March 19, 2021

You have your three minutes.

Hon. Tinee Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would just like to have the House send co ndolences to the family of one of my constituents, who
is Ms. Fatima Repose Madeiros, from the Kitty’s Lane
Henrys [Hill Road] area. Just sending condolences to
her sister, Marie Castro, and wanting to send cond olences to the family, letting them know that we are
thinking of them at this time.
As well as another constituent, Ms. Rita
Rhoda Marie Saltus, the mother of Althea and E dBermuda House of Assembly ward, and wanting to let that family know that we are
thinking of them at this time.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to send congratul ations out to a young man, Mr. Kenneth Pushā II, who
is the son of Nadine Browne- Evans and the grandson
of Dame Lois Browne- Evans. This week he issued
face masks which he made himself through his company Mask ’d Co. He made face masks and distributed
them out to the clients of the K. Margaret Carter Ce ntre. And so we are very thankful that he would bring
his skills and share them with our community. It was a donation.
He said that once he got to 100 sales, he
would give back to our community. And so, the clients and the staff at the K. Margaret Carter Centre are very
appreciative, and they thank him for his thoughts and
his skill in giving back to the community.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister.
Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time? Any other M ember?
No other Member.
Before we move on, I would just like to add
my words to those that were expressed already r egarding the late Arnold Leroy Landy. MP Swan made
reference to the Glebe days. Well, Leroy was my
classmate at Glebe. And yes, he has alwa ys been a
character. He was always one of those who kept the classroom lively. But he was a good guy, a really good
guy. And it is sad to see— I was actually shocked last
night when I got the news that he had passed, and so
recently after the loss of his ow n son. And so I know
his family is deeply, deeply saddened by this almost
double loss [in] such a close timeframe. My thoughts
are with his family at this time. And yes, he will be a
great miss in our community as well.
I would also like to add condolences to the
family of one of my neighbours, Ms. Dolores Roberts.
Ms. Roberts was almost on her century mark. She
was 98. She was the mother of Launcelot, Alty, Kevin,
Vangie, Jennifer and Lady Jacqueline Swan.

MP Kim Swan and the Opposition
Leader, Cole Simons. But each of us has known the
strength of the Roberts family, the Simons family in the Somers et Bridge community.
And Ms. Roberts has always been a strong
figure in that neighbourhood and that community. And her loss will be felt by all, not only in the neighbourhood but in the Sandys and Somerset Bridge comm unity.
Thank you, Members. We will now move on.

MATTERS OF PRIVILEGE

You can go right ahead, Attorney General.

FIRST READING

GAMING (TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS) ACT 2021
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am introducing the following Bill for its first
reading so that it may be placed on the Order Paper
for the next day of meeting, namely, the Gaming
(Transfer of Functions) Act 2021.

1048 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly FIRST READING

BETTING ACT 2021

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I am also introducing
the following Bill for its first reading so that it may be placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting, and this is the Betting Act 2021. And if I may
move on to —

Go right ahead.

FIRST READING

CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT
(NON- CONSENSUAL SHARING OF
INTIMATE IMAGES) ACT 2021

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you.
And I am introducing the following Bill for its
first reading so that it may be placed on the Order P aper for the next day of meeting, namely, the Criminal
Code Amendment (Non- Consensual Sharing of Int imate Images) Act 2021.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Members, that now brings us to the
Orders of the Day.
Before I go to the Orders of the Day, let me
just make an announcement I should have done much
earlier. Members, if we were present in the House we would note that the Sergeant -at-Arms has not been
with us of late. He is out at the moment and we are being ably taken care of by his re placement, Mr. E rskine Brangman.
You will be familiar with Mr. Brangman, as he
has assisted before when the need arose. So I just want to acknowledge the fact that Mr. Brangman has
been standing in for the Sergeant -at-Arms.
And, Members, if we were her e [together], we
would be acknowledging that. So I want to
acknowledge it over the air.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

Members and particularly for the liste ning audience, we are at that stage of the annual
Budget Debate. Today we are on day six, day six of
the 56 hours that are set aside for the Budget Debate,
eight hours each day. And today’s eight hours are split
between the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of
Legal Affairs.
We will start this morning with Labour. And we
will start, as always, when we start Committee the
Speaker has to be out of the House. And we are in the
able hands of the Panel of Chairs led by the Deputy
Speaker. And this morning’s session will be led by, I
believe it is MP Pearman.

MP Pearman will be in the Chair for
this morning’s session.
So, Minister of Finance, if you could lead us
into Committee, the House will then be turned over to
MP Pearman.

Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Mr. Speaker, I move that
the House do now resume in Committee of Supply for
further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for 2021/22.

Honourable Members, we are now in
the Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the
year 2021/22. Today we have the Ministry of Labour. Head 44 —Ministry of Labour Headquarters; Head
27—Immigration; Head 55 —Financial Assistance; and
finally Head 60— Workforce Development are all to be
deba ted.
I call on the Minister, the Honourable Jason
Hayward, in charge to proceed.
Minister Hayward, you have the floor.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I am not the Minister of Labour, but this morning


Bermuda House of Assembly I am speaking on behalf of the Minister of Labour and
moving his Heads.

Ah, excellent. Well, I call upon the
Honourable and Learned Attorney General to move
the Heads on behalf of the Minister of Labour. Please
proceed.

MINISTRY OF LABOUR

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
Mr. Chairman, I move the following: Head
44—Ministry of Labour Headquarters; Head 27 —
Immigration; Head 55 —Financial Assistance; and
60— Workforce Development be now taken under
consideration.

Thank you, Minister. Please proceed.

HEAD 44 —MINISTRY OF LABOUR
HEADQUARTERS

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, Honourable Members, I am pleased to present the current
accounts estimate for Head 44, which comprises the
Ministry of Labour Headquarters, the Labour Relations
Section and the Immigration Appeal Tribunal. These estimates can be found on pages B -178 through B -
181 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure Book.
Mr. Chairman, the mission of the Ministry of
Labour is to drive economic growth and job creation. Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Labour consists of the
Departments of Workforce Development, Financial
Assistance, Immigration, and the Labour Relations
Section. The Ministry Headquarters will continue with
the oversight of multiple policy and legislative initi atives inc luding changes to immigration policy and law,
financial assistance reform, implementation of new labour law and Employment Act amendments and the
launch of a minimum wage, among others.
The Department of Financial Assistance will
implement legislative and policy changes in support of
financial assistance reform, including allowing recipients to retain $2,500 of child support payments r eceived and accept gifts of up to $2,500. Additionally,
recipients will benefit from the implementation of personal employm ent grants, among other changes. The
Department of Immigration will continue to revise i mmigration policies in an effort to increase economic activity on the Island. This includes the introduction of
an Economic Investment Certificate, along with
amending current immigration laws regarding perm anent resident certificate holders.
The Department of Workforce Development
will continue to implement the jobs and re -
employment strategy by sponsoring training, apprenticeship programmes, internships and scholarshi ps. The department will continue to liaise and coordinate
with industry stakeholders, to develop and launch
training in partnership with industry. The Labour Rel ations Section will continue the implementation of the new Labour Relations Act, which will inc lude introducing compliance and enforcement of the Act. Work will
continue on the development of a minimum wage, to
be followed by the living wage.
Mr. Chairman, the mission for the Ministry of
Labour Headquarters is to establish effective policy
that helps foster the expansion of jobs and economic growth. In order to accomplish this mission, the Mini stry will (1) continue to implement comprehensive i mmigration reform by overseeing process improv ements, policy and legislative changes, and IT system
upgrades and enhancement; (2) oversee financial assistance reform including policy and legislative chan ges and operational enhancement; (3) provide leadership and oversight of the Department of Workforce
Development for the execution of the re- employment
and rei ntegration job strategy; and (4) oversee the
implementation of the new Labour Code, Employment
Act amendments and consolidated labour law of the
Labour Relations Section.
I will now move on to cost centre 54060,
which is the Ministry of Labour Administrat ion. Mr.
Chairman, the budget allocated for the Ministry of Labour Administration is $624,287. This provides for the creation of the Ministry of Labour Headquarters in order to enable the Ministry of Labour to fulfil its mandate.
To facilitate the creation of the Ministry, a Mi nistry Headquarters is also required. The Ministry of
Labour Headquarters has the critical task of bringing together four departments that are integral to the ec onomic recovery, growth of jobs and improved employment conditions in Bermuda. The Ministry Headquarters currently operates with an interim group of staff. Successful implementation of the initiatives and
the execution of the Throne Speech initiative moving
forward would not be possible in the absence of suff icient numbers and category of personnel in the Mini stry Headquarters.
Based on similar existing job description, it is
estimated that the Ministry will cost approximately $418,093 per annum in salary expenses, and the
Headquarters will utilise approximately $206,194 in
administrative expenses.
Cost centre 54200, which is the Labour Rel ations Section, I will talk about now. Mr. Chairman, the
budget allocated for the Labour Relations Section (I will call it the Section) is $712,166. The Section oversees certification and decertification of unions in the
workplace and manages labour disputes in both unionised and non- unionised environments. The Section
also promotes dispute resolution and prevention and
manages employee engagement by offering a variety of training and workshop opportunities. The Section
offers a range of free and unbiased services to em1050 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ployers and employees, from consultations on employment situations to managing a complaint or labour
dispute, through to settlement or to referral for dispos ition via tribunal o r arbitration panel.
The Section is responsible for the administr ation of several pieces of legislation, including the E mployment Act 2000, the Labour Relations Act 1975,
the Labour Disputes Act 1992 and the Trade Union
Act 1965. There are two critical pi eces of legislation:
the Employment Amendment Act 2020, which came into operation on June the 30
th, 2020; and the Trade
Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 2020,
and the assent date for that Act was January the 22nd,
2021, that will come into ef fect on the 1st of June
2021.
These two Bills seek to strengthen the rights
and obligations of both employees and employers in
Bermuda’s labour force, as well as modernise and
clarify areas of the existing legislation to ensure it is in
line with internat ional best practices. In addition, the
legislation will revise the labour dispute mechanisms
in Bermuda and create one tribunal for the resolution
of labour disputes and employment -related complaints.
Mr. Chairman, some of the major amendments to the Empl oyment Act 2000 are as follows:
1. Probationary periods. Timeframes have
been built into the legislation to avoid the practice of lengthy extensions of the probationary period. E mployers will now be required to provide employees
with a review of their per formance midway through
their probationary period so that employees are aware
of areas that need improvement to enable successful completion of their probation. There are exclusions to
this section to take into account those services which
require a longer probationary period due to the nature
of the work conducted.
2. Antenatal care. Employees are no longer
required to work for one completed year before being entitled to paid time off from work to attend antenatal
appointments.
3. Bereavement leave. Pers ons for whom bereavement leave may be taken has been extended to
include grandparents, great -grandparents, grandchi ldren and great -grandchildren.
4. Payment upon termination. Employers will
be required, upon the termination of an employee, to
pay wages an d other remuneration or benefits owed
to an employee within seven days or at the next interval that the employee would have been paid.
New sections being added to the Act include
the following: (1) Independent contractor. The Labour Relations Manager may issue guidance surrounding
the employment relationship as it relates to independent contractors to ensure that persons are not being
incorrectly classified. (2) Meal breaks. Employees are
entitled to a meal break of at least 30 minutes after
working contin uously for five hours. And lastly, (3) bu llying and sexual harassment. Employers are required to have a policy against bullying and sexual haras sment in the workplace that applies to all employees.
The inclusion of this provision is to ensure that
all wor kers are protected from bullying and sexual
harassment from both supervisors and colleagues
while at work. This addition follows guidance set out
by the ILO [International Labour Organization] Co nvention on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work.
The new Trade Union and Labour Relations
(Consolidation) Act 2020 is a consolidation of the Trade Union Act 1965, the Labour Relations Act 1975
and the Labour Disputes Act 1992. The new Trade
Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 2020
is a consolida tion of: The Trade Union Act 1965; the
Labour Relations Act 1975; and the Labour Disputes Act 1992.
In the current labour legislation in Bermuda,
there are nine Tribunals and Boards: The Permanent
Arbitration Tribunal; the Essential Industries Disputes
Settlement Board; the Trade Union Act Tribunal; L abour Disputes Tribunal; Sole Arbitrator; Arbitrator with
Assessors; Independent Chairman with Arbitrators;
Mediator; and Board of Inquiry.
Additionally, the Employment Act 2000 esta blished the Employment Tribunal to hear employment -
related complaints.
Legislation has been tabled in order to
stream line and consolidate the number of tribunals
across all labour and employment legislation into one
tribunal to be known as the Employment and Labour
Relations Tribunal . This means there will be one Tr ibunal to handle all employment complaints and labour related disputes. This is a significant improvement on the current state of affairs.
With regard to mediation, under the current
Labour Relations Act, the Minister has t he option to
refer a dispute to a Mediator. In the proposed amendments, referral to mediation by the Minister has
been removed as mediation outside of the Labour R elations Section has been found to be unnecessary as
it prolongs resolution, and most parties opt out.
With regard to civil penalties, under the L abour Acts, persons who commit offences are liable on
summary conviction to a fine or imprisonment. In the
proposed amendments, establishment of civil pena lties up to $5,000 will replace most offences requiring
court appearances.
A civil penalty regime entails a faster, less l aborious process with both the Labour Relations Manager and the Employment and Labour Relations Tr ibunal which are able to impose a penalty.

Immigration Appeals Tribunal

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I will now move on to
cost centre 54210, which is the Immigration Appeals
Tribunal.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, the Budget allocated for the
Immigration Appeals Tribunal is $122,000 for rem uneration of Tribunal Member fees.
The Immigration Appeal Tribunal was esta blished under the Bermuda Immigration and Protection
Act 1956 (the principal Act) and the Bermuda Imm igration and Protection (Appeal) Rules 2013.
Where a person is aggrieved by a decision of
the Minister in respect of which an appeal is expressl y
allowed by any provision of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956, he may, subject to the suc-ceeding provisions, within seven days of the service of
any notice upon him communicating that decision to
him, appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal by
notice in writing addressed to the Clerk of the Imm igration Appeal Tribunal.
For the purpose of conducting a hearing, the
Immigration Appeals Tribunal has all the powers of a
court of summary jurisdiction in relation to the summoning of witnesses, t heir examination on oath or
otherwise and compelling the production of any document or thing relevant to the subject matter of the
proceedings.
The Immigration Appeal Tribunal is aided by a
Clerk who is assigned by the Permanent Secretary.
The process for an appellant to apply to the
Immigration Appeals Tribunal is:
1. An Appellant has from within seven days to
file a notice of appeal with the Clerk.
2. Appellants will have both a direction and substantive hearing.
3. The Tribunal conducts the hearing, which may
include summoning of witnesses, their exam ination on oath or otherwise and compelling
the production of any document.
4. After the hearing, all parties are notified of the
Tribunal’s ruling which may be published on
the Immigration Appeal Tribunal webpage on
the Government Portal.
The Bermuda Constitution Order 1968, the
Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 (t ogether with its related policies, rules and regulations) and the Bermuda Immigration and Protection (Appeal) Rules 2013 govern the establishment of the Immigr ation Appeal Tribunal and its duties.
Additionally, legislation that also administers
the Immigration Appeal Tribunal is the British Nationality Act and the Accord between the Governments of
Bermuda and Portugal. The Board shall consist of a
pool of not less than nine members, or more than
fourteen members appointed by the Minister.

Total Funding

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the total
operational funding for the Ministry of Labour Hea dquarters for the coming year is $1,458,453. No Capital
Funding has been approved for the Ministry of Labour
Headquarters for fiscal 2021/22. Personnel

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the Mi nistry Headquarters will be seeking to replace the current interim group of staff with sufficient numbers and calibre of full- time personnel in the Ministry Head quarters. The Budget provides for the establishment of the
following FTEs for the Ministry of Labour Head quarters: Ministry Financial Controller (new post); Po licy
Analyst (new post); Policy & Proj ect Coordinator (new
post); Business Analyst (new post); Administr ative
Assistant (new post).
This is a very preliminary estimate and is subject to the finalisation of the actual job descriptions
and grading by the Joint Grading Panel.
The Labour Relati ons Section currently has
an establishment of six FTEs which consist of: a L abour Relations Manager; four Labour Relations Offi cers; and an Administrative Assistant. The Immigr ations Appeals Tribunal is administered through the Ministry of Labour Headquart ers Administrative Staff.

Output Measures and Objectives

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, during
the 2020/21 budget year to date the breakdown of the
activity is as follows: There were 524 labour dispute
inquires lodged with the Labour Relations Section of which 436 were consultations, 75 were complaints
filed pursuant to the Employment Act 2000; 13 were
grievances reported pursuant to the Labour Relations
Act 1975, Trade Union Act 1965 and/or the Labour Disputes Act 1992.
Mr. Chairman, a further breakdown of the
complaints filed and investigated by the Labour Rel ations Officers were as follows: 39 terminations and
outstanding wages; 19 outstanding wages; 12 related
to redundancies; 16 complaints regarding constructive
dismissal, lay off, maternity leave, vacation pay, r educed work week/overtime, sick leave, Collective Bargaining Agreement procedures and certifications.
The results from the Employment Tribunals
and Arbitrations are as follows:
• Employment Tribunals: Fifteen ruled in favour
of the complainants; nine were ruled in favour
of the respondents; four are awaiting dec isions; and five are waiting to be heard.
• Arbitrations: one was ruled in favour of co mplainant; three were ruled in favour of the r espondents; and four are awaiting decisions.
Mr. Chairman, the Immigration Appeals Tribunal started the year with a minor backlog in appeals
and spent the year addressing all appeals. The results
of the Immigration Appeals Tribunal are as follows: 18
appeals processed during period 1 April 2019 to 31
January 2021; 9 appeals were heard by an Immigr ation Appeals Tribunal Panel; zero appeals are outstanding as at 31 January 2021. The difference be1052 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly tween appeals processed and heard is due to appeals
being withdrawn for various reasons.

Major Achievements 2020/21
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, during
the past year, the Ministry has executed a number of initiatives of national importance, including:
• legislative changes to exclude the s helter in
place from the calculation of the period qual ifying pers ons for redundancy under the E mployment Act;
• extension of the unemployment benefit from
12 weeks to 18 weeks;
• introduction of a Supplemental Unemployment Benefit that is means tested;
• launch of the Department of Workforce D evelopment’s Jobs and Re- employment Strat egy;
• introduction of a One- Year Residential Certif icate (Work from Bermuda) policy to attract
persons to work remotely from Bermuda;
• implementation of Mixed Status Families legislation;
• implementation of the new Border Manag ement System and the go- live of e- Gates at
L. F. Wade International Airport;
• Cabinet approval of Phase 1 of Financial A ssistance Reform;
• passage of the Employment Act Amendments and Trade Union and Labour Relations (Co nsolidation) Bill through Parliament;
• reintroduction of an unemployment benefit for employees of bars, clubs and persons who
must quarantine;
• launching of an Economic Investment Certif icate to increase economic activity on the I sland.
The Minister of Labour and the Labour Rel ations Section were involved in labour -related disputes
during the 2020/21 financial year. The most notable was the dock workers dispute, which occurred in N ovember 2020, whereby 32 dock workers of Stevedoring Services downed tools after a BIU official at the
facility was suspended. This led to a week in which
only essentials goods and Christmas trees were being
offloaded from the container ships. The matter was
eventually sent to the Labour Disputes Tribunal which
rendered any further industrial action unlawful. The matter is still with the Labour Disputes Tribunal.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I would like to take
this opportunity to thank the heads of departments
and their staff, along with the staff at the Ministry of
Labour Headquarters. I thank them for providing excellent service to the people of Bermuda. Their pr ofessionalism and dedication has been unwavering and
very much appreciated. And that is on behalf of the
Minister responsible. I now move on, Mr. Chairman, to Head 27.

Thank you, Minister.
Honourable Members, we are now in the
Committee of Supply for the further consideration of
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the
year 2021/22.
We are dealing with the Ministry of Labour
and the Honourable and Learned Attorney General who holds the brief for the Minister of Labour is now
moving on to Head 27, Immigration. For those follo wing the bundle, that is at pages B -182.
Honourable Minister, you have the floor.

HEAD 27 —DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I will proceed with the Executive Summary.

Executive Summary
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Notwithstanding the
financials contained in the Department of Immigr ation’s Budget Brief, the b rief contains and highlights:
• The new Border Management System
• e-Gates at the L. F. Wade International Airport
• Mixed Status Families legislation
• Work permit application efficiencies
• Online payment procedures
• Work permit policy overhaul
• Hierarchical structure changes

New Current Account Funding

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: As noted on page B -
182, the D epartment of Immigration has been alloca ted a budget of $5,234,000 for the fiscal year 2021/22. This budget has decreased by $270,000, thus reflec ting a 5 per cent decrease in comparison to our current
financial year 2020/21.
Mr. Chairman, the material changes of the
Subjective Analysis of the Current Account Estimates,
as compared with the 2019/20 can be found on page
B-298 are as follows:
• Communications estimate increased by
48 per cent or $101,000. This increase in cost
is linked to the increase of pass port pr ocessing projected for the upcoming financial
year.
• Rentals estimate increased by $74,000 in
comparison to the original 2019/20 estimate in
column four. Although the increase seems
drastic at 308 per cent, it falls in line with the
actuals received in financial year 2018/19 and
the revised estimates for 2019/20. Ensuring
sufficient funding is allocated for the services
required.
• Repairs and Maintenance estimates i ncreased by 87 per cent which is $380,000.


Bermuda House of Assembly This increase is directly associated with th e
maintenance and support required to maintain
the new Border Management System
throughout the year.
• Materials and Supplies estimates increased
by $94,000 in comparison to the original est imates allocated for 2019/20 to accommodate
costs associated with pr inting core services
such as work permit cards and letters.
• Other Expenses estimates increased by
67 per cent or $60,000 in comparison to the
original estimates allocated for 2019/20 to
cover costs associated to credit card commi ssions, deportations and ot her miscellaneous
expenses.

Revenue Summary

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: The revenue summary
is outlined on page B -298. The total revenue estimate
for 2020/21 is $23,947,000, an increase of $2,112,000
or 10 per cent in comparison to 2019/20, which is in
column four. The most material changes are as follows:
• Passport issuance estimated revenue has i ncreased by 42 per cent compared to 2019/20
original estimate (column four ).
• Work permits, work and reside estimated revenue for 2020/21 has doubled the amount in
comparison to 2019/20 by $816,000, or
108 per cent.
• Work permits appeals estimated revenue has
also increased by $36,000, or 52 per cent
from 2019/20.
• Residence fees estimated revenue increased by $70,000 , or 137 per cent from 2019/20.
• Nationality estimated revenue increased by
$114,000, or 175 per cent compared to
2019/20.
The primary reason for the large increase of
revenue was contributed to conservative estimated
revenue for financial year 2019/20. The 2020/21 est imated revenue is more in line with the actual revenue
collected both the previous and current financial
years, in addition to the 5 per cent increase mandated
by Government.

Existing and New Capital Projects

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, funds
estimated for Capital Acquisitions for 2020/21
amounts to $2,035,000 and can be found on page C -
15. The amounts allocated include the amount of
$35,000 to be allocated for the replacement of office
furniture; the amount of $2,000,000 to be allocated for
the purchase a new border management system to
replace the ageing system.
Highlights of key accomplishments 2019/20

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I now move on to hig hlights of key accomplishments for financial year
2019/20.
Immigration Reform: Meaningful step changes
for better efficiencies in proc esses are afoot in the
Department of Immigration. All of these changes are exciting. Specifically, during 2019/20 the following actions occurred:
• emphasised the complaints procedures for
reporting breaches against the Bermuda I mmigration and Protection Act 1956;
• undertook a review of the work permit applic ation process and reduced the vetting timeline
for bulk application submissions (more than
10 work permit applications submitted by one employer at the same time); and vetting time
was reduced from 18 to 2 days;
• revision to the Work Permit Policy in regard to
closed category jobs until April 30, 2021;
• prepared for the change out of the current
border management system (BMS), the new
BMS [would] be online by the end of March
2020 (customer acceptance testing occurred
last month and key stakeholder training is cur-rently in process);
• engaged key stakeholders for the implementation of e- gates at the [old] L. F. Wade International Airport and at the new airport; and
• tabled the Bermuda Immigration and Protec-tion Amendment Act 2020 to address mixed
status families.

New Initiatives

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to new init iatives, as a continuance of Immigration Reform, we
have begun work to:
• review/rewrite the Work Permit Policy;
• optimise our application forms;
• implement a process for online payments for
applications (we will introduce a pilot pr ogramme for employers beginning at the end of
March 2020);
• review the structure of the department so that
application processing for all applications is efficient and quicker; and
• extend our direct oversight at the Executive
Jet Facility.

Recruitment updates

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to recrui tment updates, the number of employees required for
the Department to operate efficiently is outlined on
page B -299. There are 44 established full-time posts,
1054 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly of which 5 of these posts are currently vacant. A list of
the vacant posts consists of:
• Corporate Services Manager –1
• Personal Services Manager –1
• Client Services Officer –1
• Business Systems Officer –1
• Customer Service Representatives –1
Previous incumbents in most of the above
positions have remained for the past eight years at
least. With the vacancies, there is therefore the r equirement to update job descriptions, this exercise in is in train. In addition to this, we will be reviewing the
shift schedules for our senior immigration inspectors
with the aim, as much as possible, of reducing overtime financial payouts; we will take a collaborative ap-proach by engaging staff and the BPSU [Bermuda
Public Service Uni on].
Mr. Chairman, in closing, I would like to thank
the dedicated members of staff at the Department of
Immigration. I would like to thank the Immigration
team under the leadership of Dr. Danette Ming, Chief
Immigration Officer and Ms. Marita Grimes, newl y appointed Assistant Chief Immigration Officer, together
with Ms. Lauren Sadler Best of the Attorney General’s
Chambers, (and as the Attorney General, I am proud
of the sterling work she does ), the Immigration Board
headed by Mrs. Renee Ming, JP, MP, and the Imm igration Appeal Tribunal headed by Mr. Charles Ric hardson.
Finally, I would also like to thank Mr. RonMichel Davis, Ms. Darlene Smith, and Ms. Jannell Burgess, and their respective teams; as well as the
Collector of Customs, Mrs. Lucinda Pearman and her airport team for administering the airport border control on behalf of Immigration.
Also, thanks to the Information & Digital
Technology (IDT) Office for their timely assistance in ensuring that our systems were operable, particularly
at the L. F. Wade International Airport. The IDT Office
and the Bermuda Airport Authority (specifically Mr.
James Campbell) are to be commended for working
tirelessly with the department in respect of the new
BMS and e- gates. Without these dedicated agencies,
the work of the department may have been delayed
and difficult.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will now move on
to Head 55, Department of Financial Assistance.

Thank you.
Please proceed, Honourable and Learned
Minister.
HEAD 55 —DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: So, as you said, Mr.
Chairman, this is found on pages B -187 through B190, but also pages C -13 and C -19 of the Estimates
of Revenue and Expenditure.

Mission and Objectives

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will now
present the estimates of expenditure and revenue for
Head 55, the Department of Financial Assistance (and
I have mentioned where it can be found in the Budget
Book).
Mr. Chairman, the mission of the Department
of Financial Assistance is to assist vulnerable Berm udians to maintain a minimum standard of living during
challenging economic times . The objectives of the
Department of Financial Assistance include: the i mprovement of the operational, financial and legal compliance functions aimed at enhancing efficiencies and detecting financial assistance fraud; to sustainably
manage operating cost of awards to financial assi stance clients; to apply internationally recognised
standards of care when managing relationships with
financial assistance clients; and to leverage collabor ation with other government departments in achieving
digitisation.
Mr. Chairman, let me begin by st ating that the
advent of the novel Coronavirus pandemic placed si gnificant operational and logistical challenges on the department for the past 12 months. Given the high
risk to health that the pandemic placed on public -
facing officers and the uncertainties and difficulties experienced in conducting re- assessments, the department continued to successfully service all eligible financial assistance clients.
In addition, the department provided business
continuity for new applicants, whilst shouldering r esponsibility for the Supplemental Unemployment Benefit programme. For this, on behalf of the Minister, I
would like to recognise the hard work and dedicated
actions demonstrated by the Financial Assistance
Team in upholding the mission and objectives of the department. The Supplemental Unemployment Benefit programme will be discussed later on in this brief.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the total
current expenditure is estimated to be $51,406,033,
as shown on page B -188. This amount constitutes
83 per cent of the budget allocated for the Ministry as
a whole and is an increase of $462,135, or 1 per cent
from the prior year. This allocation of funds will continue to fund the financial assistance programme, the child day care allow ance programme and general a dministration support during the fiscal period.


Bermuda House of Assembly Note, Mr. Chairman, that during prior year
2020/21, the Ministry received additional funding to
ensure financial assistance payouts can be sustained,
based on forecasted upward trend of new applications
due to COVID -19. This additional funding totalled
$2,662,822, and was appropriated to cost centre
65997, National Health Emergency. Overall, with this
additional funding, the revised total current expendi-ture for 2020/21 stands at $5 3,402,000 as shown on
page B -188.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the total
capital expenditure is estimated to be zero dollars in fiscal year 2021/22, compared to $30,308 from the
prior year, as shown on page C -13. Capital pr ojects
were re- prioritised in the prior year and funding was
used to cover critical computer software upgrades to
enhance the service potential of the Financial Assi stance dedicated software and to provide computer
equipment necessary to aid with in- office training and
facilitate remote meetings as a result of COVID -19.

Manpower

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, during
the prior year 2020/21, recommendations from a r eview conducted by Management Consulting Services
for optimal design or framework to meet current and
projected client demand was implemented by the D epartment of Financial Assistance. The review confirmed that the current organisational structure was inadequate with respect to roles, capabilities and r esponsibilities. Therefore, due to st ructural deficiencies
and capability gaps, recommendations for 21 job title
changes, abolishment of 2 positions, enhancement of
2 positions and creation of 2 new positions were approved by Cabinet. Combined, these changes resul ted in 1 new FTE.
Mr. Chairm an, as a direct consequence of
COVID -19, the Department has experienced an i ncrease in overall caseloads due to high unemplo yment levels. Hence, as the size of the portfolio per financial assistance officer continued to rise, the department requested and r eceived additional funding
for temporary service providers in prior year 2020/21
to ensure capacity can manage the demand for the
service requested.
This became crucial to avoid burn out and a lso to ensure the department continued to perform its
fiduciary responsibilities in compliance with the law, its
governance structure, risk management and internal
control checks. Despite optimising efficiency, the
workload remains challenging, and based on a continued upward trend of new FA clients is at risk of be-coming unsustainable as a direct result of the impact
from COVID -19. Now, present day, Mr. Chairman, the depar tment is required to identify key levers of success and failures whilst deploying short -term planning cycles
and an agile forecasting tool during t his time of uncertainty. As such, the department has received an ex-tension of the additional funding for temporary service
providers in the prior year, as previously discussed, to
ensure a continued and uninterrupted service to new
and existing financial assistance and child day care
allowance clients. This new funding represents 6
FTEs, which together with the 1 new FTE, as prev iously discussed, brings the total FTE count for 2021/22 to 41, compared to 34 from the prior year as
shown on page B -189.
During fiscal year 2020/21, job descriptions
were reviewed and revised by all respective emplo yees in accordance with the new organisation structure
to ensure consistency with work expected and work
performed. These job descriptions were then submi tted to the Department of Human Resources for r eview, approval and re -assessment of pay grades.
As previously mentioned, the department is
seeking to upgrade its current technology systems to allow for more streamlined processes. The upgrades
should also promote improved statistical data repor ting.

Output Measures
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the
2021/22 budget estimates are listed as two business
units shown on page B -188. They are 65050 Grants
and Administration, and 65080 General Administr ation.
Mr. Chairm an, cost centre 65050 Grants and
Administration is estimated at $47,342,320. These
funds maintain the Financial Assistance programme
and the Child Day Care programme. This amount is a
decrease from the original prior year budget appropr iation of $203,082 or 0.5 per cent. This decrease is
due to the removal of grant funding to community -
based programmes by this Ministry, which will be di scussed later.
Mr. Chairman, there are two types of grants
awarded from this estimate. The first involves the i ssuance of f unding to support community -based pr ogrammes such as Vision Bermuda, Meals on Wheels
and Salvation Army, as shown on page C -19. Under
this Ministry, the total support to these helping organ izations amounts to zero dollars in 2021/22, as these
grants are no w under the remit of the Ministry of S ocial Development and Seniors.
The remaining amount of $47,342,320 serves
as the total budget divided between the Financial A ssistance programme for eligible individuals of
$45,240,206, and the Child Day Care allowanc e programme of $2,102,114.
Mr. Chairman, the total estimate for cost centre 65080, general administration, for 2021/22 is
1056 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly $4,063,713, as shown on page B -188. This is an i ncrease of [$665,217] from the prior year. This increase
is due to a combination of f actors. First, an increase in
salaries due to an uplift in pay grades after review by the Department of Human Resources; additional fund-ing of one new position after Management Consulting
Services review; and an extension of six temporary
service providers , as previously discussed. This i ncrease in total salaries is $652,717.
Second, as a result of increasing caseloads
and clients, it is expected that there will be an add itional financial burden of operational and administr ative expenditure to facilitate t his increase. Therefore,
additional funding is requested over and above prior
year as follows: an increase in repair and maint enance of $22,000, which consists of an increase in
software maintenance of $11,000 and an increase in
repair and maintenance of office equipment, printers
and photocopiers of $11,000.
Material and supplies increased by $8,000
from the prior year and was mainly due to an increase
in printing costs and office supplies of $3,000, and an
increase in cleaning costs for all office spaces and
public service lobby areas of $3,500.
Advertising and marketing expenditure is
budgeted at zero dollars, compared to $2,500 in the
prior year , as none is anticipated in 2021/22. Similarly,
the total training budget was reduced by $15,000, as it is an ticipated that in- house training will become more
prevalent, whilst ensuring staff retains certification and
are kept abreast of current industry trends and practices.
Mr. Chairman, the department’s investigative
officers continue to conduct investigations and pursue
individuals or organisations that commit fraud and
abuse of the system, for example, instances where
there were unreported income (such as inheritance or
gambling income), undeclared employment, unscr upulous landlords, overstatement of caregiver hours,
unreported and unauthorised travel; misuse of food
cards; or instances where unreported deaths of fina ncial assistance clients result in an overpayment to residential homes and/or unauthorised client re- location
between nursing/rest homes.
Mr. Chairman, at the time of this brief, there
were 69 active cases for which the total reimbursable amount due to the d epartment is $402,012. Prior to
the end of the fiscal year, four cases have been r eferred to the Department of Public Prosecution in an attempt to recover approximately $29,000; and two
cases have been referred to the Attorney General’s
Chambers in an attempt to recover approximately
$157,091. These cases are as a result of fraudulent
activity or abuse of the system.

Major Policy Changes

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, faced
with a public health pandemic globally, COVID -19 presented an unusual disruption to the Bermuda
economy. As a result, the Government expressed its
commitment to provide access to the Supplemental
Unemployment Benefit to certain individuals whose
employment was directly impacted by COVID -19. In
September 2020, the Public Treasury Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Regulations 2020 became operative, and the Department of Financial Assistance
was appointed to manage key f unctions as laid out in
that document.
To ensure business continuity in all other key
activities and deliverables, the department changed its
operational strategy to facilitate this new legislation.
This involved re- allocating internal resources; shifting
some resources into acting roles within the depar tment; and hiring temporary service providers to manage efficiency and cover already stretched resources
because of an increase in the volume of new applic ations.
At the time of this brief, 115 satisfied t he crit eria for receipt of the Supplemental Unemployment Benefit, with a total cost to date of approximately $584,000.
Mr. Chairman, in last year’s budget brief, it
was stated that in preparation of the implementation of a new structure, financial assistance teams were
switched, and case files were evenly distributed
amongst officers to promote an equitable working environment. I am pleased, on behalf of the Minister, to
inform this House that as of January 2021, the distr ibution of caseloads among financia l assistance offi cers remains equitable and currently stands at 160 files
per officer, within acceptable industry standards. This was achievable, mainly in part for additional funding
provided for temporary service providers.
At the time of this brief the average monthly
total number of clients equal led 2,281, an increase of
10 per cent from prior year. As previously stated, this
increase in trend analysis is expected to sustain in fiscal year 2021/22 and as such, an extension of funding for the temporary service providers was provided
in the new budget year.
The department is focused on the use of data
analytics to aid with continued compliance with Fina ncial Instructions, Financial Assistance Act and Regul ations, the Child Day Care Allowance Act and Regul ations and the Public Treasury Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Regulations. A risk management
framework that conforms to ISO 31000 is also being
researched for consideration and implementation.
It is the intent that this risk framework will pr ovide value added capability to the current system and
aid with robust technical solutions when addressing
audit exit point deficiencies. Internal policy writing to
align with legislation continues to be a work in pr ogress.




Bermuda House of Assembly Plans for the Upcoming Year

Hon. Kathy Ly nn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, during
the course of the next 18 months the department will
primarily focus on Financial Assistance Reform. The reform initiative is designed to reduce the number of
individuals and families currently dependent on go vernment assis tance to become self -sufficient through
employment opportunities. The system has consis tently prioritised punitive rules that ultimately created
barriers, rather than create hope by “building bridges ”
towards obtaining employment.
Introducing reform with t he current market
conditions is a mammoth task. To ensure success this
initiative will be launched in a phased approach. The first phase ( of six months) will see amendments to the
current legislation that will require:
1. All abled -bodied persons to have pers onal
employment plans that will assist them to navigate the
pathway to securing employment. This is a joint initi ative with the Department of Workforce Development
that is outcome- based, which means that it focuses on
an individual’s success in securing em ployment. A
proposed legislative amendment will also allow those
successful in securing employment to retain their
earnings for a specified period to build their assets
and be better positioned to maintain their livelihood.
Stable employment is generally t he best pathway to
long-term financial security. This is a priority for the
government and for recipients of financial assistance.
2. Goals to enable clients to retain gifts up to
$2,500 in a calendar year (not to exceed five years). This gives a household an opportunity to build up
some savings before they leave the programme.
3. Enable parents or guardians to retain 50 per
cent of child support payments until child has reached
the age of five years or there is sufficient savings to
equal six months childcare fees.

Thank you. Please proceed.

Hon. Ka thy Lynn Simmons: Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, the second phase will be
launched by end of the fiscal year. It will involve
changes in legislation to support the abled- bodied
disabled persons. Better access to employment o pportunities is required to assist these individuals to
become self -sufficient and independent. Financial A ssistance awards are intended to ensure that everyone
has access to the standard necessities of life to i mprove their well -being. Mr. Chairman, currently, applicants and reci pients of financial assistance spend a great deal of time completing application forms and documenting their
continued eligibility, rather than focusing on activities
that will assist them to become self -sufficient. The department will streamline access to services and support by digitising the application and re- assessment
process. This will ease accessibility, reduce waste, improve efficiencies and enhances outcomes and r educes risk.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Financial
Assistance continues to work hard to support Berm udians who have been disadvantaged as a result of an
ever-changing economy. The COVID -19 pandemic
certainly provided some challenges for the team.
However, even during shelter in place they were able
to deliver essential services to the community.
I would like to take this opportunity on behalf
of the Minister to thank the staff of the department for
their continued dedication.
Mr. Chairman, this ends my presentation on
Head 55, the Department of Financial Assistance.

Thank you, Minis ter.
Honourable Members, we are in the Commi ttee of Supply for further consideration of the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2021/22. We are on the Ministry of Labour debate. We just heard from the Honourable and Learned Attorney
General on Heads 44, 27, and 55. And the Attorney
General will now take us to Head 60, which is Wor kforce Development. For those following the bundle, it
mentions this commences on page B -191.
Honourable and Learned Attorney General,
you have the floor.

HEAD 60 —DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
I will now move to the 2021/22 estimates of
revenue and expenditure for the Department of Wor kforce Development, Head 60, found on pages B -191
through B-196 of the Budg et Book.
Mr. Chairman, in preparation of their est imates of revenue and expenditure, the Department of
Workforce Development also conducted a review of
its programmes, services and mission in conjunction
with the National Workforce Development Plan. The
resulting revised mission statement of the Department
of Workforce Development as highlighted on page B -
191 is: To develop a resilient workforce, to provide a
sustainable and stable community.
Mr. Chairman, the objectives of the d epartment are:
• to assist wi th development of a Draft Policy
Paper and Cabinet Memorandum to obtain
authorisation to issue drafting instructions in
1058 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly support of phase 1 of Financial Assistance
Reform, to include the development of Personal Employment Plans;
• to execute Phase 2 and Phas e 3 of the Wor kforce Development Re- employment Reintegration Job Strategy;
• to design and facilitate the implementation of
the Training and Development Plan in targeted occupations of restaurants, cleaning, landscaping, certified administrative assistant sectors among others;
• to complete the Project Plan and begin i mplementation of the clean -up of the Unemployment Benefit database to allow for retr oactive approval of applications.
Mr. Chairman, the department’s 2021/22 Mi ssion Statement and objectives hav e been amended to
reflect Government’s reform and new vision stat ement, which is, Future Forward Government for the
People of Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, our primary aim is to assist
Bermudians to become work ready and to position them to successfully participate in Bermuda’s wor kforce. This starts at school -age and continues through
until retirement. The Department of Workforce Development is a partner in ensuring Bermudians are pr epared for the workforce by providing;
• job opportunities in the summer for both high
school and college students;
• scholarships for local and overseas study;
• apprenticeships and training;
• national certification training;
• professional development;
• career guidance;
• assistance on redundancy and career chan ges;
• employability skills tra ining;
• job search support;
• graduate trainee and development pr ogrammes; and
• the Bermuda Job Board.
Mr. Chairman, as noted on page B -192, the
Department of Workforce Development has been all ocated a budget of $3,601,798 for the fiscal year
2021/22. This budget is $692,693 less than the
2020/21 budget allocation. As part of the review and
zero-based budget process, there have been quite a
few changes in the budget for programmes within the department.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Workforce
Development comprises three programmes as noted
on page B -192. They are General Administration, C areer Development, and Training.
With regard to programme 6001, General
Administration, this is responsible for the overall management and administration of the Department of
Workforce Development. As seen on page B -192,
business unit 70000, Administration, has been all o-cated a budget of [$586,145] for the financial year
2021/22. This budget is $80,000, or 12 per cent less
than the 2020/21 allocation owing to a decrease in al l
business units in the reduction of programmes, initi atives and service levels cost savings. This has been
offset in part by a decrease in contractors cost and
cleaning expenses. This section is staffed by four fulltime employees, consisting of the director, an admi nistrative accounts officer, a customer service repr esentative and a two- year temporary IT officer as r eflected on page B -194. The director’s post is cur rently
vacant; however, it is anticipated that the r ecruitment
for the post will commence during the new fiscal per iod.
Mr. Chairman, programme 6003, Career D evelopment, is comprised of Career Development A dministration 70300 and Career Development 70400.
The programme is responsible for client assessment,
employability skills training and job search support.
Where indicated, clients may be referred for specific skills training and other support services to increase
the individual’s prospects for suitable employment and job retention.
The 2021/22 budget allocation for the entire
Career Developm ent Programme is $1,334,864,
which represents a decrease of $62,136, or 7 per cent
compared with the 2020/21 budget allocation.
Mr. Chairman, the Career Development A dministration is responsible for designing services to
meet the needs of job seekers and r educe emplo yment barriers. The section works closely with emplo yers, the Department of Financial Assistance to assist
abled- bodied clients and the Department of Immigr ation.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 70300, Career
Development Administration, has been all ocated a
budget of $422,258 for the financial year 2021/22.
This represents a decrease of $10,500, or 3 per cent
less than the original 2020/21 budget allocation owing
to a reduction in overseas training and travel costs.
This section is staffed by five fu ll-time employees co nsisting of the career development manager, two trai ning and development officers, an administrative assi stant and one intake officer as indicated on page B -
194.
Career Development business unit 70400 has
been allocated a budget of $912,606 for the financial
year 2021/22, which represents a decrease of
$51,554, or 5 per cent of the original 2020/21 budget.
Funds to support the Summer Employment Pr ogramme (SEP) for college and university students have been moved to wages for reclassific ation purposes, resulting in a corresponding increase in sal aries of $460,000 in wages. This section is staffed by three full-time career development officers as shown
on page B -194.
Mr. Chairman, the purpose of programme
6004, Training, is to provide administration and oversight of the National Training Board activities. This


Bermuda House of Assembly section supports the apprenticeship programmes, the
distribution of scholarships, professional designation
training schemes, and national certification of desi gnated trades. The 2021/22 budget allocation for the entire Training Programme is $1,680,789, a decrease of $551,000, or 25 per cent compared with the
2020/21 budget allocation.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 70014, Training
Administration, has been allocated a budget $264,412
for the financial year 2021/22. This represents a d ecrease of $17,825 compared to the 2020/21 budget
allocation. The section is staffed by three full-time
employees consisting of a training manager, and two
administrative assistants as stated on page B -194.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 70015, Certific ation, has been allocated a budget of $287,892 for the
financial year 2021/22. This reflects a decrease of
$221,237, or 43 per cent. Funds have been reallocated to business unit 70016, Apprenticeship and Pr ofessional Development, and business unit 70400, C areer Development, to support an increase in overseas scholarships and the increased rate for the summer
employment programmes. The staff complement for
this business unit is two as noted on page B -194,
made up of standard and enforcement officers. One
standard and enforcement officer post is currently v acant. However, funding for this post has been transferred to support Ministry Headquarters staffing.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 70016, Apprenticeship and Profes sional Development, has been allocated a budget of $1,128,485 for the financial year
2021/22, a decrease of $311,929 or 22 per cent. The
staff complement for this business unit is three trai ning and assessment officers, as noted on page B -194.
Mr. Chairman, I will now discuss the subjective analysis for the Department of Workforce Deve lopment found on page B -193 and the employee numbers found on page B -194. The budget for financial
year 2021/22 of $3,601,798 is significantly decreased
by $692,764, or 16 per cent. As part of the gover nment’s cost saving plan and zero- based budget pr ocess, the overall budget has quite a few changes for programmes and services. I will speak to those object codes where there are major changes.
Mr. Chairman, the training budget estimate for
financial year 2021/22 is $264,412, and represents a $17,825, or 6 per cent reduction. Reduction of these
funds represent s staff training, printing and subscri ption-related expenses that more accurately reflect actual spend rates and planned t raining.
Mr. Chairman, the travel estimates for financial year 2021/22 is zero, a decrease of $13,895, and represents a 100 per cent reduction in cost savings.
These funds again relate to staff and overseas trai ning, airfare/travel, accommodation, subsiste nce [and]
other travel -related expenses.
Mr. Chairman, the communications estimate
for financial year 2021/22 is $14,600, and represents a $3,600, or 75 per cent increase. These funds relate to increased use of office and cellular telephone usage and Internet charges, due to the unemployment
benefit initiative and associated cost tasked by the
department for the six -month period March to August
2021.
Mr. Chairman, the advertising and promotion
estimate for financial year 2021/22 is $10,500, and
represents a $13,500 decrease, or 22 per cent reduction. The reduction reflects a more focused use of advertising and promotion through the Department of
Communication and Information and the increase d
use of social media for this purpose.
Mr. Chairman, the professi onal services est imate for financial year 2021/22 is $45,578, and repr esents a $36,525 increase, or 20 per cent. This i ncrease is related to a combination of factors including the revision of contracts for the department and to make savings in the use of c ontractors to cover and
offset cost for vacant posts.
Mr. Chairman, the repairs and maintenance
estimate for financial year 2021/22 is $48,450, and represents a $96,550, or 50 per cent decrease. The
decrease primarily relates to a reduced level of
maintenance costs associated with security, refuse,
pest control with the exception of repair and maint enance cleaning services that increased by $12,000—

Honourable Minister, are you able to
assist with tying your numbers down with the numbers
in the Budget Book? As the Honourable Member
points out, we are at page B -193, and I believe you
were—
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I will defer to the Mini ster, Mr. Chairm an, if he can . . . the Minister will pr ovide clarification in due course. The Chairman: Thank you, Honourable Minister.
MP Richardson, that is certainly a question
you are entitled to pose, and you should pose to the
Minister when we get there. But the question relates
to the line item repairs and maintenance in the top box
on page B -193, if the Honourable Minister can pr epare to address that.
Sorry, I will take a quick pause just for the
benefit of the listening audience. Honourable Members we are in Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenues and Expendi1060 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ture for the year 2021/22. We are currently doing the
Ministry of Labour and we are on the fourth and final
Head for that Ministry, being Head 60, Workforce D evelopment. And as MP Richardson just pointed out,
the Honourable and Learned Attorney General speak-ing for the Minister, was addressing the items under
the subjective analysis of current account estimates at
page B -193.
Honourable Attorney General, please conti nue w hen you are ready.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I am going to read that last sentence that the
Member was referring to just to complete the par agraph.
So, the decrease primarily relates to a r educed level of maintenance costs associat ed with s ecurity, refuse, pest control with the exception of repair
and maintenance cleaning services that increased by
$12,000 for additional deep cleaning for health and
safety purposes, due to COVID -19.
And I will continue.
Mr. Chairman, the materials and supplies estimate for financial year 2021/22 is $34,043, a reduction of $27,966, or 18 per cent. The reduction in the
purchasing of office supplies, food supplies as well as
printing related cost to reflect cost savings using a more measured estimate and spending rates for the
Department.
Mr. Chairman, the grants and contributions
estimate for financial year 2021/22 is $1,505,000, and represents a $398,000, or 21 per cent reduction in
costs.
Mr. Chairman, details of Grants and Contributions can be found on page C -19. The grants and co ntributions will fund the government sponsored scholarships, apprenticeship scheme, sponsorship for
trainees, National Certification Training and the Summer Student Programmes, as follows:
• $80,000 has been allocated for the Summer
Internship Programme to fund senior high school students ; Wages remains the same.
• The estimate for overseas Scholarships
stands at $350,000. This amount reflects a
$100,000 decrease from the previous fiscal
year 2020/21. Local scholarship allocate d
amount for this fiscal year 2021/22 is $80,000.
This represents a decrease of $20,000 in local
scholarships which reflect against additional
grants for financial aid at Bermuda College
and other sponsors to meet demand.

Six, six. Okay.
Please proceed.
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you.
I am just going to read this last one. Actually, I
am going to read the entire reference to scholarships
again.
The estimate f or overseas Scholarships
stands at $350,000. This amount reflects a $100,000 decrease from the previous fiscal year 2020/21. Local
scholarship allocated amount for this fiscal year
2021/22 is $80,000. This represents a decrease of
$20,000 in local scholars hips which reflect against
additional grants for financial aid at Bermuda College
and other sponsors to meet demand.
Based on multi -year overseas and local
scholarship awards to new and continuing students, this will fund approximately 35 overseas and 25 l ocal
scholarship awards for 2021/22.
• The estimate for Apprenticeship Scheme was
decreased by $150,000 to $321,000. This will
significantly reduce the apprenticeship opportunities for young Bermudians to train and gain entry into the workforce.
• The estimat e for Sponsorship– Trainees is
$88,000 for short -term training programmes
which are usually less than two years in dur ation. This budget is reduced by $26,000 from
the 2020/21 budget allocation.
• The estimate for National Certification Trai ning programme is decreased by $115,000 to
$175,000. This reduction represents a more
accurate estimate based on previous years’
expenditure. Funds were reallocated to su pport an increase in overseas scholarships,
apprenticeships and the summer student pr ogramme. The certi fication training programme
is steered by legislation and designed to e nsure a benchmark standard for the designated trades. Currently there are four designated occupations: electricians, automotive technicians, welders and landscape gardeners.
• Funding for the Summer Student Programme
remains unchanged from the 2020/21 budget
at $80,000. The $80,000 is allocated for the
Department’s Summer Internship Programme (SIP) which provides an introduction to the
workforce for high school students. Students
will be given the opportunity to participate in a work placement during the month of July.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, revenue for 2020/21, is listed
on page B -193, and is estimated at $8,000. The est imates are the expected revenue from fees charged to
applicants registering f or National Certification and
Apprenticeship training in 2021/22. The statutory a pplication fee for each applicant for National Certific ation is $265 and $50 for apprenticeships.
Mr. Chairman, whilst I have addressed employee numbers or full-time equival ents in the various
business units, you will note on page B -194 that one
of the two standard and enforcement officer posts r emains vacant and unfunded for this financial year 2021/22 with employee numbers for the d epartment at
19.
Mr. Chairman, I will now provide a backdrop
to share the hard work and intervention of the D epartment of Workforce Development in the context of
the Coronavirus pandemic and its relevance to the
implementation of the Unemployment Benefit and the
Re-employment Re- integration Strate gic Plan. During
the last quarter of the fiscal year, the Department of
Workforce Development was charged with administering the Unemployment Benefit utilising the Public
Treasury (Administration for Payments) Act 1969
which established the Unemployment Insurance Fund
in 2002.
Mr. Chairman, the intent of this legislation
provides the authority for the Minister of Finance to make payment out of the Unemployment Insurance
Fund for the purpose of temporary assistance of unemployment benefit to individuals directly impacted by
COVID -19. The Public Treasury (Administration and
Payments) Regulations 2020 were enacted to directly
address this unprecedented crisis of unforeseen magnitude that posed a public health and economic threat
locally and globally, which left thousands of residents
unemployed presenting unusual disruption to the s ocial fabric and economy of Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, during the unprecedented
COVID -19 pandemic, the Department of Workforce
Development was charged with administering the U nemployment Benefit project during the months of
March to August 2021. During this six -month period,
the training and career development sections of the department’s concentrated efforts shifted to assist
applicants to register online and in person to become eligible to receive the government’s financial benefit
during their time of financial hardship. At the end of
August 2021, over 10,000 residents received unemployment benefits administered by staff of the D epartment of Workforce Development along with a team of 89 employees recruited from across various government departments.
As a result of this unprecedented crisis, normal programmes and services were temporarily sus-pended. Subsequently, projected levels of pr ogrammes and services for the fiscal year 2021/22
were severely curtailed. Mr. Chairman, the Performance Measures for
the Department of Workforce and Development are
found on pages B -195 and B -196.
The number of persons sponsored for local
and overseas training during financial year 2020/21 was 150 compared to financial year 2019/20 figure of
131. Several students at the entry level of their occ upations elected to obtain industry recognised certific ations, associate’s degree s and bachelor’s degrees
and in some instances specialised instructor certific ations i n diverse sectors of the workforce. The breakdown of local and overseas training programmes is as
follows:
Local Training programmes:
• Nursing, (Certificate and Associate pr ogrammes) Bermuda College;
• General Education Diploma, C.A.R.E. Learning Centre and Adult Education;
• Safety and Instructor Certification Training
Programme (ICTP), National Center for Co nstruction Education and Research (NCCER);
• Learn to Earn Restaurant Training Initiative,
Bermuda Tourism Authority;
• Hospitality Management, Bermuda Coll ege;
• Culinary Arts , Bermuda College;
• Horticulture for Landscape Gardeners, Bermuda College;
• Bartending Certification Programme, Bermuda
College;
• Wood Technology , Bermuda College
• Electrical Wiring, Bermuda College;
• Hairdressing, Bermuda College;
• Business De gree, Bermuda College;
• Associate of Science, Bermuda College;
• Elevator Technician, Otis Elevator;
• Heating, Ventilation and Air -conditioning,
Bermuda College;
• Powe r Engineering, Tyne’s Bay Waste- toEnergy Facility; and
• Successful Academic and Vocational Educ ation Programme (SAVE), Bermuda Gover nment, Court Services.
Overseas Training programmes:
• Building Systems & Engineering Technicians;
• Cyber security and Networking;
• Mechanical Engineering;
• Nursing Associate’s and Bachelor ’s degrees ;
• Microbiology;
• Medicine ;
• Actuarial Science;
• Accounting and Economics;
• Electrical Engineering;
• Pharmacy;
• Computer Networking;
• Trichology;
• Marine Engineering;
• Automotive Engineering;
1062 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • Tourism and Travel Management;
• Surgery and Medicine;
• Biomedical Science;
• Information Technology;
• Dental Hygiene;
• Environmental Science ;
• Hospitality Business Management;
• International Business;
• Computer Engineering;
• Power Engineering;
• Business Administration;
• Radiology Technician; and
• Veterinary Technology.
Mr. Chairman, the department continues to
collaborate with industry stakeholders to provide trai ning and professional development to ensure that Bermudians have a pathway to national certification.
Mr. Chairman, the total number of individuals
certified as of January 31, 2021, was 203, equal to the
previous year. As a result of staff shortages, the post
for the Standard and Enforcement Officer remains
vacant. It is anticipated that the recruitment for a
Standards and E nforcement Officer will be filled this
upcoming budget year. Additionally, due to CO VID-19
and department staff and resources /efforts diverted to
administer the Unemployment Benefit for the six -
month period March to August 2021, the national certification process was interrupted having major impact
on its progress. As of January 31, 2021, the number
of individuals certified includes: 42 electricians; 27
welders; 31 automotive service technicians; and 103
landscape gardeners.
The constitution of the new National Training
Board Chairperson and committee will make a co ncerted effort to revisi t and advance the national certif ication process, in partnership with the Occupational
Advisory Committee (OAC).
The Apprenticeship/Professional Development performance measures are outlined in business
unit 70016 on page B -192. The scholarship pr ogrammes included in this business unit, are available
to individuals 18 years old or older, and who are interested in expanding their skills and knowledge focusing on vocational and technical education. Financial support is provided for local and overseas educati onal
pursuits.
Mr. Chairman, the Training Section awards
scholarships based on local workforce needs, partic ularly in areas underrepresented by Bermudians. During the period 2020/21 the department provided funding for a total of 43 students for overseas st udies, of
which 12 were new and 31 continuing awards. Due to
the COVID -19 pandemic and the inability of some
students to return overseas, some continue their stud-ies online and others deferred their education until 2021/22.
The department sponsored an additional eight
individuals for funding for the General Education D i-ploma (GED) this fiscal year. Of the eight, five atten ded CARE Learning Centre and three attended the Adult Education. The department initially budgeted for
a total of 25 GED sponsorships. H owever, due to
COVID -19 shelter in place restrictions, classes were
suspended. Typically, the department provides spo nsorship for a maximum of 25 individuals, not to exceed $5,000 per person for a three- term semester
annually. However, due to budget cost s avings 17
individuals were funded for the previous year.
Mr. Chairman, the Career Development Section performance measures are outlined in business
unit 70400 on page B -192. The Career Development
Section prepares individuals, particularly the vulner able population, for the workforce. As of February 28,
2021, a total of 1, 644 persons were registered with
the department as either unemployed or seeking alternative employment. In the previous budget year,
1,559 persons were registered with the Career Development Section, reflecting a 5 per cent increase in
registrants.
The department has worked diligently to pr ovide career development and transitional services for unemployed persons. As of February 28, 2021, the
department provided services for 1,002 persons d uring this financial year, of which 249 were new regi strants. Career Development services included:
• career and skill assessments;
• résumé critique and development;
• employability skills training;
• providing resource information for e- learning
opportunities and Workforce Development
training;
• job search assistance; and
• career guidance.
As of February 28, 2021, 416 career asses sments were administered.
Mr. Chairman, as a requirement of the 2015
Work Permit Policy, the Career Development Section, this financi al year received requests for referrals relating to 371 restricted job category positions. Subs equently, there were 736 suitable candidates referred.
As of February 28, 2021, there were 103 reported
hires compared to 114 for the previous year. The
workforc e has been significantly impacted this financial year due to COVID -19 and measures taken to
ensure public health. Additionally, as previously ind icated, normal services and operations were suspend-ed for a significant portion of this financial year to
support administration of the Unemployment Benefit
and public health. Although there is a marked decrease in reported hires, the section awaits details of
hires for recent recruitment and training initiatives.
The Career Development Section continues to
utilise the Bermuda Job Board as a job search and
referral tool to assist clients. Registration sessions
and introductory computer courses are ordinarily offered regularly. However, this fiscal year the section
has had to reduce the number of participants in eac h


Bermuda House of Assembly training in accordance with Government COVID -19
regulations. Each session is designed to help persons
with limited computer literacy skills to build confidence
with technology and apply for jobs online to increase
their prospects of employment.
Mr. Chair man, as of February 28, 2021, there
were 19,832 candidates registered on the Bermuda
Job Board, an increase of 2,369 from the previous
year. The number of employers registered currently
stands at 2,573; an increase of 199 from the previous
year. There were 240 jobs posted as of February 28,
2021.
The Job Board continues to see considerable
activity with 248,095 job applications submitted to date since its initial launch in 2013. This represents an increase of 41,982 submissions from 2019/20 fiscal
year. Th e ability for employers to report on hires was
developed in March 2016. Since then, there have been 4,692 reported hires through the Bermuda Job
Board; representing an increase of 1,336 from the
previous year. The hires consist of
• 147 in 2015
• 974 in 2016;
• 759 in 2017;
• 738 hires for 2018;
• 924 hires for 2019;
• 1,118 hires for 2020; and
• 32 hires to date for 2021.
Mr. Chairman, the Career Development Section facilitates employability skills workshops to equip job seekers with the tools necessary for employment
success. As of February 28, 2021, 417 persons parti cipated in training such as interview skills, résumé development, navigating online job platforms, labour market information and marketing yourself for success. The low attendance is primarily attributed to no
shows, low registration and the inability to contact cl ients who would benefit from the sessions. This was
further compounded with the suspension of regular services due to COVID -19 and the deployment of r esources to support administration of the Unemplo yment Benefit. However, the department is positioned to continue to exceed last year’s total of 421.

Major Achievements

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I now
shift to highlight some of the additional work that was
undertaken during the 2020/21 financial year. You will
recall, in early 2020, the country faced unprecedented
challenges due to the COVID -19 global pandemic.
Efforts to protect the public and minimise the spread
of virus prompted cautionary measures (shelter in
place). The COVID -19 regulations, though necessary
for public health, have resulted in long- term unintended consequences for Bermuda’s economy, tourism industry and workforce. In light of these unforeseen
challenges, the Government made a commitment to provide access to temporary unemployment benefits
for individuals directly impacted by COVID -19.
Government has reported over 10,000 persons have received the temporary assistance to date.
During this period, the department was at the forefront of creating a structure and mechanism to support a dministration of the Temporary Unemployment Benefit,
provide information to the public and address appl icant queries. Subsequently, due to the magnitude of
the unemployment benefit programme, the volume of
applications and COVID -19 regulat ions, the depar tment found it necessary to suspend normal operations
and services. This has significantly impacted planned
programs for the financial year 2020/21.
Mr. Chairman, whilst Bermudians sheltered in
place, the Career Development Section provided the
public with information and resources to assess their
current skillset and contemplate retooling for future
opportunities. Interested persons were provided links
for free and low -cost training, distance learning and
technology skills training. During the COVID -19 pa ndemic, businesses, schools, teachers, students, fam ilies and individuals have had to rely on a variety of
emerging technologies to navigate the challenges in
education and work environments.
Additionally, persons expressing an interest in
completing a career assessment were provided with
links for the Career Scope online assessment which
enhances the career and educational planning pr ocess by measuring both interests and aptitude.
In spite of the challenges with the onset of
COVID -19 and th e need to shift operationally, the C areer Development team has deliberately engaged in
several public/private partnerships to respond to wor kforce needs. In September 2020, the department
learned of the planned closure of the Fairmont Sout hampton Hotel to support an 18- month period of renovations. Following the news, the Ministry and Depar tment immediately arranged to meet with the Fairmont
Southampton and Hamilton Princes s Hotel & Beach
Club Talent & Culture teams, the Bermuda Hotel A ssociation and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, Restaurant Division to understand the
scope of planned redundancies and discuss redeployment of talent and training needs for existing and future opportunities.
Further, the department was invited to partic ipate in a career fair hosted by the Fairmont Sout hampton Talent & Culture team in October 2020. The
career fair was designed to connect employees and
employers. Additionally, it was an opportunity to pr ovide resource information to assist with transition and
suppor t services. The Career Development Section
continues to support those who expressed an interest
in working with the department to assist with their e mployment and career goals.
Mr. Chairman, the department continues to
take a collaborative approach to create opportunity for
Bermudian jobseekers and engage employers to ad1064 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly dress Bermuda’s workforce needs. For similar purpose, the Ministry and Department team met with l ocal recruiters in October 2020 to determine how we
might be able to work together to address the unemployment crisis. The conversations proved fruitful and
covered a range of topics which included policy, a
mechanism for information sharing, rebranding, par tnering on career readiness training and networking for
corporate professionals.
The Career Development Section partnered
with professional recruitment agencies to host two virtual networking events for Bermudian corporate
professionals living on Island and abroad. The event
specifically targeted accounting, legal, and corporate
professionals. Public interest was overwhelming, r esulting in over 100 registrants enlisting their interest to
participate in the networking event.
This prompted the need to coordinate an add itional event on a separate date to accommodate the
volume of registrants. The events were hosted over
two consecutive weeks during February [ 2021] with 10
participating recruitment agencies. Given the event
was recently held and the timelines required for r ecruitment, it is too early to report hires. We have ho wever been advised of some initial hires and are hopeful that we will learn of many more. The local recrui ters participating in the events included:
• Acumen Group;
• Details Management Ltd.;
• Elevate Executive Selection;
• Executemps Ltd.;
• Expertise Group Limited;
• Frontier Financial Services Ltd.;
• Island Employment Partners;
• Ontru;
• The Platinum Group Ltd.; and
• Performance Solutions Ltd.
The feedback from all the recruiters was
overwhelmingly positive, with some very excited that
they were able to ident ify talent to meet their client s’
needs. Each recruiter has advised that they will con-tinue to work with participants to help them to secure
employment.
Mr. Chairman, this is just one of the initiatives
ensuing from our meeting with local recruiters. In add ition to the networking event, recruiters desired a
mechanism for information sharing regarding corporate Bermudian talent. The event enabled the depar tment to launch this information exchange and provi ded access to a pool of corporate talent. This has pos itioned the Career Development Section to respond to
requests for professional talent.
Mr. Chairman, in the coming weeks, the C areer Development Section will introduce a standard
work readiness curriculum and credential which will
help job seekers to differentiate themselves and
demons trate that they have the workplace skills employer’s demand. Persons completing the curriculum
from the Center for Work Ethic Development will be positioned to earn the Certificate of Work Ethic Prof iciency by demonstrating mastery of the work ethic
concepts. The Work Ethic programme, Bring Your ‘A’
Game, focuses on the following seven skill areas
which are strong indicators of job performance and work success.
• Attitude —staying positive in every situation,
taking control of the way in which you react;
• Atten dance—showing that you’re reliable in
every phase of your life —be on time every
time;
• Appearance —being professional both in the
ways you work and the way you look;
• Ambition —taking initiative and adding value,
doing more than the minimum;
• Acceptance —having respect and following direction, be coachable and play by the rules;
• Appreciation —demonstrating your gratitude
towards others, providing selfless service; and
• Accountability —living honestly and having i ntegrity with every decision that you make, r efusing t o rationalise bad decisions.
Mr. Chairman, the Summer Employment Pr ogramme (SEP) coordinated by the Career Develop-ment Section assists Bermudian college and univers ity students in the development of their career goals by
connecting work experiences to the ir academic lear ning. Work assignments are professional in nature and
based on entry -level job descriptions. Interns receive
placements within government, private and non- profit
sectors where they learn leadership and decision-making skills, time management, conflict resolution,
and career and work competency standards.

Honourable Minister, is this is a convenient point for you to pause, we are now at the
lunch hour.
Honourable Members , we are in the Commi ttee of Supply for the further consi deration of the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2021/22. We are dealing with the Ministry of Labour. This is a four -hour debate which started at 10:49 am,
and will therefore run to 4:19 pm. Unless the Speaker
wants to take us to lunch, Learned Attorney General, would you like to take us to lunch?

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes, Mr. Chairman. I
move that we break for lunch until 2:15 , is it?

Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. We will break and come back at
2:00 pm. And then the debate will run until 4:19 pm.
Thank you Attorney General.



Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman,

Proceedings of Committee suspended at 12:32 pm

Proceedings of Committee resu med at 2:01 pm

[Ms. Lovitta F. Foggo, Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2021/22

MINISTRY OF LABOUR

HEAD 60 —DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT

[Continuation thereof]

Good afternoon, Members .
We are resuming in Committee of Supply for
further consideration of Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2021/22. We are debating
Heads 44, 27, 55 and 60 under the Ministry of Labour.
The Minister carrying the debate is the Honourable and Learned Member, the Attorney General ,
Minister Kathy Lynn Simmons.
Minister, you may proceed.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
Madam Chairman, I am going to continue on
Head 60, which is the Department of Workforce D evelopment.
The C hairman: Continue.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you.
Madam Chairman, this year, although the
pandemic presented unique challenges, the Summer
Employment Programme (SEP) commenced in June 2020 with a total of 73 students being placed in i nternships. Placements are ordinarily based on area of study. However, because several businesses had not
resumed normal operations in June and many of their
staff were continuing to work remotely, interns were
placed in areas of the greatest need.
For example, there were several pre- med and
science interns on the frontline for COVID -19 testing.
The programme ran from June through August. Each
intern completed up to 10 weeks and received a
$6,000 stipend for work performed. During this financial year, the stipend amount increased from $5,000,
or $500 weekly , to $6,000, or $600 weekly , at a maximum of 10 weeks. This year the d epartment originally
budgeted for 75 students. However, because some
students were not able to complete the full 10 weeks, the department was able to provide opportunity for an
additional seven 7 students.
Madam Chairman, there were several extremely talented interns who participated in the 2020 SEP programme. Some of the academic programmes the interns were pursuing include:
• Law, Social Policy, Poli tical Science;
• Business (Accounting, Finance, International
Business);
• Health (Pre- Medical, Pre -Dentistry, Nursing,
Radiology, Occupational and Physical Ther apy, Speech and Language Pathology, Public Health, Biomedical Science, Pharmacy);
• Sciences (Environmental Science, PreVeterinary Animal Science, International Wil dlife Biology);
• Human Services (Psychology, Social Work, Forensic Psychology);
• Education (Early -Childhood, History, Art, Sp ecial Education);
• Architecture; and
• Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Madam Chairman, we wish to make mention
of one of our earlier college interns. Aljalia Julio first
participated in the Department’s Summer Employment Programme in 2015 and continued to participate each summer until 2018. During her time in the programme,
she obtained a Physiotherapy and Occupational
Therapy Assistant Diploma and a Bachel or’s in Sports
Therapy. Aljalia ( I hope I am pronouncing that right )
was placed with InTouch Therapy where she received
hands -on experience under the guidance of seasoned
physiotherapists. We have recently learned that she
went on to complete her Masters in Physiotherapy in July 2020 and has continued to work each summer
with InTouch Therapy. She is now a licensed physi otherapist and is currently completing a six -month i ntern period for experience and has been offered fulltime employment with InTouch Therapy.
This is only one example of developing a talent for Bermuda’s workforce and Government’s return on investment in the Summer Employment Pr ogramme. We wish to congratul ate Aljalia on her signi ficant accomplishments. Her commitment and hard
work have paid off. We also wish to acknowledge InTouch Therapy and the numerous employers who
partner with us each year to provide each intern with a
meaningful experience. InTouch Therapy in particular,
has been a committed industry partner for several
years [and] has given each intern an opportunity to
connect theory to the world of work.
Madam Chairman, the Career Development
Section also coordinated the Summer Internship Pr ogramme (SIP) for high school students. The pr ogramme runs for the month of July and provides participants with an introduction to the workforce and c areer exposure. As a result of the programme, SIP par-ticipants are better equipped to make more informed
choices about their future career path. This year there
1066 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly were a total of 52 participants from the public, private
and home schools.
Madam Chairman, the programme rate prev iously totalled $400 for the entire four -week period. As
previously reported, the rate was re- evaluated in the
2019/20 fiscal year. This resulted in an increase from
$400 in total to $400 weekly, with a maximum $1,600
stipend. The rate increase has created the opportunity
to restructure the SIP programme with a more deli berate emphasis on work readiness and developing talent for Bermuda’s workforce.
Madam Chairman, it is important to highlight
the work the Section continues [to do] each summer
to prepare youth for Bermuda’s workforce and ad-dress youth unemployment. Similarly, the Career D evelopment team has facilitated employability skills
sessions for private and public schools. Although we could not have a physical presence in the schools this
fiscal year, the team facilitated several virtual sessions
for Mount Saint Agnes School, grades 9 through 12
for their Career Day. Each grade level had two
streams participating in the sessions. The emphasis
was on understanding where the career opportunities
are in Bermuda. We also demonstrated how to access
statistics on employment in Bermuda. Supporting c areer awareness and work readiness in the schools is a
worthwhile partnership, one that we hope will bear fruit for many years to come.
Madam Chairman, during this f inancial year,
the department has been intentional about addressing
youth unemployment. Yout h, under age 26 have hi storically seen the highest unemployment levels ac-cording to sequential Bermuda Job Market: Emplo yment Briefs. COVID -19 has compounded the challenges this age group faces when trying to enter Bermuda’s workforce. Therefore, the Career Develo pment Section launched a pilot Graduate Trainee Pr ogramme during this financial year. It is important to
note that the d epartment received 54 applications in
response to the Bermuda Job Board advert. Appl icants were shortlisted and interviewed with a final 15
recent college graduates being selected for the opportunity.
The Career Development Section, enlisted the
support of industry partners, Kelly Francis of Perfor-mance Solutions and Amrita Bhalla of AB Consulting to develop a Career Readiness Programme (CRP) to
support participants in the Graduate Trainee Pr ogramme and position them to enter Bermuda’s wor kforce. The Career Readiness Programme is a component of the Graduate Trainee Programme, designed to
support the Ministry’s Youth Employment Strategy. The readiness programme provided training in the
following areas:
• Developing Your Brand;
• Emotional Intelligence and Communication;
• Diversity and Inclusion;
• Office Etiquette; and
• Business Writing and Presentation Skills. In addition to the training, each trainee was
provided several one- on-one coaching sessions to
offer personalised development and support. Each
participant also benefited from the D iSC self -
assessment tool and debrief to increase self -
awareness, improve teamwork, communication and productivity in the workplace. A private social media
group was also formed to allow for messaging and [to]
illustrate how such tools can be used for business.
To help each trainee build financial literacy
skills, each were sponsored to participate in the F inancial Literacy Course offered through the Bermuda
College, Division of Professional and Career Educ ation (PACE) in partnership with the Chartered Fina ncial Analysts (CFA) Society Bermuda. The course is designed as an introduction to basic money and f inancial concepts to build practical financial skills and
to help participants to take control and manage their
financial future. The course covered the following
modules:
• Part 1 —The Basics of Budgeting and Sa vings;
• Part 2 —Income, Expenses and Debt;
• Part 3 —Pla nning for Retirement; and
• Part 4 —Putting it All Together.
These components of the Graduate Trainee
Programme concluded with a virtual closing session with the Minister of Labour, the Workforce Development Team, Performance Solutions and AB Consul ting on th e 15
th of February. Each trainee shared key
takeaways from the sessions. To highlight a few, Ailey McLeod, stated, “The course really highlighted the
advantage of using personal branding to stand out to
potential employers. It also demonstrated the i mportance of being intentional in how I present myself,
to ensure that this aligns with how I want to be perceived professionally.” [UNVERIFIED QUOTE] Brigh ton Swan added, “While I enjoyed the whole pr ogramme, the financial literacy course, which included personal sessions with others in the programme, enabled me to learn strategies from more experienced
Bermudians to help improve my financial position in Bermuda.” Daijon Taylor said, “My key take away was
the personal branding. I have social media but never
really used it for business. In the future, I will use s ocial media as a way to help brand myself and network
with people outside my immediate circle.”
Kelly Francis, Madam Chairman, President of
Performance Solutions and Amrita Bhalla, Managing Director of AB Consulting stated, “It has been a
pleasure for us to partner with the Department of
Workforce Development and Minister Jason Hayward
to support Bermudian job seekers through the first cohort of the Career Development Programme. This
programme has been des igned to support the partic ipants with developing key skills in the workplace and
equip them with the knowledge and tools to be successful in their career journeys. We thank each of the
participants for their time and dedication on the sucBermuda House of Assembly cessful completio n of the programme and we look
forward to a continued partnership with the Depar tment of Workforce Development.” The graduate trainees include:
• Shanya Bashir, Bachelors of Arts, Early Years
and Childhood Studies, Manchester Metr opolitan University;
• Christian Belboda, LLB Law & Legal Practice Course, Nottingham Trent University;
• Etteleon Burchall, Bachelor of Science, Biol ogy, Spelman College;
• Zya Fraser, Bachelor of Business Administr ation, Risk Management and Insurance,
Bach elor of Arts Computer Information Sy stems with a concentration in Cyber security,
Georgia State University;
• Japhia Lightbourne (my niece), Bachelor of Science (Honours) Accounting and Finance, University of West England;
• Samara Hunt, Bachelor of Science (Honours) Human Resource Management and Business,
Leeds Beckett University;
• Ailey McLeod, Bachelor of Social Science, Anthropology and Politics;
• Jalen Means, Bachelor of Science, Criminol ogy, University of Tampa;
• Meshellae Payne, Masters of Arts, Principles
of Conservation, University College of London, Bachelors of Science; Archaeology, Un iversity of Southampton;
• Raichelle Johnson, Bachelor of Business A dministration, Marketing Management, Mount
Saint Vincent University;
• Jessica Sharpe, Bachelor of Science, Intern ational Relations, London S chool of Economics
and Political Science;
• Braxton Stowe, Bachelor of Science, Interna-tional Business and Marketing, St. Louis University;
• Brighton Swan, Bachelor of Arts, Business
and Human Resource Management (Honours), University of the West England; and
• Daijon Taylor, Bachelor of Commerce, A ccounting, Saint Mary’s University.
Well done! Madam Chairman, although we
were only able to accept 15 recent graduates in the
programme, we extended our services and the opportunity to work with Human Resource Profes sionals to
support their job seeking efforts to the remaining applicants. We are pleased to report that 15 of the r emaining applicants took us up on our offer. Each have
been provided one- on-one coaching sessions and will
participate in a series of career readiness seminars
covering the following areas:
• Developing Your Brand;
• Resume & Cover Letter Preparation;
• Interview & Presentation Skills; and
• Recognising and Leveraging Your Skills. Madam Chairman, due to COVID -19, staff
were unable to participate in ove rseas professional
development opportunities. However, where possible, they took advantage of virtual sessions and training.
Career Development staff participated in the following professional development courses and opportunities:
• Compassionate Care Advoc acy and Awar eness;
• Facilitating Career Development, previously
the Global Career Development Facilitator
Course; and
• Northwestern State University, doctorate pr ogram in Adult Learning and Workforce Devel-opment, which is self -funded.
Madam Chairman, staff t raining and professional development opportunities are vital to providing services for the unemployed, youth, and special pop ulations. More importantly, it is imperative that o fficers
remain current with workforce trends and labour market information in or der to provide proper guidance. It
is also critical for o fficers to obtain the necessary trai ning to adapt with the “new norm ” in the workforce and
to implement the recommendations outlined in the
National Workforce Development Plan.
Lastly, the Career Dev elopment Section continues to hold membership with several professional
organisations; namely , the National Career Development Association (NCDA), the National Council on
Workforce Education (NCWE), and the Bermuda H uman Resources Association (BHRA). These membe rships increase the opportunity for training, profession-al development, understanding how similar organis ations are redefining services post -COVID, networking,
and employer engagement.
Madam Chairman, the Learn to Earn Restaurant Training partnershi p initiative was originally
launched in November 2019 with 13 young Bermudi-ans. Due to the COVID -19 pandemic, the programme
was temporarily suspended. This public/private trai ning and development program aims to attract Berm udian jobseekers to restaurant c areers and includes the
following partners:
• The Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA);
• Bermuda College;
• Tomasz Tabor Memorial Fund;
• Harbourside Holdings ( which includes Flan agan’s Irish Pub, Divots, The Loft, Snug Café, Outback Sports Bar);
• Island Restaurant Gro up (which includes Ba rracuda Grill, Brew, Hog Penny Pub, Pickled Onion, Frog & Onion);
• Take Five ( which includes Devil’s Isle, Village
Pantry, Buzz Cafés); and
• Yellowfin ( which includes Astwood Arms, Bi stro J, Café TEN, Pearl, Port of Call, Yours
Truly).
Madam Chairman, as a result of the COVID -
19 pandemic shelter -in-place restrictions, the pr ogramme was suspended and the hospitality industry
1068 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly was significantly impacted. This resulted in major
business closures, unemployment and layoffs wher eby the practical training component of the programme
was revisited and recently re- launched in February
2021 in accordance with COVID -19 protocol r estrictions. The programme was back on track and is
scheduled to conclude March 2021. Participants r eceived certification from the American Hotel & Lodging
Educational Institute (AHLEI) as well as industry -
specific training certification as baristas, food ha ndlers, wine servers, Fire & Life Safety, and TIPS for on-premises training certification. Nine Bermudians
were employed at various participating restaurants as
a direct result of this industry -driven partnership trai ning initiative.
Madam Chairman, the department in partnership with the MEF Group of Companies designed and implemented a Food & Beverage Training programme
to strengthen and provide industry specific training for
Bermudians in the restaurant industry. The unique
approach of this programme provided opportunity to include Bermudians with limited to no experience to
work in various restaurant locations in various aspects
of the business. Opportunities ranged from the least
skilled to the more highly skilled individual. Other benefits of this comprehensive training programme i nclude:
• Providing Bermudians a better understanding
and perception of the restaurant industry;
• Identify a clear pathway in various areas in
the restaurant as an occupation;
• Better retention and monitoring of participants;
• Develop networks and establish contacts in
the restaurant industry; and
• Bermudians to obtain certification aligned with
indus try standards, quality of service, marketable skills and experience required in the restaurant industry.
Currently there are 12 participants in the trai ning programme consisting of 6 males and 6 females. It is anticipated that the practical rotation component in
the 12 MEF Group of Compan ies restaurants will co nclude April 2021. The Ministry of Labour and Depar tment of Workforce Development recognises and
commends this mutual benefit partnership with the
owners and management of the MEF Group of Com-panies.
Madam Chairman, I now shift to the work of
the Training Section. The Apprenticeship and Trainee programme has successfully engaged industry par tners in developing opportunity for full- time emplo yment and training for apprentices, specifically promot-ing em ployer incentives for formalising apprenticeship
and trainee opportunities. Steady progress continues
to be made, in formalising apprenticeship and training
[schemes ] with both the government and private sector. This fiscal year the training section expanded
training opportunities to include an additional 2 companies and 4 Bermudian apprentices for a total of 22 companies registering a total of 97 apprentices as of
January 31, 2021. The companies include:
• Brilliant Solutions —Electrical;
• Temperature Control and Plumbing;
• Strikeforce Carpentry;
• Sunny Side Solar;
• Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute;
• Crisson’s Construction;
• Perfect Pass Welding;
• J & B Complete Fashion;
• Teacher Pet Nursery;
• Port Royal Golf Course;
• Sylvia Richardson Care Facility;
• Bermuda Government , Department of Public
Transportation;
• BAC Universal Electric Group of Companies;
• H. S. & J. E. Crisson Ltd;
• Noble Automotive;
• Efficient Technologies Bermuda;
• Otis Elevator Bermuda;
• Fairmont Southampton;
• Bermuda Electric Light Company;
• Bermuda Energy Serv ices Company Limited
(BESCO); and
• Tyne’s Bay Waste- to-Energy Facility; and
• Government Quarry, Motor Mechanic Facility.
Madam Chairman, a total of 13 companies
and 30 Bermudians were awarded approval for trai ning schemes in the 2020/21 budget year, an increase
of 2 companies and 7 trainees. Benefits of this training
scheme to employers and trainees include: payroll tax waiver; subsidized wages; paid on- the-job training;
work experience; and industry qualifications. This pa yroll tax exemption from the Office of the Tax Commi ssioner provides relief for employers who are commi tted to training Bermudians. The companies receiving approval include:
• Charted Professional Accounts —two trainees;
• Orange Bay company —five trainees;
• Otis Elevator Bermuda Limited—three trai nees;
• Marshall Diel & Meyers Limited —one pupi llage;
• Canterbury Law Limited— two pupillages;
• Elevate Executive Selection Bermuda Li mited—one trainee;
• Arthur Morris, Christensen & Company —two
pupillages;
• BESCO —two trainees;
• Walkers (Bermuda) -Taylors Law Firm—one
pupillage;
• Meritus Trust Company Limited —four trai nees;
• Appleby Bermuda Ltd —two trainees;
• Tuteca Limited—three trainees; and
• Mazars Limited— two trainees.


Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, the department continues
to provide sponsored training programmes and initi atives to fill the gap of Bermudians employed in the
hospitality industry in general and more specifically
the culinary arts field. This information is captured in the Bermuda Job Market 2021 Employment Brief. The
department uses this data along with the i nformation
from the Department of Statistics closed and restricted
job categories list to determine areas of training and
development programmes for Bermudians.
Currently, there are seven apprentices regi stered in the Culinary Arts Apprenticeship programm e
with Fairmont Southampton. Two apprentices are on
schedule to complete their four -year training on
6 March 2020. Each year, the apprentices attend five
weeks of training at Holland College, Prince Edward
Island, Canada. At completion, they will have acqu ired
the relevant number of work hours to qualify them to sit the Red Seal International Certification exam in
culinary arts.
Madam Chairman, the Training Section sponsored 10 apprentices with the Bermuda Electric Light
Company (BELCO). Four of the 10 appr entices have
completed their four -year programme. Specific areas
of training for these Bermudians included: an industr ial electrician, millwright industrial mechanic, electrical
fitter and power line technician.
In addition, the d epartment sponsored three
new apprentices with Bermuda Air Conditioning Group of Companies (BAC Universal). Currently, BAC Un iversal has a total of 12 apprentices in the training pr ogramme at Bermuda College.
Madam Chairman, in direct response to wor kforce needs, the Department in collaboration with the
Construction Association of Bermuda (CAOB),
launched a pilot masonry apprenticeship programme
designed to ensure opportunity for Bermudians to
qualify, gain experience and upgrade competencies in
masonry. The programme utilises the N ational Center
for Construction and Research (NCCER) masonry curriculum and includes a combination of on- the-job
training and theory. Since the initial launch, eight
companies each registered one apprentice. Six of the eight apprentices were employed and t wo were newly
hired. The d epartment continues to work with other
training providers to advance this programme and expand apprenticeship and internship training and employment opportunities in the technical, vocation and
trades.
Madam Chairman, the Training Section in collaboration with the National Training Board is in the
process of revisiting the policy to advance National Certification.
Madam Chairman, as of January 31, 2021,
103 individuals were awarded National Certification in Landscape Gardening. The Horticulture Programme was established in partnership with the Bermuda College, Division of Professional and Career Education
(PACE) to create a pathway to National Certification. Similarly, the d epartment and PACE launched an accredited Automotive Technician Training Programme. The standard for this training is City & Guilds and also
provides a pathway to National Certification. As of
January 31, 2021, 31 individuals received National
Certification for Automotive Technicians.
Madam Chairman, to streamli ne the National
Certification process for Welding, the d epartment upgraded the welding facility at Bermuda College, Tech
Hall, to be used for welding instruction and testing
locally. The facilities upgrade supports National Cert ification and allows for rem ote video testing, invigilated
by the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) in Canada.
The upgrade will provide on- demand testing locally
and eliminate the need to bring in overseas invigil ators; resulting in reduced cost to the d epartment. Also,
this year, the d epartment trained two local welders
and members of the Occupational Advisory Commi ttee (OAC) as Level 1 Welding Inspectors. This allows for the test to be administered locally and invigilated
virtually by CWB. As of January 31, 2021, there were
27 individuals who achieved National Certification for
Welding.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Wor kforce Development continues to work with the Occ upational Advisory Committee to promote National Certification and recertification for electricians. The Trai ning Sect ion plans to launch an online training and tes ting platform for electricians in collaboration with Ber-muda College and the National Training Alliance. Ut ilising an online platform provides greater access to
requisite courses for National Certification. Fur ther,
the online platform will be augmented by traditional
classroom training. The online virtual training, testing
platform and traditional classroom instruction will be
aligned with the 2017 National Electrical Code Stan dard. As of January 31, 2021, ther e were 42 electr icians who received National Certification.
Madam Chairman, the Training Section funded training programmes for 13 at -risk individuals. The
Successful Academic and Vocational Education Pr ogramme (SAVE) is a collaborative partnership with th e
following stakeholders:
• Court Services;
• Bermuda College;
• Mirrors ;
• Department of Financial Assistance;
• Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC); and
• Department of Corrections.
SAVE coordinates services and resources for
“at risk” individuals to increase access to academic
and vocational training. Apprenticeships, on- the-job
training, internships and professional development are
avenues utilised to help participants to achieve self -
sufficiency and sustainable employment.
Madam Chairman, in collaboration with the
Department of Works and Engineering, through nat ural attrition and the competitive job market led the
1070 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Tynes Bay Waste- to-Energy Facility to look at their
training projections and need for power engineers.
In an effort to assist Tynes Bay to meet its
mandate of developing certified power engineers, the
department sponsored Marcal Wilkinson, a graduate
of the Berkeley Institute and Hezekiah Rampersad, a
graduate of Cedar Bridge Academy to attend Cambr ian College of Applied Arts and Technology. The
school’s curriculum is endorsed by the Technical
Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), a standard accepted for Power Engineers working in Canada and Bermuda. The programme will help these two young
men to maximise their career opportunities by preparing them to c hallenge the various TSSA examinations
after each year level. At completion, each will have
the opportunity to interview for available positions.

Plans for the Upcoming Year

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Chairman, I
now shift to highlight the work that will be undertaken
during the 2021/22 financial year. The department will
continue to lay the groundwork to implement identified
elements of the National Workforce Development
Plan. During this period, the department will work with
the National Training Bo ard to advance the Plan for
Bermuda.
Madam Chairman, the Career Development
team will utilise a standard work readiness curriculum
and award a Certificate for Work Ethic Proficiency for
persons demonstrating a proficiency in the skill areas
that are strong indicators of job performance and work
success. This will better equip persons for the wor kforce and ensure that they have the skills required by employers. Further, the department will promote
learning as a lifelong concept by offering learning opportuni ties and launching the Workforce Development
Learning Academy.
Madam Chairman, the department, in collaboration with Financial Assistance, will support the i mplementation of Phase 1 of Financial Assistance R eform, to include the development of Personal E mployment Plans. This initiative will incorporate el ements of financial literacy training to support able-bodied Financial Assistance clients as they transition
towards self -sufficiency. This will improve client’s abi lity to make financially responsible dec isions essential
for everyday life.
Madam Chairman, the department will conti nue to execute Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Workforce
Development Re- employment Re- integration Job
Strategy. This strategy, in alignment with the Gover nment’s platform initiatives and Ministry priorities, is
designed to implement a phased approach to provide
training and career development opportunities to facil itate the ease of finding employment for Bermudians.
This is in direct response, as a result of the COVID -19
pandemic, resul ting in thousands of Bermudians being
unemployed. Additionally, due to the contraction of the
workforce, the plan includes collaborating with indus-try partners to provide quality training and development programmes for Bermudians to reskill, upskill,
and become equipped, that will reduce the number of
work permit s in specific occupations that have a high
number of expatriate workers. The primary objective is
to get Bermudians back to work doing jobs that Bermudians can do.
Madam Chairman, consultation and collabor ation meetings with key industry partners aims to de-sign and implement industry -driven training and c areer development programmes, apprenticeships, i nternships and the like that work in the interest of un-employed Bermudians as well as those that add pu blic value to the country. These programmes and ser-vices for clients aim to provide targeted training and development in identified areas of workforce need that
directly connect Bermudians with employment. Project
teams will match and track industry partners and cl ients progress to better connect employers with trained
and qualified unemployed Bermudians for emplo yment opportunities.
Madam Chairman, to further advance the d evelopment and implementation of the Re- employment
and Re- engagement Training and Development Plan,
guided by current and projected industry -based needs
and information from the Department of Immigration, focus will be targeted in occupations of the workforce
that include, but are not limited to: Restaurants,
Cleaning, Landscaping, Cer tified Administrative Assi stant and Accounting designations to facilitate employment opportunities in high demand occupations
held by guest workers based on workforce trends and
labour market information.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Wor kforce Development was charged to administer the
Unemployment Benefit project, for the period March to
August 2021, to assist the thousands of unemployed individuals with the application process during the
COVID -19 pandemic to apply for financial assistance
during their time of financial hardship. To complete the
project, the d epartment has convened a small team
for the review and compliance of the Unemployment
Benefit database.
Madam Chairman, the department will conti nue to increase the number of training programmes
and apprenticeships to reduce youth unemployment
and align with industry needs. The Section continues
to experience considerable success with employer
engagement and public/private partnerships. For this reason, the Training Section, in consultation with th e
National Training Board, will establish a more deliberate approach of engaging key industry stakeholders.
The approach will be more measured to understand
what resources are needed and what additional ince ntives can be implemented to increase the number of
on-the-job training opportunities for Bermudians. The


Bermuda House of Assembly Section will target the following industries for the
2020/21 budget year:
• hospitality;
• vocational/ technical trades;
• information technology;
• health; and
• other high- demand occupations.
Madam Chairman, the department will work
closely with the Department of Communications to
launch an awareness campaign, utilising digital and
social media platforms to encourage all tradespersons
to register for National Certification in the designated occupations.
Additionally, the d epartment plans to use a
more focused approach in the options for scholarships to support a talent pipeline for Bermuda’s workforce.
We recognise there are individuals who do not have
the economic means to pursue higher learning. The depart ment will award scholarships on the combined
basis of financial need and workforce priorities. Again, scholarships will be awarded to persons pursuing pr ofessions in areas traditionally underrepresented by Bermudians to reduce the number of work permits in
occupations that have a high number of expatriates to
get Bermudian back to work in entry -level, mid -level
and high- demand occupations in the workforce.
Madam Chairman, the need for more strategic
succession planning within Government, particularly in the trades and technical professions is evident. In the
upcoming financial year, the department will continue
to collaborate with government departments as well as the private industry sector who employ tradesmen
to understand their forecasted needs. For example, the department will co- sponsor local and overseas
training, career development and internship pr ogrammes, to increase employment opportunities for
Bermudians in the various trades, vocational and
technical occupations held by guest workers.
Madam Chairman, the department remains
committed to ensuring that Bermudians are not disad-vantaged and that they are sufficiently prepared to
meet the needs of the workforce. As I conclude my
presentation on behalf of the Minister of Labour, I
would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the
hardworking staff of the Department of Workforce D evelopment under the leadership of the Acting Director,
Dr. Patricia Chapman.
This department remains at the forefront of
providing training and career development pr ogram mes and services for Bermudians in preparation
for the world of work, moreover during these unprec edented times.
Madam Chairman, this now concludes my
budget presentation for Head 60 for the Ministry of
Labour. Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Yes.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes, and I am grateful
to the Ministry’s technical team for providing the updated information.

HEAD 27 —DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Chairman, notwithstanding the financials contained in the Depar tment of Immigration’s Budget Brief, the brief contains
and highlights:
• new Border Management System;
• e-Gates at the L. F. Wade International Ai rport;
• mixed status families legislation;
• work permit application efficiencies;
• online payment procedures; and
• work permit policy overhaul.
As noted on page B -182, the D epartment of
Immigration has been allocated a budget of
$5,234,000 for the fiscal year 2021/22. The expendi-ture has decreased by $270,000, thus reflecting a
5 per cent decrease in comparison to our current f inancial year 2020/21.
Madam Chairman, the mater ial changes of
the subjective analysis of the current account est imates , as compared with 2020/21 can be found on
page B -183 as follows:
• Salaries estimates decreased by $351,000
which is directly associated with 10 per cent
reduction in salaries due to the short -term
1072 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly austerity measures put in place for cost saving.
• Professional Services budget increased by
59 per cent , or $100,000. This increase is to
cover consulting services required to impl ement an electronic online platform for custo mers to submit appli cations and payments,
along with the additional costs required to
print passports.
• Repairs and Maintenance estimates i ncreased by 10 per cent , or $78,000. This i ncrease is directly associated with the maint enance and support required to maintain the
new Bo rder Management System (BMS)
throughout the year, in addition to the new cleaning contract required for the airport.
• Clothing, Uniforms and Laundry estimates i ncreased by $13,000 to replenish the uniforms
with the compliance section as their uniforms
have not been replaced in a number of years.

Minister, can you pause for one second? Please, can I have the microphone turned off for
Speaker Dennis Lister’s Chambers? The microphone
is on and it is causing a disturbance.
Thank you.
Continue, M inister.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
• Other Expenses estimates decreased by
36 per cent or $53,000. That is as a result of
the department only accepting direct bank deposits, which has reduced the commission paid for credit card transactions.

Revenue Summary

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: The revenue summary
is outlined on page B -183. The total revenue estimate
for 2021/22 is $12,249,000, which is a decrease of
$11,698,000 , or 49 per cent in comparison to 2020/21.
The most material changes are as follows:
• Passport Issuance estimated revenue has i ncreased by 53 per cent with a projected co llection of $469,000. With the current climate related to COVID -19, revenue collections declined tremendously for passport applications.
It was unrealist ic to not have this reflected in
the Estimates.
• Work Permits —full- time, part -time and tem porary and periodic —calculated together equals
an estimated revenue decrease of
$4,222,000, or 30 per cent from 2020/21. It is
not expected to issue as many work perm its
as the prior year with the increase of Berm udians and spouses of Bermudians unemployed. • Work Permits —Work & Reside estimated revenue for 2021/22 has decreased the amount
in comparison to 2020/21 by $681,000, or
43 per cent.
• Work Permits —Appeals estimat ed revenue
has also decreased by $18,000, or 17 per
cent in comparison to 2020/21 as it is not expected to receive the same volume of applic ations in the upcoming year.
• Work Permits —estimated revenue generally
decreased by $71,000, or 21 per cent from
2020 /21.
• Land acquisition applications are now pr ocessed by the Cabinet Office, which explains the $5.5 million decrease in revenues.
• Residence Fees estimated revenue d ecreased by $112,000, or 9 per cent from
2020/21. Fees associated with the residential
certificate for non- Bermudian homeowners
were to be transferred to Cabinet, but rather
these fees will remain with Immigration. Therefore, it is expected that revenues col-lected will exceed the estimates.
• Nationality estimated revenue decreased by
$69,000, or 39 per cent , compared to
2020/21. Based on the applications received
during the current financial year, it is not expected to r eceive as many submissions in
2021/22.
The Department of Immigration has taken a
conservative approach for estimated revenues for the upcoming financial year. Predictions have been as-sessed based on the number of applications received
during 2019/20 and 2020/21, which falls in line with
the actuals thus far for 2020/21.

Existing and New Capital Projects
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Chairman,
funds estimated for Capital Acquisitions for 2021/22 amount to $80,000 and can be found on page C -13.
The amounts allocated include the amount of $80,000
to be allocated for the purchase of a new electronic
application system with payment gatewa y to replace
the a geing software.

Highlights of K ey Accomplishments 2020/21

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Chairman, highlights of key accomplishments for financial year
2020/21 include Immigration Reform. Meaningful step
changes for better efficiencies in processes are afoot
in the Department of Immigration. All of these chan ges are exciting. Specifically, during 2020/21 the follo wing actions occurred:
• Emphasised the Complaints procedures for reporting breaches against the Bermuda I mmigration and Protect ion Act 1956;


Bermuda House of Assembly • Undertook a review of the immigration appl ication process by implementing or reengineering process pilot programme with a view to making the process more efficient and
reduce the turnaround time;
• In July 2020, the Department of Immigration implemented the new border management
system and e-Gates at the old L. F. Wade I nternational Airport. Between July and Decem-ber 2020, there was a trial period to ensure
their systems were working optimally for the opening of the new airport;
• In August 2020, in an effort to boost the economy, the Department of Immigration launched a Work from Bermuda programme. The pr ogramme was intended to encourage persons
employed by overseas entities and university
students who have the ability to work or study
remotely f rom Bermuda for one year. To date,
the department has received 754 applications
of which 641 have been approved and 71
have been refused.
• On September 1, 2020 the Bermuda Immigr ation and Protection Amendment Act 2020 came into force to address mixed status families.
• In another effort to boost Bermuda’s econ omy, on February 1, 2021 the d epartment
launched the Economic Investment Certif icate, the intent of which is to increase and
sustain Bermuda’s economic activity and cr eate job opportunities.

New Initiatives

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With respect to new
initiatives, Madam Chairman, as a continuance of I mmigration Reform, the Ministry has begun work to:
• review/re -write the Work Permit Policy;
• optimise our application forms;
• implement a process for online pa yments for
all applications;
• continue to review the structure and pr ocessing procedures to ensure applications are administered more efficiently to reduce turn around times; and
• implement a workflow software solution to
handle digital application processing from the
submission of applications by the customers
to deliver y of their documents.

Recruitment Updates

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to recrui tment updates, Madam Chairman, the number of e mployees required for the d epartment to operate eff iciently is outlined on page B -184. There are 44 established full-time posts, of which 7 of these posts are
currently vacant. A list of the vacant posts consists of: • one corporate services manager ;
• one personal services manager;
• one business systems officer;
• two customer service representatives;
• one processing clerk/cashier; and
• one processing administrator.
With the vacancies, there is a requirement to
update job descriptions , and this exercise is currently
in train.
Madam Chairman, in closing, I would like t o
thank the dedicated members of staff at the Depar tment of Immigration on behalf of the Minister of Labour. I would like to thank the Immigration team under the leadership of Ms. Marita Grimes, Acting Chief I mmigration Officer; and Mr. Ron- Michel Davis, A cting
Assistant Chief Immigration Officer; together with Ms. Lauren Sadler Best of the Attorney General’s Chambers; the Immigration Board headed by Mr. Scott
Simmons; and the Immigration Appeal Tribunal head-ed by Mr. Charles Richardson.
Finally, I would al so like to thank, on behalf of
the Minister, [INAUDIBLE] Ms. Darlene Smith, and
Mrs. Jannell Burgess Doucet, and their respective teams, as well as the Collector of Customs, Mrs. Lucinda Pearman and her airport team for administering
the airport border control on behalf of Immigration.
Also, thanks to the Information & Digital Technology (IDT) Office for their timely assistance in ensuring that
our systems were operable, particularly at the L. F.
Wade International Airport. The IDT Office and the
Bermuda Ai rport Authority are to be commended for
working tirelessly with the d epartment in respect of the
new Border Management System and e- Gates; and
the Paperless team for their assistance in helping to
establish and maintain the Work from Bermuda platform.
Without these dedicated agencies, the work of
the department may have been delayed and difficult.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you.
I would like to start by thanking the Honour able Minister and the Honourable Attorney General for
presenting a very detailed brief, informing us of the
activities of this Ministry in the Heads and the accomplishments they have made in the last calendar year,
or last f iscal year, and their plans going forward. I
would also like to thank the civil servants who assisted them in formulating these numbers and formulating these plans. And I want to make sure that we express
our gratitude for all their work, undoubtedly, they have
gone through countless hours of meetings and we
appreciate their efforts.
Moving on from that, Madam Chairman, I will
proceed to put questions to the Honourable Minister and their team. How would you like me to proceed?
Just keep putting questions and questions?
I am sorry, Madam Chairman, I think you are
muted.

Yes, I would like for you, Member, to
put all of your questions forward. And once you have
finished, we will invite any other Members to pose
questions to the Ministry, and once everyone has had
opportunity to participate, then we will have those questions answered by the Minister who is carrying
the debate. And hopefully, in so doing, we will be able
to field all of the questions and be able to provide all
answers that have been put forward to answer your
questions.
Thank you, Member, continue.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I will start with Head 44 on page B -179. This
would be the Ministry of Labour Headquarters, Ma dam Chairman. Specifically, I would lik e to ask questions as it relates to the Department Objectives. We note that the first Department Objective is : Continue to
implement comprehensive immigration reform by
providing oversight of process improvements, policy
and legislative changes, and IT sys tem upgrades and
enhancements.
In the brief it was mentioned that immigration
reform . . . it was noted that immigration reform had
been an achievement and I believe that Work from
Bermuda had been discussed with some 641 applic ations successful. My quest ions relate more to the
comprehensive immigration reform, as outlined in that
first Department Objective. Specifically, Madam Chairman, I would like to know, quite pointedly, when
is this reform process going to produce legislation for
this Honourable Hous e to consider?
Moving on, Madam Chairman, I would like to
discuss the third bullet point, or the third Department
Objective, Provide oversight of the Department of Workforce Development for re- employment and the
re-integration job strategy.
Madam Chairman, we know that the Honourable Minister has made public statements, I believe,
on 3 September 2020 and 13 November 2020 relating to parts of the re- employment and re- integration job
strategy. I am curious, when will that job strategy ––or
will it be tabled in this House , in complete, or will it be
released to the public? Thank you.
Further, Madam Chairman, on the last D epartment Objective on page B -179, we see that the
Ministry Headquarters will be providing oversight of
the Labour Relations section to implement the new
Labour Code. And this was mentioned as it related to
the amendments to the Employment Act this year and
the consolidation of the labour law as outlined on that
page.
I would like to ask the Honourable Minister
how much ministerial direction does he anticipate ha ving to give the Labour Relations Department? And
how will that differ from last year, prior to the Labour
Code being passed into law? I am mindful that the public would be interested to see just how much of a
role the Minister would play in imposing these new
obligations into all employment situations in Bermuda.
Still on page B -179, Madam Chairman, I am
looking at the section General Summary, business
unit 54210, described as the Immigration Appeals Tr ibunal.

And I note that there is
$122,000 being requested for allocation to support the
Appeals Tribunal. And I was curious about how we
arrived at allocati ng that number. I was wondering if
there were some sorts of indicators for how many appeals this process will be attracting.
Moving on, Madam Chairman, still on Head
44, I am now on page B -180 and asking a question
under Advertising and Promotion, this would be under
Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates. I
note that the Ministry Headquarters will require
$15,000 for Advertising and Promotion. Given that it was a Ministry Headquarters , I was curious, what will
be advertised or promoted? And what is the difference
between what we are going to advertise or promote
for this $15,000 and what will be communicated for
that anticipated spend of $25,000? So, effectively, are
we going to spend $40,000, Madam Chair —

—on Advertising and Prom otion and Communications? And I have not seen who
we are telli ng what about, given this is a new Ministry.
Moving on, Madam Chairman, under the Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates under the Repair and Maintenance line item —I do apol oBermuda House of Assembly gise—it is actually under Professional Services . The
line item is . . . the Ministry is requesting $358,000 for
Professional Services. And given that this will be the
second largest expense in this Head, I would like the
Honourable Minister to specify what professional ser-vices are entailed and what they will be used for in
this Head.
Moving on to page . . . sorry , still on page B -
180, Madam Chairman, I note that there is . . . under
business unit . . . actually, I am looking at Employee
Numbers ( Full-time Equivalents), under the business
unit 54060 Administration we have fi ve full-time
equivalents. And I note that, in an earlier debate, we
had mentioned that another M inistry had forwarded an
accounting assistant to this new Ministry, and I did not
hear which . . . I did not hear about that in the brief. It
might have been m entioned, I apologise, there was
quite a lot happening in that brief. But I was wondering, does this number accommodate for the persons
who were sent from Honourable Minister Tinee
Furbert’s Ministry?
Moving on to the next page, Madam Chai rman, on page B -181, looking into the Performance
Measurements for the Ministry of Labour Headquarters unit. I noticed that they have allocated, or it has
been outlined that, five targeted outcomes will be
achieved as they relate to business unit Administr ation 54060. That is number one. It says that the number of Throne Speech initiatives completed during the
fiscal year will be five. Obviously, this format does not
allow for us to know which of those five the depar tment will be held accountable for or what they will be
trying to achieve. So, I would like the Honourable Mi nister to specify which of the Throne Speech initiatives
are numbered in that targeted outcome.
Madam Chairman, also, I have a question on
number two under that. The Performance Measur ement is a variance between approved estimates, so
what we do in this Committee is an Actual Current
Account Expenditure for the Ministry of Labour. The
listening public might not be aware, but anyone could
see that we have a variance between what has been
approved and then what is anticipated, or the actual
amount spent, is plus or minus 5 per cent. And Madam Chairman, normally in budgeting situations we are
aiming at coming in under the budgeted amount, so I was curious to understand the Minister’s rationalis ation for antic ipating both an over and under spend,
especially given the financial constraints that we are facing in the current Government budget.
Madam Chairman, [moving] on to business
unit 54200, we are looking at the Labour Relations section of the Performance Measurements under
Head 44. I note that we are anticipating some 130
investigations and I was curious, are these investig ations in relation to the new Labour Code, or are these
investigations similar to previous [ones] —before we
passed the Code into law? I am . . . given that we had
130 originally forecast in 2020/21, obviously, we went down to 74 for the revised forecast because of COVID
and any other downstream impacts coming from the
health situation in Bermuda, but we are still looking at
130 investigations. So, I was curious to see how we
had stayed on that number.
Staying under the Labour Relations section, I
note that the number of employment tribunals and
arbitrations are estimated to be 45 this year, Madam
Chairman. And I would like to know how the Honour able Minister arrived at that figure.
I note also, under the Labour Relations section, that the number of days to prepare case files for
tribunal hearings (that is Performance Measure number four) is five working days. And I would be interes ted to hear the Minister’s . . . or someone’s information
on this process because five working days seems a
bit ambitious for a case file. I am mindful that this does not have to go to court, but nonetheless, five days is
very little time. So, I would be obliged if the Honour able Minister could explain the staffing and expertise of the Labour Relations section, specifically, as it relates
to their training and qualifications or experience in preparing case files.
Madam Chairman, staying on page B -181, I
am looking at Immigration’s Appeals Tribunal, specif ically 54210. And I note that a number of achiev ements were mentioned in the Minister’s brief, but I did not find a corollary into the Performance Measur ements for the actual outcomes in 2019/20. So, I found
it a lit tle difficult to follow along for what has been
submitted to this Honourable House, this Committee,
for the achievements that have taken place and the justification for budgeting and funding the department
going forward. It appears that the Minister’s brief is,
obviously, quite fulsome and I was curious how the
Budget Book wound up being significantly less fulsome.
I draw your attention, Madam Chairman, specifically, to the targeted outcome 2020/21 column,
page B -181. And it looks as close to identical as the
plan for [2021/22]. So, given that there is a substantial
similarity between those two columns , that is original
forecast 2020/21 and the targeted outcome 2021/22, I
am curious as to how, given that we spent a year and
obviously spent a substantial amount of money, why are we doing what appears to be the same thing over
again? And the Minister’s brief included many more
items than this, so I am just curious why there is . . .
why we do not see that reflected in the consideration
in the actual formal doc ument that we are looking at
when we are considering giving another $1.4 [million]
or, rather, giving $1.4 million to this new unit.
With that being said, Madam Chairman, I am
looking at business unit 54210 and the Performance Measurement has a number of immigration tribunals
still outstanding at the end of the period . . . and it just
does not say what that period is. So, I am wondering, are you talking about the fiscal period?
1076 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, those are my questions for
Head 44. I am mindful that I will, undoubtedly, have
supplemental questions as they arise and, obviously,
having my colleagues have the opportunity to ask
questions within the Committee of Supply as well.
Moving on to Head 27, Immigration, specif ically, page B -128, I note that the mission statement of
the Immigration Department —

I note that the mission
statement is to facilitate economic growth and to pr otect the future of Bermuda for the benefit of Ber mudians, residents and visitors while protecting our borders. I note, though, that the Department Objec tives
are dissimilar to the Department Objectives we have
seen in other places in the Budget Book, Madam
Chairman.
This Department Objective is actually a d escription of what the department is responsible for and
its mandate. So, I was curious, who actually gener-ates the Department Objectives and Performance
Measurements, given that this one is not an objective,
it is just a description? So, I was really curious about
that.
Moving on, Madam Chairman, I see on page
B-183 under the Subjective Analysis of Current A ccount Estimates and I thank the Honourable Ministers
and their team f or correcting the brief once we hig hlighted the numbers were not consistent with the
Budget Book as we had received it. So, and if there is
any variance between the two, I would . . . I stand to
be guided by them to make sure that we are actually questioni ng the right numbers.
With that being said, Madam Chairman, I am
looking at Subjective Analysis of Current Account E stimates and Salaries, where we are seeing a 9 per
cent decrease in Salaries, specifically. And this was
spoken to in the brief, but given that there is no reduction in full-time employees, the brief said that “auster ity” was used. I am curious as to what that means. Did
someone have their pay cut? Was someone . . . I just
do not understand what austerity measures were i mplemented to achieve a 10 per cent reduction in Sal aries when we do not see a reduction in full- time employees.
Madam Chairman, moving on, I see under
Professional Services, again, I am still on Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates, I am looking
specifically at Professional Services and we are see-ing a 54 per cent increase in Professional Services for
the Department of Immigration. In our current ec onomic climate, 54 per cent is, obviously, quite a signi f-icant increase. So, I am interested in knowing what
are we going to use that additional $100,000 for in the
Professional Services for the Department of Immigr ation?
Madam Chairman, still on Subjective Analysis
of Current Account Estimates, I note that we have a
10 per cent increase in the Repair and Maintenance,
so, we are currently . . . or rather, the department is
requesting $897,000, an increase of $78,000, for the Repair and Maintenance. My question is, what speci fically is being repaired and maintained for that amount
of money —$900,000? That strikes me as a lot of
money for repair and maintenance, and the ministerial
brief spoke to maintain and support border management. So, my question is, border management is the
new software that is coming in, is that part of the con-tract with the vendor that we pay a fee? I know that
we are paying $2 million under Capital Acquisitions (I
want to say) and I am looking at . . . yes, that is it,
Schedule C, Madam Chairman, page C -13, I see u nder Immigration that the Border Control Systems will
cost us $2 million. And then we turn around and we have had in the ministerial brief that we are also going
to pay to maintain and support the system and we see
that huge sum of $897,000. So, I was wondering,
what is that contract? Have we been contracted in
some way to provide that?
Also, I note that there is a cleaning contract in
the ministerial brief associated with that line item. And that is a huge cleaning contract, again, so if the Honourable Minister can tell us how much space the D epartment of Immigration is taking up at the ai rport for
them to incur that size? Obviously, that $900,000 or
$897,000 is not broken down right there, and we know
it goes between software support and a cleaning contract, but that is a lot of cleaning and a lot of software
for that amount of money, Madam Chairman.
Moving on to Revenue Summary, Madam
Chairman, on page B -183. And this was another area
where we got a lot of clarification on those numbers so, again, I thank the Honourable Ministers and their
team for facilitating our debate. Given these num bers
that we are looking at and, specifically, I will draw your
attention, Madam Chairman, to the Revenue Summary 8281 Work Permits —Full -time /Part -time and
8285 Work Permits —Work & Reside. These numbers
are, obviously, heading in a curious direction, losi ng
some $7.2 million in work permit fees bites. That constitutes a 67 per cent variance, or a loss of 67 per cent
in our revenue for that line item. Equally, for 8285 Work Permits —Work & Reside, we are seeing a
42 per cent loss. So, we have gone from . . . or rather,
I should say, we have gone from $1.5 million to
$898,000. So, we are experiencing some significant
losses. And when you aggregate that out, it looks like
we are seeing something at the very bottom of the
Revenue Summary of losing half of the revenue from these, what was the work of the Department of Imm igration. So, it has lost $11 million.


Bermuda House of Assembly The Honourable Minister did actually speak to
8291 Land Acquisition Fees being transferred over to
the Cabinet Office. So, I will speak specifically to the
work permits. What, if anything, is being done to r everse the trend in the significant losses we are seeing
for fees for work permits? I would be obliged if the
Honourable Minister could answer that.
Also, I note that there is an 86 per cent i ncrease in t he fees associated with Work Permits —
Temporary/Periodic 8283. Given that there is an
86 per cent increase, or an increase of $2.9 million,
that we are anticipating making on that line item, I am
curious if the Minister has an explanation for that.
Given th at the digital nomad regime is in place, can
we assume that this is where that increase is coming
from? And if that is the case, I note that in 2019/20 we
see that $3.1 million was generated in revenue from
temporary and periodic work permits being issued and
we are anticipating $6.4 [million]. I just want to clarify
what this Work Permit —Temporary/Periodic is because the digital nomad, from my understanding, we
only just did that, so what was that $3.1 million for?
Did we have another . . . and I believe t he answer is
that we had another version of the digital nomad work
permit structure.
If the Minister could confirm that between
2019 and 2020 into and after the introduction of the
digital nomad permit, that it is, in fact, the same line
item and the same revenue? So, it would be a change
in something that was already there versus a brandnew item, I believe.
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Jason Hayward: Madam Chairman.

Minister.

Hon. Jason Hayward: I appreciate the line of questioning fr om the Member, but if the Member can ask
the question and allow me to answer the question,
and then he can do a supplementary on my answer.
What seems to be happening is that the
Member is asking questions and then providing an
answer to the question that he is answering and wants
me to justify his inaccurate assumption, which is b ecoming very difficult to follow.

Sure, Madam Chairman.
So, great. Then let us summarise that one
question because I take the Minister’s point that I b elaboured that one, so it went around for a little bit
there. We are seeing an 86 per cent increase in temporary and periodic work permits over the previous
year. What does he attribute that to? And the second
question is, if in 2019/20 —in that fiscal year —we
raised $3.1 million, was that from a similar statutory work permit as digital nomad?
Thank you, Honourable Minister. Thank you,
Madam Chairman, for your guidance.
I am still on Head 27, Madam Chairman, on
page B -184. And I was curious to see which business
unit, so we are looking at a list of Employee Numbers
or Full-time Equivalents, and for the benefit of a fulsome question I am looking at four units, Corporate
Services (and this is within the Department of Imm igration, Corporate Services), Personal Services,
Compliance and Finance. Last year there were 44
people, 44 full-time equivalents. This year we are anticipating 44 full -time equivalents, but I saw a signif icant reduction in the Revenue Summary on the prev ious page, B -183, something in the range of a 50 per
cent reduction from $24 million to $12 million. So, if we are producing fewer or, rather, we are processing fewer work permits, then why do we nee d as many
people to process fewer to make less money? Thank you, Madam Chairman.
The question also, the Honourable Minister,
would be, how do we justify or rationalise spending
the same amount of money to undertake half the
work? Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I am still on Head 27 —Immigration, but I am
now into the Performance Measures section under B -
185. And, specifically, I note that the column for actual outcomes in 2019—so this would be in management
reporting here is what we did before—that column is
blank. There is nothing in this Budget Book that r eports on what the Department of Immigration accomplished in 2019/20. Now, they have undoubtedly done
something, but I was concerned to see that this co lumn was blank because, again, we are using this
Book as the official record to make the determination
to fund the department for some $5.2 million. Did I get that right? Yes.

Why are we not reporting
what the Department of Immigration accomplished in
1078 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly 2019/20? Thank you, again, Madam Chairman, for
your guidance.
Specifically, okay, and still on the Performance Measures on [page] B -185. I believe in the
Minister’s brief they said that border management
would be online in March and I note that that is not included in the Performance Measures. Also, the Minister said that we will extend oversight of [the] exec utive airport terminal, I believe, and, again, that is not
there.
So my question, Madam Chairman, is, why
are some of the Performance Measures mentioned in the brief but not mentioned in the Budget Book?
Thank you.
Still on Head 27, Madam Chairman, now on
page B -186, and this relates to all the Performance
Measures. There are 33 Performance Measures on
these two pages, Madam Chairman. And they are
identical . . . sorry, 31 out of the 33 are identical to
[2020/21] and there is, again, no reported perfor-mance as it relates to 2019/20. So, using the Revenue Summary, we are anticipating what looks like half the work coming up to do in this period, and the Depar tment Objective is a description, so, my question is,
how does the Minister intend to track, monitor performance of the department, given that what we are see-ing is largely a copy/paste of the year before in their plan? That is, in the Budget Book. Sorry.
Madam Chairman, I am now moving on to
Head 55 for Financial Assistance. Specifically, Madam
Chairman, I am on page B -187, on the third Depar tment Objective which, read in full, is To apply internationally recognised standard of care when managing
relationships with financial assistance clients. So, sorry, I never said the department name, the department is Financial Assistance. And I would like the Minister
to specify what these internationally recognised
standards of care are that he will be introducing or applying into our Financial Assistance programmes.
Moving on to the next page, Madam Chai rman, still Head 55 Financial Assistance, on page B -
188, I see that under National Health Emergency . . .
so I am under the General Summary table, specifically business unit 65997, described or labelled as National Health Emergency. I see the $2.6 million that has been spent as it relates to our COVID situation, which was navigated, obviously, last year and we are still in
the process of navigating. But I do have a question as
it relates to that.
There had been some periodic reporting
about this amount of money that is reported here as $2.6 million. I was wondering if there had been any breakdowns or if the Minister could give a breakdown
of any kind of malfeasance or fraud that may have
been detected in this process. Also, and I believe the Minister’s brief did speak a bit about that, but I would like to make sure that we get that out a little clearer as it relates to their actions to make sure people are not abusing this system. Also, what —
Hon. Jason Hayward: Madam Chair man.

Minister.
Hon. Jason Hayward: I believe there may be confusion with this Head and the head responsible
for . . . that outlines the processes of the
Department of Workforce Dev elopment. In that brief
we spoke about a unit to look at the administering
and cleaning up of the Unemployment Benefit
System and you will see that it als o has a National
Health Emergency fund as-sociated with that
particular Head. So, the comments may be vetted,
but not for this particular Head.

Thank you, Madam Chairman,
and thank y ou, Honourable Minister, because the
question I had, also, is what is the differenc e between
this figure and the $60 million under Head 60 Work -
force Development, busines s unit 70997 on page B192? So, I am thankful for that contribution.
So, my question then is, Can we hone in on
what is the difference between the spend for 65997
National Health Emergency and the National Health
Emergency under 70997 on [page] B- 192? Thank
you, Madam Chairman and Honourable Minister.
Still on [page] B -188 under Subjective Anal ysis of Current Account Estimates, I see that under Salaries we are seeing an increase of $653,000 over last year, which amounted to a 21 per cent increase,
but I only see one increase in full-time employees on
page B -189. So, reading this it appears that one person is getting $653,000 and I do not believe that is the case. I believe the Minister’s brief spoke to some sort of restructuring, so, that is just not in the Budget Book. So, if we could get the Minister to specify how this
increase in $653,000, how that is being spent and
how that either does or does not relate to the one per-son increase in the department, I would be obliged.
Moving on, Madam Chairman, still under Su bjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates, we see the Professional Services being requested for
$150,000. We saw that in 2020/21 [there was]
$150,000 requested and of that $55,000 was spent, so, a little over a third of it. We are going into 2021/22 and we are, again, requesting $150,000 and last time only a third was used, so I would like the Minister to clarify why we are going for another $150,000.
I would also note and request the Minister to
clarify under page B -188 Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates, I am looking at the totals un-der that table, and I see that we are increasing . . . the
total increase in the Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates is $462,000. But I see that we are


Bermuda House of Assembly actually reducing the amounts in Grants and Contrib utions, so, again, I seek clarity on this from the Minister.
It reads to me that we are reducing t he Grants and
Contributions by $203,000 but we are increasing the amount of money we are paying people to administer the process.
Would the Minister be able to clarify [if] that is
the case? And if so, why are we reducing the amount of money we are giving out, but increasing the amount
of money we are paying people to give it out? And when I say that, I do not mean to be indelicate, I am very mindful of the very stressful positions that people
can find themselves in but I just want to make sure
that I get some clarity around that. Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
I am still on Head 55 Financial Assistance,
Madam Chairman, and I am on [page] B -190. And my
question is in relation to the Performance Measures in
general. There are nine performance measurements
included and I am mindful that we are looking at a
government department allocation of $51.4 million. If
we look at how . . . what performance is intended by
this department, what the department will get up to this year in the Budget Book, there are nine performance measurements and four of those are being
discontinued and of the remaining four they are ident ical to the previous year.
So, it looks like the department is either . . .
you know what? I just realised that could be conjecture. I would like to know w hy the targeted outcome is
removing four objectives, or even five here. And then
why the other ones are identical to the previous year .
Thank you. Especially given the context that the
community is in need of financial assistance and yet
we seem to be doin g the same thing in the Budget
Book that we did last year.
Madam Chairman, I am now looking at page
B-190 under Head 55 Financial Assistance and I note
that, again, we do not see any performance measurements for 2019/20. So, I would ask the Minister,
why is the performance of Financial Assistance not
being reported for the year 2019/20 in the Budget
Book? Next question, Madam Chairman, still on page
B-190, I know that there has been some discussion of
or some elucidation on the fraudulent activity in the Minister’s brief, but it is not mentioned here, for exa mple, a case was referred to the Attorney General. And
there seems to be quite a lot happening in the brief,
including reallocating resources, distribution of case
files, it looks like ISO compliance is being sought, the
department will focus on reform, and actually none of this is mentioned in the Performance Measures. And
my question to the Honourable Minister is, if all of
those work items are being committed to and undertaken somewhere else, will that performance be r eported back to this Honourable House in the next
budget year? Or will it still be managed outside of this process and we just have to wait for him to tell us in a
brief? That is my question there.
My next question under Performance Measurements on [page] B -190 would be the ISO 33777, I
believe, was the number, but again, I only heard it and
I did not get to see that number, Madam Chairman. I
note that the department is looking at trying to achieve
compliance with that international stan dard and I was
hoping the Minister could let us know what that standard is that they are trying to achieve. And what he anticipates that work process [will be] looking like in this year.
Madam Chairman, I am now on Head 60
Workforce Development. Specifically, I am on page B -
194. And I wanted to be very clear to the Honourable
Minister and especially the senior civil servants that
these Department Objectives are very smart in terms of specific measurable, achievable, results orientated
and time- based. They are clear, they are unquestio nable, and I can read them and know exactly what I should see in a year. So, I just wanted to compliment
the drafter of these Department Objectives that they do not really require a lot of questioning to figure out
what they ar e.
With that being said, Madam Chairman, and I
do apologise for doing such a compliment, but I note
that all of these Department Objectives are supposed
to be delivered by March 31, 2021 and I note that the
budget allocation, where we are budgeting for aft er
March 31, 2021, we are budgeting for the 1
st of April.
So, according to this plan, this department, this is Head 60 Workforce Development, will have accom-plished all of its objectives before we fund it. So, I
thought that does not strike me as a great i dea.
So, my question to the Honourable Minister is,
are those Department Objectives accurate in that they
will all be accomplished before the end of this month?
Or are these going to roll over into April and into the
next year? Thank you.
Moving on to Head 60 Workforce Development, Madam Chairman, I am still on [page] B -192.
And again, I thank the Minister for his clarification on business unit 70997 on the National Health Emergency, and my question does relate to, as I had previously asked, I just noted i t in two places. I would develop
the question a little further and ask would we be able
to get a breakdown now of how this million dollars was
dispersed through the Workforce Development?
Thank you.
My next question, Madam Chairman, is in r elation to the G eneral Summary, still on [page] B -192
for Head 60 Workforce Development. And I note that
the total budget request has gone down by 16 per
cent or $693,000 is not being requested. And I was
curious because given our circumstances, and the job
strategy progr amme, it is clear that we need to retool
the workforce and the Minister of Labour is paying
attention to retooling the workforce and getting a lot of
people back into the market. So, I could not rational1080 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ise, or rather I could not see how spending less money in that way would actually get us closer to his
goals. So, I would like the Minister to . . . my question
to the Minister is why are we reducing this budget
when we need to retool the workforce?
Madam Chairman, I am on [page] B -193, Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates for
Head 60 Workforce Development. And I had a question on some number variances between the brief and
what we saw in the Budget Book, which was clarified,
but I am not sure if he clarified this one. And so, I would be obliged i f the Minister could tell us, on page
C-19 [business unit] 6866, I believe the Minister said
that $350,000 was allocated, but it says $430,000 in the Book. So, if we could just get clarity on that num-ber for page C -19, [business] unit 6866.
Moving on to th e Revenue Summary, Madam
Chairman, let me just check the time. Madam Chairman, how much time do we have left in this debate?
[Is it] 4:19 when we are ending?

Okay, thank you, Madam
Chairman.
My question is on [page] B -193, still on Head
60 Workforce Development, on the revenue source.
The ministerial brief had mentioned that there was a
fee associated with the Summer Internship Pr ogramme and I did not see that menti oned in the Re venue Summary for either business unit 8435 or 8436. So, my question was, where is that revenue being shown in our accounts? That is the revenue from the
Summer Internship fees.
My next question was in relation to the Rev enue Summary, Certif ication Fees 8436, again, I see a
reduction when I know the Minister has been at pains to point out to the public that we need to retool and
retrain and reemploy the workforce. So, I thought, my
question is, why are we seeing a decrease in Certif ication Fe es when we would want more people to get
certified? Thank you.
I am on page B -194 now, Madam Chairman,
and . . . I will skip that one. I am on page B -195, Madam Chairman, and I have some questions about the
Performance Measures of the Workforce Development. Again, a very detailed ministerial brief that does
not necessarily coincide with these performance
measurements. The one I am looking at is 70000 as it
relates to Administration and its measurement seems
to be —it says, To support the operations of the department, to ensure the accounting processes, policy, and procedures align with financial instructions. And
the measurement for how we have achieved that says
“three business days.” And so, my question for the Honourable Minister is, how does that work? I do not
understand how the targeted outcome measures the actual performance. So, if he could answer that for
me.
The next question I have is in relation to bus iness unit 70014, still on the same page, for Training
Administration.

And I just wanted to add
congratulations to whoever drafted this, this is a very
clear section, it makes sense to me. I understand ex-actly what I would anticipate seeing accomplished
next year. So, I just wanted to say thank you to whoever did that.
Moving on, Madam Chairman, I am on bus iness unit 70015, still on page B -195, and I note under
this business unit that we are seeing a reduction in
headcount, that is, full- time employees, but we are still
seeing the same performance expec tations. So, my
concern was, are we . . . or rather, my question to the
Honourable Minister is, how does he intend to mai ntain that level of performance after losing 50 per cent
of his headcount for that business unit?
I would also like to ask questions as it relates
to the ministerial brief that was brought up during this section, Madam Chairman, specifically about the Pilot
Graduation Programme and there are some 15 col-lege graduates successfully joining, and I see that there is a Youth Employment Strategy. When would
that Youth Employment Strategy either be tabled or
published publicly? Thank you.
Moving on to the next page, Madam Chairman, I am on B -196 under Apprenticeship and Pr ofessional Development. Again, a very well drafted section, so I was very happy to be able to understand
that. I am on Apprenticeship and Professional Deve lopment 70016 Number of Apprenticeships. And I am
wondering, I see a targeted outcome of 45 persons for
the Number of Apprenticeships in 2021/22 and, does this figure include the College Graduate Programme
that was mentioned before and the Learn to Earn
hospitality -based programme? I understand that nine
people from that programme secured placement. So,
my question is, is this 45- number inclusive of all of
those projects that the ministerial brief mentioned?
And under business unit 70400 Career Deve lopment, I see a revised measure. I have a performance measure here, Madam Chairman, of Number
of persons assessed for career, skills and aptitude
and we are reporting that 200 of t hose 200 people
were assessed last year or we are anticipating that
number, given that we have a couple of weeks left.
And I just had a question because the ministerial brief
mentioned something like 461 career assessments
conducted, and I just did not see where these numbers were reflected, so I would like to get some clarity as to who is conducting what? And are those numbers included in the Budget Book?


Bermuda House of Assembly I also note, Madam Chairman, under that
same section, that we are seeing some discontinued
performanc e measurements, specifically, around To
increas e the number of job referrals , To increase the
number of job postings on electronic J ob Board, and
To increase number of employers listing vacancies on
Job Board. But I am pretty sure I heard in the Mini ster’s brief that the Job Board was, not just still in use,
but actually quite a success. So, I would just like some
clarity, is the electronic Job Board discontinued? Or is
it still in use? And thank you for that.
And those are my questions for the Minister
and another . . . and I note that on the Performance
Measures [on page] B -196, Number of job postings —
this is one of the clarifications at the bottom of page B -
196, Madam Chairman, Number of job postings on the
Bermuda Job Board fluctuates daily and is dependent
upon job vacancies or opportunities within the wor kforce advertised by e mployers. This measure is not
attributed to performance. In other words, someone
had very sensibly noted that sometimes performance
measurements are actually dependent or contingent
on other people. And that just struck me in this entire
Workforce Development as someone who put a great
deal of effort and consideration into producing these
targeted outcomes and I wanted to thank them. I do
not have as many questions, ironically, in that section
as I do the others where it was not as clear.
So, that is all for me and, obviously, I will have
some supplementals. Thank you, Madam Chai rman
and Honourable Minister.

Okay. Continue, Minister.

Hon. Jason Hayward: Madam Chairman, first I would
like to thank the Attorney General for reading the
submission on behalf of the Ministry of Labour, the
Labour Relations section and the departments ass ociated with the Ministry of Labour. I will endeavour to
go through the various questions that were asked and associated with the submissions by the Honourable
Member Jarion Richardson. When we l ook at the Department of Labour
Objectives, the specific question was asked regarding,
To continue to implement comprehensive immigration
reform by providing oversight of process improv ements, policy and legislative changes, and IT system
upgrades and enha ncements.
When we review the reform that is taking
place within the Department of Immigration, the major-ity of the initiatives, new initiatives and changed initi atives are being daily directed via the Ministry of La-bour. What we will find is that we have a very broad
scope of what we are trying to do in the Ministry of
Labour as it pertains to Immigration.
When we look at reform as a whole, I think
what we have to do is chop it up into major categories: (1) we want to ensure that there is protection of oppo rtunities for Bermudians; (2) we want to ensure that we
are facilitating the expansion of our residential popul ation, and that has to be done in a very measured way.
We want to ensure that there is retention of our res idential population. It makes no sens e trying to focus
on expansion when we will actually find our current
residential numbers declining. And then the other portion that we support through our initiatives would be
facilitation. How do we facilitate business growth?
How do we facilitate persons who actually have interests in working and residing and doing business in Bermuda? And so, those are the aspects of Immigr ation that we want to reform so we can move further in
those directions. Each one of those four areas require
policy initiatives, they also require legislative changes.
When we look at the five items that were
Throne Speech initiatives that the Ministry has obl igated performance indicators, what we will find is two
major initiatives: One was to ensure that persons pr ovide economic subs tance in our economy who want to
reside; and, secondly, it was for us to ensure that we
provide a level of residential security for long- term
residents. Those were the two main items. Both of
those items require both policy work and the one
where we were t alking about expansion of our —
providing [normalcy of residency] for our long- term
residents requires legislative changes, and those leg-islative changes are slated to come.
When we start talking about facilitating the
expansion of our local economy, over t he coming
weeks we will roll out another policy initiative, which
will actually seek to remove the affidavit of domicile
requirement for immigration applications. I did a press
statement this year where I outlined seven major init iatives that we were under taking in the Department of
Immigration.
One would be ensuring that we ex pand our
residential population. This was important because
our tourist numbers have declined drastically.
The second thing that we actually saw in r egard to our residential populatio n was that we had a
number of large employment establishments close, which led to an exodus of work permit holders. To of f1082 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly set those declines what we have actually done was
implement policies in place which actually allow persons to reside and work in Bermuda for longer periods
of time. We extended the visitor stays from 60 days to
180 days. And what we have seen from extending that policy to allow persons to visit in Bermuda from 90 to
180 days, what we actually saw was the intention of
persons to stay even longer than the 180 days. And
so, we have seen an uptick in applications for people
to reside on an annual basis. This is different from the
numbers that are actually being reported for those persons who choose to reside in Bermuda through
what we would c onsider to be digital nomads, the
Work from Bermuda initiative. And so, we have had
vast success in those areas. They required policy changes and those policy changes actually have been
positive to our economy.
And so, when we look at the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Labour is the one that initiates the
policy changes, while the departments underneath the
Ministry of Labour are the ones that are actually r esponsible for the implementation and administration of
those changes.
We did have underneath our Department O bjectives to provide oversight for the Department of Workforce Development for the re- employment, reintegration and job strategy. I did do a comprehensive
ministerial statement which outlined the key elements
of that particular job strategy. That job strategy is multi-faceted, it asks us to look into, number one, labour
policy. And one important labour policy that we have implemented in the line of the job strategy was to
close . . . to expand the number of closed job categories. That was done strategically to provide capacity
and opportunity for Bermudians who are looking for
gainful employment, understanding that there have
been widespread contractions in employment across
all economic sectors, and increasing the number of
unemployment in th ose correlating sectors.
Another thing that we have done is we made
a concerted effort to partner with industry, and I personally engaged with the Department of Workforce
Development in a number of industry meetings to map out industry -specific strategies . We also recognised
that there was a stigma attached to the Department of Workforce Development where professionals were less inclined . . . persons who had been in the wor kplace for long periods of time or who had university
degrees were less inclined to utilise the services of
Workforce Development. As a result, what we aimed to do was to attach those persons directly with employment agencies to connect those persons with jobs and job opportunities.
In addition to that, when we look at our job
strategy, we had to have a specific focus on our
youth. And what we have found is that we want to continue to push specific youth- focused strategies as
those are the individuals or the demographic group that is impacted the most by the economic downturn
and have been impacted negatively, historically.
All of those initiatives are driven from the pol icy work which is done within the Ministry of Labour
and then the respective department is responsible for the execution. And so, I hope that helps clarify how
our Departm ent Objectives touch on the problems or
areas that are under the Ministry of Labour’s remit
because we are the central hub where we are respo nsible for the analysis and policy work, and the depar tment is responsible for the ultimate execution.

I thank you, Madam Chai rman and I thank the Honourable Minister.
I was wondering, is there a document that
contains all of those points together —consolidated—
and will that be published? Or are we speaking about
a set of different initiatives and documents that have
been published over time? So, [my question] was, is
either one document going to be published at once
that shows the whole plan, or is it actually a set of di fferent plans that are being released on a periodic basis?

Thank you, Member.

Hon. Jason Hayward: I have been c lear in previous
press statements in terms of the critical elements that
are contained in the job strategy. That is found in one
document. What the Member would not find . . . he is
asking for a broadly covered document that states
Bermuda’s job and reempl oyment strategy and that
covers all of those areas, but that is something that
the Ministry can easily do, or I can just share with the
Member all of the critical elements of the job strategy
and the progress that we are making in those partic ular areas.
In terms of direction and oversight that is pr ovided to the Labour Relations section, you would note that this is new in terms of the Labour Relations section, it falls directly underneath the Ministry of Labour
now. The direction and oversight that is pro vided from
the Ministry will be policy direction and oversight. Certainly, we will not extend our reach to delve into the
areas in which legislation governs the processes that
actually take place.
For example, the Employment Act has speci fic processes that are built within it in terms of how ministerial function is different from the functions of
the Labour Relations Manager. And the other labour


Bermuda House of Assembly legislations, which would be the Labour Disputes Act
or the Labour Relations Act, also restrict ministerial
intervention and is clear on the direction that the Mi nister can provide and at what time the Minister can actually provide that direction. And so, there is no overreaching current legislation where legislation will
supersede, but certainly, in terms of polic y direction
and work that supports that legislation, the Ministry
will be actively involved in that.
As we move on there were questions regar ding Advertising and Promotion. The Ministry of La-bour, currently, does not have an advertising budget.
As a resul t, we are restricted from advertising initi atives that the Ministry wants to share with the public.
And so what we do currently use is the free adverti sing that is available. But on certain radio programmes
to produce pamphlets and materials —they all come
with costs. So, we cannot produce free printed pam-phlets without costs to get on certain programmes that
the Government doesn’t currently have a relationship
with.
It also requires us to pay for paid radio spots
and also to put ads on those radio stations. It also
forces us to purchase that particular air space. And as
a result anything that is not free or is outside the
bounds of where the D epartment of C ommunications
has an active contract with a medium , we will be loo king to utilise that advertisement and promotion.
For example, one critical thing is we are ma king significant changes to the Employment Act . All
employers should be aware of those changes. We have to be proactive in getting out there and sharing
what those changes actually are and to ensure that
when the Act comes into force on 1 June 2020 [sic]
that we have done the proper work in advance and
this is going to require us to dip into our advertising
budget so that we reach the population and inform them of the new rights and benefits which ar e contained in that Act , and also a big scope of that Act is
now putting policies and making every employer put in
place a policy regarding bullying and sexual haras sment in the workplace.
Many employers do not even understand the
concepts around bullying and sexual harassment and
the appropriate relationship that has to be had between employees and employers and that imbalance between the subordinate and their manager. And so,
we are putting in an educational session around bull ying in the workplace and s exual harassment so that
persons are better inclined to put effective policies in
place, or [they are] in a better position to put an effective policy in place. And then also ensure that policies
are not just in place, but everybody understands the
context of the policy so that we can restrict the negative workplace behaviours.
[Answers on] the Professional Services within
the Ministry. The number of employees within the Mi nistry is increasing because this is a new Ministry and
as a result last year there were no employees allocat-ed. The current employees that are in the Ministry of
Labour, those position IDs are borrowed from other
Ministries and departments and as a result we want to
ensure that we had a full allocation of staff dedicated
to the Ministry and this is where those five individuals
come from.
A breakdown of the Professional Services for
$358,000 includes the special advisor and consultant costs at $105,000; the labour relations section— the
committee fees are actually $131,000 and the imm igration appeals tribunal is $122,000. So, there are
varying boards. All those—the nine adjudication
boards that are currently under . . . that lie within our
labour legislation are all paid for out of the Ministry’s
budget.
Within those five Throne Speech in itiatives,
you asked about those particular Thone Speech initi atives—one was the requirement for us to ensure that
persons invested in the economy if they want to reside
in Bermuda, and that we saw was [dealing] with the
resident economic investment certif icate. Number two
was looking at making provisions to normalise long -
term residents —and so that is our second initiative.
We have the implementation of a minimum wage as a third initiative. As a fourth initiative we have the unemployment insurance fund to ensure that we have an
active unemployment insurance and the fifth initiative is . . . that has skipped my mind, the fifth initiative, but
what I will do is I will come back to it. I know that as
we go through these questions it will come back.
In reference to the number of investigations,
we currently have 130 as the number of investigations
as the labour relations section. Certainly, these investigations are as a result of complaints being made. We
cannot anticipate the number of complaints being
made but we know that a normal year based off of
historical data we currently have the capacity for 130
investigations. So, that is why that performance
measure sits at 130 investigations.
As it currently stands in our unemployment
legislation, officers do not have the proactive ability to
go into employees. They have to act upon a complaint. So, a lot of that performance measure is reliant
on persons making a complaint and the capacity for
the labour relations section to actually act on those complaints that are actually made.

You have approximately 15 minutes
. . . just shy of 15 minutes remaining to answer the
questions. Just thought I would give you a heads up.

Hon. Jason Hayward: Yes.
I can just make a general statement. There
was a lot of reference in terms of the initiatives that
the department are doing, and they are not being in
alignment with the performance measures. I just want
to make it clear that performance measures do not speak to all of the activities of a particular department .
They do, however, monitor the performance of those
1084 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly specific indicators which are measurable, and which
lie within a particular department. Certainly, as we
move forward, we will see that the performance
measures included can fluctuate because they come
in and out. But certainly, you will not see a complete
harmonisation or alignment with performance
measures and initiatives that the department actually
has in any given year.
You asked questions in regard to the Department of I mmigration, and you asked about the auster ity regarding the salaries. Generally, we have to accept that it was an austerity plan that was put in place
last year with the 10 per cent reduction. That partly
carries over to part of this fiscal period. And so, that is
the austerity that was actually referred to—the current
MOU that is in place and at the expiry of that MOU,
the salaries will start to be reset. But we did recognise
that there would be a cost saving for a portion of that
period.
There were general conversations regarding
the repair and maintenance and the fees associated
with that repair and maintenance. The systems —the
Department of I mmigration has a number of electronic
systems which monitor our work permits, borders,
passport processing —which basically covers all of
immigration’ s functions and wholly require maint enance contracts and upgrades on an annual basis.
In regard to the airport, previously the Ministry
or the Department of Immigration did not have to pay
for its space at the L. F. Wade International [airport] .
Now, we have moved into a new facility. The depar tment has to pay for that space and has to pay for the
cleaning associated with that space. And so, any of that space that is associated with e- Gates or any function pertaining to immigration, the department has
been told that they are responsible for the cleaning
functions associated with that and as a result that is
why there is an increase in that particular budget item.
When we look at the number of permits, with
the economic contraction, of course, the economy —
yes, we are going to be anticipating there being a r eduction of work permits. With the addition of 41 add itional closed categories, we expect a reduction in
work permits. Temporary work permits and periodic
work permits, we have seen an increase, primarily
due to new businesses opening and they need to get
their staff in house immediately and cannot wait for
the process.
There has been a lot of business activity in
our international business space and new company
formations, mergers, acquisitions and these persons
do not have the time to put in full applications initially
because they need to get those companies up and
running. As a result, what we have seen is an i ncrease in short -term permits which supports the numbers that immigration has actually put forward.
But you will note that we have lost some of
our . . . we have had major contractions in some of
our large hospitality establishments which is heavily populated with expatriate workers and as a result we should see a decline in permits in those particular areas. But it is to note that there have been economic
contractions across the board in every industrial cat egory, with the exception of IB. And so, what we should
see is a general reduction in permits across the board
within our economy.
Now, a reduction of permits does not mean
that the officers responsible for doing permits now have 50 per cent less work. It means that now we can
utilise those persons to process other applications.
We have mixed status family applications, we have
passport applications, we have economic investment
certificates. We have one annual . . . people who want
to reside in Bermuda on an annual basis. And so,
what we can simply do is reallocate resources.
But we do have what we consider to be fluctuations in our immigration process where we have peaks and valleys and, right now, like at the beginning
of the year, even though there is a reduction of work
permits this is a peak period. And so, the first part of
the year is always difficult in terms of processing, so
there is no shortage of work for those individuals . . .
and there will be no shortage of work for those individuals throughout the rest of the year.

Madam Chairman, there is no
correlation between one- year work from Bermuda certificates and temporary work permits, or work permits in general. Simply, those individuals cannot work for
Bermudian companies or Bermuda registered companies.
International Standards. The Member asked
spec ifically regarding the ISO 31000 and it is a risk
management framework that conforms to ISO 31000
is being researched for consideration and implementation. It is the intent that the risk framework will pr ovide value- added capability to the current system and
aid with robust technical solutions when addressing audit exit point deficiencies.


Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, there were general questions regarding financial assistance and its budget.
What I would like to say is it seemed as though the
grants had been reduced at a time where there is a
need for additional funding. What I want to say is that
the almost half a million dollars of funding was r emoved from the Ministry and placed into another Mi nistry and that is why this grant [ INAUDIBLE] is down. If
we just looked at the pure like- to-like for grants pr ovided to recipients of financial assistance, whether they be able- bodied , low -income earners, seniors or
disabled people, we will see that those numbers have
actually increased.
The $60 million which is dedicated t o the national health as . . . the line item which is responsible
for the COVID -19 expenditure. There is a line item
both in Financial Assistance and a line item under
Workforce Development. The line item under Financial Assistance just speaks to the suppl emental unemployment benefit. There is very little abuse in the
supplemental unemployment benefit because those individuals have to be means tested before they come
on.
The vast majority of the $60 million have already been spent on the workforce developm ent because that was associated with the unemployment
benefit that initially was in place for the initial 12- week
period, and then it extended to the 18- week period at
the height of our shelter in place. And that $60 million
is allocated to over 10,000 per sons at any given time.
You would also note that there have been
supplementary regulations put in place where schools had been impacted and bars and restaurants had been impacted, and so, those funds are currently
drawing down from that particular item. However, as
you see that there are no funds available in this budgetary period because all those funds will come under
what the Minister of Finance highlighted as COVID -19
contingency funds.
The additional staffing that was required is to
administer the supplemental unemployment benefit
programme. So, we did have to hire additional staff.
They are not full- time equivalent so that they will not
[INAUDIBLE ] in the Budget Book, but they are temporary additional staff.
I just want to clarify that for workforce development there is no revenue associated with the summer employment programme. The revenue is for n ational certifications, so persons have to pay for those
national certifications and most times employers pay
on behalf of their staff for that particular training.
If you just look purely at the book it looks like
there is a reduction in scholarship funding and grant
funding from workforce development in terms of the
job strategy. But what you would not know is that we
are utilising Bermuda College mor e, and Bermuda
College already has financial assistance built into it.
And so, when those persons cannot get the financial
assistance that is built into the Bermuda College, then they can get support from Workforce Development,
rather than there being a duplication. You would note that in previous years a large portion of Workforce
Development funding moved to the Ministry of Educ ation to provide that financial support to the Bermuda College for persons who cannot afford.
And so, I do not want to try to compare the
reduction in the funding with the reduction in the ser-vices in a time where we need to get more people
back to work. Certainly, that is something that we do
not want to compromise. As a result, we have found other ways to leverage other stakeholders who can
assist us with providing service. Instead of us running
the course ourselves, we looked to industry to see if
they can run courses , and they are at much cheaper
rates.

You have two minutes and remember
you have to leave sufficient time to move your Heads.
Hon. Jason Hayward: There was a question regar ding the J ob Board. Certainly, the Job Board is still up
and running and functioning and it is a primary hub for
us when we register persons into our programme—
plus also job search. The problem that we find with
the Job Board, though, like you indicated when you
read the note, is that a lot of it is dictated by the avai lability of jobs and since we have performance
measures, we say that a number of people are regi stered and there are no jobs available for those persons will just not be a smart objective.
So, the youth employment strategy, in partic ular, has already begun. A key element of the youth
employment strategy was the G raduate Training pr ogramme. We are, through the National Training
Board, which you will find in the National Training
Board report, which will be tabled in the House of A ssembly, you will see the elements of that report in
terms of apprenticeship programmes, the expansion of apprenticeship programmes and those sorts of pr ogrammes that will directly be put in place to support
our young persons. We will be sharing more information on our youth employment strategy and the
employment initiatives associated with that.

It has been moved that Heads 44, 27,
55 and 60 be approved. Are there any objections?
There being no objection , agreed to.

1086 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly [Motion carried: The Ministry of Labour, Heads 44, 27,
55 and 60 were approved and stand part of the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2021/22.]

Thank you.
Honourable Members and the listening public
of Bermuda, we are no w in Committee of Supply for
further consideration of the Estimates and Revenue
and Expenditure for the year 2021/22. The following Heads under the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Const itutional Reform will be debated: 87, 3, 4, 74, 75 and
88.
I now call u pon the Minister in charge to pr oceed. Honourable Attorney General , Kathy Lynn
Simmons, you now have the floor.
I note the time is now 4:21 pm. This debate is
scheduled to last four hours.
Honourable Minister, are you ready?

MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes, I am, Mr. Chai rman.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move the follo wing Heads: [Head 87], Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform; Head 03, Judicial Department;
[Head] 4, Attorney General’s Chambers; [Head] 74,
Department of Court Services, [Head] 75 Department
of Public Prosecution; and [Head] 88 National Drug
Control be now taken under consideration.

You may proceed, Attorney General .

HEAD 87 —MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS AND
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
The mission statement and department objectives for the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform Headquarters begin on page B -83 of the
Estimates Book. The mission statement is to facilitate fair and
equitable administration and access to justice while
delivering effective legal services and advancing pol icies and legislat ion that preserve the rule of law and
affirm social justice progress and constitutional r enewal . The department objectives, Mr. Chairman, are
as follows:
The Ministry Headquarters accepts that its
offices will be more innovative, responsible and continuo usly hard- working as a result of the needed r esponses due to the COVID -19 pandemic. The objectives of the Ministry Headquarters are:
• to advance Government policy initiatives under the direction of the Minister of Legal A ffairs and Constitutional Reform;
• to ensure the Government's legislative
framework is updated and current with policy directives;
• to effect synergies amongst Ministry depar tments to ensure that overall policy objectives are met; and
• to implement and monitor the targeted financial sanctions regime and to ensure Gover nment’s compliance with UN and UK obligations and to mitigate any associated risk.

Current Expenditure

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the current expenditure for the Ministry’s budget commences
on page B -82 of the Approv ed Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure for the year 2021/22— and that is the
Budget Book. A budget ceiling of $31,956,000 was allocated to the entire Ministry for the 2021/22 fiscal
year. Due to the fiscal constraints imposed last year by the ongoing pandemic, this figure represents a
$1,799,000, or 5 per cent, decrease from the current
2020/21 fiscal year.
It was necessary to undertake a comprehensive analysis of Ministry expenditure before achieving


Bermuda House of Assembly this figure. A balance had to be obtained between optimising spending limits without overly compromising
the efficient delivery of services and programmes.
Mr. Chairman, of the allocation to the Ministry
overall, particular allocations are as follows:
• Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional
Reform Headquarters, $5,802,000;
• Judicial Department, $8,808,000;
• Attorney General’s Chambers, $5,437,000;
• Department of Court Services, $4,656,000;
• Department of Public Prosecutions,
$2,961,000; and
• Department of National Drug Control,
$4,292,000.
Before I go any further, Mr. Chairman, I would
like to acknowledge the presence of the Heads and
the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry who
are present this afternoon to assist with this debate.

Revenue
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, as it r elates t o the Ministry’s budget, I begin with a brief sy nopsis of each revenue stream. The only department
under this Ministry’s portfolio whose mandate entails
directly generating revenue is the Judicial Depar tment. Accordingly, this revenue stream is projected t o
yield $5,422,000 during the 2021/22 budget cycle.
This amounts to $591,000 less than the 2020/21 ori ginal estimates. A 10 per cent shortfall is mainly pr ojected from an anticipated decrease flowing from estates of deceased individuals and the impact of t he
COVID -19 pandemic which has dramatically slowed
judicial processes.

Current Account Expenditure

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, with r egard to Ministry Headquarters, a total of $5,802,000
has been allocated to Headquarters. This represents
a decrease of $933,000, or 14 per cent from the
2020/21 original estimates.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Legal Affairs
and Constitutional Reform Headquarters is furthermore functionally subdivided into six fiscally identifi able programmes as follows:
• 97000— Administration;
• 97010—Financial Intelligence Agency (which
is a grantee);
• 97030—Legal Aid;
• 97070—Justice Protection Programme;
• 97080—Financial Sanctions Implementation
Unit; and
• 97090— Mirrors Programme.
I will now proceed to address them individua lly as follows:

Administration —97000

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: This programme pr ovides for the administrative costs associated with the
Ministry Headquarters to which $1,148,000 has been
allocated. This represents a decrease of $189,000 or
14 per cent from the 2020/21 original estimates.
The decrease is mainly due to the grant of
$150,000 that has been transferred to the new Mini stry of Social Development and Seniors. The remaining
decrease is mainly due to reduced and only crucial travel costs budgeted as a result of the pandemic.
Throughout the fiscal year, in addition to sal aries, $52,000 has been spent on telephone expenses.
Out of the consultancy vote, collectively $174,000 has
been spent on litigation guardian fees, a political PR
consultant and a law s tudent consultant at legal aid.
[There was] $113,000 spent on the grant to stand against abuse, and $13,000 was spent on office supplies. Also included in the Administration cost centre
are salaries and related costs for seven Ministry
Headquarters staff. These include an administrative
assistant, an executive assistant, a policy analyst, two
pupils and the Minist ry controller. The remaining post
is being redefined to provide policy and administrative
services to the Law Reform Commission.
Mr. Chairman, Ministry Headquarters intends
to continue to focus on the codification and delivery of Ministry policy initiatives. There were a total of six policy documents prepared during the fiscal year. Our
Ministry’s most recent commitments include: develo ping polici es to best encapsulate the vital role played in
realising the medicinal and responsible adult uses of
cannabis with a structured and regulated cannabis
licensing framework which provides equitable ec onomic benefit to the Bermuda public. Also crucial and
in alignment with this policy, is the establishment of
the administrative infrastructure to facilitate the expunction of criminal records of persons previously convicted for possession of small amounts (seven
grams of cannabis) before the decriminalisation l aw
was enacted. This online application process became
operational on 12 March 2021.
Mr. Chairman, the convictions for small
amounts of cannabis has plagued many local res idents for years and this impeded their employment,
educational and travel endeavour s. Moving from li mited decriminalisation of cannabis to ending unnecessary continued criminalisation and laying the fram ework for a regulated cannabis industry continues to pace despite the recent legislative hurdles pertaining to the Cannabis Licensing Ac t 2021.
The Ministry’s expanded scope of cannabis
reforms as aligned with the Ministry’s mandate of drug prevention and law reform broadly continues to evolve
as the progress to effective implementation of a regulated cannabis licensing framework for Ber muda takes
shape. Thus, work will continue in this 2021/22 budget year to advance from limited decriminalisation of can1088 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly nabis to establishing a robust regulatory licensing r egime that will create a comprehensive framework e mbracing the science of cannabis b enefit for therapeutic
and medicinal purposes and capitalises on likely ec onomic benefits of a regulated cannabis industry. This
will be achieved by allocating appropriate resources to
redress any perceived shortfalls with the Cannabis
Licensing Act 2021 a nd continuing work across Go vernment to realign the delivery of social, health, educational, and treatment services tackling the prevention and treatment of substance abuse associated with cannabis.
Before I move on, Mr. Chairman, I would like
to acknowle dge and thank the Controller of the Mini stry Onika Mendes and the Acting Permanent Secr etary, Gina Hurst -Maybury and the Headquarters team
who have done excellent work with regard to policy
development —namely policy analyst Jason Outerbridge and Livingston Wedderburn and the admini strative assistance and support provided by executive
assistant, Kristina DelValle and Karen—

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Jeffers. Good gracious,
I am having a senior’s moment.
I will now move on to Legal Aid, Mr. Chai rman.

Legal Aid —97030

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the Legal
Aid Office's purpose is to ensure— and that is . . . let
me go back —97030. The Legal Aid Office’s purpose
is to ensure that legal advice and representation is
readily avai lable to those who need it most, and who,
because of limited financial means, would otherwise
be unable to secure access to justice.
Furthermore, the Office's Mission Statement
is to provide high quality legal representation to those
who qualify for assi stance under the Legal Aid Act
1980 . The Office fulfils this role by providing clients
who qualify for the scheme with accessible, professional legal services in a timely and efficient manner.
Mr. Chairman, the Legal Aid’s scheme is a dministered by the Legal Aid Committee under the a uthority of the Legal Aid Act 1980. For 2021/22 , its
budget allocation is $1,680,000. This is a 9 per cent,
or $171,000, decrease from the 2020/21 original est imate allocation. The decrease in the budgetary needs
is primarily a ttributable to the salaries being prorated
for a 10 per cent cut up to July 2021.
In addition, the two pupil position IDs that
were under salaries in the prior year have now been
reallocated to the Ministry Headquarters budget por tfolio as stated previous ly. Also, there was a decrease
in legal services as we expect costs to decrease for
outside counsel with the hiring of a full complement of permanent in- house counsel which is expected to be
completed by June 2021.
Of the 2021/22 allocation, $831,000, or 50 per
cent, represents salaries for the administrative and
managerial staff. [The amount of] $610,000, or 36 per
cent, represents costs allocated for legal services.
The remaining $239,000, or 14 per cent, represents
administrative expenses inclusive of committee fees
and professional indemnity insurance required in r espect of annual legal practising certificates for in -
house counsel for the effective operations of the Legal Aid Office. For the current fiscal year, in addition to
salaries expenses incurred to date were legal fees of
$394,000; telephone expenses of $4,000; $259,000
was spent on consultants filling the role of legal counsel posts; $6,000 was spent on board and committee
fees; $96,000 was spent on electricity and rent; $9,700 was spent on cle aning; $15,000 has been
spent on office supplies and printing.
Mr. Chairman, the Legal Aid Office has f ocused primarily on increased operational control over
client litigation and administration efficiency. Reduction of expenditure has been a primary objective but not at the expense of a reduction in the quality of legal
services.
The largest area of expenditure, with the exception of salaries, remains legal fees , which is in
keeping with historical trends. The office was able to
contain spending within its budget in 2021 with pr udent management, coupled with the cost reduction and budget control initiatives outlined in the previous
budget. The transition to the reformed legal aid model
commenced in June 2018 and continues underway.
In keeping with the objective of decreasing
previously outsourced work, recruitment moved for-ward in 2020 and to date two of three legal counsel
posts have been filled. Recruitment for the third post,
that of a junior legal counsel, is currently underway.
Although the full per manent staff is not in place, fees
paid for external legal services from the period 1 June 2019 to 31 December 2019 amounted to $996,000. In
contrast, budget expenditure for legal fees paid to external counsel for the period 1 January to 31 Decem-ber 2020 amounted to $639,000.51. This figure is also
reflective of the decreased number of cases that have
progressed through the courts as a result of COVID -
19 restrictions. It is anticipated, however, that costs
will continue to trend downward in tandem with full
implementation of the reformed model.

Legal Services

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, with r egard to L egal Services, between the period 1
st April
2020 and 31st January 2021 the Legal Aid Office
managed a combined total of 114 new matters, i.e.,
10 domestic matters, 7 matrimonial matters, 30 civil
matters, and 67 criminal matters.


Bermuda House of Assembly The Legal Aid Office continues to maintain a
general roster of counsel from private practice, who
provide legal services to persons granted Legal Aid
Certificates in insta nces where there may be a perceived conflict of interest. For the period of 1st April
2020 to 31st January 2021, 80 counsel including two
Queen’s Counsel, representing 40 law firms, were
listed on the Legal Aid roster.
The current initiative to reform the Legal Aid
service delivery model will:
• ensure sustainability;
• provide employment and training opportunities
for Bermudian counsel;
• improve succession planning; and
• significantly reduce expenditure on legal fees,
which has historically been an area of budget
overspend.
The Legal Aid Office continues to be a major
stakeholder in the specialist court programmes, such
as Drug Treatment Court and Mental Health Treatment Court, providing defence counsel for these
courts. In addition to the traditional rosters of counsel
participating in the Legal Aid and Duty Counsel
schemes managed and maintained by this Office,
small rosters are also in place for these specialist
courts. Mr. Chairman, if in- house counsel are not
available, private practice counsel who are com petent
in these areas will be utilised.
The Legal Aid Office is currently collaborating
with the Mid- Atlantic Wellness Institute, the Depar tment of Court Services and the Bermuda Police [Service] on an initiative aimed at providing pathways for
diversion of persons with mental health challenges
who find themselves involved in the criminal justice system. A three- month pilot project aimed at providing
a trained liaison and diversion officer who can offer mental health support including advice, screenings and assessment, and treatment is scheduled to commence in March 2021.

Output Measures

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, with r egard to Output Measures, the Legal Aid Office retains
the ability to process applications for legal aid certif icates within 14 working days. However, achieving this
objective is dependent on whether applicants have
submitted the required information in a timely manner.
The Legal Aid Office continues to process applications
for temporary certificates, commonly known as emergency certificates, within three working days. This is
feasible once all relevant financial information is submitted at the time of the application, and applications for temporary certificates can be approved by the senior Legal Aid counsel, provided that they are capped
below a certain monetary value and are ratified by the
Committee within 28 days.
Staff

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I will now
speak to the staff and complement at the Legal Aid
Office.
At present, the Office is comprised of three
administrative posts and five legal posts. The three
administrative posts are the office manager, accounts
manager, and an administrative assistant. The five
legal posts are the senior legal aid counsel, two legal
aid counsel, one junior legal aid counsel and one paralegal. These four counsels will attend court and represent clients at a reduced cost to the public purse
since they will be on salary as opposed to drawing
hourly fee rates. We expect to see appreciable savings using this model. In the coming m onths there will
be two pupils o n rotation from within the Ministry pupi llage scheme.
The Legal Aid Office continues with regard to
training and development to focus not only on present service provision, but also development of the quality
of the advocat es who appear in court on behalf of our
clients. A main focus is also the movement towards a
paperless office in keeping with the overall Gover nment objective to be paperless by 2023. To this end,
training to include both new and existing staff on the
current case management and scheduling software
currently in use, namely Legal Files and Clio is
scheduled to be completed by June 2021. In- house
counsel also have access to legal research tools such
as Justice and Westlaw UK to support the litigation
conducte d under this scheme.
The diversity of legal work in the Legal Aid
Office makes it an attractive option for pupils, law st udents and summer students. It is integral to facilitating
the Ministry's thrust to train and retain competent and
qualified Bermudians. At present there is a roster
which allows pupils to spend time working in all of the
relevant government legal environments on rotation, at the end of which they will be able to draw on a wide
base of knowledge and eventually choose a special isation area and settle into practice.
I would like to now thank, Mr. Chairman, the
staff and counsel at the Legal Aid Office and the
members of the Legal Aid Committee for their conti nued service provided to ensure that members of the
public have access to legal services.

For the benefit of the listening public,
we are now in Committee of Supply for the Ministry of
Legal Aid . . . sorry, Legal Affairs and Constitutional
Reform. We are now on Head 87.
You may resume, Minister.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons : Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I will now move on to the Justice Protection Pr ogramme and that is centre 97070.


1090 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Justice Protection Programme —97070

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the Justice Protection Programme has been allocated a
budget disbursement of $325,000 for fiscal year 2021/22. This reflects a $195,000, or 38 per cent, d ecrease from the 2020/21 original estimates. For the
2018/19 fiscal year, actual expenditure incurred was
$520,000. Thus moving on to the next fiscal year,
2019/20, actual ex penditure decreased to $372,000.
For the current fiscal year, expenses to date are
$264,000.
Mr. Chairman, this programme has operated
pursuant to the Justice Protection Act 2010 and pr ovides protection for witnesses who support the pros ecution process and meet the legislative requirements
for entry into the programme. Over the past fiscal
year, five individuals have been serviced with protections and relocation, if necessary. One individual is
currently being considered for the programme as well,
taking t he total to active six participants. These ind ividuals are afforded protection whilst they provide ev idence in high- profile or high- risk cases before the
courts.
In the 10 years since the programme has
been in existence, there have been 33 participants which represented 51 people who were protected in
total. Seven additional applications were considered
but were denied entry to the programme as sufficient
assistance was provided to allay the threat risk. The
average duration of enrolment in the programme pr otection or assistance is three years.
Mr. Chairman, payments are made to meet a
participant’s reasonable living expenses including the
appropriate living expenses of his or her family. Pa yments are also made for other reasonable financial
assistance an d for the purpose of meeting costs associated with relocation and settlement. This includes
providing assistance to the participant in obtaining
employment, access to education and health care,
and providing other assistance to the participant with
a view to ensuring that the participant becomes self -
sustaining.
Mr. Chairman, over the 10 years there have
been 22 trials where the participants have testified,
and convictions were obtained in all but three. This amounts to an 86 per cent conviction rate. Mr. Chairman, the indispensability of this legislative initiative is
apparent from the noticeable increase in successful
prosecutions, particularly those that are gang- related
and involve violent offenders. This profile is similar to that established in progr ammes within other jurisdi ctions. The impact of the COVID -19 pandemic slowed
the dispensation of court cases as remote work became necessary. Notwithstanding, the work of this
programme was operational as much as possible.
However, the number of cases revi ewed was at a mi nimum due to the impact of the pandemic. It is i mportant to note, Mr. Chairman, privacy and need to protect these individuals is not subject to public scrut iny so that their identity and locations are not revealed.

Financial Sanctions Impl ementation Unit—97080

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the F inancial Sanctions Implementation Unit (FSIU) was established in 2018, subsequent to the transfer of the
National Anti -Money Laundering Committee (NAMLC)
office to the Ministry of Finance. This unit’s role is vital
to ensuring that Bermuda maintains its reputation as a cooperative jurisdiction in the international effort to
impose financial sanctions on rogue states and other
ill-intentioned individuals who warrant it.
Of the 2021/22 alloc ation, the decrease of
$21,000, or 6 per cent, from the prior year is mainly
due to a reduction in travel costs as well as the sal aries being prorated for a 10 per cent cut up to July
2021. Three hundred and twenty thousand dollars , or
98 per cent, represe nts salaries for administration.
The remaining $7,000, or 2 per cent, represents overhead costs for the u nit. The current fiscal year,
99 per cent of the expenses incurred under this cost
centre are salaries. The remaining 1 per cent was for
telephone expenses.
Mr. Chairman, the FSIU oversees the impl ementation and monitoring of targeted financial sanctions in Bermuda, and also advises the Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform on wider matters relating to anti -money laundering and countering
the financing of terrorism.
Mr. Chairman, the Governor is the competent
authority in Bermuda responsible for the implement ation of targeted financial sanctions. Her powers are
set out in the various Overseas Territories Orders that
are in force in Bermuda pursuant to the International
Sanctions Act 2003 and International Sanctions Regulations 2013. The Attorney General and the Minister of
Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform carries out certain functions of the Governor that have been delegated to the M inister pursuant to the International
Sanctions (Delegation of Governor’s Powers) Notice
2018 , since September 2018.
Mr. Chairman, this delegation of powers to the
Attorney General does not remove the overall respon-sibility for external affairs which befalls the United
Kingdom by a special responsibility of the Governor
for external affairs and defence under section 62 of
the Constitution of Bermuda. It is also noteworthy that
Bermuda’s sanctions regime implements sanctions
brought into force under the UK’ s legislative regime,
primarily the Sanctions and Anti -Money Laundering
Act 2018. Previously, such sanctions were made pursuant to the EU regulations. However, this ended on
the 31
st December 2020 at the end of the Brexit trans ition period.
For ease of r eference, it is noted that under
the said Orders the Minister of Legal Affairs and Con-stitutional Reform has the power to:


Bermuda House of Assembly a) obtain evidence and information by taking
such steps as considered appropriate to c ooperate with any international investigation r elating to the funds, economic resources or f inancial transactions of a designated person;
b) issue and revoke licences, with the consent of
the Secretary of State, and may grant a l icence authorising an activity that would ot herwise be prohibited under the sai d Orders.
Such licence can be varied or revoked by the
Minister at any time with the consent of the Secretary of State;
c) serve as a Reporting Depository to whom a
relevant institution reports or informs if it credits a frozen account pursuant to an Order;
d) authorise persons with power to search and investigate suspected ships , aircrafts and vehicles; and finally,
e) specify by Regulations, in the currency of the
territory, the amount which is to be taken as
the equivalent to sums expressed in sterling in the relevant Order.

Output Measures

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, with r egard to Output Measures, the FSIU role includes ensuring Bermuda’s sanctions framework is up to date
and effective. To that end, the FSIU is responsible for
making sure all Over seas Territories Orders i n counsel for the various sanctions’ regimes are brought into
force in Bermuda in an efficient and timely man ner.
The end of the Brexit transition period meant
that amendments were required to Bermuda’s san ctions regime. Thus, th e International Sanctions
Amendment Regulations 2020 updated the sanctions
regime to comply with the changes being made to the
implementation of sanctions in the United Kingdom
(UK).
The Brexit transition period ended on the 31
st
of December 2020 and amendments to the Bermuda
framework were made and came into force at the
same time. The effect of the said amendment regul ations was that 34 Sanctions Overseas Territories O rders were repealed and new orders were substituted
in their place including two orders that consolidated
certain regimes. Further, in January 2021, t he Libya
(Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2021 was
brought into force by the [International Sanctions]
(Libya ) Amendment Regulations Act 2021. These
changes added a total of 33 new sanc tions OT orders
to Bermuda’s sanctions’ regime. The updated regime
is listed in schedule 1 of the International Sanctions
Regulations 2013.
Mr. Chairman, in addition the FSIU ensures
that the sanctions webpage of the government ’s portal
is updated within 24 hours of receiving updated notif ications from the UK Treasury. These updates are r equired in order to notify the public of additions or de-listings to the various sanctions’ regimes in force in
Bermuda. Thus, upon notification from the HM Treasury’s Of fice of Financial Sanctions and Implement ation, the FSIU updates the webpage and also notifies supervisors to immediately advise their supervised entities of the changes.
However, the FSIU will continue its outreach
initiative to relevant government minis tries and departments as well as to the private sector in order to
increase awareness of sanctions obligations and e nsure that persons know and understand the role of the FSIU in the implementation of targeted financial sanctions. The FSIU also continues t o work closely with
the UK authorities and its operational partners to ensure effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions in Bermuda.

Staff

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, with r egard to staff, currently the FSIU is comprised of the
head of the FSIU and the legal counsel . The team is
responsible for implementing targeted financial sanc-tions including bringing relevant Overseas Territories
Orders in Council into force in Bermuda; reviewing
licence applications in respect of the various sanctions’ regimes; liaising with Government House and
UK authorities on sanctions matters; and, finally, assisting Headquarters with Bermuda’s AMLF/A TF
global obligations.
I would like, Mr. Chairman, to acknowledge
the head of the FSIU , Ms. Renee Foggo and Counsel
Jaleesa Simons for the excellent work they continue
to do with regard to this programme.

Mirrors Programme —97090

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I will now move on, Mr.
Chairman, to the Mirrors Programme, which is centre
97090.
Mr. Chairman, the Mirrors Programme conti nues to execute its mission of empowering young peo-ple to reach their full potential through personal trans-formation that promotes healthy relationships. Of its
2021/22 budget, $698,000 has been allocated,
$65,000, or 66 per cent, represents salaries for a dministration. The remaining $242,000, or 34 per cent,
represents overhead and programming costs.
The Mirrors Programme allocated 2021/22
budget represents a $176,000, or a 20 per cent reduction over last year’s budget. In addition to salaries for
the current year, $35,000 was spent on local training for youth, parenting and volunteer programming;
$6,000 was spent on telephone expenses. Advertising
and marketing equated to $10,000 as programming
pivoted to a remote platform. Consulti ng, contractors
and rental facilities which are directly related to pr ogramme totalled $72,000. Office supplies, printing and general stationary supplies were $8,500. Office
1092 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly equipment repair and maintenance was $4,500; $400
was spent on computer software, and office chairs
was $900 to replace broken office chairs.

[Laughter]
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, Mirrors
continues to focus its efforts on best practices to meet
the desired outcomes for Bermuda’s youth. COVID -19
impacted programming in 2020 /21 as most services
shifted to a remote learning platform for training, r ecruitment and enrolment of both volunteers and parti cipants.
The school -based programmes also pivoted
to a virtual training model for teachers and parents. Mirrors’ technology remains for socio- emotional skills
development, performance coaching and personal transformation for all participants. The programme,
Mr. Chairman, continues to produce results towards
its long -term objective to make better learners and to
build a resilient community of young adults who have
positive life outcomes in education, employment and
lawfulness. The two- year post programming data of
the core senior school population remains pretty consistent with 93 per cent of clients demonstrating la wfulness (i.e., not offending or reoffending), 81 per cent
of students connected to education (which is graduating or currently in school) and 41 per cent are curren tly employed at the last checkpoint in September 2020.
The organisation is committed to using data to
guide programming for positive youth outcomes. The
senior school service is the flagship programme, and its data guides the middle school prevention pr ogramming. Mr. Chairman, the overall success of the
work is attributed to Mirrors’ robust evaluation system.
The essential role for monitoring an evaluation system
is to access the performance of programming initiatives and examining their relevance, effectiveness,
efficiency and impact of activities in light of the spec ified objectives.
Mr. Chairman, the outcomes are well established since the programme’s inception. Systemic collection of information as part of monitoring ensures an
availability of information to help Mirrors, the Ministry
and stakeholders assess the extent of advancement,
achievement of object ives and progress in the use of
allocated funds. Evaluation e stablishes the signif icance of policy or programming for youth development to de termine the relevance of the objectives,
efficacy of the pr ogramme design and implementation
and sus tainability of t he result.
Mr. Chairman, in the current environment
while Government must exercise cost -cutting
measures, Mirrors is able to focus on the most nee ded areas based on the data to continue the outputs of
reducing risk and raising protective factors in our community with societal and cultural public benefit.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors continues to use a paper -driven
evaluation system as it has not been successful in financing an electronic case management and recor ding system. This places significant strain on the Mirrors team in terms of data entry and generational r eports. Mr. Chairman, analysis is secured in terms of data entry and generation of reports.
Analysis, Mr. Chairman, is secured by an outside vendor, which is costly and secured every two to
three year s. It will be beneficial in the near future to
finance an electronic recording system to improve efficiencies. The middle school evaluation system is
shifting to a Google platform to ease the man- hours
necessary to capture the data. Mr. Chairman, Mirrors’
reach continues to increase year over year, and as
such the alumni charity is seeking community support
for an electronic capacity -building system. To date
Mirrors has served 4,485 youths and trained 4,977 adults. This includes parents, teachers and volunt eers
in positive growth and development .
Mr. Chairman, as a result of the pandemic
Mirrors pivoted to support parents virtually, which pr oduced a 638 per cent increase in parents served over
the previous year. There were 1,057 parents served in 2020/21 to date. Research indicates that strengthe ning parents is one of the strongest protective factors in
strengthening youth. Mr. Chairman, Mirrors introduced
a new Parent Connect series of consulting with parents during the pandemic and offered six sections on
prevention science with the Department of National Drug Control:
• Cybersecurity; What Every Parent Should
Know;
• Brain Science & Learning;
• Performance for Success;
• Standards -based grading with the Department
of Education;
• Paying It Forward, which is financin g college
and parental involvement; plus
• School Equals Successful Students .
These sessions, Mr. Chairman, were succ essful as indicated by 98 per cent positive feedback from
parents’ perception of training content and 97 per cent
reported positive training experiences. Mr. Chairman,
the 20 per cent reduction for the last year will reduce
the amount of programming. However, the team has
strategized to maximise the outcomes to ensure the
number of students needing service are supported in
a modified programme with the intention to produce
similar results. The rigour in developing local trainers
will allow the facilitators to execute the Quantum
Learning curriculum and the lead camps.
The virtual model, albeit not the best option,
will allow Mirrors to provide two Junior Forums over
the new fiscal year. Four new facilitators joined the
Mirrors team this month to support local facilitation of the SuperCamp methodology. Mr. Chairman, one
teacher or Department of Child and Family Services
staff and two community partners joined the Mirrors
Facilitating Inspiration and Transformation Team.
(They call it the FIT team.) Resources in the current


Bermuda House of Assembly budget are allocated to continue to advance the local
FIT team certification, which will result in overall cost
savings in th e long term. The team is expected to
serve the same number of students, parents and teachers in the 2021/22 fiscal year. The number of training days will be reduced to maintain the rich experience in the current year.
Mr. Chairman, this will reduce the ov erseas
consulting costs. With travel being restricted it is unlikely for students to travel to Villanova University in
Pennsylvania this year. As such, the cost savings would be allocated to a modified programme since
your senior students have access to a life coach. The
out-of-school suspension (or OSS) support continues
to serve the highest -need students requiring superv ision. Ten students have been served to date, which was earlier in the school year than experienced in
previous years. They usually serve OSS students during the latter part, the late year of the school year.
Students are also experiencing the effects of reduced
social and interpersonal interactions as a result of the
pandemic. Based on the changes in the current pr ogramming due to COVID -19, Mirrors will experience
cost savings in the 2020/21 budget of approximately
$140,000.
Mr. Chairman, the middle school Character
Development student output was 407 for the 2020/21
fiscal year. The same are expected to participate in
the All In! 8 Keys of E xcellence programme in 2021/22
based on enrolment projections at Dellwood, Clearw ater and Sandys Secondary Middle Schools. With 216
teachers in the same middle school, they will continue
their Quantum Learning Excellence in Teaching cert ification training process.
Mr. Chairman, most of the programmes have
shifted to an electronic format and the newly produced
Parent Newsletter has proven successful to support
an extension of the character development lessons
from school to home. Students and parents learn the
8 Keys of Excellence , which are characteristics most
commonly found in successful people based on Dr. Bobbi De Porter’s research on people who have
achieved great success while maintaining personal excellence. These keys, Mr. Chairman, are an integral
part of the Mirrors SuperCamp curriculum and provide
a basic framework for principles for success in life. The Mirrors M iddle School SuperCamp was shifted
from O ctober 2020 to February 2021 of which 47 st udents r ecently completed the camp. Again, the shift to
a virtual model reduced the cost by approximately
35 per cent with the same hybrid virtual models, albeit
not the ide al, will allow Mirrors, with minor support
from Mi rrors Alumni and Friends charity, to execute
two S uperCamp Junior Forum camps in 2021/22.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors engaged a graduate
student over the current year to complete the bus iness plan for Social Enterprise. Fund development is
expected in 2021/22 to launch the proposed high- wire
adventure. The business emphasis is to appeal to tourists , local team -building activities and families with
a social focus to develop employment opportunities
for young adults and to support youth entrepreneurs.
The Mirrors Alumni and Friends Association is supporting the Social Enterprise and continues to back the programme through the volunteer recognition
scheme, the annual Bermuda- themed art competition,
community service clean- up at Southlands and other
community engagements.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors through the alumni
charity took on coordination of the Light house Co nnect initiative with the corporate partner, Legal & General, and the Department of Education and pr ovided laptops for schools. To date, over $100,000 has
been raised to support students with devices for r emote learning in public and alternative sc hools. A sustainable option for the continuance of the programme is under active review with the aim to incorporate the
programme into an existing department in the upcoming fiscal year.
I would like to pause, Mr. Chairman, to thank
the Head of Mirrors, K imberley Jackson, for the stellar
work she continues to do with her team in servicing
and developing our young people.
I will now move on, Mr. Chairman, to discuss
the Ministry grants.

Grants

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the
budget allocation for grants for fiscal 2021/22 is found
at page C -17 of the Approved Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure fiscal year 2021/22. For fiscal
2021/22, $1,624,000 has been allocated. This repr esents $331,000, or a 17 per cent, decrease from the
prior year. The decrease is due to the Centre Against
Abuse grant being transferred to another Ministry as a
result of the realignment of ministries. In addition, the
grant given to the Financial Intelligence Agency was reduced by 10 per cent for the 2021/22 fiscal year.
And that will segue me, Mr. Chairman, into the Financial Intelligence Agency (or the FIA, as we call it).

Financial Intelligence Agency

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, in continuation of Government's efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, the FIA was esta blished under the Financial Intelligence Agency Act
2007. The FIA is the independent agency authorised
to receive, gather, store, analyse and disseminate information relating to suspected money laundering
and financing of terror ism, which is received in the
form of a suspicious activity report or a suspicious
transaction report. Mr. Chairman, the FIA is empowered to disseminate such information to the Bermuda
Police Service and Foreign Intelligence Authorities. The sum of $1,624, 000 was allocated for fiscal year
1094 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 2021/22, an amount that has decreased by $181,000,
or 10 per cent, from fiscal year 2020/21.
The statutory mandate of the FIA dictates that
the Agency must report its quarterly expenditure and
provide an annual audited report to the Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitution Reform. It is anticipated, Mr. Chairman, that despite the limited resources
outlined, this agency will continue its fight to counter
terrorist financing and money laundering and provide
outcomes that guard the public interests.
Mr. Chairman, during the fiscal year 2020/21,
the FIA were able to respond to the COVID -19 pa ndemic initially by allowing staff to work remotely in a
secure environment. Laptops were purchased, and a
VPN environment was enacted to allow staff to work.
As a result of COVID -19, the FIA provided two deep
cleanings of its office by a professional cleaning com-pany and the purchase of additional cleaning supplies
inclusive of hand sanitiser stations.
Mr. Chairman, undaunted by COVID -19, the
FIA continue to participate in virtual training webinars
delivered by specific businesses that specialise in
AML/CFT matters (i.e., the Association of Certified
Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, or ACAMs), the
International Compliance Association, the Association
of Certified Financial Crimes Specialists. The FIA also participated in virtual training webinars, delivered by entities dealing with digital assets and cryptocurrencies, some of which are [ On-Chain] analysis and C ipherTrace.
There was one purc hase which allowed the
FIA to participate in a 24- hour virtual summit by the
Association of Certified Anti -Money Laundering Sp ecialists which offer virtual training sessions on AMLand CFT -related matter (i.e., human trafficking, trade -
based money launder ing, FinTech, cryptocurrencies
and other related items). The FIA also participated in virtual training courses, webinars hosted by Egmont
CFATF and FATF, of which some went over a period
of two to three days.
Mr. Chairman, the FIA also had to purchase a
new offic e printer, as the one they had previously over
10 years had difficulties that were not reparable. In terms of future spending for the 2021/22 fiscal year,
the FIA will continue focusing on trainings, updating
the website, preparing for the possibil ity of travel to
Egmont CFATF plenaries, increasing their staff and
updating aspects and features of goAML, which is the
FIA’s operating platform. The FIA did have a few challenges, Mr. Chairman, last year, which revolved
around IT matters, resources, staf f resources and
goAML. In light of these setbacks, the FIA did achieve
some accomplishments and continue to address
work -related matters. The FIA participated in two vi rtual plenaries, one for CFATF and the other for E gmont.
The FIA were asked to present and one of the
CFATF heads of FIU [Financial Intelligence Unit]
Working Group as it pertained to FIUs dealing with the COVID -19. Mr. Chairman, the presentation was well
received. And as a result, the FIA were asked to pr esent at the next FATF virtual meeti ng. The FIA conti nue to work with other agencies during this time concerning the terrorist -financing national risk asses sment [and] the money -laundering national risk assessment.
Mr. Chairman, the FIA analysts completed a
virtual training course with the F IUConnect and r eceive d the Financial Intelligence Specialist designation on completion. This course is made up of 12 modules that included corruption, terrorist financing,
environ mental crime and other related matters. Mr.
Chairman, within this climate in 2020 the reporting
entities still filed S TRs to the FIA totalling 451 being
received. From these reports, the FIA disseminated a
total of 187 disclosures to our local and overseas counter parts, breaking this down to 147 disclosures
dissem inated locally and 40 disclosures to foreign
FIUs.
Mr. Chairman, also in 2020 the FIA received a
total of 53 requests for information, that being 38 from
local counterparts and 15 from overseas foreign FIUs.
And lastly, the FIA sen t out a total of 61 requests for
informati on to foreign FIUs and their local counterparts. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Director Sinclair White for his continuing work
with regard to the FIA operations.
I will now move on to Capital Expenditure E stimate.

Capital Expenditure Estimate

Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation
for Capital Expenditures is found at page C -10 of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. The Ministry
has been allocated a total of $296,000 for fiscal
2021/22. The sum of $249,000 is allocated for videoconferences. The remaining $47,000 is intended to be used to purchase fully depreciated assets with no
residual value for departments under the Ministry.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, we note the decrease
is fiscal allocation in compliance with governmentwide directives and highlight that careful consideration will
be given to prioritise service delivery and program-ming. It is anticipated that the Ministry of Legal Affairs
and Constitutional Reform Headquarters budget all ocations for 2021/22 as detailed and presented today
will enable the Ministry to successfully fulfil its mandate with careful monitoring and the continuing exercise of financial prudence.
Mr. Chairman, in concluding this represent ation of fiscal activity and plans for the Ministry of Legal
Affairs and Constitutional Reform Headquarters, I
humbly thank once again all personnel for their firm
support and dedication to the work of the Ministry.
And that completes Head 87. Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.



Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Yes, continue, Minister, Attorney
General .
For the benefit of the listening audience, we
are now in Committee of Supply for further consider ation of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for
the year 2021/22. And we are now listening to the
Honourable Attorney General where she i s now d ebating Head 3 under the Ministry of Legal Affairs and
Constitutional Reform.
Minister, you may now continue.

HEAD 3 —JUDICIARY

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I am now going to move on to the Judicial D epartment, which is Head 3. Mr. Chairman, the Judic iary is established by the Constitution as a separate
and independent branch of government. Its task is to
adjudicate charges of criminal conduct, resolve di sputes, uphold the rights and freedoms of the individual
and preserve the rule of law. The mission statement of the judiciary is to administer justice through the effective management of the courts of Bermuda. The mi ssion statement of the administrative section is to pr ovide the services and support necessary to enable the Judic iary to achieve its mission.
The judicial system of Bermuda consists of
the Court of Appeal; the Supreme Court, which [com-prises] criminal, civil, commercial, appellate, family
and matrimonial courts and the probate registry; and
the Magistrates’ Court; c riminal, civil and family courts.
Ancillary activities include bailiff services. The Honourable Chief Justice is the head of the Judiciary. The Registrar is the head of the Judicial Department with a
staffing complement of 70 officers, none of whom r equire a work permit. There are currently 55, or 73 per
cent substantive posts filled; 4, or 6 per cent of posts
filled by temporary and relief employees; and 11, or 15 per cent, vacant posts. Mr. Chairman, the budget
for this department in the upcoming year is approx imately $8,808,000. Revenues are projected at
$5,422,000.

Highlights for 2020/21
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to the hig hlights for 2020/21, Mr. Chairman, in general the Judi-cial Department gives thanks to Ms. Jasmin Smith,
who served as Ac ting Permanent Secretary until O ctober 2020. Ms. Smith was succeeded in this post by Ms. Gina Hurst -Maybury. The department extends its
gratitude to Ms. Smith and to Ms. Hurst -Maybury for
their assistance and support, particularly given the
challenging cir cumstances faced by the department
as a result of the novel coronavirus.
Following the onset of the COVID -19 pandemic, Mr. Chairman, the department had to find workable
ways to ensure that any restriction on the court services would not be too drastic. Department staff en-sured that the wheels of justice kept revolving by co ntinuing to hear cases remotely through the shelter -inplace regulations and lockdown, the close of gover nment offices and the imposition of curfew and social distancing conditions. In essence, the courts never ceased operation during this period. The staff ought to
be commended for their service during these challenging times.
Mr. Chairman, the court accommodations
need to remain a priority for the department. The cl osure of the departm ent’s former premises at 113 Front
Street, which house the Supreme Court’s administr ative staff and courtroom facilities, continues to have an impact on service delivery of the courts. With the o nset of COVID -19, the courts’ accommodation needs
have intens ified as the only courtroom allocated to the
Matrimonial Division of the Supreme Court, located on
the third floor of the Dame Lois Browne- Evans Buil ding, does not meet social distancing guidelines. Sim ilarly, Mr. Chairman, the Criminal Division of the S upreme Court was unable to hold jury trials for a period
as the courtroom and jury facilities allocated for this purpose also did not meet social distancing guid elines.
Mr. Chairman, following collaboration between
the department and the Ministry of Public Works,
modifications were made to Sessions House to ensure that the space is compliant with all social distanc-ing and health guidelines. The modifications to Sessions House allow jury trials to continue despite facing
restrictions imposed by COVID -19. The department
extends thanks to the Ministry of Public Works and the
Government for their assistance in this initiative.
Mr. Chairman, it is anticipated that the department will continue to work with the Ministry of
Public Works during the upcoming fiscal ye ar, as the
Government of Bermuda has demonstrated a com-mitment to providing an extension of core facilities
within the Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building. It is a nticipated that the expanded facilities will include suit able space for administrative staff, judges’ chambers
and courtroom facilities, as well as suitable, secure
and separate jury space.

Technology

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: And now I move on to
Technology, Mr. Chairman. With regard to videoco nferencing, the Evidence (Audio Visual Link) Act 2018
was passed, and capital funding allocated for the i mplementation and installation of the required technol ogy in 2019. Those funds will roll over into the 2020/21 fiscal year, and a contract [was] entered into for the
implementation of the necessary technolog y. It is a nticipated that this technology will be implemented dur-ing the upcoming fiscal year. The implementation of
this technology would generally increase the cost eff iciencies. Given the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic
on global travel, as well as the requirement to socially
1096 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly distance, requests to conduct court hearings by audiovisual links increased dramatically in 2020. It is antic ipated that as the implications of the global pandemic
continue into 2021, requests to conduct proceedings
via audio- visua l link will continue.
With regard to premises and in particular the
Commercial Court in the Government Administration,
the Commercial Court, Mr. Chairman, has now completed its 11th year of operation and continues to be
well received by petitioners both here and overseas. With regard to the Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building,
the Magistrate’s Court in the Dame Lois BrowneEvans Building on Court Street opened for business in
April 2011. The courts and administrative offices are
[situated] across the north sec tion of the third and
fourth floors. These premises house the Supreme Court, Family and Matrimonial Division, Probate Div ision, Criminal Division and IT.
With regard to the cost centres, the original
estimate for 2020/21 was $8,943,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is, as I said previously, $8,808,000, which is a decrease of $135,000, or 2 per cent.
With regard to the Supreme Court, note that
the statistics stated are those available at the time of
preparation of the performance measures and reflect
the actua l for the period January through December
2020 unless otherwise stated.
I will now move on to cost centre 13000,
which is the Criminal Injuries Compensation. The ori ginal estimate for 2020/21 for this cost centre was
$381,000. The estimate for 2021/22, Mr. Chairman, is
$379,000, which represents a decrease of $2,000, or
1 per cent. This cost centre provides for payments to
victims of criminal acts as decided by the board. While
control of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board has been transferred to the Ministry of Legal Affairs
and Constitution Reform Headquarters, the expense
remains in the Judicial Department’s cost centre.
I will now move on to Supreme Court, cost
centre 13010. The original estimates for that cost ce ntre, Mr. Chairman, for 2020/21 was $1,038,000. The
estimate for 2021/22 is $963,000, which represents a
decrease of $75,000, or 7 per cent. Mr. Chairman, this
cost centre provides for the salaries and operational
expenses for the administration of the Supreme Court
Registry, for which there are 10 posts including the assistant registrar, manager, and accounts and administrative officers. In 2020, there were 534 new civil
matters filed and 150 divorce petitions filed.
Cost centre 13015 represents Courtrooms
and Chambers. The original estim ate as per the
Budget Book for 2020/21 is $2,381,000. The estimate
for 2021/22 is $2,497,000, which is an increase of
$116,000, or 5 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, this cost centre provides for the
salaries and operational expenses for the courtrooms
and Chamber s of the Supreme Court, which [comprises] the Criminal, Civil, Commercial, and Fam ily/Matrimonial Courts. There ar e (the revisions, I should say) 20 posts including the Chief Justice, pui sne judges and the Registrar’s post. The increase, Mr.
Chairman, results from an incremental increase in
salaries due to movement to the next post grade, an
increase in training expenses and a small increase for
judicial attire, offset by a decrease of a portion of s ecurity expense due to transferring a por tion of expenses to another cost centre in the depar tment.
There were 34 new indictments filed and 33 civil and criminal appeals filed from the Magistrate’s Court.
Cost centre 13020 represents the Court of
Appeals. The original estimate for 2020/21 was $689,000. For 2021/22 it is $685,000, which repr esents a decrease of $4,000, or 1 per cent. This cost
centre provides fitting and retainer fees for the Pres ident of the Court of Appeal, court justices of appeal
and the salaries of two posts —an administrative officer and an administrative assistant. The Court of A ppeal meets three times a year. Sessions are three
weeks long. There were 22 appeal cases filed in
2020. Ten of the appeal cases were criminal appeals,
and twelve were civil appeals.
Cost centre 13025 represents the Court
Technology Office. The original estimate for 2020/21
was $515,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $505,000,
which represents a decrease of $10,000, or 2 per
cent. Mr. Chairman, this cost centre provides for the salaries for the Information Tec hnology Section, for
which there are three posts: the IT manager, the IT
assistant and a data entry clerk. This funding includes
transcription services, maintenance fees for the court
case management system (which we call JEMS), the
court reporting system (which is CourtSmart) and the
telephone system. Equipment and software applic ations must be maintained and kept up to date and will
ultimately have to be replaced when necessary. We
must ensure that the CourtSmart and other information technology systems w ork well.
The ultimate goal of electronic filing throug hout the courts will be a significant future expense where funding will need to be earmarked. We will continue our research in relation to the cost of electronic
filing software which would be the mos t appropriate
for our courts as this expense can be upwards of $1.5 million. The decrease, Mr. Chairman, is largely due to
a decrease in expenses for software maintenance and
overtime.
With regard to the Magistrate’s Court, Mr.
Chairman, 13040, that cost centre represents adjud ication. The original estimate in this cost centre for
2020/21 was $1 million. The estimate for 2021/22 is $965,000, which represents a decrease of $35,000, or
4 per cent. This cost centre, Mr. Chairman, provides
funding for the sen ior magistrate, four magistrates and
acting appointments where necessary.
The Magistrate’s Court is presided over by the
Worshipful Senior Magistrate Juan P. Wolffe; the
Worshipful Tyrone Chin; the Worshipful Khamisi T okunbo; the Worshipful Maxanne Anders on; and the


Bermuda House of Assembly Worshipful C. Craig Attridge, all of whom bring a
wealth of knowledge and experience to the Magistr acy. The Senior Magistrate has increased his acting
magistrate roster so as to give opportunities to those
in the legal profession to acquire jud icial experience
and skills which would put them in a position to el evate to the bench. The senior magistrate maintained
the acting magistrate’s roster, thereby giving opport unities to those in the legal profession to acquire jud icial experience and skills —which I have already said.
The Magistrate’s Court, Mr. Chairman, is multi-jurisdictional, having conduct of civil, criminal, traffic
and family matters. There are also the treatment courts, such as the Mental Health [Treatment] Court,
Drug Treatment Cour t and the pilot Driving Under the
Influence (DUI) Court which continues to reduce reci divism by addressing the drug, alcohol and mental health challenges of offenders.
Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to cost centre 13050— Civil Records. The original estim ate for
this cost centre for 2020/21 was $268,000. The est imate for 2021/22 is $254,000, which is a decrease of
$14,000, or 5 per cent. The civil section, Mr. Chai rman, is overseen by the Office Manager, who has under their remit one senior court associate and two
court associates. Mr. Chairman, this section provides
case management and court services for the resol ution of civil claims up to $25,000, landlord and tenant
matters under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1974 and
the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises ) Control Act
1978. There were a total of 1,067 new civil cases filed
in 2020, a reduction from 2017 civil cases filed in
2019. Given the implications caused by COVID -19,
the Magistrate’s Court took the initiative of staying civil
debt recovery and evictio ns during the shelter in place
and curfew provisions so as to give relief to members
of the public who struggled financially as a result of
the pandemic. This partly explains the reduction in the
number of new cases instituted.
I now move on to cost centr e 13060, which is
Family and Child Support. The original estimates for
this centre in 2020/21 were $483,000. The estimate
for 2021/22 is $447,000, which represents a decrease of $36,000, or 7 per cent. Mr. Chairman, there are two
Family Courts, each compri sing a magistrate and two
special panel members (a male and a female), purs uant to the Magistrates Act 1948 . This court continues
to exercise its jurisdiction in cases involving children who have not yet attained the age of 18 years and
children who have c ontinued in full-time education
beyond 18 years.
Mr. Chairman, the Family Court is a Special
Court which was created to handle the specific needs
of children whether born within or outside of marriage,
and matters arising in respect of their custody, car e
and maintenance, and violations against the law such
as by juvenile offenders. Mr. Chairman, the Family
Support Office serves the public and the Magistrate’s
Court by providing customer services, records man-agement and financial control. This office also provides services to other government agencies such as the Department of Child and Family Services and
Court Services.
Mr. Chairman, the number of new family cases filed was a notable increase of 25 per cent in 2020.
Of particular interest is the increas e in the number of
juvenile criminal cases, a 19 per cent increase, and
domestic violence protection orders, a 30 per cent
increase. Whilst the department cannot definitively
conclude that there is a correlation with the COVID -19
pandemic, the only explanation that one can reasonably give for the increase in numbers is the monumental financial, emotional and societal stressors caused
by the global pandemic.
Mr. Chairman, in 2020 the number of cases
heard under the Children Act 1998—care orders, ac-cess to m aintenance, care and control —decreased by
36 per cent in comparison to 2,000 in 2019 and 42 per
cent as compared to 2018. However, the severity and
complexity of these cases has increased. Mr. Chai rman, there was a 15 per cent decline in the total
amount of child support payments received in 2020 when comparing it to 2019. Comparatively, this is not
a significant reduction in light of the challenges
caused by COVID -19.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 13070 represents
Administration. The original estimates under this cost
centre for 2020/21 were $1,287,000. The estimate for
2021/22 is $1,242,000, which represents a decrease
of $45,000, or 3 per cent. Mr. Chairman, the Magi strate’s Court senior offices, who fall under the remit of
the court manager, consist of the family support officer, the head bailiff, the deputy provost general and
the office manager. They provide support and overall
control of personnel, facilities and financial resources
of the Magistrate’s Court. The Magistrate’s Court A dministration Section consists of the court manager,
office manager, accounts officer, an administrative
assistant and two court associates, who are fully r esponsible for all revenue collected.
Collectively, Mr. Chairman, they received a
total of $7,010,440 in fees, fines and direct deposits in
2020, which is 24 per cent less than in 2019. The r eduction in payments collectively is directly attributed to:
1. cautionary measures being put in place at the
Magistrate’s Court from March to July 2020;
2. the reduction in the numbers of per sons attending the court to make any type of pa yment;
3. the inability of persons to pay because of lost
employment or reduced income; and
4. members of the public not attending court because of health and safety concerns.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 13080 repres ents
Criminal/Traffic/ Records. The origina l estimate for this
cost centre in 2020/21 was $378,000, and the est imate for 2021/22 is $367,000, which represents a d e1098 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly crease of $11,000, or 3 per cent. Mr. Chairman, there
was minimal change in the number of out standing
warrants executed in 2020, despite the reduction in
the movement of members of the public during the
COVID -19 pandemic. Mr. Chairman, in 2020 there
were 10,572 outstanding warrants. Outstanding warrants for criminal and traffic offences fall under three
categories, which are as follows: committals, summary
jurisdiction apprehensions [warrants], and apprehensions. There was an increase of 11 per cent in the
number of police and criminal evidence of PACE warrants issued and executed in 2020 when compared to
2019. During the past year, warrants for the telephone
records show a marked increase of 43 per cent, or 88
warrants, which is a high record over the last five
years.
The Criminal Records Office of the Magi strate’s Court provides case management f unctions for
criminal, traffic and parking records. In 2020 the Cri minal/Traffic/Records Section processed a total of 1,300 records requests, which is a significant decrease of 41 per cent when compared to 2019. This is most lik ely as a result of the reduc tion in employment vacancies and travel throughout 2020.
Mr. Chairman, it is to be noted that the fee for
a record request at the Magistrate’s Court continues to be disproportionately low at $10 per application, when a similar report from the Bermuda Poli ce Se rvice is $100. There has been extensive communic ation over the years regarding increasing the fee, as it
has not changed in 25 years. This is now, I can promise you, Mr. Chairman, under active review, I am
pleased to indicate.
Mr. Chairman cost centr e 13090 represents
the Bailiff's Office. The original estimates for 2020/21
was $523,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $504,000,
which represents a decrease of $19,000, or 4 per
cent. Mr. Chairman, this office provides for the service
and execution of court papers inclusive of Civil, Fam ily, Supreme Court and Foreign Service.
There is one Head Bailiff/Deputy Provost
Marshal General, one administrative assistant, and
five bailiffs who travel throughout the Island serving court processes. Unfortunately, Mr. C hairman,
throughout 2020, the bailiff’s section operated under -
strength with four bailiffs to execute the processes issued by the courts.
In addition, as a result of the pandemic, the
bailiffs were called upon by His Excellency the Gover-nor to serve our c ountry in the capacity as Crown O fficers under the Provost Marshal General Act 1965. For several weeks during April and June 2020, the bailiffs assisted the Ministry of National Security in the
monitoring of permitted businesses under the Emergency Powers (COVID -19 Shelter in Place) Regul ations 2020.
In 2020, Mr. Chairman, a total of 2,122 pr ocesses were issued by the courts for the attention of
the bailiff, of which 60 per cent were issued between the months of July and December. The bailiffs r esponded wi th a successful service rate of 83.18 per
cent.

Revenue

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Revenue reported in
this section is for the calendar year of 2020. With r egard to traffic and parking fines, Mr. Chairman, the
major components of revenue are traffic and cri minal
fines. There was an overall decline in fines collected
for traffic, parking and criminal fines in 2020. Prior to
the COVID -19 pandemic, the Magistrate’s Court had
taken into consideration the financial circumstances of
individuals who had been fined and had allowed persons to pay off their fines in instalments. Of course, Mr. Chairman, the pandemic has added an additional layer of challenges, which the Magistrate’s Court are
empathetic and sympathetic to. In particular, there has
been a steep increase of individuals asking for more
time to pay their fines because of lost or reduced i ncome due to COVID -19.
The total amount recorded for traffic fines was
$1,587,199, which is a decrease from $2,926,651. The $470,650 for parking fines was a decrease from
$523,050, and $106,095 for criminal fines is a decrease from $172,507.
Mr. Chairman, it should be noted that there
remains a concern at the Magistrate’s Court. The Cashiers Section provides all of the resources to co llect parking ticket fines on behalf of the Corporation of
Hamilton. These resources are funded by the Berm uda Government. There is no financial reimbursement by the Corporation of Hamilton to cover the cost of
collecting their fines. As 100 per cent of fines collected
are transferred directly to the Corporation of Hamilton,
it results in a loss of revenue to the Bermuda Government.
With regard to court fees for the Supreme
Court, Mr. Chairman, regrettably the fees collected for Supreme Court matters have not been revenue that
has historically been recorded. The majority of S upreme Court fees are paid by way of revenue stamps
that counsel and parties purchase through the A ccountant General. This uncaptured revenue needs to
be recorded to show the true revenue of the judiciary.
Consideration should also be given, Mr. Chairman, to
increasing the court fees payable to the Supreme
Court as the fee structure has not been amended in
several years. As this is under review at present, appropriate measures will be instituted through the legi slative means. And that is in fact in train, happily.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to court fees for the
Magistrate’s Court, there was a decline in the number of new civil cases filed in the Magistrate’s Court in
2020. As stated earlier, this is likely linked to the
measures taken by the Magistrate’s Court in light of the global COVID -19 pandemic, which includes sta yBermuda House of Assembly ing the final civil debt recovery proceedings, eviction
proceedings and the recovery of financial arrears.
Mr. Chairman, the revenue received to date
for civi l fees for 2020 is $139,985. As with the fee
structure in Supreme Court, it is hoped that appropr iate increases will be instituted as relates to civil fees
payable in the Magistrate’s Court through the necessary legislation.
With regard to liquor licences , Mr. Chairman,
the revenues collected in liquor licensing fees i ncreased in 2020 for a total of $718,730 collected during 2020, which represents an increase of 33 per cent
from 2019. Although the administration of the Liquor
Licensing Authority was moved to the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform in June 2019,
the Magistrate’s Court still had the responsibility of
collecting all of the payments for liquor licensing fees.
With regard to stamp duty on deceased’s estates, Mr. Chairman, applic ations are made to the S upreme Court to probate the estates of deceased individuals. A tax assessment of revenue is made on the net estate value of a deceased’s estate. The net estate value is a calculation of the total value of a deceased’s gross estate l ess the value of various stat utory deductions and exemptions including the value of
property designated as a primary family homestead
and a spousal benefit. Revenue assessments for 2020 were $1,732,000 with 134 grants issued compared to 152 grants issued i n 2019.
The lowest assessment, Mr. Chairman, was
$22. The highest assessment was $319,188. With regard to total revenue for 2021/22, the original est imate for 2020/21 was $6,013,000, and the estimate
for 2021/22 is $5,422,000, which represents a decrease of $591,000, or 10 per cent. The revenue estimates for 2021/22 are found on page B -90 of the
approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure,
Budget Book. Revenue estimates are expected to decrease from the prior year, given the current economic
climate, whi ch is a direct result of COVID -19.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With regard to capital
expenditure, Mr. Chairman, the original estimate for
2020/21 was $267,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $173,000, which represents a decrease of $94,000
and a percentage decrease of 35 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, capital expenditure estimates
for 2021/22 are found on page C -10 of the approved
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2021/22, Budget Book. The Judicial Department has been allocated a total of $173,000 for fiscal year
2021/22, as previously stated. This sum includes a
total of $133,000 for court reporting that has been
rolled over from the previous fiscal year. Funding for videoconferencing has also been rolled forward for
fiscal 2021/2 2. However, this funding has been ac-counted for in the budget for the Ministry of Legal A ffairs and Constitutional Reform Headquarters.
I would like to thank all personnel in the Jud icial Department for the preparation of this report, and
in particular th e Registrar for her leadership, and the
staff for their continued service. And that ends Head
3, Mr. Chairman.

[Pause]

Minister, you may proceed.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Just a second.

[Pause]
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. And before I start, I would like to acknowledge
the presence of Susan Moore- Williams, who is the
Senior Legal Counsel for Legal Aid, whom I failed to mention earlier because she has been in secondment
and she is recently back. So I had forgotten to
acknowledge her. And she is back to continue her
valuable work in her office, which is much appreciated. Thank you.

Noted, Minister.

HEAD 4 —ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the mi ssion statement, department objectives and current
accounts estimates for the Attorney General’s Chambers, Head 4 are again on page B -97 of the Estimates
Book. The mission statement of Chambers is to pr ovide high quality legal advice, representation, and
drafting of legislation for the Government. With regard
to expenditure, Mr. Chairman, a total of $5,437,000
has been allocated for Chambers. This represents an increase of $9,000, or nil per cent from fiscal year
2020/21.
Mr. Chairman, the Attorney General's Chambers objectives ar e to:
1. provide quality legal services to the Gover nment of Bermuda;
2. advise all g overnment ministries, depar tments, and entities on the law applicable to
their operational requirements;
3. draft legislation as required to implement the
Government's legislative agenda, to maintain
Bermuda's legislative database and to support
law reform;
4. draft contracts, international instruments for
mutual tax information exchange, conveyances and other documents required for public
purposes , and to provide advice on private
Bills; and
5. conduct litigation in the Civil Courts of Berm uda on behalf of the Government of Bermuda.
1100 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly For 2021/22, Mr. Chairman, the Attorney
General's Chambers is functionally divided into six
programmes accounted for as follows: Cost centre
14010— Administra tion. The original estimate 2020/21
under the cost centre, $431,000. The estimate for
2021/22 is $422,000, which is a decrease of $9,000,
or 2 per cent. Mr. Chairman, Administration provides
administrative support to the Attorney General, the
Solicitor General and Crown Counsel. This cost centre
provides salaries for an office manager, a customer
service representative, a records management admi nistrator and an Accounts officer. It also supports the
purchasing of office supplies that are common to all
sections of the department.
The modest year over year decrease is due,
Mr. Chairman, to an increase in office supplies net of
the decrease in salaries and the elimination of funds
for local training. In addition to salaries provided for in
this cost centre, it also provides $46,000 for repair and
cleaning services, $25,000 for office supplies and
$20,000 for telephone services, $13,000 in drinking water and $31,000 for repair and maintenance of office equipment. In the budget year 2020/21, this cost
centre prov ided for and spent $46,000 on repair and
cleaning services, $24,000 on office supplies, $3,200
on drinking water and $15,000 on telephone services.
With regard to cost centre 14020, which is
Advisory, the original estimate in 2020/21 was $2,447,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $2,491,000,
which represents an increase of $45,000, or 2 per
cent. Mr. Chairman, the Advisory Section is respons ible for providing quality legal advice to all government
departments and to conduct litigation matters brought by or ag ainst the government. Additionally, Advisory is
responsible for recovering debts owed to the gover nment. This cost centre provides salaries for one solic itor general, two deputy solicitors general, two senior crown counsel, six crown counsel, three adminis trative assistants and one pupil. The increase is due pr imarily to funding for a temporary additional crown
counsel post that is offset by the elimination of funding
for training overseas and recruitment expenses.
Mr. Chairman, in addition to the salaries provided for in this cost centre, it also provides $157,000
for consulting services, $100,000 for legal services,
$20,000 for software maintenance, $15,000 for me mbership fees, $11,000 for books and subscriptions and
$11,000 for office supplies. In the bu dget year
2020/21 this cost centre provided for and spent
$112,000 in consulting services, $500,000 in legal
services, $3,700 for software maintenance, $2,600 for
books and subscriptions, $15,000 in membership fees and $7,000 in office supplies.
Mr. Chair man, cost centre 14030 represents
Legislative Drafting. The original estimate for this cost centre for 2020/21 was $1,953,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $1,841,000, which is a decrease of
$112,000, or 6 per cent. Mr. Chairman, the Legislative
Drafting Section • advises regarding proposals to introduce or
amend legislation;
• drafts primary and subordinate legislation for all government departments; and
• provides advice and support to Ministers in
the House of Assembly and Senate as their
respective legislation progresses.
This section also provides , Mr. Chairman, advice to
Ministers and the Governor on legal and c onstitutional
issues and on matters of parliamentary procedure.
The salaries provided for in this cost centre
include those of the chief parliamentar y counsel, de puty chief parliamentary counsel, six parliamentary
counsel, two assistant parliamentary counsel, a legi slative database manager, a legislative editor, a legisl ative administrator and a legislative database admini strator.
Mr. Chairman, the ye ar-over-year budgetary
decrease is due primarily to a decrease in consulting
costs and the elimination of funding for training over-seas. In addition to the salaries provided for in the
cost centre, it also provides $3,000 for local training, $8,000 for mem bership fees and $20,000 for office
supplies. In the budget year 2020/21 this cost centre
provided for and spent $2,300 on online training,
$31,000 for consultative legislative services, $8,000
on membership fees and $14,000 on office supplies.
Mr. Chairm an, cost centre 14040 represents
Revised Laws of Bermuda. The original estimate for
2020/21 is $148,000; the estimate for 2021/22 is
$155,000, which is an increase of $7,000, or 5 per
cent. Mr. Chairman, this cost centre supports the con-solidation, periodi c revision and publication of the
Laws of Bermuda. It is responsible for providing members of both Houses of the Legislature, bus inesses, lawyers and the general public with access to
the Revised Statutes and Regulations of Bermuda. It also supports the ongoing consolidation of primary and subordinate legislation. The modest budgetary
increase is due to the annual increase in the cost of
Arbortext licence renewals. In the 2020/21 budget
year $150,000 was spent for maintenance and hosting
services for the Bermuda Laws website.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 14050 represents
Debt Collection. The original estimate for 2020/21 was
$309,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $387,000,
which is an increase of $28,000, or 25 per cent. Mr.
Chairman, the Debt Enforcement Unit within the A ttorney General's Chambers was established by the
Government to assist the Department of Social Insurance and the Office of the Tax Commissioner in the recovery of unpaid social insurance contributions,
payroll tax, land tax and other taxes owed to the go vernment. The cost centre provides salaries for one
crown counsel, one junior crown counsel and an administrator. The increase is due to a temporary additional junior crown counsel post budgeted for in this cost centre.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, cost cent re 14060 represents
the Law Library. The original estimate in 2020/21 was
$140,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $140,000, so
there is no change. Mr. Chairman, this programme
provides for the cost of maintaining the Law Library in the Attorney General's Chambers, which includes the
purchase of books and periodicals, and the provision
of access to leading online legal information resources
such as Lexis/Nexis and Westlaw. Despite an i ncrease in the cost of electronic subscriptions, costs have been retained at the 2020/21 levels by cance lling certain hardcopy subscriptions. In budget year
2020/21, the amount of $123,000 was spent for electronic subscription services and books.
With regard to Capital Acquisitions, Mr.
Chairman, the original estimate for 2020/21 was
$16,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is zero—so a decrease of $16,000, or 100 per cent. The budget all ocation for Capital Expenditure is found at page C -10 of
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. The A ttorney General’s Chambers has been allocated no
capital for fiscal 2021/22 due to cost -cutting measures
in capital funding.
With regard to output measures, Mr. Chai rman, during the 2020 calendar year, 53 Acts were
enacted, and 154 statutory instruments made. More
than 70 pieces of legislation were COV ID-19 related.
They made provisions for the state of emergency, public health and quarantine restrictions, temporary
unemployment benefits, pension amendments, et
cetera. In addition to the annual budget legislation,
there were a number of new and amending Acts to
give effect to the Government’s legislative agenda on
topics including submarine communication cables,
digital asset issuance, health professionals, expungement of convictions, employment and labour
laws, and Marine & Ports.
Mr. Chairman, the Ber muda Laws website
which contains all of Bermuda's current laws and su bordinate legislation, it is updated in real time from
within Chambers, and we are continuing to make i mprovements to the site. Since November 2018 as part
of the e- Gazette project, statutory instruments (or
BR’s) are now gazetted by publication on the website,
which clearly indicates the operational date. Updating
the e- Gazette from within Chambers allows the numerous COVID -19-related emergency regulations to
be published and take effect immediately.
Mr. Chairman, over the past budget year we
received 15 Mutual Legal Assistance requests, which
is a decrease of 10 in the number of requests than in
the previous year. It is believed that this decrease is due to the impact of COVID -19, which inhibited the
ability of international agencies to process Mutual Legal Assistance requests. We believe that this decline
is temporary and that the number of requests will i ncrease in the forthcoming budget year as the adverse
conditions pertaining to COVI D-19 will gradually i mprove. With regard to staffing, Mr. Chairman, there
are currently five vacant posts within the Civil Advisory
and Litigation Section of the Attorney General's
Chambers: one deputy solicitor general, one senior
crown counsel, one crow n counsel, one junior crown
counsel and one account officer. Recruitment for the
vacant posts of senior crown counsel, crown counsel
and junior crown counsel has commenced.
The current staffing levels of the Civil Advisory
Section are one solicitor genera l, one deputy solicitor
general, one senior crown counsel, six crown counsel,
one temporary additional crown counsel, one temporary additional junior crown counsel, two administr ative assistants and one paralegal to the Solicitor General, who is currently on secondment to the Depar tment of Child and Family Services.

For the benefit of the listening aud ience, we are listening to the Commi ttee of Supply for
further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2021/22 under the following
Heads: [87, 03, 04, 74, 88 and 75] are being debated under the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform.
And I have to inform you that in 10 minutes I
will yield the Chair to the MP from constituency 2.
You may continue.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
In the Drafting Section of Chambers, there is
one vacancy for an assistant parliamentary counsel
following the promotion in January 2020 of the prev ious post -holder, who successfully completed the five -
year training programme. The recruitment process for a new training drafter is on hold for budget reasons.
The succession planning will be challenged if w e cannot fill the post soon.
There are currently eight parliamentary counsel including the chief and deputy chief, and one assistant parliamentary counsel. In addition to these
dedicated lawyers who are responsible for drafting all
Government Bills and St atutory Instruments, the section is fortunate to have an excellent administrative
team comprising four persons, each of whom plays a
vital part in the timely production, publication and con-solidation of legislation.
With regard to Training and Development , Mr.
Chairman, the Attorney General's Chambers includes within its mandate the development of its professional
and administrative staff. Members of the Civil Advisory
and Administrative Section of Chambers attended training and personal development courses offered by
the Department of Human Resources. Members of the
1102 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Advisory Section also provided in- house presentations
on advisory and litigation matters. In addition, the A dvisory Section has biweekly council meetings to di scuss legal issues and to provide input to counsel who
currently have matters before the courts.
Mr. Chairman, one parliamentary counsel
studied International Maritime Conventions through an
online course offered by Maritime Training Academy,
in preparation for the International Maritime Organiz ation’s Triple III audit plans for 2021, at a cost of $800. Mr. Chairman, members of the Drafting Section at-tended various training and development webinars
and online training sessions in topics including
COVID -19 challenges to the rule of law, law reform,
data protection, resilience in management, all free.
The assistant parliamentary counsel continues to work
towards obtaining a drafting diploma offered online by the University of Athabasca in Canada at a cost of
approximately $9,000 over two- and-a-half years.
Members of the drafting team give in- house monthly
presentations and lead roundtable discussions on
drafting matters.
With regard to initiatives in the forthcoming
year, Mr. Chairman, for the Advisory Section a princ ipal focus will continue to be on development of Bermudians in Chambers, particularly in using senior
counsel to assist junior counsel and pupils with advice and guidance on advisory and litigation matters. The
Advisory Section intends to fill the vacant posts of junior crown counsel, senior crown counsel, crown counsel and the Accounts Officer post in the forthcoming
fiscal year.
Mr. Chairman, improving the personal development of staff will remain paramount by providing them the opportunity to attend training courses offered
by the Department of Human Resources. The Advis ory Section will continue to
• review contracts for the various ministries and
departments to aid the same in making better
decisions in contract negotiations;
• review the assignment of specific counsel to
provide advisory and litigation representation
to ministries and departments;
• seek to improve our case management sy stem to reduce our demand for paper r esources; and
• provide more in- house presentations by c ounsel on a variety of legal topics.
Mr. Chairman, with r egard to legislative draf ting staff in training, our principal focus will continue to
be on the development of Bermudians in legislative
drafting. Experienced drafters will continue to train and mentor the assistant parliamentary counsel so
that they will be able to draft independently. This is
essential for purposes of succession planning in this
very specialised area of law.
With regard to the legislative information
management system (which we call LIMS), legislation
is produced quickly and accurately using LIMS, which is customised for our Bermuda drafting style. This
combined with the important role of the Legislative
Editor has kept the number of errors and inconsiste ncies found in legislation during House and Senate d ebates to a minimum, thereby expediting the legislative process. The maintenance of LIMS is through a C anadian vendor who provides timely professional assi stance whenever necessary and regularly updates our software with the latest versions and technical support.
Mr. Chairman, it is inte nded to continue to
improve our database and to pose new laws within a week of enactment on the Bermuda Laws Online
website, which is www.bermudalaws.bm
, which is
hosted locally by Fireminds Ltd. Consolidation, whi ch
is the incorporation of amendments into existing laws,
is more time -consuming since the amendments are
checked by the drafter as well as the legislative dat abase manager. The goal, Mr. Chairman, is to continue
to complete the process within one month of the enactment of the amending legislation, which was
achieved in the last few years. To date we have reached the intended outcome of 95 per cent of enac ting.
Mr. Chairman, the output of the Drafting Section—over 200 Acts and Statutory Instruments in
2020 —while a third of which were urgent COVID -19related items, speaks directly to the value of this ded icated team. We anticipate no reduction in demand for legislation in 2021/22.
At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would like to
thank the Solicitor General Melvi n Douglas and his
team of counsel, and CPC [Chief Parliamentary Counsel] Cathryn Balfour -Swain and her team of
drafters for their sterling work during the period under
review. And that concludes, Mr. Chairman, that head,
Head 4.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And with that, Minister, we are considering
Legal Af fairs/Constitutional Reform Heads 87, 3, 4,
74, 75 and 88. Attorney General, you have the floor.
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
I will now move on to Head 74, which is the
Department of Court Services.



Bermuda House of Assembly HEAD 74 —DEPARTMENT OF COURT SERV ICES

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the current account estimate for Head 74— Department of
Court Services, begins on the particular page of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2021/22 which is not noted at this time, but we certainly will provide it in a minute if you will hold on.

No, B -100.
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Page B -100? Okay.
Thank you for that.
Mr. Chairman, a total of $4,656,000 has been
allocated to Head 74 within the Ministry of Legal A ffairs and Constitutional Reform. This amount repr esents a $71,000, or 2 per cent, decrease from the current 2020/21 fiscal year. The original estimates for
2020/21 were $4,727,000. And the estimate for
2021/22 is $4,656,000, which represents a decrease
of $71,000, or 2 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, the Court Services Depar tment’s (or DCS) budget disbursement is primarily comprises salaries for personnel and basic operatio nal expenses. The department plays the leading role in
the assessment, rehabilitation, supervision, monitoring, treatment and case management of offenders in the community who are subject to statutory orders.
Additionally, it delivers comprehensive assessments
[including] drug and alcohol screening and makes r eferrals to treatment agencies for all substance abusers
via the Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre
(which we call BARC). The manpower figures for the
Department of Court Services are on page B-101 of
the Estimates Book.
Mr. Chairman, the department has withstood
a very challenging 2020 in view of the worldwide health crisis due to the COVID -19/coronavirus. These
challenges have been compounded by economic hardships, lack of residential accom modation and varied tensions in the community. The global pandemic
only added to the myriad of complexities that our cl ients live with and have to function within. Some pervasive issues include, but are not limited to, unemployment, mental health issues, l ack of housing, mi suse of substances, parenting challenges, childhood
and adult trauma, anger issues, gang affiliations, cognitive deficits, ineffective role models, negative peer
influences, educational deficiencies or deficits, as well
as unsatisfactory leisure activities.
Whilst there has been a thrust to identify root
causes, there is no definitive community research in this regard. The department continues, Mr. Chairman, to operate seven cost centres within three distinct
programmes. The first is cost centre 7402, which is
Administration. The original estimate for this cost centre in 2020/21 was $1,415,000. The estimate for
2021/22 is $1,439,000, which represents an increase of $24,000, or 2 per cent.
Cost centre 84070 represents Court Services
Admini stration. Mr. Chairman, under that cost centre,
the budget for the administration unit is a 2 per cent
increase over the prior year. Salaries for senior management, technical and administrative support per-sonnel, totalling $784,000, constitute the majority of
the allocated funds. The remaining expenditure of
$655,000 covers building security, training, software
and electronics/technology, office cleaning, apprenticeship, counselling, operational equipment and supplies.
Mr. Chairman, this department has been utilising, on average, less than 50 per cent of the electronic
monitoring devices (or EMD’s) due to their use by the
courts, BPS [Bermuda Police Service] and the Parole
Board. A new contract will be entered into during this fiscal year for the sustained operational effectiveness
in using these devices across ministries.
Mr. Chairman, the Nightlight Programme
(which is curfew checks) has not been operable since
the beginning of the restrictive health protocols under shelter -in-place initiative to now. How ever, DCS co ntinues to ensure that both court, departmental , or Parole Board curfews are adhered to, as well as the I sland-wide Government curfews.
Mr. Chairman, departmental policies and pr ocedures remain under active revision for standardis ation of oper ations, data collection, and evolving eval uative methods . In addition, training to maintain certif ication standards related to sex [offenders] and violent
offenders is an ongoing process with an aim to pr omote a continuum of best practice care. Community
sentences under the remit of this department are life
changing and motivate offenders to re- examine their
behaviours, challenging them to alter their lifestyles
and behaviours and to confront the difficult and challenging issues that they face. Partnerships with stak eholder partners in wider criminal justice ventures r esult in all related fiscal interfaces being driven from existing budgets. Mr. Chairman, the specialist Treatment Court Programmes operated under this depar tment maintain effectiveness in meeti ng the needs of
participants and curbing their offending behaviours.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to cost centre
7401, which is the Case Management Unit, the orig inal estimate for 2020/21 was $1,354,000. The est imate for 2021/22 is $1,326,000, which represents a
decrease of $28,000, or 2 per cent. Mr. Chairman, the
Case Management Unit is overseen by a manager
and comprises the Drug Treatment Court Programme
[DTCP], Probation and Parole Teams. Cases are managed according to the assessed risks the offender
presents to the community and themselves, as well as
1104 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly planning to meet their varied needs. Personnel within
the unit give representation on several interagency
committees or groups. The aim is to enhance collaborative efforts and communications, promote traini ng
and generate data collection.
The 2021/22 budget allocations will be di spersed in the following three cost centres: Cost centre
84010 represents Probation Services. The original
estimate under this cost centre for 2020/21 was
$507,000. For 2021/22 the estimate is $492,000,
which represents a decrease of $15,000, or 3 per cent. Mr. Chairman, the Probation Team oversees
probation orders, which are robust, and challenges
offenders to change their offending behaviours and
lifestyles. This is reinforced through office and field visits, as well as contacts with significant others to
ascertain a more accurate synopsis of the clients’
functioning and responses to supervision. Due to
COVID -19 restrictions, the number of offenders under
supervision has declined. H owever, as the restrictions
have been loosened, the numbers have begun to i ncrease again.
The largest expenditure for the Probation
Team in the last year is $8,000 for counselling services. These monies are used to cover outsourced
therapeutic services to clients who have special assessed needs which do not meet the expertise of
team members. Office supplies such as paper costs,
as well as printer ink and toner, are covered by $1,500
in this vote. Telephone costs of $6,200 are incurred by
staff who utilise cell phones to enhance safety on
homes, employment and curfew checks. Additionally,
clients’ communication with officers is done by a phone app to supplement office visits and the afor ementioned checks, and to have electronic backup of
communication for t he clients, who are less than i ngenuous in following officers’ requests.
Mr. Chairman, the allocated Probation Services budget of $492,000 is broken down as follows:
• $476 ,000 for employee expenses, or salaries ;
• other operational expenses of $16,000 includ e
cell [phone] usage, assessment materials and
outsourced treatment services if required.
Mr. Chairman, successful delivery of the Pr obation Team’s services in the upcoming year wil l include more accurate data analysis and refined site visits to observe offenders in their environments. This
will assist officers in mitigating risk needs levels and
responses.
With regard to cost centre 84020, which is
Parole Services, the original estimate for 2020/21 was
$409,000, and for 2021/22 it is $395,000, which re presents a decrease of $14,000, or 3 per cent. Mr.
Chairman, individuals released on early conditional
release from the correctional facilities, by the Parole
Board, are supervised for the duration of their sen-tences under the supervision of an officer from the
Parole Team. The allocated Parole Services budget of
$395,000 is broken down as follows: • $382 ,000 to cover employee expenses and
salaries; and
• $13,000 for operational expenses.
To promote the successful delivery of Parole
Services, Mr. Chairman, gang- related and other high -
risk parolees were required to wear electronic monitoring devices [EMDs]. This ensured that identified
persons refrained from visiting high- risk places and
limited the degree to which high- risk individuals were
able to associate with each other, which proved effective.
Mr. Chairman, there are currently 68 individuals on parole, and the conditions of their respective orders vary according to their need of supervision
coupled with the risks that they pose to themselves
and others. Mr. Chairman, counselling services in this
vote serve the same purposes as the aforementioned
reasons for probation, the amount being $8,000 as to
telephone and office supplies, which amount to
$4,980 and $2,000, respectively.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 84080 represents
Drug Treatment Court Programmes. The original es-timate for 2020/21 was $438,000. The estimate for
2021/22 is $439,000, which represents an increase of
$1,000, which is a zero per cent increase. Mr. Chai rman, the Drug Treatment Court Programme [D TCP]
remains the leading model for a team approach to
offender supervision. Four persons graduated from
the programme in the past year. The team maintained
quick response times to client noncompliance and
facilitated the transition of clients across levels within
the treatment continuum.
The number of offenders convicted of driving
under the influence (DUI offences) continues to i ncrease with a finite operational structure under con-sideration. At present there are 19 individuals in the
DUI stream, with an additional three on observation.
Three persons graduated out of this stream. Mr.
Chairman, Drug Treatment’s money for the current
budget year entailed many of the same object codes
as the aforementioned probation and parole. Additionally, the repair and maintenance budget for $7,500
would be used for the office equipment, namely, the
printers. Food supplies of $600 are used to support
the graduation of clients in the DTC [Drug Treatment Court] Programme. This current year the drivingunder -the-influence str eam of the Drug Treatment
Court has added to the number of graduations, as well
as paper supplies and office supplies to cover added
reports.
Mr. Chairman, the $439,000 budget allocation
for the Drug Treatment Court Programme is distribut-ed for the rehabi litation of offenders whose offending
is directly attributable to their substance abuse and
includes urinalysis assessments, counselling, and
drug- specific programmes. Private psychological and
counselling services address issues that contribute to
the off enders’ use of substances. The majority of
these funds for the DTC represent salaries in the


Bermuda House of Assembly amount of $390,000. The remaining $49,000 covers
operational [expenses], as well as assessment and
treatment services for the programme. In essence, Mr.
Chairman, this has enabled offenders whose su bstance misuse contributed to their offending to be afforded treatment, and upon completion of the pr ogramme their index offence can be expunged.
Mr. Chairman, during the next financial year
the Case Management Unit over all proposes promoting officer well -being and exerted more focus on reassessment of clients as main objectives. Perfor-mance measures have been revised with the health
and travel restrictions for future outcomes, and rev ision and enforcement of standards w ill ensure effective enforcement of the requirements of statutory orders to hold offenders to account.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 7403 represents
the Assessment and Treatment Unit. And under that
cost centre, the original estimate for 2020/21 is
$1,958,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $1,891,000,
which is a decrease of $67,000, or 3 per cent. Mr. Chairman, the Assessment and Treatment Unit of the
Department of Court Services provides accurate and
comprehensive assessments, reports and treatment
programmes t hat identify risks and criminogenic factors that clients pose to the community. These interventions guide service delivery and assist in reducing relapse rates.
The 18 personnel function under the direction
of the unit manager. Mr. Chairman, the unit’s three
teams, each under the supervision of a coordinator,
operate under three cost centres. Regulation of its
operational procedures remains a priority in this unit.
Now I will pause, Mr. Chairman, to
acknowledge the presence of Marva- Jean O’Brien,
who is t he Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of
Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform, who has graced us with her presence tonight —I am going to
say this evening.
Now I will continue, Mr. Chairman, to cost
centre 84030, which represents Aftercare and Communi ty Integration Service. The original estimate under this cost centre for 2020/21 is $335,000. And the
estimate for 2021/22 is $316,000, which represents a
decrease of $19,000, or 6 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, this programme includes
Community Service Orders [ CSO] and the Mental
Health Treatment Court Programme [MHTCP], con-sisting of two officers supervised by the coordinator.
Mr. Chairman, during the past fiscal year offenders
were sentenced to a total of 3,930 hours of community
service hours by the courts, w ith 30 per cent of the
hours completed. Numbers for completion rates have
been uncharacteristically low, as our usual stakehol ders who provide placements for most of our CSO cl ients have been unable to [assist], due to the strengt hened health restrictions which do not allow for hiring of
outside individuals to come into vulnerable communities to complete work hours. Mr. Chairman, during this current budget year
funds expanded included $7,500 for supplies for the Community Service Work Programme. Notably, t ools
were needed to complete landscaping work for retir ement homes, seniors and community agencies which are non- profit. Additionally, Mr. Chairman, materials
such as safety vests and extra -large construction garbage bags, et cetera, were also utilised.
Mr. Chairman, the Mental Health Court has a
staffing [meeting] each week and reports on every client it provided for the team. This means a minimum of a half -dozen reports totalling weekly. The asses sment materials budget of $12,500 was utilised to purchase assessment materials to ensure best practice
levels of assessment are maintained. It is also utilised
to ensure a lesser volume of offences perpetrated by
clients can be assessed using the correct tools to en-sure the most accurate and definitive treatment recommendations.
Mr. Chairman, the Mental Health Treatment
Court Programme is a valuable programme for indi-viduals who come into the criminal justice system with diagnosed and treatable mental health issues. There
were 23 new referrals this year, the sam e as the last
reporting period. One significant challenge is the in ability for clients to access the relevant residential
treatment services required. Over the last reporting
period, approximately 70 per cent of the 23 clients were homeless or in inadequat e or precarious housing
situations.
Mr. Chairman, significant activities for the upcoming fiscal year include to continue to explore res idential and dual diagnosis options for clients with
mental health challenges. This is a dire need, as we
will ultimate ly be unsuccessful if we cannot meet the
basic needs of an individual. Adequate residential and
mental health treatment options remain a priority. As a
result, we continue working collectively with other mi nistries toward this end, in addition to enhancing skills
building.
The salary estimate is $290,000. The additional outlay of $26,000 is for specialised mental
health and vocational assessments, vehicle fuel,
maintenance of programme equipment and cell
phones.
Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to cost centre 84040, which is the Community Based Pr ogrammes Team. The original estimate under this cost centre for 2020/21 is $494,000. The estimate for
2021/22 is $480,000, which is a decrease of $14,000,
or 3 per cent. (Please excuse me, Mr. Chairman.)

The Chai rman: And we are considering the Depar tment of Court Services at this time with the Attorney
General [and Minister] of Legal Affairs and Constit utional Reform, Heads 87, 3, 4, 74, 75 and 88. There are four hours allocated for this debate. It started at 4:21 pm. It will continue on to 8:21 pm. We are just
waiting for the Attorney General to return.
1106 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly [Pause]

Yes. Okay. Thank you.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: The original estimate for
2020/21 was $494,000. As I was saying, the estimate
for 2021/22 is $480,000, which is a decrease of $14,000, or 3 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, the Community -Based Pr ogrammes Team continues to deliver accredited pr ogrammes to high- risk offenders such as sex and vi olent offenders. The team was drastically short -staffed
for the majority of the year. The team composition is three senior probation officers (specialists) over seen
by a psychologist/coordinator. Some of the outcomes
for the team are highlighted:
1. Programmes Team to offer at least 12 offending behaviour groups. Outcome: This was decreased
due to restrictions due to the health pandemic. Prior to
the beginning of shelter in place, DCS was offering eight groups with several more scheduled. Since the
loosening of restrictions, the number of groups has
fluctuated between five and seven. This ensures
maintaining social distancing protocols and other
means to promote the safety and wellbeing of clients
and officers.
2. Maintain overall client attendance rates (individual and group sessions) of 70 per cent. Outcome: The group attendance, Mr. Chairman, has been at 50
per cent for the year, with number and space r estrictions ad versely affecting the ability to offer more
and/or larger groups. Not factoring in the period of having restrictions, the group average is at 65 per
cent.
3. During the current year, Mr. Chairman, despite [being] chronically short [staffed], often due to
the specialisation of the team and the pandemic, the
staff in this team continues to deliver services.
The reasoning for expenditures for most of the
object codes is nearly identical to the previous team’s expenditures, as mentioned previously in this brief.
Mr. Chairman, expenditures in counselling
services of $7,500; session materials, $8,000; and stationery, supplies for printing and forms and client
appointment forms are the same as the other teams in
the department. Mr. Chairman, objectives are accomplished through the financial disbursement of
$480,000. Clinical expenses, operational and training expenses amounted to $37,000. The majority of the funds covered salaries totalling $443,000.
Mr. Chairman, during the upcoming year, the
team will increase and monitor its referral dates, outline criteria for ongoing evaluative and training regime,
and that is it.
And the cost centre 84060, which is the A ssessment Team, Mr. Chairman, the original estimate
for 2020/21 was $1,129,000. And the estimate for
2021/22 is $1,095,000, which represents a decrease
of $34,000, or 3 per cent. Mr. Chairman, the Asses sment and Treatment Team consisting of the report -
writing and the Bermuda Assessment and Referral
Centres are—teams compile timely, comprehensive
and succinct reports and assessments to aid in the
referrals and the disposition of cases.
Mr. Chairman, the Report Writing Team had a
total of 147 reports for the calendar year. It is noted that, unlike the last reporting period, fewer offenders
are declining parole, hence a decrease. Even taking in
community restrictions, it is fewer in number than the previous reporting period.
Mr. Chairman, both the RWT and the BARC
share––these two teams write the report for all of the
treatment courts. The DTC, including DUI track and
MHTCP [Mental Health Treatment Court Programme],
along with the Magistrate’s Court, Supreme Court and
the Parole Board. Mr. Chairman, additionally, BARC
[Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre] reports go to either the referring agency as well as any tr eatment agencies the client has been assessed as nee ding.
Mr. Chairman, on average, both teams co mbine for approximately 20,000 pages of reports ann ually. The resources such as paper, ink and toner needed to complete this are taken out of the office
suppl ies vote of $7,000. The repairs allocation fund is
$8,300 and is utilised consistently. The last fiscal year
a new photocopier was purchased. Mr. Chairman,
assessment tools for BARC and RWT come out of the
assessment materials vote, and tools such as the HCR-20 Level Service- Case [Management] Inventory,


Bermuda House of Assembly drug and alcohol assessment, as well as other offence- specific assessments.
In 2020 some of the $9,000 budget allocation
was to be utilised by BARC on purchasing a more upto-date assessment tool for alcoho l and drug asses sments, as well as tools to assess clients charged with
driving under the influence (or DUI). Additionally, they
are being proactive in trying to secure assessment
tools for use with persons who have gambling issues.
The acquisition of thes e tools was postponed due to
the pandemic; however, the schedule has been reactivated.
Mr. Chairman, there were six reports compiled
on gang members, which was down 50 per cent over the preceding year. DCS remains an active participant on the Gang Task F orce with an aim of strategically
working with this client’s profile.
Mr. Chairman, the BARC Team met direct
challenges aggressively and conducted a total of 119
reports in the past year. During the shelter in place
period, BARC completed more than 30 ass essments
electronically that resulted in treatment referrals. The
length of time for clients to enter into treatment r emains a challenge of the department. Mr. Chairman,
this comprises persons who are mentally ready for
treatment, yet [are] having their entrance into treatment programmes delayed. In light of the barriers fac-ing getting clients into treatment, BARC began ind ividual therapeutic interventions to bridge the gap.
Of the 64 clients referred for residential treatment, only 3 entered into the resi dential treatment f acilities. Of note, an additional officer met the BARC certification criteria and is now an internationally cert ified alcohol and drug counsellor. This means that currently 75 per cent of BARC’s team members have
earned the ICADC [Intern ational Certified Alcohol and
Drug Counselor] certification, and the remaining team
members are completing a doctoral degree. Mr.
Chairman, salaries for the 11 personnel aggregate to
$1,048,000. The residual $47,000 allows for asses sment materials, operati onal repairs and supplies, cell
phones, local training and journals. The budget year 2021/22 initiatives include to explore an additional assessment tool to enhance treatment for substance
abusers.
Mr. Chairman, the department forecasted in
the upcoming f iscal year funding will be utilised for
certification of some officers in targeted interventions such as trauma and substance issues, as these will
assist in targeting root causes of behaviours and ascertaining criminogenic needs. This, as shared, will
mitigate costs in utilising private or outsourced services.
Mr. Chairman, ongoing professional development is critical for officers in this department as more astute analysis of offenders’ risks is being applied. Several virtual trainings in this budget year were ut ilised to ensure that professional development conti nues. Courses in contrasted standards such as the C a-nadian Correctional Institute, as well as UK -based
instructors ensure that ongoing professional standards were met. Mr. Chairman, with the team having an allotment for training, instruction best suited to the needs and tasks of the team were secured and ut ilised. This also promotes compliance to specific international best practice standards, as well as the safety
of officers.
Mr. Chairman, enhancement of standards
coupled with operational procedures will be further
expanded and re- evaluated in the upcoming year. The
training curriculum was interrupted, and new opport unities are being sourced to coincide with international
trainers’ ability to ado pt virtual methods of instruction.
Such tools include the Level of Service Inventory and
Case Management goals and objectives. This will be
implemented this fiscal year and will coincide with forward job plans and future performance appraisals.
Mr. Chairm an, in these challenging and ec onomically stringent and prudent times, this year’s
budget for the Department of Court Services provides
the framework to sustain programmes and services at a level which can meet the needs of the varied client
base at a mini mum , notwithstanding, the best practice
levels will be achieved utilising all resources at its di sposal. It is most challenging with the lack of supportive
services such as residential options and dual diagn osis programmes and services.
Mr. Chairman, in r ecognising that offending
and other negative societal issues and problems will
not be eradicated completely, the efficacy and integr ity of the department is supported by using motivational endeavours with clients and their significant others.
The department’s treatment, assessment, account ability and rehabilitation regimes continue to lessen the
effects of offending and the impact of associated risks
on the community.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Okay, Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Chairman—

Yes. Continue on.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, staff and challenging behaviours in clients are often met with resistance in cha llenging behaviours. They use their tools and competencies to motivate, transform behaviours and hold
these individuals t o account. Officers conduct curfew
checks visit homes and attend events in the community to monitor clients. They also use electronic means to augment supervision tactics to ensure efficient and
effective use of pertinent methods to maximise the
rehabilitative process. Mr. Chairman, these respons ibilities present safety and health risks, yet officers are
dedicated to transforming lives and deterring future
offending or relapse. Some offenders view community supervision as being onerous and seek less restric tive
1108 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly sentences or opt to serve the remainder of their terms
in incarceration.
Mr. Chairman, the Offender Risk Management
Team, thrust by the Criminal Code Amendment 2018
(the sex offender’s management) is operational, and work remains in progress to better manage, monitor
and assist sex and violent offenders through this accountability framework. The team oversees eight individuals at present and supports the oversight of others
who may be subjected to supervision.
Mr. Chairman, the Nightlight Programme, the
curfew regime, has not been operational due to the health restrictions imposed by the global pandemic.
Once restrictions were relaxed, the department team
went out in threes to carry out this function. The BPS still provides support, and probation offi cers need to
meet high- risk clients in the community at night, or the
checks need to be completed in areas which are da ngerous, or when the community events raise the
threat levels for the officers.
Mr. Chairman, the department has embraced
new initiative s, developed increased physical r esources for several years. We acknowledge the hard
work of the department’s officers and support personnel, who work collaboratively with partners to further
validate the protection of the community.
Mr. Chairman, this en ds my presentation on
Head 74, the Department of Court Services, and high-lights the operational use of its expenditure. I would
like to take a brief moment to thank all of the perso nnel in this department including the Director of Court
Services, who face the risks. And that is Gina Hurst -
Maybury, who is my Acting Permanent Secretary —
who face the risks and challenges with the job with determination, commitment and resourcefulness to
help ensure the safety of the community and the r ehabilitation of the clients. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Minister. You may conti nue.

HEAD 75 —DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
PROSECUTIONS

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the mi ssion statement for the Department of Public Prosec utions is to provide Bermuda with an independent, eff icient and effective criminal prosecution service wit hout fear or favour, based on the rule of law. The following are the objectives for the Department of Public
Prosecutions:
1. to promote the fair, transparent and efficient
prosecution of criminal offences consistent
with lawful authority and subject to established guidelines and t o safeguard the actual ity and the perception of prosecutorial ind ependence;
2. to promote high standards and principles in
the administration of criminal justice, including procedures to guard against or address mi scarriages of justice in support of the rule of law;
3. to carry out prosecutorial functions impartially, assisting the courts to arrive at the truth and to do justice between the community, the vi ctim and t he accused according to law and the
dictates of fairness;
4. to promote good relations between individual
prosecutors, policing and other agencies wit hin the criminal justice system to facilitate the
exchange and dissemination among them of
information, exper tise and experience, and to
that end to encourage the use of information
technology; and
5. to maintain a team of highly competent admi nistrative professionals to carefully handle the day-to-day responsibilities of the department
with great detail and confidentiality, which is a
critical and substantial element in helping
prosecutors fulfil their mandate.
Mr. Chairman, 2020/21 has been a year of
change for the Department of Public Prosecutions [DPP]. Like the rest of the Island and the world, the
department ha d to adjust its purposes to meet the
challenges of the global pandemic. The department
was unable to conduct jury trials for a seven- month
period which left the department with 42 indictments
to be tried at the beginning of January 2021.
Throughout the she lter in place, prosecutors conduc ted court hearings remotely from the homes in an effort
to reduce the overall unforeseen impact of COVID -19
on the criminal justice system.
Mr. Chairman, 88 per cent of the department’s
2020/21 budget was spent on salaries and allowan ces. The remainder of the allocated budget, approx imately $350,000, was spent as follows: 26 per cent
was spent on consultants to support the department in specific cases where legal conflict arose; 11 per cent
was spent on office supplies; 10 per cent was spent to
pay Bermudian law students who were on Island due
to COVID -19 restrictions to scan the department’s
files into the case management system in an effort to
become a paperless office; 10 per cent was spent on
training; 7 per cent was spent on storage costs; 7 per
cent was spent on professional fees and member-ships; 5 per cent was spent on legal text and online
research tool subscriptions; 5 per cent was spent on
court costs; 4 per cent was spent on enhanced clea ning procedures due to the C OVID -19 pandemic; 2 per
cent was spent on personal protective equipment for
the department staff to protect themselves when they
went to court; and the remaining 13 per cent was
spent on communications and security costs.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to the current account expenditure, the original estimate for 2020/21
was $3,444,000. The estimate for 2021/22 is $2,961,000 which represents a decrease of $483,000,
or 14 per cent.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, the current account expenditure estimates for Head 75, Department of Public
Prosecutions, begins on page B -105 of the Estimates
of Revenue and Expenditure Book. A total of $2,961,000 has been allocated to the Department of Public Prosecutions which includes its Witness Care
Unit which represents a decrease of $483,000, as I
just said, or 14 per cent from the original estimates.
With regard to the Public Prosecutions, Mr.
Chairman, $2,860,000 has been allocated to the department of Public Prosecutions on its own, which rep-resents a decrease of $477,000, or 15 per cent from
fiscal year 2020/21. The decrease is mainly due to
salaries being prorated for a 10 per cent cut up to July
2021. Also, there was no need to fund a temporary
additional crown counsel post which has been funded
in the current year. Lastly, the deputy direc tor post will
not be funded for one year.
Mr. Chairman, criminals are known for their
criminality, and there has been an increase in sens itive and complex prosecutions. Like last year, the m ajority of the budget for the department relates to sal aries and a llowances. Money has again been allocated
to the department to fund consultants to support the
department in specific cases where legal conflict may
arise.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to the Witness
Care Unit, $150,000 has been allocated, which repr esents a decrease of 4 per cent for fiscal year 2021/22
over the previous year. The decrease is due to less
office supplies budgeted for. The overall administr ative responsibility of the Witness Care Unit befalls to
the deputy director administration. Under his di rection
the senior crown counsel administration has immediate responsibility of daily management of the unit.
Mr. Chairman, the Witness Care Unit was i mplemented in December 2008 with the aim of improving the experiences of civilians by offering support to
them within the criminal justice system. This assisted in increasing the number of civilian witnesses who
attended court to give evidence, and also aided in r educing the number of trials which had to be forfeited
by the prosecution due to civilian witness nonattendance at trials.
Mr. Chairman, the Witness Care Unit consists
of two dedicated witness care officers who act as a sole intermediary contact between civilian witnesses
and the prosecutors. The officers arrange the pre-trial
meetings between witnes ses and prosecutors, identify
any peculiar circumstances that the prosecutor might
not be aware of, offer ongoing support to witnesses
and keep them updated on the progress of the matter that they are involved in.
Mr. Chairman, since the implementation of the
Witness Care Unit there has been a vast improvement in the number of civilian witnesses who have attended either the Magistrates’ or the Supreme Court to give
evidence in criminal trials. Upwards of 15,000 wi tnesses have received the benefit of this s ervice and the impact this has had both on the criminal justice
system and the community at large is immeasurable.
The officers continue to receive positive feedback
from civilians they have assisted in criminal trials.
Mr. Chairman, during the upcoming year, the
department intends to publish a victim charter, set out what victims of crime should expect throughout their
experience within the criminal justice system. It will
also outline what advice, support and practical information they can receive.

We are considering the Heads 87, 3,
4, 74, 75 and 88, Legal Affairs and Constitutional R eform.
The Attorney General has the floor.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
With regard to performance measures, during
the fiscal year 2 020/21, notwithstanding the pandemic, the Department of Public Prosecutions handled
approximately 375,000 criminal cases in the Magi strates’ Court. There are also approximately 6,000 traffic cases completed during the financial year. Unfort unately, the Supreme Court trials were the most affec ted by the pandemic with only three trials completed
and a total of 13 cases disposed of.
With regard to staffing, Mr. Chairman, under
the direction of the Director of Public Prosecutions there is a complement of 14 counsel. However, currently, there are two vacant posts. All counsel are engaged in prosecution of offences and appear, when appropriate, in the Magistrates’ Court, Family Court,
Treatment Court , (this Drug Court is inclusive of DUI
[trials]), Mental Health Treatment Court, Supreme
Court, Bermuda Court of Appeal, and the Privy Council.
The prosecutors also provide legal advice to
the police, Government Ministries and departments on
matters relating to offences. Additional staff includes
one manager of finance and administration, one litigation manager, five administrative assistants, and one
receptionist. In addition, the department employs the
two Witness Care officers previously mentioned.
Mr. Chairman, on the 4
th of December 2020,
Ms. Cindy Clarke was appoi nted the first Bermudian
female Director of Public Prosecutions. Ms. Clarke is a
long-serving public officer having joined the Depar tment of Public Prosecutions in August 1999, notably,
as a pupil in the Ministry’s Pupillage Programme. During the past financial year, Ms. Lisa Trott, Crown
Counsel Junior Grade; Ms. Yanique Gardner -Browne ,
Crown Counsel Specialist commenced employment
with the department. Ms. Javone Rogers was also
promoted to Crown Counsel.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Public Prosecutions continues to work toward becoming a paperless office. In 2021/22 all staff will be equipped with tablets or laptops so that all can continue to make ef1110 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly fective use of the electronic case management system
remotely. This supports the overall trajectory in the
public service as it moves toward a paperless system.
We continue to work with the Bermuda Police Service
to receive their files electronically and then to serve disclosure on the Defence Counsel, or even those
defendants who are self -represented, elec tronically.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to training, the D epartment of Public Prosecution continues to uphold its
mandate to train Bermudian prosecutors as successors as successors for all positions. The department
was able to hold two training sessions dur ing the past
year utilising remote learning opportunities. In
2021/22, the Department of Public Prosecutions i ntends to host two major training sessions for all Members of staff including both counsel and administrative
staff. The aim of the training sessi ons will fit into the
new strategic vision of the department. This will pr omote a more positive impact on the community with
the department’s role in the justice system.
With regard to working with other agencies,
Mr. Chairman, the DPP's office works with other departments and entities such as the Defence Bar, Legal
Aid, Court Services and the Attorney General’s
Chambers. Their cooperation throughout the past and
into the upcoming year is vital for the proper functio ning of the criminal justice system. Results have been
noteworthy to date. The DPP's office, Mr. Chairman,
receives most of its cases for prosecution from the
Bermuda Police Service [BPS]. The department extends its thanks to the BPS for their high- quality inve stigations and expertise in solving serious crimes, as
well as to the Police Court Liaison Unit for their en dless work in getting thousands of case files to the
DPP's office and into the courts.
The DPP's office also facilitated training for
the Department of Environment and Natural R esourc es, Parks, Waste Management, Planning, and
the Bermuda Regiment. These entities have enforc ement and investigative roles, and this training provi ded them the guidance and tools to be more effective in
these roles.
Mr. Chairman, with respect to guidance for
police cautions, the department continues to try to
steer people away from the criminal justice system in
order to mitigate people receiving convictions for m inor matters. The Director of Public Prosecutions pr eviously had issued guidance to the Bermuda Police
Service pursuant to section 36A of the Police and
Criminal Evidence Act to allow them to exercise their
discretion to give cautions to offenders for a range of
minor offences that could end up in the Magistrate’s Court. Therefore, people who may hav e made a
wrong decision on the lower end of criminality have
the opportunity to have a caution in lieu of conviction.
They can therefore get on with their lives in a produc-tive manner. However, persistent offenders in serious
matters will be prosecuted in accordance with the
Code of Conduct when prosecuting such cases. During the upcoming year, Mr. Chairman, the
department plans to update the guidance to include
more classes of offences just as they have done this
past fiscal year. Just as they have done t his past fiscal
year, Mr. Chairman, the department will spend its allocation judiciously. Training will be limited to local or
remote undertakings. It is projected that the percentages for expenditures aimed at programmes and services such as cleaning and PPEs, legal and professional fees, as well as resource materials will align
with similar percentages arrived at over this past r eporting period and mentioned previously in this brief.
With regard to future events, Mr. Chairman,
the intention is to continue the work undertaken over the last few years to develop all members of the department so that the Department of Public Prosec utions continues to offer an excellent service to the
people of Bermuda. Mr. Chairman, the new Director of
Public Prosecutions has shared her strategic vision for
the department. The way forward for the department in the upcoming budget year is as follows:
1. to ensure quality assurance and where
possible standardise prosecution pr ocesses to achieve consistent and high
standards of tria l preparation and appearances;
2. to develop the capacity to record, analyse
and report on performance and financial data to support organisational reviews,
resource allocation, budget planning and
priority setting;
3. to reinforce the department’s role, r espons ibility and expectations regarding
the service provided to victims by deve loping and promoting a victim’s charter;
4. to train our staff on conferencing and communicating with victims, witnesses,
and bereaved family members;
5. to strengthen accountability and t ransparency by developing and communicating Department of Public Prosecutions compliant processes; and lastly
6. to deliver legal services within the fram ework that supports strong providence,
professional capability and staff well -
being.

Mr. Chairman, I congratulate the new [Director] of the Department of Public Prosecutions, Ms.
Cindy Clarke, on her recent appointment and thank all
of the staff of this department as they unwaveringly uphold their duties.
This ends my brief for Head 75. Thank you,

Yes, I will share with our colleagues
and the listening audience that this debate started at
4:21 pm; there were four hours allocated. Heads 87,
3, 4, 74, 88, and 75. Head 88 remains. I turn to the
Attorney Gene ral to go Head 88. This debate concludes in about one hour.
Continue on, Minister.

HEAD 88 —DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL
DRUG CONTROL

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I will now present the fiscal year 2021/22 current
account estimates for Hea d 88, which is the Depar tment of National Drug Control, which can be found
page B -107 of the Estimates Book.
In fiscal year 2021/22, the department has
been allocated the sum of $4,292,000 which is
$126,000, or 3 per cent decrease from fiscal year
2020/21.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of National
Drug Control plays a key role in the Ministry of Legal
Affairs and Constitutional Reform with respect to ad-dressing one of the foremost social issues affecting
Bermuda today —substance misuse and abuse.
Under th e National Drug Control Act 2013, the
department provides leadership and policy coordina-tion for the planning, development, implementation
and evaluation of a comprehensive national system of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (also known as
ATOD prevention) treatment and rehabilitation services. In its leadership role in the national drug control
effort, including supply reduction and demand reduction efforts, the DNDC coordinates with other agencies. The DNDC is also responsible for establishing
targets and standards for performance for initiatives
supporting the National Drug Control Master Plan.
Consequently, the mission of the department is to lead efforts to reduce the negative impact of drug
misuse or abuse on children and families. The department’s obj ectives for 2021/22 are as follows:
a) to increase awareness of DNDC services and
initiatives utilising targeted media campaigns;
b) provide research data on the negative impact of cannabis misuse/abuse on young people and adjust or implement demand reduction
programmes as indicated;
c) improve customer satisfaction for the DNDC
drug treatment and drug prevention services;
d) identify critical leadership to oversee the i mplementation of priority actions within the N ational Drug Control Master Plan to ensure
success of the five- year plan.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of National
Drug Control manages and administers the grant funds to private agencies providing prevention and
treatment services, as well as a budget for core administration functions. This includes drug pr evention,
drug treatment, community development and research policy initiatives. Funds are also allocated to assist in the implementation of action plans of the National
Drug Control Master Plan.
Mr. Chairman, the department employs 27
staff. The department headquarters is presently staffed by a director, five technical officers, and one
full-time administrative staff. Direct staffing support to
the Nelson Bascome [Centre for] Substance Abuse
facility is provided by one treatment coordinator that
oversees both the male and female residential treatment programmes along with 19 clinical staff. They
are clinical coordinators, addiction counsellors, junior
addiction counsellors and an addiction counsellor technician, and supports posts which include admini strative assistant, cook, and maintenance currently assigned to the Women’s Treatment Centre and the
Men’s Treatment Centre programme. There are currently four vacancies within the treatment programmes that are in active recruitment with the plan to fill from
within the department following numerous unsucces sful recruitments locally and overseas.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to provide an
analysis by business units of the Budget Estimates for
the Department of National Drug Control for the fiscal year 2021/22 compared to the fiscal year ending
2020/21.
Administration provides the organisational
framework in support of the mission and mandate of
the DNDC. Its resources are aimed primarily at current
expenditure and grants and contributions to the treatment and prev ention partners that provide services for
and on behalf of the department. Mr. Chairman, the
administration allocation of $1,021,000 is $123,000, or
11 per cent less than the 2020/21 allocation. The
budget covers employee salaries and other oper ational exp enses, such as facilities, utilities, maint enance costs, supplies and training and grants. The 11
per cent decrease represents a decrease of funding
for overseas training, travel and a reduction in grants.
The Department of National Drug Control is
establi shed in part as a service delivery unit but cannot provide all of the needed services required within
the community. The DNDC depends greatly on pr ocuring services in the treatment and prevention areas
through grant allocations to realise its mandate.
• PRID E provides evidence- based life skills
programming within some of the primary
schools to support drug education and drug
prevention.
• Salvation Army provides residential drug
treatment and community life skills programming for 10 males.
• Focus Counselling provides transitional or
supportive housing for up to 28 persons r ecovering.
1112 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly These individuals have participated in the
primary drug treatment at any of the treatment facil ities, such as prison, hospital, inpatient or outpatient
services to assist in reint egrating them back into the
community as productive citizens, thus improving the
number of individuals maintaining a drug- free lifestyle.
The highlighted agencies have provided an i ntegral part of the drug prevention and drug treatment continuum of servic es for Bermuda for many decades
in collaboration with the Department for National Drug Control. You can see on page C -17 where the
Grants/Contributions appear in the Budget Book.
I now move to cost centre 98010 on page B -
107, which represents Community De velopment
Mr. Chairman, the allocation for the Community Development business unit is $271,000, which is a
$2,000, or 1 per cent, increase to the allocation for
fiscal year 2020/21. The 1 per cent increase is in funding for promotions. Funding is allocated to facilitate
activities that are primarily targeted toward public e ducation, community development, information dissem-ination and to support the grant to the Council on A lcohol and Drug Abuse, also known as CADA. The reference to that is page C -17 under Grants and Contributions. The goal of this unit is to educate the public
about the harms of alcohol and drug use to ensure the
provision of clear and sustained messages to our young people that no use of alcohol, tobacco or other
drug is acceptable and to involve families and schools
and community organisations in alcohol and drug pr evention efforts.
CADA works in collaboration with the Depar tment of National Drug Control to provide community education on alcohol misuse as well as to provide the
server tra ining programme, also known as TIPS,
which is mandated within the Liquor Licensing
Amendment Act 2011. A grant of $100,000 is allocated to CADA to support these activities.
Other initiatives for the Community Development Unit are to assist in highlighting drunk/drug dri ving and road safety initiatives through public education
and to continue awareness campaigns directed at u nderage drinking, adolescent drug use that includes
alcohol and cannabis, and emerging drugs such as
fentanyl. The maj ority of the promotion in advertising
funds for the upcoming fiscal year 2021/22 will be
used to launch the cannabis public education campaign focused primarily on adolescents.
Mr. Chairman, I now turn to cost centre 98020
on page B -107, which is Preventi on. An allocation of
$220,000 is provided to support the Prevention unit’s
efforts in business unit 98020. This is a $7,000, or 3 per cent reduction from the 2020/21 allocation. The
3 per cent decrease is a reduction in travel expenses.
Funds in this business unit are utilised to improve coverage of drug prevention measures within the community to improve opportunities for school -based
prevention interventions and to increase access to young people to targeted prevention programmes. Funding is also utilised to support the impl ementation of a National School Drug Policy and for training prevention professionals and community
members to support drug prevention efforts. The Pr evention unit facilitates the Team Peace programme
operating in four public schools and also supports the
implementation and integration of the Al’s Pals pr ogramme at the preschool and primary 1 and 2 levels.
Funding is allocated within the business unit to support facilitators and to purchase resources to sustain
these programmes.
Mr. Chairman, the Team Peace programme
includes the utilisation of the Botvin LifeSkills drug
prevention curriculum along with Adventure Educ ation. Both are evidenced -based programmes with
proven positive outcomes among students for making
healthy choices. The programme saw 50 students participate over the 2020/21 school year across four
public schools. This programme has not operated
since March 2020 due to COVID -19 restrictions. N egotiations are ongoing with the Ministry of Education
to restart the programme wi thin COVID -19 guidelines.
Approximately $65,000 is spent on this programme to
purchase supplies and pay programme facilitators
annually. However, due to the COVID -19 the majority
of this funding was not utilised in the 2020/21 fiscal
year.
Mr. Chairman, t he Al’s Pals programme has
continued in collaboration with the Department of E ducation with the majority of public and private pr eschool teachers and P1 and P2 teachers in public
schools continuing to provide the programming in their classrooms. Al’s Pals is also an evidence- based pr ogramme with research supporting positive outcomes for children at this age level.
Approximately 296 students have participated
in the programme during the 2020/21 school year,
which represents a decrease over the previous school
year. This decrease is related to the decline in number of children in the preschool and the P1 and P2 level.
The department for National Drug Control is commi tted toward its continued collaboration and support of
the Al’s Pals programme with the Depart ment of Education and funds initial training, refresher courses, and resources supplies for all educators implementing the programme at a cost of approximately $15,000 per
year.
Parents in recovery are faced with a multitude
of challenges as they prepare to address the needs of the children who have been without a worthy parent
role model during their active use of substances. This has caused a breakdown in the family, thus affecting
children. As a result, the DNDC has focused on developing skill sets for persons in recovery through the
Parent’s Toolshop education programme renamed,
Parenting 101. This is designed to encourage persons
to develop their communication skills and set goals in building a beneficial relationship with their children.


Bermuda House of Assembly In 2020/21, this programme engaged 5 at -risk
parents at Teen Services, and 11 children. COVID -19
restrictions have impacted programme completion, but
the programme has recommenced and is due to be
completed with this cohort by March 31, 2021. A pr evention officer and a senior educator are the only faci litators of this programme at an approximate cost of
$5,000.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 98030 represents
Treatment, at page B -107 of the Budget Book. Mr.
Chairman, the Treatment business unit 98030, is all ocated $411,000 f or fiscal year 2021/22. The Treatment unit funding allocation is used to facilitate the implementation of key activities geared toward achie ving the goals of the National Treatment Strategy i ncluding Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation
Facilities (also known as CARF), accreditation fees
and associated resources, addiction specific training, recovery month, which is September, activities and
the AccuCare Client Management System licensing
and training.
Funds are also allocated to support the grant
for the Bermuda Addiction Certification Board. For that reference you can see page C -17 under Grants and
Contributions. And, Mr. Chairman, the original est imate for 2020/21 and the current estimate remain at $411,000.
For the fiscal year 2021/22 focus rem ains on
maintaining CARF accreditation for the Men’s Treat-ment programme, the Women’s Treatment Centre,
and Turning Point, which is operated by BHB, as r equired by the National Drug Control Act 2013. All of
these programmes have maintained the gold star, CARF accreditation status throughout the fiscal year
of 2020/21. CARF accreditation is spearheaded and
funded by the Department of National Drug Control
Island- wide at an approximate cost of $21,000. Compliance surveys are completed every three years.
Quali ty improvement reports are submitted annually.
Mr. Chairman, in conjunction with accredit ation, the registration of all treatment services in accordance with the National Drug Control Act of 2013 is
in progress. Development and implementation of sup-portin g processes, application processes, fees, et
cetera, will hopefully be implemented through the reg-ulations under the Act in 2021/22.
Efforts will also continue to consolidate the
use of the AccuCare Client Management System in all
drug treatment programmes across the Island to assist in standardised best practice care. All treatment
facilities except Turning Point (which is at BHB), use
the AccuCare system. Required cross -ministry training, such as CPR, non- violent prevention techniques
and AccuCare traini ng will also continue at an approximate cost of $20,000.
Mr. Chairman, grant funding to the Bermuda
Addiction Certification Board provides international
certification testing for both prevention and treatment
professionals locally. Funding to support addi ction -specific training to enhance workforce development in
this speciality area supports recertification of professionals and helps to maintain memberships in the i nternational certification and reciprocity consortium. Certification is required for regist ration of addiction
counsellors to practice under the Allied Health Professions Act 1973. There are currently 45 certified and
registered addiction counsellors, 10 certified clinical
supervisors and 5 prevention specialists currently
working in Bermuda.
Under cost centre 98050, which can be found
on page B -107, we can find Research and Policy D evelopment. Mr. Chairman, the Research and Policy
Development, business unit 98050, has an allocation
of $301,000, which is a $5,000, or 2 per cent, increase
to the allocation from the previous fiscal year. This 2 per cent increase is reflected in increased funding
for contractors to support cannabis surveillance related to the cannabis reform initiatives. Funding in this
cost code is used to facilitate information ga thering
and analysis, monitoring and evaluation, as well as
any relevant legislation and policy development initi ative prioritised within the department and/or the Mini stry.
Mr. Chairman, the primary activities of the
Research Unit are geared toward collec tion and di ssemination of reliable data through the Bermuda Drug Information Network, also known as BerDIN, identif ying emerging trends, and patterns of drug use, evaluation of the current drug control efforts in providing c oordination, implementation and evaluation of the N ational Drug Control Master Plan and Action Plan.
Mr. Chairman, during fiscal year 2021/22, an
additional focus will be on implementing cannabis surveillance to assist in monitoring the impact of cannabis reform initiatives. The 2019 –2023 National Drug
Control Plan is being reviewed accordingly. The R esearch Unit continues to monitor the Action Plan, or
the expired plan, until the updated plan is approved.
Mr. Chairman, the 9
th Annual BerDIN Drug I nformation Network Meeting was held with all network
members on November 6th, 2020. This annual event
continues to greatly increase collaboration, under-standing, and information sharing between all agencies involved in demand and supply reduction activ ities. The 2020 annual report for the Bermuda Drug
Information Network was released to the public follo wing the meeting in November 2020. BerDIN activities incur an approximate cost of $15,000 annually.
Consumer satisfaction surveys, stakeholder
feedback surveys, and quality record reviews were completed within the Department of National Drug
Control, Women’s Treatment Programme, Men’s
Treatment Programme, the Right Living House (operated under the Department of Correction). A marijua-na use school survey took place January 20– 24,
2020, with a sampli ng of students from M2 through
S4, across public and private schools. The audit preg-nancy survey was completed in September 2020 and
1114 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly the National Household Survey on Drugs and Health
commenced on February 1st, 2021. Approximately
$49,000 was spent on implementing local surveys.
Mr. Chairman, I now refer to cost centre
98060, which can be found on page B -107 which r efers to the Men’s Treatment Centre.
Mr. Chairman, the Men’s Treatment Pr ogramme business unit was allocated $898,000, almost
the same as the previous year. The funding allocation
provides operational and staffing costs required to
provide output to meet the treatment rehabilitative needs and the goals of adult males needing residential treatment at the Nelson Bascome Substance
Abuse Treatment facility.
The Men’s Treatment Programme is a res idential treatment programme for men 18 years and
above in Bermuda. It provides long- term comprehensive primary treatment for addiction disorders. The programme’s primary treatment is delivered over a 12 -
month period using a phased approach. During the
last phase a transitional plan is developed which i ncludes participating in volunteer service, job shado wing, and referral to transitional supportive residency
programme and/or aftercare services. There were 19
admissions to the Men’s Treatment Programme this
fiscal year. Two were discharged to transitional housing, four were discharged to the community, to family or their own houses, and one to the Community Me ntal Health Group Home.
There was a temporary freeze in admissions
between March and July of 2020, in keeping with the
various COVID -19 shelter in place restrictions. The
admissions rate to the Men’s Treatment has been
steady at 80 per cent during the 2020/21 fiscal year.
The MTC programme, Mr. Chairman, has
been accredited by CARF [ Commission on Accredit ation of Rehabilitation Facilities ] since 2015, and under
that a CARP accreditation survey on February 3 and
4, 2020, and received the gold star three- year award.
Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to cost centre 98070, again at page B -107, which represents the
Women’s Treatment Centre.
Mr. Chairman, the Women’s Treatment Ce ntre business unit 98070 has been allocated $1,145,000 for the 2012/22 fiscal year , the same as
for the previous fiscal year. The funding allocation
provided is utilised to meet the output and needs of
women in residential substance abuse treatment. The
Women’s Treatment Centre provides residential treatment for women at both the Nelson Bascome
Substance Abuse Treatment Centre as well as sup-portive residency at a separate site.
The Women’s Treatment Centre is the only
residential treatment facility for wom en in Bermuda. It
provides long- term, comprehensive treatment for addiction and related disorders. The programme is de-livered over a 12- to 15- month period using a phased
approach. The phased approach to treatment delivery enables the client to reach short -term goals and cel e-brate accomplishments thus motivating them to continue in treatment.
Community involvement in re- entry is gradual
and includes a partnership with local businesses and
organisations to facilitate volunteerism in our clients.
There were 10 admissions to the Women’s Pr ogramme over the past fiscal year, one of whom was
admitted four times. Admissions were impacted due to
COV ID-19 with a temporary freeze in admissions between March and July 2020 in keeping with the var ious shelter in place orders.
For fiscal year 2020/21 the admission rate at
Women’s Treatment Centre programme is currently
50 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, the supportive residence facil ity and programme provide a safe environment for the
reintegration of women back into the community who
have completed a programme of substance abuse
treatment at the Women’s Treatment Centre or who
are accepted by the Women’s Treatment Centre. All
transitional clien ts are female who have been drug
free for at least one year. The programme is managed
by the Women’s Treatment Centre and is located
within the general community. There are three admi ssions to the transitional home.
Mr. Chai rman, the Women’s Treatment Ce ntre programme and supported residence has been
accredited by CARF since 2009 and underwent its most recent accreditation survey on February 3 and 4,
2020, and was also awarded the gold Star three- year
award.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 98080, again at
page B -107, refers to the National Drug Control Master Plan. Business unit 98080 is in place to provide for
effective implementation of the National Drug Control
Master Plan cross -ministry initiative with the Police,
Customs and C orrections, evaluation of the Master
Plan and to encourage cooperation and involvement
of other government departments, the civil soci ety,
and implementation of the Master Plan initiatives.
This business unit has been allocated
$25,000 in fiscal year 2021 /22, the same as the prev ious fiscal year. Fiscal year 2020/21 funding was ut ilised in part to assist the HM Customs Canine Unit. Funding allocated in fiscal year 2021/22 will be used to ensure the dissemination and implementation of the
five-year National Drug Control Master Plan in colla boration with policymakers, stakeholders and the community. The implementation was postponed to be in
alignment with the Ministry’s strategic focus and will
be finalised soon, as previously stated.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to grants and contributions, the Department of National Drug Control is
established in part as a service delivery unit but can-not provide all of the needed services required within
the community. The department therefore depends
greatly on purchasing services in the treatment and prevention areas to realise its mandate. It is anticipated that the total funding of $669,000 listed under


Bermuda House of Assembly Grants and Contributions on page C-17 of the Est imates Book will be used for providing grants to CADA,
the Bermuda Addict ion Certification Board [BACB],
PRIDE, Focus, and the Salvation Army Harbour Light and Lifeskills programmes.
Mr. Chairman, CADA and BACB provide essential activities required by legislation. CADA’s TIPS
programme is mandated within section 39B of the
Bermuda Liquor Licence Act 1974, an addiction cou nsellor examination and certification is required for r eregistration of addiction counsellors under the Allied Health Professions Act 1973. As previously mentioned, PRIDE provides life skills programme within
the primary school levels to support drug education
and prevention. Salvation Army provides residential drug treatment and life skills training for adult males.
Funding for Focus counselling services will assist in
the provision of transitional and support ive housing for
recover ing males.
With regard to the Capital Acquisition Schedule, Mr. Chairman, I refer you to page C -11. Mr.
Chairman, the Department of National Drug Control
has been allotted $12,000 for the replacement of furniture and computer equipment .
Mr. Chairman, I will now discuss the Subjective Analysis for Head 88, as shown on page B -108 of
the Estimates Book. Regarding Salaries, Mr. Chai rman, the budget allocation for Salaries is $2,014,000
for the fiscal year 2021/22, compared to $2,398,000
for fiscal year 2020/21. This represents a decrease of
approximately $384,000, or 16 per cent, as a direct
result of the agreement to reduce salaries by 10 per
cent until July 31, 2021 and the need to move funding to support contractor payments that are covering v acancies.
In regard to Wages, Mr. Chairman, the budget
allocation for Wages is $325,000 for fiscal year 2021/22, compared with $3,000 in 2020/21. The
2020/21 budget was revised to $315,000 to correct an
input error. There is an increase of approximately
$10,000, or 3 per cent, as a result of wage incr ements.
With regard to Training, Mr. Chairman, the
budget allocation for Training is $17,000 for fiscal year 2021/22, which represents a decrease of approx imately $16,000, or 48 per cent. The decrease i s as a
result of decreased overseas training due to the
COVID -19 pandemic and the fact that most staff have
now reached their development goals.
Mr. Chairman, with regard to travel, the budget allocation for Transport is $4,000 for fiscal year
2021/22, which represents a decrease of $21,000 or 84 per cent. The travel allocation allows for attendance at international meetings and conferences specifically related to drug policy, professional certification
and drug prevention. However, due to the COVID -19
pandemic, travel for public officers is restricted.
With regard to Communications, Mr. Chai rman, the budget allocation for Communication is $49,000 for fiscal year 2021/22, a small increase of
$1,000, or 2 per cent, to that allocated in fiscal year
2020/21.
With regard to Advertising and Promotion, Mr. Chai rman, the budget allocation for Advertising and Prom otion is $71,000 for the fiscal year 2021/22, compared
to $61,000 allocated in fiscal year 2020/21. The i ncrease of $10,000, or 16 per cent, is as a resul t of
funds being reallocated from within the Promotion budget to support the public education campaign for
adolescents on cannabis during the fiscal year. The
Department of National Drug Control is responsible for
providing community education and drug prevention
initiatives to decrease the age of first use and prevent
or diminish drug use in the community. Funds are directed at a media campaigns and educational events
to meet this responsibility.
With regarding to Professional Services, Mr.
Chairman, the budget allocation for Professional Services is $485,000 for fiscal 2021/22, compared to
$451,000 for fiscal year 2020/21. This funding repr esents payments for contractors to cover the vacancies
to keep the treatment programmes operational, pr ovide relief c overage for staff leave at the treatment
programmes, and for facilitators for the Team Peace programme operating in five middle schools.
Mr. Chairman the budget allocation for Ren tals is $167,000 for fiscal year 2021/22, the same as allocated in fiscal ye ar 2020/21. The Department of
National Drug Control rents office space in Melbourne
House as well as paying a small rent to WEDCO for
the treatment facility and to Public Works for the sup-portive residence for women.
Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation for Repair
and Maintenance is $182,000 for fiscal year 2021/22,
representing a $40,000, or 28 per cent increase in that
allocation for 2020/21. Funding was reallocated within the administration budget due to the need for added
funding to this cost code. Funding was utilised for r epairs and maintenance mainly in the treatment facility.
Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation for Energy is $144,000 for fiscal year 2021/22, representing a small increase of only $2,000, or 1 per cent, to the
allocation for 2020/21.
Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation for Mat erials and Supplies is $146,000 for fiscal year 2021/22, a $1,000, or 1 per cent, increase from the previous
fiscal year. This small increase represents the antic ipated need for materials and supplies required for the
drug prevention programmes.
Mr. Chairman, the budget allocation for
Equipment Purchases is $12,000 for fiscal year 2021/22, which is a $1,000, or 8 per cent, decrease
from fiscal year 2020/21.
Mr. Chairman the budget allocation for Other
Expenses i s $6,000 for fiscal year 2021/22, the same
as the allocation for fiscal year 2020/21.
Mr. Chairman the budget allocation for Grants
and Contributions is $669,000 for fiscal year 2021/22,
1116 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly or $114,000, or 15 per cent, decrease from fiscal year
2020/21. This decrease represents reductions in
grants provided to the community -based treatment
and prevention services to assist in meeting the
budget threshold.
Mr. Chairman, in closing, the Department of
National Drug Control will continue to work collabor atively w ith other key ministries such as Health, Educ ation, Workforce Development, and various depar tments such as Corrections, Court Services, Bermuda Police Service, Customs, and international partners to ensure the implementation of a balanced approach to
efforts made in achieving a healthier and drug- free
Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, this completes the presentation
of Head 88. I would like to take the opportunity to si ncerely thank all staff who work in the Department of
National Drug Control under the leadership of the D irector, Joanne Dean, for their continued hard work
and dedication in addressing the negative impact of
the drug misuse and abuse in our community.
And that completes my Heads, Mr. Chairman,
for the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional R eform.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My thanks to the Honourable and Learned
Minister, the Attorney General for a very comprehensive presentation through all of the Heads of her Mi nistry. I have not been left with much time, so I will try
to do a quick whistle- stop tour of some of the questions and hopefully give her a little bit of time back to answer them.
The overarching difficulty with comparing this
budget against others for this Ministry in prior ye ars is
that the budget for the Department of Child and Fam ily Services [DCFS] has been moved. If one were to
take the Child and Family Services budget, which can
be found at page B -290 of the Budget Book, and add
it back into this budget, then you would get an idea of what the budget would be. It would be $49.5 million, with DCFS back in. So, if one compares that to the
OBA’s last budget year, which was $42.5 million (i nstead of $49.5 million), that is an increase of roughly
$7 million since the PLP has been in government, four years [now].
My question to the Minister in that regard is:
Does the Minister consider this Ministry to be the cor-rect budgeted size? Is she happy with the size of the
Ministry now? Does she think it should be bigger or
smaller?
My second question, Mr. Chairman, is on re venue. The revenue box can be found right at the be-ginning, and that is at page . . . it is under the heading
7, and the revenues there are down approximately
$600,000. This is actually page B -90. This is under
the Judicial Department, Head 03. The revenue there
is down almost $600,000.
And so my second question to the Minister,
and this has been a theme, and it is something she has commented on previously, does the Honourable
and Learned Attorney General agree with m e that it is
long overdue now to change the fee structure for the
court services so that civil and commercial fees are
linked to the size of the claims. It seems to me that there are some very large claims in the Bermuda
courts and they pay the same fee st ructure as a reg ular person going down to pay as an individual. And so I would urge the Attorney General and welcome her
comments as to adjusting the fee structures. It is something the Attorney General said was being considered and I would be grateful for an update.
Mr. Chairman, my third question relates to
Head 87, Headquarters. That is on page B -83. One of
the departmental objectives of the Legal Affairs and
Constitutional Reform Headquarters, as can be seen on page B -83, is that Government’s legislati ve fram ework is constantly updated. My third question is this,
Would the Minister welcome the updating of our anti -
fraud laws?
Mr. Chairman, my fourth question is still on
page B -83, and it is line item 97070. It is the Justice
Protection Programme. And I will tread very carefully
around that because of the sensitivities. But my fourth
question to the Attorney General is, What is the finan-cial oversight of this programme? How is the spending
in relation to this programme vetted procedurally?
Mr. Chairman, my fifth question is on page B -
85, and that is in relation to 97090, the Mirrors Pr ogramme. And I am just curious why Mirrors did not move together with the Department of Child and Fam ily Services across to Social Development. And per-haps the Minister c ould address why the Mirrors
stayed and the others moved.
Mr. Chairman, my sixth question, I am moving
quickly here, I appreciate, is also on page B -85 and it
is in respect of legal aid numbers. It is employee
numbers, 97030, in the box at the top of pag e B-85,
and I see that the headcount for Legal Aid Management is down by two. And my sixth question for the
Minister is, Will those posts be filled or is eight the
new headcount size for Legal Aid?
Mr. Chairman, my next question is under the
Judiciary. A gain, Head 3, and it is in respect of som ething that the Minister said in her brief, which was that
the court shortage continues to have an impact . And
the line item there is 13015 . And so my seventh quesBermuda House of Assembly tion to the A ttorney General is , What is the plan to
address the admitted court shortage in Bermuda? We
did hear something in the House before the Minister
was elected from the Minister of Public Works at the
time, but what is the plan in terms of addressing the
court shortage in Bermuda?
The next question, please, Mr. Chairman, is
still there on page B -88, under Departmental Objectives. The third bullet point discusses the implement ation of a “ suitable case management system which will
streamline court processes and procedures. The sy stem will also have the capacity to institute e-filing
([which is] paperless filing) in the future. ” And so my
eighth question for the Attorney General from page B -
88 is about this case management system. Could she
please tell us a little bit more about it? What is the
stage of the tender process? What is the delivery date
for the system? What would it cost, who is the provi der, et cetera?
Turning next, Mr. Chairman, which is my ninth
question, which is at page B -97. The Learned Attorney General in her brief in respect of page B-97 mentioned that there was going to be an extra Crown
Counsel added to the Debt Collection Group, at line
item 14050. And I am just curious, because if you turn
over the page to B -98, to the Employee Numbers, it
does not show an increase in employee num bers. So
if the Attorney General could kindly clarify how one reconciles her comment about an extra Crown Counsel on page B -97, 14050, in respect to Debt Collection
with the absence of an additional employee, [page] B -
98. It may be that it is a future hire or an anticipated
hire.
My tenth question, hopefully time will permit,
is the Head 74, Department of Court Services, which
states that the goal is to reduce recidivism . And my
question there to the Attorney General is, Is that goal achievable and how does she feel this is working? Is
the programme working? Is an evaluation programme
identified in the department objectives? Is it working?
So those are my 10 questions for the Minister
for the time available for the response of them. I think you said we are going to go to 8:21, Mr. Chairman,
and I will look forward to her answers. I am very i mpressed by the way that she has handled almost eight hours of speaking, notwithstanding answers from the Ministry of Labour earlier today.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Attorney General.

[Feedback]

Thank you. This debate ends at 8:21.
Does any other Member care to speak to these
heads?
No other Member. Minister, would you like to
address the questions posed?
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes, thank you, Mr.
Chairman. And thanks to the Honourable Member for
his questions.
In regard to his first question with regard to
whether I am happy that the size Ministry or the budg-et, I could not quite figure out which one he was tal king about, but I can addres s both of them. The size of
the budget and the Ministry reflects the Government’s priorities and also cost -cutting measures. So, that is
quite clear, and I think throughout my brief I have
talked about the austerity measures which have been employed throughout the Ministry.
With regard to the fee structure, that is well in
train. Instructions have been submitted to the Minister of Finance and so particularly with the commercial
court fees, the Member will be pleased, Mr. Chairman,
to see those records hav e increased, as I agree, as
we all agree, are long overdue.
With regard to the anti -fraud law I can be supported by the DPP in this comment. The anti -fraud
laws are actually fine as they are at present.
With regard to how spending is vetted for the
JPP, wh ich is the Justice Protection Programme, I am
not at liberty to give any details about the funding or
how it is administered, but to say there are proper
banking protocols in alignment with Financial Instruction and also the maintenance of confidentiality with
regard to that entire programme extends to the [ INAUDIBLE] The Member can be assured that normal
protocols with regard to our Financial Instructions
govern the vetting or funds with regard to that pr ogramme.
With regard Mirrors and why it is still in the
Ministry, the Mirrors programme is properly aligned in
the Ministry and is yielding great results. If and when
the Honourable Premier decides that it needs to be
redirected to another Ministry, a public announcement
will be made accordingly.
With regar d to the Legal Aid post, I mentioned
in my brief that they all are currently filled with regard to . . . actually, all of them with the exception, I should
say, of the junior counsel post which is currently actively under recruitment.
With regard to the s hortage having an impact,
I am assuming that the Member is referring to the availability of courtrooms, and I specifically highlighted
in my brief the work currently being undertaken by the
Department of Public Works, or the Ministry, in co njunction with t he courts to ensure that the court avai lability is as it should be and that work is ongoing . And
I am happy to report that we will have a full compl ement of courtrooms in short order. And that was hig hlighted and mentioned extensively in my brief.
And the case management system is a sy stem that is currently being employed under the Judicial Department. And if the Member can clarify the
question, I didn’t quite get it, I would be grateful.

1118 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Pearman: Yes, it was the suggestion that
there was an implementation of a case management
system, suggesting it had not yet been implemented
for paperless filing.
It is not my knowledge that there already is
paperless filing, and it has not been implemented. So,
I was wondering when it would be implemented. You
know, what stage it was in the tender process, deli very dates, et cetera. Thank you, Honourable Minister.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
With regard to the case management system,
it is already visited overseas. Okay. So the implementation of the system is currently underway. The regi strar and staff have visited overseas to attend a conference with regard to court case management sy stems. And the need to ascertain which system has all
the necessary components required and which one is also within our fiscal package. And so the Member
can be assured that progress with that is underway and I will report on that publicly in du e course within
this Honourable Chamber. If there are no more questions from the Honourable Member, that is it from me, Mr. Chairman.

Minister.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
There was actually an actual new post or an
additional post under the Debt Collection unit, so he
was correct, it did increase. And in regard to recid ivism, we constantly monitor the instance of recidivism.
I am pleased to say that the director responsible for
Court Services has not reported a decrease. And she is able to report on that during supervision. So the
reoffending rate remains low during community -based
supervision, but notably the reoffending rate for sex and violent offence in the community -based pr ogrammes remains below 5 per cent. So through assessment treatment and monitoring programmes, I think that we all would agree that the programmes
employed at present are in fact successful. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Still on the recidivism issue, Mi nister, at page B -100, one of the departmental objectives outlined there for the Department of Court Ser-vices in the third bullet point is to “ outline the fram ework for program me evaluation for implementation in
2021. ” Could the Honourable Minister please explain
which programmes are going to be subject to the i mplemented evaluation framework in 2021? And are those linked to the reduction of recidivism or are those
programme evaluations in some other way? Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you.
I had two questions arising from the Grants
and Contributions page that the Minister took us to in
her brief, which is page C -17, and there are the
Grants and Contributions for the Ministry of Legal A ffairs. One question is in relation to line item 6932, the Centre Against Abuse. That grant was $150,000 and it
appears to be being discont inued, so perhaps the A ttorney General could address why that is happening.
And the second question, also on the same
page, C -17, Grants and Contributions, relates to line
item 7048, the Salvation Army Shelters. That grant
and contribution was at $100,000 and it looks like it is
going down to $20,000 and I am just wondering whether or not the cut to the Salvation Army of $80,000 will be made up in some other way. I know
sometimes these things move around. So if those two


Bermuda House of Assembly further questions could be addressed when the Mini ster has the opportunity to answer the previous question on recidivism.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Programme evaluation, excuse
me.
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes. Programme eval uation, that is correct.
I am advised that the drug treatment and
mental health programmes will be evaluated. In r egard to your question on Centre Against Abuse, the
funding does not appear in the Ministry’s budget b ecause that has moved to the Ministry responsible for
Social Development and Seniors.
With regard to the Salvation Army reduction in
the grant, you will be aware that the Salvation Army receives grants across the government. And it was
deemed prudent with regard to fiscal restraints at this particular time to reduce that grant.

I’m sorry. I did not hear the last
answer, just to the last sentence. It was deem ed pr udent . . . I couldn’t get the rest of it. It was deemed
prudent to . . .

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: In regard to fiscal r estraints and also in with regard to the programming to reduce their grant at this time.

I will put another question and
look forward to the Minister’s answer.
This arises in respect of the defence unit, the
prosecution. We were looking at the public prosec utions . . . let me get to the page. It is line item 05010,
and it contrasts with line item 97030. The question, I
suppose is this, Minister. Do you see any difficulty
with the Government being on both sides of criminal cases now, with the Prosecution and then with the
Defence Unit? Does that . . . is that a concern to you?
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With respect, Mr.
Chairman, that question does not rel ate to a budget
allocation.

[Laughter]

[Line item] 85010. Okay.
Minister.

Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
As previously articulated that it is not a question that relates to the budget allocation, so I will not
be answering it at this time. The Member can feel free
to raise it at another time in another forum.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Honourable Member.

Keep a finger there, Mr. Chai rman, and look at page B -107, please, under the N ational Drug Control Policy, Head 88. We see the all ocations for Prevention and Treatment, page B -107,
line items 98020 and 98030. Together those two line
items tally $635,000. And if you flick over the page, for
employee numbers, you see the Prevention at 98020
has one employee and Treatment has two. So we have three people it would seem at $635,000 for Pr evention and Treatment under National Drug Control. And I invite you, Mr. Chairman, to now turn back and
contrast that with page B -100, which is our Case
Management Services, where we have Probation Services, Parole Services, and line item 84080, Drug Treatment Court Programme.
I just point out that where we have the case
management here, we ha ve a budget of $1.3 million.
And if my employee numbers are right, about 13 pe ople, the employee box is at page B -101. And I just
wonder if the Minister thinks it’s the right balance be-tween three people and $635,000 dealing with the
whole Island and $1.3 million and some 13 people
dealing with those in the judicial system, the court
process.
Thank you. That is my question, Mr. Chai rman.

That is your question.
Minister.
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Mr. Chairman, the Honourable Member is compar ing apples to oranges. With
regard to the complement of 13 persons to oversee
the risk management of offenders, the resources are
perfectly aligned. I have no doubt with regard to the
Department of National Drug Control that they will
continue to discharge the mandate with the human
resources and the budget that is employed in that r egard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

And with that we are at 8:19, I think
the Honourable Member was trying to get as much
juice out of that orange as he possible cou ld in the
remaining . . .
Minister, can you move the Heads, please?
Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Heads 87, 3, 4, 74,
75 and 88 be approved as printed.

Thank you, Chairman Swan.
Members , are there any objections to the
Committee rising to repor t progress and seeking leave
to sit again?
There is no objection.
That brings us to a close of the budget allocation for debate today. And we will now move on to the
other items on the Order Paper for discussion today.
The Order Paper indicates that the E ducation
Amendment Act 2021 is the next item. Ho wever, that
is deemed to be a matter that is going to take some
time and the other three matters that were to be di scussed this night were deemed to be a little shorter.
So, with your indulgence, Members, we are
going to have the Minister of Finance do his three
matters first and then we will do the Education Amendment Act.
Are there any objections to that, Members?
There are none.


Bermuda House of Assembly Minister of Finance, would you like to do your
Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2021 at this time?

BILL

SECOND READING

CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT ACT 2021

Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker,
and thank you, Honourable Members, for your indulgence.
Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members have r equested now to give consideration to the Bill entitled Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2021. Mr. Speaker, this Bill proposes to amend the Customs Tariff Act
1970 with measures that (1) introduce certain new
end-use duty relief and (2) reform selected existi ng
end-use duty reliefs. The measures of the Bill affect
the Fifth Schedule of the principal Act and make consequential changes to certain outlying statutory i nstruments.
Mr. Speaker, in the 2021/22 Budget Stat ement, in support of the Estimates of Revenue and E xpenditure the Government promised that we will
through legislation and regulation create an enviro nment that encourages innovation, entrepreneurs,
businesses and start -ups. Mr. Speaker, in partial fulfilment of that promise, this Bill proposes to i ntroduce
both new and amended end- use relief that affords
zero and concessionary rates of duty for approved
businesses.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill proposes to introduce
new end use CPC 4237 providing 100 per cent duty
relief for goods imported for and used wholly and exclusively for business purposes by an approved bus iness. Under this new business end- use relief, the Mi nister will have enhanced authority and flexibility to a pprove appropriate businesses and goods for import
duty relief. This new relief requir es the Minister to publish policy guidelines on the approval of the scope and
quantity of goods for any particular approved bus iness. The policy guidelines will be published on the
government portal.
Mr. Speaker, the policy guidelines will provide
that th e Minister will decide the description and quant ity to be approved in any approved business notice made under new CPC 4237 on a case- by-case basis
and in accordance with the following policy criteria:
1. The Minister will only approve businesses and
goods where he is satisfied that the business
undertaken in question is of sufficient benefit
to the general economy of Bermuda, or the
balance of payments (exports of locally manufactured goods).
2. The goods must be appropriate to the relevant
approved business.
3. Approved goods may be raw materials; mi xtures or combinations of materials or sub-stances; finished goods, whether or not pr esented unassembled or disassembled; i ncomplete or unfinished goods; and composite
goods consisting of different parts or made up
of dif ferent components or modular parts.
4. The quantity of approved goods may take account of normal wastage in processing, co nstruction, or installation, damage, natural deterioration, wear and tear, or obsolescence.
5. In deciding the grant or scope of relief, t he
Minister may take account of (a) other avail able or granted drawbacks, exemptions, reliefs,
remissions, and concessions; (b) other assi stance received from Government or other organisations such as grants, duty deferment,
Bermuda Economic Development Corporation
loans; (c) the need for relief in any particular
case bearing in mind the existing level of capitalisation of any particular business; (d) the
uniqueness of the approved business with a
view of encouraging appropriate diversific ation of local bus iness undertakings; and
(e) the suitability of the business with a view
to encouraging undertakings that are not del eterious or harmful to Bermuda’s reputation,
culture, and ethos.
6. The Minister may tailor the scope of relief to address any potential mischi ef such as the
unwanted or unintended effects of any special
duty rate.
7. The Minister will treat applications from similar
businesses equitably so as to avoid trade di stortion, subject nonetheless to the foregoing
criteria.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill also propos es to intr oduce new end- use CPC 4238 with a concessionary
duty rate of $105.00 per kilogram to loose- leaf tobacco imported for use in the normal commercial manufacturer of tobacco products. A normal duty rate for loose- leaf tobacco is $500.00 per kilogram. Concessionary rate is intended to assist local commercial
manufacturers of cigarettes and cigars to maintain
competitive pricing of their products in relation to i mported cigarettes and cigars and thereby continue to
employ Bermudian workers with local manufacturers.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill further proposes to
amend existing CPC 4229, goods for local commercial
manufacturing, to allow local manufacturers of tobacco products and fermented alcoholic beverages (such as beer) to be designated as approved businesses
and benefit from the 5 per cent concessionary rate in
respect of goods such as manufacturing machinery,
equipment and tools. CPC 4229 properly provides
duty relief for goods for local commercial manufacturing but unhelpfully excludes manufacturing of tobacco
and alcohol products.
Mr. Speaker, I now turn to the proposed r eform of selected existing end- use reliefs. Mr. Speaker,
the Bill proposes to repeal and replace existing end1122 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly use CPC 4110, school equipment, stationery and educational supplies, with a new CPC 4110, goods for
educational institutions.
The existing CPC 4110 is currently unhelpfully
restricted to registered schools only, and to a limited scope of qualifying goods. Under this new education
end-use relief, the Minister will have enhanced authority and flexibility to approve any appropriate educ ational training or developmental institution for import duty relief.
The Minister will also be able to tailor the
scope of qualifying goods in any particular case. This new relief requires the Mini ster to publish policy guidelines on the approval of the scope and quantity of
goods for any particular approved institution. Policy guidelines will be published on the Government portal.
Mr. Speaker, those policy guidelines will provide that
the Minister will decide the description and quantity of
goods to be approved in any approved institution n otice made under the CPC 4110 on a case- by-case
basis and in accordance with the following policy crit eria:
8. The description of goods approved must be appropriate to the particular object and purposes of the relevant approved institution.
9. Approved goods may include (a) raw mater ials; (b) mixtures of combinations of material or
substances; (c) finished goods whether or not
presented as unassembled or disassembled; (d) incomplete or unfinished goods;
(e) composite goods consisting of different
materials or made up of different components or modular parts.
10. The Minister will only approve goods where
he is satisfied that they will be of sufficient
benefit to those enrolle d in an approved inst itution.
11. Approved goods must be in a quantity appr opriate to the physical size, enrolment num-bers, and nature of the relevant approved i nstitution.
12. The quantity of approved goods may take ac-count of normal wastage in processing, co nstruction or installation, damage, natural det erioration, wear and tear, or obsolescence.
13. In defining the scope of relief, the Minister may take account of (a) other available or
granted drawbacks, exemptions, reliefs, r emissions, and concessions; (b) other assistance received from Government or other organisations such as grants, duty deferments,
or Bermuda Economic Development Corpor ation loans; and (c) the need for relief in any
particular case, bearing in mind the existing
sources through level of funding of any parti cular approved institution.
14. The Minister may tailor the scope of relief to
address any potential mischief such as the unwanted or unintended effects of any special
duty rate.
15. The Minister will treat applications of similar
institutions equit ably, subject nevertheless to
the foregoing criteria.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill proposes to amend exis ting CPC 4140, goods for youth organisations, to r emove the specific reference to St. John Ambulance Brigade which relief is covered elsewhere. The Bill
also proposes to relax the end- use conditions r estrictions to permit the reasonable use in common
qualifying goods by persons other than approved organisations.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill proposes to introduce
new end- use CPC 4236 that consolidates and rationalises existing duty relief for certain international organisations. The structure of the new relief helpfully
affords the Minister discretion to extend duty relief to
such other international organisations as may be expedient from time to time. This new relief requires the
Minister to publish policy guidelines on the approval of
the scope and quantity of goods for any particular approved institution. Policy guidelines will be published
on the government portal.
Mr. Speaker, those policy guidelines will i nclude t hat the Minister will decide the description and
the quantity of goods to be approved in any approved
organisation notice made under CPC 4236 on a caseby-case basis and in accordance with the following
policy criteria:
1. The description of goods approved must be appropriate to the particular mission of the
relevant approved organisation.
2. Approved goods may include (a) raw mater ials; (b) mixtures or combinations of material
or substances; (c) finished goods whether or
not presented unassembled or disassembled; (d) incomplete or unfinished goods; and
(e) composite goods consisting of different
materials or made up different components of
modular parts.
3. Approved goods must be in a quantity appr opriate to the scale of the activities of the rel evant approved orga nisation in Bermuda.
4. The quantity of approved goods may take account of normal wastage in processing, i nstruction or installation, damage, natural det erioration, wear and tear, or obsolescence.
5. In deciding the grant or scope of relief, the
Minister may ta ke account of (a) other avail able or granted drawback exemptions, reliefs,
remissions and concessions; and (b) other
assistance received from Government or ot her organisations such as grants or duty de-ferments.
6. The Minister may tailor the scope of relief t o
address any potential mischief such as the


Bermuda House of Assembly unwanted or unintended effects of any special
duty rate.
7. The Minister will treat similar organisations
equitably subject nonetheless to the foregoing
criteria.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill also proposes to intr oduce ne w end-use CPC 4239 for goods for the NASA
Space Flight Temporary Mobile Tracking Station. Cur-rently the NASA Station enjoys temporary importation
relief under CPC 5033. However, it transpires that NASA has need to keep certain goods for the station in Berm uda for longer than the statutory six -month
period of importation. The introduction of this new
end-use relief is done to perfect the range of duty r elief afforded for the NASA Station in accordance with
the agreement between NASA and the Bermuda
Government. This is the agreement between the N ational Aeronautics and Space Administration of the Government of the United States of America and the
Ministry of Economic Development and the Gover nment of Bermuda for a space flight temporary mobile
tracking station, dated 7
th of March 2012.
Mr. Speaker, I should mention that an
amended CPC 4110 and new CPCs 4236 through
4238 will require the Minister of Finance to make notices to approve the institutions, organisations and
businesses that are to be eligible for the end-use relief
and to approve the applicable description and quantity
of qualifying goods in each case. Such notices do not
form part of this Bill but will be done by notice in the
official Gazette.
Mr. Speaker, in addition to its principal
measures, the Bill proposes to make certain other
consequential revocations and appeals. It also makes
clarifying amendments to the title of four existing customs tariff approval notices to specify the particular
CPC codes to which they relate. I will comment in further detail on the principal changes and all measures
of the Bill in Committee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Opposition Leader, you have the floor.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: I will begin by stating that in
principle the Opposition endorses and supports this
legislation. I have a few questions that I would like to
have clarity on, but as I said, we are generally on
board with all the amendments.
Unquestionably we support the concessions
being provided for educational institutions. I have a
question on that, and it is, Will home schools enjoy the waiver? Home schools have provided a crucial role in
educating our young people. Will they have the co n-cessions provided for equipment supplies and statio naries and other issues like traditional schools?
We support the NASA concession. Obviously,
they play a vital role and we want to do our best to
support the global space initiative. So I have no problems there. Just for clarity, [CPC] 4326, can the Mini ster provide an example of the organisations which will
receive this benefit, the international organisations
which will receive this benefit and what service a nd
products they will be providing from Bermuda?
The same applies to [CPC 4237], can he give
us an example of the importers who will enjoy the
benefit of 4237, and the names of the organisations or
the types of organisations?
We support the exemption for tobacco for l ocal commercial manufacturing. I agree with the Mini ster. If we can provide employment to Bermudians and
this as an industry that we had years and years ago, I will support that 100 per cent.
I think those are my general questions. As I
said, we agree with it. My final question is . . . We are
giving quite a bit in concessions and I support him in
this endeavour. My question is, Can he quantify based
on last year’s numbers how much these concessions
will cost the government, as far as giving up revenue
for the consolidated fund? If he could give an estimate
as to how much this would cost in regard to the reduc-tions of contributions to the consolidated fund, and
how he intends to replace the concessions granted
tonight under this legislation. And those are my brief
comments, Mr. Speaker.

Minister, I think you are still muted.
Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Let me attempt to answer the four questions
put forth by the Opposition Leader. In the first instance
he asked if home schools will be able to enjoy the benefit of this waiver. I am being advised that home
schools can apply for the concession. Their applic ations will be evaluated, and inasmuch as they meet
the standards, they wil l be able to partake in the co ncession.
The second question was with respect to
CPCs 4236 and 4237 where the Opposition Leader
was looking for an example of the beneficiaries of
these concessions. I am awaiting some feedback from
1124 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly the technical officers, so I will share that answer once
I have received such from my colleagues. Similarly,
with respect to the value of the concessions, I would
need to get a technical officer to provide me with the
quantum associated with that. I am being advised on the four th question that
Customs will need to write a report and that we can
revert to the Opposition Leader directly with the a nswer to that question with respect to the quantum of
the value of concessions provided.
I want to thank him for that question, in part icular, because typically I ask these questions myself before agreeing to grant concessions, but this one
slipped by me.
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Great minds think alike.
Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: I think it is a tall order for
you to think that your mind is like mine.
[Laughter]

Continue.

Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Mr. Chairman, claus e 1
contains the citation and is self -explanatory.
Clause 2 amends the Fifth Schedule to the
principal Act, end- use relief, as follows:
Subsection (2) repeals and replaces CPC
4110 (goods for education).
Subsection (3) amends CPC 4140 (goods for
youth orga nisations) to remove the specific reference
to St. John Ambulance Brigade, whose relief is covered elsewhere. It also deletes the word “only” from
paragraph 1 of the end- use conditions/restrictions.
Subsection (4) amends CPC 4229 (goods for
local commercial manufacturing) to remove the exclusion for the manufacture of alcoholic beverages
and products containing tobacco or tobacco subst itutes.
Subsection (5) inserts new CPC codes as follows: CPC 4236 (goods for international organiz ations); CPC 4237 (goods eligible for business enduse relief); CPC 4238 (tobacco for local commercial
manufacturing of tobacco products) and CPC 4239
(goods for NASA Space Flight Temporary Mobile
Tracking Station). CPC 4110 and CPC 4236 through
4238 will require the Minister of Fi nance to make notice to approve the institutions, organisations and
businesses eligible for the end- use relief, and to approve the applicable description and quantity of qual ifying goods. Such notices are not subject to parli amentary scrutiny.
Clause 3 repeals three CPCs and cons equence of the amendments and new CPCs in clause 2; namely, CPC 4127, goods for the UN Development
programme and Commonwealth Fund for Technical
Cooperation project. CPC 4197, educational materials from international labour organisation and CPC 4212,
goods for controlled multisensory environmental therapy [MSE]. And that is the Snoezelen rooms. It also revokes three Customs Duty Remission Orders in
consequence of the amendments and new CPCs in
clause 2 , namely, Customs Duty ([Infrasound] Equi pment) Remission Order 2008, Customs Duty (The
Bermuda Perfumery) Remission Order 2006, and
Customs Duty (Bermuda Sloop Foundation —Spirit of
Bermuda) , Remission Order 2006.
It also amends the title of four Customs Tariff
approval notices to indicate which CPC codes they
relate to, and to avoid confusion with the notices to be
made under CPC 4110 and CPCs 4236 through 4239.
Clause 4 provides for commencement of all
the clauses of the Bill on the 1
st of April 2021.


Bermuda House of Assembly Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The Chai rman: Are there any further speakers?
There appear to be none.
Minister, do you want to move—
Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Mr. Chairman, I move the
preamble be approved.

It has been moved that the Bill be
reported to the House as printed.
Are there any objections to that?
There appear to be none; the Bill will be r eported to the House as printed.
[Motion carried: The Customs Tariff Amendment Act
2021 was considered by a Committee of the whole
House and passed.]

House resumed at 8:49 pm

[Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE

CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT ACT 2021

Thank you, Deputy.
Members, are there any objections to the Bill
entitled Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2021 being
reported to the House as printed?
There are no objections. It has been reported.
That now takes us to the next item on the O rder Paper for this evening, and that is the second
reading of the Retail Shops (Temporary Customs Duty Relief for Capital Investments) Amendment Act 2021
in the name of the Minister of Finance.

BILL

SECOND READING

RETAIL SHOPS (TEMPORARY CUSTOMS DUTY
RELIEF FOR CAPITAL INVESTMENTS)
AMENDMENT ACT 2021

Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Mr. Speaker, Honourable
Members are requested now to give consideration to
the Bill entitled Retail Shops (Temporary Customs
Duty Relief for Capital Investments) Amendment Act
2021.
Mr. Speaker, this Bill seeks to amend Retail
Shops (Temporary Customs Duty Relief for Capital
Investments) Act 2008, to extend the period of Customs Duty relief of capital investments and to expand the scope of goods to which the principal Act applies.
The measures of the Bill affect the principal
Act and the Schedule to the principal Act. Honourable Members will recall that the principal Act provides a
zero rate of customs duty on a wide range of imported
capital goods for the Minister of Finance approved schemes to renovate or refurbish retail shops.
Mr. Speaker, Government is committed to
supporting and the upgrading of this country’s retail sector as a part of our continuing effort to support Bermuda’s economic recovery. Accordingly, in the
2021/22 Budget Statement, in support of the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure the Government
promised that retail shops temporary customs duty
relief would be extended for a further five years
through the 31
st of March of 2026. This Bill fulfils that
promi se and goes further by widening the scope of
qualifying goods to take account of technology enhancements in retail sales.
Mr. Speaker, the Retail Division of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce has reached out to
Government requesting that the scope of quali fying
relief be widened to support new ways to find and pay
for retail items. In accordance with their needs, the Bill
amends the Schedule to the principal Act to encompass modern retail innovations such as new payment
1126 19 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly systems, virtual fitting rooms system s and components, parts and accessories, together with the back -
of-house information systems required to support
them.
Mr. Speaker, since the last extension of the
Act in 20 16, the retail sector has benefited by recei ving this relief on the renovations and refurbishment of
the shops. Fortunately for Bermuda, a growing number of retailers are committing to upgrading their facil ities. In the prevailing economic climate, a larger pr oportion of retailers will be in greater need of this assi stance than the pas t. Over the next five years Gover nment ex pects the customs duty concession will be of
immense benefit to retailers and to the economy of Bermuda.
The Government is equally committed to supporting Bermuda’s retail sector as it provides vital e mployment to a wide cross section of Bermudians.
Therefore, Mr. Speaker, Government commends this
Bill to the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Opposition Leader.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Yes, sir.
We on this side support this legislation. We
would do anything to support the retail sector of our
community. We expect for our economy to turn
around, show some green shoots of success come
year end. And we have to do something to combat the
online shopping overseas. And I take the view that if
we could help here in Bermuda in any way that we
can, and help those local businesses become competitive with our overseas competitors, then we should do all we can. So we are in support of this.
When I read the legislation, I looked at the vi rtual fitting room systems. Mr. Speaker, I had to find
out what it was! And so I went over the Internet, and I
said, Virtual fitting room systems, how do they operate? And basically, what it is, you basically go online,
set up an avatar with all of your statistics and you just take the clothes and put them on the avatar so you
can see what it looks li ke on you. So, your avatar
would basically have your height, weight, chest size, waist size, and overseas it has been found that people
shop more online and they buy more goods when they use these avatars.
So, obviously, when I read that during my r esearc h I said, Well, I’m delighted that our local stores
are innovative and keeping up with their competitors overseas. If we can offer the goods here and get them
delivered expeditiously then we on this side support the legislation. Again, it is not just the front end, it is the back -
office support that supports the online and digital mar-keting and digital processing. So you have the whole
infrastructure to support. My only question to the Mi nister is, I am saying this from an economic point of
view. There are indicators in the US and the UK that
the economy should begin to turn around by Oct ober/November. Does he think that another five years was generous? I would just like to have his thoughts
on that, given that most economies are poised to
move forward more positively in the last quarter of the
coming year and the beginning of next year. And
hopefully this will translate to better economic returns
for our local retail sector. And so with those brief r emarks, those are my comments on this legislation.
The S peaker: Thank you. Does any other Member
wish to make a contribution at this time?
There are no others, Minister.
Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Mr. Speaker, I thank the
Honourable Opposition Leader for his support for this
Bill. In answer to his question wi th respect to whether
the five- year period is generous, let me answer it this
way.
The traditional retail sector globally has been
affected significantly by the growth in the online util isation by consumers. One would expect that the advances in technolog y and the ability to buy more items
online will actually increase. Interestingly, as the Honourable Opposition Leader referenced about having
an avatar in which you put in your details, I can see that being a tool to help conventional retail but also to
similarly help online retail.

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Yes.

Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: So my sense is that while
the five- year period may seem like an extended period
of time, we want to be supportive to retail as they
make the necessary investments in upgra ding their
plants because we expect that online will become i ncreasingly more competitive and so the need for sup-port may actually increase as time goes on.
I think the concession period is appropriate. I
would point the Honourable Opposition Leader to a recent announcement by the Minister responsible for
the Cabinet Office of Bermuda’s own retail sales tur naround, where we have seen the last six months of
increasing local retail sales in Bermuda. Our hope is
that this trend continues going forward, but yo u know,
better to provide the industry to stay ahead and continue to improve, than not.
So the recovery for them is fairly early and we
want to be supportive, not only because this step is critical to the operating of our economy but also because it emplo ys a number of Bermudians.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill be
committed.


Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Thank you, Minister.
Deputy.

Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, t hank you, Mr.
Speaker.

House in Committee at 8:58 pm
[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., C hairman]

COMMITTEE ON BILL

RETAIL SHOPS (TEMPORARY CUSTOMS DUTY
RELIEF FOR CAPITAL INVESTMENTS)
AMENDMENT ACT 2021

Continue.

Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Clause 1 of the Bill is the
citation and is self -explanatory.
Clause 2 amends section 7(2)(b)(i) of the
principal Act to extend for five years to 31 March 2026
the date on or before which goods must be imported
to qualify for the customs duty relief.
Clause 3 modifies the Schedule to the princ ipal Act (goods of the Bermuda nomenclature to which an approval applies) to extend the scope of goods
covered. Three categories of goods to which an a pproval applies will no longer be limited to point -of-sale
systems or use in relation to point -of-sale systems,
and goods relating to virtual fitting room systems will
be included.
Clause 4 provides for commencement on the
1
st of April 2021.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It has been moved that the Bill be
reported to the House as printed.
Are there any objections to that?
There appear to be none, t he Bill will be r eported to the House as printed.
[Motion carried: The Retail Shops (Temporary Customs Duty Relief for Capital Investments) Amendment
Act 2021 was considered by a Committee of the
whole House and passed.]