February 16, 2022

I, Emilygail Amelia
Dill, do affirm that I will be faithful and bear true
allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her
heirs and succ essors, according to the law, so help
me God.
The P resident: You will no w sign.
[Paus
e]
The President: Reverend Dr. Emilygail Amelia Dill is
now sworn in as a Senator.
Thank you.
We will now continue with our order of business.
CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES
[Minutes of 15 December 2021]
The
President: I call on Senator Michelle Simmons,
you have the floor.
Sen.
Michelle Simmons: Thank you and good morning, Madam President.
The
President: Good morning. Sen.
Michelle Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the Minutes of the meeting of Wednesday, 15
December 2021, 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, 15 December 2021,
be confirmed.
The
President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Minutes are confirmed.
[Min
utes of 15 December 2021 confirmed]
The
President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Simmons.
Sen.
Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
MESSAGES
The Clerk: No messages, Madam President.
The
President: Thank you, Mr. Somner.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
The
President: There are none.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
OMBUDSMAN’S REPORT ENTITLED:
A FUTURE FOR CRIMINAL
INJURIES COMPENSATION
The
President: Senators, I wish to announce that
under the provision of sections 5(2)(b) and 24(2)(a) of the Ombudsman Act 2004, the Ombudsman for Ber-muda has presented to the President a copy of her special report entitled: A Future for Criminal Injuries
Compensation. The Ombudsman for Bermuda’s Own
Motion Systemic Investigation into the Administration of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board dated December 2021. The said special report is hereby tabled in
114 16 February 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate the Senate for the information of Senators , and Senators can access copies of this report on the Parliament
website.
The next item is [Announcements], the Actuarial Review of the Contributory Pension Fund of Bermuda as of 1 August 2020 in the name of Senator
Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister of Finance.
You have the floor.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ACTUARIAL REVIEW OF THE CONTRIBUTORY
PENSION FUND OF BERMUDA
AS OF AUGUST 1, 2020

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I hereby present for the
information of Senate a report entitled Actuarial Re-view of the Contributory Pension Fund of Bermuda as of August 1, 2020, as prepared by LifeWorks and dated July 2021.
The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson.
The next one is the Betting Regulations 2021
in the name of Senator Owen Darrell, the Junior Minister for the Cabinet Office.
Senator Darrell, you have the floor.

BETTING REGULATIONS 2021

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
I hereby present for the information of the
Senate the Betting Regulations 2021 as made by the
Minister responsible for gaming under the provisions
of section 96 of the Betting Act 2021.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
The next announcement is the Economic
Substance Amendment Act 2021 Commencement
Day Notice [2021]. In fact, there are a few of them.
They are in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson,
Junior Minister of Finance.
Senator Hodgson, would you like to begin?

ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2021
COMMENCEMENT DAY NOTICE 2021

ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE AMENDMENT
REGULATIONS 2021

ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE AMENDMENT (NO. 2)
REGULATIONS 2021

COMPANIES AND PARTNERSHIPS (ELECTRONIC
REGISTRY) AMENDMENT ACT 2020
COMMENCEMENT DAY NOTICE 2021
COMPANIES AND PARTNERSHIP (ELECTRONIC
REGISTRY) AMENDMENT ACT 2020
COMMENCEMENT DAY NOTICE (NO. 2) 2021

COMPANIES (FORMS) AMENDMENT RULES 2021

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, Madam President.
Madam President, I hereby present for the
information of Senate the following subsidiary legisla-tive items as made by the Minister of Finance: The
Economic Substance Amendment Act 2021 Com-mencement Day Notice 2021 ; the Economic Substance Amendment Regulations 2021; the Economic
Substance Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2021; the
Companies and Partnerships (Electronic Registry) Amendment Act 2020 Commencement Day Notice 2021 ; the Companies and Partnership (Electronic
Registry) Amendment Act 2020 Commencement Day Notice (No. 2) 2021; and the Companies (Forms)
Amendment Rules 2021.

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
You have four —

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, I have some additional,

Please carry on.

LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (FORMS)
AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2021

PARTNERSHIP (FORMS) REGULATIONS 2021

EXEMPTED PARTNERSHIPS (FORMS)
REGULATIONS 2021

LIMITED PARTNERSHIP (FORMS)
REGULATIONS 2021

OVERSEAS PARTNERSHIPS (FORMS)
REGULATIONS 2021
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you.
I hereby prese nt for the information of Senate
the following sets of Regulations as made by the Minister of Finance: The Limited Liability Company
(Forms) Amendment Regulations 2021; the Partnership (Forms) Regulations 2021 ; the Exempted Partnerships (Forms) Regulations 2021; the Limited Partnership (Forms) Regulations 2021; and the Overseas
Partnerships (Forms) Regulations 2021.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister of Finance.
The next series of announcement s is in the
name of Senator the Honourable D octor E. G. V.


Bermuda Senate Peets, spokesman for Legal Affairs and Government
Leader in the Senate.
Senator Peets, you have the floor.

INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS
AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2020

INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS
AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2021

INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS (LIBYA)
AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2021

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS (SECOND
SCHEDULE) AMENDMENT ORDER 2021

PROCEEDS OF CRIME (DESIGNATED COUNTRIES
AND TERRITORIES) AMENDMENT ORDER 2021

Madam President, I
hereby present for the information of Senate the following subsidiary legislative items: International Sanctions Amendment Regulations 2020; the International
Sanctions Amendment Regulations 2021; the Intern ational Sanctions (Libya) Amendment Regulations 2021 ; the Statutory Instruments (Second Schedule)
Amendment Order 2021 ; and the Proceeds of Crime
(Designated Countries and Territories) Amendment Order 2021.
Senators can access e- copies of these items
on their tablets and/or the Parliament website.

The President: Thank you, Senator and Minister Dr.
E. G. V. Peets , spokesman for Legal Affairs.
We now move on to another series of Health
COVID -19 Regulations Emergency Powers , and these
also are in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the
Junior Minister for Health.
Senator Hodgson, you have the floor.

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 2) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 3) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 4) REGULATIONS 2021
PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMER GENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 5) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 6) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 7) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 8) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 9) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 10) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 11) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
(NO. 12) REGULATIONS 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH (COVID- 19 EMERGENCY
POWERS) (PHASED RE- OPENING) AMENDMENT
REGULATIONS 2022

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I hereby present for the information of Senate
the following sets of Regulations, each made by Her
Excellency the Governor on the advice of the Minister
responsible for Health and in exercise of the power
conferred by section 107B of the Public Health Act
1949 :
The Public Health (COVID -19 Emergency
Powers) (Phased Re- Opening) Amendment Regulations 2021; the Public Health (COVID -19 Emergency
Powers) (Phased Re- Opening) Amendment (No. 2)
Regulations 2021; the Public Health (COVID -19
Emergency Powers) (Phased Re- Opening) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 2021; the Public Health
(COVID -19 Emergency Powers) (Phas ed ReOpening) Amendment (No. 4) Regulations 2021; the
Public Health (COVID -19 Emergency Powers)
(Phased Re- Opening) Amendment (No. 5) Regulations 2021; the Public Health (COVID -19 Emergency
Powers) (Phased Re- Opening) Amendment (No. 6)
Regulations 2021; the Public Health (COVID -19
Emergency Powers) (Phased Re- Opening) Amend116 16 February 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ment (No. 7) Regulations 2021; the Public Health
(COVID -19 Emergency Powers) (Phased ReOpening) Amendment (No. 8) Regulations 2021; the
Public Health (COVID -19 Emergency Powers)
(Phased Re-Opening) Amendment (No. 9) Regulations 2021; the Public Health (COVID -19 Emergency
Powers) (Phased Re- Opening) Amendment (No. 10)
Regulations 2021; the Public Health (COVID -19
Emergency Powers) (Phased Re- Opening) Amendment (No. 11) Regulations 2021; the Public Health
(COVID -19 Emergency Powers) (Phased ReOpening) Amendment (No. 12) Regulations 2021; and
the Public Health (COVID -19 Emergency Powers)
(Phased Re- Opening) Amendment Regulations 2022.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson. You have had quite a bit to do this morning, but
you hav e done very well. Thank you.

NOTICES OF MOTION

The President: There are none.

PETITIONS
The President: There are none.

STATEMENTS
The President: There are none.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

PROCEEDS OF CRIME AMENDMENT ACT 202 2

MOTOR CAR INSURANCE (THIRD- PARTY RISKS)
AND PUBLIC CARRIAGE AMENDMENT ACT 2022

The President: The following Public Bills have been
received from the Honourable House of Assembly and
are now read for the first time: their titles are, respectively, the Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act 2022;
and the Motor Car Insurance (Third- Party Risks) and
Public Carriage Amendment Act 2022.

FIRS T READING OF PRIVATE BILLS

The President: There are none.

QUESTION PERIOD
The President: There are none.
ORDERS OF THE DAY

The President: Senators, we do not have any Orders
of the Day. The Bills that have been mentioned will be
carried forward to the next day of meeting.

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Senators, would any Senator care to
speak at this time?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to send condolences to the family
of the late Br yan Steede. I first met Bryan . . . some
may recall the old Ross “Blackie” Talbot Golf Tournament years ago that raised funds for worthwhile chari-ties in Bermuda. Bryan and I were partnered together
in the event. This goes back over 20 years ago. We
hit it off really well on that day and became good friends . And we were friends ever since. I was very
saddened to hear of his passing before Christmas. So
I just wanted to pass on condolences to the family.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Lindsey Simmons, you have the floor.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
I just want to send condolences out to Daemon Bell’s family . They will be burying him on Friday. I
want to wrap my love around Shawnette and their
daught er as they go through this difficult time and the
public gather s around them while they bury him on
Friday.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to ask for congratulations to be
sent to Ms. Keeva Joel l-Benjamin who is a 30- year
veteran of the prison service, and, effective January
17 of this year , she was appointed as Bermuda’s
Commissioner of Corrections. She is the first woman


Bermuda Senate to hold this position, and we wish her much success in
her role.
Also, Madam President, I would like to send
congratulations to Martha Dismont and Gary Phillips
for their service to the community. They are going to
be honoured later this month, I believe it is next week,
by the Hamilton Princess hotel. Ms. Dismont is well
known in this community. She is an Honorary Fellow
of Bermuda College. She is the founder and former
long-term director of the Family Centre. She has been
an incredible source of support for many Bermudian
families. In 2002, Ms. Dismont received the Queen’s
Certificate and Badge of Honour , and in 2015 she was
awarded an MBE [Member of the British Empire] .
Mr. Gary Phillips , by the same token, is also a
pillar of our community and he too is an Honor-ary Fellow of Bermuda College, Chairman of the Bermuda National Gallery, and also O ne Communications . He is well known because of the many aspects
of public service in which he has been engaged. He has been a teacher at the Berkeley Institute, Post master General, Director of the Bermuda Department of
Tourism, and of course, he has held numerous other
positions. He is a holder of the Offi cer of the British
Empire, i.e., OBE. And Mr. Phillips is also a recipient
of France’s highest honour, the Chevalier de la Lé gion
d’Honneur (sorry, Mr. Phillips)—

[Laughter]
Sen. Michelle Simmons: —for his dedication to promoting an appreciation of the French language and
culture in Bermuda. H e was a founder of L’Alliance
Française [des Bermudes ]. (I can say that.)

[Laughter]

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Madam President, would
you also join me in extending condolences to all families who have suffered losses since we were last together on December 15? I am particularly singling out
the family of Mr. Dennis Saunders, a former student of
mine at the Berkeley Institute who died in a tragic accident.
In addition, I extend condolences to the family
of young Mr. Osagi Bascome who was killed through
an act of violence, cutting his life short and eliminating all his hopes and dreams.
Madam President, I would like to join with
Senator Lindsay Simmons in extending condolences to Mr. Dameon Bell’s family. It was only two and a half
or three months ago that I asked for condolences to
be sent to Mr. Bell on the loss of his mother and his
aunt. So it is a sad day, Madam President, because
he too lost his life in an act of v iolence. It has to stop.
And I urge people who know to come forward and
speak up.
Finally, Madam President, I would be remiss if
I did not ask for condolences to be sent to the family of Mr. Gregory Swan, in particular, his wife, Elsa; his
mother, who was my former teacher, Mrs. Merle Brock
Swan Williams; his sister, Mary -Lynn, who is one of
my students , and all of Greg’s family.
I don’t know how this happened , but I did not
really know Greg. But I have heard so many wonderful
tributes to him and they have spoken of his professionalism, his empathy, his sensitivity, his compassion, his problem- solving skills, his keen insight, and
his willingness to mentor others. Madam President, we can only pray that he will rest in peace.
Thank you, very much, Madam President.

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

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
Good morning to the listening audience and of course
to my Senate colleagues.
I would like to extend condolences to the families of two of my constituents , one being the family of
Philip Ball, Jr., and also Duncan McMartin, to his wife, Geraldine , and their entire families.
I would also like to associate myself w ith the
condolences already expressed here today , the condolences for Osagi Bascome’s family , Mr. Daemon
Bell’s family and friends , [and for ] Dennis Saunders ,
who I actually hired at Mid Ocean, a lovely, lovely,
lovely personality , as well as [for] Greg Swan, who I
did know personally.
And Senator Simmons, you are absolutely
right. All of the expressions are spot on. I would also
like to express, in relation to Greg’s passing, special
condolences to Andre Dill, who . . . Andre and Greg
were very, very close friends. And Andre actually introduced me to Greg back in the 1990s.
I would also like to express condolences to
my in -law family on the passing of their father, grandfather, Herman Co oleridge Trott . So condolences to
his children and grandchildr en, as well Susie, Mit zy,
Jeanete, Valerie, Clarke , Rodney , and the rest of the
family.
Condolences also to my own in-law family on
the passing of my mother -in-law, M iriam T ucker. Miriam Tucker was noted in the Royal Gazette. She was
a very popular and well -known calypso dancer back in
the 1950s, which obviously I was not even a twinkle in
my mother’s eye back then.
She and her cousin and my father -in-law, Eugene Tucker, formed a group called the Calypso Trio
and danced in various hotels around the Island, Clayhouse [Inn] and at Roseb ank Theatre. I am old
enough to remember when they had events at Rosebank Theatre before it was movies. The Trio had the
opportunity to dance at the Bermuda Nights at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, whic h was a very big deal
back in those days. Some older folks may remember
118 16 February 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate also Richardson’s Restaurant on North Shore. My inlaws also ran that business as well. So, again, I just
wanted to express those condolences.
I would like to end on a happier note by express ing congratulations to the Transformational Living Centre on their recent opening and welcoming five
families into their new facilities. That is huge and exciting. So congratulations! And again, thank you,
thank you, thank you to Elaine Butterfield, Sheelagh
Cooper, and their teams and their donors and volun-teers and everybody who contributed in any sort of way to bring that vision to helping support women and
children who need a helping hand. Thank you for
walking the talk and getting it done.
And lastly, I just want to say congratulations to
the five young men who were recently featured in the
newspaper for exposing the realities of poverty in Bermuda and took action to help. They raised $3,500
with their fundraising efforts and split the funds between three charities. One of those young men is
Ajahni Lema- Bascome (who is my cousin) ; also
D’Mori Harvey , Sivaja Perinchief , and Dant é Sousa.
Thank you, very much, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would any other Se nator care to speak at this
time?
Senator Owen Darrell, you have the floor.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, good morning.

The President: Good morning to you again.
Sen. Owen Darrell: First of all, Madam President, I
would like to send condolences to the family of Ms.
Elaine Harris. I met Ms. Harris when I was a very little boy attending St. Paul AME Church. I grew up with
her twins, Rochelle and Eddie, but I also interacted
quite a bi t with her other two daughters, Ms. Kimberly
and Melanie. I would also like to send condolences to
her grandchildren.
Ms. Harris pretty much raised us . When we
used to go to Youth Group at St. Paul AME Church
every Friday night her home was always open. S he
always allowed us to come over and hang out and
watch movies and, you know, would always give wisdom and advice and I know as an educator she was a
well-respected educator. And I am sure that anyone
who went to West Pembroke Primary School would have fond memories of Ms. Harris. So , I would just
like to wish her family and friends condolences.
Also, another member that I spent some time
with at St. Paul AME Church was Ms . Dearline Hardtman. Again, condolences to her family, her son,
Jame l Hartman (who also attended Youth Group with
me on Friday nights ), her daughter, LeRoya, and her
granddaughter, Nylah. My mom over the years became very good friends with Dearline, so I did have
the unfortunate experience of hearing first-hand some of the trials and tribulations that she was going
through. At this time I just wish to send her family my
deepest condolences.
On a happier note, Madam President, I would
like to congratulate Bermuda jumper, Mr. Jah -Nhai
Perinchief. You would have seen over the weekend that Jah-Nhai had a world- leading jump in a track
meet in Arkansas. And I want to take this in a different
direction at this point. I also want to congratulate his
mom, Ms. Janita Perinchief. I know when we see
these stories of athletes and individuals havi ng a huge
success, we may not know a lot of the sacrifices and a
lot of the pain and trials and tribulations that the family
members are actually dumping into supporting these
athletes. So I want to take the time to congratulate her
and also publicly thank anyone that has supported
Jah-Nhai in his endeavours. And at the next Olympics
I am hoping to see that he gets success similar to another young lady, a Da me, who had success at the
Tokyo Olympics.
Thank you, Madam President.

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

Yes, I certainly want
to associate myself w ith the congratulations to Jah -
Nhai Perinchief , a fantastic outcome for him at those
games, as well as congratulations to Keeva Joell -
Benjamin.
I would like to associate myself with the condolences to the family of Daemon Bell. H is particular
passing has really, really rocked a lot of us personally. I am really just calling out on all of Bermuda to come
together at this m oment to address some of these issues around antisocial behaviour and violence.
But also, Madam President, today, of course,
it is a rea lly great day for a new Senator . I am really,
really glad to welcome her to the Government Senate
team. I belie ve she will bring a lot to these Chamber s.
So congratulations to the new Senator and Junior
Minister, Reverend Dr. Emily Dill.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Hearing none, I would just like to associate
myself with many of the comments I have just . . . I
have been overwhelmed sitting here listening, particu-larly to Senator Michelle Simmons and the comments
that she had to make about all the deaths that she has
[mentioned] .
I would just like to also associate myself with
Senator Owen Darrell, particularly on Elaine Harris

B ermuda Senate who is a cousin of mine, s o I certainly support all the
comments that you have made.
And, finally, I would just like to also associate
myself with the congratulations that Senator [Michelle]
Simmons talked about: Martha Dismont, whom I know personally, as well as Gary Phillips. And you have
really outlined their contribution to the Island and to
Bermuda as a whole, so I think the recognition for them has come at an opportune time.
With that said then now I would like to move
on to our final item.
Minister Peets, it is over to you.
ADJOURNMENT

Thank you, Madam
President.
I move that Senate adjourn until Wednesday
the 23rd of February.
The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
the motion to adjourn?
Senator Marcus Jones, you have indicated
you would like to speak. You have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
Good morning to my fellow colleagues. Good
morning to the listening audience. Before I start, I also
want to add my congratulations to the newest Member
of the Senate, Reverend Dr. Emilygail [Dill]. We
wish her well in this very important appointment.
PREMIER ’S POOR JUDGMENT
IN BOARD APPOINTMENTS
Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, as a young
boy getting ready to go to church every Sunday morning, one of my tasks at times was to go and see my
grandmother who had the wonderful beautiful floral dresses and the matching hat and the matching purse
and the matching shoes. She always said to me, Marcus, this is my Sunday best. And I want my Sunday best to be and to look my Sunday best. So, at that
time, she would make sure that she looked her best.
But you know, one of the most important articles of clothing for a lady, back in those days especially, was their undergarments. And one of those undergarments was their slip. And for those of you in t his
House who may be too young, or those in the listening audience that may be too young, let me help you. A slip was used to ensure that a lady maintained her
modesty by making sure that her attire was fitted with
undergarments. A slip (whether it was a half -slip or a
full slip) was very instrumental in allowing ladies to maintain their modesty.
I do not know if that is a part of the dress too
much today, but I clearly remember as a young boy
that was exactly what my grandmother would do. And
from time to time she would finish getting dressed and she would say to me, Marcus, circle around me and
let’s make sure that my slip is not showing. From time to time her slip might have actually dangled an inch or two beyond the hem of her dress. And as a young boy, after time I learned how to be quite adept at manipulating my grandmother’s (shall we say) attachments with straight pins, safety pins, just to make sure
that those undergarments were properly worn and were hidden behind her dress.
Now, Madam President, I am not a connoisseur of women’s undergarments, for sure. But I
thought in this motion to adjourn I would bring this illustration to underscore the subject and the topic that I
would like to share with my fellow colleagues today.
Recent developments within the Government
have shown that the Premier’s Sunday best is not his Sunday best. And either no one is there to whisper in his ear, Premier , your slip is showing. Or, he has confidant s who have advised him that, Indeed, Premier,
your slip is showing, and he totally ignores the advice
of his close confidant s. Madam President, allow me to
make my case.
Let’s consider resQwest. I call it the friends
and family plan. This technological firm co- owned by
the Premier’s FinTech advisor, was awarded a sole contract in response to the COVID -19 pandemic. This
FinTech advisor was serving in the post at the time when this contract for software to manage the pan-demic was awarded without a tender process to
resQwest. Spreadsheets that have been made public
show that this resQwest company received $3.6 mil-lion since June 2020.
As of April 2021, the advisor’s role changed to
that of an unpaid FinTech advisor. A little late to change the optics, as this advisor clearly was able to
secure this lucrative contract due to his close ties to
the Premier. Totally disregarding the Government’s well-established procurement process to facilitate the
awarding of contracts according to the friends and family plan smells to high heaven like a conflict of interest, or at the worst, unethical. Every act of any
government should not only be ethical but have the appearance of being ethical.
Mr. Premier, your slip is showing. Madam President, let’s talk about the appointments. It is well known that the Premier has the
power to form his own Cabinet by choosing his Ministers, Senators, and Board members within govern-ment. What the public does not realise is that for those MPs in his party that do not make the cut as a minister , he awards them positions on government
boards, or as chairs, or as members. So that MP or
Senator that signed up as a public servant now gets a
chance to dip, not once, not twice, but in some cases three times from the public purse. Madam President, this is what I call the “frequent family plan.”
How many rank -and-file co re supporters of
the green machine who may have lost their jobs during the pandemic have not been given the chance to
120 16 February 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate sit on these boards to help supplement their incomes?
No, Madam President, they are reserved for those
parliamentarians who are part of th e “frequent family
plan.” In this Chamber we have an aide to the Premier making north of $100,000, supplemented by a Junior Minister’s Senate seat generating an extra $30,000,
who has now just been elevated to chairman of a recently vacated government boar d, the National Sports
Centre. Is he earning a salary there as well? Maybe the esteemed Senator can answer that question for
us. I am willing to pause and let him answer if he would like to.

[No audible reply]

Sen. Marcus Jones: No? I will [continue].
Let’s go deeper. The Premier has the privilege
of choosing the Senator for his Government in this
Senate Chamber. Let’s rate his performance in good
judgment when it comes to these appointments.
The PLP won the election and the Pre mier
proceeded to roll out his new Senate team. One Member announced to be a Leader of the Senate was
found to have made inappropriate comments to a
woman. The Premier claimed not to have known about this prior to August 2021, but was still making
plans to have him fill that position. Public outcry forced
the Premier to change his mind.
Unfortunately, we have more recent evidence
of poor judgment by this Premier when he appointed a
Senator who he knew owed thousands of dollars to a pensioner and who did not vacate the premises of a
pensioner’s apartment when asked to do so, who used his standing as a Senator of the PLP to intimi-date this senior. This person the Premier deemed
worthy of a Senate seat in his Government, a Junior Minister no less. And he claims to advocate for the
most vulnerable in our community —seniors.
Madam President, let’s consider the appointment of the previous Chairman of the National Sports
Centre. Parliamentary Questions were asked in this
Chamber and in another place as it relates to the controversial loan request for funding of an energy project
at the National Sports Centre where trustees com-plained that the loan had been arranged without the
board’s approval. Questions were asked but were left
unanswered by the respective Government Ministers.
The chairman of this board who was at the
centre of this controversy happens to be the sitting
Member in Parliament for Pembroke West. As pun-ishment for being replaced as the chairman of this
board he was given an even more significant, higher -
profile position as the Chairman of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation . This is what we call
the “frequent family plan” at work.

Point of order.
Madam President, the Senator is misleading
the Senate. He would know that the NSC board which
is comprised of professional individuals have declared
that there has been no wrongdoing and have en-dorsed the project completely. So I request that the
Senator actually make a retraction.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, I am more
than happy to do that. I thank the Minister for clearing up that situation.
The President: And Senator Jones, just be mindful of
not [imputing] improper motives in your presentation.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Absolutely, Madam President. I
thank you for your guidance.
Let’s talk about the state of tourism in this
country, Madam President. I call this the “lost family
plan” because with the infrequent flights to Bermuda
and/or the lack of direct flights to major cities on the East Coast, it is a good chance your family c an get
lost, inconvenienced, and pay an exorbitant Travel
Authorisation fee trying to get home due to some airlines labelling Bermuda as a “seasonal” destination.
For the first time in 50 years we do not have a
flight to Boston. My experience in tourism i s that the
Boston area and New York are the number one frequent visitor destinations. Who is the Minister of Tourism, Madam President? None other than the Premier.
We also note that American Airlines has cancelled all
of its daily flights to New York. Air Canada’s last flight
to Bermuda was January 9. WestJet flights to Bermuda from Toronto happen only once per week. This,
after the Premier moved to transfer greater powers to
his Ministry from the Bermuda Tourism Authority.
The OBA Government was able to set up the
independent Tourism Authority. And from the estab-lishment of an independent authority we saw the
number of visitor arrivals and their spending increase.
In fact, one could even suggest that Bermuda was
going through a tourism revival. What does the
Burt/PLP Administration do? They table legislation to
remove some of the powers of this independent Authority to ensure that the Government Minister is able
to select and appoint board members and the chair.


Bermuda Senate And we know, Madam President, from recent
developments that the appointment of board members
has not gone too well for this Government.
Let’s talk about the Travel Authorisation fees
of $75, originally put in place to offset the cost of visitor and tourist arrival testing at our airport. That has
not only proven to be overly costly to the average family travelling, and a discouragement for visitors to
travel here, his Government’s explanation that these
funds are used to offset the cost of processing requirements at the border rings hollow, Madam P resident. Even the $30 reduction in the cost of this Travel
Authorisation fee does not sound so good either.
So, do you mean to tell me that the cost to actually implement this plan, which originally $75 was
able to offset, that by reducing it by $40 . . . so you
mean to tell me that possibly $75 at the beginning of
this pandemic was an overreach? Your classic cash
grab . . . your classic . . . what is the word I am looking
for? Your classic smash- and-grab plan, Madam President.
Let’s talk about the Fair mont Southampton
and the situation there. It has been closed for two years now. There is no certainty that Gencom can
fulfil its promise of a $200 million renovation of this hotel in 18 months, especially when it struggled to
secure redundancy pay for its workers in a timely
manner.
And let’s not talk about the election that was
called in 2020 at a time when Bermuda was in the
middle of a pandemic. What that showed me was that this PLP Government was more interested in retaining
its power than the safety of its citizens.
Madam President, let’s talk about Ministers
resigning, not being available in a crisis and missing in
action. The shock resignation in these last few days of
the Minister of Finance raises more questions than answers and suggests a total lack of confidence in the
Premier’s leadership. Why would the Minister of Finance choose to resign 10 days prior to a Budget Debate? How could the Minister of Finance in good conscience leave his Leader in the lurch in the middle of a
crisis with no recognis able replacement within the
Cabinet or the backbench that has the ability to navigate Bermuda through these turbulent economic waters unless he was unsure of the Premier’s leadership?
Why would there be diverging visions of the
redevelopment of Fairmont S outhampton where the
Minister of Finance is hesitant to invest from the public
purse guarantees for its renovations —

The President: Senator Jones.

Sen. Marcus Jones: —while the Premier is bullish
about the idea.
The President: Senator Jones, I need to r emind you
that your 15 minutes have expired. You need to— Sen. Marcus Jones: Wrap it up?

The President: Wrap it up immediately.
Sen. Marcus Jones: I will wrap it up in 15 seconds,

Thank you.
Sen. Marcus Jones: I truly believe that our country is
in need of good leadership. It is not enough to be
competent. One must also display a certain level, a
high standard of moral integrity. If we lose that, it
erodes the fabric of our democracy. In light of the fact
that it appears that no one in the Cabinet, the backbench or Senate has told him, a llow me, with much
regret and trepidation , to say , Mr. Premier, your slip is
showing. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Owen Darrell, you have the floor.

PROGRESSIVE LABOUR PARTY GOVERNMENT
CONTINUING TO EXECUTE ITS
ELECTION MANIFESTO
Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, thank you.
Madam President, I sit here in shock and dismay that an individual who starts a speech (I call it a rambling session) for 15 minutes claiming that he
went to church every Sunday morning and talked
about Sunday best and dress and the colour red and
all of that stuff, would speak about the Leader of this
country and compare that to wearing a slip. It is totally
out of order, Madam President.
And his second point about a friends and
family plan speaks to me of a different type of arrogance. And I will leave it right there, Madam President. Then he put the word frequent in front of it. How
many times have we heard the failed candidate from constituency 19 repeat the same points over and over
and over again without any traction? Then he takes a
shot at the MP who totally embarrassed him on October 1, 2020, and wrongly accuses that MP of being
fired from a board and then being rewarded with an-other board.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Point of order, Madam President.

The President: Senator Jones, what is your point of
order?

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Marcus Jones: If the esteemed Junior Minister
would reflect on what I did say, I never said that the
122 16 February 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Member of Parliament from Pembroke West was fired.
I did say he was replaced. You can be replaced without being fired, Madam President. Thank you.
The President: Senator Darrell, continue.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Sounds like the same language
that another media outlet uses. But I will leave that
there as well.
I would like to implore the Senator from the
other side to focus on the good things that the Pro-gressive Labour Party is doing. Madam President, this
Progressive Labour Party Government will continue to
execute the election manifesto that we put forward in
2020. Madam President, you would have seen that
last week the Premier, as well as the Minister responsible for Public Works, had a press conference about
an affordable housing project. That affordable housing
is going to increase the housing for seniors. It is going
to increase emergency housing units and it will als o
increase housing units for families.
Madam President, you also know from recent
reports that with the changes that this Government
has put in place with the TA forms, with the new restrictions that are coming or that are going to be re-laxed on March 7, this Government is fully invested in
the economic recovery of this Island —starting with
tourism. And I remind my Senate colleague from the opposite side that the Government does not control
how airlines decide to set up their flights. And he
would know that ever since the pandemic, airlines changed their schedules month by month by month.
And I bet, Madam President that come summer of
2022 we will see an increase in flights, maybe from Boston, maybe from other places. We will see an increase in cruise ship traffic and that will start the economic recovery.
Madam President, also the Government has
been working diligently . . . and I noticed that in his 15
minutes of nothing the Senator never touched on one
of the most important issues of this country, which is
education. And there is a group of individuals who I
have given Ministerial Statements about who are
working hard day and night, weekends, to reform the education in Bermuda for the betterment of our students. Nothing in his speech mentioned education a nd
the changes and work that the Progressive Labour
Party is doing.
I also find it interesting that Senator from the
opposite side (who is wearing a red tie today) has time to get into the reasons why a finance minister
resigned, yet a week or two ago when the same finance minister was getting absolutely crucified in the
newspaper I did not see this Member or any of his
team talk about how amazing the MP was at the time.
So I actually take great exception to Senator Jones coming to Senate this morning and getting on his
soapbox trying to expose the PLP Government and
cast aside all the work that they have done. And as he ended with a line, I will end with
mine, Madam President. Maybe if the Senator —the
failed Senator —from constituency 19 wishes to see
himself in any sort of Government leadership role, he
should find a way to research what the word “frequent” means. And instead of taking something for
granted, he should understand what hard work
means, what it means to frequent the doorstep of your
constitu ents, what it means to check in with people
who are struggling and offer them hope, what it
means to be part of a party that puts Bermudians first.
He should look up what things he can do
more frequently than give a nothing speech in the
Senate, and figur e out what strong leadership actually
looks like.
Madam President, it is quite ridiculous and
disgusting that we can come to this hallowed place
and be wasted with 15 minutes of a grandstanding
jaunt on a soapbox by someone who has an expertise
in slips. I just do not understand that, Madam President. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Owen Darrell,
Junior Minister of Education, Public Works and the Cabinet Office.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Ben Smith, you have the floor.

PREMIER ’S POOR JUDGMENT
IN BOARD APPOINTMENTS
Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
So, Madam President, the Junior Minister who
just finished speaking said several things to say nothing. I guess his role was to def lect. I noticed that there
were certain subjects in his response that he did not
want to touch. So when he was referring to putting
Bermudians first, I guess he was referring to the person who has been able to pocket $3.6 million. That
must have been the person he was referring to, because I noticed that he did not mention that when he
was giving his deflection speech just now.
So, Madam President, he also mentioned that
my colleague, Senator Jones, did not mention educa-tion. But it is interesting that the Junior Minister of Education, when he gave his response in deflection, did
not mention the vote of no confidence for the Minister
of Education that just happened. Madam President, it is important that as people who are part of moving this
country forward, we look at everything. It is important
that we understand that communication is not just us
speaking but also listening.
So, Madam President, when you get up and
talk about education, I would think that as the Junior
Minister was a teacher himself, he would think it is
important that we find out what a teacher’s position is,
because most people who know teachers will know
that they are patient. They have chosen a field beBermuda Senate cause of their passion for educating our young people.
It will take a lot to push tea chers to the brink for them
to give a vote of no confidence the way they did last week. But, strangely, that was not part of the deflection that we just listened to.
Madam President, there are several things
that have happened in our community since the l ast
time we had the ability to sit in this Senate Chamber, one of them being what I just referred to with the vote
of no confidence to the Minister of Education.
But, Madam President, if you listen to teachers . . . and you have to talk to them because t hey are
not allowed to say it out loud themselves. So maybe it is important for us to listen to them so we can speak
on behalf of them about some of the things that have
caused them frustration. Because, Madam President,
there is a part of our community that is talking about wearing masks all day for students; the impact that
COVID -19 has had on our young people; the missing
of assessments that has happened for our young
people. We do not know what the full impact is. And my question is, Have we done the as sessments to
find out how far behind have we fallen?
The teachers who are showing their frustration have been missing out on their prep time because there are so many teachers who are out from work.
They do not have the substitutes to come in so teachers are having to cover and are not able to stay in
school after school to do their prep time, not able to
have access to the school on weekends to do their
prep time. Just so that everybody understands, teach-ers work all the time because they have to prepare for
the lessons. Before the pandemic they were complaining that they were not supported. So just imagine, un-der all the new things that are happening now, the
frustration that they must have because they are hav-ing to dig further into their own resources. But, Madam President, that was not part of the deflection.
But while we were out, I spent time (like many
of us did) over the Christmas holiday with family and
friends, but also walking around our community and
seeing the changes that are happening here. It does
not take long to walk around the City of Hamilton and see the buildings that are boarded up, and the busi-nesses that have closed down. To hear the restaurants that are on the brink of falling off the cliff, to hear
the commercial boat industry say that they are on the
brink, that they have been on brink, and no one is listening to them.
Madam President, we are in a crisis situation
in this country. And we actually have to have leader-ship that is listening and paying attention to what is
happening in the country and not deflecting. When my
colleague talked about friends and family it is because
. . . what he is saying is, instead of paying attention to
the whole community you are payin g attention to the
people who you want to help— not everybody. That is
a problem. And the chaos that we have continued to
see, people in Bermuda are questioning the leader-ship. They want to know that the people who are in
charge of the country are doing wha t is in the best
interests of everybody, not just some.
So I took out the time a couple of weeks ago
to think. T here needs to be solutions because our
tourism industry, as my colleague mentioned air arrivals going down, we do not have the ability to bring
hospitality back. Restaurants are closing. Why would
people want to come to a country and see the picture I
just painted for you with retail in decline and seeing
what is happening in our city, and on top of it all the things that are now happening in our community with
the crime and what is happening with our young people and antisocial behaviour?
Madam President, we just heard in the [Congratulatory and/or Obituary Speeches] the amount of
people who have lost their lives not just from COVID -
19 but from the aggressive behaviour that is happening in this country between our people. We cannot
continue to just turn a blind eye to it and pretend that
what is happening is okay, because, Madam President, my solution that I sent out, just a suggestion,
was on A merica’s Cup. Maybe it is something for us to
just start to get our people to believe in something again. But the Minister of Tourism thought that was a
bad idea, mainly because they had spoken out so
much about it before that it was a bad idea. But instead of talking to the people who were working during that period, who were organising during that period, the entertainment from our community that was
trained for it, our sports people who were able to be
helped during that period, instead, Let’s push it
aside—$360 million, 48 million views. That is not
something we are interested in.
But I tell you what: the community is interested in hearing what the Tourism Minister is going to put
in place that is going to bring in $360 million and 48
million views because we can’t be patient anymore.
Our competitors to the south are wiping us
right now while we are giving $3.6 million to a close
personal friend of the Premier. The people have had
enough. And, Madam President, I hope that the Minister of Sport in charge of the National Sports Centre,
the one that spoke earlier, I hope he is going to actu-ally bring to this Senate Chamber a report on what happened so that everybody can have comfort to
agree with what he said, that everything was above
board.
Maybe there should be an independent investigation into what actually happened, because it is strange to me that you would remove every one of the
trustees who were there before and bring in new ones
and everything is just fine! Everything is great. But just
remember we also —
Sen. Owen Darrell: Point of order, Madam President.
The President: Senator Owen Darrell, what is your
point of order?
124 16 February 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Owen Darrell: All trustees have not been removed. Thank you, Madam President.
Sen. Ben Smith: That is because many of them had
been replaced earlier, so it two sections of replacing.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, again, point of
order. That is not all.
The President: Senator Ben Smith, carry on.

Sen. Ben Smith: Once again, the Junior Minister is
trying to deflect from the points I am making because he does not want to actually deal with the facts.
The truth of the matter is that there should be
an independent investigation so that we can have
comfort that what people were talking about —
includ ing trustees from that board —was not something that should have been happening so that we can
have comfort that going forward it will not happen
again. And if there were people who were connected
to that who are involved with something that should
not have happened, then they should not be promoted. And I am not actually accusing anybody there. I
am saying that we do not know because there has not
been a report to tell us what happened.
Madam President, the Budget is coming up.
Everybody in this country w ho is suffering has been
waiting to see what is going to happen next. How will it be dealt with? What will the plan be? And, next to
the captain of our ship, the Premier, was the pilot, the
one who was driving this economy. And here we are 11 days before f inding out what the plan is, and he
steps down. It is actually really important for this coun-try to find out why. Somebody who has always been looked at as a steady hand decided that now is the
time for him to do it. I am wondering, the same as my
colleagu e wondered, whether he has a lack of confidence of where the direction this country is going be-ing led by the captain of this ship.
Madam President, as the Titanic was hitting
the iceberg, and to those of you who have watched the movie and do not know the actual history of it, all I
am saying to you is this: Remember the scene where
the music was playing to distract the people who were
going to be left behind. Are lifeboats only being provided for the people in friends and family, while the
rest of the country has to slip into the cold water while this economy is being run into the ground? It is not
good enough. We need answers.
Questions have continued to be asked; no
answers are being given. We all need to be held ac-countable, including the Government. I t is not time for
deflection. It is time for answers, because the population cannot be patient any longer. We are on the brink
of the abyss and we need answers for how we are
going to fix this. We were in trouble before COVID -19 and now COVID -19 is wiping out what is left. We need
a true plan. We need solutions that are actually going
to give us green shoots, put our people back to work,
and allow us to be a successful thriving country again.
For all of us —not some of us!
Thank you, Madam President.

[Desk thumping]
The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader in the Senate and the Shadow Minister of Education, and spokesperson on Youth, Sport
and Community Affairs. Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?

Madam President.

The President: Oh, before you do, Senator Michelle
Simmons would like to speak.
You have the floor Senator Simmons.

BERKELEY INSTITUTE
“ONE ISLAND, ONE BOOK” INITIATIVE

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
I guess what I am going to say may sound out
of context in terms of what we have just heard. But I
think there are a few important things I can contribute
this morning on the motion to adjourn. (I think it is still
morning, yes.)
Madam President, I would like to thank and
commend the English Language Department at the Berkeley Institute, as well as the principal, of course,
for choosing a unique way of encouraging our young
people to read by engaging with the whole c ommunity
in a national literacy conversation. The whole community, not just part of the community —everyone! Everyone can participate in this.
Their “ One Island, One Book ” programme has
seen students, staff, entire classes, families, book clubs, and cross -generational groups coming together
just to enjoy reading and discussing the book, Girl-Cott, which was written by Florenz Webbe Maxwell,
one of Bermuda’s living legends. GirlCott is a work of
fiction, but it is set during the time of the 1959 Theatre
Boyco tt. And Ms. Maxwell was a member of the Progressive Group so she was able to use the Theatre
Boycott as a backdrop to her story about Desma who
is about to have her 16
th birthday. Therefore, there is a
historical context which can assist us in understanding
more about the Bermuda of today, and, of course,
where we have come from.
I believe that one of the main reasons for this
project is to encourage literacy, but it is also encouraging our community to come together to talk. Boy, is that necessary! This i s something we need to do
much, much more [of] in order for us to be a unified


Bermuda Senate community. If we really want to see Bermuda progress
and move forward we cannot continue to fight one
another. My prayer is that this is the first book in the
One Island, One Book programme since encouraging
literacy and unity in our community are ongoing mat-ters of concern.
So I am encouraging everyone, if you do not
have a copy of GirlCott , get one, or share with someone so that you can participate in the online activities
associated with the various chapters in the book. If
you cannot go online, as some of our seniors cannot,
ask a friend to print out the activities for you. Unifying
the community is not impossible; it can be done. But
we have to consciously make steps forwar d in order to
do that.
And since I am on this theme of unifying Bermuda, I would also like to send out a plea to all individuals who have leadership positions in our schools.
Please remember that our children should come first
in every decision that is made in both the short term
and long term. Just bickering and not being able to steer the ship with any kind of confidence is not helpful to our children. And right now the landscape in
public education is not looking good because of the
strife that exists between our educators and those in the Department of Education and the Ministry of Education. Focusing on our children will hopefully have
the effect of unifying our leaders and reminding them about the common goals they have.
Madam President, I feel so concerned right
now when I hear of votes of no confidence because that does not help any of us. And our children deserve
better. They deserve to be in schools where they
know that their best interests are being looked out for. So, Madam President, those are my remarks this
morning. And I really pray that, Bermuda, we can look past our differences and come together and recognise what we have in common.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Simmons, Vice President of the Senat e.
Before I call on the Minister who has indicated
he would like to speak, would any other Senator care
to speak on the motion to adjourn?
Hearing none, then Senator, Minister Peets,
you have the floor.

NEED FOR MORE CONSTRUCTIVE USE
OF MOTION TO ADJOURN

Yes, thank you,
Madam President.
I would describe myself as a pretty simple
man, pragmatic in approach, disciplined. As I was lis-tening to the motion to adjourn today a few things dawned on me, one being that we have a conscious
decision to make when we are choosing to speak and
what we are going to speak about on the motion to adjourn. I think it goes without saying that the current
situation that we find ourselves in today certainly requires us as Senators and parliamentarians to be extremely focused and to pay attention to those things
that really matter. And right now what really matters is our country’s economic recovery, particularly as we
move beyond the pandemic.
I don’t take issue a lot, but today I took issue
with comments around wardrobe malfunctions. Is this what the motion to adjourn is about? To talk about
slips as a metaphor? If we continue that metaphor, perhaps on this side of the aisle maybe we should
describe the Opposition as T he Emperor’s New
Cloth es. With that being the case, I would rather have
a slip showing than be the Emperor with new clothes.
If you understand what that metaphor is, the
Emperor is naked and doesn’t realise it. I could mention, while if we are talking about votes of no confidence, that there are 30 seats in another place where
someone else has six. Perhaps that is the biggest
vote of no confidence. What I do know is that since
coming to power this Government has had to deal
with a lot of issues that required the attention of the
Government —things like Morgan’s Point, things like
the airport, and then, God help us, a pandemic.
What I can say is that these Senators behind
me, and other parliamentarians with this Government,
are committed. Our resolve to deliver for this co untry
and for the people of Bermuda has not waned, we
have not deterred.
The other thing, Madam President, that I take
issue with is that my door is open every single day.
There are questions and there are comments and there are allegations that we throw about during motion to adjourn, but those allegations and those questions and those concerns can easily be answered.
Just come by the office, have a conversation. Come
and visit us. Do a PATI request. I don’t know. Why are
we using motion to adjourn to throw stones, particularly when you live in a glass house? I am hoping, going
forward, that we have a little better use of the motion
to adjourn and perhaps there will be something substantial and something serious rather than all of this
grandstanding.
So, w ith that, those are my comments, Madam President. I am looking forward to doing the difficult and hard work next week as we work through a
very, very difficult budget. And look forward to a very
constructive conversation rather than some of the things that I have heard today during our motion to
adjourn.
Thank you very much.
The President: Thank you, Senator the Honourable
Doctor Ernest G. V. Peets, Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport, spokesperson for Legal Affairs and the
Government Leader in the Senat e.
Senators, the Senate stands adjourned until
February 23.
126 16 February 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate I wish you well and look forward to the 23rd
when we next meet. Stay blessed.

[At 11:18 am, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 23 February 20 22.]