June 23, 2021

Carry on, Senator Jones.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you. Thank you, Madam
President. I am not too sure what the Honourable
Senator was privy to, but it was all there for the entire
country to see the complaints that were coming
through directly through an MP on the other side.
Be that as it may, Madam President, the n atives are restless. They are fatigued. And to see a
Government that is contradicting itself trying to c lean
up a PR nightmare while we are getting through this national crisis, Madam President, is sad to see. Now,
a lot of these missteps and own goals that were
scored in the PLP Administrati on’s own goal could
have been avoided. We recognise in another plac e
that all of the amendments that were required to be
put through so that these regulations would be in
place in time for the June 24 expiration of the first O rder were not present. They were not in the hands of
the Members of Parliament.
So what we are s eeing is either
(1) incompetence on the Government’s side; or (2) a
disdain for the democracy and its process. And so,
Madam President, it is incumbent upon us here on the
Opposition to make noise about this, to really come to advocate for those within our community who are feeling discriminated against. And we call upon this Gov-ernment to consider possibly reducing the timeframe by which this extension would go—as opposed to 60
days, to allow for 30 days, Madam President .
We find that even in the public domain
through media, press statements by this Premier and
by his Minister of Health, it is contradictory what they
are saying. From one side he is saying that Bermudi-ans were always allowed entry into this country. On
the other side, on the government webs ite, and the
Minister of Health herself stated ever so clearly that
Bermudians would not be able to enter the country without these travel authorisation forms. What is it,
Madam President? Are we being disingenuous as a
government in instructing and giving our people the information they need so that they do not feel like
second- class citizens and cannot come back to their
own country, Madam President? I am sure you have
heard the disquiet yourself.
And so, many of our people in this country are
feeling le ft out. They are feeling disenfranchised. They
are feeling hard done by. And it is incumbent upon us
as legislators when we put Bills and legislation in
place that we have the human rights and constitutio nal liberties of our people as our priority. Yes, we do
have to balance protecting the community from this health risk. But we also must keep our eyes on the
human rights and the civil liberties that our residents
expect.
Now what was also curious to me was that the
statement was made by the Government that they
had, since which, since Sunday when we saw most of this kerfuffle happening— that they made a statement
to the airlines that they are not to disallow any Berm udian entry into Bermuda. But what confuses me is that
the airlines were only following the instructions from
the Government. So it is like the Government is argu-ing against itself. So these sorts of miscues and mi ssteps can be avoided. And we as legislators can come
together and put our heads together and give the O pposition at least the space t o be able to debate it, to
discuss it. The country is looking for us to take the
responsible road and share in the decision- making, to
come together as a combined force to ensure that the
rights of our people are not trampled upon, Madam
President.
So in closing, I have to say that with the frustration and disquiet that we see in the public domain
of our people who are not only fatigued, because they
have done well. By and large, our people have followed the instructions that have been placed upon
them for these now, I believe about 16 months. And
you can imagine, we have all experienced it ourselves
as legislators, how it is now becoming a little bit much.
So with those brief words, Madam President,
we do in principle agree that an extension should be
afforded the Government, and in this case the Mini ster, to be able to extend these Orders. But we would
strongly suggest that the Government consider 30
days as opposed to the 60 days. I believe that will give time for both Chambers to discuss and debate
these regulations in a manner which will cause the
public to feel comfortable that we have discussed it,
debated it, crossed our t’s and dotted our i’s to ensure
that we have done the right things so that we do not
have these obvious miscues.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Marcus Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this regulation?
Yes, Minister Peets.



Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Dr. Ernest Peets: Good morning,

Good morning,
Senators. Thank you so much for an opportunity to address this honourable assembly.
It is very, very important for us as a country to
remember that we are still in the midst of a pandemic.
We have dangerous coronavirus variants in our gat eway cities. This type of emergency extension gives
the Minister of Health, as well as the Government, the
opportunity to respond to outbreaks quickly so that we
can save lives. Without these extensions, in the event that a dangerous variant is introduced, our ability to
respond to protect our people, to protect our economy, to protect our country is severely curtailed.
We certainly understand the responsibility that
these extensions mean to each of us and for all of us. So I am really, really glad this morning that we have a
Government that is responsive. This particular pa ndemic, no one has a playbook. We were not prepared for this. No one was prepared for this. And we have a
lot of diligent work that has been going into this parti cular pandemic to keep us all safe.
I would remind us that just a few weeks ago
we had a severe spike, hundreds of new cases. And
that was very unfortunate. And we certainly do not
want to see that happen again. So I am really, really
happy this morning that we have an opportunity to talk
about this, as well as to provide the Minister of Health
with the necessary legislation so that in the event that emergency powers are needed, the Minister can actually act very quickly so that we can continue to pr otect our economy, protect our people, so that we can
save lives.
So having said that, Madam President, I thank
you for an opportunity to speak.

The President: Thank you, Senator, Dr. E. G. Peets,
Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport, and the Government Leader in the Senate.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
This Public Health (COVID -19) Emergency
Extension (No. 3) Order is important. It is important
because, as Minister Peets just said a few minutes ago, the Government has to accept responsibility for
keeping its citizens safe. Looking at how COVID -19
has spread, looking at the fact that we now have (and
it has been confirmed) that the Delta variant is in Bermu da. And we know that it spreads even faster
than previous variants. It may happen—I hope it does not, but it may happen that the Government will have to respond very, very quickly to an outbreak. It is
something we do not want to see. But we have to be
realistic and understand that the Minister of Health
has responsibility for making decisions very, very
quickly under those circumstances.
Therefore, in my opinion this is the respons ible thing for the Government to do, to bring this Order
forward so that the power is there to act. I can tell you
that I have appreciated the lifting of most of the r estrictions just a couple of days ago. We were able, as part of our family, to have a small gathering. We still adopted COVID -19 regulations. We stayed outside as
much as possible. But we have to be cognisant of the
fact that COVID -19 is here, and it has not gone an ywhere yet. I think that we have to look at the longterm. We have to take a long- term view. We have to
be ready to act. And therefore, I give my support to
this Order. I know that the sound of the possibility of a
60-day extension does not make anyone feel happy,
because our lives have been impacted quite severely by the restrictions. But I would rather be alive. And I
would rather be working toward keeping all of the community safe.
So, Madam President, I give my support to
this Order. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
No. Then I would just like to say that I support
this Order for som e of the reasons that have already
been mentioned, in that we are just beginning to open up and reduce some of the restrictions on this Island.
With the variants, you have heard about them and we
have monitored [them and] we have heard the reports
from the Minister. And I think that it is better to err on
the side of caution rather than just restrict it to three months. I think that the period that this Minister . . .
remember that the people who are making these decisions . . . we have been doing this for this past 18
months. And we really do not at this stage . . . when
we hear what is going on in other parts of the world, we have opened up our borders. People are begi nning to travel here. And we really need to be very careful about the decisions that we m ake.
So I have heard everything that has been said
this morning. And each of us has our own views about
it. But I think that the experts in this Island have made
the decision. They are the ones who have the respo nsibility for keeping us safe. And I think we need to trust their decision- making. It is not just one individual;
there are several individuals who sit around and look
at everything before they make the decision. So I think
that, personally for me, as a health professional as
well, and considering our hospital and what has been
going on and all of the protections that are in place, I do believe that this is the right decision for us at this stage. And while it may offer some restrictions, I think
532 23 June 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate by and large Bermuda has fared very well so far. And
we pray that we continue to do so.
So with those few words, I would like to echo
my own support of this Order. Thank you.
With that, Senator Richardson, [INAUDIBLE].
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that the s aid draft
Order be approved and that the following message be
sent to Her Excellency the Governor:
“May it please Your Excellency:
“The Senate, having had under consideration
the draft Order entitled the Public Health (COVID -19)
Emergency Extension (No. 3) Order 2021, proposed to be made by the Minister responsible for Health under the provisions of section 107A of the Public Health
Act 1949, has the honour to inform Your Excellency
that the Senate has approved the said draft Order.”

The President: Is th ere any objection to that message being sent?
No objection.
The message will be sent.
[Motion carried: The Draft Order entitled, Public
Health (COVID -19) Emergency Extension (No. 3) O rder 2021, was approved.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson and
all Senators, for your contribution.
We will now move on to the next item on our
agenda, which is the second reading, subject to the grant of Standing Order 25, of the Public Health
Amendment (No. 2) Act 2021, and that is in the name
of Senator the Hon. Dr. E. G. V. Peets, Minister of
Youth, Culture and Sport, and the Government Leader
in the Senate.
Minister Peets, you have the floor.

STANDING ORDER 25

Madam President, I
move that the provisions of Standing Order 25 be
granted so that Senate may now proceed with the
second reading of the Bill entitled the Public Health Amendment (No. 2) Act 2021.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Minister Peets.

[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Public Health
Amendment (No. 2) Act 2021 to be read a second
time on the same day as its first reading.]

Thank you very
much, Madam President. Once again, good morning
to all of our colleagues and our listening audience.
Madam President, the
Public Health Amen dment (No. 2) Act 2021 provides for a revision of aspects of the fixed penalty regime for the enforcement
of COVID -19 preventive measures. This will enhance
the enforcement provisions to ensure the safety of our residents, in particular, the most vulnerable.
The purpose of this legislation is to provide
further for the creation of a ticketing regime for breaches of the Public Health and Quarantine legisl ation that relate to COVID -19 in order to more efficiently enforce penalties for activities that present a mat erial risk to the public. The regime follows the legisl ative regime for traffic tickets found in the Traffic O ffences (Penalties) Act 197[6] where the hearing of any defence to an alleged breach will be in court. The aim
is to relieve pressure on the court s in the enforcement
of a select number of offences.
Madam President, you recall that the amendments introducing fixed penalty regimes for Public
Health and Quarantine legislation were passed earlier this year. However, upon further development it was determined that further changes were needed for operational purposes.
Madam President, as we are aware, the
COVID -19 pandemic continues to rage globally and
locally. While the country is increasingly close to achieving community protection through vaccinatio ns
(or herd immunity) there remains a continued need for
protective measures to prevent the spread of COVID -
19 and to protect lives. Despite COVID -19 fatigue in
the population and an increasingly vocal minority who
feel disenfranchised by these unfortunately essential
public health measures, compliance with public health and traveller rules continues to be very high. Howe ver, when these breaches occur, enforcement conti nues to be difficult because of the prolonged process required to prosecute offenders thr ough the courts.


Bermuda Senate Madam President, this amendment remains
focused on the enforcement of COVID -19 breaches
that are considered to be material breaches. The
types of COVID -19 breaches that occur can be cat egorised in three types: (a) serious breaches that i mmediately endanger public health and safety; (b) material breaches that present high risk of COVID -
19 transmission; and (c) minor breaches that intr oduce risk of COVID -19 spread.
Madam President, serious breaches such as
knowingly exposing others to a communicable di sease will be prosecuted through the courts as required by the relevant legislation. Minor breaches such as
not wearing a mask in a designated place can be addressed with a simple reminder by any member of the public, a [Bermuda] Regiment [officer] or police officer.
Material breaches fall between the other two in nature and in risk. Such breaches include, for example, wit hholding contact information for tracing from health officers, or participating in or hosting a gathering above
the number legally allowed. The material breaches are the type of offences to which a fixed penalty is intended to be attached. This Senate has already supported
the Government in the view that such breaches can
be better enforced with a fixed penalty or ticketing r egime by trained officers.
What this amendment does is restrict that
power to issue the ticket to the police [officers] or
[Bermuda] Regiment officers and to make some additional consequential changes, as follows:
• The Bill provides f or a police officer to issue a
public health penalty ticket where a person commits an offence and removes this power
from the public [health] officers. This enables
fixed penalties to be in effect sooner through
police powers and trained officers.
• It provi des for public health penalty tickets to
apply to the various offences under the Public
Health and Quarantine Emergency Powers
Regulations.
• It increases the ticketing penalty from $1,500
to $10 ,000 for the offence of refusing to a nswer questions as required by a police officer.
This is to cover instances where an individual
may refuse to identify themselves so that the
fixed penalty can be issued to the proper person.
• It provides for the Minister to prescribe the
content of a public health penalty ticket in regulations. The form of the public health
penalty ticket will be published on the Berm uda Police Service website. This is so that the
current fixed penalty tickets used by the police
can be used for the purposes of public health
penalty tickets.
Importantly, Madam President, the Bill e nsures that persons who pay the penalty within 28 days
do not receive a criminal conviction and provi des for persons to contest a ticket in court where they believe
they are innocent.
Madam President, the Minister of Health consulted with the Bermuda Police Service, with the D irector of Public Prosecutions, with the Magistrate’s
Court and with the Attorney General’s Chambers in
the development of the policy for a ticketing regime for
the enforcement of COVID -19 enforcement measures.
I am very, very grateful for the assistance received in
making this legislation possible.
With these brief introductory remarks, I will
take my seat, Madam President. Thank you very much.

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

Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam President.

The President: Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you.
First let me say thank you to Minister Peets
for bringing this Public Health Amendment ( No. 2) Act
2021 to this Chamber. I do understand the need to
have it formulated and structured so that the ticketing of offences can be done in an efficient manner and to
avoid our citizens from being made criminals for falling
afoul to the rules and regul ations that are here.
I would ask one question, and I did not hear it
in this brief. If he can give us a more clear and comprehensive reason for the actual dollar amount that
went from $1,500 to $10,000? That seems steep for
these offences. We understand that this is a move so
the Government can do all it can to protect its citizens. [The penalty of] $10,000 did seem a little bit onerous
and harsh. But if he can give us more of an explana-tion, that would be great.
One thing that I was really glad to hear, because it brought some clarity to this Bill, was his breakdown of the three types of breaches —serious
breaches, material breaches and minor breaches. If the Minister can provide for us the dollar amount, maybe the ceiling amount for each category? B ecaus e I believe in his briefing (and I stand to be corrected) that he did make the statement that for those who are found refusing to answer questions, they
could be fined $10,000. But I am reading here in the
memorandum for this legislation that in fact the person who refuses to answer the questions as required by a
police officer can be given a penalty of $3,000. So if
the Minister can in fact give a little bit of clarity to the
ceiling amounts of the fine and the penalty that has to
be paid by a citizen who violates these breaches according to these three categories from serious to m aterial and to minor?
534 23 June 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate What also caught my attention was the r equirement that these penalties be paid within 28 days.
Twenty -eight days for the average Bermudian to come
up with $10,000 is a little steep. And I am very much averse in our attempt to make the country safe and to penalise those who breach these regulations to make
them a criminal. So from one vantage point they are
being fined and given a penalty for breaching it wit hout having to incur the indignity of being made a cri minal. But if you do not pay it in 28 days, you are going
to be a criminal.
So, I am wondering if 28 days can be rethought -out to be a longer period of time. Sixty days? I
guess as you noticed, the Opposition is always look-ing for extended or reduced days. But I think that all comes to bear when we put our heads together and
we say, Are we doing things that are going to protect,
but at the same time ensure that our citizens are not
overwhelmed with regu lations that could potentially —
and in this case if they do not pay this fine in 28 days, they will be made a criminal.
So with those brief remarks, as I said earlier,
in principle we agree with this amendment. We under-stand to some degree why the Government is doing
this. But if the Minister can provide us with a more
extended explanation to my questions, I would be forever grateful. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Marcus Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. Thank you, Minister Peets, for your presentation this morning. And I too would like to thank those who
have crafted this Bill.
In my opinion, it is necessary because it will
help to strengthen the enforcement of the public
health regulations. And I think we probably all know of
ways in which people have been breaching regul ations but have not suffered any consequences. Unfortunately, it has to be done because that is what will
get the attention of those who might consider doing
the same thing. So this is necessary. And I am happy to see that it will relieve the pressure on the public
health offices, who need to be focused on public
health and not on enforcement of the regulations.
But I do have a couple of questions. In the Act
that is being amended, in the Public Health Act 1949,
it allows for public health officers to issue tickets. So will they have that power at all? Or has it been completely given back or given over to the police? And I
heard Minister Peets say “and [Bermuda] Regiment
officers.” That is one question. Do the public health officers retain any ability to issue tickets?
The second question I have is about [Berm uda] Regim ent officers. How much training will they have had to issue these tickets? The police have been
trained; we know that. But I would like to know, which
[Bermuda] Regiment officers and how much training
will they receive?
Will it be all of the [Royal Bermud a] Regiment,
or just those who are involved in public health moni-toring?
With those brief comments and my two questions, I would like once again to say I think this is a necessary amendment to these two Acts. And hop efully, the police will not need to iss ue too many tickets.
But we know human nature.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then it is over to you, Minister Peets, to
respond to the questions.
I too will say before I do that is that I support
the Bill. And I support it for the same reasons as Senator Simmons stated, that sometimes people need to
know what the consequences are and that they will be
issued to them.
So it is over to you to respond to the questions that have been asked. Thank you. Minister
Peets.

Thank you, Madam
President.
One of the things that the Government reali ses is that these amendments are necessary regarding
the whole conversation around enforcement. This
pandemic has lasted longer than we would have liked or wanted. I would believe that is the sentiment
around the entire planet at the moment. We also wanted our response system to be nimble as well as
responsible. We also want to simplify things so that things are a little easier to understand for not only our
health officials and our public enforcement agencies,
but also the general public.
We also want to communicate that these
amendments are also serving as a general deterrent.
So as the information becomes readily available [about] what the fixed penalties are, it is not only si mplified, but it also clarifies some things, makes things a
little bit more nimble and responsible, but also acts as
a deterrent.
Regarding the questions from our Honourable
Senator Jones, clause 8 amends section 107H(2) of the principal Act to provide a penalty from $3,000 to
$10,000 for the offence of refusing to answer questions as required by a police officer. That falls into one
of those categories that the brief had mentioned, ser ious breaches and/or material breaches. These parti cular breaches in nature require a stiffer penalty. A
stiffer penalty, of course, (1) acts as a deterrent; but


Bermuda Senate also, (2) represents the serious nature of the offence
or breach.
In the event that an individual commits a m aterial breach or a serious breach where they immediately endanger the public health and safety, or a m aterial breach that presents a high risk of COVID -19 . . .
our health officials can report today that the spikes in
cases, particularly the ones which we have recently experienced, can be traced back to a material or ser ious breach which has had a long- lasting cons equence, not just on the economy, but on every single person who lives in the country. So, given the gra vity
of the consequence, we think that the penalty also
needs to be reflective of the breach.
I hope that explanation is satisfactory for the
Honourable Senator.
Regarding Senator Simmons, thank you so
much. What I can suggest is that clause 7 amends
sections 107G, 107H and 107J of the principal Act to
replace the reference of a “Public Health Officer” with
a “police officer,” in order for the police officer to take over the responsibility for issuing public health penalty
tickets from a public health off icer. So in that particular
case, the public health officer will not be issuing the
ticket.
The ticket will be issued by a police officer,
thus releasing the public health officer from engaging
in a dual relationship of enforcement and public
health. It creates that delineation to make things a
little bit simpler for all parties involved.
If there are any other, additional questions
that perhaps I could be helpful with, I will be glad to
assist.

The President: Thank you.
Senator Michelle Simmons, you hav e an add itional question?

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
No. I just wanted to reiterate my question
about the [Bermuda] Regiment and the training for the
soldiers who will be issuing tickets. The [Bermuda] Regiment is not mentioned in the Bill, unless I missed
it. But in the brief that Minister Peets delivered this morning, they were mentioned specifically.

The President: Thank you.

Yes. Thank you,
Senator.
So the Bill allows for the public police off icers
to engage the public in the issuing of tickets. There are provisions under various Bills and legislation that
the Bermuda Regiment can assist in the enforcement
of certain public regulations. But they are not permi tted to issue tickets. So these tick ets will be issued
solely by the police officers.
The President: Thank you for the response.
Seeing that then, do you want to move the
second reading first, and then move the Bill, please.

Thank you, Madam
President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Public Health Amendment (No. 2) Act 2021 do
now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Public Heal th Amendment (No. 2)
Act 2021 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Minister Peets, Gover nment Leader in the Senate, and all Senators.
We have come to the end of our Orders of the
Day. We will now move on.

MOTIONS
The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: The floor is open for any Senator.
Senator Darrell, you have the floor.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
This morning I would like to give condolences
to the family of Mr. Carlton “Pluke” Smith. Unfortunat ely, Mr. Smith passed away over this holiday weekend.
And those of you who follow the Eastern County [Cup]
Series would know that Pluke was a former player of
Cleveland County Cricket Club. He was a former
President of Cleveland County Cricket Club, and he
was a role model and a gentle giant in the community
of Harris Bay, Devil’s Hole.
And I would tell you, while celebrating the ho liday on Monday it was a s hock to me to hear of the
loss of Mr. Smith. One of his probably proudest m oments would be when he was the President of Clev eland County [Cricket Club] in 2014, and after 33 long years Cleveland County won the Eastern County Cup
in an overwhelming victory over St. David’s down at
Sea Breeze Oval. And if you could have just seen the joy on the community of Devil’s Hole and Pluke at the
time! And one of his other achievements was in
2018 when Cleveland did not have the Cup; Bailey’s
Bay had it. No one thought that Cleveland had a
chance to win the trophy that year. As the president,
Pluke decided to take a young team down to Bailey’s Bay that year. And Cleveland County batted first, and
they bowled out Bailey’s Bay Cricket Club for 93 runs.
And I can remember that day, the proud look on his
face knowing that he was the president of a club that
had faith in youngsters, as he watched these young
people grow up and win that trophy.
So to all of the community of Harris Bay, Devil’s Hole, to all of the family and friends of Mr. Carlton
Pluke Smith, I would like to send my condolences from the Senate.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Robin Tucker, you have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
First, I would like to associate myself with
Senator Darrell’s extension of condolences to the fam-ily of Mr. Pluke Smith. I would also like to extend congratulations to Mr. Tony Thompson, who has recently
been appointed CEO of Gibbons Company. As well as
the Special Olympians, Micah Lambert, Bridget Marshal and Eden Woollery, for qualifying for the 2022 US
Summer Games in Florida.
Finally, I would like to say congratulations to
Nicola Soares and Renee Thomas on their appoin tments to the Fryeburg Academy Board of Trustees. Ms. Soares is a former teacher, and she has held positions with NBC Universal, NBC Learn and McGraw -
Hill Education. She currently lives in Michigan and is
President of Kelly Education, the nation’s lar gest ed ucation workforce solution provider.
Renee Thomas, most people who have been
in government for any period of time, and certainly
people within the community, will know her and if not
her certainly will have known of her father Austin
Thomas, her mother Eula Thomas, and her sister Selena, who are incidentally my cousins. Renee has
worked for the Department of Culture since 1989, and
currently she is an assistant to the director. So again on a personal note, congratulations to Renee and also
to Nicola Soares as well, on their achievements.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I would like to associate myself with the co ngratulatory remarks to Mr. Tony Thompson. And I


Bermuda Senate would like to add congratulations to Ms. Ariana
Caines, a former head girl of the Berkeley Institute,
who has recently been called to the bar. Ariana is an
impre ssive young woman. I know that she is going to
make an invaluable contribution to the legal community here in Bermuda. Of course, we know that she is
Dame Lois Browne- Evans’s granddaughter, so she
has that legacy behind her. But I know that she will
build her own legacy.
I would also like to extend congratulations to
the four people who received recognition by Her Maj-esty the Queen in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List:
Ms. Laurie Shiell (who happens to be my niece), the
Executive Director of the Centre Aga inst Abuse; Mr.
Allan Trew, a veteran of the hotel industry who has
worked for tourism, I think during all of his adult life,
and has done a sterling job wherever he has been; Dr.
Clarence Maxwell, who was recognised for his service
to culture and Bermudian history. Dr. Maxwell is the
author of several publications and most importantly he
is now an Assistant Professor of History at Millersville University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and the fourth
person was Mr. Jon Beard, who has taught in Berm uda for 40 y ears.
If you have been involved in sport, you would
know his name because he has cultivated generations
of talented sportspersons through his work as head of PE at Saltus. But he has been involved in numerous
sporting organisations. So the four of them deserve
hearty congratulations.
Then finally, I would like to extend condolences to the family of Ms. Jan Hollis, especially her hus-band, Archdeacon Emeritus Arnold Hollis, the former Rector of St. James Church in Somerset; as well as
their daughters, Allis on, Catherine and Rev. Joanna.
Ms. Hollis was truly Dr. Hollis’s partner because she
had her own ministry at St. James, as organist, as
leader of music (I am going to say). And certainly I am
sure their presence is being missed. But I know that
Ms. Hollis will be terribly missed by her husband.
So with those remarks, thank you, Madam
President.

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

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. Thank you.
I would like to give condolences to Mr. Luis
Furtado’s family, as they are burying him today. He is
from Devonshire. (And I was able to hear the part of
C-12). So I just want to give condolences to his family
as the y bury him today.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Si mmons. Would any other Senator care to speak?
No.
Then . . . sorry. Minister Peets, you have the
floor.

We are proud of
them already even without having the results come
back, just the fact that they have endured a very diff icult period during the pandemic, trying to train and
stay fit and stay motivated and be able to travel to
Puerto Rico to pursue their dreams. I think that is
something that makes us all proud. So hopefully, on
behalf of the entire Senate, we certainly wish them well.

The President: I am very sure, Minister Peets, that
we all join you in those words and certainly look forward to a good report from them. I know their dream is
to go to Tokyo, so we will wait with bated breath. But thank you for that, and we all join you in those comments.
I would just like to, myself, associate the e ntire Senate body with the congratulations on the four
individuals who are well -known in Bermuda, whom
Senator Michelle Simmons mentioned for receiving
the Queen’s certificate. I think that when you are ho noured in that manner, it is a great honour for them and
a recognition of their contribution to the Island. So I
would like to associate the entire Senate body with
those comments that you have made, Senator Michelle Simmons.
I would also like to join in the comments that
have been made by Senator Michelle Simmons with respect to the condolences on the passing of Jan Hollis. I had the opportunity of working with her at the
hospital, and I knew of her work in the church, certai nly with her husband, in Somerset. But at the hospital,
she made a name for herself as a social worker. And
so I join you in sendi ng condolences not only to her
husband, but to all of the family of the Somerset r egion.
So with that said, we will now move on.
Would any Senator care to speak on the m otion to adjourn? I beg your pardon. Why am I rushing us this morning? I do apologise considerably. There is
no need for that, and I do apologise to the entire Se nate body.
Minister Peets, Government Leader in the
Senate, item number 16 is yours.

538 23 June 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ADJOURNMENT

Thank you, Madam
President.
I ask that we adjourn until next week,
Wednesday, which is June 30.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Well, with that then, my question is,
Would any Senator care to speak on the motion to
adjourn?
Senator Michelle Simmons, Vice President of
the Senate, you have the floor.

WANTLEY/ BERKELEY INSTITUTE
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I just cannot let this opportunity pass me by. I
would like to share a short story this morning which I hope you, Madam President, my fellow Senators and the listening audience will find interesting. I am going
back to Monday, October 6, 1879, when a group of six gentlemen met in what was described as a new buil ding known as Wantley. It belonged to Samuel David Robinson on Princess Street in Hamilton. They gat hered to discuss the establishment of a secondary school which would be racially mixed. Of course, one
of the key goals was to provide for the education of
Black students, since the schools established by the
Legislature excluded them from getting a secondary education.
A second meeting was held three days later
on October 9 when the original six men were joined by five others. So all together there were 11 men. They
are described as being coloured. These two meetings
led to the founding of the Berkeley Educational Soci ety, which is still in existence today and is still commi tted to the same goals. For the record, and I think it is
important for all of us to hear the names; may I read them, Madam President?

The President: You certainly may, Senator Simmons.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: You will hear connections
to Bermuda of today. First, Joseph Henry Thomas,
Richard Henry Duerden, William Henry Thomas Joell,
Samuel David Robinson, Eugenius Charles Jackson,
Charles William Thomas Smith, William Orlando Bascome , John Henry T. Jackson, Samuel Parker, Sr.
and Samuel Parker, Jr. And the last of the 11 was
Henry T. Dyer.
Madam President, these men had a vision.
They also had the determination to press ahead, recognising the importance of providing for the better e ducation of the people, and I emphasise, even when the Legislature, which governed all of Bermuda, did not possess a similar view or desire. Rather than wait
for government to provide secondary education for all of its citizens, these 11 men moved forward w ith their
own plans. But how long did it take them? Astoundin gly, after 18 years of fundraising and having meetings
up and down the Island in all of Bermuda’s parishes,
the Berkeley Institute, both elementary and high
school (or secondary school), was opened on the
ground floor of Samaritan’s Hall on Court Street, Hamilton. The date, and every Berkeleyite knows this date,
September 6, 1897 [was] 18 years after that first
meet ing in Samuel David Robinson’s home, Wantley,
on Princess Street in Hamilton.
At that time the Berkeley Institute was a pr ivate school and parents had to pay a fee. Since then
the Berkeley has produced leading scholars in Bermuda who have been involved in all aspects of life
here and overseas. Of course, I do not have enough
time to nam e all of those wonderful Berkeleyites who
have been contributing to Bermuda over the years.
But the school has been in existence for almost 124
years, making a significant contribution to Bermuda.
History and historical artefacts, Madam Pres ident, are important. Because we learn from them how
past societies, past systems, past ideologies, past
governments, cultures, technologies were built. We
learn about how they operated. We learn about how
they have changed over the years. This is important
because it g ives us a window into our collective past. I
am not just talking about Berkeley’s past; this is Bermuda’s past. It is our community’s history, its legacy.
So that building on Princess Street, Wantley,
connects us with our past. It is not just a building t o be
demolished! It adds perspective to the Berkeley story,
the Bermuda story and all of us, whether we attended
the Berkeley Institute or another school in Bermuda. And therefore, by restoring Wantley to its previous
condition, all of us can get to experi ence this. We can
all experience what our legacy looked like then. Are
we going to allow Wantley to be demolished after 13 years of neglect by respective governments, Berkele yites and other members of the Bermuda community who believe in the preservation of our history, our culture, our heritage? We must step forward and do our
part.
The legacy of the Berkeley Institute has been
passed down from the founders, including Samuel
David Robinson, to successive generations of Berk eleyites. And even though I am not going to sing it to
you today, I am going to remind you of just the second
verse of the Berkeley Institute School Song. And it
begins (Senator Darrell will know),
We are the men of the years to come.
We are the women of the future.
What will become of o ur Island home
without our nurture?
For we have the brain and the brawn and the blood of those who handed us the torch of life.
And we pray that we will aspire,
emulate our worthy sires
and be heroes in the strife.


Bermuda Senate So I am calling on all of our heroes to step
forward and let us do our part to save Wantley. It is
not just a building. That is our legacy. That is our heritage. That is our history. Madam President, as you
can tell, I feel strongly about it. And I am prepared to do my part. So I hope that there are others out there
who are listening who are also prepared to take a role
in saving that building.
Thank you very much for listening.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Darrell.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Yes, I would like to speak.
The President: You have the floor.

PLP GOVERNMENT —STRONG LEADERSHIP

Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I have said
this before in this Honourable House, and I will say it
again. I am proud to be a member and a Senator of the Progressive Labour Party. And while another
Senator earlier today mentioned green pom -poms, I
would say that this Progressive Labour Party is not
always about a party. We are not always about the
show and the glitz and always winning a popularity
contest. However, Madam President, I will remind the
fellow who spoke earlier today and used words such
as contradictory that on October 1, 2020, it was the
Progressive Labour Party that went to the polls in this
country, and our election manifesto was about strong
steady leadership.
I will also remind my Senate colleague from
another party that when you are a strong leader,
sometimes decisions are difficult. I will also remind the
Senat or who spoke earlier that on October 1, it was
the people of Bermuda, the electorate, not just the
ones on social media, who voted 30 to 6 for the Pr ogressive Labour Party to lead this country during diff icult times. We knew back then, Madam President,
that the road was going to get rough. We knew back
then, Madam President, that the road was going to get rocky. What we did not know, Madam President, at
that time was that 32 individuals —32 Bermudians, 32
family members —would unfortunately lose their lives
to COVID -19.
So, Madam President, while some of us may
have time to spend all day on the blogs and misinterpret what cries for help Bermudians may be exper iencing overseas, those of us who are members of the
Progressive Labour Party spend our time working,
spend our time picking up the phone and talking to
constituents, spend our time trying to fix the issues
that some of our people may be experiencing overseas. Some of those issues range from misinterpret a-tion of the regulations, some of those issues range
from someone putting in their first name twice. I know
because I did that, Madam President. They range
from some individuals in the community not having a total grasp on technology, and we have recognised that, and we have put more assistance in place to assist individuals overseas.
But, Madam President, I would like to say to
all of my Senate colleagues today that the Progressive Labour Party hears the cries of our family members. We hear the cries of our neighbours. We may not always be on the blogs, but I am sure we have
passionate discussions with close friends, close family
members, constituents. And the number -one objective
right now, Madam President, is to keep this country
safe. And I know Senator Simmons did talk about
some of the restrictions bei ng lifted last week and
some of the enjoyment that I have seen a lot of people
[being able to have] over the holiday weekend. But
what the Health Ministry has said and public officers
who work in health have said is that our greatest cha llenge right now is keeping other variants out of our
borders.
By shutting down our borders and making it
very tough for variants to get in, we are making it easier for Bermuda’s economy to be restarted. I was tal king to a business owner earlier, and he was excited after this weekend that his establishments were full. They were vibrant. He was asking the government for
further assistance to help keep his business afloat
while it gets back. Over the last couple of months,
Madam President, I am sure all of us have heard indi-viduals who have not been so lucky with their bus iness, who said that their businesses may be one month from closing. If you walk through Washington
Mall, you will see that several businesses are no
longer there.
So I will go back to say, Madam President,
that while some politicians may run to their propaga nda sheet, [while] some politicians may take this opportunity to jump on a bandwagon and call names and
use words like “contradictory,” I can tell you that the
party which I represent, the Progressive Labour Party,
day in and day out spent hours debating with each
other, discussing how we can get the balance right to keep our people safe and open our economy for bus iness.
There are others on the blogs who . . . I saw
someone this weekend and he said, Hey, man, no
problem. It’s just all jokes. Just have a laugh! And I
would say, Madam President, going back to the 33 families who have lost loved ones, this is no joking
matter. So I would like to say thank you to all of the
leaders, whether it be from public officers in Health,
whether it be from National Security, whether it be
from border protection. Anyone who has anything to
do with keeping Bermudians safe, I would like to say
today, Madam President, thank you. And I would like
to applaud once again the str ong leadership of this
540 23 June 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Government, who will very soon bring Bermuda out of
this pandemic. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?

I do not often tak e
the opportunity to speak during motion to adjourn, for
a variety of different reasons. But this morning I feel
compelled just to share a few words. We have not had
fair weather these last 15 months. And trying to go vern and trying to lead during a stormy period of a pa ndemic certainly reveals a lot. I am certainly grateful to everyone in our country, our Government, our civil servants and even everyone in here. It really helps me
to be encouraged to know that we have not forgotten.
We have not forgotten t hat we have to remain vigilant.
And we still have some work to do to protect
our country. My thoughts this morning are really t owards our long- term recovery. Most of us have been
in the trenches each and every day dealing with the
pandemic and all of the things that are related to that.
And I can say this morning with a lot of joy, as well as
with a lot of honesty, that we have worked hard as a
country. And when I say “as a country,” I am talking
about every single Bermudian as it relates to doing
the necessary things in order to allow us to get to this
point where some of our restrictions have been r elaxed and reduced.
I remember on Bermuda Day I had the opportunity to be in the lead car coming out of St. George’s as the Sinclair Packwood [Memorial] Race was begi nning. And as the lead car was going through the
streets of St. George’s, coming along the causeway
into Crawl and Bailey’s Bay and Shelly Bay and then
Middle Road, when I saw the crowds out that day, I
am not ashamed to admit it was a bit emotiona l. I was
so excited and so happy to see the event happening and to see people out enjoying it. And it just dawned on me on how much we have missed it and how hard
we have worked to get to this point. And I was extremely privileged and honoured, as the Mini ster of
Youth, Culture and Sport, to have a view of that event
from that particular vantage point.
So right now for me, my message to the cou ntry is that while we are having fun we have to reme m-ber that it is a very delicate balance, given that the
emergence of dangerous variants are in our gateway
cities. But we do have a lot to look forward to this
summer. We have the opportunity to enjoy the beach.
We have the opportunity to enjoy barbecues, the r esumption of cricket. And perhaps for some of us who
enjoy raft -ups, we had an opportunity to enjoy some of
that as well.
But as I think about where we are today and
where we need to be, one of the things that this pa ndemic has really shown me as a concerned Bermudian and as an adult and as a parent and as a family
man is how important community is, how important
family is, how important our corporate worship is and
all of the other things that make up our everyday life,
and how precious these things are. This pandemic
has really shown to me how horrible a pandemic can be as it relates to its ability to restrict all of those
things. I was happy this morning to be back in these
Chambers. As much as I appreciate the ability that we
can continue to do the business of the people remot ely, there is something special about being in the company of others and to be able to do our work face- toface in the company of each other.
So this morning as we begin to think about
where we are and where we are going, I certainly
want to thank all of the Senators, [including] Oppos ition, Independent and Government Senators, for their
diligence, for their hard work. But remember as we go forward it is a very difficult balancing act of being open
and reducing restrictions, but also trying to keep our
country safe and our long- term goals in mind.
So having said that, we certainly need to support all of our Government leaders as it relates to this very, very difficult task that they have on top of their
shoulders. We certainly would love to be able to wake
up each and every day without having to think about how to manage COVID -19, and to be able to focus
our attention on other things. But having said that this
morning, I am very, very proud of how our country has
responded. I have had the opportunity to travel a few
times in the last 15 months. And I must say Bermuda
has done extremely well compared to some of the
things that we have seen in our news and in other
gateway cities.
So having said that, Bermuda, congratul ations. We have a good summer ahead of us with lots
of things that we can look forward to. But we have to
remain vigilant because gateway cities are still a
threat as it relates to these dangerous variants. But I
am confident this morning that we have the right mix of individuals and talent to continue to steer us in the
right direction. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you very much, Minister Peets,
Government Leader in the Senate, for your realistic
words. And I think we take it all to heart, and anybody listening would certainly do the same. We are very
fortunate in Bermuda.

B ermuda Senate With that said, Senate stands adjourned till
next week. That is June 30. Thank you all.
[At 11:40 am, Senate stood adjourned until 10:00 am,
Wednesday, 30 June 2021.]
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