June 24, 2020

Good morning.

RE-EMPLOYMENT OF BERMUDIAN STAFF

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Madam President, during the
COVID -19 pandemic, many businesses across the
Island were forced to close their doors, since which
many businesses have now reopened. As a result of
these closures and through the period of shelter in
place, over 9,800 individuals (or approximately 15 per
cent of the population) were out of work, and around
$38 million have been paid out in benefits from the
unemployment fund.
Although several sectors were hit with large
numbers of persons unemployed, some sectors were
hit particularly hard. The top five largest job losses during the shelter in place are as follows:
1. restaurants with 1, 815 people;
2. hotels with 1, 345;
3. construction with 1, 256;
4. retail with 991; and
5. small business es with 921.
As the economy has slowly reopened, many
persons have been re- employed. As of the most r ecent update, a total of 3,577 (or 37 per cent of those previously out of work) have now returned to work.
The numbers of persons re- employed is great news
for Bermuda. Unfortunately, some of those remaining
out of work may not see those jobs return. The Go vernment has a duty to assist wherever it can to help
those persons get back to work.
Thus, the Premier recently made the brilliant
move to ensure synergies with Labour, Immigration,
Workforce Development and Financial Assistance by
combining those areas into one Ministry . And I will
bring more information on this in subsequent Senate
proceedings. With the good news that a good number
of Bermudians are now back to work, it is unfortunate
that the Government has also received reports of i nequitable employment practices happening in our
country. From the 30
th of March to the 5th of June
2020, I can report that the Labour Relations Section has received 409 labour -related queries.
In some instances, there are reports that employers may be discriminating against Bermudians. I can confirm that of the total number of queries r eceived, 14 are related to work permit holders being retained or recalled to work over Bermudian workers.
These 14 queries are further broken down as follows:
• ten were public observations or general queries;
• one was referred to the Department of Imm igration;
• one was investigated with no further action
taken; and
• two others were received, one of which is currently under investigation.
While we strongly believe the majority of bus inesses are treating Bermudians fairly, there may be a
few employers that will discriminate against Bermudians. If this practice is occurring, Madam President, we
ask those responsible to stop doing so immediately.
As we seek to further open our economy for business,
we urge employers t o ensure that Bermudians
are
given equitable treatment.
It must be noted that employment practices in
response to the pandemic have not been uniform
acros s all sectors. For example, it is understood that
employees in the international business sector have
largely remained employed and continued to work remotely. Similarly , businesses in other industries
have successfully engaged their employees , and we
thank all industries for their efforts to keep their staff
employed.
Madam President, t he Premier recently a nnounced that Cabinet agreed to extend the Unem-ployment Benefit Program me for another month to
support our people and provide them with an added
layer of security as businesses reopen and our economy begins to move again. To assist employees who
were laid off, terminated or made redundant as a r esult of COVID -19, the unemployment benefit was i ntroduced. It came into effect on the 24
th of March
2020 , and the application period will end on the 30th of
June 2020, providing a weekly benefit of up to $500 to
eligible persons, including work permit holders, for up to 12 weeks.
The Government will extend these benefits,
but not the application deadline, to allo w persons to
receive further support while the country moves t owards the new normal with the gradual re- opening of
the economy during p hase 4.
Additionally, Madam President, following e ngagement with industry associations, the Government
will also table legislation this week to amend the E mployment Act 2000. This legislation will amend that
portion of the Act with respect to layoff s due to the
impact of the COVID -19 pandemic resulting in the
state of emergency. That change will [exclude ] the
period from th e 1
st of April to the 30th of June 2020
from the calculation of the period of four months, after
which a layoff is deemed to be a termination for r edundancy. The existing provisions of the Employment
Act would then apply for severance [pay] for those
emplo yees not recalled at the end of the four -month
period starting from the 30th of June.


Bermuda Senate The purpose of the amendment is to protect
both employees and employers in these unprecedented times. In the face of this global pandemic, emplo yees should not lose thei r benefit entitlement of redundancy pay under the Employment Act, and t his must
be protected. On the other hand, employers with little
or no cash and significantly lower revenues due to the
pandemic should not be forced into bankruptcy by
paying these benefits. A compromise must be
reached. This move represents a balanced approach
to provide both groups an opportunity to adapt to the new normal as we go through phase 3 and work t oward entering phase 4.
It should be noted that the concerns of the
Bermuda Hotel Association have not been ignored in
this regard. The Government continues to work with
this industry sector to find a solution to the specific problems that they are experiencing, and all other
stakeholders , to allow Bermuda to get through these
difficult times together. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Shielding Our Vulnerable Population.
Senator Simmons -Wade, you have the floor.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Thank you, Madam
President. Good Morning, Madam President.

The President: Good morning.

SHIELDING OUR VULNERABLE POPULATION
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Bermuda’s extremely
clinically vulnerable population are at higher risk than
most people of getting seriously ill from getting
COVID -19. They all must take extra steps to avoid
getting unwell. We must do our best to protect them.
Today I will discuss the important issues surrounding
protecting our vulnerable population with shielding
.
Shielding minimises the interaction between those
who are extremely vulnerable and others. The Government has established very clear guidelines on the
website coronavirus.gov.bm under guidelines entitled
“Vulnerable Persons Shielding Guidance.”
This explains how best to shield our vulner able population. There are many people who make up
the clinically vulnerable population including the following:
• seniors;
• persons with heart disease;
• those with certain cancers or [who are] under-going certain cancer treatments;
• recent bone marrow or stem cell transplant
recipients , solid or recent transplant recipients;
• severe combined or immune deficiency;
• severe respiratory conditions including cystic
fibrosis diagnosis , severe asthma or severe
COPD; and
• women who are pregnant with heart disease. Please help protect our most vulnerable by
responsibly keeping away if you are a quarantined
person, for everyone’s safety. As a vulnerable person,
connect w ith your loved ones by phone and the var ious video and social media alternatives until that person in quarantine has completed their quarantine and
has a negative test results after 14 days.
Madam President, on the matter of protecting
our most vulnerabl e, I remind the public of the conti nued need to shield persons who are most at risk from
COVID complications , complications that can lead to
death. Coronavirus can make anyone ill, but some
persons are extremely vulnerable, are at a higher risk
and need to take extra steps to avoid becoming ill .
This is called “shielding. ” Shielding is a measure to protect clinically extremely vulnerable persons
from coming into contact with coronavirus, by minimi sing all interaction between them and others, especially
individuals not living in their household. However,
households living with a person at higher risk from
infection will have to take steps to support the indivi dual. Household members do not all need to start
shielding themselves, but they should do what they
can to support persons who must be shielded and to
carefully follow guidance on avoiding high- risk settings
and practice physical distancing.
Madam President , while at home, persons
who are shielding should do the following :
1. Ensure that all persons coming in their homes
wash their hands with soap and water for at
least 20 seconds upon arrival and as often as
possible while they remain in your home.
2. Avoid face- to-face contact with the vulnerable
person.
3. Minimis e the time other people living with vu lnerable persons spend in shared spaces such
as kitchens, bathrooms and sitting areas, and keep shared spaces well ventilated.
4. Keep six feet away from vulnerable persons
you live with , and encourage them to sleep in
a different bed where possible. If possible,
use a separate bathroom from the vulnerable
person. Use separate towels from the vulnerable person, both for drying and after bathing
or showering, and for hand- hygiene purposes .
5. If a toilet or bathroom is shared with others, it
is important that it is cleane d every time after
use (for example, wiping surfaces you have
come into contact with). Consider drawing up a rota for bathing, with the vulnerable person
using the facilities first .
6. If the kitchen is shared, avoid using it while
the vulnerable person is present. The vulnerable person should take their meals to their
room s to eat. Use a dishwasher if available to
clean and dry used crockery and cutlery. If
this is not possible, wash them using washing liquid and water , and dry them thoroughly. A
976 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate separate tea towel should be used if the vu lnerable person is using their own utensils .
7. Everyone in the household should regularly
wash their hands with soap and water for 20
seconds, avoid touching their face, and clean
frequently touched surfaces.
Everyone in the f amily or household should try
to follow this advice as far as they possibly can. Madam President, I encourage everyone to go to coronavirus.gov.bm to look at the extensive resour ce tools
that have been created to guide us through these often-confusing times. Bermuda, please continue to
practice physical distancing, minimise your social interactions and, most importantly, wear a mask. If you
are going to be in close contact with people outside
your household, wear a mask. Masks are critical for
reducing coronavirus transmission by as much as 80 per cent. They also act as a catch- all for the wearer who then protects others from any illness es that
they may have. The message of mask -wearing and
physical distancing is vitally important because these
actions are keys to our success. As a country we will
not contain COVID -19 or progress to phase 4 without
the public fully embracing these actions.
Madam President, t his is an opportune m oment to remind the public again of our new Reopening
Scorecard which can be viewed on the website. You
will see that “Preventive Behaviours” is the first cat egory of indicators we are measuring. T his is because
they are the most important items that will ena ble us
to move successfully through phases , and the whole
of Bermuda is needed to participate in these.
For this reason I encourage the public to sign
up to HealthIQ and update their status regularly. HealthIQ is a simple online tool that will help us as a
community in our efforts to progress to the next phase
of COVID -19 restrictions. In addition to tracking our
community’s health status and symptoms which may
be associated with COVID -19, the tool will help our
public health teams to identify risks and resources
needed to keep our communities safe. Your particip ation and reports on HealthIQ inform Bermuda’s performance.
The better we do on face- mask wearing,
physical distancing and adoption of technology, the
better we will fare. As of last week we have just over
8,315 people [signed up]. So, well done, Bermuda!
The target is 10,000 minimum, so I encourage everyone of any age to participate. Your data are confidential and cannot be viewed by anyone at all. So visit
healthiq.bm
to download the a pp, and help Bermuda
get through our phased reopening.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
The third Statement is the Bermuda Public
Schools Update. And Senator Anthony Ric hardson,
you have the floor.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Good morning, Madam
President, fellow Senators and the listening audience.

The President: Good morning to you.

BERMUDA PUBLIC SCHOOLS UPDATE

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam President, this
morning I am pleased to provide my Senate colleagues and the general public with an update on the
Bermuda Public Schoo l System, and more specifically
the end of the 2019/20 school year , given the impact
of COVID -19.
Madam President, Bermuda celebrated phase
3 of the r eopening of Bermuda on Thursday,
June 11th, 2020. Prior to June 11, it was the expect ation of the general public that all s chools, both public
and private, would reopen during phase 3. The end of
the school term for our students was scheduled for
Monday, June 29th. However, with phase 3 of the expanded business operations starting so close to the
end of the school year, the Mi nister decided that our
public schools will not reopen for the remainder of th e
academic year. The Minister further decided that the
school term would end five days earlier for public
school students, to allow for the execution of end- ofyear closing activ ities and additional school staff trai ning prior to school reopening in September for the new 2020 /21 academic year.
Madam President, this means that the last
day of school for all public school students was Fr iday, June 19
th, instead of Monday, June 29th, 2020.
During the remainder of the school year students continued with their remote learning programme, which
commenced on March 23rd at the onset of COVID -19.
As I shared previously with my Senate colleagues, the
remote learning programme included online teaching,
learning and services using a variety of applications
and platforms , plus the provision of learning packets
for students without devices. Continued remote lear ning enabled our students to maximi se the remaining
learning days during the month of June. All pre- , primary, middle and senior school students were engaged in remote learning programmes.
Madam President, t he last day of the school
term for the school staff remained as [ Tuesday, ]
June 30th, 2020. After providing the online learning
exper iences and learning packets for students up to
June 19th, all school staff commenced the execution of
end-of-year duties, participated in training and carried
out other essential tasks in preparation for the reopen-ing of schools in September 2020.
Madam P resident, we all know that this time
of year is usually a special time for our students to enjoy school -leaving ceremonies as they transition
from preschool to primary (or to “ big school ” for our
younger ones) , from primary to middle school , from
middle to senior school , and graduating from senior
school to college or university or to enter the world of


Bermuda Senate work. During these times there are always celebratory
activities to recogni se what our children have
achieved and how they progressed during the year.
Despite the limitations that COVID -19 pr esented to us , which limited the usual end- of-year ce remonies, I am very pleased to share that our school
leaders were very creative in organi sing a significant
variety of activities to recogni se our students at each
level. Information about the celebration activities w as
communicated directly to our parents. I was pleased
to see that the activities followed safety and health protocols as stipulated by the Department of Health
and the Ministry of National Security.
Madam President, my Senate colleagues are
aware that the Department of Education operated an
Educational Support Programme at the CedarBridge
Academy for children of those parents who returned to
work during phase 2. The programme was expanded
to accept childre n of parents who returned to work
during phase 3. The program me was a notable success. Enrolment was effected by interested parents
contacting their respective school principal.
Madam President, we are aware that our parents and the general public want t o know more details
about plans for the 2020/21 school year. Rest assured
that these plans are being worked on. During the past
two months the Department of Education o fficers have
been engaged in intensive preparations, developing
safety and health protoc ols for schools. The prepar ations have been in collaboration with the Department
of Health. And t hese protocols also had the input from
school staff and union stakeholders.
Once finali sed, the department plans to share
the protocols with our parents so they are aware of
what safety and health measures will be implemented
and, if needed, have the opportunity to provide further
input. And, Madam President, I think that is very i mportant because we have to make sure that we deal with, or at least address , the perceptions versus the
reality of COVID -19 and how it will impact the upcoming school year. And t he Commissioner of Education
will be writing directly to our parents regarding all of
these safety protocols to ensure that everyone is fully
informed.
Madam President, the summer school break
is now upon us , but learning must continue. And t he
Department of Education is offering summer courses
for our S1 to S4 students. A plan was developed to
have online learning services which will align with the
education needs of our students. The emphasis is on
courses that will allow students to make up any loss in
schoolwork and earn credits toward their Bermuda School Diploma. It is important to keep our senior
school students on track with their coursework as they
prepare for graduation, college or university plans,
and the world of work. The d epartment will also be
assessing our primary and middle school children at the start of the next school year to identify any learning gaps. The intention is to establish any needed i n-terventions on an urgent basis as the school year
starts.
Madam President, in closing, let me say that
this has been an unexpected experience for all of us. No one could have predicted such a significant inter-ruption to the school year. Notwithstandi ng, I join all
Bermuda residents in saluting everyone who is in any
way connected to education in Bermuda. I am very
thankful to all of our school staff and the team at the
Department of Education under the leadership of the
Commissioner of Education for t heir diligence in rising
to the occasion and remaining committed to educating
our children. O ftentimes , staff were called upon on
short notice to map out a plan for implementation, and
they worked evenings and weekends to deliver. We
should be proud of the Education Department team
and our school staff. This has been a journey. And we
continue to press on for the future of our children.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Anthony Ric hardson.
I believe you have a second Statement , and
you can proceed with that.

BERMUDA COLLEGE —CLASS OF 2020

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Yes, Madam President.
The second Statement relates to the
Bermuda College graduating class of 2020 .
Again, Madam President, I am pleased to
share information about the 2020 graduation at the
Bermuda College on May 28, with my Senate colleagues and the general public, to provide details of the inimitable Class of 2020 and the unique ways in
which their success was celebrated by the college. I
provided general congratulatory remarks at the last
Senate sitting, and I will be more specific today.
Madam President, the Bermuda College
made the difficult decision to cancel its traditional
commencement ceremony in March as a result of the
coronavirus pandemic and the growing concerns
about the spread of the disease locally. Commenc ement represents the culmination and highlight of the
academic year for most colleges and universities , and
certainly Bermuda College was no different. Notice of
the cancellation was sent to the campus community
by Bermuda College President, Dr. Duranda Greene,
with the promise that graduates would receive their
graduation diplomas on May 28
th and t hey would be
celebrated in a more traditional manner at a future event.
Madam President, an ad hoc committee was
assembled to organi se a series of celebratory events
for the Class of 2020. These included recorded congratulatory messages from the Honourable Premier
David Burt ; the Honourable Minister of Education , Diallo Rabain; Board Chair , Mr. Peter Sousa; Dr.
Greene; and the V ice President of Academic & St u978 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate dent Affairs , Dr. Phyllis Curtis -Tweed. Congratulatory
messages from both faculty and support staf f were
compiled into a celebratory video clip, and Mr. Shane
Rogers, a graduate from the Associate of Applied Sc ience Hospitality Management Programme, delivered
the virtual graduate student address. All of these were
made available for view on the college’s website , and
Facebook and Instagram social media platforms.
In addition, Madam President, graduates were
provided the opportunity to share highlights of their
college experience, thank family, friends and college
supporters and provide parting advice i n short video
interviews which were then uploaded to the website
and social media. Outstanding graduates have been
featured on the online radio programme, “The Daily Hour ,” and graduates also enjoyed a virtual commencement party with DJ i Breeze. On Saturda y, June
the 6
th, graduates returned to the campus to have
graduation photos taken as part of the commemor ative events.
Madam President, by far the absolute hig hlight to this adaptive event was the drive- through curbside collection of associate degrees, d iplomas and
certificates by the proud graduates of the college. I
can attest to the enthusiasm of Dr. Greene and her
team, since I drove by during the presentations. A t otal of 107 graduates received graduation packets from
Dr. Greene, containing a congrat ulatory personalised
letter, their cap and gown, and an academic parc hment, to the cheers and car toots of family members
and friends.
Notwithstanding the challenges they faced,
Madam President, I am proud to note that 53 per cent
of the Class of 2020 gra duated with honours, earning
either merit (with a GPA of between 3.0 and 3.49) or
distinction (a GPA of 3.5 to 4.0) status. The Associate
of Arts (Business Administration) Programme pr oduced the largest graduating group, with 32 graduates.
Madam President, please indulge me at this
time to share the number of graduates for other pr ogrammes, represented on the graduation list, which included the following. (It is not too long, but please do indulge me.)
Division of Arts & Science:
• Associate of Arts (Art & Design), there were
five graduates.
• Associate of Arts, 13;
• Associate of Arts (Early Childhood Education),
three;
• Associate of Arts (Human Services), one;
• Associate of Arts & Science, seven;
• Associate of Science, three;
• Associate of Science (Actuarial Science), four;
and
• Associate of Science (Education), three.
Division of Business, Hospitality & Technical Ed ucation:
• Certificate for Accounting Technician, five; • Certificate in Applied Science Technology,
nine;
• Certificate in Electrical Wiring Technology,
three;
• Certificate in Heating, Ventilation & Air Cond itioning Technology, one;
• Certificate in Plumbing Technology, one;
• Diploma in Culinary Arts, two;
• Diploma in Hospitality Management, one;
• Associate of Applied Science (Culinary Arts),
one;
• Associate of Appl ied Science (Heating, Vent ilation and Air Conditioning), one;
• Associate of Applied Science (Hospitality
Management), three;
• Associate of Arts (Business Administration),
32; and
• Associate of Science (Computer Information
Systems), nine.
Madam President, I am most pleased to share
that 17 graduates are dual -enrolment students who
were awarded associate degrees, diplomas or certif icates prior to receiving their high school certificates. And, Madam President, I have spoken about this pr eviously in the Senate, and wish to highlight the fact
that these young people have actually completed their
Bermuda College degrees, associate degree and their
high school graduation simultaneously. So many will
be aged between 16 and maybe 18, at the oldest,
having already completed Bermuda College. I am
sure Dr. Greene will be reporting in the future in terms
of this year’s intake. Because I understand there are
some persons who are as young as age 14 who will
be entering Bermuda College this year as part of the
dual-enrolment programme.
And so, Madam President, I am pleased to
share that 17 graduates who are dual -enrolment st udents were awarded degrees. And I want Bermuda to
know the names of our public school students who
have done extremely well in this programme. And I
also want to commend, Madam President, Principal
Keisha Douglas from the Berkeley Institute and Pri ncipal Kenneth Caesar from the CedarBridge Academy. And I will apologise upfront if I mispronounce any of these names.
From the Berkeley Institute:
• Christopher J ackson (Associate of Arts with
merit) ;
• Zené Wade, Associate of Arts & Science with
distinction , Most Outstanding Arts & Science
Graduate (That is a high school student competing at Bermuda College.) ;
• Jaiden Furbert -Jacobs , Associate of
Arts/Business Admini stration with distinction ;
• Samaria Paynter, Associate of Arts/Business
Administration with distinction, Most Outstan ding Accounting, Finance Graduate, Phi Theta
Kappa;


Bermuda Senate • A’Naije Keesee- Ming , Diploma in Hospitality
Management with merit ;
• Lee-Kaysia Burch, Diploma in Culinary Arts
with merit ;
• Jacari Renfroe, Certificate in Applied Science,
Most Outstanding in Motor Vehicle Technol ogy Award;
• Leano Ming, Certificate in Applied Science Technology with merit, Most Outstanding in
Computers & Programming Award;
• Ryan Outerbridge, Certificate in Applied Sc ience Technology with merit, Most Outstan ding in Materials and Mechanics;
• Asheia Wellman, Certificate in Applied Sc ience Technology ; and
• Kevin Sunga, Certificate in Applied Science
Technology , also.
From the CedarBridg e Academy:
• Atiya Furqan, Associate of Science, Actuarial
Science with merit , Phi Theta Kappa;
• Miguel Postlewaite , Certificate in Applied Sc ience Technology ;
• Ka'Ri Richards , Associate of Arts/Business
Administration;
• Julian Roser , Certificate in Applied Sci ence
Technology with distinction , Most Outstanding
in Electricity Electronics , Most Outstanding
Applied Science Technology Graduate;
• Kelley Trott , Associate of Arts/Business A dministration with merit ; and
• Taever Zuill -Dyer , Certificate in Applied Sc ience T echnology .
Other Outstanding Award recipients include:
• Most Outstanding in Electrical Wiring— Paul
Melo;
• Most Outstanding in Wood Technology —
Marcus Fuhrtz;
• Most Outstanding Arts Graduate—Kaitlyn Jef-frey;
• Most Outstanding Education Graduate—
Justine Acevedo- Ramirez;
• Most Outstanding Science Graduate—Gloria Simmons;
• Most Outstanding Actuarial Science Graduate—Nisha Smith;
• Most Outstanding Art & Design Graduate —
Xela Swan;
• The Distinguished Dean’s Award Division of
Arts and Science— Latifa Smith;
• Overall Most Outs tanding Division of Arts and
Science Award Graduate— Naphisa Smith;
• Administration Shield/Most Outstanding Ge neral Business Graduate— Ania Gilbert;
• Administration Cup/Most Outstanding Hosp itality Management Graduate—Shane Rogers;
• Butterfield Cup/Best Culinar y Graduate —
Tremayne Bailey; and • Award for Excellence in Information Technol-ogy/Most Outstanding Information Technology
Graduate —Tyler Trott .
Madam President, I would also like to take
this opportunity to congratulate the 20 students who
graduated with their bachelor’s and master’s degrees
through the partnerships Bermuda College has with Mount Saint Vincent and Miami Universities, respectively. There were 16 Mount St. Vincent students who
completed their Bachelor of Business Administration in Association w ith Bermuda College, and four st udents who completed their Masters in Special Educ ation with Miami University. And, Madam President, time would not allow me to emphasise that, but to u nderstand that persons would now be able to get their undergraduate degr ees in Bermuda, which requires
discipline and personal action to get through that pr ogramme.
Unfortunately, Madam President, the 11 nur sing students of this remarkable Class of 2020 were
unable to finish their studies because the clinical
component of their graduation requirements could not
be completed as a result of the pandemic. It is
planned for this final portion to be completed in the
fall.
Madam President, I ask that you and this
Honourable Chamber join me in congratulating the unique and resilient Bermuda College graduates of
the Class of 2020, who discovered and followed their path at the Bermuda College! Thank you, Madam
President.

The President: And thank you, Senator Anthony
Richardson. And we certainly join you in congratulating all of these students.
The final Statement is the Criminal Code
Amendment Act, which will be given by the Attorney General Kathy Lynn Simmons, and who is the Gov-ernment Leader in the Senate.
Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons, you have the
floor.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn S immons: Thank you,
Madam President, and good morning.

The President: Good morning.

CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Pres ident, I am pleased to table the Bill entitled the Crim inal Code Amendment Act 2020 this morning. This Bill
amends the Criminal Code Act 1907 to strengthen
measures to protect young persons, up to the age of
18, from sexual offences committed by persons in a
position of trust.
Madam President, an offence of “ luring ” currently exists under section 182E of the Criminal Code
Act 1907. However, this offence is not specific to a
980 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate position of trust and provides protections for a child up
to the age of 16 years old. Currently, luring [legisl ation] targets online or electronic predatory conduct
designed to facilitate later sexual activity with a child
who is under the age of 16 years old, but there are no protections in place if communication by the predator
is in writing or otherwise. These gaps in the Criminal
Code [Act] have now been addressed by creating a
specific offence of luring by a person in a position of
trust in relation to a young person under the age of 18
years old and extending the current lur ing offence to
include written communications and other forms of
communications.
Madam President, society has unfortunately
been too aware of instances where teachers and ot her authority figures have preyed upon our young per-sons with persistent attempts to engage in inappropr iate sexual or romantic relationships. This egregious, predatory behaviour is called “luring,” or sometimes
referred to as “grooming.” Real -life victims, child saf eguarding advocates and child protection entities have each called for urgent changes to the criminal law to
increase the age for luring offences to include young
persons between 16 and 17 years old. Currently, the
offence of luring is tied to the age of consent, which is
16 years of age.
Although 16- and 17- year-olds have reached
the age of consent, the overwhelming public sent iment and advocacy supports that sexual relations between adults in positions of trust and young persons
between 16 and 17 are improper and must not be tolerated. When considering that luring behaviours by a
person in a position of trust can take place before a young person reaches the age of consent, and persist
well beyond 16 years of age, we can see that 16- and
17-year-olds are left exposed to exploitation without
legal redress. In such scenarios, perpetrators in a position of trust can escape prosecution for luring alt ogether. Additionally, most of our young people are still
in secondary education up to 18 years old. Britain and
other jurisdictions have addressed this problem by
instituting specifi c offences criminalising such abuses
of power which harm and inflict trauma to young persons, including 16- and 17- year-olds.
Madam President, the Bill inserts a section
182EA into the Criminal Code [Act 1907], which de-tails the elements of the offence of luring a young person by a person in a position of trust. The new offence
will cover all young persons under the age of 18. The
section is intended to cover situations where an adult
who is in a position of trust through any form of co mmunication gains a young person’s trust for the purpose of committing a sexual offence against the
young person. The intended offence does not have to
take place. The evidence of the adult’s intention to
commit an offence against a young person may be drawn from their communications with the young person or may be drawn from other circumstances. Madam President, the penalty prescribed in
law for this offence will be as follows: on summary
conviction, imprisonment for five years; and for conviction on indictment, imprisonment for 15 years.
These penalties correspond to the seriousness of the
offence and are sufficiently dissuasive as a deterrent.
Madam President, the effects of the Bill are
that certain relevant factors may be considered at trial for a person being prosecuted for an offence under
the new provision. Factors that might be taken into consideration may include the ages of the parties, whether there was consent, and the relationship between the parties such as whether an accused is a
person in a position of trust w ith respect to the young
person. The Bill also confirms that the evidential pr esumptions about consent with respect to an offence
where an accused is a person in a position of trust have not been affected by the creation of the new section 182EA offence.
Madam President, it is also recognised that in
numerous sexual crimes against children and young
persons by adults in a position of trust or authority it is common for the perpetrator to use assorted forms of
communication mediums to groom or lure for sexual
purposes. When reviewing the existing law, it was evident that the law criminalises the perpetrator’s digital
and electronic communications with a young person
for the purposes of luring, but did not include other forms of communicating such as handwrit ten notes
and verbal communications. Drafted this narrowly, the
existing law rightly encapsulates social media and
online communications; however, it overlooks that handwriting is not yet obsolete —especially for st udents. For these reasons, the Bill amends the Criminal
Code to include additional methods of communication,
other than electronic means, such as orally and in
writing.
Madam President, the proposed legislative
amendments also enhance Bermuda’s child protection
regime for the progressive realisat ion of the intern ational standards of the Lanzarote Convention on the
Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and
Sexual Abuse. Article 18 of the convention requires
countries to criminalise international conduct involving
a person engaging in s exual activities with a child,
where abuse is made of a recognised position of trust,
authority or influence over the child including within
the family. The amendment proposed in the Bill is
drafted to also include “relationships of dependency”
and is desi gned to capture familial relationships.
In closing, Madam President, the Government
is unwavering in its commitment to our youth to e nsure that they can learn and thrive in safe environments and that they can access care and helping services without being subject to exploitation. I am thankful to our public sector and third- sector entities who
unselfishly provide child protection services in our community and give voices to the voiceless. The pr ocess of progressing these amendments is testament


Bermuda Senate to active c ommunity engagement and direct advocacy
which challenges the Government to perpetually r eview and improve our laws to reflect present -day
views and best practice. These legislative changes
will strengthen Bermuda’s child safeguarding regime, providing furt her protection to our most vulnerable
population and future leaders —our youth.
With that said, Madam President, and with
your permission, I will now move the introduction of
the Bill.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

The President: Yes, certainly, Senator Kathy Ly nn
Simmons, Attorney General and Government Leader
in the Senate. Do carry on.

CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Pres ident, under the provisions of Standing Order 23 I
move for leave of the Senate to introduce the B ill ent itled the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2020.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kathy Lynn Si mmons.

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Sorry, Madam President. I
did not mean . . . This is Senator Richardson. I do
have a question for the Question Period. And I know
under the Standing Orders I have to notify you as
soon as possible.

The President: Yes. You will certainly be able to do
that when we reach the Question Period on the Order Paper, Senator Jarion Richardson.

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you.
Sen. t he Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: If I may co ntinue, Madam President?

The President: Yes, certainly, Senator Kathy Lynn
Simmons. You can continue.

FIRST READING

CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Then, Madam
President, I hereb y introduce and read for the first
time by its title the Bill entitled the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2020.
Madam President, I ask that the said Bill be
set down on the Order Paper for the second reading
at the next day of meeting.

The President: Yes.
Is there any objection to that motion? No objection.
Thank you, Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons.
The Bill will be reviewed at the next day of meeting.
Thank you all, Senators.
We now move on with the agenda.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

COST OF LIVING C OMMISSION
AMENDMENT ACT 2020

PUBLIC HEALTH AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2020

CONTRIBUTORY PENSIONS TEMPORARY
AMENDMENT ACT 2020

NATIONAL PENSION SCHEME (OCCUPATIONA L
PENSIONS) TEMPORARY AMENDMENT ACT 2020

BERMUDA BAR AMENDMENT ACT 2020

The President: The fol lowing public Bills have been
received from the Honourable House of Assembly and
are now read for the first time. Their titles are, respectively:
• Cost of Living Commission Amendment Act
2020;
• Public Health Amendment (No. 2) Act 2020;
• Contributory Pensions Temporary Amendment Act 2020;
• National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act 2020; and
• Bermuda Bar Amendment Act 2020.

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS

The President: There are none.

QUESTION PERIOD

The President: Senators, we wi ll now, in dealing with
the Question Period, the first question, the first Stat ement is the Re- Employment of Bermudian Staff, that
was presented by Senator Caesar.
Would any Senator care to raise questions on
this Statement?

Sen. Jarion Richardson: I would, Madam President.

The President: Sorry. I beg your pardon. Who was
that?

Sen. Jarion Richardson: I would, Madam President,
Senator Jarion Richardson.

The President: Senator Jarion Richardson, certainly.
Senator Jarion Richardson, you have the floor.

982 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate QUESTION 1: RE -EMPLOYMENT OF
BERMUDIAN STAFF

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
With respect to the matter raised by the Junior
Minister in her Statement, wherein she spoke to 409
labour -related queries, 14 related to work permit hol ders being retained or recalled to work over Bermudian
workers. Just following from that, she said of those 14,
one is still under investigation and another investiga-tion was concluded with no action. My question is, Will
the other 12 be investigated? And t hen I have two follow-up questions. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson.
Senator Caesar.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Yes. Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, at this time obviously if
there is cause for further investigation, the department
will take up such. And so the answer is yes. And if
required, further action will be taken at such time.
The President: Thank you, Senator Caesar.
Senator Jarion Richardson, you have two
supplementary questions. Carry on.

SUPPLEMENTARY

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Yes, Madam President.
And I believe the Junior Minister did answer it.
My question was, Is it the intention of the Government
to hold employers accountable? And that was answered. So I will use the follow -up question, How will
they be held accountable? Is there a mechanism by
which for them to be held accountable under our current policy and legislation? Thank you.

The President: Senator Caesar.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
I can say that, as with any process an invest igation will take place, and as such any parameters
upon which the employer needs to be held account able will be done so. There are mechanisms in place,
but I cannot speak specifically to each case. Each
case will be taken on its merits. So it may be someone
will be called in, there may be a discussion, there are
various different scenarios upon which the department will take further action.

The President: Thank you, Senator Caesar.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions on this Statement?
Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, I would, Madam President,
Senator Jones.
The President: Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.

QUESTION 1: RE -EMPLOYMENT OF
BERMUDIAN STAFF

Sen. Marcus Jones: First of all, thank you to the Junior Minister for giving us that update in regards to the
re-employment of Bermudian staff concerns. My question would be, In light of the fact that the Government
will be extending unemployment benefits to those who
have not been able to return to work, does the Junior
Minister have any estimates from the Ministry of how
much money or funding will be added to the forecast?
So if she can give us a total of what the estimate costs
would be for the full payment of unemployment benefits.
The President: Senator Caesar.
Sen. Crystal Caes ar: Yes, thank you, Madam Pres ident.
The Minister will speak to that in due course,
Madam President. As with any forecast one can
guess at this point, it depends on what happens in the future so I cannot at this particular point in time give
an answer and pre-empt the Minister. So I would have
to at such time rely on the Minister’s Statement once
he has had an opportunity to assess his situation.

The President: Thank you, Senator Caesar.
Senator Marcus Jones, do you have any supplementary questions?
Sen. Marcus Jones: No. That is it. Thank you, Ma dam President.
The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions on this Statement?

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I would, Madam President,
Senator Robinson.

The President: Senator Robinson, y ou have the floor.

QUESTION 1: RE -EMPLOYMENT OF
BERMUDIAN STAFF

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you. Thank you
again for that brief, Junior Minister. I just have one question.
It was mentioned about redundancy pay being
tackled in a balanced way that, you know, assists the
employer and the employee. I just was wondering if
we could get a bit more insight into some of the stratBermuda Senate egies that might be considered to aid in this problem
or this issue. And if you are aware of any, could you
share them with us?

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Unfortunately, that is outside
the parameters of my Statement. But I will say, Ma dam President, that each business has to take this par-ticular course for payments under its own advisement.
So obviously, this is giving employers additional time
to come up with strategies such that they will be able to pay at such time that they need to. And I cannot speak to the various scenarios, as I have not had
specific conversations with each business out there.
So again, I know my name is Crystal, but I am
not a crystal ball.

[Laughter]
Sen. Crystal Caesar: So I ask that the questions be
better directed such that we all know that this is a
pandemic, this has not happened for the last 100 years, so I obviously could not answer that specifically
for any particular business. I mean, we can think of a
myriad of different strategies that businesses will take.
But again, it is outside the parameters of this partic ular Statement.
The President: Thank you, Senator Caesar.
Senator Robinson, do you have any suppl ementary questions?

QUESTION 2: RE -EMPLOYMENT OF
BERMUDIAN STAFF

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Maybe just a rephrase. I
think I might have phrased it incorrectly. The Stat ement came across as though the Government may be considering assisting in this matter of redundancy in
pay to assist the employer to stay open and to assist
the redundancy pay of the employee. As the Stat ement said, the employer has run the risk of, you know,
going out of business. But the staff [member’s risk,
redundancy, is due to the] pandemic. So I was asking
along the lines of, you know, are there any Gover nment strategies from the Minister to aid in this general problem? Not necessarily the individual ones of the businesses.

The President: The second question, Senator Caesar.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Yes, Madam President.
Again, the Statement did not actually state
that the Government is planning to help with redundancies. It just indicated that this was an opportunity
for businesses to have additional time to address r edundancies should it be required.

The President: Thank you, Senator Caesar. Would any other Senator care to ask questions on this Statement?
No? Then we will move on to the second
Statement, which is Shielding our Vulnerable Popul ations. This was given by Senator Sim mons -Wade.
Would any Senator care to ask questions on
this second Statement?
Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam President.
The President: Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.

QUESTION 1 : SHIELDING OUR VULNERABLE
POPULATIONS

Sen. Marcus Jones: Again, thank you to the Junior
Minister, Madam Simmons -Wade, for updating us on
the shielding of our vulnerable population.
My question would be, in light of the numbers
of patrons and workers within the seniors’ homes who have been infected with this COVID -19 since the early
days during its inception, what is the standard set on
frequency of testing for those who fit in this category
who work and actually live in these seniors homes?

The President: Senator Simmons -Wade.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Thank you for the
question. Thank you for the question. But this is act ually outside of the parameters of my Statement, which
deals with shielding.

The President: Senator Jones, did you want to ask a
specific question?

Sen. Marcus Jones: Well, yes, I would like to follow
up.

The President: She said that that one is outside of
the parameters of her Statement.

SUPPLEMENTARY

Sen. Marcus Jones: So I guess my supplementary
question would be, Are we saying that patrons within
seniors homes do not fit the category of the vulnerable
population?
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: No, I was not saying
that they are not our vulnerable population. But my
Statement was on shielding the vulnerable population.
You asked a question in regard to testing.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Okay. That is f ine. In my opi nion, I think it fits within the purview of plans and ways
of shielding our vulnerable population. But if the Junior Minister cannot add to and give any clarification on
984 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate that portion of my question, I submit to you, Madam
President. Thank you.
The President: Thank you —
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: I just want to, Madam
President —
The President: Senator Simmons -Wade, you have a
response? You can make a statement.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Yes. My Statement
was in regard to shielding the vulnerable population and what has to be done in terms of families and pe ople living with individuals with a vulnerable population.
The guidelines for nursing homes and rest homes are
very different how they handle shielding.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions on this Statement?

Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, can I have a
supplementary to this question?

The President: Yes, Senator Jones, you may.

SUPPLEMENTARY

Sen. Marcus Jones: My final ques tion to the Junior
Minister would be, Can we expect an update from this Ministry of how, moving forward, senior homes will be
conducting themselves in the case of testing? B ecause it is very important; I believe the public would
like to know. And I would l ike to see if I can get a
commitment from the Junior Minister that this information will be forthcoming in the weeks to come.

The President: Senator Simmons -Wade.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Yes. Madam Pres ident, the Minister of Health gives regular updat es with
regard to nursing homes and testing and the proc edures that are in place. And I am sure in her next update, she will provide information as such.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
Would any other Senator care to speak or to
ask ques tions on this second Statement?
No? Then we will move on to the Bermuda
Public Schools Update that was given by Senator A nthony Richardson.
Would any Senator care to ask questions on
this Statement?
Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam President, Senator
Jones .
The President: Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Again, thank you very much to
the Junior Minister for giving us updates on the public
schools, which I thought was very informative. I am
amazed at the yeoman’s work that is be ing done by
our principals and our teachers and their administr ative staff to keep our students engaged and in line with their learning.
My question to the Junior Minister would be,
Has the Ministry made provision for those under -
achieving students who may not have attained the
necessary grades to advance to the next year’s level?
Is there a plan over the summer holidays to assist and
work with these underachieving students?

The President: Senator Anthony Richardson.

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam Presid ent, I am
challenged to classify a child as being underachieving,
to be honest. What we have done is commended ev ery single person in education during the past couple of
months because, irrespective of the individual child or
the person in education, they have all stepped up over
and beyond in this unprecedented time.
In the Statement I did indicate that the Mini stry has in fact considered the potential for assisting any students who need it, and that is what has occurred. And I just emphasise at the end m y congrat ulations to all of those in education because I know in
some cases from personal observation, and others through my role actually as Minister, that the princ ipals, the students, the parents and in fact the entire community have really, really, rea lly gotten behind
education during the past several months to ensure
that we maximise what has been an unprecedented
circumstance.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Anthony Ric hardson.
Any supplementary questions?
Senator Marcus Jones.

Sen. Marcus Jones: No, thank you, Madam Pres ident.
The President: Would any other Senator care to ask
questions on this Statement, on this third Statement?
No? We will move on to the fourth one, which
is the Bermuda College Class of 2020. That was also
given by Senator Anthony Richardson. Does any
Senator have questions in this Statement?

Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam President, Senator
Jones.



Bermuda Senate The President: Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA COLLEGE —
CLASS OF 2020

Sen. Marcus Jones: Again, I was very pleased to
hear the number of graduates at the Bermuda Col-lege’s 2020 drive- through celebrations. I was able to
see some of those celebrations online, and it really was wonderful to see.
My question for the Junior Minister would be,
How many of the graduating class of 2020 were on
government scholarships? I had one more suppl ementary, but I was going to ask that question.
The President: Senator Anthony Richardson.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam President, I do
not have that detail with me. So I will have to undertake to get it for Senator Jones.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Senator Marcus Jones, you have a suppl ementary question; you can ask it now.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you. Well, based on that
answer, and I appreciate the fact that the Junior Mini ster will not have all this information on hand, I will patiently wait for him to give us that information at a later
date. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Marcus Jones.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions on this fourth Statement?

The President: No? Then we will move on to the fifth
Statement, that was given by Senator Kathy Lynn
Simmons on the Criminal Code Amendment Act.
And does any Senator have questions on this
Statement?
No? Then we will move on in our agenda.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: The first Order of the Day is the second reading of the Cost of Living Commission Act 2020.

STANDING ORDER 25

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move the provisi ons of Standing Order 25 be granted
so that the Senate can now proceed with the second reading of the Bill entitled the Cost of Living Commi ssion Amendment Act 2020.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
Is there any objection to that motion? No objection. Carry on, Senator Simmons -
Wade.

[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Cost of Living
Commission Amendment Act 2020 to be read a se cond time on the same day as its first reading.]

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Cost of Living Commi ssion Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second
time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

COST OF LIVING COMMISSION
AMENDMENT ACT 2 020

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, [the
Cost of Living Commission Amendment Ac t 2020 ]
seeks to amend the Cost of Living Commission Act
1974 [the pri ncipal Act] to require business undertakings that sell essential commodities to use electronic means to furnish the commission with information on
the prices of essential commodities they sell, and to
enable the commission to efficiently and accurately
inform members of the public of current prices of essential commodities sold by the various business un-dertakings.
Madam President, I am pleased to have the
Senate take this Bill under consideration. Honourable
Members will be painfully aware that the cost of living
in Bermuda is ranked among the highest in the world.
Decreasing the cost of living continues to be a major area of focus for the Government, and it was signalled
as such in the 2018 Throne Speech and has formed
key elements of our approach to the cost of health care, energy costs, cost of housing and the cost of
food.
Madam President, it is important to note that
this Government has made some progress in dealing
with the cost of living. Inflation in Bermuda has been
at its lowest in 40 years, mean ing that prices are [not]
increasing at a fast pace, which is good news for all.
Additionally, we have a reduction in the core rates of
the provision of electricity due to the firm stance taken
by Government when the utility was seeking a rate
increase.
Colleagues will recall the work started by the
Minister of Health regarding a common insurance pool
for all residents to reduce health care expenses. As
the attention that must be focused on the coronavirus
recedes, I am certain that the Minister will advance
986 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate the goal of a fairer and more equitable system of
health insurance that reduces costs to consumers.
That much being said, Madam President,
more work remains to be done in the areas of housing, mortgage costs and the cost of food. Madam President, to better position responsibility for these
matters within the framework of Government, the Bill
proposes to make the Minister responsible for Consumer Affairs responsible for the Cost of Living Commission. Presently, that responsibility rests with the
Honourab le Member, the Minister of Home Affairs, the
Deputy Premier. This realignment aids the commi ssion, as there are natural synergies in the work that is
done in the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Madam President, Honourable Members will
recall that in 2017, the Price Control Commission was
renamed the Cost of Living Commission. This was in
keeping in line with the platform promise which read
as follows: “Grant additional powers to the existing
Price Control Commission to examine ways to reduce
the cost of li ving in Bermuda.”
Madam President, at that time we gave teeth
to the commission by significantly increasing penalties for noncompliance. The fine for noncompliance was
increased by 900 per cent to $5,000, and a daily rate
of $500 per day for continued noncompliance was
added. The change in the name reflected the mandate of the committee, as they no longer had the respons ibility for setting the prices of goods, but had powerful tools of inquiry that could be used to make reco mmendations to the Minister (then the Minister of F inance) for measures to reduce the cost of living.
Much of the commission’s work under the
leadership of Senator Anthony Richardson was f ocused on the vexatious issues of the pricing. The current chairman of the commission is the Honourable
Deputy Speaker of the Honourable House of Assembly, Derrick Burgess.
Madam President, food prices in Bermuda
have always been high. But there is also a great lack
of consistency in prices not only between store
chains, but also within store chains. In 2018, a suggestion was made to the Premier that a way in assis ting in moderating price increases of food was to develop a tool that would help Bermudian residents
make informed buying decisions.
Research was performed to develop a grocery
price compari son tool which would allow citizens to
easily be informed, but to also compare the prices of groceries. The aim is to provide citizens with a method
of price comparison among the main grocery retailers
on the Island. The initial focus for such a tool would be
the 24 staple goods identified by the commission.
Madam President, during the research phase
a key concern emerged— how information might be
translated from a grocery store’s retail database into
an application, and how it could then be passed on to
desired channels of communication, preferably a
basic technology application. The first step of provi d-ing such information was to access the grocer’s pri cing information. While separate memoranda of under-standing (MOUs) were considered as a possible av enue, the path of looking to the app was also reviewed
to determine whether there was a requirement for r etailers to provide pricing information on various goods
to the commission.
Upon review of the existing Act, it was found
that there was a lack of clarity as to how information
may be provided under sections 9 and 10, and how it
may be used to the benefit of the public. It was ther efore proposed to amend the Act to permit the chai rman of the commission to require retailers to provide
pricing information to t he commission and to permit
the Minister under the Act to issue regulations to pr escribe the manner in which such information should
be submitted. The amendment to the Act will therefore facilitate the collection of pricing information from r etailers.
Madam President, there are a few common
questions that will be asked:
1. Why should a grocery store be compelled to share pricing information with the Gover nment?
2. How will stores transmit this information to the Government?
3. Who will pay for the work required to transmit
this information electronically?
4. How will consumers get this information?
Madam President, regarding the first question,
it is important to note that grocery prices are effectiv ely public information, as anyone can go to a store and find prices. The challenge is, Madam President, that
not everyone can go to every store every day to compare the prices. The requirements to submit this i nformation go to the heart of the intent of this change.
The information, once collated, will lead to price stabi lity and price competition. Data that are collected can
also be analysed to ensure that there is no collusion that may be taking place.
Madam President, regarding question 2, the
major grocery store chains in Bermuda use the same inventory management and pr icing software. Given
they all share the same software system, it makes the information transfer easier. The software in question has built -in application process interfaces (or APIs)
that will allow the sharing of only the specified data
that the Cost of Living Commission wishes to collect.
Once this coding is written, it can be used at all three
major groceries and can be set to transmit data at set
intervals, which is envisioned to be daily.
Madam President, regarding the third question, Who will pay? It is not envisioned that the sof tware changes required will be in excess of $50,000. Madam President, in the view of the Government, this
is a small price for Government to pay to put a competitive check on the increase of food prices in Ber-muda’s economy .


Bermuda Senate Madam President, the final question is, How
will consumers get this information? Madam Pres ident, the initial view was to create a simple applic ation, web- based or mobile, to allow residents to have
easy access to view this information. However, Madam P resident, what is most important is for the information to be collected and to be made accessible to
the public. This means that the Government could
develop its own application or it could make the data
collected publicly accessible and let our IT student s
locally or overseas develop their own applications
from the data. This, Madam President, is the concept
of open data. The ultimate goal would be that if the
data are made accessible, it is conceivable that persons could build more useful applications tha n the
Government is able to do so.
Madam President, as you may understand, to
move this project from conception to this stage has
taken some time. Extensive consultation has occurred
mostly led by the Department of ICT Policy and Inn ovation team. They hav e researched, benchmarked
and provided recommendations including requir ements documents for data interface. Consultation has
taken place with the Attorney General’s Chambers,
the chair of the commission, the Policy and Strategic
Section, discussions with g rocers, Department of St atistics and other Ministries and departments that deal
with the pricing of goods and consumer matters.
Madam President, as I commend this Bill to
the Senate and for the consideration of the Honour able Members, I am pleased that this will advance the
cause of greater access to information for consumers,
allowing them to make informed choices, and enable the development of price comparison tools that will
reduce some pressure on food price increases in
Bermuda.
Thank you, Madam Pres ident.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?

Sen. James S. Jardine: Yes, Madam President.

The President: Yes. Who is . . . Oh, Senator Jardine.
You have the floor.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. Good morning, fellow Senators and listening
public.
Madam President, I have no problem suppor ting this Bill. I think that providing information on pri cing for a basket of goods to the general public is a
good idea. The only question I have, and possible
concern, is on page 2. I guess this is a question for
the Senator. Page 2, [clause 4], section 10B(2), if I
could just read, Madam President?
Madam President, it says, “The Commission
may require each business undertaking to furnish the Commission with information on the prices of essen-tial commodities it sells as may be prescribed in the
regulations made under section 10E, relating to—
“(a) the substance and detail of the information . . . ”
Now, I have no objection as far as providi ng
the price of commodities, et cetera. My concern is
where it says here “the substance and detail of the
information.” Presumably, they are not going to be
asking for detail of a breakdown of the costs, the
mark -up and all the other . . .

[Crosstalk; Fee dback]

The President: Senator Jardine, can you speak a
little louder?

Sen. James S. Jardine: Can you not hear me? Can
you hear me now?

The President: It is not just . . . That is better.

Sen. James S. Jardine: All right. I guess the question
I have, and I will repeat myself. In section 10B(2)(a), it
says, “The Commission may require each business
undertaking to furnish the Commission with information on the prices of essential commodities it sells
as may be prescribed in the regulations made under section 10E, relating to—
“(a) the substance and detail of the information . . .”
Maybe I am getting too full of nitty -gritty here,
but I have no problem with the prices provided by the stores to Government for dissemination to the public
at large. My question is, Are we going to be asking for
details of the cost of all of the components of how that
price is arrived at? Surely not. Surely all we are interested in is the actual sales price. So could the Senator
please answer that question?

The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Sen. Jarion Richardson: Yes, Madam President,
Senator Jarion Richardson.
The President: Senator Jarion Richardson, you have
the floor.

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam P resident.
I echo Senator Jardine’s comments. And obviously we not only support controlling costs in Ber-muda or certainly making best efforts to control costs
in Bermuda, but to enable a standard of living for all of
the residents which is sustainable, equitable and fair.
To that end, we thank the Government for bringing this forward.
988 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate However, we do have some reservations in
that it is one very small step. Although the Junior Mi nister did raise other solutions that are coming down
the pipeline, so to speak , I do not see the connectivity
between this particular item and those ideas. So with
that being said, I do have a few questions that I would
like her to answer as it relates to this very specific
item.
I note that the Department of Consumer A ffairs will now play a central role in managing this pr ocess. What is . . . I am very mindful that their centrality
or their focus is the protection of consumers with a
few ancillary functions. And I am questioning their i ndependence as it relates to balancing the com mercial
impacts of cost control, which is a very difficult thing to
do by even the most equipped economist. And the
downstream ramifications of cost control into a supply
chain, especially one as disparate as ours from our
sources, obviously in essential s upplies. We do not
produce these, and they have to come from, typically,
quite far away. Many of these items are grown in farms in California, for example. So that supply chain
management is actually quite complex.
Cost control is complex. Are we able in the
Department of Consumer Affairs, do we have the economic skill set to manage a cost -control process?
That is my first question.
The second part is I note that these regul ations that will be created will enable the specifying of
commodities to be done q uickly. And that specification
would not be subject to parliamentary scrutiny until the
next sitting. So does the Government have any plans
or any ideas how to deter this process from being cor-rupted? In that, I would say that a well -placed member
of the p ublic or a well -placed business would be able
to have a disproportionate influence into not only the
creation of regulations, but more so the specifying of
any commodity or product that would be added to the
list. And again, that would have significant dow nstream impact. Because when we enter this space, it is very much the laws of physics. If we push som ething, then something else needs to happen.
And what I would imagine, what we do not
want is for a discontinuation of either a product that is on the mar ket that does not become sustainable, that
would actually be quite vital to our market. We do not
want to make it so that it becomes commercially unv iable to offer that, in which case more people would
suffer.
So that is my next question: How is this pr ocess governed so that it cannot be corrupted from external influences including those of grocers and/or
well-placed members of the public? And she had a
comment as it relates to . . . that this will create a
check on food prices. And to that end, would she be able to explain what that check is on the food prices and how they anticipate that working, again against
the balanced considerations of commerciality, length
of supply chains and those sorts of things? Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Yes, I would, Madam President.

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

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. G ood morning, everyone.
We all know because we live here that Bermuda has one of the highest costs of living in the
world. And consumers in Bermuda really need to
budget carefully. Of course, I do not need to remind
us that we are living through a pandemic when so
many people are just barely able to put food on the
table. So this legislation comes at a most opportune time, and I see it as being very, very important as a
tool which will help consumers to get to shop more
strategically.
By knowing the prices of basic commodities
before they go to the store, consumers will be able to
make informed decisions. This Bill will introduce more competition in my mind in the marketplace. And as a
result, prices will become more competitive. So with
that regard, I give this Bill my full support, but I do
have a few questions.
The first question is, Will the smaller grocers,
smaller stores also have to submit their prices? And
will Government be requiring them, just in case they
do not have the same software as the larger grocers,
to use the same software to do so?
Secondly, I know that the intention here is to
seek information from the grocery stores about a
basic group of commodities. I think the Junior Minister
mentioned 24 staple goods. My question is, Can that
be increased? Because I know that the 24 goods in
that commodity’s package will give consumers some
helpful information about basic goods that they often
purchase. But I guess because I am one of those consumers who tries to shop using information ahead
of tim e, I would like to have Government consider i ncreasing that number from 24, to make it a little bit
bigger.
And my third question about this is in section
10B(2)(d) of the Bill. It reads [at section10B(1)], “ The
Commission may require each business undert aking
to furnish the Commission with information on the
price of each essential commodity sold by the bus iness undertaking as provided in subsection (2).” And
then it goes on to say . . . (Sorry. I read the wrong
subclause.)
Section 10B(2) says, “The Comm ission may
require each business undertaking to furnish the


Bermuda Senate Commission with information on the prices of essential commodities it sells as may be prescribed in the
regulations made under section 10E, relating to— . . .
“(d) the time- frame within which the information is to remain valid . . . .”
Now, I think we can appreciate that data (i.e.,
information) that are being provided is only useful if it
is valid. So will all businesses be required to opt for
keeping their data valid over a certain period? Or w ill
they be required to keep it valid all the time? I think that is a really important issue because if the data that the consumer is receiving are out of date, then they
are useless. So that issue of validity of data is very
important because we want to help; we do not want to
make things worse.
So, Madam President, with those remarks I
will say once again I support this Bill. I am very happy to see it. And I hope that the three questions I have
posed can be addressed.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Yes, Madam President,
Senator Richardson.
The President: Senator Anthony Richardson, you
have the floor.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Yes. Madam Presi dent, I
want to start off by saying that I think that we may be
ascribing more detail to this Bill than is factual in the
sense that the Bill is requiring all of the grocers to pr ovide information on the prices of the goods that are
being sold. And those w ill be limited to the essential
commodities.
So you have, let us say a list of 25 commodities properly specified. And then all grocery stores
would provide their prices on those commodities. I
take the point , certainly , that some grocers are smaller
than others. But literally, at the end of the day, an ybody can take an Excel spreadsheet, for example, and simply provide those 25 prices to Government as is required.
And then, ultimately , all consumers would
have access to those prices to see . . . for example,
take a can of cream. We should then know what the
price would be for a can of cream across all grocery
stores when we go shopping on Saturday. And some
of us will recall that (quote/unquote) “ back in the day ”
this is what people used to do. They r ead t he paper,
found the specials and then shop ped from store to
store to get each item which was cheapest at that store. That took a lot of time, for example. But that
was the ultimate [goal] —that consumers would know before they left their home s where to go t o get the
goods at their least price.
I also want to emphasise something. Way
back when the Premier asked me to chair the co mmission , and ultimately when he spoke about this last
week at the press conference . . . I am sorry, in the
House, this is not an exercise in cost control . This is
not an exercise in trying to predict or control costs in
the sense of Government dictating what the price
should be for these things. It is an information opportunity so that we, as the general public , would know
what obta ins for each of these prices.
And to assuage some of the concerns that
have been expressed by, I believe, Senator Jardine,
and Senator Simmons to a lesser degree, the commission as it currently is constituted does have the
authority to go to these stores and ask them for details on the actual pricing of the goods, not for public consumption but for understanding so that we would
know (again, let us take rice or cereal ) what was the
initial price of the cereal . What was then the cost of
getting it to Bermuda? And what i s the mark -up before
they actually price it to give to the consumers? And
the reason why that was necessary is because we want to ensure that there is not the price gouging. And
so that provides information. It still does not provide
the commi ssion with the ability to tell them that they
cannot sell the product at that price. But at least the commission then will have the information by which to
manage its own activities.
And so again I am going to emphasise that
this is not in any way, shape or form trying to establish
price control or cost control of the individual commodities. The Premier has said this, and many others have
said it also, that if you get to a stage whereby you are
trying to dictate actual prices, you will then disrupt the
supply of these goods. And that is definitely not what
is intended.
And by way of example, I think we forget that
under the original Cost Control Commission, the func-tion that they had was in fact to regulate the price of
electricity. And right now they regulate the prices of
. . . not them , but the prices of telecommunications are
also regulated. And if I use the electricity prices, for
many, many years, going back many, many years from now, that was the role of the commission, which
was to understand fully the price of fuel, for example;
the price of infrastructure and all those things, and
then decide to agree or not to agree, or to allow or not
allow any price increases in the cost of electricity.
So this is not actually a new regime, per se.
And I keep s aying it more and more now because I
want to make sure that we dispel the intentional or
unintentional misinformation around what the objective of this is. It is simply to provide information so that
consumers will know what the various prices are at
the v arious stores when they go to make purchases.
And also to just underscore that this amendment is
not giving the commission any more power from the
990 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate point of view of investigating the components of cost
than they had previously. I say that because I know
that the work that I was doing previously, that we were
able to go . . . and the stores themselves are actually
quite happy to provide the information.
The ultimate [goal], I believe, is that for the
general public there will be a greater understanding,
as I think Senator Richardson referred to earlier, that
there are other factors or significant factors that will
impact the ultimate prices of goods to us as consumers. For example, the price of wheat is going to go all
over the place based upon, sometimes hur ricanes,
rainstorms, crop damage and whatever, which will
impact the fundamental products that go into cereal.
Similarly, when it comes to fruits and vegetables, it is going to depend upon what is available, where it is
available and then can it get to Ber muda in a healthy
state?
And so, Madam President, again I made
those comments primarily to underscore the fact that
this is about an information- gathering exercise so the
public will be better informed when they go to purchase these goods as to what various prices are b eing offered for the same goods throughout Bermuda.
And I trust that each of us will be more guided by the
prices when we go to make our own purchases and
understand that it would be difficult to expand the list of products to cover all products because that is just
not practical.
And my final comment, Madam President, is
that every so often persons send me emails and i ssues around pricing. And sometimes I smile because
the most recent one was where someone sent me a picture of a can of red salmon which cost $19.50. And
my comment when I received it was, Guess what?
This makes no sense to me. This price is so high I would not even consider buying it. And we have to
also then understand that consumers have a choice.
Except for essential commodities, don ’t buy it! No gr ocery store or any other supplier is going to have goods priced at a point where they cannot sell them because, ultimately, they will go out of business.
And so I am suggesting to everybody, let us
now use our collective, or indi vidual and collective
economic power in making decisions. And that will
also cause the grocers and other suppliers to make better decisions in terms of what they provide for us to
consume.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Ant hony Ric hardson.

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Point of order, Madam
President, Senator Jarion Richardson.

The President: Senator Jarion Richardson, yes. You
have a point of order?
POINT OF ORDER
[Imputing improper motive]

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Yes. I just want to make
sure that we were not imputing improper motives on
the part of any Member of the Honourable House
when the comment was made that there is intentional
or unintentional inaccuracy of information circulating.
Obviously, if it is unintentional, then it would
not be imputing improper motives of any Member of
the Senate. But if it were that it was stipulated that this was maybe intentional circulating of inaccurate information, then I think that would be imputing improper
motives on the part of our Members. So I wanted to
raise that point of order and make sure that we clarify
that.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam President, I need
to respond.
The President: Yes, Senator Anthony Richardson.
You can respond.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: I do not intend in any
way to impute improper motive. I was saying factually,
though, that if the information is by mistake being
commented on in terms of prices and the rest of it, I
was speaking to that.
And so, no, Madam President, I am not in any
way trying to imply or impute any improper motive. I
am just stating factually if in the event that information
is being intentionally or unintentionally provided, then
the public is best served by giving clarity, which i s
what I was intending to do.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Anthony Ric hardson.
There were a number of questions, Senator
Simmons -Wade.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President.

The President: It is your Bill. Do you have responses
to any of the comments?

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Okay, Madam Pres ident. I guess I am fortunate to have the presence of
Senator Anthony Richardson—

The President: With the commission, yes.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: —who is the former
chair of the commission, who I think quite ably a nswered most of the questions. But I do want to say,
and I will reiterate, that consumers have a choice. And


Bermuda Senate an educated and informed consumer is the most i mportant thing that we can have. And given the challenging times that we are facing in Bermuda, I think
that it is vital that we have the information so that indi-viduals can save money and make wise choices.
I think there was a question in regard to the
fact that we were taking small steps. But we have to
realise that we are also looking at health care, we are
looking at electricity. We are also looking at housing,
mortgages. So there are small steps, but there are
small steps in many areas. And there are also bigger steps. So that is where we have to start.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
Are there any other comments to be made by
other Senators before Senator Simmons -Wade
moves?

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: [It is] Senator Dwayne Ro binson.

The President: Senator Dwa yne Robinson, you have
the floor.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you. Before I start, I
just want to obviously declare my interest. I am currently employed at MarketPlace as a Communications
Coordinator.

POINT OF ORDER
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Excuse me. Point of
order. I thought the question period was over.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Well, we are due, us folks
as well, to have our time to speak , Madam President.

The President: The Bill has not been passed yet,
Senator Simmons -Wade.
Certainly, Senator Richardson did speak as
chairperson. But there were a number of questions.
And it was appropriate that before closing it I allow any other Senator to speak.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: There was clarity pr ovided by Senator Richardson. But I did respond that most of the questions were answered already. And I
did make a comment. So I thought the question period
that you provided was over. And then I was responding to the questions.
But nevertheless, I am prepared to entertain
the question.

The President: Senator Robinson, you can continue.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you.
So for me it is just trying to really wrap my
head around this Bill and its purpose. As we know, grocery stores have online websites that display pri ces and display specials, and also have dep artments,
such as the one that I work in which actively updates
and is in communication with shoppers to make sure
that prices are updated, and that is public information. And as has been repeated several times by the Honourable Premier and the spokesperson in this Chamber, it is public information.
To me, when looking at this Bill the first thing I
can say is that it seems that it is a convenience Bill.
And the reason why I say it is a convenience Bill is because we have a population of Bermudians who,
over time, have basically become so accustomed to
the cost of living that they have worked out convenient
ways in which to shop and convenient ways in which
to save money on their own accord. And I come in
contact with some of these folks every day, some who
are willing to go from one end of the Island to the ot her to finish their shopping regime to gain as much savings as possible.
So when I hear the rationalisation of this legi slation, it is lost on me. Because what it is doing is
providing a convenience, not something that is actually adding anything to what is already available.
And in a time where our economy is contrac ting and a time where the Government’s purse is
pinched, and a time where our fellow Bermudians are taking pay cuts throughout the country and the civil service is being asked to take a pay cut, I cannot see
how moving into this Bill when every dollar counts for
what the Government is currently spending is opportune at this time for what we are dealing with.
So the amount that was quoted by the Pre mier in his BBC interview was $50K, and was also quoted in this statement. And working with one of
these websites that does display information, I find it a
bit hard to believe that the cost of that website will be
$50K if the estimation has tak en into account the
maintenance and things to make sure that any bugs
or what -not are dealt with. Usually that comes from a
third-party server.
Moving on to helping our most vulnerable and
those who really require these savings are Bermudians who are on F inancial Assistance. And according
to my knowledge Financial Assistance holders can
only shop between Lindo’s and MarketPlace. So if
they only have two options to shop, this database
does nothing for them, because they would only be
able to compare the pri ces that they are already comparing when they choose to either shop at Lindo’s or shop at MarketPlace.
So showcasing the lowest price of a good in a
store comes down to the 24 essential items. Now, you
have several brands of the same item. So as a Member mentioned, somebody sent him a picture of a can
of red tuna [sic] going for $19.99. But is that problem
going to be tackled based off of this database when a store can simply register a ShopRite can of tuna that
may be going for $10.00 or $9.00? So that same price
992 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate will still be there. So to me, I am just trying to understand it. We can take this convenience right now and
spend that (quote/unquote) “$50K,” which actually
works out to be the unemployment COVID -19 benefit
for 100 Bermudians for a week or 50 Bermudians for
two weeks.
So the competition aspect of this Bill is, to me,
slightly misleading, because grocery stores’ prices regarding competition probably make up about like
10 per cent or 15 per cent of how they actually price.
Most of it comes from cost of operating. So unless we
are looking to find ways to reduce operating costs,
you will find that prices will not be impacted by this
database at all. And in fact, all we are essentially d oing is pooling together already public information, attaching a price tag to it with that $50K, and removing
that extra step of work for the consumer, which in a perfect economy would make sense if we had that
sort of money to spare.
But in an economy where we have seen the
deficit rise, you know, we really probably could have
put this Bill back. And even moving into the Cost of
Living Commission . . . after the period of time in
which the Cost of Living Commission has been in o peration this, in my opinion, is a bit of a poor showing regarding legislation if this is t he first step that we are
going to take—making information public, which is
already public, and paying and putting that on the taxpayer to create a database when they already have that information.
So I would just like to hear a bit more on the
rationale behind that. And with those comments, I will
close, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dwayne Robi nson.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
appreciate the Senator declaring his interests and
conflicts of interest. But I will rei terate again, this is an
additional tool to assist Bermudians to have efficient
and accurate information that is currently public. I a ppreciate he said that in the past, and what is still happening now, individuals go from shop to shop to try to
find the c heapest price. What we are not taking into
consideration is the gas and the time they use when
they go from shop to shop.
I think it is also important to note that $50,000
is a small price to pay considering you have a popul ation of over 60,000 people, which works out to basically $0.85 a person. What we have to do is determine
what is necessary to assist our population in saving money. Yes, you can call it a convenience Bill. But
those people who use this tool, yes, it is convenient
and it also is saving money for those individuals.
In regard to the fact that Financial Assistance
clientele are only allowed to use Lindo’s and Market-Place, I will bring to his attention that it is seriously
under consideration that we enlarge those numbers and increase the n umber of stores that will be able to
use Financial Assistance cards for food. I think this information, and I think this Bill, is significant. Government is being extremely proactive in ensuring that
it makes decisions and provides tools to assist our comm unity during this very challenging time to save
money and get the best price possible.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
You want to do your second reading.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, I have not yet
been given a chance to contribute to this. I would like
to.

[Pause]

The President: Senator Marcus Jones.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes. Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I have been quite intrigued by what I have
heard from my colleagues up to this point. But I be-lieve we need to take a step back and put this Cost of
Living Commission Amendment Act 2020 in its proper
context. Now, I appreciate the comments made by the
former Chairman of the Cost of Living Commission, Senator Anthony Richardson, who made the stat ement that part of the purpose of this commission is not
just price control. And in this particular legislation, the purpose is to increase the level of information—

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Excuse me. Madam
President, point of order.

The President: Senator R ichardson, what is your
point of order?

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Anthony Richardson: To clarify that, it is not at
all the role of the commission for price control —not at
all.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, I thought that
is what I said. Well, let me st ep back and restate that,
based on Senator Richardson’s direction.
So the price control exercise is not its only
mandate. Am I correct?

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam President, if I
may?
The President: Yes, Senator Richardson, Anthony
Richardson.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: The comment that is b eing made is that price control is not its only role. It is


Bermuda Senate not a role at all. Price control is not a function at all of
the Cost of Living Commission.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Okay. Thank you, Senator
Richardson for that direction.
But again, I am trying to put this entire legisl ation in context. And if you would go back in time, as the Junior Minister, Mrs. Simmons -Wade, expressed
to us, the actual platform of the PLP in 2017, one of its
planks on its platform was to grant additional powers
to the existing Price Control Commission to examine
ways to reduce the cost of living in Bermuda.
Now, we know in our experience within the
political realm that party platforms and the actual rol ling-out of policy and legislation c an be onerous, tedious, difficult, problematic. And sometimes one’s pro mises can be of such a manner that once you actually roll out the legislation, it may not add up to the promises that were made. Now, from that platform, from
that statement, that was s upposed to be something
that was tangible within the first 100 days of the PLP
Administration’s —

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Point of order,

Yes, Madam Attorney General. You
have a point of order?

POINT OF ORDER
[Relevance]
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: The Member
is . . . I don’t want to say “walking,” the Member is going outside of the debate to express a political opinion
on the Government’s platform and the results therein. If he could be kindly asked to mak e his point.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President —

The President: Senator Jones, you will stick to the
Bill under discussion at the moment.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, I will respec tfully say that that is not a proper point of order. Now,
she may not like what I am saying. The Honourable and Learned Attorney General may not like what I am
saying. She may not agree with —
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Pres ident—
The President: Senator Jones, you are not to make
any aspersions. Please, I w ant you to stick to the matter at hand, which is the Cost of Living Commission
Amendment Act.
So I want you to make your comments related
to the Bill currently under review.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, I believe it is
very important when discussi ng this Cost of Living
Commission amendment that we refer back to the
original mandate and purposes of the Government so
that we can link up and measure the promises that were made based on the legislation that we are considering today.

The President: Senator Jones —
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President,
point of order.

The President: Senator Jones, again I am asking you
to relate your comments strictly to the Bill under r eview at the moment. And that is the Cost of Living
Commission Amendment Act 2020. The Bill is before us, and that is what you should be making your comments on, and not outside of this remit.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, that is all I
am talking about! I have not talked about anything
else but the cost of living. Now, if we are not able to
use a little bit of latitude, if we are not able to pull back
what this Government has promised this country in
putting this legislation in proper context, why are we
here, Madam President? I think this is very important.
I was able to at tend a minimum living wage
forum at Somerset Cricket Club last year May, where
these issues of the cost of living were made, arguments for this commission as part of its mandate. I
would like to think that that roadshow that went to the four corners of thi s Island gathering information from
its citizens was used to help draft this particular legi slation. And I believe the public would appreciate the
work that has gone in to making this legislation poss ible and all of the building blocks that made this legi slation come to fruition.
Madam President, I believe that what I am
about to say now has value. I believe it is important that we know how we got here. Now, with the fanfare
that was made about wanting to control costs, and in a Throne Speech of 2018 the phrase was used, dismantling systems of inequality when it comes to the
cost of living, we now today are looking at a piece of
legislation that the strength of this legislation is to give
the public access to information when it comes to essential prices of goods.
Now, this is what we are discussing, and this
is what I am talking about. My point to you, Madam
President, is that from the fanfare of a platform that heralded major changes to create better situations for
cost of living, this legislation is woef ully short in its
promises for a Government that has been in power for
three years. That is the point I am trying to make.
Now, part of that —

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President.
Point of order, Madam President.
994 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate Can I ask the Senator to please be clear in
regard to what his question is in relation to—
Sen. Marcus Jones: That is not a point of order. That
is not a point of order, Madam President. That is not a
point of order, and I will not yield until I hear a proper point of order.
[
Inaudible in terjections]
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Pres ident, I believe you have already ruled on the previous point of order with regard to the tangent that the
Member is going off on.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: The Senator should
confine his obligations to the subject under consider ation.
[
Inaudible conversation]
Sen. Marcus Jones: I have not left the subject of the
cost of living in this country, Madam President!
[
Crosstalk; Feedback]
Sen. Marcus Jones: I take exception to being interrupted and stopped when I am trying to make a point
about the cost of living legislation in this country!
I will continue, Madam President.
The President: Senator Jones, can I just read Standing Order [49](4)? “Every Member shall confine his
observations to the subject under consideration.” So I am asking you to let your comments be subject to the Bill that we are currently debating.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Madam President, I am only
talking about this legislation. I am talking about all the building blocks that were used to produce this legisl ation. I am adding my spin, my opinion, my understan ding of how this legislation came to be, understanding that work had gone in before this time to create this legislation.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam President, another point of order, Madam President.
The President: Senator Richardson, what is your
point of order?
POINT OF ORDER
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam President, I am
challenged, to be honest, to listen to the discourse from the fellow Senator there because he continues to give comments that he says are his opinions, that are not based in facts. The legislation at this stage that is being proposed today is to provide for the grocery stores and others to provide prices to the Government
for publication to all consumers. His conjecture in
terms of the basis and some of the history is actually incorrect.
And I can speak from a factual position because, as you know, I was initially appointed as the Chair of the Cost of Living Commission. And the goal
was nothing to do with price controls, nothing to do
with minimum wages and all the rest of it. It was to try to ensure that information is given to the public by which they can make decisions.
Today’s legislation is focusing on the idea that
there will be specified goods. T heir prices will be pu blicised for consumers to have information. The rest of the Senator’s comments are—as he said himself —his
spin, which he might have said that by mistake, but he said that is his spin and his conjecture. And I take the
point that his comments are far outside of what is being debated today.
The President: Senators, I am going to extend a bit
of latitude to Senator Marcus Jones as long as he r efers to the Bill at hand. And so, therefore, that is my decision.
So, Senator Marcus Jones, y ou c an speak
and just make sure that your facts are related to the
Bill under review at this time.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
The question that I would have for the Junior
Minister in regard to giving the public access to information about prices through this legislation: Would the
Ministry consider other prices besides just grocery prices? For example, pharmaceutical drugs, hardware items, professional services in the medical field, bea uty and barbershop prices?
Now, it may be a stretch to consider these
particular items as essential commodities. But it was interesting that the Minister of National Security was inundated with phone calls from people wanting wax treatments, which really surprised me. So for some in this community there are certain commodities that rise
to the level of essential which may be considered as
reasonable items to be accessible to the public in r egard to trying to make an informed decision when pur-chasing items.
I
would also ask, if it is only grocery stores
that we are contemplating providing this service on,
then do we need to consider widening the range of essential commodities? And should we also include services to these prices (i.e., beauty and barber-shops)? So with those questions, Madam, I yield.
The P resident: Thank you, Senator Marcus Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak? No?
Then Senator Simmons -Wade, do you have a
response to that comment? If not, you can do your second reading.


Bermuda Senate Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: I will do my second
reading.

The President: Thank you. Carry on.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Cost of Living Commi ssion Amendment Act 2020 be read the second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Car ry on.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect
to this Bill.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

COST OF LIVING COMMISSION
AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Cost of Living Commi ssion Amendment Act 2020 be now read a third time.

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

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Cost of Living Commission Amendment Act
[2020] do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Cost of Living Commission
Amendment Act 2020 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Senators, I would just like, before we
move on, to apologise to you with regard to the fact
that once Senator Richardson had spoken, and then I
moved on to Senator Simmons -Wade, I did not . . . I
failed to ask all other Senators if they wanted to speak
on the Bill. So my apology to you for that omission. Moving on now to the second Order of the
Day, it is the Public Health Amendment (No. 2) Act
2020. And that is Senator Simmons -Wade. Is this your
Bill?

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Yes, it is.

The President: You have the floor.

STANDING ORDER 25

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the provision of Stan ding Order 25 be granted so that the Senate may now proceed with the second reading of the Bill entitled the
Public Health Amendment (No. 2) Act 2020.

The President: Is there any obje ction to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senator Simmons -Wade.

[Motion carried: Leave granted for Public Health
Amendment (No. 2) Act 2020 to be read a second
time on the same day as its first reading.]

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Public Health Amendment (No. 2) Act 2020 be now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

PUBLIC HEALTH AMENDMENT (NO. 2 ) ACT 2020
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
am pleased to invite the Honourable Chamber to consider the Bill entitled
Public Health Amendment
(No. 2) Act 2020 .
Madam President, this Bill would amend the
Public Health Act 1949 to permit the Governor, where
the Minister responsible for Health, after consulting
the Chief Medical Officer, has determined that a
communicable disease of the first or second c ategory
poses a severe threat to public health in Bermuda, to
make regulations that provide for the prevention, control or suppression of the communicable disease.
Such regulations may include restrictions on mov ement and a curfew.
Madam President, for the information of Ho nourable [Senators] and the public, these categories of communicable diseases are set out in Part V, section
66 of the Public Health Act. Communicable diseases
of the first category include COVID -19, whilst co mmunicable diseases of the s econd category include
996 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate things like chickenpox, German measles and influenza.
Madam President, Honourable [Senators] will
be aware that as part of the ongoing global pandemic
and our local response to it, we have issued closure notices under the Public Health 1949 Act, made reg ulations specific to the COVID -19 pandemic and noted
the need to properly mandate public health superv ision, active monitoring and isolation, as well as enforcement and support of these provisions.
Madam President, Honourable [Senators] and
the public will also recall that, as part of the wider pu blic health response to the pandemic, firstly, Cabinet
had authorised the Premier to invite His Excellency
the Governor to impose a curfew under the Summary Offences Act 1926 and thereafter t o declare a state of
emergency such that he could thereafter impose a 24-hour shelter in place pursuant to regulations made
under the Emergency Powers Act 1963. Those reg ulations were extended through May 2
nd, 2020, by res olution passed by both Houses of t he Legislature on
April 17th. Since that time, further regulations were
made to manage the gradual reopening of Bermuda and will remain in effect through the 30
th of June 2020.
Madam President, the use of constitutional
powers to declare a state of emergency and to apply provisions of the Emergency Powers Act is more sui ted to meeting the challenges of civil unrest in society.
Their use in the current pandemic has proven an [i nelegant] means by which to restrict the movement of
people and manage the spread of the COVID -19 virus, especially in light of the duration of the limitations
applicable to the relevant powers that did not reflect
the need for ongoing flexibility based on public health
advice and best practice.
Therefore, Madam President, without prej udice to the emergency powers available under the
Constitution and the Emergency Powers Act 1963,
Cabinet was invited to consider amendments to the Public Health Act 1949 to permit the Governor to
make necessary regulations to address public health
situat ions such as pandemics. The Bill before the
Senate today creates the necessary regime without
the requirement to rely on powers under a state of
emergency.
Madam President, I would invite Honourable
[Senators] to take note that the tests to be applied for
making regulations are similar to that applied in sup-port of the Health Minister’s authority to make closure
orders under the Act. Pursuant to section 88 of the
principal Act, the Minister responsible for Health must determine that a communicable disease of the first or
second category exists or that, in the opinion of the
Chief Medical Officer, there was an [imminent risk of
an outbreak of the said disease. Honourable [Sen ators] will also no doubt note that, pursuant to section
172 of the Act, the negativ e resolution procedure applies to regulations made under the Act. Madam President, I must observe that in spite
of the limitations and less -than- nimble legislative tools
that we have had at our disposal, the Government, the various enforcement agencies an d other public service stakeholders have managed well since the decl aration of a global pandemic in March. The Bill before the [Senate] will improve our ability to meet the demands of any change in the Island’s public health si tuation.
Thank you, Madam Pr esident.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?

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

Sen. Marcus Jones: First of all, let me thank the Ju nior Minister for presenting this piece of legislation. We
are in support of it because we see that this amendment is necessary to give the Minister flexibility to d eclare a public health emergency to restrict the mov ement of persons. We recognise, with this extra dex-terity, it could go a long way in saving time and in fact
saving lives.
My only caveat to this particular amendment
would be two questions. The further 60 days given to
the Minister to extend these powers, we realise that
this particular leg islation impacts a person’s civil liberties. And because at an earlier time we debated about
parliamentary scrutiny, which we reluctantly surrendered to the Legislature, we would question and be concerned with the extended number of days that the
Minister will be able to exert that authority.
Another thing I would want to raise as just a
question that can be considered is, with these powers given the Minister of Health to essentially shut down a
country and impede the movement of its citizens, what this in fact does, and we have experienced, is actually
close down the economy of this Island. So I would
advise, suggest, that the Minister of Health, if it is not
going to be amended and hard- coded into any piece
of legislation, but that the Minister of Finance also e ither be given equal empowerment or be consulted. Because it affects his ability to keep the economy going as well.
We have heard in different jurisdictions some
government leaders have stated that they did not want
to open up their economy until a vaccine was created
for this COVID -19. Now, I know that we are not follo wing that particular advice or that particular directive.
But we can quickly see how if both the issue of health
and the economy are not considered in tandem, we
can then make decisions where the cure is more harmful than the virus itself.
Thank you, Madam President.



Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator Marcus Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?

Sen. Michelle Simmons: I will, Madam President.
The President: Senator Michelle Simmons, you have
the floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I support this Bill. I think it is necessary to
bring this before the Senate today so that we can e nsure that Government has the ability to act when there
is a public health emergency.
I did reach out to the Junior Minister because
the only comment I have other than that is that in the citation, there is a typo. It reads, “This Act, which
amends the Health Insurance Act 1949 . . . may be
cited . . . .” I believe that should read, “This Act, which
amends the Public Health Act 1949 . . . be cited . . .”
and so on.
With that, Madam President, I will end my r emarks. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?

Sen. Vance Campbell: Yes, Madam President.

The President: Senator?
Sen. Vance Campbell: Campbell.

The President: Beg your pardon. Senator Campbell,
you have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I just have
a brief comment. Although this Bill grants the initial power to the Minister under the negative resolution
measure to make a public health emergency order for a period not exceeding 30 days, any extension . . .
and this Bill also gives the power to extend it for a pe-riod or periods not exceeding 60 days. But if we look at clause 3, [new section 107A](4)says, “Any extension under subsection (3) shall be made by order su bject to the affirmative resolution procedure.” So any
extension will have to come before the legislative
body for approval.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No? Then, Senator Simmons -Wade, you have
the floor for comments.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Yes. I would like to
clarify that the 60 days is subject to parliamentary
scrutiny. And the decision to extend is only [with] consultation with the Chief Medical Officer. And it would
never be in the absence of Cabinet.

The President: Thank you for that. You can do
your—
[Inaudible interjections]

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: And also the Computerisation and Revision of Laws Act [1989] will correct any typo in the Bill that is put forward.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: You can do your second reading now.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Public Health Amendment (No. 2) Act 2020 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect
of this Bill.

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

BILL

THIRD RE ADING

PUBLIC HEALTH AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2020

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Public Health Amendment (No. 2) Act 2020 be now read a third time.

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

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Public Health Amendment (No. 2) Act 2020 do
now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill has passed.

998 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate [Motion carried: The Public Health Amendment (No. 2)
Act 2020 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons. Sorry . . . Senator Simmons -Wade. I beg your
pardon.

[Laughter]

Sen. Ian thia Simmons -Wade: You are welcome.
The President: Thank you.
We will now move on to the third item on the
Orders of the Day, and that is the Contributory Pe nsions Temporary Amendment Act 2020. And that is
Senator Campbell’s Bill.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Yes, it is, Madam President.

The President: You have the floor, Senator Cam pbell. Carry on.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I ask that I
move Standing Orders in reference to the next two
Bills, as both of them are mine. Is that okay, Madam
President ?

The President: That is fine. Yes, you can.

STANDING ORDER 25

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the provisions of Standing Order 25 be granted so that the Senate may now proceed with the second reading
of the Bills entitled the Contributory Pensions Temporary Amendment Act 2020 and the National Pension
Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Temporary
Amendment Act 2020.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Carry on, Senator Campbell.
[Motion carried: Leave grant ed for the Contributory
Pensions Temporary Amendment Act 2020 and the
National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Temporary Amendment Act 2020 to be read a second
time on the same day as the first reading.]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Contributory Pensions Temporary Amendment Act
2020 be now read a second time.

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


BILL

SECOND READING

CONTRIBUTORY PENSIONS TEMPORARY
AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I now pr esent the Contributory Pensions Temporary Amendment Act 2020 for the consideration of the Senate.
Madam President, the Contributory Pensions
Fund was established under the Contributory Pen-sions Act 1970. The purpose of the fund is to, among
other things, provide old age pensions, disability and
death benefits for persons satisfying certain contribu-tions, citizenship and/or residency requirements. Contributions are payable in respect of employed and self -
employed persons. The employer pays $35.92 per
week for each employee, and the employee pays an
equal amount if he is under the age of 65. Self -
employed persons under the age of 65 pay a contrib ution equal to the joint contributions of employee and
employer.
Madam President, Senators are aware that
COVID -19 has had a significant impact on economic
activity and social conditions in Bermuda. Government has swiftly introduced a temporary unemployment
benefit for employees who have been laid off as a r esult of the COVID -19 pandemic. Additionally, to further
assist persons, the scope of refund withdrawals under
the National Pension Scheme (Oc cupational Pe nsions) Act 1998 was amended to include a one- time
withdrawal by members or former members of $12,000 from the period 1
st of July 2020 until the 30th
of June 2021. Finally, the National Pension Scheme
(Occupational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act
2020 has been tabled in order to provide for a full
suspension of planned contributions by members and
employers for the period 1st of July 2020 to the 30th of
June 2021.
Madam President, COVID -19 has also had a
significant impact on businesses, and the Government
has implemented several emergency measures to assist businesses that have a pressing need for finan-cial relief as a result of this pandemic. Despite this
relief, several businesses have approached the Mini stry seeking further relief by way of a suspension of
their obligations to make contributions under the Contributory Pension Act 1970.
Madam President, to provide further support
to employees, employers and self -employed persons
during this unprecedented period, it is proposed to
amend the Contributory Pensions Act 1970 to allow
for the voluntary suspension of contributions by employees, employers and self -employed persons for the
period from the 1
st of July 2020 to the 30th of June
2021. Madam President, this is a temporary measure
that wi ll provide temporary relief to employers and
provide additional income to employees. Additional


Bermuda Senate income to employees provides stimulus for our economy. This measure is voluntary. Therefore, emplo yers, employees and self -employed persons who
choose not to suspend their contributions will continue
to make their contributions during the suspension pe-riod.
Madam President, total Contributory Pension
Fund contributions are approximately $113 million per year. So if a portion of the suspension of contributions
is taken up in the public and private sector, it will pr ovide relief to families and businesses and a stimulus
to our economy.
Madam President, Senators are advised that
benefits to the Contributory Pension Fund are tied to the number of contributions made into the fund; ther efore, no benefits will accrue under the fund unless
contributions are made. Where employees have suspended their contributions, this Act provides for those
employees to make voluntary contributions into the
fund after the suspension period has ended.
Madam President, as at the 30
th of April 2020,
the fund had net assets of over $1.8 billion, representing approximately 10 times the annual value of benefits paid in the 2018/19 fiscal year. This is a relatively
high level of funding when compared to 14 other r egional social security schemes. In a 2013 study, Bermuda’s ratio is better than nine of these countries,
which have an average of 7.5 years. By comparison, the ratio for the Canada pension plan in 2018 was 8.1
times. The effect, Madam President, is that if the Co ntributory Pension Fund received no further contrib utions, it could still continue to pay out pensions at the
prevailing rate for almost 10 years.
The last actuary report for the Contributory
Pension Fund was for the period A ugust 1
st, 2017,
and has already been tabled in the Senate. Senators
are advised that the next actuary review of the Con-tributory Pension Fund is scheduled for the period
ending 31 July 2020.
Madam President, the Contributory Pension
Fund was established in 1970 and thus has a rather
simplistic design. Since the Contributory Pension
Fund was established, there have not been any mean ingful reforms to the plan, even after the mandatory National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pen-sions) Act 1998 was introduced. Accordingly, the Mi nistry is of the view that any reform of the Contributory
Pension Fund should take a holistic view of pensions
for the various categories of workers to reduce cover-age gaps and any other anomalies. With the Contributory Pension Fund as t he first pillar of retirement i ncome, reformed Contributory Pension Fund benefits,
together with other pensions, could provide for pr ogressive benefits and a contribution formula at levels
that can lead to the sustainability of the Contributory
Pension Fund in the long term.
Accordingly, Madam President, the Ministry
plans to engage the Government’s actuary of record and any other service providers required to conduct a comprehensive review of all pensions in Bermuda. It
is anticipated that this engagement will be completed
by the end of 2020 at the latest and will be shared
with the Senate.
Madam President, this Bill provides further
relief to employees, employers and self -employed
persons and provides for the following:
• it allows for the voluntary suspension of em-ployees, employers, and self -employed persons in respect of contributions into the Co ntributory Pension Fund for the whole of the
suspension period;
• it provides that an agreement is needed between the employer and the employee if the
employer wishes to suspend his contributions
as they relate to an employee;
• because the suspension of contributions is
voluntary, employees, employers and self -
employed persons who do not wish to suspend their contributions will continue to co ntribute to the fund duri ng the suspension per iod;
• it makes employers still liable to pay any employer or employee contributions outstanding
before the suspension period commences;
• it creates offences if an employer continues to
deduct contributions when the employee has
given not ice that he has decided to suspend
payments of his contributions ;
• it also provides than an employee may make
voluntary contributions after the suspension period has ended; and
• it makes consequential amendments.
Madam President, I will repeat certain key e lements of the Bill. Madam President, if the employee does not want to suspend, the employer has to continue to contribute. If the employee decides to suspend, they cannot force the employer to contribute if
they decide to suspend. Madam President, employees
will be able to make up [at] any time before reaching
the retirement age, and it will be both the employee and employer contributions that they would have to
make to catch up as a result of this one- year suspe nsion. The rates that will be paid are the rates of the
periods that are missed. So currently, the rate is $35.92 times 2, and that will be what they would have
to pay, which is $75.84. That is what they would have
to pay at the current rate to catch up.
The department is already able to handle voluntary payments. So there will be no necessary changes in relation to any voluntary payments made by the employees. If an employer is paying 100 per
cent of these deductions, they will still need the per-mission of the employee to suspend. And, Madam President, any employee —and I would go as far as
saying employers as well —can always check with the
department regarding any compliance issues. And I am advised that the department will be producing a
flyer or a statement of frequently asked questions.
1000 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate So, Madam P resident, with those introductory
remarks, I now welcome comments from other Senators.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell. But I
need to ask a question. It is now 12:30. Would Sen ators care to continue? Or have a break and go to
lunch and then come back?

An Hon. Senator : Yes.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Pres ident, we would love to have a break for lunch since
we still have a ways to go.

The President: Fine. With that said, Madam Attorney
General, we will break for lunch and return at two
o’clock.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: It is 2:15,

Thank you.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Is it two o’clock, Madam
President?
The President: I beg your pardon. I am trying to
cheat you of 15 minutes . . . 2:15 is when we should
come back. So we will break until 2:15. Thank you,
Senators.

Proceedings suspended at 12:30 pm

Proceedings resumed at 2:15 pm

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

BILL

SECOND READING

CONTRIBUTORY PENSIONS TEMPORARY
AMENDMENT ACT 2020
[Continuation thereof]

The President: Good afternoon, Senators and listening audience. The Senate is back in session.
Prior to lunch, we were on the second reading
of the third item on our Order Paper for the day, and
that is the Contributory Pensions Temporary Amend-ment Act 2020. Senator Campbell had completed his
remarks and had invited comments from his fellow
Senators.
So the floor is now open. Would any Senator
care to speak on this Bill? Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
Yes, I would like to respond to this.

The President: Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Again, a hearty afternoon to my
fellow colleagues —I trust everyone had a very enjo yable lunch— and to the listening public.
First and foremost, we appreciate the merits
of the suspension of payment to the Contributory
Pension Fund for a one- year holiday, as it will help
both the employee and the employer keep monies in
their pocket during and after this crisi s, at least in the
short term. So we can see the wisdom in the Gover nment’s offering this assistance.
We have all heard the phrase, Never let a
crisis go to waste. Well, truly that particular phrase is
applicable to the pandemic that we are in today. I
would say that this particular crisis has made many
people within the public do their homework to find out
the status of their contributory pension fund to ensure
that when they do retire at age 65, which I am light
years away from . . . I pause for dramatic effect, of
course.

[Laughter]
Sen. Marcus Jones: That we do our homework to
find out where we are in our contributory pension fund. It affords us the opportunity to check with the
Social Insurance Department to see if our status r eveals that we are on an average of 50 weeks per year of payments into this fund, which will afford us at the
age of 65 being able to maximise our benefits when
that time comes.
So we do not have much in opposition . . . in
fact, [nothing] in opposition to this particular legisl ation, Madam President. And I thank you for your time.
The President: Thank you, Senator Marcus Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Sen. James S. Jardine: Yes, Senator Jardine.
The President: Senator Jardine, you want to speak ;
you have the floor.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you very much, Madam President.
Madam President, unfortunately I am not light
years from retirement. Those light years have come and gone. And I recognise the importance of having a
pension. And Senator Jones is quite correct. It is i mportant, and I would say this for all those who are getting close to the magic 65 to trot along to the Pensions
Authority and check out where you are with respect to
your contributory pension because it is an opportunity


Bermuda Senate to prop up before you retire. And I think it is important
to be aware of just exactly where you are.
And I remember the days when we used to
put stamps on cards to complete your pension contr ibutions. That is how far back I go.
Madam President, I too recognise the i mportance of this legislation and the reasons for it.
There are many people in Bermuda who have suffered greatly as a reaction to this COVID -19 virus,
which has plagued the world, and have found them-selves in unfortunate positions of either not be ing able
to work or have had reduced takings for whatever
reason. And so for many, being able to get access to
pension funds has provided or will provide them with a
needed assistance with respect to paying for food and electricity and other needed things during the next
couple of months.
I would say, though, that for those who can
manage without having to stop making payments into
their pension plan, whether it is the Contributory Pension Plan that we are debating today, or the National Pension Plan, to c ontinue where at all possible to
make those payments or to at least start to make up any non- payments when times are better because the
day of retirement will arrive, as it has for me. And you
will need those retirement pension funds in order to
live howev er long you have in your years of retir ement. So I would just make those couple of opening
statements.
I do thank Senator Campbell for making his
presentation. He did mention a couple of things in there that I was going to ask about, or I think clarified
some of those points. But there are certain things in the Bill, which I will say at the outset I do support.
There are a couple of questions that I had with r espect to various points in it. And I think Senator
Campbell clarified some of them. But I just w anted to
go over them again, and perhaps he can reclarify or at
least confirm what I think he said.
The first is with respect to clause 4, Suspe nsion of contributions: employed persons. And it says
there, “(1) An employed person who is liable to pay
weekl y contributions under section 4(1)(a) of the pri ncipal Act may suspend his contributions in respect of
the suspension period . . . .” Full stop. No other comment.
And then if you turn to the explanatory notes,
which are on the last page, especially that c lause, it
says, “[Clause 4] (Suspension of contributions: employed persons) provides for an employee to suspend
payment of his contributions, with the agreement of
his employer . . . .”
So if we go to that section of clause 4 of the
Bill, it does not say with the “agreement of his employer”; in the explanatory notes it does. And so I was confused as to exactly what was happening here.

The President: Mm-hmm .
Sen. James S. Jardine: And I think as a whole, I
think Senator Campbell said that both parties, both
the employer and the employee, have to agree to it.
And if that is the case, that makes a lot of sense. But it
would be helpful if it was actually in the Bill itself rather than as a comment in the Explanatory Memorandum.
My second question and second point is if you
go down to [clause 5,] Suspension of contributions: employers, and it says in clause 5(1) “An employer
who is liable to pay contributions under section 4(1)(b)
of the principal Act may suspend his contributions as they relate to an employee in respect of the suspension period, with the agreement of the employee.”
So what I am confused about is if the emplo yee says, No, I don’t agree, then what happens? Pr esumably, the employer then has to continue making contributions when he may have already given per-mission in [section] 4(1)(a) where the employee has
got to make his contribution. So you can see there is
some confusion here.
The clarification or the clarity should be both
parties have to agree that both parties do not make
contributions, or at least the employer has the option
of making them or not making them. Otherwise, if the
employee can say to the employer, Well, I don’t have
to make all my contributions, but you have to make
yours. But there is no relief for the employer at all. In
other words, relief for the employee, but no relief for
the employer. So I was a bit confused as to what the
intention was. And I think if I am correct Senator
Campbell said that both parties have to agree to the
suspension. So I just wanted to clarify that because it
is not clear in this Bill. And I think it is confusing and
somewhat difficult to understand.
My third point is on page 3 in clause 9, and it
says there . . . this is Consequential and related
amendments. [Clause 9(1)] says, “For the purposes of
this Act, the Contributory Pensions (Voluntary Pa yments) Regulations 1968 shall be read as if —
“(a) regulation 2(1) applies to an insured person who, after the suspension period has ended,
wishes to make up deficiencies in his record arising
from him sus pending his contributions under this Act
. . . .”
So I guess my question here is, if the emplo yee decides that they want to go back and make up the
contributions they missed, does not the employer
have to do likewise? Is there a requirement for the
employ er? Is the employer allowed to not make any
contributions? Because both contributions are critical to determining the ultimate pension payment that somebody gets when they retire. And so again it was
not clear to me whether the employer, if the employee
decides to make up the shortfall at some future date,
whether the employer has to do likewise.
So, Madam President, those are my three
questions. And may I say, I think Senator Campbell, tried to clarify that at the beginning of his comments.
But it would s eem to me that the clarity should be in
1002 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate the body of the Bill rather than what is seen. It should
be clear in the body of the Bill.
And those are my questions and comments
with respect to this piece of legislation. Thank you,

Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No? Then if no one wants to speak, then,
Senator Campbell, you have a few questions to r espond to. Senator Campbell?

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I think in my presentation
of the brief I did answer the question about whether or
not if an employee decides to suspend their contributions, then they cannot require the employer to continue to contribute.
As it relates to the makeup payments, the
employee, having asked the employer to suspend
payments who then wishes after the suspension per iod to make those payments up would actually have to pay both portions, which will total $71.84. They would
have to actually make up the employee and th e employer contributions themselves. It is unfair to ask the
employer, after you suspended [contributions] for a year, to then come back and make up those pa yments.
As it relates to any conflict between the E xplanatory Memorandum and the Bill itself, the Bill itself
is what would be law, and the difference may be something that is related to where the Bill may have been going originally and was left in there. But the
employee has to agree [to] the suspension. And if the
employee agrees, then the employer h as to suspend.
Now, there may be a scenario where the employee agrees to continue to make contributions or wants to contribute that the employer, because of the
relationship they have, may be able to convince them
to suspend. But as long as the employee a grees to
continue with the contributions, the employer has to
contribute. And they therefore do not realise the sav-ings.
I believe that answers Senator Jardine’s questions. If not, Senator Jardine, you can correct me on that.

Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. Thank you, Senator Campbell. Yes, that does.
I guess it still leaves open the question for i nterpretation of, as I say, that clause 5(1). And you
have indicated that, obviously, the [amended] Act
would be the place that people would look. So I guess
I am just hoping that people understand that it is a
collective agreement rather than, you know, the employer saying, Yes, you don’t have to pay, and then
the employee comes along and says, Yeah, but I’m
not going to give you permission not to pay. I want you still to pay. There has to be some sort of collective
agreement there so that the employer as well as the employee can benefit from the provisions of this Bill.

The President: Thank you.
Senator Campbell, you can now do your second r eading then.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I will pass
on Senator Jardine’s comments to the Minister.
The President: Thank you.

Sen. Vance Campbell: And with that, I thank my fellow Senators for their support of this Bill.
And, Madam President, I move that the Bill
entitled the Contributory Pensions Temporary
Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect of this
Bill.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

CONTRIBUTORY PENSIONS TEMPORARY
AMENDMENT ACT 202 0

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Contributory Pensions Temporary
Amendment Act 2020 be now read a third time.

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

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Contributory Pensions Temporary Amendment Act 2020 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill is passed.



Bermuda Senate [Motion c arried: The Contributory Pensions Temp orary Amendment Act 2020 was read a third time and
passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell and
Senators.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: We will now move on to the fourth
item, which is the second reading of the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Temporary
Amendment Act.
And, Senator Campbell, you have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pe nsions) Temporary Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Carry on, Senator Campbell.

BILL

SECOND READING

NATIONAL PENSION SCHEME (OC CUPATIONAL
PENSIONS) TEMPORARY AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I am pleased to provide for
the consideration of the Senate the Bill entitled the
National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Temporary Amendment Act 2020 .
Madam President, Senators will be aware that
the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pe nsions) Act 1998 (the principal Act) provides for the
establishment, administration and regulation of private
sector occupational pension plans in Bermuda. The
principal Act became fully operational on the 1st of
January 2000. And over the years a number of amendments to that Act and regulations have been
introduced to provide for various matters.
One of the more important changes related to
providing financial hardship withdrawals for members for eligible mortgage arrears, rental arrears, educ ational expenses, uncovered medical expenses and
funeral expenses. Madam President, since inception
of the hardship refunds in 2010, as at the 22
nd of May
2020, approximately $33.4 million in financial hardship
payments have been approved.
Let me take this opportunity to provide more
specific details on these appl ications, as follows:
• financial hardship applications as of the 22nd
of May 2020 , the total applications received
since August 2010, the start date, was 3,412;
• approved applications, 2,837; • declined applications, 411; and
• applications pending and/or withdr awn, 164 .
There were 1,083 applications for educational
expenses . There were 459 for the threat of loss of
principal residence. There were 1,108 for i mminent
eviction from home for rental arrears . And there were
187 for eligible medical expenses .
Madam P resident, it is pleasing to know that
the hardship withdrawal provisions under the Act have
assisted many families over the years and clearly va lidate the benefit of this social policy initiative. It should
also be noted that the $33.4 million withdrawn si nce
inception of these provisions only represents approx-imately 0.81 per cent of the $4.1 billion in plan assets
at the end of December 2019.
The intent of the legislation was for persons to
use the hardship withdrawals under the National Pen-sion Scheme as the very last recourse. And the stati stics provide verification that this policy objective is be-ing met.
Madam President, Senators will be aware of a
series of recent changes to the Act to provide for greater access by plan members to their pension
funds as a result of increased financial hardships cr eated by the COVID -19 pandemic. In particular, the
National Pension Scheme legislation now provides
plan members, subject to satisfying certain criteria,
with two additional types of refunds, namely, providi ng
members up to a $12,000 refund for those under the
age of 65—and that is a one- time refund of $12,000—
and providing members at the commencement of their
retirements at age 65 or older with the option of a onetime lump sum withdrawal of up to 25 per cen t of the
value in their pension accounts.
Madam President, since the commencement
of the refund provisions on the 1
st of June 2020, as at
the 16th of June 2020, approximately $11.8 million in
combined refund applications have been approved.
The breakdown on these applications is as follows:
For the COVID -19 withdrawals for the $12,000, there
were a total of 4,807 applications received. And so far,
972 have been approved. The value of those a pproved applications is $10,955,501, or an average of
$11,271.09. [For] the lump sum withdrawal of up to
25 per cent of your pension account value, there have
been 40 applications received; 38 have been approved; and the value of those applications approved
is $857,292, or an average of $22,560.32.
Madam President, COVID -19 has had a si gnificant impact on economic activity and social cond itions in Berm uda. In addition to these pension r efunds, Government introduced a temporary unemployment benefit for employees who were laid off as a
result of the pandemic. Government rec ognises that
employers and employees have been [suffering] and
will continue to suffer financially as a result of the r educed economic activity caused by the pandemic.
By allowing for a temporary suspension of
statutory pension contributions , the Government is
1004 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate seeking to provide further support to employers and
employees —for employees, through increased takehome pay and for employers through lower operating
costs.
Madam President, the Government is mindful
of the long- term implications that a suspension of co ntributions can have on a plan member’s retirement
savings. However, this concern must be balanced
against the immediate and urgent needs in our com-munity which have resulted from this unexpected cr isis.
Madam President, the proposed Bill follows
the same approach that was introduced under the
National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Temporary Amendment Act 2012 , which also provided
for the voluntary suspension of required pension con-tributions under the principal Act. In particular, this Bill permits both the plan member and their employer, subject to meeting certain conditions, to voluntarily
agree to suspend their required pension contributions
from the commencement of this Act up to the 30
th of
June 2021.
Madam President, the proposed amendments
contained in this Bill are timely and necessary and are
an important part of the Government’s overall COVID -
19 financial relief programme for both employees and
employers.
Madam President, in closing, I would like to
thank all of those persons within the Pension Com-mission, the Attorney General’s Chambers and the
Ministry of Finance who have assisted with the development of this Bill. Thank you, Madam President.
[
Pause]
An
Hon. Senator: Madam President?
The President: Sorry. Hello. Who wants to speak on
this Bill?
[Laughter]
Sen. Marcus Jones: I was waiting for the question to
come up, Madam President. I did not want to . . .
The President: I beg your pardon. I did as k the question.
Sen. Marcus Jones: I am sorry. I did not want to be
presumptuous.
The President: Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, thank you, Madam
President. First of all, thanks again to the Junior Mini ster of Finance for giving us this brief on the National
Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act of 2020. Just as we showed our support for the Contributory Pensions Amendment, we feel and see [this amendment] the same way. We have taken note of the importance of the suspension of the contributions to these pensions to alleviate some of the heartache and provide sufficient extra monies in the pockets of employees and employers at this time.
But I would also counsel the public to do your
research again to ensure that the beneficiaries of your pension fund are aware that they would be in a pos ition to receive these funds on the passing of the par-ticular member, and also to do some work with your family members who have already gone into their se nior years to ensure that you are fully appraised of, one, where these pension funds are being kept, and again, who are the beneficiaries for them?
I will just give a little side story. My wife’s
mother passed a few years ago. And we did not do the necessary work to find out what pension funds
were still active with her name on them. When we did
that, once this pandemic came upon us, we were shocked and surprised to find out that there were monies out there that had not been claimed. What we also learnt is that many of these pension fund holders
do not go out to contact the beneficiaries. You have to
actually go and look for it. So I encourage the public to make that your business, to ensure that you are ap-praised of the pension fund accounts of your family and your loved ones.
We support this amendment, Madam Pres ident. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Sen. James S. Jardine: Yes, Madam President.
The President: Senator Jardine. Senator Jardine, you
have the floor.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Again I will just briefly reiterate the comments
from our previous debate on the Contributory Pe nsions Temporary Amendment Act, and that is that people should, if they can, continue to make these
payments, continue to make them because again
when you retire you will need these funds. So my first comment is somewhat similar to the comment I made when we were debating the Contribut ory Pensions
Temporary Amendment Act. And that has to do with clause 4, Suspension of contributions: defined contr ibution benefits on page 2. And again it says [at clause 4(3)] “An employer may suspend his contributions as they relate to a member in respect of the suspension period, with the agreement of the member.”
So my same comments apply here. There
should be a working together with the employer and


Bermuda Senate the employee such that the employee cannot tell the
employer, Sorry. You have to keep making these
payments, whereas I can stop. So there has to be an
agreement that those will work together, the same
comment as I made under the other one. And I think Senator Campbell had agreed to pass that comment
on to the Minister.
My second comment has to do with clause 5,
Suspension of contributions: defined benefits.
I am sorry. Before I do that, let me just go
back to one here. Clause 4(6) says, “A member’s
membership in the plan shall continue for the purpose
of calculating the member’s pension benefit and for all
other purposes, notwithstanding any suspension of
contributions in respect of the suspension period.” So we are talking here about a defined contribution. I
think it is important to make it clear to the listening public that if you do not make payments into the d efined contribution plan, then what you are going to get
out at the end of the day has to logically be less b ecause you are going to have less mone y in the plan
itself. And we are talking again about a defined contr ibution plan.
Whereas I understand what that clause 4(6)
means, I think the listening public need to understand
that it does not mean that somehow, miraculously, out
of thin air contribut ions for the year that you just do
not make any contributions are somehow going to be
made up. They can only be made up by yourself and
possibly your employer at some point in time in the
future if you wish to get the full benefits. I understand
the import ance of that clause for things like vesting
and other parts of the pension plan to make sure that
those are not affected in any way. And I think people
would understand that if you do not make the pa yments, then the money is not going to suddenly a ppear out of thin air.
The next comment has to do with clause 5(6).
And you were talking about a defined benefit plan.
And they are quite different. A defined benefit plan is a
benefit that accrues to an individual based on a number of factors, including years of service and so on.
And I think here if you read clause 5(6), [it] says, “A
member’s accrual of service and membership in the
plan shall continue for the purpose of calculating the
member’s pension benefit and for all other purposes, notwithstanding any suspension of contributions in
respect of the suspension period.”
So I guess my question again to Senator
Campbell is, In the case of this, because it is a defined benefit plan, how is the shortfall of both the employer and employee payments to be made up if there is to be no impact on the amount of pension that an
employee receives on the day of retirement?
And I am talking—just take, you know, the
Public Service Superannuation Fund, for example,
where it is a defined benefit plan. It is based on your
service, based on salary calculations and so on. But that plan is funded by contributions from government
and from the employees.
So if we have a year off, and I think the contributions from the employer are something like $30
million. So if we have a year off and there are no co ntributions into that plan, does it mean that the benefits
that employees receive at the end stay the same? Or
is somehow the contribution to be made up? So that
was just a question. Is there going to be an accrued
liability such as is appearing on the Consolidated
Fund which accounts for this year where nobody has made any contributions? Which somehow has to be
made up, you know, down the road at some point in
time.
I hope I have made that clear to the Senator.
It was just a concern, you have it here, it is a defined
benefit plan, it says here that these plans are not going to be affected by this suspension. And if that is
true, then how are we going to make up the shortfall?
Presumably, it is down the road somewhere.
And then the ot her point is kind of an odd
thing. Clause 7 [is], “No suspension if employer [is] in
arrears.” And it says, “An employer shall not suspend
any employer contributions under section 4 or 5 if he
has any outstanding employer contributions due and
in arrears . . . .” Now, in the previous Bill when you
look at the [Contributory] Pensions Temporary
Amendment Act, section 5 applies whether or not an employer has before the suspension period any outstanding employer contributions. So in other words,
the employer in that particular Bill can just stop making any contributions. But under this one, they have to
continue. So it is a bit of an anomaly there between
these two pieces of legislation. And there must have
been a reason for that, but I really do not know why
that is.
So those are my comments and my questions. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No? Then, Senator Campbell, you have a
couple of questions to respond to.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I am wai ting for the technical officers to respond to a couple of Senator Jardine’s questions. In general, his comments, as I said in the previous Bill, will be passed on
to the Minister. I am waiting for some advice from the
technical people in regard to, I believe, the other
ques tions that Senator Jardine had.

The President: All right. We will give you a couple of
minutes.

Sen. James S. Jardine: Madam President, if I could
. . .
1006 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate I will support this Bill. I do not want to hold up
the passage of this Bill. But I think it is important to get
answers to these questions, particularly the question
regarding the defined benefit plan, because I am tr ying to get to the bottom of how that shortfall is going to
be made up if emplo yees are indeed going to receive
their full benefits when they retire. And that is under
the defined benefit plan. So I do not want to hold up
the passage of this Bill because I think it is important
to pass it, because I think it is important to make sure
that employees and employers are able to avail them-selves of this much- needed break. I think it is i mportant to get those answers just so that the public at
large, and myself in particular, know how this is going
to be impacted.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Senator Campbell, did you want to wait a few
minutes?

Sen. Vance Campbell: Well, Madam President, I do
make a commitment to provide Senator Jardine with
responses subsequent to this meeting, given his
commen ts that he just made, that he does not want to
hold up the Bill. But I do want to clarify that the Go vernment Superannuation is exempted from this parti cular Bill here, because it deals with private sector
pension plans. But we will still get verification on the
defined benefit plans of which the Government S uperannuation is, for Senator Jardine.

Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you very much. I am
happy with that.

Sen. Vance Campbell: With that, Madam President, I
thank my fellow Senators for their support of this Bill. I
[will] endeavour to provide those responses, answers
to Senator Jardine.
And with that, I move that the Bill entitled the
National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Temporary Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second time.
Madam President?

[Pause]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President.

[Pause]
[Inaudible interjections ]

The President: Is there any objection?
No objection.
Senator Campbell. Carry on.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move tha t
Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect of this
Bill.

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

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

NATIONAL PENSION SCHEME (OCCUPATIONAL
PENSIONS) TEMPORARY AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President I move that
the Bill entitled National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act 2020 be
now read a third time.

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

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act 2020 do now pass.
Is there any objec tion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The National Pension Scheme (O ccupational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act
2020 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: We are now moving on to item 5, the
second reading of the Bermuda Bar Amendment Act
2020.
Madam Attorney General, is this your Bill?

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: No, Madam
President. Senator Simmons -Wade . . . this is hers.
The President: I beg your pardon.
Senator Simmons -Wade, you have the floor.

STANDING ORDER 25

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Thank you, Madam
President.


Bermuda Senate Madam President, I move that provision of
Standing Order 25 be granted so that the Senate can
now proceed with the second reading of the Bill ent itled the Bermuda Bar Amendment Act 2020.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Leave granted for Bermuda Bar
Amendment Act 2020 to be read a second time on the
same day as its first reading.]
The President: Carry on, Senator Simmons -Wade.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Thank you.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Bermuda Bar Amendment Act 2020 be now read a
second time.

The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection. Carry on, Senator.

BILL

SECOND READING

BERMUDA BAR AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
present to the Senate the
Bermuda Bar Amendment
Act 2020 . This is one of several pieces of legislation
that the Government will be introducing to help pos ition Bermuda to compete for more businesses overseas.
Madam President, Bermuda has a l ongstanding history of serving as a jurisdiction of choice for international businesses. However, we must update our legal framework on a regular basis so that we
can keep pace with the market demands and adjust to
changes in the global marketplace as qui ckly as possible. In the wake of COVID -19, and widespread pr otests and civil unrest in jurisdictions like Hong Kong
and the United States, we must work even harder to
strengthen our economy and let the world know that Bermuda is still open for business.
Attracting new businesses in Bermuda helps
create demand for additional legal services here on Island and for local corporation’s administration services, thereby supporting jobs in those areas. New
business registrations also provide opportunities to introduce those same corporate clients and the princ ipals behind them to a network of other professional
services and service providers here in Bermuda.
Madam President, prior to the onset of the
pandemic, the Government began taking active steps to diversify Bermuda’s economy. We started with the
Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) and
the private sector to create products aimed at attrac t-ing more family offices to Bermuda, to modernise certain provisions in our trust laws to make them more
competitive and to develop a strategy to foster growth
opportunities in Asia. The Asia strategy will focus on
ways to raise Bermuda’s profile and create more av enues by which Bermuda- based companies can ident ify and access new clients in Asian markets.
Madam President , while these initiatives are
still works in progress, we know that any strategy for
business development must include [expanding] Bermuda’s presence and impact on various parts of the world, especially in Asia. This might be achieved in
part by finding ne w channels to promote Bermuda, but
we must also be more effective at leveraging existing
practices that are known to be successful. We have to
be willing to go out and get the business, even if it
means that we have to meet prospective clients where they a re, Madam President. That is why we are debating the current Bill.
The purpose of this legislation is to provide a
clear legal framework for law firms in Bermuda to co ntinue utilising registered associates working overseas as resources to attract and serv ice overseas clients
on matters governed by Bermuda law. Right now
many businesses are looking to restructure their o perations, to sell off portions of their businesses or to
complete mergers and/or acquisitions to reposition
themselves in the global market. It has been shown that turbulent economic times also present opportun ities to seize new market shares from those countries
and businesses that are ready, willing and able to do
so. It is widely recognised that lawyers play a major
role in decisions conc erning where business activities
and transactions will be based.
For Bermuda to compete effectively in Asia
and other places, we need flexible progressive laws,
excellent professional services, and human resources
that can connect with prospective clients in their home jurisdictions and sell Bermuda solutions to them. Registered associates help Bermuda’s international law
firms navigate various challenges that might result
from lack of proximity to the clients, difference in time
zones, language and, in som e cases, differences in
culture. Bermuda- based attorneys and other corporate
service providers generate fees in Bermuda for var ious services throughout the relationship with the cl ient, including handling more complex matters, regul atory filings and the li ke. But registered associates pr ovide face- to-face interactions with clients overseas
while also providing routine on- demand legal services.
Madam President, what is a registered ass ociate? A registered associate is a person who is a uthorised to engage in certain functions within the practice of Bermuda law, but only as an agent of the bar-rister or law firm for whom he works. Registered ass ociates are not fully admitted to practice law as a bar-rister and attorney in Bermuda. The Supreme Court
Registry is r esponsible for reviewing applications for
registration of associates and for adding those per1008 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate sons who meet the statutory requirements to the Register of Associates.
Overseas registered associates serve as r esources to fully licensed Bermuda attorneys. Madam
President, overseas registered associates have been used as resources by international law firms in Bermuda to compete for business for decades. However,
recent changes to Bermuda’s AML/ATF [anti -money -
laundering/anti -terrorist financing] framework have
resulted in the need for the Bar Council to take an active part in the registration process and provide fit and proper certifications for registered associates. This
change to the process became effective in January
2019, and has since resulted in a closer inspection of
the provisions governing registered associates.
While the current law does not specifically
prohibit the registration of overseas associates, it does not expressly provide for them either. In fact, the
law is silent on registration of pers ons working primar ily or wholly outside of Bermuda. So there is a need for
legal certainty on this issue.
Madam President, the Bill we are debating t oday is intended to resolve these issues. It speaks di-rectly to the registration of associates working overseas. This Bill allows a law firm in Bermuda to register
an associate to work at an overseas office either d irectly for the Bermuda firm or for an associated office
of the Bermuda firm. If the person is employed by the
overseas office, there must be a clear connection to
the Bermuda law firm, meaning that the overseas office must be part of the same global network or brand
as the Bermuda office. Only the Bermuda law firm can
apply for registration of an associate to work over-seas.
The Bill also includes sev eral other changes
that are intended to enhance the regime and to make
it more clearly aligned with that of other professional
registrations. First, the Minister responsible for co mpanies [the Minister of Finance] will be able to impose terms and conditions related to registration of overseas associates on new law firms setting up in Bermuda.
In line with our intent to open Bermuda up to
new international law firms, we want to ensure that
new firms are operating on the ground in Bermuda
and not just setting up a minimal footprint here in order to be able to sell Bermuda products in their overseas offices.
Another change to the regime is the establishment of specified periods during which a registr ation of an associate is valid. There are also new fees
to register or renew the registration of an associate. This includes a lower fee for registrations of persons
who will be based in Bermuda.
Madam President, these changes are necessary to provide legal certainty for Bermuda law firms
and their associated overs eas offices, and for the Bar
Council to be able to issue fit and proper certification for overseas associates, as required by law. The Bill provides express authority for registration of overseas
associates where the necessary conditions are met.
Madam Pr esident, in closing, I would like to
thank the Bermuda Business Development Agency
[BDA] for partnering with the Government on this leg-islative project. I would also like to thank the members
of the private sector who worked together with the
BDA to help m ake this legislation happen. Finally, I
would like to thank the public officers in the Cabinet
Office, and the Attorney General’s Chambers, who
assisted with this project.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
Woul d any Senator care to speak on this Bill?

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I would, Madam President.

The President: Senator Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes. So the Opposition definitely supports any endeavour which will showcase
that Bermuda is open for business and will be attempt ing to stimulate our economy, and also to break
into newer markets or solidify our positions in the current market.
Obviously, with this legislation we do have
reservations. When you open yourse lf up to be a bit
more flexible . . . and I do look forward to future laws
that make us even more flexible. But when you do
make these sorts of changes, a lot of times it is easy
for people to walk in, and you make it easy for people to walk out. With the economy in the stat e that it is in,
a lot of folks may utilise the opportunity to outsource work to save some money or to maximise their own
profits.
So moving into that, I did hear in the brief that
there are countermeasures to somewhat combat that,
so I am happy to hear a bout that. And for us it is just a
matter of the implementation and seeing how the
market shakes out on it.
Thank you for that, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No? Then—

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Yes, Madam President.
The President: I beg your pardon?
Sen. Jarion Richardson: Senator Jarion Richardson.
The President: Senator Jarion Richardson, you have
the floor.
Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.


Bermuda Senate Insofar as having persons, overseas regi stered associates, practicing Bermuda law, I am mindful and thankful to the Junior Minister for outlining the
reasons for this approach. However, I will express
even more reservations than my colleague Senator Robinson. That is because Bermuda is a high- cost
jurisdiction. And in any business transaction, in any
kind of enterprise of length or transaction of note,
costs will be a key part of deciding where that transaction or where that business takes place.
So one of the problems we have, there is a
guaranteed inertia in these business decisions that work will be moved to the lowest -cost jurisdiction. This
is why we have right now a number of financial services that are conducted in part in Bermuda and then outsourced to lo w-cost jurisdictions. To that end, we
have a number of attorneys in Bermuda, something like 450 –500. And we have, we are churning out more
every day. We have something [like] 60- plus law firms
as well. And the practice of Bermuda law —and there
are quite a few, and I have to be careful here because sitting in the same Chamber is the Attorney General,
who is obviously far more versed than I am in this
space. But obviously we are not expecting our register
of overseas associates to be practicing criminal law or
property law, or really interacting in our community in
any way. But they will nonetheless be working with high net worth individuals, working on asset management structures, wealth preservation, corporate [law]
in terms of securitisations, mergers and acquisitions,
the like. And those are some very, very high- value
transactions.
And we seem to be dependent on, or rather
we seem to be focused that these registered assoc iates will have the ability to draw those transactions
into our market, and thereupon we would disperse
because there would be a number of, a network of
service providers, the Junior Minister had said.
So that is good in theory. But I am very mindful that the business impetus is to move business into
low-cost jurisdictions. So my concern i s that what we
are actually going to wind up doing is for those small
Bermudian- owned law firms who do not have an i nternational presence, their opportunity to participate in
these high- finance transactions will be reduced. Now,
I am mindful that a good deal of these law firms probably would not have the opportunity, given our current
structure, to participate in a lot of those transactions,
or it is relatively hard for them to get involved in those
matters. But that does not mean that they cannot or
should not.
And I think we are going to—I think we have
to ensure that we do not make them less competitive,
as it were, especially given that we have an economy
right now where we want to be adding more business
into it. And I take the point from the Junior Mi nister
that this is an attempt to do that. We just have to be
careful that the work does not flow out of the country,
as well, especially given we have a number of very clear statements as it relates to institutionalised and
systemic racism in Bermuda and the disadvantaging
of black people, not just in the near term . . . well, ce rtainly over the 400- year period, and then recently as
well.
I am concerned that this step may do more—
may do more to harm the individual young Bermuda
attorney’s opportunity to participate in a number of
legal matters and transactions because of that overwhelming impetus to move these affairs into low -cost
jurisdictions. So with that being said, it seems that we
should have not just one countermeasure or one way
of controlling the risk, but we should have a number of
ways of making sure that we are not disadvantaging
ourselves —not so much ourselves, but certainly the
young and upcoming attorneys, who would not other-wise have a chance to participate in these types of affairs unless they were already working at one or two
of these—or three or four, however many of these
very large law firms.
But given that we have some 65 law firms and
some 500 attorneys, how many of them are going to
have that opportunity? I do not want to disadvantage
them or those who are coming into the legal profession.
So with that being said, my question would be
for the Junior Minister that, she mentioned there was
a requirement for overseas law firms to have a foot-print in Bermuda to ensure that there is some real
presence. I would like to know, what are the requir ements for that? And secondly, are there any other
controls in place to ensure that the Bermuda attorneys who are not participants in international law firms are
not disadvantaged?
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Sen. James S. Jardine: Yes, Madam President,
Senator Jardine.

The President: Senator Jardine, yes. You have the
floor.

Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I really was not going to
speak on this Bill. I am in favour of it. But in listening
to some of the comments of the previous speakers, I
thought it would be important for me to say something
about my support for this.
Having worked in the legal field for over 20
years and being part of a business that moved its o perations from the shores of Bermuda to 20, (sorry) to
12 overseas jurisdictions, in many of those jurisdi ctions, if not all of them, selling Bermuda and its b usi1010 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ness, I cannot say enough how important this piece of
legislation is. Bermuda certainly has a very good reputation worldwide; there is no question about it. But we
have many competitors now. And I think we all know
who they are. And I think that th is gives Bermuda and
Bermudians . . . and I want to just talk about that for a
moment.
Certainly in my own experience we had a
number of Bermudians who benefited by this, where
offices were opened in other jurisdictions. Where it
gave them an opportunity to ac tually go and live in
those jurisdictions for a period of years and gain some
valuable experience outside of Bermuda, which stood
them all in good stead when they came back. And
some of those individuals subsequently landed in the departments of local law firms. So I think that there
are some real benefits to young Bermudians who are
coming along in some of these firms that will give
them an opportunity to go overseas and experience
other parts of the world. So I do think this is a good
step.
I understand the concern of outsourcing.
Bermuda is very expensive, and there is always the
temptation to look for or to say the need to reduce
costs and indeed to look for ways in which this can be
done, including outsourcing. And indeed, some outsourcing can be done. But there are also various laws
in legislation that have to be carefully considered b ecause there are tax consequences by doing certain pieces of work outside of a particular jurisdiction. So it
is not just a straightforward, Oh, let’s go and do something in Canada or something in the United States,
because there are tax consequences to the company that does that —or perhaps there are.
So the other point I wanted to raise is that the
client needs sometimes dictate where the work is
done or indeed how fast or how quickly the work can
be done. For example, if you have a client in Hong
Kong or a client in Singapore, they may not want to
wait until Bermuda wakes up, you know, 12 hours later from when they are doing a particular transaction.
They may want to hav e people on the ground where
they are doing their work, where they can get immediate response or indeed face- to-face meetings.
I recognise the world has changed dramatically in 20 years. And even in the last years of my prac-ticing in the world, certainly remote meetings were
being conducted more often than not. But in many
cases, clients still want that face -to-face contact. And
so this provides an opportunity for that face- to-face
contact to take place where clients indeed want that.
So I think, certainl y I have seen increases in
business in Bermuda, more companies being incorporated over time. There is interest in Bermuda and i ndeed in some cases where businesses have physica lly relocated to Bermuda as a result of their good exp eriences here. So I am ver y much in favour of this legislation. I realise that there are risks. I realise that
there are some individuals who may not be able to take advantage of some of the pieces of work that Senator [Jarion] Richardson was referring to. But I
think overall, Berm uda will be the benefactor for all of
this.
And indeed, I would like to think that young
Bermudians will have a chance to practice in other
jurisdictions, practicing Bermuda law, which will give
them a wonderful exposure to the world at large that
they si mply would not necessarily get staying here in
Bermuda. So I would certainly support this legislation.
Thank you very much, Madam President.

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

Sen. the Hon. Ka thy Lynn Simmons: Madam Pres ident.

The President: Yes. Madam Attorney General, you
have the floor.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
This is essentially a business Bill that addresses a very specific sector of the legal profession.
And the Government is mindful of the need to keep
abreast of modern developments, as Senator Jardine so eloquently has outlined in his comments. There are
Bermudians who have benefited from the international
reach of law firms in Bermuda. And we all can appr eciate the business efficiency of having face- to-face
dual representatives present in these offshore jurisdi ctions.
With regard to the concern about the footprint
of law firms in Bermuda, clause 5 of the Bill provides
for amendments to the Companies Act to enable the
Minister of Finance to impose conditions on the firms
applying for the registration of associates working out-side of Bermuda. And so there are necessary saf eguards that have been put in place, mindful of the i nterest of other Bermudi an firms. It is always a cha llenge for small Bermudian firms to compete in this
space, and that is historic. And so we tend to find
niche market small firms, particularly when it comes to the criminal practice.
But I would like to just comment on the oppo rtunities available to young Bermudians. It has been my experience with regard to the young Bermudians
that those opportunities are not as extensive as people would like to believe. And so the Government has made a point of ensuring that they offer those opportunities within the Attorney General’s Chambers.
However, it is our intention to expand our reach so
that the very opportunities we are creating through
this Bill today actually are available to some of our
younger members as they come to complete their studies and get called to the Bar.


Bermuda Senate And so I encourage [Senators] applaud
[Senators] with regard to their support. And I also
would encourage them to encourage young people
not to be dissuaded in embracing the practice of law
in Bermuda because the opportunities are here. And it
is our intention to do our best to create more, partic ularly these partnerships to which the Bill speaks today.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kathy Lynn Si mmons, Attorney General.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No? Then Senator Simmons -Wade, it is over
to you.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Okay, Madam Pres ident. I note that the Attorney General has answered a
number of the questions. But I would like to reiterate
that this practice of having registered associates has
been going on in Bermuda for decades. This change, as I mentioned before, is just based on the AML/ATF
framework, which has resulted in the Bar Council taking an active part in the new registration process.
And a s the Attorney General and Senator
Jardine say, I am familiar with many Bermudians who have benefited by traveling overseas and working at these various firms.
In regard to the local firms that do not have
overseas affiliates, they will not be impacted by any of
these conditions that are being granted. But they
could, if need be, apply to have actual registered associates.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
You can now do your second reading.

Sen. Ianthia Simmon s-Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Bar Amendment Act 2020 be read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. I anthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Standing Order 26 be suspended in
respect of this Bill.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

BERMUDA BAR AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled Bermuda Bar Amendment
Act 2020 be now read a third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Bermuda Bar Amendment Act 2020 do now
pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: T he Bermuda Bar Amendment Act
2020 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
We now move on to item 6 on our agenda,
and that is the consideration of the following Parli amentary Pensions Resolution.
Senator Campbell, I think this is you.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, if you can
indulge me, I would like to provide those responses to
Senator Jardine’s questions —

The President: You certainly may, Senator Campbell.
Sen. Vance Campbell: —from the National Pension
Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Temporary
Amendment Act 2020.

The President: Yes, you can.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Senator Jardine had a question around clause
5(6), which relates to the defined benefit plan. And the
employer decides whether to suspend or not. If they
decide to suspend, then the employer will be responsible for any shortfalls as is the case under normal circumstances. And no makeup contributions will be
required by the employee. The employee, the employee’s d efined benefit will still be paid in accordance
with the plan’s rules.
I hope that answers Senator Jardine’s questions on that particular point.

The President: Senator Jardine, are you satisfied
with that response?
1012 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. James S. Jardine: Yes. I guess what it means
is that the employer does not really get any break
here. Because at the end of the day, whether he suspends or does not suspend, he is still going to have to
make payments at some point in time in order to meet the defined benefit of the employ ee when he retires. It
is no real benefit for the employer with the defined
benefit plan.
Sen. Vance Campbell: In the long run, Madam President, there may not be a benefit. But in the short
term, that may be the difference between survival and
not.
And i n reference to clause 7, the restriction on
suspending contributions for a delinquent employer
follows the same approach as in the 2012 suspension
Act. An employer who is delinquent may not suspend
their required contribution. So there is consistency
there.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: We now move on to the Parliamentary Pensions Resolution, item number 6.
Senator Campbell, that is your resolution.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that Standing Order
71(2) be suspended so that Senate may now proceed
with the consideration of the Members and Officers of
the Legislature Pensions Resolution.

The Presid ent: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection, Senator Campbell. Carry on.

[Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]

MOTION

MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF THE
LEGISLATURE (SALARIES AND PENSIONS)
ACT 1975 MOTION TO REVOKE

Sen. Vance Camp bell: Madam President, I move that
the Senate do now take under consideration the following Resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED that previous resolutions of
this House made pursuant to section 15A of the Mini sters and Members of the Legislature (Salaries and Pensi ons) Act 1975 be revoked;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that pu rsuant to section 15A of the Ministers and Members of the Legislature (Salaries and Pensions) Act 1975 the
contributions toward the cost of pensions payable u nder the Act by Members and Officers of the Legisl a-ture shall be reduced from 12.5% of their salaries to
0%, with effect from the 1
st of July 2020 to the 30th of
June 2021, and with effect from the 1st of July 2021
shall be increased from 0% of their salaries to 12.5%.
The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this Resolution?
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I would like
to make a presentation on this, if you do not mind.
The President: Yes. Please do so, Senator Cam pbell. You have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, the purpose of this Resol ution, in accordance with section 15A of the Ministers
and Members of the Legislature (Salaries and Pensions) Act 1975 is to reduce the contributions toward
the cost of pensions payable under the A ct by Me mbers and Officers of the Legislature from 12.5 per cent
of their salaries to 0.0 per cent with effect from the 1
st
of July 2020 to the 30th of June 2021, and with effect
from the 1st of July 2021 to increase contributions from
0.0 per cent of thei r salaries to 12.5 per cent.
Madam President, any reference that I make
to salaries is purely for context and also to provide clearer understanding around the subject of the pen-sions. Madam President, Senators would be aware
that COVID -19 has had a signif icant impact on ec onomic activity and a severe knock -on effect on the
2020/21 budget. The combination of lower fiscal rev enues and higher public spending will cause the pr ojected budget deficit to increase significantly.
Government Ministries have already identified
significant areas of savings within their budgets; ho wever, to reduce the deficit further, other temporary
payroll or government employee overhead savings
have to be considered.
Madam President, to demonstrate the commitment to shared sacrifi ce, salaries of all members
and non- ministerial officers will be temporarily r educed by 12.5 per cent. In addition, the ministerial
portion of members’ salaries will be temporarily r educed by 15 per cent. The reductions will take effect
on July 1
st, 2020, and end on June 30th, 2021, a per iod of one year. And again, I provide this information
on salaries purely from a contextual perspective.
Madam President, section 15A of the Act r equires that Members pay contributions toward the cost
of their pensions. In conjunction with the abovementioned salary reductions, Ministers’ and Members’ contributions to the Ministers and Members of the
Legislature Pensions Fund will be suspended, along
with the matching government portion. The suspension of pension contributio ns will also take effect on
July 1, 2020, and end on June 30, 2021, a period of
one year.


Bermuda Senate During the cessation period, a member will
lose one year of pensionable service. Later in this si tting, the Act will be amended to allow a Minister or
Member to make voluntary contributions to buy back
the year that is being lost in pensionable service.
Madam President, let me make it clear that
the temporary salary reductions will have absolutely
no bearing on a member’s current pension. Senators
may recall that in 2013 the former Administration r educed the ministerial portion of Members’ salaries by 10 per cent. Madam President, section 11 of the Act
provides for the calculation of pensions under the Mi nisters and Members of the Legislature Pension Fund.
Pensions under the fund are calculated based on the
rate of salary payable to a Member on the date which the Member becomes entitled to receive a pension.
Accordingly, the reduction in the Ministerial
portion of a Member’s salary provided for in the 2013
Resolution, which is still in effect, would have had the
effect of reducing the pension of any Member who
served as a Minister and retired after April 1
st, 2013.
This was an unintended consequence of the 2013 Resolution, and it is also unfair to the affected Members as they would have, for the most part, paid into
the fund at the higher salary level.
Madam President, Senators will recall that to
address this matter, in December 2015 the former
Administration passed a retroactive Resolution that was brought into force to deem the reduction in Mini sterial salaries that was made in March 2013 not to
have affected the salary of a Member who retired after
April 1
st, 2013. This Resolution was for the purposes
of pension calculations pursuant to section 11 of the
Act and is still in force. What this means, Madam
President, is that a Member’s pension is still calculated based on the abovementioned Resolution and not
the reduced temporary salary.
Madam President, since this Resolution has
been in force, pension calculations, i n accordance
with sections 11 and 12, have used the salaries co ntained in the 2015 Resolution.
Madam President, the projected cost savings
from this measure are estimated to be approximately
$500,000.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this
Resolution?
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I would, Madam President.

The President: Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have
the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you. I will be brief.
I just have a few questions regarding how the
amount was arrived upon. N ow, regarding the
12.5 per cent . . . So, as we all know, many if not all of us also have private sector employment. So I was an-ticipating that it would have been a pay cut of around
30 [per cent] to 50 per cent. That would have been the
recommended amount that I would have put forward.
So I just wanted to know what was the method of
which that was calculated. And why was that deemed
to be sufficient?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dwayne Robi nson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Resolution?
No? Then, Senator Campbell, do you want to
respond to the question?
Sen. Vance Campbell: Yes, Madam President.
The Minister brought a recommendation to the
Cabinet. And the recommendation was the 12.5 per
cent. And the Cabinet accepted that. And that is, you
know, equated to what it is that we have before us today, Madam President. I do not know what else to
say.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: That is a very
frank answ er, Senator.

[Laughter]
Sen. Vance Campbell: So with that, Madam Pres ident . . .

[Inaudible interjections and laughter ]

Sen. Vance Campbell: With no other contributions, I
move, Madam President, that the said Resolution be
approved.

The President: It has been moved that the Resolution
be approved.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection, Senator Campbell. So the Res olution is approved.

[Motion carried: The Senate revoked previous resol utions of the Ministers and Members of the Legi slature
(Salaries and Pensions) Act 1975 in order to suspend
contributions toward the cost of pensions payable u nder the Act with effect from 1 July 2020. ]
The President: Thank you, and thank you, Senators.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President .
The President: That completes our Orders of the
Day. But we will move on to item number 14 on our
agenda, and that is the Motions.

1014 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate CON GRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
either of these issues, Congratulatory and/or Obituary
Speeches?

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: I would like to speak.

[Crosstalk ]
The President: Sorry. Who?
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Senator Simmons -
Wade.
The President: I beg your pardon. Senator Simmons -
Wade, you have the floor.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Yes. I would like to
extend from the Senate birthday wishes to Hadley
Woolridge. He had his 90
th birthday last week, and he
had a wonderful drive- by at Harrington Sound School.
He is a long- term resident of Smith’s Parish. He has
been an ambassador to Bermuda as a taxi driver for
many, many years, too long for me to remember. But most of all, I remember him for being a volunteer dri ver at Summerhaven for almost 20 years. Not only was he a driver, but he was a friend to many, many of the
residents.
And on a side note, I know that for maybe
about nine years, every Christmas he brought cookies for my children, cut -up fresh Bermuda carrots and
beets, which I did not have to purchase.
So the next thing I would like to do is extend
my congratulations to my nephew, Brandon Simmons.
He is a graduate of Morehouse University , where his
majors were history and Japanese. He just graduated from the US Naval Officer Candidate School, and he will be entering the Navy as an ensign and training as
a fighter pilot.
My last one will be to my other nephew. And I
must note, both of my nephews —I have three of
them —have third- degree black belts.

An Hon. Senator: Okay!

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: So Ian Simmons, who
is the youngest one, has just succes sfully completed
his first year at the US Naval Academy. I will note that
there is an 8.4 per cent acceptance rate at this school,
which is ranked the highest military school in the Uni ted States. He went into that school on a full scholarship worth $450,000 for four years.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
Congratulatory and/or Obituary Speeches? Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes. I would like to, Madam
President.

Senator Marcus Jones, you have the
floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to extend congratulations to the
Ministry of Education who organised, and the Alpha
Phi Alpha Fraternity that sponsored the competition
where awards were w on by a group of primary school
children who wrote essays on why they admired their
fathers. Hats off to Dr. Tim Jackson, the President of
the Island Chapter of this Fraternity, for spearheading
this group of men who reached in their own pockets
and readil y supported the cause.
In a modern world where Hollywood and pop
culture denigrate men to be weak, bungling idiots at times, it is extremely critical that the roles and the i mportance of fathers in the home be valued. The fate of the traditional family, w ith the man playing the role of
husband, father, provider and spiritual head, is under
attack. So it warms my heart when I see examples of
fathers being appreciated, applauded even. Congrat ulations to the eight Primary 5 and 6 boys and girls who
were winners in this competition. And, Madam Pres ident, if you will indulge me, I would like to name the winners of this particular competition.

The President: Certainly you may. Carry on.
Sen. Marcus Jones: [They are as follows:]
• Mataio Cameron from Northlands ;
• Azari Jones, Dalton E. Tucker ;
• Keante Simmons, Dalton E. Tucker ;
• David Scott, Heron Bay ;
• Santonio Cherrington, Victor Scott ;
• Xazi James, Francis Patton ;
• Darian Seymour, St. David’s ;
• And a young man by the name of Prince,
whose last name I did not get, from Gilbert I nstitute. My apologies for that one.
But again, I would like for congratulations to
be extended to the Minister of Education, as well as the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Woul d any other Senator care to speak?

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Good afternoon, Madam
President, Senator Anthony Richardson.
The President: Senator Anthony Richardson, you
have the floor.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: I just wanted to assist the
good Senator. Pr ince’s last name was Domingo,
Prince Domingo, from Gilbert Institute.


Bermuda Senate My congratulatory comments, please, Madam
President, relate to the KPMG 15th Annual Senior
School Investment Challenge Awards just held on
June 16th. I would ask your indulgence with me for a
few minutes, Madam President.

The President: Certainly.

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Thank you. Madam President, I want to recognise the participants of the
KPMG 15th Annual Senior School Investment Challenge Awards, who were recognised on June 16,
2020, at a virtual ceremony. I was invited to give
comments on behalf of the Minister of Education, the
Honourable Diallo Rabain, JP. The KPMG Senior
School Investment Challenge is one of the best examples of corporate and government partnership. The challenge provides students with high- level insight
and experience in career opportunities in the inves tment industry. They are able to learn accounting, f inancial analysis and how the stock market functions.
To the Managing Director of KPMG, Mr. Steve
Woodward; Senior Manager of the Graduate Pr ogramme, Ms. Wanda Armstrong; and the entire KPMG
team, thank you for the countless volunteer hours
spent mentoring and working with our students. Over
the past 15 years, KPMG has awarded over $300,000
to students and schools in Bermuda, and sets an excellent standard for school and corporate partnerships.
To the students, I commend each of you,
since you have all worked diligently on your portfolios during the remote learning and shelter in place.
Madam President, eight schools participated— Bermuda High School, Bermuda Institute, the
Berkeley Institute, CedarBridge Academy, Mount
Saint Agnes Academy, Saltus, Impact Mentoring
Academy and Warwick Academy. I again commend
all participants. They initially received a notional $100,000 for investment in October 2019 with specific
investment guidelines and restrictions. After the i nvestment period, there was a range of final portfolio
values of $81,524 to $121,685. The total winning award to schools was $20,000 in cash: $10,000 w ent
to the Bermuda High School; $6,000 to Warwick Academy; and $4,000 to Saltus. Again, I commend all of the organisers and participants. Thank you, Madam
President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Anthony Ric hardson.
Would any other Senator care to sp eak?

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Yes. I would, Madam President.

The President: Senator Michelle Simmons, you have
the floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you.
It sounds like we are all congratulating young
people today. Because I also found that there are s ix
young people in Bermuda who have been given an
opportunity to complete an international internship. It
is very interesting because these young people reside
in Bermuda, but they are actually interning with a Sil icon Valley start -up, a phenomenal experience. And
this kind of ties in with the discussion earlier about law
firms connecting with other associates overseas, because this tech start -up decided it wanted to hire, I
believe it was 18 interns. And they have hired from Bermuda, Canada, India and the United States. And
six of them are locals.
I am going to give you the names of the young
people who have this wonderful opportunity. The first
is Derek Tucker -Peters, Malachi Butterfield, Tyler
Trott, Tyrese Coakley, Zar’a Cardell and Zara Francis
Roban. And, Madam President, with your indulgence,
I am just going to read a short excerpt from an article
which I found about these young people.

The President: You certainly can. Carry on.

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
“Since Bermuda is home to a large amount of
international business, many people pursue insurance, accounting, and business administration. By
sourcing global talent, [this company] has created an
internship program that offers Bermudians a unique
glimpse into a Silicon Vall ey tech startup’s inner wor kings . . . .”
How wonderful is that! And I think I should
also recognise some people who had a hand in orga nising this, because the opportunity for this was shared
through Kevin Warner at Planet Math, Coral Wells at
Connectech, Fiona Beck and the Bermuda Business
Development Agency. I say, Well done! to those people who helped these young people find opportunity, and congratulations to those extraordinary young
people.
And, Madam President, I would also like, on a
sad note, to offer condolences to the family of Mrs.
Constance Eleanor Mello, better known as “Ma Pinky”
or indeed as Evangelist Mello. She was a well -
respected, well -liked and well -known matriarch of the
St. David’s community. Everyone knew her and knew
her as a woman of faith. And I think it is extraordinary
that she leaves behind—and she passed in her 93
rd
year––but she leaves behind her children, Alan, Juan,
Pastor Kimmie, Judy, JoAnne Burgess and BonnieRose Mello. But she also leaves to mourn 103 grandchildren, gr eat-grandchildren and great -great -
grandchildren. So, talk about a life well lived! There it
is. May she rest in peace.
The President: Indeed. Thank you, Senator Michelle
Simmons.
1016 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Would any other Senator care to speak?

Sen. Vance Campbell: Yes, Madam Pr esident.
The President: Senator Campbell, you have the floor.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I would like
condolences to be sent to the family of the late Mrs.
Ada Louise Foggo, who passed away on June 11
th. If
my math serves me correctly, she was in her 92nd
year. She was the wife of the late Mr. Albert Eugene
“German” Foggo, who was a direct, a very close rel ative of my grandmother. And she leaves to mourn
children Lynette Fox, Kenneth Bascome, J. P. Earl
Simmons, Melody Russell, Eugene “Calabas h” Foggo
and Candy -Lee Foggo. So if it pleases Madam Pres ident, I would like for condolences to be sent to her family.
Madam President, I would like to associate
myself with the congratulatory comments by Senator Simmons for those six individuals who were selected
for the internship at the @ Company in Silicon Valley.
I would like to also offer congratulations to
Vanessa Campbell Durango, my daughter, who is
graduating from Elliott today and moving on to Whi tney Institute [Middle] School. It has been a lo ng, hard
slog for her. But she has done well. And I am proud of her.
The next few are more thank -yous than congratulatory comments. I would like to thank the Bank
of Bermuda Foundation, which contributed $100,000
to the Bermuda College Foundation to help students
in financial need in the upcoming school year. I want to thank them for that contribution, and I am sure
many students will benefit from their generosity.
I also would like to thank Mikaela Pearman.
She is a Bermudian video marketing expert, and she
is offering a free training [course] for business owners who are interested in learning how to incorporate vi deo into their marketing strategy. That training is t onight at eight o’clock. So I got this off of Bernews and
probably should not be mentioning the name of the
news media. But it is not that much time for people to take advantage of it. But I think this is very relevant in
today’s circumstances, when businesses coming out
of COVID -19, have to adopt the new approach to a ttracting customers. So I thank her for her generosity in
putting on a free seminar on marketing.
I also would like to thank Mr. McCal Roberts
who, during this difficult period as we wrestled with the
pandemic, has been going back and forth across the
community in Somerset and usi ng his landscaping
skills and equipment to cut the grass in various yards
and helping his neighbours —for free. So I would like
to thank him also for his generosity, Madam Pres ident.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell. Would any other Senator care to speak on
Congratulatory and/or Obituary Speeches?
No? Then I would just like to take the liberty
on behalf of the entire Senate body. I would like to
thank all of you Senators who have spoken and talked about the congratulations to all the young people who
have achieved so much on the Island, and particularly
during this difficult time of COVID -19. So on your behalf, we thank you for your comments and your naming of the individuals who have achieved so much
success.
And I would also like t o acknowledge the condolences for those who have passed.
So, all Senators, I want to thank you for your
expressions.
And now we will move on to the Adjournment,
and Kathy Lynn Simmons.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,

Yes.

ADJOURNMENT

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I move that the
Senate do now adjourn until next Wednesday, which
is July 1st.

The President: July the 1st. Thank you.
Would any Senator care to speak on the m otion to adjourn?
Hearing none . . .

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President.

The President: Yes, sorry. Beg your pardon. Who?
Sen. Vance Campbell: Senator Campbell.

The President: Senator Campbell, yes. Do you want
to speak on the motion to adjourn?

Sen. Vance Camp bell: Yes, Madam President.
The President: You have the floor.

POSITIVE CHANGES FOR BERMUDA

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, we heard
earlier today in the Statement from Senator Caesar of
the top five largest job loss areas during the shelter in
place being restaurants, hotels, construction, retail,
and small businesses. And, Madam President, this is not surprising, as each of these, at least the top four alone and collectively, are used generally as a gauge
to the overall performance of the econom y here in


Bermuda Senate Bermuda and a large part, I would guess, to the number of people whom they employ.
We heard today of the extension of the unemployment benefit for a month, which is good news. In
addition, the proposed amendment to the Employment Act is also wel come news for employers and emplo yees as it relates to the delay in redundancy.
A few weeks ago, Minister Walter Roban had
advised of matters put in place to expedite the approval process in the Department of Planning. This is
intended to jump- start the construction industry and
get people back to working in that industry. And I believe Senator Caesar said there were 1,256 people
laid off in that industry. Again, this is welcome news.
And, Madam President, I must declare my interest as the company that I work for is a major supplier to the
construction industry.
Last week, Madam President, we heard from
the new Minister, Jason Hayward, that the overarc hing aim of the Ministry of Labour will be the expansion of jobs in Bermuda and a focus on expanding the economy. He indicated that we must develop Berm udians for the jobs and careers of the future in this country and that Bermudians should be provided with
opportunities to develop and grow their skill sets.
Minister Hayward also advised us that, shor tly, a consolidated labour law Act will be introduced to
modernise, strengthen and enhance the rights of employers and employees and to revise their labour di spute mechanisms in Bermuda. He advised that work
is being done to revise and improve provisions of the
Employment Act 2000. We heard from him one of the
priorities moving forward is the development of formal
agreements with the business community, identifying
experiential learning for students. He advised that
there is going to be a better alignment of the D epartment of Workforce Development efforts with the Bermuda College and a prioritisation of engaging with
industry stakeholders to gain a better understanding
of their needs, their talent needs, so that the efforts of
the Workforce Development Department c an be f ocused on jobs that our young people can be succes sful in applying for.
We heard, Madam President, about improv ements in the immigration process, particularly the new
business work permit policy which enables exempt company start -ups to simply obtain the required number of work permits during the first six months of their
operation in Bermuda. This should encourage companies to come here and set up.
We heard about the global work permit policy
which allows positions to be easily moved from over-seas offices to Bermuda. Madam President, these
immigration policies aim to entice international companies to come to Bermuda and base as many jobs in
Bermuda as possible.
We heard about financial incentives for the
international business to grow the workfor ce in Bermuda. For existing companies we have exemption for payroll tax for new jobs created. We just debated oneyear exemptions for social insurance contributions,
pension contributions, both to help reduce the cost of
doing business in Bermuda and aiding in growing
Bermuda’s economy.
We heard from the Minister of Finance last
week, as well, when he highlighted his efforts in meeting with the Bermuda Development Agency, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Fiscal Responsibility
Panel and the Financial Pol icy Council in his efforts to
bolster Bermuda’s economy. He also advised us or
provided us with some information on the efforts of the
Economic Advisory Committee, which was specifically
formed to provide advice from experts that will assist
Bermuda businesses that are negatively impacted by
this global crisis, and to also provide input on initi atives to develop more opportunity for employment and
create increased economic activity and government
revenue.
Madam President, I would like to talk about
empower ment and responsibility. The Oxford English
Reference Dictionary defines “empowerment” as a
noun related to the word “empower,” which means “ to
authorize, license, to give power to and make able.” If
you look at the word “power,” it means the ability to do
or act. I was on a roll, so I decided to look up “respo nsibility.” It says, the state or fact of being responsible.
“Responsible” means to be liable to be called to account, morally accountable for one’s actions, capable
of rational conduct, respectable, evidently trustworthy.
Why do I say all of this, Madam President?
Madam President, the last time the Senate
met, I spoke about how 168 years ago, Frederick
Douglass, in spite of being an escaped slave himself,
urged African Americans, black people, to dev elop
their own skills and to take responsibility for their actions and their lives. So, Madam President, earlier
today Senator Anthony Richardson informed us about
the many Bermuda College graduates who have tak-en responsibility for their futures. They hav e done extremely well in spite of any challenges they may have
faced. They get it. And I am sure you will hear good
things from them as they continue to pursue their education.
We have a Government that is looking to pr ovide opportunities and retraining f or our people. The
jobs of the future may be entirely different from what
they are today. We have a young Mikaela Pearman
offering a free opportunity. We have the Bank of Bermuda Foundation providing funding. We have the
Bermuda Government providing funding to assist those to go to Bermuda College to retool or to conti nue their education in preparation for those jobs.
I came across an opportunity yesterday, Madam President, where the TLC group is offering training
for anyone interested in a career in privacy at the Pr ivacy Officer Foundation as a practitioner, as a privacy
officer and practitioner. We have our PIPA [Personal
Information Protection Act], Madam President. So this
1018 24 June 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate is an opportunity. I looked at the cost of that course,
$1,350. Perhaps some of the savings we talked about
today people can use to take that course. Maybe
some of the pension withdrawals can be used to take
that course and put yourselves in a position [where] you can take advantage of the jobs that we expect will
come.
But at the en d of the day, Madam President, if
you do not take responsibility for your life, if you sit there as a victim, if you do not empower yourself to
prepare for the job, then you will be bypassed again. So with that, Madam President, I conclude. Thank
you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Yes, I would, Senator
Simmons -Wade.
The President: Senator Simmons -Wade, you have
the floor.

COVID -19—ADDRESSING THE NEE DS
OF SENIORS

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Thank you, Madam
President.
A few days ago a friend and I were discussing
how very pleased we were that there were so many
people in Bermuda who rose to the challenge of supporting our seniors during this pandemi c by keeping
[up] communication, shopping for them, providing food
and meals. Businesses also rose to these challenges,
and I must say Government played a significant role.
We as a people truly have become our seniors’ keepers.
However, the pandemic has highlighted the
many issues that seniors face in terms of isolation,
health care, financial challenges, accommodations,
abuse, transportation and so much more. Despite the
aforementioned challenges, over the past few months there have been some improvements in the lives of
our seniors. There has been significant increased connectivity with families and multigenerational con-nections, which has helped to improve and strengthen
people’s lives. Families have become stronger.
So I encourage everyone to continue with
these connections, which will reduce much of the is olation that has occurred with our older residents.
Also, our older residents have improved their
technological skills. You have people’s great -aunts
and grandmothers talking about using online plat forms
or connecting someone to Skype, and most of all, for
some of them it is the banking and the online sho pping that they are now able to do without the support
of their family and friends. And also, they are showing
opportunities that are actually out t here to deal with professions or the needs for seniors and the shorta ges there are in this country. So basically, what lessons have we learned
that will fundamentally change how we view our ag eing? What will the future hold for our seniors post -
COVID? Ma ny questions.
The Ageing Well Committee will continue to
work in these areas. Seniors have reached out to us and contacted us with ideas and concerns specifically
during this pandemic. We will continue working with
the third sector to ensure that we improve, we make a commitment to improve policies and programmes to
ensure that our seniors have long, safe, productive
and healthier lives.
My next message is to Bermudians between
the ages of 50 and 68. Some people may say that is
young. This includes me; I am young as well. But I am
sure some would say, Fifty? Really? But think about it.
Many things have already changed—our awareness,
our travel, our communication, our employment, our
economy. Our whole lives have basically changed. On
a daily basis, we have to deal with social distancing,
masks, gloves, handwashing, hand sanitiser and concerns about our safety and also about our future. This,
Madam President, is our new normal.
During the pandemic, we have had many opportunities to think about our physical and our mental
health, as we stay home (when we are not watching
Netflix) and think about what is important in regard to
our lives. We are now focusing on social connections,
healthy living, exercise, dieting, more sleep (I hope).
For months we have not li ved in that fast -paced life,
racing to work, going to meetings, doing volunteer
work and so many more things we do. Many of us
have actually asked the question, What really is i mportant? What gives our life meaning? What do we
want to do with our time left on this earth?
Joseph Coughlin captured this when he said,
“This is a fire drill, a trial run for what we might spend our time on in retirement.” There will be many cha llenges in the upcoming months and possibly in the
upcoming years. This is the ideal t ime to develop a
viable plan for the rest of our lives. Maintaining a
healthy lifestyle, meeting with your attorney to discuss
estate planning, re- evaluating your job, reviewing your
retirement savings, reviewing your retirement, updating or making a will, appointing a health care proxy,
appointing a power of attorney, making decisions
about your end- of-life wishes and sharing them with
your family.
Evaluate your living conditions, whether you
are going to downsize or move in with those wonderful
children whom you have. Many people are now concerned about living alone. You need to decide where
you want to live if your health declines, and who you
want to live with when your health declines. Take
charge of your financial life. Rethink ageing from ev ery angle . We have to take responsibility for our f uBermuda Senate tures. It is not Government’s responsibility, and it is
important that we remember that.
We need to remember, if you do not make
your choices, other people will make them for you.
There will be challenges and tou gh times for us. But
we can get through them, stronger and better as a
people.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Simmons -Wade.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Yes, Ma dam President,
Senator Anthony Richardson.

The President: Senator Anthony Richardson, you
have the floor.

COVID -19 TESTING

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Good afternoon again,
Madam President. I want to do two things. One is quite quick, and I trust it will bring a smile to all of us.
I trust that my numbers are correct. But I understand that we have tested approximately 10,373 persons in Bermuda for the COVID -19. And I smile
because there are 11 Senators, and I wonder how
many of us are in that number. I say that because I
believe it is important for us to be tested for evidentiary purposes and also just to see where we all stand
individually and to set an example to the rest of Bermuda. Because we need to make sure that we mai ntain our sensitivity toward COV ID-19 and not become
overly complacent. That is my first point.

EMANCIPATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Sen. Anthony Richardson: My next point is on a
much more sombre note. And I guess it follows to
some degree from Senator Simmons -Wade and sim ilar to what Senator Campbell said also. For the past
couple of days or couple of weeks now, as I reflected on the last Senate session and thought about the pr otests that took place before then, I want to read, with your indulgence, Madam President, an excerpt from the Emancipation Act 1834.

The President: Carry on. You can, Senator Richar dson.

Sen. Anthony Richardson: It is fairly brief. It reads
thus: “WHEREAS it is expedient to relieve free blacks and free persons of colour, from certain disabilities,
liabilities and r estrictions to which they are now subject, to extend to them the laws now applicable to
white persons, and to fix the qualifications for voters
and the electors, and for candidates for certain offices
and places of trust: Be it therefore, enacted by the Governor, Council and Assembly of the Bermudas or
Somers Islands as follows:
“Extension of rights, privileges and franchises
“[1] All rights, privileges and franchises which upon and from and after 1 August 1834, shall or may be enjoyed by white persons, shall, upon, from and after
1 August 1834, be equally enjoyed by free black and
coloured persons; and upon, from and after 1 August
1834, all free black and coloured persons shall be subject to and liable to all the pains, penalties, duties,
conditions, rest rictions, disabilities and liabilities to
which white persons shall be subject and liable.”
And, Madam President, I read that to some
degree to bring to the forefront for all of us from whence we have come, and to follow on from what
Senator Campbell just said, that each of us has to
take responsibility for what we can do in the context of
Bermuda’s history.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
No? Then with that, Senators, I want to thank
you for your time today, as Senate stands adjourned
until next week, Wednesday, July the 1
st. Take good
care and be safe.

Some Hon. Senators: Thank you, Madam President.

[*At 4:12 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 1 July 2020.]



[*The Senate resumed on 8 July 2020. ]
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