October 6, 2021

Thank you, Madam
President, for your cooperation and indulgence.
Madam President, I rise this morning to inform
this Honourable Senate that during the week of the
30th of August 2021 a number of Bermuda agencies
680 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate received training in disaster victim identification , also
known as DVI.
Madam President , as a direct result of the Air
Crash Incident Training conducted in January of 2019,
a gap was reali sed that Bermuda and all the other
Overseas Territories have in disaster victim identific ation. To assist, the Natio nal Disaster Coordinator approached the Foreign Commonwealth and Develo pment Office with an application for this DVI training to
be delivered across all of the O verseas Territories .
Madam President , the DVI process is an i nternationally recogni sed sequence of activities that
has been developed over several years. It has been
tested in large- scale disasters in many regions across
the world and has proven to be a reliable method by
which victim data in the form of post -mortem material
can be matched against missing person data. The aim
of this matching process is to positively identify human
remains.
Madam President , Bermuda was lucky to r eceive two instructors, Mr. Howard Way (OBE) and
Police Superintendent Pete Sparks (QPM) , from the
Disaster Victim Identification Team , which is part of
the National Police Coordination Centre and sits under the National Police Chiefs Council. Madam Pres ident, they trained 15 students, 12 [police ] officers and
3 regiment solders , who received three full days of
training as on-the-ground practitioners in managing
any victims, scene preservation and evidence.
Madam President, o n Friday , September 3,
four hours of training was delivered to the various
commanders of the agencies who would be involved ,
and staff with specialis t roles that are touchpoints for
the scene investigators . This included the Deputy
Governor, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of N ational Security, Police Commanders, Regiment Commanders, Coast Guard Commander, Fire Commanders, Bermuda Hospital s Board, Mass Casualty Team
Commander, INTERPOL Officer, Family Liaison Officers, Property Management Team, Police Training
Centre, Police Doctor, Chief Dental Officer,
Pathologists, Morgue Manager, Coroners Officer,
Crown Counsel, Diplomatic Counsels, Safety and
Health Managers, Public Information Officers, Berm uda Red Cross, Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, Bermuda Airport Authority and Skyport Corporation. The
coordination of the training was completed by the Di saster Risk Reduction and Mitigation [DRRM] Team ,
which sits under the Ministry of National Security and
the Emergency Measures Organisation.
Madam President , over the last 40 years there
have, unfortunately , been many incidents around the
world that have involved loss of life on a large scale.
These hav e included air crashes, industrial expl osions, fires, acts of terrorism , as well as other [ types
of] incidents including natural disasters such as hurr icanes and tsunamis . Fortunately , these incidents are
rare, but this does not mean that we should not be
prepared. After each of these incidents an inquiry [did] take place, which has resulted in many recommendations being made.
Madam President , these inquiries have
shaped disaster victim identification into a discipline
which follows the recommendations made, and i ncludes:
• the provision to be honest and, as far as pos-sible, provide accurate information at all times
and at every stage to the families and friends
of the victims;
• being respectful to the deceased and to the
bereave d;
• having a sympathetic and car ing approach;
and
• acting professionally and diligently to avoid
mistaken identification.
Madam President , INTERPO L has mandated
that one of the most important requirements for victim
identification is the application of international standards, which aim s to promote a consistent and widely
understood approach, especially in multinational DVI
operations.
Madam President , I would like to thank both
Howard Way and Pete Sparks for providing their expert advice based on many years of experience, and
also [thank] the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office for sponsoring this training.
Madam President , the Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Team are now crafting a DVI r esponse plan which will outline Bermuda’s coordinated multi- agency response should an incident ever occur
that requires a DVI response in Bermuda. Madam
President , the work of the DRRM T eam is important in
ensuring that Bermuda is prepared for any large- scale
disaster. I will continue to update this Honourable
Senate on this work and the important work of all of
the departments and units within the Ministry of N ational Security.
Thank you, very much, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets.
The second Statement is in the name of Senator Owen K. Darrell, the Junior Minister for the Cab inet Office. And that has to do with the Bermuda Post
Office enhanced services.
Senator Darrell, you have the floor.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Good morning. Thank you. Madam President.

The President: Good morning.

BERMUDA POST OFFICE

Sen. Ow en Darrell: Madam President, I would like to
speak briefly to inform this Chamber of some
Berm uda Post Office (or BPO ) initiatives that are being i mplement ed. As has been mentioned, the BPO conti nues to advance products and services that will benefit


Bermuda Senate local businesses and residents. Madam President , the
BPO continues to innovate through this current
COVID -19 pandemic to not only service the community by deliv ering mail, but to also provide business s olutions for the betterment of Bermuda in general.
Madam President, one such service is called
Drop- and-Deliver which allows local businesses the
opportunity to use the BPO to deliver local products to
their clien ts based within Bermuda. Madam President,
this value- added service will allow local e- commerce
as well as the traditional brick -and-mortar vendors that
do not have a delivery network the option of dropping
off mail items and packages to the Bermuda Post O ffice for delivery locally within 24 hours. As an added
bonus they can arrange for the Post Office to also pick up from their place of business for free. Local bus iness [post] rates will apply, with a $5 fee per delivery item.
Madam President, local entrepreneurs , etailers and businesses will be provided with an affor dable, local, last -mile delivery and logistic service.
Madam President as an added feature to expand markets for our small business owners who want to ship goods and merchandise overseas, the BPO
will also pick up mail items for free and ship internationally upon arrangement. Customers will find that the BPO postage rates for this service are highly competitive and once we go live can be found on
www.Be rmudaPost.bm
. BPO rates are consistently at
least 50 per cent of what courier s normally charge for
this service.
Madam President, for businesses and res idents, another service that the BPO is offering in the near future is the introduction of a one- size, one-price
mailbox for outgoing international parcel mail. This
allows customers to benefit from the overseas delivery
service by having a flat rate for anything that can fit
into a particular size box, irrespective of weight or
content. The premise is, i f it fits, it ships. Madam President, the concept is that customers can put whatever fits into a mailbox, pay a flat postage rate, and the
Post Office will transport that item. Customers can track and trace their item from Bermuda to the intended delivery address anywhere in the world.
Madam President, another service that we are
introducing is when business customers in Hamilton who want their Post Office box mail to be delivered to
them can have this done for them as well. There will
be a small fee for this service if customers wish to ut ilise it.
Madam President, I make mention of the
Bermuda Post Office as they intend to tell their story.
Their story includes the fact that 98 per cent of all letter mail arriving into Bermuda is delivered within four
working days. All parcels and packet mail received is
cleared through Customs within three hours, and all
mail items are delivered to a sub- post office within two
working days for customer pick up. Madam President, in the future the BPO customers will re ceive an electronic advice of arrival of
their parcel mail items. Customers will be able to pay custom duties online and their mail item will be deli vered to them if they so wish.
Madam President, as announced by Minister
Furbert recently in another place, the Bermuda Post
Office is also expanding its services to include e nhanced shipping options for online shopping. This new
service is called MyBermudaPost and will be powered
by MyUS. The Post Office is now in a midst of a soft
launch to test the service. And it will be fully implemented for us in mid- October.
Madam President, the Post Office has for
years been offering a parcel service for overseas
goods and this new partnership will provide an e nhanced experience and an improved level of service for cus tomers.
Madam President, these are but a few innov ative and progressive initiatives that we are implement-ing at the Bermuda Post Office and we are certain that the general public and local business will be delighted
with these new services.
Thank you, Madam Pres ident.

The President: Thank you, Senator Owen Darrell,
Junior Minister for the Cabinet Office.

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.
Senators, we will now consider the questions
to the two Statements that have been read to you this
morning, the first one being the Disaster Victim Ident ification Training that was delivered by Minister Peets.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: I have a question, Madam
President.

The President: Senator Michelle Simmons, you have
a question. You have the floor.

QUESTION PERIOD

QUESTION 1: DISASTER VICTIM IDENTIFICATION
TRAINING

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
682 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate I am very happy to hear about the Disaster
Victim Identification Training. I noted in the Statement
which Minister Peets delivered on behalf of Senator
Richardson, that thankfully these incidents, where the
identification of victims requires a special touch, they
are very rare.
Therefore, the training which was delivered
recently will probably not be something that is used right away or indeed even frequently. If the training is
not used right away, it is probably going to lapse. So
my question is: How will the skills acquired be mai ntained? I think this is very important. There should be
a plan for maintaining those skills so that if, God forbid, those skills are needed in the event of some kind
of major disaster, those persons who have received the training will be able to step right up and get on
with the job. So that is my question.
Thank you, Ma dam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Minister Peets, do you have a response?

Yes, thank you,
Madam President. And thank you, Senator, for your
question.
Training, of course, is vitally important, given
the nature of the work. And as the Statement indicat-ed, this type of training is indeed professional and
does come under certification of important oversight
bodies. The recertification process is typically every [one] or two years. The substantive Junior Minister is
not present at the moment ; I could provide more clar ity on the recertification process before we conclude
our session today, if that is suitable.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets.
Senator Simmons, do you have a second
question?

Sen. Michelle Simmons: No, I will just await some
more information. I am glad to hear there will be recertification because that will be so important. T hank you.

The President: Absolutely.
Would any other Senator care to ask a question on this Statement?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President.

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

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
And al so I thank —

Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I cannot hear
the Senator.
The President: Senator Tucker, we are having a
problem hearing you.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, can you hear
me now?
The President: It is still very faint.

Sen. Robin Tucker: How is this Madam President?
The President: Senator Darrell, can you hear?

Sen. Owen Darrell: If you can scream a little louder,
Senator, we will be able to hear you. Thank you.
[Laughter]

Sen. Robin Tucker: Is this a little better? Is this better?
Sen. Owen Darrell: Go ahead. I will do my best. Go
ahead.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Okay.
The President: You can proceed.

QUESTION 1: DISASTER VICTIM IDENTIFICATION
TRAINING

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I would just like to know from Minister Peets
what was in place prior to this particular training. So, if
we were to have had a disaster, how would that have
been handled? And also, I would like to know how . . .
sorry. I need to wait for you to invite me for the next
question. I apologise.

The President: Minister Peets, are you going to r espond to that question?

Sure. I will certainly
make an attempt, Madam President.
As the Statement had indicated, in January
2019, there was a n Air Crash Incident Tr aining conducted. That particular training [course] identified
some gaps in services , which of course we eventually
filled with th e DVI training. So I guess the short answer to the question is that prior to us receiving DVI
training, th e training that was in place was the Air
Crash Incident Training which now has been suppl emented with the DVI training.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets.
Senator Tucker, do you have a supplemental
question?



Bermuda Senate Sen. Robin Tucker: I do not have a s upplemental
question, Madam President, but I do have a second
question.

The President: Proceed with your second question.

QUESTION 2: DISASTER VICTIM IDENTIFICATION
TRAINING

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I would just like to know what the criteri on was
for selecting the participants for the training. Thank
you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you.

The Overseas O ffice, of course, provides some guidance. As we had
mentioned in the Statement, the i dentification of a lot
of cross -ministry departments was important, so
agencies that are associated with disaster either d irectly or indirectly, I do not have a complete number,
but the list is quite extensive across the ministries. So
these types of trainings have been done throughout
Overseas Territories, as we have mentioned. I would
imagine the number of individuals who were trained
here are typical across other jurisdictions.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets.
Senator Tucker, do you have a s upplemental?
Sen. Robin Tucker: No, I do not, Madam President.
Thank you very much.
The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions on this Statement?
Senator Ben Smith, Opposition Leader, you
have the floor.
Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, good morning, Madam Pres ident.
The President: Good morning.
Sen. Ben Smith: Just a quick question. As this trai ning came about because there were deficiencies that were identified, can the Minister let us know whether
there were any other areas of deficiency that were
identified at the time that potentially will need to see training happen or things changed locally in order to
[take care of] those deficiencies?

Madam President, it
is my understanding that the defici encies that were
identified after the training in 2019 were fully covered
by the DVI training. Perhaps maybe the question is
asking, Are there any additional deficiencies beyond
that? Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, correct. Is there anything else
that is having to be added in order to deal with def iciencies that would have been identified in 2019?

Okay. Thank you.
Now that I better understand the question, Madam
President, allow me some time to actually get a defin itive answer for the Senator.

The President: Thank you, Minister.
Senator Ben Smith, do you have a second
question or . . .

Sen. Ben Smith: No, Madam President. Thank you.

The President: Would any other Senator care to ask
a question on this Statement?
Hearing none, we will move on to the second
Statement that was delivered this morning. That was
on the Bermuda Post Office enhanced service that
was delivered by Senator Owen Darrell.
Would any Senator . . . Senator John Wight,
you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA PO ST OFFICE

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I would just ask the Minister whether in the
spirit of “Buy Bermuda” and supporting local bus inesses and Bermudian employment whether any con-sideration had been [given to] allowing local bus inesses to tender rather than directly contracting with
the overseas partner that we have heard about. So
that is my question, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Senator Darrell, did you hear the question?
Sen. Owen Darrell: Just one more piece. The question is, Was consideration given?

The President: Would you repeat the question, Sen ator Wight, please?

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
So, in the spirit of “Buy Bermuda” and supporting local businesses and local employment , from
reading the daily I understood that the local post office
partnered with an overseas company as part of the
solution. So, my question is, Why weren’t local ve ndors, local businesses, considered in this request for
proposal process?
Thank you, Madam President.

Sen. Owen Darrell: First, Madam [President], thank
you for the question, Senator.
I would like to first start off by pointing out that
the Bermuda Post Office is considered and would be
considered a local business. And I think that this . . .
684 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate the MyBermudaPost i nitiative will actually assist small
local businesses in getting their products to Bermuda
because right now we are seeing that there are enormous prices for private companies that are bringing in
product from the States. So this is ac tually to assist
Bermudians in bringing down costs and assist smaller
local businesses.

The President: Senator Wight, do you have a su pplemental?

SUPPLEMENTARY
Sen. John Wight: I do, Madam President.
So, I guess my follow -up question is, Was this
request for proposal to multiple vendors?
Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, the answer to
that is no. This is an initiative and a new service of-fered by the Bermuda Post Office to assist local vendors and local Bermudians in bringing in goods at a cheaper price.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
Senator Wight, do you have a second question?
Sen. John Wight: I don’t, Madam President. Thank
you. Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Senator.

The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to as k a question on this Post Office enhanced serv ice?

Sen. Ben Smith: Madam President.

The President: Yes, Senator Ben Smith, Opposition
Leader, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA POST OFFICE

Sen. Ben Smith: The Junior Minister just referred to
the fact that it was going to help local businesses but
also locals to bring the cost down.
My question is regarding the fact that impor ting goods as an individual puts you in direct compet ition with local retail. And local retail hires Bermudians
only. So the fact that what you are doing is trying to
figure out a way to give an advantage to people brin ging in their own goods could have a knock -on effect to
local retail which then will impact local jobs. So, Ma dam President, was that taken into consideration wh en
we went down this path that the Junior Minister was referring to?
The President: Senator Darrell, did you hear the
question?
Sen. Owen Darrell: I will answer the question as
such. Many things were taken into consideration when
the Bermuda Post Office looked to modernise its service.

QUESTION 2: BERMUDA POST OFFICE

Sen. Ben Smith: Madam President, I guess my follow
up—
The President: Senator Smith.

Sen. Ben Smith: —is that the prices that were r eferred to in the Statement, you know, it is 50 per cent
lower than the competitors in Bermuda and we have a
$5 fee, all of th ese things are to compete with the l ocal market.
The revenue that is created by the services
that are going to be provided, my question is: Are all
of costs actually being covered in order to give these
services ? Because in order to compete 50 per cent
lower in Bermuda’s market it would be interesting to
know whether all costs are being covered in order for
this to happen, because if you are taking the a dvantage of making the cost lower by not covering all of
the costs, you are impacting, once again, local bus inesses that hire Bermudians.

The President: That was your second question, Senator Darrell. You have . . . there was a—
Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, with respect, I
did not really hear a question there.

The President: Senator Ben Smith, would you repeat
the question, please? This is your second question.

Sen. Ben Smith: Madam President, with the services
that are being provided at the costs that the Junior
Minister laid out, 50 per cent less than our compet itors, the question is, Will the Post Office actually be
covering their costs to provide those services?

Sen. Owen Darrell: The answer is yes, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
Do you have a supplemental to that question,
Senator Ben Smith?

Sen. Ben Smith: I do not, Madam President.
The President: Senator Marcus Jones, [do] you have
a question for the Junior Minister on his Statement?
Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, I do.

The President: You hav e the floor.



Bermuda Senate QUESTION 1: BERMUDA POST OFFICE

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
I was listening with great intent the present ation made by Senator Darrell. And I guess I am going
to ask this question in a different way than how Senator Ben S mith asked it. Does the Post Office have a
forecasted timeframe in which this new entity within
the Bermuda Post Office will actually be able to generate enough revenue for this division of the gover nment to actually report a profit? Is that the long- term
goal objective of this new initiative, Junior Minister?

Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, as I said in the
Statement, right now this service is in a soft -launch
phase. Once the service is actually fully implemented
we will be able to look back and answer those questions. But I would also like to point out, Madam Pres ident, that the Opposition seems to be focused on a lot
of these overseas services. But in my Statement I
have given multiple initiatives that have been put in place by the Bermuda Post Offic e to help local bus inesses and the local community. I think the Oppos ition should probably focus on some of those services
that I have talked about this morning as well.
The President: Senator Jones, [do] you have a supplemental or a second question?

SUPPLEMENTARY

Sen. Marcus Jones: I have a supplemental, Madam
President.
I would like for the Junior Minister to indulge
us. For a Government department that has consistently lost money in its operations, surely the Junior Mini ster would understand why we as an Opposition, and in
fact, the greater community, would want to see a
business plan, at least a path, to profitability to give
the country comfort that we are not throwing good
money after bad. That is why we are asking a question, because the public needs to understand and
know that this new initiative is going to bear good fruit.
So can the Junior Minister give us some comfort, some indication that this is in fact at least the objective and that there is a path to get there?

The President: Thank y ou, Senator Jones.
Senator Darrell.

Sen. Owen Darrell: The question that the Senator is
asking speaks directly to the point of this Statement. I
mean, he started . . . and everyone knows that the
Bermuda Post Office has been losing revenue for
years. And these initiatives that we have put in place
have been put in place to try and make revenue for
the Bermuda Post Office. So, you have actually answered the point of why we made this Statement.
Thank you, Madam President. The President: Thank you, Senator D arrell.
Senator Jones, do you have a second question?

Sen. Marcus Jones: No, Madam President. I believe
I am going to state that I am going to leave it at that.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senat or care to ask a question on this Statement?
Hearing none, then thank you Senators, we
will move on with the [next] Order of Business.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: The first order of the day is the second reading of the Health Insurance Amendment Act 2021 and that is in the name of Senator Arianna
Hodgson, the Junior Minister for Health.
Senator, you have the floor.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Health Insurance Amendment A ct 2021 be now
read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

HEALTH INSURANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2021
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, the
Health Insurance
Amendment Act 2021 introduces amendments to the
Standard Premium Rate and enhanced benefits under
the Health Insurance Plan [or HIP], and FutureCare,
and a maternal benefit for our vulnerable women.
The Health Insurance Act 1970 [the Act] contains the foundation of our current National Health Insurance System, and in conjunction with the assoc iated regulations, the minimal mandated health insurance package is prescr ibed. The mandated package
consists mainly of the Standard Health Benefit [SHB] and the Mutual Reinsurance Fund [MRF]. Both components form the fundamental base of an insurance
package that all employers must provide and all i nsurers must include in any policy.
The premium for the mandated package is
called the Standard Premium Rate, or SPR. It is comprised of the Standard Health Benefit component and
the Mutual Reinsurance Fund component. Madam
686 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate President, the SHB component covers select diagnostic imaging out of hospital, for example, mamm ograms; select medical home care benefits, [such as]
IV infusions; and select services that support home
care.
The MRF is a prescribed amount which each
insurer pays into a pooled fund. It covers most local
hospital -based care, [such as] inpatient and outpatient
services; all insured persons’ kidney care, [which] i ncludes transplant anti -rejection drugs , and transplant
coordination and education; in addition, the MRF may
provide funding for programmes that support health
for those vulnerable individuals who are uninsured
and underinsured.
Madam President, the SHB and MRF (collectively, the SPR) are generally reviewed and calculated
on the following:
• prior claims experience;
• the insured population’s headcount;
• anticipated utilisation and fee increases; and
• any changes in benefit s.
Madam President, it would be remiss of me
not to further explain how critical the role of the SPR is
to the sustainability of our health system. In July 2019,
the Bermuda Hospitals Board’s [BHB] fee- for-service
model was abolished and remodelled to a fixedbudget model. The new model would provide for $322
million to be transferred to the BHB by way of a go vernment grant and subsidy, plus a transfer from the
MRF portion of the SPR. Additionally, other elements critical to the health system, such as the Bermuda
Health Council, full treatment for patients with kidney
diseases, the personal home care programme, the
chronic disease innovation fund and the enhanced
care programme are all funded by way of the MRF
portion of the SPR. Furthermore, funds are allocated within the SPR to subsidise HIP and FutureCare, and to support the Health Insurance Department’s admi nistrative functions.
Madam President, all of the aforementioned
components of the health s ystem supported by the
SPR are of critical significance to the people of Ber-muda. However, it is no secret that BHB, a main pillar of the community, has been impacted in a major way
by the events in the last 21 months. The pandemic
has brought substantial pressure to bear on BHB,
creating unanticipated expenses such as for personal
protective equipment [PPE] and infection control costs, whilst realising a revenue reduction due to the reduction to the insured headcount and the recent
decrease in visitors to the Island.
It must be noted, BHB has endeavoured to
take robust cost -saving measures to mitigate the
downward pressures of the health system, inclusive of
increasing utilisation in the current pandemic. They
have delivered $30 million in savings over the past
two years, while maintaining access to health care,
without compromising quality of care. Despite i mproved financial performance, BHB’s cash position continued to be pressured and was reduced to $45
million at the end of 2019/20.
Bermuda, like the r est of the world, finds itself
in an unprecedented position in the fight against
COVID -19. BHB, as the health care provider of first
and last resort, has played a key role in this battle and
will continue with any subsequent outbreak. Unfort unately and des pite the success in delivery of savings
in each of the last three fiscal years, BHB’s financial position is not secure. Its cash at hand, often referred
to as a “reserve, ” has proved to be vital in securing
supplies for the entire country in this time of national
emergency.
Madam President, the increase in the SPR
does not fully provide BHB with sufficient funding to sustain their operations. A rigorous review of all options available to support BHB was undertaken to en-sure the SPR, and ultimately the insurer, would not
endure the entire funding requi rement on its shoulders. A portion of the BHB funding will be subsidised by the collection of the travel authorisation fees. Government will allocate $11.1 million of travel authoris ation fees to BHB. This allocation removes approx imately $23 per month of the cost of the SPR. This
equates to savings of $276 per year for the insured.
Madam President, though the COVID -19 pandemic has revealed the many strengths of the health
system, it has also derailed the SPR. Bermuda, like the rest of the world, saw and continues to see this
100-year pandemic cause unspeakable damage to
the community in various forms. The increase of the
unemployed and ultimately an increase in the uni nsured has devastated many countries, Bermuda i ncluded.
Madam President, the SPR is an emplo yment -based health insurance scheme. Therefore, the
fewer there are who are employed, the less SPR collects and the less funding there is to support the
health system, which includes the organisations, pr ogrammes and insurance funds that I just mentioned.
The SPR was calculated on a reported 49,027 insured
adults over the past two years. The reduced hea dcount of 46,300 is the estimate used for calculation
purposes as of December 2020. But as recently as
May 2021, it is reported to be 46,181.
Madam President, in addition to unemplo yment and emigration, there are companies and persons unable to afford higher -priced insurance pro ducts, and therefore both HIP and FutureCare have
experienced increases in policy purchases which cr eate an increase in utilisation. This transfer to alternative policies has no impact on the headcount, but is an
indicator that the pandemic has forced entities and
individuals to economise.
FutureCare continues to see the pressures of
an ageing population, which will impact utilisation and
cost. Madam President, the MRF component of the
SPR and annual government capital injections provide
a subsidised amount to HIP and FutureCare client


Bermuda Senate premiums to continue to ensure that the premiums
can remain well below the market rate. A full 28 per
cent of the HIP premiums and 47 per cent of the F utureCare premiums are subsidised. In real terms, the
HIP premium is currently $429.24. However, $166.07 per client per month is subsidised, and the FutureCare
premium is currently $500.14, and [of that] $435.17
per client per month is subsidised.
Without these subsidies, Madam President,
the real cost of the premium for HIP would be
$595.31, and the real cost of the premium for F utureCare would be $935.31, r espectively. Additionally,
the downscaling and migration of businesses and residents to HIP and FutureCare increases utilisation,
administration, and ultimately costs to HIP, F utureCare and the SPR. It has been six years (namely
2015) since HIP and FutureC are have endured an
increase to the premiums during a period other expenses have increased.
Madam President, whilst utilisation increases,
the needs of the population also increase. Therefore,
the benefits needed are regularly assessed by way of
a review. Madam President, evidence supports pharmaceutical intervention as an important part of pr evention of disease progression, which is a direct link to cost savings. Both FutureCare and HIP clients will
receive increased and new pharmaceutical benefits, respectively.
The FutureCare annual [amount of] $2,000
[per person per year for] prescription drug caps will
increase, and HIP will receive a newly allocated pr escription drug benefit per annum. The new and enhanced benefit to HIP is ideal for those entities s truggling due to the pandemic and ultimately transferring
their insurance policy to HIP. They now can be assured of having a prescription benefit for their e mployees.
I wish to remind members of the public that
part of the 2017 PLP election platform indic ated that
as a Government we would increase the prescription drug benefits for seniors on FutureCare. Both HIP and
FutureCare prescription drug benefits are 100 per
cent covered for the annual amount. And, unlike var ious other policies that cover a portion or percentage
of the prescription, just as importantly, we all know the
uninsured and underinsured mothers -to-be are underserved during a critical part of life’s development. I cannot [overstate] the need for every child to be given
the best possible star t to achieve a fruitful life. And the
inability of mothers -to-be having access to basic m aternity care and maternal health education severely
reduces an unborn child’s chance of ultimately be-coming a productive citizen and enjoying some of
life’s rewards.
Approximately 100 out of 500 babies are born
each year to women [who] have no insurance. Lack of health insurance is a barrier to accessing the necessary care especially when pregnant. For too many of
these women, the first time they meet with an OB/GYN i s in the hospital when they are ready to deliver. Low birthweight, mental health events and deaths are higher in mothers and children who do not
get the standards of care for prenatal and postnatal
care from these doctors and their teams.
Every dollar spent on perinatal care saves
$1.60 to $5.19 in hospitalisation costs for mothers and
babies. This is a return of at least 160 per cent for
each dollar invested in our families. Research shows
that a lack of prenatal care is associated with a 40 per
cent incr ease in the risk of neonatal deaths overall
and a doubling of the risk among women delivering at or after 36 weeks gestation. Additional studies show
an estimate that the cost of lifetime custodial care of
low-birth-weight babies to be as much as $1 million
per child in 2021 [dollars].
These neonatal risks have been rising in
Bermuda recently. To ensure all children have an
equal and healthy start to life, all uninsured and underinsured women must have access to health care
and education at this critical point in their lives and in
the lives of their unborn and newborn children.
Madam President, I reiterate that Bermuda’s
current market realities are real and present. If we do
nothing, we could see a collapsed health system in
the near future. All of the aforementioned indicators
which are impacted by the pandemic, such as the r educed insured headcount, the migration of struggling companies and individuals to the HIP and FutureCare
programmes, the increase in utilisation, the benefit
needs of HIP and FutureCare clients, and the underinsured and uninsured women requiring maternity benefits cause the Ministry to propose amendments to
the premiums of SPR, HIP and FutureCare.
Madam President, the proposed benefits are
in line with Public Health’s core values such as enhanced equitable access to critical services and care.
Madam President, as I stated, the amendments are as
follows: There will be a $45 increase in the standard premium rate, which represents a 13.6 per cent i ncrease. This will account for a new reduced insured
headcount to ensure the BHB revenue targets are
met. It will support continued treatment for kidney di sease patients and it will provide a new maternity care benefit for uninsured and underinsured women, which will secure more equitable acces s regardless of i ncome, insurance or social status.
There will be a $30 increase in the HIP prem ium, representing a 6.9 [per cent] increase. This will be
accompanied by the introduction of a new prescription drug benefit, covering 100 per cent of costs up to
$1,000 in a policy year. There will also be a $30 i ncrease in the FutureCare premium, representing a
6 per cent increase. This will be accompanied by an
increase in the existing prescription drug fund benefit
of $1,000, taking it from $2,000 [per year] to $3,000
[per year].
Madam President, since January 2020 the
health system has been tested by the pandemic, and
688 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate its strengths and abilities have gleamed steadily
throughout the last 21 months. However, as we are
not an exception to the rest of the world, the changes
have also exposed areas requiring improvement.
There has never been a greater need for health care. But because of this, there has also never been a
greater pressure on our health care system than now.
The Government’s commitment to accessibl e, affor dable high- quality health care as a basic human right
has not wavered. And the pandemic ensures the
Government’s continued emphasis on this exact ph ilosophy.
Madam President, it must be acknowledged
that we are in a period of transition brought on by the
unanticipated and unexpected cost of the pandemic. Madam President, integrated health care and universal health coverage remain priorities for the Gover nment, and the changes introduced now support the direction of travel for strengthening our heal th system.
This work is ongoing. And as mentioned in
this Chamber before we anticipate that, before the
end of the year, we will be setting out the steps we
have agreed with stakeholders from across the sy stem to pick up the baton to re- ignite this journe y
afresh.
Again, the pandemic has highlighted our
strengths, but it has also exposed segments in the
health system which we can use as opportunities to
build on with our partners. Madam President, we must
all commit to working collaboratively as one in a positive light to develop a health system that we can all be
proud of so that no one person or entity is left behind.
Thank you, Madam President.

[Pause]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I think
you are muted at the moment.

The President: Thank you, very much, Senator Ar ianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister for Health.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR
The President: And before I open the floor, I would
just like to acknowledge the presence of the Perm anent Secretary for Home Affairs , Rosy Azhar. She is
in the Senate today.
[Health Insurance Amendment Act 2021, second
reading debate, continuing]

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this Health Insurance Amendment Act?
Senator Robin Tucker, you have the floor.

Sen. Rob in Tucker: Thank you, Madam President. And I thank the Junior Minister for presenting
this Bill this morning. I do not think that anyone can
deny that it is a country’s responsibility to ensure that
our unborn babies and our uninsured mothers -to-be
are c overed. And, of course, it is undoubtedly i mportant to ensure that our seniors and persons who
are otherwise insured on things like HIP insurance
and our private insurers get the level of coverage and
everything that is needed.
So with that said, I would s ay that the Oppos ition has no . . . we support this particular Bill. Howe ver, I do want to say that I do have a couple of challenges with the presentation of the Bill, and that is certainly around the increasing costs for seniors.
Again, I do believe that the mere fact that seniors . . . I mean, just googling increases for seniors
goes back . . . I went back as far as 2011. It has been
a constant issue where the cost for seniors continues
to go up. And they continue to be impacted. While that
is, in this p articular case, being balanced to some degree by affording an additional $1,000 of prescription
benefit, again, these are our seniors who we (in my opinion) should be taking care of, not continually taking monies from them. So that is one issue that I do
have with this particular Bill.
I also would like to know, Madam President,
what data we have to support the specific issues that
were raised here, such as, the issue with needing to have mothers have the additional maternal education
and access. I am not by any means saying that I am
questioning it, in terms of it being a need; I am just
wondering what we are anchoring these decisions to
in terms of having tangible data.
So, Madam President, I also would like to say
that the topic of health care, as the J unior Minister did
mention, goes along with not having sufficient people
in the country. And I also think, Madam President, that
while this Bill does attempt to . . . sorry, not attempt,
but this Bill does provide some benefits, I also think
that going for ward the conversation cannot be held in
silence. Not having sufficient people in the country
does go along with being able to provide the country
with sufficient health care.
I hope that I have not confused people much,
but I would like to know what data specifically that we
have been using to be able to arrive at the decisions that were made, highlighted in this Bill. Thank you,

Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Marcus Jones, you have the floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
I am just going to piggy -back off of what my
colleague, Senator Tucker, was referring to, and that
is the debt. Every time any decision that one makes,
especially when it has to do with the finances of a


Bermuda Senate country, when it has to do with the increasing of taxes,
because that is basic. This is an increase in tax. We
must have the sufficient data to make these decisions.
Now, I will bring to the attention of not only my
collea gues on the other side of the aisle, but to the
public in general, that we still do not have the most
recent audited financial statements from the Bermuda
Hospitals Board. I believe the last audited financials
were in 2018. I stand to be corrected, but I believe
that is the last year that we had audited financial
statements.
And also, we are in the midst of a national
crisis with this pandemic. We all can remember when
at the beginning of this pandemic, back in March
2020, the Government was inundated with expenses
that were never budgeted for. We all understand that
the Government had to dig deep, had to increase its
debt ceiling to be able to cover itself financially. Now,
we have been in this pandemic for, I guess, it has
been 21 months. I would like to know if the Gover nment has at least an estimate, an approximate figure
of those expenses that is directly connected to
COVID -19, because we know that this was an abnormal, unusual cost that struck the Government. And I
am sure that that cost, that unbudget ed cost, was part
of the decision- making and part of the calculation to
increase the premiums for our boomers who are pa ying into the health care system.
Also, I would like to know what the predictions
are from the actuaries for the increases in premiums .
Not just for this year, but for the next several years.
Surely, the actuaries have models, means of being
able to predict how the premiums will be impacted negatively or positively in the coming years, not just
for this year. We remember that when the Mi nister of
Health was making overtones about directing the
country into the way of universal health care, the pr ivate health care insurance companies took note of
that and they immediately started to raise their prem iums in the anticipation of the Government making those decisions.
As a responsible private sector within the
health insurance business, they did what they could to
get ahead of it, to pre- empt what the Government was
going to do, so many of our citizens had to experience a bump- up in their prem iums last year. Now, here we
are in year number two, and we have now got more
bad news of premiums going up. We know in successive Throne Speeches the PLP Government, made
declarations that its intent and objective was to pr ovide affordable health care for its citizens. We have
not seen that.
So, Madam President, I would ask the Junior
Minister if she could give us some indication of at
least the preliminary numbers that relate to the cost of
this pandemic in the realm of the hospital, or the cost
to the hospital has gone up, the importing of PPEs to
be able to counteract this pandemic, because I b e-lieve that is going to be a major part, and help give an
explanation for this significant rise in premiums.
And also my second question was having actuaries bei ng able to give us a forecast for possible
increases in premiums over the next two to three years. This will help [deliver a] message to the cou ntry. This will help businesses as well be able to plan
for the upcoming years, not just for this year alone.
With that I thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Michelle Simmons, Vice President [of
the Senate], you have the floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
I am very grateful that the Junior Minister for
Health has brought this Health Insurance Amendment
Act [2021] before us today. And I thank her for the
brief.
One of the things that really caught my eye in
this Bill was the need to provide comprehensive m aternity care and critical maternal health education for
young women, or for women. I am even more startled
this morning by the proportion of women who are hav-ing children who have no health insurance. The figure given was 100 out of 500 women each year, so that is
20 per cent. That should alarm everyone because we
know that when children and mothers get off to a rocky start life is not smooth at all for them. And we need our children to be vibrant, to be able to grow into
young people and adul ts who can contribute to this
community. So I am very, very pleased to have those benefits covered by the Health Insurance [Amendment] Act.
But what did concern me was (and I did listen
to the debate in the other place) that there is no defin ition of those terms, “comprehensive maternity care” or “critical maternal health education” in the Bill. And,
indeed, I am not sure where those matters are defined. But they should be defined somewhere so there
is no doubt about what “comprehensive maternity
care” and “critical maternal health education” are. I believe people have offered verbal explanations, but I
think they should be clearly defined, and if not in this
Bill, then where? So that is a question I have. Where
can we find accurate, up- to-date definitions for those
terms?
The other comments I would like to make are,
I think in this pandemic, with all the additional expenses and costs, everyone was expecting to see increases in the SPR, and so none of this comes as a surprise. It was good also to see that prescription drug
benefits have been introduced under HIP (that is the Health Insurance Plan) and increased under F utureCare. That will be very welcome for those persons
who are members of these plans.
690 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam President, I do not want to just talk for
the sake of talking. Those were the things that leapt
out at me under this Bill, and I am happy to support it.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?

Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, Madam P resident.

The President: Senator Ben Smith, you have the
floor.
Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, thank you, Madam President.
Just a quick question to the Junior Minister: I
would believe that there was a lot of time and effort
that went into making a decision to r aise these fees,
and probably a decision that would have been in the
works for maybe years because it is not something that you just start today to make this kind of decision.
So my question is, Would this number have been
moving up regardless of a pandemi c? We made a
change in the hospital that was significant. It is my
understanding that some services, potentially, were
changed in the hospital in order for them to r educe
costs for the new amount of money that they were
getting in a grant as opposed to the way that the sy stem was working before. So my question is, Were we
heading to this kind of increase anyway prior to the
pandemic?
Which then ties into the question that comes
from my colleague, Senator Jones: If the pandemic number is hitting us right now, will we see a number
that increases further a year from now, two years from
now, three years from now, and that is what is being
predicted by the actuaries? Because what is happening today is one thing, but a lot of times the bill does
not come home right away, it is something that you
are going to see in the future. So the increase that we
are seeing right now, was it based off of the changes
that happened prior to this, and then we are going to see a further increase because of what we are goin g
through today? So that is my question.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith, O pposition Leader in the Senate.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then, Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister, you have a few questions to r espond to.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I would like to start by thanking the other Senators for their support of this Bill. To Senator Tucker’s comment about the data,
I can say that we h ave the data. We know how many
children are born without insurance. We know that the
parents are uninsured. The Health Council is actually
the entity that receives this data.
The Health Council has also gone the extra
steps and has had the necessary conversations with
the OB/GYNs and they are in full support of these
amendments. We do see the benefits of providing this
type of care before and after, but it is important to
make sure that our young people have the best start. When we look at 20 per cent of t he population perhaps having a less than ideal start, I do think it is
cause for concern.
I believe that it was Senator Jones who mentioned the increase in premiums and was wondering
what that looks like in the future. He also mentioned the COVID -19 cost s that have been incurred in the
different entities. I can say that every involved Ministry
has their own COVID -19 budget. I do not have those
numbers at this time, but I can say that the Ministry of
National Security, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, and Cabinet have their budgets for
COVID -19 matters.
Senator Michelle Simmons had some questions about what this maternal care would look like, and I can say that it involves pre and post birth care,
inclusive of doctor’s appointments, monitor ing both
the mother and the child. This involves ultrasound and
preventative care and acute care, if required. So we
are trying to take a full approach.
We also had questions from the Senators
about whether or not the rate was going to increase.
And what I can say is that when you look at increased
utilisation, when we look at inflation, and when we
look at the need for increased medical treatment, it is
inevitable that the need is going to rise and that the costs associated are going to rise with it. And so while
we do not like to see ourselves burdening anybody with any further costs, additional benefits do require
additional finance. And so I do think that all of these
amendments are a good first step and I am looking
forward to what is to come.

The P resident: Thank you, Senator Hodgson.
You can then move your second reading.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled the Health Insurance Amendment
Act 2021 be now read a second time.

The President: Is there any objection t o that motion?
There is no objection. Carry on, Senator
Hodgson.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.


Bermuda Senate I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of this Bill.

The President: Is there any object ion to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

HEALTH INSURANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2021
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Health Insurance Amendment A ct 2021 be now read a third time.

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

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Health Insurance Amendment Act 2021 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Health Insurance Amendment
Act 2021 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, S enator Hodgson. And
thank you all, Senators.
We now move on to the second order of the
day and that is the second reading of the Incorporated
Segregated Accounts Companies Amendment Act
2021. That is also in your name, Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Mini ster of Finance.
You have the floor.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Incorporated
Segregated Accounts Companies Amendment Act
2021 be now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

INCORPORATED SEGREGATED ACCOUNTS
COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT 2021

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I am pleased to present the
Bill entitled Incorporated Segregated Accounts Companies Amendment Act 2021 .
This Bill will amend the Incorporated Segr egated Accounts Companies Act 2019, commonly r eferred to as the ISAC Act, to enable r egistration of an
incorporated segregated account as a company at the
time of initial registration under the ISAC Act and to
streamline the process for registration of a digital asset business as ISACs. The Bill makes other changes
in consequence of the su bstantive amendments to the
ISAC Act.
Madam President, the ISAC Act introduced
ISACs as a new corporate structure in response to
market demands for a product to compete with incorporated cell company structures offered in competitor
jurisdictions. One of the most important features of the
ISAC product is the ability to segregate assets and
liabilities amongst an ISAC and its incorporated se gregated accounts, also known as ISAs. Once an ISAC
is registered under the Act, it can register and operate
individua l ISAs as needed to diversify investors and
lines of business and to mitigate risk. Each ISA is a legal person with the rights, powers and privileges of a natural person that exists separately from those of the
ISAC.
Madam President, shortly after the ISA C Act
became operational, it was noted that the Act did not provide for ISAs to be registered as companies go verned by the Companies Act. Currently, for an ISA to
be registered as a company, its prior registration under the ISAC Act must be cancelled, the ISAC Act will
no longer apply and the company would be governed
solely by the Companies Act. The inability to register ISAs as companies has caused significant concerns
among industry representatives about the potential for
legal uncertainty in foreign courts, particularly within
the insurance sector.
Madam President, this Bill will resolve industry
concerns by clarifying the status of ISAs as companies at the time of initial registration. As such, it will no
longer be necessary for an ISA to cancel its r egistr ation under the ISAC Act to become a company. Each
ISA will be incorporated as a company governed by
the Companies Act and registered as an ISA under
the ISAC Act.
Madam President, the ISAC Act is also
amended to enable an ISA to continue operations as
a company once the registration under the ISAC Act is
cancelled. The now former ISA can continue operating
692 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate as an independent company governed by the Companies Act. The assets, liabilities, rights and obligations
of the ISA will continue to be those of the independent
company. This flexibility is essential to ensuring that the ISAC product remains as versatile as possible.
Madam President, in addition to the changes
regarding the ISAs, the Bill will amend the ISAC Act to
enable digital asset businesses to register as ISACs
without the need for approval by the Minister of F inance. Currently, only insurance businesses and i nvestment funds may register as ISACs without first
obtaining ministerial approval. As Members of the
Senate are aware, digital asset businesses, like insurance businesses and investment funds, are regulated
financial institutions supervised by the Bermuda Mon-etary Authority. This amendment will streamline the
process for registering a digital asset business as an
ISAC. The change in process is supported by both the
BMA and industry representatives and is consistent
with existing government policy.
Finally, Madam President, changes are pr oposed to the Companies Act 1981 and Government
Fees Regulations 1976. These amendments are
simply a consequence of the amendments to the
ISAC Act regarding registration of ISAs as companies
and continuation of a former ISA as a company go verned under the Companies Act.
Madam President, the Bill we are debating
today will enhance Bermuda’s ISAC product and
make it more competitive with similar offerings in other
jurisdictions. I would like to thank the technical officers
in the Ministry of Finance, Cabinet Office, Economic
Development Department, Attorney General’s Cham-bers, the Bermuda Monetary Authority , and members
of the private sector who all worked on this Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson, Junior
Minister of Finance.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I am a member of an advisory council to the
Ministry of Finance as it relates to insurance and rei nsurance. And this has been an item that has been di scussed by the local market for a very long time now, so I k now that the market will be extremely pleased to
see that this has been brought forward to the House
and to the Senate. So I am very supportive of this.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Marcus Jones, you have the floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President. We, the Opposition, have no objections to this
particular Bill. We do support it. We understand that
this is simply a housekeeping and administrative
amendment that is necessary, that is needed, and we
throw in our support to this piece of legislation.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then Senator Hodgson, it is
over to you.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Incorporated Segregated Accounts Companies
Amendment Act 2021 be now 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 this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that moti on?
There is no objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

INCORPORATED SEGREGATED ACCOUNTS
COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT 2021

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled the Incorporated Segregat ed A ccounts Companies Amendment Act 2021 be now read
a third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Incorporated Segregated Accounts Companies Amendment Act 2021 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection. The Bill is passed.



Bermuda Senate [Motion carried: The Incorporated Segregated A ccounts Companies Amendment Act 2021 was read a
third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, and all other Senators. We will move on to the third item on the O rders of the Day and that is the second reading of the
Segregated Accounts Companies Amendment Act
2021. And that is also in your name, Senator Arianna
Hodgson, Junior Minister for Finance. You have the floor.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Segregated Accounts Companies Amendment Act
2021 be now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

SEGREGATED ACCOUNTS COMPANIES
AMENDMENT ACT 2021
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam P resident, the Bill entitled
Segregated
Accounts Companies Amendment Act 2021 will make
two substantive amendments to the Segregated A ccounts Companies Act 2000. This Bill will introduce
new requirements concerning the appointment of segregated account representatives and it will enable the
use of the segregated account company structure (commonly referred to as a SAC) by limited liability
companies governed by the L imited Liabilities Companies Act 2016. The Bill also includes changes in
consequence of the substantive amendments as well
as various updates to modernise the Act.
Madam President, Bermuda’s segregated
accounts product has evolved over time from use by companies authorised to operate segregated accounts (primarily by private act) to more wide- scale
availability of the product for use by companies regi stered as SACs under the SAC Act.
[The] SAC is a corporate structure which en ables the legal segregation of assets and liabilities amongst different accounts operated by the SAC.
While SACs are primarily used in conjunction with
regulated business activities, such as insurance bus iness and investment management, there is no limit ation as to the type of busines s activity for which a SAC
can be used, so long as it is legally permitted bus iness activity. Likewise, a SAC can operate an unli m-ited number of segregated accounts to meet its bus iness needs and ob jectives.
The establishment of a segregated account
does not create a separate legal person, which is di stinct from the SAC. Each account is statutorily linked to the SAC. However, the assets held by the segr egated account are held exclusively for the benefit of
the owners of that account and persons who are
coun terparties to any transactions linked to that segregated account. The assets of a segregated account
are legally firewalled from the assets and liabilities of the SAC and any other segr egated account and are
available to satisfy liabilities to the owners and creditors of only that segregated ac count.
Madam President, the result of this framework
is that a single SAC can diversify business lines, assets, creditors and risks without having to register and
operate separate companies to do so. Segregated acco unt owners may also be different from the benef icial owners of the SAC. While this duality of owne rship might seem contrary to the nature of a segrega ted account as not being a separate legal person from
the SAC, it is an important and distinct feature that is
directly related to the intended purpose and flexibility
of the SAC product.
Madam President, unfortunately, this aspect
of the SAC structure has resulted in transparency
concerns surrounding the account owners of segr egated accounts. Since segregated accounts are not companies, limited liability companies or partnerships,
they are not subject to the standard process for regi stering a business. Segregated accounts are not su bject to Bermuda’s beneficial owner framework and the
statutory definition of an account owner is not, in any
way, linked to that of a beneficial owner.
Following its review of the SAC structure, the
Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce [CFATF] rec-ommended changes to the SAC framework in the
January 2020 Mutual Evaluation Report for Bermuda.
The recommended actions were intended to address
the concerns regarding transparency of ownership of
segregated accounts, specifically, CFATF reco mmended that SACs be required to utilise persons who
are subject to regulation under Bermuda’s Anti -Money
Laundering/Anti -Terrorist Financing framework to
serve as SAC representatives.
The requirement to appoint a SAC repr esentative and the duties of such persons is set out in
section 10 of the SAC Act. Currently, SAC represent atives must be persons who are approved by the Mini ster of Finance. SAC representatives are required to
make a written report to the Reg istrar of Companies of
certain matters specified by the Act, including any fai lure of the SAC to comply with conditions or requir ements imposed by the Registrar to ensure the reput ation of Bermuda.
Madam President, to address the concerns
raised by CFATF and in line with the recommended
actions included in the 2020 Report, this Bill will intr o694 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate duce the requirement that SAC representatives be
persons who are regulated under Bermuda’s
AML/ATF framework. The intention is to ensure that
account owners are being properly vetted by the
SACs for AML/ATF purposes. Since most SACs on the register are already subject to AML/ATF regul ations, the appointment of a regulated SAC represent ative will be optional for regulated SACs and those ent ities may choose to appoint as their SAC represent ative a regulated person or a person approved by the Minister of Finance.
Madam President, to fully address the concerns regarding transparency, the Registrar of Companies will use the existing authority set out in the
SAC Act to impose a condition on SACs to identify and verify the identity of account owners. SAC repr esentatives will remain subject to the requirement to make a wr itten report to the Registrar of the SAC’s
failure to comply with this condition based on the current provisions in the Act.
Madam President, the approach taken in this
Bill, combined with the exercise of existing legislative
authority to mandate the vett ing of account owners,
strikes the right balance to enable effective implementation of the CFATF recommendation without imposing undue regulatory burdens in relation to the SAC
product. To remain competitive, we must balance i nternational regulatory compli ance with a sensible
regulatory approach.
Madam President, this Bill also includes
amendments to allow limited liability companies (LLCs) to register as SACs. Following enactment of
the Limited Liability Companies Act 2016, it was proposed that the SAC Act be amended to enable use of
the products by LLCs. The LLC is a hybrid entity that
includes features of both traditional limited companies
and partnerships.
A fundamental characteristic of li mited liability
for LLC members, combined with the flexible a pproach to governance via contractual agreements
amongst the LLC members, makes the LLC an attrac-tive business structure. Any LLC member may partic ipate in the day -to-day management and oper ations of
the LLC without losing the liability protection offered
by this structure and there is no requirement for a
board of directors. This results in lower overall costs
for forming and operating an LLC as compared to a
traditional limited company.
Madam President, it is believed that the LLC
product will pair extremely well with the SAC product.
LLCs are known to be a vehicle of choice for private
equity funds and other asset holding structures.
There are also a number of SACs on the re gister that are used as fund vehicles. Extension of the
SAC Act to apply to LLCs wil l make both products
more viable for use as structures that are positioned
to combine flex ible governance options with the ability
to diversify business activities, assets, and investors. As such, this Bill will enhance the versatility and us efulness of the Bermuda LLC and SAC structures.
Finally, Madam President, various changes
are being made to update and modernise the SAC Act. This includes incorporating provisions that ensure consistency with other Acts and that clarify the appl ication of several other laws as they relate to SACs. As
well, some existing provisions are being streamlined
and recast to allow for a more modern approach to
various sections of the Act.
Madam President, I would like to thank the
technical officers in the Ministry of Finance, the Cab inet Office, the Economic Development Department,
the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Bermuda Monetary Authority and all representatives within the pr ivate sector who contributed to the production of this Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.

The P resident: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister of Finance.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Marcus Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
Again, thank you to the Junior Minister for bringing
this brief to us in regard to this Segregated Accounts
Companies Amendment Act 2021. We, the Oppos ition, can see the wisdom and practicality of this limited
liability company being brought within its scope of the
principal Act.
So, Madam President, we have no ob jections
to this. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Marcus Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then Senator Hodgson, it is
over to you.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Segregated Accounts Companies Amendment Act
2021 be now 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 this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection.



Bermuda Senate [Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

SEGREGATED ACCOUNTS COMPANIES
AMENDMENT ACT 2021

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled Segregated Accounts Companies
Amendment Act 2021 be now read a third time.

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

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 Segregated Accounts Companies Amendment Act 2021 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Segregated Accounts Companies
Amendment Act 2021 was read a third time and
passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
The President : We will now move on to the fourth
item on our Orders of the Day and that is the Invasive
Alien Species Act 2021, and that is in the name of
Senator Lindsay Simmons, the Junior Minister for
Home Affairs.
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Good day, Madam Pres ident.
The President: Good day to you.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled Invasive Alien Species Act 2021
be now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES ACT 2021

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I rise to
introduce for a second reading the Bill entitled Invasive Alien Species Act 2021 (the Bill). The purpose of
this Bill is to greatly enhance the Island’s biosecurity
against the introduction and spread of pest species by
creating a regulatory framework to (1) prohibit and
control the import ation, propagation and supply of i nvasive alien species; [and] (2) manage invasive alien
species through methods which include eradication, reduction and prevention of the spread of such species, and replacing such species with endemic or native species.
Madam President, we must accept the reality
that humans are one of the most invasive species on
the planet . We can see this through the dramatic impacts we have made to our Island over the past 400 years. With this in mind, it is imperative, even just for
our own sake, that we begin to better manage our actions to mitigate detrimental impacts to our local env ironment. This Government is embarking on a number
of initiatives to best address this. One of these I bring
before you today, which will be to manage invasive
species, or, as they are more commonly referred to,
“pests.”
Madam President, an invasive species is one
which is deliberately or unwittingly introduced by humans into a new habitat where it becomes an env ironmental menace. They can be plants, animals,
pathogens and other organisms that are not native to
an ecosystem which may cause economic, social or
environmental [problems ], or adversely affect human
or animal health . In particular, they negatively impact
local ecosystems and the functions of ecosystems
through competition, predation, or transmission of
pathogens.
Madam President, the Honourable Minister of
Human Affairs has provided an exhaustive list of examples of invasive species that have wrea ked havoc
worldwide and in Bermuda. The information has also
been shared in another place, on the citizen’s forum
and in the media. So, I am not going to spend an
enormous [amount of] time revisiting these examples.
Madam President, I would like to get to the
crux of the matter. I am not overstati ng the problem
when I say that the harmful economic, social and env ironmental effects of evasive species impact the wi dest spectrum possible. When an invasive species is introduced to our ecosystem, it destroys our endemic
and native species that protect o ur environment and
ultimately our citizens.
Once many of our native and endemic species die out, they will never return. Invasive [species] cause great damage to our environment. Our endemic
696 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate and native species provide resilience and protection
from natur al disasters. Our coral reef helps to protect
our beaches and provide a healthy environment for
the creatures that inhabit them. Our mangroves serve
as nurseries for our young fish. Native trees and plants stem the constant erosion of our coastal reef.
Invasive alien species are destroying these natural
protections.
The social impacts of invasive species are i nterconnected with economic ones. The loss suffered
because of biological invasions can impact quality of life and human health both directly and indi rectly
through food reduction, loss of wages and diseases
that certain species can spread. Perhaps the more
subtle, but nonetheless very real effects of invasive species are the environmental impacts to the world’s
natural ecosystems where native and endem ic sp ecies are degraded or driven to extinction by species that [they] were never equipped to deal with through
direct predation, competition for scarce resources
such as food and shelter or through changes of our
ecosystems.
Madam President, native and endemic species are best suited to deal with heat, rising tides,
storm events, and [INAUDIBLE], which provides Bermuda and its inhabitants protection from natural disasters. [The result is a] continuin g degradation of benef icial habitats like a slow -growing mangrove swamp as
it gets out -competed by the fast -growing Brazil Pepper
[trees] and Casuarina trees. It takes money and val uable resources to provide those same services we get
for free from Mother Nature.
Madam President, before I start to describe
the legislation, I would like to speak to the matter that
was extensively debated in another place. This i nvolves the notion that we are making criminals of persons who may unknowingly be growing an invasive
species in their garden.
This is untrue.
Prohibi tive species listed in Schedule 1 are
currently not in Bermuda and we want to keep them
out. Restrictive species in Schedules 2 and 3 are species that are already in Bermuda but we are trying to prevent any more being propagated, bred, or sold
without a permit. Permits can be applied [for] for those
species in Schedule 2 and 3 but the Director has to be satisfied that the applicant understands the conditions
that are applied to any permit. Even then, the Minister
has the authority to call an [ad hoc] amnest y for pr ohibited species. Additionally, there will be transition periods that provide persons in possession of prohi bited species a six -month period to notify the Director in
order that they might dispose of the invasive species.
Madam President, it is r ecognised that me mbers of the public will likely not have a full understanding of what species are contained in the Schedules. The Department of Environment and Natural R esources stands by ready to assist any member of the public with any queries, and members of the public should be encouraged to reach out should they have
any questions. To this end the department is also developing a publication which will be available online
and [also] in hard copy that illustrates Bermuda’s i nvasive species.
Madam Presi dent, this new legislation pr oposes to address this by providing a strong regulatory
framework to (a) prevent the introduction of new inv asive alien species and (b) create controls to prevent
the spread of any such species that have or do become established. To do this, the Invasive Species Act 2021 will:
1. Provide powers to list problem species as either a prohibited or restrict ed invasive alien
species. There will be two categories [of] restrict ed species . “Category A,” which is more
restrictive in terms of human interaction with
invasive species and “Category B” which is
less restrictive. The Act would allow species
to be added, removed or have their classific ation modified.
2. Set requirements to assess species. All new
species not already existing in Bermuda will
need to be approved for import. And the application process will include a bio- [security]
risk assessment to establish the level of risk
before the importation of species. These assessments will be undertaken and submitted on behalf of the applicant by an approved
agent to ensure the provision of accurate i nformation. Applications will be reviewed by the Director in consultation with technical officers
in respect to ecosystems, agricultural, hort icultural and fishery -related matters at the Mi nistry o f Health for human- related matters.
3. Create an effective permit and licence system
which will set conditions for human interaction
with restricted species.
4. Institute measures to control problems. The Act will require the Minister to approve management plans to control issues arising from
invasive species. Of note is the provision for
the Minister to enter into an agreement with a
landowner to assist with the control of an i nvasive species and in extraordinary circumstances where no agreement is reached, to
apply to the Supreme Court for an order.
5. Provide sufficient enforcement powers to i nvestigate, to seize and destroy prohibitive
species and to seize restricted species, as
well as require persons to assist during a search.
6. Set suitable penalties for offences that would
include improper importation, breeding and
propagation and selling of a prohibitive species or restricted species, without the required
permit or licence , as well as providing false
and misleading information in the application
for a permit or licence for a bio- security risk


Bermuda Senate assessment accompanying an application.
Upon summary conviction penalties would
range from a maximum of $50,000 or two
years imprisonment for the most egregious offences, to up to $15,000, and six -month’ s imprisonment for offences such as obstruction
and provision of false and misleading information.
7. Establish an appeals process whereby a person aggrieved by the decision of the Director
can apply for review of decisions to the Mini ster. In circumstances where an appeal i s
made against the Minister’s decision, [there is]
provision for an appeal to the Supreme Court,
with the decision of the court being final.
8. Provision for amnesty. The Act will give po wers to the Minister to call ad hoc amnesty to encourage persons to rel inquish the prohibi ted species in advance of an enforced action.
9. Provision for exceptions. Under very specific circumstances powers would be provided to the Minister to give exemptions for the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo to hold
their exotic animal col lections, as well as temporary permissions for scientific research,
public exhibition and entertainment.
10. Powers to make regulations via the negative
resolution process for processes such as iss uing permits and licences, bio[ -security] risk
assessments, approval of agents, and retention of information by permit and licence hol ders.
11. Set a transitional period of six months to accommodate any already -commenced import ations.
Madam President, the Act asks for powers to
list problem species in three Schedules. Sc hedule 1 is
a list of prohibited species that are not established in
Bermuda but are known pests in other similar climate
jurisdictions, for example, snakes. It is proposed that it
will be illegal to import, possess, trade and sell viable
live specimens such as these species.
Schedule 2 is a list of restricted [Category] A
species that are established and proven to be problematic for Bermuda for various reasons, including an
adverse impact to the Island’s economy and human health, for example, lionfish and the Brazil Pepper
[tree]. It is proposed that it will not be illegal to possess such species; however, it will be illegal to import,
cultivate, breed or sell without a permit.
Schedule 3 is a list of restricted [Category] B
species that have some members established in Bermuda that, while currently have a negligible negative
impact to our environment, economy and health, ci rcumstance could change if exposed to overseas
popu lations with immunities such as parasites currently not in our ecosystem, for example, cockroaches.
The only restric tion to these lists is that it will
be illegal to import [INAUDIBLE ] species without a permit. The proposed Schedules have been drafted to
include species identified by the Department of Env ironment and Natural Resources during consultation
with technical officers and from existing policies i ncluding the Importation of Animals Policy 2019, the
Illustrated Guide for Bermuda’s Indigenous and Inv asive Plants 2016, and the outcomes of the UK Overseas Territories Biosecurity Gap Analysis —Horizon
Scanning Project 2018, that look to identify potential
problems in other similar island state environments.
Madam President, as I stated previously, the
Act does not look to control nature but to better control human actions. Offences are restricted to actions
whereby someone has to make a conscious choice to
do something. For instance, in regard to prohibited
species, someone would have to make a decision to
import such a species. Such an introduction could likely cause significant harm to our economy, human
health, as well as the natural environment. Further,
their control would cost money that could be better
spent in other ways.
So, the proposed punishment is fitting, [for
example], i f someone does import something they
should not , just because they want it. This strategy is
similar to managing restrict ed [Category] A species.
The intent of the legislation is not to make criminals of
the unknowing. That is why the law only makes it an
offence for actions such as importation, propagation, cultivation, breeding, and selling of problem s pecies
we already have. The Act assumes that persons who
are going to invest their energy, time and money to
doing such would know what it is that they are crea ting more of. This is similar to the restrict ed [Categ ory] B species where someone should know what [and
why] they are importing a species.
Madam President, in regard to the current
Schedules, they are a work in progress. The public
and our stakeholders can expect more to be added
over time through co nsultation and making up orders
and the giving of notices through the negative resol ution process. It should also be recognised that the I nvasive Alien Species Act 2021 is but one of several tools that will be used to manage invasive species.
I would like it to be noted that vermin and feral
domestic animals have not been included in the pr oposed legislation at this juncture. Vermin are already
managed under the Public Health Act 1949
. Further,
domestic animals are better managed under the Care
and Protection of Animals Act 1975 , while pes t birds,
like the feral chicken are already managed under the
Protection of Birds Act 1975 .
Madam President, in conclusion, the Invasive
Alien Spec ies Act 2021 presented to this Honourable
Chamber is an effective regime tailored to Bermuda’s requirements. It will provide a balanced approach to
prevent the introduction of the worst invasive species
and the tools to manage them if they do get esta blished, while at the same time not making criminals of
the unknowing.
698 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons, Junior Minister of Home Affairs. I see that the
Permanent Secretary, Rozy Azhar , is still with us.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Robin Tucker, you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
Are you able to hear me? I just want to do a sound
check.

The President: I can hear you. I haven’t heard from
anybody else tha t they are having difficulty, so carry
on.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
The Clerk: Try to speak a little louder. Yes. Thanks.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
From the outset I just want to say that certai nly from the O pposition’s point of view we have no i ssue with this Bill as it is presented. There is one pr imary concern that I do have. And certainly the Junior
Minister has also raised it in her presentation. It appears that there is somewhat heavy -handed language
within this Bill. And the heavy -handed language I am
specifically referring to is the penalties and the la nguage as it relates to offences being made in contr avention to the policies that are set out.
So I do have a question as it relates specif ically to whe ther there is a specific reason for that because it does seem to be a bit heavy -handed. So I
would like to know whether there were maybe a signi ficant number of people who have imported, prohibited
or restricted invasive alien species that would sort of
lend to why the legislation is quite heavy -handed in
that particular area.
I would say, though, that overall I think we can
all agree that we are very fortunate to live in such a
beautiful place as Bermuda. Certainly, I think we
would all agree how important it is to maintain the ecological balance that we do have and to keep those
alien species that are found in other places [such as] iguanas and tarantulas and snakes and all those types of things, in addition to plant life and all of that
which would do d amage to our ecology.
So I would definitely say that, again, we are in
support of this Bill, but the question about the sort of
heavy -handed ap proach as it relates to penalties and
almost leading people to become almost criminals
(right?) if they contravene in certain things. So I would
apprec iate if I could have an answer to that question.
Other wise, we are in support.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker. Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Sena tor Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Thank you to the Junior Minister for her
presentation. She addressed one of my concerns in
the brief and that is about making sure that the word
gets out to the general public about what these inv asive alien species are. One of the things I was going
to suggest is that Government should make an imm ediate move to publish the listings of the prohibited and
restricted invasive species so that the public can be
knowl edgeable, so that they will be familiar with what
these species are.
You know, we are dealing with plants; we are
dealing with animals, pathogens, and all kinds of organisms. The list looks very comprehen sive, and I
think it is im portant not just for the public to reach out
to Gover nment, but for Government to pu blicise this
information broadly in all kinds of ways so that the
public are knowledgeable.
It is a very comprehensive Bill. I think that,
yes, the penalties for disobeying are harsh. But I think they need to be so because we live in a beautiful
place, but our ecosystem is very delicate, and we
need to maintain a balance.
Just to add a bit more to the understanding of
the listening audience, I would like to share that when humans first came to settle in Bermuda, this land was
dominated by forests of Bermuda cedar. And we had
mangrove swamps all along the coast. But when settlement began, the forest began to get cut down with
the wood being used for the building and ship making.
And the cedar forests w ere devastated. But the worst
part of this was what happened when those scale i nsects came to Bermuda and caused a blight of the
cedar trees. We lost about, it is estimated, 8 million
cedar trees. And to this date, only about 10 per cent of
the cedars have been replaced by a more hardy version of the cedar tree. So this is the kind of devast ation that can be caused by an invasive alien species. I
do not think the environment ever fully recovers when it is impacted so negatively by an invasive alien species.
So the Bill is very welcome, and I just want to
say that all of us should be involved in the protection of our natural ecosystems because this is all we have.
We cannot go and build a new one. We have to pr otect what we have. And sometimes people have unknowingly brought things to Bermuda that they did not
realise would have a negative impact on the ecosy stem. But there are also cases where people have
knowingly brought things to Bermuda that they knew
would do harm. So I hope that this Bill and the conte nt
of it will be well publicised so that all of Bermuda can
be part of the protection of our natural environment.


Bermuda Senate Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senat or Ben Smith, you have the floor.
Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
Just a quick question: With all the changes
that are being implemented with this Bill, I agree with
the past Senators when it comes to protecting our environment and even gett ing people to have an understanding of what is happening in our environment. But
in order to get to the point where there are fines and potential criminal cases that are brought to people
who are breaking the rules that could impact our env ironment, my question is, Will there have to be an i ncrease in enforcement and staffing in order to actively
go out and see if we can make sure that we are pr otecting our environment?
I am just wondering whether there will be any
increase on that side in order for us to enforce what is
being laid out in this Bill today?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith, O pposition Leader [in the Senate].
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then Senator Lindsay Si mmons, it is over to you.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
First, I would like to speak to Senator Si mmons. I do not know if everybody can see this, but we
are actively working on putting out a list with pictures,
[which] I mentioned in m y brief, to let people know
what the restricted and the prohibited species are. So we are actively doing that today. We can get it out to
the public as soon as possible.
The Bermuda cedar trees are actually pr otected now. They have been added to our protected
list, so they are protected.
And Senator Tucker, like I said in my brief, the
intent of the legislation is not to make criminals of the
unknowing. But if you are knowingly bringing in, cult ivating, breeding, and selling any prohibited or restric ted species, you are a criminal.
Sen. Ben Smith: Point of order, Madam President.

The President: What is your point of order, Senator
Smith ?


POINT OF CLARIFICATION

Sen. Ben Smith: It is a point of clarification. It does
not say “knowingly.”
That is the r eason why we keep bringing it up.
If it said “knowingly,” then we would feel comfortable
that this is the case. We just do not want people to fall
in that line and end up being on the cri minal side of
this when they potentially did not do it knowingly. So
that speci fic word that the Junior Mini ster said is the
reason that we keep bringing this up. Thank you,

Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: So, for example, what had
problems before [was where] somebody k nowingly
brought snakes in their socks to Bermuda. They knew
that they could not bring snakes to Bermuda and still
brought snakes to Bermuda. So if you knowingly bring
something into Bermuda without a permit, it is against
the law. So you are a criminal.
Unfortunately, this speaks to the lack of understanding of the seriousness and cost of managing
invasive species. In the case of prohibited species, one cannot walk back. The introduction of a species,
for example, like I said the snake, once it becomes established it takes a significant amount money and
resources to try to eradicate. Usually this is not poss ible. Consultations and suggestions include a life- time
ban, fines or civil penalties. These were not consi dered to be appropriate to the gravity of the offence. It is noted that the Magistrate has the ability to determine the level of fine and imprisonment based on the
offence.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Point of order, Madam President.

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

Sen. Robin Tucker: I would actually just like to get
some clarification because the Junior Minister mentioned (and I am thankful ), as an example, a snake.
However, the legislation [does] not just speak to animals or those types of things, it also speaks to doc uments and information. So, again, if someone is knowingly is not . . . if someone presents a document and
they do not know that that information is misleading,
then they could end up committing an offence. Thank
you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: So, many people with permits have to keep documents for review and [as a]
condition of their licence. And that goes for any type of licence, Madam President.
700 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate And, Madam President, the question was
asked about what are the cost implications for the D epartment of Environment and Natural Resources to
implement the new system. It is minimal. The depar tment already has resources to implement the legisl ation including the Plant Protection Laboratory, veter inarian services, animal wardens, fishery wardens, and
biodiversity sections. So we already have these d epartments established so it is going to be at a minimal
cost. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons.
You can now do your second reading.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled the Invasive Alien Species Act
2021 be now read a second time.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING OR DER 26
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect of
this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES ACT 2021
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the bill entitled Invasive Alien Species Act 2021
be now read a third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection.
Sen. Lindsay Simmo ns: Madam President, I move
that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Invasive Alien Species Act 2021 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion c arried: The Invasive Alien Species Act 2021
was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons, Junior Minister for Home Affairs.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
The President: We now have the fifth item, but I
would like to ask Minister Peets whether or not he is
prepared to proceed with the second reading of the
Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment Act 2021, or did he
want to have it dealt with later.

Thank you, Madam
President; we are prepared to proceed with the Bill
you just mentioned.

The President: Thank you, very much. Then the second reading of the Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment
Act 2021 is in the name of Senator Curtis Richardson,
Junior Minister for Transport.
Senator, you have the floor.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment Act 2021
be now
read a second time.

The President: Yes, and may I just remind Senators
also that there is an amendment that is suggested for this Bill and we may have to go into Committee, but
we will see what transpires.
Carry on, Senator Richardson.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President.

The President: Yes, Senator Jones.

Sen. Marcus Jones: We do not have the Cabinet
office camera on. Could we have that turned on? Or
have the Junior Minister —

Thank you. I do
apologise. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.
The President: Carry on, Senator Richardson.

BILL

SECOND READING

MOTOR CAR (LIVERIES) AMENDMENT ACT 2021

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, the Bill I
present today is the Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment


Bermuda Senate Act 2021. Members of this Honourable Senate may
recall that in 2016, by way of the Motor Car Amendment (No. 2) Act 2016 , the principal Act, [the Motor
Car Act 1951 ], was amended to create a category of
vehicles ca lled rental minicars to provide a safer option for visitors who wish to make their own way
around the Island. However, missing from the princ ipal Act were offences and penalties for breaching the
conditions stipulated in legislation. The Bill presented
today begins by addressing this void.
Madam President, Members of the Senate
may also recall the Motor Car Amendment (No. 2)
(Tour Quadricycles) Act 2018 which introduced a nother category of vehicles described as “tour quadr icycles.” These units were defined as a “four -wheeled
vehicle with a bicycle -type seat for the driver or rider
. . . steered by handlebars wh ich is propelled by m echanical or electrical power.”
Madam President, the 2018 amendment went
on to further describe how tour quadricycle liveries must be operated, the application process to acquire a
permit to operate a livery, the rules for guided tour s,
stipulations regarding the wearing of protective hea dgear during tours, and ended with the Minister’s a uthority to regulate the design and build of the m achines.
Madam President, as written in 2018, sections
101E through section 101K of the principal Act f ocused on one specific vehicle design being imported
to the Island. However, Madam President, as time
progressed, more entrepreneurs interested in the tourist transportation industry discovered different vehicle designs that could also satisfy this market. One such
design was a motorised version of a pulled or pedal
cycled rickshaw seen in many countries around the
world, particularly in Asia. Madam President, this m achine is commonly referred to as a Tuk -Tuk, the name
derived from the engine sound that the earliest models made. With the advent of better technologies, this
annoying sound has been eliminated.
Madam President, section 24(5) of the [1951]
Act defines a motorcycle as a “motor car designed to
travel on two or three wheels, which is equipped with
two or more gear ratios or the motor of which has a cubic capacity exceeding 50 cubic centimetres, but, subject to subsection (1), not exceeding 150 cubic
centimetres.” It was originally thought that a 150 cc
Tuk-Tuk could be placed in the motorcycl e category,
Madam President. However, one Tuk -Tuk feature
prevented this being accomplished, [and that is] a r everse gear.
Madam President, regulation 12 of the
Motor
Car (Construction, Equipment and Use) Regulations
1952 states, “Every motor car, except a motor cycle,
shall be capable of being so worked that it may travel
either forwards or backwards.” Motorised Tuk -Tuks
have a reverse gear to assist the rider because of
their weight and size; therefore, there was actually no category in which to place the new machine in current
legislation.
Madam President, rather than again create
bespoke legislation to accom modate a specific vehicle
design, the decision was taken to [change] all references to “tour quadricycles” in Part VIB of the princ ipal Act, and instead use the phrase “guided tour vehicle.” Also, the definition of a “guided tour vehicle ” in
this Bill is e xpanded to include both 3- and 4- wheeled
vehicles. Therefore, Part VIB of the principal Act
would now allow for the operation of Tuk -Tuks alongside vehicles such ATVs and quadricycles in the f uture.
Madam President, an additional benefit of this
approach is the elimination of restrictions created by
the 2018 amendments to Part VIB. The Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment Act 2021 allows for the intr oduction of various designs of guided tour vehicles.
Madam President, to be clear, this Bill proposes that
all le gislation that previously pertained to tour quadr icycles be now attached to a new vehicle category
known as “guided tour vehicle.” Included is the permit
fee, the duration of the permit, the Minister’s authority
to issue and revoke permits, the registering and l icensing of vehicles and prescribing the specification
for the registration plates, their dimensions and
placement on the vehicle, et cetera.
Madam President, included with these
amendments are necessary changes to the
Gover nment Fees Regulations 1976 to capture the required
licence and permit fee and the Public Holidays Act
1947 to continue the exemption from the said Act, to
be able to o perate guided tour vehicles on Good Fr iday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day.
There is also an amendment to the Motor -
Cycles and Auxiliary Bicycles (Special Measures of
Control) Act 1953 to continue the prohibition of the
import and sale of engine upgrade kits for vehicles used on a guided tour.
Madam President, there will also be regul ations and terms of conditions of a licence to operate a
guided tour vehicle livery regarding the use of Tuk -
Tuks, which includes bu t is not limited to, that
(1) vehicles cannot be operated by customers; (2) the
vehicles are to be hired with a certified tour guide who
must possess a valid motorcycle licence and will pilot
the vehicles to points of interest throughout the Island;
(3) the maximum number of passengers will be limited
to two; and (4) the wearing of protective headgear will
be mandatory for all persons r iding in or on a Tuk -Tuk.
Madam President, these amendments fall in
line with all other initiatives designed to provide bus iness opportunities in the tourism sector for local res idents.
Thank you, Madam President.

[Pause]

702 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment
Act 2021 be now read a second time.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, we cannot
hear you.

The President: Sorry. Senator Richardson, Senator
John Wight wants to speak on the Bill.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
The National Park system as established in
1986 was designed to give the people of Bermuda a
network of land throughout the islands specifically set
aside where residents and visitors could relax, exer-cise, w alk and pedal bike. The objectives of having
protected areas, as stated in the
Bermuda National
Parks 1986 Act includes providing the use of the area
in its natural state with a minimum of commercial and
mechanised activity.
Since the park system was established in
1986, our highways, land development and buildings
in Bermuda all have increased exponentially to the
point where open space for the g eneral public to enjoy
is rapidly decreasing. The 1986 Act as amended con-tains very thoughtful rules if properly applied and not
overruled by the exercise of absolute arbitrary power
of ministerial discretion.
Madam President, literally thousands of Bermudians enjoy Bermuda’s national parks and railway
trails. Bermudians of all ages, from toddlers learning how to walk to the elderly, enjoy the peace and quiet
and serenity of these protected areas. On September 24, 2021, the Minister of Transportation intr oduced a Bill in the House entitled the Motor Car (Liver-ies) Amendment Act 2021, which I am concerned may
lead to three- and/or four -wheeled vehicles making
guided tours within the Bermuda National Park system
without limitation and lead the decision to do so pr imarily up to one or two Ministers.
Many of our citizens will remember that this
matter came up a few years ago concerning a pr oposal by a businessman to operate the business wit hin the Railway Trail Park, Fort Scaur and Hog Bay
Park utilising all -terrain vehicles also known as ATVs.
This issue ultimately went to the Supreme Court and was quashed by a judgment rendered by the Chief
Justice, noting that the Minister at the time had issued
a licence to this businessman but had failed to obtain
Planning permission.
Madam President, it is important to note that
section 9 of the
Bermuda National Parks Regulations
1988 , prohibits the use of vehicles in our national
parks. But section 12 permits the Minister authority to grant a licence to override the prohibition of using
such vehicles in parks.
Madam President, we need to ensure through
legislation that the decision of one Minister will not
adversely affect the enjoyment of thousands of Ber-mudians who find solace and pleasure in these r estricted areas. Further, Madam President, as demonstrated in the Chief Justice’s judgment that I previously referred to, it came to the surprise of many, I think,
that the Minister can legally —and in fact did—
completely ignore the results of a required regulatory public consultation which the Minister must conduct if
there is an overriding public interest under the National Parks Act because of a change of use, which in this
case was allowing mechanised guided tours in our parks.
Madam President, referring to this attempt a
few years ago to issue a licence for 3- wheelers, of the
636 submissions made in the public consultation, which were presented in a confidential ballot box, 634 of the 636 submissions objected to having guided
tours in certain parks, mostly situated in Somerset or
Sandys Parish. Madam President, 634 objected and 2
were in support. The votes against the use of these
guided tour vehicles b y the public had zero impact
despite extensive provision in the National Parks Act
that attempted to make the parks in Bermuda a refuge
from modern urban activities, including but not limited
to, a safe haven from our overcrowded, dangerous,
traffic -filled roadways.
Madam President, I am passionate about d oing whatever I can, and I hope I have the support of
other Senators, to ensuring the continued enjoyment
for years to come, unaffected by the safety concerns,
noise pollution, and reduced enjoyment of our national
parks and railway trails.
For the reasons I have just cited, Madam
President, I am not in support of this Bill as drafted.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Marcus Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
Let me just preface what I am about to say by
first of all extending a hearty thank -you to the Junior
Minister, not only for bringing his brief forward at this
time, but also for facilitating me with answers to questions prior to the session. It really shows the spirit of collaboration and a willingness to reach across the
political aisle, which I can appreciate. And Madam
President, I believe and hope that this will be a signal
that we as a team, on either side of the aisle, are g oing to do all we can to make sure that we work t ogether.
Now, Madam President, we understand that
the purpose of this amendment that is before us was
to create an offence for operating a minicar livery
without a licence. On that part of this amendment, we as the Opposition are in favour and support. We
would hate to think that there are people or companies who are conducting these businesses that may


Bermuda Senate not be in compliance with the rules and regulations, let
alone know what those rules and regulations are and
be able to operate their business under these circumstances. So we really believe that those enforcements
were important and critical, and so we completely and wholeheartedly embrace those amendments.
Now, also , part of the purpose of this amendment was to expand the type of vehicle that was able
to be utilised by these tour operators, them being able
to go from a four -wheel to a three- wheel vehicle. So
we understand the reaso n for doing this as well.
But our concern is that, if you go back to the
primary legislation, which goes back to the Motor Car
Act 1951, there is vagueness; there is a lack of clarity
of where these actual vehicles can be operated and utilised. It is alm ost like saying that I go TC [Transport
Control] with my car to get it registered and licensed, and it is approved, but then I cannot drive it on the
highway. So what is the point of having a registered
and licensed vehicle but I can’t drive on the highway ?
That is in sync with the point I am trying to make,
which is, why have a licence to drive these guided
tour vehicles when you cannot drive it in the place that
you wanted to.
So, when I saw this amendment, I saw it as a
great opportunity for us to remov e loopholes to ensure
that the vagueness and the un- clarity of the language
of this amendment is cleared up.
Now one thing that this amendment does
which is also very good is it gives a clear definition of
what a guided tour vehicle is. I think that was i mportant. The primary legislation also talks about the types of the vehicles; it talks about headgear that is
needed to be used. It talks about enforcing these re gulations.
Now, Senator Wight quite eloquently gave d etails on this Supreme Court case in reg ard to this tour
operator who was given permission by the Minister
and then it being quashed by the Chief Justice, at the
time. So we want to avoid situations like this where
the interpretation of legislation is ambiguous, almost
at odds with itself, to av oid the need for any group,
environmental group or whatever, to have to take a
case to court when we can solve that issue and solve
the spending of money, the hiring of lawyers, taking
up court time, to clear up something that we can [clear up now] in this Chamber [by standing] up and making
sense. And that means that we have to go back in
time. That means we have to look back at the primary
legislation and get an understanding of what the purpose was. And then, in fixing amendments, or
amendments being add ed to fix the primary legisl ation, we need to make sure that it is in sync.
So, Madam President, what I am going to r equest is that we be able to go into Committee. And I have a proposal for an amendment that I would like to put forward amongst my colleag ues that will create a
situation which will avoid any doubt in the operational usage of these guided tour vehicles. But I must say, Madam President, that there
needs to be a broader discussion and debate on the usage of guided tour vehicles in general. Bermuda is
very small. In fact, there is a limited amount of free
land, open land, where you can operate these vehi-cles. We know in some of our competitor [jurisdictions]
[to] the south [there are] islands where the population
lives in 20 per cent of the land, the rest of the 80 per
cent is wilderness. It is wide and open space. So it makes sense that you would have an excursion that
would allow for guided tour vehicles to be able to take advantage of the natural landscape of the wildlife, of
tourists being able to come and enjoy a tour such as
this. But because of the situation of the smallness of
this country, we have to be ever vigilant. We have to
be good stewards of the land that we have to ensure
that we are not infringing on people, the public’s sense of peace and tranquillity. We know that these
vehicles are very loud. We know that they have the
potential of causing permanent damage to the foliage
[and] to the landscape.
One thing I took note of, Madam President, is
even when the substantive Minister back in 2018 gave the permission for this tour operator, mind you, on
condition of it being valid for one year, I noticed that
there was no environmental impact assessment done.
That type of study, as we know, Madam President, gives us and gives the expertis e within the Ministry an
idea of how much potential damage these guided tour
vehicles can actually negatively impact the environment.
Then we took note of the fact that in the consultation process the majority of the persons were
against it and their conc erns were ignored. So we
want to be able to avoid a similar situation coming back to haunt us where legislation that is vague, that
is unclear, becomes an opportunity for a Minister to be
able to impose his will and to impose his opinions u pon a situation that could put the country at risk, or put
our protected areas at risk.
So, Madam President, in an attempt to r emove any avoidance of doubt, to remove any grey
areas, when we go into Committee I would like to pr opose an amendment that we can utilise in thi s
amendment to ensure that there are no loopholes [so] that our protected areas, our restricted areas, can be
protected. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Would any other Senator care to
speak on this Bill?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have th e
floor.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I will start by thanking the Junior Minister for
bringing this Bill. I am in accord with Senator Jones in
saying that I am quite happy that this Bill addresses
an omission from an earlier Bill so that there is an ap704 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate propriate fine for anyone who decides that they should
go ahead and operate a livery without having a l icence. So I fully support that.
With regard to the rest of the Bill which deals
mostly with guided tour vehicles, I have two major
concerns. My first concern is . . . and I see this differently from Senator Jones. My first concern is I don’t
think the definition of “guided tour vehicle” is sufficiently clear and detailed. I will read the definition, if that is
all right with you Madam President.
It says: “‘guided tour vehicle’ means a three or
four-wheeled vehicle with a bicycle seat for the driver
or rider and steered by handlebars, which is propelled
by mechanical or electrical power and is used for
providing tours.”
That is the definition that is in this Bill. So, this
means, then, that three- or four -wheeled vehicles, that
is, any three - or four -wheeled vehicles which fit the
rest of the definition, can be used as guided tour vehicles. I did a little research, and I found that t here are
many three- wheeled guided tour vehicles which are
being introduced to us for the first time. There is no
mention of Tuk -Tuks in this definition, because that
would narrow it considerably. But I looked at it as it is
defined and it includes some three- wheeled vehicles
which are deemed to be rather dangerous. In fact,
there are serious safety concerns of some of those three- wheeled guided tour vehicles.
I believe in the United States a ban was i mposed on the importation of new three- wheeled gui ded tour vehicles. That ban was imposed until specific
product safety standards were developed. And I am not sure that those standards have yet been devel-oped. In the meantime, the four -wheeled vehicles
have become very popular and so I think people have
put th e three- wheeled vehicles on the back shelf. But I
am looking at this as a real safety consideration be-cause in the way it is defined in the Bill before us t oday it is not specific to any one particular type of three- wheeled vehicle. So I assume that it means that
any three- wheeled guided tour vehicle can be part of
this group.
That is my first major concern: Safety.
Then my second major concern is about the
impact on the environment. We were talking earlier about Bermuda’s fragile ecosystem. And that is not an overstatement. When you consider that the likelihood
of these vehicles going into our national parks is very
real, I think that we need to be careful because, as
Senator Wight said earlier, we are expecting that we
will be able to enjoy the National Park system without
additional noise, without vehicles whizzing past with
tourists who are on these vehicles. So, I also wanted
to question as to whether these vehicles could be
specifically battery -powered versus gas -powered, because in the definition it says that they can be pr opelled by mechanical or electrical power. Electrical power would certainly reduce the noise pollution and
also the air pollution. So, there is unreadiness on my part with r egard to . . . it’s the definition in particular. And I really
think a bit more work needs to be done before this can
be passed. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Senators, I am not sure if there is any other
Senator who wants to speak, but as it is near . . . I see
that Ben Smith wants to speak, but I am suggesting
Senators that we go to lunch and we continue with the Senators who want to speak after that, because I am
sure we will be going into Committee on this Bill, or
we probably will. So I am suggesting that we break for
lunch at this stage and we will continue with those
Senators who want to speak on this Bill when we r eturn.
So the Senate stands adjourned until two
o’clock. Thank you. Or actually . . .

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Is it two o’clock, Madam
Preside nt?
The President: Senators, we will return at two
o’clock.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you.
Some Hon. Senators: Thank you, Madam President.

Proceedings suspended at 12: 30 pm

Proceedings resumed at 2:01 pm
(Sen. the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright, Pres ident, pr esiding)

The President: Good afternoon, Senators and the
listening audience.
Senators, I trust you all enjoyed your lunch.

BILL

SECOND READING

MOTOR CAR (LIVERIES) AMENDMENT ACT 2021

[Continuation of debate thereon]

The President: Prior to lunch we were debating the
fifth item on our Order of Business and that is the Motor Car (Liveries) Amendment Act 2021 presented by
Senator Curtis Richardson, the Junior Minister for
Transport. Senators John Wight, Marcus Jones and
Senator Michelle Simmons have spoken, and Senator Ben Smith, the Opposition Leader [in the Senate] had
indicated that he wanted to speak.
So, Senator Ben Smith, the floor is open to
you. You can speak.


Bermuda Senate Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President , I want to touch on some of
the remarks that were made by Senator Simmons before we broke for lunch, specifically when she was
talking about the safety issues. When I was originally going to speak to this that was not the area that I was
going to be focused on. But she brought my attention
to something that is significantly important in Berm uda. Anybody who sees a visitor on one of our livery cycles gets a little worried that, potentially, their life is
in jeopardy and would want to make sure that we are doing everything that we possibly can to have our vis itors be safe when they are on our roads.
So, having her identify that some of these
specific three- wheeled vehicles have drawn attention
overseas —that there are some safety issues, some
things that need to be looked at that —we potentially
need to look a little closer on specifically what vehicles
are being allowed into our Island.
When we are in the position where we are
starting from scratch the way we are right now when it
comes to these three- wheeled vehicles, we need to
make sure that we are doing everything that we can, that we are starting off on the correct foot. We do not
want to set up a situation where somebody gets hurt
and we could have prevented it with the discussion
that we are having today. And as Senat or Michelle
Simmons rightly pointed out, that safety concern is
something that is important. And we are hoping that
we will have some clarity in the answers to that question that can at least start to move in the direction of
how we would deal with it because, presently, the way
the Bill is written, it does not cover those answers. And it would make sense for us to have that information not only verbalised but potentially in the Bill so
that we know [about] the protection and safety of the
people that will be (1) operating the vehicles; and
(2) the people that will be, hopefully, participating as
customers.
So, Madam President , further to that I would
also like to touch on what Senator Jones mentioned. There were some questions posed by the Opposition
to th e Junior Minister prior to this debate which the
Junior Minister kindly answered prior to us coming
here today. This was an important step for us to get
an understanding of what is being put forward in this Bill. It gave us clarity on some of the things th at you
are hearing today which are giving a little bit of anxi ety—not just to the Senators here, but to our public —
when it comes to how these vehicles could potentially
could impact our environment.
We did spend quite a bit of time today, as
Senator Michel le Simmons pointed out, talking about
our environment in the Bill prior to this. So, here we are putting something in place that could then impact
the environment that we spent so much time trying to protect. Bermuda is a very small jurisdiction. You can
go to other jurisdictions and see these vehicles being
used in open spaces. But, Madam President , we do not have vast amounts of open space. And in the
open space that would be utilised, the potential is that
you are going to run into our population, which then
goes back . . . I circle back to the safety issue, because if the vehicles are being operated in areas
where normally our population is [seeking] the safety
of nature, now they are going to be sharing that with
vehicles, potentially.
So, Madam President , I would like to be able
to actually let the listening audience know the questions that were asked by Senator Jones and the r esponses so that they will understand why we have
these further questions, why we are not quite satisfied
that the answers allow us to feel comfortable that the
decisions down the road will not impact our environment.
So, Madam President , would I be able to give
that information?

The President: Oh, absolutely.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Carry on.
Sen. Ben Smith: So, the first question that was asked
was: Can you provide clarity on the specific land ar eas, zones that these newly defined guided tour vehicles will be allowed to be driven on, namely, parks,
woodlands or beaches?
The response was: Gui ded tour vehicles
would be able to travel on the highways of Bermuda.
Full stop. This includes the main road, normally open
to all traffic. Tour routes will be agreed [upon] in advance. The tour operators will need permission from
the owner of any property that is not the main road.
I pause there because a lot of what we are
referring to right now would be property that is owned
by the government. So, as Senator Wight pointed out, when you get to the point where the Minister is the
one that is going to mak e that final decision, because I
believe that the Parks Department was not in agreement and then the Minister overstepped that decision,
which ended up being in the court. Well, when you
look at that, that is the situation that we are setting up today with this three- wheeled vehicle that matches the
same thing that was set up with the four -wheeled v ehicle.
Madam President , right there in that first answer, it is not giving us the comfort that this is not a situation that will end up with a Minister (or in this co ntext it might be more than one Minister that would
have to be involved) allowing these vehicles to now be
in the open spaces that should be protected. And I
believe what we have heard so far is the Independent
Senators saying they are not sure that this is a good
idea for us to be able to have these vehicles infringing on that open space that is so precious to Bermuda.
706 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam President , recently we have talked
about areas where we are trying to increase the open
space that is available. We are look ing at ways to pr otect our open space, and right here we are not doing the same thing. So, that is the reason that an amend-ment has been put forward by the Opposition to make
sure that what we are doing is, yes, you can have this
business that would be bri nging forward these veh icles—pause—but we need to make sure that this
business is going to be safe, which, at present, has
not happened. We do not know the answer to those questions. But step two, that we are not now going to
see these vehicles in areas that are restricted. There
is a reason they are restricted. We do not know what
the impact will be on those environments by having these vehicles drive around. And there are too many
questions presently than answers.
Madam President , as we went through the
other items there are other questions that were asked.
A lot of the answers referred to question one, and that
is why I was specifically giving the information on question one, because the vague part is, Who is going
to be giving the permission? And if that permission is
coming from the Minister, and the public is saying we
want to have our open spaces protected, it should not
be the case that one, or a small number of individuals,
has the ability to overrule the thoughts of the country.
Where we are right now, it sounds like . . . not
just the Opposition and Independents. If you listen to what Senator Wight talked about, a large portion of
our population feels that these spaces should be open
for all of Bermuda to enjoy. And when you add vehicles to those areas it changes the entire environment.
Madam President , we have seen cases where
there are other items that are brought into an env ironment that significantly changes the way that people
get to enjoy that open space. This is not about us sa ying no to a specific business. This is not about us sa ying no to the progress [which has the] potential for
giving something else for our tourists to do. But we
need to do it in a way that is safe for the customer,
safe for the operator, and makes sure that we are pr otecting our open spaces —because we do not have a
lot of them. And once we go down this track it is very
difficult for us to take it back.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith, O pposition Leader in the Senate.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?

Thank you very
much, Madam President . It goes without saying that this particular legi slation has the opportunity to create some employment
opportunities as well as to enhance our tourism product. So I do not think it is really necessary to reiterate
those points. But, given some of the things that I have heard post -lunch and prior to lunch, I think there are
some things that we can offer to actually sort of allay
some of the concerns, Madam President , that are
coming up in our dialogue.
What we can say is that there are checks and
balances in place. These provisions exist via the lar ger scope of the ministries and departments that are
involved, Madam President . Some of the scenarios
that I think I have heard (if I have heard them correc tly) do have oversight from both Transport as well as Parks. Any permission, for example, gr anted to any
tour operator requires the appropriate licence for the
vehicle from Transport, and it is also properly vetted
by Parks to ensure that concerns around safety,
noise, as well as the preservation of our natural parks
are kept in good standing as we would expect.
The safety: For example, all of the vehicles
that are approved by this particular legislation are still subject to all the examination that we would expect
other vehicles to be subject to under licence from the
Department of Transport.
I do want to give Senators, as well as the li stening audience, a bit of a scenario. [So in this] sc enario we have a guided tour, a vehicle operating saf ely, doing a fantastic job in presenting the beauty of our
parks and our nature and doing so in way that is in
keeping with all of the things that we would consider to be normal and necessary to protect the enviro nment. If my son, for example, had a similar vehicle, maybe the same make or same model, and my son
sees that same vehicle being used by a tour oper ator
on one of these guided tours, that does not give that individual —my son, or whoever —permission to just
use their vehicle all over our national parks. And the
reason why he cannot do that, and the reason why it
is illegal, is because that particular vehicle has not
been approved as a licensed guided tour vehicle with
all of the checks and balances required to ensure that
the property, the environment, and all those things are
kept so that our safety and our issues are allayed.
So, there is not anything in this legislation that
will permit unlawful vehicles from operating in a way
that is not in keeping with the safety and preservation
of our parks. So, we have guided tours. Jet ski tours,
for example, are required to operate within a very defined mode of operation so that our marine environ-ment, our coastal environment, and the other indivi duals who are using our coastal waters are not affected
negatively. This is no different for these guided tours.
If we can do this on the water and do so properly, we
can certainly do this on land.
I also would be [mindful] for Senators to be
aware that if, for example, we move in the direction that Senator Marcus Jones has perhaps suggested,


Bermuda Senate and the amendment is adopted, we might create a
scenario where a taxi, for ex ample, might be able to
do a taxi tour through the Botanical Gardens, but this
guided tour vehicle which we are talking about today
would not be allowed. And that is something that is not being discussed or said. And I think, Madam President , that is impor tant to note, that it is possible to
have this particular legislation in place to enhance our
tourism product, but also do so safely. We have a
model, for example the jet skis which I just mentioned.
And if we can do that for our coastal marine environ-ment , we certainly can do that for our national parks.
Those are my comments, Madam President .

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

[Inaudible interjection]

The President: Senator Robin Tucker, you have indicated you would like to speak, you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President .
I just want to express some of my concerns
with this particular Bill. It was recently mentioned, as it
relates to the safety and environmental issues, [and] I wanted to really just ask whether in the Minister’s
comments he was indicating that the vehicles will be
allowed to go into the parks.
The example that was given as it relates to
taxis going into Botanical Gardens I believe is a little different in that taxis are licensed to travel on our pu blic roads, which is quite different from a tour operation
vehicle being inside of a park. Of course the issue as
it relates to jet skis being out on open waters, again is
significantly different from having such a critical env ironmental impact —
Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President , can I just put a
point of information?
The President: Senator Owen Darrell, you have the
floor.

POINT OF INFORMATION

Sen. Owen Darrell: These vehicles actually will be
licensed t o go on the public roads, Madam President .
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Owen Darrell.
Senator Robin Tucker, you can continue.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President .
I think that a significant part of the discussion
that we are having here today relates to the fact that
there is issue with the fact that these tour vehicles may very well end up in our public parks and have
some kind of negative environmental impacts.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President , another point
of information, please.
The President: Senator Owen Darrell.

POINT OF INFORMATION

Sen. Owen Darrell: I think that the Senator is mi sleading the Senate. The main talk of parks around this
legislation has actually come from other Senators. It
has not come from the Junior Minister in his brief.

Sen. Ben Smith: Point of order, Madam President .

The President: Point of order. Senator Ben Smith,
you have the floor.

POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Sen. Ben Smith: Point of clarification to the Junior
Minister that just interjected, Senator Tucker was r eferring to going into the park, not on the part that is the
road—the actual park; driving on the grass. That is the
difference. That is what we are discussing here. The environment is not the concrete part, it is the actual environment. So, let us get it clear that this is what we
are talking about.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ben Smith.
Senator Robin Tucker, you can continue.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President , thank you.
I think that my comments are done. I think I
have m ade the point that I intended to make.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President .

The President: Senator Darrell, you have the floor.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President , I just have a
couple of comments to make, and I do believe that the
Senators of the One Bermuda Alliance are purposely
misleading the Senate around the intent of this Bill that we have in front of us.
All of their points have—

Sen. Ben Smith: Point of order; imputing improper
motive.
First of all, this —

708 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Owen Darrell: I have not said anything, Madam
President .

Sen. Ben Smith: —has been said by Independent
Senators —
The President: Senator Ben Smith, you have not i ndicated. Are you making a point of order?

POINT OF ORDER
[Imputing improper motives]

Sen. Ben Smith: Yes.
The statement that the Junior Minister just
made is imputing improper motives. There are Ind ependent Senators and Opposition Senators that are
speaking that this i s an issue with this Bill. So, for him
to say that the OBA is doing this —

Sen. Owen Darrell: I have not gotten there, Madam
President .
I have said one line of my opening speech.

Sen. Ben Smith: But that is what you said in that
opening line.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Well, let me get to line two, Madam President , please.
The President: Senator Darrell, you may continue.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
As I was beginning, I believe that it is the One
Bermuda Alliance Senators that are purposel y misleading the Senate by harping on the issue of parks.

Sen. Marcus Jones: A point of order, Madam Pres ident.

The President: What is your point of order, Senator?

POINT OF ORDER
[Imputing improper motives]
Sen. Marcus Jones: Again, I just reiterate w hat Senator Ben Smith has just said. The Junior Minister is
repeating once again and impugning this Opposition
for something that we have not done. So, I am going
to ask you, Madam President , to ask the Junior Mini ster to remove that remark at this time.

The President: Senator Darrell, you made a pointed
remark about the Opposition, and I just ask you to exercise caution in your comments.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
Madam President , there are Senators that
have spoken before me in this Honourable Senate
who, I believe, are harping unnecessarily only on the issue of public parks. And they would like to have the Bermuda public today believe that we are trying to
introduce scrambling machines that are going to be
doing circular tricks and folly all over our public parks.
I would just like to highlight one public park that has
been mentioned, and that is the Botanical Gardens.
The Botanical Gardens has a well -paved road
that goes through the middle of it that taxi operators and guided tour operators actually use on a daily basis to show the beauty of our park and those gardens. And these vehicles, because they are a little different than what we may traditionally view in Bermuda as a
guided tour vehicle, I believe that there are Members
in the Chamber today that are purposely misleading
the Chamber and misleading the public as to what this
legislation is actually being used to put in place.
I would like to point again to the employment
opportunities. There are individuals who might want to go into this field of guided tours that do not have
$120,000 or $130,000 for a taxi permit. You know, some Members in this Chamber may have that type of
money to start a business, but not everyone does. I mean, as the Minister said earlier, there are indivi duals who have had guided tours that start them with
power bikes. And if you go to St. George’s, I think
there is a very popular guided tour that goes through
public parks in a very secure manner, and allows individuals to see the beauty of all of Bermuda and a World Heritage Site, which I know some of our Members are from.
Also, this Bill helps us to enhance a tourism
product that quite frankly, Madam President , is stru ggling. And I really do believe that some Senators in this Chamber have purposely taken this opportunity to
paint a picture of a guided tour that is not going to go through the normal licensing procedures that the
Transport Control Department, that the Parks D epartment already have in place.
So, I mean, we can go back. I am a history
teacher, so I do not want to get this wrong. But we can go back many, many years when we had locomotives
pushing right through the centre of public parks. And,
you know . . . so let us not, Madam President , get us
in a situation where we are using this tweak in legisla-tion to create doom and gloom, thinking that people are going to be doing tricks on high- powered pollutive
vehicles.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Heari ng none then, Senator Richardson it is
over to you.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident, and thanks for all the contributions from all
Members of the Senate. I do have answers to the


Bermuda Senate questions that were asked by other Members of the
Senate.
Would you like for me to give those answers?
The President: You may, certainly.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Okay.
Senator Wight, for the record, to date the Mi nistry of Transport has not issued any licences for the
operation of a tour quadricycle business .
Senator Jones, not all guided tour vehicles will
be ATVs. Again, the tour operator will have to submit the tour route for approval in advance. And I think it is
important that he understands that —the tour route for
approval in advance. Again, to Senator Jones, the
substantive Minister who approves the operator and
tour of the minute is the Minister responsible for
Transport, not Public Works.
In answer to Senator Michelle Simmons’
question, the definition is broad so that amendments are not required as new types of vehicles come online. The safety and roadworthiness, the vehicles
would have to be all legally specified.
Those are the answers to the questions,
Madam President . I do have comments with regard to
what I have heard today if you would like [to hear]
them as well.

The President: Carry on, Senator Richardson.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: First of all, I would like to
point to the purpose of this Bill. It falls under clause
2.0 and if you do not mind, I could read that purpose verbatim, Madam Preside nt.

The President: You may proceed, Senator Richar dson.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: The purpose of this Bill is
“to amend the Motor Car Act 1951” (the principal Act)
“to create an offence for operating a minicar livery
without a licence; to amend Part VIB [of the principal
Act] to expand the types of vehicle that can be used on a guided tour; and for related matters.”
I point that out, Madam President , because
Members may or may not know that the provisions for guided tour vehicles are already in place. The classif ication of the types of vehicles to become guided tour
vehicles is what this particular Bill speaks of. I know
that the basic nature of a debate allows for persons to
express concerns that may kind of like teeter a little bit
away from what the Bill in question is speaking on.
But, be that as it may, certainly concerns have come
out and fellow Senators have given their feedback on
the responses that other Senators have given. I would
like to say that there should be no reason to deny all government t our vehicles from traversing through a
national park. If the vehicle is a Tuk -Tuk or similar, it could
drive through on a tour no different from a taxi or mi nibus on a tour. If the vehicle is an ATV, restriction
could be made during the application proces s. Guided
tour vehicles will be required to travel on the roads of
Bermuda, including a park. A guided tour vehicle in
this . . . the same as a taxi drives through a national
park, it is no different for a Tuk -Tuk or an ATV.
The Minister would be the one to tend to the
applications that come forward to the Ministry for
someone to operate guided tours with a vehicle that could be now classified as a guided tour vehicle. I
point out the application process because, Madam
President and Members of the Senate a nd members
of the public, as an application comes through with the specifics of that operator or that presenter of that potential operated vehicle, potential service, they would have to specify the route under which they would like
to take their tours. There are already guidelines in
place and restrictions in place and laws in place that
give the Minister the responsibility to say whether or
not a vehicle, a guided tour vehicle, can operate in the areas and on the routes that these particular appl icants wou ld like to apply for them to be.
And I want to stress that point: This is not
about someone who owns a guided tour vehicle freely
and without licensing and approval to run these vehi-cles up and down the dunes of Horseshoe Bay, or on the grassy areas of a national park or . . . we talked
about the railroad trails. If an application comes in for
someone to include a railroad trail as part of their tour,
then it is up to the Minister to decide on that. The Mi nister is mostly keen on the safety of all operations of
guided tour vehicles.
And there will be restrictions in place that will
limit the movements of guided tour vehicles. The
checks and balances are already in place and parks
will not be used as scrambling tracks, nor will the
tracks on railway trails. I just want to close on . . . tour
licences will be very specific.
And with that, Madam President , those are all
the comments I do have . . . and answers to the questions.

The President: Senator John Wight, you have a
comment.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President .
So, I guess, I was the one that started the
conversation at the beginning of this Bill, so I would
just like to finish off with a couple of comments be-cause I feel very strongly about this. I have two objectives with this legislation. One is I want all Bermudians
to be able to enjoy safely the peace and serenity of
our national parks and railway trails.

Madam President ,
my apologies for intervening, but I was not sure if we
were able to speak twice on a Bill.
710 6 October 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Yes, okay, thank you.
Senator Wight, all the Senators have now
spoken on the Bill and it will be now . . . we will be
going into Committee, so if you have comments.
Senator Richardson, it is your place now to
move us into Committee. All Senators have been gi ven a copy of an amendment that has been proposed
and I think we all have to take that under consider ation in Committee.
So, with that apology now, Senator Richar dson, you will now need to move us into Committee for
consideration of the proposed amendment.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Senate do now resolve itself
into Committee of the whole [Senate] for the further
consideration of the Bill entitled Motor Car (Liveries)
Amendment Act 2021.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
And I will now ask Senator Michelle Simmons,
the Vice President of the Senate, to take the Chair
and take us into Committee. Thank you.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.

Senate in Committee a t 2:34 pm

[Sen. Michelle Simmons, Chairman]

COMMITTEE ON BILL

MOTOR CAR (LIVERIES) AMENDMENT ACT 2021

I hear Senator Marcus Jones.

Sen. Marcus Jones: The only reason I raise it is because it is peculiar for all of the clauses to be put forward and passed at once. The normal protocol is to
do five at a time, because I remember in the general
debate stage there were questions that were raised about the actual definition of the guided tour vehicles.

Senator Richardson, you have the
floor.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: I do . . . I have a fai rly good
understanding of what the Opposition is speaking to
with regard to the manner under which we . . . under
normal circumstances [would] carry clauses forward. I
want to bring to your attention, as well as those Members who are concerned, that there are five bullet
points to outline and identify each of these clauses.
Clause 1 holds at 2.1 ; clause 2 at 2.2; clauses
3 through 10 hold at 2.3; clauses 11 and 12 at 2.4;
and clause 13 at 2.5. So, if they want to go individually by clauses it will be clause 1, then clause 2, then what
is grouped together will be clauses 3 through 10, a nother group together is 11 and 12, and then the fifth
one is clause 13. So, I just wanted to give that clarif ication for Members as to why I presented the clauses
in the manner that I did. They are grouped together,
and I started with my comments on the purpose of the
Bill that would hopefully give some type of short order
to how these clauses are laid out.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
As was brought up in the general debate in
regard to a possible amendment that would be r equired to, hopefully, tie up and close any loopholes as
it relate s to the usage and the operation of these
guided tour vehicles on parkland, I am proposing for
an amendment to be considered by this Chamber which will insert a new section 101L into the principal
Act to prohibit use of guided tour vehicles within the
National Park system. It will be labelled [new clause]
10A. I believe every Senator has a copy of this
amendment, I would like to think, Madam Chairman,
and if I may continue with the actual wording of this amendment . . .

Yes, please, Senator J ones.

PROPOSED NEW CLAUSE 10A
Sen. Marcus Jones: [New clause] “10A. Notwit hstanding any other provision in this Act or in the pri ncipal Act, no Guided Tour Vehicle shall be used within the National Park System (as defined in the Bermuda
National Parks Ac t 1986).”
That is the proposed insertion into this
amendment, Madam Chairman.

Senator Ben Smith.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Madam Chairman, considering the debate
that happened before we came into Committee, and
the specifics that were given by the Junior Minister in
regard to using park land that is on the road that is
provided as opposed to what we have referred to and
what we are discussing now, which is the greater
park, being in the grass area and those areas, if the Government is in agreement that what should be hap-pening is that they should only be on the road portion
and not interfering with the park area, then it would
make sense that the Government would also support
an amendment to make sure that this language is set
up today.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.