March 25, 2021

Senator Robin Tucker, do you have
further follow -up?

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, thank you.
I thank the Junior Minister for his response
concerning the 44 [sic] per cent. For me and the li stening audience, to appreciate what that number
means, if he could at least provide us . . . if he i s unable to provide us an actual number of children who are
identified in those categories, then at least if he could provide us with a number, total number of children in
the public and private schools so that we can get an
appreciation for what that 24 per cent actually means.
In addition to that is that he . . . because the
question I asked was on two different categories. So
those who are considered overweight and those who are considered formally as obese. So it would be
great to be able to have some idea of where the chi ldren and that 24 per cent actually sit.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you for the clarification, Sen ator Tucker. Is there any further follow -up from any other
Senator?
It does not appear that there is more, Senator
Richardson. So we have just a couple of minutes left.
And if you do not have any further responses to the questions, Senator Richardson, I would suggest that
you go ahead and move the two heads.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Chai rman. I do not have the remaining answers at this
point.
Madam Chairman, I move that the said motion
be approved and that the following—

You have to move the Heads, Senator Richardson.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: I am sorry. All right.
Madam Chairman, I do move that the Committee do now take under consideration . . . (One second, Madam Chairman.)
[Pause]

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, before I
move the Heads, I do have just a couple of the answers to the questions if you want me to provide thos e
before I move the heads.

Yes. Please.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Okay. The question from
Senator Wight, the lower budget was because the
ADS [Ageing and Disability Services] was moved.
And as far as Senator Tucker, I would like to
refer you to the recent STEPS survey that has the
percentage for the overweight children.
And with that, then I would like to move the
Heads now.

Senator Richardson, do you have that
information? What survey were you referring to?

Sen. Curtis Richardson: I do not have it on hand
right now. I will respond. But we will get that to you,
Senator Tucker. I can say t hat 90 students out of 478
294 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate were deemed to be obese, if that helps, in addition to
your question.

We do have a motion on the floor
now. If it is really pressing, I would ask if Senator
Richardson will accept this.

Sen. John Wight: It would take 10 seconds to ask
Senator Richardson. Just for my understanding, what
ADS stands for? And if it was moved, where was it
moved, and how much was moved? So just that
would be helpful for my understanding.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, I appr eciate that question.
I will send a more detailed email response to
you, Senator Wight.

Thank you so much, Senator Ric hardson. And thank you to everyone for having a very healthy debate. No pun intended, of course. (Sorry.)
We now have roughly just about 20 minutes
left in this time period. And I am going to ask Senator Richardson, who is responsible for the next Ministry
we are to debate, if he would like to proceed now to
the debate on the Ministry of National Security or i f we
should break early for lunch.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Chai rman.
The National Security, as you can see in the
schedule, is quite lengthy. I would ask if we can break
a little bit early for lunch and come back early, if you
want, to k eep the same timeline.

We cannot hear you.

Sen. the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright: Sorry. I just
had to unmute myself. Yes. Thank you very much,
Senator Michelle Simmons.
Senators, we will break for lunch and return at
1:45, as has been suggested by Senator Richardson.
Thank you all.

Some Hon. Senators: Thank you, Madam President.

Proc eedings suspended at 12:15 pm

Proceedings resumed at 1:45 pm

[Sen. Michelle Simmons, Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2021/22



Bermuda Senate [Continuation thereof]

Good afternoon, Senators.
We are in Com mittee of the Whole [Senate]
for further consideration of the Appropriation Act 2021 together with the Estimates of Revenue and Expend iture for the financial year 2021/22.
The Ministry under consideration this afternoon is National Security. There are four Heads which
will be debated. They are as follows: Head 6, which we find on page B -265 of the Budget Book; Head 7,
which is on page B -269; Head 25, on page B -278; and
Head 45, which is on page B -281.
Two hours have been allocated to this debate
and the Senator in charge is Senator Curtis P. Ric hardson, Junior Minister for Health, National Security
and Transport. It is now 1:46 pm, and Senator Ric hardson you may begin. We will end debate on these Heads at 3:46 pm.
I am not sure, Senator Richardson, if you
would like to proceed with all of them or if you want to
divide them into two groups and do Heads 6 and 7 together and then Heads 25 and 45. But that is up to
you.
Senator Richardson, you have the floor.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Chai rman. J ust for your information, I would prefer to do all
matters back to back.

Mm-hmm. Please proceed.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, I move
that the Committee do now take under consideration
Head 6, Defence; Head 7, Police; Head 25, Depar tment of Corrections; and Head 45, Fire Services.

MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY

HEAD 6 —DEFENCE

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, under
Defence, Head 6, found on pages B -265 through B268 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
2021/22.

Executive Point Brief

Sen. Curtis Richardson: The executive point brief is
as follows:
• enactment of the Defence (Coast Guard Unit)
Amendment Act;
• hired nine Coast Guard personnel;
• will hire five more Coast Guard personnel; • assisted and assisting Cayman and TCI
[Turks and Caicos Islands] in establishing
Regiments similar to the Royal Bermuda Regiment;
• providing maritime expertise to other Overseas Territories;
• supported COVID -19 restrictions, incl uding
shelter in place, for 175 days on land and sea;
• responded to two hurricanes;
• has the highest number of volunteers in its
history;
• retention is high; and
• the institution plays a meaningful role in developing better citizens.

The General (Executive) S ummary

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman. Head 6
comprises the Defence Department and the Royal
Bermuda Regiment (or the Regiment). The Regiment’s irreplaceable role is to provide operational and
surge capacity to support Bermuda, the Government
and its people. In the past year it has once again di stinguished itself in two meaningful ways: first through
adapting itself to enforce COVID -19 regulations, which
represented the longest operation for any Bermudabased military since World War II. Second and simu ltaneously, it established the Coast Guard Unit, a plan
in progress since 1977. Concurrently, the Regiment
recruited a record number of volunteers, supported the Ministry of Health in several areas, responded to
consecutive hurricanes and continued to act as an
institution which adds to the fabric of the Bermuda
society.

Mandate

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, under
the authority of the Defence Act 1965, the Royal Ber-muda Regiment’s mandate is to be a military force
maintaining the necessary standards of manpower,
training and equipment to enable it to perform its assigned roles efficiently and effectively at home and
overseas. It conducts its training and operations while
also acting as a centre of excellence for primarily
young Bermudians to personally and professionally
develop whilst serving their country.
New Current Account funding provided to the
Department and its proposed uses. Madam Chairman,
the Regiment’s top- line finances for 2020/21 versus
2021/22 are as follows and are further explained on
page B -266: The original estimate for [2020/21] was
$7,959,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $7,282,000, a
decrease of $677,000. The percentage of change was
[9.0] per cent. The total funding for Defence for the
coming year is $7,282,000. This r eflects a decrease of
$677,000, which is 9.0 per cent less than the 2020/21 budget for Defence.
296 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate This decrease comes at a time when the expenses of the Royal Bermuda Regiment have i ncreased due to the final pay -out of the salary cost -ofliving increase bac k to 2017, which was 2.5 per cent
for April 2017 to March 2018, and 2.0 per cent b etween April 2018 to the present time, to a total of 4.5
per cent. In order to achieve this, the Royal Bermuda
Regiment has frozen two full -time posts, reduced the
part-time soldiers’ training periods, reduced part -time
soldiers’ pay rates by 10.0 per cent for the 2021/22
budget year, and a reduction in operational expenses. This can be found on page B -266 in the Budget
[Book].
You will also note the increase of $2,439,000
in cost centre 16010 Regiment Headquarters, and a
decrease from cost centres 16020 Quartermaster,
16030 Ceremonial, 16040 Internal Security, 16060
Bermuda Cadet, 16075 Overseas Camp, 16080 Trai ning and Validation, and 16085 Marine Operations.
This is a refle ction of full -time employees being consolidated into [cost centre] 16010, in addition to the
reductions that have been mentioned.

Capital Acquisition Funding

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, the Mi nistry of National Security has approved $218,000 of
capital acquisition funding for Defence. Of this funding, $200,000 will allow the Regiment to continue with
its replacement and refurbishment of its ageing vehicle fleet, and $18,000 is for operation equipment, pr imarily allocated to the Coast Guard.

Personnel

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, the Regiment currently employs 39 full -time staff, of which
three are civilians employed in administration, finance
and grounds keeping, respectively. With the addition
of the five Coast Guard posts and the freezing of two
Royal Bermuda Regiment [RBR] full -time posts, they
will now employ 38 full- time staff in [cost centre]
16010, Regiment Headquarters, bringing the total full -
time staff to 42. All staff will now be accounted for in these two cost centres as you will see on page B -267.

Mission and Roles

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, under
direction of the Governor as Commander in Chief and
in consultation with the Ministry of National Security,
the Regiment’s finances are used to execute its r evised mission of protecting Bermuda’s interests . It
achieves this mission by conducting the following
mandated tasks:
Coast Guard. Madam Chairman, I am pleased
to report that as of Monday, the 1
st of February 2021,
the Defence (Coast Guard Unit) Amendment Ac t 2018
was enacted and the Royal Bermuda Regiment has formally assumed maritime operations from the Bermuda Police Service. The Royal Bermuda Regiment
Coast Guard represents a meaningful commitment by
the Government to provide safety and security on and
in Bermuda’s waters for recreational users and those
who depend on our blue economy. Over the next year
they will continue to develop their capability through
hiring an additional five full -time Royal Bermuda Re giment personnel who will carry out the followi ng tasks:
a. search and rescue or recovery;
b. interdiction of marine smuggling operations;
c. deterring criminal activity on the water;
d. enforcement of fisheries regulations; and
e. enforcing maritime regulations and ensuring
maritime border and port security.
Madam Chairman, the Regiment is also mandated to conduct the following duties:
A. Force Protection. These are the means and
measures to minimise the vulnerability of people, i nfrastructure, and high- value assets from threats and
hazards. This ranges from military security and public order to explosive ordnance disposal.
B. Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief. This
is the organised military response to alleviate the r esults of a man- made or natural catastrophe, the consequences of which put lives and livelihoods at risk.
Ranging from hurricanes to oil spills and fires, the pr iorities are saving life, relieving suffering, limiting damage, restoring essential service and setting the conditions for recovery.
C. Ceremonial. The Regiment provides the
only local prof essional -standard military band and accompanying troops to conduct national ceremonial
and civic events.
D. International Assistance. Upon request, the
Regiment can provide military skills and resources to
assist the UN, NATO and regional peace support operations or training, [all of] which enhance Bermuda’s
reputation in the international community.
E. Enhancing Bermudian Society. Since its
inception, the Royal Bermuda Regiment has provided
an important role by supporting the integration and
development of Bermudian society in the form of
• a common military experience for volunteers from across Bermuda’s society;
• the opportunity to enhance life and vocational
skills;
• involvement in Regimental and wider comm unity sporting and social activities; and
• youth en gagement through Junior Leaders,
and in partnership with the Bermuda Police
Service the facilitation of the Outward Bound
Adventure Training Centre.
It conducts the majority of these tasks in par tnership with or in support of other government departments, specifically the Emergency Measures O rganisation (EMO), Maritime Operations Centre, D epartment of E nvironmental Protection, Disaster Risk
Reduction and Mitigation (DRRM) Team, Bermuda


Bermuda Senate Police Service, Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service,
and Bermuda Hospitals B oard.

Output Measures and Objectives
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, the Regiment successfully completed its preparations and
training for the past hurricane season. In February the
Regiment had a successful recruit camp with 47 volunteers partic ipating.
There will be an additional recruit camp in July
of 2021. Although COVID -19 restrictions will see the
Regiment conduct the majority of its training in Bermuda this year, they will send a detachment of 12 soldiers to Guyana in May as part of Exerc ise
Tradewinds 2021. During this two- week period our
soldiers will be trained and evaluated alongside 14 other Caribbean countries.
Through a targeted recruiting and retention
plan the Regiment has surpassed its voluntary enlis tment goal, and in June of 2 021 is forecasting to retain
at least 80 per cent of their long- serving soldiers. Al though statistics for soldiers passing annual training tests appear static or as a decline, this is due to an
increase in testing standards.

Major Achievements for 2020/21
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, in addition to its COVID -19 response and establishment of
the Coast Guard, the Royal Bermuda Regiment has
 commissioned its first female officer in 30
years. Second Lieutenant Tucker completed her Royal Academy Sandhurst training in N ovember of 2020;
 provided personnel for the management of
COVID -19 testing sites and vaccination centres;
 enhanced its recruiting and retention at all
ranks, which means it has the highest level of
manning since the end of conscription;
 provided training, policy and publications for
the establishment of sister units in the Ca yman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands;
 assisted the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force Maritime Unit. This was achieved through two
soldiers and one officer being sponsored by
the UK FCDO [Foreign Commonwealth and
Development Office] and MOD [Ministry of Defence] as shipwrights and technicians to
service and overhaul their maritime vessels.
This demonstrated the Coast Guard’s uphol ding its promise of working inter -operably with
other Overseas Territories for mutual benefit.

Closing Remarks

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, this past
year has once again proved that the Royal Bermuda Regiment is an organisation with proud traditions and
a structure, ethos, trai ning and management which
provides an essential role to the country in routine
matters and times of emergency on land and at sea.
Madam Chairman, I am thankful to the Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Ben Beasley, and the team at the
Royal Bermuda Regiment for their dedication during
the fiscal year 2020/21.

Thank you, Senator Richardson.
I assume you are going to progress to Head
7, the Police.

HEAD 7 — BERMUDA POLICE SERVICE

Sen. Curtis Richardson: The Bermuda Police Service, Head 7, can be found on pages B -269 through
B-273 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
2021/22.

Executive summary

Sen. Curtis Richardson: The Bermuda Police Service has completed a new strategic and operational plan for the period 2021 –2026.
The Bermuda Police Service Gang Targeting
Team continues to work with the National Security
Ministry’s Gang Violence Reduction Team to reduce the threat in this area and seek to divert persons from
gang- related criminality. However, significant risk r emains from gun- related violence to which the Berm uda Police Service continues to deter such acts
through effective use of intelligence and specialist p olicing.
In the 2021/22 budget, costs directly assoc iated with marine policing are transferred to the Royal
Bermuda Regiment. Staffing of the previous Marine
Section on a temporary basis will be utilised in support
of the new Coast Guard as it journeys towards full Royal Bermuda Regiment resources.
The Bermuda Police Service continues its
work in regard to the standards of prof essional behaviour and anti -corruption policy and procedure to which
relevant best practice is being utilised by the National
Anti-Corruption Committee in support of other go vernment departments and the United Nations Anti -
Corruption Self -Assessment for Bermuda. The Bermuda Police Service also continues its work in sup-port of the National Anti -Money Laundering Commi ttee [NAMLC] to prevent financial crime, money lau ndering and counter -terrorism funding with strategic
focus to maintain its excellent Caribbean Financial
Action Task Force [CFATF] grading.
The Bermuda Police Service further continues
its work in support of the National Cybersecurity Go vernance Board to prevent or respond to cybersecurity matters and maintain Bermuda’s reputation as a prem ier int ernational financial jurisdiction.
298 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate New current account funding provided to the
department and its proposed uses. The Bermuda P olice Service has received an operational budget settlement for the financial year 2021/22 of $61,298,000,
which can be found on page B -270, a decrease of
$145,000 ($61,443,000 in 2020/21).
Bermuda Police Service staffing for the financial year 2021/22 is 478, which can be found on page B-272, with the previous year being 518, a decrease
of 40 people. The Bermuda Police Service has aligned its organisational structure to maintain its community safety agenda and the prevention of crim inal risks locally and internationally through a cohort of
400 police officers, 7 cadets and 71 staff, which can
be found on page B -272.

Capital Project s

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Technology capital funding,
found on page C -15, is $150,000 in 2020/21. In
2021/22 it is $250,000.
BPS network switches are more than 10 years
old and are both end- of-life and end- of-support. Additionally, the firewalls that sec ure the network are ageing and no longer able to cope with the day -to-day
data throughput of the network. To mitigate the signif icant risk, the first instalment of this multi -year project
will be to replace the core network switches and pr imary firewall.
Intelligence and systems, $65,000, found on
page C -15. This is a new addition. The primary computer room which houses the Bermuda Police Service’s computers, servers, telephone systems and network equipment is severely in need of its fire suppression system, cooling systems and UPS systems
being replaced. Failure to complete these works puts
millions of dollars of equipment at risk. The Bermuda
Police Service is pleased that the Government has
funded these replacements for the 2021/22 financial
year.
New initiatives in the department and items
being implemented under strategic plans. The Berm uda Police Service has introduced a new strategic and operational plan for the period 2021– 2026 with five
key priorities:
• reducing serious crime and protecting vulnerable persons;
• raising confidence in the police;
• reducing harm on our roads; and
• working in partnership; and
• developing digital policing.
Additionally seven new strategic ambitions
have been set to support members of the Bermuda Police Service in achieving their full potential and assisting their professional development. The plan will
be governed by the Bermuda Police Service Strategic Executive Group, and progress will be communicated
to the public.
Highlights from the Current Fiscal Year

Sen. Curtis Ri chardson: Madam Chairman, t here
were a few high- profile investigations during 2020/21.
The COVID -19 pandemic of 2020 and into 2021 led to
significant changes in policing.
Government legislation was introduced to r educe the risk of COVID -19 transfer, inclu ding shelter
in place, curfews, physical distancing measures and
regulations directing COVID -19 prevention procedures
within the retail and leisure sectors, which the Berm uda Police Service continues to police. During this pe-riod the Bermuda Police Service has seen a reduction
in property crime; however, there has been an i ncrease in incidents relating to vulnerable victims, such as domestic abuse and mental health- related matters,
causes of which range from issues such as home confinement to an inability of the public to effectively s ocialise.
It was also noted that during the immediate
periods preceding curfew compliance the community experienced an increase in road traffic incidents to which the Bermuda Police Service responded through
road checks, the d eployment of the Roads Policing
Unit and communications with the public through
mainstream and social media platforms.
In 2019 Bermuda saw no recordings of hom icides, a position not previously seen. In 2020 there were, tragically, seven lives lost through homicide,
notwithstanding the significant prevention of other acts
of gun violence by the Bermuda Police Service in
partnership with the Government’s Gang Violence Reduction Team. However, this ongoing partnership
work has resulted in zero homicides recor ded so far
for 2021.
The Bermuda Police Service Financial Crime
Unit, in partnership with the National Anti -Money
Laundering Committee [NAMLC] and with the Attorney General’s Office, has successfully recovered cri minal assets. This includes a section 51 c ash forfeiture
of $84,213, a Proceeds of Crime Act [POCA] confisc ation of $1.8 million and a recovery of $880,000 from the BVI [British Virgin Islands] to the Bermuda Government relating to a previous financial investigation
assisted by the Bermuda Police Service.
Going forward into 2021, the following cases
are pending: Section 50/51, a total of $78,585; and a
cash seizure of $44,100. The case is pending. The
following matters are either restrained or soon to be
restrained pending court action: $179 milli on pending
restraint soon; $82.5 million restrained in Switzerland;
$4 million restrained pending criminal trial; $2,691,300
restrained; $10 million restrained; $330,000 r estrained; and $448,000 restrained.
Policing issues for 2021/22. Given the challengin g economic outlook for the Island, the Bermuda
Police Service is attentive to the potential for social
unrest and associated public protests. The Bermuda
Police Service Special Branch Unit continues to mit iBermuda Senate gate these concerns with effective monitoring of s ocial
media, intelligence processes and early engagement
to address areas of concern.
The Government of Bermuda has been extremely vigilant in its efforts to prevent the COVID -19
virus in the community, with the immediate introduction of a lockdown, curfews and extraordinary efforts
in getting the COVID -19 vaccine to the community.
As a result of these proactive measures and
the international travel community recognising Bermuda’s actions, it is expected that tourism will poten-tially increase over the com ing months, noting the lik elihood of new strategies to increase visitors by Go vernment and Bermuda’s Tourism Authority.
It is therefore anticipated that the summer
months will bring challenges to community safety
across the Island, as residents and overseas visitors
seek to socialise in large numbers on beaches, on the
water and within bars and restaurants. These challenges include but are not limited to increased tensions and risks between gangs, antisocial behaviour, house and beach parties, and drink dr iving. Additio nally, organised events that do take place may present
greater policing challenges in comparison to previous
years, not least in managing public safety and safe
socialising alongside the maintenance of COVID -19
regulations.
Recruitment updat es and efforts to reduce
overtime: Government having enabled the funding of
400 police posts and associated civilian staff pos itions. At the time of writing, the Bermuda Police Service has 393 police officers, which factors in all post
55 positions from the 1
st of April of this year, thereby
leaving seven vacancies. However, in light of future retirements and other leavers, the Bermuda Police
Service will find itself with 14 total vacancies on September the 1
st, 2021. Further vacancy risks exist in
light of potential dismissals or resignations related to
current disciplinary inquiries. To run a recruitment
foundation programme, it takes six months from the point of advert to course commencement. Therefore,
the Bermuda Police Service will soon be advertising
for new officers.
I would like to thank the Commissioner of P olice, Mr. Stephen Corbishley, and the members of the
Bermuda Police Service for their continued hard work
in accordance with their mission statement, Making
Bermuda Safer . Thank you, Madam Chai rman.

Thank you, Senator Richardson.

HEAD 25 —DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, under
Head 25, Department of Corrections. is found on pages B-294 through B -296 of the Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure for 2021/22.
Madam Chairman, it is my pleasure to present
Budget Head 25 for the Department of Corrections. The proposed budget for the general operations of the
department is reflected at $22,829,000. The mission
of the Department of Corrections is to protec t the pu blic and provide rehabilitative services with the aim of empowering inmates to be responsible and productive citizens.
The Strategic Plan for 2018 to 2020 has
served as a guide to fulfil the mis sion. Some of the
targets met for fiscal year 2020/21 within the specified
goals include:
• Staff development and training.
o There were 541 staff training hours for the
fiscal year 2020/21.
o Nine staff trained in Mental Health First Aid.
• Effective rehabilitation programmes.
o Upgrade of the computer labs at th e Farm
and Co- educational facilities.
o Life Minus Violence enhanced.
o Life Minus Violence harmful sexual behaviour for sex offenders.
o Individual cognitive behavioural therapy
including trauma- focused.
• High standards of security.
o Twenty -eight staff are t rained in use of
force/theory only.
o CCTV upgrades to the Farm, Westgate and Co- Educational Facilities.
o Installation/repair of internal razor wire
fence at Westgate Facility.
o Installation/repair of internal razor wire
fence at the Co- Educational Facility .
o Issuing new handheld mobile and base
public radios to all facilities.
• Operational efficiency.
o Reductions in purchase of food as chic kens at the Farm Facility and the Co- Ed
Facility have produced over 3,600 eggs to
date.
o Over 7,600 pounds of produce pr oduced
by the Farm facility, distributed to the
three facility kitchens.
o And 75 pounds of honey were extracted from the bee house at the Farm Facility.
• Physical plant upgrades. o Professional cleaning for some areas in
the facilities. Hot -water boilers installed at
Westgate Facility.
o Roofs and Tanks cleaned and repaired at the Farm Facility.
o Stove replaced at the Farm Facility.
o Old and worn carpet replaced with tile at the Co- Educational Facility.
o Repaired/replaced air -conditioning units
at Westgate.
• Efficient and prudent financial management.
o Provided budget training and financial i nstruction awareness for all budget ma nagers.
300 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate o Continued to monitor/address those with
excessive sick leave.
Madam Chairman, the 2020/21 fiscal year
was challenging for the de partment as a result of the
COVID -19 pandemic. However, a Pandemic R esponse Team was quickly established with the r esponsibility of overseeing all matters pertaining to the pandemic. A Pandemic Plan and Policy was created
and immediately implemented. PPE ( personal protection equipment) was purchased for the department for the remainder of the budget year. The Pandemic R esponse Team continues to operate in their role.
Madam Chairman, some of the difficulties
presented during the pandemic included limited ac-cess to the facilities by the programmes’ vendors at various phases of the pandemic, which limited service
delivery. Additionally, changes in the hiring process
impacted the department’s ability to recruit both civi lian and custody posts. Hence, the depart ment staffing
levels are below the authorised strength.
While working toward the goals of the strat egic plan, the department is governed by the following
legislation: the Prisons Act 1979, Prison Rules 1980,
Young Offenders Act 1950, the Senior Training
School Rules 1951, the Prison Officers (Discipline,
etc.) Rules 1981, and sections of the Criminal Code
Act. In addition, the Department of Corrections aims to achieve, and where practical exceed, the United N ations Nelson Mandela Rules (for the treatment of pri soners).
Madam Chairman, there are 12 cost centres
within the Department of Corrections. However, we will speak only to the major cost centres of the de-partment, which are the Headquarters, 35000; Farm
Facility, 35020; Co- Educational Facility, 35030; Westgate Facility, 35060; Right Living House, 35090; Ps ychological Services, 35105; Social Services, 35106;
Vocational Services, 35109; Educational Services,
35108; and Health Services, 35107.
Madam Chairman, the total expenditure,
which is found on page B-278, is estimated to be
$22,829,000 for the 2021/22. This represents a decrease of $2,753,000 from the budget of 2020/21.
[Fiscal year] 2020/21 versus 2021/22: The
original estimate for 2020/21 was $25,582,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $22,829,000. T his is a d ecrease of $2,753,000 which is an 11 per cent decrease.
The 2021/22 budget provides funding for 204
full-time employees, as shown on page B -279. In a ddition to full -time employees, it will fund facilitators and
teachers for inmate programmes. A t present there are
188 full -time staff with an authorised strength of 250.
Over the past year we have experienced delays in
hiring civilian staff and nurses due to the current pr ocesses.
Cost centre 35000 Headquarters, represents
$4,118,000, 18 per cent of the total budget. Corrections Headquarters, under the general direction of the Commissioner, Assistant Commissioners and Pr ogramme Director, provides directives to a decentral-ised organisation and is responsible for strategic
planning. This budget will fund salaries and operating
expenses for Corrections Headquarters.
Madam Chairman, in addition to Corrections
Headquarters, there are three correctional facilities,
each one fulfilling the mandates specific to the popul ations they house.
[Fiscal year] 2020/21 versus 2021/22. The
original estimate for these facilities for 2020/21 was
$4,393,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $4,118,000,
this is a 6 per cent of $275,000.
Cost centre 35020, the Farm Facility, repr esents $3,362,000, or 15 per cent of the tot al budget.
The Farm Facility is an adult male minimum -security
facility with a capacity to house 90 inmates. Inmates
must have completed their core sentence plan r equirements and be classified as minimum (or low -risk)
to be housed at this facility. Inmates are also involved
in work -release and charity programmes as well as
other ongoing projects within the facility. This year, however, due to the COVID -19 pandemic, the charity
and work -release programmes were suspended.
There is a plan to upgrade the ageing carpentry shop
at the Farm Facility.
The highlights from the 2020/21 budget i nclude the following:
1) The Farm Facility garden has supplied all of
the facilities with fruits and vegetables and
this has contributed to cost savings. The surplus of products was donated to various rest
homes.
2) The Animal Programme, which has been very
successful, will continue in this budget year.
3) The computer lab is functional.
Madam Chairman, the Farm Facility will continue all current initiatives, which also include the Farm Co-operative, a therapeutic programme where
animals that are owned by local farmers will be tended
to by the inmates until such time as they have m atured. The inmates are gaining skills in animal care
and farming.
The Pre- Release Programme will continue. It
is designed improve the inmates’ employability and
social skills in order to facilitate a successful transition
into the community.
A comparison, 2020/21 versus 2021/22. The
original estimate in 2020/21 was $3,288,000. The es-timate for 2021/22 is $3,362,000. This is a 2 per cent
increase of $74,000.
Madam Chairman, cost centre 35030, the CoEd Facility, represents $2,652,000, or 12 per cent of
the total budget. This facility with a capacity of 56 cells
has separate and distinct provisions to house 40 a dult
females and 6 young male offenders between the ag-es of 16 and 21, as well as the department’s Reside ntial Substance Abuse Treatment Programme, the
Right Living House. Educational and vocational pr oBermuda Senate grammes are offered based on the needs of the i nmates and trainees who are identified through the
case management process.
The highlights from 2020/21 budget include
the following:
• One female inmate successfully completed an
online medical administration course.
• The farming programme produced 578 eggs. And the purpose of the Chicken Programme is
twofold— a therapeutic programme for i nmates and a cost savings measure.
• A small garden provided various herbs and peppers, which have been used in the facil ity’s kitchen.
• Masks were made by the inmates at the Co-Educational Facility for the inmate population
in the Department of Corrections.
During this budget year inmates participated
in therapeutic yoga classes to assist them with coping
with stress. The yoga class will continue in the
2021/22 fiscal year. Other initiatives for the 2021/22
budget year are to offer graphic design classes to all
inmates, create furniture from pallets, to reintroduce
the sewing class and to reintroduce the fishing initi ative.
Comparisons of 2020/21 versus 2021/22. The
original esti mate of 2020/21 was $2,694,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $2,652,000. This is a 2 per cent
decrease of $42,000.
Madam Chairman, cost centre 35060 Wes tgate Correctional Facility, represents $8 million, or
35 per cent of the total budget. The Westgate Cor rectional Facility is an adult male establishment with the
capacity to house 208 prisoners classified as max imum, medium and minimum security, as well as a
remand. The majority of the assessment and treatment programmes for male inmates take place at this facility. The highlights from the 2020/21 budget i nclude:
• classes offered for the preparation to sit the
GED;
• Life Minus Violence enhanced programmes
were carried out;
• Life Minus Violence Harmful Sexual Beha viour for sex offenders were also carried out;
• individual cognitive behavioural therapy, i ncluding trauma- focused was done;
• life skills classes;
• sewing, art and motor mechanics classes; and
• successful management of the COVID -19
cases within the facility.
The initiatives for the 2021/22 budget year are
to offer certification through the National Centre for
Construction Education and Research Programmes.
This will lead to trade- specific certified instruction and
development, as well as the Safety Module to enhance skills and safety and health awareness; pu blic
speaking; business studies; cultural studies; computer classes in Word, Excel and PowerPoint; and carpentry
classes.
The culinary arts class will be reintroduced to
the Bermuda College. The yoga classes will also be
reintroduced as a means to assist w ith managing
stress.
A comparison of 2020/21 versus 2021/22. The
original estimate for 2020/21 was $10,480,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $8,000,000. This is a 24 per
decrease of $2,480,000.
While each of the facilities fulfils different
mandates for in mates based on classification level,
age or gender, they have shared some of the same
challenges in the past year. There are significant i nfrastructure problems with each facility due to ageing
buildings and less -than- robust maintenance care from
Public Wo rks. Mould, rusting doors, inoperable wi ndows, faulty plumbing and poor ventilation are just some of the issues that plague the facilities. These
conditions result in an unsuitable working environment
for staff and living conditions for inmates.
While the overall population is not at full c apacity (sentenced and on remand), the make- up of the
current offender population creates challenges. Those
serving life sentences now make up 30 per cent of the
total sentenced inmate population. Many of those
serving l ife must complete at least 30 years prior to
parole eligibility. In addition, the Corrections Depar tment has seen an increase in inmates with mental
health issues.
We continue to offer basic mental health trai ning (Mental Health First Aid) for all staff to give them
some additional skills to manage these persons in a
correctional environment, even though it may not be a
suitable environment for many of these persons.
Staff shortages for shift coverage and i ncreased inmate visits and stays at the King Edw ard
VII Memorial Hospital and the Mid Atlantic Wellness Centre have been factors in creating overtime at each facility. Oftentimes, these visits last days, and depending on the risk level of the inmate may require 24- hour
monitoring by two officers.
Madam Chairman, cost centre 35090 Ther apeutic Community Centre, or RLH [Right Living
House], represents $1,305,000, or 6 per cent of the total budget. The Therapeutic Community Centre, also
known as the Right Living House, is located at the Co -
Ed Facility and i s a segregated residential substance
abuse programme with a capacity to house 18 res idents. The programme was developed for adult male
[offenders] with a history of substance abuse and as-sociated criminality.
The goal of the Therapeutic Community [Centre] is to return residents to the broader community
with an increased potential for a life free of drugs and
crime, by providing them an opportunity to realise their
potential for change, as well as the inherent potential for health and success in every person. This funding
302 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate provides for staffing, operational costs and inmate
programmes.
Overall, the inmates who participate in this
programme have benefited tremendously, both while
incarcerated and post release, by way of the after -
care component of the program me.
The highlights of the 2020/21 budget include
the following:
• staff are committed to delivering classes virt ually during the pandemic lockdown;
• two inmates successfully completed the public
speaking class;
• one inmate graduated from the Right Living
Hous e;
• innovative ideas were demonstrated to cel ebrate Recovery Month; and
• masks were made by the inmates at the Right
Living House for the inmate population across the Department of Corrections.
Comparison 2020/21 versus 2021/22. The
original estimate for 2021/21 is $1,287,000. The est imate for 2021/22 is $1,305,000, this is a 1 per cent
increase of $18,000.
Madam Chairman, inmate services and pr ogrammes are designed to meet the needs of inmates
and are identified in their individual case plans. The
Programme Team is multidisciplinary and provides
various services and programmes including psychological, social and case management, health, educ ational, vocational, recreational and chaplaincy. Funding for inmate services is necessary as the pr ogramme provides tools and resources for offenders to
assist them in returning to society as positive, produc-tive and contributing citizens. It is recognised that currently there are not sufficient programmes running
within the department to meet the mandates of the
increased lifer population and those others serving
long sentences.
Maintaining qualified vendors has been a
challenge in some areas, and the budget does not
allow the resources to hire full -time staff facilitators.
We will make a more robust recruitment of vendors
and explore further options to create sustainable, vi able programmes.
Madam Chairman, the programme’s depar tment represents $3,392,000, or 15 per cent of the t otal budget. This funding provides the following:
• Two psychologists who provide psychological
services to offenders at each of the three facilities
housing inmates. One [psychologist] commenced e mployment on March the 1
st, 2021. The psychologists
complete various assessments on offenders, including assessments of criminogenic need, emotional well -
being and adjustment, personality factors and cogn itive functioning. In addition to assessments, the ps ychologists provide individual and group intervention to
meet offenders’ needs.
• One social worker and four case managers/assessment [officers] and contr acted specific se r-vice providers. The department’s social worker assists
inmates and trainees with offence- specific associated
problems, and helps to address behavioural, social
and financial problems, and provides a variety of services to the inmates and trainees.
The social worker also assists inmates in s ecuring employment and housing prior to their release.
• Four case managers/assessment officers pr ovide case planning which is a key element in manag-ing inmates [and] ensures that inmates are placed in the appropriate environment for treatment.
• One vocational officer and staffing materials
for vocational programmes. Vocational services are designed to assist inmates/trainees in pursuing voc ational interests with a view to increasing their emplo yability u pon release. One educational officer and staff,
materials and supplies for vocational programmes. Educational services are designed to enable i nmates/trainees to achieve a higher level of education to participate in other programmes and daily life activ ities, and to prepare them for a vocation.
When fully staffed Health Services is managed by a senior nurse and five registered nurses r esponsible for providing services to the inmate popul ation at all facilities. At present this department has three vacant posts.
The comparison of 2020/21 versus 2021/22.
The original estimate of 2020/21 was $3,440,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $3,392,000, a 1 per cent decrease of $48,000.
Madam Chairman, during the year 2020/21
approximately 22 inmates have been actively engaged in educational classes. A librarian joined the
team during this fiscal year which was in conjunction
with a successful book drive. The Education Officer,
along with personnel at the Berkeley Institute, conti nued a positive interactive programme bet ween male
students at the Berkeley Institute and a group of i ncarcerated men at Westgate as they continued to learn about the consequences of poor choices in order to avoid prison or trouble with the law.
In addition, the computer labs at the Farm and
Co-Educational Facilities were upgraded with the aim
to be able to offer distance- learning programmes, as
well as access to online testing and workshops of-fered by external agencies.
Additionally, inmates enrolled in various voc ational programmes at all facili ties. This included yoga
and carpentry at the Co- Ed Facility and Right Living
House; life skills, sewing, art and motor mechanics at Westgate; as well as horticulture and carpentry at the Farm Facility.
In addition, Health Services played an integral
role in COVID -19 pandemic management and co nducted COVID -19 testing for staff and inmates. They
also provided care to COVID -19 positive cases. They
administered COVID -19 vaccinations to staff and i nmates.


Bermuda Senate Additionally, the Health Services treated an
unwell men tal health inmate in- house as Mid- Atlantic
Wellness Institute [MWI] identified the inmate as highrisk and determined he could not be treated at MWI.
In addition, [there were] individual assessment s and
therapy sessions to the tune of 31 inmates participated in offending behavioural programmes facilitated by
a psychologist .
Some of the goals and targets of the depar tment in 2021/22 include:
1. The Education Department plans to utili se secured Internet which will allow inmates to access add itional online educational and technological pr ogrammes and assist those inmates who require an
alternative style of educational learning.
2. Vocational programmes and services at
Westgate, Farm and Co- Educational facilities based
on the p opulation and needs will include Carpent ry,
Horticulture, Autobody/Welding/Mechanics course and
classes which will lead to certification in the National
Center for Construction Education and Research
(NCCER) courses. This is in addition to the Culinary
Arts Course through the Bermuda College.
3. Implementation of an inmate health services
handbook.
4. Increase inmate health education sessions by
50 per cent . This was not achieved last year due to
staffing shortage.
5. Continuation of implementation of an electro nic medical records system . This is a long -term project .
6. Continue Mental Health Clients in Corrections
(MHCC) meetings with external partners such as Mid -
Atlantic Wellness Institute, Court Services and Parole Board.
7. Reintegration programmes to assist inmates
in reintegrating into society.
8. Standardi sing process for assessments and
case planning amongst the three facilities.
Madam Chairman, the department’s performance measures forecast for 2021/22 are outlined on
page B -296. They include:
1. The average daily inmate population for ecasted for the fi scal year 2021/22 is 179 persons , with 55 of the admissions being first -
time offenders who received custodial sentences.

2. The forecasted outcome for 2021/22 of i nmates released on parole is 16.
3. There were five minor inmate- to-inmate assaults and five offic er assaults (four minor
and one major) reported for the 2020/ 21 fiscal year. It must be noted that staff are cha llenged constantly by inmates’ negative b ehaviour and the department has a zero tolerance to any assault of any category.
4. Sixty per cent of the eligible inmates were
enrolled in development and treatment pr ogrammes aimed to address the offending behaviours, educational and vocational
needs and improve skill development.
5. The Department of Corrections calculates its
recidivism rates according to i nternationally
accepted practices.
Based on those standards, the rates include
persons who have a conviction for a new offence wit hin one, two or three years of their release. And the
actual outcome for 2020/21 is 22 per cent. It was
11 per cent in the fi rst year, and 18 per cent in the
second year.
Madam Chairman, despite the challenges
faced by the Department of Corrections, staff remain
dedicated and seek ways to address them, including working with union representatives and other stak eholders and partners in order to achieve our mission and mandate.
Security breaches remain a concern as there
have been breaches to the outer perimeter that have
been intercepted by Corrections staff. The department
has been working with government and external
agencies to address this challenge. The physical plant
deficiencies have impacted both staff and inmate m orale. These conditions do not create an environment
conducive to rehabilitation. The department will continue to work with government and partner agencies to
bring the facilities up to acceptable standards.
Maintaining staffing levels due to resignations
and retirements. The department has taken ad-vantage of legislation which allows officers to defer
their retirement based on the needs of the department
and management of high -risk inmates, particularly
those who are gang affiliated and sex offenders.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Corrections will undertake the following initiatives for the
2021/22 budget year:
 recruitment to fill various vacant posts inclu ding civilian and custodial staff;
 continue the implementation of the 2018–2020 strategic plan and develop another
three- year strategic plan;
 engage community partners in order to assist
with successful reintegration of inmates into the community, as well as projects that can
benefit both the inmates and the community;
 implement new shift cycles that allow the best
use of our staffing levels and workload r egimes to assist our facilities in becoming more
financially beneficial to our operating budget ;
 continue t o work with government agencies
on Criminal Justice/Ministry initiatives —i.e.,
Child Safeguarding Committee, Anti -
Corruption Committee and the Offender HighRisk Management Team.
Madam Chairman, the department’s main objectives are (1) to protect the publi c by holding i nmates secur ely; reducing the risk of re- offending;
providing safe, humane , well ordered and lawful r egimes; and (2) to provide a humane but demanding
304 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate regime aimed at reducing re- offending by presenting
inmates with a range of opportunities i n which reward
is linked to effort, incentives and earned privileges to
prepare for life after release. It is the vision of the department that if these objectives are obtained, then
the people of Bermuda, staff, inmates and community
members appreciate that the Department of Corrections makes an effective contribution to public safety
and the rehabilitation of offenders.
Madam Chairman, I express my thanks to the
Acting Commissioner, Keeva Mae Joell -Benjamin,
and her entire team for their continued work at the
Department of Corrections. Thank you, Madam
Chairman. This completes —

Thank you, Senator Richardson.
You just completed Head 25, Department of
Corrections. I will just give you a bit of a time check.
We have roughly 50 minutes left of the two- hour per iod. And we are about to begin on Fire Services. So I
hope there will be time for questions.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: There shall be, Madam
Chairman. Thank you for the time check.

HEAD 45 —BERMUDA FIRE AND
RESCUE SERVICE

Sen. Curtis Richar dson: The Bermuda Fire and
Rescue Service, Head 45, can be found on pages B -
281 through B -283 of the Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure 2021/22.
Madam Chairman, I am pleased to present
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for Head
45 the Bermuda Fir e and Rescue Service. The mi ssion of the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service [BFRS]
is to serve and protect; to provide fire protection and
emergency medical services for all areas of these I slands; to extinguish fires; to protect life and property in
case of fire, road accident or other calamity as defined by the Fire Service Act or subsequent regulations; and
to provide aircraft rescue firefighting at the L. F. Wade
International Airport.

Executive Summary
Sen. Curtis Richardson: These are as follows:
(a) current expenditures; (b) capital development
funding; (c) revenue, Fire Safety Act 2014/Airport O perations; (d) manpower; (e) amendments to Fire Saf ety Act 2014; (f) community risk reduction, continue
with the implementation of the Home Fire Safety Visit
Programme which was delayed due to COVID -19.
Madam Chairman, the total funding for the
Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service for the coming year is $13,137,000. This reflects a decrease of $1,240,000 from the 2020/21 budget. Factors contri buting to the decrease in the allocation of the budget
are mainly due to the defunding of five vacant funded posts, retirements and other key cost -saving
measures. The five defunded posts of full -time e mployees are two emergency medical dispatchers, one
lieutenant, one watch co mmander, and one human
resources manager transferred to the Employee and
Organisational Development Department.
Cost centre 55060—Central Emergency Fire
Service, $6,378,000. The Central Emergency Fire Service cost centre covers the provision of Fire and
Emergency Services from the Hamilton, Eastern and
Western Fire Stations. These stations respond to fire,
road traffic accidents and hazardous material inc idents when required. Budget page B -281 has a budget of $6,378,000, which is a decrease of approximat ely $217,000. This decrease has been attributed to the
reduction of the two full -time employee posts due to
retirement, and the defunded vacant posts and other cost-saving measures.
Cost centre 55080—Other Services Central,
$583,000. Other Services Central contains the vehicle
repair services and maintenance personnel. Budget
page B -281 has a budget of $583,000, which is a decrease of approximately $285,000. This decrease can
be attributed to the reduction of funding for the repair
and maintenance of vehicles.
Cost centre 55100— Emergency Medical Services, $157,000. The Emergency Medical Services
cost centre is responsible for equipment and supplies associated with the department’s emergency medical
response throughout the Island. Budget page B -281
has a budget of $157,000, which is an increase of approximately $102,000. This increase can be attributed
to the increased demand for medical calls attended by
the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service. The depar tment does have an agreement with the Bermuda Hospitals Board, where equipment used during medical calls by the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service can be replenished from the Bermuda Hospitals Board’s
stock. But this became difficult during the pandemic. The increase in calls and equipment used by the
Bermuda Hospitals Board required them to have a
more prudent approach to inventory control. Ther efore, this budget reflects an increase to cover the cost
for the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service’s equi pment.
Cost centre 55110 —Eastern Volunteer Div ision, $32,000. The Eastern Volunteer Fire Service has
been renamed as the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Volunteer Fire Service. The new name is aligned with the
service requirements and allows the area of response
to be increased from only the East End of the Island to an [Island- wide] a pproach. The role of the volunteers
has been expanded to training and operational r esponsibilities. They now will be trained to operate the high-volume pumper in order to supply high volumes
of water when required at the major fires.
The volunteers will be trained to operate other
specialist trucks in order to support the efforts of the
full-time staff, especially during hurricanes and pr oBermuda Senate longed emergency incidents. The number of volu nteers who currently train every Tuesday night at the
Hamilton Fire Stati on is approximately 36. Our department envisions a volunteer service that is growing with enthusiasm and gives Bermuda’s youth another choice should they wish to volunteer their time and
service to this country.
The volunteer service will see them do the
following:
• support the Bermuda Fire Department with I sland-wide service;
• conduct support with water supplies and foam as well during major incidents;
• render refreshments and food supplies, along
with the refilling and supply of air cylinders for
sustained firefighting or hazardous material
incidents; and
• support administration functions such as fire
prevention, social media, et cetera.
Cost centre 55150 —Training, $151,000. The
responsibility of the Training Section is to create an educational schedule whic h will ensure emergency
medical technician training and certification, structural
firefighting training and certification and leadership
training courses are in line with local and international
standards. The Budget Book on page B -281 has a
budget of $151,000, which is a decrease of approx imately $151,000. This decrease can be attributed to
the Training Division conducting more in- house trai ning, decreasing the need for overseas courses. And
there will not be a recruit course held in 2021/22.
The 2021/22 training programmes will include
Advanced Emergency Medical Technician course (inhouse), CPR recertification (in- house), Middle Managers course (in- house), Senior Management course
(overseas), the Airport Firefighters Revalidation (overseas), and Allied Health continuing education [units] [CEU].
Past accomplishments for 2020/21 include the
recruit course for 12 recruits, first in- house emergency
medical technician course using blended learning and overseas instructors, in- house incident command
course, emergency driving courses, Emergency Med ical Technician Allied Health recertification, CPR recertification and the Middle Managers course.
Cost centre 55170—General Administration,
$3,224,000. The General Administration cost centre is
responsible for the f unding and support services of the
Administration Section of the department. Budget
Book page B -281 has a budget of $3,224,000, which
is an increase of approximately $135,000. This i ncrease can be attributed to the costs associated with firefighter work uniform and protective clothing r eplacement, which has not been updated since 2018/19.
Capital Acquisition Funding, page C -15, Madam Chairman. The Ministry of National Security has
approved $513,000 of capital acquisition funding for
the Bermuda Fire and Re scue Service. This funding will allow the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service to
purchase a new appliance to help towards our ageing
fleet. Funding is also provided to acquire additional
extinguishing materials. The department is requesting
a carryover from the last budget in order to complete the purchase of a new ambulance. Currently, the
Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service has a relationship
with the Bermuda Hospitals Board to use one of their
spare ambulances when the existing Bermuda Fire
and Rescue Service’s ambulance has been out of
service for repairs.
Past accomplishments for 2020/21: Breathing
apparatus, delivered and in service; emergency r ecording system for emergency dispatch installed.
Cost centre 55200— Airport Fire Station,
$1,707,000. This cost cent re provides aircraft emergency rescue and firefighting services at the L. F.
Wade International Airport, as prescribed by the Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements, part 140.
The L. F. Wade International Airport operates as a
Category 9 Airport. The c ategory of an airport determines the maximum size of aircraft that lands at the
airport, the manpower requirements for the Airport
Fire Department, the equipment requirements for the
Airport Fire Department and the extinguishing medium
used by the Airport Fire Department.
This cost centre has 13 personnel in total due
to retirements and defunded full -time employees. The
budget for this section, which is $1,707,000, a d ecrease of $841,000, is attributed to retirements and
defunded full -time employees.
When the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service
assumed responsibility for the airport rescue and fir efighting, the total staff was 23. The minimum staffing
levels for a Category 9 airport is 15 staff. Therefore,
overtime is required for nearly every shift. It is projec ted that overtime will remain the same or increase over the next fiscal period. Airport firefighters have a specialised skill set and cannot be replaced by structural firefighters who do not have the required training.
Capital development funding, page C-7. Madam Chairman, in order to comply with the requir ements of the MOU between the Bermuda Airport A uthority and the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service, $290,000 of capital development funding has been provided for remediation work at the Administration
Building, Main Fire Hall Building and the training
room/garage building.

Manpower

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, the full -
time complement of the Bermuda Fire Services is ex-pected to decrease from 128 to 123 in 2021/22 due to
the defunding of the vacant funded posts. Even with
the introduction of the 12 new recruits in 2020, the
department is still understaffed by approximately 18 firefighters. It is not expected that the level of service
delivery to the public will decrease, but the overtime is
306 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate projected to be high over the next fiscal period to
make up the loss of the full -time employees.
Madam Chairman, revenue, fire protection
and airport operation. Revenue forecast for 2021/22 is
estimated at $382,125. With the introduction of the Fire Safety Ac t 2014, it is required that all commercial
buildings and large residential properties have a fire
and life safety risk assessment and apply for a fire
certificate. Fire certificates are valid for a period of one
to five years based on the level of risk. Fees associa ted with the fire certificate application process reoccur
over the lifespan of a building. Revenue generated
from the fire certificate applications during the 2020/21
period was $46,825. This was less than the previous
fiscal period, but this can be attributed to the slowingdown of the construction and hotel industries due to
COVID -19.
It is projected as the economy and the tourism
industry rebound the demand for inspections and risk
assessments will increase. In response to the COVID -
19 restric tions, the Fire Prevention Division started
conducting remote video inspections. Remote video
inspections allow the fire inspections related to new
construction projects, renovations and a final occ upancy inspections to be held via a mobile device.
The s econd stream of revenue is through the
provision of after -hours fire protection coverage for
general aviation and Med- Evac flights terminating or
originating in Bermuda through the ground handling
agent trading under the name Cedar Aviation. Rev enue from t hese flights, known as prior permission r equests, or PPRs, generated from Airport Operations during the 2020/21 period was $51,500 for executive jet facility standby, critical care med- flight air amb ulance. This figure also decreased as a result of the
closure of our borders due to COVID -19. It is projec ted as the airline industry starts to rebound, increasing the number of flights in and out of the Island, the revenue generated from the PPRs will increase.
Madam Chairman, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank Chief Fire Officer, [Sergeant] R.
Lloyd Burchall, and all of the members of the Berm uda Fire and Rescue Service for their continued ef forts
on behalf of the people of Bermuda.
Thank you, Madam Chairman. This concludes
Head 45, Fire Services.

And we have time for questions, so I
am going to ask if any Senator would like to pose
questions of Senator Richardson on any of the Heads,
I believe, since the time is short.
Senator Ben Smith. Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, thank you, Madam Chairman.
Firstly, just because of the time constraints I
wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of the peo-ple who are in our uniformed services. In every year it
is important that we appreciate the hard work that is done by the men and women in our uniform services,
and that we give them the full respect t hat is due for
those jobs.
There is a narrative sometimes that Well,
that’s the job that they chose to do. But the truth of
matter is, they have chosen to run towards danger
when most people are going to flee from the danger.
They are the ones who are mak ing sure that we are
safe, and they take care of the population. But specif ically, in this year that we have just had with the pa ndemic, the impact that we have seen by the uniform
services on our frontlines, making sure that we were protected, making sure that all of the things that
needed to be done were done, and done in such a
way that we can be so proud of the people that were
in those positions. I would like to really send out a
thank you to all of our uniform services for what they have been able to accomplish in this last year and
what they are continuing to do. Just a thank you and I
would say that this thank you is going to come from
everyone in the Senate.
So, Madam Chairman, starting with Head 6, I
am going to prioritise some of my questions so that
we can get some answers and we can get some other people involved. The first thing that I am going to look
at is on page B -268, Performance Measures. So,
there is 16020, 16030, 16040, 16075, Training and
Support. Madam Chairman, there has been a reduction in the funding to the Regiment. There are too
many places for me to go to on that specific part just
because the reduction is across the board. But what I
am looking at in these performance measures are:
How will we move from 53 per cent to 80 per
cent in soldiers serving past their mandatory service?
What is mandatory service now that we do not have
conscription? There is a jump from 53 per cent to
80 percent, can we get an explanation on how we will
get that improvement in people who are serving past their mandatory service time?
There has been an improvement in soldiers
passing the military standard test. What is the per-centage of soldiers who pass these tests in other j urisdictions? This will allow us to know if we are reac hing the proper level with the people who are participa ting in the local defence force. How can we have 100
per cent passing overseas courses while the percent-age passing military standard tests locally is only
65 per cent? Why is the percentage of soldiers pas sing the test so low and why are the targets so low?
Madam Chairman, on page B -267, we are
looking at the Repair and Maintenance. It has been
decreased significantly. We have talked quite a bit today about the Marine Unit of the police, our new
coast guard. There is some coordination between


Bermuda Senate them and the police force. Madam Chairman, they are
using boats that have been out of date for quite some
time.
The issue is that they have been put in a pos ition to keep our population safe, the question is : Are
they themselves bein g safe in operating boats that
potentially are past their life span? And if they are in a
situation where they are supposed to be saving lives
of our local citizens and the [coast guard] boats are
not at the level that they need to be for operation, will
that then impact the service that they are supposed to
be able to provide?
Madam Chairman, I am now going to move on
Police, so Head 7. I am going to start with page—

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman.
Sen. Ben Smith: —B-270—

Sen. Curtis Richardso n: Madam Chairman—

Sen. Ben Smith: —[line] 17120 —

Senator Smith—
Sen. Ben Smith: —is that most people would agree
that the behaviour on the roads has actually become extremely bad. We see people doing all kinds of
things on the road that are just not acceptable. But there needs to be some solution to that. And we are
seeing that this particular unit has been reduced in the
amount of funding that they receive.
I guess question one is : How can we expect
the improvement on our roads if we are seeing the
reduction in the funding that is given to this particular
unit? Along with that, would it be possible for us to try
to implement traffic cameras? So that we do not potentially need to add manpower to policing the roads
so that we can get safer roads, but —

Senator —

Sen. Ben Smith: —last year there was an issue with
the amount of funds that were taken from the Police Service and now we see a further reduction of 40 officers.

[Inaudible interjections]

Sen. Ben Smith: It was stated toda y by the Junior
Minister that in 2019 there were no murders in Bermuda and then we get into 2020 and we saw an i ncrease, an increase in gang violence, an increase in
the incidents of some really horrific crimes that happened in Bermuda last year.
The issue is that when that happens there has
to be a ramping up of the police officers in order to
reduce the incidence of those kinds of crimes. When
you reduce the budget to the police, are we putting in any kind of leeway for them to be able to ramp up if
we have those kinds of incidents happen again? Bermuda is in a situation right now where we are [r estricted to] gathering in [group- sizes] of 10. We are
really restricted in our movements when it comes to
late nights. We saw that as we started to move those
restrictions, that was when we saw an uptick in a lot of
these crimes. When that kind of issue happens again,
if it does happen again, have we given the police the
resources to protect our population?

Senator Smith, can you hear me?

The Cler k: Senator Smith.

Sen. Ben Smith: Madam Chairman, as the BPS
budget, page B -271, as the BPS has been cut by mi llions in the last couple of years ––

The Clerk: Madam Chairman, what I will do is I will
send him a Chat and hopefully he can read that.

Sen. B en Smith: —does the Government anticipate
the manpower level being reduced by having to make
those cuts?
In addition, will the BPS be permitted to have
overtime to cover the shortage of the manpower? Will the Junior Minister be able to give us an estimate of
the cost of this overtime if it is permitted? Is there an
option for the officers to take time in lieu instead of
overtime? And if that is the case, for how long are
308 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate they able to roll that time over? When we go into overtime and people are spending muc h longer hours on
the job, it has other impacts.
So, you start to see that people get sick, because they are stressed out. It is a very stressful job;
the types of crimes that we are seeing Bermuda have
changed. So, my question is: When you have those
kinds of changes and we are making reductions on
the amount of officers that are available, that means
that the officers are having to stretch further and further in order to cover all the things that are impacting our country. When that happens potentially i t is a rec ipe for disaster. Because now we have more officers
that get left out of the equation.
So, Madam Chairman, my question is: Can
the Junior Minister give us numbers on how many officers are on long- term sick leave? And can he also
give us how many officers are presently suspended?
And the reason I am asking those questions is b ecause when you look at the total number of officers,
and then you reduce by 40 and then you look at the numbers that are out long- term sick, and the numbers
that are also going to be out because they are sus-pended, what is the real number that we are looking
at?
Madam Chairman, I am now going to move on
to Head 25, which is Corrections.

Senator Smith—

Sen. Ben Smith: —with 25050, Westgate Correctio nal Facility. Can the Junior Minister give us some details on some of the information that is needed there?
He gave us a total of what the capacity is for Wes tgate Facility, but can he give us an answer of how
many inmates we actually have presently in that facil ity?
Also, how many searches have been ordered
by the Minister for the facility over the last six months?
Does the facility have the jamming devices that stop cell phone signals in the facility? Considering that we
have . . . multiple times now we have heard of the i nmates who have access to cell phones in their cells.
We know that there are issues with them getting that
into the facility. We need to know that there is an o pportunity for them to stop using cell phones while they are there because of the issues that we have with
crime.
[Line item] 2502, which is Inmate Services,
[item] 35105, Psychological Services. So, Madam
Chairman, the Junior Minister gave us information on
some of the people who are coming in from Mid -
Atlantic Wellness Centre. There are nurses who are taking part, but there are also a lot of the correction
officers who have been stretched thin because there
has been a reduction in the numbers of officers. They
are having to take on roles that they were not designed to be part of.
So, the same as I spoke to on police, there
are issues within the prison service that need to be
addressed and have been left . . . not dealt with over
an extended period of time. The questions I will ask
are: Has the prison been able to get hot water yet?
Have all of the gates been repaired at the facility and are now operational? Do we know [if] all the cameras
that are needed at the facility are now operational?
These are the kinds of maintenance things that have
to happen for us to make sure that the people inside
that facility are safe but also for the population to
know that this is a secure facility.
[Item ] 35107, Health Services. Madam Chai rman, with the issues that we knew prior to the pandemic with mould and other issues in the Westgate
Facility, specifically, there are cases where certain
prison officers have been sick from the mould that was in the fac ility. So, as we go forward with all the
respiratory issues that are involved with COVID -19,
can we get some feedback on whether we have any officers who have been out sick because of respirat ory issues, specifically because of the environment that they ar e having to work in on an ongoing basis?
Madam Chairman, —

Can someone please contact
Senator Smith? I am not sure if he just can’t hear or
what is going on.

Sen. Ben Smith: Further on Corrections, can we get
some information on the succ ession plans, because
the person who was in charge of the facility has been
in an acting role for an extended period of time. Most
of us will remember that the commissioner of the pri sons was Mr. Lamb and now the person who has taken
over is in an acting r ole and has been in an acting role
for an extended period of time. It is important that we
know that we have a position at the top so that ever ybody knows what they are following, what the direc-tion is. So, if we could get some clarity on what that situati on is going to be going forward.
Madam Chairman, just finishing with this part
on Corrections, the Junior Minister gave [some infor-mation] when it came to all of the different services
that potentially can be provided when it comes to ed ucation, when it comes to different services that are
available to our inmates. Could the Junior Minister
give us some details on how many specific people are
taking part in each of the programmes that have been
made available? Because it is one thing to offer som ething to inmates and it is another thing whether they
are actually taking up that offer and doing the work.


Bermuda Senate Madam Chairman, I am going to take a break
there and see if there is anyone else who would like to
ask a question.

Senator Smith, can you hear me?
There is obviously something wrong with your
microphone because I have been trying to . . . or with
your listening device, because I have been trying to
get you to stop for quite some time.
Senator Richardson wanted to ask a question.
And I am going to give him the floor now.
Senator Richardson, what was your request?

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Chai rman.
The request was to have all questions for
each Head to come per Head from every Senator at a
time, as opposed to jumping to ev ery Head per person
at a time. It is much less likely to get the answers that
Senator Smith has asked for in the method that he
just used.

Would any other Senator like to ask
questions on Head 6? That is the Department of D efence.
No. Well, let’s proceed to the next Head.
Would anyone like to ask questions on Head 7, which
is the Police?
Okay. Senator Robin Tucker, I see your hand.
Please proceed.

Sen. Robin Tuck er: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
The question I have is on page B -273. It is
just . . . I would just like to get some clarity around the
performance measures. I would just like to know how
the data for the performance measures for each of these four entries for the Bermuda Police Service,
how is that data obtained? And where did that come
from? Additionally, I would like to know what the percentage of the population these outcomes represent.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Senators, let’s progress to Head 25.
That is the Department of Corrections. Are there any questions on that Head, or comments?
Once again, that is the Department of Corrections.
Okay, I do not see any questions coming
forth, so the last Head is Head 45, which is Fire Services.
Are there any questions from Senators on that
Head? Okay. I do not see any.
So, Senator Richardson, we are going back to
you in the short time that is left.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Chai rman. Just one second so I can get the answers for
you.

Okay.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: I have some answers. One
second.
Under Head 6, the minimum service time is 3
years and 2 months, as defined in the Defence Act.
And the question asked was: How can the percentages of officers serving past their period of minimum
service be increased? The answer would be that the
lower numbers were a legacy of conscription. And there will be a natural increase in soldiers serving for
longer periods . Also, there are a number of initiatives
that are directed to retention, such as learning credits, reenlistment bonuses, more opportunity for promotion
and others.
Another question was why is there a difference between overseas annual camps and annual
training results? These are different measurements.
MATT is our exams of annual training and is
attendance based.
The other question: What were the pass rates
in other jurisdictions? We cannot say. However, the current commanding officer is raising the standards for entry into the Regiment and for remaining in service.
Another question: Were other officers safe
while using vessels that are old? Yes. The vessels are extensively surveyed for suitability.
Another question was: Are the vessels safe to
use? The answer is although the vessels range in age between six and 30 years, the Coast Guard personnel
will not use a watercraft that has not been extensively
surveyed and certified by the Coast Guard commander. The Royal Bermuda Regiment Coast Guard is an
all-inclusive union and has a licensed marine mechanic able to do the servicing in- house. This helps to keep
310 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate costs down as we will not need to send these vessels
out to vendors for repair.
Those are the answers I have for Head 6.

Yes, your point of order. I imagine I
know what it is.

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Marcus Jones: First of all, I can’t hear what the
Commissioner is saying to hear what the answers are.
Can either the Junior Minister get those answers and
give it to us or . . . the protocol is not for the technical
officer to be giving the answers.

Correct.
We need to observe protocol and it is ina ppropriate for the technical officer to be speaking to the
Senate on the floor of the Senate, so Junior Minister
Richardson, would you address that? You can still
provide the answers, but they have to come from you.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: I do apologise, Madam
Chairman. The microphone was on as I was liaising
with the technical officer by mistake and error. I was
writing down the answers. So I do apologise for that
error.

Senator Smith, I believe Senator
Richardson is seeking clarification of your question.

Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, sorry, Junior Minister. And sorry to everybody, I did not hear at any point your interjections. But I was asking: With the reduction in the
officers, when we get t o point where the service has to
ramp up if we have issues in Bermuda that need to
have that ramp up like we had last year, are there r esources put aside in order for them to be able to cover
that considering that their budget has been cut again?

The Chai rman: Thank you, Senator Smith.
Senator Richardson, are you clear about the
question now?

[No audible response.]

We are just waiting for a response.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, I do
have a reply to that.
The number established for the Bermuda P olice Service provides for a complement of 400 officers.
During the next fiscal year recruitment foundation costs will take place and will incur . . . that will make
up for the current and projected shortfalls of staff be-low 400. We hav e also had a 20 per cent increase of
voluntary applicants, persons of interest to join the
Bermuda Police Service.

I will just remind everyone. We are in
Committee of the Whole for further consideration of
the Appropriation Act 2021 together with the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the fiscal year
2021/22. And the Ministry currently being debated is
that of National Security. We have looked at Head 6,
for Defence; Head 7, Police; Head 25, Department of
Corrections; and Head 45, which is Fire Services.
We are just waiting on answers to some questions.



Bermuda Senate Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam Chairman, I believe
there was a question asked dealing with security perimeter breaches. The answer to that is, the depar tment has a security plan with var ious security
measures to deal with breaches to the facility. Add itionally, the department works with the Bermuda P olice Service and other agencies to mitigate and address these security risks. Security breaches are not
taken lightly, and perpetrators will be reported to the
Bermuda Police Service for prosecution.
Madam Chairman, in the interest of time and
due to the unfortunate manner in which the questions
were received, could I ask for all the other questions
which I am sure Senator Smith would have in writing,
to be sent out to me email and I could send him back
the responses. As well as I believe it may have . . . I
may have answered Senator Tucker’s question cor-rectly already.

Is that okay wit h you, Senator Smith?

Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, that will be fine for our team.
And it would be helpful because of the time restraints
if we had the ability to ask all the questions and get
the answers. That is the reason that I went through all
the Heads, bec ause I did not want to only get answers
to the ones that I had asked. So, thank you for that
opportunity.

Thank you Senator Richardson. As I said earlier, you have really, really
worked hard today. And we thank you for all of the
very useful information that you have presented. I
know I learned a lot as well.
Right now, we are going on to the next Mini stry, and the Chairman will be Senator John Wight. I
am handing over to you.

[Sen. John Wight, Chairman]

Thank you, Madam Chairman. We
will give you a break for a couple of hours as well.
So, Senators, and listening audience, we are
in Committee of the Whole [Senate] for further consideration of the Appropriation Act 2021, together with
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the
year 2021/22. The Ministry under consideration is the Cabinet Office; the Head for debate under this Mini stry is Head 9. That can be found on page B -40. The
number of hours allocate d to this Head is two hours.
The Senator in charge is Senator Owen Darrell. It is 3:45 pm right now, and we will finish at 5:45 pm.
Senator Darrell, over to you, however you
wish to proceed.

CABINET OFFICE

Sen. Owen Darrell: Good afternoon, Senator colleagues. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do
now take under consideration Head 9, the Cabinet
Office.

Thank you, Senator. You may pr oceed.

HEAD 9 —CABINET OFFICE

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Mr. Chairm an.
Mr. Chairman, it gives me great pleasure to
present the budget for Head 9, the Cabinet Office,
found on pages B -39 through B -45 of the Budget
Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Cabinet Office’s mission is
to maintain public confidence by leading the delivery
of Government Services. The total expenditure as
seen on page B -41 is estimated to be $39,022,000 for
2021/22, and represents an increase of $21,691,000, or approximately 125 per cent more than the current
budget of 2020/21. It must be noted however, that thi s
represents a transfer of funds and not an overall i ncrease.
In actual fact, when considering the total
amount transferred in, approximately $25,832,000, and comparing it to the overall increase, it becomes readily apparent that the Cabinet Office, as wi th most
departments throughout government, made consider-able reductions in an understandably necessary effort
to meet the reduced cash limits set by Finance.
312 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Mr. Chairman, with the responsibility of Tourism being transferred to Cabinet Office, the related
budget of approximately $23,500,000 once housed
within the Tourism section of the former Ministry of
Tourism and Transport, now resides within Cabinet Office. Of that transferred budget amount, the major ity, $22,500,000, consists of the current 2020/21 al location for the Bermuda Tourism Authority grant.
A second contributing factor is the transfer of
salaries in the amount of $363,000 for two additional permanent secretaries. As you know, all permanent secretaries’ salaries are now centralised within the
Cabinet Office budget. In addition, Mr. Chairman, al though not a direct transfer between two ministries,
you will note that the last line item on page B -41
shows an allocation of $2,000,000 provided for the
National Health Emergency section which also form s
part of the overall increase.
Mr. Chairman, the subjective analysis for the
Cabinet Office can be found on page B -42 of the E stimates Book. Please allow me to highlight the mater ial object code increases as well as the decreases.
Salaries, line item 1, estimated at $6,327,000,
represent an increase of approximately 19 per cent,
$1,008,000, compared to the current 2020/21 budget provision. This increase is due to the transfer of the
two mentioned permanent secretary posts as well as the four posts transf erred over with the Tourism related responsibility for the Regulation and Policy/Hotel Administration Unit in the amount of $346,000.
Mr. Chairman, as per the Hotels (Licensing
and Control) Act 1969 and Regulations 1976, the Regulatory and Policy Unit is responsible for the i nspection and licensing of properties listed on the hotel
inventory. For the period April 1, 2021, to March 31,
2022, it is anticipated that St. Regis Hotel, phase 2 of
The Azura, Brightside Guest Apartments and Berm udiana Beach Resort will come into the hotel inventory
whilst several properties including Elbow Beach will
come out of the hotel inventory. The resulting licensed
bed count for 2021/22 is estimated to be 4,598.
Mr. Chairman, this unit jointly administers the
Vacation Rental s Act 2018 with the Office of Rent
Control within the Ministry of Home Affairs. To briefly note, as of March 2
nd, 64 vacation rental properties
have been inspected and issued a vacation rental certificate, valid for one year. The additional duties of this
unit include administering the Hotels Concession Act
2000, the Tourism Investment Act 2017, and the
Cruise Ships (Casinos) Act 2013 and, on behalf of the
Secretary to the Cabinet, the Lotteries Act 1944.
Mr. Chairman, the remaining balance of the
increase within salaries is a result of the temporary
workers hired as part of the Bermuda Government’s
Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (MDL). It should be noted this is a temporary arrangement as the MDL
and its management will transition to a standalone
corporate entity and subsidiary of the Bermuda Ec onomic Development Corporation (BEDC). In addition to the MDL salaried workers, there are also weekly
paid temporary additional staff who account for the
increases in wages, line item 2, of approximately
$340,000, or 131 per cent. These wages form part of
the $2,000,000 allocation for the National Health
Emergency Fund.
Mr. Chairman, MDL started operations on
April 19, 2020, instantly expanding COVID -19 testing
capacity in Bermuda. The weekly rate of 200 tests until mid-April was now achievable in one day, allo wing testing to be done on all frontline and essential
workers during the shelter -in-place period. This new
testing capacity allowed for the safe reopening of the
country from the level of high restrictions to Phase 4
as approximately 3,000 tests per month were conducted in the first three months.
Whilst providing a more fiscally responsible
government testing operation, with testing below $5.00 per sample, MDL also allowed for a quicker r esults turnaround with any member of the public able to
book a test, get results emailed within 24 hours and
for each person’s general practitioner to be informed of the result in real time.
Mr. Chairman, MDL was able to drastically i ncrease testing capacity from 3,000 to 12,000 per month in July 2020 when the airport opened and further supported the increase of air arrivals to an average of 22,000 tests per month between August and November. The MDL ultimately withstood the stress
test when an outbreak occurred last December w ith a
total of 299 positive cases identified out of approx imately 33,000 tests performed. MDL has kept Berm uda at the cutting edge of testing developments and
has recently allowed Bermuda to know which variants have been present on Island, and when they fi rst arrived.
MDL’s focus in 2020 was to deliver a worldclass COVID -19 testing service to the Island of Bermuda whilst also training upcoming Bermudian scie ntists. To date, over 25 Bermudians have gained m olecular diagnostics experience in the Bermuda nati onal testing laboratory as interns or staff members with
many entering the workforce for the first time in the
career path of their choice, science.
MDL’s 2021/22 focus is to continue to deliver
on their world renowned COVID -19 testing, further
develop st aff professionally, and expand into further
molecular diagnostics in order to keep as much genet-ic testing on Island. MDL’s aim is to also establish a
genetic research laboratory where genetic research is conducted by Bermudians, in Bermuda, for Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, returning to the variances:
Transport, line item 5, is also connected to the alloc ation for the National Health Emergency fund and rep-resents the increased freight charges related to the
import of COVID -19 medical supplies and equipment.
Professional Services, line item 9, at
$2,519,000, is a decrease of $293,000, compared to 2020/21. Please note, Mr. Chairman, that there were


Bermuda Senate several reductions made to professional services
throughout the various sections of the Cabinet Office
as well as the decrease resulting from the Commi ssion of Inquiry not extending into the new budget year.
Mr. Chairman, speaking of the Commission of
Inquiry, please allow me briefly to veer off from the
provision of the various explanations to highlight the
work of the Commission over the last year.
As you may recall, pursuant to the Commi ssions of Inquiry Act 1935, on November 1, 2019, [the
Premier] announced the appointment of committee
members to the Commission of Inquiry into historic
land losses in Bermuda. The est ablishment of this
Commission of Inquiry was in keeping with the mandate of the House of Assembly as expressed in its resolution of July 4
th, 2014.
The scope of the Commission’s work was to:
1. Investigate historic losses of citizens’ pro perty in Bermuda from theft of property, dispossession
of property, adverse possession claims and/or other
such unlawful or irregular means by which land was
lost in Bermuda.
2. Collect and collate any and all evidence
and information available relating to the nature and
extent of such historic losses of citizens’ property.
3. Prepare a list of all land to which such hi storic losses relate.
4. Identify any persons, whether individuals or
bodies corporate, responsible for such historic losses
of citizens’ property.
On Marc h 8th, 2020, the Commission issued a
notice that a Planning hearing would be held on March 19
th, 2020. However, due to the pandemic, the
Commission delayed its initial hearing until such time as the Government of Bermuda deemed it safe for
persons to assem ble. The Commission also adjusted
the date by which persons seeking standing, or who had anecdotal information, but who did not wish to
seek standing, could submit documentation. The initial
deadline in March was tentatively shifted to May 30
th,
2020, and then adjusted to June 8th, 2020. However,
in light of reported challenges encountered by me mbers of the community who sought to access relevant documents, the Commission communicated that the
deadline would be extended until June 30
th, 2020. F inally, in or der to accommodate further requests for
extensions, the Commission determined that the final
deadline for submissions would be July 23rd, 2020.
Mr. Chairman, the Commission held its first
public hearings of evidence on Tuesday, September 8th, 2020. To date, the Commission has completed
five tranches of digitally -supported hearings, in order
to address a caseload of 54 applicants. Due to the
COVID -19 pandemic, the Commission had to place
heavy reliance on Zoom meetings, live Facebook
feeds, recorded YouTube video and live- streaming on
CITV. Additionally, a separate historical review was carried out by two Bermudian historians, Dr. Theodore
Francis and Dr. Quito Swan, in order to investigate the Tucker’s Town and St. David’s land expropriations. In
fact, the C ommissioners have held approximately 70
different proceeding sessions thus far. These pr oceed ings have been held at the Grotto Bay Resort,
Willowbank Resort and Conference Center, and at
Warwick Camp.
Mr. Chairman, the majority of the budget has
been used for operational expenses such as salaries
and compensations, electronic services, transcription services and venues.
The Commission is in the final stages of the
evidentiary hearings and will complete their report in the very near term. At this time I wo uld like to thank
the Commission made up of the Commission Justice
Norma Wade- Miller OBE, JP, and members Mr.
Wayne Perinchief, JP, Mrs. Maxine Binns, Mrs.
Fredrica Forth, Mrs. Lynda Milligan- Whyte, JP, Mr.
Jonathan Starling and Mr. Quinton Stovell.
Return ing to the Subjective Analysis, please
note Mr. Chairman, that the full amount of the de-crease within Professional Services was not fully r eflected due to the necessary allocation of services that
form part of the National Health emergency fund.
The next variance to be highlighted is found
within Equipment (Minor Capital), line item 15: Please
note that the $916,000 increase is a direct result of
the necessary medical supplies and equipment alloc ation for 2021/22 within the $2,000,000 National Health Emerg ency allotment.
Finally, Mr. Chairman the remaining material
variance is seen in Grants and Contributions, the last
line item, which shows an allocation of $26,439,000,
an increase of $19,600,000 above 2020/21. This is a
result of the transfer in of the T ourism -related grants.
You may note that the transfer in of $23,000,000 r elated to the BTA grant and smaller associated grants
(World Triathlon Series, Heritage Weekend and Cup
Match grants) is also not fully reflected.
Again, necessary reductions were made in
order to reach cash limit constraints. Mr. Chairman, I will cover the grants to the BEDC and the BTA when I
complete the brief on this Head.
That was kind of a skim -over, Mr. Chairman,
of those two grants.

MANPOWER
Sen. Owen Darrell: Mr. Chairman, as seen on page
B-43, Employee numbers, there is a total increase of
six FTEs in 2021/22 compared to the 2020/21 original
FTE estimates. This results from the already mentioned two additional permanent secretary posts under
business unit 19000, General A dministration, as well
as the Tourism transfer in of the four Regulatory and
Policy, Hotel Administration, posts seen under the
new business unit 19065. Let me quickly mention that the decrease within the last line item PATI/PIPA,
19085, relates to a mere internal post transfer and
314 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate accounts for the third FTE increase within General
Administration.

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
Sen. Owen Darrell: Capital Expenditure: Mr. Chai rman, you will note that in accordance with page C -4,
there are allocated funds for Capital Development in
the amount of $2,570,000. [That is] $1,070,000 for the
shoreside facilities, and an additional $1,500,000 for
the Community Clubs and Community Investment Grant.
Mr. Chairman, the development of a cooper ative means by which to support the work of Bermuda’s
fishermen is set to culminate in the development of a shoreside fish processing facility. Whilst the consult ations are ongoing the Cabinet Office is working to bridge historical divides within the industry to promote
greater economic independence and greater economic success for what might be termed as one of our
original economic pillars.
Mr. Chairman, the plans for the site have
been reviewed and will be modified to reflect the most modern equipment and approaches to the processing
of fish. The area of Marginal Wharf best lends itself to
this operation, but we continue to consult, and during
this fiscal year there will be significant advances in this critical cooperative development.
Mr. Chairman, in keeping with this Gover nment’s longstanding promise to support the Island’s
Community Clubs, I am pleased to join colleagues in
presenting a series of capital grants to provide for
much -needed infrastructure improvements for our
clubs.
The men and women are not just members,
but their hearts and souls are poured into the mission
and community outreach, and many of these organ isations have welcomed these grants. This fiscal year
sees grant funding renewed as we are determined to
continue this transformational programme.
As seen on pages C -9 and C-10, there were
no Capital Acquisition submissions for 2021/22.
Mr. Chairman, I shall now turn my attention to
output measures.

OUTPUT MEASURES

Sen. Owen Darrell: The performance measures developed for the Cabinet Office are found on pages B -
44 and B -45. The majority of the measures outlined in
the 2020/21 have been or are anticipated to be rea lised by March 31
st with continuance throughout the
2021/22 period.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 19035, the London Office, achieved all of its targets set, especi ally
within the first target of assisting Bermudians (including Bermudian students) living within the UK, which
was clearly put to the test but most notably demonstrated during this pandemic. As was previously seen on page B -41, the
London Office has a budget allocation of approximat ely $1,114,000 for the fiscal year 2021/22. The office,
on a whole, continues to provide a service to the Go vernment by maintaining our relationship with the Uni ted Kingdom through high level dialogue with the UK Government, particularly through increased engag ement with departments of Her Majesty’s Government
across Whitehall. While doing so, the office works with
governments of the Overseas Territories on shared
policy areas across the Territories.
The London Office is responsible for engaging
with both Houses of Parliament, the UK Diplomatic
Corps, such as embassies and high commissions; the
United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association; the
Commonwealth Secretariat, along with all UK based
Commonwealth Associations; as mentioned, Berm udians living in the UK including students; the general
UK public, to include private companies; civil societies
and those who have a general or vested interest in
Bermuda.
For fiscal term 2020/21 the primary function of
the London Office was to provide the necessary i mmediate assistance and guidance through its [cons ular] function to Bermudians living and studying in the
UK and throughout Europe as a result of the impact of
COVID -19.
For fiscal year 2020/21 the London Office
provided assistance to 918 [consular] cases. The nature of consular assistance ranged in levels of varying
circumstances from routine travel assistance to matters of critical nature.
This level of assistance included managing
the repatriation of 236 Bermudians from around the
world routed through London on British Airways flights
chartered by the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office at the beginning of the COVID -19 loc kdowns in April and May.
Mr. Chairman, the functions of the London O ffice for the fiscal term 2021/22 are:
• to continue to support Bermudians in the UK
and Europe within its consular affairs;
• to maintain dialogue across the UK Parli ament by engaging with UK Members of Parliament;
• to continue engagement with UK civil servants
in departments across Whitehall on all policy
matters relating to Bermuda and the Overseas Territories;
• to support Bermuda’s Financial Services r egime;
• to support the efforts of Bermuda and other
Overseas Territories’ involvement at COP26
Summit in Glasgow to showcase efforts from
Bermuda and the UK Territories in tackling
climate change and;
• to implement political commitments made
through the Joint Ministerial Council in N ovember 2020.


Bermuda Senate For fiscal year 2020/21 Bermuda holds
Chairmanship and Presidency amongst Overseas
Territory Gover nments through the United Kingdom
Overseas Territories Association.
Mr. Chairman, please also note that the Brussels Office is managed by the UK Representative
through the London Office. The work on the ground is
overseen by the Government’s [Senior] Advi sor Eur opean Affairs & Policy, Ms. Aliyyah Ahad, who took up
the post in October. The Office will also continue to
provide opportunities of experience to students and graduates through various internship programmes.
The objective of the Brussels Office is to
maintain relationships with key stakeholders and dec ision-makers on the ground in Brussels while establishing new connections. With the UK’s exit from the
European Union the objectives of the Brussels Office for fiscal term 2021/22 will be:
• to maintai n close dialogue with the European
Commission, Council and European Parli ament and other EU institutions;
• to facilitate access of the Premier and Mini sters to key persons in upholding the Gover nment’s presence in Europe;
• to work with the Ministry of Finance to support
Bermuda’s global position of a robust regul atory financial regime.
The Office has been allocated approximately
$396,000.
Mr. Chairman, turning to business unit 19080,
Head of the Public Service, on page B -45, I am
pleased to provide an update on the second measure
to develop a five- year public service plan which requires the review and justification of services provided
by government by June 2020.
Honourable Members will recall that this
measure derives from the Objectives as set out in the
Government Reform Strategic Framework. The rec-ommendations that will inform the plan depend largely
on data gathered as a part of the zero- based budgeting (ZBB) process. An analytical tool to assess the
public value of government services was tested during
the last budget cycle, refined and implemented in ear-nest as a part of the preparation for the fiscal 2021/22
budget. A quantitative analysis is now in progress. A
qualitative review will now follow and public services
will ultimately be placed in five m ain categories: 1)
Essential; 2) Important; 3) Needed; 4) Desirable; and
5) Optional. Following consultation with all stakehol ders the five- year public service plan will be produced.
Mr. Chairman, with respect to customer co mplaints, while the feedback sys tem has not as yet
been implemented, development is a work in progress
and it is expected to launch in this fiscal year.
Moreover, Mr. Chairman, the Government is
working to establish service standards and it is expected that a full customer service traini ng pr ogramme for all public officers will be implemented pr ior to the end of the year. The new Guidelines for Ser-vice Standards are embedded in the revised Conditions of Employment and Code of Conduct which has
been updated for the first time in 20 years and is expected to be effective on April 1
st, 2021.
Mr. Chairman, allow me to turn your attention
to the last business unit, 19085, the PATI and PIPA Unit and briefly expand beyond their achievement of
their target for 2020/21.
The unit takes on a mandate of the implementation and maintenance of the Public Access to Information Act and the Personal Information Protection Act (referred to respectively as PATI and PIPA) within
the Government, as well as the coordination of the
respective pieces of legislation. The unit aids the
Government to not only meet its requirements in this
regard, but to support the Government in creating a
beneficial environment that supports a viable econom-ic ecosystem. This unit also works in collaboration
with the offices of the Inf ormation Commissioner and
Privacy Commissioner in the focus on transformative
change in the Government and our jurisdiction.
The Government of Bermuda interacts with
the public and the broader community by collecting and exchanging data using physical and electronic
methods in the course of conducting everyday bus iness processes. As such, the government holds an abundance of information related to such processes, as well as a significant amount of personal information. It is therefore, important that the ri ghts of access to information and privacy are ingrained in the
organisation’s operations and culture.
Mr. Chairman, as seen on page B -41, the
PATI/PIPA Unit has been allocated $464,000. R equirements specified in both PATI and PIPA include:
implementing operational and administrative
measures to respond to requests; management and
accessibility to records; reporting to regulatory author ities; and documentation of management and pr ocessing records and requests. The unit will play a si gnificant role in the fac ilitation of these common r equirements present in both Acts.
Mr. Chairman, the PATI framework is oper ational and shall be reviewed during 2021/22 to enable
the optimal utilisation of resources within the unit. In
addition to the coordination of the review of PATI for
amendment during the year, the unit will consider
whether current activities should be refined or expanded. These activities include:
• development of internal policies, proc edures and guidance;
• the facilitation and advice to public author ities in relation to access to requests;
• the provision of awareness building and i nformation officer training; and
• the communication with stakeholders on
PATI and other information access deve lopments.
Mr. Chairman, as we prepare for PIPA to
come into force, the unit has been working in collab o316 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ration with the Privacy Commissioner and the Information Commissioner to review the existing legisl ation. In the absence of a standalone privacy law in the
past, individual laws may contain aspects related to
personal information and/or data privacy that is now superseded by PIPA. In line with this need, a signif icant harmonising exercise has taken place with the
PATI legislation. Amendments will be brought forward
during this legislative session.
Mr. Chairman, when PIPA is in force it will
have significant implications for the entire jurisdiction. As the Government is responsible for protecting the
largest collection of personal information held in Bermuda, the Government’s privacy programme is of vital
importance. The Government will be required to notify residents as to how and why we collect, use and store
their personal information through privacy notices.
Risk assessments, as to how personal information will
be used and protected as per PIPA requirements, will
be integr ated into our operations. PIPA also impacts
our interactions with organisations, including vendors
and service providers. Assessing their PIPA compl iance will become an important step in the contracting process.
The unit has identified a privacy framework to
guide its work and intends to more fully develop and operationalise their implementation plan during 2021/22. Requirements in the framework and plan,
either currently underway or anticipated include:
• production of internal policies, procedures
and guidance;
• creation and implementation of specific processes to respond to legislated r equirements;
• provision of general and targeted training; development and delivery of communic ations and awareness programmes;
• development of an international data ade-quacy fr amework; and
• monitoring and auditing PIPA compliance
within the government.
Mr. Chairman, privacy is affected by many
other requirements and processes underway within
the government. For example, privacy interests with
information technology security, or c ybersecurity,
which is the protection of electronic data from criminal
or unauthorised access and use. The PATI/PIPA unit
will work in collaboration with the Ministry of National
Security, the Information and Digital Technologies
Department (IDT) and the C ybersecurity Governance
Board to support the implementation of the Bermuda Cybersecurity Strategy, and specifically in relation to security breach requirements. The unit will also ensure that it leverages and promotes the government’s
records management requirements, complying with
regulatory requirements while also reflecting good governance. Additionally, the unit will aid in the ongoing reform process, helping to ensure that privacy by design and default begin to be integrated into Go vernment’s programmes and initiatives.
Mr. Chairman, the Government’s reform pr ogramme will both impact and be impacted by information access and privacy, especially if progress is continued towards open data. The synergy between
information access and privacy must be underst ood
and emphasised. The PATI Act marks a path for
openness and accountability in our public services. It
complements PIPA provisions for improving people's
access to information about themselves, alongside the protection of their confidentiality and privac y.
Further, the aforementioned future amendments to PATI can emphasise the ongoing work of the Government to broaden rights of access as well as
rights of privacy. The Team will work together within
the Government space to ensure training and awar eness to ensure streamlined public access, privacy
rights and confidence in the Government.
Mr. Chairman, at this time I would like to take
the opportunity to extend my thanks to all of the staff at the Cabinet Office under the leadership of the Sec-retary to the C abinet, Major Marc Telemaque, for their
ongoing contributions and dedication to serving the
people of Bermuda.
The Cabinet Office is the heart of Government
and the entire team has my gratitude for the support
they provide to the Premier. Mr. Chairman, this concludes the presentation
of Head 9.

Over to you, Senator.

Sen. Marcu s Jones: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am absolutely giddy with excitement that the
Junior Minister has given me an abundance of time to
ask questions and get replies. For the record and for the public to know, this particular Ministry and Head
was given two hours. The substantive Junior Minister
has spoken for 30 minutes and he has now given me
one hour and 30 minutes to ask questions and give
my comments, which I am more than happy to do. So
I thank him for a very comprehensive, a very clear -cut
presentatio n on the Cabinet Office.
And he is absolutely correct; the Cabinet O ffice is the heart of government. And from this location and from this particular Head much of the operations
of the entire government come from this particular
department. As was noted b y the Junior Minister, the
major increase of this particular department, if we look
on page B -41, in the General Summary, on the very


Bermuda Senate bottom line, the increase on this particular department
was $21 million. Last year, 2020/21 the budget was
$17,331,000 and this year, 2021/22 the bottom -line
amount that has been allocated to this particular de-partment is $39,022,000. The lion’s share of this par-ticular department of the increase has come from
what was formerly known as the Ministry of Tourism
and Transport. We find that the budget that had been
allocated in years gone by within that Ministry has
now been placed in the very responsible hands and
under the management of the Cabinet Office where the Premier himself is the one who will supervise and
manage its funds.
Twenty -two million dollars is a fair amount of
money that has been earmarked for the use of funding or partially funding the Bermuda Tourism Authority,
and being that this is the largest allocation of funds, I
believe that is the first place that I would like to spend my time talking about.
Now, Mr. Chairman, you would know that in
years gone by, the Ministry of Tourism was primarily
under the jurisdiction of G overnment Ministers. For a
long time, Tourism became a political football within this Island. And for a number of years it experienced,
let’s just say, the doldrums of an industry that was
really hard done by through some decisions that were
made by those who were not experts in the field of hospitality and tourism. At the time leading up to the
2000s there was a cry for an independent tourism authority. And we find that under the administration of
the OBA, once they got into power in 2012, they felt it
important that this particular industry, which was so
important for Bermuda––n ot only does it em ploy the
second [highest number of] persons in this country,
second to the government’s staff level ––it was important that we put this important industry in the hands
of those who were experts at it. So we find that during
that administration of the OBA that this independent
authority has been set up.
Mr. Chairman, one has to admit that after this
particular Ministry was placed in the hands of an independent authority, we saw some very positive numbers—numbers that we had not seen in a number of
years. We h ave to admit that at times there are certain
things that need to be taken out of the hands of Government Ministers and put into the hands of those who
are experts.
Now, if we turn over to page C -17, Cabinet
Office Departments, this is where the grants and contributions are, we will see the breakdown of this
$26,439,000 in total. We find there that under 6835 is
the Tourism Authority Grant, which is $21,500,000. One of the things that I would like to get some answers for, being that this is a substantive amount of
money, we know that a couple of years ago the BTA
put together and formulated a tourism plan. I believe it was the Tourism Plan of 2025. I would like to know
the status of that particular plan especially since we
have had to endure this COVID -19 pandemic, and a lot of timelines and benchmarks were put in place that
this Authority was endeavouring to reach, so that we
can see what the progress has been. I would like to
know what the status of that particular plan is. We r ealise in that plan there were certain destinations that
the Authority was going to be targeting. There were
certain demographic groups that this Authority was
going to be targeting.
We know that they wanted to increase the
number of African Americans coming to this country.
They wanted to increase the number of sporting events coming to this country. So I think it would be in
the public’s best interests for the Junior Minister to
give us an idea of how successful this 2025 Tourism
Plan has been to date.
Of course, we have heard through the news
and through the media that this authority has had to go through a number of cuts, lay -offs, I would venture
to say even redundancies, in order to be able to fit the
budget levels afforded to it. We also understand at the
moment that this particular Authority is being managed and led by the very well -rounded, very connec ted young man (he happens to share my last name)
Mr. Jones, who has done a fabulous job, being able to
hold the Authority in place until a permanent CEO has
been chosen. That is on e of the questions I would also like to ask the Junior Minister. What is the plan and what is the status of the permanency of that position as CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority?
Within that $21 million there would have to be
a marketing budget. Now, wi th the pandemic ever yone knows that the number of persons and busines ses that have actually come to Bermuda have dropped
tremendously. I believe the numbers that I quoted in
my presentation yesterday of visitor numbers, the leisure visitor numbers have dropped 84 per cent in
2020. The cruise visitors dropped 98 per cent. So the
numbers are very discouraging—understandable, but
very discouraging. We would like to see what plans, what contingency plans did the BTA have in place to
be able to counteract such a natural disaster?
We just spoke of how the staff had been r educed a great deal. But we would also like to think that the marketing plan would have changed dramat ically as well. Bermuda has been able to tout its health
and safety standards in the light of this pandemic.
This is definitely something that we as a jurisdiction
should be able to promote, because people the world
over want to travel. There is a pent -up demand out
there. And I believe Bermuda is in a prime position to be able to trumpet its glowi ng health and safety record
in light of this pandemic. So I would be curious, Mr.
Chairman, if the Junior Minister would give us an indication of the adjusted marketing plan within that $21
million. Has the marketing budget increased? Has it
changed its di rection? [Has] the push to encourage
more African Americans to come to Bermuda
changed?
318 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Are we targeting the people of high net worth
along the eastern coast of [the United States] ? Have
we actually saturated that entire east coast to where
we now have to redirect our marketing dollars further
from Bermuda? Should we be sending these marketing dollars to Europe? To Asia? We know that [some]
of the greatest travellers in the world right now come
from Asia. Does it make sense for us to find a way to
connect the international travel to Asia where people
from that part of the world would want to come to Bermuda?
So, in summary, can the Junior Minister give
us a more detailed explanation of what the Bermuda
Tourism Authority’s marketing strategy is in light of
this COVID -19 pandemic?
Another question I have in light of the Berm uda Tourism Authority, and I am still on page B -41, line
19065, which is the Regulatory and Policy /Hotel A dministration line where $22,381,000 has been allocated, of which $21,500,000 is wi th the Bermuda Tourism Authority, I would like to know, Mr. Chairman, if
there have been funds set aside to actually have feet
on the ground at our gateway cities in the United
States, in Canada, and in the United Kingdom. Now,
in years gone by , the Bermuda Tourism Department
had an office in New York. And from that New York
office, we were able to extend our reach into most of the gateway cities to ensure that not only was Berm uda promoted through the airwaves by media but act ually by having persons be on the ground in these cities
selling Bermuda.
I would like to know if that is still part of the
plan, or whether, under these restricted budgets we
have had to make sure that everything is centralised
through the Bermuda office. Mr. Chairman, if we can
get s ome clarity from the Junior Minister on whether
or not there are actually staff members that are
around the world, I would say, not only just in the
United States and primarily in New York City, but I
would like to know if there were persons stationed in
the United Kingdom, if there are persons stationed in
Canada. I do not know if these persons are able to
coordinate with the offices that are already set up in Brussels and the office in London where we have
three staff members, if they are able to use that as a
liaison office to be able to extend Bermuda’s reach
into these markets when it comes to tourism.
Those types of questions in regard to marketing strategy, in regard to the reach to places even as far away as Asia. We would like to see what the Bermuda Tourism Authority has in its plans to pivot and
be able to readjust its marketing push to get persons around the world with, I would say , pent-up demand
for travel, pent -up demand to see other jurisdictions,
to be able to look to Bermuda as a potential j urisdiction to come to.
Also, within that particular line item, 19065,
Regulatory and Policy, which is on page B -41, I know
that based on last year’s figures, transferred over to here in this line this year, there would be somewhere
in the region of $380,000 that would be expense t oward the Hotel Policy and Regulatory section of tourism. So I would like to ask the Junior Minister if he
could give us the exact numbers, the exact amount of money that has been allocated for the hotel portion of
the grant that was put towards this particular line item.
Now, from past experiences, we know that the
hotel inspectors are part of this line item. They are responsible for ensuring that the level and quality of
the hotels that our visitors come to are at a certain level. So, Mr. Chairman, not having those performance measures in place transferred from the Mini stry of Tourism and Transport of last year, into this par-ticular Head 9 Cabinet Office, there are a certain
[number] of questions that I would like to ask the Junior Minister when it has to do with hotel inspectors.
Now, it is very important, having done it m yself, and I am going to declare my interest, and my
past interest, Mr. Chairman. You may not know this
but I was once a manager within the Department of
Tourism . In fact, I was tasked and given the assignment to supervise the hotel inspectors. So I know
quite intimately what goes on when it comes to hotel
inspectors. So it is very important that we can have a
performance measure that actually gives us comfort
that certain protocols and regulations are fulfilled wit hin that particular department.
Now, the hotel inspectors inspect every year.
Normally they do an inspection in the winter and they
do an inspection in the spring time. And previously
there were certain measurements put in place as performance measures to ensure that these inspections
were completed on a timely basis. One of the things
that these hotel inspectors had to do was answer
complaints. Unfortunately, in Bermuda we believe that
we are a place wh ere no one should have any complaints about our beautiful Islands, our wonderful sand
and sun. Well, I hate to inform you, Mr. Chairman, that there are visitors who come here who are looking for a
pristine premise and property to stay in and are expecting nothing less than the best. But because we
live on a subtropic Island where there are lots of coc kroaches and insects, mould and everything else, that
sort of shows up in these hotel rooms, it is important that these inspections are done.
So I would like to know from the Junior Mini ster what were the accomplishments , and what the
timelines were [which were set] for these hotel inspectors to have completed their job of inspecting licensed properties every year. Were there any delays? I want to know how many complaints were made to this particular hotel administration group. How many complaints did they have to investigate in the last year?
And what are their objectives for this coming year?
We also recognise that only here recently
these hotel inspectors wer e tasked to inspect vacation
rental properties. According to the Junior Minister
there were 64 (I believe I have that right) vacation


Bermuda Senate rental units that had to be inspected by these hotel
inspectors. If it was 64 vacation rental units that were
inspected, w hat is the number of registered vacation
rentals? I do not even want to venture a guess. But what I do know is that what has happened over the last year is that many of these vacation rentals that
have not had visitors come and stay in their units, [the
owners] had to then turn their units over to rent control, back into the inventory of local apartments that
were left empty , vacant. I would like to know the number of registered vacation rentals that we have in ci rculation right now.
If it is 1,000, then i nspecting 64 is woefully
low. If it’s 100 than 64 units being inspected, out of a
total of 100, is very good. So, if we can have the Ju nior Minister give us a count of the number of vacation
rentals properties that are active right now, certified,
availabl e for when we have a stampede of visitors
coming back to the Island, we want to know how
many of these vacation rental units are available. We
want to know the numbers because we can then as-certain the numbers that have been inspected to ensure that the quality of these rental units reach a level
that we, as Bermudians, especially those of us that
have spent time within this industry can feel comfort able that the property, that the product that we are pr esenting to world trave llers is of a standard that we can
be proud of.

Senator Jones, are you finished, or
do you have more?

Sen. Marcus Jones: That allocation of $22,381,000,
and we are still on page B -41, line item 19065, we
understand that a portion of those funds were actually
allocated to the World Triathlon Series. Now, if we
turn to the back of the Book, it is at page C-17, I b elieve, $400,000 has been allocated to the World Tr iathlon Series. In light of the pandemic that we are in
right now, and the escalating numbers of persons who
are showing up positive, Mr. Chairman, if we could
have an indication from the Junior Minister as to
whether or not this particular event will continue.
We also see on page C -17, under Cabinet
Office Departments under Grants that $50,000 has been allocated for Cup Match. Now, we were all saddened last year when we were not able to experience
and enjoy Cup Match. And many of us are looking
forward to Somerset once again winning and retaining that Cup. Now, maybe there are some folks in the
east end that are h oping that, you know, this Cup
Match does not happen again this year, because they may not want to experience another loss. But, as a
very confident Somerset Cup Match fan, I am more
than anxious that this annual event will happen again.
So, my question t o the Junior Minister is if this
$50,000 that has been allocated (and I would assume that this $50,000 will be going to the club that is hos ting the Cup Match event), if this event does not ha p-pen, will that club still be able to receive the $50,000?
Well, we know that these clubs, both St. George’s and
Somerset, depend very heavily on these funds, not
only from the government, but mostly their pr ogrammes , their building improvements are financed by
this summer classic that happens in their particular club every other year. So, we do not know their f inances. Neither do we need to get into their finances.
But, Mr. Chairman, I would like to know if the Cup
Match does not even happen, do those clubs still get
the $50,000 that has been allocated to them? I am
sure that the presidents of these clubs would be able
to give a justifiable reason why these funds should still
be extended to them, especially in light of them not
being able to host this every lucrative event on a biannual basis.
So, Mr. Chairman, we know that of this
$22,381,000 the lion’s share of that goes to the Ber-muda Tourism Authority. And if the Junior Minister can
give us more details on how this particular Authority
will function in light of this national disaster that we
have been through it woul d be very much appreciated,
so that we can have some indication of how these
funds are being spent.
Mr. Chairman, I am still on page B -41. I am
now going into business unit 0902 and in this partic ular business unit we have the three offices, the Lo ndon Office (19035), the Washington, DC Office
(19045) and the Brussels O ffice (19075).
Mr. Chairman, in listening to the Junior Mini ster’s brief, it was quite interesting to hear the oper ations of these particular offices. If I swing over to page
B-43, and look under the line of 19075, the Brussels
Office, there is no staff located at that office. Neither
was there [staff] last year; neither was there [staff] this
year. Despite the fact that there is no staff there in
Brussels, for example, the estimated alloca tion of
funds is $396,000, of which is a $4,000 increase.
Now, I listened very carefully to the Junior Minister and he can correct me at the time when I release him
to answer these questions, but I was made to understand that there was no one there, so there were representatives from the London O ffice that would actua lly come to the Brussels O ffice to represent Bermuda
to connect with diplomats from the EU O ffice, but they
would be doing that from the London [ Office].
My question to the Junior Minister wo uld be
can he give us the annual rental costs for these offi ces in Brussels, for the office in Washington, DC, and
for the office in London? I think it would be a very
good exercise for us to be able to ascertain whether it is, in fact, profitable and in B ermuda’s best interests to
continue these offices in these particular places, especially if no one is going to be in those offices. We
would like to think that if we needed a person to be
present in those offices to meet with a diplomat then
you have to pa y money to fly them from the London
Office. There is nothing that can substitute for face- toface diplomatic interaction with certain agencies, gov320 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ernment agencies, even the private businesses that
do work with us here in Bermuda. It would be advantageous to have an actual body, a physical body, in
these two offices of Washington, DC, and Brussels.
So, can the Junior Minister give us an idea of
what the rental costs of these buildings are and if
there is someone who represents Bermuda in Brussels? Although they are not officially a staff member,
is their remuneration for services for representing
Bermuda within the professional services line item? Is
it in the overseas consultation line item? We just do not know, Mr. Chairman. So if the Junior Minister can
school me up and cause me to have a better understanding of how we pay for the services of persons
who would represent Bermuda in the Brussels O ffice
and the Washington, DC Office that goes beyond the
full-time equivalent staff members who are located in
the London office, that would be very helpful.
And I just noted that there was an increase in
the budgeted allocation for the Washington, DC Office. Last year in 2020/21 there was a $61,000 alloc ation for that office and this year 2021/22 it is $176,000
more, which gives us a total of $237,000. So, can the
Junior Minister give us a clearer reason for that i ncrease, especially since there is no person, no phys ical body in that office? Can he give us some clarity on
why the increase, and also justify the reas on for continuing to have an office in those two locations, Was hington, DC and Brussels?
One of the things that the Government has
said to us through its Budget Statement is that they
will be able to provide balanced budgets in three
years, after the tour ism industry comes back to a level
of normalcy. That sounds logical. That sounds rational. I would just like for the Junior Minister to give us an
indication of what the benchmarks would be. In other
words, what will be considered successful? What will
be considered a level of productivity of progressive
successful numbers that will convince this country that we have reached a level of normalcy? Is the number
of visitor arrivals a benchmark that would signal to this
country that we are back to a level of normalcy within
tourism? Could it be visitor spending, which we know has taken a major hit? Is there a certain level of visitor
spending that this Government is expecting to see to
be able to consider that our economy is in a position where they can produce balance d budgets?
Is it the number or cruise ships coming to
Bermuda? Can the Junior Minister give us an indic ation from his Government what level of numbers of
success of increase of numbers over 2020 will ind icate to his Government and indicate to this country
that we have returned back to a level of normalcy
which we can then expect a balanced budget and
even surpluses, because of the revenue that we are
taking in through cruise ship receipts, through visitors spending money in our retail stores, spendi ng money
in our hotels? We know that especially through this pandemic the hotel owners have really suffered, really
experienced some major downfalls in the numbers.
I will take this time to actually thank Bermudians for choosing staycations at a time when they
normally would travel around the world. Bermudians
love to travel, they love to go on cruise ships. But
many of our Bermudians who have not been able to
travel have used the money that they did not use for
travel and actually spent it in our hotels. On behalf of
hotel owners and managers around this Island we thank you for spending your money in the hotels here at home.
So can the Junior Minister give us an idea of
what visitor numbers, spending numbers, that this Government is looking forward to seeing to signal to
them that we have again reached a level of normalcy?
Mr. Chairman, I am looking now at page B -42,
under the travel line. We see there for 2021/22 that
the amount allocated for travel will be $249,000. Last
year it was $295,000. This is a drop in what was
budgeted for last year. In fact, it is $46,000 less. But if
I turn back to page B -41, I see line item 19005, Overseas Travel, is $149,000. Can the Junior Minister give
us clarity on the travel, itemise it so that we can u nderstand? Overse as travel is that travel which i ncludes staff from the Cabinet office flying overseas to . . . for example, the Premier. I would think he would
do a fair amount of travel in this upcoming year, not
being able to travel and manage this pandemic. He
would no w, I would suspect, be free to travel more. Is
that line item of 19005 the overseas travel for staff
within the Cabinet? And does the overseas travel i nclude travel expenses for those who are employees at
the London Office? Does it include the cost of trav el
for those in the London O ffice who fill a spot within the
Brussels Office, within the Washington, DC Office?
Can I get some clarity on how those two items, over-seas travel and just travel, how they itemise the travel
of that particular line item? I woul d appreciate that.
Mr. Chairman, I have asked a number of
questions, and I definitely want to leave time for answers. Can I ask how much time I have, Mr. Chai rman?

No, 50 (five- zero).

Sen. Marcus Jones: Five-zero. Great. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
If you would indulge me, Mr. Chairman, I just
lost my place. Just give me a few moments to get
back to where I was at.
Page C -4, yes. Right.


Bermuda Senate If you look at page C -4 under Cabinet Office
departments, this is capital account estimates. We
see from this particular page Shoreside Facilities,
Marginal Wharf, $1,070,000 has been allocated for that particular line item. If the Junior Minister can give us a little bit more information on that particular line
item, I would appreciate it.
And coming back to (this is what I missed) the
community clubs, in line item 75349, in the year 2021/22 $1.5 million has been allocated for community clubs. Mr. Chairman, you would know that the community clubs , whether a sporting club, whether a
boat club, these types of clubs are in the heart of the
community and they do much for the community at large. In years gone by they used to be the centre of the community. And for a large part, most of their revenue comes through alcohol sales. And we also real-ise that there is such a large number of yout h that
come to these clubs, but we also understand that in
order for these clubs to survive they have to have
some form of steady income. So alcohol sales repr esent the lion’s share of their budget. So I can understand how much the presidents and the members of
these clubs would appreciate the money that has
been allocated for these clubs from the government.
And $1.5 million is an increase. It is a one million dollar increase from what was budgeted last year 2020/21.
Last year there was $500,000. And from the
Junior Minister’s brief we got an indication that these
funds were normally used for capital projects or capital upgrades. I would like to know from the Junior Mi nister, of the monies that were allocated to these clubs,
is there a progress report? Is there any feedback from
these clubs of how these funds were dispensed?
Were there walls that were built? Were there bleac hers that were built? Were these monies put towards youth programmes? For an amount such as $1.5 mi llion, and I do not know how it wil l be spread out, neither do we know the criteria by which these monies
were allocated to these clubs, that is also a question
that I have. If the Junior Minister let us know what the
criteria is and how they come to a decision of who gets what, and how muc h they get, I think that would
give the public comfort in knowing how these monies –
– which are justifiable, earmarked for these clubs ––
are expensed. So, that is something that I would like
for the Junior Minister to explain to us, because it is
money well spent.
Going back to page B -41, the National Health
Emergency line. We understand that this particular
cost was attributed to the emergency formation of the
Molecular Diagnostic Lab. From the Junior Minister’s
brief, if I can understand what he was explai ning, it is
that the $2 million that has been earmarked for this
particular line would go a long way to establishing a permanent lab not only to take care of this present -
day pandemic, but to also facilitate this lab even after we get past this. So, if the Junior Minister can put a little more meat on the bone of this particular $2 mi llion, we understand that the salaries of the staff of the molecular diagnostic lab are part of the wage line. So
the $2 million, I am guessing, or assuming that part of that $ 2 million goes towards PPE, equipment and ot her materials to ensure that we have sufficient supplies
to get through this particular pandemic.
We are certainly grateful to the UK Gover nment who has willingly given this country vaccines. I don’t know how we would be if we were an indepen dent country and had to be pricing and finding the best
price for vaccines . . . I don’t know how those on the
other side of the aisle can fully see and appreciate the
connection and the dependency that we have on the
UK to p rovide for us these vaccines at this particular
time. But I can say sincerely on this side of the aisle we recognise and appreciate the fact that we have a friend in the UK that has been able to facilitate our
needs for the vaccine at this time.
So, Mr. C hairman, if the Junior Minister can
give us a little bit more insight on the expenditure of
$2 million which last year was $14 million, [which] was
a revised total, we totally understand that. The amount
is justified. But moving forward, if the Junior Mini ster
can give us an idea of how that $2 million is going to
be dispensed it will be much appreciated.
Mr. Chairman, I am now on page B -42, and if I
look at the line item Professional Services, we understand from his brief that much of the Commission of
Inquiry Services, whether it is the cost of the Commi ttee that has been set up to actually listen to the cases
of those who have been wrongfully treated by persons in the past, where they lost their land, we understand
that the remuneration for those who work on this
Commission which was set up by the Government is
on this line. I would suspect that this would also pay
for lawyers that have been brought into the equation.
Can the Junior Minister give us an indication,
just focusing on the Commission of Inquiry services,
how that piece of these professional services was a llocated? How much of it was remuneration for services and otherwise? This is just so that we can get
an understanding of how this $2.5 million has been
allocated for this Commission of Inquiry.
I was made to understand through his brief
that the last submission or application to be heard was in July 2020. It is now March of 2021. So I would just
be curious if the Junior Minister can give us a little
more clarity on how these funds were dis pensed and
how he expects them to be dispensed going forward. Was there a limited [number] of cases that they had to
listen to? And if there was a limit to those cases, there
is a better way of being able to budget how much
money needs to be allocated for this particular ve nture. So I would appreciate that.
This year the budgeted estimate for rentals is
$1.1 million which represents a $180,000 increase
over last year. Last year it was $972,000. We also see
that a revised estimate was $1.2 million. Now, wha t I
322 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate am finding is that whenever there is a number that
does not look all that kosher to the last year’s budget,
my esteemed Junior Ministers tell me that COVID -19
is the reason. As much as we can appreciate that this
is a ready -made answer, surely we can drill down
even further to get some indication of why, first of all,
the $972,000 that was budgeted for rentals from 2021,
the revised estimate was $300,000 more.
Now, Mr. Chairman, you and I both know that
once one signs a lease to rent property or a fac ility, it
is normally something that you know a year in advance. You can plan for that a year in advance. So if it
was $300,000 extra because of COVID -19, we can
then guess . . . rather than guess, I would like to ask
the Junior Minister straight: What was the $300,000
extra assigned to rentals as the revised estimate compared to last year’s budget? The answer was
probably COVID -19. Yes, that may have had som ething to do with the M olecular Diagnostic Lab, but if
the Junior Minister can clarify that for me, I would be
most appreciative.
Now, as I said earlier, there is going to be an
increase in 2021/22 of $180,000. Can the Junior Mi nister give us an indication of what that represents?
Mr. Chairman, at this point I do possibly have
one or two more questions that I will put to the side,
because I do want to give other Senators an oppor-tunity to comment or ask questions. I will listen very
carefully to the Junior Minister as he provides answers
to the questions.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank y ou, Senator Marcus Jones.
Would any other Senator wish to speak on
this Head?
Senator Robin Tucker, the floor is yours.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, very much, Mr.
Chairman.
I actually only have one question. My question
comes from page B -44, under b usiness unit 19020,
Safety and H ealth. I am just curious to know which
audit has not been completed and when will it be
[done]? The reason I ask is because they had the actuals for 2019/20 was five; the forecasted for 2020/21
was five; and the target was f our. So I am just wondering which audit will not be done? That is my only
question. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would any other Senator wish to speak on
this Head?
Senator Ben Smith, the floor is yours.

Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am looking at page B -41, under the line item
19065, under Tourism. I just have one question. In
light of the sports tourism that Bermuda has seen as a
growing market, starting with the America’s Cup that put on a world class programme and showed the
world what we were capable of, and also showed
Bermuda what we were capable of, it really was kind
of a kick -start of what our tourism product could be.
We started to see the introduction of the World Triathlon Series. And now we have been able to attract
SailGP to Bermuda. So, if the Junior Minister could
give us some information on SailGP, specifically, because of the issues happening in Bermuda presently.
Is this another one of these events that is potentially
going to be in jeopardy because the COVID -19 numbers are not going to allow us to do an international
competition?
Obviously as a sporting person myself, as the
national coach of swimming, I am always interested in opportunities for us to bring sporting events to Berm uda so that our young people can see what is possible.
And I know that sports tourism is an area that we can continue to build towards, so any information we can
have I think will be important for everybody to hear. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Ben Sm ith.
Would any other Senator wish to speak on
this Head?
Hearing none, I think, Junior Minister Owen
Darrell, you can respond to the numerous questions
and comments that were raised.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank
you that the Senator has released me now and I can
answer his questions.

[Laughter]

Sen. Owen Darrell: I thought he would have asked a
lot more with all of that time I gave him. It must be a
hot topic these days. But I will start answering some of
these.
The first one that I would go to . . . I am going
to jump all around the place as I get answers to the
questions that my Senate colleagues have asked.
The first one that I want to talk about is community clubs. I know Senator Jones asked about
community clubs and he wanted to know, first of all, the amounts that we made available to these comm unity clubs and the type of work that they have been
doing on their clubs. So I will start there, and I will give
a list of all of the clubs that have received finances.
And that w ould actually go to another question he
asked about Cup Match. So, we will do all of that in
one.
The following community clubs have received
funds from the Government:
• Bailey's Bay Cricket Club;
• Boulevard Community Club;
• Somerset Bridge Recreation Club;
• Southampton Rangers Sports Club;
• Hamilton Pembroke Club;


Bermuda Senate • Western Stars Sports Club;
• St. George’s Cricket Club (and we will get
back to that on in a moment);
• Mid-Atlantic Boat Club (we will tie that into his
last question in a moment);
• East End Mini -yacht Club;
• West End Sailboat Club;
• Flatts Victoria Recreation Club;
• Paget Lions Club;
• Somerset Cricket Club;
• St. David’s Cricket Club;
• Devonshire Recreation Club;
• Harrington Workman's Club.
Another question that was tied to that was :
What have these clu bs used this money on? Bailey’s
Bay Cricket Club used their funds to renovate chan ging rooms, as well as a retaining wall. Somerset
Bridge Recreation Club used their funds for upgrades
to their field. Southampton Rangers Sports Club have
used funds for windows. Hamilton Pembroke Club
needed a lawnmower. Western Stars Sports Club
needed an upgrade to their facility. St. George’s
Cricket Club needed extensive upgrades to their club.
Mid-Atlantic Boat Club with SailGP happening
(and I will get to that in a mo ment), there were many
essential items at these three yacht clubs. And these, as you would know, Mr. Chairman, are historically Black clubs. And if anyone has gone to these clubs
recently they would know that the infrastructure there
is in dire need of an upgrade. I don’t know much about
sailing, but I have seen the applications when they
came in. Most of them needed winches to lift the boats out of the water. Many of these clubs needed extensive repairs to their docks. A lot of these clubs
needed basic nec essities, like new windows, and p atio upgrades. I mean, a lot of the infrastructure of
these clubs was, for lack of a better word, dangerous
and needed to be fixed.
When SailGP was announced, I mean, what
better way for a historically Black yacht club, sai lboat
club, to want to be involved somehow, some way with SailGP. I mean, the Government has provided funds
so they can at least be part of the action, so to speak.
Flatts Victoria Recreation Club had no r estroom facilities for their youth programme and cr icket
team. So they asked for funds for that. Paget Lion’s
Club needed funds for a lawnmower and a shed, because their equipment kept getting stolen. Somerset
Cricket Club . . . if anyone has been . . . I heard Sen ator Jones talk about Somerset Cricket Club. Their r equest was three- part, actually. One request was to
upgrade changing rooms and bathroom facilities; the
second part was to replace the upstairs wooden flooring, which was very dangerous, I guess; and the third
was . . . I am having a mental block right now, but I
know there were three parts. One was upgrade to
changing room facilities, the other was the flooring and it escapes me as to what the third one was at this
time.
St. David’s Cricket Club had a severely old
and outdated electrical system which was posing a
potential fire hazard at their club, so the actual funds [were] to upgrade their electrical system and panels.
They also asked for funds to change out all windows;
that was St. David’s Cricket Club. Devonshire Recreation Club asked for f unds to repair their roof. They
asked for funds to upgrade their flooring. They asked for an air -conditioning system upgrade that had not
been working for years. And then you have Harrington
Workman's Club that requested many different speci fics for upgrad ing their club —windows, new bat hrooms, new electrical work.
So the question asked on that was, How did
these clubs request the funds? Well, the Cabinet O ffice created a detailed application form, and they laid out extensively their [requests], Mr. Chairman. They
asked for everything they wanted and then they had to
give detailed quotes from different Bermudian workers
and Bermudian companies and contractors so that we knew this money was not going overseas, it was going
right back into the community that n eeded it most. So
they sent those quotes in.
And I will tell you, Mr. Chairman, many of
these quotes were in excess of two hundred, three
hundred, four hundred thousand dollars. And that is how long these clubs had needed these funds. And as
Senator Jones did point out, the alcohol revenues are
not and will never cover the costs and the types of
repairs that these clubs needed. So, for whatever re ason, we can talk until the cows come home as to the
reasons why these clubs are not able to get funding
from th eir membership like they used to, however,
there was a need. Obviously, on any given Saturday,
as you would know, Mr. Chairman, up and down this
country these community clubs are the fabric of our
community. They have youth programmes. They host community events. They host community meetings.
So that is something that this Government is proud of,
that we were able to finally assist some of these clubs.
Now, I did say that the [requests for] funds are
in excess, sometimes of one hundred, two hundred,
three h undred thousand dollars, you know, we did not
just write a blank cheque to these clubs. After review,
it was decided that we would give them a portion of
what they . . . sometimes we went back to the clubs
and asked them what their top priority item was. T he
Government does not have $300,000 to give to one
club. And they came back and they said what their priority was, and what would be second. So, you ask,
How did we then check?
I can use Devonshire Recreation; I can use
Harrington Workman’s Club and St. D avid’s as examples. These clubs immediately got their membership
together, hired local contractors and they immediately did work. And they took pictures. They sent in the r eceipts. They sent in the invoices and the payment r e324 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ceipts to the contractors, to s how, 1) progress; 2)
where the funds had gone; 3) how much went. So it
was really good to see, refreshing to see the progress
of these clubs.
Anyone who drives across and happens to be
in my neighbourhood (and I know Senator Robin Tucker would know this area quite well), in Devil’s
Hole, you drive across Devil’s Hole, Mr. Chairman,
you would see that the work going on to Harrington
Workman’s club is extensive. I think at this point they
have put in the new windows; they have put in . . . I’m
not a contract or, but they have plastered the outside.
And we have seen pictures [showing] that inside they
are running electrical and new bathroom fixtures. So it
is actually really refreshing.
Devonshire Recreation sent in pictures of
workmen on the roof. If you drive [by] Devonshire
Recreation [you and] the membership will be happy to
see that the roof if repaired, it’s white, and I think they
are working on flooring now. So they were able to come back and say, thank you, Government; the
membership was very pleased, and you were able to
assist further.
The same with St. David’s Cricket Club. If you
drive [by] St. David’s Cricket Club the building is star ting to take shape. It looks immaculate. The field is nice and cut. And, Mr. Chairman, Senator Jones likes cricket, I hope that St. David’s would hand that cup
back to Cleveland sometime this summer if we can get Eastern Counties back and rolling, and I am sure
the gentleman in the room loves to hear that.
So, yes, that is my extensive answer to the
question on how t he Government took care of long
overdue work at these community clubs, which they
say is the fabric of our community.
Also, there was a question raised about the
$50,000 that was allocated to Cup Match. Give me a
second . . . okay, the $50,000, if it is not used this
year for Cup Match, I have heard that they are trying to get it going this year, but the $50,000 would go
back to the Ministry of Finance, if it is not used. And
as you can see, and as Senator Jones did allude to,
these clubs do rely on Cup Match to make revenue. However, we have recognized that this $50,000 is not
going to be enough and that is why they were also
allowed to apply for other funds, as all other clubs.
So that is the clubs and how that allotment
goes. I am going to go backwards here. The question
that was last asked, I think by Senator Smith on sports tourism, a particularly hot topic in the community lately
is the SailGP. I did see a communication this morning,
and SailGP, according to the Bermuda Tourism A uthority was kind of broken down into three parts as to
where we are right now. And when SailGP first came
to the BTA it was kind of a three- part question as to
how it would work.
So, with the COVID -19 restrictions in place,
there were basically three questions that came out
about SailGP and where we are right now. The first was, operationally SailGP has been broken up in to
three tiers. The first question that they asked was 1)
Can the sailing competition happen in the Great
Sound with a live television and broadcast around t he
world? That was the first question that SailGP asked.
The second question was, Can the event
happen with on- water spectator experiences and corporate hospitality to generate some on- Island activity?
The third question was, Can the event happen
with a Race village experience at Cross Island to maximize the fan experience and an on- Island economic
facility?
So those are the three questions they asked
when they came. To best answer the question raised by Senator Smith, I will answer all three questions in
that order. 1) Yes, the teams and crews are in a bubble for up to a month in Bermuda. They will only move between their hotel and Cross Island on the Great
Sound. They have no interaction with the community
or anyone outside the bubble. So, yes, the ev ent will
still happen. 2) Will the on -water spectator experience
happen? It depends on where we are with public
health regulations at that time. They were provisionally approved by the National Security and Health off icials, depending on the country’s stat us at the time of
the event. Based on this, marketing–– you would have
seen in social media lately, Mr. Chairman––is underway to generate some sort of on- Island economic activity. However, the BTA and organisers are fully
aware that if the country’s status is in a difficult place,
this means that all spectator experiences must be curtailed or the operation set up must be changed to r egain the confidence of National Security and Health
officials with new protocols being followed.
Right now, the goal is to l ook to make some
changes. And they are doing that as we speak. You
will see that people have talked about ticketing experiences. That is still going on with maybe the host hotel trying to sell tickets for spectator boats. But obv iously, if we are not in a position health- wise to allow
that, those tickets will have to be refunded or lost.
The third one 3) Can the event happen with a
Race Village at Cross Island to maximise the fan experience. The answer to that is absolutely no. The
request was made on Febr uary 1, 2021. And it r emains under review by National Security and Health
officials. However, SailGP realises that this is not going to happen and they are going to formally withdraw
the request. The risk is too high, and the desire to
gather in this format must be reduced. So this will be
reflected on the SailGP website shortly, Mr. Chairman, that this will not be happening. Okay?
So, the short answer, yes, the SailGP event
will still happen, but it will look totally different from what was first announced many months ago.

For the listening audience, I will just
remind them that we are in Committee of the Whole
[Senate] for further consideration of the Appropriation
Act 2021 together with the Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2021/22. And the Ministry
under consideration at the moment is the Cabinet O ffice.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Okay, like I said, I am going to
bounce all over the place here. This is, I guess again
on sports tourism. There was a question asked about
the World Triathlon series. Discussions are ongoing,
but as it stands right now, they do plan and intend to
hold it in October. They are hoping to have full events.
But right now we are on a wait -and-see, as you would
understand, Mr. Chairman, due to the current pa ndemic. If they find that the numbers must be severely
restricted in terms of attendance, they will revisit it and
let the Government know if it makes sense to actually
hold this event.
Go to where you started . . . I have those answers. You asked a lot of questions on tourism. The first question was about Tourism Plan 2025. You asked about marketing. You asked about boots on the
ground. What is the status of the tourism plan? You
asked about Black travellers. Okay, I have some answers for you there.
So, the BTA is marketing to Black travellers.
This has been part of the tourism plan since it was
launched in 2018, the National Tourism Plan of 2025.
Their goal, when it comes to these Black travellers, is
to actually double the number of Black travellers by air
by 2025. So that is the goal. We are not there yet. We
haven’t quite hit that mark. However, there is clear
evidence . . . on the evidence of the efforts that were
taken.
Again, we go back to sports tourism, answ ering a question by Senator Smith, where I think he asked what we are doing. You would know that there will be a Black golf event happening on the Island
right after the Bermuda Championship. There is an
indication that according to Golf Digest , I believe, or
another publication, that there is great interest in Afr ican-American golfers from mainly the United States,
to come to Bermuda and play on our wonderful golf
courses, especially Port Royal. I think there are some
other golf clubs that are looking to g et involved in this
event. The numbers that I heard were over 100- or-so
golfers that were looking to come, and this will actually
go right along the [Tourism] Plan of 2025.
It also kind of goes into your question about
individuals of high net worth. I actu ally asked the
question when I heard about this a few weeks ago. I
asked what type of Black golfers are we talking
about? What economic range are they in? And I was told that these would be some of them from all ranges.
Some would be from public Black golf courses in certain parts of the United States. And others would be
some high- net-worth individuals. That is also part of
the plan, to increase [visits by] high- net-worth indivi duals.
However, you would know that in 2021 the
household income of our visitor s went even higher.
We had a lot of growth . . . or we see that there should
be a lot of growth in household income over $500,000
that should be coming to Bermuda this year.
You asked about marketing. I think Senator
Jones asked about marketing. As you can understand
and appreciate with all that has happened last year with COVID -19, and I know you don’t want to talk
about COVID -19, but that is the reality that most people are facing in these current times, unfortunately. But the Bermuda Tourism Authority is adjusting their
marketing to meet a new trend of pent -up demand (as
you called it) of high- net-worth individuals wanting to
come to Bermuda. And that kind of ties into the fact that I was getting some answers from the interim CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority who is currently in
Ft. Lauderdale talking with [persons involved with]
superyachts.
You would have noticed that the Consumer
Business Bureau recently signed a MOU with the BTA
to get superyachts coming to the Island. I don’t know any friends of m ine who own superyachts, so I can
only say that I think superyachts are owned by highnet-worth individuals, Mr. Chairman. So, I would go so
far to say that the outlook for high- net-worth individuals and the new marketing trends of the BTA are doing quite well.
And just yesterday at the Hamilton Princess
Hotel and Beach Club, you would have heard that
there was an announcement of a partnership between
Ft. Lauderdale and individuals . . . I went to school in
Florida, but my knowledge of Florida geography is
lost. But in the Palm Beach area as well there is an international boat show. And they are down there now
with the interim CEO of the BTA meeting with the
superyacht audience. And the outlook is really good to
get these superyachts and people who own thes e
superyachts to Bermuda.
I know you would have seen in the daily also,
Mr. Chairman, that there was a superyacht that was
on-Island. I think it just left last week. So, we are looking pretty good in that area.
Also, you asked about pivoting marketing to
other parts of the world. Another exciting event that is
about to take place is our direct service coming from
London Heathrow. And British Airways is starting that
service. I don’t have the exact date, but very shortly. (I
am sure someone could get that for me in a moment.)
But that was not on our target list of cities in 2025. So,
I know you asked a question of how it is going; and in some instances, because we had to shift or pivot, we
are getting things that are taking place that is actually
326 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate beneficial. London was not on the target list of cities in
the 2025 National Tourism Plan when it was released.
However, it has been added this year due to this new
service from Heathrow.
Obviously, if you have flown recently London
Heathrow is a very, very, very, ver y large airport. And
this opens up the connections through Heathrow to
other parts of Europe. I know, Senator Jones, you
mentioned Asia. I know there are probably a lot of
flights that go to Asia from London. So that is som ething that the BTA has done.
So, that is the case. The BTA has no plans at
this moment for direct marketing in Asia. They have
actually reduced the marketing. You asked about
Canada. They have actually reduced the investment in Canada due to COVID -19. There is no demand for
Canada simply because there is no airlift to Canada.
You would have known that this is no fault of Bermuda
or any fault of the BTA.
You would have seen an announcement by
Mr. Trudeau that said that they suspended all services
from Canada to, I think they called it “sun destinations” and I think they included Bermuda in that as a
sun/Caribbean destination, Mr. Chairman. As a result,
the BTA pivoted again and they reduced investment in
Canada due to that.

Junior Minister, if I can just interrupt
for one second, we have roughly two minutes left to
our allotted time of 5:45. So, I would suggest that if it
is possible, respond by email to any outstanding questions to the Senators. That would be helpful.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Mr. Chairman, absolutely, I
mean, I w as just starting to get into the meat of things.
I have a very long list of responses for Senator Jones. I know he really wanted me to answer all of these. So
I will make sure that this list of responses gets to Se nator Jones. And I am done, unfortunately.
Shall I continue, or am I out of time?

No, I think we are pretty much out of
time if you want to keep on schedule.
First of all, I want to thank you very much,
Junior Minister, Owen Darrell, for your presentation on
the Cabinet Office for the last couple of hours. It is
greatly appreciated by the Senators.
With that, I would like to ask you to move this
Head forward.

Sen. Owen Darrell: No problem, Mr. Chairman.
I move that Head 9 be approved.

We are still in Committee of the
Whole [Senate] for further consideration of the Appr opriation Act 2021 together with the Estimates of Re venue and Expenditure for the financial year 2021/22.
The Ministry under consideration now is the
Ministr y of Social Development and Seniors. The
Heads up for debate are Head 86, the Ministry of S ocial Development and Seniors Headquarters. That can
be found on page B -285. And Head 23, which is the
head related to Child and Family Services, found on
page B -290.
One hour has been allocated to the debate on
these Heads. The Senator in charge is Senator Lind-say K. Simmons, Junior Minister for Home Affairs and
Social Development and Seniors.
It is now 5:46 pm, so this debate will end at
6:46 pm.
Senator Simmons , do you wish to proceed
now?

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
AND SENIORS

Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
Madam Chairman, I move the following
Heads: 86 Ministry of Social Development and Se niors Headquarters; and 23 Child and Family Services,
be now taken under consideration.
Madam Chairman, I am pleased to present
the financial year 2021/22 Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the Ministry of Social Development
and Seniors.
Madam Chairman, I will briefly discuss the
Ministry as a whole, followed by information for Head
86—the Ministry Headquarters; and then address the Department of Child and Family Services —Head 23.
Madam Chairman, only one hour has been
allocated for these Heads. You will note that this presentation of these Heads in the House of Assembly took two and a half hours in order to provide signi ficant details of the year 2021/22 Estimates of Rev enue and Expenditure. In the short time allocated to
me, it is regrettable that I will only be able to provide
brief detail s of the fiscal year 2021/22 Estimates of
Revenue and Expenditure.


Bermuda Senate Madam Chairman, the Ministry of Social D evelopment and Seniors is a new Ministry that was
created on the 9th of October 2020. The Ministry comprises the Department of Child and Family Servi ces,
Ageing and Disability Services, the K. Margaret Carter Centre, and also responsibility for the Human Rights
Commission and charities. Madam Chairman, the
mission of the Ministry of Social Development and
Seniors is to protect all individuals during their lifetime
and facilitation of their well -being.
Madam Chairman, Bermuda’s success is contingent on the well -being of our residents and their
ability to live prosperous and fulfilling lives. One may
be wondering, What is social development? Social
devel opment is about improving the well -being of ev ery individual in society so that they can reach their full
potential. The success of our society is linked to the
well-being of each and every resident. This can only
be accomplished if we uphold our collectiv e respons ibilities by investing in our people and providing oppor-tunities for residents to grow and develop their own skills to empower them to achieve their full potential
which ultimately allows them to contribute to their families and the community in a meaningful way.
Madam Chairman, as the result of Bermuda’s
economy, many of our residents have been provided with opportunities that have led them to enjoy a very comfortable lifestyle. However, as a Government and
as a community we must be honest with o urselves
and accept that this is not the reality for all of our res idents. Madam Chairman, unfortunately many of those
amongst us have not had equal access to the same
opportunities and have been marginalised and are struggling. These individuals are in need of support for
the basic necessities such as food, housing, clothing
and health care either through the government,
churches or third sector organisations.
Madam Chairman, regrettably the COVID -19
pandemic has heightened the pre- pandemic economic
challenges and has added to the number of residents
who through no fault of their own find themselves in a
very difficult financial situation. While we focus on
these financial challenges, we must also address the social consequences that fall from this and ens ure
that the community support and services are avail able.
Madam Chairman, as we all are aware, this
global challenge has had an impact on our Island.
However, throughout our history when we are faced
with challenges, we unite as a community and come
out much stronger, which is tied to Bermuda’s motto,
Quo Fata Ferunt , which means, Whither the Fates
Carry Us. With this ideology in mind and the strong
leadership of this Government, we will navigate through this and evolve into a better and stronger
communit y. We must all play our part and assist the
most vulnerable within our community.
Madam Chairman, my initial focus for the Mi nistry of Social Development and Seniors is to ensure that the social policy and services are in place to pr otect, assist, inform and empower the most vulnerable
within our community. The mission statement, pr ogrammes and budget for the Ministry are aligned with this in mind.

Ministry Priorities for 2021/22

Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: Madam Chairman, before I proceed with the specific details of the budget, I
want to inform this Honourable House of some of the
Ministry’s priorities for this upcoming financial year,
which will include the following:
A National Senior Strategy will be developed
to achieve this Government’s initiatives s et out in the
Throne Speech. The Ministry intends to invite the Legislature to consider the strategies which will have par-ticular emphasis on dementia care and a prevention
plan for senior abuse.
To fulfil another initiative set out by the Go vernment in t he Throne Speech, the Ministry of Social
Development and Seniors will seek the extension of
the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Di sabilities to Bermuda. This extension will uphold and
reaffirm the government’s commitment that all persons, irres pective of their type of disability, must enjoy
fundamental human rights and freedoms.
The Ministry will introduce legislation to r eplace the Child Placement Board with a Children’s
Commission. The commission’s remit will be to adv ocate for children in care, and to promote and uphold
best practice policies, programmes and services to meet children’s needs. The Ministry intends the Chi ldren’s Commission to provide further oversight to al-low Bermuda to meet and maintain international best practice when it re lates to our children.
Children in the Department of Child and Fam ily Services care will have the option through an inde-pendent living programme to remain in care beyond the age of 18 years old. The Department of Child and
Family Services will establish t his programme to enable those who wish to continue to receive support and
services by way of housing options, life skills assi stance, postsecondary education, career guidance and access to physical and mental health care.

Grants and Contributions

Sen. Li ndsay K. Simmons: Grants and contributions
allocated in the fiscal year of 2021/22 is in the amount
of $2,691,000, or 44 per cent of the Ministry of Social
Development and Seniors Headquarters budget. The
allocated amount will be distributed to charities and
organisations within our community that align with the
Ministry’s mission, namely, Age Concern, rest homes, the Women’s Resource Centre, (Care of the Blind)
Vision Bermuda, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation A rmy shelter, Summerhaven, the Centre Against Abuse, Packwood Rest Homes, and Tomorrow’s Voices. The
328 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Ministry intends to ensure value for money from our
partners in these charities and organisations.
During financial year 2021/22, the Ministry will
advance and implement a homeless strategy to assist
those within our community who are homeless. The strategy will allow the Government to further extend its
remit in proactively providing vulnerable individuals
and families with the assistance and services they
require to mitigate the risk of homelessness.
The Ministry of Social Development and Seniors is committed to working with the public and pr ivate stakeholders whose programmes and services encourage the advancement of upward social mobility
and opportunities for families within our communities
who have traditionally been disadvantaged. The Mi nistry of Social Development and Seniors is collaborating with the third sector by setting up working groups to ensure that policies and legislation for the not -forprofit sector is modern and reflects Bermuda’s cur rent
and future needs.
This includes ensuring that we remain in good
standing with our National Anti -Money Laundering
Committee (NAMLC) responsibilities. There will also be a working group to coordinate a more efficient and
effective delivery of service w ithin our communities.
Madam Chairman, I would like to now draw
your attention to page B -284 of the Estimates Book,
where you will note that the Social Development and
Seniors Ministry’s budget for the financial year
2021/22 is $23,733,000. I am unable to provide a
comparison with the budget for fiscal year 2020/21 for
Ministry Headquarters, as the Ministry is new. Howe ver, I am able to provide a year -over-year comparison
for the Department of Child and Family Services, which will be discussed under Head 2 3.
Madam Chairman, page B -284 shows a rev enue estimate for the Department of Child and Family
Services of $192,000 under Head 23, which is no
change from the revenue estimate over financial year
2020/21 for Head 23. Madam Chairman, page B -284
also details the current account expenditure for the
departments that make up the overall budget for the Ministry by Head, as follows:
• Head 86— Ministry Headquarters, fiscal year
2021/22, $6.084 million;
• Head 23—Child and Family Services, fiscal year 2020/21, $16.441 million, and fiscal year
2021/22 $17.649 million;
The Ministry total is $23.733 million.
Madam Chairman, the summary shows that
financial year 2021/22 estimates for Head 23 have
increased from the original estimate of $16,441,000,
to $17,649,000, an incre ase of $1,208,000, or 7 per
cent. I will discuss the reason for this increase when I
present the details for Head 23.
Madam Chairman, it is worth noting at this
point (as can be seen on page C -21) that the budget
for the Ministry includes some $4,031,000, or 17 per
cent, in grants and contributions. A number of these grants were previously budgeted and managed at other Ministry Headquarters and now fall to this Mini stry as they were within the social development purview. The grants and contributions includ e the follo wing:
• $15,000 for Age Concern;
• $1,350,000 for rest homes;
• $100,000 for the Women’s Resource Centre
to provide support services for disadvantaged
women and their families as part of their
trans formational support services programme;
• $15,000 for C are of the Blind or Vision Be rmuda;
• $48,000 for Meals on Wheels;
• $550,000 for the Salvation Army to provide
emergency shelter on North Street;
• $600,000 for Summerhaven;
• $13,000 for Tomorrow’s Voices to provide
early intervention services to children with
disorders on the autism spectrum and other
developmental disabilities;
• $890,000 for foster [care] fees;
• $375,000 for Teen Services; and
• $75,000 for cross -ministry initiatives on housing and treatment for families in crisis.
Madam Chairman, $150,000 has also been
budgeted in the Ministry’s Headquarters for a grant
allocation to the Centre [Against] Abuse.
Madam Chairman, these grants and contributions align with the Ministry’s focus to protect the most vulnerable in our community, and working in partner-ship with the third sector to ensure efficient and effective delivery of services to this community.

HEAD 86 —MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
AND SENIORS HEADQUARTERS

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam Chairman, the current account expenditure for Head 86—the Ministr y of
Social Development and Seniors Headquarters will now be presented and can be found on pages B -285
through B -289 of the Estimates Book. Madam Chai rman, the Ministry Headquarters embraces the Mini stry’s overall mission to provide for the protection of a ll
individuals during their lifetime and facilitation of well -
being with the following Ministry Headquarters objec-tives:
• develop and implement policies to facilitate
access, social cohesion, growth and development, individual responsibility, a better
quality of life, greater inclusiveness and diversity, and civic engagement in the community;
• ensure that the provision of social develo pment services are effective, valuable and ou tcome -driven;
• protect and enhance the rights of children,
adults, seniors, disad vantaged and vulnerable
persons;


Bermuda Senate • build safe and healthy families and communities; and
• work collaboratively with the third sector to
enable effective delivery of social develo pment services to the community.
Madam Chairman, the financial year 2021/22
estimate of expenditure and revenue for Head 86 —
Ministry of Social Development and Seniors Headquarters can be found on page B -286 of the Estimates
Book. The Ministry Headquarters is responsible for
the budget of five business units:
• 96000— Administration;
• 9604 0—Ageing and Disability Services;
• 96050— K. Margaret Carter Centre;
• 96060— Policy Development;
• 96070—Grants to the Third Sector.
Madam Chairman, page B -286 shows that the
total budget allocation for the Ministry Headquarters
for fiscal year 2021/22 is $6,08 4,000 split between the
following business units: Administration, $612,000;
Ageing and Disability Services, $1.013 million; K.
Margaret Carter Centre, $1.751 million; Policy Development, $17,000; and Grants to the Third Sector,
$2.691 million. Madam Chairm an, as previously stated
in my presentation, as a new Ministry we cannot do a comparison of the budget for financial year 2020/21.
Madam Chairman, the budget of $612,000 for
business unit 96000 —Administration relates to the
Ministry Headquarters. Madam Chairman, the budget allocation includes $300,000 for litigation guardians and counsel appointed by the court under the Children
Act of 1998 to represent children. Madam Chairman,
as mentioned earlier, $150,000 from this business unit
by way of a grant alloc ation will be provided to the
Centre Against Abuse. Madam Chairman, the balance
of funds are for the operational costs of the Ministry Headquarters.
Madam Chairman, in order to provide context
for some of the budgetary figures shown in the subjec-tive anal ysis of current account estimates for Ministry
Headquarters on page B -286, I will describe the funding allocation and associated activity connected with business unit 96040— Ageing and Disability Services,
and 96050—the K. Margaret Carter Centre.

96040— Ageing and Disability Services

Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: Madam Chairman, bus iness unit 96040 —Ageing and Disability Services has
a budget estimate of $1,013,000. This unit was prev iously under the Ministry of Health and for financial
year 2020/21 had an origin al budget estimate of
$1,020,000. The reduction of $7,000 relates to the
temporary reduction in salaries. Madam Chairman,
the mission of Ageing and Disability Services (ADS) is
to support and protect seniors and persons with dis abilities at risk of abuse or self -neglect via compliance
programme delivery, education and stakeholder collaboration. Madam Chairman, the Office of Ageing and
Disability Services, located in the Continental Building, 25 Church Street, Hamilton, provide a range of services to addres s the needs of seniors and persons
with disabilities. The following services provided by
ADS focus on public education and awareness; accessibility and case management, namely:
• Senior abuse reporting and investigation, which involves the investigation of all forms of
senior abuse including physical, sexual and
psychological abuse; financial exploitation;
and physical and psychological neglect that is
reported to ADS either by calling 292- 7802 or
by emailing a completed ADS referral and r eporting form to AD S at www.gov.bm
. ADS a lso keeps a Senior Abuse Register that is
maintained by the Registrar.
• Case management offers assistance with care
needs assessment, coordinating care and
identifying access with services. Additional i nformation on case management will be pr ovided shortly in my presentation.
• Accessibility consultation provides advice to
developers on accessibility requirements and
best practices.
• Long- term care resources provide seniors and
persons with disabilities information about
community and government resources.
• Education and Training develop and impl ement public education and awareness events
to enhance the community’s understanding of
services, actions and issues pertaining to persons with disabilities and ageing.
• Events lists community events geared toward
seniors and persons with disabilities.
• Policy and Programme Development supports
the planning, development and coordination of
policies and programmes for seniors and persons with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Madam Chairman, education and awareness
are essential components to ADS’s mission. Key
achievements and work completed during the financial year 2020/21 include the following:
• The ADS accessibility officers completed over 23 assessments, consultations for compl iance, but also for consultation and advice to promote accessible design to the community,
this fell significantly below ADS’s target owing to the COVID -19 restrictions.
• ADS celebrated International Day for Persons
with Disabilities on December the 3
rd, 2020, in
collaboration with other service providers.
• Owing to COVID -19 restrictions, WindReach
offered a free virtual common- ground conference with a theme entitled Amplify ing Co mmunity Voices, in which ADS, the Accessibility
Officer and the Minister of the Ministry of S ocial Development and Seniors participated as
panellists.
330 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate • ADS offered a virtual lunchtime workshop
called Access for All: Universal Design: Bat hroom Accessib ility International Day on D ecember the 2nd, 2020;
• ADS provided five information sessions on its programme and services to stakeholder
groups, which included the Bermuda Police
Service, the Bermuda Bankers Association,
local banks and Therapeutic Consulting Se rvices.
As stated earlier in my presentation, this year
ADS will participate in the community awareness and
education campaign entitled Dementia Care in Bermuda, in addition to continuing education on preventing abuse.
Madam Chairman, I would like t o thank the
staff at ADS for their dedication and commitment to
our seniors and persons with disabilities during an
unprecedented year which gave rise to very challenging circumstances.

K. Margaret Carter Centre

Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: Madam Chairman, t he
K. Margaret Carter Centre, also known as KMCC,
manages enrichment and training programmes for
persons over 18 years old with cognitive developmental and physical disabilities within the community.
These programme services are provided by KMCC during the weekdays. KMCC has a budget allocation
of $1,751,000, which funds 17 staff in delivering direct
client and support services to 50 service users partic ipating in six different programmes.
Madam Chairman, this unit was previously
under the Ministry of Heal th and for financial year
2020/21 had an original budget estimate of
$1,859,000. The reduction of $108,000 relates to the
defunding of two posts and a temporary reduction in
salaries.
Madam Chairman, the KMCC managers enrichment and training programme for persons over the
age of 18 years old with cognitive developmental and physical disabilities will be further elaborated on in my
presentation.
Madam Chairman, these programmes have
been affected by the global pandemic and the
measures that the country put in place as a result of
the first local COVID -19 cases, which led to the cl osure of KMCC to ensure the safety of staff and clients alike.
Whilst the facility was closed, staff members
were redeployed to assist in other areas within go vernment. Since the public bus service was not operating, KMCC’s bus drivers assisted with transporting
long-term care staff to and from work. Also, other staff
members assisted with contact tracing, home care
support and with setting up and breaking down
COVID -19 pop- up vacc ine sites. Madam Chairman, prior to the K. Margaret
Carter Centre reopening in September 2020, a signif icant amount of time and effort was spent in updating
the facility’s safety and health policies to align with the
Health Ministry’s COVID -19 prevention protocols and
guidance. This included air quality improvement in the
facilities, purchasing safety equipment and supplies,
vehicle fleet refurbishment for improved cleaning and
disinfection, and staff training in updated safety and
health protocol, CPR, personal protection equipment
(PPE) and environmental health (COVID -19 prevention) with a focus on environmental cleaning and
COVID -19 testing for clients.
Madam Chairman, since the reopening of the
facilities in September 2020, overall KMCC has [i mproved] its infection prevention and control measures,
especially in the environmental areas, which has contributed to ultimately keeping the clients and staff safe
during this next stage of COVID -19.
Madam Chairman, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank Aeolus Capital Management, one
of KMCC’s community partners for the equipment they
donated to KMCC’s sickroom. The sickroom provides
a comfortable area for clients to be isolated if they
become unwell during the course of the day prior to
their pickup.
Madam Chairman, prior to KMCC’s reopening, the implementation of new routines and practices
was introduced to mitigate the risk factors of transmi tting COVID -19. Factoring in the room sizes and client
numbers at the facility along with the need to remain
compliant with COVID -19 guidelines, KMCC has been
forced to operate at half its normal capacity. These factors have also impacted the vocational programme, which has had its participation numbers reduced.
Madam Chairman, to place this within more
context, 3 0 per cent of all of KMCC’s clients currently
continue to attend onsite and participate in work -
based projects. However, clients remain in their bub-bles, which prevent their engaging in community -
based work. Some of the work contracts that the cl ients have been involved in prior to the pandemic, unfortunately have not been continued in order to remain compliant with COVID -19 regulations. Further, 10 per
cent of the clients continue to produce crafts that members of the community are able to purchase.
Madam Chairman, the Eco- Schools pr ogramme of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Inst itute (BUEI) has remained a viable programme with classes shifting from in- person sessions to remote
sessions via Zoom and staff support. Also clients r emain actively involved w ith Keep Bermuda Beautiful
(KBB) by collating kits for items, clean- up and beaut ification ventures. I am pleased to advise that KMCC
was awarded KBB’s 2020 Presidential Award for the
role that their clients have played in supporting the organisation.
Madam Chairman, at this time I would like to
take this opportunity to congratulate the clients of


Bermuda Senate KMCC, who continue to make a difference in our
community through partnering with KBB to keep our
Island clean.

Senator Simmons, may I just interrupt
for a quick minute? I just want to give you a time
check. You have about 29 minutes left. And you h aven’t gotten to the second Head yet. I know you only
had an hour allocated to you, but I just want you to be
aware of how the time is going.

Sen. Lindsa y K. Simmons: Yes, I will try to speed
up. Thank you.

Thank you.

Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: Also, I would like to express my appreciation to all of the staff members at
KMCC who provide a safe, caring and loving env ironment. Thank you.
Madam Chairman, business unit 96060 r elates to Policy Development for the Ministry Head-quarters and has a budget of $17,000 for office supplies. I spoke earlier of the policy matters under development, including the national senior strategy and
the homelessness strategy.
Madam Chairman, business unit 96070 is
grants to the third sector. And I spoke earlier about how the $2,691,000 would be distributed to charities
and organisations within our community which align
with the Ministry’s mission, namely, Age Concer n, rest
homes, the Women’s Resource Centre, Vision Bermuda (or Care of the Blind) , Meals on Wheels, Salv ation Army shelter, Summerhaven, the Centre Against
Abuse, Packwood Rest Home and Tomorrow’s Voi ces. As stated, the Ministry intends to ensure value for
money from our partners in these charities and organisations.
Madam Chairman, whilst it is not possible to
do a year -over-year comparison for the new Ministry
in a subjective analysis of current account estimates
as shown on page B -286, I will speak briefly to the
amounts for financial year 2021/22.
Madam Chairman, salaries and wages totals
some at $2,154,000 and relate to the salaries and
wages for the 26 full -time employees. Training of
$5,000 is for local training including report writing and
conducti ng investigations. Travel of $32,000 includes
funds for both local travel and overseas travel to
check on complex -case clients who are in overseas
facilities. Communications of $48,000, includes phones, courier and postal costs. Advertising and promotion of $26,000 is for the brochures, pamphlets,
advertising and the like to promote the services of
ADS and KMCC. Professional services of $735,000
includes funds for litigation guardians, litigation cou nsel, the Centre of Seniors Abuse and consulting services. Repair and maintenance of $114,000 includes
funds for maintenance of vehicles, equipment, as well
as professional cleaning services at KMCC and other
offices. Insurance of $113,000 is for clients at the K.
Margaret Carter Centre who do not have the basic
health care insurance providing them with HIP which
is particularly required during their vacation off -site
programme. Energy of $56,000 is for the facility’s energy costs. Materials and supplies of $95,000 include
office supplies, books, vocational suppl ies and food.
Grants and contributions were addressed earlier in my
presentation.
Madam Chairman, on page B -287 you will
note that employee numbers related to two pr ogrammes within the Ministry of Social Development
and Seniors Headquarters. The full -time equivalent
positions remain unchanged at nine for business unit
96040— Ageing and Disability Services, and 17 for
business unit 96050— K. Margaret Carter Centre,
which is a decrease of 19 FTEs. This decrease was
due to two funded unfilled posts for a janit or and a bus
attendant.
KMCC utilizes the services of a cleaning
company which provides some cleaning services
throughout the day, as well as at the end of the day,
while deep cleaning services are provided on a weekly basis. Also the services that the bus attendant would have provided are now covered by a full -time
KMCC staff member.
Madam Chairman, this concludes my remarks
on Head 86.

Thank you, Senator Simmons
And now you may progress to Head 23, Child
and Family Services

HEAD 23 —DEPARTMENT OF CHILD AND
FAMILY SERVICES

Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
Madam Chairman, I now wish to present fiscal
year 2021/22 estimates of expenditure for Head 23—
the Department of Child and Family Services, which is
found on pages B -290 through B -293 of the Estimates
Book.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Child
and Family Services (DCFS) mission is protecting
children by strengthening families. The objectives of
the department are to
• minimise and eliminate those social, psychologica l and other conditions known to cause or
contribute to physical and emotional illness
and sometimes social -economic problems;
• promote growth and directional change in
people and their social situation;
• assist in facilitating or improving social support for those in our population who are at
risk;
332 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate • provide treatment or curative services to address dysfunction and thereby assist people
to function better in society;
• restore individuals to a healthy condition or
useful capacity.
The department car ries out its objectives by
providing investigative services, day care services,
care and protection services for children; residential
and home- based services for families; assessment,
intervention and counselling services for children,
adolescents and families.
Madam Chairman, the current account est imates for Head 23 begin on page B -291 of the Est imates Book. A total of $17,649,000 has been allocated for Head 23 for the fiscal year 2021/22. This repr esents an increase of $1,208,000, or a 7 per cent i ncrease over the original budget for 2020/21. Madam
Chairman, the Department of Child and Family Ser-vices continues to focus on developing an integrated
service that allows children, adolescents and families
to receive services that are appropriate and coord inated and meet the challenges they face. These challenges can include, but are not limited to, uninvolved
parenting, social and life skills, housing, employment, budget, abuse of substances, antisocial behaviour,
cognitive deficits, education, mental health conditions
and anger management.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Child
and Family Services is responsible for promoting and
protecting the best interests and social well -being of
children, adolescents, adults and families in order to
meet these responsibilities. T he Department of Child
and Family Services operates four programmes:
• 2301 —Services to Children and Young Persons;
• 2302 —Services to Individuals and Families;
• 2303 —Residential Treatment Services; and
• 2304 —Administration.
Madam Chairman, in the fiscal year 2020/21
the Department of Child and Family Services conti nued with its efforts of providing a seamless continuum
of services to children and families throughout the pandemic. The Department of Child and Family Ser-vices did this by redeploying resources to m eet
chang ing programme and client needs. [The year]
2020 was a very challenging year for this Island and the world.
Madam Chairman, in the interest of time, I will
now briefly address each programme and business
unit for the department as set out on page B-291.
Madam Chairman, the Happy Valley Child
Care Centre is business unit 33010 and has an est imate for fiscal year 2021/22 of $1,030,000. The output
measures for Happy Valley Child Care Centre are
found at page B -294 of the Estimates Book. Madam
Chairm an, the budget allocation represents an i ncrease of $2,000 from the fiscal year 2020/21, a minor
increase. Madam Chairman, Happy Valley Child Care
Centre is the only government -operated child care facility on the Island which provides high- quality child
care for a maximum of 40 children whose ages range
from three months to four years of age.
Priority is given to children referred by helping
agencies such as the Department of Child and Family Services, Teen Services, the Department of Health,
the Child Dev elopment Programme and the Depar tment of Financial Assistance. These agencies, along
with families experiencing various challenges, account
for 60 per cent of the centre’s intake.
Madam Chairman, the estimates of revenue
for fiscal year 2020/21 school year was [$192,000]. It is important to note that the actual cost per child is
approximately $525 per month. So that subsidy is also
built into the fees, which are considered less than pr ivate child care facilities. Despite the low costs to par-ents, Happy Val ley Child Care Centre is a first -class
facility that is specifically designed to meet the comprehensive needs of young children and provide an
extensive curriculum of high academic standards with
trained teachers who are continuously involved in pr ofessional growth and development. The centre offers
enrichment programmes that encourage family i nvolvement and build upon child development.
Madam Chairman, comprehensive services
offered at the Happy Valley Child Care Centre include
music and movement, creativ e arts, literacy, writing,
science, math, technology, community service, field
trips, strider bike riding, gardening, tennis and swim
classes, along with other curriculum activities that are
designed to assist in the overall development of the
children att ending the centre. A full nutritional pr ogramme monitored and approved by the Department
of Health Public Health Nutritionist includes a morning
snack, lunch and afternoon snack. The centre also
has, as needed, an intervention programme that i ncludes mandatory parenting classes.
Madam Chairman, I will now speak to Pr ogramme 2302—Services to Individuals and Families,
found on page B -291.
Madam Chairman, the activities covered in
programme 2302 are the following business units:
• 33020—Investigating and Screening (formerly
known as Family Services);
• 33030—Foster Care; and
• 33200—Counselling and Life Skills (formerly
known as Bermuda Youth Counselling Services).
Madam Chairman, t he estimate for these
business units for the fiscal year 2021/22 is $6,082,000. Thi s represents an increase of $665,000,
or 12 per cent, compared to the fiscal year 2020/21
budget allocation.
Investigating and screening business unit
33020, $2,238,000. Madam Chairman, the Intake,
Assessment and Investigation Section of the Depar tment of Child and Family Services is responsible for
providing a unified response and comprehensive
safeguarding services to the children of Bermuda. The


Bermuda Senate budget estimate for business unit 33020 for the fiscal
year 2021/22 is $2,238,000. This represents an i ncreas e of $476,000, or 27 per cent, over the original
budget for fiscal year 2020/21. This increase is related
to a realignment of staff within the organisational structure.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Child
and Family Services provide services and support for children and families in our community who have been
impacted by all forms of abuse, neglect and exploit ation. Also, the department is committed to partnering
with stakeholders to promote safe and healthy families
while protecting children from abus e, neglect and exploitation. This is achieved through investigations, assessments and referrals to counselling services and support organisations.
Madam Chairman, the Foster Care Section of
the Department of Child and Family Services is r esponsible for providing alternative living arrangements
for children under the age of 18 years old who are in
need of out -of-home placement. The budget estimate
for business unit 33030 for fiscal year 2021/22 is
$2,634,000. This represents an increase of $104,000,
or 4 per cent over the original budget of fiscal year
2020/21. This increase is related to an increase in
therapeutic foster fees.
Madam Chairman, foster care, or out -of-home
care, is used for children when a safety assessment decision results in a placement to ensure a child’s
safety. Foster care provides a safe, supportive and
therapeutic environment for a child while working t owards either family reunification or an alternative permanent option. Foster care may be provided during a child abuse investigation, as sessment or ongoing i ntervention phase of child protection.
Madam Chairman, the Foster Care Pr ogramme has three classifications of private home placements:
1. Traditional foster care placement. These
foster care [parents] are generic and have no biolog ical connection to the child. In fiscal year 2020/21
there were 30 traditional foster care placements. 2. Kinship foster care placement. These foster
parents are related to the child, and they have a si gnificant bond and connection to the child. Twenty -
seven kinship foster care placements were in place
during the fiscal year 2020/21.
3. Therapeutic foster care placement. These
foster parents have an advanced level of either ed ucation or employment and skill set, and are equipped
to foster children with eit her physiological impairment
and/or emotional challenges. Madam Chairman, when a child is placed in
foster care, the Department of Child and Family Services will work with the child, their parents, foster parents and several professionals from partnering agencies that are providing services to the child or children
and their parents. It is important that the following occur: • Foster children must be supported in key
transitions such as the original placement,
changes in placement, changes in schools
and t hen leaving foster care.
• Foster children must have ongoing care and
protection while having their developmental
needs met.
• Foster children will not be subjected to phys ical discipline, physical restraint or chemical
restraint.
• Foster children must be as sisted with gaining
skills and an overall sense of well -being that
will allow them to realise their potential for positively participating in and contributing to the wider community.
Counselling and Skill Sets, business unit
33200, $1 million—

Senator Simmons may I just interrupt
again? So sorry , I just want you to know that there are
10 minutes left. And I am not sure if you want to
pause and allow for some questions, or if you just
want to use the 10 minutes up giving the rest of your
brief and inviting people to submit questions.

Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: Hang on one second.
Madam Chairman, I think I will be doing the
Ministry of Social Development and Seniors just in
brief, if I pause––I think it is important that I continue to read and any questions that need to be asked can
be sent to me.

Okay. So, you have 10 minutes left
and you are going to continue with the brief.
Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: Correct. I was only allotted an hour, sorry.
Counselling and Skill Sets, busi ness unit
33200, $1,210,000.
Madam Chairman, the purpose of the Cou nselling and Life Skills (CLS) unit within the Department
of Child and Family Services is to advance and pr omote the emotional well -being of youths up to 18
years of age and their families. The budget estimate
for business unit 33200 for fiscal year 2021/22 is $1,210,000. This represents an increase of $85,000,
or 8 per cent, over the original budget for fiscal year
2020/21. This reflects an increase in consulting ser-vices that will allow th e director to uphold his mandated responsibilities under the new child safeguarding
legislation. It is also reflected under this business unit.
Madam Chairman, CLS offers services that
strengthen the knowledge, skills, cognitive experiences and support sy stems of individuals and families to
make healthy lifestyle choices. Individual and family
issues include but are not limited to family and rel ationship dynamics, co- parenting, grief and loss, communication, trauma and adolescent substance use.
334 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam Chai rman, CLS provides individual,
family and group counselling. Due to the COVID -19
pandemic, there were no substance abuse [pr ogrammes] conducted for the year 2020. The CLS
team did, however, continue to provide counselling support for children and their fam ilies, using various
telehealth methods such as Cisco, Webex, Zoom,
WhatsApp and email. In order to best serve the needs
of the clients CLS counsellors work collaboratively
with clients to complete specific assessments or
screening tools to measure progres s and service
planning that is geared towards project goals and development. Despite interruptions to services by the
COVID -19 pandemic, the team completed 17 assessments for the year 2020.
Madam Chairman, CLS continues to align
services and practices wi th other teams within the
Department of Child and Family Services in order to
maintain a client focus that promotes wellness for
families and their children. In addition, CLS continues
to collaborate with external stakeholders by providing
a holistic approach that incorporates the whole family
and their support system. Referrals are received from
external entities such as the Department of Education.
Child and Adolescent Services, and the public are
screened into the investigation/screening section, and
a decision is determined in conjunction with the SDM tool, which intervention is required to determine the
needs of the individual child and their families so that
they can be applied for services. There is a mem orandum of understanding between the Ministry of E ducation and the Department of Child and Family Ser-vices that all substance- related incidents that occur in
schools are referred to the department for either a
substance abuse assessment, substance education or
both.
Madam Chairman, I will now speak to Programme 2303—Residential Treatment Services found on page B -291.
Madam Chairman, the activity covered in pr ogramme 2303 is Residential Treatment Services.
These services include Family Preservation; the
Brangman Home; the Development Centre; Observ atory College, also referred to as the Oleander Cottage;
Psycho -Educational Programme; and the Youth Res idential Treatment for financial year 2021/22. This pr ogramme has a budget allocation of $7,643,000. This
represents an increase of $648,000, or 9 per cent,
from the financial year 2020/21 budget allocation.
Family preservation business unit 33060,
$1,545,000. The budget estimate for business unit
33060 is $1,545,000. This represents a decrease of $640,000, or 29 per cent of the overall original budget
for fiscal year 2020/21. This decrease is related to a
realignment of staff within the organisational structure.
Madam Chairman, DCFS Family Preservation
Team operates under a sound case management and
assessment model which comprehensively assesses
a family o r child’s needs and develops service plans made for families, child and stakeholders to maximise
intervention and positive outcomes for the families.
The team is responsible for providing ongoing interventions to monitor and ensure the safety of children
at risk of abuse or neglect, assist families to improve
family functioning, increase child well -being, reduce
the need for placement in out -of-home care, and to
enable children in out -of-home care to return safely to
their families. I draw your attention to the reference to
out-of-home care which refers to children in foster
care, residential treatment services and Psycho- Ed
services.
Madam Chairman, the ultimate goal is to r educe or eliminate the circumstances in the family that have been or are causing ab use or risk of abuse
(emotional and/or physical) to the child and to mai ntain the child in their home environment. The Family Preservation Team receives referrals from the department’s intake team and from DCFS out of Home
Services (Foster Care, Psycho- Ed or RTS).
Madam Chairman, I will now speak to Brangman business unit 33070, $1,166,000; Youth Deve lopment Care, business unit 33080, $242,000; Observatory Cottage, referred to as Oleander Cottage,
business unit 33090, $1,159,000
Madam Chairman, the financi al year 2021/22
budget allocation for business unit 33070, Brangman
Home is $1,166,000. This is an increase of $202,000, or 21 per cent, which represents the corrected budget
shortfall in financial year 2020/21.
Madam Chairman, business unit 33080,
Youth Development Centre’s allocated budget for f inancial 2021/22 is $242,000. This is a reduction of
$8,000, or 3 per cent, in comparison to the budget
allocation of fiscal year 2020/21. This reduction r eflects a 10 per cent reduction in salaries for the first
three months of the financial year.
Madam Chairman, the Observatory Cottage
that comes under business unit 33090, has an all ocated budget of $1,159,000, which is an increase of $239,000, or 26 per cent, in comparison to financial
year 2020/21. This increase is related to the realignment of staff within the Department of Child and Fam ily Services organisational structure.
Madam Chairman, the residential treatment
services provides (RTS) provides group living intervention services to children between the ages of 12
and 18 years. These are adolescents who are
deemed to be at risk in the community and require
care and protection in a safe and structured reside ntial environment. All children placed in this service
have had their situation and circumstances cons idered by the Family Court where it has been deemed
appropriate for them to be placed on a Care Order
and, as such, become the responsibility of the Director
of Child and Family Services.
Madam Chairman, the RTS programme pr ovides 24- hour, 365- days -a-year services. The young
ladies are located at the Brangman Home while the


Bermuda Senate young men receive services at Oleander Cottage. The
Youth Development Centre is utilised to provide oneto-one and special management of residents based
on their needs as indicated by ongoing evaluation, and they are placed in care of the director as a result of criminal behaviours.
Madam Chairman, the inclusion of family is a
key component to the service provision, when this is not possible alternate community -based relationships
and r esources are utilised to develop an appropriate
community -based—
My timer went off.

I am sorry that you were not able to
get through the full brief. I am also concerned that
there has not been an opportunity to ask and answer
questions. But, if you are willing, is it okay for Sen ators to submit questions to you in writing?
Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: I do not have a problem
with that, Madam Chairman.

Back to you Madam President.

Senate resumed at 7:05 pm

[Sen the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright, President, pr esiding]

ORDERS OF THE DAY

The President: Yes thank you, both Senator Si mmons and Senator Wight. Thank you very muc h for
chairing the Committee. And thank you all Senators
for your participation.
We will now continue with the Orders of the
Day, and the second item is the second reading of the
Motor Car (Driver’s Licence Renewal) Amendment Act
2021, and that is in the name of Senator C. P. Ric hardson, the Junior Minister of Transport.
Senator Richardson, you have the floor.

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

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

BILL

SECOND READING

MOTOR CAR (DRIVER’S LICENCE RENEWAL)
AMENDMENT ACT 2021

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I can provide a table of contents.

The President: Yes.

336 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Curtis Richardson: Part 1 will be the legislation,
Part 2 will be the Ministerial briefing, Part 2(a) will be a
general overview, and Part 2(b) will be introduction
and purpose. Part 3 would have sub(a) and will probably not be read.
Part 1, the legislation: Motor Car (Driver’s Licence Renewal) Amendment Act 2021.

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this?
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, if you
would give me one moment.
The President: Oh.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: One second, sorry.
[Pause]
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President —

The President: Yes, Senator Richardson. Do you
have your brief?

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Yes, I do.
The President: Yes, you have the floor, so you can
proceed when you are ready.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, the purpose of this Bill
is to amend the Motor Car Act 1951 to
increase the freque ncy of submission of certificates of
physical fitness and to raise the age at which a further
practical driving examination is required to renew a
driver’s licence.
Introduction and purpose: Madam President,
the purpose of the Bill I present to this Honourable
[Senate] today is to provide new legislative provisions
for the renewal of Bermuda driver’s licences, in part
as follows: A certificate of physical fitness will now be
required for every licence renewal, and the mandatory
practical driving examination will now be moved from 65 to 70 years of age.
Madam President, currently the holder of a
Bermuda [driver’s] licence is required to undergo a practical driving or riding examination to renew their
driver’s licence at 65 and 70 years of age, and after
the age of 75, a driving test every two years is mandatory in order to renew a driver’s licence.
Madam President, section 86 of the Motor Car
Act 1951 specifies the duration and renewal of a dri ver’s licence. In short, licences are to be renewed ev ery 10 yea rs after issue without the production of a
medical certificate of physical fitness. This set of conditions proved problematic, because it meant that an
individual who acquired their Bermuda use licence at
16 years of age is not compelled to produce another
medical certificate until the age of 65 years. This Bill includes the provision that a medical certificate of
physical fitness must be produced every 10 years
when renewing one’s licence.
Madam President, given improvements in
Bermuda’s populations’ life expectancy, the Ministry
took the view that it was both appropriate and timely
to amend the provisions relating to renewing of dri ver’s licences. Not only are people living longer, they
are also working longer.
Between 2010 and 2018 life expectancy
moved from 82.3 years to 85.1 years for women, and
76.9 years to 77.5 years for men. Adjusting the age
for licence renewals creates the benefit of delaying
unnecessary driving and riding examinations. Also,
eliminating driving and riding tests for 65- year-olds
makes more appointments available to other custo mers, thus lessening the waiting time for exams and enhancing the level of service offered by the
Transport Control Department.
Madam President, for clarity, we will now have
to produce a medical certificate and take a practical
driving examination every time we renew our licence
up to 70 years of age, instead of at 65 years of age.
Notwithstanding this, the discounts seniors receive for
their car licensing fee at age 65 will not be affected by
these amendments.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Would any 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: I thank t he Junior Minister for
bringing this Bill before us.
If I could just get some clarification, in princ iple we would support this particular amendment to the
Motor Car Act of 1951. But, I would appreciate if the
Junior Minister could give us an indication of what m otivated the Government to make it mandatory for a
physical fitness confirmation from one’s doctor every
time it is renewed, every 10 years. Is it because there has been an increase in the number of accidents because of someone who may have poor ph ysical fi tness, i.e., poor eyesight, diminishing motor skills?
This is a major change that would make one
think that something must have triggered the Gov-ernment to make it mandatory for this. So, if the Junior Minister can give us some indication as to w hy every
10 years we need a physical fitness [exam], And also,
just in the interest of myself and the public getting
some clarity on this, what physical deficiencies would
cause a person looking to renew their driver’s licence
be deemed unqualified?
An ob vious one, of course, is vision. But what
other deficiencies in one’s physical fitness exam


Bermuda Senate would render a person unqualified to get a driver’s
licence renewed?
Those are two questions, if the Junior Minister
can give some clarity on those, I would apprec iate it.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Jones,
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Simmons.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I support these amendments. I am happy to
see that t he age for requiring a further driving exam
has been raised to 70 because I think many people at
the age of 65 are still very, very sharp. And taking it
up to 70 is an acknowledgement of this But for the
sake of the listening public, I just wanted to be abs olutely clear about what happens after the age of 70
with regard to licence renewals. Will it still be every two years? Is there any change there? Just seeking
clarity so that everyone fully understands what we are
doing here today.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No? Then Senator Richardson, it’s back to
you to respond to the questions.
Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, sorry, I
couldn’t get my mic rophone on. I wish to speak on the
Bill.
I actually support this Bill, Madam President.
As a taxi owner and operator for almost 20
years now, this requirement of a physical fitness exam
is something that I am actually used to because a taxi
licence has t o be renewed every three years. I actually think it is very beneficial that anyone on the roads is
actually required to have their physical fitness checked. Unfortunately, in our society there are some
that do not go to the doctor, even in a 10- year period.
So I do not think it is unrealistic for the Government
and the Minister to bring forth this legislation so that it
makes our roads even safer.
Unfortunately, I was listening . . . I don’t know
where it was the other day, but the onset of dementia
is, un fortunately, happening at a younger age. Also, if
you have been following the health trends in Berm uda, the onset of diabetes is coming at an earlier stage.
Unfortunately one of the side effects with diabetes is
loss of eyesight, or early onset of blindnes s, I guess
you can say.
So, I actually support this as something that
anybody who has been in public service vehicle l icensing, be it taxi, whether it be a community vehicle, is something that they are accustomed to doing every
three years. Rather than jus t going down to the
Transport Control Department and getting an updated
picture, this is actually a step, I think, in the right direction for making everyone safe.
I also know that people unfortunately have i njuries, whether it be bike accidents or otherwi se,
where they might not be suitable to be on the roads. And to think that we can give them a licence at the
age of 18 and not check their health status until they
are 65 is actually, once you think of it, really scary. So I think this is a step in the right direction.
I want to applaud the Minister of Transport for
bringing this forward and I think it is just bringing our road users up to the time. Thank you, Madam Pres ident.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
Would any other Senator care to spe ak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then it is over to you Senator
Richardson.
An Hon. Senator: Madam President, Senator Tucker
had a question.

The President: I beg your pardon, sorry.
Oh, sorry Senator Tucker, I did not see you.
You have the floor.

[No audio]

The President: Senator Tucker, I am not hearing you.
You’re muted.
[No audio]

The President: Senator Tucker.
[No audio]

The President: We are not hearing you.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Sorry, sorry. I did not realise I
was still muted. Thank you, very much.
I can say that I am in agreement with the
changes that are being made, however, with the question that Senator Jones asked, and certainly with the
added information that Senator Darrell was able to
add, [this] has sort of piqued my interest even mor e
so.
I just wanted to know from the Junior Minister
whether the reasons that Senator Darrell gave are
contributors to the reasons why Government has decided to do this amendment at this particular time. So,
if he can provide some clarity around that, that would
be wonderful, just out of interest. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
338 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No? Then Senator Richardson, you have a
couple of questions to respond to.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. I will answer the questions in reverse order.
The answer to Senator Tucker’s question is,
yes. Senator Simmons, the question that you
asked as far as testing ages after, the next test after
[age] 70 is at [age] 75, then every two years after that.
Unfortunately I am not able to provide what I
believe will be a sufficient answer for Senator Jones.
His question seemed to be related to what a medical
professional would be able to state with regard to someone’s ability and their heal th status whether they
can pass that physical fitness test, their eyesight, any arthritic conditions they may have.
I cannot answer that question. If the medical
practitioner sees fit that they can have a licence, then they get the certificate.
So, as far as age is concerned, we all age di fferently. Someone at 60 or 65, and then someone at 70 or 75, certainly is individual to each person. So I
cannot say anything further than that. Thank you.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, can I give a
point of clar ity to my question, that may help the Honourable [Junior] Minister?

The President: Senator Richardson, will you accept a
point of clarification?

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Yes, I welcome that.

POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam Pr esident.
We all know that there is an actual medical
form that is submitted either at the time you are 65 or
at the time you originally got your driver’s licence. We,
as Senators around the table right now, do not have
that particular form at our disposal, which could poss ibly give us the answer. So that is why I was asking
specifically for some of the things that will come out in
that form. I understand that the Junior Minister may not have that, but I also wanted to point you to the
question that I was asking so that it would be a little bit
clearer.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
With that, then, Senator Richardson, you do
your second reading.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Do you want me to reply to
Senator Jones?
The President: Oh, I beg your pardon. By all means,
do so.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
The form that would be the TCD Medical
Form that we get, the person applying for the licence
would fill that out, present that to their doctor and the
doctor will in turn make a decision if it is ready to be
signed for approval for licence.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
With that said, and the questions being a nswered, you can do your second reading and move
the Bill.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended at this time 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

MOTOR CAR (DRIVER’S LICENCE RENEWAL)
AMENDMENT ACT 2021
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I move that this Bill entitled
the Motor Car (Driver’s Licence Renewal) Amendment
Act 2021 be now read a third t ime.

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

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that this Bill do now pass.
The President: Is there any objection to the passage
of the Bill?
There is no objection, the Bil l has passed.
Thank you, Senator Richardson, and all Sen ators.
[Motion carried: Motor Car (Driver’s Licence Renewal)
Amendment Act 2021 read a third time and passed.]
The President: We now move on to the next item that
we will consider, and that is the Motor Car and Auxili aBermuda Senate ry Bicycles (Validation and Amendment) Act 2021.
That is also in the name of Senator Richardson.
You have the floor.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled Motor Car and
Auxiliary Bicycles (Validation and Amendment) Act
2021 be now read a second time.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection, carry on, Senator Richardson.

BILL

SECOND READING

MOTOR CAR AND AUXILIARY BICYCLES
(VALIDATION AND AMENDMENT) ACT 2021

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, the purpose of this statement today is to introduce a Bill designed to retroactively address a provision offered by the Transport Control Department which allowed the
relicensing of privately owned vehicles without the
required roadworthiness examination.
Madam President, the COVID -19 pandemic
caused the world to make adjustments which altered the way we normally conduct business. All gover nment offices, including the TCD, closed their doors on
or about March 18, 2020.
Unfortunately, the closure left many vehicles
unable to be examined prior to relicensing. These v ehicles included those owned by persons whose birt hdays fel l during the closure, and motorcycles and auxiliary bicycles that expired at the end of March and April.
Madam President, section 54(1) of the Motor
Car Act 1951 states, “a motor car licence shall not be issued in respect of a motor car unless the motor c ar,
at a date within such period as shall be prescribed
before the date on which the licence is to come into force, has been examined by an examiner or inspec-tor and has been certified by the examiner or inspector to be fit for the purpose for which it is to be l icensed.”
A similarly worded provision is contained in
section 18(1) of the Auxiliary Bicycles Act 1954.
Madam President, although TCD was closed,
the online licensing facility was still in operation. Ho wever, registered owners could only relicens e their v ehicles online if their vehicles were either exempt from
the examination or had already been examined prior
to the closure on March 18
th. Madam President, in an
effort to find a solution, TCD’s management team contacted the Bermuda Police Service. Following discu ssions, it was agreed by both parties that it would be in
the motoring public’s best interests to refrain from i s-suing tickets for using an unlicensed vehicle until the TCD reopened.
To complete the search for a solution, further
discussio ns were held with the four major motor i nsurers. Each company was asked if they could honour
insurance policies in the event of a claim due to a collision which occurred during TCD’s closure.
Unfortunately, one insurance provider chose
not to cooperate and adopted the position that it must
adhere rigidly to section 8 of the Motor Car Insurance
(Third -Party Risks) Act 1943. In short, this legislation
states that an insurance policy is only activated after
the insured vehicle is licensed.
The refusal created a major problem for this
company’s insureds and left the matter unresolved. Madam President, therefore, another solution had to
be quickly found because clients of this insurer were now vulnerable.
Also, although the focus was finding protection for these private vehicle owners, an additional
problem was that the expiration date for the over
3,000 heavy trucks is March 31
st of every year. Madam President, to address the former issue, the dec ision was taken to re- programme the TCD’s computer
system to tem porarily allow vehicles to be relicensed
online for a period of three months only without being examined.
This adjustment addressed the concerns of
the one holdout insurance company and provided pr otection to hundreds of motorists operating unlicensed
privately -owned vehicles. Notwithstanding, allowing
vehicles to be licensed without being examined was
still in contravention of the aforementioned Act.
Madam President, TCD can only legally pr ovide this service to the motoring public, licensing vehi-cles wit hout the mandatory examination, if the two
Acts are amended to allow for the abbreviated licensing process as the Minister deems necessary.
Madam President, this Bill affords the Minister
of Transport the authority during a national emergency
by Order pub lished in the Gazette to defer the exam ination of privately owned vehicles —for example, pr ivate motor cars, motorcycles and auxiliary bicycles —
and allow each category to be licensed for a period
specified in the Order.
The Minister will also be authorised to extend
the period if necessary and appoint the period within
which privately owned vehicles shall be examined.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson, for
your brief.
Does any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?

Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam President.
The President: Senator Jones, you have the floor.

340 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Marcus Jones: We support this Bill. I would like
to call these types of amendments a “common sense
amendment.” We know that there were some things
that were out of our control. In this case the pandemic.
So, having to pass legislation that can look
back retroactively is one of those necessary remedies to a situation that unfolded. I would suggest to you,
Madam President, that there may be other situations
within government when it comes to time- sensitive
permits and licences in other departments where the Government may have to sort of extend the capacity to make allowances for these situations.
So, Madam President, there is no objection.
We support this p articular piece of legislation.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Simmons, you have the floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I too would like to say that I fully s upport this
Bill. Having been caught up in the retroactivity, it is important that Government should make an allowance
for national emergencies. So, as Senator Jones said,
yes, it is common sense legislation, and I fully support this. Thank you.

The Pres ident: Thank you, Senator Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then it is over to you Senator
Richardson.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended at this time 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

MOTOR CAR AND AUXILIARY BICYCLES
(VALIDATION AND AMENDMENT) ACT 20 21

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled Motor Car and Auxiliary Bicycles
(Validation and Amendment) Act 2021 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection?
Sen. Cur tis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that this Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill now
pass. Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection, the Bill has passed.
Thank you, Senator Richardson.

[Motion carri ed: Motor Car and Auxiliary Bicycles (Validation and Amendment) Act 2021 was read a third
time and passed.]
The President: We will now move on to item 4, which
is consideration of draft Regulations entitled, Marine
and Ports Authority (Port Dues) Amendment Regul ations 2021, Governor’s recommendation signified.
That is also in the name of Senator Richardson, the Junior Minister of Transport.
You have the floor when you’re ready, sir.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that the Senate do now t ake under consideration Marine and Ports Authority (Port Dues) Amendment
Regulations 2021.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection, carry on Senator Richardson.

DRAFT REGULATIONS

MARINE AND PORTS AUTHORITY (PORT DUES)
AMENDME NT REGULATIONS 2021
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I am
pleased to introduce
the Marine and Ports Authority
(Port Dues) Amendment Regulations 2021 . The pas sing of the regulations will result in a 5 per cent i ncrease in the fee charged for ships up to 100 metres
in length, an increase from $588.00 to $617.00. While
ships over 100 metres in length will now be charged
$14.33 per metre, port dues payable in respect of any
vessel shall not be less than $400.00. This is up from
$375.00. The increases will take effect on 1 April
2021.
Such port dues are historically collected to
help fund port infrastructure and repair work that al-lows us to safely berth sh ips alongside in port. Infr astructure items of note include the physical dock structure, fenders and mooring bollards for ships’ lines, as
well as security measures, such as fencing, lighting,
and security screening equipment required under i nternational s ecurity rules similar to an airport.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.


Bermuda Senate Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam President.

The President: Senator Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: This piece of legislation is administrative in nature, increasing of fees. Understanding that with the cost of the upkeep of the facilities
here in Marine and Ports it is necessary, we support it.
Thank you, Madam President.

The Presiden t: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this?
No, then Senator Richardson, it is over to you.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that the said draft regulations 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
Draft Regulations entitled the Marine and Ports A uthority (Port Dues) Amendment Regulations 2021,
proposed to be made by the Minister responsible for
Marine and Port Services, under the provisions of section 76 of the Marine Board Act 1962 has the honour
to inform Your Excellency that the Senate has a pproved the said Draft Regulations.”

The President: Is there any objection to the message
being sent?
Thank you, Senator Richardson, there is no
objection. A suitable message will be sent.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.

[Motion carried: the Marine and Ports Authority (Port
Dues) Amendment Regulations 2021 were approved.]

The President: We will now move on to item 5, which
is consideration of the Draft Regulations entitled Marine Board (Seaborne Services) [Amendment] Regul ations 2021, Governor’s recommendation signified.
This is also in Senator Richardson’s name.
You have the floor.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Senate do now undertake
consideration of Draft Regulations entitled [Marine Board (Seaborne Services) Amendment Regulations
2021].
The President: Is there any objections?
No objection.
DRAFT REGULATIONS

MARINE BOARD (SEABORNE SERVICES)
AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2021

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I am
pleased to introduce the Marine Board (Seaborne
Services) Amendment Regulations 2021 .
Madam President, the regulations make pr ovision to revoke the Marine Board (Seaborne Services) Amendment Regulations 2013, and replace the
Schedule to the principal regulations.
Madam Pres ident, the passage of the Regul ations allows for the itemised billing of vessel services provided to international seaborne commerce and the
local maritime marine community. The Schedule of charges covers services provided by government
tugs, workboats and tenders in support of port oper ations. While ferries are also occasionally chartered on an hourly rate, all such charges have been incremented by 5 per cent.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: We have no objection to this
piece of legislation. We support it. Thank you.
The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Hearing none, Senator Richardson, it is back
to you.

Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that the said draft regulations be approved and that
the following suitable message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor:
“May it please Your Excellency:
“The Senate, having had under consider ation
Draft Regulations entitled the Marine Board (Sea-borne Services) Regulations 2021, proposed to be
made by the Minister responsible for Marine and Port
Services, under the provisions of section 97 of the
Marine Board Act 1962 has the honour to inform Y our
Excellency that the Senate has approved the said
Draft Regulations.”
The President: Is there any objections to the message being sent?
Thank you, Senator Richardson, there is no
objection. A suitable message will be sent.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
[Motion carried: the Marine Board (Seaborne Services) Regulations 2021 were approved.]
342 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate The President: The last item that we are going to do
this evening is consideration of the Draft Regulations
entitled the Marine Board ( Pilotage Dues ) Amendment
Regulations 2021. That is also in the name of Senator Richardson, Junior Minister of Transport.
You have the floor.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Senate do now undertake
c
onsideration of Draft Regulations entitled Marine
Board (Pilotage Dues) Amendment Regulations 2021.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection.
DRAFT REGULATIONS
MARINE BOARD (PILOTAGE DUES)
AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2021
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I am
pleased to introduce the Marine Board (Pilotage
Dues) Amendment Regulations 2021 .
Madam President, the passage of the Marine
Board (Pilotage Dues) Amendment Regulations 2021 will see an increase of 5 per cent levied on current
pilot services that are paid by ships based upon their draught when arriving in, or departing from our seaports, effective 1 April 2021.
Madam President, the Regulations make pr ovision to amend regulation 5 of the principal Regul ations to change the fuel surcharge from $10.00 per
movement to $10.50 per movement. It also makes provision to revoke and replace the Schedule of dues
payable per metre of a vessel’s draught per port of
destination or departure.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam President.
The President: Yes, Senator Jones, you have the
floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: This revokes the former and
commences the new regulations necessary for April 1
st. We do agree and support this. Thank you,

Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak? Hearing none, Senator Richardson, it is back
to you.
Sen. Curtis Richardson: Madam President, I move
that the said draft regulations be approved and that the following suitable message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor:
“May it please Your Excellency:
“The Senate, having had under c onsideration
Draft Regulations entitled Marine Board (Pilotage
Dues) Amendment Regulations 2021, proposed to be
made by the Minister responsible for Marine and Port
Services, under the provisions of section 103 of the Marine Board Act 1962 has the honour to inform Your Excellency that the Senate has approved the said Draft Regulations.”
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. A suitable message will be sent
to the Governor.
Thank you very much, Senator Richardson,
and all Senat ors.
[
Motion carried: the Marine Board (Pilotage Dues)
Regulations 2021 were approved.]
The President: This concludes the Bills that we will
undertake this evening, so we will move down the items on our agenda.
MOTIONS
The President: there are none.
CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator Robin Tucker, you have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
Unfortunately yesterday while we were in session we had quite a bit of technical difficulties, so I was unable to chime in when everybody else was ex-pressing condolences. So I really would like to take
just a few minutes today because I would like to join
with Senate colleagues who extended condolences to the family of the late Dr. Christopher —
The President: So you want to associate yourself?
Sen. Robin Tucker: —[ INAUDIBLE] family .
The President: Yes.
Sen. Robin Tucker: As well as to Heather Jacobs
Matthews. I have known Heather and her family for well over 30 years. One of the things that I want to say from a personal perspective is that Heather, which I am sure everybody who knew her would say the same thing, was a very humble woman, and a woman of integrity. I personally feel as though it was really truly
a privilege to have known her.


Bermuda Senate So, I wanted today to extend and to join with
everyone else who extended condolences to those
two families. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Senator Tucker, I would like to let you
know that you are associating your comments to the
others that have been given for Dr. Christopher, but
you are expressing Heather Jacobs Matthews on your
own right. So this is the first comment on Mrs. Matthews.
So, would any other Senator care to express
condolences?

Thank you, Madam
President.
I certainly would like to associate myself with
the condolences mentioned by Senator Robin Tucker.
Heather Jacobs [Matthews] was an excellent civil
servant. She is going to be desperately missed. The
Jacobs family is certainly known to me. My heart was
saddened to hear of her passing. I am certainly pra ying for her family. And we are certainly grateful for the
contributions that she has made to the Bermuda Government through her work as Auditor General.

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

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I too would like to be associated with the co ndolences to be sent to the family of Heather Jacobs
Matthews. I could not speak on this yesterday b ecause it would have been just a wee bit too much.
I have known Heather from primary school.
She had always been somebody who was dedicated to whatever she did, always wanted to do it well. She
is remembered by her school friends as hardworking
and that is through Central School, through Berkeley,
through the Sixth Form Centre and on to Dalhousie
University. She carried that attitude of dedication from school days right through her professional life, and
right up to the end as an accountant in the private
sector, certainly as a wonderful public servant.
She served as Accountant General, Tax
Commissioner twice, Assistant Auditor, Deputy Auditor, and eventually became Bermuda’s first Black f emale Auditor General. She was devoted to her family, but she was also devoted to serving her community.
And her community was all of Bermuda. She was not afraid to speak the truth. We share in her family’s loss.
I personally am very grateful to have known her as a
friend. This is a huge loss for t he Jacobs and Matthews families, for her daughter Suella, her son D amien, her siblings, Gregory, Michael, Sharon, Debra -
Lyn (known to us as Pebbles), and certainly Bermuda as a whole has lost a wonderful, wonderful public
servant.
Actually, as we speak, her funeral was held
today.
The President: Yes.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: And I am sure there will be
links to that online. I could not go another day without
recognising Heather Jacob Matthews, public servant
extraordinaire. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
these condolences?
If not, I would just like myself to add my condolences also and to join in the sentiments that have
been expressed. I am a bit overwrought because as
was said her funeral was today, and my husband and
I would have liked to have gone. She lived right on the
drive and I had seen her quite a bit throughout this last few months that she was alive. So I join you in
your sentiments and I agree with you, she reached the
pinnacle of her profession and she really has left a
legacy for her family and for Bermuda in what she did.
So thank you all very much for your sentiments. With that, we move on to the adjournment.
Minister Peets, over to you.

ADJOURN MENT

Yes, thank you,
Madam President.
I certainly want to thank our Chairmen today,
Senator Wight and Senator Simmons. I also want to
thank our Clerk of the Senate for his diligence and
hard work. I know this is a very busy part. I think we
are half -way through, or there about. I know it is
many, many hours, and I want to certainly thank ev eryone for their patience.
Having said that, Madam President, I move
that we adjourn until Monday, March 29, 2021, to fi nish the rest of the work that we have to get done.

The President: Thank you.
Does any Senator care to speak on the m otion to adjourn?
Hearing none, then Senators, I too want to
thank you for the hard work you have put in today. It
has been a long day, [following] a [long] day yesterday. We are energised now. Hopefully you will rest up
and we will return on Monday to complete the bus iness. So thank you all very much. Get some rest; stay
safe.
The Senate is adjourned. Thank you.

[At 7:50 pm, the Senate stood adjour ned until
10:00 am Monday, 29 March 2021.]
344 25 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate



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