March 24, 2021

Okay.
Also, Madam President, I am aware of the
12:30 mark so I [ could take us to ] lunch .

The President: Yes, indeed. And that was my next
question, if she does not come back in another minute
then we will break for lunch. It would give her time . . .
we will break for lunch until two o’clock.
But while we are giving her that opp ortunity to
see if she can fix her microphone, I just wanted to i n228 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate dicate to all Senators that Senator Lindsay Simmons
did receive and submit a response to the questions
that were raised by Senator Robin Tucker. And I do
believe that all Senators did receiv e, as I have, the
responses to the three questions that were posed by
Senator Robin Tucker. So can someone affirm that?
Senator Tucker, you have received them?

[No audible response]

The President: Good.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President, thank
you.
[Crosstalk]

The President: Senators, I believe what we will do is
we will break for lunch as it is 12:30, and we will come
back at two o’clock and hopefully that will give Sen ator Simmons an opportunity to wind up her present ation.
So Senate is now adjourned for lunch until
2:00 pm. Thank you, Senators.

Proceedings suspended at 12:30 pm

Proceedings resumed at 2:03 pm
[Sen. the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright, President, pr esiding]

GENERAL ECONOMIC DEBATE
BASED ON GOVERNMENT’S 2020/21
BUDGET STATEME NT
[Continuation thereof]
The President: Good afternoon, Senators, and the
listening public .
The Senate is now back in session and co ntinuing with the debate on the 2021/22 Estimates of
Revenue and Expenditure and the Appropriation Act.
Prior to lunch Senator Michelle Simmons,
Vice President, was presenting and did experience
some technical problems which have now been sorted
out because she has changed her site.
So we will now allow her to, give her the o pportunity, to complete her presentation.
Sena tor Simmons, it is over to you.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. I apologise to everyone for the technical issues.
Hopefully a technician is coming to resolve those at
my previous site next week. But for now I am happy to be here and I am happy that you can hear me again.
Madam President, I believe that I was just
talking about how Government can increase its rev e-nue and operate more efficiently when we were cut
off. And I only have a few more remarks to make. I
was referring to the accounts receivable. I believe that
much of what I said there had gone across.
I was suggesting that an update needs to be
given to the public about the work that had to be done in the Office of the Tax Commissioner with regard to,
first of all, additional st aff was hired. And the purpose
for hiring those additional persons was to see a more
efficient collection of government taxes which have
been outstanding for many years. And it adds up to
millions of dollars.
Madam President, in this same thought, I had
wondered about the efficiency under which gover nment is operating. We all know how technology has had a huge impact on how we just live our everyday lives right now, but within the ranks of government
departments, everyone has acknowledged that tec hnology c ould play a huge role in improving efficiency.
I realise that government has to spend pr udently at this time but I would urge them to move forward when funds become available to create that centralised IT structure that was talked about a couple of
years ago so that there can be communication across
government departments instead of each government
department having its own individual IT system which
does not enable one department to efficiency com-municate with another. That is a real negative, in my
opini on, with regard to the operations of government.
Efficiencies can be realised if there is a government -
wide IT system.
Madam President, I am going to conclude my
remarks by saying that Government has an obligation to the country to ensure that the best i nterests of the
people they serve is their main consideration. I believe that Government is acting in the best interest of the
people. And I would just urge them not to grow weary
[but] to press on, looking at innovative ideas, looking
at efficiencies with in government, looking at how they
can make life better for the average person.
And, obviously, government finances play a
big role in whatever plans Government is putting for-ward. Therefore, I once again want to commend the
Minister of Finance. I think t hat right now nobody else
would want his job because he has inherited a num-ber of circumstances which will challenge him. But I believe he is up to the challenge; I know he is up to
the challenge! I would just encourage them to press
on—especially the Mini ster of Finance, and wherever
he can see his way clear to improving the situation
that we are living through, for the good of the comm unity as a whole, to do so.
Thank you, Madam President. And once
again, I apologise for the interruption.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons. We are pleased that you were able to resolve
the issue. And we thank you for that.


Bermuda Senate I would just like to . . . before I ask someone
else to participate, I failed to thank Senator Lindsay
Simmons for obtaining the answ ers to the questions
that she had to obtain for Senator Robin Tucker. So I would just like to extend those thanks and appreci ation on behalf of the entire Senate body.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time?
Senator Robin Tucker, you have th e floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
Good afternoon everyone.

The President: Good afternoon.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Good afternoon, Madam Pres ident, Senate colleagues and listening audience.
It is a privilege to participate in today’s ec onomic debate to discuss how the people’s money is being spent. G overnment, no matter which group has
that honour, must be held to account by the people
who entrust them with the responsibility to act on their
behalf.
Madam President, COVID -19 has rocked the
world. Where many places have had devastating i mpacts associated with coronavirus, to date Bermuda
by comparison to some countries, has fared very well. We have sourced our personal protective equipment
where in some cases globally it was in short su pply;
procured specialised testing equipment and obtained
vaccines. The Government, Opposition colleagues,
Dr. Weldon and her staff, and all persons on the frontline, and everyone in health and non- health positions
working in the background and in the trenches, Thank
you for all that you have done and continue to do to
lead us through the pandemic.
I would also like to thank the members of the
public who have complied with all of the requirements
put in place to keep us all safe recognising that we are
all very tired, but by working together we absolutely
will get through this. While the coronavirus has had
our full attention a little over a year, and as challenging as the effects of COVID -19 have become, we
press on because without or with COVID -19 payroll
must be met, revenue must be earned, services must be funded and delivered, and the Island’s debts must be repaid.
Madam President, while COVID -19 kept many
of us sheltering in place, [this and the] quarantines and remote working compounded some unhealth y
behaviours which over time will add to our health care burdens. According to a BermudaFirst 2019 report,
Bermuda is one of the least [healthy] populations in
the world, with unacceptable levels of chronic, pr eventable disease resulting in overburdening f inancial
impacts. This observation is unsurprising given our
largely sedentary lifestyles, our affinity for Netflix (of
which I love) and devices, and our reliance on and affordability of high fat, sweet and salty convenience foods.
The 2021/22 Budget ack nowledges that there
is work to be done to assist Bermuda’s obese and
overweight children. But they are the consequences of not getting a handle on obesity early in life. I was di sappointed that I did not see much in the budget that
addresses this issue for our adults and especially our
children. Why is addressing obesity so important? A ccording to a Bermuda Health Council report, Berm uda’s [number of] overweight and obese adolescents is considerably higher than the OECD average.
The report states that obe se youth are more
likely to develop type 2 diabetes and offer risk factors
for cardiovascular diseases such as high cholesterol
or high blood pressure. Some of these varied diseases are the things that are driving up our current health costs. Children and adolescents who are obese are at
a greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep a pnoea, social and psychological problems such as stigmatisation and poor self -esteem.
Obese youth are more likely than youth of
normal weight to become overweight or obese adults,
and therefore, are more at risk for associated adult
health problems including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis.
Physical inactivity and unhealthy eating contribute to obesity. And so with this I w onder if enough money
and resources is being spent to proactively address
these issues.
Madam President, this budget refers to the
schools having a nutrition policy to promote healthy
eating. But given the dangers of [being overweight] if
we are not aggressive about confronting obesity in our
children, the roadmap is clear that an even greater
health care burden then what we currently face awaits
us in the years to come. As a country we must give
Bermuda’s future, our children, more focus on i ncreas ing the promotion of health and nutrition educ ation, collaborate with grocers to reduce the price of healthy foods, fruits and vegetables, as this will help
parents provide healthier options so that they can
make better food choices for their children, and of
course for themselves.
While I recognise that funds are limited, Madam President, this should not diminish the care that we give to our adults and future generations. It was
wonderful to see that monies have been made avail able for seniors and rests homes, Summerhaven, Age
Concern and others that will receive some funding
and necessary upgrades. The next step, Madam President, there was not much mentioned for persons
with mental health challenges.
It is also great to know that funding has been
allocated for a [much- needed] capital project at Bermuda Mid- Atlantic Wellness Institute. Bermuda has a
growing population of people with one and or more mental health issues. Some such persons are living
on the streets being released from prisons to return to
230 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate the very trigger environments that keep them trapped
in a vicious cycle of mental illness, drugs and prison in
the very first place. There are also some fully functio ning persons who play a key role in Bermuda’s econo-my with mental illness that are vital and in need of mental health support, but cannot get access to all of
the help that is needed.
Magistrate Juan Wolffe spoke on the subject
urging, and I quote, Madam President, if it is okay with
you? “[I . . . urge] those who make decisions and all ocate funding t o place, as their priority, persons who
are in dire need of help,” (adding that it was) “aston-ishing that in Bermuda . . . one cannot find adequate
funding to treat our most vulnerable citizens.”
With the number of persons battling mental
illness every da y, are there sufficient funds allocated
to providing ample services for such critical need?
The Pew Research Center reported that one year into
the societal convulsions caused by the coronavirus
pandemic, about one- fifth of US adults, or 21 per cent,
are experiencing high levels of psychological distress.
Given the uncertainty and difficulties associated with
managing day -to-day with COVID -19, stressors and
anxiety may reveal new and pre- existing mental
health issues. Consequently, Bermuda should make great er investments in mental health care now to get
ahead of and mitigate future negative impacts on the
country which will be seen long after COVID -19 has
ended.
Madam President, it is imperative that we take
a holistic look at mental health in Bermuda, its drivers
and linkages to improve access to services for people who need it most. Madam President, Bermuda has had companies set up and wind down during and before the pandemic. We all know that we have a shrinking population and ageing workforce. It is good that
the Government has invested substantial funds into
the initiatives for retraining and retooling Bermudians
to prepare our work persons and persons needing to
prepare themselves to transition to new roles and o pportunities.
Follow -up with employers after placement is
vital to ensure that people who have undergone trai ning meet requirements and that data collected to ensure return on investment and efficacy of the pr ogrammes is needed to help support the mammoth
task of getting Bermudians back to work. A major part
of the success of the Workforce Development pr ogramme and financial investment will rest equally on the shoulders of individual participants. I take this opportunity to wish everyone taking part in the pr ogramme much success with their traini ng and job
searches and also congratulate the Department of
Workforce Development for undertaking this huge
task.
Madam President, the Bermuda Job Board,
which, as I understand was initially designed to sup-port immigration and employer purposes, has proven
to be a useful tool. However, to help get maximum value for money, the Bermuda Job Board needs u pgrades. Examples are: enabling data collection for
employers; features that require persons to upload a
résumé and references to allow employers to communicat e with job seekers directly via the Job Board;
[and] adapt more tracking and managing applications.
Despite what some believe, most employers
prefer to hire Bermudians but are often challenged when receiving applications via the Job Board because many pers ons do not have working telephone
numbers or résumés attached to applications, or have
incomplete Job Board applications. And commonly
people invited for interviews accept meetings but do
not turn up. This is a huge administrative and financial
burden for employers. If we want to improve hiring
rates for out -of-work Bermudians via the Job Board,
we must overcome these basic issues.
The Department of Workforce Development
must ensure that the funds allocated are spent wisely,
which I am sure they will. Part of that responsibility,
though, is ensuring that while job seekers are getting
trained learning new skills and earning certificates at basic technology, that specific issues are addressed
to encourage employers to hire Bermudians and that
Bermudians will not only secure employment but r etain it for the long term. Which is obviously very i mportant for our economic success as well.
It is wonderful that investments are being
made in ageing and disability services at the K. Margaret Carter Centre to support our seniors and other
vulnerable persons. It is, however, necessary to ensure that staffing levels at these facilities are at opt imum levels to ensure that there are no negative i mpacts on the delivery of services. The mission of the Department of Child and F amily Services [DCFS] is
protecting children by strengthening families. The staff
of DCFS must be commended for the jobs that they
do in caring for our children, especially when parents
and relatives are unable or unwilling to do so. It can-not be an easy j ob. What is happening to our children
is another symptom of the darkness dwelling in the
crevices of our society that is not often talked about
but must come out from the shadows in order for us to
heal as a country.
Last year in another place it was reported that
in 2019 DCFS received referrals for the following types of abuse: a staggering 408 reports of neglect;
sexual abuse, 211; physical abuse, 161; and other
referral categories were revealed.
Madam President, these statistics are extremely disturbing and we should expect improv ements. But, again, with the negative impact of COVID -
19 additional reports of neglect and other types of
abuses of even men, women, and children of all ages
sadly is likely. We must be proactive and anticipate
negative trends to try to get ahead and mitigate negative consequences of an action or lack of urgency.
Just as worrisome is the $696,000 increase in
funding which has been allocated to sending children


Bermuda Senate to overseas facilities. Madam President, how is the
effectiveness of the overseas treatments and pr ogrammes assessed? What are the success rates?
How many of the children return to their families after
treatment and remain with their families? How many children are sent back to overseas facilities?
As much money has been r eportedly paid to
overseas facilities over the years, why haven’t we i nvested in a specialised therapeutic facility in Bermuda
which could meet the needs of the children requiring
the treatment they received overseas? Additional ser-vices need to be provided to also help parents who
sometimes have their own issues to manage their
children, or tools to give them what they need to manage parental relationships when the child returns home from overseas. Put another way, can more be
done to break this cycle?
The department’s mission, as I stated, is to
protect children by strengthening families. One may
think it reasonable to invest in addressing the root
causes of the issues responsible for seeing our chi ldren sent to overseas facilities for assessment and
treatment. It is not my intention to make the situation
seem as if there is a simple fix. Far from it! But we
must consider that if we always do what we have a lways done, we will always get what we have always
gotten. Our children, families, and communities de-serve much better.
In closing, Madam President, I would like to
end on a positive note. I was happy to see that a transitional living facility is in the budget for children ageing out of the foster care system at 18 years old.
While some support services may be available to the
residents, it will be money well spent to also offer
emotional and social support such as a resident parent, available to the facility’s new residents to help
guide them through as they learn to traverse the road
to independence out on their own. While not all 18year-olds are ready for the transition to adulthood, I
look forward to hearing more about the positive i mpacts that this very important financial and social i nvestment will make in the lives of children who so desperately need the extended support.
Madam President, while it cannot be argued
that it is important to be fiscally responsible, we must balance the impacts of the pandemic [is having] on the supporting services and facilities needed for our
people. There are some [ INAUDIBLE] investments
leaving our country in debt, and in the midst of a pandemic [these] should be put higher on the list of fina ncial priorities.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time?

Thank you so much,
Madam President.
I would imagine it really goes without saying
that this pandemic that we have been dealing with this
past year has certainly created an interesting problem
as it relates for policymakers at all levels of gover nment. As such, you know, Madam President, I would
imagine that the exercise for which we are gathering here today does take on special meaning.
Last year, of course, many of us were not
here in this Chamber. We were certainly busy doing
whatever we were doing as we were receiving the
news about potentially going into a lockdown. For those Senators who were busy in the Senate last
year, we certainly owe you a debt of gratitude for the
work in which you all completed.
I can say this afternoon, particularly as we are
heading into a conversation about department heads,
that there is no real crystal ball. As such, no one can really accurately predict the future. But what we can
do, Madam President, is do our due diligence. And I
would like to assure this Chamber that the Minister of
Finance and his team have done their due diligence in producing this budget. I have confidence in the hours
that we have later today that the Junior Minister’s
presentation on the brief of Finance will be self -
explanatory.
Madam President, I am still overwhelmed by
the depth and the breadth of this crisis that we are facing. There is hardly an aspect of our social env ironment, our econom ic system that has not been
shackled or in some way halted by the present crisis. I
know there are lots of frustrations out there in the
community at the moment but I do want to encourage
us as Senators, as well as our listening audience, that
there is hop e.
Having said that, Madam President, our Go vernment has reacted in ways that require the coordination of all levels of government. I am certainly proud
of the Department of Health, for example, National
Security, Education, Finance and Sport. But to be
honest, Madam President, every department had to
act coherently as well as quite quickly as the circumstances around COVID -19 shifted and changed.
So this afternoon, Madam President, it is my
opinion, at least humbly anyway, that the Cabinet r esponded wi th good leadership in designing and i mplementing policies that in some cases had never,
ever been implemented by any previous Administr ation before. I believe that today, Madam President,
232 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate and I certainly want to do my level best to illustrate
this to our f ellow Senators as well as those who are
listening today, that the Government in my opinion
has the right mix of social responsibility as well as fi scal responsibility. This COVID -19 pandemic has had a
severe impact globally in ways that I would imagine that are unprecedented.
As such, I can assure our fellow Senators that
the Government remains focused on steering our economy and our country on a path of recovery. Most
of us are aware, of course, that we have enacted pol icies, that we have diverted resourc es to help those
who have been affected due to job losses and other
COVID -19-related losses for many of the families in
our community that are still struggling.
I would be remiss, Madam President, if I did
not mention this afternoon that the social transm ission
of COVID -19 in our community in my opinion remains
our greatest financial threat. It is really important that as a Government and as a people we do everything
that we possibly can to suppress the spread of the virus. If community transmission continues to occur,
this will only delay and perhaps hamper any progress
we have made so far. So I am certainly encouraging
all Bermudians . . . I know it is frustrating, but we have
to adhere to the guidelines that our health professionals have instituted in or der to keep us safe and help
our economy recover safely as well as quickly.
Madam President, as we will see in the brief
that we will discuss a little later on, the Government is
concerned about our GDP. We are concerned about
unemployment. We are concerned about how COVID -
19 measures affect our commercial as well as our r etail businesses, typically around closures. Thus the policies that I believe are implemented by the Go vernment are designed to tackle the virus as it relates
to its outbreak while also addressing spending, debt
management, as well as focusing on growing the
economy —which is a tall task for any budget and any
fiscal plan.
Madam President, the Minister of Finance and
his team and the entire Cabinet are addressing our
country’s finances in t he budget in a manner that I
think takes it very seriously but they are also handling
the material and the decisions in a very responsible
manner.
Madam President, there are a couple of things
about the brief I can at least speak about in general,
and I w ill allow the Junior Minister to have time to
speak specifically. But I think, Madam President, it would be important for the listening audience to know
that the Government’s plan does provide flexibility while also maintaining accountability. This economi c
plan has clear guardrails for spending. This plan
builds, in my opinion, on internal resilience as well as
any future changes that, of course, may come down the landscape. And they are also focused, Madam
President, on growing the economy. Madam President, I certainly appreciate all of
the comments, critiques, and questions that we have
received today. I can certainly assure you and the rest
of the Senators that we are taking notes. We certainly
jotted down these ideas that we have heard today. We are cer tainly looking forward, Madam President, to
spending as much time as we are allotted in discus sing the most important matters as it relates to the country’s business, particularly around the budget and
the financial plan going forward.
Thank you, Madam Pr esident.

The President: Thank you, Minister Peets. Your
comments are greatly appreciated.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time?

Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I would.

The President: Yes, certainly.
Senator Owen Darrell, you have the floor.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, first of all, I would like to
applaud the Minister of Finance who sits in another
place, the Honourable Curtis L. Dickinson. I would
also like to applaud my Senate colleague, Jun ior Mi nister of Finance, Senator Arianna Hodgson, for her
presentation earlier this morning. I would also like to
take this time, Madam President, to congratulate and
thank the entire staff at the Minister of Finance for the
work that they have put in to get this budget to the place that it is, especially around the situation that
Bermuda, as well as the rest of the world, finds itself
in.
Madam President, it would be remiss of me
not to point out one major factual point before I get to
the focus of my pr esentation today. I must emphasise
that the normal operating expenses for the gover nment for this fiscal year are $55.6 million lower than the original budget of $935.6 million. The Minister of
Finance recognises the importance of managing the
public purse and, had it not been for COVID -19 and
the COVID -19-related expenses, Madam President, I
would say that he managed to lower the governm ent
expenditure by 5.9 per cent , which brings me today,
Madam President, to the focus of my presentation.
Madam Preside nt, one of the things that I like
to do in my social time is play cards. For those who
may be wondering, my card games of choice are
Blackjack and an all -time universal and family favourite, yes, Spades. One of favourite Spades partner,
Madam President, is my dentist. She grew up in the
southern United States and has a really good ability to
know exactly how to play the cards that are dealt —
good, bad, and indifferent. I have never heard her complain, frown, or throw in her hand. She gives a
slight smile, as if to say, Partner, we got this. I am so
happy, Madam President, that the party I represent,


Bermuda Senate the Progressive Labour Party, has a Minister of F inance who knows how to play the cards that he has
been dealt. And Madam President, I would say that he
plays the m well.
Madam President, some of these cards are
not the ones that we would have ordinarily picked if given the opportunity. Such non- desirable cards have
shown themselves in the form of events that some
Opposition Senators like to fall short on remember ing.
So, let me remind them. One, a worldwide global pan-demic where we have chosen to put the people first and provide economic relief. This Minister and this
Government were faced with a huge debt to the tune
of $100 million from the America’s Cup debacle.
Madam President, this Government was left
with a huge debt from a horrible Morgan’s Point deal
which has cost the Government over $200 million.
How could we forget $20 million of Government money to Aecon, a foreign company, based on another
bad deal put in place by the One Bermuda Alliance? You know, people know it as that airport deal, which
at least one Senator is still celebrating with his famous
red pom -poms.
Another bad card that we were dealt, Madam
President, was severe unemployment which was i nherited in 2017, and an education infrastructure that
was crumbling all around us —all following a horrific
period of governance by the One Bermuda Alliance.
In recent times, Madam President, we have
heard the Opposition make a lot of hoopla about the
$11 million loan to the employees of the Southampton
Princess. Remember, this Government made that
loan so that people can live. Yet, we have yet to hear a word from them now that the entire $11 million has
been repaid. Madam President, that is how you play
cards.
As my former principal and boss, Senator
Simmons, rightly pointed out earlier, this Government, this Minister of Finance chose the people when putting together this budget. Again, if I can use her
words, under extraordinary circumstances we decided
to start rebuilding Bermuda with Bermudians at heart.
While the Minister humbly asked the unions of
this country for an olive branch in assisting him to play
some difficult cards, Madam President, they trusted
him. Last month, the president of the BPSU, [Berm uda Public Service Union] was quoted as saying that
the Budget strikes “ an appropriate balance. ” The
BPSU president also commended the Government.
The BPSU president went on to say that “It is very
encouraging . . . .” He also said that the Minister of
Finance has taken a “ pragmatic approach. ”
The daily headline, if I may, Madam Pres ident?

The President: Yes, you certainly may.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you. The daily headline summed up the BSPU’s
comments with a headline that said, “ BPSU gives
Budget top marks .” Again, Madam President, the Mi nister of Finance has ably played the cards that he was
dealt.
Madam President, I would like to pivot to
some further remarks that I heard earlier in the general economic debate. I heard [some] Senator use terms such as, they are supportive of economic diversification. I have heard that some Senators want bold
initiatives. Some Senators want to see a further i ncrease in government revenues. Some Senators have
talked about new industries, taking risks, and reenergising the economy. Madam President, I legitimately
find myself confused. Because just three weeks ago
my colleagues, the PLP Senators, pleaded with this
Honourable Chamber to pass a Bill that clearly would have brought some of these aforementioned economic activities and opportunities to Bermuda. But it was
not to be, much to the disappointment of Bermudians
from all walks of life.
Madam President, again, I applaud the PLP
Government for attempting to be bold. You cannot question on the one hand the Government keeping
the airport open, while at the same time pointing out
the economic damage that was caused by having the
airport closed for three months.
Madam President, I would like to end my brief
remarks by talking about education. While education
may ha ve been dealt a bad hand, and there was
some reduction in funding, this Government will not be
gambling with our children’s future. The reform that is underway is being carefully and strategically impl emented and we will continue to do so at the same pace. Again, Madam President, this is another sign
that we, the Progressive Labour Party Government,
are indeed looking out for our people. Scholarships
and grants will remain the same as they have in pr evious years.
You know, we were going back to my analogy
about Spades , Madam President. And some of the
talk that we have heard in this debate, back and forth,
my friends will call renege. They would be shocked at
what they have heard today. Madam President, this is another sign, again, that we are looking out f or the
people.
So, again, Madam President, I applaud the
Minister of Finance. I applaud his staff. I think that this budget is a good one. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Darrell.
Would any other Senator care to speak at t his
time?
Does any Senator want to speak? No?
Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, I will speak, Madam President.
The President: Senator Ben Smith, you have the
floor.
234 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Ben Smith: Thank you, Madam President.
First of all, I would like to echo the sentiments
to thank the Minister of Finance and everybody who
has participated in putting together the budget for this
year, in an extremely difficult time. But Madam Pres ident, I believe we have to go back to when I was in
another place a year ago prior to the pandemic when
we were discussing a budget that was looking toward
what I would call, us going off the cliff —prior to the
pandemic. We cannot forget that many of the issues
that we are discussing now and will be discussing over the next few days were columns that we had pr ior to the pandemic hitting. That is what has made our
situation so much worse. Because now that the entire
world is dealing with this pandemic and economic . . .
just destruction that has happened, it makes it almost
impossible to do the things that need to be done at a
time that is so critical.
Madam President, when you have a family,
and someone in the family loses their job, everyone in the family has to pull together, maybe reduce some of their wants over their needs in order for them to make
the ends meet. That is the situation that Bermuda was
in prior to COVID -19 coming to our shores. But what
has happened since then is an absolute change in
everything that we have done and have become accustomed to doing in Bermuda. And yes, we have to applaud the Government for the things that they have
had to put in place to take care of our people when they had nowhere else to turn.
Madam President, there are things that have
happened over this last year that showed the differ-ence between some segments of our population and
others. International business, which as we have
heard is our main pillar, has been able to maintain and
in some cases grow during this period of time. But we
are fortunate that a lot of our people have been able
to stay employed during that period and in some cases they were not able to do the job that they were used to doing, and they were getting full pay to do it.
And that has meant that they were not in the same
dire situation as other parts of our population. For that,
I believe th at we need to thank the people in that i ndustry that also helped out, because it would have
been very easy for them to cut.
But Madam President, there are other parts of
our private economy that were not as fortunate to
make the kinds of money that we see in international
business. And they have had to make extreme
changes. Some of their employees have seen their
salaries reduced by 25 per cent, 50 per cent, 75 per
cent. They have seen their hours reduced significantly. We all understand the group that was laid off and
the benefit that was given them. That was extremely
appreciated by everybody. They were able to survive
in our population because of that programme that was put together by the Government. Once again we thank
the Government for doing it. And it would have been
something that any Government in charge of Bermuda at the time I would like to believe would have done
that exact thing. Because you cannot let you people
just starve while we are going through this worldwide
pandemic.
But Madam President, during this period
those people who have seen those reduced salaries have had a hard time paying their bills, making their
ends meet, and they have had to change completely
the way that they live their lives. We have actually
seen some benefit come out of that in some industries. The retail industry has seen a little uptick because people in Bermuda were based at home. They
did not travel. We Bermudians live in a really small
jurisdiction. We all like to get on a plane and travel
somewhere else. And that is part of what we do as
Bermudians. But over the last year we have not been
able to do that. So it has meant that we have been giving some of that money that would have been
spent overseas to the local economy.
Well, Madam President, there is a little bit of a
. . . I want to say you have to look a little closer to
what those retail numbers are. Because some of that
is based off of Amazon orders that have been brought
in to Bermuda. And really when you look at the
amount of items that have been brought in over this
period of time, you realise that that does not have the
same kind of impact on retail, on hiring Bermudians,
because retail is a completely Bermudianised indus-try.
Understand that there are up to 3,000 people
who were employed in retail prior to the pandemic hitting. When retail was in trouble, they were strug-gling. They were calling out asking for help before the
pandemic hit. So for those who have actually seen an
increase in their business over the last year and they
have been able to put some money aside, I hope that
they realise that you really need to protect that money that you have been able to gain because as Senator
Jones said earlier, when the airport is fully open again, and people start to travel the way the travelled
before, that uptick will not be here.
But what we will have seen is this continued
increase of people purchasing overseas and impor ting. There are many who have said that that is the
way of the future. Well, if the way of the future is that all of the work will be done outside of Bermuda and all
of the resources will be shipped off the Island, then
how does that impact the local workers, those 3,000
jobs in retail? We are already having a hard time figuring out how to employ the people who are in hospital ity. So what are we going to do with the people who
were in retail? You cannot increase the amount of people who are unemployed that are looking for jobs.
Madam President, in hospitality we have
heard a lot of reference specifically about hotels. But there are a lot of c onnections to hospitality, the tourism industry. If you look at the retail shops that actua lly thrive off of selling items to tourists, they have been completely wiped out. Many of them are closed and


Bermuda Senate will stay closed until we start to see tourism return. We
have the commercial boat operators who really have a
set period of the year that they are able to do their job
and to make their money that they survive off of for
the year. They have been wiped out for the last year. Well, Madam President, they continu e to have to pay
all the fees that are associated with being in that bus iness: the liquor licences, the licencing for the boats.
They are still paying all their taxes, if they have
enough money to actually be able to meet those d emands.
So, Madam Presiden t, if you are a small bus iness owner in Bermuda and you have been able to
survive so far in this last year, the question is: What
have you seen in this budget that tells you that you really should have hope, that things are going to get
better for you? Madam President, [taking out] loans at
a time when you are struggling to pay the bills that
you already have, that is going further into debt. I think
that is a part of what we need to understand as a
population.
I go back to that family. See, what I painted
was a picture of a family who understood the responsible way to handle having less resources . You are
going to have to cut down on the things that you normally would have. Well, the alternative to that is to just
put it all on credit. You keep charging on your credit
card and paying a big fee for the charges on that card. Well, Madam President, if that was the way that you
do it, at some point you have to pay that bill. And I am
going to say that is where we are right now.
So if you look at this budget, there are some
wants that have been cut out. But there are some
needs. When you have a situation where the economy
is in trouble and people are out of work and people
are making less money than they would normally
make and are having a hard time paying the b ills and
meeting their responsibilities, unfortunately you see
an increase in crime.
And Madam President, at the same time Government has to figure out places to cut. Cutting from
the protection of our people is a difficult spot to have
to cut because somewhere in there you have to give up something. But the safety of our people is really
important. And the police force had been cut low prior
to the pandemic hitting. And then we saw how i mportant they were over the last year. The second that
the regulations changed and we allowed people to get
back to a little bit of normal life we saw an uptick in
crime and our clean murder rate from the year before
changed. Then all of the resources had to be spent to
protect our people again. See, that’s the problem when you have to cut from a need. It is not something
that is sustainable.
Madam President, when people drive around
the Island today it is pretty simple for them to see that they are manoeuvring potholes from one end of the
Island to the other. You can see that our people are
not able to maybe maintain their houses the way they would have in previous years. You can see that the
population is starting to really show that they cannot
keep up.
Well, Madam President, as I am looking
through that I am understanding that there are mult iple things that have to happen at the same time, while
we are in this difficult situation. We talk about increasing the resident population. Well, it is difficult to i ncrease the resident population if we do not keep the
population that we have. So if there are not opportunities for our Bermudians then our Bermudians are get-ting on the plane and leaving and trying to find som ewhere else where they can survive. If the people who
have been here for multiple years and had their chi ldren here, and paid into our economy are not made to
be part of this country and part of the solution, then
they look elsewhere.
So, Madam President, it is very difficult for
you to fill the hole with a bucket that has multiple
holes in it. And that is just for us trying to figure out
how to attract people from overseas, without figuring
out a way to keep the people that we have.
But then we have to reduce the costs. Well,
Madam President, I am sorry, when I look at this and I
have expressed to you that in the private sector there
are people who have had major cuts to their hours, to
how much time they are at work, to the amount of
money that they make on regular basis, to the benefits they are making, well, Madam President, the 10 per
cent cut that was given to the government is going
back. And I am not saying that this is a situation that we should just automatically ask for that group to con-tinue to sacrifice, because, remember, a lot of the
people who I would be referring to are the ones who
helped us get thr ough this pandemic.
Well, Madam President, there are tiers to employment within government. There are people who
can handle a 10 per cent sacrifice and there are pe ople who cannot. So maybe we should be looking at
that difference, because it cannot be jus t some of the
population that continues to make the sacrifice. Because on one hand we are having to give money to the private industry to bail them out, and we are ha ving to give money to people who cannot afford to meet their requirements. But part of our major costs, or one
of our major costs —if not the major cost —is going to
be salaries for the government. It is a tough situation
all around.
There are no easy answers to anything that
we are going to do, and that is why this job by the F inance Minister w as extremely difficult. But, Madam
President, the solutions need to happen. Because
when we look through every one of these ministries
later on over the next couple of days, we will see cuts that make us question, Can we really afford that cut?
What impact is that going to have on our people?
Well, Madam President, we are going to have to start
to determine the difference between our wants and
our needs.
236 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate And some people who have gotten used to a
very specific level of lifestyle are the ones who are
going t o have to give back so that the rest of our
popu lation can survive while we go through this continued issue , because it is not going away immediat ely. This is not something that we are going to be able
to fix with a snap of our fingers. This problem was
here before the pandemic. So for us to think that we
are going to be the first ones out of the gate once
most of the world is vaccinated and things start to go
back to normal . . . that is not correct. This is not magic.
The people in the tourism industry ar e suffering and the truth is, if we continue on the path where we are now, we understand with the numbers going up there will be further restrictions which will put more
burden on all of those industries in our economy
which potentially will go under. Madam President,
there are people in our population right now that every
day are wondering how they are going to be able to
do it. That is the stress that is going on throughout our population.
We need to understand that a lot of our costs
are based on our hea lth. We have heard my colleague
talk about those numbers. Well, the expenses are going up because as the stress goes up, the amount of
issues increase. So those statistics that Senator Tucker gave are not going down; they are going to go
up. The need for s upport and help is going to i ncrease. Well, each of those things costs money.
Our children have been going through a year
of a completely different kind of life. And as much as
we adults have had anxiety, and coping mechanisms that in many cases are reall y bad for us, we have to
understand that the children are going through the
same thing. What impact has this pandemic had on
our young people in education? We all know that
there was a problem with our public education. Ma dam President, it has been discuss ed openly over and
over again. So can you imagine when you put som ething like a pandemic on top of all of the issues that
we had, can we quantify what kind of negative impact
that has had on our young people? And when we will actually see that negative impact as a result in our
population?
Madam President, this is a tough task. We
can only get through it with all of us trying to figure out
the best way forward. But the sacrifice is going to
have to be spread a little further, because, Madam
President, right now there are people all over our I sland that need food and they are waiting in lines to get that food. And there are people who are providing it. And a lot of [people in] our private sector are the ones
who have been stepping up to take care of that. So it
is not always just the Government that is doing it. It is
the private industry that is stepping up as well, as a collective. That is how we are getting through this.
But remember, those people who are volu nteering—the ones who have been in Bermuda for an extended period of time but they do not have any
claim to the country because we do not want them to
have a claim to the country —they are ones who are
giving their time, freely, to help our people, because to them it is their people as well. Maybe it i s time for us
to start to treat them that way, because we are going
to need everybody to help us get through this. We
cannot increase the population while we have people
packing their bags to leave. That is not a way for us to
add. We end up at the same le vel or worse.
So, Madam President, thank you for the o pportunity. I hope that we can go forward and find more solutions for us to get out of this. But this is not a time
for us to be blaming it on each other. And I am sorry if
we are going to keep going back and rehashing things
that have happened in the past. We need solutions for
what we are going to do going forward because the responsibility of the Government is to fix this. It is their
responsibility. It is their mandate. We are here to support and to hold them to account. But this is where the
rubber meets the road. Stop looking back on things
that you cannot fix right now and tell us how you are going to fix what we need as a country going forward.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank y ou, Senator Ben Smith.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time?
No. It appears that no one else wants to
speak.
I would just like to make just a couple of
comments myself. And that is, first of all, to thank each and every one of you who hav e spoken today. I
want to congratulate you for your insight and your comments regarding the Budget Statement. I think the
listening audience and the public would realise from
your comments that you have really given great thought to the plight in which we find ourselves.
But at the same time, we have to give kudos
to the Minister of Finance and all the people who have helped him put this budget together. Those who answer all the issues and questions and the needs of the
people know, but in terms of its imm ediacy the manner in which the Government has responded to people in need I think that has been absolutely wonderful and greatly appreciated by the people.
I also want to acknowledge that this COVID -
19 has really hit not just Bermuda but the world. Ber-muda has the advantage of being able to turn on the
television and see what is happening in all other cou ntries. And when we do that and we see the lines and we see all the issues that other countries have to face,
then we really have to give thanks —give thank s to the
Government, give thanks to the health people, give
thanks to all the individual who we see rallying around
each of us and helping us in terms of whether it is to
have a vaccination, to be given food— we are very,
very fortunate.


Bermuda Senate In spite of the co mplaints and issues that we
complain about or we voice our opinion on, we are
very, very fortunate in Bermuda that we have a Government that acted early and acted to assist the pe ople in need. And I am not just talking about the Government but also the church groups, and as has been
said, the business personnel and companies who are
listed here, who feel a part of this community. Yes, we
may see some people in lines for food, but we do not
see the long lines that we see on our television and
the people who are reacting to the stresses and strains.
For sure, this COVID -19 pandemic has affec ted us financially. It has affected our mental health and our psychology. It has affected our physical health. So we are really . . . I think what we need to do is to reall y
be there for our brothers and sisters. We will get through this if we work together. And yes, we do have
problems. But when you compare us to other countries, I think . . . and we are a very small country but at
the same time we have to have some confidence that
we will get through this.
I have a firm belief that we will. And in spite of
all that has been said today, I think the bottom line is
that we are doing much better than so many other
countries. And I think that we really need to stop and
give thanks; give thanks for the blessings that we are privileged to have at this time. Because believe me,
no one saw this happening. And I think each one of
you who have spoken today have highlighted the i ssues, the problems, the thanks and appreciation, but
at the same time, as Government officials, as Legisl ators, I think we really have to remember that we must
work together and we must give kudos where kudos
are due.
I think that we are better off than many, many
other people and other countries. And I think, bottom
line, I firmly believe, as I am sure many people out there in the public believe, that we will get through
this. And I think we have a Government that will help
us, working along with the Opposition, and all others,
that we will get through this and we must firmly b elieve that. As long as we have as the goal that we will
get through this, and we have the confidence, then I
think that we will come to the other side.
So I thank each one of you. You have raised
many, many points. You have looked at phy sical
health, mental health, financial health. But bottom line, I think you have all agreed that the Finance Minister
and his team have done a stellar job in getting us to
this point. And we need to continue to have that conf idence and do whatever we can t o support it and to
encourage it.
So I thank you all for your comments. I am
sure the public has listened to you and they too are
grateful for the comments that you have made and they will take it all on board. So from me it is thank
you. And I will hand over now back to Senator Arianna
Hodgson. [Pause]

The President: Senator, are you there?
Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Yes, sorry. I was just allo wing for my video to connect, Madam President.

The President: Fine. I also want to commend you for
the presentation you did initially. But anyway, I am
handing over to you now.

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. I thank you for your comments shared just now.
Madam President, we are a gold Government
and we have never shied away from the realities of
our current economy. We know, the people know, and
the Opposition continues to sing the same song. U nemployment levels are unacceptably high and income
disparity has widened. Our ageing population is i ncreasing while our birth rate is declining and ther e are
a host of other issues that have been magnified in
light of this pandemic.
There is no doubt that our Government is facing considerable uncertainty. We can either continue
to argue about whether the cup is half full or half em pty, or we can move for ward and support this Gover nment. We have made mistakes and there have been
times where our ideals misaligned. But the best way to achieve true success is to learn from and be
strengthened by our mistakes.
Madam President, I heard an Opposition
Member incorrectly assume that this Government has
run out of ideas. In fact, Madam President, it is quite
the opposite. There is no shortage on ideas, and we
definitely have some of our Island’s brightest minds
working to determine the best way forward for Berm uda and its people. The issue here is that the Oppos ition Senators would rather focus on shortfalls than to
produce viable solutions, which is evident when we look at the seats in the Lower House.
Madam President, I thank Senator Wight for
his appreciation t hat we must grow the economy. And
I thank Senator Simmons for her understanding of a
Government that aims to put people first. But I am
concerned that when given the opportunity to diversify our economy by introducing our cannabis Bill we
could not get the support needed from the Opposition
or the Governor’s Senators. So, yes, hold us accoun table. But I also urge each of you to take a look at what you can do to improve our Island’s economy.
Madam President, over the past few weeks I
have heard comments fr om the Opposition and others
that suggest that the Minister of Education does not
have the funds to support education reform. Once
again, this is not the case. Education reform is fully
funded for this fiscal year. And as we move forward
we will submit requests for the necessary funding to support our plan. I trust that we all have a pretty decent understanding of the budget process and do
238 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate hope that we can refrain from pushing this narrative
going forward. As we have made clear time and time
again, our Government is committed to education r eform and to our children, so we have no choice but to deliver.
Madam President, I am one of the millennials
who are unapologetically optimistic. There is nothing I
cannot do or wouldn’t at least try. And I am happiest
when I can sit in a room with persons who have
adapted a growth mind- set that says that it is imposs ible to foresee what can be accomplished with a bit of work. Although it makes no sense for the Opposition
to ask for figures on tourism that simply do not exist, I
do want to provide some clarity regarding our hopes
for the upcoming tourism season.
As we are all aware, many countries are f ocused on rolling out vaccines for a number of reasons. One of the overarching goals is positioning ourselves
to be able to promote the safe resumption of intern ational travel. While there is no denying the fact that we
have work to do as we prepare for the coming tourism season, I do believe that we will get the opportunity to
experience a summer season that is more familiar to
all of us. So, yes, there will likely be continued anxiety
surrounding travel, but Bermuda has, and will conti nue to, set the example for what is possible.
Madam President, while there are those who
choose to focus on the negatives I stand with the
Government that is always ready to respond. We have
all heard the saying, If you want something you’ve
never had, you must be willing to do something that
has never been done. So while we do hear the concerns and acknowledge the struggles of our Bermudians, this Government is willing and ready to take the
necessary steps to respond and to recover.
Madam President, we are the same PLP
Government that has always supported our people. We will continue to provide the much- needed support
for our entrepreneurs and local businesses. We will continue to address the issues that exist within our
workforce. We will continue to explore responsible
immigration policy. We are excited to see our res idents supporting our key industries and spending l ocally. And I am hopef ul that we will continue to see the
reported increases in retail sales activity. In the same
spirit, I am encouraging each of us to remember to support our small businesses that help to stimulate
our economy during this very difficult time.
Madam President, our Government’s ability to
recover is highly dependent on the strategic allocation and prioritisation of resources at a time when higher
spending is needed to preserve public health, safety and even shelter, all while maintaining essential services. T his Government continues to put the welfare
of its people above the numbers on the piece of paper, because as we have seen time and time again, in times of crisis the fabric of our society is more i mportant than the bottom line. Madam President, I too ch oose to hope over
fear. Although we are enduring a period of struggle, I am truly optimistic about our future. I truly believe that
we can build a future that is better for all and that we
will emerge from this period a stronger and more d ynamic Island ready to meet the challenges of the f uture.
Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Senate
now resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole for further consideration of the Appropriation Act 2021 together with the Estimates of Revenue and Expend iture for the year 2021/22.

[Pause]
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Madam President, were
you saying something or shall I proceed?

The President: I beg your pardon. I had to unmute
myself.
Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson for that.
You have moved the second reading for the Senate to
dissolve itself into Committee for further consideration
of the Appropriation Act 2021 together with the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year [2021/22].
And at this time I would like to ask Senator
Michell e Simmons, the Vice President, to take the
Chair of the Committee.

Senate in Committee at 3:17 pm

[Sen. Michelle Simmons , Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2021/22

Thank you, Madam President.
The Ministry under consideration now is Ed ucation. And it has been agreed that two Heads will be
debated. They are Head 16, which can be found on
page B -136 in the Budget Book. And then later on
Head 17, which can be found on page B -138 in the
Budget Book.
The number of hours allocated to these
Heads is two. So we have two hours to debate both of
these Heads.
Senator Owen Darrell, Junior Minister for E ducation, Public Works and the Cabinet Office, I believe this is your Ministry. How would you like to proceed?
Senator Darrell?
Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam Chairman.



Bermuda Senate The Chairman: It is now 3:18 pm and we will finish
this debate of those two Heads at 5:18 pm. Thank
you, Senator Darrell.

Sen. Owen Darrell: So, I will read both briefs for both
Heads and then take all the questions at the end.

Please proceed.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Madam Chairman, today I am pleased to pr esent the budget for the Ministry of Education, which
comprises the Ministry of Education Headquarters, Head 16; the Department of Education, Head 17.
Madam Chairman, the 2021/22 budget for the
Ministry of Education of $128,110,000 is found on
page B -134 of the Estimates of Revenue and E xpenditure for the year 2021/22. This repres ents a decrease of $9,352,000 compared the 2020/21 original budget. The current account 2021/22 estimated rev enue for the Ministry of Education is $246,000. The
capital expenditure estimate for acquisition and development increased from $2,810,000 last year to $2,881,000 for 2021/22. The total number of full -time
equivalents for the Ministry totalled 1,066 employees.
Madam Chairman, in October last year
UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation, declared that the coronavirus pandemic outbreak had impacted every educ ation system worldwide. Although Bermuda is only 21.5
square miles in land mass situated in the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean, with just over 4,400 public school chi ldren, the education of our children was impacted with
no exception. The pandemic affected teaching and learning in all of Bermuda’s private schools, as well.
Madam Chairman, COVID -19 required our
teachers, our parents and our students to rapidly a djust to new modes of learning. In a matter of weeks,
our schools had to find and implement viable altern a-tives to traditional models of teaching in a classroom setting. The impact of COVID -19 has raised several
questions about how the delivery of education might
look in the future. The experience has not only
opened our eyes to the challenges of remote learning, but also to some exciting possibilities of how teaching
and learning outside the classrooms might play a bi gger role in the education of our students.
Along with all educators and support staff, I
am acutely aware of not only the effects to date, but
the medium - and long- term impacts of COVID -19 on
young people as they grow and develop through their
educational lives. As a system, we have put in place
plans and programmes to address learning loss and
to provide for the additional social/emotional needs of
students, as well as staff. While this budget is focused on the next fiscal year, I want to highlight that for the year ahead and for several years to come, the ong oing implications of the pandemic are a critical consi deration on how we change public education to meet the multiple needs of young people. With this, Madam Chairman, I am compelled to share insights on educ ation reform as it has progressed steadily during the past year despite the impact of the pandemic. It will
also continue to be implemented during the upcoming
fiscal year, notwithstanding the decrease in the Education Ministry’s 2021/22 budget.
During the presentation of the Education
Budget last year, it was stated that the education of our children has become an established culture of
fixed methods, fixed processes and fixed systems.
The methods, processes and systems must be upgraded and newly designed to facilitate 21
st century
learning and teaching. Therefore, Madam Chairman, our sust ained commitment to education reform continues to be intentional in bringing about the needed
changes in our public school system. To implement
the progressive and transformative education practi ces required to elevate teaching and learning, our chi ldren t oday and in generations to come will be set on a
path that positions them to compete with their peers
both locally and globally. This will be the Education
Ministry’s mantra and modus operandi until these objectives are met for each and every child in each and
every public school in Bermuda.
Madam Chairman, as a result, the pr ogrammes and services delivered by the Ministry departments and the Bermuda College coordinate to
create progressive learning opportunities for our st udents and for our educators, in alignment with the
changes needed for 21
st century teaching and lear ning. One generation—that is all it takes to transform our public school education. Madam Chairman, during
the upcoming budget year, monies have been set
aside to continue the transformati ve work started, and
that is how the Ministry of Education will continue to
function—that is, with a methodical and intentional
budget strategy. The monies required each year to progress the transformative work will be budgeted
240 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate each fiscal year, as the education reform is our prior ity.
HEAD 16 —MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
HEADQUARTERS
Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, today I
commence the Budget Debate by detailing the expenditure for the Ministry of Education Headquarters,
Head 16. The mission of the Ministry Headquarters,
which is found on page B-1 35, is “to provide strategic
leadership and policy direction for education and lifelong learning.” The objectives of the Ministry Headquarters are outlined accordingly on the same page.
Madam
Chairman, technical officers in the
Ministry Headquarters, as well as members of the Education Reform Governance Team, worked diligently during the past budget year executing policy decisions to support the four domains of education reform.
These include (1) legislation to phase out middle
schools and introduce signature schools; (2) impl ementation of the Learning First Programme; (3) con-sultation on the introduction of parish primary schools; and (4) research on the development of an Education
Authority.
Also, Madam Chairman, due to the COVID -19
pandemic, technical officers had to cancel the Mini stry’s regularly scheduled face- to-face events with public school students. With the implementation of safety and health school protocols and the importance of
establishing and maintaining bubbles, weekly visits to
different school buildings did not occur.
Also, Madam Chairman, the Ministry was r equired to cancel our annual Youth in Parliament
Summit, which develops leadership skills of student leaders at each school level.
Nonetheless, Madam Chairman, the following
events were hosted by the Ministry during the past year: the annual Father’s Day Essay Competition; the Father’s Speak Forum; and World Teacher Day Proc-lamation. Madam Chairman, the annual Father’s Day
Essay Competition is held every year in June to give
an opportunity for students to celebrate their fathers. P5 and P6 students are invited to submit essays in their own handwriting about their father or a father figure. The student essays are judged, and prizes are awarded to the overall P5 and P6 winners, with other
prizes awarded by school zone. This year there were eight student winners, each of whom received Chromebooks which were donated.
Madam Chairman, the Father’s Speak series
resumed in November. This series ensures that the unique perspectives of fathers and male guardians
are heard and taken into consideration. The series are
critical opportunities to recognise and acknowledge the value of fatherhood in education, including the social/emotional well -being of our young people and
their achievements, attainment and outcomes. The roundtable discussions engage fathers to share expe-riences and learn from each other about how to
strengthen their relationships with their children by
becoming more involved as parents.
Madam Chairman, the United Nations declared October 5, 2020, as World Teacher Day, with
the theme, “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future.” In recognition of Bermuda’s teachers in
both public and private schools, the Ministry, in collaborat ion with the Bermuda Union of Teachers, held
a proclamation ceremony on the steps of City Hall. There were teachers, principals, students and stak eholders in attendance to honour all educators. The reflection was specifically on the commitment our
teachers make as leaders, particularly teaching in a
range of environments throughout this COVID -19
pandemic. We appreciate the work of all of our educ ators.
Madam Chairman, as the Ministry progresses
forward with education reform, it is important to keep stakeholders and the general public aware of the var ious activities being undertaken. Therefore, the Mini stry engaged in a series of biweekly radio talk shows to
discuss, inform and also respond to questions about education reform. Topics discussed on the talk shows
to date include the school consultation on the pr oposal to introduce parish primary schools, the r esearch work done to establish an Education Authority,
and the design teamwork undertaken for the Learning First Programme. These biweekly talk shows will continue through the next fiscal year.
Madam Chairman, the work of the Board of
Education during the year has steadily progressed. As per the Education Act 1996, the main functions of the Board of Education are to make recommendations to the Minister regarding various educational matters that will ultimately lead to the improvement and more
efficient and effective delivery of public education.
Madam Chairman, last year the Minister
tasked the board with four projects to enrich the deli very of education in the system which align with the
technical and adaptive strategies and outcomes articulated in Plan 2022, the strategic plan for public
school education. These projects were (1) creating
new pathways to help enhance the recruitment and development of teac hers; (2) researching a tiered l icense designation structure; (3) reviewing a proposal
for a master teacher designation structure; and
(4) developing a registration process that requires pr ivate schools and tutorial sites to register annually or
biannually .
Madam Chairman, the Board of Education
successfully framed four policies to support the deve lopment and implementation of three of these projects.
The school registration process for private schools
and tutorial sites was placed on hold. Nonetheless, the board advanced the following career development
policies in alignment with Plan 2022 for recommenda-tions to implement, these being (1) a master teacher designation; (2) Pathways to Teaching in Bermuda;


Bermuda Senate (3) a tiered licence structure for educators; and (4) a
Teacher Certification loan bond.
The implementation of these policies was pr ioritised with Ministry technical officers currently d esigning the rollout of the teacher certification bonded
loan policy. This policy focuses on supporting the
Bermudianisat ion of teachers in the education system
by providing local opportunities and support for c areer-transferring professionals to become certified
teachers with limited financial duress. The loss of salaries while completing a 12- week teaching practicum
has become a roadblock for many. By affording a
bonded loan to cover living expenses, persons will be
able to focus on their teaching practicum experience
and thus successfully complete the teaching certific ation without financial impediment.
Madam Chairman, this policy recommendation supports Plan 2022 priority 3, enhancing the quality of teacher practice and system leadership, and
specifically the key outcome 3- 1, which states that
90 per cent of teachers are certified in their assigned
field. It is planned to publicly share the details of this
initiative within the next two to three months after the
rollout design has been completed.
Madam Chairman, in October the Ministry of
Education collaborated with officers of the Bermuda Union of Teachers for the first time ever an Education
Emergency Measures Committee (EEMC) was
formed. The mission of the EEMC is to coordinate the
efforts of the Ministry of Education, the Department of
Education and each representative organisation in
providing guidance to schools for mitigating, preparing
and responding to and recovering from any COVID -
19-related emergency in the public school system and
any other critical school incident, both natural or
manmade. Since October, the EEMC has had six
meetings.
Madam Chairman, on page B -136 you will see
that the Ministry of Education Headquarters has been
allocated a budget of $4,160,000 for the 2021/22 fi scal year. Within programme 1601, business unit
26000, General Administration, $2,234,000 will support the operational and administrat ive functions of the
Ministry.
Madam Chairman, under programme 1601,
business unit 26080, a total of $501,000 has been budgeted for external grants and the Bermuda College Promise [programme]. This lower amount reflects
a decrease of $321,000, as the budgeted amount was
maintained at the COVID -19 revised amount used for
the last fiscal year. In awarding grant money, the Mi nistry will continue to deliver programmes and services
which directly impact students to help them improve
and achieve success.
Madam Chairman, of the $501,000, a total of
roughly $280,000 has been set aside to fund the merit-based College Promise programme. These funds
are awarded to public school graduates with a GPA of 3.0 or higher with a $5,000 scholarship to attend the Bermuda Col lege. This programme was introduced for
the first time in September 2019. At that time, 26 st udents took advantage and enrolled in the Bermuda
College, with tuition and cost of books fully funded. In
September 2020 enrolment had more than doubled, as 70 public school students now receive the benefit
of the Bermuda College Promise programme.
Madam Chairman, $1,425,000 has been set
aside in business unit 26090 for the administration of the Ministry’s annual Scholarship and Awards pr ogramme. The Ministry wil l continue to support st udents in their pursuit of tertiary -level education. As
such, the total budgeted for scholarships and awards
remains the same.
Madam Chairman, due to the impact of the
pandemic last year, the Ministry extended the dea dline for the submission of scholarship applications.
The Ministry developed a student survey which confirmed our expectations that students’ abilities to submit their applications in a timely manner have been
directly impacted by the pandemic. The information
gathered also helped the Ministry understand how
students were affected so that we could better understand the specific challenges that students were facing. This was especially true of senior school st udents, who are studying remotely and who could not
rely on school computers and scanners to complete
their application. Therefore, the Ministry provided more time for current and prospective students to
send in their applications. The extended deadline afforded a total of 498 student application submissions.
This ref lected an increase of 109 applications compared to the 389 received last year.
The Ministry of Education funded seven Bermuda Government scholarships comprising new and
existing scholarships, a total of seven non- traditional
student awards, five teacher education scholarships and 54 further education awards. The Minister’s
Awards comprised five Minister’s Achievement Schol-arships, one Merit Scholarship, one Applied Tech
Scholarship, five Exceptional Student Awards, five
Technical and Vocational Awards and six Bermuda
College Book Awards.
The number of further education awards to
students based solely on their financial need i ncreased from 38 to 54. The Minister’s Achievement
Scholarship for a graduating student from CedarBridge Academy and a graduating student from the
Berkeley Institute pursuing overseas post -secondary
study decreased to five, and one student postponed their study. The Minister’s Technical and Vocational Awards for graduating public school students or r ecent public school alumni attending Bermuda College
and who are pursuing local or overseas post -
secondary studies were sustained at five awards.
Lastly, the Ministry’s Exceptional Student Awards for
graduating students or school leavers with disabilities pursuing local or overseas post -secondary study also
remained the same as last year, with six awards.
242 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam Chairman, the $1,425,000 budgeted
for Scholarships and Awards during the 2021/22 fiscal
year will be once again used to reach as many st udents as possible and afford them the opportuni ty to
pursue both local and overseas post -secondary pr ogrammes of study.
Madam Chairman, on page B -136, the subjective analysis of current account estimates is shown for the Ministry of Education Headquarters. Line 1, Sal aries, stands at $590,000 and sho ws a marginal decrease of $16,000 when compared 2020/21. The d ecrease reflects the 10 per cent austerity measures for
four months, from April to July 2021, to support the
Government’s austerity measure agreement with the
union. The travel expenditure line item of $13,000 decreased by $8,000. Expenditure for communications
remained the same. Monies budgeted on Advertising
and Promotion increased by $13,000 to heighten the
promotion of the Ministry’s Scholarships and Awards
programme and education reform, par ticularly the r estructuring from a three- tiered to a two- tiered system
and the introduction of signature schools.
Madam Chairman, $1,617,000 has been
budgeted for Professional Services, a minimal i ncrease of $10,000. These monies have been allocated
to continue the implementation of education reform. A
total of $741,000 has been budgeted for the hiring of
the consulting firm Innovation Unit, which will provide
the Ministry with change management consultancy
services for the continuation of the Learning Fir st programme. The amount of $376,000 will support work
being led by the Ministry’s Governance Team, as
School Design Teams will be developed in prepar ation for the implementation of signature schools, while
the remainder of the money, $500,000, has been set
aside for local professional services related to system
redesign restructuring, boards and committee fees,
and legal services.
Madam Chairman, the execution of the transformative work of the education reform aligns directly
with strategies outlined in Pl an 2022. This work is ensuring college and career readiness, including the i mplementation of special school designs to meet unique
student needs and interests. Additionally, we will pr epare for the establishment of signature schools in specialised areas such as tourism, finance, business and the trades —all of which reflects the projected
workforce needs of the country.
Madam Chairman, the amount budgeted for
Rentals (the next line of expenditures) increased by
$1,000. The majority of this expenditure will be used
for the rental of halls to hold meetings with stakehol der groups and the general public, as there will be si gnificant engagement and complete transparency dur-ing the school redesign and restructuring consultancy.
All meetings will be held within th e stipulated safety
and health protocols.
Madam Chairman, line item Materials and
Supplies increased by $7,000, while the budget for line item, for Other Expenses, which covers food and
drinks, remained the same. The last line item in the
subjective analy sis, Grants and Contributions, was
allocated a budget of $1,848,000 for the budget year 2021/22. This allocation decreased by $370,000, di-rectly reflecting a deduction in grant money allocated
for external organisations in alignment with the
COVID -19 savings programme. The full breakdown of
the $1,848,000 budgeted for Grants and Contributions
can be found on page C -18 of the Budget Book.
Madam Chairman, on page B -136, the number of full -time equivalents for employees in the Mini stry of Education Headquart ers remained the same as
last year at six. Madam Chairman, finally on page B -
137, Performance Measures for the Ministry Hea dquarters are outlined. The target outcomes for last
year were either achieved or in the process of being completed by the end of Mar ch this year.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry team compri ses the Permanent Secretary, our Senior Policy An alyst, the Ministry Comptroller, the Scholarship and Awards Programme Manager, the Administrative A ssistant or Accounts Officer, and the Executive Assi stant to the Minister and Permanent Secretary. All have
provided the Minister with sustained technical advice
and administrative support. We continue to be thankful to have a team of professionals who have pers evered through challenges to deliver the Minist ry’s
mandate and in all circumstances have remained f ocused on providing support for the Ministry to deliver
the changes required in the best interests of Berm uda’s children.
Thank you, Madam Chairman. This concludes
my presentation for the Ministry of Education Hea dquarters, Head 16.

Thank you, Senator Darrell. Do you
want to breath for a minute and then proceed to
Head17?
I will just remind everyone that the Senate is
now in Committee of the Whole for further consider ation of the Appropri ation Act 2021, together with the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2021/22.
Senator Darrell, back to you.

HEAD 17 —DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you for the break, Madam
Chairman.
Madam Chairman, I now present the bud get
for Head 17, the Department of Education.
Madam Chairman, the vision of the Depar tment of Education, as outlined on page B -138, is “to
see all students educated to lead personally and pr ofessionally, contribute locally and compete globally.”
Our visio n for Bermuda’s children will be achieved
through the implementation of the Bermuda Public
School System’s mission. And that is “to provide all


Bermuda Senate students with equitable access to holistic and highquality instruction which is culturally relevant and empower s students to reach their full potential.”
Madam Chairman, we know unequivocally
that it is the quality of teaching and learning which takes place in the classrooms of our public schools
each day that will enable our student to acquire the
skills, knowled ge and values and dispositions that will
prepare them to compete with their peers locally as
well as globally, and will enable them to become the
future leaders and contributing citizens of our Island and the world.
Madam Chairman, our mission and vision are
the driving forces for executing the transformation and technical strategies included in Plan 2022, our strat egic plan for improving the Bermuda Public Education
System. As technical officers at the Department of
Education and staff in our public schoo ls implement
these strategies of Plan 2022, we are confident that
we will (1) increase academic rigour and student engagement; (2) ensure career, college and workforce
readiness; (3) enhance the quality of teacher practice
and system leadership; (4) improv e infrastructure and
instructional resources; and (5) ensure system success.
Madam Chairman, we are also confident that
the long- term strategies of this strategic plan, once
executed, will transform public school education in
Bermuda and ultimately lead t o greater success for
our students. This is what the work of education r eform is about, execution of the long- term strategies of
Plan 2022. The Learning First programme is executing on priority 1, Strategy 1.1.4.1, specialised schools (now referred to as s ignature schools). The school
consultative process for the introduction of parish pr imary schools is focusing on priority 4, Strategy 4.6.3,
renovation, rebuilding and/or consolidating school f acilities. And the Education Act Amendment Bill is ex ecuting on priority 5, Strategy 5.3.5, review of the current school structure.
Madam Chairman, page B -141 shows that a
total of $105,592,000 has been allocated to the D epartment of Education for the fiscal year 2021/22. This
is $8,189,000 less than [what was alloca ted] in the
2020/21 fiscal year. Two significant factors have co ntributed to this decrease. In order to meet our revised budget ceiling, a total of 67 previously vacant and
funded posts have been defunded at a total of
$5,014,000. The other contributing factor is the 10 per
cent austerity measure reduction in salaries agreed to by the various unions that resulted in the remaining
$3,175,000. The declines in each of the department business units are reflective of the impact of these two
factors.
Madam Chair man, the Department of Educ ation staff continue to execute of the strategies for Plan
2022, and specific strategies are tied directly to their
performance appraisal objectives. This is aligned to
Strategy 5.1.5, which states that we must [quote] “e n-sure the strategic plan’s measures of success and
operational plans are clear, measured and used for
accountability” and Strategy 5.3.3.2, which requires
the department to “focus on accountability by outlining delivery plans with clear timelines and identification of persons responsible.”
Madam Chairman, the department is in the
process of preparing the Plan 2022 Annual Report for the 2020/21 fiscal year. This report will capture the
progress of both 2019/20 and 2020/21 as the data for
the year 2019/20 was impac ted by the COVID -19
pandemic.
Madam Chairman, I will now move on to highlight the expenditures of each business unit that falls under Head 17, commencing on page B -139.

Programme 1701—Central Administration

Sen. Owen Darrell: Madam Chairman, I will begin
with the analysis of Central Administration. This i ncludes the costs of salaries for the administrative personnel and system leaders who function to lead, sup-port, monitor, and audit the work that takes place in
the Department of Education and in our s chools.
Madam Chairman, monies budgeted for the
upcoming year for business unit 27000, General A dministration, will cover the costs for inventory purchases of educational and office supplies for the school year. There is an additional $88,000 budgeted
in expenditure for the fiscal year 2021/22 to cover
COVID -19-related expenses.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Educ ation has over the past year made safety and health in our public school system an even higher priority, given
the COVID -19 pandemic. All sc hools were deep
cleaned in August 2020. And this has continued at
designated times throughout the school year, in add ition to their daily cleaning regime carried out each
day, using EPA -approved supplies as outlined by the
Department of Health. Prior to the opening of schools
all school tanks were chlorinated to ensure that the
water supply was safe for drinking and handwashing.
Safety and health signs were designed, printed and
posted throughout school buildings as reminders to all
staff and students to follow safety protocols and to maintain the six feet for physical distancing.
Madam Chairman, custodians have also been
provided with EPA -approved cleaning, sanitising and
disinfectant supplies and personal protection equi pment (also known as PPE) to carry out the new clea ning regimes developed by the Department of Health. Additionally , all school staff continue to be provided
with hand sanitiser, disinfectant and sanitising wipes,
and gloves. Each staff member was also provided
with a disposable mask, a cloth mask and a nondisposable transparent mask. Staff who require additional personal protective equipment (or PPE) to carry
out their work responsibilities continue to be provided
244 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate with non- disposable and disposable gowns and
aprons.
Madam Chairman, last y ear it was stated that
the Stores team would ensure that all purchasing of
inventory would continue to be purposeful and would obtain value for money spent. To facilitate this, Stores
requested input from schools to improve the standar disation of inventory of school supplies purchased to
have quick turnover of inventory and a lower chance of having obsolete items. Madam Chairman, it was
also stated that the Facilities and Stores Sections would work together to ensure consistency with clea ning supplies order ed to ensure that control of invent ory quantity is maintained and that facilities would also add to their monthly inspection of schools the status of supplies, to prevent stockpiling.
Madam Chairman, further to my last point, to
help with the prevention of stockpiling, Stores has
worked with Facilities in regard to how often orders of
the same item were placed. This was communicated
to Facilities for their monthly inspection. Also, Stores has set minimal re- order quantities on products based
on movement of a product and lead time from the
product being ordered to it being received. This is a
critical efficiency which has a knock -on benefit for
safety and health, as well as cleanliness of schools.
The Commissioner of Education has also worked with Stores in approving the orders placed by schools for
PPE supplies. The Stores team also carried out a
successful count of inventory for the 2019/20 fiscal
year, and the inventory count for the 2020/21 year will
take place between March 26 through 31, 2021.
Mr. Chai rman, with school safety and health
as a priority, the Stores team has ensured the timely procurement and distribution of PPE and cleaning
supplies at schools during the 2021/22 fiscal year.
Stores will continue to focus on the efficient management of inventory and delivering supplies ordered to
schools in five days or less.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27001 holds
the budget for the Office of the Commissioner and
primarily funds the salaries of the Commissioner of
Education and two direct reports, the Di rector of Ac ademics and the Director of Educational Standards and
Accountability. The Commissioner of Education and
direct reports are responsible for the strategic pla nning; overseeing, monitoring and auditing of the work
of staff; and holding staff at the department and in
schools accountable for carrying out their duties and
responsibilities. They are also responsible for collec ting data and reporting on the performance metrics set out for Plan 2022, the department, and our schools.
Madam Chairman, last year the department
added the services of a communications consultant
who has provided communications services for the
department and schools. Madam Chairman, the hiring of the communications consultant is in direct response
to Plan 2022 Strategy 5.3.1, w hich mandates that we
strengthen external communication and increase high-quality communication and public relations to all
stakeholders.
Madam Chairman, between February 2020
and February 2021, there were a number of noteworthy achievements for the depar tment as it relates to
communications. The Scoop newsletter was esta blished to provide parents and guardians with first -hand
timely information from the Commissioner’s Office. There have been 29 mailings, reaching approximately
3,600 recipients per mailing. Madam Chairman, the
Bermuda Public School System Electronic Family Feedback Form was also established to enable fam ilies, staff and community to submit suggestions, complaints, questions and kudos directly to the Commi ssioner’s Office. Madam Chairman, there have been
248 entries as of the end of February 2021, with
29.0 per cent questions, 21.5 per cent comments,
21.0 per cent suggestions, 16.0 per cent kudos and
4.9 per cent complaints. Responses were provided to
each sender within 48 hours of their subm ission the
majority of the time.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda Public
Schools Facebook page was re- invigorated over the
past year. Facebook groups were established for
families by school level, and we can report that in
January 2020 we had a Facebook post r each of zero.
As of January 2021, we had a [Facebook] post reach
of 11,335. Further, Madam Chairman, a YouTube channel has been set up for Bermuda Public Schools
to enable the community to have additional access to
information and programming about public education
in Bermuda.
Madam Chairman, several communications
strategies were executed during the onset of the pan-demic. While schools were operating remotely during
the months leading up to the re- opening of Bermuda
public schools, a COVID -19 crisis commu nication plan
was developed and implemented when schools were
operating remotely, and a COVID -19 re- opening plan
was developed and implemented to inform families in
advance of schools re- opening.
Written communication was provided to parents and guardians . In addition to this, Madam Chai rman, 17 Zoom town hall meetings were held with parents and guardians and staff prior to the re- opening of
schools to provide critical information and, most i mportantly, to afford them the opportunity to have their
questions answered by the Department of Health and
the Department of Education technical officers. These
sessions also enabled parents, guardians, students
and staff to discuss their anxieties, fears and hopes directly with decision- makers at the Department of
Education and the Department of Health.
Further, Madam Chairman, three panel di scussions on re- opening schools responsibly were held
to give families, staff and the community an opportuni-ty to scrutinise the plans for re- opening. Insights from
these town hal l meetings and panel discussions were
used to fine- tune plans for re- opening. Once public


Bermuda Senate schools re- opened, 15 post -re-opening check -in Zoom
town hall meetings were held with parents, guardians,
students and staff to gain further insights into the experie nces, perceptions and anxieties of students and
families about in -person schooling. To collect additional data, a post -re-opening survey was conducted
to provide further insight with in- person schooling, and
the data were shared during these town hall sess ions.
During the year the department has launched
a livestream series, The Conversation, featuring Bermuda public school professionals discussing their
work. And this year, as a first, schools at all levels
held virtual open house events prior to registra tion
2021. Significant strides were made for the area of
communication to key stakeholders.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27030, H uman Resources has been allocated a total of $491,000. The re- allocation of posts and salaries for
two human resources managers and two administr ative assistants have been transferred to the new D epartment of Employee Organizati on Development
[DEOD]. These four staff will join the DEOD team as
of April the 1
st, 2021, as part of centralising gover nment’s human resource services. This shift accounts
for the reduction of $608,000. The Human Resource
Section continues to fund the salaries of technical and
administrative staff, expenses to advertise and recruit staff, and money for annual long- service awards for
teachers.
Madam Chair man, in 2021/22 funding for
business unit 27031, Staff Development, decreased
from the previous year’s budget to $672,000. The
funds will be used to fund training and professional development arising from Plan 2022 and school i mprovement plans. The training is necessary to e nhance the skills and competencies of our teachers,
educational staff, student leaders and Department of
Education staff. The Department of Education has
provided extensive and ongoing professional devel-opment sessions for staff within our schools throughout the course of the 2020/21 year to expand their
knowledge and skills. With overall coordination of staff
development sessions led by the Acting Staff Devel-opment Officer, a myriad of professional development
sessions for BPSS teachers and special staff were
held in September and October 2020, and January
and February 2021.
Some of the sessions were mandatory to ensure staff were on the same page regarding the public education system’s priorities. However, there were
also options for teachers to self -select or participate in
self-paced training. Sessions offered were aligned
with the tenets and practices of standards -based
grading. Subject -specific or job- specific professional
development was also provided, along with the opportunities t o acquire and deepen technology skills and
learn how to use various technological applications. Given the impact of the pandemic on school staff, workshop days also included sessions facilitated by
the Employee Assistance Programme.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27090, Educational Standards and Accountability —

Senator Darrell, may I just interrupt
you before you go into that line item?
I am going to hand over the Chair to Senator
John Wight at this time. I would like to remind you that
we h ave roughly an hour left in this debate on Educ ation. And I hope that there is some time before it concludes for questions.
So, I am handing over to Senator Wight.

[Sen. John Wight , Chairman]

Thank you, Senator Simmons.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Mr. Chairman, business unit
27090, Educational Standards and Accountability has
oversight of our 18 primary schools, four middle
schools, two senior secondary schools and one sp ecial school. This team comprises three assistant directors who supervise schoo l principals and ensure effective leadership, quality teaching, quality services, and
quality programmes in our schools. The work carried
out by the assistant directors is essential for the
growth and development of school leaders and for overall school an d system -wide improvement.
During the 2019/20 school year the assistant
directors were responsible for conducting principal evaluations using the McREL Principal Evaluation
Tool. Principal midyear evaluations were completed
with fidelity. However, due to COVID -19 regulations,
the timeline for completing the final evaluations was
impacted. The goals for the evaluation were rolled
over from the 2019/20 school year to the 2020/21
school year. And feedback to principals using a standardised form has been exec uted.
Mr. Chairman, the Teacher Performance
Evaluation programme (TPEP) for [term one] of the
2020/21 was concluded with fidelity with minor adjustments to compliance timelines due to COVID -19
regulations. Again, feedback to principals using a standardised form was implemented for all teacher evaluations.
Mr. Chairman, the standardised form captures
key indicators for the evaluation standards and prot ocols, which are also aligned with ESA performance
measures. These two achievements support the area
of ac tion in Plan 2022 priority 3, strengthening educ ator evaluation and performance management. This
priority also aligns directly with the Government’s E ducation Platform, which makes an unequivocal commitment to improving accountability in education.
Mr. Chairman, the new school improvement
plan (SIP) format that was implemented last year con-tinues to be actioned by our school leaders from the
preschool to the senior level. In essence, SIPs are
246 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate strategic plans for schools. The [high leverage] design
feature of the improvement plan has a focus on intentional adult action and the impact on student gain.
When developing the plan with stakeholders, princ ipals develop theory -of-action statements to guide
them in achieving their identified targets and goals. The as sistant directors of ESA provide feedback to
principals using a standardised form. And monthly
monitoring checks are conducted to ensure the action
items are progressing according to what is outlined in
the school improvement plan.
Mr. Chairman, the school improvement plan
methodology requires principals to report on student
gains at three intervals in the academic year so that
the Department of Education can monitor student per-formance and gains over time and determine progress
with key performance measur es. Due to COVID -19,
schools engaged in remote learning last year, and as a result data could not be collected from March 2020
to June 2020. This impacted the reporting of our st udent gains. However, data for September 2020
through December 2020 were collected. The ESA
Section monitors the data and provides feedback to
principals during the monthly contact visit. The first
opportunity to report out on student gains will be April
2021.
Mr. Chairman, Educational Standards and
Accountability (ESA) has used the school improv ement platform to connect the work of principals as
leaders in managing change in their buildings with
developing a purposeful community to achieve goals,
and to focus on the work that matters most for st udents. These three areas provide the parameters for
professional development that support the school i mprovement plan in a very meaningful way. Principals
and deputy principals have been provided with pr ofessional learning opportunities and coaching as r equired to support their work in schoo l improvement,
teacher performance evaluations, standards -based
grading, COVID -19 safety and health protocols, and
remote learning.
Mr. Chairman, the School Improvement Plans
(or SIPs) continued implementation in September
2020. Principals worked with their leadership teams to
develop school improvement goals for the academic
year. This achievement is connected to the area of action in priority 3 of Plan 2022, Professional Learning
and Supports, Strategy 3.1.1. The school improv ement plan requires principa ls to support the delivery of
customised professional learning for teachers in support of the goals identified in their school’s improv ement plan.
Principals, in collaboration with Education officers, delivered site- based professional development
in the f ollowing areas: writing proficiency, mathematics, reading, research- based instructional strategies,
and innovation. This is also connected to the Government’s Education Platform and their commitment to ensure professional development for teachers to
improv e learning outcomes for students.
Mr. Chairman, the ESA Assistant Directors
played a significant role in helping close the school
facilities in June 2020 in preparation for the school facilities to re -open in September 2020. School i nspections were carrie d out on a continuous basis to
ensure that the environments remained clutter -free,
clean and safe to occupy in accordance with the D epartment of Health COVID -19 safety and health prot ocols. This section also worked closely with the D epartment of Health to development the COVID -19
safety and health protocols and helped facilitate r emote professional development with all school staff prior to the opening of schools. This included sharing
and responding to questions on the new COVID -19
safety and health protoc ols.
Mr. Chairman, all school staff received pr ofessional development in mental health wellness from
EAP. Between May 2020 and February 2021, EAP
facilitated a total of 26 sessions with school staff. A dditional sessions were held with school staff impacted
by COVID -19 developments that unfortunately occurred in November and December 2020. The ESA
Assistant Directors assisted with the protocols and
operational procedures when positive COVID -19 tests
were identified in schools. They also assisted with closin g schools during the spike in COVID -19 cases
and with parent and teacher notifications for quarantine. The ESA Section facilitated the arrangements for
schools to complete virtual open houses for incoming
students along with the transition to remote learni ng
during term one.
Mr. Chairman, during the 2021/22 fiscal year,
this business unit comprising the three Assistant D irectors of ESA, have as their priorities to increase the
quality of school improvement plans, to improve the
quality of teacher evaluations, to monitor data submission and data collection processes, and to provide feedback to principals on their performance.
Mr. Chairman, our mentor teachers are s upervised by one of the ESA Assistant Directors. The mentors have worked hard to support our f irst- and
second- year inductees (these are new teachers). And
the mentors’ priorities during the 2020/21 school year were as follows:
1. Implement the revised mentor programme
requirements. These include reflective submissions, demonstrated proficiency in high-level research- based
practices and digital professional portfolios.
2. Provide professional development to inductees based on individual and collective needs for
workshops in the tenets of standards -based grading,
formative assessments, designing as sessments
aligned with proficiency scales and using the Da nielson Framework as a tool of self -reflection.
3. Facilitate standards -based grading wor kshops for support of system -wide professional development.


Bermuda Senate The mentor teacher priorities for 2021/22 will
be as follows: 1) further revise and implement the new
BTIP [Bermuda Teacher Induction Programme] r equirements; 2) provide professional development on
question formulation techniques, meta- cognitive strategy, data collection which informs instruction and
high-leverage strategies for student engagement; and
3) facilitate standards -based grading workshops in
support of system -wide professional development.
Mr. Chairman, last year it was reported that
the Bermuda College would provide a Principal Cert ificatio n programme through a partnership with Framingham State University. Mr. Chairman, this is linked
to Plan 2022’s area of action, Enhanced Educator
Certification in priority 3, and supports Strategy 3.5. There is also support of the Government’s Education
Platform and the commitment to ensure professional
development to improve learning outcomes for st udents. It was also reported last year that the agre ement required a minimum cohort of 10. And at that
time there were seven applicants.
Mr. Chairman, the Graduate Certificate pr ogramme in Educational Leadership started on Oct ober 12, 2020, and the number of applicants has i ncreased to 13. The cohort of 13 educators includes
teachers, year -level heads, mentor teachers, deputy
principals, acting principals and De partment of Educ ation officers.
Mr. Chairman, at the end of the sixth week of
the first course, the department received the following
feedback about this cohort: May I quote, Mr. Chai rman?

Yes, you may, Senator.

Sen. Owen Darrell: “What a strong, competent, eager, passionate and joyful group of education leaders!
In all the years I have been teaching, I have never
worked with such a group. If they are indicative of educational leaders in Bermuda, then the rest of the
world should be taking notice. In this course, Superv ision and Staff Development, we are focusing on bringing 21
st century knowledge and tools to the profession. Every person in this course has added greatly to
the overall knowledge base. The sense of community
created within th is group has given rise to sharing at a
depth generally not found so quickly. I love how much
they love their country and feel a tremendous sense of
responsibility to push themselves to becoming even more effective educational leaders.” [UNVERIFIED
QUOTE]
Mr. Chairman, these educators are equipping
themselves to lead within the system in the future. I
applaud their dedication and determination to perform
with excellence, and I wish all of them continued success with the programme.
Mr. Chairman, the funds allocated to this unit
have decreased over 2020/21, totalling $611,000. Mr. Chairman, the 2020/21 budget for bus iness unit 27095, Attendance, was transferred into business unit 27090 to fund the salaries of four school
attendance officers and a school re gistration and attendance coordinator. It is the responsibility of this
team to ensure that children of compulsory school age
are in school on a daily basis. The school registration
and attendance coordinator also oversee the annual
school registration process for the enrolment of chi ldren in all public schools. The coordinator also carries out a review of the registration process each year and ensures improvements in the process for the following
year, through consultation with department and school
leader s. The registration and attendance coordinator
is also on the front line of communication and assi stance, regularly fielding parent questions and comments regarding the registration process.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance officers prepare
monthly reports on student attendance and teacher
attendance submissions for each school. The monthly
report displays month- over-month analysis and ident ifies trends over the period. The coordinator conducts
audits of school attendance data to determine each
school’s progress and compliance. Mr. Chairman,
monthly reporting has increased school accountability,
and timeliness and accuracy of attendance submi ssions.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance officers are
required to adhere to the Health Department’s
COVID -19 protocols, and this resulted in reduced vis ibility in schools. However, attendance officers are accessible via Zoom, email and telephone calls to a ddress attendance queries and concerns. The aim of ensuring that attendance data were accurate, reliable and timely remains at the forefront of their daily r esponsibilities.
Mr. Chairman, COVID -19 resulted in the i mplementation of new attendance codes and a determ ination of student attendance in the virtual classroom.
The accuracy in recording attendance was paramount
to ensur e that we assisted in maintaining a safe env ironment when schools transitioned back to in- person
teaching and learning. Mr. Chairman, the attendance
officers monitored the various sick codes and quarantine timeframes closely.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance team maintains
a listing of students with chronic [absences], and their
communication and collaboration with the schools has
increased to combat chronic absences. Additionally,
this team is working with the Bermuda Police Service
Task Team in identifying t he reasons for absences in
an effort to reduce chronic student absences in alignment with Plan 2022, key outcomes 1– 8, and in support of the department’s performance measures for
attendance for schools.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance officers were
responsib le for ensuring that every parent had a Po werSchool Parent portal account that could be used to
keep parents informed of their student's attendance,
248 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate grades, and report cards. As of January 2021, 90 per
cent of parents had a parent portal account, up from
79 per cent in November 2020. And 20 out of 34
schools have 90 per cent to 100 per cent of their parents with parent portal accounts. We expect all schools to reach the target of having 100 per cent of
their parents and guardians with a parent portal account.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance and registration
coordinator launched for the first time the online regi stration of both new and returning students in February
2021. As expected, there were a few glitches with the
implementation of the new system. However, these
were quickly addressed with a resolution. On the
whole, the responses from the public and educators to reach this milestone of an online registration have
been well received. The online registration moves the
public school system from the traditional paper -based
labour -intensive registration process to a 21
st century,
highly efficient process that provides a better way to manage enrolment, transfers and withdrawals.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance team will continue to fulfil their role to ensure that students attend school on a daily basis. They will also improve the
communication between parents and schools so that
the attendance codes are correct. Additionally, in cases where a student will no longer attend a public school they will improve efficienc y in ensuring that
parents can provide the correct documentation to withdraw the student in a timely manner, using the
newly released online returning student application.
Mr. Chairman, we must ensure that quality
teaching/learning experiences and services take place
when teachers or other school staff are on sick leave.
The funds allocated for business unit 27160, Subst itutes, has increased by $378,000.
Mr. Chairman, the overall budget for the Ce ntral Administration programme is $4,214,000 for the
2021/22 fiscal year, which is lower than the previous year’s budget due primarily to the reallocation of human resource services.

Okay. Thank you, Senator.

Programme 1702— Student Services
Sen. Owen Darrell: Mr. Chairman, Programme 1702,
Student Services, facilitates the provision of 13 essential programmes that directly provide services to meet the diverse needs of our students who have been
identified as h aving exceptionalities.
Business unit 27061, Behaviour Management,
funds behaviour therapists for preschool and primary
schools, as well as one education officer for behaviour
management. In addition, the funding covers two A lternative Education programmes, which facilitate sui table alternative education environments and services
for students with behavioural challenges. The 2021/22
budget for this business unit will decrease by
$221,000 due to two positions being reallocated to business units 27160, Subst itutes, and 27063, School
Psychology.
Mr. Chairman, the Success Academy Heron
Bay [SAHB], the alternative support programme, serviced six primary school students up to June 2020.
Currently, the programme services four primary -aged
students with the goal of assisting them in acquiring
replacement behaviours for complete reintegration
back into the mainstream classroom environment.
Mr. Chairman, Success Academy Roberts
Avenue [SARA], the alternative support programme
for middle and senior level students, supported 13
students up until June 2020. Currently, Success
Academy Roberts Avenue services thirteen male st udents, nine of whom are senior school students and
four of whom are middle school students. The goal is
to re- integrate students back into their mai nstream
middle school environment, to transition students to
senior school or to retain students at Success Academy Roberts Avenue to complete the GED or Penn
Foster programme.
Educational therapists, educational therapist
assistants and other members of the Multi -tier System
of Support (MTSS) School teams continue to provide
tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 support for students in our
schools who have behavioural challenges. These
supports range from classroom monitoring and co nsultation to caseload admission, as well as
• daily tracking schedules;
• developing individual crisis management plans;
• implementing behaviour intervention strat egies; and
• developing functional behaviour plans and
behaviour intervention plans.
Mr. Chairman, partnerships have been
strengthene d with supporting agencies, s uch as the
Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS),
Child and Adolescent Services (CAS), Probation Services and the Department of Health. One example of
this is reflected in the monthly meetings of the High
Risk Interven tion Committee where mutual clients and
their specific unique needs are discussed and support
is actioned. Through the 2020/21 school year, ETs
have been participating in functional behaviour assessment and behaviour intervention plan specialist training t hrough individualised professional development.


Bermuda Senate It is clear that families experienced and coped
with the effects of COVID -19, including remote lear ning, in a myriad of ways. ETs and ETAs helped fam ilies navigate these difficulties. While schools were
operating remotely due to the pandemic, ETs and
ETAs supported families with academic work packet
deliveries, community food voucher connections and
clinical partner services. In addition, they provided
supportive suggestions with families, centred around
sche dules and routines. ETs also shared intervention
strategies and prevention skills with parents and
guardians and emphasised the need to reinforce the
desired behaviours.
Mr. Chairman, for the 2021/22 year ETs and
ETAs will increase the level of support they provide to
the classroom teachers and will work to improve pla nning and monitoring of student progress. This will be accomplished by creating collaborative intervention
plans, tracking replacement behaviours and sharing
success with stakeholders, using MTSS (which refers
to the multi -tiered system of supports) process. They
will utilise a whole -child lens and integrate academics
and behaviour. The implementation of a technological
support system that is data driven will support this
collaboration and pro blem -solving among the MTSS
team.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27063 includes
our school psychologists, who support administrators
and address student needs for the areas of academics, behaviour and mental health. Further, the school
psychologists provide comprehensive psychoeduc ational evaluations, consultations, short -term counselling, and interventions and preventive services across
the entire system.
Mr. Chairman, school psychologists are engaged in and are a valuable resource for schools in
relation t o the MTSS process, a Plan 2022 system
priority for Strategy 1.4.6. Through the MTSS process,
a multidisciplinary team discusses the needs of our
students and suggests interventions and resources to
address concerns. The school psychologists, as participan ts on the MTSS team, collaborate to ensure
that students have support which includes resources
from within the public school system as well as the
wider community. Recommendations are made
through consultation within the MTSS framework, and recommendations are also made utilising the data
derived from psychoeducational assessments conducted by the school psychologists.
Mr. Chairman, while schools were implementing remote learning during the first four months of the
pandemic, our school psychologists developed prot ocols for the provision of services to students. These
services were provided according to Health Depar tment’s best practice guidelines. School psychology
practices were also aligned with the mandates a dvised by psychological associations and regul atory
bodies regarding COVID -19 protocols. The school psychologists researched and
compiled itemised costs for various models (tradition-al, hybrid and telehealth) to effectively accomplish
their service work during the pandemic. Each of these
models progr essively required more technology in
order to operate more efficiently under COVID -19
health and safety constraints. During the 2021/22 fi scal year, the school psychologists will further integrate technology into psychoeducational assessments. As a
matter of priority in the upcoming year, school ps ychologists will continue to manage their assessment
referrals and provide consultation to the school staff to
ensure the delivery of services prior to and after ps ychoeducational assessments have been carried out .
Mr. Chairman, the 2021/22 budget for school
psychologists decreased by $29,000.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27064, the Adaptive Physical Education Programme, is a developmen-tally appropriate physical education programme deli vered by three specialist teachers. These teachers pr ovide services to students with diverse physical needs
by providing the adaptive support necessary to enable students to be included in the regular physical educ ation programme. Mr. Chairman, for clarity, the adaptive physical educ ation lessons are implemented on
an individual basis, in small groups, and within the
regular physical education classroom setting. Mr.
Chairman, students receiving adaptive physical edu-cation services have individualised education plans
(also known as IEP s) with goals and objectives which
are in line with the regular physical education curric ulum.
Mr. Chairman, this specialist team organises
the Department of Education Adaptive Physical Ed ucation National Track and Field Invitational. This Inv itational includes students from P1 to S4 who have
special physical needs and who receive adaptive
physical education services, as well as individuals
who have transitioned out of the Bermuda Public School System and who are presently at the K. Margaret Carter Centre and other facilities. The mechanisms to facilitate the Adaptive PE National Track and
Field Invitational were in place prior to the mandated
lockdown due to COVID -19.
As a result of the regulations, the event was
cancelled. The Adaptive PE division is looking forward to re- introducing the event to students with students
from P1 to S4 and to other entities servicing the special needs community. The event will be held at a time
when it is conducive to the safety of all in compliance
with the Health Department’s safety and health regu-lations.
Due to the COVID -19 pandemic the Adaptive
PE Team’s ability to work on expanding community partnerships was limited. However, a continuing par tnership with the National Stadium was further esta blished ensuring plans to h old the Adaptive PE National
Track and Field Invitational. Utilising the National St adium facilities for training opportunities for special
250 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate needs students has also previously been facilitated;
however, it was not possible during this school year
due to COV ID-19.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27065 is the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing programme, which employs teachers who provide students with academic instruction. They also collaborate with classroom teachers to
ensure that teaching and learning are effective, and
that student needs are met during instruction in the
regular classroom. The $295,000 budgeted for this
business unit are for salaries, disability -specific r esources and materials, hearing aids and equipment,
professional development and consultant servic es.

Senator Darrell, as a reminder, you
have roughly 15 minutes left before we have to move
on to the Ministry of Finance Headquarters and Office
of the Tax Commissioner.

Sen. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, teachers of the deaf and hard
of hearing are preparing for the expansion of the
teaching of sign language at the middle and secondary [school] levels. Teachers are also designating time
to collaborate with paraprofessionals before and after
sessions are held with st udents, and to educate a dministrative staff on the specific needs of students
who are deaf or hard of hearing. Mr. Chairman, it is
these teachers who made a recommendation to supply staff with transparent masks. Resultantly, transparent masks, with the spo nsorship of the Department
of Health, have been provided to every school staff
from the preschool level to the senior school level, including at Dame Marjorie [Bean Hope] Academy.
Mr. Chairman, these teachers also facilitated
a communications workshop for occupational ther apists, physical therapists and speech- language
pathologists for their clients who are deaf or hard of
hearing. The session focused on using gestures and
basic sign language connected to their fields. The
teachers have also participated i n standards -based
grading professional development to remain abreast
of schoolwide curriculum expectations.
Mr. Chairman, line item 27066, the Vision
business unit, has been allocated a budget of $100,000. Students with visual impairments have unique educ ational needs. In order to meet their
unique needs, students must have specialised se rvices, books and materials in appropriate media, i ncluding braille. Students also need specialised equi pment and technology to ensure equal access to the core and special ised curricula, and to enable them to
effectively function alongside their peers in school and
ultimately in society.
The vision programme has maintained a good
working relationship with our community partner V ision Bermuda. Our students benefit from less ons
conducted in their transition programme in preparing
for life post -senior school. These lessons enable our students to use the many IT components and manual
tools that are a necessity for their learning.
Presently, there is one vision teacher for the
public school system who supports 13 students who
have visual impairments. The teacher, in addition to her duties, provides professional development to
school staff and paraprofessionals who work directly
with students. The paraprofessionals have completed
additional braille courses and trainings to ensure they
are equipped to meet the needs of our students.
Mr. Chairman, the business unit 27071, Office
Support, serves as the Secretariat for the Student Services Section and funds the salaries of the Assi stant Director of Student Services, one administrative
assistant and six learning support teachers who pr ovide services to students with special needs. There is
a decrease of $179,000.
Mr. Chairman, can I just have one second
please?

Yes, Sen ator.
[Pause]

Sen. Owen Darrell: Mr. Chairman, the Counselling
Programme, business unit 27072, is a comprehensive, developmental school counselling programme
(CDSCP) based on an international model, with four components: (1) classroom guidance/core curri culum;
(2) individual planning; (3) responsive services; and
(4) system support. More specifically, school -based
counselling programmes provide early intervention, crisis intervention and prevention, treatment and pr omotion of positive social and emotional development.
Mr. Chairman, this business unit funds the salary of
an Education Officer for Counselling, 25 counsellors
who service the preschools and primary schools, and 10 at the middle school level; and one Alternative
School Counsellor. This unit has a decrease in bud geted funds of $245,000.
Mr. Chairman, school counsellors comprise a
group of dedicated professionals who coordinate their services with school teams and community partners.
With parental permission, school counsellors consult
with community mental health service providers to coordinate responsive and community -based services. The Education Officer for Counselling meets
with school counsellors, school teams, CAS, DCFS,
the Department of Court Services and the Department
of Health represent atives throughout the school year
to coordinate services for high- risk students.
Mr. Chairman, school counsellors are required
to facilitate individual academic and career planning
meetings for students in P5, M2, S1 and S4. However,
the pandemic and resulting school building closures
impacted the ability of school counsellors to complete
the individual planning meetings during the 2019/20 school year. These have been recommenced for the
2020/21 school year.


Bermuda Senate Mr. Chairman, the Education Officer for
Counsel ling identified the following top three priorities
for 2020/21.
1. Continue to utilise information from student
surveys and feedback from school counsellors to i mprove programme delivery and enhance students’
feelings of safety and trust (aligned to Plan 2022 key
outcome 1– 10). Prior to school closures, students
from one middle school were surveyed. A summary of feedback reported that students expressed that they
were comfortable meeting with their school counse llors; that the school counsellors helped them to understand topics such as bullying, peer pressure and
conflict resolution; and that they felt respected and
listened to when they talked with the school counse llors. School counsellors were given opportunities during group supervision meetings to prov ide feedback
and peer support for enhanced programme delivery.
2. Continue to develop success criteria for
classroom guidance learning intentions. The success
criteria guide was completed along with the creation of success criteria for all standardised lessons.
3. Assess whether the updates to the P5 and
M2 individual planning meeting forms, specifically the
inclusion of values clarification and career inventories,
sufficiently assisted students with preparing for their
future careers in alignment with Pl an 2022 adaptive
Strategies 2.12.4 and 2.12.5. Positive feedback was
received from parents and students pertaining to the
addition of exploration of values and review of the i nformal career assessment. Students appreciated the
opportunity to have discussions around values and
the connection to future careers.
Mr. Chairman, starting in March 2020,
throughout remote learning and upon the return to
school buildings, school counsellors formally and i nformally surveyed students’ adjustment to the various changes and monitored feelings of safety and ac ademic engagement. Simultaneously, the Education Officer for Counselling monitored the school counse llors’ well- being and adjustment by conducting supervision meetings via Zoom and telephone during the work -from-home period, focusing on self -care and
peer support.
Mr. Chairman, school counsellors were defin itively all in for all students throughout remote learning
and school breaks by securing and delivering techno logy devices, advocating for access to Wi -Fi, and d elivering groceries and grocery vouchers to families. In August 2020 the Education Officer for Counselling
created a guidance document for the delivery of
school counselling services during remote and hybrid learning to assist the school counsellors with pl anning
their programme delivery for the 2020/21 school year.
Additionally, the Education Officer for Counselling
continued to promote a focus on positive coping skills by encouraging school counsellors to highlight Oct ober 5 through 9, 2020, as Mental Heal th Awareness
Week. During this week guidance lessons and activ i-ties stressed the importance of implementing appr opriate coping skills when dealing with life challenges.
Mr. Chairman, the Education Officer for
Counselling will continue to monitor the compl etion of
P5, M2, S1 and S4 individual planning meetings by school counsellors and will review student responses
to determine the achievement of the pre- set student
outcome that all P5, M2, S1 and S4 public school sy stem students will answer the response pa ge of their
educational plans indicating how the individual planning meeting helped them to plan for potential future careers. The officer will review all counselling intervention plans to determine achievement of the student
outcome that all public school system students who
have a counselling intervention plan will show pr ogress towards their goals by the end of four counselling sessions. The officer will provide professional de-velopment training and clinical supervision sessions
for school counsellors, f ocusing on tier 2 school counselling interventions for anxiety and child traumatic stress.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27072 funds the
salary of an Education Officer for Counselling; 25 counsellors who service preschools and primary
schools, and 10 at the middle school level; and one
alternative programme counsellor. This unit has decreased in budgeted funds of $245,000 over 2020/21.
Mr. Chairman, I have quite a bit left in my brief
. . . I am not going to be able to get through it —

I think , Senator . . . we have, literally
eight minutes left. So, I would ask that we now use
that short period to allow questions to be asked. I
think the Shadow [Minister] Senator, Ben Smith, had
questions.

Sen. Ben Smith: Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Obviously, I spent quite a bit of time preparing
for asking a lot of questions. And there is no time to
do that. I was hoping that other Senators would have
an opportunity to be part of this debate, and it is quite
frustrating considering that we have been talking
about how we can, you know, work together. And e ducation being such a highlighted topic right now, that we could get to a situation where we are expected to ask questions for eight minutes and then get answers
. . . so, I guess what I will do is . . . let’s thank all of our
teachers, all of our educators, for what they have
been doing on an ongoing basis, but specifically in
this last year with all of the changes that we have had
to go through.
It is important that we support our teachers
and understand the chan ges that they have had to go
through. For some of them, the changes to remote learning meant a completely new idea for them. U nderstanding that some educators have been in the system for 30, 40 years, some of the technology changes . . . that is not the wa y they teach, specifically
252 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate if you are in the primary section. So they have had to
go through some significant changes.
So I would just like to continue to thank them.
And obviously as we are going through the issues that
we are having today they are havi ng to adjust once
again. And our young people are going through issues
and really need to have us give them our full attention.
And it would have been great to have gotten some
answers to some of those things.
One of the main things that I was going to
bring up was that if you look on pages B -140 and B -
141 it leaves out the actual amounts that are paid out
to each school, what the actual budget is for each
school. You will see, I believe almost across the entire
board, that there has been a cut for every o ne of
those schools. It would be good for us to have the o pportunity to know how many students attend each of the schools, right? So I am looking at this from a true
budget. You want to know how many customers you
have for the cost that you have so that yo u can justify
the changes in the budget. It would be good for us to
be able to have that number so that we know if a
school only has 67 people in the entire school and it is
costing this amount of money, can we justify the
school continuing to be open?
When we have discussions like we have been
having about closing schools, we have a better understanding if we could have that kind of analysis. Well
obviously, asking that question would have meant it
would take a long time to get that answer and we will
not get that answer today, which is unfortunate.
As I spoke earlier today about all of the ps ychological issues that we have, you would expect that
we would see an increase in those areas, like counselling and what is going to be needed. We see reductions i n the behaviour area. The narrative in Bermuda
is that a lot of our teachers are spending long periods
of time dealing with the behaviour of students. So, we
would like to see that maybe there is going to be an
increase, or get an understanding of what we are going to do with those issues.
There is a huge transition. There is a whole
bunch of discussion that is happening. Nobody really knows where we are going to be at the same time we
are dealing with a pandemic and all the issues that
this brings to our young people.
I apologise. I am frustrated; there is no sense
in my asking the questions. I would rather give the
opportunity to maybe Senator Simmons to ask some
questions. Thank you.

[No audio]

Sen. Ben Smith: Senator Wight, you are muted.

The Chair man: Sorry.
Senator Simmons, with the benefit of about
four minutes left, I know this is your background; would you like to offer any comments or ask any ques tions?

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I did have a few questions . . . well, m ore than
a few, but I would like to just pull out a couple of
things in the short time left.
One of the things I would like to touch on is
something that may not be obvious in the budget, but it was touched on this morning when Senator Darrell
was giving a statement. And that is about the M3 level in middle schools in September 2022 being incorporated in the senior level. My question is really about
what is happening in September 2022 and that would
be part . . . actually, it would not , but I will ask it a nyway.
What is happening to M1 and M2 in September 2022? Obviously, Government is seeking to elim inate middle schools, but I do not think there is a clear
picture yet of exactly how that is good. And I am not
looking for details, a high overview would be very we lcome. But my question is really about how middle
schools will be phased out by September 2022.
And I have another question, and that is with
respect to . . . and I am just pulling out some quick
questions here, because the others would require much time and detail. The T. N. Tatem building in
Warwick is no longer being used as a middle school
facility. But what is the plan for that building? It is real
estate, and I do not know if there are programmes in
the building right now. I doubt if it is ful ly occupied,
even if there are one or two programmes. So what is
the plan for the T. N. Tatem Middle School facility that
is no longer being used? And I see there is one m inute left, so I am not anticipating answers, but maybe Senator Darrell will be kind enough to supply those for
me. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Wight.
Senators just a reminder that we are in Committee of Whole [Senate] for further consideration of
the Appropriation Act 2021/22, together with the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2021/22.
The Ministr y under consideration now is the
Ministry of Finance. The Heads for debate under this
Ministry are: Head 10, which you will find on page B -
113 of the Budget Book; and Head 38, which you will
find on page B -125 of the Budget Book.
The Senator who will be speaking to these
Heads is Senator Arianna Hodgson, Junior Minister of
Finance, Youth, Culture and Sport and Labour.
It is now 5:20 pm, and Senator Hodgson, you
have the floor.

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you Madam Chai rman.
I move that the Committee do no w take under
consideration Head 10, Ministry of Finance Headquar-ters, and Head 38, Office of the Tax Commissioner.

I’m sorry; may I interrupt one more
time? That is just to say that we have two hours in total for this debate, for both Heads.
Thank you.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

HEAD 10 —MINISTRY OF FINANCE
HEADQUARTERS
Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Chai rman.
Before I begin, I just want to make it clear that
while the Senators are frustrated by the lack of time, but the schedule was act ually decided upon by those
Senators. So I will do my best to allow for some time
for conversation and questions at the end of the brief.
Madam Chairman, the 2021/22 budget est imates for the Ministry of Finance Headquarters, Head 10, may be found in secti on B of the Estimates Book
on pages B -113 through B -115, and in section C on
pages C -4, Capital Development; and C -11, Capital
Acquisitions; and C -17, Grants.
The Finance Ministry comprises six depar tments, led by the Ministry of Finance Headquarters, and includes the Accountant General, Customs Rev enue, Social Insurance, the Office of the Tax Commi ssioner and the Registrar of Companies. Allocations to
cover the interest on government debt and contributions to the sinking fund are also included in the F inance Ministry’s budget. The Ministry of Finance has the total staffing establishment of 158 posts and an
aggregate current account budget of $200 million —

[Technical i nterference]

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: The speaker is on.

[Technical i nterference]

Sen. A drianna Hodgson: Madam Chairman?

Yes, Senator Hodgson, just pause for
a minute. Someone’s microphone is on. I think it’s off now. So, please proceed.

Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Thank you.
The Ministry of Finance has the total staffing
establis hment of 158 posts and an aggregate current
account budget of $200 million and is responsible for
collecting $876.9 million, or 88.0 per cent, of all go vernment revenue. A snapshot of key information for
the Ministry of Finance is shown on page B -112 of the
Estimates Book.
The Department Current Account allocations
are as follows:
Head 10 —Ministry of Finance Headquarters,
$16.9 million, an increase 179.0 per cent.
• business unit 20000, Policy Planning and
Management, an increase of 44 per cent to
$802,000;
• business unit 20010, Fiscal Planning and
Control, a decrease of $21,000, or 4.0 per
cent;
• business unit 20020, the Regulatory Unit, a decrease of $13,000, or 3.0 per cent;
• business unit 20030, Economic and Financial
Intelligence, a decrease of $58,000, or 4.0 per
cent;
• business unit 20040, Treaty Management and
Administration, a decrease of $18,000, or
2.0 per cent;
254 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate • business unit 20070, Pension Commission
grant, a decrease of $50,000, or 6.0 per cent;
• business unit 20100, Office of the National
Anti-money Laundering Committee, an i ncrease of $160,000, or 17 per cent.
• business unit 20997, National Health Emergency, which includes new estimates for
2021/22, COVID -19 pandemic anticipated expenses.
Head 38—Office of the Tax Commissioner, a
decrease of $151,000, or 4.0 per cent.
The Minister in charge of the finance portfolio
is the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Curtis L. Dickinson, JP, MP, and he is supported by myself,
Junior Minister of Finance, Senator Arianna J. Hodg-son.
For more than 10 years the Ministry technical
team has been under the dedicated and professional
leadership of Mr. Anthony Manders. Through his
knowledge and understanding of Bermuda’s financial
landscape and the Government’s operations, he made
a significant contribution to Bermuda. H e has left a
lasting legacy within the Ministry and in particular,
contributed to a strong and robust budget process.
The executive and senior officials in the Mini stry of Finance Headquarters are currently: Acting F inancial Secretary, Mrs. Cheryl -Ann List er; Assistant
Financial Secretary for Economics and Finance, Mr.
Stephen Gift; Assistant Financial Secretary for Regulatory Unit, Ms. Pamela Burrows; Assistant Financial
Secretary for the Treaty Management and Administr ation Unit, Mr. Wayne Brown; and Director of Budget, Mrs. Tina Tucker; and the National Coordinator for the Office of NAMLC [National Anti-Money Laundering
Committee], Ms. Paula Tyndale.
Madam Chairman, the presentation of the N ational Budget Statement on Friday, February 26,
marked the star t of the Budget Debate in the House of
Assembly. It now gives me great pleasure to present the budget for the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Finance plays a pivotal role in
the ongoing stability and prosperity of Bermuda. It is, however, important to highlight that budgets are not
just about numbers. Budgets are crafted based on the
needs of the country and the need to keep the people
informed. Over the course of this Government’s
Budget [Statements], Madam Chairman, you would
have noted a recurring t heme. That is, the Gover nment’s resolve to implement a strategy that will i mprove Bermuda’s economy reduce our debt with targeted investment and tax policy to enhance economic
growth, attract investment and create jobs; and mai ntaining fiscal discipline. W e have a responsibility to the
people of this country to provide the best fiscal and
economic management possible. And to this end we
will continue to make necessary choices required to
do so.
In last year’s Budget Statement, we highlighted that evidence t hat the economy was improving is proof that our strategy is beginning to bear fruit. It was
noted that the major parts of the economy, such as
employment, are much stronger than they were when
we first took the reins of Government. In turn, we ge nerally ex pected that the fiscal year 2020/21 was going
to be a good year. Unfortunately, the COVID -19 pa ndemic reached the shores of Bermuda soon after last
year’s budget was presented. And the ongoing challenges related to this pandemic have had a significant
nega tive impact on Bermuda’s economy similar to
countries all around the world.
Madam Chairman, as part of the Gover nment’s public sector reform initiative, the Finance Mi nistry Headquarters’ mission statement and key goals
and objectives were realigned as follows:
Mission statement: The achievement of ec onomic prosperity and to ensure the financial security of Bermuda. The key goals and objectives are to:
• facilitate balanced economic growth and
development;
• provide strategic direction and an overall framework for financial management and
control of government activities; and
• safeguard Bermuda’s economic interests in the face of challenges and threats in a
changing global economy.
Detailed objectives a nd core functions . The
first is to facilitate balanced economic growth and development by enabling the development and diversif ication of the financial services sector by increas ing
investor confidence to attract foreign direct investment and provid ing a stable environment for businesses.
Secondly, to provide strategic direction in an
overall framework for financial management and con-trol of government activities by
• formulating and implementing sustainable fi scal policies;
• effectively managing the public finances;
• optimising the yield from government’s rev enue base;
• assuring the alignment of resource allocation with policy priorities;
• instituting and adhering to the principles of z ero-based budgeting; and
• using output and performance measures to
evaluate programme expenditure.
We will s afeguard Bermuda’s economic i nterests by meeting international standards of financial
supervision and regulation, establishing and maintai ning economic intelligence networks, and establishing
and maintaining strategic economic alliances.
Madam Chairman, other key department objectives are as follows: to prepare, implement and
closely monitor the National Budget; to arrange all
government borrowing requirements efficiently and at
the most competitive rates; to report on the country’s
economic performance to the public; to maintain effective relations with credit -rating agencies; to oversee
and manage the public pension funds; to ensure and


Bermuda Senate support the fair , coherent and predictable development of financial services regulation; to be proactive in
treaty negotiations with respect to tax information exchange agreements and the exchange of tax information; to advance government’s anti -money laundering and anti -terrorist financing [AML/ATF] policy initi atives; support legislative development in this area; and
coordinate measures to enhance Ber muda’s
AML/ATF regime.
The Ministry’s core functions are discharged
through six broad programme areas:
• Policy, Planning and Management;
• Fiscal Planning and Control;
• Regulatory;
• Economic and Financial Intelligence;
• Treaty Management and Administration; and
• the Office of the NAMLC [ National Anti -Money
Laundering Committee] .
In discharging its functions under the overall
policy direction of the Minister of Finance, the Ministry
of Finance Headquarters seeks to achieve the f ollowing outcomes: a Bermuda that maintains its position
as a domicile of choice for international business; a
Bermuda where citizens have confidence in the Go vernment’s stewardship of the public purse; a Bermuda
where funding and resources are available for key
programmes and initiatives; a nd a Bermuda where
citizens regard government’s policy responses to ec onomic and financial challenges as appropriate and in the national interest.
Madam Chairman, in seeking to fulfil this
mandate, the Ministry of Finance Headquarters has a staff establishment of 21 permanent full -time posts,
and its total budget for 2021/22 is $16.9 million.
The Ministry of Finance Headquarters budget
allocation for 2021/22 is 179 per cent higher when
compared to the original estimate for 2020/21. This
change is primarily due to the contingency fund of $10
million set aside for ongoing COVID -19-related expenses either in relation to the ongoing pandemic
costs or to assist in economic recovery initiatives in a
post-pandemic world.
There has also been a material increase in
consultancy costs to address the increasing external
threats from other countries and regions grappling
with their own economic and financial challenges
which have been exacerbated by the COVID -19 pandemic.
Funds have also been set aside for Bermuda
to host the CFATF Plenary in November of 2021 when
Bermuda assumes the chairmanship of this important
regional body. These amounts were somewhat offset
by reductions in grant funding to the Pension Commission.
Madam Chairman, the budget for Ministry
Headquarters includes an operational element for each of the six programme areas within Ministry
Headquarters, plus grant funding to the Pension
Commission and the Bermuda Public Accountability Board. Detailed information on each of these Headquarter s cost centres, as well as the other depar tments who form part of the Ministry of Finance, will be
incorporated into this submission.

Business unit 20000 —Policy, Planning
and Management

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam Chairman, the Pol icy, Planning and Management Unit prov ides overall
direction and management of Ministry Headquarters
and supervisory oversight of the five departments in
the Ministry of Finance, namely, the Accountant Ge neral’s Department, HM Customs Revenue, the Office
of the Tax Commissioner, the Registrar of Companies and the Department of Social Insurance. In addition,
this unit undertakes strategic planning, administration and other activities associated with the daily operation
of the Ministry of Finance Headquarters.
Information technology, financial an d admini strative support, budget development, accounting, personnel administration, responding to PATI requests and reviews and general office administration are also
included in this cost centre. Finally, the unit also coordinates initiatives in economic diplomacy and organi ses the review and development of economic and f inancial policy. The budget for this unit in 2021/22 is
$802,000 higher than last year. This budget change
primarily reflects a material increase in consul tancy
costs to assist in addressi ng the external threats
posed by countries, and regional and international
bodies.
Madam Chairman, much has already been
said about the significant impact on countries inclu ding Bermuda caused by the COVID -19 pandemic. The
necessary lockdown of the econom y, the restrictions
imposed in relation to travel and other critical
measures to protect the health and well -being of our
residents resulted in significant declines in revenues
and increases in unanticipated expenses. Ministry Headquarters plays a signific ant role in providing str ategic advice, executing key initiatives to support and
sustain our people, and developing and implementing
plans for economic stability and recovery.
Budgets had to be revised and austerity
measures put in place to avoid the defic it reaching
unacceptable levels. Notwithstanding, during the per iod Bermuda was able to access funding in the capital
markets at rather favourable rates to address the pr esent and future challenges expected on the path to
recovery. Work continued throughou t the department
to not only help and support the people and economy
of Bermuda, but also to continue to address the myr iad of external threats facing Bermuda and other sim ilar jurisdictions.
Again, t he Ministry would like to express its
sincere thanks to all those who provided ideas and
input to help in developing and implementing initi a256 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate tives to support, stabilise and strengthen Bermuda’s
economy and help its people.
The largest share of the budget for the Policy
Unit is professional services and salaries. The salaries
provision for the Policy Unit covers five posts, including the Financial Secretary and two administrative
officers.
Madam Chairman, continuing to address the
challenges resulting from the COVID -19 pandemic will
be a key focus for the upcoming fiscal year. In addition, as the external threats continue to increase and a potential negative impact on our stability and recovery
also grows, we will invest the required time and r esources to proactively addressing the issues. To the
extent appropriat e, we will work with experts in key
industry sectors and other internal and external par tners to mitigate the risk.
To supplement the strong pool of the r esources available to us locally, we will work with
knowledgeable external advisors to assist us in i ntelligence gathering, assessment and development of
appropriate solutions for success. We will also be actively pursuing opportunities to further diversify and
expand our tax base which is important for an international financial centre such as ours. Cont inuing to
manage Bermuda’s financial resources in a fiscally
prudent manner will be a key principle underscoring all of our work.
Madam Chairman, I will now present details of
the work to be undertaken by the department s and
staff for which this Policy cost centre is tasked with
providing strategic leadership and operational management.
Business unit 20010—Fiscal Planning and
Control, a $21,000 decrease. Madam Chairman, the
Fiscal Planning and Control Unit of the budget team is
primarily responsible for the management, collection
and collation of Consolidated Fund budget data, the
monitoring and control of overall government expend itures on both capital accounts and current accounts ,
and the achievement of government revenues. The
unit is also tasked with t he responsibility of reviewing
and developing the Government’s annual capital expenditure plan. The budget for this unit in 2021/22 is
$524,000, which is $21,000 lower than last year.
The Budget Team provides advice and gui dance to department heads and controllers on both the
formulation of M inistry budgets and on budget monitoring and control. The team provides two formal trai ning sessions each year, designed for Ministry and departmental staff who have responsibility for budget
preparation and/or budget m onitoring and control. As
part of the budget monitoring and control exercises, all
Ministries and departments are required to review expenditure performance and to confirm on a monthly
basis their current and capital account expenditure performance with the Budget Office.
The Budget T eam has been working diligently
with Ministries and departments in 2020/21 to assist and manage the financial impact of COVID -19 pandemic expenditures. These expenditures are projec ted at $127 million in 2020/21. The impact of the
COVID -19 pandemic expenditures on the 2020/21
deficit was originally anticipated to increase it from $19.8 million to $295.4 million. Part of the budget
monitoring to identify Ministry savings and revenue
achievements along with the impact of austerity
measures, has enabled a revised projection of the
2020/21 deficit downward to $245.5 million, which is
$50 million below the previously amended deficit pr ojection.
Madam Chairman, ensuring the appropriate
fiscal discipline has been and still remains a commi tment of the Government. In order to determine high-policy priority programmes, the Budget Office has
continued to utilise zero- based budgeting methodol ogy for the development of the 2021/22 estimates.
Policy prioritisation at the start of the budget
process facilitates a better alignment of the allocation
of limited resources within Government’s overall policy
initiatives and objectives.
Zero-based budgeting [ ZBB] is a method of
budgeting in which all expenditures must be justified
along with a systemat ic review of the performance of
current programmes. The fundamental aim of zero -
based budgeting is to reflect the current and proposed
future programmes and services required by the Gov-ernment’s National Plan. This budget process allows
the Government to examine methods for allocating
limited resources to identify the most efficient and effective methods for utilisation of resources in the
achievement of specific goals and targets. Once the
analysis and zero-based budgeting packages were
completed, all serv ice levels for each department
were ranked and priorities agreed by the responsible
Minister.
The original zero-based budgeting prioritised
requests for the 2021/22 budget cycle totalled at $916
million for current account and $134 million for capital, totalling $1.05 billion , which is some $15 million above
the Finance Ministry ’s budget limit of $996 million To
address this, an assessment was undertaken of v acant posts. The zero-based budgeting process enabled Minist ries and departments to re- examine the ir
services and the impact on service delivery with the reduction of funded vacant posts. These reductions
enabled Ministries to fall within the final $996 million
and accommodate $15 million of COVID -19 estimates
within the 2021/22 appropriation limit.
Madam Chairman, for the fiscal year 2021/22,
the department has set objectives t o provide support
for the open budget process , enhance budget monitoring and reporting to Cabinet , introduce phase two
of the zero-based budgeting website implementation
and bring all supplementary appropriations current.
Madam Chairman, the salary provision of $414,559
accounts for 79 per cent of the Budget Team’s alloc ation for 2021/22. The provision covers the post of D iBermuda Senate rector of Budget, Principal Budget Officer, Budget O fficer, and Budget Assistant.
Business unit 20020—Regulatory Unit has
experienced a $13,000 decrease. Madam Chairman,
the 2021/22 budget estimate for the Regulatory Unit
can be found in section B of the Estimate Book on
page B -113. Accordingly, the budget for thi s unit in
2021/22 is $435,000. There is a minor decrease of
$13,000 to this budget allocation for this period.
Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit is the
lead policy division within the Ministry of Finance Headquarters in relation to the financial services sector. The Regulatory Unit is accountable to the Financial Secretary for the effective discharge of the unit’s
functions and to the Minister of Finance to Cabinet and Parliament.
The head of the unit, the Assistant Financial
Secretary for Regulation, carries out the Minister’s
financial services policies through the Ministry of F inance, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Attorney
General’s Chambers, the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee, the Bermuda Public Accountability
Board, the Bermuda Business Development Agency,
the Chartered Professional Accountants of Bermuda,
the Registrar of Companies and specialist global par tners.
Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit operates in response to a broad range of opportunities and
risks which allows the Minis try to contribute actively to
a continuous flow of information on potential threats
and opportunities to Bermuda and its reputation.
Those opportunities and risks are constantly changing. The Regulatory Unit’s planned response to these
challenges through v arious goals focused on advancing the unit ’s priorities and reflecting the outcomes
that the people of Bermuda deserve. Thus, the first
goal is to ensure and support the fair, impartial, eff icient and transparent development of regulations at
the national and international levels . The second goal
is to strengthen capacity to secure regulatory sol utions to economic security issues . And the third goal is
to strengthen the public diplomacy and support bilateral and multi -lateral engagement.
Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit is i nvolved in virtu ally every policy and management area ,
from regulatory reform and financial stability to anti -
money laundering and trade and development issues
at home and abroad. The scope of the Regulatory
Unit’s activities is as fol lows:
• to support the Minister of Finance and the F inancial Secretary in coordinating the financial
services regulatory policy initiatives of the
Government;
• to oversee the Finance Ministry’s component
of the financial services legislative pr ogramme, together with the Bermuda Monetary
Authority and the Ministry of Legal Affairs;
• to provide policy and strategic advice to the
Minister of Finance and the Financial Secr e-tary on anti -money laundering policy initi atives, together with the National Anti -Money
Laundering Committee [NAMLC], pursuant to
section 49 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997;
• to provide policy and strategic advice to the
Minister of Finance and the Financial Secr etary on matters related to transparency , together with financial services and audit directives issued by the European Union together
with the Cabinet Office, the Brussels Office, the London Office and EU specialists; and
• to provide policy advice to the Bermuda Bus iness Development Agency, the Economic A dvisory Committee, the Financial Pol icy Council
and the Insurance Advisory Committee t ogether on matters related to financial services.
Madam Chairman, in 2020/21, the Regulatory
Unit was primarily focused on technical and strategic
assistance regarding economic recovery and matters
arising out of Bermuda’s 2020 AML/CFT Mutual Evaluation Report and the beneficial ownership of information and transparency matters at home and
abroad.
Additional milestones achieved by the Regul atory Unit in 2020/21 included maintaining regulatory stability by ensuring completion of the Ministry of F inance components of nine regulatory policy initiatives
in the areas of financial services including, but not
limited to, insurance cyber risk requirements , incorporated and segregated account s companies and digital
asset businesses.
In collaboration with other finance teams [the
Regulatory Unit] provided technical policy and strat egic support to the Ministry of Finance in response to
the COVID -19 pandemic. The additional support pr ovided the Ministry of Finance with the necessary r esources to enhance our economic response to support individuals and businesses in Bermuda. That
support will be important in boosting the economy as
we enter into the recovery phase of the pandemic.
Further improved awareness and understanding among C -Suite executives in the financial services
sector of Bermuda’s economic model and the Go vernment’s COVID -19 response supported delivery of
the Government’s economic recovery objectives. That
support required the Minister of Finance and the Re gulatory Unit to implement an intensive programme of
domestic engagement with C -Suite executives of
Bermuda- based companies working together with the
association of Bermuda insurers and reinsurers and the association of Bermuda international companies.
In collaboration with members of the National
Anti-Money Laundering Committee [NAMLC], successful completion of Bermuda’s National TF [ Terrorist
Financing ] Risk Assessment, in addition to the Regulatory Unit’s ordinary NAMLC duties, the Assistant Financial Secr etary continued to provide general and
strategic advice to the NAMLC chair and to monitor
and manage the timely delivery of targets set by
258 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate NAMLC for the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the
Registrar of Companies where required. That support
also required th e Regulatory Unit to provide advice on
matters related to the Financial Action Task Force
Review of legal persons and the 2020 National Risk
Assessment on money laundering.
Madam Chairman, i n order to achieve its pr iorities and pursuant to the Finance Mini stry’s legisl ative agenda, the Bermuda Monetary Authority Business Plan, the Ministry of Finance EU engagement strategy, the Bermuda Business Development Agency strategy and the national anti -money laundering strategy, the unit will undertake the following key strategic
ownership goals in 2021/22, as follows:
Matters related to the European Union. Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will work with the
Bermuda Public Accountability Board and EU Council to coordinate the b oard’s compliance with the Eur opean U nion Audit Directive. This work includes the
provision of strategic and technical advice on matters related to audit equivalents.
Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will
work with the Registrar of Companies Treaty Unit, the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the office of the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee to coordinate the Finance Ministry’s response to the EU Code of Conduct Group’s work on matters related to tax good governance principles, including those pertai ning to the exchange of beneficial o wnership information. This includes providing technical and strategic
advice on all aspects of Bermuda’s beneficial ownership framework , as well as development aspects of
the financial services sector.
Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will
work with the Financial Secretary, the Office of the
National Anti -Money Laundering Committee and the
Treaty Unit to complete and coordinate the Finance
Ministry’s EU engagement strategy, together with the
Cabinet Office, the Bermuda Monetary Authority , the
Brussels Of fice, the London Office and the EU Council. This will include preparation for regular visits by
the Minister of Finance to meet with key EU stak eholders. This work also includes the provision of tec hnical and strategic advice at home and abroad. In the
post-Brexit environment, this work also includes an
enhanced meeting agenda with the Bermuda Monetary Authority together with the Brussels Office and
EU Council.
Matters related to the National Anti -Money
Laundering Committee and compliance with the F inancial Action Task Force international standards on
combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation. Madam Chairman, the Reg ulatory Unit will contribute to and support the impl ementation of Bermuda’s anti -money laundering strat egy, to gether with the work of the National Anti -Money
Laundering Committee. This work includes the prov ision of strategic and technical advice regarding mat-ters related to the Ministry of Finance arising from the 2020 Bermuda Mutual Evaluation Report, and the
completion of money -laundering and terroris tfinancing national risk assessments. This work also
involves representing the Ministry of Finance and
CFATF plenary meetings on a biannual basis and
contributions to the development of FATF standards
regarding the transparency of legal persons together
with any other standards as and when required.
To maintain momentum, the Assistant Financial Secretary of the Regulatory Unit was appointed to
the National Anti -Money Laundering Risk Assessment
Working Group in 2020. In addition, the Assistant F inancial Secretary will continue to represent the Mini stry of Finance on the following NAMLC committees:
• Policy and Legislative Working Group;
• National Threats and National Vulnerability
Committee;
• Supervisory Forum; and
• Sancti ons Working Group.
Matters related to the United Kingdom. Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will work with the Cabinet Office on matters related to Brexit in the f inancial services sector , together with the Bermuda
Monetary Authority , the London Office and specialist
partners. This work includes the provision of technical
and strategic advice on matters related to the equiv alence and transparency in a post -Brexit environment.
Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will
work with the Ministry of Finance team, the Bermuda
Monetary Authority and London Office on matters r elated to the annual assessment of the Exchange of Notes between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of Bermuda dated April the
9
th, 2016, in respect of the sharing of benefi cial ow nership information on a by -request basis.
Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will
work with the Ministry of Finance Team, Bermuda
Monetary Authority and the London Office on matters
related to a public register of beneficial ownership for
companies. This work includes the provision of tec hnical and strategic advice on the development of a
global standard by the G20. This work also includes
amendments to the beneficial ownership framework
together with participation in technical meetings with
the UK Government as and when required.
Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will
work with the Treaty Unit to coordinate the Finance
Ministry’s response to OECD assessments as and
when required. This includes providing technical and
strategic advice on all aspec ts of Bermuda’s corporate
and regulatory framework. This work also includes
participation in onsite and off -site meetings with the
OECD, together with NAMLC and the Bermuda Mon etary Authority and, as appropriate, the private sector.
Matters related to econ omic recovery. Madam
Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will support domestic
efforts towards agreeing concrete long- term commi tments to climate risk finance, working together with
the Ministry of Finance team, the Bermuda Business


Bermuda Senate Development Agency, the Bermuda Monetary Author ity and the Economic Advisory Committee to establish
Bermuda as a world leader in climate risk finance.
Madam Chairman, the Regulatory Unit will
continue to implement the Finance Ministry’s domestic
engagement programme with C -Suite exec utives of
Bermuda- based companies together with the Berm uda Business Development Agency and financial ser-vices stakeholder groups , supplemented by frequent
ministerial meetings to support Bermuda’s develo pment and economic recovery objectives.
Madam Chair man, as noted above, the unit’s
primary goal going forward for the next year will be to
continue to work with the relevant finance teams, the
Cabinet Office, the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the Bermuda Business Development Agency to meet
Bermuda’s domes tic and international commitments
as well as development in economic recovery objec-tives.
Madam Chairman, a salary provision of
$363,526 accounts for 84 per cent of the Regulatory
Unit’s allocation for 2021/22 and covers three posts, including the a ssistan t financial secretary of the Reg ulatory Unit, the policy advisor, as well as one admini strative officer. Work is still underway to design and secure the right skill set for the policy analyst post.
Business unit 20030— Economic and Financial Intelligence. Madam Chairman, the Economic and
Financial Intelligence Unit provides research and
analysis of economic and financial conditions to help
facilitate sound decisions on public policy and fiscal
management. Responsibilities of the staff in the unit
include economic forecasts, economic modelling, pr ojections of GDP and the development of key economic
indicators. Analysis and commentary on economic
and financial statistics are provided, and an annual
and mid- year review and outlook are produced. The
budget for this unit in 2021/22 is $378,000, which is
$15,000 less than the budget allocation for 2020/21.
Madam Chairman, the unit also manages the
relationship with credit rating agencies and is respon-sible for Government’s debt management policy.
Madam Chairman, t he unit constantly reviews our
debt management policy in order to take advantage of
favourable market conditions. When financing the deficit, the Ministry’s most important objective is to pr ovide the government with stable financing at minimal
cost under the prevailing market conditions.
The Economic and Financial Intelligence Unit
therefore maintains relationships with both domestic
and international banks in order to be kept abreast of
capital market developments that will provide an opportunity to either r efinance current government debt
at less expensive rates and/or provide the best opportunity in which to finance the current year’s fiscal def icit.
As mentioned in the 2021/22 Budget [ Statement], Government will not incur any new borrowing
as the G overnment borrowed additional funds in fiscal 2020/21 to cover the deficit. However, the U nit will
consider whether it makes financial sense in fiscal
year 2021/22 to refinance government debt that is due to mature in 2022.
Madam Chairman, the unit also provides advice to various government boards and is closely i nvolved in the administration of numerous customs duty relief regimes, including duty relief provided to hotels, restaurants and retailers. In addition, this unit
oversees the public pension funds, along w ith the
Bermuda Public Funds Investment Committee and is
responsible for banking and FinTech initiatives that
require Ministry of Finance input.
Madam Chairman, the investment of the public sector pension plan continues to perform well. I can
report that, as of December 31
st, 2020, the Contribut ory Pension Fund [CPF] assets totalled $2.1 billion versus $1.95 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, the Public Ser-vice Superannuation Fund’s [PSSF] assets totalled
$609.1 million in 2020 versus $622.1 million in 2019.
For 2 020, the contributory and superannuation plans
both posted returns of 11.5 per cent and 11.7 per
cent, respectively. The CPF and the PSSF both per-formed better than the policy index by 0.1 per cent
and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
Madam Chairman, in early A pril 2020, the unit
engaged the Caribbean Region Technical Assistance Centre [CARTAC ], which is an offshoot of the IMF
[International Monetary Fund] to provide assistance
on forecasting the potential impact of the COVID -19
pandemic on [ Bermuda’s ] GDP. As a result, the unit
was able to update its GDP forecasting model and
provide the Government with an early indication of the potential economic impact of the pandemic. Given that
there was little information available in which to build a
credible model, the unit a month later made refinements to the statistical model using various statistical
techniques and using updated information sourced
from reputable organisations such as the IMF, the Bank of England and consulting firms. The results
from the refinement have been used to guide the
Government in building an economic recovery plan ,
as well as have been used for financial planning purposes.
Madam Chairman, in May 2020 the unit
worked closely with the Economic Advisory Commi ttee [EAC], a group empanelled by th e Minister of F inance to provide insight and expert advice aimed at
protecting and growing jobs , and stimulating economic
activity during and after the pandemic. The EAC
played a vital role in providing the Government with
knowledgeable advice helping us t o design a recovery
plan.
Madam Chairman, the Economic and Intell igence Unit will continue to work with various stak eholders on legislation that will expedite the expansion
of the banking sector. Having, in 2018, made amendments to the Banks and Deposit C ompanies Act 1999,
allowing for different licences and classes of banks to
260 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate facilitate financial institutions that can not only create
additional jobs, but also provide FinTech businesses
with banking services, the next step will be to determine if the amendments were adequate enough, or
too restrictive and thus hampering rather than encouraging new quality entrants.
Madam Chairman, in my Budget Statement I
mentioned that the Government will look to work with a local banking partner to deliver a mortgage guara ntee programme that will provide lower financing costs to middle- class families. The unit will be the key driver
behind making this a reality.
Madam Chairman, other important initiatives
to be actioned by the Economic and Financial Intell igence Unit in t he upcoming fiscal year include playing
a critical role in the implementation of the Gover nment’s economic recovery plan by
1. regularly updating the economic model u nderpinning the ERP;
2. determining the impact of the ERP on related processes such as the budget;
3. monitoring how implementation is feeding
through underlying economic indicators, for
example, tax revenues;
4. approving and monitoring the investment all ocated to priority policy initiatives;
5. continuing to work with the Government’s ex-ternal consulting f irm on improving the sustainability of the Government’s funds. Work is currently being done on strategies that will
help to ensure the sustainability of the funds,
and this will be followed by stakeholder e ngagement to discuss the various options and
to collectively agree on a way forward;
6. performing a debt sustainability analysis to determine if revenues and expenditures, as
well as the Government’s debt strategy, are
sufficient to ensure the sustainability of servi cing the debt going forward;
7. continuing t o work on the development of
econometric models for the forecasting of key
economic indicators in government medium -
term fiscal data;
8. working with major revenue and data collec ting departments to integrate data with the aim
of creating key and timely information through the use of technology to analyse revenue data
and provide a more robust analysis of the
economy;
9. work with the Cabinet Office on the Bermuda
National Digital Bank Initiative; and
10. continue the review of all government pension
plans to deter mine sustainability of the funds
and to work with the Ministry of Health on the financing of the health care reform.
Madam Chairman, the salary provision of
$289,656 accounts for approximately 77 per cent of
the Economic and Financial Intelligence Unit’s a llocation for 2021/22 and covers two posts, including the Assistant Financial Secretary -Economics and F inance, and the Economic Advisor.
Business unit 20040—Treaty Management
and Administration. Madam Chairman, the budget for
the unit in 2021/22 is set in round numbers at
$999,000, a modest decrease of $18,000 from last
year’s budget. The decrease is this unit’s contribution
to lowering funding requirements. Madam Chairman,
the work of the unit continues to diversify from the
original core activity that led to its creation—that is ,
the negotiation and processing of international tax
cooperation on the by -request basis.
Madam Chairman, the Treaty Unit is now r esponsible for the following core areas at a budgeted
cost of $204, 974, excluding salaries and software upgrades : Negotiating tax information exchange agre ements and other agreements relating to tax information exchange and associated agreements with
member countries of the EU, G20, OECD, and other
countries. Because of this negotiation experience and
exchange of tax information agreements, the unit se veral years ago was requested to negotiate an agre ement between Bermuda and the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the exchange of
beneficial ownership information for criminal investigation purposes as opposed to for tax purposes. Annually thereafter , the UK completed a review of the benef icial ownership agreement. For practical [ purposes
this] operation is carried out by the Bermuda Monetary
Authority with oversight by the Ministry of F inance
Treaty Unit.
Relationship management regarding tax matters with the EU, Member States of the EU, the OECD and with the United States of America. A dministering
requests for exchange of tax -related information on
the by -request basis with Bermuda’s over 100 partner
countries under the automatic exchange of tax -related
information basis, also with Bermuda’s over 100 par tner countries.
Madam Chairman, the most pressing threat
facing Bermuda’s international business sector in the
last fiscal year and the coming fiscal year is the G20
OECD initiative to counter what has been classified as
base erosion and profit shifting by large corporations
allegedly taking advantage of increasing tax ation
complexity challenges arising from the digitisation of the global economy. (The OECD’s common reference
to “base erosion and profit shifting” is the acronym
BEPS. )
Madam Chairman, BEPS seeks to curtail
countries ’ and companies’ practices that are perceived to cause the base erosion of other countries’ tax revenue base because of activities such as profit
shifting. The magnitude of the BEPS threat during
2021 is highlighted in media reports with information
derived from the EU tax regulatory officials breaking
ranks of solidarity with the G20 and the OECD, al though both global bodies have leading EU Member
States among their longstanding members.


Bermuda Senate In these media reports, it has been noted that
the EU has announced its ultimatum to the OECD that
the EU will move to implement an EU unilateral digital
tax against, in particular, the Internet technology giants if the OECD, which is operating under the man-date of the G20, does not succeed in reaching consensus among the 137 countries negotiating on
(1) BEPS Pillar 1, which alters the several -decades -
old international taxing rig hts so as to include taxing
income on all business sectors and industries earned
from the digitisation of the global economies whereby such income is perceived to fall outside the current
international taxing rights framework; and (2) BEPS
Pillar 2, which seeks to implement a global minimum
corporate income tax rate anticipated to be 12.5 per
cent irrespective if companies are located in jurisdi ctions that currently do not apply a corporate increase
tax of at least 12.5 per cent.
Madam Chairman, the risk posed from recent
OECD proposals on corporate tax es was clearly laid
out in the 2020/21 Pre- Budget Report in advance of
the 2020/21 Budget. It was noted a year ago, and I quote, “The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting [BEPS]
Pillar 2 —calling for a minimum global tax rate for corporations has been mandated by the G20 to be effective by or before the end of 2020 and to operate in
tandem with BEPS Pillar 1, which involves the sharing of taxing rights between countries. While both the ti ming and implementation of any such measures r emains highly uncertain, the direction of travel seems
clear, and raises medium -term concerns on the pote ntial impact on Bermuda’s attractiveness as a base for
international corporates.”
Madam Chairman, the OECD has needed to
amend its ti meline to that of mid- 2021 to achieve consensus on this project , which is very contentious
among the large income tax countries seeking their share of the new income tax revenue expected to be
generated from BEPS. In such a climate small juri sdictions, esp ecially with low and no income tax juri sdictions, could become collateral damage if we are not
careful.
Madam Chairman, the Treaty Unit is working
in close consultation with several industry stakehol ders on the BEPS -related threats, including threats
from the EU and the USA. We would further note that
the Government was in close contact with the former Governor regarding these international threats and is
continuing the dialogue with the current Governor on
this matter. As well, there is engagement taking place
with the OECD and with targeted countries.
Madam Chairman, corporations in scope of
the two BEPS pillars are those multinational enterprises that have global annual consolidated revenue
great er than €750 million. Accordingly, special thanks
are extended to the Association of Bermuda International Business Companies (ABIC ), the Association of
Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR ), and the
Bermuda International Long- Term Insurers and Rei n-surers [BILTIR ] whose r epresentatives and intern ational tax experts have been volunteer ing consider able assistance and support to the Treaty Unit in a ddressing these threats.
Madam Chairman, it is also noteworthy that
the two OECD global regimes for exchange of tax -
related information which I previously referred to as
EOIR and AEOI have been used by the EU as reason
to blacklist on the EU non- cooperative tax blacklist
any country that the OECD assessment rate is less
than a rate deemed largely compliant.
Madam C hairman, Bermuda has a largely
compliant rating and is currently on the EU whitelist.
However, it is also likely that the G20 and the OECD
will at some point in the future also blacklist a country
that has an unacceptable OECD rating in EOIR or
AEOI. The O ECD’s EOIR regime comes under annual
review until all OECD recommendations have been
satisfied. Currently the Treaty Unit is working with the
Registrar of Companies and the BMA to ensure that
all recommendations arising from Bermuda’s last r eview are addressed this year with a final detailed pr ogress report which hopefully will see the end of the
current OECD annual review.
Madam Chairman, therefore the decrease of
$18,000 to the u nit’s budget is modest, as much activity is anticipated in the fiscal year ahead in addres sing these international tax threats against low - and notax jurisdictions like Bermuda.
The unit has a budgeted staff allocation of
four, and an aggregate budget ed annual salary cost of
$424,026. Additionally, $370,000 is allocated to the
unit’s core administrative function related to the addition to the necessary services of the Ministry’s international tax reporting portal to keep its software updated
with the OECD standard for AEOI. This includes upgrading the portal ’s operating software that interfaces
with the OECD’s receiving portal. This is as a result of
the OECD updating the OECD’s portals software op-erating schema. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
This is business unit 20070— Pension Commission Grant . Madam Chairman, t he Pension Commissio n is a corporate body established under the N ational Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act 1998 and has the following functions:
• to administer the Act and the Regulations;
• to consider and determine applications for the registration of pension plans;
• to consider and determine financial hardship
withdrawal applications;
• to promote and ensure compliance by pension
plans with the provisions of the Act and the
Regulations;
• to monitor the administration and funding of
pension plans;
• to enforce the provisions of the Act and Regulations in respect of such administration and funding;
262 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate • to verify the payment of benefits under pension plans;
• to promote public education on pension plans
and their benefits;
• to advise the Minister on any matter relat ing to
pensions including development and laws r elated to pension plans;
• to provide such information relating to its functions as the Minister may require;
• to investigate complaints relating to a pension
plan and a pension fund; and
• to perform any other functions provided f or in
or under this Act.
Madam Chairman, the Commission also has
responsibility for the administration of the Pension
Trust Funds Act 1966 and pension trusts established
and administered under this Act.
Madam Chairman, the proposed grant on
page B -113 under Head 10, the Commission, for
2021/22 is $800,000, an approximate 5.88 per cent
decrease from the original $850,000 grant in the
2020/21 budget. However, the Commission’s grant
was further reduced in 2020 to $765,000. The Commission anticipates making up for the reduced grant income from its regulatory fees that are now payable
to the Commission from plan administrators.
Madam Chairman, during the past fiscal year
the Commission’s operations were significantly i mpacted by the COVID -19 pandemic as its of fices were
closed to the public and it had to switch temporarily to
conducting its work remotely. The Commission’s staff
initially returned to work on a rotational basis in May
2020 and subsequently returned to the office soon
thereafter. The Commission’s focus during 2020 was
primarily on advising on COVID -19-related relief
amendments to the Act and the subsequent impl ementation and administration.
Madam Chairman, recognising the significant
economic impact that the COVID -19 pandemic
caused in the domesti c economy, Government intr oduced a number of amendments to the Act in 2020 to provide for the temporary suspension of contributions by both employers and employees and to provide plan members and retirees additional access to their pension funds. In partic ular, the following refunds were
granted:
1. temporary refunds up to $12,000 for persons
under the age of 65;
2. small pension refunds for those reaching r etirement age of 65 with $50,000 and under in the pension fund balances; and
3. lump sum refunds for those reaching normal
retirement age . And this would be up to 25 per
cent of an applicant’s pension fund account balance.
Madam Chairman, these additional refunds
have provided timely and substantial financial support
to Bermudians, and I am pleased to provide the fol-lowing summary of approved refund payments up to
December 31, 2020:
• temporary refunds —$117.8 million;
• small pension refunds —$3.05 million; and
• 25 per cent lump sum refunds —$15.5 million.
Madam Chairman, in relationship to other areas of activities and responsibilities of the Commi ssion, I am also pleased to advise the following accomplishments during 2020, the Commission
• wound up 28 plans compared to 39 in 2019;
• registered 57 plan amendments compared to
42 in 2019;
• approved four plan trustees in compari son to
zero in 2019;
• initiated four civil actions against delinquent
employers and their directors and officers
compared to 11 in 2019;
• conducted 30 compliance meetings with employers and plan members compared to 86 in
2019 ;
• held two compliance meetings wi th plan a dministrators compared to 26 in 2019;
• participated in 15 public and/or advisory
committee meetings compared to 27 in 2019;
and
• completed three transactions under the Pension Trust Fund Act 1966 compared to 38 in
2019.
As of December 31, 2019, the most recent
date for which statistics have been provided by plan administrators, the National Pension Schemes con-tained an estimated 27,961 plan members. There
were a total of 3,126 employer plans . Of those, 3,111
were defined contribution and 15 were def ined benefit.
The total value of assets under the National Pension
Scheme is estimated at $3.95 billion, consisting of
approximately $3 billion in employer plans and $950 million in approved local retirement products. There
are an estimated 303 self -employ ed plans. As of D ecember 31, 2020, there were $1.58 million of plan assets transferred to overseas retirement vehicles compared to $633,000 in 2019.
Madam Chairman, Honourable Members will
recall that the National Pension Scheme (Financial Hardship) Regulations 2010 were introduced to help
Bermudians with the real financial need to get access
to a portion of their private sector pension funds
based on prescribed criteria for hardship. Regulations were further amended in 2011 to permit rental arrears
as an additional category of financial hardship. A n
additional hardship refund for funeral expenses was
added effective January 2, 2020. In 2020 the Commission also became responsible for the administr ation of financial hardship applications for civil servants
under the Public Service Superannuation Act 1981.
Accordingly , refunds for the following five circumstances of financial hardship are permitted:
a. eligible uncovered medical expenses;


Bermuda Senate b. threat of loss of principal residence due to
debt default;
c. threat of eviction from home due to arrears of
rent;
d. eligible fees payable for tertiary education;
and
e. eligible funeral expenses currently only for
private sector plans.
Madam Chairman, I should like to point out
that effective January 2, 2020, the previous r estrictions on retirees for applying for a hardship refund
was removed. In addition, they were also exempted
from having to pay the $100 application fee.
Madam Chairman, I am pleased to provide a
summary of the financial hardship application stati stics—
[Loss of aud io]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: (I am sorry. I do not know
what happened.)
Madam Chairman, I am pleased to provide a
summary of the financial hardship application stati stics provided by the Commission from inception of this
initiative up to December 31, 2020, as follows:
• financial hardship applications —financial
hardship withdrawal meetings , 6,291;
• total applications received since August 10,
the start date, 3,558;
• approved applications , 2,906 ;
• declined applications , 520;
• applications pending and/or withdrawn, 132;
and
• total amount approved, $32.82 million.
Applications approved by type were as follows:
• eligible educational expenses, 1,109;
• imminent threat of loss of principal residence,
468;
• imminent eviction from home for rental arrears, 1,138;
• eligible medic al expenses, 190; and
• one application for funeral expenses.
Madam Chairman, for the upcoming year the
Commission has a number of goals , as follows:
1. The first is to r eview and recommend further enhancements to the National Pension Scheme
(Occupational Pe nsions) Act 1998 and Regulations
made thereunder.
2. Finalise its additional human resource r equirements to be able to respond to the additional r esponsibilities resulting from the 2019 and 2020 legisl ative amendments. In particular, the amendments pr ovided for greater oversight of occupational pension
plans, the imposition of monetary sanctions on plan
administrators, approving plan trustees, satisfying fit
and proper criteria as specified in the Act and greater
onsite inspection of employers in order to ensure that they are in compliance with legislative recordkeeping
requirements . The introduction of additional pension
refunds will also require increased staffing resources.
3. Thirdly, expand its enforcement pr ogrammes against delinquent employers as well as
plan service providers that fail to meet the required
standards under the Act.
4. Introduce a financial awareness campaign
to better educate employees on the importance for saving for retirement and the many options and approaches that are available.
5. Update its information technology applic ations and resources, including revamping its website
to more effectively and efficiently communicate with
plan administrators, employees, employers, and
members of the general public.
The 2021/22 Budget, Revenue and Expenditure Items. Madam Chairman, the Commission’s pr ojected total revenue for the year is $2,170,000 which
consists of a government grant of $800,000 and reg ulatory fees of $1,370,000.
Madam Chairman, the Commission’s total
budget expenses for the ye ar are $2,115,000, consis ting of $1,675,000 for salaries and related benefits; $190,000 for office expenses, $110,000 for office rent;
$60,000 for promotion, education and advertising;
$50,000 for legal and consulting; and $30,000 for professional developm ent. The resulting projected pos ition is net income of $55,000.
Business unit 20100— the Office of the N ational Anti -Money Laundering Committee has received
a $160,000 increase. Madam Chairman, the purpose
of the Office of the National Anti -Money Launderin g
Committee is to provide secretariat support to NAMLC
in order to enable the Ministry of Finance to achieve
the objective of advancing the Government’s
AML/ATF policy initiatives, to support legislative d evelopment, as well as to coordinate measures to enhance Bermuda’s AML/ATF regime. This requires the office to be responsible for the administration of
NAMLC’s national initiatives such as the assessment
of Bermuda’s national money laundering and terrorist
financing risk and managing the reviews of Bermuda’s
anti-money laundering anti -terrorist financing regimes
by external bodies.
The office works with NAMLC member agencies to ensure that Bermuda has a strong, effective
regime to combat money laundering, terroris m financing and the financing of proliferation, and to support
international counterparts in efforts to help address
these issues on a global scale.
Madam Chairman, the Office of NAMLC’s
budget for the fiscal year 2021/22 is $1,116,000, representing an increase of approximately $160,000 over
the 2020/21 allocation. The minimum funding required
to achieve the provision of secretariat services to NAMLC and to meet the national obligations to the
CFATF is approximately $711,000. While this amount is similar to previous years, that allocation of core se c264 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate retariat services in previous years did not factor into
the cost of CFATF membership in that package.
NAMLC has also reduced the cost ing of their
overall project operations compared to 2020/21. This
is partly attributable to NAMLC adjusting the majorit y
of its consultancy engagement and project activities
into a virtual model. Accordingly, the additional new
allocation to NAMLC is only required to fund the m ajority of the cost of hosting the CFATF biannual plenary, which is to be held in Bermuda in November of
2021 when Bermuda assumes the CFATF chairmanship.
Madam Chairman, over several fiscal years
NAMLC’s critical focus has been on the achievement of excellence in compliance with the FATF ’s technical
standards and on ensuring the effectiveness of Bermuda’s AML/ATF framework. A significant component
of this was also to be able to clearly communicate those accomplishments to the assessors and the
CFATF membership as part of the mutual evaluation.
As a result, Bermuda’s Mutual Evaluation Report which was published by the FATF in February of 2020
appropriately presented a picture of AML/AFT excel-lence which confirms Bermuda’s long- standing pos ition as a world- class jurisdiction.
Given the continued importance to Bermuda’s
ongoing economic success of sustai ning this
achievement, the key focus of the Office of NAMLC
during the fiscal year 2020/21 was the completion of
Bermuda’s second terrorist financing national risk assessment [TFNRA] and the commencement of the
third money laundering national risk assessment
[MLNRA] . These internal national assessments of risk
are a foundational requirement of the FATF standards
and accordingly are enshrined in the National
AML/ATF policy as a requirement for update every
three years. The updated understanding of risk gained
from these exercises undergirds the national strategy
to counter both money laundering and terrorist financing.
The 2020 TFNRA commenced during the
2019/20 fiscal year and was completed in June 2020. The proposed action plan, which was developed from
the findings of that NRA [national risk assessment],
was submitted to Cabinet in August 2020 for approval along with a full report of the NRA findings. The mon-ey laundering NRA then commenced in November
2020 and is currently underway with an expected
complet ion date by June 2021. These additional pr ojects, which require extensive collaboration, data
gathering and analysis, as well as outreach and e ngagement to other public sector and private sector
stakeholders , have taken place substantially through
virtual meeting platforms to accommodate for the e ffect of the pandemic.
The 2021/22 key initiatives of the Office of
NAMLC. Madam Chairman, as previously noted
through the work of NAMLC, Bermuda has achieved
an excellent Mutual Evaluation Report in 2020. Ho w-ever, Bermuda cannot now sit on its laurels. Ther efore, NAMLC’s focus continues to be to ensure that Bermuda maintains its position as a global leader in
the fight to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, especially in the f ace of
periodic changes made by the FATF to the international standards. Therefore, in accordance with the
National AML/ATF policy, action plan and strategy ,
Bermuda’s AML/ATF programme will continue to be
advanced during this period. The key initiatives t hat
the Office of NAMLC will be working on in financial
year 2021/22 are as follows:
• Coordinate and manage the timely completion of the National Risk Assessment on money
launderi ng, which is now underway and scheduled to
be completed in June of 2021. The c ompletion of this
project will also be followed by the preparation and
publication with the approval of the Cabinet on a con-solidated report on the outcomes of the MLRNA and
the TFNRA which were completed in 2020.
• Lead and coordinate the preparation by
all NAMLC agencies of written submissions to CFATF
by November 2021, r eporting on all of the progress
made by Bermuda to address the recommendations
made by the CFATF assessors in Bermuda’s 2020 Mutual Evaluation Report. Bermuda will also be subject to automatic rerating in relation to FATF reco mmendations which the FATF have updat ed since the
end of Bermuda’s assessment review period. Accor dingly, this project will also necessitate preparation of
detailed submissions addressing Bermuda’s compl iance with all o f the relevant new technical requir ements on which Bermuda will be rerated.
• Continue to coordinate, lead or participate
in a technical work of the various permanent working
groups of NAMLC.
• Lead and coordinate the review and u pdate of the National AML/ATF action plan and strat egy, and the submission of same to Cabinet for approval, taking into account any changes made to the
national policy, a project which is now being finalised. The update to the Action Plan Strategy will also take
into account the work outputs of NAMLC’s permanent
working groups, the findings of the TFNRA and the
MLNRA and any outstanding recommended actions in
the MER, [Mutual Evaluation Report]. Once approved
by Cabinet, work then has to be done to ensure that
NAMLC agencies are kept accountable for implement-ing the national policy and action plan within their i nternal agency strategies and plans.
• Collaborate with the CFATF secretariat to
plan the November 2021 biannual CFATF plenary and
manage all of the logistics associated with the exec ution of Bermuda’s responsibilities for hosting the pl enary. The Office of NAMLC is mindful of continuing concerns associated with COVID -19 and will proactively engage with local stakeholders such as the Mi nistry of Health, the Bermuda Tourism Authority , the
Department of Immigration and the Department of


Bermuda Senate Customs to identify all [extant] issues as the year pr ogresses and to support the determination of whether
the hosting of an in- person conference of this nature
in November 2021 will be feasible.

The C hairman: Senator Hodgson, I am sorry to interrupt.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes.

Okay. And I will just do a check for
the members of the public. We are in the Committee
of the Whole [Senat e] 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 currently is the Ministry
of Finance.
And Senator Hodgson, please continue.

Sen. Aria nna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Chai rman. I believe . . . I just . . . Okay.
• And they will also carry out the normal
secre tariat responsibilities to support NAMLC and the
NAMLC chair; managing all NAMLC meetings including the sub- working groups; preparing and circulating
minutes; providing technical AML/ATF input on draft guidance notes; drafting legislation, Cabinet mem oranda and other technical requests to NAMLC; r esponding to PATI requests and reviews; updating
members on FATF and CFATF initiatives and coord inate their responses, if necessary; among other
things.
• Assist in the implementation and advancement of any of the national initiatives specified in the revised national strategy and action plan.
Madam Chairman, in order to progress all of
these initiatives, the chair and Office team will conti nue to work closely with the National Anti -Money Laundering Cabinet Committee, NAMLC member agencies
and other stakeholders.
Madam Chairman, the salary provision for the
Office of NAMLC in 2021/22 is $480,564.93, representing approximately 43 per cent of the allocation.
And this is a reduction of about $40,000 from the pr evious fiscal year. The allocation for Expert Overseas
Consultants of $75,000, compared with $125,000 in
2020/21, is to facilitate a number of NA MLC projects including the provision of technical support to complete the Money Laundering National Risk Asses sment by June 2021. Overseas consultants will also
support the preparation of Bermuda’s first follow -up
report to the CFATF in November 2021 and t he commencement of ground work in the first quarter of 2022 to prepare for Bermuda’s delegation to attend the
CFATF plenary to defend the follow -up report.
The l ocal training allocation has been i ncreased to $46,000, which is up from $40,500, to a llow the Office to facilitate training to the NAMLC
member agencies , and in the event that partial inperson meetings are restored to manage and execute
the many workshops that will be required in the prep aration of the follow -up report and later in 2022 to pr epare to attend the CFATF plenary to defend the r eport.
The other major recurring item s of cost in this
unit, the Office of Chair of NAMLC, is the continued professional development of the office team and for
travel for attendance at international conferences, i ncluding the CFATF plenaries and the FATF plenary if
or when these resume in person.
The Office of NAMLC’s allocation also covers
the cost of Bermuda’s annual membership contrib ution to the CFATF , which has been discounted for
2021 to $57,400, which is down from the annual
amount of $68,357.
Madam Chairman, that concludes the submission s in relation to Head 10. And I wish to thank all
of the members of the Ministry Headquarters for the
work that they have done to help Bermuda through these challenging ti mes.

Thank you, Senator. Take a breath.
Do you want to continue to Head 38?

HEAD 38 —OFFICE OF THE TAX COMMISSIONER

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes. Madam Chairman, the
Office of the Tax Commissioner ’s [OTC] vision is to be
a significant contributor to Bermuda’s prosperity and
stability by being a progressive, modern tax admi nistration committed to providing superior customer service, continuous improvement and collaboration. The OTC’s mission is to leverage modern technology
to ensure taxpayers’ compliance with quality service
and effective enforcement. The core objectives of the
OTC are as follows:
• to administer the collection of taxes and stamp duties in accordance with the tax legi slation and to provide professional advice to
the Ministry of Fi nance;
• to conduct responsible and effective enforc ement activities, creating an environment which promotes compliance and ensures that all
taxes are collected in accordance with their respective Acts; and
266 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate • to educate and advise taxpayers on matters
relatin g to their statutory obligations under the
Acts and maintain community confidence.
The primary responsibility of the Office of the
Tax Commissioner is to effectively administer the timely and accurate collection of all taxes and stamp
duties in accordance with applicable legislation, which
include the following:
• payroll tax, in accordance with the Payroll Tax
Act of 1995, the Payroll Tax Rates Act of 1995
and the Taxes Management Act of 1976;
• the corporate services tax, in accordance with
the Corporate Ser vices Tax Act of 1995 and
the Taxes Management Act of 1976;
• betting duty turf, in accordance with the Betting Act of 1975;
• stamp duties, in accordance with the Stamp
Duties Act of 1976;
• land tax, in accordance with the Land Tax Act
of 1967, the Land Valuation and Tax Act of 1967, financial services tax in accordance
with the Financial Services Tax Act of 2017
and foreign currency purchase tax in accor dance with Foreign Currency Purchase Tax Act
of 1975;
• hotel occupancy tax, in accordance with the
Miscella neous Taxes Act of 1976;
• the cruise ship departure tax , in accordance
with the Miscellaneous Taxes (Rates) Act of
1980;
• the passenger cabin tax [in accordance with
the Taxes Management Act of 1976] ; and
• the time- sharing occupancy tax.
The Office of the Tax Commissioner is r esponsible for the largest portion of government rev enue, estimated at $571 million, or 59. 5 per cent.
Madam Chairman, revenues analysis. P ayroll
tax revenues are projected to decrease by approx imately $68 million when compared to the or iginal e stimate for 2020/21. Payroll tax revenue is anticipated to decrease by $ 19.3 million from the original estimate
of $467 million for the 2020/21 fiscal year. There will
be no changes to payroll tax rates in the 2021/22 fi scal year. However, payroll tax relief to troubled sectors, which w as implemented in 2020/21 due to
COVID -19, will be continued through March 31, 2022.
Payroll tax relief covers such sectors as hotel bars
and restaurants, restaurants in general and some r etailers. The taxi industry w ere provided payroll tax r elief by having their annual tax amounts reduced from $1,000 annually to $500 in 2020/21 fiscal year.
The operational budget is found on pages B -
126 through B -127, and page C -11. Current expenditure of $3,685,000 represents a dec rease of 4 per
cent, while capital expenditure represents an increase
of 114 per cent, while revenue of $97,052 is projected ,
a decrease of 10.2 per cent.
Key highlights and achievements. Madam
Chairman, the Stamp Duty section has recruited a temporary st amp duty assistant during the year who
will assist with reducing the time taken to process applications for primary family homestead designation
certificates and standard adjudications. In addition,
the OTC continues to put emphasis on debt collection
and tax enforcement , which is changing the tax culture of Bermuda. With the four temporary additional
debt collectors, taxpayers are more apt to comply with taxes. From April 1, 2020 , through February 28, 2021,
the debt collectors and the Debt Collection Offic er
have been responsible for collecting in excess of $5.338 million of outstanding tax es. The breakdown is
payroll tax es, $4.09 million, or 76 per cent; and land
taxes of $1.248 million, or 24 per cent.
In addition to this, the OTC has had a consultant company collecting outstanding arrears on land tax es. These collections started as of September
2020 through the end of February 2021, for a total in
excess of $9.2 million, representing 11.9 per cent of
the total outstanding land tax amount. There were
seve n new cases that have been referred to the Debt
Enforcement Unit during 2020/21 fiscal year . The use
of court proceedings by the OTC and the Debt E nforcement Unit of the Attorney General’s Chambers
has increased awareness of the consequences of
noncompliance, resulting in more taxpayers complying
with their tax obligations.
Madam Chairman, OTC major priorities for
fiscal year 2021/22 continue to be the reformation of the OTC. They are as follows:
• to change from a tax type to a functions -
based organisation;
• modernisation of business processes through
the use of best practices and cutting- edge tax
administration information system; and
• broadening the tax base by identifying and
registering individuals and entities that have
eluded paying taxes.
The OTC has c ontinued along the path of
modernisation in 2020/ 21, as advised by the Caribb ean Regional T echnical Assistance Centre [CARTAC]
and the Fiscal Responsibility Panel. Based on this
recommendation, the OTC Team have made signif icant progress under the Tax Admi nistration Modern isation Programme [ TMP] with the support of CARTAC
experts and the current Project Management Team.
The four key projects of the TMP programme
are as follows:
• communications and change management;
• organisational structure and processes;
• IT systems; and
• legal framework project.
The OTC is near the completion of implementing a simple database warehouse as an interim sol ution that will allow for data extraction from OTC’s legacy systems. After successful implementation, the
department will have expansive reporting capabilities
that do not presently exist in- house. The key benefits
that the Office of the Tax Commissioner look to gain


Bermuda Senate from the TMP and the simple database warehouse
are to operate more effectively and efficiently, i ncrease compli ance with tax requirements and i ncrease revenues for the Government of Bermuda. For
the upcoming fiscal year, the plan is to roll out the next phase of the mandatory e- filing to all taxpayers
with remuneration over $200,000 per annum.
Madam Chairman, I w ould like to extend my
appreciation for the work undertaken by the Office of
the Tax Commissioner and to the entire management
and staff of the department. Thank you.

Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: I would like to extend my appr eciation and thanks to the Junior Minister of Finance for
that comprehensive and targeted brief on these two
Heads. Cognisant of the time and my desire to give
other Senators an opportunity, let me quickly go
through the questions that I have c ome up with. I must
say that a number of the questions that I did have, the
Junior Minister was able to answer for me. But let us
see how far we can go.
Okay. We are on page B -113, Head 10, line
item 20100, NAMLC. We do understand that there
was a Mutual Evaluation Report that Bermuda did
very well on that came in, I believe it was February of 2020. I would like for the Junior Minister, if she can, to
provide for us just the highlights of outstanding issues
that may have come out of that report that the nece ssary agencies are actually working on to improve.
That is number one.
Number two, remaining on page B -113, Head
10, it is line item 20070, the National Pensions Com-mission. Can the Junior Minister provide the number
of employees with delinquent account s? How much
has been recovered to date? And how many members
of these pension plans have been negatively impacted
by the delinquency of their employers?
Turning to page B -114, under the line item of
Travel we see that for the year 2021/22 an estimate of
$203,000 has been budgeted. Then last year it was
$206,000 that was budgeted. We understand that with
the revised estimate due to the pandemic, only $58,000 was actually spent on travel. Can the Junior
Minister give us an indication of the travel requir ements for this particular department in light of the fact that the pandemic is still raging and Zoom meetings
are still very amenable to getting to see persons overseas or being at workshops? Can the Junior Minister
justify that amount of $203,000 that has been estimated for the 2021/22 budget?
On that same page, a couple of lines down we
will see Materials and Supplies. It is estimate that the
budget for 2021/22 will be $10 million. I do not r emember the Junior Minister mentioning anything
about this particular line, and if she did, my apologies.
But that is a very large amount, especially since in 2020/21 the estimate was $122,000 and the revised
amount for that time period was $113,000. So you can
imagine how such a jump would catch our attention.
So if we can get some explanation or reason for that
incredibly large increase and what that increase of $10 million is made up of.
Switching now to . . . if you can go to page B -
127, now, this is Head 38, I believe. On page B -127
the estimates under line item 8027 the Government
has estimated that there will be a decrease of $6.6 million in land tax. Can the Junior Minister explain to us why the forecasted reduction for these receipts are
so low?
Turning now over to page C -25 in the back of
the book, C -25 under Profes sional Services. We
commend the Government in that the estimates for
2021/22, each line item has actually been decreased. But there were two which were increased, one of
which is the overseas consulting. Under this Professional Service heading, this line i tem showed one of
only two costs increases estimated. Can the Junior
Minister give explanation for the forecasted $1.2 mi llion increase and the process employed to choose an overseas consultant over a local one?
Madam Chairman, for a moment I will stop
there and give the Junior Minister an opportunity to
get answers for those questions and actually give an-other Senator the opportunity to ask questions as well.

Thank you, Senator Jones.
I think what we will do is we will continue to
find out if other Senators wish to ask questions. Is
there any other Senator who would like to ask? I see
Senator Wight.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
So I just have a few comments. First of all, I
want to congratulate the Minister and the Ministry for
these credit ratings that Bermuda has (from page B -
115). The S&P rating is A-plus for Bermuda, and the
Moody’s rating is A2. And this is a real stamp of approval for international businesses that are seeking to
incorporate in our very highly respected jurisdiction.
So I think the Ministry and the Minister should be
commended for maintaining that rating.
The second problem is just a bit of a concern,
and we just have to ensure that we collect all of the revenues that were due in a complete year and com268 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ing years and do not spend more than we need to,
because credit agencies look at things like debt to
GDP, and ours has been creeping up for the last few
years. So it is a —but overall, it is just a well- done to
the Mi nister and Ministry for achieving that.
Other questions or comments —one is the
Contributory Pension plan and the Superannuation Pension plan, which the Junior Minister referred to. It
was referred to in the context of the strong investment
results for the year, which was very positive. The converse of that is that it is a very largely unfunded plan
with an excess of [INAUDIBLE], I think was the last
estimate. So we really have to—for now and for those
of our future retirees who will depend upon benefits
from those two plans.
This is my third on e, which was raised by the
Junior Minister, which is probably one of the best -kept
secrets but really the potential impact for Bermuda is
the base erosion profit [shifting]. This is something
that I know the Minister and Ministry are working hard
on. It does have, you know, some real potential con-sequences for all offshore jurisdictions, including
Bermuda. So I think we have to have some dialogue
around that because we are not in a great position to
defend ourselves. And this would be, I think, a big
change through our business model if there was a
corporate tax of 12.5 per cent imposed on all bus inesses operating in Bermuda. So this is something we need to, I think, educate the public about and keep
track of because it does potentially really affect our
business environment. So those are my comments,
Madam Chairman, from the presentation. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Wight.
Is there any other Senator who would like to
ask a question or make a comment?
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam Chairman, I actua lly—Senator Wight was actually going in and out for
me. Is it possible that he could perhaps put his questions just down in an email or whatever is easier for
him? But it was just unclear.

—Okay. Okay. That is fine.
Is there anyone else, any other Senator who
would like to ask a question of Senator Hodgson or
make a comment?
I guess not. So we will just wait for you, Sen ator Hodgson.
And I will j ust remind everyone 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 being debated right now is
the Ministry of Finance.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam Chairman, I can say
that while we do not have all of the details regarding delinquent employers, at the end of January 2021
there were 775 delinquent employers with approx imately 290 of those representing self -empl oyed persons.
Regarding travel, of course, we are unsure
about what the future holds. But to allow, I guess,
budgeting for the potential spend was necessary here.
We also spoke about the materials and su pplies that are to be used. And let me just get mor e
details. Can I just have another moment?

Of course.

[Pause]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: And yes. So just to confirm,
the majority of the $10 million expenditures for mater ials and supplies have to do with COVID -19 expenses
specifically. So th at is something that we cannot get
around.
And the overseas consultants —they have
been engaged to supplement the existing expertise
that we already do have on Island.

Okay.
Senator Jones, do you have a follow -up question?
Sen. Marcus Jone s: Yes. Madam Chairman, I recognise that it may be a Herculean task to be able to get
more of a detailed listing— for example, materials and
supplies. She has cleared up for us that this is COVID -19-related. But when we are talking about $10
million being e stimated for the coming year and there
is no way of providing at least some sense of where

B ermuda Senate these funds are going to be directed, can she give us
any more, at least in general terms —
[
Crosstalk]

Are you referring to Senator Hodgson? Are you referring to Senator Hodgson, Senator
Jones?
Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Senator Hodgson. Yes,
page B-1 14, Materials and Supplies.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: It is actually, Senator Jones,
as far as we can see, it is an estimate for the potential
expenditures. And so I cannot give you a detailed lis ting at this time. But I am sure we will account for it in the future.
[
Pause]
Sen. Adrianna Hodgson: Sorry. I cannot hear you,
Senator Jones.
Sen. Marcus Jones: I guess I am going to have to be
satisfied with that answer.
As a follow -on for the travel budget, you also
stated that it was going to be COVID -19-related as
well, yes?
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: No. I am saying that in light
of the pandemic, it is hard to determine when we will be able to get back to necessary travel as needed.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Right, right, right. So I guess
what I am saying to you is that the revised amount was $58,000 for 2020/21 (yes?) under a COVID -19induced environment. And with this pandemic that is still ongoing, we would be wond ering and questioning
how the $203,000 will then once again be applied to this, especially if there is no indication of this pandem-ic at least coming to a level place where travel is going to be to that extent again. That is why we are looking at this.

Thank you, Senator Jones. I am sure
Senator Hodgson is considering what you have just shared.
Sen. Marcus Jones: While she is looking and waiting
for some answers, I would just like to add my two cents to what Senator Wight was saying in regard to Bermuda’s sterling Mutual Evaluation Report. I mean, all of Bermuda can be very proud of the wonderful
grade that we did receive. And in an attempt to make
sure that we as a jurisdiction stay ahead of the regul ations that are required of us, being able to— we know
that no report is 100 per cent. There are issues and areas that we would have concerns about, namely, with the issue of gaming and the issue of even when you consider cannabis reform that the Government
wants to bring about into this country.
It makes us very [leery] and concerned that if
we venture into these different industries where the
financial institutions both domestically and foreign can be very ticklish about funding these emerging indus-tries in Bermuda, I would just be curious if the Junior
Minister can give us some insight on how —and the
potential risks and dangers that Bermuda would fall
into if —and I believe (I can be corrected) that there is
a Mutual Evaluation Report that is done on jurisdi ctions every three to four years. So I suspect within that period of time, both of these industries, if the Gover nment continues in its plans, will be in full operation.
I would be curious to know that if we underwent another evaluation in two or three years whether that would present a risk to Bermuda’s reputation in the international arena.

Thank you, Senator Jones.
Senator Hodgson, are you ready with any r esponses to the questions?
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam Chairman, regarding
travel, it is also similar to, I guess, the materials and supplies. And right now we just do not know. So for us to speak to something that we are unsure about would just be a bit premature.
And of course, there are also risks. However,
we will mitigate those risks as we go forward, as there
are a number of factors that obviously impact our ratings. And some are outside of our reach, but I trust that our team will work diligently to avoid those risks.
I also, in light of my previous comment concerning travel, you know, it is just going to be a matter
that as more persons get vaccinated, there is going to
be more travel. And so we are hopeful that with the
testing and vaccination programmes we will get back to a place where we can travel as needed.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam Chairman.

Yes, Senator Jones. You have the
floor again.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam Chairman. Just
following up on the answer that the Junior Minister
attempted to give me with regard to these large
amounts, can we get a commitment from the Junior Minister that if t his background information, detailed
information that she is attempting to acquire does not materialise in this sitting, can we get a commitment from her that she will follow up and get it back to us by
the next session?
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Senator Jones, I will definit ely endeavour to provide any specific detail that I can
provide to help with your understanding of the budget figures.
270 24 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The Chairman: Thank you for that, Senator Hodgson.
Did you have any further responses, or you will just
forward information as it becomes available?

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: I guess in wrapping up I can
highlight the issues being worked on [INAUDIBLE] to
address the recommendations from the 2020 Mutual
Evaluation Report . So one of those priority action
items is to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 [in
relation to the restraint powers to ensure these are
available prior to the charging process], namely, dur-ing investigation, to prevent the dissipation of assets.
We are still working to increase the focus on
the recovery of the cross -border movement of the
proceeds of crime as identified by the National Risk
Assessment as representing the highest source of
Bermuda’s ML/TF [money laundering/terrorist financ-ing] risk; and [the focus on] increased outgoing international requests to pursue money laundering and the
proceeds of crime by focusing on cross -border ML
investigations in line with Bermuda’s risk profile.
It will also provide AML and CFT training to
the judiciary, especially in relation to confiscation. P eriodic training in CFT measures should be instituted for competent authorities such as Customs, the D epartment of Public Prosecutions, the Fina ncial—
Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam Chairman.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes? Oh, sorry. That is not
me.

Senator Jones, I think that the pro blem may be at your end, because we could hear Senator Hodgson very clearly. And we ar e getting a lot of
feedback from your situation.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam Chairman, if Senator
Jones can put his questions in an email, or anything
else he would like some further clarity on, I will get those responses back to him as soon as possible.