March 18, 2020

Thank you.
Sen. t he Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Pres ident, I move that the Bill entitled the Criminal Injuries
(Compensation) Amendment Act 2020 be read a second time.

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

SECOND READING

CRIMINAL INJURIES (COMPENSATION)
AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
Madam President , I am pleased to present to
this Honourable Senate the Bill entitled the
Criminal
Injuries (Compensation) Amendment Act 2020 .
This Bill seeks to amend the Criminal Injuries
(Compensation) Act 1973 for the purposes of making
new arrangements for the appointm ent of board
members and the reconstitution of the Criminal Inj uries Compensation Board (which I will refer to as the
CICB).
Madam President , there have been historic
challenges with the administration of the CI CB
scheme , including prolonged delays in handling appl ications for compensation awards. Corresponding complaints have been widely publicised by local m edia outlets and beyond. A review of the CICB’s oper ations by the Ministry of Legal Affairs revealed that the
task of chairing the CI CB may often be unduly burdensome upon the judiciary. However, the Act presently requires the chairperson of the CI CB to be a
judge of the Supreme Court of Bermuda, exclusively.
Madam President , unsurprisingly, there is no
discernible policy reason or justification for continuing
with the status quo of limiting the appointment of the
chair to a member of the judiciary. Rather, the coun-tervailing reasons to redefine the eligibility requir ements for the chair of the CICB will allow for its more
consistent administration. T his is because a non -
judicial chairman can be appointed who has the lat itude to devote sufficient focused energy to the CICB.
This is increasingly necessary, as there are
growing numbers of applicants requesting compens ation from the scheme. The change wi ll alleviate pressures upon the already overtaxed justices of the S upreme Court, allowing them to direct their judicial attention to their primary responsibilities of fairly admi nistering justice from the Supreme Court bench.
Madam President, reviewing th e 1973 Act
revealed another vestige from times past. The law
habitually required the Governor, subsequent to mini sterial advice, to make appointments, such as me mbers of the CICB. In this instance it is done on the ad-vice of the Minister responsible for Justice, who is the
Minister of Legal Affairs. This arrangement is unduly
cumbersome and outdated, given our modern democracy. There is simply no continuing need for the Go vernor to make appointments to the CICB.
Madam President, transferring the power of
appointments from the Governor to a Minister is not
unusual. In fact, Senators will recall recently passing
similar amendments to the Liquor Licence Act. Cur i846 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate ously, the Liquor Licence Act was enacted in 1974,
only a year subsequent to the enactment of the Crim inal Injuries (Compensation) Act 1973. It follows that
for the sake of consistency both Acts are further updated in tandem. Madam President, under new provisions of
this Bill, the chair of the CICB will be a barrister and
attorney with at least 10 ye ars’ experience. The deputy chair will be a barrister and attorney with at least
eight years’ experience. Having a senior lawyer as
chair and another as deputy chair will ensure that awards by the newly constituted CICB will be fair and
just. This is also in keeping with the original intent of
the Act that the ultimate person overseeing the oper ation of the scheme and deciding whether or not an
award ought to be granted has the requisite legal experience. The goal is to increase efficiency of oper ation with out compromising the quality of decisions.
Before closing, Madam President, on behalf of
the Ministry of Legal Affairs, I wish to take this opportunity to thank the 2019 board members for their i nvaluable service. I am delighted to report that the
CICB en ded the year 2019 having cleared its muchreported backlog of cases.
Madam Honourable Justice Nicole Stoneham
deserves special thanks for shouldering the respons ibility of chairing the board since inheriting that portf olio upon succeeding to the bench in 2016. We appr eciate her continued support to successfully transition
to the new board structure.
And finally, Madam President, the collective
measures in the Bill demonstrate Government’s com-mitment to the steady renewal of our laws to meet the needs of our modern democratic society.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kathy Lynn Si mmons, Attorney General.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Jarion Richardson, you have the
floor.

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Yes, thank you, Madam
President, and thank you, Madam Attorney General.
Just on this particular Bill, the Government
Senator had spoken about a review that found that
one of the issues was with chairing this body. I was
wondering what other problems had the r eview di scovered? And what if any other actions or changes
have been done to address the problems? I was wondering if we could speak to how the appointment will
address any of those other problems. And will we be able to see the review? Or is it more relev ant that if
anyone is going to see that review, it be done through
the Public Access to Information Request ? Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson. Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons, you
have the floor.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,

The Ministry of Legal Affairs
often reviews its policies and procedures. These are
administrative reviews that take place to make sure
that we are operationally sound. In respect to the
Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, there has been
a constant refrain of the lack of efficiency based on
backlogs, et cetera, in particular with regard to the
resources.
Our administrative review was an internal r eview whereby we made sure that we looked at the present resources that were sourced by the courts,
because you have administrative staff who have this
function attached to their job descriptions. And given
the challenges with efficiency, we determined that it
was not the best model. So that was the basis of the
review.

The President: Thank you.
And you will do the second.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I now move that the Bill be read the second
time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 2 6
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I move that Standing Order 26 be suspended
with respect to the Bill.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

CRIMINAL INJURIES (COMPENSATION)
AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I now move
that the Bill be read a third time.



Bermuda Senate The Presi dent: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Criminal Inj uries (Compensation) Amendment Act 2020 be now
passed.

The President: Is there any objection to the passage
of the Bill?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Criminal Injuries (Compensation)
Amendment Act 2020 was read a third time and
passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Kathy Lynn Si mmons, Attorney Gener al.
We now move on to the third item of our O rders of the Day, and that is the Land Valuation and
Tax Amendment Act 2020.
Whose Bill is that? Senator Campbell. He is
on his way. We will give him a minute.

[Pause]
The President: Your plate is full toda y, Senator. You
have the floor, Senator Campbell.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: And you have the Land Valuation and
Tax Amendment Act 2020.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Yes.
[Crosstalk ]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Land Valuation and Tax Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

LAND VALUATION AND TAX
AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. Vance Campb ell: Madam President, I am
pleased to introduce the Bill entitled the Land Valuation and Tax Amendment Act 2020 . This Bill seeks to
amend the Land Valuation and Tax Act 1967 to ex-pressly provide for a procedure for addressing the
disclosure of conflicts of interest by members of the
Land Valuation Appeals Tribunal. Madam President,
the Senate will be aware that the valuation list sets out
the annual rental values for properties in Bermuda. As part of keeping the entries in the list accurate and up
to date, the list is regularly amended in respect of
changes to properties such as new builds, splits, mergers and demolitions.
Taxpayers then have a statutory right to cha llenge the proposed amendment to the list should they be aggrieved with the assessment. In instances where
the objection is not resolved with the Land Valuation
Department, the objection will proceed for a hearing
before the tribunal.
Madam President, th e proposed amendment
stipulates that where a member of the tribunal has any direct or indirect interest in any matter before it, they
shall fully disclose their interest to the tribunal at the
earliest opportunity and not take part in any or further
discus sion of the matter and have no vote in relation
to the matter unless the tribunal has resolved that the
interest does not give rise to a conflict of interest.
Madam President, this proposed amendment is in
keeping with Government’s objective to have me mbers of all government tribunals disclose any known
conflicts of interest, thereby ensuring independent and
impartial hearings.
Additionally, the amendment will bring the
Land Valuation and Tax Act 1967 in line with similar
legislation such as the Development and Planning Act
1974 and the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 in respect of the disclosure of conflicts of
interest by members of a tribunal.
Madam President, with those remarks I will
pause and allow other Senators to speak and comment on t his Bill. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you. Thank you, Senator
Campbell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Jarion Richardson, you have the
floor.
Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident and Senator Cam pbell.
Just a few points on this amendment. There
are a couple of opportunities in it that one can easily
sidestep these requirements. “At the earliest opportunity” —it means obviously right before the meeting,
or rather has the potential to lead to that c onsequence. And “unless the tribunal has resolved the i nterest does not give rise to a conflict of interest” —and
to my reading, that means the tribunal would be able
to sit as a body and make the determination that a
person who has disclosed a conflict of interest can
remain in the room and participate in the proceedings, in which case we are looking at a powerful personality
848 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate or any other such circumstance allowing interest to
still be conflicted with that of the tribunal itself.
And to that end, would the Senator be able to
speak to how those circumstances could be avoided?
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I am going to suppose that this has been a
problem for the tribunal in the past —i.e., problems
with members having direct or indirect interest in matters before it. The question I have is, How exactly is
disclosure expected to be provi ded? Is that in writing?
Is it verbal? Is it, as my colleague has just said, just
prior to the meeting? Or is there a time frame which will be added to this? I think it is really important to
have a bit of clarity about that.
That is my question, Madam Pr esident.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then we will just wait and see when Senator Campbell can respond to the questions.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR
The President: But in the meantime, I would just like
to acknowledge and welcome the Director of the D epartment, Ms. Diane Elliott. Welcome to you.
[The Land Valuation and Tax Amendment Act 2020,
second reading debate, continuing]
The President: Senator Campbell, you have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Yes, Madam President.
Disclosure of a potential conflict or a conflict is
to be made as soon as that conflict or potential conflict
is known. And it initially could be verbally, but it then
should be committ ed to writing. However, we must
recognise that this conflict may only be recognised in
the midst of a meeting once they realise the details of
a matter which is before them, potentially. So at that
point in time, it would be verbal, followed by —it may
be confirmed in the Minutes or in a subsequent wri ting.
So that would be the normal procedure in
meetings of such nature for any conflict of interest. So we are just trying to standardise the process throughout government tribunals.
The President: Are there any further questions?
Sen. Vance Campbell: I think that answers both concerns that were expressed, Madam President.
The President: Fine, Senator Campbell.
You can again move the second reading.
Sen. Vance Campbell: So with that, Madam Pres ident, I mov e that the Bill entitled the Land Valuation
and Tax Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second
time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 2 6
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

LAND VALUATION AND TAX
AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Vance Campbel l: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Land Valuation and Tax 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 Bil l do now pass.
The President: Is there any objection to the passage
of the Bill?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Land Valuation and Tax Amen dment Act 2020 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.


Bermuda Senate The President: We will now move on to our fourth
Order of the Day, and that is the second reading of
the Health Insurance Amendment Act 2020.
As it is your Bill, Senator Simmons -Wade, you
have the fl oor.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Good morning, Madam President.
The President: Good morning.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: I move that the Bill
entitled Health Insurance Amendment Act 2020 be read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

HEALTH INSURANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
am pleased to present the Health Insurance Amendment Bill 2020 . This Bill would amend the Health I nsurance Act 1970 (the principal Act) to extend from 30
days to 60 days the period of time within which a l icensed insurer and an employer who operates an approved scheme, in this memorandum referred to as
“an insurer,” must pay the mutual insurance fund pr emium into the Mutual Re- insurance Fund. The Bill also
requires every insurer to provide the committee: (a) on
a daily basis a list of every insured person who is on
that day insure d with a licensed insurer or under the
improved scheme in the eligible list; and (b) at the time of making a Mutual Re- insurance Fund premium
payment a list of every insured person covered by the
premium.
Clause 1 is self -explanatory.
Clause 2 amends sec tion 3A of the principal
Act. Clause 2(a) amends section 3A(1A) of the princ ipal Act to extend from 30 days to 60 days the period
of time within which an insurer must pay the Mutual
Re-insurance Fund premium into the Mutual Reinsurance Fund. Clause 2(b) i nserts subsections (1B)
and (1C) into section 3A of the principal Act. Section
3A(1B) requires (a) an eligibility list to be provided by
the insurer to the committee on a daily basis ; and (b)
the Mutual Re- insurance Fund premium payment list,
which must include the amount paid in respect of each
insured person on the list, to be provided to the committee with each Mutual Re- insurance Fund premium
payment. S ection 3A (1C) states that the requirement
to provide any list under section 3A(1B) is met by the
insur er providing the committee with an electronic version thereof in a format approved by the Commi ttee.
Clause 3 provides that every insurer must,
within 30 days after the commencement of this Bill,
provide to the c ommittee in respect of each Mutual
Re-insur ance Fund premium payment it has made
between 1 June 2019 and the commencement of this
Bill a Mutual Re-insurance Fund premium payment
list, which must include the amount paid in respect of
each insured person on the list. The 30 days can be
extended by the Minister by notice in the Gazette if in
his opinion it is necessary to do so.

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

Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident, and good morning.

The President: Good morning.

Sen. James S. Jardine: I certainly support the Bill. I
think . . . certainly in the first amendment to section
3A(1A), where it talks about extending the period from
30 days to 60 days for the actual payment of the
amounts into the Mutual Re- insurance Fund, I think
that does make sense. I know initially when the orig inal Act was put in place or amendment was made and
the 30 days was put in there; I thought at the time that
it was a bit short .
But then moving on, this next section, section
3A(1B)(a) seems a bit onerous. And I am not quite sure why this is entirely necessary, where it says, “on
a daily basis” —a daily basis —“a list of every insured
person who is on that day insured with the lic ensed
insurer or under the approved scheme . . .” has to be
sent to the committee.
It seems to me like that is a tremendous
amount of work and unnecessary work. And I just do
not understand why they want that on a daily basis. I
can understand that certai nly on a monthly basis or, if
they are required to prove that a certain individual in
fact was insured on a particular day, they could r equest the information. But to have them reporting to the committee on a daily basis seems like a huge
amount of unneces sary work. And I do not understand
why in fact this was added. And so that is my question.
It seemed to not make a lot of sense when
particularly they recognised that the 30- day payment
[time allowance] to the Mutual Re- insurance Fund was
not sufficient, and they have increased that to 60
[days], to now require a list on a daily basis of ever ybody seems somewhat excessive. So that is my question. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
850 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Yes, Senator Jarion Richardson, you have the
floor.

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
And I would echo Senator Jardine’s comments on the daily basis , as well as the question of
every employer . Any small business operator in Be rmuda or certainly the ones with whom I am familiar
with are aware of significant regulation in our space,
and the red tape. And this really does come out in
these kinds of amendments.
We can anticipate that some authority will d etermine the format of this report. And that format may
not be consistent with the things we are already doing
in the small business environment. The daily basis is
going to be problematic. In fact, there is no part of section 3A(1B) that is not going to be a significant i ssue for a smaller shop who does not have the admi nistrative capacity to absorb these kinds of filings. And
so I would make the point that this feels pragmatically
difficult, and especially when we are trying to boost
the economy and trying to reduce the burd en of red
tape on small business.
And to that end, I would ask the Government
Senator, How are we going to navigate that challenge
of their commitment to reducing red tape, yet this
huge burden is being added on?
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Sen ator Jarion Richar dson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then, Senator Ianthia Simmons -Wade,
you have a couple of questions.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: In response to the
question, at this time as you are aware the Admi nistration is dealing with this. So I will have to take the
questions under advisement as to why they elected to
put “providing this information on a daily basis .”

The President: Thank you.
You will do the second reading then, Senator
Simmons -Wade.
Sen. Ianthia Si mmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled Health Insurance Amendment Act 2020 be now read a third time.

The President: A second time.

Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: A second time, sorry.

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

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

HEALTH INSURANCE AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled Health Insurance 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 Health Insurance Amendment Act 2020 do
now pa ss.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill has passed.

[Motion carried: The Health Insurance Amendment
Act 2020 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Ianthia Simmons -
Wade.
We now move on to the fif th item on our O rders of the Day. And that is the Digital Asset Issuance
Act 2020.
I would like to inform Senators that we do
have lunch. So we will break at 12:30.
Whose Bill is this? Senator Campbell, the Di gital Asset Issuance Act.

Sen. Vance Campbel l: Madam President, this is a
fairly extensive brief. Given the time, do you wish to
start it now or to . . .

The President: No. We will break for lunch because
we only have seven minutes.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Yes. We will resume at 2:15 as usual.


Bermuda Senate Thank you, Senators. The Senate stands adjourned for lunch.
Thank you.

Proceedings suspended at 12:2 3 pm

Proceedings resumed at 2:17 pm

The President: Good afternoon, Senators. I hope you
enjoyed your lunch.
The Senate is back in session, and we are
continuing with our Orders of the day. The fifth Order
of the Day is the second reading of the Digital Asset
Issuance Act 2020. And the Senator in charge is Senator Campbell.
Senator Campbell, you have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS

The President: And while you are getting your papers
together, I would just like to acknowledge the presence of the Assistant Financial Secretary, Mr. Gift;
also Mr. Kevin Anderson, from the Monetary Authority.

[Pause]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Digital Asset Issuance 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

DIGITAL ASSET ISSUANCE ACT 2020
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President , the pu rpose of the [ Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020
], before
the Senate, is to facilitate the transfer of the admi nistration and regulation of the digital asset issuance
regime [DAI], formerly known as Initial Coin Offering
regime, from the Registrar of Companies to the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
Madam President , the Bill sets down an e nhanced supervisory framework for the oversight of companies that seek authorisation to carry out a dig ital asset issuance in or from Bermuda. Key comp onents of the framework provide for matters related to public disclosures, offer documents, corporate go v-ernance, customer protection, cybersecurity, as well
as supervision and enforcement.
Madam President , Senators are advised that,
although the responsibility is transferring to the BMA
[Bermuda Monetary Authority], a substant ial portion of
the regulatory framework has been retained from the
regime which was introduced by the Companies and
Limited Liability Company (Initial Coin Offering)
Amendment Act 2018. The rationale for this retention
is for the legislation to remain clos ely aligned to its
original drafting intent, where possible, so as to pr ovide some stability and comfort to industry by only making changes where it was absolutely necessary to
do so.
Madam President , in order to provide effective
regulatory oversight to the Digital Asset Issuance Act
regime, the BMA has adopted a tailor -made legislative
approach which requires that the legislation provides
for all of the regulatory powers that the BMA presently
has in its other regulatory acts. Additionally, in an effort to mitigate against delays in the processing of applications, which can involve large amounts of very
technical information, the new Act will introduce the
concept of accredited digital asset businesses [DABs].
Presently, digital asset businesses are l icensed by the BMA under the Digital Asset Business
Act 2018 to perform certain activities. Given that the
expertise in the digital asset field is very limited in
Bermuda, the BMA intends to leverage the expertise
in certain licensed DABs by having them become accredited to perform the vetting of applicants for author-isation to conduct a digital asset issuance. As such,
the BMA will introduce and oversee a new accredit ation process under a new supporting rule to the new Act.
Madam President , Senators should be aware
that a key change to the new regime involves the fee
structure for an authorisation. Previously, all applic ations for consent attracted a flat fee of $5,000. Sen ators are advised that the BMA has opted for an a pproach which is in line with how it determines its other
tiered fees, by introducing a range of fees between
$2,500 and $50,000 based on the size of the issuance and the manner in which the issuance is conducted —
i.e., whether a company conducts the issuance itself or it utilises the services o f a Bermuda licensed and
accredited digital asset business.
Additionally, Madam President , Senators are
further advised that the BMA has incorporated global anti-money laundering standards as set down by the
Financial Action Task Force [FATF] for digital assets.
The Financial Action Task Force guidance provides that certain activities regarding digital assets should
be properly regulated including, but not limited to, dig ital asset issuances. Accordingly, the DAI Act makes
clear that no person can conduct a digital asset iss uance in, or from within, Bermuda unless they are authorised by the BMA to do so.
852 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate Madam President, unfortunately, because of
the nature, the technical nature of this Act, I feel it
necessary to go to a clause by clause. And there are
a multitude of clauses, as you know. And I do that with
your indulgence, Madam President.

The President: Carry on, Senator Campbell.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, if we look
at clause 1, it is pretty self-explanatory.
So clause 2 provides definiti ons including
“digital asset acquirer ,” “digital asset issuance ,” “digital
asset issuance document” and “digital asset issuance platform .”
Clause 3 provides for the interpretation of the
terms “director ,” “controller ,” “senior executive” and
“associate. ”
Clause 4 provides for the interpretation of the
phrase “conducting digital asset issuances in Berm uda.” Clause 4(3) empowers the Minister of Finance,
acting on the advice of the Authority, to make an order
subject to the negative resolution procedure, specifying the circumstances in which a person is to be r egarded as carrying on or not carrying on such bus iness in Bermuda.
Clause 5 defines “issuance of digital assets to
the public ”; clause 6 defines “qualified acquirer” for the
purposes of that definition.
Clause 7 requires the Authority to publish a
statement of principles. This statement is to indicate to
persons conducting a digital asset issuance how the
Authority proposes to carry out certain aspects of its
licensing and supervisory functions. This clause allows the Authority to publish guidance on the applic ation of the Bill and regulations made under it.
Clause 8 empowers the Authority to issue
codes of conduct. Persons carrying on a digital asset
issuance are required to observe these codes of con-duct. A failure to observe the codes of conduct could
lead to regulatory sanctions.
Clause 9, Madam President, empowers the
Authority to make rules requiring returns to be filed by
an authorised undertaking within the period prescribed
on its authorisati on and kept for five years at its local
registered office or the office of its local represent ative. Failure to comply can lead to the imposition of a
civil penalty.
Clause 10 makes provision for the Authority to
modify or exempt authorised undertakings f rom the
requirements of the Act and the rules, and empowers
the Authority to take necessary or other actions in r elation to the business or operations of authorised undertakings.
Clause 11 creates an offence of conducting a
digital asset issuance without the authorisation of the
Authority.
Clause 12 provides that an application to the
Authority for authorisation shall be accompanied by a
business plan, the application fee prescribed under the Bermuda [Monetary Authority Act 1969, and such
other information or documents as the Authority may
require ].
Clause 13 empowers the Authority to grant or
refuse applications for authorisations. The Authority
shall not grant an application unless it is satisfied that the minimum criteria as set out in Schedule 1 are f ulfilled with respect to the applicant. The Minister is empowered to amend Schedule 1 by order subject to the
negative resolution procedure.
Clause 14 requires the Authority to publish a
list and details of authorised undertakings.
Clause 15 makes provis ion for the payment of
fees for authorisation. Such fees will be prescribed as
set out in the Fourth Schedule to the Bermuda Mon etary Authority Act 1969.
Clause 16 prohibits an undertaking from offering digital assets via a digital asset issuance to the
public unless it has published an electronic form of the
issuance document.
Clause 17 requires undertakings to publish
updated particulars of an issuance document in certain circumstances.
Clause 18 requires a promoter while an offer
via a digital asset i ssuance is open or suspended to
provide an electronic facility for persons to access,
comment on and ask questions relating to the iss uance document.
Clause 19 provides a cooling- off period of
three business days for a person to withdraw an application in relation to a digital asset issuance.
Clause 20 requires a promoter to ensure that
a general risk warning appears in the issuance doc ument.
Clause 21 provides that an authorised undertaking shall apply appropriate measures of identific ation regarding the identity of persons participating in a
digital asset issuance.
Clause 22 requires authorised undertakings to
ensure mechanisms are in place regarding the secur ity of assets and confidentiality of information of parti cipants.
Clause 23 creates offences rel ating to the
issuance of an issuance document.
Clause 24 provides for civil penalties for mi sstatements in an issuance document.
Clause 25 specifies when experts are not li able under clauses 23 and 24.
Clause 26 requires an authorised undertaking
to hold the assets of digital asset acquirers separate
from its own.
Clause 27 imposes an obligation on all authorised undertakings to appoint a local representative
with an office in Bermuda.
Clause 28 makes provision for local repr esentatives to report certain events to the Authority.
Clause 29 provides for authorised undertakings to apply to the Authority in respect of “material
changes” to its business.


Bermuda Senate Clause 30 empowers the Authority to restrict
the authorisation of an undertaking where an authorised undertaking fails to satisfy the minimum criteria,
contravenes a provision of the Bill , or fails to meet an
obligation imposed by or under the Bill —but in ci rcumstances not to justify revocation of the authoris ation. The Authority’s objective in restricting an author isation is to protect digital asset acquirers or potential
digital asset acquirers of an undertaking.
Clause 31 provides for the revocation of an
authorisation, and the grounds for revocation are set
out under clause 31(a) to 31 (e).
Clause 32 prov ides for the winding- up of an
authorised undertaking that has had its authorisation
revoked, if it is just and equitable to wind it up.
Clause 33 requires the Authority to give notice
to an authorised undertaking where it proposes to r estrict, vary a restriction or revoke its authorisation.
Once the Authority has made its decision, it must pr ovide a decision notice in writing, which shall set out
the reasons for its decision and, where appropriate,
an indication of the right to appeal to a tribunal. Where
the Authority decides not to take the action proposed
in a warning notice, it must give a notice of disconti nuance, identifying the action which is being disconti nued.
Clause 34 provides for the imposition of r estrictions in cases of urgency by the Author ity. In such
cases the Authority is not required to give an author-ised undertaking notice under clause 33(1) of its inte ntion to impose a restriction. An authorised undertaking
may also make representations to the Authority and can appeal a decision of the Authority under this
clause.
Clause 35 provides for the giving of directions
by the Authority to an authorised undertaking following
the revocation or surrender of its authorisation, where such directions appear to the Authority desirable for
safeguarding the interests of the digital asset acqui rers. Failure to comply with directions is a criminal offence.
Madam President, clause 36 provides for the
notification and confirmation of directions given by the
Authority to authorised undertakings under clause 28.
The Authority is required to give directions by notice in
writing and is empowered to vary a direction by a further direction. The Authority may also revoke a direction by notice in writing by exercise of its powers under this clause. Further, a direc tion given shall cease
to have effect at the end of 28 days unless it is co nfirmed by a further notice given by the Authority to the
authorised undertaking.
Clause 37 provides for the surrender of an
authorisation by an undertaking. Surrender is irrev ocable, unless it is expressed to take effect at a future date, and before that date the Authority by notice in
writing allows it to be withdrawn.
Clause 38 requires any person who proposes
to become a 10 per cent, majority shareholder control-ler or a partner of an authorised undertaking to obtain
the prior approval of the Authority by notice in writing.
Such person shall only become a shareholder contro ller if the Authority does not object or respond within a
specified period.
Clause 39 provides for the Auth ority to object
to any person who seeks to become a new controller
of, or to increase his shareholdings in, an authorised
undertaking.
Clause 40 provides for the Authority to object
to an existing controller who it considers is no longer a
fit and proper person.
Clause 41 provides offences with penalties
ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 for contraventions by
a controller of various requirements under the Bill.
Clause 42 makes provision for the Authority to
impose certain restrictions on the shares of a contr oller.
Clause 43 empowers the Authority to impose
effective, proportionate and dissuasive civil penalties
of up to $10 million for failure to comply with any r equirement, or contravention of any prohibition, i mposed by or under the Bill.
Clause 44 requir es the Authority to give a
warning notice first, followed by a decision notice,
where it intends to impose a civil penalty.
Madam President, clause 45 empowers the
Authority to publish a statement publicly censuring an
authorised undertaking which has contravened a r equirement imposed by or under the Bill.
Clause 46 sets out the public censure proc edure.
Clause 47 empowers the Authority to make
prohibition orders , depending on the circumstances of
each particular case and after an assessment of the
qualit ies of the individual concerned.
Clause 48 requires the Authority to give a
warning notice first, followed by a decision notice,
where it intends to make a prohibition order.
Clause 49 establishes a procedure for the
making of applications to vary or revoke a prohibition
order.
Clause 50 provides for determination of appl ications under clause 49.
Clause 51 provides for the Authority to apply
for an injunction in specified circumstances.
Clause 52 sets out rights of appeal.
Clause 53 provides for the cons titution of a ppeal tribunals.
Clause 54 provides for the jurisdiction and
powers of the tribunal in the determination of appeals.
Clause 55 provides for costs, procedure and
evidence related to any party to the appeal.
Clause 56 provides for further appea ls by an
authorised undertaking or other person against the
decisions of the tribunal to lie to the Supreme Court
on questions of law only.
Clause 57 makes provision s for the issuing of
warning notices by the Authority.
854 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate Clause 58 makes provision for the process by
the Authority to issue a decision notice.
Clause 59, Madam President, makes prov ision for the Authority to give a notice of discontinuance to the person concerned if, following the issue of
a warning notice, the Authority decides not to procee d
with the proposed action.
Clause 60 makes provision for the Authority to
decide what information should be published about a
decision and prohibits the Authority from publishing a decision unless it has first notified the person co ncerned, and pending t he outcome of any appeal that
might have been made.
Clause 61 requires an authorised undertaking
to notify the Authority of any change in its controllers
or officers. Where an undertaking fails to comply, it
shall be liable to a civil penalty.
Clause 62 makes provision for the Authority to
obtain information and reports from an authorised undertaking.
Clause 63 provides for the production of documents for examination by the Authority.
Clause 64 empowers an officer, servant or
agent of the Authority to ent er into premises occupied
by an authorised undertaking to obtain information or documents in certain circumstances.
Clause 65 makes provision for the Authority to
investigate the digital asset issuance conducted by an
authorised undertaking. Such investig ations may be
conducted by third parties on behalf of the Authority,
all expenses of which are payable by the authorised
undertaking under investigation unless otherwise d irected by the Authority. Offences are created in connection with the failing of an authorised undertaking or
other relevant persons to assist in or in obstructing an
investigation.
Clause 66 makes provision for the Authority to
investigate suspected contraventions of fundamental
requirements in the Bill and other requirements i mposed by or under the Bill.
Madam President, clause 67 makes provision
for the Authority to require a person under investiga-tion or any person connected to the person under i nvestigation to provide information, produce documents
or attend for questioning.
Clause 68 makes provision for the issuance of
search warrants by a magistrate in cases where a
person is suspected of removing, tampering with or
destroying documents required by the Authority for its
functions, or in cases where a person under investiga-tion or a ny person connected to the person under i nvestigation refuses to provide the information or documents requested by the Authority.
Clause 69 creates an offence for a person
who knows or suspects that an investigation is likely
to be carried out in certain circumstances to obstruct
such an investigation.
Clause 70 requires an authorised undertaking
to deliver to the Authority, within four months of the end of the digital asset issuance and within four
months of the end of its financial year if falling durin g
the offering via the digital asset issuance, a certificate
of compliance signed by an officer of the authorised
undertaking, certifying that the authorised undertaking
has complied with the minimum criteria for authoris ation and codes of conduct.
Clause 71 prohibits the disclosure of information relating to the business or affairs of persons coming into the possession of any person exercising
functions under the Act.
Clause 72 authorises the disclosure of certain
information if it is necessary for facilitating the di scharge of the functions of the Authority.
Clause 73 authorises disclosure to the Mini ster and to other authorities in Bermuda by the Author ity for the purpose of enabling or assisting them to di scharge their regulatory functions. Disclosure may be
made to overseas regulators who exercise functions
corresponding to the functions of the Authority, pr ovided that such overseas regulators are subject to
similar restrictions on further disclosure.
Clause 74 imposes similar restrictions on the
disclosure of information supplied to the Authority by
an overseas authority.
Clause 75 creates offences in connection with
false documents or information.
Clause 76 is a standard provision relating to
criminal liability of officers of authorised undertakings
who have committed an offence.
Clause 77 prohibits the use of the words “ digital asset issuance” by persons not holding an author isation.
Clause 78 provides the procedure for the gi ving and serving of notices to an authorised undertaking.
Clause 79 pr ovides that a notice required u nder the Bill to be given or served on the Authority shall
not be regarded as given or served until it is received by the Authority.
Madam President, clause 80 makes the provision that where a person is convicted of an offence under the Bill , no civil penalty can be imposed relative
to the same matter, and vice versa.
Clause 81 makes provision for the Minister
after consulting with the Authority to make regulations
prescribing anything which may be prescribed under
this Bill and generally for the implementation of the
Bill. Regulations and Orders are made subject to the
negative resolution procedure.
Clause 82 makes provision for savings and
transitional matters.
Clause 83 gives effect to the consequential
amendments in Schedule 2, including the fees to be
inserted into the Fourth Schedule to the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969.
Clause 84 provides for the repeals and rev ocations of enactments superseded by this Act, as set
out in Schedule 3. In particular Part IIIA (Ini tial Coin


Bermuda Senate Offering) of the Companies Act 1981 and Part 10A
(Initial Coin Offering) of the Limited Liability Company
Act 2016 are repealed, and regulations made under
those provisions are revoked. Section 272F of the
Companies Act 1981, which provided for t he FinTech
Advisory Committee to advise the Minister of Finance
on matters relating to FinTech and the development of
the FinTech industry , is repealed.
And lastly, Madam President, clause 85 pr ovides for the commencement. And this Act shall come
into operation on such date as the Minister of Finance appoints by notice published in the official Gazette.
Madam President, from all of that you can see
that this is a fairly robust regime. So f inally, Madam
President, Senators are advised that in the inter est of
mitigating against uncertainty in the market, by facil itating a quick transfer of responsibility, the BMA opted
for a direct consultation with industry stakeholders
instead of a public consultation.
The Authority met with key law firms, all of
whom supported the idea of the transfer , as well as
the efforts to make the system more efficient. With
that, I will conclude to allow other Senators to comment on this Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
And I will say that it was necessary because
of the complexity of the Bill for you to go through each
clause in order. I think that Senators will appreciate
this because they only received this Bill yesterday.
And so taking them through each of the clauses I think
has been helpful.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Now with that, so thank you for that.
Now, would any Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Jarion Richardson, you have the
floor.

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Mad am Pres ident, and thank you, Senator Campbell.
I think that the industry has made note of the
efficiency of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, so it is
welcoming that this is being transferred into their authority. I am mindful, however, that the Digital Acc ess
Business Act has had a number of applications made
pursuant to it, and relatively few licences have been
issued. And although we cannot go too far as to how
that took place or why that is, we are seeing a rel atively low number of licences. And this is public information on their website.
As it relates to the Digital Asset Issuance Act
2020 and transferring the responsibilities of the ROC to the BMA, I am curious as to how many authorised
undertakings are currently in existence under the pr evious regime. And will their licence or permission be grandfathered into the BMA supervision? And to that
end also, if the Senator could help me with, does that
FinTech Advisory Committee . . . I see under clause
84 that we are looking at the revocation of portions of
the Companies Act and especially relating to the FinTech Advisory Committee. Does that committee
still exist? And if so, have their costs been reallocated?
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then, Senator Campbell, you have a
question.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR
The President: But I would just like to acknowledge
the presence in the Chamber of the Financial Secr etary, Mr. Anthony Manders. Welcome t o you, sir.
[The Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020, second reading
debate, continuing]
[Pause]
The President: The Senator is seeking counsel with
the Assistant Financial Secretary.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you for your patience,
Madam President.
We a re made to understand that we have four
ICOs approved. And all [of them] will be grandfathered
in under the provisions of this Bill. And once this Bill is
enacted, the FinTech Advisory Committee will cease
to exist.

The President: Thank you for that.
You can do your second reading.

Sen. Vance Campbell: So with that, Madam Pres ident, I move that the Digital Asset Issuance 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.
856 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate [Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

DIGITA L ASSET ISSUANCE ACT 2020

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Digital Asset Issuance 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 Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Digital Asset Issuance 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 now move on to the sixth item on
the Orders of the Day. And that is the Miscel laneous
Taxes Amendment Act 2020.
Senator Campbell, is this your Bill as well?
Sen. Vance Campbell: This is my Bill as well, Madam
President.

The President: Thank you.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Yes.

The President: When you are ready, you have the
floor.
Sen. Vance Campbell: I would appreciate if you
would talk to my boss and recommend either a vac ation or a pay increase.

[Laughter]

Sen. Vance Campbell: I do not know where I would
go on that vacation, so I think I would appreciate the
pay increase mor e.

[Laughter]
The President: When you are ready, you can pr oceed.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President.

The President: Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: I move that the Bill entitled
the Miscellaneous Taxes 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

MISCELLANEOUS TAXES AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, the pu rpose for the
[Miscellaneous Taxes Amendment Act
2020] before the House today is to make amendments
to the Miscellaneous Taxes Act 1976 and the Miscellaneous Taxes (Rates) Act 1980 to repeal the large
ship infrastructure t ax which was introduced in April
2019, and replace it with a Transport Infrastructure
Tax.
This tax will be payable in respect of all cruise
ships docked in Dockyard or at anchor with tender to
Dockyard, not just the largest cruise ships. The Bill
also sets the tax rate at $25 per passenger over the
age of two, effective the 1st of May 2020.
Madam President, on the 1st of May 2019, the
Ministry of Tourism and Transport gave one year’s
notice to all cruise lines that the estimated revenue
from the large sh ip infrastructure tax was insufficient
for the transport infrastructure needed to handle current and future increased passenger demand. The
Government found the solution and made a policy
decision to provide one year’s notice that the large
ship infrastruc ture tax will be redefined and renamed
“Transport Infrastructure Tax” and paid by or on behalf
of all cruise ship passengers over the age of two, r egardless of the size and passenger count of the cruise
ship. It will apply to all cruise ships that berth in Dockyard or anchor and tender to Dockyard between the 1
st of April and the 31st of October.
Madam President, the revenue collected in
2019 for the large ship infrastructure tax was $5,145,272, and the estimated revenue for the new transport infrastructur e tax is $11,100,000. This will go
a long way to assist in the refitting and new purchase
of transportation infrastructure which supports the
cruise industry in Bermuda. Madam President, for clarity, there is no change to the existing passenger
departure t ax and cruise ship visitor fee.
Madam President, the final provision of the
amendment Act pertains to consequential amendBermuda Senate ments made to the Tax Management Act of 1976 and
the Tax (Accounts and Records) Regulations of 1991,
due to the repeal of the large ship infrastructure tax
which was set at $22 per passenger, and to the intr oduction of the transport infrastructure tax at the new
rate of $25 per passenger from the 1st of May 2020.
Thank you, Madam President. With that, I will
allow other Senators to speak on this Bill.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
In principle, we understand the need for these
changes and the increases in these taxes. I think in
the long run it is going to be good for the industry, and
it will be able to increase cash receipts for the government coffers.
My only question is, just curious, the transport
infrastructure tax will be applicable at $25 per person
for passengers just between the dates of April the 1st
and October the 31st. Can I know the reasoning why
these dates were not expanded, especially since one
of the goals of the BTA was to expand the cruise season? And if they are successful in doing that, they
would have left a fair amount of tax sitting on the table
by leaving the restrictions from the 1st of April to Oct ober 31st. That is my question. Thanks.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Yes. Senator Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I am just looking here at the Budget Book, and
I saw that the increase in revenue was estimated to
be $4.4 million. And I just wanted to know . . . Was
there any contingency in place with this unfortunate
outbreak of COVID -19 and the cruise lines being di srupted and maybe not returning to normalcy until
maybe later on in the season? Will this shortfall be
budgeted? Or is there a contingency so that the tourism and transport infrastructure can still get the love
that it needs?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Yes, Senator Jarion Richardson, you have the
floor.
Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
And following on from my colleague’s observations, I would like to raise that this increase in tax was noted because the previous fee structure was insufficient. And given that we are looking at sign ificant ramifications for our tourism and cruising industry
with the coronavirus, the insufficiency that was there before is obviously going to be exacerbated. Is there a
plan to . . . what is not going to be dealt with?
So we had a low fee structure before. We i ncreased it to deal with something. And now that we
are looking at not seeing any of that, what are we not
going to be able to address?
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson.
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: I am just waiting on the r esponses, Madam President.

The President: That is fine.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you.

[Pause]

The President: The Senator is consulting with the
Financial Secretary for responses.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you for your patience,
Madam President.
It has been a long- standing practice not to
charge outside that window because it is difficult for
us to attract cruise ships here outside, you know, in
the off -season. And there is no intention to change
that in the near future. We do get the occasional visit
outside of that window, and again it is very difficult to
attract ships here at that time.
As a result of what is happeni ng with, and as
part of our COVID -19 plan, the emergency funding
has been put in place by the Minister. And any neces-sary work, we would look to do from that emergency funding. I think that answers both concerns.
So with both or all concerns being answered,
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled the
Miscellan eous Taxes Amendment Act 2020 be now
read a sec ond time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Presi dent, I move that
Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect of this
Bill.

858 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

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

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 was suspended.]

BILL

THIRD READING

MISCELLANEOUS TAXES AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President I move that
the Bill entitled Miscellaneous Taxes 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 Miscellaneous Taxes Amendment Act 2020
do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Miscellaneous Taxes Amen dment 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 now move on to the seventh item
on the agenda, and that is the consideration of the
draft Order entitled the Foreign Currency Purchase
Tax (Exemption) Order 2020.
Senator Campbell, is that your Bill?

Sen. Vance Campbell: That is me as well.
The President: On a roll. Carry on.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
Senate do now take under consideration the draft O rder entitled the Foreign Currency Purchase Tax (E xemption) Order 2020.

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

ORDER

FOREIGN CURRENCY PURCHASE TAX
(EXEMPTION) ORDER 2020
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, the purpose of the Order is
to amend the Foreign Currency Purchase Tax Act
1975 to provide an exemption to Saturn Solar Berm uda 1, the developers of the solar project at the Finger
adjacent to the L. F. Wade International Airport, from
being charged foreign currency purchase tax.
Madam President, this Order exercises the
Finance Minister’s power s under section 7 of the Foreign Currency Purchase Tax Act 1975 to declare by
order that the payment of foreign currency purchase tax on certain transactions carried out by specified
bodies are exempt.
Just as with the recently tabled (or soon to be
tabled, as far as the Senate is concerned) Land Tax
(Exemption) Order 2020, this exemption was part of
the conditions of the original tendered documents for the solar project at the Finger.
After scrutiny by this administration, Cabinet
agreed that it was in t he best interests of the people of
Bermuda to support this exemption.
So, Madam President, in 2018 when this administration had resumed its tenure in Government, a
thorough examination was conducted of the solar pr oject in which every piece of the project was scrut inised, from the terms and conditions of the tender i tself to the project agreements, to ensure that all of it was in the best interests of the people of Bermuda.
Madam President, once this Government was
satisfied that the project was proceedin g on a fair,
open and transparent path, permission was given by Cabinet to enter into the project agreements. One of
the conditions of the project stated in the original te ndered documents was the exemption from the oblig ation to pay foreign currency purchase tax. This was in
order to ensure that the project costs would be r educed, thereby increasing the benefit to all ratepayers
by keeping costs as low as possible, which in turn r esults in keeping solar technologies a realistic solution
for Bermuda’s energ y needs.
So with those brief remarks, Madam Pres ident, I pause to allow my Senate colleagues to com-ment on this Bill.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
We are in support of this legislation. We understand that its purpose is to make the cost of this
particular solar farm as cost -friendly as possible.
My question would be, What are the general
criteria for businesses or organisations like this to be afforded an exemption of this purchase tax? Is there some precedent which has already been set for this?
Does an organisation have to appeal to the Gover nment to be exempted? Or are there already criteria set in stone to allow for an exemption such as this?


Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then we will just wait for Senator Cam pbell to com plete his consultation.

[Pause]
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, the exemption would have to be applied for . . . does have to
be applied for. And one of the key factors in making
that decision as to whether to grant that is whether or
not it is in the best interests of the country as a whole,
the people of Bermuda. And in this case, it was
deemed that it would help keep those costs down and
that it would be in the best interests of the people of
Bermuda.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell. And
your second reading?
Sen. Vance Campbell: So, Madam President, I move
that t he said order be approved and that the following
message be sent to His Excellency the Governor:
“May it please Your Excellency:
“The Senate, having had under consideration
the draft Order entitled the Foreign Currency Purchase Tax (Exemption) Order 2020, proposed to be
made by the Minister of Finance under the provisions of section 7 of the Foreign Currency Purchase Tax Act
1975, has the honour to inform Your Excellency that
the Senate has approved the said draft Order.”

The President: Is there any objec tion to that motion?
No objection.
Therefore, Senator Campbell, the recommendation will be forwarded.
Thank you.
[Motion carried: The Foreign Currency Purchase Tax
(Exemption) Order 2020 was approved.]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: We will move on to [Order] No. 8,
which is the consideration of the draft Order entitled Land Tax (Exemption) Order 2020.
Senator Campbell, that is your draft Order.
You have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that Senate do now
take under consideration the draft Order entitled the Land Tax (Exemption) Order.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Carry on, Senator Campbell.
ORDER

LAND TAX (EXEMPTION) ORDER

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, the pu rpose of the Order is to provide an exemption from the
payment of land tax for Saturn Solar Bermuda 1, the devel opers of the solar PV project at the Finger, adj acent to the L. F. Wade International Airport.
Madam President, this Order exercises the
Finance Minister’s powers under section 3A of the
Land Tax Act 1967 to declare by order any valuation
unit exempt fro m land tax.
Just as with the just -passed draft Order, the
Foreign Currency Purchase Tax (Exemption) Order
2020, this exemption was part of the conditions of the original tendered documents for the Solar PV Project
at the Finger. After scrutiny by this Adm inistration,
Cabinet agreed that it was in the best interests of the
people of Bermuda to support this exemption.
Madam President, Senators will recall that this
exemption would have applied to any successful bi dder, not just a foreign one. And so this ex emption is
not the result of any post -tender negotiations, but r ather conditions that were set for any and all qualified bidders.
To be clear, Madam President, the ownership
of that land remains with the Bermuda Government’s portfolio, and it is leased to Saturn Solar Bermuda 1
for the duration of the project agreements.
Madam President, it is worth noting that other
projects of national importance are given concessions
like that which we propose with this Order, such as
various hotel developments, the ai rport project, the
Youth Library, State House in St. George’s, and the
list goes on.
This exemption helps keep costs low for the
solar PV project, which keeps costs lower for electric ity ratepayers, which also sends the clear message
that Bermuda is open for renewable energy develo pment.
And with those remarks, Madam President, I
pause to allow my Senate colleagues to comment.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this?
Senator Jardine, you have the floor.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I guess the questions I have are, presumably
(I think I heard correctly), rent is being charged to the tenants who are erecting these solar farms on the
land. And I guess the first question is, Is it a sort of market rent? Or is this some sort of lower rent?
And I guess with respect to the land tax issue,
I get a little concerned when I see exemptions which do not have any expiry date on them. I know we gave
land tax exemptions to some of the hotel properties .
860 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate But all of those, as I understand it, have expiry dates
on them, whereas this seems to be open. And so my
second question is, Is this forever? Or is this temporary? Is it only as long as the lease lasts?
I guess the follow -on question for that is, How
long is the lease? I get a little concerned when we
give concessions that are open- ended, or appear to
be open- ended. And there will be others that, pr esumably, will be coming along maybe looking for the same sorts of exemptions.
I understand Government wants to, and
should, support alternative forms of energy. But at the same time, I am mindful that we may be creating a
precedent that others may wish to avail themselves of,
and we could run into trouble if we say, Well, no. We
gave it to this one [but] not to the other.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this [draft Order]?
Senator Jarion Richardson, you have the
floor.

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Just a question. Are we aware of how much
revenue will be lost by this exemption? And if so, what
is that amount? Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this [draft Order]?
No. Then, Senator Campbell, you have a
couple of questions to respond to.

[Pause]
The President: And again the Senator is consulting
with the Financial Secretary.
[Pause]
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President,
for your patience.
We do not have the informat ion at our fingertips as it relates to the exact rent that is being
charged. So we cannot provide that. We can provide it
to the Senator at a later date. Hence, we also do not
have the information on the length of the lease. But
we can advise that the exem ption is tied to the lease.
So it will expire; it is not open- ended.
And as far as determining any lost revenue
from the exemption, we are currently waiting on the valuation of that property. It has not been valued as yet. We are waiting on that process. And we will be in
a position to determine how much revenue was lost. But again, the determinant factor in this here
was that this is something that was felt was of national importance if we are going to move away from our
dependency on fossil fuels and move to more dependence on renewable energy.

The President: Thank you for those responses.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: You [may] now move.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the said Order be approved and that the following
message be sent to His Excellency the Governor:
“May it please Your Excellency:
“The Senate, having had under consideration
the draft Order entitled the Land Tax (Exemption) O rder 2020, proposed to be made by the Minister of F inance under the provisions of section 3A of the Land
Tax Act 1967, has the honour to inform Your Exce llency that the Senate has approved the said draft O rder.”

The President: Thank you.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. A suitable message wi ll be sent.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

[Motion carried: The Land Tax (Exemption) Order
2020 was approved.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
We now move on to the next item on the O rder Paper, and that is [Order] No. 9, the consideration
of the draft Regulations entitled the Government Fees
Amendment Regulations 2020.
Senator Campbell, that is you.

Sen. Vance Campbell: That is me as well.

The President: Yes, you are busy today.

REGULATIONS

GOVERNMENT FEES AMENDMENT
REGULATIONS 2020
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Senate do now take under consideration the draft
Regulations entitled the
Government F ees Amendment Regulations 2020 .

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



Bermuda Senate Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, every two
years the Government reviews all fees charged for
government services. This review is to ensure that
there is reasonable cost recovery for the provision of
the various services offered by a range of government departments. The government fees were last r eviewed and amended in 2018, and were increased
generally by 5 per cent. The next scheduled review
and fee increase would have been due this year 2020.
Madam President, as announced in the
2020/21 Budget Statement, the Government will not
be conducting the full biannual uplift in fees in 2020,
which would have added to the cost of government
services for the people of Bermuda. Accordingly, other
than immigration fees, all fees will remain at their 2018 rates.
Madam President, also as announced in the
Budget Statement, after considering the Tax Reform
Commission’s recommendation to increase the yield
from immigration fees, the Government will increase
all fees in this Head by 5 per cent. This is to ensure
that there is reasonable cost recovery for the provision
of the various enhanced services by the Department
of Immigration.
Base d on the general increase of 5 per cent,
the overall financial impact of these revisions is est imated to be an increase in yield of about $800,000 to $900,000.
Madam President, all immigration fees as
identified within these regulations will be amended
within the existing Heads in the revised 2020 fee
schedule and are as follows:
• Head 6— Bermuda Immigration and Protection
Act 1956, all provisions;
• Head 8— Bermudian Status by Birth or Grant
Register Act 1992, all provisions;
• Head 71— Royal Prerogative, all pr ovisions.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
I am just looking here. First and foremost, I
am appreciative of the fact that the Government in
their Budget Statement relaxed the two- year increase
in fees. I am looking at the cost for the production and
the issuance of a passport.
At the moment, we know that the passport is
produced overseas and th e Government is trying to
get [the production] returned back to Bermuda. Will
that in any way impact the fee charged for the iss uance of passports? Or is that not really factored into
the pricing of the fee for getting a passport?

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

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I stand to be corrected, but I thought that
there was not going to be . . . or rather that we were
saying during the Budget Debate that there was not
going to be an increase in fees, save for this, in the
immigration space. But it is noteworthy that we were
quite proud to not increase fees for government ser-vices save for those government services that relate
to our international financial sector. There are, I see,
work permit increases and things like that. And not
just into that huge sector, but also for small busines ses that rely on overseas expertise. These would be, yet again, more red tape and more increase in costs.
So I would . . . it seemed weird that we were
quite proud of not increasing fees, and then for some
of us it is in fact still an increase in fees and red tape.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: T hank you, Madam President.
There will be no impact on the cost of obtai ning a passport.
Earlier today it was recommended when we
had the general economic debate the Opposition
Leader urged the Government to follow the recommendations of several bodies, including the Tax R eform Commission. Here we are following one of the recommendations of the Tax Reform Commission,
one which was supported in the Opposition response
to the budget. And yet, we have an Opposition Sen ator questioning our raising the fees under immigration.
But having said that, Madam President, it was not a
question; it was a comment.
So, Madam President, I move that the said
draft Regul ations be approved and that the following
message be sent to His Excellency the Governor:
“May it please Your Excellency: The Senate,
having had under consideration the draft Regulations entitled Government Fees Amendment Regulations
2020, proposed to be made by the Minister of Finance
under the provisions of se ction 2 of the Government
Fees Act 1965, has the honour to inform Your Excel-lency that the Senate has approved the said draft Regulations.”

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Thank you, Senator Campbell. A suitable
message will be sent to the Governor.

862 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate [Motion carried: The Government Fees Amendment
Regulations 2020 were approved.]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
We wil l move on now to item 10, second reading of the Payroll Tax Amendment. And I believe you
are going to combine comments for these—

Sen. Vance Campbell: That is mine as well, Madam
President.

The President: Senator Campbell, you have the floor.
You are on a roll.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you. Hold one second,
Madam President, if you do not mind.

The President: No; do take your time. When you are
ready you can proceed.

[Pause]

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 following Public Bills: the Payroll Tax Amendment Act 2020, the Customs Tariff Amendment Act
2020, the Government Loans Amendment Act 2020,
the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment
Act 2020, the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2020, and the consideration of the draft Regulations entitled the Electronic Communications
(Regulatory Authority Fees) Regulations 2020.

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

[Motion carried: Leave granted for Bills on the Order Paper to be read a second time on the same day as
their first reading.]

The President: You can proceed, Senator Campbell.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move tha t
the Bill entitled Payroll Tax Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, the purpose of the [
Payroll
Tax Amendment Act 2020 ] is to make a number of
reforms to the Payroll Tax Act 1995 and the Payroll
Tax Rates Act 1995. Ma dam President, initially I must
note for the record that, given this Government’s clear
desire to increase the number of jobs in Bermuda,
since 2017 we have not increased payroll taxes on
employers. Actually, to the contrary we have given
targeted payroll tax reductions to struggling sectors
such as retail and also provided payroll tax concessions for employers who hire persons with disabilities, new small -business entrepreneurs and taxi operators.
As announced in our 2020/21 National Budget
Statement, Gov ernment will continue to use payroll
tax policy to provide for the following:
• reducing payroll taxes for those persons ear ning less than $96,000, bringing the rate paid in the zero- to-$48,000 band of gross taxable
compensation to its lowest level ever;
• introducing two new employer payroll bands
between $200,000 and $500,000, which will have the effect of lowering the payroll tax bur-den for those businesses, which should allow
them to expand their employee base; and
• extending payroll tax relief for the creation of
new jobs in Bermuda to employers with pa yrolls between $500,000 to $1 million.
Madam President, this Bill provides for these
policy objectives. Madam President, the Budget Statement noted that we will provide payroll relief to
those workers who ha ve suffered through increases in
the cost of living. This amendment will adjust the pa yroll tax employee rate bands to provide tax reductions to those earning less than $96,000. Accordingly, the
rates will be adjusted as follows:
• remuneration of zero to $4 8,000, the rate will
be adjusted from 4.0 per cent to 2.0 per cent;
• remuneration of $48,001 to $96,000, the rate
will be adjusted from 6.5 [per cent] to 8.5 [per
cent] ;
• remuneration of $96,001 to $235,000, the rate will be adjusted from 7.75 per cent to 9. 0 per
cent; and
• remuneration greater than $234,000, the rate will be adjusted from 8.75 per cent to 9.5 per
cent.
Madam President, just by way of example,
someone earning $36,000 would have received a r eduction in taxes of $270 in 2018, and with the passi ng
of this Bill will receive a further reduction of $720, t otalling $990 reduction in their taxes over a two- year
period. Someone making $48,000 would receive a
$1,320 reduction in their payroll tax since 2018. Of
that, $960 would be as of this Bill being enacted.
Those are two examples of the type of savings that
we are talking about, which is important to put that
money in the pockets of the people who need it the
most.


Bermuda Senate Madam President, this proposal is expected to
reduce the yield in payroll tax collect ions by about
$3.8 million.
Madam President, another important provision
included in this Bill is one which provides payroll tax
relief for small and medium -sized businesses. Small
and medium -sized businesses are an important part
of the Bermudian economy , and they employ just over
6,300 persons, the majority of whom are Bermudian.
Madam President, currently employers pay at 1.75 per
cent when their taxable remuneration is under
$200,000. Once it goes over the threshold of
$200,000, the rate jumps up to 7 per cent. This tends
to prohibit the growth of new jobs in this sector.
It is now proposed to create two new payroll
bands between the annual payroll thresholds of $200,000 and $500,000. This tax relief to small and
medium -sized businesses should allow th em to expand their employee base. The proposed bands are
as follows:
• between $200,000 and $350,000, at a tax rate
of 3.5 per cent, a 50 per cent reduction; and
• between $350,001 and $500,000, at a tax rate of 6.5 per cent.
Madam President, approximately 388 companies will benefit from this concession.
Madam President, in 2018, this Government
introduced the successful Tax Incentives to Grow
Jobs Programme. The objective of this programme
was simple—to have more jobs based in Bermuda,
providing more opportun ities for Bermudians who are
looking for work or who may want to progress in their careers. Madam President, specifically this legislation
provided payroll tax relief for the tax periods from the
1
st of April 2018 to the 31st of March 2021 for emplo yers wh o increased their total number of full -time e mployees when compared to the total as at March 31st,
2018. The relief was for the employer portion of pa yroll tax and was only applied against new additional
employees hired between April 1, 2018, and March
31, 2021.
In order to maintain the relief, the employer
headcount had to remain above the baseline emplo yment level, which was measured as at March 31st,
2018. The baseline total was zero for new qualifying
employers starting businesses on or after the 1st of
April 2018, which meant that all of their employees were qualifying employees. Initially, qualifying employers for this relief were exempt undertakings and
any other employers with a payroll exceeding $1 mi llion who were liable to payroll tax at the stan dard rate
and were not receiving other payroll tax relief. Also, to receive the relief, the employer had to be current with payroll tax. Since inception, over 400 new employees
have been registered in this programme, Madam
President.
Madam President, the last part of this Bill before us today extends this programme to employers with payrolls of between $500,000 to $1 million. This programme will provide a two- year employer payroll
tax concession for additional jobs created in Bermuda
and is modelled on the 2018 programme.
Madam President, the Budget Statement also
signalled that Government will expand the successful taxi industry payroll tax scheme to all persons with
public service vehicles. This was to include limousines, airport limousines and minibuses . It was noted
that further consultation would occur with the owners
of vehicles in this sector before any decisions are f inalised.
Madam President, I can confirm that due to
the uncertainty with the effects of the coronavirus on
the economic climate, we have decided to postpone
the application of the flat tax for public service veh icles until the fiscal year 2021/22. Meanwhile, the O ffice of the Tax Commissioner will gather information
from the industry over the coming months to ensure
that any change in policy for this industry is fair and
amenable to all parties.
So with those remarks, Madam President, I
now pause to allow Senators to comment on this Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
First and foremost, I believe the Government
is to be commended for following through on this particular recommendation by the committee that was
mandated and tasked to bring up recommendations
for improving the tax structure. So this is definitely
something that we are pleased about. I believe in gi ving Jack his jacket as warranted.
I do have one question, which I have thought
about in the past and I think it is worthy of bringing to
the fore. And that is, for those employees who are in
the service industry, who earn grats and tips, is that
portion of their pay included in the calculation of their
annual remuneration when determining which tax
bracket they are categorised in? Thank you.

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

Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I just would li ke to signify
my support of this Bill. I think that splitting that higher
band into several bands with a graduated tax rate will
be beneficial to businesses and hopefully, except for the effects of the coronavirus, provide them with some
opportunities and willingness to hire more people. So I
do support this Bill. Thank you.

864 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Senator Campbell, a couple of questions.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, the gratuities of employees in the service industries, they are included in the calculation for payroll tax purposes.
I think that was a question . . . that was the
only question that we had. So, Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Payroll Tax Amendment
Act 2020 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 2 6

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

PAYROLL TAX AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled Payroll Tax A mendment 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 Payrol l Tax Amendment Act 2020 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Payroll Tax Amendment Act 2020
was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
We will n ow move on to item 11, which is the
Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2020.
Senator Campbell, when you are ready you
can proceed.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, the
[Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2020 ] proposes to
amend the Customs Tariff Act 1970 (the principal Act),
including measures that amplify disaster relief respo nsiveness, also revenue diversion controls, and create
additional incentive to business. The measures of this
Bill affect both the principal Act and the First and Fifth Schedules thereto.
Madam President, before speaking on these
various measures, I should mention a number of i mportant revenue related measures that the Minister of
Finance spoke of in the Budget Statement in support
of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
2020/21, but which do not form part of the substance
of this particular Bill.
Senators will recall that in the Budget Stat ement the Minister pledged that during this session the duty rate on cigarettes containing tobacco substitutes
would be raised and that steps would be taken to e nsure . . . (Excuse me, Madam President. I am having
my voice break down once again at this time of year.)

The President: We are working you too hard? Is that
what you are saying?

Sen. Vance Campbell: I tell you, Madam President, I
need greater benefits.
[Laughter]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Senators will recall that in the
Budget Statement, the Minister pledged that during
this session the duty rat e on cigarettes containing t obacco substitutes would be raised and that steps would be taken to insulate items containing relatively small amounts of sugar from the sugar tax. In addition, further assistance was promised to retailers in
the form of expended duty relief and streamlined duty deferrals.
Madam President, all of these things are being actively progressed by the Ministry of Finance and the Customs Department, and are to be put in place
during this session by means of other legislation or by
way of administrative simplification.
Madam President, I now return to the Bill under consideration. I will begin with those measures of


Bermuda Senate the Bill which are directed at amplifying Bermuda’s
disaster responsiveness. Senators are aware that
Bermuda is closely monitoring the global develo pments concerning the coronavirus, COVID -19. And as
has been previously announced by the Premier, the public health emergency response has set in motion
careful, calculated and coordinated preparations to
meet the challenges of ev en a worst -case scenario.
Madam President, to further assist with preparations for the immediate threat of COVID -19, the Bill
proposes to introduce new end- use duty relief CPC
4235, for personal protective equipment and supplies
to enhance existing strate gy duty relief for goods i ntended for disaster relief.
Madam President, in 2019 end- use duty relief
CPC 4183, and temporary importation duty relief CPC 5025, were enacted for use in disaster relief, bringing
Bermuda into line with the international convention on
the simplification and harmonisation of customs pr ocedures, otherwise known as the Kyoto Convention.
Those existing reliefs allow duty -free importation of
foodstuffs, medicaments, clothing, blankets, tents,
water purifying and water storage items or other
goods of prime necessity forwarded as a . . . Also duty
free are temporary imports of equipment, vehicles and
other means of transport, specifically trained animals,
provisions, supplies, personal effects and other goods for disaster relief personn el in order [for them] to perform their duties and to support them in living and working in Bermuda throughout the duration of their
mission.
Madam President, any duty -free imports of
personal protective equipment and supplies under
new CPC 4235 must be u sed only in connection with
disaster prevention and control, and must be certified
as eligible for relief by the Director of Health in accordance with policy guidelines issued by the Minister.
Senators may have already taken note that
the Minister’s CPC 4 235 Policy Guidelines, including
the certified list of qualifying goods, has already been
published on the Bermuda Government portal, along
with detailed guidance on importing and declaring
goods for disaster relief, including personal protective equipment and supplies.
Madam President, I hasten to explain that the
publication of the Minister’s Policy Guidelines is by no means premature. Due to the accelerated pace of the
preparations for COVID -19, the Bill proposes to make
extraordinary provisions that CP C 4235 is deemed to
have come into effect on the 11
th of March 2020 in
accordance with the Provisional Collection of Customs
Duties Act 1960.
Madam President, I now turn to the measures
of the Bill aimed at bolstering revenue diversion con-trol. Senators w ill be aware that it is the duty of customs officers to diligently pursue the proper payment
of outstanding duty due where the holder of a relief wishes to dispose of by sale or otherwise goods i mported duty -free under that relief. Customs officers do this based on either the diversion provisions of the
principal Act or the diversion provisions of other outl ying enactments that provide duty relief or exemption.
Madam President, a review has revealed that
there is outlying law providing duty exemption without diversion provision. To address this void, the Bill pr oposes to amend the statutory obligation to pay duty
upon diversion to include goods in respect of which
duty relief or exemption was granted pursuant to any
enactment other than the principal Act that does not
have its own diversion provisions. In this way, the d iversion provisions of the principal Act will apply to any
existing and future enactment lacking its own diversion provisions unless made expressly immune.
Madam President, I will now progress to those
measures of the Bill calculated to create additional
incentive to local business. Madam President, the Bill proposes to amend CPC 4169 of the Fifth Schedule to
the principal Act, end use relief. CPC 4169 currently
provides 100 per cent duty rel ief for a limited list of
medical equipment and supplies. It is proposed to expand the list of qualifying goods to include diagnostic
imaging equipment and supplies, and radiation ther apy equipment and supplies. It is expected that these
additions will be of great assistance to local busines ses providing diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy
services.
It is anticipated that this will support less cos tly local medical services of these kinds, reducing also the need for incurring the added cost of travel and
accommodation overseas.
So with that, Madam President, I pause to
allow Senators to comment on this Bill.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Jarion Richardson, you have the
floor.
Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Just a question. I thought I heard the Senator
refer to during the duration of their mission. And I was
not quite sure to which item he was speaking to in the
Act. And who is “they” and what is “their missi on”? If
he could just clarity that. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jarion Richar dson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then, Senator Campbell, you have one
question.

Sen. Vance Campbell: The “they” in the Bill would be
the relief workers who have brought their personal
effects here and equipment which will allow them to
do their job.
866 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate With that, Madam President, I move that the
Bill entitled Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2020 be
now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 2 6

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

CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT ACT 2020

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

The Pre sident: 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 Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2020 do now
pass.
Is there a ny objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Customs Tariff Amendment Act
2020 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell and
Senators.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
The President: We will now move on to [Order]
No.12, which is the Government Loans Amendment Act 2020.
We will give you time to catch your breath,
Senator Campbell. And when you are ready, you can
proceed.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Government Loans Amendment Act 2020 be now read the second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

GOVERNMENT LOANS AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam Pr esident, the Government Loans Act 1978 provides for the Gover nment’s authority to borrow money, a maximum
amount that may be borrowed and related matters.
The [ Gove rnment Loans Amendment Act 2020 ] now
before the Senate proposes to increase the maximum
amount that may be borrowed.
Madam President, the COVID -19 pandemic
has already had significant health, economic and s ocial impact on people and countries around the globe.
This Government has therefore already taken key
steps to address this serious threat to the safety and
welfare of the residents of Bermuda. As countries
have had to take extraordinary measures to prevent the spread of this virus, it has had a very n egative i mpact on global markets and economies. In light of the
potential impact of all of this on Bermuda, the Government is taking proactive steps to help provide appropriate financial assistance to Bermudians and to
protect our Island’s economy.
Madam President, this Government takes s eriously its responsibility to assist the most vulnerable
in our community, especially during times such as
this. And the public can be assured that this continues
to be one of our main focuses. To this end, the rel evant s ubcommittees of Cabinet are meeting on an
ongoing basis as needed to ensure that this crisis is
appropriately managed.
Madam President, as announced by the Mi nister of Finance in a Ministerial Statement on
March 16
th, 2020, the current actions being taken as
part of the Ministry of Finance COVID -19 Pandemic
Fiscal Plan are as follows:
To provide financing to supplement reduced
revenues, the Ministry is taking the necessary action to secure emergency liquidity lines of credit with local
financial instituti ons. The required discussions have
been held with all relevant parties to gain the necessary approvals including an associated $150 million
increase in the debt ceiling. These facilities will be
used only when it is absolutely necessary. And I can-not stres s that enough, Madam President.
The Ministry will provide additional funding to
assist Bermuda’s unemployed. Lower -priority expenditures will be curtailed to ensure that spending needed
for COVID -19 matters can be maintained. To that end,


Bermuda Senate over the next three months Government will delay the
start of any capital projects that have not commenced,
institute an immediate freeze on posts that are not
required to address COVID -19 or to protect Berm uda’s national interests, continue the ban on nonessential govern ment travel and reduce all discretionary
spending including training, materials and supplies,
clothing and uniforms, et cetera.
Madam President, no spending reductions will
be made which will jeopardise the health, safety and
security of the people of Ber muda. Bermuda’s unemployed will be assisted, and fiscal prudence will be
strictly maintained. To be clear, protecting Bermuda
from the health and economic impact of COVID -19 is
our priority. Madam President, at the end of this fiscal
year, it is estimated that net debt will stand at $2.7
billion.
And with those remarks, Madam President, I
pause to allow Senate colleagues to comment on this
Bill. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any Senator care to speak on thi s Bill?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
As much as it hurts and is very painful for the
country to have to increase its debt ceiling level, and I
am sure specifically the Minister of Finance did not
look to do this with any pleasure at all, we definitely do
see the prudence and the wisdom in making this pr oactive move to ensure that the country has a safety net for those who will be —and it will be many of us
who will be —in dire straits.
My question would be in regard to the plans
for making provision for unemployment payments. Will
there be a vigorous screening of those who will qualify
for unemployment assistance? And will these funds
be dispensed through the Financial Assistance D epartment, or will ther e be a separate entity set up to
actually scrutinise this assistance? Thank you.

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

Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam P resident.
I have the same sort of question. I think we
actually had a brief discussion about it during
lunchtime today, recognising that this is going to be an issue that I understand Government is addressing
now anyway. But certainly it would be very hel pful to
know how they are going to deal with that.
I was pleased to hear, reinforced by the Senator a few minutes ago, that Government will be hol ding the line on all unnecessary expenditures such as
travel and other expenditures, and capital expend i-tures . One could argue that the capital expenditures
are necessary. But certainly a deferment of those ex-penditures at this time is certainly a wise move.
So I support, again reluctantly, this increase
but completely understand why it is necessary. And let us hope that we will not have to use the entire amount
and that this will not be a long- drawn -out affair.
Thank you very much, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Jarion Richardson, yo u have the
floor.

Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I echo the preceding Senators’ comments that
the severity of our circumstances requires this. And I
am sure it is with heavy hearts that we go down that
road.
Where the question relat es to how the funds
will be spent even in a tentative way, if that is not going to be answered or we do not have the answer to
that yet, I would ask, When do we anticipate coming
up with the answers to those kinds of questions? Is
this a phased approach? A re we looking at 90 days
having another look at how this money is being spent?
Yes.
So not so much the specifics at the moment,
but when would we go into specifics if we are not going to be able to do that now? Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senat or Jarion Richar dson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Oh, Senator Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
In the light of this sort of thing, I am breathing
a slight sigh of relief to see that the Government is
indeed being proactive on the economic side of
things, as that is most likely going to be the longest -
lasting impact minus the health side.
I think echoing my colleagues, I just wanted to
know if there is going to be an orderly kind of layout
released to the public in which they can claim these
sorts of benefits? And when would this be released?
So that we could get that done in an orderly fashion
and that it does not turn into kind of somebody trying to claim their COVID -19 benefit or r emedy two
months, three months down the line when they need it
in an efficient manner. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
No. None. Then, Senator Campbell, you have
a couple of questions to respond to.
868 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, as far as
how the emergency funds are being spent, the Mini ster of Finance will be provided with regular updates on
the use of the funds.
This measure was just approved [sic] in Cab inet yesterday. So the details of . . . discussed, sorry,
Madam President. [This measure was just] discussed
in Cabinet yesterday. So the details of the process are
still evolving. But it will run through the Workforce D evelopment. Persons who require financial assi stance
will still go through Financial Assistance. But as far as it relates to the provisions here that we are discussing,
it will run through Workforce Development. [We are
speaking of] people who are unemployed as a result
of the impact of the COVID -19 preparations.

The President: Thank you.

Sen. Vance Campbell: So, Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled the Government Loans Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPEN SION 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

GOVERNMENT LOANS AMENDMENT ACT 2020

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

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

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 Government Loans Amendment Act 2020 do
now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
There is no objection. The B ill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Government Loans 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: And you are on to your . . . number
13, consideration of the draft Regulations entitled —

Sen. Vance Campbell: No, no. I get a break now.
The President: Oh, you get a break!
Sen. Vance Campbell: I have been looking forward
to this all day.
The President: That is wonderful!

[Laughter]

The President: Which Senator is going to present
this?
Senator Richardson.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Yes, Madam President.
The President: He may be at the back, but he is rea lly at the front.

[Laughter]

The President: Senator Richardson, you have the
floor.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Yes, Madam President.
Good afternoon to you, my fellow Senators and those
in the listening audience.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)

Sen. Anthony Richardson: I will start, Madam Pres ident.
I move that Standing Order 71(2) be suspended so the Senate may now proceed with consi deration of the draft Regulations entitled the Electronic
Communications (Regulatory Authority Fees) Regul ations 2020.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Carry on.
[Motion carried; Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam President, I
move that the Senate do now take under consider ation the draft Regulations entitled the Electronic
Communications (Regulatory Authority Fees) Regul ations 2020.


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

REGULATIONS

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS (REGULATORY
AUTHORITY FEES) REGULATIONS 2020

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Thank you, Madam President.
I am pleased to present the Electronic Co mmunications (Regulatory Authority Fees) Regulations
2020 for consideration in this Chamber in exercise of
sections 6 and 11 of the Electronic Communications
Act 2011 and in accordance with section 44 of the
Regulatory Authority Act 2011.
Madam President, these fees are what in part
fund the activities of the Regulatory Authority of Bermuda. These fees were imposed on each carrier who
provides services to consumers acc ording to terms
and conditions delineated in the individual communi-cations operators’ licences. The fees are calculated
on the basis of relevant turnover on which a percentage is assessed. The percentage proposed for the
coming year is 1.75 per cent. And t hat is unchanged
from last year’s regulations. I emphasise that those
are unchanged.
Madam President, this fee contributes to the
funds collected by and for the use of the Regulatory
Authority. These funds allow the Regulatory Authority
to fulfil its stat utory obligations under the Regulatory
Authority Act 2011 and the Electronic Communic ations Act 2011, among which are to conduct market studies, to impose remedies, to enforce regulations and to protect consumers.
Madam President, in closing, the fee is not
changing from its current 1.75 per cent of turnover,
but section 44 of the Regulatory Authority Act 2011
requires the fees to be reviewed annually and, if new
regulations are not made, the fees would increase by the consumer price index under section 44(14).
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Anthony Ric hardson.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
No. Then, Senator Richardson, no one has
any questions for you, so you will proceed.

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Thank you, Madam President.
I therefore move that the said draft Regul ations be approved and that the following message be
sent to His Excellency the Governor:
“May it please Your Excellency:
“The Senate, having had under consideration
draft Regulations ent itled the Electronic Communic ations (Regulatory A uthority Fees) Regulations 2020,
proposed to be made by the Minister responsible for Telecommunications under the provisions of sections
6 and 11 of the Elec tronic Communications Act 2011,
read with section 44 of the Regulatory Authority Act
2011, has the honour to inform Your Excellency that
the Senate has a pproved the said draft Regulations.”

The President: Thank you, Senator Anthony Ric hardson. A suitable message will be sent.
[Motion carried: The Electronic Communications
(Regulatory Authority Fees) Regulations 2020 were approved.]

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: We now move on to item 14, which is
the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment
Act 2020.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, we request
that we do the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act first so that Mr. Manders does not have to sit
through the entire immigration—

The President: Oh, absolutely. (Sorry.) Absolutely!

[Inaudible interjections and laughter ]

The President: And, Senator Campbell, that is your
Bill?
Sen. Vance Campbell: That is my Bill, Madam Pres ident.
The President: You have the floor.
My apologies.
[Laughter]
Sen. Vance Campbell: My break was very brief.
The President: You jus t had a respite.
So you are undertaking the Bermuda Mon etary A uthority Amendment Act, the Bill?

Sen. Vance Campbell: That is correct.

The President: You may proceed.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetar y Authority
Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senator.


870 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate BILL

SECOND READING

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I am
pleased to present to the Senate the Bill entitled the
Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2020 .
This Bill amends the Bermuda Monetary Act 1969 by amending the Fourth Schedule to the Act to revise
certain fees payable to the Bermuda Monetary Authority [the “Authority”]. Specifically, Madam President,
this Bill makes provision for necessary corrections in respect of various fees currently misstated in or omi tted from the Fourth Schedule to the Act.
The proposed corrections relate to fees pay able under the following Acts: Corporate Service Pr ovider Business Act 2012; Fund Administration Provi der Business Act 2019; the Insurance Act 1978; I nvestment Funds Act 2006; Proceeds of Crime (Anti -
Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist) Financing S upervision and Enforcement Act 2008; Digital Asset
Business Act 2018; and Bermuda Monetary Authority
Act 1969.
Madam President, by way of background, in
2018 the Authority under took a comprehensive fee
revision process, which involved significant consult ation with relevant industry sectors. In its consultation
paper published on the 22nd of August 2018, the A uthority explained the rationale behind the wide- ranging
changes proposed to both the fees payable in a num-ber of sectors and the basis for calculating such fees.
At the end of this process, the Bermuda Monetary A uthority Amendment (No. 3) Act 2018, which contained
fee schedules for the year 2019, 2020 and 2021, was
passed by the Senate.
Madam President, the fee revision process
undertaken in 2018 was extremely comprehensive,
addressing virtually all fees and all regulated sectors
and covering a three- year period. A regrettable consequence of the extensive and complex nature of the
changes made at that time in subsequent fee- related
amendments to the impacted pieces of legislation is
that a small number of fees are misstated in or omi tted from one or more parts of the Fourth Schedule to the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969. This Bill
addresses the anomalies appearing in Part B relating
to 2020 fees and/or Part C relating to 2021 fees, of
the Fourth Schedule.
Madam President, I wish to emphasise that
the amendments to be made by way of this Bill will simply result in the esta blishment of fees which were
the subject of previous engagement with industry
stakeholders. Indeed, in a number of cases the
amendments are being made to reinstitute fees which
were already in force but which were inadvertently repealed or omitted following subsequent legislative action.
Madam President, in closing I would like to
thank all of those persons within the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Attorney General’s Chambers and
the Ministry of Finance who have assisted with the
development of this Bill.
So at this point, Madam President, I will stop
and allow my Senate colleagues to comment.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. T here are no questions. So, Senator
Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to thank my Senate colleagues for their
support.
And I would like to move that the Bill entitled
the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act
2020 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 2 6

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

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority
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.



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

[Motion carried: The Bermuda Monetary Authority
Amendment Act 2020 was read a third time and
passed.]

The Pres ident: Thank you, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Let us go on. Now, Senators, we will
move on to the last item, which is the second reading
of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2020.
And that is Senator Caesar, Crystal Caesar, it
is your Bill?

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Yes, Madam President.

The President: You have the floor. You can proceed.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Bermuda Immigr ation and Protection Amendment
Act 2020 be read for a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION
AMENDMENT ACT 2020
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I bring before the Senate
today the Bill entitled the
Bermuda Immigration and
Protection Amendment Act 2020 . The purpose of this
Bill is to amend the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 (or the principal Act) to address certain
issues that have resulted in members of families of
persons who possess Bermudian status or are per-manent residents not being able to remain in Bermuda
because they are unable to acquire either Bermudian
status or permanent residence.
The Bill would also make provision for a person who is born or adopted outside Bermuda to acquire Bermudian status at the time of birth or adoption, as the case may be, if at t hat time although neither parent is domiciled in Bermuda at least one parent possesses Bermudian status. Several key principles were used to guide the
development of this Bill. The principles were that the
immigration policy should not negatively impact B ermudians. It should be fair, should address the pro blems in a sustainable way, should not lead to the sep-aration of families and should ensure Bermudians
have a place of primacy in their own homeland.
Madam President, this Bill speaks to what is
commonly known by the public as “ the Mixed Status
Bill”. This Bill addresses four specific issues.
1. One is the challenges Bermudians face in
obtaining Bermudian status for their children born overseas for varying reasons.
2. And I believe two and three can sor t of be
combined, but I will separate them for definition pur-poses. Two is siblings born from the same parents in
Bermuda, but one denied status due to previous amendments to laws that established a cut -off date for
the granting of status.
3. Children bor n to Bermudian parents who
were not qualified for Bermudian status because at
the time of application they were either too young or
too old.
4. Some PRCs being able to pass on their
PRC status to their children while other PRCs cannot.
Again, this speaks commonly to what is known in
Bermuda as mixed- status families —i.e., some having
Bermuda status, some having a PRC and some hav-ing no status.
This Bill is one step in the fulfilment of this
Government’s election promise to provide compr ehensive bipartisan immigration reform. It waives the
requirement for parents possessing Bermudian status to prove domicile for two generations of children born
overseas and for those children to possess Bermudian status from birth. This protects the birthright of
children born to Bermudian parents overseas and r emoves the red tape for them to be recognised as
Bermudians automatically. If that child has a child of their own, that child would also possess Bermudian
status at birth.
This is not retroactive, Madam President. Any
child born prior to the commencement of this law
would still have to have their Bermudian parent prove
that they were domiciled in Bermuda under a soon- tobe-introduced new, streamlined process. I would like
to repeat that: There will be a new, streamlined pr ocess for anyone whose parents have to prove that
they were domiciled in Bermuda before the com-mencement of this law. That is key.
Now, Madam President, I would like to go
through the clauses for which this Bill speaks. And I am going to be a little unorthodox in not necessarily
going through it in the order in which it is presented
and printed, simply to make it easier for colleagues and the listening audience to maybe follow. I am going
to attempt to do that.
As one knows, the Bermuda Immigration and
Protection Act from 1956 has had myriad amend872 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate ments, changes, clauses, insertions, deletions, et
cetera—I believe in another place they said in excess
of 100 of those. So it would be very difficult for me to
speak specifically, and for someone who is not very
familiar with the Act as it stands right now to follow
appropriately. So I am going to try and break it down
so that it may be a little bit easier to follow as to exac tly what this particular amendment will do.
So with that said, in general the Bill amends
the principal Act and it addresses certain issues that
have resulted in members of families who possess Bermudian status, as I said before, or of permanent
residents, or not being able to remain in Bermuda because they are unable to acquire either B ermudian
status or permanent residence. And we have heard,
and I am sure many of us know anecdotal stories, of
individuals and families who for whatever reason had
to make some heart -breaking decisions because of
that status. This Bill seeks to amend that and rectify
that.
The Bill would also make provision for persons who were adopted or who are adopted outside
Bermuda to acquire Bermudian status at the time of
birth or adoption (as the case may be) if at that time,
although neither parent is domiciled in Bermuda, at
least one of those parents possesses Bermudian st atus. That is to me a very sensible thing to do. It is one
that determines that if one wants to have a person a
part of their family, then they should be afforded the
same rights as they [would have] if they are Bermudians.
So I will start. Clause 1 is self -explanatory.
Clause 2 clarifies the meaning of “permanent
resident” and “permanent resident’s certificate” and
makes consequential amendments. Clause 2 (1) i nserts in section 2, the interpretation, a new definition
of “permanent resident” and a definition of “permanent
resident’s certificate.” These definitions make it clear
that a permanent resident is a person who holds a
valid permanent resident’s certificate, and that a permanent resident ’s certificate is any such certificate
granted under the principal Act (including such certif icate granted under section 31A as it was before being
repealed and replaced by the Incentives for Job Makers Act 2011. And there are consequential amendments [made by clause] 2(2)(a), (b) and (c).
Now I would like to jump to clause 6, Madam
President, which actually speaks to the period of ordinary residence requirements, which is in section 19.
Clause 6 amends section 19. And a period of
ordinary residence requi rement for 10 years immediately preceding the application for Bermudian status
to a period of 10 years before the application, al though ordinary residence must fall within an outer -
limit period of 20 years preceding the application.
Now jumping back to cl ause 3, which I will not
read in too much detail, but basically clause 3 moves
one section, inserts another section. So to put it in
laymen’s terms, it moves stuff around, it deletes, it inserts, et cetera. So that is clause 3. It allows for the
reordering and making, I guess one would say, making sense more of the changes that are being made to
the specific sections, those sections being section
[16](2B) of the principal Act, which currently provides that a person who but for the fact he is not a Commonwea lth citizen would possess Bermudian status
under section 18(1), (2) or (3), or section 18AA(1) or
(2), shall be deemed to possess Bermudian status,
and section 20(1A) provides that “A person referred to
in section 16(2B) shall, from and after the day that he
becomes a Commonwealth citizen possess Bermudian status.”
The references to sections [18](3A) and
18AA(1A) inserted in this section 16(2B) would mean that persons who fall in this new category who are not
Commonwealth citizens would also be deemed to possess Bermudian status and would, if they were to
become Commonwealth citizens, possess full Berm udian status.
Moving to clause 4. And if we remember, I
spoke to four particular sections which this particular amendment addresses. And that first one was c hallenges that Bermudians face in obtaining status for
their children born overseas.
Clause 4 amends section 18, which speaks
specifically to that. Section 18 prescribes the requir ements for the acquisition of Bermudian status at birth
by a child who is born to a person who possesses
Bermudian status. Currently, under section 18(3), a
child born a Commonwealth citizen in Bermuda to at
least one parent who possesses Bermudian status at the time of the child’s birth will acquire Bermudian st atus at birth.
If the child is born outside Bermuda, however,
at least one of the parents must be domiciled in Bermuda at the time of the child’s birth. If neither parent is
domiciled in Bermuda at the time of the child’s birth, the child does not acquire Bermudian status at birth,
under section 16(2), is deemed to possess Bermudian
status until that person reaches age 22.
The country in which a person is domiciled (as
a matter of definition) is the country that the person regards as home. Therefore, for someone to be dom iciled in Bermuda, a person must regard Bermuda as
home (i.e., the place to which he eventually intends to
return), regardless of the country in which the person
is temporarily or ordinarily resident at that time. And
often, people get those two meanings . . . they use
them interchangeably. But they actually are different. A domicile is the place where the person may or may not reside.
[Clause 4(a) amends section 18] by the insertion of subsection (3A), would make provision for a person who is born outside Bermuda and whose parents are not domiciled in Bermuda at the time of birth to acquire Bermudian status if at least one parent or grandparent possesses Bermudian status at that time.
So, as I like to commonly say, if you are a Bermudian


Bermuda Senate and you are born t o a Bermudian, you are a Bermudian, and that is that.
With the related amendments made by clause
4 to section 18(6), (7) and (9), every person who, on
or after commencement of this Bill, is a Common-wealth citizen born outside Bermuda to at least one
parent who at the time of the person’s birth possesses
Bermudian status and is not domiciled in Bermuda will
acquire Bermudian status at and from the time of his
birth, but the passing on of Bermudian status to chi ldren born to overseas parents who are not domi ciled
in Bermuda at the time of the child’s birth will be li mited to two generations.
I would like to read that again because I sort
of hopped over that. Let us clarify. Clause 4 to section
18(6), (7) and (9) . . . every person who, on or after
the commencement of this Bill, is a Commonwealth citizen born outside Bermuda to at least one parent
who at the time of the person’s birth possesses Bermudian status and is not domiciled in Bermuda will
acquire Bermudian status at and from the time of his birth, but the passing on of Bermudian status to chi ldren born overseas to parents who are not domiciled in Bermuda at the time of the child’s birth will be li mited to two generations.
Clause 5, Madam President, speaks to adoption, which again would or could speak to one being
born overseas. Clause 5 amends section 18AA, which
prescribes the requirements for the acquisition of
Bermuda status by a child who is adopted by a person
who possesses Bermudian status.
As in section 18, for a child who is adopted
overseas on or after commencement of this Bill, the
requirement that at least one of the child’s parents
must be domiciled in Bermuda at the time of the
child’s adoption is removed, but the amendment will
limit to two generations (again) the passing on of
Bermudian status to children adopted overseas to
parents who are not domiciled in Bermuda at the time of the child’s adoption. So, clauses 4 and 5 limit pas sing on of Bermudian status for those born overseas to
two generations.
Madam President, I would like to jum p to
clause 8 because this speaks to another one of the
mixed -status categories that I spoke of earlier. And
that specifically is for PRC (or permanent residents
certificate) holders. Currently, if a person is at least 18
years of age and is the son, daughter or spouse of a
person who has been granted a permanent resident’s
certificate under section 31A, he may under section
31B(2)(e) and (f) apply to the Minister to be granted a
permanent resident’s certificate.
Clause 8(a)(i) repeals and replaces section
31B(1)(b). The requirement that the applicant for a
permanent resident’s certificate must have been ord inarily resident in Bermuda for a period of 10 years
immediately preceding the application is changed to a
period of at least 10 years before the applic ation. And
that again speaks to clause 6, which I spoke about first as to the 10- year period and which gives expanded definition.
Clause 8(b)(ii) inserts paragraphs (ea) and
(eb) into section 31B(2). These new paragraphs allow
a person to apply to the Minister to be granted a per-manent resident’s certificate if he is at least 18 years
of age and is the son, daughter or spouse of a person
who has been granted a permanent resident’s certif icate under section 31B. However, clause 8(a)(ii)
amends section [31(1)](c) to allow an application u nder paragraph (ea) or (eb) to be made only during a
period of two years starting from the commencement
date of clause 8 of this Bill. In other words, a sunset
clause, or otherwise known as a sunset clause.
Clause 8(c) repea ls and replaces section
31B(3) to clarify that the 10 years ordinary residence
requirement referred to in section 31(1)(b) is to be calculated to begin from not earlier than the time at
which the relationship of the son, daughter or spouse,
is established under subsection (2)(e), (ea), (eb) or (f),
as the case may be. The 10 years of ordinary res idence again must also fall within an outer -limit period
of 20 years preceding the application.
Madam President, [we now move] on to
clause 9, which speaks to the two sections that I did
speak about earlier with regard to mixed- status fam ilies, siblings or those having Bermuda connections. Clause 9 amends the First Schedule A (Persons with a Qualifying Bermudian Connection). Section 19(1)
currently provides that a person may apply to the Mi nister under that section for the grant of Bermudian st atus if (a) he is a Commonwealth citizen of not less
than 18 years of age, (b) he has been ordinarily res ident in Bermuda for the period of 10 years immediat ely preceding his application, and (c) he has a qualif ying Bermudian connection.
Paragraph 1 of the First Schedule A provides
that, for a person to have a qualifying Bermudian con-nection under section 19(1)(c), the person must fall within a “class” of a description, which i s given in paragraph 2, and those descriptions are subject to par agraph 3. The various “classes of persons” that have a qualifying Bermudian connection are described in
paragraph 2 (subparagraphs A to D).
First Schedule A, paragraph 2.A(a) provides
that a person has a qualifying Bermudian connection if
he at any time was deemed to possess Bermudian
status under section 16(2) —i.e., by virtue of having
been a child, stepchild or adopted child of a person
with Bermudian status, which deemed status had
ended at the age of 22 if that person has not (before turning 22) applied for and subsequently been granted
Bermudian status under section 20.
First Schedule A 2.A(b) contains another
class of Bermudian, persons —i.e., persons who were
deemed to be domiciled in B ermuda under section
5(1)(e) of the Immigration Act 1937. And that has
been repealed because its provision is now spent.
874 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate First Schedule A, paragraph 3, which I prev iously mentioned, provides that the requirements specified in paragraph 2. must have been s atisfied
throughout the period mentioned in section 19(1)(b) (which is the 10 years preceding the application for grant of Bermudian status). This actually contradicts
paragraph 2.A(a) of the First Schedule A, which r equires only that a person must have “at any time” satisfied those requirements and makes it difficult, if not
impossible, for anyone to show that they have a qual ifying Bermudian connection under that subparagraph.
And all that is saying is basically if someone has been
adopted as a child, stepchild or adopted of a person
with Bermudian status and they have reached the age
of 22, they have not applied, that no longer applies to you.

[Laughter]

Sen. Crystal Caesar: I know that is a mouthful. So
the age 22 rule no longer applies to that person, in
other words.
First Schedule A, paragraph 3 is amended to
refer only therefore to subparagraphs B and D of paragraph 2 because we just said that paragraph 2.A
makes it impossible for someone to apply under those
conditions. So for the avoidance of doubt, a new par-agraph 3A makes it clear that paragraph 3 does not
apply to subparagraph A, E or F of paragraph 2. And
E and F are actually new. And then subparagraph C is
spent. So it is deleted. It is gone.
Now the principal Act has sections 20A and
20B, wh ich were inserted into the principal Act in
1994. And it gives persons granted Bermudian status
under these sections to have been ordinarily resident
in Bermuda on 31 July 1989. Now, applications for the
grant of Bermudian status under section 20A had to
be made before the 31
st July 2008, and therefore applications for the grant of Bermudian status under sec-tion 20A are no longer valid and can no longer be
made. Applications for the grant of Bermudian status
under section 20B(2)(b) can still currently be made. I
think most people are aware of that.
Therefore, First Schedule A, paragraph 2.E
(which is new) is a new class of persons who can qualify for Bermudian status with a Bermudian connection. This is a person who is a son, daughter,
brother or sister of a person who was granted Berm udian status under section 20A. First Schedule A, paragraph 2.F, again new, is a new class of persons with
a qualifying Bermudian connection, and that is a person who is the son or daughter of a person who was
granted Bermudian status under section 20B(2)(b).
Any person in the new classes of persons with
a qualifying Bermudian connection— i.e., the son,
daughter, brother or sister of a person who has been granted Bermudian status under section 20A or the
son or daughter of a per son who has been granted
Bermudian status under section 20B(2)(b) —would qualify for Bermudian status if the applicant were (a) a
Commonwealth citizen of not less than 18 years of age; (b) ordinarily resident in Bermuda for a period of
10 years before the a pplication, although ordinary residents must fall within an outer -limit period of 20 years
preceding the application.
Now, Madam President, I have said a lot. I
hope people were somewhat able to follow. But I will
close here and allow my colleagues to com ment if
they so choose.

The President: Thank you, Senator Crystal Caesar.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS

The President: I would just like to acknowledge the
presence in the Chamber of the Permanent Secretary,
Mr. Collin Anderson, National Security; as well as Parliamentary Counsel, Mr. Brian Eaton.
I am glad you gentlemen are here. There may
be a number of questions.

[Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act
2020 , second reading debate, continuing]

The President: So with that, I would just like to ask if
any Senator wants to speak to this Bill.
Senator Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
I do not know if it is because we have had a
long day here in the Senate Chambers, but I can candidly tell you that my brain is on fire right now.

[Laughter]

Sen. Marcus Jones: And no disrespect to the Junior
Minister of National Security, because I think that she
did a yeoman’s job in presenting this to us as best as
she could.
Having said that, I feel like I need to be a
qualified immigration lawyer to be able to put my arms
around this weighty piece of legislation. So I am not
going to get into the weeds of the hoops that have got to be jumped through to make this happen. What I
would say to the listening public, for those of you who
did not have the benefit of actually having the legisl ation in front of them to read it, because despite the
fact that it was sitting right here in front of me, it did
not help me at all!

[Laughter]
Sen. Marcus Jones: So I would strongly suggest that
those in the listening audience who feel that you are
somewhere within 100 yards of this legislation that will
give you the rights to have Bermudian status, I would


Bermuda Senate strongly suggest that you book some time with the
good folks there in the Department of Immigration. Do
not do that . . . you do not want to stampede to go into
their office.
But I am sure that is one question that I would
have. And that is for those within our Islands who feel
that they have an opportunity to tak e advantage of this
and need further information, I will ask of the technical
officers, how they can best go about getting that i nformation?
As I said earlier, this is an extremely emotive
issue in this country. And at the root of this challen ging issue i s trust. The historical context of immigration
in this country is a long and winding road. And de-pending on which side of the road you stand your id eology will determine whether you look at Bermuda’s
history of dealing with this issue in a favourable light
or in a less -than- favourable light.
Let me just say first and foremost as well, I
think a thank -you needs to be extended to the Minister
of National Security and the bipartisan group who
have worked tirelessly to bring about this first step.
And I do say ever so strongly this is a first step. I
would like to say as well that once this Bill . . . and I do
believe it is going to have clear passage this evening. I would like to think that the bipartisan group will not
sit on their laurels, but they will roll up their sleeves
again and go back to actually doing more work to cr eate a more holistic Bill which will do its best to fill the gaps that have been, unfortunately . . . and no fault of
the drafters, no fault of those who have been working
behind the scen es, but there are gaps.
One of the things that has gotten my attention
is the lack of (I am fighting with this word) retroactivity. Is that the right word, Madam President?

The President: If you say so!

[Laughter]

[Inaudible interjection]
Sen. Marcu s Jones: Retroactiveness . (Thank you,
Senator Jardine. I knew there was a reason why I sat
next to you today.)

[Laughter]

Sen. Marcus Jones: That is the glaring, I feel, [shor tfall] in this particular legislation, which I have every
faith in this biparti san group, that they are going to
look at it and do some amendments to this Act.
And I will say this as well. In our pursuit of
perfection, we must not let it be a stumbling block for that which is good. And I will say that this is a good
first step. I th ink of those who are in our community
who heretofore have felt outside and disenfranchised,
and have been anxiously waiting for this first step, I
think the country can take a deep breath, then exhale and say, Okay. We’re on the road to remedying this
issue.
Now, I am sure fellow colleagues have heard
me pontificate many times in these Chambers [about]
the lack of consultation and the breakneck speed that, in certain situations, one puts together legislation. And
I believe in this process more than once th is Bill was
pulled back because there were members within this
group who were not fully satisfied with the outcome.
And hats -off to them being unwilling to let this legisl ation be launched without everyone being at least
80 per cent happy with what they ha d done. So from
that vantage point, for an issue as important as this, it
is important to take out the time to make sure we get it
right.
So, Madam President, I do support this Bill.
And I support it as a first step with anticipation of more work being done without delay to produce a Bill which
is holistic, that covers as many gaps that could not be
covered in this first step. And so I am hopeful that in a
short period of time, this bipartisan group will be able
to present to us a Bill that we can be happy with that
actually embraces more people who are in this situation of not having citizenship or not having status
whom one would deem worthy of this status.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator car e to speak?
Senator Jardine, you have the floor.

Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I would first of all like to
commend the Government and also the bipartisan
group for finally getting this piece of legislation to us. I t
is a very complex piece of legislation. And perhaps some examples of how this might work might be hel pful to the public at large. I actually wrote the same
comment down here, I have it in bold, to see an imm igration lawyer. It is complex. And you know, t here
may be people out there who think they might stand a chance under this, and others who simply do not. So if
you think you might, please avail yourself of help. And
of course, there will be a short quiz of all Senators when this is over to make sure we all understand it.

[Laughter]

Sen. James S. Jardine: But, Madam President, I am
pleased to see this piece of legislation before us.
Immigration is a very sensitive but important
subject. Because I believe it will play an important part in Bermuda’s fut ure and its financial well -being as we
move forward. The Bermuda business community, as
identified in the business confidence survey of last
April, cited the processing of work permits and general overall immigration policies as one of their top concerns. And I do not think we should lose sight of that.
876 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate Recent discussions I have had with people in the i nternational business community [show] it is a top concern.
From what I understand since then, now these
are good steps. The Government has moved quickly to clear up the backlog of work permits. And there was
quite a backlog there. And they worked hard to a ddress that. And also, as I understand it, they are ac-tively engaged with the international business co mmunity in looking at ways to make the processing of work permit applications more streamlined. So that is good news. And I think that goes partway to addres sing some of the concerns that the international bus iness community had, and indeed those in the local community who have people on work permits.
Madam President, the final piece or [one of
the] pieces that needs to be addressed is the ability of persons to obtain PRC status or Bermuda status. This
was an area identified as a concern of the internatio nal business community, as many are concerned about
stability in their lives, for their spouses and for their children. This is a complex and sensitive issue. But it
must be confronted now if we are to see the muchneeded growth in existing and new business in Bermuda, together with the jobs that will flow from them.
Government has a number of excellent initi atives underway, most recently holding meetings with
certain major global companies to use Bermuda as a
way point for trans -Atlantic cable hubs. I am also e ncouraged by Government’s desire to make good use
of the economic substance legislation to encourage
businesses which are already here to increase the
number of footprints on the ground in order to meet our legislative requirements, but also to attract bus inesses here because of our legislation. Some of our
competitive jurisdictions are already doing this and
doing it quite successfully.
And Bermuda should be touting its excellent
CFATF report, which puts us right at the top, and also
the fact that we are off the blacklist and the grey list as
far as the EU is concerned. Those are two things that
Bermuda really has working for it now, which a number of our competitive jurisdictions do not have. And I am pleased to see that Government is out there trying
to make use of our good legislation.
Part of thi s process has to include revisions to
our immigration policies in order to attract businesses
and therefore more working people to the Island. This
will also mean more jobs for Bermudians. We have
seen this act out before, and we will see it act out
again.
Now, Bermuda has seen two working groups
established to address certain immigration reform
matters. The first one issued its report in October of
2017, which set out a number of very good recommendations. And then of course we had the second bipartisan c ommittee, which has issued and been part
of the drafting of this legislation before us today. Now, the recommendations contained in the
first bipartisan committee report of October 2017, which I read, with respect to the permanent resident’s
certificates and Bermuda status were sensible and
fair. They made recommendations which were sens ible and fair. Now, it is unfortunate these recommenda-tions were not taken forward at that time. And that
was in October 2017.
One of the recommendations made by this
first committee was the granting of both PRC and
Bermuda status partially based on a point -based sy stem. And this was one of several recommendations
that I in fact made to them by way of a written submi ssion myself back in 2017. Many countries such as
Australi a, Austria, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New
Zealand, the UK and the Cayman Islands all have point -based systems as part of the process in granting
PRC and status. And the US Government is also looking at that type of system as we speak.
My own view, Madam President, and I have
said this several times over the last four Budget D ebates, if we are going to attract business of any substance to Bermuda with the resulting creation of new
jobs for all, we need to identify a fair mechanism for
non-Bermudians to be granted PRC or Bermuda st atus. Now, it does not mean that we should open the
floodgate.
And I am reminded of one key observation
made by this First Working Group. And Madam Pres ident, if I may quote them they said the following on
page 3 of their report. And they said this: “Any imm igration legislation or policy must keep in mind the
need to balance the social, political, environmental,
racial and cultural well -being of Bermudians.” So we
have to keep that in mind.
Additionally, Madam President, we have two
further groups who have given their thoughts on the matter of immigration. And, Madam President, if you
will allow me to quote from two of those sources?

The President: You certainly may.

Sen. James S. Jardine: And the first one is from the
Chairman of the Bermuda First Group, Phil Butterfield,
who said this during his speech to the Hamilton Rot ary on February 25
th of this year.
He said this: “While immigration was not a
specific area assigned for review, this subject arose
throughout each Working Gr oup’s efforts. In our view,
immigration is essential to the improvement of our
economy. The most recent Bermuda Omnibus Survey, an independent survey of Bermuda residents
conducted by Bermuda’s Total Research Associates,
supports this assessment, as 72% of the respondents
stated that immigration is essential to the creation of
jobs in our economy.” Pretty specific.
And then further from the Fiscal Responsibility
Panel in their December 2019 Report, Madam Pres ident, if I could quote from that?


Bermuda Senate The Presiden t: You certainly may.

Sen. James S. Jardine: And they said the following:
“Immigration is a charged political issue for any go vernment, given Bermuda’s difficult history; but this
cannot be an excuse for inaction. The need for policy
change to boost the population of working age and enable stronger economic growth is widely recognised
across government, business and much of civil soci ety. Bold action could help kickstart the business
growth and job creation . . .” (Let me just say that
again.) “Bold action could help kickstart the business
growth and job creation—for Bermudians as well as new arrivals —that Bermuda needs to address its i mmense demographic and fiscal challenges. ” So that is
from the Fiscal Responsibility Panel.
And, Madam President, finally I would like to
draw the listeners’ attention to one final piece of ev idence that bringing international business to our shores is beneficial for all of us. According to an ABIC
study they did, for every 1 job in the international business sector, 1.3 add itional jobs in the support services are created. I will say that again. For every 1 job in the international business sector, 1.3 additional jobs
are created in the support services.
And I believe, Madam President, that we can
create, we can increase the number of jobs on this
Island if we address the issue of PRC and Bermuda
status, and through a proper and carefully considered
set of guidelines can encourage those who are able to
bring jobs to our shores to come here. But, Madam
President, we must get on with it now. I support this
legislation as a first step, but there are other steps that we need to move forward upon.
Thank you very much, Madam President.

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

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
My colleagues have outlined the gaps and the
complexity of this issue very well. I just wanted to
weigh in and first of all congratulate and give my sup-port to the M inister of National Security and the bipartisan committee. I mean, my mother always said,
Don’t criticise anybody unless you walk in their shoes.
And after seeing this brief, I understand the convolu ted topic which they are tackling. And I appreciate that
the Government decided to go in a bipartisan route instead of just trying to be the smartest people in the
room.
So I will say it is a tightrope, as we all know.
The economy requires a larger consumer base, and
businesses require that in order to make bet ter profits
and to employ more people. So we do understand that side of it. But also on the social side, it is not something
that you can rush or force on people. So I understand that the Minister of National Security is no stranger to
town halls. So I lo ok forward to seeing the town halls
breaking down this new amendment, because just
listening to it from the brief, and as my colleagues
have mentioned, it is going to be a lot for a person to
wade through. And I do think that we have to make
sure that ever ybody understands the options afforded
to them.
So not to repeat or wax too much on what has
already been said in this House and in other Houses, I
just wanted to say I appreciated the tack taken by the
PLP on this particular issue. And I hope to see more
bipartisan approaches like this in the future.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Jarion Richardson, you have the
floor.
Sen. Jarion Richardson: Thank yo u, Madam Pres ident. And at the risk of belabouring the point again, I
echo my colleagues’ comments on the congratulations
to the team and especially to the Senator who pr esented this brief.
I wanted to add some context to those who
may be listening about the substance. Although imm igration is a well -discussed issue in Bermuda, one
thing that is not perhaps as discussed is the difficulty of compromise. And immigration is the space where
we are going to face that challenge the most. Imm igration is as intrins ically connected to our history as it
is to our future, and our history is not one that bodes
well for our current circumstances. We still have s evere social issues. And immigration seems to play into
those.
As an island, as an island economy with only
two pillars of our economy, we do run into the natural
problem that there is nothing to dig up out of the ground, so to speak. There is nothing to dig up. There
is no oil, no bauxite. And we have very limited agricultural output. So when we are faced by a ci rcumstance
like this, we do have to find some resource. And in our
economy and in our society, our resource has always
been immigration. Bermuda has always had people
coming and going. And the control of the coming and
going is what has generated an econom y that can
support consumption like iPhones and broadband I nternet. It is the comings and goings of these people that have made us who we are and will again define
what we are going to be in the future.
And I use that example of natural resources,
using i mmigration as a natural resource, using these
jobs, these comings and goings of people as a natural
resource because I followed Senator Jardine’s note
about economic substance. The imposition of ec o878 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate nomic substance onto the Island that we have certain
resources here for the conduct of business is in fact a
good thing. That we have passed with flying colours
the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force asses sment of Bermuda with anti -money laundering norms is
a huge boon, a huge win. And so we have this oppor-tunity here to trade, as it were, on these jobs that can
be created.
And we have to be so careful because we
have been burned by injustice in the past. And it is
arguable that this injustice has been flamed by many people for expedience purposes. But the fut ure of the
country is tied to this. And there is no way we can e ver untie ourselves from immigration. So we do have some steps to go.
What I would say is that I have changed my
mind from a mentality of deprivation (that is, that
somebody is coming here and taking something) to
one of acquisition (that someone is coming here and I
will acquire something from them ). We have some
ways to go in this space. It is still a political . . . it is still
a hot potato. And it is still difficult to navigate. And
there are a lot of things that we have to consider. But
we do have some very easy and controllable matters
that we can deal with that Senator Jardine touched
on, such as the processing of work permit applic ations.
Next on that I would say is the consistency.
You do not have to go terribly far to find criticism or
comments relating to the inconsistency of our a pproaches over time. And what that does is that cr eates a lack of certainty. And that is the biggest one for
us. If we are going to be an economy based on the comings and goings of people and capital, then there
has to be certainty about what that means [for] the
people who are coming and the people who are going.
And it is not just the certainty for their ec onomic benefit, but it is the certainly for their personal
future. Because if we are going to ask someone to
invest 10 years of their life into Bermuda, to start a
family, to do these things, property and all these
things, then they have to have some basis to make
those decisions. The absence of that means that they live in constant uncertainty. And that is not where I
would put my money. That is not where I would put
my effort. And, you know, perhaps not even the mon-ey. That is not where I would put my sweat and my
heart. I would not believe in a place t hat did not believe in me.
So as much as immigration is a hot potato, as
much as immigration still has some work to do, I am
thankful to the Government for making these steps and to the bipartisan committee, to the Permanent
Secretary and especially again to the Senator who
presented this very difficult legislation. And with that, I
thank you.

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

Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
First of all, I too want to thank the Minister of
National Security and the bipartisan committee for
working tirelessly over an extended period of time to
get through some very, very complex issues to do with immig ration. I believe the bipartisan committee in fact
surprised themselves by unearthing so many different
aspects to immigration which needed to be aired
amongst themselves before they could begin to move
forward and present anything to the public by way of
reform.
We have probably all said it, everyone who
has spoken this afternoon. Immigration is an emotive
issue in Bermuda, has been for a long, long time. It is
emotive because there has been significant lack of
trust on the part of a large number of peopl e in this
community. And unfortunately, we have never, ever
dealt with the issues that result in people feeling, Oh, I
can’t trust the Government to get this right. Those i ssues need to be addressed, in my opinion, first and
foremost before we will really have immigration reform
that the community as a whole will embrace. On one
hand, yes, we acknowledge the need to increase the
size of our workforce. But there are many different
ways of doing that, not just by immigration.
I am happy that the Minister of National Sec urity and the bipartisan committee have not just jumped
in headlong and presented something that they knew
would further inflame the lack of trust in this community. They have taken their time, and they have come
forward with just the beginning of the reform
measures that, by the way, I do support what has
come so far. In my opinion, even before they go fur-ther we have to spend some time addressing those
underlying issues which lead to mistrust. And in that
way we might see the community coming together as
opposed to having diametrically opposed opinions
about the way forward for immigration reform.
So I just want to conclude by saying, Madam
President, that I look forward to more legislation com-ing forward from the Minister of National Security and
the bipartisan committee with regard to immigration
reform. But I also would like to see a greater effort for
us, and it will take all of us, to address those underl ying issues which lead to mistrust of any kind of imm igration reform.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No?


Bermuda Senate Oh, yes. Senator Richardson. I did not see
your hand. You have the floor, Senator Anthony Ric hardson.

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Thank you, Madam President.
As we always say sometimes, I had no intention to speak today.
[Laughter]
Sen. Anthony Richardson: And I certainly commend
all those in this room and outside of this room, both politicians, members of the public and others, b ecause clearly this discussion, amendment, research,
discussion, research, discussion has taken quite a bit
of time. There are many ideas being put forth.
But my comment today is really just to emphasise, almost emphasise the obvious. And that is
that to really follow on the comment from Senator
Simmons, the reality is that we have to understand that Bermuda at this current date has been impacted
by an immigration policy which has been used as a
political tool and has resulted in sustained bias. In
many cases , if not most, it is a racial bias. But also
there is an economic bias. And we cannot deny that, I
do not believe, if we are going to be genuine in trying to move forward.
But having said that, I do believe that there
are some benefits for sure, significant benefits, in
making further progress. But there may be some uni ntended negative consequences. And it is not until we
have an honest and open and sustained dialogue about the benefits and the liabilities that we will get to
a better space whereby there c an be mutual benefits
irrespective of who is actually leading it.
My underlying comment is that, notwithstan ding Bermuda’s economic circumstances, our social stability must be the priority in the context that if we do
not get to a sustained social stabili ty, the economics
will never work. What will happen instead is that you
will see more economic progress, but there will be
more and more persons who believe that they are now displaced socially, and they will act in their own
interests, which will be contr ary to Bermuda’s overall
economic interests.
And it with those comments, Madam Pres ident, I will conclude. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Anthony Ric hardson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Ianthia Simmons -Wade , you have the
floor.
Sen. Ianthia Simmons -Wade: It is my hope that at
the end of tonight the listening audience, Madam
President, will be able to call their family members who are out of this country to say, Come home. Bring
your families. Bring your expertise. Bring your skills. And come back to Bermuda. We have a shrinking
working population, and we have a low birth rate. So comprehensive reform is most certainly a work in pr ogress. The bipartisan committee continues its work.
Like any other reform, it requires collaboration with
key stakeholders, resources and time to get it right.
I certainly appreciate the decision to have a
bipartisan committee, which allowed Members to work
together in the best interest of the Island. The amendment is just the firs t step in the direction of r eform promised by Government. There were significant
consultations with various stakeholders which allowed
feedback to be taken into consideration. I will say one
of the Senators mentioned how difficult it was to understand it. But we sat there actually with coloured people on charts, which made it much easier in terms
of understanding what you were doing, especially with
mixed families.
At the end of the day immigration reform is
actually what it means to you and your family. R eform
like that, as was said, is very emotive for many, many
Bermudians basically because there is a lack of trust.
This amendment, specifically when it relates to mixed
families, has very sound rationale, [which is] the normalisation, taking into consider ation the human rights
legislation, and the fact that decisions have been made in the court relating to mixed families, and we
have been actually losing from a moral perspective
and also from keeping families together.
So the work on immigration reform wi ll continue. Next step is step number two, step number three,
step number four, and most importantly PRCs, dealing
with PRCs and Bermuda status in the best interest of
Bermuda. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Ianthia Simmons -
Wade.
Would anyb ody else? I think we have had
everybody speak.
So, Senator Crystal Caesar, it is over to you.
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President. I
thank my colleagues for their support of this legisl ation. And I have to say that although it may have been
difficult for them to maybe understand it, imagine me
having to try and make a succinct case.

[Laughter]
Sen. Crystal Caesar: So that not only they, but the
listening public can get an understanding of what is being touted here.
Nonetheless, I hope I hav e done a sufficient
job. And I would like to thank the Minister and the PS
and the bipartisan committee for their absolute hard work and encourage them to share with the public
going forward the charge that my Senator, Senator
880 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate Simmons -Wade made reference t o with regard to the
“coloured people,” which is actually . . . at first I
thought, What is she talking about? But it means people who are different -shaded in different colours,
meaning like purple and blue and green, not the other
term from historical connotations. Because I looked at
her at first and said, What in the world? But anyway
. . . sorry, I digress.
I would encourage them to do some sort of
public education, town halls and the such, so that
people can get an understanding of exactly what this
legislation speaks to. I am often very . . . I have to
have visual along with the written. So I think it would
help people to understand what we are doing by seeing the pictures. If this and this, then now it is going to
be this. So I would strongly encoura ge that.
There will never, unfortunately, be a perfect
piece of legislation. And as one of my colleagues has already spoken to, that speaks to the art of compr omise. And the bipartisan committee clearly had to come to a compromise. I am sure they did not think it
was going to take the amount of time that it did in order to come up with this particular piece of legislation.
And I can speak to my own experience, having been a part of the Consultative Immigration R eform Working Group that did produce a repor t in O ctober of 2017 under the chairmanship of Mr. William
Madeiros, otherwise known as the Madeiros Report. I
can tell you that we held tons of town halls. We had
hundreds of submissions. We had many, many, many meetings in which we went, bandied back and forth
different iterations. Well, I know someone that this . . .
And I know someone with that . . . We had lots of st ories.
And I would like to say that although my dear
friend the Honourable Walton Brown has passed on, he would be very proud to know that we have come to
this particular piece . . . or at least taken this particular
step in getting this legislation forward. So I would like
to at least recognise him as he was very instrumental
in ensuring that something like this not only would a llow those who did not have a place in Bermuda, but in particular we are taking care of Bermudians who for whatever reason may have had children overseas or have adopted and found themselves in a very precar ious position later on in life. So I think that this does address that.
Much work is going on behind the scenes; I
want to remind the listening public, as it pertains to a myriad of areas that the Immigration Department has
to oversee. We have heard quite a bit about work
permit processes, but we also have to talk about enforcement, all sorts of other areas. In particular when
you enter and leave the Island, how different things
are happening to ensure that this continues to be a
seamless process. Everyone knows Brexit has ha ppened. How is that going to affect us? So there is a lot
that the Minister, the PS, and the department have on
their plate. And oftentimes, we talk about, Well, this
needs to be done and that needs to be done. But I
want to ensure the listening public that these things do
continue. They do not down tools to just focus on one
thing. They are juggling quite a few different balls.
And quite a few of my other colleagues have
spoken to some of the things that I was going to
speak to, so I will not repeat. But I do want to just say
to the public aga in that this particular piece of legisl ation does speak to what is commonly known as mixed
status if I could sum it up. Bermudians who have chi ldren overseas are Bermudians now. I am simplifying,
obviously, because you heard me speak earlier about
what it takes.
Those who have siblings who may have been
able to, under one part of the legislation at a particular
time, get Bermudian status, but their sibling does not,
they can now . . . the family is now going to be som ewhat “harmonised.” Again, that is the common term
that is being touted. And, in addition, the same for
those who have permanent residents certificates. We
certainly do not want to see families who have differ-ent “statuses” (and I say that with quotes), meaning
that we want people to have famil ies. We believe in
families. We want strong communities. And this is a
huge step, I think, in ensuring that people who fall into
the mixed- status category are being taken care of.
With that, Madam President, I move that the
Bill entitled the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2020 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 2 6

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that Stand ing 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 IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION
AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. Cryst al Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bermuda
Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2020 be
now read a third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?


Bermuda Senate No objection.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2020 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill has passed.
[Motion carried: The Bermuda Immigration and Pr otection Amendment Act 2020 was read a third time
and passed.]

The President: And thank you very much, Senator. I
think we all thank you very much for presenting the
Bill.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank y ou.

The President: And as I said that, I do want to say to
all Senators that today has been a mammoth day. We
have had 15 Bills, 10 of which had to be presented by
Senator Campbell. And I think he needs a standing
ovation.

[Laughter]
The President: But anyway, we do thank you for the
stellar work you did. And thank you all for getting us
through this day.
We now move on.

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this topic?
Yes, Senator Anthony Richardson, I see your
hand there. You have the floor.

Sen. Anthony Richardson:
Madam President, just two quick comments
on the congratulations and obituaries. On the obituary
side [I want] to acknowledge the passing of Mr. Alma
Ernest Scott Hunt. I knew Mr. Hunt from one of my prior jobs. And I mention him because he was a di abetic and ultimately a double amputee. But I can tell you, based upon his personality, his positiveness and his willingness to get on with it and b e an example,
you would never have thought that he had anything to
do with disability. He ended up having two prosthetics attached, went upstairs on a regular basis and really, really was a lively, lively person. And so I just wanted
to acknowledge his pas sing. He was funeralised on
February 29
th, 2020. [To] his wife, Sheron Hunt, and
his family, I offer my condolences.
On another note, I guess a happier note perhaps, I had the occasion to attend an assembly at
Warwick Academy. And what they [have been] do ing
recently is allowing two of the senior students to give
comments about their experiences in their school life.
And the Head Boy, Mr. Ethan Sousa, spoke and gave his comments in terms of commending the children to
follow on.
And the Deputy Head, Ms. Karen Bola, gave a
short speech also. And I can say that I was incredibly impressed by what she said in particular because she
spoke to the fact that, notwithstanding she was the deputy head, she was a . . . I want to classify it as a
middle -achieving studen t. And her comments gave
me reason to commend her, because it spoke to the idea that even though you may not be the highest
achiever, you might not be getting the grades that you
would like, you still need to soldier on. Because som etimes it is those students who actually have the greatest impact on the world, ultimately.
And one of her final comments was that she
wanted to get into university. She did not have the
grades required to get into the university. But she was
still accepted based upon the other things that she
had done in terms of helping others along the way and
getting involved and just being a general student. And
so my comments in that regard would be for all of us
who may see others as being the ultimate achievers, where we might not be, tha t is no reason for us to not
continue to strive on, because the world is actually made up of many more moderate achievers than
those so- called high achievers. Thank you, Madam
President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Anthony Ric hardson.
Would any oth er Senator care to speak on the
congratulatory and/or obituary speeches?
No.

ADJOURNMENT

The President: Then, Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons,
Attorney General and Government Leader in the Senate, you have the floor.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I move that the Senate do now adjourn until
Wednesday, May 20th.

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
the motion to adjourn?
Yes.
882 18 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Se nate Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes. I am the
last one, so if you will take me for the last.

The President: Yes.
If anybody else wants to speak; if not, it will be
the Attorney General, Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons
who will speak.

BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION
AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
Unfortunately, I was called out during the i mmigration debate, so I did not have an opportunity to
make my remarks. So suffice it to say I would like to
send my personal and our collective, I should say,
thanks to the Minister of National Security for actually
getting us to this point. I think colleagues would not
appreciate until they have sat in the seat what it act ually takes to deliver something of this magnitude for
the country.
And I have watched my colleague work tir elessly under the most s tressful circumstances. I have
watched him do public town hall meetings. I have
watched him do caucus meetings. I have watched him
do central committee meetings. I have watched him, you know, being beat up at Cabinet and everywhere. I
have beaten him up my self from time to time. And he
carries his mantle.
Now, immigration is, as we have all intimated
and spoken about, the most emotional topic in the
country. And its roots make it so. And we now are at a point where we have this one person with the backing
of the Cabinet who is responsible for carrying the subject forward. So whilst we would never appreciate
what it is like to walk in his shoes right now —and he
will continue to walk on this journey until it is deli vered. I would like to just express my grati tude and
admiration for his fortitude in that regard.
But more so, or in addition I should say, I
would like to thank all of the public officers who have
assisted in getting us through budget preparation and
delivering our respective mandates in that regard; to
parliamentary counsel, in particular, who have been the authors of all of the legislation that we have
passed today; the CPC and her team, Cathryn Balfour-Swain and her team worked tirelessly to get us
where we needed to go in terms of fulfilling the legisl ative agenda.
And to all of us and the listening public, I wish
you well and that we all manage to keep ourselves
safe in the face of what I hope will be temporary adversity.
And if we remember our collective spirit, we
will be okay. Thank you, M adam President.

COVID -19

The President: Thank you.
We all are in this situation together in terms of
the coronavirus. And the Government has worked and
this team and everyone else involved have worked
very hard to try to keep Bermuda safe, keep Bermudians safe, and to implement a number of recommendations and guidelines for us to follow. And I think in our spheres wherever we are in the community that we
should encourage people to follow through on that
and make sure that they keep up to date with all of the
guidelines that have been put forward.
And I know that we will set the example as we
move about the community.
So all the very best; I think Easter comes before we meet again. Yes, April the 12
th. So I hope that
you and everyone else in the communi ty have a
blessed Easter. And we will try to support one another
and stay safe in this next period of weeks. And hop efully, it is only weeks. But then when you look around
the world you see that other countries are having a
bigger fight than we may ever ha ve.
But we are a small community. We are a supportive community, a community of each other. And we just wish all the very best for each of us, as well as
our families.
With that, the Senate stands adjourned —and
thank you for your work today —until May the 20
th.
Keep well. Thank you.

[At 5:18 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 20 May 2020.]