the children to
school, and the commuter runs which is those persons who go to work. We are going to need 88 buses
to be able to do that simultaneously without having
mass cancellations or delays.
So, while we will be real close to that come
the first of June, we won’t be quite there. So we are
looking to, and as you see in the budget, we had all ocated roughly $2 million to order an additional 15 electric buses. Now those 15 electric buses plus the 80
that we would have already will take us to 95. That
allows us to have the 88, and allow for some redun-dancies. Once we have these 95 buses in operation
we will cease to provide the independent school runs
for the children because we will have the necessary
resources and high- value assets available to get chi ldren to and from school.
Now, the Opposition Member did ask about
digital fare media. I am thoroughly excited about dig ital fare media. It allows us to bring our bus fleet into
the new age, into the digital age. It will allow for . . .
before I go into any more detail I have to let persons know, and it would be remiss of me not to say that the
RFP is ongoing. So some of the questions about who
is providing it and what . . . I cannot go into those d etails right now because that would tain t the process.
But what I can do is give an overarching view
and just give you the Opposition and the listening pu blic an idea of what is possible and what is coming
down the pipeline. I hope I don’t get too excited because as I get excited I talk faster. So I am trying to do
my L amaze breathing, and stay calm on my yoga
breaths.

Line and length, Minister, line and
length.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you very much.
And so digital fare media will have passenger
counters. It should have r eal-time location and should
allow or provide us the opportunity for digitised fare.
918 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Now, the passenger counters are a game
changer for the Department of Public Transportation.
Just as I am going to talk about later when it comes to
Marine and Ports, they have the data of how many . . .
we will have the ridership numbers. Passenger cou nters will allow us to compare and contrast the different routes and their performance levels. So we can look
at the popular routes and where we might need to a llocate more assets, more buses or we can then look
at reducing service to those undersubscribed routes.
So we come out with an efficient and effective service.
Now, with digital fare media, being in the digital age, it allow us to actually . . . Lawrence Scott, who
is down at the bus stop, across from Warwick Post
Office, can sit there and look at his phone and say,
Oh, the bus is just by Warwick Sec or T. N. Tatum. (I
am showing my age now.) And it has 13 people on
board. So I know I definitely will have a seat. And s o
that real time, real -world data is fundamental to the
way we do things.
Now, the digitised fare aspect is something
that you see starting to bubble now in other jurisdi ctions where I can pull my phone out. It has QR code; I scan the QR code and that is the fare. Or, instead of
having to go to the bus terminal and purchase the p aper tickets which means that we are using resources and paper and trees and are not environmentally friendly, the fact that I can use my phone to be able to
just scan, tap and go like we are getting used to, but
also for those . . . and it brought up, those who are not
technologically savvy. What you see in the United States, the MetroCard, and what you see in the UK
with the Oyster card, you can go and pay at a kiosk, just like us ing the ATM.
Therefore, we are actually really looking forward to this. It still has to go through the process. It is
still not a done deal yet but we are cautiously optimi stic that we will be able to bring this to fruition.
One question that I asked the director is that I
know that we have individuals right now in the back
office who actually count your tickets and count your
tokens on a daily basis. What happens to them? Do
they get let go? Do they get asked for early retir ement? No, Mr. Chairman. They are retooled. They are
now prepared and educated and put in charge of the back office aspect of the digital fare media. They are there and it is an amazing thing. Therefore, once
again, we are able to make a system more efficient.
More effective and not l ose any jobs. I hope you can
see why I am so excited to talk about this.
The other part of it is that digital fare media
allows DPT, which essentially allows the Ministry
which ultimately allows the Government to see where
the money . . . how much money is being left on the
table. Where it is and then it allows us to devise a plan
of how to get it. What do I mean by that? That means that if we are . . . we might be allocating too many assets to a certain bus run and saying, Hey, actually that
is undersubs cribed. We could put those assets els e-where. We might be able to do 1 and 2, skip a few
and do other things. And be able to look at how we better utilise our operators, how we better utilise our
maintenance specialists and the like. So once again,
that is showing us how much money is being left on
the table. And once you know where it is you can then
figure out how you can get it, thus giving the Bermuda
people value for money.
We are not doing this to make a profit. We are
not doing this to generate revenue. We are doing this
to provide a quality service. What has been lacking in Department of Public Transportation for quite a while,
I will be honest, is the lack of reinvestment in our r esources. And that is what we are doing now. And we
are doing it at the right time, in the right way.
So, while we talk about electrification, and I
am actually very excited about electrification, I want to move onto another part of public transportation. We—
me, the Minister, the Ministry and Department of Public Transportat ion—frequently get asked, What about
transporting those who are differently abled? Are
these new electric buses wheelchair accessible? Fortunately but unfortunately, they are not. And the rea-son they are not wheelchair accessible is because
there is a joint initiative going on between the Ministry
of Transport and the Ministry of Social Development
and Seniors.
We are looking at the creation of a paratransit
network, or a paratransit system, whichever term you
prefer. And the concept is based off of the fact that we
have all the ingredients to make this work. What are
those ingredients? Those ingredients are that we have 18 wheelchair accessible minibuses. We have two
wheelchair accessible taxis . And we have a popul ation and a demographic that would really subscribe,
want -to, need- to and would appreciate having door -todoor service, being able to get around the country as easily and conveniently as anybody else.
So the nut that we have to crack here is we
have to figure out how to connect the service provi ders with the customers. Let’s stick a pin in that for a
minute. Let’s go to, Why don’t we just use the DPT
buses? If we were to use the DPT buses, one of the
first things we would have address is renovating the bus stops. How many bus stops are there you as k?
Thank you. Good question, Mr. Chairman. Glad you
asked it. There are 700 bus stops on Island, approx imately, give or take. And we would have to renovate
pretty much each and every one of them.
Keep in mind, there are still areas that do not
have a phys ical bus stop, period. And so we would
have to possibly buy land to be able to accommodate
a bus stop, to put it up there and to make sure it fit.
But what happens when the next model of bus comes
out and it changes slightly? Do we have to rerenovate that ? And this is why we are saying [we
need a] paratransit network versus using the highvalue assets which is the DPT buses.


Bermuda House of Assembly But another question that has to be answered
is, What happens if Lawrence Scott who is differently
abled and is not able to make it to the bus stop in the
first place? How does that wheelchair accessible bus
aid him, assist him, serve him? And then that is where
we go back to the paratransit network. [There are] 18
wheelchair accessible minibuses, 2 wheelchair taxis.
The formula that we have to figure out is how
do we put those service providers in contact with those persons who would subscribe to the service.
And this allows for pretty much your on- demand service. It would be Lawrence Scott calling up, or
WhatsApp- ing . . . and once again we are working
through these [issues]. It is in its initial stages right
now. We are working through these types of ques-tions. How much does it cost? How do we fund it?
And the like. It is not something that I would anticipate
coming in this fiscal ye ar but it is something that we
are actively working on in this fiscal year.
While I talk about electrification, I want to just
shift from DPT to Marine and Ports. Now, I see the puzzled look on your face about electrification —
electricity and water, they don’t seem to mix. Aha! We are looking at . . . and once again, as part of the electrification of the public transportation system and network, the Ministry is in the initial stages, the very beginning, infancy almost of evaluating the possibilities of elect rifying our ferry service.
I am going to sit back, do a dramatic pause,
and let that sink in—electrifying our ferry service.
I am literally excited about this because once
again, we can sit there and utilise . . . for far too long
we have been told that our size —our small size, our
compact size —has been a setback. No longer are we
going to just take it as a setback. We are going to use
that setback and turn it into a setup for a comeback.
And what does that mean? We are going to look at
sustainability. We are going to look at making sure
that we can do things as sustainable as possible.
We see that oil is fluctuating. We have seen
all-time highs in the price of oil, which means that the
price of fuel for our vessels is going to go up as well. But if we were to be able to find an electric solution, and it is not just electrification, there are also hydr ogen options out there which, basically, their by -
product is water. And so, once again, these are the things that we are looking at right now and so this is
why we are very focused on optimising the best use of
our resources.
So when I come to the best use of the r esources, I am going to address the elephant in the
room. It is the pink elephant in the room. And that is the Pink Route.
Mr. Chairman, I see I have you on the edge of
your seat. And I know you are a numbers guy. So what I am going to do is I am going to share some numbers with you. We cancelled . . . instead of cancelled (it is such a harsh word), we suspended the Orange Route for two years because we did not have
the ridership.
Now, keep in mind for the listening public. The
Orange Route is primarily used to help connect Doc kyard and the cruise ships passengers, as the MPs for
constituencies 1 and 2 will say, where it all began in
St. George’s. No w, the Cup is not there, so I don’t
know why visitors are going down there because the
Cup is up there in Dockyard. Sorry, it’s in Somerset,
but—

Yes, I will take your point of order, MP
Swan.

[Crosstalk]

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I’m sorry. We are getting
into the summer months, so I have to support my
team, Somerset.
But once again, where it all began, St.
George’s —a UNESCO Heritage site. We need to
connect as many people as possible and for two years, two whole years, 600- plus days (I’m not that
good at math, but 600- plus days) without the Orange
Route. We now have the ridership. We have projected roughly 280,000 potential cruise ship visitors. And that
is a conservat ive estimate.
And a conservative estimate says that out of
those 280,000 cruise ship visitors, 75,000 will utilise
the Orange Route to get from Dockyard to St.
George’s, to where it all began, the Ducking Stool.
Everywhere, [down there] and around there. And so
therefore we can justify that this is value for money.
Mr. Chairman, $103 million in economic i mpact. We need to make sure that we transport as
much of that $103 million down to St. George’s and that is inclusive of all the taxes and fees, as the H onourable Member asked earlier.
But, how can we do this? I am going to throw
out another number. In order to provide all the services and amenities that Bermudians have come to
know, love and enjoy through the Ministry of Transport, if I had a magic wand (and I will wave my
magic highlighter) and I could get the budget that I
wanted, it would cost roughly $82 million to provide
everything that Bermudians have come to know and
love. And as you know, we were budgeted $72 million.
Keeping in mind that $11 mi llion of the $72 is allocated for the MRG at the airport. So that means roughly
$61 million is what we have to provide the services
that Bermudians have come to know and love.
Unfortunately, that is $20 million shy of being
able to provide us the full enc hilada, the whole nine
yards, as some would say. And so the decisions have
to be made. We have to look at what do we keep and
what do we suspend. And so the [for the] Orange
920 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Route we are projecting 75,000 people. And that is
over double the ridership of the Pink Route where we
can then . . . through cost savings of roughly
$776,000, because remember, as I said I was going to give you some numbers.
I don’t know if you are old enough, Mr. Chai rman, to remember 1987. It was a good year. I r emember the training wheels came off my bike. I also
came off my bike as well at the same time. But from
1987 to 1994 we basically lost 1,000 beds along Pink
Route, Harbour Road. And for those who do not know
the Pink Route, that is Belmont, Darrell’s Wharf, Salt Kettle, Hods on’s Ferry (where I used to fish a lot) and
Lower Ferry. We lost 1,000 beds between 1987 and
1994. Those were the years that justified the Pink Route. Those were the years . . . now, mind you. I am
not saying that the Pink Route started with 1987. It started way back when cabbage was ten cents a head
and you could buy a house for £50, and shillings and
thrup pence, and those types of names that my dad
talks fondly about.
Now, in 2008 we reclaimed 450 of those beds,
between 2008 and 2011, which means we are s till
[shy] approximately 550 beds. Let’s take those 550. Let’s translate those from beds to people. We are
roughly 550 people further shy of being able to get
value for money, justify the $850,000 overall, but the $776,000 in savings that we could. So if w e could get
550 locals per year, additional locals per year to take that Pink Route, we wouldn’t be having this convers ation. But 550 people cannot utilise that service. Why?
Mainly because there is not enough parking. Remember, that route was established with the hotel visitor,
the guest house visitor, the then vacation rental visitor
in mind, somebody who did not need the transport ation.
I understand it is a difficult decision. We are
trying our best. I am holding off as long as possible from suspending t hat route, trying to find any and ev ery way possible to see if we can keep it on. But, Mr. Chairman, it has been underperforming since before
Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D were in the magazines.
And so if you know hip- hop you would guess . . . I see
you smiling. I see . . . you know your music. You are a
music aficionado. I see that.
Once again, this is something that I am willing
to revisit in December. If we decide to suspend the Pink Route, this is something that we would be revisi ting in December once the cr uise ship season has
ended, or at least the official cruise ship has ended.
Now, Mr. Chairman, although I am a little di sappointed that we cannot be able to fully enjoy
homeporting this year, I am excited about the Ritz -
Carlton Yacht Collection and that i t is making a call
this year and doing a homeporting call next year. We are going to do everything within our powers. Hopeful-ly I can be charismatic enough on behalf of the Bermudian people to show them the Bermudian hospital ity. Show them the worth. Show them how valued their product would be here in Bermuda doing homepor ting, allowing our air visitors to be cruise visitors, and
our cruise visitors to be air visitors. And I am going to
be working as hard as possible to strengthen our rel ationship with Ritz -Carlton in the hopes [I will] be able
to encourage them to expand their homeporting from a single call to something more.
Once again, we are in the numbers season.
There are approximately 22 cruise ships in the entire world, whether you believe it is roun d or flat, there are
still [only] 22 cruise ships in the entire world that can
fit into St. George’s, and that number is rapidly decreasing. So this is why we are excited about the Ritz -
Carlton product as they have a yacht that we believe
can fit into all three ports. And this is why we are so
adamant about getting that Orange Route back up and running, showcasing, revitalising St. George’s.
St. George’s we heard you. We got your letter
[INAUDIBLE ]. But we got it. It came to us. But help is
on the way, St. George’s. The Orange Route will be
running. As soon as we can get it up and running we will have it there. And we are going to make sure that the schedule is done to complement the cruise ship
schedule.
With that, I can say now that the Ministry is
aware that our cruise ship partners are interested in
investing in Bermuda in a significant way. They are
looking to invest in upgrading Bermuda’s current cruise infrastructure. They believe in Bermuda. They
want to invest in Bermuda. The demand for Bermuda
is out there.
So I want to say it now that we have proof.
The proof is in the pudding. We have reputable companies looking, vying to invest in Bermuda. Inves tment could be anywhere from needing construction projects, which is job creation. It could mean addit ional services; expanded cruise ship seasons. All of these things are possible. All of these things are tangible. But they are, once again, in their initial phase. The seeds have been planted and green shoots are
sprouting through the soil right now.
And s o once again the Ministry of Transport
. . . we have a saying over here that there is no tourism without transport. So the fact is that looking and
positioning ourselves to be able to make ourselves as attractive . . . remember the saying that I said befor e.
The Ministry of Transport is focused on providing an
environment where job creation in the transportation
industry is favourable for the entrepreneur and the
small business owner. That is where this excitement
comes from. That is what we are doing. That is what
we are focused on. And so where we go . . . and we
are looking at making ourselves attractive, strengthening our Bermuda tourism product.
And the Ministry of Transport cannot take all
the credit. The Bermuda Tourism Authority has done
an amazing j ob. And I am going to show you the fruits
of their labour because they sit on the Air Service D evelopment Committee. I will get to that in a moment.


Bermuda House of Assembly But I am still excited about possible investment. It is in
its infancy now. The talks are just starting. We are just
getting an understanding of the scope of this inves tment. But we believe that if we were to expand . . .
and this is the [Minister] of Transport speaking, and I
am being biased. If we were to look at taking advantage of the potential investment opportunities that
this could help us temporarily offset the hotel occ upancy revenue. Just for the time being while we get
hotels developed, while we work with the Air Service
Development Committee which I am going to speak about not in the too distant future. It will help us mai ntain our competitive advantage, our competitive edge.
And as I said, there is possible job creation.
But I have to stress that these are still in the
very early preliminary stages. The other thing that I
am excited about which is a lot closer to home is the
[Bermuda] Water Safety Council chaired by Maxanne Caines, with Deputy Chair Arianna Hodgson and talented support by Roxanne Christopher. These three
young Bermudian women are going to usher in a new age of safety on our waters.
Now although I am an airline pilot, Mr. Chai rman, and many of the Scotts are accomplished mar iners, Scotts and Lowes, per se, are accomplished
mariners, I cannot say that I am an accomplished
mariner. But, Mr. Chairman, if I had the financial r esources of a Neville Tyrrell, I could go out and I could
buy myself a 50- foot Bertram or a Wellcraft. . . I am
just naming names right now. All I know is Boston
Whaler that I used to rent from Grotto Bay. But I could
go out and buy roughly any size boat, have no
knowl edge of the water rights . . . well, port versus
starboard, know what a no wake zone is, high tide and
low tide for that matter. But I can cruise anywhere in
Bermuda waters without any type of qualification and
this is something that the Ministry feels needs to be
looked at and addressed, and these three young
Bermudian women are taking on the task to put som ething in place and they are partnering with the Mar itime Institute.
I am going to go from a boating licence to a
regular driver’s licence. Before I get to Project Ride, I
am going to start with public service vehicles and I will
say modernisation.
The Opposition Shadow asked about the public service modernisation. Here is a high- level ove rview. The high- level overview is this, and these are
my words: There has been no significant modernis ation or additions to the public service vehicle industry in the recent past. And so what we are looking at . . .
and as I have said, we have talked about the potential
increase in cruise visitors. I am going to share about
the potential increase or projected increase in air vis itors.
We need to be able to prepare ourselves, our
infrastructure. Because remember, transport is about
getting people, Bermudians and visitors, on to the I sland, off of the Island, and moving them about the I s-land. And so we need to make sure that this infr astructure is in place prior to the increased demand.
And so what we are doing right now, we are looking at
the way that the public service vehicle industry is set
up.
We are looking at potential and inherent risks
and the way we look at it is that we put have put out a
concept. The concept is simple. It is saying let’s pr ovide an industry standard that all can agree to, all can
abide by and what we will do is that if . . . because
once again, we are looking to provide an environment
where job creation is favourable in the transportation
industry for small business owners and entrepreneurs.
The Ministry has put the concept out there to
the stakeholders and said, Here are things that you are doing already that fall into a grey area. Let’s look
at how that works. Here are things that you haven’t thought of doing that we believe could benefit you:
How to mitigate some of the risks to doing business;
how to provide better customer service; put in c hecks
and balances for consumer protection.
One of the things that was included in the
concept is that we have asked for feedback. And we
have gotten substantial feedback from the dispatc hers, from the minibus operators, from the taxis, from
the limos, from almost all of the major stakeholders.
Saying that if you were to create a company, TCD would recognise that company as being in control of the permit and we would allow you to have four additional vehicles under one permit.
We are proposing that if you are getting a taxi
permit, you no longer have to pay $103,000 per taxi.
You pay your $103,000 and you get up to five vehicles
underneath that permit. And during those times of
feast, you can have multiple lines out in the water. But
during times of fam ine, because they will come, the
owner would be able to theoretically sell off the differ-ent vehicles, while still holding on to the permit. Ther efore, you can now have multiple revenue streams, be
an entrepreneur, and if you are already an entrepr eneur yo u can transition into being small business
owner. And the fact that you will have more vehicles on the road, more public service vehicles on the road,
should translate, could translate, we project would
translate into shorter service times, or waiting for service times. It would introduce competition which
means that more people would be hungrier, per se, to
pick up fares here, there and everywhere.
But once again, we have put this concept out
to the stakeholders and we have received feedback.
We are analys ing the feedback now. The next step
would be to go back out with our interpretation and
how we feel we are moulding that and weaving their
feedback back into the basic concept; putting that
back to the stakeholders and allowing them time to
review it and g etting it back to us.
After we get it back from the stakeholders for
the second time, we would then take it out to public consultation. Have the public provide their feedback.
922 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly We then take that feedback and see how we can i ntertwine and weave that feedbac k into the grander
more robust concept, and then we take the findings
and the analyst out to the public and the stakeholders
for one final debut and sharing and then after that it would go through the implementation process.
Out of all of this, modernisati on is looking at,
as we are doing with the buses, looking at digitising the public service vehicle industry; looking at closing
long-standing gaps in service. And once again, pr eparing the industry to take advantage or at the very
least, be prepared, for t he projected and anticipated
increase in cruise and air arrivals over the medium
and long term.
Now under TCD also comes road safety, and
there is $90,000 in there for Project Ride. And Project
Ride comes, sort of, under the auspices of what we in
TCD and in the Ministry refer to as “Operation Caution.”
Operation Caution came out in 2018 and was
supposed to conclude next year, in 2023. But with COVID -19 and some of the setbacks we had due to
COVID -19 we are going to extend it until 2024. But
one of the si gnificant improvements that we are looking to make and that was detailed in the initial rollout
of Operation Caution is enhancing Project Ride to a llow for on the road experience with an instructor.
So as of right now, the first time our youth l icence hol ders go on the road and experience traffic is
after they get their licence. Yes, they have done Pr oject Ride, yes, they have they have done the yard
work . But if you look down into the training yard there
is no two- way traffic going on. So we believe it would
be a better quality training and educational experience to be able to have them spend 25 per cent of the time
that they are training in Project Ride on the road with
a licensed and certified instructor.
Now, as a pilot myself, that was part of what
we had to do. The first time I flew the plane by myself
was not with passengers in the back. I spent time fl ying by myself. Therefore. the set number of hours . . .
and we believe that this provides [experience]. We all
believe and we all trust in aviation and pilots when we
get on the plane. I remember my d ad saying when I
took him flying that he had never felt closer to God than at [that] time. I take that as a compliment.
But while we talk about flying, I think I can
now transition over to air service development.

Thank you, Minister. Before you tra nsition, if we could just pause there. Honourable Member and members of the listening public, this is the Committee of Supply for further consideration of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditur e for year
2022/23. This is a four -hour debate on the Ministry of
Transport. And Minister we have just under one hour
left in the debate which will end at 8:03 pm. So please
continue on the area to which you were transitioning. Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I only have an hour to talk
about air service development. Man! Okay. Let’s see if I can pull that one off. Let’s see if I can condense what
I want to say. So I will start with what I am most exci ted about.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry is aware of an applicat ion that has been submitted to the Bermuda Civil
Aviation Authority in regard to basing an airline here in
Bermuda. I’ve got goosebumps. I don’t know if you
have HD TV on your screen, you can see the goos ebumps and the hair standing on my neck, but we are
aware that there is an application to base an airline, or
at the very least an air service provider, here in Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry is also aware that
as of December 2021 and February 2022, job applic ations for Bermuda- based pilots and Bermuda- based
flight attendants also were in the public domain. As I
said before, the Ministry of Transport looks to provide
an environment where job creation and the transport ation industry are favourable for entrepreneurs and
small business owners. But, Mr. C hairman, this adds
a dimension to that. If this private entity. . . and I want
to stress that this has nothing to do with the Gover nment. This is a fully private entity applying on their own. If this entity comes into fruition, once again, that
is job creation. And I might be biased, but it is more than job creation, it is the creation of a career path that Bermudians like myself could never imagine but
always wanted to see happen here in Bermuda.
Where I could be based here in Bermuda, go to the
airport, get on an airplane, work that flight and end up back in Bermuda.
If you know anything about the aviation industry, and I know a thing or two, the quality of life som etimes for pilots when we are starting is not that glamorous. We get the short end of the st ick because we
get the last pick of the routes. That means you are
either doing the maintenance routes or you are flying the red eye on New Year's Eve or something like that.
And we are living in a crash pad. A crash pad is an
apartment where 15, 20 people will pitch into and as
our shift ends that is where we go. We are not all going to be there at the same time. But what this now
means is that there is an opportunity, the potential of an opportunity for Bermudians to expand their hosp itality skills becaus e I see flight and aviation as a form
of hospitality which is something that Bermudians ex-cel in.
Therefore, it is something that we could look
to implement and really embrace in our culture. And to give a very broad picture, historically, airlines have
played a significant role in the creation of cities, the
introduction of trade routes, the connecting of markets
and demographics. But here are a few numbers, Mr.
Chairman. The current air carriers that service the
country as we speak, Bermuda and our market represent one- tenth of 1 per cent of their total seat capac ity. One -tenth of 1 per cent of their total seat capacity!


Bermuda House of Assembly And in this post -COVID -19 environment, and the post -
COVID -19 aviation industry, airlines are no longer i nterested in breaking even. They are all about profit ability. They are going to allocate their high- value assets—the aircraft itself —to the highest performing j urisdictions, the highest yielding markets possible.
So if we represent one- tenth of 1 per cent to
those airlines, you see why we are seeing a trend of
seasonality versus daily service. It is nothing that
Bermuda has done wrong. This is nothing that the
Bermuda Tourism Authority could have avoided. Not hing that the Ministry of Transport could have done di fferently to change this out come. COVID -19 essentially
wiped out airline reserves. And they are focused on getting those results back as quickly and as effectively as possible. But if we have a Bermuda- based air service provider, Mr. Chairman, those statistics for all intents and pur poses would be flipped. [That means
that] 99.9 per cent of the seat capacity would be pre dicated from Bermudian travel trends, Bermudian pa tterns and behaviours which directly and indirectly would allow Bermudians to determine what cities and
what services are provided.
So, Mr. Chairman, we saw the Air Service
Development Committee, last year and the year be-fore, implement, institute and have a successful intr oduction of a nonstop Bermuda to Portugal flight. That
is a Bermudian- specific travel trend. And i t was su ccessful. The Miami route is Bermudian based, mainly driven by Bermudian travel trends. And so if you look
at our cultural connections, and if our cultural connections were to be any indication of where we would like
to travel . . . I am half Bermudian and half Jamaican. I
remember growing up I thought I was going to be a
reggae artist. I was going to be “ Scotty too Hotty ,” but
that is a different story. But with that Jamaican connection we might want, prefer, to have a nonstop flight
to Jamaica. There are people within my social circle
who have direct connections to the Dominican Repu blic. And I know that my colleague, Mr. Neville Tyrrell has connections with St. Kitts and Nevis. There are —

There were some questions that the
Shadow Minister had asked of you. Perhaps you might want to address some of those.

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Yes, I will. I will. And M r.
Chairman, I was told that the more double letters you
have in your last name means the more money you
have in your bank account. So that is why I only have
two Ts, nothing more. And probably less.
But, Mr. Chairman, I go back to our air service
development because it was asked at what point
would we no longer have to pay an MRG [minimum revenue guarantee] . And the quick and simple answer
is that our 2019 numbers were theoretically, statist ically barely above the threshold. So we would have to
get back t o our 2019 air arrival numbers to be outside
or above that MRG threshold. But, Mr. Chairman, this is why I stress, if it was possible, and if we see this . . .
and why the Ministry is hoping that it is possible and
we see that this locally based air servic e provider
comes to fruition, that [will be] more people who tra vel. Every person who travels through that airport, so
every person who travels on to the Island and off of the Island and goes through that airport contributes
roughly $100 toward mitigating the risk of having to
pay the full budgeted amount for the MRG. So the
more successful and the more flights we have, the less the Government and the taxpayer have to pay.
Mr. Chairman, I want to go into looking at ot her potential revenue streams. As I ment ioned, as I
alluded to, that the BAA [Bermuda Airport Authority]
has done a phenomenal job in providing oversight and
ensuring that the electricity usage is at a minimum,
therefore sowing an indirect/direct cost saving to the taxpayer.
The Ministry has al so instructed the BAA to
look at any and all possibilities for additional revenue streams. And the BAA has come back to the Ministry
and has highlighted that they have found a possible
new revenue stream which will take a few years to implement. But I want to let people know that we are
working on it, we are about to start on it now, and it is
about expanding our controllable air space. And the
further we can expand our air space, the more money
we can generate, the more revenue we can generate
for our coff ers and help once again to offset some of
these expenditures. And we are not talking about an
expansion of a few miles. They are suggesting that we
expand upwards to somewhere in the range of 250
miles. Thus every aircraft that flies through that [air
spac e] would have to pay the Bermuda Airport Authority for those air navigation fees. That would also cr eate more job opportunities in radar guidance, in air
924 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly traffic control, and the like. And once again, creating
career opportunities.
Now, I wanted to make s ure that I left some
time in case I did not answer all of the questions. I
tried to wrap all the answers into a more convers ational method than just a point and click, copy and
paste.
Mr. Chairman, I can be guided by yourself. If I
have answered all the q uestions or if you feel as
though I need to answer some others.

Thank you, Honourable Minister.
I suppose I will address this to the Shadow
Minister.
Shadow Minister, the Minister believes he has
now addressed the questions that you raise d in the
debate. I do not know if there are any points you want
to follow up on or come back to. If so, the Shadow
Minister has the floor, or indeed, should anyone else
want to put questions to the Minister on the Ministry.
We do still have approximately 40 minutes, give or take, left in the debate.
Shadow Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you, Minister, for that fulsome response.
Yes, I do have a couple of direct questions I
wouldn’t mind asking, but at this point they would be
just kind of random questions. So it might be easier to
kind of go back and forwards. It might just be yes or
nos. But just based on some of the notes that I made
listening to you, going back to the digital fare media.
So have we purchased that al ready?

Thank you, Member .
Minister.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you. We are trying to find a way and a formula that
allows us to keep it as low as possible. Once again,
this is something that as of right now, the way the
formula is that it would have to be Government subs idised. But as you can tell, and as I am going through,
our budgets are very tight which is why I say that while I am cautiously optimistic, I cannot confirm that it
will happen in this budgetary year.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
Just getting back to the Orange Route, I had
asked which ferry we would be using. Would be leasing the ferry from overseas like we did from Rhode Island in the past? Or would be using one of the ferries that we have in our fleet already? And also, what
the ticket cost would be and the estimated revenue we
might generate from that Orange Route.

Thank you, Shadow Minister.
Minister.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Yes, so we would be using
the ferries that are already in our fleet. We would be
using the crew that we already have with Marine and Ports. The ferry fee will remain the same. So you
would be able to generate . . . basically, if you project
roughly 75,000 people at our current fer ry rate, that
would be the revenue that we are looking to project.

Yes, just with regard to the
airlines and the airlift. Certainly that was an inspir ational s cenario that you presented to us and it does
sound as though it is exciting and has some prospect
and promise. But I was just wondering what we are
going to be doing this year to get those air passengers
coming through our airport for 2022 and whether we
think that we might be able to reach that baseline of
our 2019 numbers. And the reason I am asking is so
that we can get rid of that MRG and we can back on
an even keel and give the Government $30 million
bucks back, based on hard work. Because it is really
in our hands right now to get those air passengers back.

Minister.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Yes, thank you.
Shadow Minister, we are budgeting $4 million
for an air service development. So that $4 million is
going to once again do our best to position Bermuda
so that we do not have a repeat. We are going to try


Bermuda House of Assembly our best not to have a repeat of what we had last year
or earlier this year where we had five months of no
service to Boston. And some of that funding is coming
from the suspension or the potential suspension of the
Pink Route so that Bermudians needing [critical] medical care have direct access to Boston. Also, we are
trying to do our best to make sure that we protect and
provide consistent service to our key gateway cities.
The Cha irman: Thank you.
Shadow Minister, do you have any further
questions?

Thank you.
This was just a question on Head 48, the
overall Ministry of Transport Headquarters. I am sure I
am not the only one who is a little concerned about the state of the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority
[BCAA] just now and how the Government may be positioning itself to support BCAA in the event that
things deteriorate further and we are not able to generate the revenue from the certificates of airworth iness of the flights, the planes.

While you are looking at your notes,
let me take the opportunity just to remind Honourable
Members and those members of the listening public
that we are in the Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and E xpenditure for the budgetary year 2022/23. This is a
four-hour debate on the Ministry of Transport. The
Minister being the Honourable William Lawrence Scott
and he has been answering questions from the Honourable Shadow Minister, Ms. Susan Jackson.
Ms. Jackson, do you have further questions?

There was an answer on this area,
but Minister, could you answer perhaps this specific
question posed by MP Cannonier? Thank you.

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Yes, MP Cannonier, there
are 22 cruise ships in the world that can actually fit
inside St. George’s. And from my understanding none
of the cruise ships that I mentioned, none of the eight cruise ships that I mentioned are able to fit i nside St.
George’s. However, we are excited that the Ritz -
Carlton brand is looking to bring their Yacht Collection to Bermuda and we are going to look to strengthen
our relationship with them so that instead of having just one homeporting call, they can ex pand it into
something more than that. And that ship, my understanding from what I have seen the stats of it, can fit
into all three ports of call here in Bermuda.

Thank you.
Minister, I have a couple of questions and this
is really for my understanding. And this has to do . . . I
am coupling port dues and pilotage fees. And I am
just curious, given that we have revenue generation of
about [$732,000] in both areas, and in 2019 we were
earning about $732,000 in port dues. And we are expecting that again in 2022. But we are ultimately hav926 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ing fewer cruise ships than we did in 2019. So I am
just wondering what is making up the difference so
that we are still earning the same revenue? I threw out
the example of, Are we expecting more cargo ships, more fuel ships, or are the cruise ships larger so that we are charging more money based on size?

Yes, if you don’t mind.
Head 30, Marine and Ports, line item 40100
on page B -203, under maritime safety and security. I
was just curious if you could tell me a little bit more
about what that is exactly. And I noticed that the expenditure is $2.5- odd million, which is up 36 per cent,
or $679,000. And I was just wondering what the addi-tional cost is?

Thank you, Member.
Honourable Minister.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: No, just a correction. It did
not hit the beacon; it hit a reef out there. So there was
no damage to the reef . . . I am sorry, there was no
damage to the beacon. I’m sorry. I told you, I am not a
mariner. So if I can’t tell the difference between a
beacon and a reef . . .

There we go.
Thank you, Minister.
Honourable Shadow Minister, do you have
further questions?
While you are considering that, let me just
point out that w e have approximately 28 or so, 30
minutes about left in the debate. And again, for the
listening public and the Honourable Members, this is
the Committee of Supply where we look at the budget
and the budget E stimates of R evenue and E xpend iture for the year 2022/23. This is a four -hour debate
which is almost at an end concerning the Ministry of Transport. And we have been hearing from the Mini ster for Transport, Lawrence Scott, and the Shadow
Minister for Transport, MP Susan Jackson.
Shadow Minister Jackson, do you have any
further questions for the Minister?

Yes, I am just curious if the
Minister can shed some light on the situation with
moorings. My comments around that was that I noticed there are almost twice as many moorings as
there are boats and that we are earning or people
seem to be paying their licensing fees for their private
boats, but the 2022 moorings revenue was down
some $200,000. So my first question is, Were we able
to collect on revenue that was not paid for permits for moorings? And then why do we have twice as many


Bermuda House of Assembly moorings as we have private boats? I am just trying to
sort that out.

Okay. Thank you.
Honourable Minister, you have the floor.

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: I think that I am contri buting to that number because I am putting my bike
back on the road because it is cheaper to operate my bike than it is my car. So if we just have more people
who are licensing bikes versus cars and transitioning
. . . and I think the Shadow Minister spoke to it. She
went to an electric bike, but there are more people who are transitioning from cars to bikes.

Thank you, Shadow Minister. Honourable Minister, you have the floor. The
question concerns Head 35, pages B -213 through to
B-215.
Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: My understanding is that
. . . to be honest . . . and thank you for bringing that to
the attention that the 14 is actually a typo. There is no difference. We are having . . . we are replacing oper ators who have actually either retired or gone on to
other positions. So that is actually just a typo.

Yes, I have one other question. It is page B -214, under Head 35 and this is the
subjective analysis, so it doesn’t have a line item number. But it bus training; it is $20,000.
My question is not so much around the expense, but I am just curious, what or if there are pa yments involved with the trainers and mechanics and
such who have come to Bermuda in order to support
our local bus operating teams to manage the new
electric buses. I would imagine there will be some sort
of how to drive and manoeuvre from the drivers’ per-spective and operate the bus, as well as the maint enance of the bus. I am just curious whether we are
paying a separate amount of money for those trainers
who have come from the manufacturer to Bermuda to
set up our local teams.

Thank you, Shadow Minister.
Minister, you have the floor.

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: No, the training is included
in the procurement of the buses. So there is no additional fee. They are scheduled to be here for three
months and train our people in that time and then
Bermudians will pick up and take over from there. So
it is a train -the-trainer kind of situation.

Thank you, Shadow Minister.
Honourable Members and members of the
listening public, we are in the Committee of Supply for further considerati on of the Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2022/23. This is a debate on
the Transport Ministry’s budget. It is a four -hour debate. And I think we have got about 24 minutes left. It
is due to conclude at 8:03 pm.
928 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Do any Members wish to as k questions of the
Honourable Minister?
I see the Opposition office is on.

I see there is an estimate of
$3 million. I am wondering if the Minister can let me
know, is this for the new Resolute? I see that there is
a substantial amount of money for a new ferry here and I believe that there is another section back in the
B section as well. And I just curious whether these
higher costs are for a new ferry or a refit. If the Mini ster could just shed some light.

Thank you, Minis ter.
Shadow Minister, do you have any further
questions?
While you are considering that, let me open it
to the floor. Does any Member have any questions for
the Minister on the budget for the Ministry of Transport
for the year 2022/23?
It would appear not. Shadow Minister, back to
you or otherwise we will conclude the debate.
No? Okay.
Well, thank you, very much, Minister La wrence Scott. Thank you also to the Shadow Minister Susan Jackson and those other Honourable Members
who participated in the debate.
This has been the Committee of Supply for
further consideration of Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2022/23. It was a four -hour
debate running slightly short, but not much. And it
covered Heads 48, 30, 34 and 35.
Honourable Minister , would you kindly move
your heads?

Hon. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I move that Heads 48, 30, 34 and 35 be a pproved as printed.

Thank you, Members. The Committee
has asked to rise and report to sit again.
Are there any objections?
There are none.
Thank you, Members, for your participation in
today’s debate on the respective heads and depar tments that were debated.
We now move on to the Order Paper. I understand that tonight we are doing the second reading of
the Endangered Animals and Plants Amendment Act 2022 in the name of the Minister of Home Affairs.
Minister, are you ready to present your matter?

Hon. Walter H. Roban: No, Mr. Speaker, I thought I
was behind another Bill that was being done. I did not
realise I was up front, but I am ready.

Are there any objections?
There are none.
Continue Minister.

BILL

SECOND READING

ENDANGERED ANIMALS AND P LANTS
AMENDMENT ACT 2022
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise to introduce for its second reading the
Bill entitled the Endangered Animals and Plants
Amendment Act 2022.
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this Bill is to e nsure that Bermuda i s in compliance with the Conve ntion on International Trade and Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, commonly known as CITES,
to which we are a party through the United Kingdom.
There are presently 184 countries that are party to the Convention. And through local legislation Bermuda
plays its role in protecting endangered and threatened
species worldwide.
Mr. Speaker, in reference to CITES, one will
hear the terms “specimen” and “trade” used quite fr equently. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, permit m e to
explain those terms in the context of CITES. A “specimen” is not simply an animal or a plant that is regulated by CITES, but also any portion of that animal or
plant, whether it is dead or alive, and anything derived from that animal or plant. The ter m “trade” refers to
the occurrence of a CITES specimen crossing an i nternational border by human means, be it on a person, in a traveller’s luggage, via post courier or cargo.
930 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, annually international wildlife
trade is estimated to be worth bill ions of dollars and to
include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. Trade is very diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of products derived from them including food products, exotic leather
goods, wooden musical instr uments, timber tourist
curios and medicines. The exportation of these species is high, and trade together with habitat laws and
other factors have driven some species close to extinction.
Mr. Speaker, the CITES Treaty came to force
in 1975 to utilise regulation of international trade as a
means to curb destructive practices. CITES does not
regulate the harvest of natural resources for domestic
consumption but does regulate trade with specimens
across international borders. The Treaty aims to ensure that in ternational trade in specimens of wild an imals and plants does not threaten the survival of
those species and that proper protection is afforded to
those species when specimens are moved intern ationally so as to safeguard those resources for the
future.
Mr. Speaker, approximately [38,750] species
are protected by CITES. Approximately 5,950, or 15 per cent, of the species are animal and 32,800, or
85 per cent, are species of plants. CITES species are
listed amongst the three CITES Appendices, any type
of wil d plant or animal may be included in the Appendix. While the other charismatic and well -known creatures such as elephants, lions and whales are already
recognised examples of CITES species, the most numerous groups include many lesser -known plants and
anim als, such as aloes, pine trees, pitcher plants, corals, muscles, frogs and leeches.
In the Bermuda context, items present locally
that are covered by CITES include various animal species held by the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and
Zoo: the tortoise s; turtles ; otters; the crocodile; birds
of the parrot family; various antique items made of ivory; high- valued merchandise made of crocodile
hide, such as watchbands, belts and shoes; animal
skins, corals, conch, orchids, and other plants. Whether these items being moved for personal or
commercial reasons, they are subject CITES control.
Mr. Speaker, the legislation that brings CITES
to life and gives it force in Bermuda is our Endangered
Animal and Plants Act 2006. This Act has been r eviewed by the CITES Management Authority of the
United Kingdom, in the UK, the Department of Env ironment, Food and Rural Affairs, commonly known as
DEFRA, and the CITES Secretariat, and found to be out of alignment with the CITES Treaty, that is, the
existing Act, Mr. Speaker.
Some aspects of our Act were too strict and
others were too liberal. The amendments before this
House today will bring the local Act in alignment with
the CITES Treaty and standards adopted by other
parties around the globe. Additionally, the amend-ments codify key resolutions arising out of conferences of parties, thus bringing those resolutions into force. Specifically, some of the major amendments
are highlighted below:
• recognising hybrid animals and hybrid plants
and clarifying when CITES applies to these;
• creat ing a new definition to more clearly define the term “personal or household effects”
when these terms may be applied;
• empowering the Minister with discretion to a llow travellers limited quantities of CITES
spec imens without permit, CITES specimens
that are in transit or being trans -shipped to
Bermuda setting out when the restrictions of trade of endeavoured species may be exempted or waived;
• establishing appropriate enforcement actions
that can occur when violations are suspected,
even when such items have not fully entered
Bermuda;
• extending the maximum period of validity for
import permits from 6 months to 12 months;
and in the case of an export permit or reexport certificate from 3 months to 6 months.
• clarifying that the Department of Environment
and Nat ural Resources, commonly known as
DENR here in Bermuda, will be the local
Management Authority; and the Act provides
for functions to be discharged from the department;
• removing the requirement for the Minister to consult with the Management Authority before
giving policy directions;
• establishing the Scientific Authority and setting out procedures for appointment, constit ution, and proceedings of that Authority;
• granting additional powers to authorise offi cers to stop, detain, search and arrest any person w ho he personally suspects has commi tted an offence against the Act; stop, detain,
search and seize any vehicle or thing in con-nection with an offence appears to be being
committed against the Act; seize any spec imen he has reason to believe is being possessed or used in contravention of the Act;
• creating an additional offence pertaining to
any persons who possess or have any other dealing in any specimen that has been d erived from a specimen traded in a manner
contrary to this Act; and in keeping with other
offences, such an offence is punishable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
$1 million or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years, or both fine and impri sonment;
• establishing the court under certain conditions to make an order of forfeiture in respect of a
specimen seized under the Act where there is


Bermuda House of Assembly no conviction. This clause also enables di sposal or retention of any specimen so forfeited
after consulting with the Scientific Authority
and enables the Management Authority , DEFRA, to issue the appropriate permit or certif icate to facilitate transport overseas if neces-sary; and
• setting out the application procedure for forfei-ture of a specimen providing for such applic ation to be made by the Director of Public Prosecution and allowing t he court to hear
from anyone who may oppose a forfeiture order.
The Act also provides for payment of charges arising
with respect to storage, maintenance, security, et
cetera, of the specimen.
Mr. Speaker, I can say that the UK Gover nment and the CITES Secretariats have been consul ted throughout the preparation of this proposed legisl ation to ensure compliance with the Treaty. And I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, and this House, that a co nsiderable amount of time has been taken to communicate between our tec hnical officers, Chambers and
the UK Government on this. It has taken quite a bit of
time and so this is a very thorough job which needs to
be done on a . . . you now, whenever it is done by not
only our Authority but also the UK Authority to ensure
that our legislation is in line with the CITES Treaty.
By enacting this legislation, Bermuda will have
an Act deemed by the UK Management Authority and the CITES Secretariat as fully compliant with CITES.
Going forward we will still need to re- establish the
Scientific Authority so as to fulfil its role as defined by
the Act. This will be done shortly upon approval of the
amended legislation.
Mr. Speaker, in closing I would like to thank
Dr. Jonathan Nisbitt, the Chief Veterinary Officer; and
Ms. Lauren Francis, P arliamentary Counsel who
worked diligently in the drafting of this Bill.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I will now happily entertain any further submissions on this debate. Thank you.

Thank you, very much, Mr.
Speaker, and I thank the Honourable Minister for his
very detailed presentation to the House.
As the Minister pointed out this is an amending Act and its purpose is to ensure that the principal
Act, being the Endangered Animals and Plants Act
2006, some 16 years ago, is updated and modernised
to reflect the decisions taken pursuant to the Conve n-tion on International Trade and Endangered Species
and Wild Fauna and Flora, which the Minister has di scussed. And that is in effect what this amendment Act
is seeking to do. It is in relation not just to animals but
to plants as well, as the Minister has po inted out.
I would like to just say a few things about the
amendment Act, but what I would invite the Honour able Minister to do by way of response I think is to give a little bit more in terms of the practical effect and how
this amending Act relates to Bermudians and what
practical effects this will have.
It seems to me that what the amending Act is
doing is obviously vesting in the Management Author ity (and the Management Authority for the purposes of the Act is the Department of Environment and Natur al
Resources), certain powers and oversight functions whilst at the same time, at clause 31 in the Schedule, there is the creation or the proposed creation of a Sc ientific Authority.
Before I come on to just quickly talk about
what the Management Authori ty is going to be doing
under this Act, I would invite the Honourable Minister secondly by way of response, in addition to the pract ical effect of the amending Act, if he could say just a
little bit more about the Scientific Authority. He said
that it will be put in place within a reasonable
timeframe. Perhaps he could just talk to that a little bit more. I appreciate that clause 31 in the Schedule
there under —

Great! I am so sorry.
Mr. Speaker, what I was inviting the Honour able Minister to do secondly was to discuss with a little
bit more detail how he sees the Scientific Authority
working, how it will be populated, the sort of timeframe
it will be until it is in place. Obviously there are some
specifics as to structure which are already provided
for in the Schedule at the new clause 31 of the Bill.
Moving then to the Management Authority,
Department of Environment Resources, what we see
is that there will be amendments to the function of the
department, albeit those are desc ribed as minor. One
of the major things that is noted is that there will now be a requirement for publication of the various appen-dices, thereby making the public aware of Appendix I,
II, and III which I believe are taken from the A ppen932 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly dices to the Convent ion itself, which set out the species in the various categories. Appendix I being those
threatened with extinction, Appendix II being those not
necessarily threatened, and Appendix III species that
are protected in at least one country that has asked other Convention States for assistance in controlling
the trade of those species.
So we are going to have a publication r equirement on the department to make the public more
aware. In addition, there will be an approval process
set out and also there is some certification processes
set out for captive breeding, et cetera, artificial prop agation and the like.
So, against those brief remarks . . . one other
point. A third question for the Minister. This Bill is i mposing criminal sanctions, and quite stringent c riminal
sanctions. I am just wondering whether or not those sanctions are mirroring the provisions in the UK. I note
that the Minister in his brief said that liaison had occurred with the United Kingdom and revision of the
previous principal Act of 2006 and the updating prov isions, so are those criminal offences akin, or similar,
or the same as the ones in the UK? Or are they crim inal provisions that flow from the Convention itself?
I’m not sure if anyone else on my side has further things to say. I do hav e one or two questions for
the Minister in Committee. But if he could address
those three points that I have identified it does seem
that this amendment Act is in line with global good
practice in the Convention and it is understandable
that a Bill from the principal Act of 2006 is being u pdated and modernised in this way. So thank you,
Honourable Minister. And thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Opposition Leader, you have the floor.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you. First of all, I
would like to begin by saying that I fully endorse this
legislation. And what I have learned helps our fauna
and flora to be traded in a responsible manner. I am very supportive. I won’t be very long. I just have a few
comments that I would like to make and also some
concerns.
I will start off where my colleague finished. We
are modelling after the UK. Have we also looked at
the EU? Because they have similar legislation and sometimes the UK and the EU work together on craf ting CITES legislation and the international standards
for this type of regulation. So I was just wondering
whether we had any input from EU on this matter as well.
The other issue that I questioned covers as
the Minister rightly said, animals, plants and any de-rivatives. Animals I can understand. But what causes
me concern is medicines. Medicines derived from
plants. You may travel overseas and you might ask
the pharmaci st, or if you are in Africa or South Amer ica you might say, Can you give me a prescription, a
natural homeopathic prescription for weight loss, or my migraines. And they put together some prescri ption for you. Well, you are not aware that this plant
may be on the CITES list and you bring it in and you
say to the Customs, Well, this is such -and-such and it
was given to me for my migraines.
Or if you go to another country, and I know for
malaria, they have this plant that is called Artemisia.
And again, you come back home and you keep it for
your next trip, and at Customs [they] say, What’s this?
And you say, This is my medication for malaria.
So I am concerned that people will be caught
out, number one, by not really understanding their plants that have been prescribed to them. And the
second part of the problem is some of these prescri ptions may have plants in them that are on the CITES
list.
So what type of protocols do we have in place
for these types of medications and prescriptions in
regard to importation to Bermuda by innocent people?
They are not trying to smuggle anything. They are not
pharmacists. They are not chemists. And if you ask for some medication and they give you medication and the back of the label it says such- and-such, will Cu stoms be prepared to examine everyone’s medication
when they come through our borders?
So the question becomes, Are we going to, in
essence, further educate our Customs on prescri ptions and our pharmacies and wholesale companies
who bring in prescriptions, will the y be educated in
this respect? I think medicine will be our biggest challenge going forward, as I said, because most prescri ptions are from natural processes, natural plants, et
cetera.
The other issue and the Minister will know
this, I think at one point in time people were able to
bring in orchids from Singapore, from overseas. And
so my question to him now is, yes, we can prescribe
standards. Who will be responsible for issuing the
permit? Will it be the plant lab, under Ms. Thompson, or will it be the Management Authority? Will [INAUD IBLE] plant lab and even for animals, you know, the
veterinary provides you with a permit to bring in an imals or to take out animals. So if you have a permit to
trade or export an animal will that still go through Jonathan’s area? And will the plants going out of the
country still go through the plant lab or will that go through the Management Authority. I just want to see
how the synergy would apply in that case.
I think that is about it for me. I just had those
concerns . As I said, I am very supportive of what is
going on in this legislation and I have no objections.
Oh, I know what it was. The Management Authority.
The legislation will support it or give it teeth, is that


Bermuda House of Assembly restricted to the CITES legislation only? Or is there
other legislation that will feed and support the Management Authority and the Scientific Authority? Or is
that authority underscored by CITES legislation only
and nothing else?
And those are my questions and comments.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The S peaker: Thank you, Opposition Leader.
Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time?
No other Member.
Minister, would you like to wrap up and take
us to Committee?

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you
for the questions. T here were a number of questions
asked by the two Honourable Members who actually
spoke. One Honourable Member asked something as
to what are some of the loopholes that these amendments are plugging. One of the set of gaps that it is plugging is the effect of specimens that are mailed
and couriered into the Island. The current legislation
limits our ability to effectively enforce, and the
amendment will address . . . this is just one of the
amendments that the . . . this is just one of the issues
that the am endments will address.
In relation to the Scientific Authority, the Sc ientific Authority provision has been in there since
2006, there just has not been any action to fill it so we
will make steps to do that now following these
amendments.
One of the rol es of the Management Authority
is obviously, and as I stated, to make sure there is a list of all species that come under the CITES Treaty,
and by extension the Bermuda legislation. While that
particular list is already available, it is attached to the
international treaty, there will be a link attached to via
our own portal to that so that the list can be seen by everyone. It is an international list, so it is not a list
that we have to create ourselves. It is an extension of
the Treaty. So it will be for everyone to see as it is
right now via online if anyone wants to go and look at what the items are under the Convention, the 38,000
plants and the 5,900, nearly 6,000 animals that are
covered, of which some are clearly in Bermuda.
How will the Appendices be published? They
will be published by the CITES website. The Scientific
Authority —please be more descriptive. Local scie ntists, researchers and biologists will be identified to be on that side of the Committee. Their term will be three
years and their m embership will be gazetted just we
do with other boards.
An interesting comment in relation to medicines and plants that are to be used as medicines.
Well, that is an interesting comment and question, but medicines are of course imported into Bermuda.
Many, many of our medicines are derived from plants,
as has been stated. Well, medicines actually come under the jurisdiction of the department and Ministry
of Health. So anything that we might find that might
perhaps cross some border, we will not only cons ult
with the Management Authority in the UK to get any clarity, or the CITES Secretariat, we will consult with the Ministry of Health.
So if there is anything that might come up that
we might find we need to get some clarity on, we will go through that process here locally, to inform us. So
we can certainly consult with international advisors on
this which sit in the DEFRA [Department of Environ-ment, Food and Rural Affairs] Ministry in the UK and
perhaps even the Secretariat under the United N ations who oversee the Treaty to get clarity if those sort
of circumstances arise here with different plants that
people may want to import.
But as you know, at our border, Customs is
the main enforcer. They work with our department of course because we import into Ber muda plant mater ial and other things all the time. Many of the people who do this sort of trade under the definition of “trade”
under the CITES Act already know the rules. And they follow the rules. They apply in the appropriate way
and they consult with our own DENR [Department of
Environment and Natural Resources] department so
they can follow the rules. We guide them appropriately
on those types of applications. But most of the people who will be doing this are people who are doing it now. It is not like ly to be something that the general
public enters into. But if anybody were to want to do
that, they would want to consult with the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources so that they can ensure that they are compliant.
One of the reasons why, Mr. Speaker, we
have to ensure that Bermuda is compliant with the
CITES is because that is what allows us to have certain species here under the care of even the Aquar ium. We could not bring certain species into Bermuda
without being subject to the Treaty and ensuring that
we are compliant. It would not be allowed under international Convention. So we have to make sure that
Bermuda is compliant, not only so that we can ensure
that the species that the Aquarium are taking care of –
–and that we can work with eve n other museums
around the world to do what we do around animal
care and attention and bringing animals in here.
There are private individuals who may want to
do it as well. If Bermuda is not compliant, it just cannot happen. So that is one of the reasons why we must
keep this body of legislation up to date. Obviously, we go through a very meticulous process, as I reminded earlier, with the UK Government in this because it is
an international treaty of which they are [INAUDIBLE ]
to be compliant and this is of course extended to
Bermuda.
I believe I have answered all of the queries
and questions. One thing I must remind, I know there
was some comments about animals and plants. This
is about endangered species. There are some more
934 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly common species that are not endangered which
would be governed by other bodies of legislation. So
this covers things that are globally known to be under
threat, that are sensitive to biodiversity and movement
of them around the world has impacts, as I said, dead or alive or some part of these species. So this governs
that.
So your common variety of horses and dogs
and chickens —no. We are talking about more exotic
animals that are certainly things that we want to en-sure are protected from international exploitation, and any by-product of those animals and plants. So that is
what this body of legislation is for. It is not for the
movement of your general animal species or domest icated ones that are not under threat.
So with that Mr. Speaker, I would ask that the
Bill be committed.

Thank you very much. Thank
you, Honourable Minister .
You said you would address the questions. I
think you might have overlooked one. Or perhaps you answered it and I missed it. I just asked about the criminal offences and whether those flow from the UK
provisions or from the Convention itself. Thank you.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I have one too, Mr. Speaker, that he did not answer.

Thank you. Thank you so much. It is
very kind of you.

[Laughter]
Hon. Walter H. Roban: This Bill seeks to amend the
[Endangered Animals and Plants Act 2006] (the “Act”)
to facilitate compliance wit h the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) and make consequential and relat-ed amendments
Clause 1 provides the citation for the Bill.
Clause 2 amends section 2 of the Act to r evise some existing terms and to insert definitions in
relation to new terms. This clause also inserts new
subsection (3A), which clarifies those instances when a specimen is not to be taken to have been imported
into or exported from Bermuda. This provision was
previously captured und er section 5 and has been
relocated to section 2. Finally, this clause inserts new
subsection (4A) which sets out the circumstances under which a hybrid may be treated as being included in a specific Appendix.


Bermuda House of Assembly Clause 3 repeals section 5 of the Act and i nserts in its place the heading “Part II Administration .”
This change recasts what constitutes Part II and the
provisions previously set out in section 5 have been
recast under new Part IIIA.
Clause 4 repeals and replaces section 6 of
the Act to require the Management Authority (the D epartment of Environment and Natural Resources) to publish the Appendices, any amendments, and any
reservations entered for or in relation to Bermuda in
respect of any amendments to the Appendices. This clause provides that public ation shall be deemed to be
fulfilled by depositing such documents for public i nspection or by publishing a web address that provides a link to such documents.
Clause 5 amends section 8 of the Act, with
respect to the list of matters of which the Management Authority must be satisfied when making an order for
a scientific institution or an individual person to be an
approved scientific institution or person. This clause
amends this list by removing the requirement for a
scientific institution to be owned, c ontrolled or admi nistered by the G overnment of Bermuda or any other
State. This clause also provides for the form of appl ication for an order under this section to be determined
by the Management Authority and provides for an accompanying fee to be prescri bed.
I just want to pause here. Mr. Chairman, I
must apologise. I did not make the request that I move all clauses. I forgot to make that request of you. May I
now just stop and make that request that I move all
the clauses for this proposed Bill?

The C hairman: You can.

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you very much. I just
wanted to make sure I acted appropriately in this, Mr.
Chairman. There are about 34 clauses. I will just go
right through. I think I ended at clause 5. I will reread
clause 5 just for edi fication.
Clause 5 amends section 8 of the Act, with
respect to the list of matters of which the Management Authority must be satisfied when making an order for a scientific institution or an individual person to be an
approved scientific institution or p erson. This clause
amends this list by removing the requirement for a
scientific institution to be owned, controlled or admi nistered by the G overnment of Bermuda or any other
State. This clause also provides for the form of appl ication for an order under t his section to be determined
by the Management Authority and provides for an ac-companying fee to be prescribed.
Clause 6 repeals section 9 of the Act. The
provisions previously set out in that section have been
recast under new Part IIIA.
Clause 7 amends s ection 10(2) of the Act to
specify that the Management Authority, in issuing a captive breeding certificate, shall issue such certificate
in accordance with section 19 of the Act. Clause 8 amends section 11 of the Act to
specify that the Management Authori ty, in issuing a
certificate of artificial propagation, shall issue such
certificate in accordance with section 19 of the Act.
This clause also provides for the Minister responsible for the environment to make, by way of regulations,
such provisions as are considered necessary for reg ulating the artificial propagation of plants.
Clause 9 repeals section 12 of the Act. The
provisions previously set out in that section have been
recast under new Part IIIA.
Clause 10 repeals and replaces section 13 of
the Act to remove the requirement for the [ design ation] of the Management Authority and establishment
of the Scientific Authority to be done by order published in the Gazette. This clause provides, more
simply, for the Department of Environment and Nat ural Resour ces to be established as the Management
Authority under the Act and provides for the functions
of such Authority to be discharged by that department.
This clause also provides for the establishment of the
Scientific Authority under this section and provides that the Schedule has effect with respect to the appointment, constitution and proceedings of that A uthority.
Clause 11 amends section 14 of the Act to
remove the requirement for the Minister to consult
with the Chairman of the Management Authority be-fore giving policy directions.
Clause 12 amends section 15 of the Act to
make minor amendments with respect to the functions of the Management Authority. Such changes include; (i) determining, in consultation with the Scientific A uthority, national quotas in relation to the importation of
any species where it considers such quotas justifiable
having regard to the population of that species;
(ii) clarifying that the preparation by the Management
Authority of annual reports regarding trade in endangered species of animals and plants should include reports regarding illegal trade; (iii) requiring the Ma nagement Authority to prepare [implementation] reports
regarding any legislative, regulatory and administr ative measures taken to enforce the Convention; and
(iv) requiring the Management Authority to prepare
such other reports as the Secretariat may, from time
to time, request under the Convention.
Clause 13 amends section 16 of the Act to
make minor amendments to subsection (2)(f) to cor-rect the reference stated th erein.
Clause 14 amends section 17 of the Act to
make a minor housekeeping amendment, and to give discretion to the Minister responsible for the environment to lay a copy of the Scientific Authority’s annual
report before the Legislature.
Clause 15 amends section 19 of the Act to
enable an application for any permit or certificate under this section to be made in such form as the Ma nagement Authority may determine.
936 16 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Clause 16 creates a new Part for sections 20
[to] 30 by inserting in respect of those provisi ons the
heading “PART IIIA TRADE IN PERMITTED CASES .”
Clause 17 amends section 20 of the Act to
remove both scientific research and a transfer from
one scientific institution to another scientific institution
as requirements for the granting of an export c ertificate for an Appendix I specimen. This clause then
inserts, as requirements for export under this section,
that the Management Authority be satisfied that the specimen is not intended to be used for primarily commercial purposes and that any trade in the spec imen is not primarily commercial [in] nature.
Clause 18 amends section 22 of the Act to
remove both scientific research and a transfer from one scientific institution to another scientific institution
as requirements for the granting of a re- export certif icate for an Appendix I specimen. This clause then inserts, as requirements for re- export under this section, that the Management Authority be satisfied that
the specimen is not intended to be used for primarily commercial purposes and that any trade in the spec imen is not primarily commercial [in] nature.
Clause 19 amends section 28 of the Act to
make a minor housekeeping amendment.
Clause 20 inserts new Part IIIB, which sets
out when the restrictions on trade in endangered spe-cies may be exempted or waived. Such exemptions or
waivers apply, as set out in new sections 30A to 30F,
to a pre- convention certificate, personal or household
effects, a travelling- exhibition certificate, specimens in
transit, the trans -shipment of specimens and sample
collect ions, animals bred in captivity, artificially prop agated plants, and the inter -scientific institution transfer
of certain specimens. Such instances were previously
captured under other sections of the Act but have
been recast under this Part and in some cases modified to give better effect to the requirements under
CITES.
Clause 21 amends section 31 of the Act to i ncrease the maximum period for which certain permits
or certificates, granted under the Act, shall be valid. In
the case of an import permit the period shall be i ncreased from six months to twelve months, and in the
case of an export permit or re- export certificate, the
period shall be increased from three months to six
months.
Clause 22 amends section 36 of the Act,
which deals with appeals agains t a decision of the
Management Authority, to require the Minister, when
forwarding a copy of his decision on appeal, to also
forward the reasons for that decision.
Clause 23 amends section 40 of the Act to
provide for an additional offence against the Act for
any person who possesses or has any other dealing
in any specimen that has been derived from a spec imen traded in a manner contrary to this Act. In keeping with other offences, such an offence is punishable
on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $1 mil-lion dollars or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding
three years or both fine and imprisonment.
Clause 24 amends section 45 of the Act to i nclude as being subject to forfeiture, any specified
equipment seized under section 44 or under new sec-tion 45A.
Clause 25 inserts new section 45A into the
Act which provides for additional powers of authori sed
officers. Under this section an authorized officer may
(i) stop, detain, search and arrest any person whom
he reasonably suspects has committed an offence
against the Act; (ii) stop, detain, search and seize any
vehicle or thing in connection with which an offence
appears to have been committed against the Act; and
(iii) seize any specimen he has reason to believe is
being possessed or used in contraventi on of the Act.
Finally, this section provides that for the purposes of enforcing the Act, an authori sed officer shall have the
power of a police officer.
Clause 26 amends section 46 of the Act to
clarify that the application procedure for forfeiture as provided for in this section is in relation to specified equipment.
Clause 27 repeals and replaces section 47 of
the Act to [ enable] specimens, in respect of which
there is a conviction under the Act, to be forfeited to
the Management Authority and to enable the court, under certain conditions to make an order of forfeiture in respect of specimens seized under the Act where
there is no conviction. This clause also enables the
Management Authority, after consulting with the Sc ientific Authority, to dispose of ( or retain) any spec imen so forfeited and enables the Management A uthority to issue the appropriate permit or certificate to
facilitate disposal. Finally, this provision provides that
where a person is convicted of an offence under this
Act, the court may order that person to pay any
charges arising with respect to the storage, maint enance, security , et cetera, of the specimen.
Clause 28 inserts new sections 47A and 47B
into the Act. Section 47A sets out the application pr ocedure for forfeiture of a specimen and provides for
such application to be made by the Director of Public Prosecution. This section also provides for any person
who is prejudiced by a forfeiture order of a specimen to make an application for [ such ] an order to be r evoked and for such person to pay any charges arising
with respect to storage, maintenance, security , et
cetera, of the specimen. Section 47B sets out the pr ocess for making an appeal against an order of forfeiture of a specimen or of specified equipment.
Clause 29 amends section 48 of the Act to
make a minor housekeeping change.
Clause 30 repeals and replaces section 52 of
the Act in order to correct several drafting infelicities.
Clause 31 inserts the Schedule into the Act,
which sets out the appointment, constitution and other provisions relating to the Scientific Authority.


Bermuda House of Assembly Clause 32 is a transitional, validation and savings provision. Further to the amendments under the
Bill to establish the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources as the Management Authority and
to esta blish the Scientific Authority without the need
for an order published in the Gazette , this clause
seeks to validate any functions in respect of these
Authorities carried out in accordance with the Act prior to this Bill coming into operation.
Clause 33 ma kes a consequential amendment to section 2 of the Care and Protection of Ani-mals Act 1975, to provide that nothing in the applic ation of Part II of the 1975 Act (which relates to the i mportation of animals) shall derogate from or abridge any provisions of the Act.
Clause 34 provides for the commencement of
the Bill.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We have actually covered quite a lot in the
debate so I am pleased to say I only have two questions for the Minister. One is really a point of curiosity,
but the other is a practical question.
The f irst relates to clause 4 which starts at
page 4 of the Bill and goes on to page 5 of the Bill. My
question arises at page 5 of the Bill. And it is where
we are talking about the requirement of the Depar tment of Environment and Natural Resources to pu blish. And we discussed that in the debate. But the
question I had is this. Under [clause 4, new section]
6(1)(c) the Management Authority there has to publish
things, including under (c), “ any reservations entered
(pursuant to the Convention) for or in relation to Be rmuda in respect of any amendments to the Appendices .”
So the Appendices, as we know from earlier
discussion, are the endangered species animals or
the categories of them, some of which are enda ngered and some less so. Are there any reservations
entered, pursuant to the Convention for Bermuda as a
matter of practicality or is that just otiose?
And that is one question that I have, really just
a curiosity. The second question is a practical question, Mr. Chairman. With your leave, I will just put
them both at the same time.

And that arises at clause 20 of
the Bill and that is on page 8 of the Bill. And clause 20
is inserting Part IIIB after [Part] IIIA, and it provides
effectively the exemptions to the trade restrictions.
I note that under the inserted exemptions
there is going to be a new 30A being inserted into the principal Act. And I note that under (b) there, under
30A(b), there will be a disapplication, so there will be
an exemption to the trade restriction, a disapplication
to a particular specimen “where the specimen is ac-companied by a valid pre- Convention certificate or
permit issued by the Management Authority of the
State of origin showing that the specimen was acquired before the relevant provisions of the Convention applied to that specimen.”
So what I understand that to mean is that
somebody could have a relevant specimen and could provide a certificate from the State of origin, which is
not Bermuda, from a Management Authority external
to Bermuda, and my question is, Is it right there that
we would accept certification for a specimen coming
into Bermuda where a Management Authority from a foreign state has provided a certificate showing that it
predated the Convention? So I was just looki ng for
clarity on that practical importation question.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, those are my only
two questions on the Bill.

Mr. Cole Simons, you have the floor.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you.
Back to [clause 4, new section] 6, subsecti on
(2), on the amendments to the Appendix. The Management Authority has an obligation to deposit them
and make them public on websites. My question is:
Will the access to this information be free of charge?
And will one be able to get a hard copy if reques ted?

Minist er.

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Can the Honourable Member
tell us what clause he is referring to in the amending
Bill?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: [Clause] 8.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Yes.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: “The Minister may, by reg ulations made under section 53,” (this is new section
subsection (6)) “make such provisions as are consi dered necessary for regulating the artificial propagation of plants .” So I am just asking whether [these changes
will]—
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: —be made by the negative
resolution or affirmative?
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Negative. But I will get clarity.
But yes, it is actually negative. I have confirmed from
my technical advisors that it is negative.

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

The Cha irman: Mr. Simons, anything further?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Yes, I have one more.
You spoke about quotas and limits, I think in
either [clause] 10 or 11. So when the Authority posts
or changes quotas and limits, they will also be published on the websit e. How long will it take for them to
publish those changes, i.e., the new quotas and new
limits?