March 2, 2022

Thank you.

The President: Thank you.
Senators, Opposition Leader, Mr. Cole S imons would like to have some photographs taken and
so we will just have a few minutes for that to take
place.
[Crosstalk] CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES
[Minutes of 2 3 February 2022 ]

The President: I call on Senator Michelle Simmons,
Vice President of the Senate.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Good morning, Madam
President .
The President: Good morning.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the Minutes of the meeting of Wednesday, the
23
rd of February 2022, be taken as read.
The President: Is there any objection to that Motion?
No objection.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the Minutes of Wednesday, the 23
rd of February
2022 , be confirmed.
The President : Is there any objection to that m otion?
No objection. The Minutes are confirmed.
Thank you, Senator Michelle Simmons.

[Minutes of 23 February 2022 confirmed]
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.

MESSAGES
The Clerk: There are n o messages, Madam Pres ident.
The President: Thank you, Mr. Somner .

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
The President: There are none.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
The President: We have one announcement in the
name of the Junior Minister of Finance, Senator Ar ianna Hodgson.
Senator, you have the floor.
154 2 Mar ch 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate 2021 NATIONAL ECONOMIC REPORT
OF BERMUDA

BERMUDA FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY PANEL —
ANNUAL ASSESSMENT 2021

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE
CONSOLIDATED FUND OF THE GOVERNMENT
OF BERMUDA FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31 MARCH 2021

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I hereby present the follo wing reports for the information of Senate : The 2021
National Economic Report of Bermuda as produced by the Ministry of Finance; the Bermuda Fiscal R esponsibility Panel —Annual Assessment 2021; and the
Financial Statements of the Consolidated Fund of the
Government of Bermuda for the year ended 31
March
2021.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson.

NOTICE S OF MOTION S
The President: There are none.

PETITIONS
The President: There are none.

STATEMENTS
The President: We have no Statements today.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS
The President: There are none.

QUESTION PERIOD
The President: There are none.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: The first Order of the Day is the second reading of the Matrimonial Causes (Faultless D i-vorce) Amendment Act 2022. And that is in the name of Senator the Hon. E. G. A. Peets, Spokesman for
Legal Affairs and the Government Leader in the Senate.
Minister Peets, you have the floor.

This Bill amends the
Matrimonial Causes Act 1974 to reform the current
legal process for obtaining a divorce, nullity of marriage or judicial separation , [and] for related matters.
The Bill represents the first part of a raft of reforms aimed to modernis e matrimonial law in Bermuda. The
proposed amendments in this Bill are to statutorily aid
in the reduction of conflict between persons applying
to court for divorce, nullity of marriage or judicial sep aration, by reframing the prescribed procedures and
formalities affecting the most contentious parts of the
court process for di vorce.
This Bill, Madam President , will principally
usher in a new —and much needed— legal process
which replaces the requirement for persons seeking a
divorce to satisfy the court of “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage by proving “evidence of conduct,”
sometimes referred to as “separation facts” during the
divorce proceedings. The proposed amendments will
allow, instead, either party to a marriage to apply for a divorce order and to provide a “statement of irretrie vable breakdown” as conclusive evidence that the mar-riage has broken down irretrievably .
Madam President , the se kinds of reforms to
matrimonial laws are commonly referred to as “no-fault” or “faultless” divorce regimes. They are al so so
called because they remove the unhelpful blaming
and shaming associated with having to prove, in court,
that the conduct of anot her party is at fault for the
breakdown of the marriage.


Bermuda Senate Madam President , allow me firstly to frame
the current law at it stands. A person, the petitioner,
may apply for a divorce if he or she proves to the
court that the marriage has irretrievably broken down
and that one of five facts referred to in the statute are
relevant to the marriage breakdown.
Three facts are based on conduct (adultery,
behaviour commonly referred to as “unreasonable
behaviour,” and desertion). The other two prescribed
divorce fac ts to be proved under the existing law are
based on a period of separation prior to filing the pet ition of divorce. Two years if both parties consent to
the divorce, or five years otherwise. Under the current
legal process, the court can hold that the mar riage
has broken down irretrievably only if it is satisfied on
the evidence presented, that one of the five divorce
facts is proved. If one of the five facts is determined,
the court will grant a decree of divorce.
In short, an element of blame or fault put s an
onus on the respondent to the application to defend or refute the claims made by the petitioner unless the petitioner (the person applying for the divorce) is rel ying on separation. The proposed no- fault form of divorce will reduce the conflict which can be caused by
allegations of fault, or blame, and permit more focus
on the best interests of the children where a marriage
breaks down and divorce proceedings are instituted.
Madam President , this Government is mindful
of the arguments of those who might believe that the
introduction of faultless divorce will somehow under -
mine the institution of marriage or may risk an uptick
in divorce rate if public perception is that it is easier to
get a divorce. However, the decision to divorce ought
to be a personal matter which is well considered by
the parties to the union. State interventions which o perate to force a person to remain in unhealthy rel ationships ought to be curtailed.
Madam President , marriage and divorce st atistics for Bermuda as published by the Department of
Statistics indicate that in the years between 2016 and
2019 the trend shows a decrease in marriages and a
slight increase in divorces. For example, 2017 saw the
most divorces w ith 175 divorce petitions filed and 173
divorces granted. In comparison, 2019 saw 168 divorce petitions filed with 123 divorces granted.
Madam President , unreasonable behaviour
was the most cited reason for fault -based divorce in
Bermuda during the years 2016 through 2019. On
average, between 65 per cent and 75 per cent of divorces annually attributed unreasonable behaviour as
the reason for the divorce. The remainder of the annual divorces were granted on the basis of a period of judicial separation with a fraction of 1 per cent of d ivorces granted on the basis of adultery or desertion.
Madam President , due to the technical r equirements of the existing procedures the process can be quite intimidating for lay persons to navigate. For
this and other commendable reasons, faultless divorce regimes have been implemented in several countries within the Commonwealth, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and in most states in the United States of America, to modernise and
streamline the legal processes for divorce, judicial
separation, and nullity of marriage. The amendments proposed in this Bill are modelled after the United
Kingdom’s Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act
2020.
The stress, effort and cost for persons to
show fault is thought to be unnecess ary, as it often
conceals the real reason for the breakdown in the
marriage and can be a factor which discourages
spouses suffering under domestic abuse for filing d ivorce or separation proceedings in the first place.
There may be circumstances where persons do not
wish to further antagonise an already emotional situ ation by placing blame on their spouse for fear of r epercussions or because they want to maintain some semblance of peace within the family relations.
Madam President , socially we are all too f amiliar with the associated stresses within divorce pr oceedings which can cause angst, conflict and dis agreement in families. The parties tend to become e mbroiled in the contentious partisan features of the pr oceedings, often demonstrating an inability to l ook at
matters objectively in the interests of all parties concerned, especially the children. This means that at an
already stressful time in their lives, the current pr ocess incentivises parties to focus on negative conduct
and make allegations about pas t events, potentially
introducing or aggravating ongoing conflict.
As a result, divorce proceedings can become
drawn out, overly contentious and painful, producing indifference and acrimony within the family. The r esulting impact often strains a family’s finances and
health, and prejudices any hope of maintaining am icable relationships moving forward.
Madam President , the amendments provided
for in this Bill remove some of the hurdles for applying
for and obtaining a divorce, nullity of marriage or jud icial separation. For example, amendments will intr oduce minimum time periods into the divorce proc edures and modernise archaic language and terminology by inserting plain English terms that are easily
understandable such as: “applicant,” “divorce order” and “ divorce order final.”
Madam President , amendments in the Bill a lso revise the statutory timelines with the procedural steps required to obtain a divorce or nullity of marriage. Revised timelines will help streamline proces ses and prevent case backlogs as w ell as unnecessar ily protracted proceedings. Adjusting the time periods will not reduce the accessibility for parties to reconsider, or change course during divorce, nullity of marriage or separation proceedings. Under the revised
time periods, an applicat ion for divorce will take a mi nimum of 20 weeks, which equates to fi ve months, to
obtain a final divorce order from the courts. Applicants
seeking nullity of marriage will have between a 4- and
156 2 Mar ch 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate 12-week time period before a nullity of marriage order
is made fi nal.
Madam President , provision is made in the Bill
for the Minister, after consulting the Chief Justice, to
shorten or lengthen these statutory time periods in the divorce process by way of an order. The courts will
also be empowered to shorten the time periods in a
particular case by applying its judicial discretion. Madam President , reducing the legal and procedural complexities directly translates into a reduction in legal
costs for parties, and simplifies the process for “lit igants -in-person” who may not be able to afford legal
representation. Such savings can then be used t owards sustaining the family members and children in the post -divorce environment.
Madam President , the Government is mindful
that the present Bill prescribes measures that are ex-pected to reduce conflict between parties, and in doing so will reduce harm and trauma caused to children
who live through a parental divorce. Other areas
where we are instituting practical changes to the pr ocess include establishing an easily accessible onl ine
platform to facilitate divorce and separation filings. This platform will have informational content to assist
parties with understanding their rights, their oblig ations and the judicial process.
Madam President , the amendments set forth
in this Bill will change the law by removing the legal
requirement to make allegations of fault about spousal conduct or [to] have lived separately for up to five
years. This Government continues to support marriage and healthy family engagements and arrangements. Thes e amendments offer better chances that
people will move on more constructively when divorce
is inevitable. This ultimately benefits children and their
families.
Madam President , should these amendments
become law, there will indeed be space for more am icable outcomes for families facing marriage breakdown and divorce. The legal process —in and of i tself—will no longer contribute to amplifying or adding
to the conflict between the parties in the ways we
know that the existing court process may [exacerbate] .
Madam President , I am confident that the pr ovisions in this Bill will garner collective support from
Members of this Honourable Chamber . The prov isions
of thi s Bill have been seen by the Family Bar SubCommittee of the Bermuda Bar Association and the Famil y Court, who provided meaningful, construc tive
comments on an illustrative draft of the Bill.
Madam President , this Bill is the cornerstone
of an improved framework for faultless divorce in
Bermuda that is to be further developed as we monitor
and evaluat e the emerging trends after implement ation. Whilst this Bill goes a long way in intended outcomes, it is the first part of a raft of reforms aimed at
modernising matrimonial law in Bermuda. And with these introductory remarks, Madam
President , I introduce the Bill entitled the Matrimonial
Causes [(Faultless Divorce)] Amendment Act 2022.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets , spokesperson for Legal Affairs and the Government Leader in the Senate.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Smith, you have the floor. Ben Smith,
Opposition Leader [in the Senate].

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

Sen. Ben Smith: Firstly, I would like to thank the Mi nister for the thorough brief. Obviously, divorce is a di fficult situation for a family and the breakdown of the
family.
I believe that he has touched a lot of the
things that would be important for us to point out. Specifically, we want to make sure that we do everything we can to support and protect the children when
the breakdown of the family happens during a divorce.
And we do not want to be in a situation where we are forcing people to create blame just so they can get out of a difficult situation.
With t hat, obviously, we want to see if we can
continue to build families and protect our children as much as we possibly can, but if this is a way for us to protect them by minimising the conflict, the Opposition
is in support of this Bill. And thank you to the Minister
for providing the details that he has this morning.
Thank you.

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

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I think that taking the blame out of the divorce
application itself is a welcome change. I think that the
idea of a joint application for divorce is good. I would just like to see the detail that comes following an
amendment for items such as if there are ongoing
disputes with children or finances, who is the applicant
and who is the respondent? So I think there is detail to
come, but in terms of the direction I am fully suppor tive of the amendment.
Thank you, Madam President.

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



Bermuda Senate Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I, too, would like to thank the Minister for his
very comprehensive brief. I think he has assured us of
many of the things that have been a concern in the community for quite some time.

The President: Mm-hmm.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: While no couple entering
into matrimony expects that their marriage will end
prematurely, it is true that unfortunately som e marriages will end in divorce, Madam President.

The President: Mm-hmm.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Divorce impacts the adults
in the relationship. It impacts the family. And the fam ily includes children as well as the extended family.
Some people describe divorce as almost as bad as
having a death in the family. Because in [and of] itself
it will bring many, many changes to the lives of those
involved. So taking this acrimonious situation out of
the mix is, in my opinion, a good thing because no
longer will people have to prove the fault or prove that
they have been separated for a period of time or meet
any of the other conditions of moving forward with a divorce. Instead, one of the parties can apply for the
divorce and there are several steps that follow. But
none of them require the two parties to the divorce to
be going at each other’s throats, literally.
The Bill also changes some of the legal terms
and that , too, is a good thing because it makes the
language more accessible to the average citizen,
Madam President. So instead of the “petitioner” we
now refer to the “applicant.” Instead of a “divorce decree,” it is a “divorce order.” And “decree nisi” which
many people had a hard time understanding, is now a
“conditional order.” And that is followed by the “decree
absolute,” which is now the “final order.” So the la nguage is simpler to understand and that will be of
great assistance to members of the public.
I also just wanted to share, very briefly, that I
heard Minister Peets say in the brief that Australia,
New Zealand and most of the states within the United
States have instituted no- fault divorce. And I would
like to add that in the
1UK the no- fault divorce Act was
passed in June of 2020. And it will become law on the 6
th of April 2022. So in just over a month the UK will
also have no- fault divorce.
So, Madam President, I support this Bill mai nly because it is helping to give families a chance to get on with their lives . Although they will be apart, th ere is
no need for them to have an acrimonious end to the relationship. And in this world where people have to co-parent, it is important that when parents are raising
their children together, even though they may not r e1 Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 side in the same household, at least there can be a
coming together around the best interests of the chi ldren. So, thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill? Hearing and seeing no one, then, Minister
Peets, it is over to you. You have full [Senate] support.

Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Matrimonial Causes (Faultless Divorce)
Amendment Act 2022 do now pass.
158 2 Mar ch 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Matrimonial Causes (Faultless
Divorce) Amendment Act 2022 was read a third time
and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets, and thank
you, Senators.
We will now move on to the next item of our
Orders of the Day and that is the second reading of the Pharmacy and Poisons Amendment Act 2022 and
this is in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgs on, the
Junior Minister for Health.
Senator Hodgson, you have the floor.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Pharmacy and
Poisons Amendment Act 2022 be now read a second
time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

PHARMACY AND POISONS
AMENDMENT ACT 2022
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I am pleased to stand b efore the Senate today for the second reading of the
Pharmacy and Poisons Amendment Act 2022
.
Madam President , the primary purpose of the
Pharmacy and Poisons Act 1979 was to establish a
statutory body called the Phar macy Council, to legislate requirements for the registration of pharmacists
and pharmacies, and control drugs, poisons, prescri ptions and the importation of medicines. Madam President , the Pharmacy and Poisons
Amendment Act 2022 updates and improves this legislation as it relates to the membership of the Pharmacy Council.
Madam President , this Bill allows for the appointment to the Pharmacy Council of a member qual-ified to assist with legal or ethical matters. It also gives
the Chairman of the Pharmacy Council a casting vote
in matters that end in a tie.
In closing, Madam President , this Bill seeks to
amend and improve the Pharmacy and Poisons Act
1979 by enhancing the membership and the proces ses of the Pharmacy Council. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I, too, would like to thank the Junior Minister
for presenting this Bil l before us today.
I would like to say that the Opposition has no
objection. The Bill is administrative in nature and
therefore, as I said, we have no objection.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to thank the Junior Minister for her
brief. As I understand this Bill, this will allow pharm acies to start administering vaccinations, which will r educe costs and increase convenience for the customer. So that is a good thing. So I am fully supportive of this Bill. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Would any other Senator care to . . . Senator
Michelle Simmons, you have the floor.

Sen. Mich elle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Thank you, Senator Hodgson, for your brief.
I support this Bill. The Pharmacy Council is
here to ensure high standards of professional competence and conduct in the practice of pharmacy in
Bermuda. I think, in v iew of the circumstances we find
ourselves in the midst of in the world today, where
ethical issues are constantly being wrestled with by
pharmacists, I think it is so important for them to have
the benefit of someone who is viewed as an expert on the Phar macy Council .
The one question I have for Senator Hodgson
is with regard to the composition of the Council going forward. By adding the legal expert I noted that the
Council will now have a total of eight members, bringing it into an even number. In order to compensate for the possibility of there being a tie vote when there is
an even number, the Bill will give the Chair a casting
vote.
My question is, Was consideration given to i ncreasing the number of people on the Council so that
there is an odd number? That is, increasing even fur-ther. I note that the Minister appoints four members of
the Council and the other four members will be elec ted by the registered pharmacist s from among themselves. So I just wondered if any consideration had
been given to increasing the number of registered
pharmacists on the Council . I don’t think you can ever
have too many.


Bermuda Senate With those comments, I do support the Bill. I
just wondered about the consideration of having an
odd versus an even number of people on the Council.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No, then we will wait to hear from the Junior
Minister.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the short
answer is that the number of eight is actually just consistent with the other councils that we currently have. I just want to make it clear that the Chair does, of
course, have the casting vote and so that allows for
good business, in that aspect.

The President: Therefore, you can no w move the Bill,
do your second reading.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled the Pharmacy and Poisons
Amendment Act 2022 now be read a second time.

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

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

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

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

PHARMACY AND POISONS
AMENDMENT ACT 2022

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Pharmacy and
Poisons Amendment Act 2022 be now read a third
time.

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

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the Bill do now pass. The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Pharmacy and Poisons Amendment Act 2022
do now pass.
Is the re any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

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

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, and all Senators who participated.

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this item?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Yes, thank you, Madam
President.
I would first of all like to congratulate the people of the Ukraine for their bravery as they fight for
their freedom.
Closer to home, I would like to wish Happy
Birthday to some of my constituents, and I will move
quickly: Mr s. Mary Walker; Mr. George Pearman of
Spring Hill; Mr. Kenneth Wainwright; Mr s. Emily So usa, who I may note was the first constituent with
whom I spoke; Mr. Ernest Dangle; Edith Webb; Mr.
Christopher Smith, who I am taken to understand
spent his 90th birthday swimming laps. Thank you,

Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Ben Smith, you have the floor.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like to start this
morning by congratulating Dr. Douglas De Couto for
being invited to the Senate. I think he is going to be a
great addition to the team and a great addition to the
Senate. I am looking forward to working with him.
Madam President, I would also like to have
congratulations sent to the Warwick Academy Swim
Team who has just returned from Lancaster, Pennsy lvania where they participated in the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming [and Diving] Championship. This
was an opportunity for them to race against other
swimmers from high schools across the East Coast of
the US. It also gives them an opportunity to be r ecruited by coaches from universities. So, at the end of
160 2 Mar ch 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate it, we took eight young females to the competition,
which is also great for us to see women in sport. And
these girls participated at a very high level. We had
personal bests from every swimmer in the compet ition. And in the finals we saw them take their personal
bests that they set in the morning and lowered [th eir
times] in the afternoon which was really an exciting
experience to see. So I would just like to highlight
them: Adrianna Argent, Bella Howes, Marleigh
Howes, Tayla Horan , Taylor White , Elanna Fulton,
Daria Desmond, and Gabbriella Mitchell . So congrat ulations to them!
Finally, I would like to finish with another
swimming accolade. So , congratulations to Madelyn
Moore for the three gold medals that she produced in
the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships. Not only did she win those events, she set se veral records. [She] l owered times by significant
amounts. So, it just shows that she is continuing to
progress forward. And fingers crossed; I know that
everybody will be hoping to see if she gets the selec-tion for NCAA Championships later this month. She
has done all the work, now it is up to the selection
process. So congratulations to her, and I am looking
forward to seeing her continue to swim fast for Bermuda.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.
Would any other Senator care to speak ?
Senator Owen Darrell, you have the floor.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, thank you.
Good morning.
The President: Good morning.

Sen. Owen Darrell: I would like to send congratul ations to one of my former students, Ms. Sakari F amous. Sakari Famous , as everyone knows, has been
competing for Bermuda for years in the high jump and
doing extremely well. But last weekend Sakari claimed
the gold medal in the high jump at the Southland Co nference Indoor Track and Field Championship, in Alabama. And not on ly did she win the gold medal, she
did it in record- breaking style. So, I would like to say,
first of all, congratulations to Sakari for her continued
success in track and field. And also, as I always do, I
congratulate her parents, both of whom were in my
class at the Berkeley Institute. Thank you, Madam
President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
Would any other Senator . . . Senator Michelle
Simmons, you have the floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
There is a young man I know quite well who I
had the pleasure of seeing called to the Bermuda Bar on Friday, February 25. His name is Clevelyn Aaron Crichlow , better known to us in the family as Aaron.
Aaron has prepared him self well to be the
newest barrister here in Bermuda having obtained his
Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy with a M inor in Law
from Dalhousie [University], followed by a LLB from
the University of Kent, then a L egal Practice Certificate and a Masters in Law, Business and Management from the University of Law in London. He has
been mentored by attorneys at Cox Hallett Wilkinson,
[Limited] , in particular, Craig Rothw ell.
Aaron is passionate about using his skills to
help people. And he has already been volunteering at
the Angle Street Legal [Advice Centre]. He is a phila nthropist and was the founder of the group “Bermuda is
Love.” They already have a reputation for service in
this community. I think the service component of everything that Aaron does is what drives him. His group,
Bermuda is Love, has been involved in volunteering to
help make Bermuda a better place. And they are tr ying to bring other young people along with them.
So, this is not about someone who is on a s olo journey; it is someone who is on a journey to bring
others along and to make an impact on the community. I am certain that we can expect great things from
this young man. I would like to congratulate his parents, April Simmons and Anthony Crichlow, his
grandparents, and all of the extended family who have
stood behind him. Well done, Aaron!
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator . . . Senator Lindsay
Simmons , you have the floor.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident, I won’t be long.
I just want to say Happy Belated Birthday to
MP Neville Tyrrell. He celebrated his birthday last
week. And I also want to congratulate the PLP for
their 50th annual Founder’s Day. That happened this
past Sunday. And I also want to congratulate MP J ason Wade for his amazing speech that he gave as the
keynote speaker [at Founder’s Day] . Thank you, Ma dam President.

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

Thank you, Madam
President.


Bermuda Senate I would like to offer birthday greetings to Mr.
Shi-Shun Burgess, Ms. Cre Lattimore, Mr. Colbert
Pearman, Mr. Sterling Smith, and Mrs. Madree Lindsay.
And as we celebrate Women’s History Month,
I would like to congratulate the women in ministry of
the AME Church on another successful publication of
the 40- day Lenten Devotional. This year’s focus is “A
New Horizon.” So I say congratulations to the Berm uda coordinator, Reverend V. A. Deyone Douglas. And
to the women in Bermuda who are included in this
publication and I encourage all of us to support and
lead along with them. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dr. Emilygail Dill.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
I believe it is Minister Peets. You have the
floor.

Yes, thank you,
Madam President.
Today I would like to give a congratulatory
remark for Kendra Earls and Shanna Hollis. Those
names may not be familiar to most people in these
Chambers, but if you are on Church Street you would
notice that outside of the Post Office there is a mural
going up in recognition and honour of Flora Duffy’s achievements. Those two amazing artists were the
individuals who were awarded the opportunity to do
that mural. I got an opportunity to meet them this past
week and I was in absolute awe of their talent and
their passion, so I certainly wanted to recognise them
this morning.
Also, another creativity congratulatory remark,
there was an event this weekend called The Story of
Us. I had an opportunity to attend that event and to
watch Bermudians engaging in poetry, spoken word,
dance, and song. It was absolutely amazing. We have
so much talent here on our Island. I was certainly glad
to see that in conjunction with the Department of Cul-ture and the Gr iot [bookstore] , we were able to give
our creative [Bermudians] and our artists an opportunity and a venue to showcase their talent.
So Be rmuda is in good hands, I believe, Madam President. Not just in the sporting world, but also
on the creativity and arts as well.
So those are my congratulatory remarks this
morning, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets.
With that, we move on to the Adjournment
and it is over to you Minister Peets.

ADJOURNMENT

Yes, t hank you,
Madam President. Given the fact that we all will be participating
and preparing for the Budget, I motion that this Honourable Chamber until March 23.

The President: Thank you.
Would any Senator care to speak on the m otion to adjourn?
Hearing none, then Senators, with that said, it
is a short morning. The Senate stands adjourned until
the 23rd of March.
Thank you.

[At 11:4 8 am, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 23 March 2022 .]

162 2 Mar ch 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate


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