March 11, 2020

I thank you for the Minister’s a nswer. And indeed my colleagues just mentioned to me
that the reference to Tuesday may have, in fact, been from the Premier and not from the Minister. So an yway, I was working from memory.
3586 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly I would refer the Minister to the CDC website,
which does seem to suggest (and I have just read the
passage; I can certainly pass it to the Minister) that
there are real -time swab tests. I will leave it there. B ecause the important point I think is the Minister’s answer. And this is my question: Did I understand the
Minister to say that it is the Government’s intention to
try to have on Island testing? And when will that dec ision be taken?

I think she said that was.

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr.
Speaker, I thank the Honourable Mem ber for his
ques tion.
I am supported by a very, very talented team
who are committed to this particular process. This is
not their first rodeo, so to speak. They were the same
team, the Epidemiology and Surveillance Team were
around for Ebola and SARS and a host of other
transmittable diseases that have been coming
through. So we are very familiar with what is out there.
I am not suggesting for a moment that the
Honourable Member . . . I know the Honourable
Member would have seen a rapid test. But I just need
colleagues to understand when they say rapid, the
swab takes probably two seconds to swab your nasal passage or the inside of your throat. But the results, in
order to get the results . . . so it is rapid. The test is
rapid; but the results are not, because they have to do
the analysis. And the analysis of that two- second
swab takes approximately two days.
So I just want to make sure that, because this
is a very good question, because people want to know
that. And they see on TV people getting swabbed, and
they think that the swab is going to give them an i mmediate result. It will not, because the analysis itself is
going to require two days. It is not a pregnancy test. It
is going to take two days, Mr. Speaker, for the anal ysis.
And insofar as the Go vernment has commi tted to getting the test mechanisms, as well as the actual test on Island so that we can test locally as op-posed to sending them to CARPHA, I may be in a p osition by the end of the day to be able to update Members, because literally as soon as we are done here I am going back to the Ministry to find out the
status. But we have already secured a facility that has
a commercially available test. It is called rapid, my
honourable and learned friend. But rapid means two
days. And we will be hav ing it in Bermuda, and we are
sourcing it, as well as the equipment which is needed.
Because I want colleagues to also understand there is
equipment needed to do the testing and to do the
analysis and to do the extractions. So it is a process.
So you have the test kit. And then you have the
equipment that supports it. So it is a process.
We have been exploring that for 10 days now.
We have secured a particular . . . we are in the pr o-cess of finalising that. But I just need everyone to
know that the science has to also catch up. Because
what we do not want is to get a test kit that has not
been validated, that has not been approved by the
FDA or the PAHO [Pan American Health Organiz ation] or the World Health Organization, because that
would be a disaster.
If we get a test that is not validated and it says
the person has COVID -19 and they stay at home for
two weeks and they did not have it, we can appreciate
the potential economic downfall. Likewise, if we get a test that has not been validated and it says negative
and they are positive, it goes back to the Honourable
Member from constituency . . . 31.

Yes.

SUPPLEMENTARY

Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: The Minister mentioned
about the fact that we have people who have been involved in this, and this is not their first rodeo. And
then that just reminded me that in the past, especially
with SARS, one of the things that we were able to do, which the Minist er in Barbados said that reminded me,
that we have a system which allows us to know where
people have been so that if people have been in areas
where perhaps we have some concern, the Gover nment can go and see where they have been. And then
not just rely on them to say, Well, I haven’t been in
any area that is suspect. But the Government could
actually see that through the airline system whether
they have been. So have we done anything to put that
into place? Because I know that it was something that
Bermuda had when we were dealing with SARS.

Yes. Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I cannot answer that, Mr.
Speaker. I will have to confirm with the team, because I do not know that there is any type of system. When
the ships come in we have the cert ificate from the Port
of Health that will indicate where their passengers have come in before they arrive to Bermuda. I also know that the United States also provides us information for passengers who are travelling through the


Bermuda House of Assembly United States as to where that person came from. But
insofar as from other jurisdictions, I would have to get
that information and revert to the Honourable Member.

Again I thank the Honourable
and Learned Health Minister. I think it really is useful to hear from you and for this to be shared with Parli ament, because it is our opportunity to share this fur-ther with the public. And the more the public knows,
the less there is a ris k of unnecessary fear.
You very helpfully identified steps being put in
place by the Government to streamline the arrival of
hand sanitisers and masks, and you identified duty
relief. Presumably that duty relief Bill will be brought to
Parliament and supp orted by both parties as soon as
possible. Do you have a time frame on that?

Once again, we obviously are not
trying to get fear with this. We are just trying to get
information because the population is feeling anxious
mainly because the international news is showing
quite a different outlook than where we are presently
in Bermuda.
So my question is around . . . we have seen
some major changes in how people are dealing with
large gatherings, in particular sporting events. In some
jurisdictions, you are seeing where there ar e not going
to be fans in the stands. There are some changes in
how people are dealing with locker rooms. My question is, when we are dealing with major events coming
to Bermuda shortly —CARIFTA Games and the Triat hlon—we also have teams that will be leaving Bermuda
and going to other jurisdictions. There are a couple of
teams recently that have decided not to come to Ber-muda because of issues with COVID -19 from where
they are coming from.
Can the Minister give any information on how
the Health Department, along with Youth and Sport, is dealing with the potential of changes to sporting
events locally and teams traveling overseas?

Thank you.
Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, again as it relates to the information that we have within the Ministry, which is coming from the World Health Organization, Pan Amer ican Health Agency, as well as CDC —so those are our
international bodies. And what we are doing is monitoring the information that they are providing to us. And as it relates to certain jurisdictions, we have i ssued travel advisories to persons not to go to those
particular jurisdictions, whether or not it is for a spor ting event or visiting, et cetera, et cetera.
The PHERT [Public Health Emergency R esponse Team] in Bermuda also is working hand- inhand with the EMO. And there is the Disaster Risk
Reduction Mitigation Team. And I cannot call the gentleman’s name right now who is actually in charge of
an aspect of that team, a sub- group—

[Inaudible interjection]

3588 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Kim N. Wilson: —that are tasked with working
with organisations such as sporting clubs and so forth
to make sure that they have the correct and accurate
information about the position that Bermuda is in —
which, again, is ranked low, rated low —as to whether
or not they wish to continue with respect to the spor ting groups. So that particular group has been tasked
with liaising with sporting groups and organisations as
to whether or not they wish to continue.
I could not stand here and correctly say t hat it
is business as usual, because we recognise that we are in a very challenging time right now. The Gover nment is committed to doing what we can to address
this issue. However, we do recognise that there will be
economic impact. And there will likely b e events that
are going to be cancelled and persons will choose for
a number of reasons not to participate in that partic ular event. However, at this point the Government has not made any decisions as to whether or not they plan
on imposing travel restrict ions coming into Bermuda
from various passages or, alternatively, whether or not
we wish to cancel any type of public gatherings, spor ting events and so forth.
Those are discussions that we are having o ngoing. The PHERT meets very regularly. In fact, part
of the team, the medical part, medical group met this morning. I was briefed. And those are discussions that we will be taking to Cabinet next week as to whether
or not we wish to go ahead and start considering cancelling certain types of public events.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you.
My question is around unexpected diversions
to the Island. So if an airplane is diverted to Bermuda
because someone may have had some symptoms
before the flight and then got on the flight and the fever came back and was escalating, what is the proc edure for an unexpected flight that could divert to Bermuda with someone who has symptoms that could be
reflective of the COVID -19? And . . . yes, I will just ask
that.

Minister.

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. And I thank the
Honourable Member for that question. That is a scenario which has been discussed
heavily in the PHERT team. And what is expected and
anticipated is that . . . well, first let me back up. B ecause our airline partners, obviously we cannot con-trol what they do on the outside in other jurisdictions. But our airline partners are actually starting to question individuals before they get on the plane. The
same questions that Customs is asking upon arrival in
Bermuda, they are also asking passengers as they
get ready to book the plane, making observations about illnesses and so forth. Because they certainly do not want the passenger, obviously, traveling as
well.
However, in the circumstances like the Honourable Member jus t mentioned, what would happen
is that the first responders would attend at the runway.
That passenger would be removed from the plane, treated and/or taken to the hospital, depending on
their circumstances. And then the plane would conti nue on. The rest of the patients [sic] would likely be —
they continue on to their next stop.

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Beg your pardon?

You said patients.

[Inaudible interjections]

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Patients. Sorry, the patients.
The rest of the patients . . passengers . The other pa ssengers would continue on.
It is similar to when they have a divergence
now when there is a person who has a heart cond ition. They stop. Medical responders are there. They
take them off the plane to address whatever. And then
the plane continues on.

Yes, thank you.
So my supplementary question would be, Do
we have the equipment for the professionals, the first
responders, that would provide the protective gear
needed should they have to face an unexpected
emergency such as this?

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is called PPE. It is personal protective
equipment. And we do have quite a suppl y on Island.
Admittedly, though, Mr. Speaker, the N95 mask has to
be fitted. They have to test with them. And the size
medium is almost like a size seven shoe. It is quote
popular worldwide (size seven for women.) It is pop ular worldwide. So we are trying to secure those.


Bermuda House of Assembly The first responders have PPEs. The nursing
staff, community health, have PPEs. But we are ordering more in order to ensure that we have a full supply.
This has already been sourced from a supplier here.
He has already procured it. We are looking for a loc ation so that all of the PPEs and all of the things that
we need—hand sanitisers and the like—are at one
location so that people can go and access it accor dingly. However, as I said, the size N95 medium is in
short supply. But we are doing our best to source it
from other jurisdictions.
Just as an aside, the company that makes
them is called 3M. It is a US company. Well, I do not
know if they make them in the United States, but it is a
US company. And in order to export them out, they have to have permission. So they are kind of holding
on to their things, too. So it is a worldwide phenom enon. One of the companies that we are looking at is in
the Far East.
But the procurement . . . I have somebody,
the Ministry of Health has somebody who is dealing
with all of the procurement of those particular items. But certainly our first responders and our health personnel have those PPE sets.

Minister.

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes. I thank the Honourable
Member for that question, Mr. Speaker.
Certainly, the Lamb Foggo site is a medical
facility, so we would not consider that to be an appr opriate site for the quarantine. However, in circumstances if we obviously require more medical attention
for local residents, then that would obviously be a f acility that would be continually used for that purpose,
but certainly not for a quarantine.

There is one Bill this morning in the
name of the Minister of Finance.
Minister.

FIRST READING

CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT ACT 2020

Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Mr. Speaker, I am intr oducing the following Bill, which according to section
36(3) of the Bermuda Constitution requires the Go vernor’s recommendation, so that it may be placed on
the Order Paper for the next day of meeting: Customs
Tariff Amendment Act 2020.

We are now on the Orders of the Day.
And, Members, as you know, we are here to
resume in the Committee of Supply for the further
consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and E xpenditure for the year 2020/21. And this morning, I
believe it is Labour, Community Affairs that ar e first
up. And they have four hours for that debate. And
then we will have the second, which will be Legal A ffairs, and they will have four hours for that debate la ter in the day.
The Chair this morning will be handled by MP
Tyrrell.
MP Tyrrell, after t he Minister of Finance
moves us into Committee you can come and assume
the Chair.
3590 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Minister, would you like to move us to Committee?

Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Mr. Speaker, I move that
the House do now resume in Committee of Supply to
consider the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
for 2020/21.

Good morning, Honourable Members.
We are resuming now in Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Esti mates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2020/21. Heads 20, 60, 52
and 71 are now to be debated.
I call on the Minister in charge to proceed.
Minister, you have the floor.

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman
And I move that the followin g Heads: 20,
Youth Sporting Recreation; 61, Workforce Develo pment; 52, Community and Cultural Affairs; and 71,
Ministry of Labour, Community Affairs and Sports Headquarters be now taken under consideration.

Proceed.

MINISTRY OF LABOUR, COMM UNITY
AFFAIRS AND SPORTS

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, indeed I am pleased to present
the financial year 2020/21 Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the Ministry of Labour, Community
Affairs and Sports. Mr. Chairman, I will briefly discuss
the Ministry as a whole, followed by information for
Head 71, the Ministry Headquarters, and then in detail
the three departments that fall under the Ministry,
namely, Head 20, the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation; Head 52, the Department of Community
and Cultural Affairs; and Head 60, the Department of
Workforce Development. Mr. Chairman, four hours have been allocated
for these heads, and I intend to speak for approx imately two of those hours in order to give sufficient
time for the Opposition to ask questions or seek clar ification on the 2020/21 Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure.
Mr. Chairman, when I last presented the
budget for this Ministry, I was new to the Ministry and
the budget and programmes had been defined by the
former Mi nister. The Ministry portfolio has also been
changed with the removal of the Departments of F inancial Assistance, National Drug Control, and Child and Family Services, and the addition of the Depar tment of Workforce Development.
Mr. Chairman, I have now had the benefit of
just over a year [working] in the restructured Ministry and had an opportunity to review the programmes and
budget and to realign them with our mission—a new
mission. This involved not only a review of the Ministry
Headquarters, but the i ndividual departments and
their programmes. Mr. Chairman, our mission for the
restructured Ministry of Labour, Community Affairs
and Sports is, To develop and celebrate our people.
Mr. Chairman, the mission statements, programmes
and budgets for the depart ments within the Ministry
are aligned with this overriding mission, and their mi ssion statements reflect this mantra. You will note
throughout my presentation today our mandate for the
development and the support of our athletes, creatives and workforce, and how the importance of this
plays in our community.
Mr. Chairman, before I get into the details of
the budget, I want to share with this Honourable
House some of the priorities of the Ministry for the next financial year. There are a number of policy initiatives that I will be delivering, including a minimum and
living wage for Bermuda. The legislation is in place,
and the Wage Commission is in effect and have begun their work. I look forward to receiving the commission’s report and recommendations for a minimum
and living wage so that we can move forward with the
implementation.
Pay equity. In addition to the living wage, pay
equity for Bermudians and salaries which reflect their
investment in education and training will be another
policy initiative to be delivered in the next financial year.
Labour law codification and modernisation. I
will shortly be bringing legislation forward for this pur-pose. In essence, the project will deliver two Bills, [first] the Labour Law Trade Union and Labour Rel ations C onsolidation Act 2020, which codifies and
modernises the Labour Disputes Act 1992, the Labour
Relations Act 1975 and the Trade Union Act 1965;
and second, the Employment Amendment Act 2020.
This will modernise the Act and align it with the labour law amend ments.
Grants and contributions make up 28 per cent
of the Ministry budget and will be allocated to where


Bermuda House of Assembly there is a real financial need in programmes that align
with the Ministry and department’s missions. We will
ensure value for money from our partners in these
programmes. Increased training and apprenticeship opportunities align with the Workforce Development plan. The budget for this is being increased by
$25,000, from $395,000 to $420,000. Increased overseas scholarships targeted those with real financial
need and from traditionally economically disadvantaged segments of our community. The goal is to ensure social mobility to disadvantaged families with scholarships or courses aligned with the needs of i ndustry so that graduates have better prospects for
employment and a career following graduation. The budget for this is being increased by $100,000, from $350,000 to $450,000.
Improved race relations. The Ministry is also
working with stakeholders and the community to highlight the legacy of race rel ations in Bermuda and d efine how we can move forward together as a comm unity to improve race relations and assist those who
have traditionally and economically been disadva ntaged. Mr. Chairman, again our mission is to develop and celebrate our people.
Mr. Chairman, I would now like to draw your
attention to page B -250 of the Estimates book, where
you will note that the Ministry of Labour, Community Affairs and Sports budget for the financial year
2020/21 is $18,678,000, a reduction of $187,000, or
1 per ce nt, from the 2019/20 original budget. This r eduction in budget reflects the moving of the Perm anent Secretary post to Cabinet Office, where the post is now budgeted. This move is not just for this Mini stry. All permanent secretary posts are now attached to
Cabinet Office for administrative purposes.
Mr. Chairman, page B -250 shows a revenue
estimate for the Ministry of $701,000, an increase of $72,000 over financial year 2019/20. The increase
primarily relates to Youth and Sports, Head 20, which
will be dis cussed in detail under that Head.
Mr. Chairman, page B -250 also details the
current account expenditure of departments that make up the overall budget for the Ministry by Head, as fol-lows:
• Head 71— Ministry Headquarters for 2019/20
fiscal year, financial y ear, $2,218,000. The
next fiscal year, 2020/21, $2,191,000;
• Head 20— Youth and Sport Recreation for
2019/20, $10,109,000. For y ear 2020/21,
$10,109,000;
• Head 52—Community and Cultural Affairs for this current fiscal year, the budget was
$2,242,000. In 2020/ 21 it will be $2,083,000;
• Head 60— Workforce Development, was
$4,296,000 in 2019/20, and in 2020/21 it is $4,295,000; and
• The Ministry total, as stated before, [for fiscal
year 2020/21] is $18,678,000, a decrease
from $18,865,000 from the current fiscal year. Mr. Chairman, the summary shows that
2020/21 estimates for Head 20 have not changed. Heads 71, 52 and 60 have seen some reductions. I
will discuss each change as I speak about each Head.
Mr. Chairman, it is worth noting at this point,
as can be seen on page C -20, that the budget for the
Ministry includes some $5,286,000 in grants and co ntributions. This was a decrease of $266,000, or 5 per
cent, when compared to the original estimate of 2019/20. It should be noted that this follows a 10 per
cent increase in grants and contributions the previous
year and is almost 28 per cent of the Ministry budget.
This reduction in grants is a net change primarily o wing to the budget for the summer students in Wor kforce Development summer employment for college
and uni versity students being moved from grants and
contributions to wages.
The grants and contributions include
$1,505,000 for scholarships, apprenticeships and
workforce training; $3,235,000 for sports develo pment, national sporting bodies and youth organis ations; and $470,000 for community and cultural activ ities. Mr. Chairman, this aligns with our focus on d eveloping and celebrating our people in the 2020/21 financial year.
Mr. Chairman, pages C -23 and C -24 highlight
the 2018/19 budget year actual allocations made to
sports development and voluntary youth organisations and total $1,914,000.

HEAD 71 —MINISTRY HEADQUARTERS

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: I now turn to the current account expenditure for the Ministry. Mr. Chairman, the
objectives of the department are as follows:
• the development and implementation of pol icies that enhance the lives of the people of
Bermuda;
• the fair treatment of employees and emplo yers; and
• to ensure that the departments within the Mi nistry deliver on their objectives and comply
with the relevant legislation, policies and pr ocedures.
Mr. Chairman, the financial year 2020/21 estimates of expenditure and revenue for Head 71, the
Ministry Headquarters, is found on pages B -251 and
B-252 of the Estimates book. Ministry Headquarters is
respons ible for the budget of two business units, the
first being 81000, Administration, which consists of
mainly salaries, administration and grant expenditure; and the second being 81040, the Labour Relations
Section.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry Headquarters’
mission is, To develop policy and provide guidance for
the Ministry while promoting stability within the labour
force. This includes providing policy direction to e nsure good fiscal control and service delivery across all
departments within the Ministry. Mr . Chairman, page
3592 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly B-251 shows that the total budget estimate for the
Ministry Headquarters for year 2020/21 is $2,191,000,
split between business units 81000, Administration,
$1,444,000; and 81040, the Labour Relations Section,
$747,000. There is an overall reduction of $27,000 in
this budget, or 1 per cent. Whilst there has been a
reduction in the Administration business unit, 81000,
of $86,000, or 6 per cent, there has been an increase
in the Labour Relations business unit, 81040, budget
of $59,000, or 9 per cent, to more accurately reflect
the cost of this work, including increasing legal costs.

Subjective Analysis

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, I will now a ddress the combined subjective analysis of current account estimates for business units 81000 and 81040,
the Ministry Headquarters, as found on page B -252.
Mr. Chairman, at business unit 81000, there is a r eduction in employee numbers with the full -time
equiv alents reducing by two, from 12 to 10, to reflect
the move of the Permanent Secretary pos t I spoke of
earlier and not funding an accounts officer post. This was in part owing to the restructuring of this Ministry
and the moving of departments to other Ministries. In
addition, there are two staff on long- term secondments to support the transiti on until Management Services have completed their review of the Ministry. There is a corresponding reduction in salaries, wages
and other personnel costs of $199,000, or 11 per cent.
Mr. Chairman, Training and Travel have been
reduced by $20,000 and $11,000, respectively. This will not reduce opportunities for staff training, but pr ovide for a more focused training programme tied in
with staff -forward job plans. The priority is to ensure
that staff maintain professional designations through
continuing prof essional development and to provide
opportunities for staff to get further training and qual ifications to develop them for promotion through the
public service.
Mr. Chairman, there has been no change in
the communications estimate, which remains at $24,000. And the advertising and promotion budget has been reduced to zero dollars, as there are no
funds needed at Headquarters for this purpose. Mr.
Chairman, there has been an increase in the Profes-sional Services budget, from $149,000 to $369,000,
an increas e of $220,000, or 148 per cent. This i ncrease is to properly reflect the costs of the Labour
and Employment Tribunal and legal fees required for
external legal representation for the tribunals on appeals. In addition, funds have been budgeted for con-sultan ts as required for both the minimum living wage
and pay equity projects.
Mr. Chairman, there have been minor changes of $1,000 respectively in the repairs and maint enance, and energy budgets, and a $7,000 reduction in
the materials and supplies estimate. These changes
are a result of more detailed and accurate estimates being established under the zero- based budgeting
process.
Mr. Chairman, the last two object codes in the
subjective analysis are Other Expenses and Grants and Contributions. Other expenses relate to bank
charges and cable services. There has been an i ncrease of $4,000 to reflect the proper budgeting of the
cable to this account. The grants and contributions
have been reduced by $2,000, or 3 per cent. These
are discretionary grants that the Minister may award
for one- time events which are not captured by departments’ grants within the Ministry, provided that the event is one that is aligned with the mission of the
Ministry.

Labour Relations Section
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, whils t I have
already highlighted the priorities for the Ministry in or-der to provide some context for budgetary figures
shown in the subjective analysis of current account
estimates, I will at this time describe the activities of the Labour Relations Section.
Mr. Chairman, the Labour Relations Section
of the Ministry is responsible for the investigation and mediation of labour disputes in both unionised and
non-unionised environments. The section provides an
impartial and free service to employees and emplo yers and their respective representatives, and to the
general public, in the form of consultations, and refers
unresolved labour employment -related disputes to the
necessary tribunal or arbitration panels for adjudic ation. The section is also tasked with over sight of cert ification and decertification of unions in the workplace.
The section’s aim is to promote dispute res olution and prevention, and to encourage and facilitate
management/employee engagement in line with best
labour practices. The manpower estim ates for the Labour Relations Section, as outlined on page B -252,
are six full -time posts, which remain unchanged from
2019/20. Mr. Chairman, during the 2019/20 budget year to date, there were approximately 686 labour
dispute inquiries lodged in the Labour Relations Section, of which 614 were consultations and 72 were complaints. There were 50 complaints filed pursuant to the Employment Act 2000, and 22 were grievances
reported pursuant to the Labour Relations Act 1975,
Trade Union Act 1965 and/or the Labour Disputes Act
1992.
Mr. Chairman, the majority of complaints filed
and investigated by the Labour Relations officers r elated to terminations and outstanding wages, at 30
and 24 complaints, respectively. The remaining 18
complaints consisted of complaints regarding constructive dismissal, vacation pay, reduced work week,
overtime redundancy, collective bargaining agreement
procedures and certifications. Mr. Chairman, a total of 58 complaints have
been resolved during the 2019/20 budget year, up to


Bermuda House of Assembly Januar y 31, 2020; also 25 relating to complaints filed
during the budget year up to 31 January 2020; and 33
carrying over from previous years. There currently
remain 51 active cases within the Labour Relations
Section. Of these, six are cases over 12 months old as at January 2020. Nine are cases between six and
12 months old, and 36 are cases less than six months
old.
Mr. Chairman, during the 2019/20 budget
year, 19 complaints were referred to the Employment
Tribunal, with 10 matters completed and awarded de-cisions. Of these, three were settled in favour of the
employee, five in favour of the employer and two were
settled between the parties without the need for an
Employment Tribunal hearing.

Major Achievements

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Under Major Achievements,
Mr. Chairman, the Labour Relations Section has seen
an increase in the number of disputes resolved through conciliation and mediation, a reduction in the
number of outstanding disputes and a reduction in the
number of complaints filed due to the section’s efforts
to educate the labour force, including employers and
employer groups on their rights and obligations under
the legislation.
Mr. Chairman, the Labour Relations Section
worked closely with the Attorney General’s Chambers to effect amendments to the Employment Act 2000
with regards to vacation leave, and maternity and paternity leave. For the first time, legislation has afforded
fathers the right to paternity leave of five days unpaid if they have worked for less than a year, and five paid
days if the y have worked longer than a year. Paid m aternity leave has been increased to 13 paid weeks for
those employees who have worked for one continuous year, and 13 unpaid weeks for employees who
have worked for less than one year.
Mr. Chairman, the Labour Relations Section
continues its collaboration with the Department of
Communications to provide the public with pertinent
information regarding the legislation that it administers via print and [other] media outlets. As a result of this
continued initiative, the general public, employers and
employees alike are more aware of their rights and obligations under the relevant legislation and know
where they can go to get assistance and advice.

Plans for the Upcoming Year
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: As part of the legis lative pla tform for this Government, and as a key resource for servicing and educating the Bermuda workforce, e mployers and employer groups, unions and private sector representatives, the Labour Relations Section un-der the direction of the Minister respons ible for Labour
has been working closely with the Attorney General’s Chambers to ensure that the reform of the labour leg-islation and amendments to employment legislation
are fully implemented and adhered to by Bermuda’s
labour market. The section continues to offer sem inars, workshops and presentations to employer groups, worker groups and individuals in an effort to broaden the understanding of good employment practices.
Additionally, with the passing of the reformed
labour legislation, the Labour Relati ons Section will
expand its campaign to educate the public on any new
and revised legislation with the specific aim of reduc-ing labour -related complaints and showing that parties
feel supported on matters of importance and handling
of all matters expeditiously.
The Labour Relations Section will continue to
foster a close relationship with government depar tments, stakeholders and employer groups to ensure
continued cooperation and consultation for the enhancement of sounder industrial relations among employees, employers and the unions.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to recognise the
Labour Relations Manager, Ms. Gabrielle Cann, and
her team for their impartial work over the year in their
mediation of labour disputes and promotion of the fair
treatment of both employers and employees.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the dedicated staff of the Ministry
Headquarters for the work they do in ensuring that the Ministry meets its mandate.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my presentati on
on financial year 2020/21 budgetary allocation for Head 71, the Ministry Headquarters. And I will now move to Head 20, the Depar tment of —

Minister, please proceed.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Sure. I will just reread that
last sentence.
Mr. Chairman, this does conclude my presentation on financial year 2020/21 budgetary allocation
for Head 71, the Ministry H eadquarters.

3594 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly HEAD 20 —DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH, SPORT
AND RECREATION

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Head 20, Department of
Youth, Sport and Recreation (for those who are reading through the budget brief). Mr. Chairman, I will now
present the financial year 2020/21 est imates of expenditure and revenue for Head 20, the Department of
Youth, Sport and Recreation, which can be found on
pages B -254 to B -260 of the Estimates book.
The mission statement —Mr. Chairman, in
preparation of their estimates of revenue and expendi-ture, the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation
also conducted a review of its programmes and its
mission statement, with the resulting revised mission
statement, as highlighted on page B -254, as To develop youth, sport and recreation through our services
and to celebrate the accomplishments of our people.

Department Objectives

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: The department’s objectives,
Mr. Chairman, for 2020/21 are as follows:
• to modernise policies and procedures enfor cing industry standards;
• to provide guidance to ensure that all national
sports governing bodies develop sustainable
long-term athlete development strategic plans;
• to develop and implement curriculum guid elines to ensure accreditation standards are
maintained.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Youth, Sport
and Recreation administers nine programmes and 21 business units for which a general summary is contained on pages B -255 and B -256 of the Estimates of
Expenditure and Revenue for financial year 2020/21.
The budget allocation for the Department of Youth,
Sport and Recreation in financial year 2020/21 is
$10,109,000, as shown on page B -256. This is the
same as the original budget estimate of $10,109,000
for this current financial year 2019/20.
Mr. Chairman, I will now discuss the individual
programmes under Head 20. Programme 2002, A dministration and Sports, found on page B -255, shows
that the budget allocation for business unit 30045, General Administration, for 2020/21 is $1,616,000.
This represents an increase of $10,000 over the original budget of $1,606,000 in 2019/20, a 1 per cent i ncrease. Mr. Chairman, the allocated funds provide for administration and operations of the Department of
Youth, Sport and Recreation Headquarters, which is
located in Craig Appin House, situated at 8 Wesley
Street, Hamilton. In addition, the Administration Section provides administrative support for the eight pr ogrammes within the department and is responsible for
monitoring departmental spending to ensure that pol icies and procedures are adhered to in achieving eff iciency and effectiveness. Programme 2002, Sport Development, pr ovides for business unit 30055, Sports Programme. The [budget allocation for] financial year 2020/21 is
$1,781,000, a decrease of $20,000, or 1 per cent,
compared to the original budget of $1,801,000 in
2019/20. This allocation includes grant funding for the
national sports governing bodies and operational
costs involved with facilitating major events during the
fiscal year, such as annual sports awards and national
junior athlete sponsorship programmes.
Mr. Chairman, included in business unit
30055 is a grant of $650,000 to Bermuda Sport Anti -
Doping Authority, known as BSADA. Funding for this
agency, which takes its legislative mandate from the
Anti-Doping in Sport Act 2011 and operates under the
global framework of the World Anti -Doping Agency,
WADA, is one of the most important financial items within the Sports Development Section. The Bermuda
Sport Anti -Doping Authority is the national anti -doping
organisation, NADO, for Bermuda. Without the func-tional presence of this organisation in Bermuda, it
would simply mean that Bermuda would not be able to participate in any international sporting events abroad
or host any international sporting events locally.
Mr. Chairman, under the strict control of the
Sports Development Section, the department conti nues to ensure that funds used by the national sports
governing bodies are for the development of sport in Bermuda for our senior and junior athletes. Business
unit 30055 also provides for a grant to the Bermuda
Football Association for $300,000 and $25,000 for the
department’s sports initiatives programme. An add itional $156,000 in operating costs is covered under
this business unit.
Mr. Chairman, during the financial year
2020/21, the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation intends to continue focusing on all aspects of sporting development. This is the development of at hletes at senior and junior levels and the provision of
education to local coaches and administrators through
partnerships with ov erseas agencies such as Positive
Coaching Alliance and Sports for Life, because they
are key aspects in the development and they are key
in the business unit 30055.
An increase of $58,000 in grant funding is
provided to the national sports governing bodies. This is vital for the continued development of sports Islandwide, as without this support many athletes and spor ting programmes would suffer. The department will
also continue to work with various government agencies to maintain sporting and recreational facilities which fall under the department’s remit. Mr. Chairman,
Government has re- established a sports recognition
policy that requires all current national sports gover ning bodies to be recertified. This will ensure that all national sports governing bodies are in compliance
with the department’s requirements and meet minimum standards for sporting organisations.


Bermuda House of Assembly In September 2019, the department held a
conference to offer personal development to coaches
and administrators alike. Through a partnershi p with
Sport for Life, NSGBs (or national sports governing bodies) were introduced to the details of long- term
athlete development (LTAD). The underlying aim of
the LTAD framework is to match the coaching and
development of children to their physical and psych ological growth, while optimising both their enjoyment
and training. Matching training to development should
allow every individual to reach their optimum potential and enjoy sports participation. In partnership with the
Bermuda Olympic Association, it is intended that all
NSGBs develop LTAD plans for their respective
sports.
Programme 2003, Sports Incentives and
Awards. Mr. Chairman, there is no change to the es-timate for business unit 30030, Athletic Awards, which
remains at $200,000 in support of th e Elite Athletes
Assistance Fund and the National Junior Sponsorship
fund. The National Junior Athletes Sponsorship Fund remains at $100,000. This will assist two young at hletes, a male and a female from each national sports governing body, who will benefi t from the programme.
The plan is to further assist with the development of
all in sport, irrespective of gender. These funds will
continue to support, encourage and provide incentives to our junior athletes to strive for excellence in their
sporting devel opment.
Mr. Chairman, the Elite Athletes Assistance
Fund of $100,000, as shown on page C -20, is ma naged by the Bermuda Olympic Association, which
prescribes the requirements for athletes to receive funding, having met a local A, B or C standard in their
development.
Programme 2004, Sports Facilities Management. Mr. Chairman, this department carries out
sports facilities management across five business
units, the allocations for 2020/21 totalling $1,897,000,
as shown on page B -255. This represents a decrease
of $23,000, or 1 per cent, from the original estimate of
$1,920,000 for financial year 2019/20. Mr. Chairman,
the budget estimate for business unit 30060, Sports Facilities Administration, of $1,285,000 for year
2020/21 is an increase of $1,000 over th e original
budget estimates for 2019/20. This increase in funds
is for the signage for fields under the department’s
remit.
Mr. Chairman, 30060 business unit funding
also provides for the maintenance of parks under the
department’s remit, namely, WMC Preece softball d iamond in Bernard Park, 30075; WER Joell Tennis
Stadium, 30080; Motorsports Park, 30090; and Sports
Community Fields, 30390. The WMC Preece softball
stadium business unit provides for two full -time e mployees to maintain the grounds and includes funding
for materials, supplies and electricity. The WER Joell
Tennis Stadium includes estimates for four full -time
and two part -time employees, together with oper a-tional expenditure. The Motorsports Park, cost centre
30090, shows a decrease of $29,000. The reduction is
due to the fact that the Motorsports Park was transferred from Skyport to the Ministry of Public Works
and rent is no longer due.
Programme 2005, Youth Development. Mr.
Chairman, the allocated budget for 2020/21 of
$492,000 is for two of the business units under the
Youth Development Programme. Youth Development
Administration, 30210, has a budget allocation of
$292,000 for 2020/21, a decrease of $1,000 from 2019/20. Mr. Chairman, the facilitation of platforms for
youth to have input in th eir development is key in e ngaging Bermuda’s youth. With assistance from the
Department of Statistics, the department will review
data gathered over the financial year of 2019/20 to
ensure that the youth engagement participation policy
is sound. The depart ment’s mantra, Developing youth
through sport and recreation, will continue through the
maintenance of its community partnerships.
The Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation will consult with youth organisations and affiliate organisations during the y ear 2020/21 to finalise the
youth engagement and participation policy during
2020/21.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 3050, Youth
Grants, the budget estimate of $200,000 for financial
year 2020/21, is the same as 2019/20. The Youth Grant funding will be allocated to assist youth organisations and support youth programming whose focus
is on developing youth to promote good citizenship of
Bermuda’s youth.
Mr. Chairman, page C -24 details the expend iture of financial year 2018/19 for Youth Grants, tota lling $1,9 14,000. These include Bermuda Alumni
Chapter, $15,000; Bermuda Badminton Association,
$7,000; Bermuda National Gallery, $5,000; Bermuda
Overseas Missions, $10,000; Bermuda Riding for the
Disabled/WindReach, $10,000; Bermuda Sea Cadets, $20,000; Bermuda Sloop Foundation Youth Sailing,
$10,000; Bermuda Volleyball Association, $8,000; Big
Brothers and Big Sisters Association, $10,000; Eps ilon Theta Lambda and Alpha Phi Alpha, $10,000; G ina Productions, $21,000; Grotto Bay Tennis Club,
$8,000; Raleigh Internati onal, $20,000; TROIKA,
$3,000; YouthNet, $7,000; and Youth Vision Prom otions, $3,000.
Programme 2006, Community Centres. Mr.
Chairman, the budget allocation for the three comm unity centres under the department’s remit, which are the Sammy Wilson Central Z one Community Centre,
business unit 30120; the Eastern Zone Community
Centre, business unit 30130; and the Western Zone
Community Centre, business unit 30146, is
$1,484,000, which is an increase of $55,000, or 4 per
cent, over the original estimate of financial year 2019/20. The uplift is required to cover the wages for vacation and camps. The community centres’ full -time
equivalent count is 19 for financial year 2019/20. The
3596 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly staff facilitate a wide range of programming for seniors, adults and children, providing engagement and
participation opportunities for families whilst promoting
the philosophy of the department’s mission.
Mr. Chairman, the three community centres
provide a safe, structured programme with trained staff and an opportunity to build posit ive and longlasting relationships. The community centres provide
opportunities for residents of all ages to experience
positive recreational activities. The community centres
have recently come more in line with the after -school
programmes to provide the same calibre of service to
communities at both ends of the Island.
Mr. Chairman, programme 2007, Camping.
The Youth, Sport and Recreation Department’s bud get allocation of $961,000 for financial year 2020/21, a
decrease of $175,000, or 15 per cent, from t he prev ious year. The decrease reflects the closure of Mess ina House camping facility and the subsequent cost
savings.
Mr. Chairman, the Messina House camping
facility is owned by West End Development Corpor ation (WEDCO) and was rented to the Minister of Public Works, who in turn rented it to the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation. The department then
rented the facility to individuals and groups for recreational and camping purposes. The facility is in poor condition, and it costs some $260,000 per annum to
rent and operate while being used for on average only 100 days out of each year, generating on average
$6,000 per year in camping fees. As there are four
other government -owned camping facilities available,
and with the lack of use, we could no l onger justify the
cost of retaining this facility. Some of the savings from the closure of Messina House have been transferred
to the Summer Day Camp Programme to allow for
expansion.
Mr. Chairman, the allocated budget for the
camping programme provides f or the staffing, oper ation and administration of four camping facilities in
financial year 2020/21. The camping programme i ncludes a total of nine full -time employees, who mai ntain the facilities and the marine vessels.
Mr. Chairman, the camping facilities under the
remit of the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation are Darrell’s Island, which is the largest facility, with 14 rustic campsites accommodating 30 campers
at each site. There is also an additional building that
can accommodate an additional 30 campers. Paget
Island is located in St. George’s Harbour and has the
largest building and single campsite, accommodating
a maximum of 95 campers. Ports Island is the oldest camping facility, which houses a building that accommodates a maximum of 45 campers. White’s Island is
used sporadically for overnight tent camping. It is pr imarily used for basic swimming instruction by the
Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association, and rowing
instruction by the Bermuda Rowing Association. Programme 2008, School -Aged Act ivities. Mr.
Chairman, the estimate is being increased from
$583,000 in the original budget of 2019/20 to
$733,000 in 2020/21. This represents an increase of
$150,000, or 26 per cent. The increase reflects the
redistribution of funds to this cost centre fr om savings
made from the closure of Messina House. This en ables funds to be placed in the Summer Day Camp Programme to ensure that more children are able to
participate in a safe and creative environment.
Mr. Chairman, this programme supports approximatel y 1,500 school -aged children and is provi ded at various schools and community centres
throughout the Island. [There are] approximately 130
part-time employees, which consists of 80 per cent
university, college and high school students who con-duct this programme and are supervised by qualified teachers. There is also a special -needs programme
that provides one- on-one care for children who have
various needs. For the purposes of inclusion of all
students, the special need camp is incorporated in the
school -aged camps. Mr. Chairman, also included in
Programme 2008 are three pre- school -age camps
which were created specifically for the transition of
children from pre- school into primary school.
Programme 2009, the After -School Pr ogrammes. Mr. Chairman, this Aft er-School Pr ogramme operated by the Department of Youth, Sport
and Recreation provides for staffing, communications,
materials and supplies for 14 programmes at gover nment primary schools. The schools that host these
programmes include Francis Patton, Harr ington
South, Elliot, Prospect, West Pembroke, Paget Prim ary, Purvis, Heron Bay, Port Royal, Dalton E. Tucker, [as well as] the Eastern Zone Community Centre 1
(which is the middle, for middle schools), the Eastern
Zone Community Centre 2 (primary schools) , Sammy
Wilson Centre Zone Community Centre and the
Western Zone Community Centre.
The budget allocation for business unit 30125,
After -School Programme for financial year 2020/21 is
$945,000, which is an increase of $4,000 from the original budget estimate of $940,000 in 2019/20. This
increase in funding is required to replace sports and
recreation equipment. The programme supports a maximum of 450 primary and middle school -aged
children across 40 facilities and employs approximat ely 26 full -time employees, which equates to 61 per
cent seasonal staff in financial year 2020/21. The department is committed to providing quality after -school
programmes for primary and middle school -aged chi ldren, ensuring a safe and structured recreational pr ogramme.
Grants and Contributions. Mr. Chairman, the
budget estimate for grants and contributions, as shown on page C -20 for financial year 2019/20, is
$3,235,000, which is an increase of $10,000 in the
sports grant allocation, in comparison with the original
budget of $3, 225,000 for the financial year 2018/19


Bermuda House of Assembly This allocation will be dispersed as follows:
Grants to External Bodies, $10,000; Sports Development, $6,886; Department of Youth, Sport and Recr eation Swimming Programme, $25,000; Programme 6878, contribution to Sports Development, to be all ocated among 34 national sports governing bodies ––
which includes $650,000 for the Bermuda Sport Anti -
Doping Authority (BSADA) ––is $1.7 million; Sports
Incentives and Awards Programme, 6880, Elite At hlete Fund, $100,000; Sports Fac ilities Management,
6884, National Stadium Trustees, $1,200,000; Youth Development, 6882, Voluntary Youth Organisations,
$200,000; for a grand total of $3,235,000.
Mr. Chairman, page C -23 details the expend iture for year 2018/19, and I will just highlight a few.
The Bermuda National Athletic Association received $105,000; the Cricket Board, $100,000; Bermuda
Amateur Swimming Association, $25,000; Bermuda
Bicycle Association, $40,000; and the Bermuda
Olympic Association, $270,000.
Capital Acquisitions, Mr. Chairman. The
budget estimate for Capital Acquisitions for 2020/21
on page C -14 is $39,000, an increase of $7,000 from
$32,000 original budget for 2019/20. The funds will
provide for a much- needed reverse osmosis system
on Paget Island to ensure a clean a nd plentiful supply
of water.
Mr. Chairman, I now turn to the Subjective
Analysis of current account estimates for Head 20,
found on page B -256 of the Estimates book. I will now
focus the subjective analysis for Head 20 on page B -
255 and the employee numbers found on page B -257.
The budget for financial year 2020/21 of $10,109,000 reflects no change. Whilst the overall budget remains
unchanged as a part of the review and zero- based
budget process, there have been quite a few changes
in the budget programmes. However, I will speak only
to those object codes where there are major changes.
For wages, Mr. Chairman, in the financial year
2020/21 the allocated budget for wages is $2,730,000.
This is an increase of $201,000, or 8 per cent, compared to the origina l allocation in 2019/20 budget
year. This increase is as a result of reallocation of
funds for employees who should have been classified
under wages and the reflection of mandatory overtime
expenditure.
Other personnel costs, Mr. Chairman. The
budget allocation is $62,000 for other personnel costs
in financial year 2020/21, a decrease of $34,000, or
35 per cent, from 2019/20. The decrease reflects the
closure of Messina House and the related costs to operate it.
Transport, Mr. Chairman. The budget alloc ation for transport in financial year 2020/21 is $7,000,
which is a decrease of $3,000, or 30 per cent, from
the financial year 2019/20. This saving was made by a simple change of having the vendor come to our establishment rather than transporting the children to
various venues. Travel, Mr. Chairman, $81,000 is allocated for
financial year 2020/21. This is an increase of $15,000, or 23 per cent, compared to the original budget of
$66,000 in financial year 2019/20. The Department of Youth, Sport and Recreati on increased the expenditure for travel in order to facilitate staff participation in
relevant courses and conferences offered overseas
which are deemed necessary to further strengthen
and develop staff capabilities and competencies which
will benefit both their professional growth and the level
of services provided by the department. The courses
include those with Search Institute, Character Counts
Programme to recertify staff.
Communications, Mr. Chairman. The estimate
for communications has been increas ed by $7,000 to
$96,000, or 8 per cent, compared to the original
budget for financial year 2019/20 of $89,000. This r eflects the need to equip van drivers at the community centres with cellular phones to ensure that they can
be contacted at all times or ca n make contact when
faced with emergencies and the like.
Professional Services. Mr. Chairman,
$173,000 has been estimated for this area for financial year 2020/21. This is a decrease of $36,000, or
17 per cent, compared to financial year 2019/20. This
decrease was made in an effort to reduce costs in the
area of recreational services. Services that were often
provided by external agencies will be reviewed. And creative lower -cost alternatives will be found in- house.
Rentals, Mr. Chairman, has a budget all ocation of $276,000 for financial year 2020/21. This is a decrease of $187,000, or 40 per cent, from 2019/20. This decrease is part of the rent in respect of Messina
House.
Energy, Mr. Chairman. [There is] a decrease
of $10,000 in the estimate for energy in financial year
2020/21, with a total estimate of $214,000 as com-pared with the original in 2019/20. The department will
continue to encourage staff to assist in conserving energy by turning off lights, shutting down equipment
when not in use, together with other energy -saving
measures.
Clothing, Uniform and Laundry, Mr. Chairman.
The $24,000 estimate allocation for these supplies in
financial year 2020/21 represents an increase of $4,000, or 20 per cent, compared to the original est imate of 2019/20. This is due to increased costs ass ociated with these items.
Equipment, both major and minor capital. Mr.
Chairman, the estimated budget for equipment in f inancial year 2020/21 is $16,000, which is a decrease of $8,000, or a 33 per cent decrease, from the
2019/20 budget of $24,000. This reduction reflects the
fact that equipment purchased in the last budget year
does not need to be replaced for this upcoming financial year.
Revenue, Mr. Chairman, as shown on page
B-257. It is anticipated that the revenue for the department will be $670,000 for 2020/21, which is an
3598 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly increase of $73,000, or 12 per cent, compared to the
original estimate for 2019/20. The increase in revenue
is primarily in two areas —8315, Registration; and
8665, After -School Vouchers —which reflec ts the i ncreased demand and success of these services, which provide working parents with a cost -effective
alternative to private sector services.
Full-time Equivalents. The employee numbers, or full -time equivalent count for financial year
2020/21, stands at 95, which is a reduction of one,
owing to the closure of Messina House with the em-ployee taking early retirement.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Director, Mr. Norbert Simons, and all of the dedicated staff at the Dep artment of Youth,
Sport and Recreation for the work they do in advancing amateur sport, recreation and youth development
for all, which enhances the quality of life for residents
of Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, in this Olympic year, it is important for me to recognise the significant contributions made by our sportsmen and sportswomen, and
the pivotal role they play in inspiring our youth to
achieve their true potential. I wish all much success,
particularly those having already qualified to partic ipate.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my presentation
on the financial year 2020/21 budgetary allocation for
Head 20, the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation.

Yes. Continue.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I shall. I will conti nue with Head 52.

HEAD 52 —DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND
CULTURAL AFFAIRS
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Head 52, which is the D epartment of Community and Cultural Affairs, can be found on pages B -261 through pages B -269 of the
Estimates book. Mr. Chairman, the dep artment has a
revised mission statement, which is To develop our
creatives, preserve our heritage and celebrate our
people. The department’s objectives for 2020/21 are
as follows, Mr. Chairman:
• to support Bermuda’s cultural heritage and artistic communitie s and institutions through developmental programmes and partnerships;
• to preserve our heritage by promoting and
understanding Bermuda’s cultural identity
through education, research, publication and
enrichment programmes;
• to celebrate our people and the development
of our national identity by curating cultural festivals, public discussions and educational pr ogrammes; and • to serve as stewards of the Bermuda cultural
heritage.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Community
and Cultural Affairs administers two pr ogrammes and
13 business units for which a general summary is contained on page B -262 of the Estimates of Expenditure
and Revenue for financial year 2020/21, with a total
estimate of $2,083,000. The general summary for
Head 52, under unit 5202, Cultural Af fairs is as fo llows: line item 62000, Grants to Organisations is
$229,000; line item 62001, Administration, is
$836,000; line item 62010, Cultural Festivities and
Celebrations, is $77,000; line item 62020, Heritage
Celebrations, $274,000; line item 62030, Cultural E ducation Programmes, $62,000; line item 62050, N ational Heroes Day, $62,000; line item 62060, Prom otion of the Arts, $76,000; line item 62070, Folk Life Bermuda, $106,000; line item 62080, Research and Publication, $56,000; line item 62180, Speci al Pr ojects, $41,000; line item 62210, Gombey Festival,
$98,000; and under the business unit 5203, Comm unity Services, line item 62100, Uncover the Arts,
$133,000; and line item 62130, Senior Citizens Pr ojects, $33,000, for a total, as stated, of $2,083,000.
Mr. Chairman, the two programmes and 13
business units will now be discussed in order of ap-pearance as shown on page B -262.
Mr. Chairman, shall I continue? Or did you
want me to stop here? I can continue; that is not a
problem.

I will take you through to lunch.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: I was not aware of the time.
Thank you.

Programme 5202, Cultural Affairs
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, business unit
62000, Grants to Organisations. Mr. Chairman, the
total amount budgeted under this business unit for
financial year 2020/21 is $229,000, which is the same
level of expenditure compared to the 2019/20 original
budget allocation.
As part of a review by the department aimed
at streamlining and better regulating the process by which individual students and organisations apply and
receive grants for cultural and artistic projects, the
Bermuda Art Council’s grant has been increased from
$100,000 to $131,000, repres enting an increase of
31 per cent. This was achieved by way of a realloc ation of funds within this business unit, primarily by a llocating $25,000 formerly reserved for the Cultural Legacy fund as part of the overall Arts Council grant. This was deemed to be a more efficient process,


Bermuda House of Assembly since in the past the Arts Council assumed the r esponsibility of reviewing the applications and making
recommendations.
The Department of Community and Cultural
Affairs is responsible for promoting, preserving and celebrating B ermuda’s rich and diverse cultural heri tage, and also for the arts. These goals are achieved
in part by partnering with private sector organisations
by providing funding. Organisations which will receive
financial support in the upcoming fiscal year are as
follows:
• Bermuda Historical Society, $10,000;
• St. George’s Historical Society, $10,000;
• St. George’s Preservation Authority, $10,000;
• Bermuda Arts Council, $131,000;
• Bermuda Heritage Association, $10,000;
• Bermuda National Gallery, $48,000;
• The Cultural Legacy Fund recipients, because
it has been changed, zero; and
• St. George’s Foundation, $10,000, for a total
of $229,000.
For financial year 2020/21, each of the heri tage institutions will receive a grant of $10,000 consistent across the board. Being a reci pient of these
grants does not preclude these institutions or others
that did not receive grants this financial year from applying directly to the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs to request contributions supporting
specific cultural and heritage programmes, events and
projects.
Under business unit 62001, Administration,
Mr. Chairman, the function of this business unit is to provide for the administration and operation of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, which
is located on the fourth floor of the Dame Lois
Browne -Evans Building. Mr. Chairman, the allocated
budget for financial year 2020/21 for this business unit is $836,000, as shown on page B -262. This amount
reflects a decrease of $10,000, or 1 per cent, compared to the origi nal budget for financial year 2019/20
of $846,000. This minor decrease is the result of the
department’s website not requiring major upgrades.
Mr. Chairman, the allocated budget sustains
both programmes of operation including salaries,
wages and professional development. The remainder
of the budget provides for the department -wide pr omotion, office supplies, copies, website maintenance
and telephone services.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 62010, the
Emancipation of Cultural Festivities. The total amount
allocated for this business unit in financial year
2020/21 is $77,000, a reflection of an increase of
24 per cent, or $15,000, compared to the original
budget for financial year 2019/20 of $62,000. This i ncrease can be attributed to an expanded scope of the
programme intended to honour more of Bermuda’s
root cultures. Mr. Chairman, this business unit covers the cost of promoting the culture and heritage of Bermuda’s citizenry through festivals and other pr o-grammes and events, and is aligned with one of the primary departmental objectives of celebrating our
people.
The costs associated with programmes and
initiatives that the department promotes and hosts that
are covered in this business unit include the Emanc ipation of the Commemorative Event and Harbour
Night. Mr. Chairman, permit me to expand on these
events. Emancipation Commemorative Event was first
established as a way of recognising the complicated
history of Bermudians of African descent, a history that includes enslavement and segregation, and its
aftermath. It is clear that more research regarding A frican Bermudian history is both important and necessary.
For this reason, in 2019, the department
placed a strong emphasis on supporting work by pr ofessional historians intended to shed light on contrib utions of black Bermudians that extended beyond our
shores to the world stage. The primary event for the
2019/20 financial year was a public lecture by Margot
Maddison- MacFadyen outlining in superb detail the
research she has conducted, supported by the D epartment of Community and Cultural Affairs, which
sheds light on the latter days of our National Hero, Mary Prince. This event was punctuated by additional
programming, including a Mary Prince Legacy bus tour in collaboration with Titan Tours; an educational Instagram campaign; two lectures by Dr. Arnold Rampasad, the first lecture on African American poet and
activist Langston Hughes, and the second lecture, the
Importance of Autobiography, including Mary Prince’s story, at the heart of the Abolitionist Movem ent that
resulted in Emancipation throughout the British E mpire.
Funds allotted to this business unit, 62010, in
financial year 2020/21 will be used to support a r esearch project by Dr. Dana Selassie, entitled Broa dcasting Black: Exploring the Role that B lack Bermudian Broadcasters Played in the Era Immediately after
the Ending of Segregation. This project will result in a
documentary film, as well as a collection of all history
transcripts which will be incorporated into the depar tment’s archive.
The department will also look to expand its
support to Bermuda’s group culture by providing assistance to the St. David’s Islanders and Native
Community for the hosting of their biennial Pow Wow
in June 2020.
Business unit —

Okay.

3600 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Okay , business unit 62020,
Heritage Celebrations. Mr. Chairman, the total amount
budgeted for this business unit for financial year
2020/21 is $274,000, an increase of $12,000, or 5 per
cent, when compared to the original budget of
2019/20 of $262,000. This increase can be attributed
to increasing infrastructure cos ts by external vendors
and planning for a Heritage Month Cultural Conference.
Mr. Chairman, this business unit covers the
cost of both heritage celebrations and the Bermuda Day Parade. Heritage celebrations are a year -long
series of cultural events and ac tivities, the crown jewel
of which is the vibrant Bermuda Day Parade.
I can stop here if you would like, Mr. Chai rman.

Good afternoon, Honourable Members. We will resume with the Committee of Supply for
further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and
Expenditure for the year 2020/21.
We are debating Heads 20, 60, 52 and 71
under Labour, Community Affairs and Sport. And I call
on the Minister to proceed.
Minister, you have the floor.

Business Unit 62020—Heritage Celebrations
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I am continuing with business
unit 62020, Heritage Celebrations.
Mr. Chairman, under this subheading, the D epartment of Community and Cultural Affairs succes sfully celebrated Heritage Month 2019 under the theme Bermudian Excellence through an expansive calendar
of events that allowed the department to partner with
and support existing cultural organisations.
These exciting events included a Seniors Art
Show at the Bermuda Societ y of Arts; the Mobile Afr ican Timeline presented by Mwalimu Melodye Mic ëre
Van Putten; support for the Chewstick Foundation’s
Neo- Griot Open Mic Night; a panel discussion entitled
The Pitt Report , 41 Years Later : How far have we
come?; and a launch event and showcase for the department’s new resource for creatives,
www.creatives.bm
. Heritage Month also featured
many spectacular cultural events organised through
the community, which the department highlighted and
supported in their advertising.
The theme for Heritage Month 2020 is We are
Bermudian, while the 2020 Bermuda Day theme is Celebrating our Caribbean Connections . The depar tment intends to host a cultural conference to bring
together stakeholders in the creativi ty community for
dialogue as a primary focus during Heritage Month. The department will continue to support cultural industry’s efforts to present their events, entertainment and
activities which will illustrate aspects of Bermuda’s
unique heritage and cel ebrate one of the root cultures
that form part of the core of our national identity.
Bermuda Day Parade. Mr. Chairman, a considerable amount of emphasis has been spent on reengaging the community with the Bermuda Day P arade, an incredible tradition that r equires participation
from individuals and organisations across the Island. Having introduced new categories and relaxing some
of the rules, there were 46 entries in the 2019 Berm uda Day Parade, including 12 floats.
To assist float entrants with decorating, the
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs will continue to offer free workshops to the public. And in
2019 they introduced short instructional video content through participation with Bermuda Memes and
Sandys Middle School teacher Christopher Nayl or to
demonstrate how to best design and decorate a float.
The department continues to connect with existing stakeholders and potential new entrants; and it
is hoped that the whole community will consider par-ticipating in the Bermuda Day Parade.

Business Unit 62030—Cultural Education
Programme

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, the amount
budgeted for this business unit for financial year
2020/21 is $62,000 as seen on page B -262. This represents an increase of $30,000, or 94 per cent, when


Bermuda House of Assembly compared to t he original budget for financial year
2019/20 or $32,000. This increase is the result of reallocating funds from the Folklife business unit 62070
for the production of our cultural documentary films.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Community
and Cultural Affairs is responsible for creating mater ials about our rich cultural heritage to educate the public and our students.
Under the subheading Study Guides, Mr.
Chairman, the Bermuda Folklife Documentary Series
is a collection of full -length feature films highlighting
the traditions and tradition bearers of Bermuda. In the
financial year 2020/21, the department will continue to
develop study guides to complement the Bermuda
Folklife Documentary Series for use within the school system.
By the end of financial year 2019/20, the d epartment will have completed the first versions of the
study guides for use at the primary level, as prior efforts had been focused on creating secondary level
study guides. The first of these primary level guides are intended to complement the documentary series:
Beekeeping; Bermuda Foodways; a Poem without
Words: Contemporary Bermuda Visual Artists; Ronnie
Chameau: Banana Doll Maker ; and Llewellyn Hollis:
Fisherman.
In financial year 2019/20, the department will
work towards drafting a n additional five primary level
guides.
Cultural Films. Under this subheading, Mr.
Chairman, the Department of Community and Cultural
Affairs recognises that this is a vitally important medium through which to educate the public about our hi story, culture, and heritage. Documentaries, in partic ular, offer the opportunity to collect oral histories, the
transcripts of which serve as a deeper record of the
experiences and knowledge of those who have been
interviewed for our films.
Mr. Chairman, one of the key areas of focus in
2019/20 for our oral history and film projects was the
story of Rafael ‘Kid’ Corbin, a Bermudian golfer who
broke the colour line in the United States and Canada.
We were fortunate to have the assistance of our own Honourable Member MP Ki m Swan who, along with
the New York University History Professor, Dr. Jeffrey Sammons, conducted an on- camera interview of
Bermudians who were able to provide information and
insight into the life of this extraordinary Bermudian
sporting figure.
In financi al year 2020/21 the Department of
Community and Cultural Affairs will continue to shine
a light onto these areas.
Mr. Chairman, just so that people understand,
I will probably just be using “19/20” for fiscal year
2019/20 and “20/21” for fiscal year 2020/2 1. It is just
easier for me.

Understood.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you.

Business Unit 62040—National Heroes Day

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, the amount
budgeted for this business unit for financial year
2020/21 is $62,000. This represents an increase of
$1,000, or 2 per cent when compared to the original
budget in financial year 2019/20 of $61,000. This i ncrease is attributed to a minor adjustment in cost for promotional items.
Mr. Chairman, funds associated with this
business unit are used to formally honour and commemorate a new national hero when one is named,
and celebrate our existing national heroes on an annual basis. In financial year 2019/20, in addition to a
public awareness campaign, the department organ-ised a tribute event for the existing national heroes,
with greetings by their family members and close
friends.

Business Unit 62060— Promotion of the Arts
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, the amount
budgeted for this year for financial year 2020/21 is
$76,000. This represents an increase of $32,000 or
73 per cent when compared to the original budget for
2019/20 of $44,000.
The Premier’s Concert and the Writer -inResidence programmes are funded through this bus iness unit, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the Premier’s Concert for this
financial year, scheduled for this month, will take a
different approach from concerts in previous years. In
addition to featuring the talent of young Bermudians
under the age of 20, the concert will also focus on ar tists who have received a grant or contribution from the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs or the
Bermuda Arts Council, such as, Gospel duo ‘Last Call’; the Working Title Band and singer Nkosi Hollis.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Community
and Cultural Affairs suppor ts programming to assist in
developing our literary arts. With this aim in mind, the
department hosts an annual Writer -in-Residence
workshop focusing on various genres. In A ugust/September 2019 the department, recognising the interest Bermudian writers hav e shown in documenting our history in a variety of ways, hosted a four -
week Writer -in-Residence programme focusing on the
genre of historical research and creative writing. The
department was delighted to host our very own award-winning poet, Dr. Paul Maddern, to serve as the coinstructor along with the Registrar of the National Museum of Bermuda and poet, Jane Downing, who pr ovided practical information on assessing archival m aterials. This programme also featured a public reading
and workshops for secondary school students. This workshop provided the opportunity to explore some of
3602 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly the experiences of our past through the lens of creative writing.
In financial year 2020/21, the department will
seek to have a Writer -in-Residence programme f ocused on performance poetry in an effort to provide a
workshop which will be more directly focused on the under -40 category of Bermudian writers.
Mr. Chairman, it is also the intention of the
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs to con-tinue with the popular Art i n Public Buildings initiative
by rotating in a new set of public art pieces to be en-joyed by our community.
Business Unit 62070—Folklife
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, the amount
budgeted for this business unit for financial year 2020/21 is $106,000, which represents a decrease of $37,000, or 26 per cent, compared to the original
budget for financial year 2019/20 of $143,000. This
decrease can be attributed to the shifting money as-sociated with Cultural Film Production to business unit 62030, Cultural Education Programmes, as well as producing three fewer public lectures in an effort to be
more strategic with regard to departmental events
throughout the year.
Activities which come under this business unit
are the Bermudian Heartbeats lecture series and the Cultural Apprenticeship Programmes.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermudian Heartbeats lecture series, now in its 17
th year, highlights various aspects of Bermudian history and culture, and aims to hold regular presentations that are both entertaining as well as educational. During financial year 2019/20, some of the programmes included a lecture on “St. David’s Culture and Connections to the Native Amer ican Populations of the U.S.” with the talk given by Bermuda’s Mr. St. Clair ‘Brinky’ Tucker and Brown Univers ity Historian Dr. Linford Fisher; our annual Ho liday Concert in the Park featuring CedarBridge Aca demy’s String Ensemble and others; a lecture on
preeminent African- American poet Langston Hughes
by Stanford University Professor Emeritus, Dr. Arnold
Rampers ad; a walking tour of Spittle Pond honouring
Heartbeat’s founder and National Hero Dr. Pauulu Kamarakafego (that is a tongue twister); and a tour and ghost talk on Orange Valley, hosted by Mr. John
Cox and featuring Miss Florenz Maxwell.
In keeping with the revised mission of the department, the new season has already commenced,
as it now follows the calendar year rather than the budget year and will feature nine events. As part of this programme, the Department of Community and
Cultural Affairs will feature events including: screening
of a documentary film entitled “Mashpee Nine” as a complement to the St. David’s islander and native communities’ powwow being held in June; a discus-sion panel on historical preservation; a creative writing night of performance; and, of course, our annual Holi-day Concert in the Park designed to highlight young
up-and-coming musicians.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Community
and Cultural Affairs offers the Cultural Apprenticeship
Programme to support the preservation of cultur al
knowledge and skills from one generation to the next.
During financial year 2019/20, the department
continued to focus on the newly emerging cultural i ndustry surrounding costume design and fabrication for Bermuda’s Carnival.
Five apprentices, including Colita Cook,
James Lee, Barbara Paynter, Monique Stevens and Kimberley Robinson, who took part in the previous
year’s programme, organised by Nova Mas International, had their costumes displayed in July at the Bermuda Society of Arts. This programme will be continued in financial year 2020/21 with a focus on an aspect of cultural industry.
Business Unit 62080—Research and Publication
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: For this area the allocated
budget for the financial year 2020/21 is $56,000. This represents a decrease of $6,000, or a 10 per cent d ecrease, compared to the original budget for financial year 2019/20 of $62,000. This decrease is largely the result of seeking alternatives to traditional printing when making research findings available to the public.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Community
and Cultural Affairs is responsible for supporting and
developing materials which contribute to safeguarding
Bermuda’s rich history and heritage.
Mr. Chairman, to this end, the department
recognises the importance of supporting original ac ademic research on Bermuda and is pleased to con-tribute to the development of material on Bermudian
folklife, culture and heritage.
The precursor to the documentary film project
on Rafael ‘Kid’ Corbin that is being funded from the
Cultural Education business unit, is the historical r esearch that was funded by Community and Cultural
Affairs. Dr. Jeffrey Sammons spent one week in Bermuda conducting additional research on this historical figure and, as previously mentioned, some of thi s research will be reflected in the forthcoming documen-tary on Corbin.
Mr. Chairman, in financial year 2020/21 it is
the intention of the department to support research projects by focusing on the era of segregated tennis.
Business Unit 62180— Special Projects
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, the total
amount allocated for this business unit for financial
year 2020/21 is $41,000. This amount reflects a d ecrease of $47,000, or 53 per cent, when compared to
the original budget estimate for financial year 2019/20
of $88,000.
During the financial year 2020/21, the funds
allotted to this business unit will be used to support


Bermuda House of Assembly projects associated with the draft National Cultural
Heritage Policy as well as any special requests on
cultural projects.

Business Uni t 62210—Gombey Festival

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, the amount
allocated for this business unit in 2020/21 is $98,000,
which represents a decrease of $63,000, or 39 per
cent, when compared to the original budget estimate for financial year 2019/20 of $161,000. This decrease can be attributed to not budgeting to pay for international participants in 2020.
Mr. Chairman, the Gombey Festival has been
held annually to provide exposure to the folk art and
traditions of the Gombey, which is an important Bermudian icon. Over the past three years, the pr ogramme has been rebranded as the Bermuda Intern ational Gombey Festival and expanded to a full weekend of events and learning opportunities, celebrating
not only our Bermudian Gombey traditions, but also international influences from across the Diaspora.
In 2019/20, in addition to the Gombey Festival
Showcase, the successful programme included a film
night screening the Bermuda Folklife documentary on
traditional crafts and games at Speciality Cinema with
guest chairman Shawn Caisey from H&H Gombeys; a Dance of the Diaspora round- table discussion held at
the Leopard’s Club; a Gombey community art project at the Botanical Gardens, led by the Chewstick Foundation; and the Ayo! Open Mic! Presented by Nadanja
and sponsored by the Department of Community and
Cultural Affairs was held at Place’s Place.
Each of these events were free for the public
to attend and participate in.
Mr. Chairman, it is the department’s vision
that the Gombey Festival will continue its gro wth as
an internationally known event, attracting overseas troupes and visitors alike to our shores. The allocated
budget for financial year 2020/21 will finance the cost
of event infrastructure, financial awards to participating Gombey troupes, local part icipating other dance
troupes, and the chosen honouree for this year.
Additionally, with the cost and time savings of
not bringing in an overseas troupe, the department
plans to do other work throughout the year to ensure that the Bermuda Gombey is protect ed and developed.

Programme 5203—Community Services

Business Unit 62100—Uncover the Arts
Programme

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, the allocated
budget in financial year 2020/21 for this business unit
is $133,000, which is a reduction of $56,000, or 30 per
cent, when compared to the original estimates for f inancial year 2019/20 of $189,000. Mr. Chairman, the department provided in
2019/20 opportunities for both visitors and locals alike
to discover and enjoy various aspects of Bermuda’s
culture, art s and entertainment. The Uncover the Arts
programme runs annually, from November to March,
for visitors and participating locals, who provide a v ariety of entertainment and educational activities.
Some of these programmes include the Skir ling Ceremony at F ort Hamilton, with the Bermuda I sland Pipe Band; Bermudian Cookery Demonstration, with Chef Fred Ming; the Bermuda Gombey Revue at Pier 6, with the H&H Gombey Troupe; Guided Wal king Tours of Hamilton, Dockyard and St. George’s;
African Bermuda Dispersion C ultural Bus Tour; and
the Somerset Boat Tour of Mangrove Bay. Lastly,
Lunch Time Cultural Chats with Andrew Birmingham
on Bermuda’s History with Prisoners in Paradise was also offered.
Mr. Chairman, by way of developing our creatives, the department will b e creating and implementing a number of new programmes in financial year 2020/21. Some of these will include quarterly spo nsorships of open mic nights, intended to encourage
our community to share and develop their talents as
singers, poets, spoken- word ar tists, rappers, comedians, and musicians. We will also develop a pr ogramme designed to develop our creatives through
portfolio building; prepping for the industry; support for musicians, such as, video production and pairing with
industry mentors.
Mr. Chai rman, by way of preserving our heri tage, the department is looking into creating a new
cultural and historical tour guide certification pr ogramme. Additionally, the department will be exploring the creation of cultural and historical radio podcasts.
Mr. Chairman, the department will be offering
a continuation of the Saturday Night Live Entertai nment programme during financial year 2020/21. This programme offers a platform for local entertainers to perform. Participants include: The Wall Street Band,
Devils Isle Audio, Working Title, Arijahknow Live
Wires, and the King’s Band, with performances taking
place at various sporting and social clubs across the
Island. By using several venues across the Island, this
programme is expanding its outreach, and by so do-ing, making it more attractive and appealing to audiences. Funds allocated for this business unit are also
used to pay the cost of advertising, rental of site, and
sound systems.

Business Unit 62130— Senior Citizen Projects

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chair man, the allocated
budget in 2020/21 for this business unit is $33,000.
This represents a decrease of $30,000, or 48 per
cent, compared to the original budget estimate for f inancial year 2019/20 of $63,000. The department continues to focus on allocating r esources strategica lly, and identifying areas of meaningful cultural pr o3604 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly gramming and heritage preservation which otherwise
is not served by existing community -led programming
or government initiatives for senior citizens.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Co mmunity
and Cultural Affairs is responsible for organising a
variety of programmes and activities for our seniors.
During fiscal year 2019/20, the department published
and launched a book of profiles of 15 seniors that attended, taught at, or are affiliated with the Berkeley
Institute, as well as the seven seniors who turned 100
years old in 2018. This book was made available to the public at no charge.
The department also worked in collaboration
with the Bermuda National Library and Friends of the Library to coordinate a month- long Seniors’ Writing
Workshops, led by Mrs. Florenz Webbe Maxwell,
which the department hopes will result in publication.
The highlight of the 2019/20 programme was a free
lunch for 500 seniors hosted at the Fairmont Sout hampton feat uring live entertainment.
The department has begun the work on a multi-year book project focusing on the period of segregation, collecting oral histories from senior citizens.
The events and programmes within this bus iness unit provide social opportunities for senior cit izens to fellowship, enjoy Bermudian entertainment,
and be recognised within the community for their con-tributions. The funds associated with this business
unit will continue in financial year 2020/21 to provide
culturally relevant and intel lectually stimulating pr ogrammes and activities for Bermuda’s senior popul ation.
Mr. Chairman, I will now discuss the subjective analysis for the Department of Community and
Cultural Affairs, found on page B -263, and the E mployee Numbers found on page B -264.
The budget for financial year 2020/21 of
$2,083,000 has been reduced by a total of $159,000 or 7 per cent as compared to the total original budget
for 2019/20 of $2,242,000.
However, I will speak only to those object
codes where there are major changes .
Salaries —Mr. Chairman, the decrease of salaries by $39,000, or 5 per cent, from the financial year 2019/20 original budget of $785,000 more accurately
reflects adjustments including acting pay, overtime, salary uplift and pay scale grading.
Mr. Chairman, the decrease of travel expenses by $141,000, or 97 percent, from [the] financial year 2019/20 original budget of $146,000 to [the] f inancial year 2020/21 budget of $5,000 is largely a result of our decision not to invite international partic ipation for t he Gombey Festival and, instead, focus on
internal work to support Bermuda’s most iconic folk
practice, as well as not budgeting for participation in
the CARIFESTA event.
Mr. Chairman, the increase of $19,000 [to]
$28,000 for Advertising and Promotion; as well as the
increase of $1,000, or 6 per cent, in Communications; represents a priority of the department based on a
statistical survey to make sure that information about
various programmes and initiatives are adequately
conveyed to the public. Some of this will include e nsuring that the demographics more in tune with social
media, rather than traditional advertising, are given
more consideration.
Mr. Chairman, the decrease of $49,000, or
9 per cent, represents a cost savings achieved by the
department wit h respect to Professional Services. The
department’s website does not require any major upgrades this fiscal year and the department has saved
money across the board by conducting their pr ogrammes in different ways to achieve more value for
money.
Mr. Cha irman, under Rentals the decrease of
$55,000, or 35 per cent, represents a further cost sa vings achieved by the department. Several of the department’s programmes are emphasising a developmental aspect versus being primarily event focused.
As a result, there is less of a need for the rental of
public venues. The department has also made an ef-fort to conduct more programming in partnership with
other organisations which, in turn, have venues where
the rental fee is waived for the collaborative effort.
Mr. C hairman, with respect to Materials and
Supplies, the decrease of $27,000, or 20 per cent,
represents a further cost savings achieved by the department. Certain funds associated with the book pr oject on segregation in Bermuda will not be expensed
in this fiscal year because book projects span more
than one year. In an effort to consider the shift t owards a more paperless and digital society, the department intends to make more research materials
available to the public in digital formats in lieu of printing.
Grants and Contributions —Mr. Chairman, the
increase of $124,000, or 36 per cent, represents a
different approach by the department in how we are managing research projects and certain events, particularly collaborative events with community partners.
The department, for example, as stated earlier, has
made a decision to partner with cultural organisations
representing our root cultures or festivals and events
celebrating our shared heritage, such as the upcom-ing powwow. It was deemed that it was more appr opriate in some instances, both strategically and fina ncially, to partner with groups as opposed to the de-partment solely hosting programmes. Similarly, the
department ascertained that we were able to attract
independent researchers to conduct cultural res earch
when they are able to continue to own the rights to
their own research, rather than the intellectual property passing on to the government. This allows the department to support much- needed cultural research by
researchers with excellent educational qualifications and skill sets.
Mr. Chairman, the total estimated revenue for
the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs for


Bermuda House of Assembly fiscal year 2020/21 is budgeted at $2,000. This is a
decrease of $2,000, or 50 per cent. Although the department is working on the manuscript for a new book
during [the] 2020/21 fiscal year it will not be completed
until 2021/22. The change in estimated revenue takes into account that a new book will not be available for
sale.
Mr. Chairman, there is no change to emplo yee number s with the full -time equivalents remaining at
eight, as found on page B -264.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the staff of
the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs for their dedication, commitment, and enthusiasm. Al though this is not a large department, the staff work
diligently and are committed to serving the public with excellence.
Mr. Chairman, I must also recognise the contributions of Mrs. Heather Whalen who retired last
March after some 16 years as the Director for the department. Her l egacy of stewardship and promotion of
Bermuda’s culture will outlive us all and has set the
standard for future directors. I wish her the best in her
retirement.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my presentation
on the budgetary allocation for financial year 2020/21 for Head 52, the Department of Community and Cu ltural Affairs and I will now move to Head 60, the D epartment of Workforce Development.

Proceed, Minister.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

HEAD 60 —DEPARTMENT OF WORK FORCE
DEVELOPMENT

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, I am now f ocused on the estimates of revenue and expenditure
for the Department of Workforce Development, Head
60, found on pages B -270 to B -275 of the Budget
Book.
Mr. Chairman, in preparation of their est imates of revenue and expenditure, the Department of Workforce Development conducted a review of its
programmes and its mission in conjunction with the
National Workforce Development Plan. The resulting revised mission statement of the Department of Wor kforce Development, as highlighted on page B -270, is:
To develop a resilient workforce to provide a
sustainable and stable community.
Mr. Chairman, the objectives of the depar tment are:
• to create the National Workforce Development
Board and sub- committees ;
• to increase the number of training pr ogrammes and apprenticeships to align with
the National Workforce Development Plan;
• to increase the number of scholarships in
alignment with industry needs; • to enhance synergies with the Department of Immigration to align the National Certification
and Work Permit Policies; and
• to implement a work -readiness training pr ogramme recognised by industry stakeholders.

Mr. Chairman, the department’s 2020/21 mi ssion statement and objectives have been amended to
reflect gov ernment’s reform and new vision statement:
Future Forward Government for the people of Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, our primary aim is to assist
Bermudians to become work ready and to position them to successfully participate in Bermuda’s wor kforce. This starts at school age and continues through
until retirement. The Department of Workforce Devel-opment is a partner in ensuring Bermudians are pr epared for the workforce by providing job opportunities
in the summer for both high school and college st udents; scholar ships for local and overseas studies;
apprenticeships; national certification training; career
guidance; assistance on redundancy and career changes; employability skills training; job search support; career fairs; and the Bermuda Job Board.
Mr. Chairman, as noted on page B -271, the
Department of Workforce Development has been all ocated a budget of $4,295,000 for financial year 2020/21. This budget is $1,000 less than the 2019/20
budget allocation. Whilst the overall budget remains
relatively unchanged, there have been quite a few
reallocations within the budget programmes as part of
the review and zero- based budgeting process.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Workforce
Development comprises the three programmes as
noted on page B -271: General Administration, Career
Development, and Training.
Programme 6001, General Administration, is
responsible for the overall management and admi nistration of the Department of Workforce Development. As seen on page B -271, business unit 70000,
Administration, has been allocat ed a budget of
$667,000 for the fiscal year 2020/21. This budget is
$16,000, or 2 per cent more than the 2019/20 alloc ation, owing to an increase in software maintenance related to the implementation of the National Wor kforce Development Plan. This has been offset, in part,
by a decrease in contractor costs and cleaning expenses. This section is staffed by four full -time e mployees, consisting of the director, an administrative
accounts officer, a customer service representative
and a two- year temporary IT officer, as reflected on
page B -273. The director’s post is currently vacant
and recruitment for the post is currently underway.
Mr. Chairman, programme 6003, Career D evelopment, is comprised of Career Development A dministration, 70300; and Career Development, 70400. The programme is responsible for client assessment, employability skills training, and job search support.
Where indicated, clients may be referred for specific
3606 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly training and other support services to increase the
individual’s prospects for suita ble employment and job
retention.
The 2020/21 budget allocation for the entire
Career Development Programme is $1,397,000, an
increase of $40,000, or 3 per cent, compared with the
2019/20 budget allocation.
Mr. Chairman, Career Development Admi nistration is responsible for designing services to meet
the needs of job seekers and reduce employment barriers. The section works closely with employers, the Department of Financial Assistance, and the Depar tment of Immigration in support of their work permit
policy .
Mr. Chairman, business unit 70300, Career
Development Administration, has been allocated a
budget of $433,000 for the financial year 2020/21.
This represents a decrease of $10,000, or 2 per cent
less than the original 2019/20 budget allocation, owing
to a reduction in overseas training and travel costs.
This section is staffed by five full -time employees co nsisting of the Career Development Manager, two
community education coordinators, an administrative
assistant, and a one- year temporary administrative
intake officer as indicated on page B -273.
The Career Development business unit,
70400, has been allocated a budget of $964,000 for the financial year 2020/21, an increase of $50,000, or
5 per cent, over the original 2019/20 budget. The i ncrease is due mai nly to increased rates for both the
Summer Employment Programme and the Summer Internship Programme.
Funds to support the Summer Employment
Programme for college and university students have been moved to Wages for reclassification purposes,
resulting in a corresponding increase of $500,000 in
Wages. The increase for this programme more closely
aligns with market rates. This age group is close to
entering the workforce and, therefore, increased rates
will help to support educational and associated costs
related to the attainment of qualifications. Similarly,
rates have increased for the high school programme
to more closely align with market rates. This increase will result in fewer high school students in the Summer
Internship Programme. However, the Summer Internship Programme (SIP) will be restructured to be more
deliberate in developing talent for Bermuda’s wor kforce.
This section is staffed by three full -time C areer Development Officers, as shown on page B -273.
Mr. Chairman, the purpose of programme
6004 , Training, is to provide administration and oversight of the National Training Board activities. This
section supports the apprenticeship programmes, the
distribution of scholarships, professional designation
training schemes and national certification of designated trades. The 2020/21 budget allocation for the
entire training programme is $2,231,000, a decrease of $57,000, or 2 per cent, compared with the 2019/20
budget allocation.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 70014, Training
Administration, has been alloc ated a budget of
$282,000 for the financial year 2020/21. This repr esents a decrease of $1,000, therefore, remaining rel atively unchanged compared to the 2019/20 budget
allocation. This section is staffed by three full -time
employees consisting of a Traini ng Manager, and two
administrative assistants, as stated on page B -273.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 70015, Certific ation, has been allocated a budget of $509,000 for the
financial year 2020/21. This reflects a decrease of
$107,000, or 17 per cent, which re presents a more
accurate budget based on previous years’ expend iture, and has allowed for these savings to be used in
other areas. Funds have been reallocated to business unit 70016, Apprenticeship and Professional Deve lopment and business unit 70400, Care er Development, to support an increase in overseas scholarships
and the increased rate for summer employment pr ogrammes. The staff complement for this business unit
is two, as noted on page B -273, made up of standard
and enforcement officers. One standard and one enforcement officer post is currently vacant. However,
recruitment is currently underway and it is anticipated
that this post will be filled early in the 2020/21 financial
year.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 70016, Apprenticeship and Professional Dev elopment, has been allocated a budget of $1,440,000 for the financial year 2020/21, an increase of $51,000, or 4 per cent. Again,
this increase relates to a reallocation of funds for
overseas scholarships and local apprenticeships. The
staff complement for this business unit is three trai ning assessment officers, as noted on page B -273.

[Ms. Susan E. Jackson, Chairman]

Subjective Analysis

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Chairman, [sic] I will now
discuss the subjective analysis for the Department of
Workforce Development found on page B -272. Ho wever, I will speak only to those object codes where
there are major changes.
Mr. Chairman, [sic] the original estimate for
Wages was zero.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Oh, sorry! I do apologise.

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Yes, Madam Chairman, and
you look so lovely in your red. Yes.
The original estimate for Wages was zero for
the financial year 2019/20. However, the financial year


Bermuda House of Assembly 2020/21 estimate is $500,000. These funds have
been reallocated from Grants and Contributions for
administrative purposes and represent funds for the
Summer Employment Programme for college students
to more closely align with market levels.
Training, Madam Chairman, the Training
budget estimate for financial year 2020/21 is $15,000
and represents a $5,000, or 25 per cent reduction.
These funds are for staff training and the reduction
more accurately reflects actual spend rates and
planned training.
Madam Chairman, the Travel estimate for
financial year 2020/21 is $14,000 and represents a
$15,000 or 52 per cent reduction. These funds, again,
relate to staff and overseas staff training, as well as recertification. As the recertification was carried out in
financial year 2019/20, there is no need for r ecertific ation in financial year 2020/21 and, hence, the reduc-tion in the allocation of funds.
Madam Chairman, the Communications est imate for financial year 2020/21 is $11,000 and repr esents a $7,000, or 39 per cent reduction. These funds
relate to cellular phones and the reduction reflects the
actual historical costs, less overseas usage expense,
and other associated costs.
Madam Chairman, the Advertising and Pr omotion estimate for financial year 2020/21 is $24,000
and represents a $16,000, or 40 per cent reduction.
The reduction reflects a more focused use of adverti sing and promotion and the increased use of social
media for this purpose.
Madam Chairman, the Professional Services
estimate for financial year 2020/21 is $134,000 and
represents an $86,000, or 39 per cent reduction. The
savings are made from a combination of factors i ncluding the revision of the office cleaning contract for
the department to make savings, and the reduction in
the use of contractors to cover for vacant posts, which
are expected to be filled in the upcoming year.
Madam Chairman, the Repairs and Maint enance estimate for financial year 2020/21 is $145,000
and represents a $44,000, or 44 per cent increase.
The increase primarily relates to software maint enance costs associated with the implementation of the
National Plan.
Madam Chairman, the Materials and Supplies
estimate for financial year 2020/21 is $62,000 and represents a $12,000, or 16 per cent reduction. The
reduction provides a more accurate estimate based
on historical spend rates for the department.

Grants and Contributions

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Madam Chairman, the Grants
and Contributions estimate for financial year 2020/21
is $1,505,000 and represents a $398,000, or 21 per
cent reduction.
Madam Chairman, details of Grants and Contributions can be found on page C -20. The decrease is primarily owing to the reallocation of the summer
employment programme funds for college and university students to Salaries for reclassification purposes
to Wages.
Madam Chairman, the Grants and Contrib utions will fund the government sponsored scholar-ships, apprenticeship scheme, and sponsorship for
trainees, national certification training and the summer
student programmes as follows.
As mentioned previously, the estimate for
overseas scholarships has increased by $100,000 to meet the growing demand to support tertiary educ ation. This will fund approximately 45 students at an
average of $10,000 per applicant.
The estimate for [the] apprenticeship scheme
has increased to $471,000 for the purpose of provi ding more apprenticeship opportunities for young Bermudians to train and gain entry to the workforce.
The estimate for sponsorship trainees is
$114,000 for short -term training programmes, which
are usually less than two years in durati on. This
budget remains unchanged.
The estimate for [the] National Certification
Programme is decreased by $88,000. This reduction
represents a more accurate estimate based on prev ious years’ expenditure and facilitates the reallocation
of funds to suppor t an increase in overseas scholarships, apprenticeships, and the Summer Student Pr ogramme.
Funding for the Summer Student Programme
has decreased to $80,000. As previously mentioned,
this decrease is directly attributed to the reclassific ation of the Sum mer Employment Programme for college and university students to Wages. The $80,000 residual has been allocated for the department’s
Summer Internship Programme, which provides an
introduction to the workforce for high school students.
These funds will prov ide approximately 50 students
with the opportunity to participate in a work placement
during the month of July.
Madam Chairman, Revenue for financial year
2020/21 is listed on page B -272 and is estimated at
$29,000. The estimates are expected revenue from
fees charged to applicants registering for National Certification and Apprenticeship Training in 2020/21. The statutory application fee for each applicant for
National Certification is $265, and $50 for apprentic eships. The budget estimates 104 new certif ications at
$265 each and 34 new apprenticeships at $50 each.
Madam Chairman, at this time I will shift to
page C -14, Capital Acquisitions, which outlines an
increase of $22,000 to allow the department to pur-chase audio/visual and computer equipment for
planned training.
Madam Chairman, under the Performance
Measures for the Department of Workforce Development, on pages B -274 and B -275, the number of persons sponsored for local and overseas training during
financial year 2019/20 was 131 compared to [the] f i3608 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly nancial year 2018/19 figure of 134. This modest d ecrease was due to a few participants —sorry —a few
recipients who elected to further their short -term (less
than two years) education to a higher level of
achievement to become more marketable and up-grade t heir skills in their chosen locations. Several
students at the entry level of their occupations elected
to obtain industry recognised certifications and ass ociate degrees and bachelor degrees and, in some i nstances, specialised instructor certifications. T his
meant that they received funding longer than the average duration.
The training programmes were comprised of:
• Welder Inspector Training, Canadian Welding
Bureau;
• Safety and Instructor Certification Training,
the Construction Association of Bermuda, the
National Centre for Construction Education and Research;
• Learn to Earn Restaurant Training Initiative;
• Horticulture for Landscape Gardeners, Bermuda College;
• Bartending Certification Programme, Bermuda
College;
• Retail Management Certification Programme,
Bermuda College;
• Bridge Watch Maritime Cadet Programme, Holland College;
• FinTech Computer Coding Bootcamp;
• Power Engineering, Tynes Bay Waste- toEnergy facility; and
• Successful Academic and Vocational Educ ation Programme (SAVE), Bermuda Gover nment Court Services.
Madam Chairman, the department continues
to provide training and professional development to
ensure that Bermudians have a pathway to national
certification.
Madam Chairman, the total number of indivi duals certified as of January 31, 2020 was 203 c ompared to a forecast of 100 for the year against 248
registrations for 2018/19. As of January 31, 2020, the
number of individuals certified includes: 42 electr icians, 27 welders, 31 automotive service technicians,
and 103 landscape gardeners. The remaining noncertified registrants will continue to be assessed by the Occupational Advisory Committee for approval by
the National Training Board.
Madam Chairman, the Apprenticeship Professional Development performance measures are out-lined in business unit 70016 on page B -275. The
scholarships programmes included in this business
unit are available to individuals 18 years old or older
and who are interested in expanding their skills and
knowledge. Financial support is provided for local and
overseas educational pursuits.
Madam Chairman, the Training section
awards scholarships based on local workforce needs, particularly in areas of under -representation by Ber-mudians. Some highlights include a revised forecast
for the year: 77 local sponsored trainees, an increas e
from 52 for the financial year 2018/19:
• 20 overseas sponsored trainees, an increase
from 12 for the financial year 2018/19;
• 20 overseas scholarships, an increase from
12 for the financial year 2018/19;
• 37 apprenticeships, an increase from 33 for
the fina ncial year 2018/19.
Madam Chairman, the Career Development
section’s performance measures are outlined in bus iness unit 70400 on page B -275. The Career Development section prepares individuals, particularly the
vulnerable population group, for work placement. As of January 31, 2020, a total of 1,559 persons were
registered with the department as either unemployed
or seeking alternative employment. In the previous budget year 1,499 persons were registered with the
Career Development section, reflecting a 4 per cent
increase of persons registered.
The department has worked to provide career
development services for unemployed persons. As of
January 31, 2020, the department provided services
for 1,049 persons during this financial year, of which
518 were new registrants. Career development services included: Career and skill assessment; résumé
critique and development; employability skills training;
job search assistance; and career guidance. As of January 31, 2020, there were 593 career asses sments administered against a 2018/19 total of 364.
Madam Chairman, as a requirement of the
2015 Work Permit Policy, the Career Development section this financial year received requests for referrals relating to 352 restricted job category positions.
Subsequently, there were 358 suitable candidates
referred. As of January 31, 2020, there were 114 r eported hires compared to 192 for the previous year. Although this reflects a marked decrease, the section awaits details of reported hires related to recent r ecruitment and training initiatives.
The Career Development section continues to
utilise the Bermuda Job Board as a job search and referral tool to assist clients. Registration sessions
and introductory computer courses are offered regularly. Each session is designed to help persons with
limited computer literacy skills to build confidence with
technology and apply for jobs online to increase their
prospects of employment.
Madam Chairman, as of January 31, 2020,
there were 17,463 candidates registered on the Ber-muda Job Board, a n increase of 2,241 from the prev ious year. The number of employers registered currently stands at 2,374, an increase of 240 from the
previous year. There were 221 jobs posted as of Jan-uary 31, 2020. The Job Board continues to see considerable activity wit h 206,113 job applications submi tted to date since its initial launch in 2013. This repr esents an increase of 50,778 submissions from 2019.
The ability for employers to report on hires was deve lBermuda House of Assembly oped in March 2016. Since then there have been
3,356 reported hires through the Bermuda Job Board.
The hires consist of 975 in 2016, 759 in 2017, 725
hires for 2018, 885 hires for 2019, and 12 hires to
date in the current 2020.
Madam Chairman, the Career Development
section facilitates employability skills workshops to
equip job seekers with the tools necessary for employment success. As of January 31, 2020, 421 persons participated in training such as: interview skills,
résumé development, introduction to computers, nav igating online job platforms, and marketing your self for
success. The lower attendance is primarily attributed
to no- shows, low registration, and the inability to contact clients who would benefit from the sessions.
However, the department is positioned to continue to
exceed last year’s total of 416.

Major Achievements

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Under the banner of Major
Achievements, I will shift in order to highlight some of
the additional work that was undertaken during the
2019/20 financial year.
The Career Development team has deliberately engaged in several public/private partnerships to
respond to the hospitality industry workforce needs. In December 2019 the Hamilton Princess Hotel and
Beach Club Career Fair was hosted to identify and
attract talent for the upcoming tourism season. The
Career Devel opment section partnered with Hamilton
Princess and provided the following support for the
Career Fair:
• Advertised the Career Fair on the Bermuda
Job Board and managed pre- registration for
the event;
• Contacted each applicant to facilitate vetting
and pre- screening prior to the Career Fair,
this included assisting each applicant in pr eparing a complete portfolio inclusive of secur ity vetting, a current résumé, two written references, and certifications where applicable;
• Furnished completed vetting and applic ations
to support panel interviews on the day of the fair;
• Facilitated interview skills workshops for
short -listed candidates; and
• Provided manpower at the Career Fair to as-sist with the overall event.
Madam Chairman, 116 persons registered for
the Career Fair; however, a total of 58 persons were
referred to Hamilton Princess for pre- arranged interviews. This was largely due to either the applicant withdrawing their application, their unavailability on
the date of the fair, failure to avail themselves to complete the security vetting, or our inability to contact the person. Of the 58 persons referred, a total of 48 were
short -listed and scheduled for interviews on the date
of the Career Fair. Applicants were afforded inter-views in the areas of: laundry, hous ekeeping, food
and beverage, security, front office, spa and the kids
camp. It is also important to note that although 58 applicants completed the prerequisite vetting, the Hami lton Princess Talent and Culture Team were provided
the Bermuda Job Board appli cations for all 116 persons. On the day of the event a total of 126 persons
attended the fair, inclusive of the 48 persons who had
confirmed interviews.
The Hamilton Princess Hotel and Beach Club
had the following to say about the department’s parti cipatio n: A huge thank you to you and your team for
partnering with us to make this day a success. We
appreciate the Department of Workforce Develo pment’s efforts in pre- screening applicants and your
collaboration allowed us to expedite our hiring process
and kic k-start our 2020 recruitment. Thank you, once
again.
Madam Chairman, we await the outcome of
the interviews and recruitment efforts for this public/private partnership.
Madam Chairman, the Learn to Earn Restaurant Training Initiative and campaign was launc hed in
November 2019. The public/private training and development programme aims to attract Bermudian job
seekers to restaurant careers and includes the follo wing partners:
• The Bermuda Tourism Authority;
• Bermuda College;
• Tomasz Tobar Memorial Fund;
• Harbourside Holdings, which includes Flana-gan’s Irish Pub, Divots, The Loft, The Snug
Café, Outback Sports Bar;
• Island Restaurant Group, which includes Barracuda Grill, Brew, Hog Penny Pub, Pickled Onion, and Frog and Onion [Pub];
• Take Five, which includes Devi l’s Isle, Village
Pantry and the Buzz Cafes; and
• Yellowfin, which includes Astwood Arms, Bi stro J, Ten Café, Pearl, Port O Call, [and] Yours Truly.
Madam Chairman, this initiative was launched
in direct response to the PricewaterhouseCoopers
[PwC] study on Bermuda hospitality talent needs for
the current development projects. The department has
been involved at the onset and has provided the following support for the Learn to Earn initiative:
• It created the hospitality survey on the Bermuda Job Board to det ermine interest in hospitality training and careers. The department
manages this database listing.
• It funded the theory component of the training,
which leads to the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute certifications and i ndustry specific trai ning for certification as
baristas, food handlers and wine servers.
• We participated in information sessions to provide an overview of the initiative and the
3610 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly department’s commitment to developing talent.
• We participated in assessing and assessed
such things as basic skills, customer service
mindset, work personality profile, and we vetted applicants.
• We also provided a facility for information
sessions and applicant interviews and provi ded administrative support for information sessions and the initiative.
Madam Chairman, a series of five information
sessions have been held to date. The programme consists of a theoretical component, followed by i ndustry specific training and an eight -week paid inter nship rotation with each restaurant group. Resta uranteurs and representatives from the Bermuda Tourism Authority conducted interviews to select cand idates for the January 20
th launch. The first cohort i ncluded a total of 13 participants. It is important to note
that the employers increased the initial target of six
trainees to 13 after interviewing potential candidates.
The trainees have successfully completed the theoretical component at the Bermuda College and are now engaged in industry -specific training.
The Bermuda Tourism Authority has aggressively promoted the initiative in print, social and radio
media, directing interested persons to the Bermuda
Job Board to complete the hospitality survey. Recent
adverts have targeted youth in an effort to attract this age group, address youth unemployment and create a
pathw ay to hospitality careers. More recently, the a dvertising promotes careers in hospitality as one of the
best kept secrets, and appeals to Bermudian ambas-sadors to join the hospitality industry.
Madam Chairman, I am pleased to report that
as of January 31, 2020, [a total of] 436 persons have
completed the survey and listed their interest in hospitality careers and training. We are encouraged by the
overwhelming interest and hope that the Learn to
Earn initiative will create a pipeline of Bermudian ta lent for the restaurant and hospitality industries.
Madam Chairman, the department continues
to take a collaborative approach to create opportunities for Bermudian job seekers and engage employers
to address Bermuda’s workforce needs. For a similar
purpose, the Career Development section hosted a job fair in October 2019 at Pier 6’s lower level. There
were 21 participating employers with over 200 persons attending. Approximately 15 persons obtained
employment as warehouse porters, sales associates,
rust proofers, delivery drivers and waitresses, to name
a few. It is important to note that departments conti nue to learn of hires some months later. To date we
have learned the following employers hired through
the Job Fair:
• Gibbons Company;
• Auto Solutions;
• IBC ZipX ;
• Take Five Ltd.; • Hornburg Calypso Ltd.;
• The MarketPlace; and
• People’s
Madam Chairman, the Career Development
team has contacted employers to determine the level
of support required for those who were hired in order
to help with job retention. Additionally, officers conti nue to follow up with those who attended the job fair, but were unsuccessful, offering supportive services to assist with their job search efforts and to improve their
readiness for the workforce. Individuals have been
sourced for the Learn to Earn training initiative and
have also been referred for subsequent opportunities.
Madam Chairman, the Summer Employment
Programme, facilitated by the Career Development section, assists Bermudian college and university st udents in the development of thei r career goals by co nnecting work experiences to their academic learning.
Work assignments are professional in nature and
based on entry level job descriptions. Interns receive
placements within government, private and non- profit
sectors where they can lea rn leadership and decisionmaking skills, time management, conflict resolution,
and career and work competency standards.
The Summer Employment Programme co mmenced in May 2019 with a total of 87 students being
placed in internships based on their areas of study.
Each, in turn, completed up to 10 weeks [work] and
received a $5,000 stipend for work performed. This
year the department originally budgeted for 80 st udents; however, because some students were not
able to complete the full 10 weeks, the department
was able to provide opportunity for an additional seven students.
Madam Chairman, there were several extremely talented interns who participated in the 2019
SEP programme. Some of the academic programmes
the interns are pursuing include: law; social poli cy;
political science; business in the realm of accounting,
finance, international business; health in the realm of
pre-medical, pre- dentistry, nursing, radiology, occupational and physical therapy, speech and language pathology, public health, biomedical science, pharmacy;
sciences in the realm of environmental science, preveterinarian animal science, international wildlife biology; human services in the realm of psychology, s ocial work, forensic psychology; education in the realm
of early childhood, hist ory, art and special education;
electrical engineering; architecture; advanced autom otive technology; television and film; graphic design; music technology; and criminology and criminal justice.
Madam Chairman, this year the department
co-sponsored the enh anced Summer Employment
Programme which saw four talented interns placed
with Cabinet Office. Each intern gained exposure to
policy and high- level government initiatives.
This year the department assumed the r esponsibility for coordinating the Summer Inter nship


Bermuda House of Assembly Programme for high school students. The programme
runs for the month of July and provides participants an
opportunity to work shadow professionals in their chosen area of interest. As a result of the programme,
SIP participants are better equipped to make more
informed choices about their future career paths. This
year there were a total of 87 participants from the public, private, and home schools.
Madam Chairman, the programme rate prev iously totalled $400 for the entire four weeks, so that is
at a rate of $100 a week. I am pleased to report that
the rate was re- evaluated this year. This resulted in an
increase from $400 in total to $400 weekly, with a
maximum of $1,600 stipend. The rate increase has
created the opportunity to restructure the Student In-ternship Programme with a more deliberate emphasis
on developing talent for Bermuda’s workforce.
Madam Chairman, it is important to highlight
the work the section continues each summer to pr epare youth for Bermuda’s workforce and address
youth unemploy ment. Similarly, the Career Development team has been very active within the Depar tment of Education, participating in career fairs and facilitating employability skills workshops for CedarBridge Academy, the Berkeley Institute, Success
Academy, Bermuda Institute and Clearwater Middle
School, to name a few. This is a worthwhile partner-ing, one that we hope will bear fruit for many years to
come.
Madam Chairman, in October 2019 the C areer Development manager was invited to present at the National Council on Workforce Education’s Annual
Conference in San Antonio, Texas. The manager was
first introduced to the conference in 2018 by Miss V alerie Palamountain, the Fulbright specialist who prev iously assisted the National Workforce Development
Plan Working Group w ith the development of Berm uda’s National Workforce Development Plan. This
year’s presentation focused on developing talent
through employer engagement and detailed much of
the work completed locally with employers to develop
Bermudians.
Madam Chairman, approval was also obtained for one Community Education Coordinator to
attend the NCWE Annual Conference with the Career
Development Manager. This professional develop-ment opportunity is directly aligned with the National
Workforce Development Plan and will assist staff in
developing more robust, work readiness training pr ogrammes for clients and the general public. Further-more, Career Development staff participated in the
following professional development courses and op-portunities:
• ‘Shedding light on Blind- Spots Within Ther apeutic Relationships’ facilitating career deve lopment (previously the Global Career Development Facilitator course); • Effective Interviewing Skills (U.S. Department of Labor open and free online resources for
career advisors);
• Internationa l Visitor Leadership Programme;
• Transformational Living Programmes for
Women, sponsored by the U.S. Consulate
and
• Northwestern State University’s Doctorate
Programme in Adult Living and Workforce
Development, which was self -funded.
Madam Chairman, staff tr aining and professional development opportunities are vital to assist with providing services for the unemployed, youth and
special populations. More importantly, it is imperative that officers remain current with workforce trends and
labour market information in order to provide proper
guidance. It is particularly critical that officers obtain the necessary training to implement and support the
recommendations outlined in the Plan.
Lastly, the Career Development section co ntinues to hold membership with se veral professional
organisations, namely: The National Career Development Association; National Council on Workforce E ducation; and the Bermuda Human Resources Ass ociation. These memberships increase the opportunity
for training, professional development, networking and
employer engagement.
Madam Chairman, I now shift to the work of
the Training section. The Apprenticeship and Training Programme has successfully engaged industry par tners in developing opportunity for full -time emplo yment and training for apprentices, specifically promoting employer incentives for formalising apprenticeship
and trainee programmes. As a result, steady progress
has been achieved in this area with 20 companies registering a total of 95 apprentices as of January 31,
2020. The com panies include:
• Keiser Ltd.;
• Insulcon Ltd.;
• Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute;
• Crisson Construction;
• Perfect Pass Welding;
• J B Complete Fashions;
• Teacher’s Pet Nursery;
• Port Royal Golf Course;
• Sylvia Richardson Care Facility;
• Bermuda Government Department of Public
Transportation;
• BAC Universal Electric Group of Companies;
• HS & JE Crisson, Ltd.;
• Noble Automotive;
• Efficient Technologies Bermuda;
• Otis Elevator Bermuda;
• Fairmont Southampton;
• Bermuda Telephone Company;
• Bermuda Electric Light Company;
• Bermuda Ener gy Service Company Ltd.; and
• Tynes Bay Waste- to-Energy facility.
3612 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, a total of 11 companies
and 23 Bermudians were awarded approval for trai ning schemes in the year 2019/20. A payroll tax exemption from the Office of the Tax Commissioner pr ovides relief for employers who are committed to trai ning Bermudians. The companies receiving approval include:
• Otis Elevator Bermuda, Ltd.;
• Marshall Diel & Myers, Ltd.;
• Canterbury Law Ltd.;
• Elevate Executive Selection Bermuda Ltd.;
• Arthur Morris Christensen & Company;
• BESCO;
• Walkers (Bermuda);
• Taylors Law Firm;
• Meritus Trust Company Limited;
• Appleby (Bermuda) Limited;
• 2 Tech Limited; and
• Mazars Limited.
Madam Chairman, there is a shortage of
Bermudians in the culinary arts field. For example,
according to the 2019 Employment Brief, in 2018
there were 697 chef de partie cook jobs filled, of which
125 were filled by Bermudians and the remaining
79 per cent filled by non- Bermudians. Currently, there
are seven apprentices registered in the Culinary Arts
Apprentic eship Programme at the Fairmont Sout hampton. Two apprentices are on schedule to complete
their four -year training on March 6
th of this year. Each
year the apprentices attend five weeks of training at
Holland College, Prince Edward Island, Canada. At
comple tion they will have acquired the relevant number of work hours to qualify them to sit the Red Seal International Certification exam in culinary arts.
Madam Chairman, the training section spo nsored 10 apprentices with the Bermuda Electric Light
Company. Four of the 10 apprentices have completed
their four -year programme. Please join me in congratulating:
• Elijah Dublin, he did industrial electricity;
• Denzell Vickers, millwright industrial mecha nic;
• George Fubler, electrical fitter; and
• Stevan Trott, powerline technician.
In addition, the department sponsored three
new apprentices for [the] Bermuda Air Conditioning
Group of Companies. Currently, BAC Universal has a
total of 12 apprentices in the training programme at
Bermuda College.
Madam Chairman, according to the 2019 E mployment Brief, in 2018 there were 378 mason jobs filled, of which 113 were filled by Bermudians and the
remaining 59 per cent filled by non- Bermudians. In
direct response to workforce needs, the department,
in collaboration with the Construction Association of Bermuda launched a Masonry Apprenticeship Pr ogramme designed to ensure opportunity for Bermudi-ans to qualify, gain experience and upgrade compe-tencies in masonry. The programme utilises the N ational Centre for Construction and Research Masonry
Curriculum and includes a combination of on- the-job
training and theory. Since the initial launch, eight companies each registered one apprentice.
Six of the eight apprentices were employed
and two were newly hired.
Madam Chairman, the department , in partnership with the CAOB [Construction Association of Bermuda], provided NCCER Safety and Health Training
programmes at a reduced cost. This arrangement al-lowed for persons to participate in on- demand safety
training to increase their prospects of em ployment in
the construction industry. As of January 31, 2020,
[there were] 36 clients who completed the NCCER
Safety and Health Training. This training is a perqu isite requirement for individuals to obtain employment
on major development projects.
Madam Chairman, the Training section co ntinues to make progress in the area of National Cert ification. As of January 31, 2020, there were 103 indi-viduals awarded National Certification in landscape gardening. The horticultural programme was esta blished in partnership with Bermuda College’s Division
of Professional and Career Education to create a
pathway to National Certification.
Madam Chairman, similarly, the department
and PACE launched an accredited Automotive Tec hnician Training Programme. The standard for this
training is City & Guilds and [it] also provides a pat hway to National Certification. As of January 31, 2020,
there were 31 individuals who received National Cert ification for automotive technicians.
Madam Chairman, this year the department
upgraded the welding facility at Bermuda College,
Tech Hall, which is used for welding instruction and
testing. The facilities upgrade supports the National
Certification and allows for remote video testing, i nvigilated by the Canadian Welding Bureau [CWB] in
Canada. The upgrade provides for on- demand testing
locally and eliminates the need to bring in overseas
invigilators, resulting in reduced cost to the depar tment. Also, this year the department trained two local
welders and members of the Occupational Advisory
Committee as Level I Welding Inspectors. This allows for the test to be administered locally and invigilated
virtually by CWB. As of January 31, 2020, there were
27 individuals who achieved National Certification for
welding.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Wor kforce Development has made significant efforts to progress National Certification and recertification for
electricians. The Training section plans to launch an
online training and testing platform for electricians, in
collaboration with Bermuda College and the National
Training Alliance. Utilising an online platform provides
greater access to requisite courses for National Cert ification. Further, the online platform will be augmented
by traditional classroom training. The online virtual


Bermuda House of Assembly training, t esting platform and traditional classroom
instruction will be aligned with the 2017 National Electrical Code Standard. As of January 31, 2020, there
were 42 electricians who received National Certific ation.
Madam Chairman, the National Training [section] f unded training programmes for seven at -risk
individuals. The Successful Academic and Vocational
Education Programme, known as SAVE, is a collaborative partnership with the following stakeholders:
Court Services; Bermuda College; Mirrors; the D epartment of Financial Assistance; Bermuda Housing
Corporation; and the Department of Corrections.
SAVE coordinates services and resources for at -risk
individuals to increase access to academic and voc ational training. Apprenticeships, on- the-job training,
internships and professional development are av enues utilised to help participants achieve self -
sufficiency and sustainable employment.
Madam Chairman, natural attrition and the
competitive job market led the Tynes Bay Waste- toEnergy Facility to look at their training projections and
need for power engineers. In an effort to help Tynes
Bay to meet its mandate of developing certified power
engineers, the department sponsored Marcal Wi lkinson, a graduate of the Berkeley Institute, and He zekiah Rampersad, a graduate of C edarBridge to attend Cambridge College of Applied Arts and Technology. The school’s curriculum is endorsed by the
Technical Standards and Safety Authority [TSS], a
standard accepted by power engineers working in
Canada and Bermuda. The programme will help these
young men to maximise their career opportunities by preparing them to challenge the various TSS exam inations after each year level. At completion, each will
have the opportunity to interview for available pos itions.

Plans for the Upcoming Year

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Madam Chairman, I shift to
highlight the work that will be undertaken during the
year 2020/21. The department will continue to lay the groundwork to support the implementation of the N ational Workforce Development Plan. During this per iod, the department will work to establish the National
Workforce Development Board towards realising the
Plan for Bermuda.
Madam Chairman, to support creating the
framework for Bermuda’s One- Stop Centre, Manag ement Consultant Services will conduct a review to
structure the department to ensure that it is aligned
with the Plan’s recommendations. The additional
manpower and resources provided in the previous
budget year from the Community Education depar tment have enabled the department to consistently
broaden the employability skills training programme.
There will be greater focus on marketing this training
to reach a wider audience and the department will continue to source experienced facilitators to enhance
the programme quality. Employability skills are c ritical
to securing and retaining employment, apart from the
requisite technical skills. More specifically, the d epartment will incorporate financial literacy training to
support the able- bodied Financial Assistance clients
as they transition towards self -sufficiency. This will
improve their ability to make financially responsible decisions essential for everyday life.
Madam Chairman, professional development
training for the department staff is necessary in order to meet the diverse and changing needs of our clients.
Of particular focus for [the] 2020/21 budget year will
be training in quality service delivery, coaching skills,
working with special populations, addressing barriers
to employment and understanding motivation. The
department plans to continue hosting job fairs and
engaging the unemployed more through community
initiatives. Hosting community initiatives throughout
the Island will improve the department’s ability to pr ovide coordinated services by partnering with comm unity organisations and incr ease awareness on avail able services and resources, particularly for vulnerable
populations.
Madam Chairman, as we seek to grow services and programmes for the unemployed, the d epartment’s marketing strategies must also evolve. For
this reason, the departm ent will utilise Digicel’s broa dcast messaging application to ensure the message of
opportunity and hope reaches a wider audience. Far
too often the department has difficulty contacting cl ients when employment and training opportunities
arise. This results in missed opportunities. The broa dcasting application will help to minimise this challenge and enable the department to better serve clients.
Madam Chairman, I am pleased to report that
Digicel has approached the department to offer the
Bermuda Job Board to its customers. The information
and digital technology department is currently working
with their technology team to facilitate offering this
free channel to their client base. We have had a longstanding relationship with One Communications to
offer Ber muda Job Board at no cost on channel 87
and are equally excited about partnering with Digicel to offer a similar service. This will broaden viewership significantly.
Madam Chairman, the department will conti nue to increase the number of training programmes
and apprenticeships to reduce youth unemployment
and align with industry needs. The section has exper ienced considerable success with employer engagement and public/private partnerships. For this reason,
the Training section will establish a more deliberate
approach of engaging key industry stakeholders. The
approach will be more measured to understand what
resources are needed and what additional initiatives
can be implemented to increase the number of on- thejob training opportunities for Bermudians. The section
will target the following industries for the year
3614 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 2020/21: hospitality; vocational and technical trades;
information technology; health; and other related occupations.
Madam Chairman, the department will work
closely with the Department of Communi cations to
launch an awareness campaign utilising digital and
social media platforms to encourage all tradesmen to
register for National Certification in their designated
occupations. Additionally, the department plans to
increase the number of scholarships to support a ta lent pipeline for Bermuda’s workforce. We recognise
there are individuals who do not have the economic
means to pursue higher learning. For this reason,
coupled with the over -subscription for overseas scho larships, the department will awar d scholarships on the
combined basis of financial need and workforce prior ities. Further consideration will be given to first gener ation college students to support their academic pursuits. Again, scholarships will be awarded to persons
pursuing professions in areas traditionally under -
represented by Bermudians.
Madam Chairman, the need for more strategic
succession planning within Government, particularly in
the trades and technical professions, is evident. In the
coming financial year, the department will continue to
collaborate with government departments who employ
tradesmen to understand their forecasted needs. For example, the department will co- sponsor overseas
training for up to three persons to become power en-gineers. The partnership with Tynes Bay Waste- toEnergy Facility will continue in the 2020/21 budget
year. As a result, they have already identified two
power engineer technicians currently employed at Tynes Bay for development.
Madam Chairman, the department is now re presented on the Immigration Board. This provides a
unique opportunity to not only advocate for qualified
Bermudians, but to also understand employer’s needs
and develop relevant training opportunities for Berm udians. Madam Chairman, the department remains
committed to ensuring that Bermudians are not disadvantaged and that they are sufficiently prepared to
meet the needs of the workforce.
As I conclude my presentation, I would like to
take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge the hard- working staff of the Department of Workfor ce
Development, led by the Acting Director Oluremi
Bademosi. This group is at the forefront of assisting
Bermudi ans in preparing for the world of work.
Lastly, I would also like to thank the National
Training Board, chaired by MP Jason Hayward, for
their w ork towards a Workforce Development strategy
for Bermuda.
Madam Chairman, this now concludes my
specific budget presentation, but indeed, for all Heads: Heads 20, 52, 60 and 71 for the Ministry of Labour, Community Affairs and Sports.
Thank you, Madam Chai rman.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
First, I would like to thank the Minister for a
detailed presentatio n covering almost everything that
is in the Budget Book so that, at this point, I am going
to try to give some questions and then see if I can get some answers from the Minister because time constraints will, obviously, determine how many questions
we are able to ask in the time that is remaining.
Starting with Head 20, Youth, Sport and Recreation, this particular Head is one of the main reasons that I got involved in politics. Being somebody who is involved with coaching in Bermuda, I specifically underst and the importance of the development of
our youth and what sport can do to a society. You have an opportunity with sport to help to influence
young people to be removed from negative infl uences —anti -social peer groups, boredom, alcohol,
drugs —these are th e things that [we have] the potential to keep our young people away from by having them participate in organised sports.
The difficulty is that when you have a budget
that is tight, this is never going to be an area where you are going to see the increas e. And I stated it last
year and I have also stated that you have seen several people that have been in this position as the Sha dow Minister for Sport speak to the point that there is
very little change in the support of this particular area.
The difficult y is going to be that when you look at the
overall issues in the country, when it comes to the negative impact of not spending the time and focus
and funding on dealing with the development of our youth, it means that we are seeing some of the anti -
social behaviour on the other side.
Obviously, with the constraints, I know that
the Minister is not able to give more, but it is just diff icult in sports knowing that we all know that if we put
more focus on it and we are able to support it at a better level, the potential of us changing the outcome is
there. It just has not been something that any go vernment has focused on locally.
So, starting in the Head for Sport, I am just
going to look at a couple of areas because the Mini ster did touch on quite a bit wi thin Sport and Recreation. There was a change this year when it came to
the colours for Bermuda, so page B -256, under Clot hing and Uniforms, there was a specific change—
Bermuda’s colours are now going to be blue and
pink—I am just wondering if the Minister could speak
to [if there] has there been any talk about having an
overall ability to purchase using our overall purchasing
power to bring in specifically track suits, polo shirts, T -
shirts, using the government’s buying power so that
they can reduce the cost and then, potentially, have


Bermuda House of Assembly each individual sport purchase from the government
prior to travel or prior to participation locally, so that all
of our sports will look the same and, at the same time,
reduce the overall cost?
Still on page B -256, under Grants and Contr ibutions, I spoke last week to the Minister about the sponsorship grant that is being given to athletics when
it comes to hosting the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda,
locally. If the Minister can give us a breakdown of
whether some of the grant or sponsorship is being
used to resurface the track, as opposed to other items
that would be specific to hosting the games locally? In
order for the sport to receive a sponsorship or grant,
there would have had to have been some kind of
budget which was prov ided to government to say this
is what they thought the overall cost was going to be,
and then the government would make a decision on
how much they were going to provide. I also would
like to know if we had the opportunity to look at the
previous hosting of CARIFTA locally to look at the
budget and the cost for those games so that we could see what the outcome was when it came to the overall
cost, so that we can compare that to what we are
dealing with now.
And my main reason for asking this question
is because other sports, particularly knowing what this
will do from a growth perspective, hosting games l ocally gives you an opportunity to highlight your sport
and your athletes in front of the local fans. So, if this is
something that the government is supportive of in
bringing in and hosting, it would be interesting to know
what that overall process looks like from a budgeting
standpoint so that potentially other sports are going to try to go forward and get the same kind of initiative to
happen with other sports so that they get that same
outcome.
On page B -258 there is a line for . . . it is u nder 30055, Sports Programmes, number of registered National Sports Governing Bodies. So, the actual in
2018/19 was 30, the forecast and the revised for
2019/20 was 30, but the target outcome for 2020/21 is
24. So, can the Minister speak to, are we looking to
reduce the [number] of National Sports Governing Bodies? Because it seems like the target outcome
looks for a reduced number, so, if the Minister could
speak to what the purpose would be of trying to r educe that number.
I am going to go to [page] C -6. I am bringing
this up under Sport because it is the Sandys 360 f acility. I do not know what . . . I can . . . the issue is
that, obviously, the Government purchased the
Sandys 360 facility, if the Minister can give us some update on whether there is any movement in utilis ation of the facility, who is going to be responsible for
running the facility, and what parts of the facility are
being utilised? Obviously, with i t being closed for an
extended period of time, there is the potential for
some of the areas not to have been at the level for
being utilised. So, I am just wondering if she can give us an update on what has happened with it and what
we can look forward to. Because, obviously, when it
was up and running, the Sandys community was able
to really take advantage of it and I know, specifically
from a swimming standpoint, the area youth there [in Sandys] were able to have access to something that
they had not had access to. And there were specific
cases where some of those kids had access to pr ogrammes that allowed them to have a more positive choice than the choices that were around them once
that facility was not available.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
So, on page C -7, 75128, National Sports Centre Capital Grant, speaking specifically to the track that I asked about earlier under CARIFTA, if the Mini ster can give us some details on the last time the track
was resurfaced, what the lifespan of the track is, so that we can have an anticipation of how long it is going to be before we are, potentially , going to have this
budget item, again, to cover the cost of resurfacing
the track.
The pool facility at the National Sports Centre,
the changing room and building facility was originally a temporary building. If the Minister can give us details on what the lifespan of that building was? What
the upkeep— this is at the National Sports Centre —the
Aquatics, the actual changing room, and originally it
was offices, whether there have been specific budgets
to upgrading that facility, knowing that it was originally
meant to be for temporary purposes?
I was wondering if the Minister could give us
details on how many of the National Sports Governing
Bodies are actually utilising the National Sports Centre. And from those National Sports Governing Bod-ies, how many of them are utilising the money that
they are getting from their government grant to pay
back to the National Sports Centre? So, in essence,
you are taking it from one part of government and gi ving it to another part of the government, rather than actually having it focused on the detail of development
of the athletes.
On the Aquatics Facility, still under 75128,
National Sports Centre, has there been any analysis on the secondary pool that is required for Bermuda to
host games, like the CARIFTA Championsh ip that is
being hosted for athletics? Just a cost analysis,
whether it is something that is possible and whether it
is something that is feasible.
And still on the Aquatic Centre, can the Mini ster give us an update on the use of that facility by pub-lic schools? What is the cost to public schools for renting the facility? And can we get a total number of public students who are actually utilising the facility presently?
3616 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Moving to [page] C -20, 6880, Elite Athletes
Assistance, the Minister rightly spoke to the fact that
this is a crucial year —being 2020 and an Olympic
year. I am wondering if the Minister can speak to––
obviously, when you get to the pinnacle year of a four -
year quadrennial, looking for the support that it is going to take for our athletes to reach the highest
heights in competition, there has not been any mov ement in the support for our Elite Athlete Programme. That number stays the same year after year. So, I am
just wondering if the Minister can speak to . . . has
there been any requests to increase that number specifically because it is an Olympic year and what the
support level is going to be for our Olympic hopefuls?
So, going back to page B -256 under Grants
and Contributions, could the Minister give us an overview of the system in place for the decisions that are
made on how sports are selected to get a grant and how sports are selected to get a certain amount for
the grant? And I am going to go to page C -23, looking
at the Grants and Contributions that were from
2018/19, just as an exam ple. If you are from athletics
and the grant was $105,000 as opposed to squash where the grant was $4,000, if we can have an idea of
. . . is it based on the number of athletes? Is it based
on, you know, if we could get some details of what
that looks like and, really for the listening public, because depending on which sport you are from, it
would be good information for the different sports to
know.
Because, obviously, the admin that goes into
applying for a grant and knowing that the actual pot that we are pulling from has stayed the same, know-ing that there probably will not be a lot of adjustment
when it comes to who is getting grants and what the
amount of the grant is going to be, it is important for
sports to understand why some sports are getting
more money than others, just so that overall they can,
potentially, spend that time trying to get the money from somewhere else. Obviously, with everybody tr ying to pull from the same kind of charity position, it is
difficult in this day and age for everyone to have the
money to actually be able to provide to our young
people in order for us to develop them. It is difficult
when everybody here knows that to put somebody on
a plane to go anywhere is going to probably take up the first part of that budget when the number is low, to
$4,000, and you are probably going to have to take
probably a coach or a chaperone with them just for
one athlete.
So, if we have an understanding of what that
number looks like in order to develop one athlete from an age group or thr ough junior elite to elite level each
year, the cost is quite high and the overall kind of
support level is never really going to be there in order
for us to get our athletes to that next level.
I am following on with that same position,
looking on page C -23, out of this total number
$650,000 is going to Sports Anti -Doping. Now, I fully am aware of the importance of Sports Anti -Doping
and what is needed, but when you put $650,000 up against the number that we are giving to the other
sports, you know, I th ink that the highest sport is going
to be football at $300,000. So, double the amount is
going to Sports Anti -Doping. How are we supposed to
produce athletes to get tested if there is not a lot of
funding to develop the athletes to get there?
Now, I am al so aware that, you know, all you
have to do is look in the international news, you know,
any week over the last year and you will see that there have been tests for, you know, some major athletes
from big countries showing that our athletes are having to c ompete against other athletes that are cheating, that they are using drugs, and that is the purpose
of having this programme in place. But coming from a
small jurisdiction and having most of the funding going towards testing for drugs rather than developin g the
athletes means that it is a double loss for our athletes
because they are having to compete against people
that are already cheating with better resources to get
to the cheating, plus not having the resources in the beginning.
So, if the Minister can obviously speak to it —I
know it is a difficult situation because the pie has not changed. But when you look at how much money we
are giving to testing and how little money we are gi ving to developing the athletes, it does beg the question, what are we ac tually trying to achieve?
With that, I will take my seat and see if I can
get some of the answers to those questions.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, sorry —

We will now hear from the Minister —I
mean, excuse me, from the Member from constituency 23.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Ma dam Chairman.
I just have a couple of questions in relation to
sport and I am going to run through them very quickly.
When we look at the matter that the Honourable
Member just referred to, i n terms of how we are looking at the allocation of grants and contributions in r espect of sports, the question that I have is, is there a possibility that we start to factor in to the allocation
process what the results are? I am speaking partic ularly to . . . I am looking at the start at swimming. We
have amazing results from our swimmers on a national and international basis, but their allocation has been relatively . . . well, it has been stable over the
course of the last couple of years. When you look
down the list in terms of how other associations have
been allocated, it just makes you question why we are
actually not giving a better weighting to the athletes
who are actually performing.
It is wonderful to go to the airport to greet
them and say, you know, well done and welcome, but


Bermuda House of Assembly then if their development is not a part of our mantra, if
we are not doing everything we could do to develop
our athletes —and this is across all the sports. I guess
I have to declare an interest in that. I have a great -
niece who is a tremendous swimmer, so she has
been, you know, she has been out there and I think
that it is in that context that I am a little bit more aware
of the limitations of the funding for development as
against perhaps some of the other sports. I woul d be
curious about that.
I have one other quick question in respect of
sports and in respect of . . . yes, in respect of the
sports department and that with respect to the total
grants and contributions. The Minister indicated that
there was a reallocation and as to what should be
classified as wages —this is on page B -256 under the
subjective analysis as to wages. The Minister said
there was a reallocation which is coming, I guess, out
of the grants and contributions in respect of what is
going to, what should be classified as wages. But if
you look at the categories . . . so, we have got . . . I
am just not sure how those numbers mesh together
because the Minister indicated it was reallocation plus
mandatory overtime—this is on page B -256 in subjective ana lysis—and then the Minister indicated that
some should be classified as wages which had not
been, and I am just curious to know where exactly is the offset relating to that particular area.
Thank you.

Thank you, Member .
We will now hear fro m the Member from co nstituency 19.

Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And I just have only one
question because I know I would like to give my col-league lots of time to get his answer.
This is getting back to the $650,000 that is
allocated to the [Bermuda] Sport A nti-Doping [Author ity] and I just wondered if the Minister is able to ind icate whether the amount of money —the amount of
time that is spent by the Anti -Doping [Authority],
whether that is related to the number of sports that we
have going to the Olympics, whether any of the other
countries utilise other countries to do some of their anti-doping monitoring. And the reason I am saying
this is because, as my colleague says, it is a lot of
money when you start looking at, you know, what we
are able to allocate to sports. So, if there are any
ways that other countries have figured out that they can have part of the anti -doping monitoring done in a
way to cut down on their costs, and if she could— and,
you know, yes we do use the Caribbean for lots of
other things, so Caribbean Public Health Agency
(CARPHA) and other things.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

—take to her feet.

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: —I forgot about that , yes.
With, I think, the first sort of question that MP
Smith put was with respect to consideration of bulk
purchasing and the like. I can say that at the AGM of
the national sports governing bodies, the director had
at least offered that type of opportunity up to all of the national sports governing bodies. There has been no
real response from them to sit down and meet with us
so we could perhaps approach that —especially if you
are going to look at it from, let us say, when you are
traveling having speci al shirts just for travel, even
though the specific team shirts or team outfits may be
different and in some sports they would be required to
be different. So, the opportunity is open for that to
happen whether it be through purchase by bulk or
whether that be through using the Department of
Youth, Sport and Recreation as a vehicle to do your purchasing through and then realise reductions when
it comes to tax exemptions or something like that. The
door is open for those discussions to be had.
You made ment ion of the number of actual
national sports governing bodies. Those numbers are
dictated by those sporting entities that choose to reg-ister under the National Sports Governing Bodies A ssociation. So, you will see a variation in those numbers because some y ears some sporting bodies forget
to register. There are some sporting bodies which r efuse to register and so we are always, our approach is
always to encourage all of the sporting bodies to register under the banner of the National Sports [Gover ning] Bodies Association because of the opportunities
that open up to them when it comes to participating in
international events because I am sure that my Shadow Minister understands and appreciates that som etimes if you do not belong to a National Sports Go verning Body, you do not get to participate internationally. So, we are always encouraging our sporting bod-ies to get registered in that. So, that is my response to
that.
I do want to say as you asked about the pool,
360. I can say, and I will point out that this does not
fall under my remit and that the Minister for Works
during some time did get up and speak in depth to
that and how that pool is being used and operated.
So, I would have to either defer that answer to him or I
would suggest that you reach out for the specific a nswer to that question.
You asked a question about the, I guess, the
viability of the track and how long it has been since that track was resurfaced. To my knowledge, it has
been about 20 years since that track has been resurfaced. I do kno w that, I believe, the lifespan for the
particular track is 10 years, and the way in which that
track is maintained can increase the lifespan of the
3618 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly track. So, we are looking to try and make certain that
it is maintained so that we can get greater use out of it
because that is also what happened with the track
before it was resurfaced. We got more use out of it
because we tried to maintain the integrity of the track over the years.
One of the questions that you asked was
about the public schools and how many schools —I
can tell you that the schools which have used the pool
are Purvis and CedarBridge and they do so on a reg ular basis and I do not know the exact fee for that. We
do know that the schools —and that is not the pool
because you are asking for use of the pool, in partic ular, but for the use of the National Sports Centre in general I think you know that all of the public schools go up there and use the track and what have you for
their sporting events. But for the pool itself, I do believe it is Purvis and CedarBridge, in particular.
The costs . . . I am still looking to hear what
the costs may be, so I am still trying to get that figure for you.
You also, in speaking about the grant monies
in general . . . let me answer that question this way. In
most jurisdictions, in most jurisdictions, for sports and
sporting clubs, monies are realised privately through
membership, sponsorship and the like and, I guess,
through whatever programmes our local sporting clubs and sports bodies put on, they too are abl e to
realise some monies.
We recognise the importance of sports and
this is why as a Government we do provide grant
sponsorship to the various levels that we do, and I know you have looked at the variation in the amounts. Some of it is owing to the fact t hat throughout the I sland, you have more. The majority of sports clubs b eing involved or participating in one’s sports.
Our two national sports are cricket and football, which is why you typically see them getting a
higher proportionate amount of grant funding because
under the umbrella, I would say, of the Bermuda
Cricket Board and under the umbrella of the Bermuda
Football association, they are required to provide var ious programmes, various courses and the like to all of
those persons involved in that s port for the enhanc ement of the sport to ensure that the skill set of those who administer the sport remain at a level and can grow, and to ensure that programmes are in place to
ensure the development of the youth through those
sports.
On that same basis , funding is provided to the
other sports. As you can appreciate, some of the other
sports do not have the same level of interest or parti cipants, and some of the other sports enjoy far more, I
guess if you will, support from the private sector —
financially and otherwise. So, we have to look at how
we allocate and provide for funding through that entire
lens and that entire landscape to ensure that we are,
as best we can, we are providing parity. You also asked about the Olympics, because
this is an Olympi c year, and whether or not grants are
increased. I think history will show that typically in an Olympic year the Bermuda Olympic Association will
reach out to the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation. On top of the grant allocation that they do r eceive to develop and help elite athletes, they som etimes also receive a special grant to ensure that those of our Bermudian athletes who qualify to participate
on the higher stage get the support that is needed to do so. That is not something that is cast in s tone.
That, too, is something that looks at the contingent
that will be participating in the Olympics.
You asked a question, I think, Member , about
the cost of —did you ask a question about more details
about the cost of the track? Yes? So, I did report that
in the House when you did ask a question on that.
The track cost is, the overall cost, was $680,000—
$200,000 was provided through the Panam Sports
Association
[sic] (or whatever it is called). The other
$400,000 was sponsored, I guess if you will, or pr ovided, through the Bermuda Government . We recognise the vital importance of ensuring that we have our
facilities at a level that it needs to be in order to be
able to accommodate and/or host international spor ting events that take place here.
The track, after inspection, it was made clear
that repairs were mandatory. So, it was incumbent
upon us to ensure that the track be re- laid in order to
be able to accommodate events such as CARIFTA
and any other international events that may visit our
shores. As you can appreciate, because it has a warranty of 10 years and with the proper care and treatment, we can probably get more than 10 years out of
this new track. If you look at the monies, the $487,000
that the Government has put in ($687,000 in total) and
over the years, and with the use and hopefully rev enues that may get realised by other events coming down here and participating, I think we can safely say that this is money that has been well invested.
I am just making sure I have answered most
of the ques tions that you have asked . . . and I do
want to say this, Member , always remember that the, I
guess, the National Stadium does fall under a Board
of Trustees and we do provide, as the Government ,
we provide assistance in their management and care
of that facility and so, again, just so that you have—I
think that the investment into the track has been a good one.
I answered the one about the schools. Bermuda Sport Anti -Doping Authority (BSADA) —I think
that the comments that you made, I think, are made perennially, in terms of the funding, the grant money,
that they received. It does seem somewhat high. I do
think we know that some of the tests are quite expe nsive, and anytime our local athletes, I think, have to go
over and participate in an international e vent, that
event or that sporting body which is responsible for
that event requires testing, and so we must test our


Bermuda House of Assembly athletes. And certain events that take place down
here, let us say for instance the triathlon, there are . . .
those persons who participat e, many of them are
pulled for testing, too, because this is an international
event and much testing is random. So, certain per-sons are pulled and tested here in Bermuda. So, it is
something that we have to do. It is not something that
we can just choose t o say that, O kay we are not going
to do that . If we do not do it, then we do not get to
compete overseas.
Then that might require persons who are at hletically inclined and are on the road to becoming elite
athletes, if we do not have that here, then if they are
going to be serious about their sport, that would r equire them having to leave Bermuda and go som ewhere else and train. And sometimes that is a r equirement anyway based on what sport they are i nvolved in, for other reasons. But that would require
that.
So, it is an entity that for some may seem
quite expensive, but I can say, just like I said perenn ially, that is the question asked. That budget has r emained the same for quite some time as well. That is
right. So, I think we have done a good job in t rying to
maintain that with the way in which we man the Board,
so some of the expertise that sits on the Board and
can be utilised by the department in meeting their mandate.
One of the statements that you made up front
overall for the development of the sport had to do with
what you see as being insufficient funding overall if we
are serious about helping our athletes to get to the
highest of highest levels. I think in my presentation I tried to point out the fact that in the Department of
Youth, Sport an d Recreation, we are trying to ensure
that for those persons who are involved in key
sports —especially those sports where we see our
Bermudians doing extremely well, that they get the
necessary courses and coaching and the like to be
able to assist in help ing to develop particularly our
young people.
So, we know that sports is not just about the
sports itself. You know, you have to cater to a certain psychology in order to be able to encourage those
persons who are pushing to try and be that elite at hlete to be able to rise to the next standard and the
next height, and then the next height within their sport
which is why we are being very strategic in the types
of programmes we provide for those persons when we
have—just as we were last year when we brought , I
think, elite athletes in basketball, we brought Shaun Goater, people who had been at the tops of their c areers in sports to come down and help facilitate some
of those courses. And it was the psychology of sports
and all of that because it is so key in developing our
young athletes.
So, we are doing what we need to do and I
guess where there are shortfalls, when we can, we do
try to —even for individuals who look to the Depar t-ment of Youth, Sport and Recreation for assistance to
get to the highest step, we do make allowances
through special grants and the like for some of those
individuals to be able to go overseas to realise their
full potential.
I think Member Gordon[ -Pamplin] asked a
question regarding the issue as it pertains to wages
and the differences that you see . . .
First of all, let me say that the differences that
you see relates primarily to Head 60 and the $400,000
was for the wages combined with the rate increase for the SEP and, hence, that is why you notice perhaps a
difference that you could not account for.
For the grants with, I think you also all had a
question on grants for sports, yes?

[Crosstalk]

Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Yes, that is it. So, if you could
appreciate that we typically get over about $2.6 million
in grant reques ts—for this year alone—$2.6 million for
grant requests. As I explained to Member Smith that,
you know, all of the applications are reviewed in terms
of how the funds are going to be allocated within the
sports bodies and what their programmes are looking
like for the development of all of the sports persons
within that realm.
Again, to reiterate what I said to Member
Smith, it is through that type of lens that allocations
are made but, more specifically, when you were as king about swimming and the accolades that we have
gotten in that realm. Let me say upfront, and I do not think you will enjoy hearing this, the swimming body
did not register on time and so that impacts their abi lity to be able to get funding.
However, because we do not want any negative impact to be passed onto those participants —
especially those who are doing extremely well —we
still allowed our swimming body to be a registered
national sports governing body so that any of those
young athletes, if they do really well, will allow them to
be able to go overseas and participate, and whatever
further achievements that they are able to reach to
indeed reach that. But we definitely, we are hardpressed to be able to provide the funding that we be-lieve that all of those sporting bodies deserve.
I can say this, Member , you said that given
the types of results that we get, should that not weigh into the allocations and, again, we have two national
sports and we look at the overall numbers of people
who participate in all of those areas and we try to
reach what I consider parity by making the allocations
the way that we do.

Yes, Member from constituency 23.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Ma dam Chairman.
3620 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, I did want to have some
questions in respect of Workf orce Development, but
while the Minister is leaving her responses for the last
question that she might have, I wonder if she could
give us some indication as to how many participants there are in cricket and how many participants there
are in soccer, while they are looking at their overall
numbers so that we can understand the justification
for the amounts that are being distributed to our n ational sports.

Just wondering if t here had been any
discussion of moving Sand ys 360, which is a sports
facility , from Works and Engineering to Youth and
Sport, considering that it seems odd for it not to be under that domain. The Minister spoke to the numbers
I was referring to on page B-258 when it comes to the
outcome for national sports, she is correct that the
numbers were steady at 30/30/30 but my question
was based on the target for this upcoming year is
lower, so it is as if we are expecting there to be less.
So, that was the reason I was asking that
question.

Thank you, Member.
We will now hear from the Member from constituency 19.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Madam Chairman, this is
piggybacking on the question that my colleague asked
in terms of the two national governing bodies.
Is it possible that the Minister can indicate to
us the numbers of females that are in these sports
because recognising, to me, national bodies that
should be bodies that have men and women there
and so I would like to know the numbers of fem ales.
What type of development has been put in place and
also if they are played in schools and whether there is
any growth in these sports. Thank you.

Minister?
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you. First, let me answer the previous question about testing with BSADA
and I have to say this: there are some tests that are
[sent] overseas. However, I want to make it abundantly clear, if we do not have a testing facility here that can do, I guess if you will, real time testing especially for interna tional events, those international events
cannot come here. So, we must, in order for our at hletes to compete overseas, we need to have a testing facility here. In order for overseas athletes to come and compete here in an international event, we must
have a facility here. On the question about the number of football
players and I guess cricket players . . . I am not able
to give that number off the top of my head, but that is
something that I can undertake to pass on to her and
it is a number that, I thi nk, the Member can appreciate
will vary from year to year and from season to season.
But what I can say is that we are committed as pointed out in my brief to the development of all sports and
to the development of both sexes within that sport,
and I made that very, very clear. I can say if you r emember last year the BFA brought down the —had a
major, I guess if you will, forum for women in football.
So, all of the sports have undertaken to help any person who has an interest in that area.

Would anyone else like to speak to
the Heads?
Member from constituency 23.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Ma dam Chairman.
Madam Chairman, I just want to very briefly
go to Workforce Development and there are two questions that I have, one of which is on page B -271 under
business unit 70015. The Minister indicated in her
brief that this was to create an accurate budget base and to reallocate overseas scholarships and local apprenticeships. But what the Minister has indicated is that the origina l 2019/20 was $616,000 and it has now
gone down to $509,000, but the revised for 2019/20
was $582,000 which means that we actually spent
less in that period of time but we spent more in 2019/20 than we are budgeting for in 2020/21. So, we
have gone from an actual, a revision of $582,000
down from $616,000 all the way down to $509,000. So, I am just looking at the actual comparison of the
revised budget of 2019/20 to the estimated for 2020/21 and I am just curious as to why the Honour able Member believes ––if that $509,000 is appropriate.
The other question that I have, very quickly, is
on page B -275 and that is with respect to career d evelopment under business unit 70400, and that was
with respect to the numbers of referrals or plac ements. The Minister indic ated that there were 358 r eferrals but there were 114 hired. I wondered if the Mi nister could give us some indication as to the areas for which referrals were made but hires were not
achieved because there is actually more than, you
know, more than double— if we have 114 were hired,
we actually have 244 that were referred that were not hired in that number and I wonder if the Minister could give us some indication in terms of the areas to which
those non- hires relate.

Just before we go on, we are now just
reflecting on the Workforce Development , Head 60.
Minister?


B ermuda House of Assembly Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Let me answer it like this. I
did list some of the businesses that we definitely do
work with, but also, I pointed to the few thousand people that we have on Job Board and using that, and
using that vehicle and the direct work that we do with our clients, we are only able to secure exactly where the hires take place when they come back and report
to us. So, with some of the companies that I called off,
those are some of the areas where we have hires. What typically happens is that if we have lost contact or people choose not to respond to us, it makes it very difficult for us —even those who do get hired som etimes will not, once they are hired, they are happy.
They do not give us the feedback even though
we try and chase them for that feedback , which is why
I pointed out why we are going to partner with Digicel who will help us to increase our reach. We al ready
have a partnership with Cellular One. When we par tner with Digicel, it is hopeful that we will increase our
reach and then be able to maintain a more con stant
contact with our clients and those who secure jobs
through our d epartment and be able to have an even
more comprehensive listing of those that get jobs through us.

This i s still under H ead 60, Workforce
Development on [page] B- 272. The Minister spok e to
summer employment programme, that bei ng switched
to wages. I f the Minister c an giv e us an idea of t he
jobs t hat ar e available for t his s ummer pr ogramme—
like, so what fields and what kinds of jobs will be
available for the summer programmes?
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you for that question.
We have [jobs] in various fields , and reme mber one of the things that I pointed out is that for our
university and college students who are overseas, we try to place them in the area for which they are trai ning and getting educated on. So, for instance, in
health you may have persons who are in the physical
therapy session in health. We may have had persons
who were even studying to be doctors. We have persons who are studying to be lawyers and we try to typically place them in those areas. So, we work with private sector persons and we also work with our
Government body to ensure that we place them in
appropriate areas which will enhance their skills within
that area.

Yes, the Minister spoke of a hospital ity survey a nd a job fair that was done with Hamilton
Princess. So, with the several kind of hospitality pr ojects about to come online and obviously the introduc-tion of, hopefully, lots of jobs, can the Minister speak to the interest that has been shown in Bermudians training and being involved in the hospitality industry—obviously, because it is exciting to have the opportunity for all these new jobs coming online, but we
want to make sure that our Bermudians are trained for it and actually interested in being in the hospitality field because it is a different kind of work than pote ntially some of the other jobs that have been available.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you.
Madam Chairman, yes, as pointed out at the
Hamilton Princess, the joint venture, the collaborative effort that we had, there were 48- some persons who
were pre- interviewed for the various hospitality areas.
We are still awaiting feedback from the hotel in terms of the placement of said persons. But also you saw the partnering with the various restaurants for the ot her courses that we are going to be offering in the realm of hospitality , and many of the restaurants have
come on board because it is key that we get our people trained up for all of the jobs that will be coming
online. When we had our job fair, we had over 200 persons come and show an interest in various areas. I am not quite sure out of that 200 how many had a
specific interest in hospitality. But I can say this, that
all of the various employers that came and participated in that job fair, hospitality being one of those areas,
that most of those people there did visit all of those, I will call them vendors.

With the Hamilton Princes s. So, I
guess the —out of 100- and-something. So, I guess the
part that I am kind of querying is, it looks like there are going to be jobs , more like 650 jobs potentially , with
the Southampton Princess project and when those come online, if we are only able to get a certain
amount of people through that process, it means that most of those jobs are going to end up going to non-Bermudians as opposed to Bermudians. So, that is
the part that I am actually querying.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: I can tell you that is why we
have a collaborative effort that is going on to continu-ously bring in Bermudians who are interested in the hospitality industry and train them up. I also pointed out, even in the hospitality industry when it comes to the culinary arts, we have seve n persons under apprenticeship. Two who will be ready to take their exam
3622 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly and hopefully join in the workforce. People have to
make themselves available. So, sometimes people
come who need jobs but that may not be their partic ular interest. But where there is a private sector entity that has the capacity to take on apprenticeships or trainees and where we have the numbers that walk in our door —we will match them up. We do match them
up and we do continuous ly follow up with those persons to ensure that they have the highest level of, I guess if you will, ability to be successful in securing employment. Many of those people who do go through our apprenticeship programme—they get hired.
[
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. Swan, Chairman]

Member from [constituen-cy] 23, you
have the floor whilst I check the timec lock.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you. Thank
you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Oh, we still have five minutes? I have got
plenty of time.
My other question that I have is in looking at
some of the activities under Workforce Development, do we still have the linkage between Workforce D evelopment and Financial Assistance in terms of ensur-ing that the two units work together such that people who are coming for financial assistance are required to register with Workforce Development? I just wanted
to make sure that this was put out there for the edif ication of the public more so than for me.

You got two more minutes.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Yes, Member, I did speak to
that in my brief. Yes, those —and where, if you will, for
want of a better —we are enhancing that linkage because we want to make certain that persons who are
on financial assistance . . . we do not want them going
out in the public domain to the private sector jus t trying to get people to sign up. We are going to have programmes which are geared specifically to helping
them with their employability skills and we are also putting on educational programmes specifically de-signed to help them better manage their finances so that they can be transitioned off [financial assistance]
and be more productive.

It has been mov ed that Heads 20,
60, 52, and 71 be approved as printed.
Are there a ny objections? No objections .
Minister , it is so moved and that concludes
this debate.
[
Motion carried: The Ministry of Labour, Community,
Affairs and Sports, Heads 20, 60, 52 and 71 were approved and stand part of the Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure for the year 2020/21.]

We will now move on to Legal
Affairs, which are Heads 87, 3, 23, 4 and 74. There
are four hours alloc ated to this debate and it will be
led by the Honourable Learned Member from constituency 3 4.
MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, I move the following Heads:
Head 87, Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters; Head
3, Judicial Department; Head 23, Child and Family
Services; Head 4, Attorney General’s Chambers; and Head 74, Department of Court Services, be now taken
under consideration.

It has been moved that Heads 87, 3,
23, 4, and 74 be taken under consideration.
Any objections?
No objections. Continue, Minister.
HEAD 87 —MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS
HEADQUARTERS
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Legal Affairs,
under the direction of the Honourable Attorney Gen-eral and Minister of Legal Affairs, Senator the Honourable Kathy Lynn Simmons, JP, is charged with the
responsibility of upholding the Constitution and the Legal System of Bermuda.
The Ministry’s mission statement, department
objectives and current account expenditures are found on page B -83 of the Budget Book. The mission stat ement is as follows: T o provide the fair administration
of and access to justice whilst strengthening and pr omoting the well- being and protection of children,
adults and families through rehabilitation, prevention
and treatment services.
[
Crosstalk]
Department Objectives
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The objectives of the Ministry
Headquarters are:
•to advance Government policy initiatives under the direction of the Minister of Legal Affairs;


Bermuda House of Assembly • to ensure the Government's legislative
framework is updated and current with policy
directives; and
• to effect synergies amongst Ministry depar tments to ensure that overall policy objectives are met.
Mr. Chairman, the departments that come under the umbrella of the Ministry are:
• Legal Affairs Headquarters;
• Judicial Department;
• Attorney General's Chambers;
• Department of Court Services;
• Department of Public Prosecutions;
• Department of Child and Family Services; and
• Department of National Drug Control.

Current Expenditure

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, the Ministry’s
budget commences on p age B -82 of the Approved
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2020/21. A budget ceiling of $50,136,000 was allocat-ed to the entire Ministry for the 2020/21 fiscal year.
This amount represents a $1,065,000, or a 2 per cent
increase from the current 2019/20 fiscal year.
A comprehensive analysis of Ministry expend iture was undertaken to strike a bal ance between
optimi sing spending limits without compromising the
efficient de livery of services.
Of the $50,136,000, allocated to the Ministry,
particular allocations, Mr. Chairman, are as follows:
• Ministry Headquarters, $6,735,000;
• Judicial Department, $8,943,000;
• Attorney General’s Chambers, $5,428,000;
• Department of Court Services, $4,727,000;
• Department of Public Prosecutions,
$3,444,000;
• Department of Child and Family Services,
$16,441,000; and
• Department of National Drug Control,
$4,418,000.

Revenue
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The only d epartments under the
Ministry’s portfolio that have a mandate to generate
revenue are the Judicial Department and the Depar tment of Child and Family Services. Their combined
revenue is projected at $6,205,000. This amounts to $4,198,000 less than the 2019/20 original estimates.

Current Account Expenditure

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, the Current A ccount Expenditure Estimates for Head 87, of the Mi nistry of Legal Affairs Headquarters, begins again on
page B -82 of the Bud get Book. A total of $6,735,000
has been allocated to Ministry Headquarters. This rep-resents an increase of $108,000, or 2 per cent from
the 2019/20 original estimates. The increase is mainly
due to all posts being funded under Ministry Head-quarters net of the Permanent Secretary’s post which
has been transferred to the Cabinet Office. In addition,
there was a decrease in funding allocated to the Mi rrors Programme.

Salaries

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, of the
$6,735,000 allocated to Ministry Headquar ters,
$2,455,000, or 36 per cent of the budgeted amount
represents the allocation for salaries. This includes
salaries for Ministry Headquarters, the Legal Aid
Committee, the Financial Sanctions Implementation
Unit and the Mirrors Programme. Specific detai ls of
this, Mr. Chairman, are as follows:
• $648,000, Ministry Headquarters;
• $1,000,000, Legal Aid Office;
• $331,000, Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit; and
• $476,000, Mirrors Programme.

Professional Services

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, $1,741,000 , or
26 per cent of the Ministry Headquarters’ budget is
allocated to Professional Services. Budgeting is for external legal counsel retained by the Legal Aid Office
of $660,000. Also included in the Professional Services allocation, is a budget of $520,000 for the Justice Protection Programme. This programme conti nues to produce excellent dividends for Bermuda by
contributing to the successful prosecution and convi ction of criminals.
Also included in professional services is funding all ocated for Litigat ion Guardians in the amount of
$242,000, to ensure the independent representation
of children during court proceedings. Further funding
in the amount of $105,000 has been provided towards public relations via a communic ations consultant to
perform services on behalf of the Ministry. Funding in
the amount of $121,000 will enable the Mirrors Pr ogramme to avail itself of required consultants.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Legal Affairs
Headquarters is furthermore functionally subdivided into six fiscally ident ifiable programmes, as follows:
• Administration— 97000;
• Financial Intelligence Agency — 97010;
• Legal Aid—97030;
• Justice Protection—97070;
• Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit —
97080; and
• Mirrors Programme —97090.
I would like to proceed, Mr. Chairman, and
address them all individually.


3624 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Administration —97000

Continue on, Ministe r.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: This programme provides for
the administrative costs associated with the Ministry
Headquarters to which $ 1,337,000 has been allocated. This , Mr. Chairman, represents a decrease of
$1,000 or 0.0 per cent from the 2019/20 original est imates. The decrease is minimal.
Included in the Administration costs, Mr.
Chairman —this cost centre includes salaries and r elated costs for Ministry Headquarter s. Administrative
support for the Minister and Permanent Secretary is
provided by a temporary reassignment executive assistant and one administrative assistant. Policy form ulation for Ministry legislative initiatives and project
management is provided by t wo policy analysts. Fiscal
and financial control is provided by a Ministry c omptroller.
Mr. Chairman, Ministry Headquarters intends
to continue to focus on the codification and efficient
delivery of Ministry policy initiatives. Our Ministry’s
most recent commitments include: formulating policies
to best encapsulate the vital role to be played in realising the medicinal and economic benefits of cannabis, as well as to expunge criminal records of those
previously convicted of possession of small amounts
for personal use before the decriminali sation law was
enacted; reforming the administration of the Criminal
Injuries Compensation Board to more efficiently avail
victims of violent crime of its assistance; and esta blishing and administering a c ommittee to opti mise
safeguarding children from criminal activity.
Moving from limited decriminali sation of cannabis to ending unnecessary continued criminali sation, and laying the framework for a medical cannabis
industry, presents many challenges. Mr. Chairman,
our Government have honoured its commitment to
respond to the increasing numbers of medical professionals and patients embracing the science surrounding cannabis. Cited benefits are its positive impact on
pain relief and the management of chronic medical conditi ons. We have [responded] by pioneering draft
legislation and extensively consulting with stakehol ders toward implementing a regime tailored for Berm uda. The objective is to ultimately permit licensed me dical practitioners to prescribe medicinal cannabis to
aid in the treatment of such conditions.
This will deliver upon the Government’s promise to “allow licensed practitioners to prescribe their patients medicinal cannabis to address legitimate health issues and establish a regime for domestic
medicinal cannabis production .” Additional measures
are also being pursued as a result of public feedback
and existing data which shows broad public support for decriminali sing cannabis laws. The Ministry’s expanded scope of cannabis reforms now encapsulates creating a simplified regulated cannabis framework. The framework, to be presented under a new Bill, will
include regulating cannabis use and consumption,
permitting personal cultivation and commercial cultiv ation.
Mr. Chairman, work will continue in this
2020/21 bu dget year, to advance from limited decri minalis ation of cannabis to establish a robust licensing
regime which will create a comprehensive framework
that embraces the science of cannabis use for medi cinal purposes and capitali ses on the economic benefits of a regulated cannabis industry. This will be
achieved by Tabling a new Bill entitled the Cannabis
(Licensing and Control) Act 2020 along with the attendant regulations. Consideration is also being given
to expunging criminal records for convictions of possession of 7 grams or less. Such persons with otherwise untainted records and who would not have been
prosecuted had the new law been in effect, are being
considered to be freed from this burden.

Amen.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, h aving passed
sex offender legislation to protect society and esp ecially our children, work has continued apace to coordinate stakeholders and to implement the sex offender
registration and notification system. A comprehensive
registration, rehabilitation, monitoring and reporting system under the auspices of an Offender Risk Management Team with this primary mandate, is firmly in
place. The aim remains to ensure that all necessary
steps are taken for offenders to be reformed once i ncarcerated, and appropriately monitored and supervised upon release. Appropriate notices are also b eing provided to victims and the public to prevent reoffending, with particular regard to the safety of our
children.

We are on Head 87, page B -83, led
by the Minister from constituency 34. There are four
hours for this debate. It ends at 8:46 pm.
Continue, Minister .

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
These accomplishments complement the
mandate of the newly established Child Safeguarding
Committee vis -à-vis the newly enacted Child Saf eguarding (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2019. In
addition to establishing the Committee, the Act repr esents a comprehensive reform of a plethora of other legislation pertaining to the protection of our children. Under the auspi ces of Legal Affairs , the Committee
will assist with providing policy direction and coord inating efforts across Government to ensure that our
children have maximum protection against sexual
predators as well as others who would do harm to
them or fail to uphold their responsibility to protect them.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, one of the unsung pillars of our
criminal justice system is the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. It has the formidable mandate of
providing financial reprieve to victims of violent crime
and th eir families. Passage and implementation of
legislation is underway to address historic challenges
with the administration of the CICB scheme.
These include prolonged delays in progres sing applications for compensation awards. Corr esponding complaints hav e been widely publicised by
local media and social media outlets. They date back
to long before the cur rent issues that have resurfaced
under the current administration. They have exacerbated complaints about adequacy of the amount of
compensation, par ticularly in extremely tragic cases
where lives have been lost to dependent family members.
A cited impediment to effective administration
is the burden placed upon an already strained judic iary to administer the Board. Accordingly, new prov isions are being enacted so that the Chair of the CICB
will be a barrister and attorney with at least 10 years’
experience. The Deputy Chair will be a barrister and
attorney with at least 8 years’ experience. Having a
senior lawyer as a Chair and another as a Deputy
Chair, w ill 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 operation of the scheme and deciding
whether or not an award ought to be granted has the
requisite legal experience to do so. The goal is to i ncrease efficiency of operations without compromising
the quality of decisions.
Efficient administration also dictated not ha ving to rely upon the unduly cumbersome process of
having the Gover nor make CICB appointments. A ccordingly, provisions are provided for this to be undertaken as a Ministerial responsibility instead. Forging
ahead, the work now continues apace and these
measures to be fully implemented and operationali sed
with requisite ov ersight to ensure the enhanced r esults that the policy promises.

Legal Aid —97030

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Turning now to line item 97030,
the Legal Aid Office.
Mr. Chairman, the Legal Aid Office's Purpose
is “to ensure that legal advice and representation is
readily available to those who need it most, and who,
because of limited financial means, would otherwise
be unable to secure access to justice.” The Legal Aid
Office's Mission Statement is to provide high quality legal representation to those who qualify for assi stance under the Legal Aid Act 1980. The Office aims
to achieve this by providing qualified clients with accessible and professional legal services in a timely
and efficient manner. The Legal Aid Scheme, Mr. Chairman, which
is administered by the Legal Aid Committee under the
authority of the Legal Aid Act 1980, is allocated
$1,851,000 for 2020/21, which represents a
10 per cent, or $167,000 increase, from the 2019/20
original estimate allocation. The increase in the bud getary needs from 2019/20 is primarily attributable to
the incremental increases in salaries and two pupil
PIDs being reallocated under the Legal Aid cost centre.
Of the 2019/20 allocation, $1,000,000, or
54 per cent, represents salaries for administrative and
management staff. [The amount of]] $660,000, or
36 per cent, represents costs allocated for legal services , and the remaining $191,000, or 10 per cent,
represents administrative expenses other than sal aries for the Legal Aid Committee.
Mr. Chairman, the Legal Aid Office has f ocused primarily on increased operational control over
client litigation and administrative efficiency. The r eduction of expenditure where possible, has been a
primary concern, but not at the expense of a reduction in the quality of legal services.
The largest area of expenditure with the exception of salaries within the Legal Aid budget r emains legal fees, which is in keeping with the histor ical trends. The Office was able to contain spending within its budget in 2019/20, through prudent man-agement, coupled with the cost reduction and budget
control initiatives outlined in the previous budget. The
transition to the reformed Legal Aid model co mmenced in June 2018 and continues underway. To
date, one of three legal counsel has been employed to
decrease previous ly outsourced work.
Although full staff is not yet in place, from the
period 1 June 2019 to 31 December 2019 legal fees
paid to external counsel amounted to $996,000. And
this compares to the annual average cost for the i mmedi ately preceding two- year peri od of one million
twenty thousand dollars . . . one million twenty . . .

$1.2 million [sic] .

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: $1.2 million [sic] . . . $1.25 [sic]
[$1,020,500] . Thank you . . . how do you know? Sorry,
Mr. Chairman, thank you. It is anticipated that cost will
continue to trend downward in tandem with full impl ementation of the r eformed model.

Legal Services

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, turning now to
Legal Services.

Yes. Thank you. Continue.

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Between the period, Mr. Chai rman, 1st April 2019 and 31st August 2019 the Legal
Aid Office, Mr. Chairman, managed a combined total
of 55 new matters. That represented, Mr. Chairman,
10 domestic matters, 2 matrimonial matters, 5 civil
matters, and 38 criminal matters.
The Legal Aid Office continues to maintain a
general roster of counsel from private practice, who
provide legal services to persons granted Legal Aid
Certificates, notwithstanding that in- house counsel
also absorbs a percentage of the caseload. For the
period of 1st April 2019 to 31st January 2020, 80 counsel including two Queen’s Counsel, representing 40
law firms, were listed on the Legal Aid roster.
The current initiative to reform the Legal Aid
service delivery model will:
• increase sustainability;
• provide employment and training opportunities
for Bermudian counsel;
• improve succession planning; and
• significantly reduce expenditure on legal fees,
which has historically been an area of budget overspends.
Mr. Chairman, the Legal Aid Office continues
to be a major stakeholder in the specialist court pr ogrammes, such as Drug Court and Mental Health Treatment Court, providing defence counsel for these
courts. In addition to the traditional rosters of counsel participating in the Legal Aid Scheme and Duty Counsel managed and maintained by this Office, small rosters are also in place for these specialist courts. If in -
house counsel is not available, private practice counsel who are competent in these areas will be utilised.
The Legal Aid Office also produced a comprehensive Legal Aid Policies and Procedure Guidelines document relevant to these courts, which was
released to the members of the Bermuda Bar Ass ociation for circulation to its members in July of 2018.
This provides a useful reference guide to counsel who
currently participate in these courts and those who
may wish to join.
The Bar has also included a designated Legal
Aid section on its website for ease of ac cess.
Output Measures

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, turning now to
the output measures.
The Legal Aid Office retains the ability to pr ocess applications for legal aid certificates within 14
working days. However, achieving this objective is
dependent on whether applicants have submitted the
required information in a timely manner. One of the
primary areas of delay was a lack of information from
applicants as to the precise nature of the assistance that they were seeking. We have modified the applic ation process to address this concern. The Legal Aid
Office continues to process applications for Temporary Certificates, commonly known as emergency certificates, within three working days. This is feasible
once all relevant financial information is submitted at
the time of the application, and the applications for
emergency certificates can be approved, provided that
they are capped below a certain amount and are rat ified by the Committee within 28 days.

Staff

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: At present , the Legal Aid Office
is comprised of three administrativ e posts and three
legal posts. The three administrative posts are the
office manager, accounts officer, and an a dministr ative assistant. The three legal posts are s enior legal
aid counsel, a paralegal, and a law pupil. In the coming months more staff will be added to this compl ement consisting of two more legal aid counsel (brin ging the eventual number to three). These three coun-sel will attend court and represent clients at a reduced cost to the public purse since they will be on salary as
opposed to drawi ng an hourly fee rate. We expect to
see appreciable savings using this model.

Training and Development

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Legal Aid Office has as one
of its primary objectives to be focused not only on
present service provision but also development of the
quality of the advocates who appear in court on behalf of our clients. To this end the research and library f acilities at the Legal Aid Office are being revamped and in November 2019 we purchased the Westlaw, which
is a UK research tool, and the Cli o software. This is
necessary to support the litigation which will now be
carried on and out of that office, because for the first
time Legal Aid Counsel will be not simply managing
the scheme on an administrative level, but they will
also have conduct of serious cases in the Supreme
Court such as murders and firearm matters. This broadening of the scope of the work done by Legal
Aid Counsel will provide ripe opportunities for rapid
growth and the acquisition of valuable experience. There will eventually be one junior counsel who will
work under the guidance of the senior legal aid counBermuda House of Assembly sel. Training on the Office’s case management sy stem, Legal Files , was also recently conducted for all
staff to develop their competency on the system as
well as to keep them abreast of updates. The Legal
Aid Files System is the database which we use to
track client information, case disposition, classific ation, and cost of each case we have conduct of.
The diversity of legal work in the Legal Aid O ffice makes it an attractive option for pupils, law st udents and summer students. It is integral to facilitating the Ministry's thrust to train and retain competent and qualified Bermudians. At present there is a roster
which allows pupils to spend time working in all of the
relevant government legal environments on rotation,
at the end of which they will be able to draw on a wide
base of knowledge and eventually choose a special isation area and settle into practice.

Other Initiatives
Legislative Amendments

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Amendm ents to the Legal Aid
legislation will be considered during the upcoming fi scal year with respect to the calculation of disposable income and to take into account the cost of living i ncreases. This will be coupled with the implementation
of clear guidelines on the categories of cases that will qualify for coverage, these categories themselves b eing a reflection of a balance between the principles of access to justice on the one hand, and reasonable
use of public funds on the other.
On 30
th October 2019, the acting senior legal
aid counsel prepared a proposed policy statement on
behalf of the Legal Aid Department regarding proposed amendments to the Means Test applicable to
Legal Aid applicants and the introduction of brief fees.

CLE Requirements for Counsel Participating
in the Legal Aid Scheme

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: An agreement reached between
the Bermuda Bar Association and the Legal Aid Office
is in place to ensure that counsel participating in the
Continuing Legal Education Scheme will be trained to
have a full understanding of the Legal Aid policies,
procedures and general expectations of counsel u ndertaking legal matters. Existing counsel who wish to
undertake legal work must attend one mandatory continuing education training session per year hosted by the Bar Association in order to remain on the Legal
Aid roster. Additionally, those counsel who undertake
a certain amount of legal aid work per year are granted a discount on the fees payable for obtaining their
practicing certificate.

Justice Protection Programme —97070
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Justice Protection Pr ogramme has been allocated a budget of $520,000 for fiscal year 2020/21, which is a $34,000, or 6 per cent,
decrease from the 2019/20 original estimates. This
programme is operated pursuant to t he Justice Pr otection Act 2010 and provides protection for witnesses
who support the prosecution process and meet the legislative requirements for entry into the programme. The success of this legislative initiative is apparent
from the increase in success ful prosecutions; partic ularly those that are gang- related and involve violent
offenders similar to within other jurisdictions.

Financial Sanctions Implementation Unit—97080

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Financial Sanctions Impl ementation Unit (FSIU) is a unit established in 2018,
subsequent to the transfer of the Office of the National
Anti-Money Laundering Committee (NAMLC) to the
Ministry of Finance. Of the 2020/21 allocation, $331,000, or 95 per cent, represents salaries for administration. The remaining $17,000 , or 5 per cent,
represents overhead costs for setting up the new unit.
Mr. Chairman, the FSIU oversees the impl ementation and the close monitoring of targeted fina ncial sanctions in Bermuda, and also advises the Mini ster of Legal Affairs on wider mat ters relating to Anti -
Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of
Terrorism.
Mr. Chairman, the Governor is the competent
authority in Bermuda responsible for the implement ation of financial sanctions. His powers are set out in
the various Overseas Territories Orders that are in
force in Bermuda pursuant to the International Sanctions Act 2003 and International Sanctions Regul ations 2013. The Attorney General and the Minister of
Legal Affairs carries out certain functions of Governor that have been del egated to her pursuant to the International Sanctions (Delegation of Governor’s Powers)
Notice 2018, which came into force on 25 September
2018.
Mr. Chairman, it must be noted the United
Kingdom retains overall responsibility for the external
affairs of B ermuda, and that the special responsibility
of the Governor for external affairs and defence
comes under , pursuant to, section 62 of the Constit ution of Bermuda is in no way affected by this delegation.
For ease of reference, it is noted that under
the sa id Orders the Minister of Legal Affairs has the
power to:
a) obtain evidence and information by taking
such steps as considered appropriate to c ooperate with any international investigation r elating to the funds, economic resources or f inancial transactions of a designated person;
b) issue and revoke licences, with the consent of
the Secretary of State, and may grant a l icence authorising an activity that would ot herwise be prohibited under the said Orders
and such licence can be varied or revoked by
3628 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly the Minister at any time with the consent of
the Secretary of State;
c) serve as a Reporting Depository to whom a
relevant institution reports or informs if it credits a frozen account pursuant to an Order;
d) authorise persons with power to search and
investigate suspected ships/aircrafts/vehicles;
and
e) specify, by Regulations, in the currency of the
territory, the amount which is to be taken as
the equivalent to sums expressed in sterling in
the relevant Order,
Mr. Chairman, t he FSIU provides support to
the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs in
carrying out these functions that have been delegated
by the Governor. The FSIU also provides the necessary infrastructure to effectively implement targeted
financial sanctions as well as provides support to the
Minister of Legal Affairs in respect of her statutory
functions regarding implementation of Governments
anti-money laundering initiatives.
The FSIU team was a part of the Bermuda
efforts during the Mutual Evaluation of Bermuda and served as the lead for Recommendations 6 and 7 and
the Immediate Outcomes 10 and 11 of the Financial
Action Task Force Standards that were the basis of
Bermuda’s assessment. Recommendations 6 and 7
were both rated largely compliant , and Immediate
Outcomes 10 and 11 were respectively rated substa ntial and moderate.

Output Measures
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, with respect to
output measures, t he FSIU ensures that the sanctions
measures website of the Government portal is updated with regard to additions or de- listings for the var ious sanctions regimes. Thus upon notification from
HM Treasury’s Office, FSIU updates the website within 24 hours and also notifies supervisors to immedi-ately advise their supervised entities. In addition, the
FSIU will be engaging in outreach to relevant Government Ministries and d epartments as well as with
industry to increase awareness and provide information regarding obligations under Bermuda’s sanctions regime and the role of the FSIU in implementing targeted financial sanctions.
The FSIU is also worki ng closely with the UK
authorities and operational partners with regard to changes that will take effect once the transitional post
Brexit period expires in order to ensure Bermuda’s
sanctions regime continues to function effectively and
efficiently.

Staff
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, currently the
FSIU is comprised of a responsible head, and r ecruitment is nearing completion to fill the position of Legal Counsel. Administrative support is provided by
Headquarters as needed. The Head is responsible f or
implementing targeted financial sanctions including
bringing relevant Overseas Territories Order s in
Council into force in Bermuda; reviewing licence applications in respect of the various sanctions regimes;
liaising with Government House and UK authori ties on
sanctions matters; and assisting Headquarters with
Bermuda’s mutual evaluation process. During the period the Head has been assisted by consultant Legal
Counsel for approximately three months.

Training and Development

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chai rman, with respect to
training and development, t he FSIU benefited from
various NAMLC national training initiatives in preparing for Bermuda’s mutual evaluation and defending
Bermuda’s report at the CFATF Plenary. In addition,
the Head also participated in HM Treasury’s Office of
Financial Sanctions Implementation meetings which
were held with the UK’s Overseas Territories in Miami
in March of 2019. The FSIU led a session on the establishment of a sanctions implementation unit and shared Bermuda’s experienc e in respect of having
certain functions delegated from the Governor to the
Minister. The FSIU Head also presented at the
CFATF Plenary to respond to key issues raised in r espect of Immediate Outcomes 10 and 11.

Mirrors Programme —97090

Hon. Kim N. Wilson : Mr. Chairman, the Mirrors Pr ogramme continues to execute its mission of empowering young people to reach their full potential through
personal transformation that promotes healthy rel ationships. Of its 2020/21 budget, $874,000 has been allocated. $476,000 , or 54 per cent, represents sal aries of administration. The remaining $398,000, or
46 per cent, Mr. Chairman, represents over all costs.
The Mirrors allocated 2020/21 budget represents a
4 per cent reduction over last year’s budget.
Mirrors continues to focus its efforts on best
practices to meet the desired outcomes for Bermuda’s
youth. The technology used for middle and senior school students are socioemotional skills development, performance coaching and personal transformation with an emphasis on inn ovative learning strategies and leadership skills. The programme continues
to produce results towards its long- term objective to
make better learners and to build a resilient community of young adults who have positive life outcomes in
education, employment and lawfulness. The two-year
post programming data of the core senior school population remains pretty consistent with 92 per cent of
clients demonstrating lawfulness (not offending or reoffending), 79 per cent of students connected to
education (graduat ing or currently in school) and
42 per cent are currently employed and at the last


Bermuda House of Assembly checkpoint in September 2019— those are the stati stics. Mirrors consistently works on its outputs and outcomes from a prevention science perspective of decreasing risks and i ncreasing protective factors for
societal and cultural public benefit. To date , Mirrors
has served 3, 967 youth and trained 3, 468 adults i ncluding parents, teachers and volunteers in positive
youth development.
Mr. Chairman, Mirrors launched the Peer
Forwa rd programme sponsored by Skyport on Febr uary 11, 2020 w ith 191 Berkeley and Cedar Bridge
teachers and staff and they were scheduled to attend
training to boost college preparation and enrolment across the entire public high school population, in
preparatio n for the 2020/21 school year. The intention
is to motivate all students to reali se their true college
and career potential which is aligned with the Ministry of Education’s strategic plan.
US research indicates , Mr. Chairman, that by
2020, 65 per cent of all jobs will require higher educ ation and experts predict an 11 million shortage of col-lege-educated workers over the next decade. PeerForward has demonstrated a 20 per cent increase in
college enrolment rates among its partner schools in
the US with a c urriculum aligned with college and c areer readiness standards set forth by the American
School Counselor Association , and Common Core.
We are looking to ignite the power of peer influence to
drive the increase in college enrolment for Bermuda
students in both public high schools and compete in
the local and global workplace.
Additionally, Mirrors plans to work with
YouthNet to encourage corporate par tners, mentors
and teachers with touch points over the high school
experience to support the overall pr ogram me goal.
Mr. Chairman, a 4 per cent reduction over last
year is based on improved efficiency and readjus tments of how the Mirrors Programme works. There will be an increase in the number of senior school st udents served from 22 to 30 for the 2020/21 fiscal year. The shift in traveling overseas to a university setting
for the camp services versus hosting the residential
camp locally proved positive last year.
Students are expected to participate in the
SuperCamp at Villanova University in Pennsylvania this current year. The change to an overseas camp
experience provides a more cost -effective way of
providing services whilst adding additional benefits to
building students’ leader ship skills allowing them to
interact with overseas st udents and have a college
campus life experience.
Additionally, by focusing on younger senior
school st udents, we can build on the peer support to
reach more students in the high schools. It is noted that the limited venues locally and the rising cost for
conference and housing services would not be sustainable in the long term to host local residential
camps. Mr. Chairman, the middle school student output will increase to a scheduled 393 students overall
for fiscal year 2020/21. There are 343 students who
will participate in the “ All In! 8 Keys of Excellence”
programme ( which is based on enrolment projections
at Dellwood and [ Clear water] where 90 teachers in
two middle schools will continue in the “Quantum
Learning Excellence in Teaching” certification training process. Teachers w ill provide eight months of character development lessons in advisory for students over the school year. Mirrors will increase the focus on getting parents to attend the parent workshops and
participate over the school year for improved parental
involvement in education to promote positive educ ation outcomes for students. Additionally, 50 students
will have the opportunity to participate in the Mirrors
middle school SuperCamp which will be held over the October 2020 school term break.
Mr. Chairman, t he Mi rrors Alumni and Friends
Association will continue to support the programme through the volunteer recognition scheme, the annual
Bermuda themed art competition, community service clean- up of Southlands and other community engagements. I would like to take this opportunity to si ncerely thank the volunteers, corporate Bermuda, the Alumni Board members and the Mirrors team for their
commitment to the development of Bermuda’s youth.

Grants

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Turning now, Mr. Chairman, to
grants.
The budget allocation for grants for fiscal
2020/21 is found at p age C -17 of the Approved Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the fiscal year
2020/21 Budget Book. For f iscal 2020/21 grants will
be provided to both the Financial Intelligence Agency
and the Cent re Against Abuse.

Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA)

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: In continuation, Mr. Chairman,
of Government's efforts to combat money laundering
and terrorist financing, the FIA was established under
the Financial Intelligence Agency Act 2007. The FIA is
the independent agency authori sed to receive, gather,
store, analy se and disseminate information relating to
suspected money laundering and financing of terror-ism, which is received in the form of a suspicious activity report. The FIA is empowered to disseminate
such information to the Bermuda Police Service and Foreign Intelligence Authorities.
Mr. Chairman, $1,805,000 was allocated for
fiscal 2020/21, which is an amount which has r emained the same as fiscal year 2019/20. The statutory
mandate of the FIA dictates that the Agency must r eport its quarterly expenditure and provide an annual
audited report to the Minister of Legal Affairs.

3630 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Centre Against Abuse (CAB)

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Centre Against Abuse b ecame a registered charity in Bermuda on June 11,
1979, its register number is charity [#146] , under the
name of the Physical Abuse Centre. In January 2010,
the name officially changed to the Centre Against Abuse. The services at the time of its inception i ncluded the first hot line, counselling, and safe housing
dedicated specifically to victims of domestic abuse.
The overall objective of the Centre is to pr ovide crisis support services to male and female adult victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault; and to
educate the community by providing building blocks
for healthy relationships.
The Centre is run by a Board of Directors. To
assist the C entre Against Abuse to carry on its esse ntial role, $150,000 was allocated to it for the 2020/21
fiscal year .

Capital Expenditure Estimates

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The budget allocation for Capital Expenditures is found at p age C -10 of the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure. The Ministry has
been allocated a total of $274,000 for fiscal 2020/21.
[There has been] $249,000 allocated for video conferencing and the remaining $25,000 is intended to be
used to purchase fully depreciated assets with no r esidual value for departments under the Ministry.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, i t is anticipated that the
Ministry of Legal Affairs’ Headquarters’ budget alloc ations for 2020/21 as detailed, will enable the Ministry
to successfully fulfil its mandate with careful monitoring and the continuing exercise of financial prudence.
That completes Head 87, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Minister.
We are on Legal Affairs, four hours for this
debate. It ends at 8:46 pm, led by the Honourable and
Learned Member from constituency 34.
You have the floor.

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. Mr. Chairman, tur ning now to Head 3, the Judiciary.

HEAD 3 —JUDICIARY

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Judicial Department, Mr.
Chairman—the Judiciary is established by the Const itution of Bermuda as a separate and independent
branch of government. Its task is to adjudicate char ges of criminal conduct, resolve disputes, uphold the
rights and freedoms of the individual and preserve the
rule of law. The mission statement of the judiciary is
as follows: to administer justice through the effective
management of the courts of Bermuda. Their mission
statement of the administrative section is to provide the services and support necessary to enable the J udiciary to achieve its mission.
The Judicial system of Bermuda consists of
the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, which is criminal, civil, commercial, appellate, family and mat-rimonial courts, as well a s the probate registry, and
the Magistrates’ Court which has criminal, civil and
family courts.
At the start of 2019, Mr. Chairman, ancillary
activities included bailiff services, and administrative
support for judicial chairs of statutory boards such as the Liquor Licensing Authority and the Criminal Inj uries Compensation Boards. In 2019, administration of
the Liquor Licensing Authority was allocated to the Ministry of Legal Affairs in accordance with the r espective legislative remit.
The Honourable Chief Justice is the head of
the Judiciary and the Registrar is the head of the J udicial Department which can employ, when fully
staffed, up to 70 officers, none of whom require a
work permit. There are currently 56, or 80 per cent
substantive posts filled; 5, or 7.1 per cent posts filled
by temporary relief employees , and 10, or 14 per cent,
vacant posts. The budget for this d epartment in the
upcoming year is approximately $8,943,00 and rev enues for this year are projected at $6,013,000.

Highlights 2019/20

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, the Judicial D epartment gives thanks to the Permanent Secretary,
Ms. Marva- Jean O’Brien, and the Department of H uman Resources for their assistance and support in
helping the department fill a number of vacant posts.
In lat e 2019, Mrs. Jasmin Smith was appointed the
Acting Permanent Secretary, who has continued to
assist the d epartment in pursuing its goals of securing
a full complement of staff.
The Court accommodation being placed under one roof would increase service eff iciency. The
closure of the 113 Front Street location as well as the
renovations being carried out at Sessions House have
continued to have an impact on service delivery of the
Courts. It remains a priority to find suitable relocation
space for administrat ive st aff, Judge’s Chambers as
well as suitable, secure and separate jury space and
Court operations.

Technology —Video Conferencing

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Evidence (Audio Visual
Link) Act 2018 was passed and capital funding has
been allocated for the implementation and installation of the required technology.

Further Education

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: In the upcoming year we will
look forward to once again ensuring that staff explore


Bermuda House of Assembly opportunities for growth and learning that could lead
them to qualifying as future lawyers or other such recognised positions in this community.
It is further envisaged that training for all jud icial posts ( judges, the r egistrar and the m agistrates)
will recommence. The most affordable options for J udicial training will be fully res earched, given the lack of
training available in Bermuda, to provide the most r eliable and applicable training in order to further i ncrease the quality and efficiency of the Judiciary.

Commercial Court in the Government
Administration Building

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, the Commercial
Court has now completed its tenth year of operation
and continues to be well received by practitioners,
both here and overseas.

Magistrates' Courts in the Dame
Lois Browne -Evans Building (DLBEB) on Court Street
opened for business in April 2011. The Courts and Administrative offices are now spread across the
northern section of the second, third and fourth floors.
The premises continue to house the Supreme
Court Family/Matrimonial Division, IT, and the Probate Division, which were displaced from the previous 113
Front Street location. The Criminal Division have also
now been temporarily relocated to Dame Lois
Browne -Evans Building due to safety concerns raised
by me mbers of staff at Sessions House. Due to the
ongoing renovations, the staff of the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court remain at Dame Lois BrowneEvans Building.

Cost Centres

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The majority of the department's increase in funding is to cover an increase in costs associated with a Contract for Security Services
for Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building , as well as the
requirement for Acting Magistrates who are employed
in the private sector to be paid as consultants rather
than as members of staff through salaries.
Additional funds have also been allocated to
the department to ensure the judges and magistrates
have access to the most up- to-date online research
and law books to f acilitate carrying out research in
order to deliver high quality and accurate rulings and
judgments for the matters which appear before the
Courts.
Furthermore, additional funding has been allocated for judicial trai ning which is not available
online and is a necessity for all judicial officers to be effective in their respective roles.
Cost Centre 13000 —Criminal Injuries
Compensation

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: This cost centre provides for
payments to victims of criminal acts as decided by the
Board. As of the 30
th January 2019, $162,450 in
awards has been paid out. While c ontrol of the Crim inal Injuries Compensation Board has been transferred
to the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the expense remains in
the Judicial Department’s cost centres.

Cost Centre 13010 —Supreme Court

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: This cost centre provides for the
salaries and operational expenses for the administr ation of the Supreme Court Registry for which there are
10 posts, including the assistant registrar, manager,
and accounts and administrative officers. The i ncrease is largely due to an increase in the ex pense to
allow the j udges to update their legal libraries and to
have the benefit of access to online legal research tools. [There were] 390 new civil matters filed and
there were 115 divorces filed in 2019.

Cost Centre 13015 —Courtrooms and Chambers

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: This cost centre provides for the
salaries and operational expenses for the Courtrooms
and Chambers of the Supreme Court, representing
criminal, civil and commercial and family/matrimonial.
There are 19 posts including the c hief justice, puisne
judges and the r egistrar's post.
The increase results from an incremental i ncrease in salaries (due to movement to the next post
grade), and an increase in training expenses, and a
small increase for Judicial attire offset by a decrease
of a portion of our security expense due to transferring
a portion of the expense to another cost centre in the
department. There were 27 new indictments filed and
29 civil and criminal appeals filed from Magistrates’
Court.

Cost Centre 13020 —Court of Appeal

Hon. K im N. Wilson: This cost centre, Mr. Chairman,
provides the sitting and retainer fees of the President
of the Court of Appeal, four Justices of Appeal, and
the salaries of two posts, an administrative officer and
an administrative assistant.
The increase r esults from an incremental i ncrease in salaries (due to movement to the next post
grade). The Court of Appeal meets three times a year;
sessions are three weeks long. The number of appeal
cases filed in 2019 was 17.

Cost Centre 13025 —Court Technology Office
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: This cost centre provides for the
salaries for the information technology section for
3632 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly where there are three posts: the IT m anager, IT a ssistant and a d ata entry clerk. This funding includes transcription services, maintenance fees for the c ourt
case management system (JEMS), the court reporting
system (CourtSmart), and the telephone system. Equipment and software applications must be mai ntained, kept up to date and will ultimately have to be
replaced when necessary. We must ensure t hat the
CourtSmart and other information technology systems
work well. The ultimate goal of electronic filing
throughout the courts will be a significant future ex-pense where funding will need to be earmarked. We
will continue our research in relation to t he cost of
electronic filing software which would be the most appropriate for our Courts as this expense can be up-wards of $1.5 million.
The decrease is largely due to a decrease in
expenses for software maintenance and overtime.

Cost Centre 13040 —The Mag istrates’ Court

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: This cost centre provides funding for the senior magistrate, four magistrates and
acting appointments where necessary. The Magi strates’ Court is presided over by the Worshipful Senior
Magistrate Juan P. Wolffe; the Wors hipful Tyrone
Chin; the Worshipful Khamisi Tokunbo; the Worshipful
Maxanne Anderson; and the Worshipful C. Craig A ttridge, all of whom bring a wealth of knowledge and
expertise to the Magistracy. The s enior magistrate has
increased his acting m agistrate roster so as to give
opportunities to those in the legal profession to ac-quire judicial experience and skills which would put them in a position to elevate to the bench.
The Magistrates’ Court, Mr. Chairman, is multi-jurisdictional having conduct of Civil, Criminal, Tra ffic and Family matters. There are also the Treatment Courts, such as the Mental Health Treatment Court,
Drug Treatment Court and the pilot Driving Under the
Influence (DUI) Court which continue to reduce recidivism by addressing the drug, alc ohol and mental
health challenges of offenders.
There was also an increase in funding for the
law library offerings for the j udges, magistrates, the
registrar and a ssistant registrar for the conduct of l egal research.

Cost Centre —13050 Civil Records

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Civil Section is overseen by
the office manager who has under their remit one s enior court associate and two court associates.
This section provides case management and
court services for the resolution of civil claims up to
$25,000, landlord and tenant matters under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1974 and the Rent Increases
(Domestic Premises) Control Act 1978. The filing fees for civil matters have not been amended in over 25
years. Legislative amendments are required to i n-crease fees f or the preparation of these files. The pr ocess has begun and has been submitted to the Attorney General’s Chambers for a review. There were
1,626 new civil cases filed in 2019.
The increase results from an incremental i ncrease in salaries (due to movement to the next post
grade).

Cost Centre 13060 —Family and Child Support

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: There are two Family Courts,
each comprised of a magistrate and two s pecial panel
members (a male and a female), pursuant to the Ma gistrates’ Act 1948.
This Court c ontinues to exercise its jurisdi ction in cases involving children who have not yet attained the age of 18 years and children who have con-tinued in full -time education beyond 18 years.
The Family Court is a Special Court which
was created to handle the specific needs of children
whether born within or outside of marriage, and matters arising in respect of their custody, care, maint enance and violations against the law such as juvenile
offenders.
The Family Support Office serves the public
and the Magistrat es' Court by providing customer service, records management and financial control. This
Office also provides services to other Government agencies such as the Department of Child and Family
Services and Court Services.
The total Family Court caseload for 2019 was
1,705 cases which represents a marginal decline of
18 per cent over 2018 previously.
The total Family Court caseload for 2019 is
recorded as the lowest number of cases heard over
the past five years. There was a total of 1,705 cases
heard in Famil y Court in 2019 which is 18 per cent or
309 cases less than 2018, and 23 per cent or 388
cases lower than in 2017. While there has been a
continuous decline in the total number of Family c ases
between 2015 and 2019 there has been a noticeable
increase in t he severity and complexity of the Family
matters that come before the Court which require
more court time to resolve.
The Family Court had an additional 79 new
cases filed in 2019. There was a significant decline of 35 per cent or 112 New Family cases fil ed in 2019 as
opposed to an increase of 19 per cent in the number
of Juvenile Cases heard in Family Court. Over the past three years 2017– 2019 the number of Juvenile
cases heard were between 34 and 52 cases, while in
2015 –2016 there were 115 and 128 cases heard, respectively. This reduction may be due to the lower
birth rates , but also due to parties seeking alternative
dispute resolution, such as mediation.
The total amount of c hild support payments
received in 2019 is slightly lower than in 2018. This
represents an 8 per cent reduction or $344,607 as is
illustrated, Mr. Chairman, in Figure 12. This is conBermuda House of Assembly sistent with the fact that the number of new cases filed
has decreased.
The increase results from an incremental i ncrease in salaries due to movement to the next post
grade.

Cost Centre 13070 —Administration
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Magistrates’ Court s enior
officers, who fall under the remit of the c ourt manager,
consist of the f amily support officer, the h ead bailiff
and the deputy provost marshal and the office manager. They provide support and overall control of per-sonnel, facilities and financial resources of the Magi strates’ Court.
The Magistrates’ Court Administration Section
consists of the c ourt manager, office manager, accounts officer, an admin istrative assistant and two
court associates (fully titled c ashiers). The a ccounts
officer and two c ourt associates are fully responsible
for all revenue collected. They are to be commended
as they collected $9,181,154 in fees, fines and direct
deposits ov er 2019. This amounted to a 4 per cent
increase in revenue collected. The total amount collected by Magistrates' Court for all categories including child support in 2019 was $6,942,763.
Following the completion of a Request for
Quotation process, a new contract for c ourt security
services for the Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building
commenced during this fiscal year. The increase in
that cost centre is to cover the costs associated with
the new contract, which included an increase in the
hourly rate from the pr evious contract.
Additional fund ing is also required for forensic
lab services which are provided by the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) in rel ation to autopsies and cor oners reports as the Jud icial Department is responsible
for cover ing these costs. Over the course of 2019
there was an increase in the total number of autop sies
performed due to an increase in the number of sudden deaths. The senior magistrate, who serves as the
senior coroner, has confirmed that there has also
been an i ncrease in the number of coroner’s inquests.

Cost Centre 13080 —Criminal/Traffic/
Records

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: After a spike in the number of
outstanding warrants in 2018, there was a notable
decline of 8 per cent or 1,019 warrants over the past
year. This is likely attributabl e to a decrease in the
number of Criminal, Traffic and Family matters that have come before the Courts, but also due to compl iance of c ourt orders by the parties in matters.
In 2019, there were 10,665 outstanding warrants. Outstanding warrants for criminal and traffic
offences fall under three categories which are as follows: committals, summary jurisdiction apprehensions
warrants , and apprehensions. The total amount of unpaid fines that have accrued as a result of warrants not being executed saw
a nominal reduction, Mr. Chairman, of $88,746 , or
4 per cent, as of 31 December 2019. Interagency co llaboration has been beneficial for the execution of warrants. Magistrates have made payment orders so
that offenders could pay their fines over a reasonable
period of time thereby removing the possibility of i ncarcerating them for default.
The Criminal Records Office of the Magi strates' Court provides case management functions for
criminal, traffic and parking records. For the past year,
the Criminal/Traffic/Records Section processed a total
of 2,196 r ecord requests as at 31 December 2019.
This represents an additional 262 r equests or a
12 per cent increase when compared to 2018.
It is to be noted that the fee for a r ecord request at the Magistrates’ Court continues to be di sproportionately low at $10.00 per application when a
similar report from the Bermuda Police Service is
$100.00. There has been extensive communication
over the years regarding increasing the fee to at least $50.00 per application as it has not changed in over
25 years.
The decrease results from a combination of
the transfer of a c ourt associate post to the Criminal
Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) cost centre , and
the incremental increase in salaries due to movement
to the next post grade.

Cost Centre 13090 —Bailiff's Office

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The increase results from an
incremental increase in salaries due to movement to
the next post grade.
This office, Mr. Chairman, provides for the
service and execution of c ourt papers inclusive of Ci vil, Family, Supreme Court and Foreign Services.
There is one head bailiff/deputy provost marshal general and one a dministrative assistant and five b ailiffs
who travel throughout the Island serving Court pr ocesses. Unfortunately for the entire year of 2019, the bailiff’s section operated under strength with four bailiffs to execute the processes issued by the Courts. During the past year , the bailiffs were assigned 3,106
documents for service. There were also 37 Writs of
Execution orders executed in 2019 which was more
than double the amount of orders executed in the pr evious year.
After an untiring review of the Writs of E xecution, several of these cases were withdrawn due to no further requirements for enforcement. Be that as it
may, several cases remain ongoi ng to settle the i ndebtedness of the j udgment debtors. There was one
case of merit, where a total of $148,922 .10 was
seized from the j udgment debtor’s investment accounts after the person had absconded from the juri sdiction.
3634 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly There were a total of 26 e vict warrants ex ecuted in 2019 —I think that represents 33 per cent.

Revenue

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, turning now to
Revenue.

Yes.

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The revenue reported in this
section is for the calendar year of 2019.

Traffic an d Parking Fines

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The major components of rev enue are traffic and criminal fines. The total amount
recorded for t raffic fines was $2,212,016; $3 78,775 for
parking fines; and $139,841 for criminal fines. These
amounts tend to fluctuate in line with the volume of
offences prosecuted and the number of successful convictions and the levels of fines imposed. There are
significant collection difficulties associated with recovering Court fines, such as locating offenders, often
repeat offenders, which leads to outstanding warrants.
It is to be noted that in June 2017, the Traffic Offences
Procedure Amendment and Validation Act 2015 was
implemented in law. The amendment to this Act i ncreased the parking fines from $50.00 to $75.00 and altered the receipts of revenue from the Accountant
General to the Corporation of Hamilton. Soon after the
Act was passed, the Corporation of Hamilton assumed the responsibility of managing the t raffic wardens from the Bermuda Police Service. Currently the
traffic wardens enforce parking regulations within the
City of Hamilton and the Town of St. George’s.
From 1 July 2017 to 31 December 2019 over
$1,000,000 has been collected by the Magistrates’ Court Cashiers from parking ticket fines and paid out
to the Corporation of Hamilton. However, the Financial
Controller for the Ministry of Legal Affairs has di sclosed that the Bermuda Government paid out a total
of over $478,000 in parking ticket fines in 2019, to the
Corporation of Hamilton. There remains a concern
that the Magistrates’ Court Cashiers’ section provides
all of the resources to collect p arking ticket fines on
behalf of the Corporation of Hamilton. These r esources are funded by the Bermuda Government. There is no financial reimbursement by the Corpor ation of Ham ilton to cover the costs of collecting their
fines as 100 per cent of the fines collected are transferred directly to the Corporation of Hamilton and it
results in a loss of revenue to the Bermuda Gover nment.

Court Fees for the Supreme Court

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Regrettably, the fees collected
for Supreme Court matters has not been revenue that has historically been recorded. The majority of S upreme Court fees are paid by way of revenue stamps
which counsel and parties purchase through the A ccountant General. This uncaptured revenue needs to be recorded to show the true revenue of the Judiciary.

Court Fees for the Magistrates’ Court

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: There was a consistent decline
in the number of New Civil Cases filed in the Magi strates’ Court betwee n 2015 and 2018. However, in
2019, the Civil Court adjudicated 1,626 new civil documents filed which is a 9 per cent increase over 2018.
The revenue received to date for [ Civil] fees
for 2019 is $125,735. As stated above , the process
has commenced to amen d the Civil Court fees. It is
anticipated that appropriate increases will be instituted
through the necessary legislation.

Liquor Licences

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: [There was] $541,931 in rev enue collected during 2019. As of June 2019, the administration of t he Liquor Licensing Authority was
moved to the Ministry of Legal Affairs thereby legisl atively transferring the c hairmanship from the s enior
magistrate to an individual appointed by the Gover nment. However, the Magistrates’ Court still has the
responsibili ty of collecting all of the payments for li quor licensing fees.

Stamp Duty on Deceased's Estates

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Applications are made to the
Supreme Court to probate the estates of deceased
individuals. A tax assessment regarding revenue is
made on the net estate value of a deceased’s estate.
The net estate value is a calculation of the total value
of a deceased’s gross estate less the value of various statutory deductions and exemptions including the
value of property designated as a primary family
homestead and a spousal benefit.
For the period April 2019 to September 2019
(6 months) Revenue assessment s of $1,207,379, with
respect to 111 grants were issued.
For the period April 2018 to March 2019 (12
months): the revenue assessment of $1,270,407 (or
95 grants) was issued. The lower number of grants
issued during this period was a direct result of a s evere shortage of staff during that period. The lowest assessment was $26.42 and the highest assessment was $386,959.16.

Total Revenue for 2020/21

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Revenue estimates for
2020/21 are found on page B -90 of the Budget Book.
Revenue Estimates are expected to decrease
from the prior year as there was a one- off large estate


Bermuda House of Assembly that resulted in a taxation of $4.5 million which is not
anticipated in the next fiscal year. Budgeting for
$6,012,000 is a more realistic estimate for 2020/21.
[Crosstalk]

Yes, we are in Committee of Supply
on the Budget. We are doing Legal Affairs which is
Heads 87, 3, 23, 4 and 74.
Honourable and Learned Member from constituency 34, you have the floor.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, turning now to Capital Expend iture.
Capital Expenditure estimates for 2020/21 are
found at page C -10 of the Budget Book. The Judicial
Department has been allocated a total of $267,000 for
fiscal year 2020/21. The funding for court reporting
has been roll ed forward to the next fiscal year to continue the implementation of having court reporting in the courts.
This concludes the submissions for Head 3,
the Judiciary.

HEAD 4 —ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, turning now to
Head 4, the Attorney General’s Chambers. Mr.
Chairman, this can be located at page B -97 of the
Budget Book.

The Chair man: Thank you.

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The mission statement, depar tment objectives and current accounts estimates for
the Attorney General’s Chambers under Head 4 are
set out in the Budget Book. The mission statement is
as follows, Mr. Chairman: Provide hig h quality legal
advice; representation and drafting of legislation for
the Government. I
A total of $5,428,000 with respect to expenditure, Mr. Chairman, has been allocated for Chambers.
This represents an increase of $120,000, or 2 per cent
from fiscal 2 019/20.
Mr. Chairman, the Attorney General's Chambers objectives are:
1. to provide quality legal services to the Government of Bermuda;
2. to advise all Government ministries, departments, and e ntities on the law applicable to
their operational requirements;
3. to draft legislation as required to implement
the Government's legislative agenda, to mai ntain Bermuda's legislative database, and to
support law reform; 4. to draft contracts, international instruments for
mutual tax information exchange, conveyanc-es and other documents required for public
purposes and to provide advice on private
Bills; and
5. to conduct litigation in the Civil Courts of Bermuda on behalf of the Government of Berm uda.
Mr. Chairman, the Attorney General's Chambers is functionally divided into six programmes ac-counted for below as follows:

Cost Centre 14010 —Administration

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Administration provides admi nistrative support to the Attorney General, Solicitor
General and Crown Counsel. This cost centre pr ovides salaries for an office manager, a receptionist, a
records management clerk, and an administrative assistant for Accounts. It also supports the purchasing of
office supplies which are common to all sections of
the department. The modest year -over-year increase
is due to changes i n the BPSU salary scales allocated
for salaries under this cost centre and an allocation of
funding for books, periodical s and subscriptions.

Cost Centre 14020 —Advisory
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Advisory Section is responsible for providing quality legal a dvice to all Gover nment departments and to conduct litigation matters
brought by or against the Government. Additionally, Advisory is responsible for recovering debts owed to
the Government.
This cost centre provides salaries for one solicitor general, two deputy solicitor generals, two senior crown counsel, six c rown counsel, three a dmini strative assistants and one pupil. The increase is due
primarily to funding for a vacant d eputy solicitor general post.

Cost Centre 14030 —Legislative Drafting

Hon. Kim N . Wilson: The Legislative Drafting Section, Mr. Chairman:
1. advises regarding proposals to introduce or
amend legislation;
2. drafts primary and subordinate legislation for
all Government departments; and
3. provides advice and support to Ministers in
the House of Assembly and Senate as their
respective legislation progresses.
This section also, Mr. Chairman, provides advice to Ministers and the Governor on legal and constitutional issues and on matters of parliamentary pr ocedure. The salaries provided for in this cost centre
include those of the chief parliamentary counsel, deputy chief parliamentary counsel, five p arliamentary
counsel, two a ssistant parliamentary counsel, and a
3636 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly legislative database manager, as well as a legislative
editor, a legislative administr ator and a legislative database administrator. The year -over-year budgetary
decrease is due to a reduction in the funding for a
consultant parliamentary counsel.

Cost Centre 14040 —Revised Laws of Bermuda

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: This cost centre supports the
consolidation, periodic revision and publication of the
Laws of Bermuda. It is responsible for providing members of both Houses of the Legislature, bus inesses, lawyers, and the general public with access to
the Revised Statutes and Regulations of Bermuda. It
also supports the ongoing consolidation of primary and subordinate legislation. The modest budgetary
increase is due to the annual increase in the cost of
Arbortext licence renewals.

Cost Centre 14050 —Debt Collection

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Debt Enfor cement Unit
within the Attorney General's Chambers was established by the Government to assist the Department of Social Insurance and the Office of the Tax Commi ssioner in the recovery of unpaid Social Insurance contributions, Payroll Tax, Land Tax and other taxes owed to the Government. The cost centre provides
salaries for one c rown counsel, one j unior crown
counsel, and an a dministrator.
The modest year -over-year decrease is due to
a reduction in the funding for the post of junior crown
counsel due to the promotion of a junior crown counsel to the post crown counsel.

Cost Centre 14060 —Law Library

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: This programme provides for
the cost of maintaining the Law Library in the Attorney
General's Chambers, which includes the purchase of
book s, periodicals, and the provision of access to
leading online legal information sources, such as Lexis/Nexis and Westlaw. The modest increase reflects the increased cost of subscriptions.

Capital Acquisitions

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Turning now, Mr. Chairman, to
capital acquisitions. This can be located in the Budget
Book found at page C -10.
For capital acquisitions, Mr. Chairman, the A ttorney General’s Chambers has been allocated the
sum of $16,000 for fiscal year 2020/21. More funding
has been given to Cham bers for capital acquisitions.
This funding is intended to purchase furniture and computers to replace fully depreciated assets with no residual value.
Output Measures

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, during the 2019
calendar year, 56 Acts were enacted, and 139 Stat utory Instruments were made. In addition to the annual
budget Legislation, there were a number of new and
amending Acts to give effect to the Government's Legislative Agenda on topics including child safeguarding,
liquor licensing, employment law, health insurance,
superyachts and incorporated segregated accounts companies.
The Bermuda Laws website, which contains
all of Bermuda's current laws and subordinate legisl ation, is updated in real time from within the Chambers and we are continuing to make improvements to the
site. Since November 2018, as part of the e -Gazette
project, statutory instruments (sometimes referred to as BRs) are now gazetted by publication on the website which clearly indicates, Mr. Chairman, the oper ational date.
Over the past budget year, we received 15
Mutual Legal Assistance requests, which is an i ncrease of four more in the number of requests than in
the previous year. Notwithstanding this increase, the
number of days for us to respond has remained co nstant.

Staffing
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, there are currently three vacant posts within the Civil Advisory and
Litigation Section of the Attorney General's Chambers:
one deputy solicitor general; one j unior crown counsel, and one administrative assistant. The vac ant post
of junior crown counsel follows the promotion of a j unior crown [counsel] to the post of c rown counsel in
October of 2019 following five years of on- the-job
training.
The current staffing levels of the Civil Advisory
section are: one solicitor general, one deputy solicitor
general, two s enior crown counsel, seven c rown
counsel, two a dministrative assistants and one p aralegal to the s olicitor general who is currently on s econdment to the Department of Child and Family Ser-vices.
In the Drafting Secti on of Chambers, there is
one vacancy for an a ssistant parliamentary counsel
following the promotion of an a ssistant to a p arliamentary counsel post in January following five years of onthe-job training. The recruitment process has co mmenced for a new trai nee drafter to start in the fort hcoming fiscal year. There are currently eight p arliamentary counsel (including the c hief and d eputy
chief), and one assistant parliamentary counsel. In
addition to these dedicated lawyers who are respons ible for drafting al l Government Bills and Statutory I nstruments, the section is fortunate to have an exce llent administrative team comprising four persons,


Bermuda House of Assembly each of whom plays a vital role in the timely production, publication, and consolidation of legislation.

Training and Development
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, the Attorney
General's Chambers includes within its mandate the development of its professional and administrative
staff. Members of the Civil Advisory and Administr ative Section of Chambers attended training and per-sonal development courses offered by the Department of Human Resources. Members of the Advisory Section also provided in- house presentations on advisory
and litigation matters.
The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of
Legal Affairs; the solicitor general and the deputy solicitor general attended a plenary session of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force ( or CFATF) mee ting in Antigua in November 2019. CFATF is an organization of states and territories in the Caribbean that
have agreed to implem ent common countermeasures
against money laundering and is a regional organis ation that is associated with the Financial Action Task Force [FATF ]. They attended and participated in var ious sessions surrounding the mutual evaluation of
Bermuda pertaining to the level of effectiveness of
Bermuda’s AML/ [CFT] regime.

[Pause]

We are on Legal Affairs. Heads 87, 3,
23, 4 and 74. Four hours , and this debate will conclude at 8:46 pm.
The Honourable Learned Member from constituency 34 is on her feet .
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
They attended and participated in various
sessions surrounding the mutual evaluation of Bermuda pertaining to the level of effectiveness of Bermuda’s AML/CFT regime.
The plenary sessions resulted in a succes sful
outcome for Bermuda in regard to being both techn ically and effectively compliant with the Financial A ction Task Force standards. In relation to Bermuda’s
overall level of effectiveness in combating money laundering and financing of terrorism and prol iferation,
Bermuda’s AML/CFT regime ranks in the top six of the
more than 75 Mutual Evaluation Reports that have
been published to date.
Mr. Chairman, a junior crown counsel and the
deputy solicitor general attended a conference in rel ation to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption [UNCAC] in Vienna, Austria. This professional
development will assist with advising the Attorney
General in relation to her responsibilities under the Bribery Act [2016]. .
One Parliamentary Counsel attended (at his
own expense) the biennial conference of the Com-monwealth Association of Legislative Counsel and the
conference of the Commonwealth Association of Law
Reform Agencies held in Livingstone, Zambia in April
2019, and gave a presentation to the drafting team on
his return to share knowledge acquired at the confer-ences. Members of the Drafting Section also attended
various training and development sessions offered
locally on topics including the role of the ombudsman,
child safeguarding, tobacco reform, and sessions of
the Bermuda tech summit. Drafters also attended
management and development courses offered by the Department of Human Resources. The assistant parliamentary counsel continues work toward obtaining a
Drafting Diploma offered online by a university in Canada. Members of the Drafting team take turns in
giving in -house monthly presentations and lead
roundtable discussions on drafting matters.

Initiatives in the Forthcoming
Year Advisory

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, turning quickly to
the initiativ es in the forthcoming year, under the adv isory section.
A principal focus will continue to be on the development of Bermudians in Chambers, particularly in
using senior c ounsel to assist j unior counsel and p upils with advice and guidance on advisory and li tigation matters. The Advisory Section intends to fill the
vacant posts of junior crown counsel, deputy solicitor
general and the post of a dministrative assistant for the
Accounts in the forthcoming year.
Improving the personal development of staff
will r emain paramount by providing them the opportunity to attend training courses offered by the D epartment of Human Resources.
The Advisory Section will continue to:
4. review contracts for the various ministries and
departments to aid the same in making better decisions in contract negotiations;
5. review the assignment of specific c ounsel to
provide advisory and litigation representation
to ministries and departments;
6. seek to improve their case management sy stem to reduce demand for paper resources; as well as
7. provide more in- house presentations by
Counsel on a variety of legal topics.

[Mrs. Renee Ming, Chairman]

Legislative Drafting —Staff
and Training

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Turning now, Mr. Chairman, to
the legislative drafting —Madam Chairman—to the
legislative dr afting.
Staff and training: a principal focus will conti nue to be on the development of Bermudians in legisl a3638 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly tive drafting. Experienced drafters will continue to train
and mentor the assistant parliamentary counsel so
that they will be able to draft independently. This is
essential for purposes of succession planning in this
very specialized area of law.

Legislative Information Management System
(LIMS)

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The legislation is produced
quickly and accurately using LIMS, which is customized t o our Bermuda drafting style. This, combined
with the important role of the Legislative Editor, has
kept the number of errors and inconsistencies found in
legislation during House and Senate debates to a mi nimum, thereby expediting the legislative process. The
maintenance of LIMS is through a Canadian vendor who provides timely professional assistance whenever
necessary and regularly updates our software with the
latest versions and technical support.
It is intended to continue to improve our dat abase and t o post new laws within a week of enac tment on the Bermuda Laws online website which,
Madam Chairman, can be located at
www.bermudalaws.bm
, which is hosted locally by
Fireminds Ltd. Consolidation, which is the incorpor ation of amendments into existing laws, is more timeconsuming since the amendments are checked by the
drafter as well as the legislative database manager.
The goal is to continu e to complete the process within
one month of the enactment of the amending legisl ation, which was achieved in the last few years.

HEAD 23 —DEPARTMENT OF CHILD AND
FAMILY SERVICES

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Turning now to the Department
of Child and Family Serv ices. This is found at Head
23.
Madam Chairman, I would now like to pr oceed to Head 23 which is the Department of Child and
Family Services which can be found at pages B -100
to B-106 of the Estimates Book.
The Department of Child and Family Services
(DCFS ) is responsible for protecting children by
strengthening families. The department provides i nvestigative services, day care services, care and pr otection services for children, residential and homebased services for families, assessment, intervention
and counselling services for children, adolescents and
families.
Madam Chairman, the current account est imates for Head 23, begin at page B -101 of the Budget
Book. A total of $16,441,000 has been allocated for
Head 23 for 2020/21. This represents an increase of
$526,000 of the original budget for 2019/20.
DCFS continues to focus on developing an i ntegrated service which allows children, adolescents
and families to receive services that are appropriate and coordinated, thus meeting the needs of families
and ass isting them with the diverse challenges they
face. These challenges include but are not limited to
lack of parenting, social and life skills, the ability to
maintain housing, secure employment, effectively budget, the abuse of substances, involvement in ant isocial behaviour, cognitive deficits, educational challenges, mental health issues and anger management,
which all contribute to these diverse and complex
challenges that are now seemingly exacerbated by
the challenging economic times families are facing. DCFS is charged with the responsibility of promoting
and protecting the best interests and social well -being
of children, adolescents, adults and families.
Madam Chairman, in order to meet these r esponsibilities, DCFS operates four programmes:
8. Programme 2301— Services to Children and
Young Persons ;
• Programme 2302— Services to Individuals
and Families ;
• Programme 2303—Residential Treatment
Services ;
• Programme 2304— Administration.
In the fiscal year 2019/20, Madam Chairman,
DCFS continued with its efforts of providing a seamless continuum of services to children and families by examining and redeploying resources to meet changing programme and client needs. These changes continue to be implemented based on a performance
quality improvement focus that is consist ent with best
practise standards as a requirement of accreditation.
These standards are defined by accreditation r equirements in the area of human service provision.
Madam Chairman, service improvements
have been achieved by DCFS implementing a strat egy that begins with the enhancement of a structured
decision -making tool, designed specifically for Berm uda giving account to our social and cultural norms. This tool utilises a comprehensive assessment that
ensures clients receive the appropriate service from
the appropriate agency. This process reduces referral
duplication, closes previously identified gaps in service delivery and increases overall effectiveness and
efficiency of programmes.
Madam Chairman, utilization of this tool has
resulted in an improved, comprehensive service deli very system which has increased response time to in itial referrals. It enhances appropriate prioritisation of
referrals according to risks; and it ensures, Madam
Chairman, that the highest risks are addressed first
resulting in better responses and positive outcomes
for clients.
Madam Chairman, the DCFS’s business units
are discussed by Programme.
Programme 2301— Services to Children and
Young Persons, and Madam Chairman, I am referring specifically to page B -101. The Happy Val ley Child
Care Centre [HVCCC] is covered under this pr ogramme. The estimate for the fiscal year 2020/21 is


Bermuda House of Assembly $1,028,000. The output measures for the Happy Valley Child Care programme are found at page B -104 of
the Budget Book.
For business unit 33010, the budget allocation
represents a decrease of $10,000, or 1 per cent from
fiscal year 2019/20, and that is again, Madam Chai rman, I can refer you to page B -101. This decrease is
a direct result of budget cuts and efficiencies. We continue to contain expenditure within budget allocation
for fiscal year 2020/21, the feeding programme, the clothing programme and the enrichment programmes will have been curtailed so as to minimize the impact
of the wrap around services provided to high risk chi ldren referred for car e and a head start, at the Happy
Valley Child Care Centre.
Happy Valley Child Care Centre, the only
Government operated Child Care Centre, provides
high quality child care for children from three months
to four years of age and accommodates a maximum
of 40 children.
[Crosstalk]
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Most of the children are from
the Pembroke, Devonshire, Warwick and Southam pton areas, but the Centre also has an intake of chi ldren from other parts of the Island. Government has
mandated that priority be given to children referred by
helping agencies such as the DCFS, Teen Services,
Department of Health, the Child Development Pr ogramme and Financial Assistance. These agencies
along with families experiencing various challenges, account for 60 per cent of the c hild care centre’s i ntake.
The intake of children for Sept ember 2019 according to parish is as follows:
• from Pembroke —17 per cent;
• from Warwick —17 per cent;
• from Southampton—17 per cent;
• from Devonshire —14 per cent;
• from Hamilton Parish —10 per cent;
• from St. George’ s—10 per cent;
• from Paget —7 per cent;
• from Sandys —4 per cent;
• from Smiths —4 per cent.
The Happy Valley Child Care Centre monthly
fee is $400.00 for all children enrolled. However, if a
child is in the care of DCFS, they do not qualify for the
Child Day Care Allowance and as such their costs are absorbed by the department. There were two children
who fell into this category during the last budget year.
During the 2019 school year , the amount of
fees collected was $192,000. It is most important to
note that the cost per child is higher than the fees currently paid by parents. This is because t he Happy Va lley Child Care Centre, a first -class facility that is sp ecifically designed to meet the comprehensive needs of
young children, provides an extensive curriculum of
high academic standards with trained teachers who are continuously involved in professional growth and
development. It offers enrichment programmes that
encourage parental involvement and growth development to strengthen family functioni ng and improve
child development.
Comprehensive services offered at the Happy
Valley [Child] Care Centre include an intervention
programme, a full nutritional programme that provides
morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack and is
monitored and approved b y the Health Department’s
Public Health Nutritionist, mandatory parenting classes and involvement in music and movement, creative
arts, literacy, writing, science, math, technology,
community service, field trips, strider bike riding, gardening, tennis and swim classes, along with other curriculum activities which are designed to assist in the
overall development of the children at that centre.
Madam Chairman, in July of 2019, eleven
children graduated from the programme and were well
prepared for attending pre-school. Happy Valley Child
Care Centre consistently utilizes child assessment outcomes for classroom planning and individual inter-vention lesson activities. The High Scope Curriculum
and Assessment tool reflected outstanding results that
validate Happy Valley Child Care Centre’s commi tment to an inclusive learning model. The results for
infants/toddlers and preschoolers mapped steady i mprovement in all areas of developmental growth.
Happy Valley Child Care Centre received reaccreditation with no condi tions from the Bermuda
National Standards Committee for 2017, and it will be
up for their third re- accreditation in 2020, which attests
to the fact that they are a centre of excellence working
at best practice standards.
Madam Chairman, the increased demand for
child care placement at the Happy Valley Child Care
Centre year over year remains. There were 176 applications received for the 2019/20 school year, with
HVCCC only able to enrol eleven students. The inabi lity to accommodate increasing demands coupl ed with
the need of care for special needs children while adhering to legislated ratios and maximums remain ongoing challenges facing the Happy Valley Child Care
Centre.
Madam Chairman, fathers and mothers are
actively involved in parenting classes, school programme activities, parent/teacher conferences and
social interaction opportunities with their children.
Grandparents and extended family members remain
positively involved in the centre’s programme as well.
Happy Valley Child Care Centre continues to
uphold its commitment to partnering with community resources. In collaboration with the Child Development Programme, two- year-old assessments are conducted at the centre; intervention services and parenting classes, parent CPR/First Aid classes are also
provided by the Child Development Programme
(CDP) and the Health Department and Fire and Life
Safety Associates on site, Madam Chairman. Happy
3640 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Valley Child Care Centre also continues to serve as
an internship site for the Bermuda College students
enrolled in the Child Care Certificate progr amme as
well as a community service site for public and private schools. A broad range of community activity involv ement designed for children’s enrichment learning i nclude, giving out food to the elderly, visiting senior
care centres, visiting Dolphin Quest, Aquarium, BUEI
and historical sites across the island and hosting its
annual Week of the Young Child m ini fair, and host ing
neighbouring child care centres and preschools, in
celebration of young children. This event is greatly
supported by HVCCC’s alumni, parents, families and
the community.
Community resources that support children’s
learning on site are presentations from Sun Smart,
Dental Care from the Government Health Department,
and Fire and Police Services, as w ell. Support services for speech occupational therapy and physical
therapy are provided by the Government Department
of Health and the Child Development Program.
Madam Chairman, as Happy Valley Child
Care Centre is housed in an older building in need of constant maintenance and repair, we would like to
thank Works and Engineering for their commitment
and supportive services in addressing the maint enance needs of Happy Valley Child Care Centre
throughout the year.
Unfortunately, Happy Valley Child Care Centre has been the target of arson attacks twice during
the past year. The first arson attempt was on the
school’s bus in February 26 of last year where the
back bumper on the bus was slightly burned. The next
arson attempt which completely destroyed the bus
happened in June of last year, Madam Chairman. The
bus was only a year old when destroyed. The bus cost
when purchased was $86,000. When it was d estroyed , the estimated cost for a new bus was
$93,000. As Government vehicles are only insured as
third party, the cost of the new bus had to be sourced
within the Ministry. Once news of this incident was
placed in the public domain, the private sector r esponded generously in assisting with the cost of a
minibus service for the last week of July 2019 and for
Septem ber 2019 to November 2019, and January
2020 to date at a cost of $8,000. Transportation is a vital service that was required to ensure that the chi ldren were able to continue to engage in their curric ulum by being transported to activities such as gymnas-tics and tennis. All other school trips have been suspended until such time as Happy Valley Child Care Centre receives their new bus. The bus is scheduled to arrive before the end of March 2020.
Madam Chairman, the Happy Valley Child
Care Centre PTA would li ke to thank those busines ses and members of the community who so generously contributed to the replacement of the bus and the m inibus service cost. Happy Valley Child Care Centre endeavours
to maintain a first -class facility while educating chi ldren in a s afe, healthy and caring environment.
Madam Chairman, on behalf of the Minister of
Legal Affairs, I would like to thank all the staff at the Happy Valley Child Care Centre, their active Parent
Teacher Association (PTA), their volunteers and
community partn ers for their continued dedication to
Bermuda’s most valuable resources; Our Children,
Our Future.

Programme 2302— Services to
Individuals and Families

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, turning to
Programme 2302, again, I am still on page B -101,
Servic es to Individuals and Families.
The activities covered in p rogramme 2302 are
Intake, Assessment, Investigation, Family Preserv ation (formally known as Family Services), Foster Care
and Counselling and Life Skills (formally known as
Bermuda Youth Counselli ng Services). The estimate
for these activities for the fiscal year 2020/ 21 is
$5,417,000. This represents a $544,000 decrease
compared to the 2019/ 20 budget allocation.
Madam Chairman, the Intake, Assessment
and Investigation unit is responsible for prov iding a
unified response and comprehensive safeguarding
services to the children of Bermuda. This thorough
approach is achieved with the use of the structured
decision -making assessment tools which allow staff to
objectively determine safety and risk for all children
and their families who are referred to the department.
The assessment tools provide designated timeframes
to initiate contact with a child when thresholds for i nvestigations are met. The output measures , Madam
Chairman, for this unit can be found at pages B-104 to
B-105 of the Budget Book.
Madam Chairman, the Intake and Asses sment team provides care and protective services and
assessments to the children of Bermuda. This is
achieved through the three specialized unit s—
Screening, Investigations a nd Assessments team with
a total of 16 staff. The screening team is comprised of
four social work assistants who are on duty each day to receive new referrals via email, fax, the KIDSLINE,
or from members of the public or professionals who
walk into the department. The Investigation team i ncludes five social workers who are responsible for
conducting enquires on all screened investigations to
the department. The Assessment team includes three social workers and a clinical supervisor. The primary
responsibil ity of the assessment team is to complete
comprehensive assessments on clients who are r eferred by social workers within the department. These assessments assist the workers in determining the
specific treatment needs of each referred client and provides r ecommendations to the workers and other
professionals involved with the children or the child


Bermuda House of Assembly and their families. The output measures for Intake and
Assessments are located, Madam Chairman, at page
B-104 of the Budget Book.
Madam Chairman, the Investigati on Team
received 1, 031 new referrals on children. This was a
decrease from [2018] when 1,139 new referrals were
screened by DCFS. The department has one central
screening system, and this allows investigations or
assessment services to be processed and ass igned in
an expedited manner. All screenings are reviewed to provide immediate feedback to the [ referrer ] on the
service or investigation that will be provided along with
the designated response timeframe, or stipulates if it
is screened out. The department is required to r espond within 24 hours, 5 days or 10 days depending
on the nature of the referral and the assigned timeframe. The department received 235 referrals
which required a 24- hour response, 525 referrals
which required a 5 -day response and 37 required a
10-day response.
Some examples of referrals that require a 24hour response are physical abuse cases where there
are bruises, burns, bone or head injuries. Other examples are when a child is fearful of going home due
to likelihood of physical abuse or sexual abuse when
the perpetrator is in the home or has unprotected access to the child. Neglect cases require a 24- hour r esponse when a referral indicates a child is unattended
or abandoned, a drug- exposed newborn or the child
has ingested toxins or drugs. Any referral that indicates that the child is under the age of two is automatically assigned a 24- hour response.
Madam Chairman, examples of referrals that
will be screened for investigation in five days are chi ldren who are at risk of moral danger such as drugs
being sold in their presence, the child’s basic needs of
food, shelter, and clothing are not being met and chi ldren who are exposed to family violence.
Examples of referrals that will be assigned a
10-day response are historical sexual abuse cases
when the alleged incident happened more than six
months prior to the report and the offender is not in
the jurisdiction or will not have immediate access to
the child in that designated timeframe.
Social workers , Madam Chairman, conduct
thorough, objective investigations that involve: i nterviewing the child or children, interviewing parents, i nterviewing other witnesses or collateral contacts with
relevant sources of information, observing the child
and the child’s living conditions, observing par ent/child
interactions and relationships, obtaining reports, con-ducting further record checks, obtaining medical and other assessments/reports.
Madam Chairman, the second purpose of the
investigation is to conduct an assessment of the i mmediate service needs of the child and family. This, Madam Chairman, involves the following:
Assessing the child’s immediate safety needs,
assessing the child’s future risk of neglect and/or abuse within the home, assessing the family’s need
for necessities, crisis interve ntion, counselling or support services.
The department collaborates with the Berm uda Police Service on referrals received for physical,
sexual abuse, neglect and behaviour problems.
Through collaboration it is determined if joint invest igations are requir ed.
All investigations and services were reviewed
quarterly to ensure that best practise accreditation
standards were maintained. The Intake section works with our community partners during the investigation
and assessment phase.
Madam Chairman, during this budget cycle,
the Investigation team continued to complete 100 per cent of the structured decision- making
scree ning assessments in the stipulated time frames.
Of the total number of cases screened, 179 were screened out to other services, 795 were scr eened in
for investigation and 55 were screened directly to the Counselling and Life Skills section for substance education. Cases which are screened out did not meet
the threshold for child protection and where appropr iate, Mr. Chairman, the department ensured that the
children or child and their families were referred to
other services within the community.
Madam Chairman, referrals were received for the
following types of abuse:
• Neglect: 408
• Sexual Abuse: 211
• Physical Abuse:161
• Behaviour Problems: 116
• Emotional Abuse: 71
• Care of Relative: 2
• Teen Pregnancy: 1
• Service Requests: 56
The total number of referrals screened in for
investigation represents 705 children and 589 families
for 2019. [There were] 206 children who had multiple
referrals for either the same or multiple abuse types.

Trends

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, t he invest igation team noted a decrease in all abuse types. R eferrals received for child or child sexual abuse or sexualised behaviour (numbering 122) continues to account for the majority of the sexual abuse referrals
and is 58 per cent of the total number. While the number of neglect referrals decreased, to 185 or
45 per cent of referrals , were for children exposed to
family violence. The majority of those referrals were
received from the Bermuda Police Service. The second highest number of neglect referrals is for lack of
supervision representing 58 per cent, Madam Chai rman.
Madam Chairman, DCFS received 56 service
requests. This was a 47 per cent increase over 2018.
For example, welfare checks were requested locally
3642 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly and from other overseas jurisdictions. These requests
require home studies for children who are involved in
child protection services outside of Bermuda. It is i mportant to note that these home studies or welfare checks may require a considerable amount of time to liaise with the agencies and relevant parties both here
and in overseas jurisdictions . The department is also
required to investigate mandated professionals to d etermine if they are identified as alleged per petrators
(i.e., day care providers, teachers, coaches, religious
officials, youth leaders, or other mandated professionals).
I would just like to pause for a moment, and I
will acknowledge the presence of the Learned and Honourable Attorney General , the Honourable Kathy
Lynn Simmons who is present .
In these cases, the police may be required to
assist with the investigative process. A total of 35
were conducted and required the investigating social
worker to conduct interviews with the child, their parent or guardian, the mandated professional and all
relevant witnesses. At the conclusion of the investigation a report is provided to the organisation that the
investigated professional is employed or affiliated
with. Mandated reporters referred 796 referrals with
the majority referred from the police, which was 317,
and the schools, which was 283.
Madam Chairman, investigations were co nducted on 797 reports of maltreatment and response times were met on 700 referrals. This performance
measurement exceeded our 80 per cent goal for the
year. Challenges to meeting response times included
the inability to locate families and when parents or
guardians were not cooperative in the investigation
process. Once initial contact has been achieved the
department is requir ed to complete a safety asses sment to determine imminent risk on all in home abuse cases.
The primary goal of this, Madam Chairman,
the safety assessment , is to ensure the child or chi ldren are safe in a household and that the parent or
guard ian has agreed to the established safety plan. If
a saf ety threat has been identified, the objective of
both the safety assessment and the plan is for the
department and the family to work together to reduce
risk without seeking a court order. As a result, the i nvestigation social workers completed 530 safety assessments. This engagement with parents allows the
department to ensure that the children or child are
safe while working to preserve the integrity of the family. Risk assessments are always completed after
conduc ting a home visit and prior to a case being
transferred or closed. The team, Madam Chairman,
completed 482.
Investigations that are referred for abuse outside of the home do not require the s tructured decision-making assessment tools as the alleged perp etrator is not in the home and therefore the household
is deemed safe. The Investigations Team referred 167 cases for transfer for ongoing services within DCFS. Upon completion of the investigations, 557 cases
were closed, 181 were substantiated, and 274 uns ubstantiated, 76 suspected and 26 inconclusive. The investigation team participates in multiagency teams such as SART ( Sexual Abuse Response Team) and
the CPT (Child Protection Team) at KEMH [King E dward VII Memorial Hospital ]. The team decreased the
number of presentations to the community in anticipation of the amendment to section 42 of the Children
Act.
Madam Chairman, the Assessment team is
required to complete comprehensive assessments on
children who are experiencing issues ranging from
substance ab use to cognitive challenges. There were
26 new referrals received in 2019. The total number of clients carried over from 2019 were 53 (18 were male and 35 females). The cases which were closed for the
year were 35. The team administered 268 asses sment tool s and completed 50 reports that provided
parents, social workers and other professionals with clear recommendations for intervention and support services for each child and their family. These assessments comprise of the following which were completed in t he year of 2019 ; cognitive , 15; academic ,
15; behaviour , 65; trauma, 44; substance, 18; biops ychosocial , 45; and mental health, 66. The Assessment
team provides in- service presentations and training
within the department and in the community.
The Assessm ent team receives referrals from
DCFS internal teams (Investigation, Family Preserv ation, Foster Care, and Residential Treatment Services). These interventions can be either an individual
child assessment, a family assessment, or both. The
assessment , once assigned to an assessor , entails
gathering information from the child or family with the
intent of producing a report that details issues being
faced by the child or family and supplying recommendations to assist with strengthening families and their children.
The time frame that the assessors work in is
45 days; however, it needs to be noted that there are factors which impede the process. These factors are
building up rapport, engaging the client in feeling safe as well as trust in the process, and compl exity of the
case which can impact the length of reports and the
time needed to process information. The Assessment
team also conducts assessments on all new clients
who are entering into foster care or r esidential treatment services. Referrals received fr om Court via court
order must be expedited due to the reduced time
frame. These cases take precedence due to the time
frame which is being provided by the Court.
Madam Chairman, the Foster Care Section of
DCFS provides children and youth under the age of 18 in need of out of home care with protection, care,
and nurturance by licensed foster parents in private
homes. Foster c are or o ut-of-home care is used for
children when a safety assessment decision results in


Bermuda House of Assembly a placement to ensure children’s safety. Fost er care
provides a safe, supportive and therapeutic enviro nment for a child, while working towards either family
reunification or an alternative permanency option.
Madam Chairman, foster c are may be provided during
a child abuse investigation, assessment or ongoing
intervention phases of child protection.
The Foster Care Programme , Madam Chai rman, has three classifications of private home plac ements :
• Traditional Foster Care Placement —These
foster parents are generic and have no biological connection to the child.
• Kinship Foster Care Placement —These foster
parents are related to the child and may have a significant bond and connection to the child.
• Therapeutic Foster Care Placement —These
foster parents have an advanced level of e ither education or employm ent, and skill set
and are equipped to foster children with either physiological impairments and/or emotional
challenges.
Madam Chairman, when a child is placed in
foster care, the d epartment will work with the child,
their parents, foster parents, and se veral professionals from additional agencies from whom the children
and their parents are receiving services. It is important
that the following occurs:
1. Foster children must be supported through
key transitions such as the original placement,
changes in pl acements, changes in schools,
and then leaving foster care.
2. Foster children must have ongoing care and
protection while having their developmental
needs met.
3. Foster children will not be subjected to any physical discipline, physical restraint, or chem ical restraint.
4. Foster children must be assisted with gaining skills and an overall sense of well -being that
will allow them to realise their potential while
positively participating in and contributing to
the wider community.
Madam Chairman, the department is responsible for monitoring out -of-home care placements to
ensure that the level of care provided by foster parents is consistent with the Council on Accreditation
Standards. Social w orkers are required to visit with
the child and foster parent in the foster home a minimum of once per month in addition to monitoring the
well-being of the child in school and their involvement
with other stakeholders. The child’s psychiatric, ps ychological, and emotional needs must be constantly
evaluated to promote optim um care. Visits with the
foster parents allows for information sharing, discus-sion regarding the stability of the placement including
discussion about successes and concerns.
Madam Chairman, all children in foster care
have a social worker and a s ocial work assistant a s-signed to them. Children in foster care have all of their
needs met. Services provided to foster children by the
department include, but are not limited to medical
care, dental care, clothing, therapy, social and recreational extra- curricul ar activities, education and tutoring. In addition to contact with the child and foster
parent, foster care workers are required to meet with
the parent(s) on a monthly basis to work on service
plans to address the child welfare risks that placed the
child in foster care. Frequency of contact is determined by their assessed risk level.
The higher the risk, the higher the level of i ntervention and engagement required monthly. In accordance with the Children Act, parental visitation is
required for all children in foster care unless otherwise
ordered by the courts. Foster care workers are r esponsible for ensuring supervised and unsupervised
visitation occurs. Regrettably, there are a number of
children in care who have no contact from their parents either by conscious decision of the parents or
due to their parents untreated severe mental health or
substance use impairment.
The department holds to the principle of mai ntaining significant familial relationships within the bi ological family of the child. It is t he social worker’s r esponsibility to assess the suitability of family members
to ascertain what role they can play in beneficial visits with the child or telephone contact. If a child is placed with a non- relative, the department is always open to
family m embers as alternatives to traditional plac ements.
Madam Chairman, the foster care team consists of one coordinator, three social workers and
three social work assistants and one a dministrative
assistant. The team was responsible for a total of 81
children, along with their birth parents and their r espective foster families during the last budget year.
This represents a numerical decrease by seven chi ldren from the prior year. Although this is a numerical
decrease, the complexity of the cases has magnified
in terms of parent/child mental health challenges, behavioural issues and school difficulties.
During the last budget year, the Foster Care
Programme serviced a total of 11 therapeutic foster
children. The children in this category have a variety of physic al, cognitive, emotional and behavioural challenges —for example, Downs syndrome, cerebral pa lsy, moderate autism, respiratory challenges, chronic medical challenges including heart deficiency, imm obility/wheelchair bound and requiring gastro tube feed-ing. Some children in this category also present with
significant behavioural challenges such as conduct
disorder and behaviours associated with severe
ADHD. Therapeutic foster parents are compensated
at a higher rate than traditional foster parents as their
involvement in the care needs of these children is expected to be greater. They sign contracts which outline the levels of care expected based on the chi l3644 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly dren’s needs. These are the same 11 children that
were serviced in this category last year.
The department recognises that a significant
number of children in care and their parents have
specialised clinical needs such as current and past trauma, substance use and psychological or psychiatric disorders ; hence , funds are allocated to ensure
that individual an d family therapy and assessment is
provided for the children in care, and their parents.
The department engages therapeutic services from
public partners such as Child and Adolescent Services, Child Development Programme and the department’s Counselling an d Life Skills section. The
department also contracts with a number of private
psychologists and clinicians in the community to e nsure that the specialised mental health needs of the
children and families served are met which usually
exceeds the $100,000 bu dgeted for counselling services. The ultimate goal for the dedicated team of foster care is permanency planning for children in the
care of the d irector.
Permanency can be through reunification with
their parents ; hence, the investment by the depar tment i n funding therapy for parents, or alternative
permanency with family or other significant others
within the family or child’s network. When permanency
placements are not an option, children can remain in long-term foster care until their 18
th birthday. Thi s is
not the ideal situation for a child; however, it is a real ity that occurs. The department encourages any family
member interested in caring for a relative in foster
care to approach the department to be assessed for suitability as a Kinship Care parent.
By the end of 2019, a total of 17 children left
the foster care programme. Two received more intensive services overseas via the Psycho- Educational
Programme. One was transferred into Residential Treatment Services/DCFS as a result of their plac ement. S ix were reunified with their birth parents. One
was transferred into the full custody of a grandparent.
Seven aged out of the Foster Care Programme but
continue to reside with their foster families voluntarily.
The Foster Care Coordinator recruited 12 new
foster parents this year —a numerical increase of
eight. Despite this commendable increase, the department continues to remain hard- pressed to recruit
enough foster parents to be open, available, and sui table for emergencies and for hard to care [for] chi ldren.
Madam Chairman, in May of 2019, Foster
Care Month, the foster care team arranged the “A ppreciation Tea” in honour all foster parents. Each foster parent was presented with a plaque in the shape of
a “star” to represent the stellar job that they do. T he
Minister of Legal Affairs was present to express her
sincere gratitude on behalf of the Government of
Bermuda. The keynote speaker was Ms . Shalisa
Smith, a young lady who was able to share her personal experience of being adopted and what it meant to na vigate through the difficult teen years of self -
identity questioning. Her adoptive parents and community support persons were in the audience and pr esent for the presentation. CITV recorded the event and it was featured in the media. The department r eceive d numerous positive comments about this event
from foster parents.
DCFS recognises that becoming a foster parent is a huge commitment and sacrifice. Foster par-ents open their homes and hearts to children who
have experienced trauma through abuse, neglect, loss
or abandonment. Patience and genuine commitment is required to provide this service to these vulnerable
children. The department has a responsibility to ensure that foster parents are equipped to meet the
needs of the children placed in their homes. Children
in care come with unique needs and challenges. In addition to monthly in- home visits with each foster
parent and the child or children, the department pr ovides foster parent training throughout the year based on the presenting needs of the children. During 2019, Madam Chairman, the following Foster Parent Trai nings were offered:
• Department of Financial Assistance and t he
Foster Parent Association information session
on services for age ing out youth;
• SCARS training;
• Kinship/Relative Caregiver Suppor t Group;
• “Taking Care of Emotionally -Charged Chi ldren”;
• “All About ADHD” An education and a wareness workshop for foster parents; and
• “Trauma & Our Children”
The Foster Care Programme ended 2019 with
a Christmas party for foster youth hosted by the Premier and ably facilitated by the staff members of the
Cabinet Office. This party was held on 19 December
2019 at the St. Paul’s AME Church Hall. It was a huge
success and was well attended. The Minister of Legal Affairs attended with some of her Cabinet colleagues.
The party was a public/private partnership that saw
numerous donations provided major ly by the RenRe
Insurance Company and members of the public. The
organisation of gift donations was fully arranged by
the executive of the Foster Parent Association which,
Madam Chairman, is a registered charity.
DCFS would like to acknowledge the foster
parents of Bermuda. These are our unsung heroes
who provide loving, stable homes to children who have experienced significant trauma as a result of
abuse and/or neglect. Every day, they make a foster
child’s life better by their numerous acts of care and
kindness.
Appreciation and recognition must also go out
to the Foster Parent Association. They work in par tnership with the foster care team. They provide extra suppor t to foster children and foster families in the
form of financial support for educational trips, special-ised recreational programmes, laptops for senior


Bermuda House of Assembly schools and tertiary education scholarships for foster
youth post high school completion. In 2019, the Foster
Parent Association provided further education scho larships to three former foster children who have now aged out of DCFS. The scholarships were in the amounts of $30,000, $20,000 and $10,000. The department extends sincere appreciation to the effort s of
these dedicated and unsung heroes.

Hear, hear!
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, Counselling
and Life Skills Services (CLSS) —their mission is to
advance and promote the emotional well -being of
youth up to 18 years of age and their families. CLSS
offers services that strengthen the knowledge, skills,
positive experiences, and support systems of indivi duals and families to make healthy life choices. Indivi dual and family issues include, but are not limited to
family and relationship d ynamics, co -parenting, grief
and loss, communication, trauma and adolescent
substance use.
CLSS provides individual, family, and group
counselling. There were eight substance groups conducted for the year at m iddle and h igh schools. The
CLSS team with hel p from their a ssessment co lleagues developed a one- week trauma informed therapeutic camp LITT (Ladies in Top Training) for at risk
females ages 13 to 17 years old.
In order to best serve the needs of clients,
CLSS counsellors work collaboratively with clie nts to
complete specific assessments or screening tools to
measure progress and treatment planning that is geared towards positive growth and development. The
team completed 42 assessments and 40 assessments
geared to substance.
CLSS continues to align ser vices and practi ces with other teams within DCFS in order to maintain a client focus that promotes wellness for families and
their children. In addition, CLSS continues to collaborate with external stakeholders by providing a holistic
approach which incorporates the whole family and
their supports.
Referrals that are received from external ent ities such as the Department of Education, Child and
Adolescents Services and the public are screened into the Investigation/Screening sections and a decision is
determined in conjunction with the SDM tool as to
which intervention is required based on identification
of the needs of the individual child and their family.
This then directs assigned services. There is a mem orandum of understanding between the Department o f
Education and DCFS that all substance- related inc idents that occur in school are referred to the depar tment for either substance assessment, education or
both.
Madam Chairman, to meet Council on A ccreditation (COA) standards by continuing the Performanc e Quality Improvement process of maintaining best practice standards, Quarterly Performance Qual ity Improvement meetings occurred during this year to review programme data, client trends, file audit, client,
staff and stakeholder feedback and staff development.
We continue to align services and practises, so they are consistent with the DCFS’s strategic plan.
Madam Chairman, the number of referrals
that were received for the year was 111. There were 54 females and 67 males referred in 2019. Over the
years , there has been a steady trend where the highest age group for males and females were children
and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14, and
15 and 18.
This year the trend is following previous years
where the number of children or adolescents requir ing
services is as follows, Madam Chairman: There were
21 females between the age of 15 and18 , and 16 f emales between the ages of 10 and 14. Males were 32
between the ages of 15 and 18, and 16 be tween the
ages of 10 and 14. This trend demonstrates that there
is a growing need for resources for children and ado-lescents who are impacted by numerous stressors that were previously mentioned. Without these additional resources, there is a strong possibility that these
vulnerable children/adolescents run the potential of
engaging in risky behaviours that could impact their
future.

Programme 2303—Residential Treatment Services

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, Programme
2303, Residential Treatment Services —and I am still
at page B -101.
The activity covered in p rogramme 2303 is
Residential Treatment Services. These services i nclude the Brangman Home, the Oleander Cottage, the
Youth Development Centre and Administration. For
this programme, there is a budget allocation of
$6,995,000. This represents a decrease of $178,000,
or 2 per cent from the 2019/20 budget allocation.
Residential Treatment Services (RTS) pr ovides a continuum of intervention services to children between the ages of 12 and 18 years of age. These
are adolescents who are deemed to be at risk in t he
community and requiring care and protection in a safe
and structured residential environment. All children
placed in this service have had their situation and ci rcumstances heard by the Courts where it has been
deemed appropriate for them to be placed o n a Care
Order and, as such, become the responsibility of the Director of Child and Family Services.
The RTS programme provides 24- hour services. The young ladies are located at the Brangman
Home while the young men receive services at Ol eander Cottage. T he Youth Development Centre is ut ilised to provide one- on-one and special management
of residents based on their needs as indicated by o ngoing evaluation, and if they are placed in care of the
director as a result of criminal behaviours. The incl u3646 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly sion of f amily is a key component of the service prov ision, when this is not possible, Madam Chairman, alternative community -based relationships and r esources are utilised to develop an appropriate com-munity -based plan.
The programme at RTS also includes the
monit oring of clients on transition in preparation for
family reunification. The goal is to have children tran-sition within 12 months of placement or to implement
an individual plan which may include independent li ving, depending on age and family circumstances .
During the 2019/20 budget year, RTS provi ded community -based services to children on transition
in the community, as well as those eligible for di scharge. This has resulted in a more seamless reunif ication process for the children and families.
RTS of fers group living, individual and group
counselling, family assessments and interventions,
parent groups (as needed), vocational and educational planning, and life skills development. Aftercare and
interagency interaction services are based on the i ndividu al needs of the adolescent and their consent for
continued services.
RTS exceeded the estimated costs for
2019/20 budget year, as they were faced with many
challenges related to the number of children receiving
services, those requiring specialised servic es and the
need to create separate residential space. As a result,
RTS had a significant increase in overtime in addition
to the excessive use of outside service providers.
The fiscal budget for 2019/20 continues to
reflect DCFS’s commitment to ongoing quality i mprovement based on sound statistical data and empi rical research. In 2019/20, client data again indicated
that the majority of children requiring this service had
family relationship issues and childhood trauma.
Due to trauma induced behaviours wi th res idents, RTS continues to utilise therapeutic and family components of the progra mme , maintaining its par tnership with Cornell University as they continue to provide RTS staff with Therapeutic Crisis Intervention
[TCI] and Children and Residential Env ironments
[C.A.R.E.] training. Both the TCI and the C.A.R.E curriculums are based on empirical research and provide a founda tional philosophy and tangible behavioural
manage ment skill set for staff to provide effective care
for all children and families that experience crisis in
their lives.

One minute, Minister. I just want to
give the listening public an opportunity to know where
we are. Can you hear me? Okay, great.
We are on Committee of Supply and today we
are doing the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditures
for the year 2020/21. The Heads that we are currently
doing are under the Legal Affairs and they would be
Heads 87, 3, 23, 4, and 74.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN

HOUSE VISITOR

And for those persons who may have
missed it, I would like to just recognise that the Attorney General, the Honourable Kathy Lynn Simmons is
in the Chamber as well.

[Committee of Supply, Ministry of Legal Affairs, continuing]

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Madam Chairman, the RTS provides in
house/ residential services for 18 adolescents in 2019.
This total included 8 males and 10 females. Client’s
services included case management of children as
indicated by individual assessments and service
plans. Interventions included cott age programme s,
educational and vocational opportunities, transition,
family reunification and aftercare.
Client profiles for 2019/20 indicated that
100 per cent of adolescents involved in the services
had family relationship issues; the majority of children,
both male and female had experienced childhood
trauma, including abandonment, abuse, grief and d omestic violence. This data demonstrates the wide
range of specialist services required for dealing effectively with the children and families in need of our services.
Madam Chairman, to give some statistical data of the client base we are experiencing within RTS,
consider the following, the data from 2019 highlights
trauma as a prominent factor for the young people placed in RTS. Of the components featured in the
trauma category, neglect, attachment difficulties and abandonment represent the most profound challenges. Madam Chairman, 89 per cent of clients exper ienced neglect ; 84 per cent experienced attachment
difficulties which have adversely affected thei r ability
to engage in healthy interpersonal relationships ;
100 per cent of all children at RTS have parent /child
relationship challenges ; 64 per cent of the client population experienced mood disturbances or disorders ;
and 47 per cent display learning cha llenges. Mental
illness/cognitive challenges is evidenced across 63 per cent of parents of the children in the RTS pr ogramme; domestic violence among the adults has
been witnessed by 40 per cent of the residents and
has likely to have contributed to their trauma;
90 per cent received psychiatric or psychological i nterventions for the year ; 8 of the 19 residents at RTS
have been identified as long term as they have no
plausible family reunification plan; 4 of these residents
will turn 18 and will require an independent living option.
To this end, Madam Chairman, DCFS during
the 2020/21 budget year is looking to establish a
Transitional Living Regime for children a geing out of


Bermuda House of Assembly the care of the Director of DCFS without a reunific ation plan. The objective of thi s regime is to ensure that
children age ing out receive the same level of support
that their peers would expect from a reasonable parent. This includes, Madam Chairman, but is not limited to continuing education, finding a job, setting up a
home and having supportive opportunities that help
them progress to be productive citizens of our co mmunity.
Madam Chairman, over the previous year
RTS has successfully met the majority of the planned
outputs/outcomes, seen on page B -106 of the Budget
Book. Statistical data and the performance quality i mprovement process has been consistently used to monitor quality and to determine changes needed to improve the service provided. The 2020/21 budget is
designed to continue providing resources which allows this programme to provide a quality service to
children and their families.
With a continued focus on the best interests of
the child, Madam Chairman, and continued review of
our policies and procedures, while it is noted that RTS
is not a prison or a secure environment , rather a
group home; in the 2020/21 budget year RTS will engage in upgrading its physical structures inclusive of
security systems as to better ensure the care, safety
and protection of the clients to which they serve.
Madam Chairman, DCFS’s Family Preserv ation Team operates under a sound case management and assessment [model ], which comprehensively assesses family and child’s needs and develops service
plans with the family, the child and stakeholders to
maximise intervention and positive outcomes for the family. The team is responsible for providing ongoing
intervention to monitor and ensure the safety of chi ldren at risk of abuse or neglect, assist families to i mprove family functioning, increase child well -being,
reduce the need of placement in out of hom e care,
and to enable children in out of home care to return safely to their families. Out of home care refers to
children in foster care, RTS, and the psycho- ed services.
The ultimate goal is to reduce or eliminate the
circumstances in which family that have been or is causing abuse or risk of abuse (emotional and/or
physical) to the child, and to maintain the children or the child in the home environment.
The Family Preservation team receives referrals from both the d epartment’s Intake team and out of
home services (foster care, psycho- ed, or RTS).
Madam Chairman, Family Preservation Services are provided to clients of the Department, either via consent of the parents or under the authority of a
Family Court Order. If a child’s safety is an assessed
concern as per the Children Act 1998 and its rev isions, Family Preservation Services will be mandated
if deemed so via the courts.
Upon consent, Family Preservation Services
are also provided for a young person transitioning from care at the age of 18. The pur pose of this service
is to reduce the likelihood of future harm and to pr ovide support and assistance to the young person as
they transition into independent living.
Madam Chairman, in order to achieve its goal,
Family Preservation Services requires its social workers and s ocial work assistants to manage cases in
compliance with the Council on Accreditation Family
Preservation standards, in accordance with the policies and procedures of the department , and the structured decision- making assessment tool for Child Pr otective Services. The s ocial worker’s frequency of
contact with a family is determined by the family’s assessed risk level. The higher the assessed risk for future abuse or neglect, the higher the level of intervention and engagement that is requi red monthly.
A household assessed as high risk requires a
minimum of four face- to-face visits per month with
parents/caregivers and the children in addition to co llateral contacts (for example, Madam Chairman, therapists, doctors, mentors, et cetera); moderate risk requires a minimum of two face- to-face visits per month
with the parent or caregiver and the children in addi-tion to collateral contacts; and low risk requires a mi nimum of one face- to-face visit per month with the parent or caregiver and the chi ldren, again, in addition to
collateral contacts.
The Family Preservation Team consists of two
coordinators, seven social workers, seven social work
assistants and one a dministrative assistant.
Madam Chairman, we will now highlight the
performance of the Family Preservation team and the
client outcomes for the calendar year January to D ecember 2019.
Caseload management improved during the
last quarter of 2019 as a result of the department’s
restructuring. All vacant posts were filled bringing the
staffing to 100 per cent.
The data below is an overview of the statist ical outputs and outcomes for the Family Preservation Team.
Madam Chairman, for the calendar year [January] 2019 to December 2019, the Family Preserv ation Team has served a combined total of 116 families
and 189 children. In 2018, the numbers served t otalled 151 families and 238 children. This represents a 23 per cent decrease in families over the prior year.
Despite the decreased number of families referred,
the complexities of these cases remai n very high.
All families involved with Family Preservation
receive Family Strengths and Needs assessments and are reassessed every three months. These assessments help to identify the kind of needs of deve lopment r equired within a family, as well as stren gths
within the family unit. It also serves as a guide for ser-vice pla nning. Assessments completed during 2019
have ide ntified the following as the top four issues or
areas of need affecting our families:
3648 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 1. Parenting Skills —improvement of basic parenting ski lls is needed by the parent/caregiver
in order to ensure safety and appropriate di scipline of the child. In addition, improvement
needed to meet the emotional and develop-mental needs of the child.
2. Mental Health, Coping Skills and Cognitive
Functioning— parents and caregivers having
difficulty coping with stressors in their life
which creates situations that places the child
or children in their care at risk. This may be demonstrated by periodic or at times severe
mental health symptoms including but not li mited to depression, apathy or consistent use of
negative coping mechanisms which exacerbates the problem.
3. Emotional/Behavioural challenges with the
child or behaviour beyond parental control —
This manifests as the child having difficulty
dealing with situati onal stressors, crises or
problems which impairs their functioning. This
involves the child displaying periodic mental
health symptoms including but not limited to
depression, anxiety, self -harm or suicidal ideation, running away, hostile behaviour, substance usage (predominantly marijuana usage), or t he child having episodes of extreme
acting out and testing limits.
4. Household Relationships and Family Vi olence —Frequent discord or family violence.
The household experiences increased disrup-tion of positive interactions coupled with lack
of cooperation and emotional, verbal or phys ical abuse between adults. Custody and visit ation issues are characterised by frequent con-flicts. Ultimately the parents’ relationship cr eates significant stress and risk for the chil d’s
emotional and developmental well -being. We
see children in these situations exhibiting be-haviours ranging from anxiety, depression,
and disassociation to learned volatile beha viour manifesting in school and out of school
environments.
During 2019, Ma dam Chairman, 64 new cases were referred to Family Preservation. Throughout the year a total of 57 cases were closed. All closed cases were void of child safety or child protection i ssues at closure. Three cases were transferred to out
of home services suc h as foster care and Residential
Treatment Services, due to an increased safety risk in the home.
• Forty -two a chieved service plan goals where
[there were] no child protection issues at cl osure. This represented 74 per cent of case
closures.
• Five aged out and declined further services .
• Six declined services. Assessment indicated
family would benefit from services; however,
there were no safety issues at closure . • One relocated to the UK with a family member.
• Three transferred to out of home services
(one to f oster care and two to Residential
Treatment Services).
During the year there were 65 re- referrals on
children to Intake of parent/guardian abuse/neglect on
open cases to Family Preservation. This is a decrease
from the previous year where there were 3 for emotional abuse; 53 for neglect; 5 for children beyond parental control; and 4 service requested for prevent ative support.
We note that n eglect remains as the highest
category with respect to re- referrals on open cases
with child exposure to domestic vio lence as the grea test contributor to the high neglect figure.
Madam Chairman, the Family Preservation
Team would also like to report on performance outcomes. The department constantly assesses outcomes to determine if intervention is effective and determi ne when and where adjustments to service deli very need to occur. Family Preservation performance
outcome measures for 2019 were as follows:
• Percentage of Family Risk Reassessments for
abuse and neglect completed demonstrated
behaviours consistent with or s ome improv ement in behaviour by participating in service plan goals —82 per cent of households were
assessed.
• Percentage of households where risk of abuse or neglect has decreased or remained low/moderate —75 per cent of households
were assessed.
• Percentage of closed cases closed due to
families achieving goals —74 per cent of fam ilies had cases closed with DCFS due to
achieving service plan goals.
Madam Chairman, in 2019 the department
continued with its commitment to increase the skills of
its front line family intervention workers in engaging
and meeting the needs of the clients we serve, through the completion of the Homebuilders Core Curriculum which started in 2018. The training was designed to introduce the team to the Homebuilders
programme philosophy, programme structure and the
treatment practice that is fundamental to delivering
high quality Homebuilders Family Preservation and
Reunification Services. Skills that were attained, Ma dam Chairman, were as follows:
• Motivational Interviewing (a client -centred approach to helping clients better understand
and resolve their ambivalence about change);
• Relapse Prevention which is an introduction to
the evidence- based strategies for addressing
and preventing relapse of addictive and other
behavioural problems;
• Implementing cognitive and behavioural strategies with c lients and t eaching skills to f amilies; as well as


Bermuda House of Assembly • Improving decision- making through critical
thinking;
• Working with f amilies with d omestic violence.
Madam Chairman, at the core of Family
Preservation is the understanding that if we can i mprove the functioning and circumstances of the parent/adult caregivers of the children, we can reduce the
risk of abuse and neglect of children. As such, it is
vital that we provide training to our staff to increase
their skills in engaging and providing intervention services to our families.
The Family Preservation team continues to
strive in providing effective service to children and
families. Performance improvement is an ongoing endeavour, thus enhancing the opportunity for improved
client outcomes. The data gleaned from 2019 has
been utilised to establish annual plan goals and objectives for 2020, striving towards increased positive cl ient outcomes. The Department of Child and Family Services commends the Family Preservation Team
and its c oordinators for their commitment to families
through 2019.

Programme 2304— Administration

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, the activity
covered in Programme 2304 is Administration, and I
am still on page B -101. The estimate for this pr ogramme [for the fiscal year 2019/20 was] $1,743,000.
[The estimate for 2020/21 is] $3,001,000 reflecting a
budgetary increase of $1, 258,000, or 72 per cent.
Madam Chairman, the Administration section
of the department is responsible for the gen eral s upervision of the sections within the department and
the oversight of the Psycho- Educational Programme.
All staff development and training is delivered via this
section and as previously highlighted, training in all
sections of the department has bee n purposefully
aligned with the overarching goal of providing a comprehensive, seamless continuum of services that meets the complex needs of our client population.
Madam Chairman, DCFS has taken a huge
step to improve the onboarding and ongoing core
training for all employees through partnership with
Relias training solutions. Relias offers a cost -effective,
comprehensive online training and management sy stem for organisations to provide on- demand access to
courses for their entire staff with both monitor ing and
reporting capabilities.
This training solution is e ndorsed by the Child
Welfare League of America (CWLA) who partners with
Relias to provide easy ac cess to a broad range of
continuing education and professional development online courses for child welfare and human service
workers, clinicians, superv isors, and managers. This
includes a series of courses on topics targeted to
those who work with children who have experienced
trauma. The training solutions also have customisable
elements which allow f or the department policies and
procedures and legislation training to be built into the system allowing for con sistency and accessibility to
necessary training for all staff. We expect staff to
commence training in the R elias system in April 2020.
Madam Chairman, the Administration section
is responsible for reviewing all policies and proc edures and making the necessary recommendations
that will expand the capacity, scope and quality of our
social service delivery system. Given the current fiscal restraints coupled with the increase in demand for
more specialised and therapeutic services, the Admi nistration section continues to review all of its r esources to ensure they meet client needs.
In this budget year , the Administration section
will finalise the imp lementation of its approved reorganisation structure and strategic plan, complete r ecruitment so that the department is fully staffed and
look for continued opportunities of performance quality
improvement. This section will continue with moder nising the department’s strategy of providing compr ehensive assessments of all referrals so that clients receive the appropriate service from the appropriate
agency thereby reducing referrals and enhancing outcomes thus, ensuring that each section maintains
their accr editation standard .
The Psycho- Educational Programme was d eveloped to focus on children who could not be effectively treated in Bermuda or those who had exhausted
all available local therapeutic/treatment services. Al though our ability to diagnose various psychological,
behavioural, and educational problems has improved,
more children are being identified with various ps ychological, social/emotional and psychiatric conditions
that are currently unable to be fully treated locally. The
Psycho -Educational Progra mme affords us the opportunity to have external input with regard to therapeutic
intervention and aftercare services.
Overseas schools utilised by the PsychoEducational Programme are chosen based on the area of treatment specialty they are licensed to provide.
After clinical review and based on the needs of the
child, recommendations are made by the assessment
team on best school options. The department has
sought for several years to find schools on the East
Coast to meet the needs of our children but unfort unately only a limited number have been able to meet the therapeutic needs of the children we service. It
has also been identified that it is not cost -effective to
provide all of the services in Bermuda, because of the
insufficient client base in eac h area.
The Psycho- Educational Programme provides
children and youth with protection, care, and nurtur-ance by licensed therapeutic overseas facilities. Ps ycho-Education programmes provide a safe, supportive
and therapeutic environment for a child, while w orking
collaboratively towards either family reunification or an
alternative permanency option.
3650 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Psycho- Educational Committee is comprised of representatives from the following:
• Ministry of Health (not currently active) ;
• Child and Adolescent Services ;
• Ministry of Education; and
• The Department of Child and Family Services .
With t he Psycho- educational Programme,
during 2019, a total of 17 clients were serviced overseas in therapeutic placements for a complexity of
issues identified across the Diagnosti c and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- V) Criteria of Mental Disorders. The purpose of the DSM- V is to provide
clear descriptions of diagnostic categories in order to enable clinicians to diagnose and treat people with
various mental health diso rders. Each client received
an assessment from local service providers which determined an individualised treatment plan and inte nsive interventions, according to the diagnostic catego-ries defined by the DSM- V.
The Psycho- Educational Committee in the
best interest of the child utilises an overseas service
provider that specialised primarily in providing clinical
and comprehensive assessments at a university ho spital. The implementation of such an assessment was
utilised to assist DCFS in obtaining a clear a nd comprehensive understanding of the needs of the referred Psycho -Educational clients without an identified diagnosis or those that did not engage at all with local service providers. The comprehensive overseas asses sment assisted in the development of a dynamic, individualised treatment plan that has facilitated the most
appropriate match of local community resources or an
overseas therapeutic placement that will meet the cl ient’s specific need.
Madam Chairman, a total of four Psycho- Ed
clients were appro ved for an overseas placement at
the University of Neuro- Psychiatric Institute for a
comprehensive overseas assessment. The Compr ehensive Assessment and Treatment (CAT) pr ogramme at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute,
located in Utah, offered our cl ients a four - to six -week
comprehensive clinical evaluation in a safe and s ecure environment. The multi -disciplinary treatment
team assessed psychiatric and medical conditions,
provided behavioural and educational assessments,
psychological testing, therap y, and when necessary,
addressed chemical dependency issues.
The programme included psychiatric evaluations provided by board certified Child and Adolescent
Psychiatrists with diagnostic expertise in major depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, ADHD, reactiv e attachment, autistic spectrum disorders and substance
abuse. The CAT programme conducted full psychological and neuropsychological testing and therapy
provided by PhD psychologists. Most importantly,
Madam Chairman, CAT utilised a collaborative a pproach constructed by a complete multi -disciplinary
team consisting of child psychiatrists, paediatricians,
psychologists, nurses, licensed clinical social workers, recreational therapists, art therapists, music therapists
and education specialists.
All four , Madam Chairman, of the Psycho- Ed
clients who completed the CAT programme were recommended for treatment in an overseas therapeutic
placement that matched the determined diagnoses
and other treatment recommendations. A definitive
and comprehensive report inclusive of a summary of
findings, clinical treatment plan and recommendations
to meet the clients’ specific needs was provided to
DCFS, immediately upon discharge, in a book format.
The current data revealed that of the 17 chi ldren receiving treatment 13 wer e male and 4 were
female . Clients presented significant problems in var ious DSM- V multi- axial classifications.
Madam Chairman, this data is identical to the
data collected in previous budget years. Also, identical was that all Psycho- Ed clients had an Axi s-V Diagn oses categorised as psychosocial and environmental
problems. A psychosocial or environmental problem
was defined in terms of a negative life event, an env ironmental deficiency, a familial or other interpersonal
stress, an inadequacy of social supp ort or other pro blem relating to the context in which a person’s difficulties developed.
All Psycho -Ed clients serviced overseas r eceived the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF)
with a scoring range of 20 to 50. A score of 50 is de-fined as having serious symptoms or serious impai rment in social, occupational or school functioning, and
20 is defined as having danger of hurting self and/or others. The result of low Global Assessment of Func-tioning (GAF) scoring required that all Psycho- Ed cl ients receive intensive clinical treatment and a longer duration of treatment options coupled with one- to-one
staff interventions, psycho tropic medications, fr equent team meetings, psychiatric hospitalisations,
family intervention programmes and therapeutic visits,
all of which have increased and impacted the pr ogramme ’s cost significantly.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry of Education
continues to lack resources and is not equipped to service clients who are conduct disordered and high
risk in the community. Consequently, applications are
made to the Psycho- Ed committee requesting an
overseas placement for a young person that is not able to be serviced in a traditional school environment.
Madam Chairman, 100 per cent received
some sort of alternative education due to educa tional
gaps prior to being enrolled in an overseas therapeutic placement. The Ministry of Education has had an
increased demand to continue to seek alternate educational placements with local vendors in the comm unity prior to referring a child to Psycho- Ed for services
overseas.
Large demands continue to be placed on the
Department of Child and Family Services as a result
of the Minist ry of Education’s lack of resources and


Bermuda House of Assembly the overall inability to service children in a traditional
school setting. Without the High- Risk Intervention
Team [HRIT ], DCFS lacks an adequate response to
the increase [of] referrals for this group. Where skill
set and resources allow, Family and Educational assessments and school support are provided by their
Assessment, Counselling and Life Skills Teams and
their Residential Care o fficers.
Also, there has been no relief in the time
spent r esponding to PATI and media request s, preparing court documents to support care and superv ision orders and to provide status up dates. Cons equently , client contact time continues to decline due to
the demands of the Family Court pr ocess, guidelines
and overall expectations.
Madam Chairman, at this time we would like
to thank the staff within the department for their dedi-cation to providing effective services to those families
requiring the array of services they provide.

Hear, hear!

HEAD 74 —DEPARTMENT OF COURT SERVICES

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, turning now
to Head 74, which can be found at page B -107 of the
Budget Book, and this relates specifically to the D epartment of Court Services. For this budget year,
Madam Chairman, they received the sum of
$4,727,000— this has been allocated to Head 74, D epartment of Court Services, within the Ministry of Le-gal Affairs. This represents a 1 per cent increase from
the current 2019/20 year in the sum of $69,000.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Court
Services’ [DCS] budget disbursement is primarily
comprised of salaries for personnel and basic oper ational expenses. The department plays the lead role in
the assessment, rehabilitation, treatment, and case management of offenders in the community who are
subjects to statutory orders. Correspondingly, it deli vers comprehensive assessments and makes referrals
to treatment agencies for all substance abusers, via
the Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre (BARC). The manpower figures for the Department of
Court Services are on page B -108 of the Budget
Book.
Madam Chairman, the department has continued to withstand challenges encountered by and through the diverse clientele who present varied degrees of risks. Many of the challenges are exasperated by economic hardship, lack of residential accommodations and varied tensions in the community. Some pervasive issues include, but are not limited to,
unemployment, mental health issues, lack of housing,
misuse of substances, parenting challenges, chil dhood and adult trauma, [anger] issues, gang affili ations, cognitive deficits, ineffective role models, nega-tive peer influences, educational deficiencies or def icits, as well as unsatisfactory leisure activities. Whilst there has been a thrust to identify root causes, there
is no definitive community research in this regard.
Whilst the department reached some mil estones during the past fiscal year, it also continued to
resolve staffing shortages via the established prot ocols.
The department continues to operate seven
cost centres within three distinct programmes.

Cost Centre 7402— Administration

84070—Court Services Administration

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The budget for the administr ation unit has remained the same as the prior year.
Salaries for senior management, technical and admi nistrative support personnel, totalling $723,000 const itutes the majority of the allocated funds. The remai ning expenditure of $69 2,000, covers building security,
training, software and electronics/technology, office cleaning, apprenticeship, counselling, operational
equipment and supplies.
This department has continued to utili se more
than 65 per cent of the accessible Electronic M onito ring Devices (EMDs) since inception of the pr ogramme. A new contract has been entered into during
this fiscal year for the sustained operational effectiv eness in using these devices across Ministries. The Nightlight programme (curfew checks) remains v iable,
in spite of recent adaptations as a result of the Bermuda Police Services’ manpower issues.
Departmental policies and procedures remain
under active revision for standardisation of operations,
data collection, and evolving evaluation methods. In
addition, training to maintain certification standards
related to sex and violent offenders remains a work in
progress with an aim to promote a continuum of care.
Community sentences under the remit of this depar tment are life changing and motivate offenders to examine their behaviours, challenging them to alter their
lifestyles and behaviours and to confront the difficult
and challenging issues that they face. Partnerships
with stakeholder partners in wider criminal justice ve ntures result in all related fisc al interfaces being driven
from existing budgets.
Madam Chairman, the specialist Treatment
Court Programmes operated under this department
maintain effectiveness in meeting the needs of partic ipants and curbing their offending behaviours.

Cost Centre 7401 —Case Management Unit
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Case Management Unit is
overseen by a m anager and comprise of the Drug
Treatment Court Programme [ DTCP ], Probation, and
Parole Teams. Vacancies in the u nit remain active
with recruitment drives that have been extensive in
keeping with wider public service policies and direc3652 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly tives. Each case is managed according to the offenders’ risks, as well as their needs.
Personnel within the u nit give representation
on several interagency committees or groups. The
aim is to enhance collaborative efforts, communic ations, promote training and generate data collection.
The 2020/21 budget allocations will be dispersed in
the following three cost centres:

Cost Centre 84010 —Probation Services

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Probation Team oversees
probation [orders ] which are robust, and challenges
offenders to change their offending behaviour and
lifestyles. This is reinforced through office and field visits, as well as contacts with significant others to
ascertain a more accurate sy nopsis of the clients’
functioning and responses to supervision. There are currently 81 sentenced to this form of supervision.
Whilst this is a decline over past years , it is anticipa ted that the numbers will soon increase again.
The allocated Probation Services budget of
$507,000 is broken down as follows:
• [There is] $485,000 for employee expenses,
which represents salaries.
• The other operational expenses total a sum of $22,000, Madam Chairman, which includes
cell usage, assessment materials and out -
sourced treatment services, if required.
Madam Chairman, successful delivery of the
Probation Team’s services in the upcoming year will
include more accurate data analysis and refined site
visits to observe offenders in their environments. This
will assist of ficers in mitigating risk needs levels and
responses.

Cost Centre 84020 —Parole Services

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, individuals
released on early conditional release from the correctional facilities, by the Parole Board, are supervised
for the duration of their sentences under the superv ision of an officer from the Parole team.
The allocated Parole Services budget of
$409,000 is broken down as follows:
• $392,000 to cover employee expenses and
salaries; and
• $17,000 for operational expenses.
To pr omote the successful delivery of Parole
Services, gang- related and other high- risk parolees
were required to wear the Electronic Monitoring D evices [EMDs ]. This ensured that identified persons
refrained from visiting high risk places and limited the
degree to which high risk individuals were able to associate with each other, which proved effective.
There are currently 63 individuals on parole
and the cond itions of their respective o rders vary according to their need of supervision coupled with the
risks th at they pose to themselves and others. Cost Centre 84080 —Drug Treatment
Court Programme

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, the Drug
Treatment Court Programme [ DTCP ] remains the
leading model for a team approach to offender supervision. Currently, there are 26 participants in the Drug
Treatment Court Programme plus 14 persons obser ving for potential admittance into the programme.
Two persons graduated from the programme
in the past year, as two others had to recommence
Phase Four due to relapsing. The t eam maintained
quick response time to client non- compliance and f acilitated the transition of clients across levels within the treatment continuum. A varied stream for offenders convicted of Driving Under the influence [DUI] offences continues to emerge wi th a finite operational
structure under consideration. At present, there are nine individuals in the DUI stream.
The $438,000 budget allocation for the Drug
Treatment Court programme is distributed for the r ehabilitation of offenders whose offending is dir ectly
attributable to their substance abuse, and includes urinalysis assessments, counselling and overseas
conference. Private psychological and counselling
services address issues that contribute to the offenders’ use of substances.
The majority of these funds for the Drug
Treatment Court Programme represent salaries, in the amount of $390,000. The remaining $48,000 covers
operational, as well as assessment and treatment
services for the programme. In essence, this has ena-bled offenders whose substance mi suse contributed
to their offending to be afforded treatment and upon completion of the programme their index offence can
be expunged.
Madam Chairman, during the next financial
year the Case Management Unit, overall, proposes promoting officer well -being, and exerting more focus
on re- assessment of clients as main objectives. Performance measures have been revised for future outcomes, and revision and enforcement of standards
will ensure effective enforcement of the requirements
of statutory orders to hold offenders to account.

Cost Centre 7403— Assessment and
Treatment Unit

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, the Asses sment and Treatment Unit of the Department of Court
Services provides accurate and comprehensive as-sessments, reports and treatment programmes which
identify risks and criminogenic factors that clients
pose to the community. These interventions guide
service delivery and assist in reducing relapse rates.
Madam Chairman, 18 personnel function under the
direction of the u nit manager.
The unit’s four teams, each under the supervision of a coordinator, operate under three cost cenBermuda House of Assembly tres. Regulation of its operational procedures remains
a priority in this u nit.

Cost Centre 84030 —Aftercare and Community
Integration Service
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, this pr ogramme includes Community Service Orders [ CSO ]
and the Mental Health Treatment Court Programme
[MHTCP ], consisting of two officers supervised by the
coordinator.
During the past fiscal year, [25 offenders were
sentenced to a total of 2,317] hours of community service of the hours by the Courts. Madam Chairman,
67 per cent of those hours were completed.
The Mental Health Treatment Court Pr ogramme is a valuable programme for individuals who come into the criminal justice system with diagnosed
and treatable mental health issues. There were 23
new referrals this year. We highlight that the p erformance measures for this team were 100 per cent in all
areas indicated. One significant challenge is the inability for clients to access the relevant residential
treatment services required. Over the last reporting
period, 60 per cent of the 23 clients required suitable
housing and treatment.
Significant activities for the upcoming fiscal
year, Madam Chairman, include:
• To continue to explore residential and dual d iagnosis options for clients with mental health
challenges. This is a dire need and we are
working collectively with other Ministries t oward this end, in addition to enhancing skills
building.
• Outline the framework for programme evalu ation.
The salary estimate is $307,000 and the add itional outlay of $28,000 is for speciali sed mental
health and vocational assessments, vehicle fuel,
maintenance of programme equipment, and cell phones.

Cost Centre 84040 —Community Based
Programmes Team

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Community Based Pr ogrammes, Madam Chairman, which is located at line
item 84040. The Community Based Programme Team
continues to deliver accredited programmes to highrisk offenders, such as sex and violent offenders. The team was drasti cally short -staffed for the majority of
the year. The team composition is three senior probation officers who are specialists overseen by a p sychologist/ coordinator.
Some of the outcomes for the team are hig hlighted:
1. Programmes Team to offer at least 12 of fending behaviour groups.
Outcome: This target was exceeded with 19
offending behaviour groups run over the 12month period.

2. Maintain an overall client attendance rate (i ndividual and group sessions) of 70 per cent.

Outcome: This target was achieved w ith an
overall average attendance rate of 71.4 per cent, and
73.4 per cent attendance rate for individual session
and 69.8 per cent average attendance rates for
groups.
In addition to meeting these targets the Pr ogrammes Team offered 1,153 client contact s over the
past year period.
Madam Chairman, we also share that the reoffending rate for sex offenders enrolled in the com-munity sex offender programme remains at zero.
Objectives are accomplished with a financial
disbursement of $494,000. Clinical expe nses, oper ational and training expenses amount ed to $40,000
and a majority of the funds cover salaries totalling $454,000.
During this upcoming year, the team will do
the following:
• Increase and monitor its referral base.
• Outline criteria for ongoing evalua tion and
training regimes.

Cost Centre 84060 —Assessment Team

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Assessment and Treatment
Team, consisting of the Report Writing and the Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre (BARC) teams
compile timely, comprehensive and succinct reports and assessments to aid in referrals and the dispos ition of cases.
The Report Writing Team had a total of 186
reports for the calendar year. It is noted that more offenders are declining parole, hence a slight decrease
in numbers.
Madam Chairman, there were eleven reports
compiled on gang members, which was down
58 per cent over the preceding year. DCS remains an
active participant on the Gang Task Force.
The BARC Team, in particular, met direct
challenges tenaciously and conducted a total of 220
reports in the past year. The length of time for clients
to enter into treatment remains a challenge for the
department. This compromises persons who are mentally ready for treatment yet having their entrance into treatment programmes delayed. This is not a control
factor within the department’s remi t but was in compl iance with the agencies’ accreditation standards and
policies. Of the 75 clients referred for residential
treatment, only five entered into the residential treatment facilities. Of note, an addit ional officer met the
BACB’ s certification criteria and is awaiting Board
confirmation.
3654 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, salaries for the 11 personnel total $1,079,000 which is the only uplift in expenditure. The residual $50,000 allows for assessment m aterials, operationa l repairs and supplies, cell phones,
local training, and journals.
The budget year 2020/21 initiatives include,
Madam Chairman, to explore an additional asses sment tool to enhance treatment for substance abusers.
Madam Chairman, the department forecasts
that in the upcoming fiscal year, funding will be utili sed
for certification of some officers in targeted interventions, such as trauma and substance misuse, as these
will assist in targeting root causes of behaviours and
ascertaining criminogenic needs. This, as shared, will mitigate costs in private services.
Ongoing professional development is critical
for officers in this department as more astute analysis
of offenders’ risks is being applied. This also promotes
compliance to specific international standards and the
safety of officers. Enhancement of standards coupled with operational procedure s will be further expanded
and evaluated. Therefore, a revised training curric ulum is being implemented this year and will coincide
with forward job plans, and future performance appraisals.
Madam Chairman, in these challenging and
rigid times, this year’s budget for the Department of
Court Services provides the fiscal framework to sustain programmes and services at a bare level utili sing
all resources at its disposal. It is challenging with the
lack of supportive services such as residential options
and dual diagnosis programmes and services.
In recogni sing that offending and other social
problems will not be eradicated instantaneously, the
efficiency and integrity of the department is supported
by using motivational endeavours with clients and their significant others. The department’s treatment,
assessment, accountability and rehabilitation regimes
continue to lessen the effects of offending, and the
impact of ass ociated risks on the community.
Attempts by personnel to challenge behaviours in clients are often met with resistance. Officers
conduct curfew checks, visit homes and attend events
in the community to monitor clients more vigorously.
They also use electronic means to augment superv ision tactics. These responsibilities present safety
risks, yet officers are dedicated to transform lives and
deter further offending or relapse. We note that some
offenders prefer to forgo supervision which they view
as being onerous, this was also mention ed as relates
to offenders denying parole more recently.
The Offender Risk Management Team, thrust
by the Criminal Code Amendment 2018, which is the sex offender ’s management , is operational and work
remains in progress to better manage, monitor and
assist sex and violent offenders through this accountability framework. The Nightlight Programme, the curfew regime,
saw pitfalls and accomplishments. Due to manpower
issues, the Bermuda Police Service (BPS) was not
able to sustain es corts in accompanying the probation
officers. After further review, the departments’ team
went out in “threes” to carry out this function. This will
not be sustainable moving forward, unless there is a
renewed mechanism to bring the required results.
This will be rectified, and new procedures employed
for operational, overall safety and efficiency purposes. For data sharing purposes, there were 28 nights when
checks were completed in March 2019 alone and accompanied by the Bermuda Police Service. Since we
recommend ed checks without the BPS in June, there
have been a total of 78 checks on various nights since
that time, averaging 11 nights per month during that
period.
Madam Chairman, the department has embraced new initiatives, without increased fiscal r esources for several years. We acknowledge the hard
work of the department’s officers and support personnel who work collaboratively with partners to further
validate the protection of the community. The department will re -implement its staff recognition awards to
motivate and encourage personnel in this often thank-less profession.
Madam Chairman, this ends the presentation
for Head 74, the Department of Court Services, and
highlights the operational use of its expenditures. I
take a brief moment to thank all personnel in this department who face the risks and challenges of the job
with steadfastness and determination.
Madam Chairman, that ends the submissions
with respect to the budgets, namely, Head 87, Head 3, Head 4, Head 23 and Head 74.
Thank you.

The Ch airman: Thank you, Ministe r.
At this time, I would just like to let the listening
public know that we have approximately one hour
[left]. We will be concluding at 8:46 for the Heads that
were previously mentioned.
I welcome any Member to speak. I recognise
the Member from constituency 22.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Let me start with formalities and let me thank
the Honourable and Learned Minister of Health who is
babysitting the brief for the Honourable and Learned
Attorney General. But let me also recognise that the, I
believe, the Honourable and Learned —there is a pillar
in my way, but there was, I did see sight of her earlier so let me also acknowledge the presence in the
Chamber of the Honourable and Learned Attorney
General and i ndeed the Permanent Secretary and
indeed their team. It is your job to prepare this brief
and what a tour de force of a brief it was, and it is my
job to try to ask questions and make observations to


Bermuda House of Assembly hold the Government to account. And that is what I
propose to do.
Let me start that by observing that last year
this debate was only three hours and the Honourable
and Learned Minister , who is accomplished with her
briefs, took almost all my time, and this year I begged
for a further hour and it seems that di d not help much.
I will resist the word “ filibuster ,” but that was certainly
a comprehensive presentation.
Let me next turn to the Ministry as a whole,
and for those who have the benefit of the Budget
Book (and not everyone does), it is page B -82 of the
Budget Book. What I propose to do, Madam Chai rman, is just a quick whistle -stop tour of the highlights
of the Ministry and the Heads at page B -82 and then a
quick turn to Head 3, the Judicial Department.
After that, we are going to move to Head 23
which is the Department of Child and Family Services
and at that point I know that there are a number of
colleagues on this side at least who have questions
for the Minister . So, I will bowl a few overs there, but
then turn over to my colleagues. And then to the extent that there is any time left after their questions,
which I very much doubt, we will turn to the other
Heads. So, that is the framework of the discussion.
If we look at page B -82, we have the Ministry
of Legal Affairs and the seven substantive Heads under that Ministry. Only five of those Heads are on for
debate today, namely the Legal Affairs Headquarters,
the Judicial Department (which in shorthand is the
Judiciary), the Attorney General’s Chambers, the D epartment of Child and Family Services and th e Department of Court Services.
The Honourable and Learned Minister concluded her remarks by noting that these are challen ging and rigid times. Indeed they are, but let me start with a general observation and it is this: the cost to the
public of Bermuda for all five of these Heads is going
up under this budget —all five. I would just like to put
that in context looking at the budget numbers as a
whole.
I would like to remind those present in the
Chamber and listeners that in 2017/18, which was the
last ye ar in which the OBA had a budgeted year, the
budget for this Ministry was $42.5 million— $42.5.
Spending then increased under the first year 2018/19 to $45.9 million. Then the next year with the PLP
Government , 2019/20 was up from $45.9 million to
$49.07 mi llion and now as we can see from page B -
82, the estimated budget for the year 2020/21 is to be
$50.1 million.
So, just taking it to a very high level, that is an
increase in spending of over $7.6 million in the past
three years since the PLP has been the Government .
Now whether you think that is a good thing or a bad
thing, likely depends on your politics. But it is certainly a change in position.
Given those increases and projected increases, my first question for the Honourable and Learned Minister is this, What plans are there, if any, to bring
the cost of spending down for the Ministry of Legal Affairs?

Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, with your
lead, I think it may be a more productive use of time
recognising that I am, as the Honourable and Learned
Member said, babysitting this brief, that if we go
through and I can get all the questions that are asked
and then I can wait on the responses from the team.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I only have three questions in respect to the
Minis try of Legal Affairs as a whole, and that is the
first one. I am happy to put the other two.
Still on page B -82, Public Sector Employees.
Employees is the l ast line item on the page. This Ministry had 300 employees in 2017/18, the last budgeted
year for the OBA. This increased to 319 in the
2020/21 estimate. This is a 6 per cent increase in staff
since the PLP has come to power, which the
6 per cent is calcul ated by the difference between 300
and [319].
Now, we know from the budget statement gi ven to this House by the Minister of Finance that this
Government is not wanting to reduce the size of Government . And so, given those increased numbers and
projected i ncreases, my second overarching question
of three for the Minister is this: Is the PLP Government
committed to the maintaining of the size of this Mini stry in the next budgeted year —maintaining the size —
or will we see growth?
Madam Chairman, I am very ha ppy to put my
third question so the Minister can answer all three and
this is one as to the revenue overall in the Minist ry.
And more specifically to the line item for the Ministry
of Legal Affairs Headquarters in which we see no revenue and I will come back to revenue in respect to the
Judiciary separately. But we have no revenue for the
Ministry Headquarters and so, in view —

So, it is a nil revenue. And the
question is that . . . other than the Judiciary, which we
will return to in a minute, there is very little revenue
coming in to this Ministry as a whole and we have just
seen that the costs ar e going up and the numbers of
those employed have gone up. And so, my third and
final question on the Ministry as a whole is, What is
the thinking behind the Government in growing this
3656 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Ministry both in terms of expenditure and headcount
when Bermuda alread y has such a high debt level?
Those are my three questions for the Minister
before turning to the next Head.

Is there any other Member that would
wish to speak? I recognise the Member from constituency 36.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
First, I want to commend the brief presented
and prepared by the Honourable and Learned Madam
Attorney General, Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons. I
want to commend the Minister of Health Wilson who
has actually had to carry an incredible set of barrel bricks over the last few days dealing with coronavirus
and then to turn up here today and complete and di scharge this incredible brief on her feet dealing with Legal Affairs —and she has done a very fine job.
Legal Affairs, Madam Chairman, as a brief in
this country really is a re- visitation of the Pitt Report
and its assessment of this country , Judge Tumin’s
Report, Dr. Clark’s Report and not to forget Professor
Dorothy Newman.
Looking at the statistics and—they may strike
all Member s of this H ouse, but looking at the state
and problem in this country when Minister Wilson is
dealing on pages 13 through 15 of the Department of
Child and Family Services, looking at the state and
problem of the need for protection of our children in
this country is a serious matter. The whole question of
our response has been historic. Lord Pitt talked about
it. Judge Tumin talked about it. Professor Clark talked out it and Professor [Newman] analysed it. And $5
million assigned under this budget for services to
some 500 investigations and about 500 families i mpacted by the state of play of infants being exposed to
drugs in homes, referrals of ––discovered and the A ttorney General has shared these experiences in her brief because she has experienced them upfront —of
broken bones and burns and bruising appearing on
our children.
Madam Chairman, $5 million was assigned for
just supporting services is entirely inadequate. This $5
million represents, Madam Chairman, the biannual
salary of senior management partners of some of our
large firms, in just two years. It probably represents
the bonuses —annually —of some of our international
business players in this jurisdiction. It is inadequate
and it is incredulous for the Honourable and Learned
Member Mr. Pearman to actually ques tion these all ocations for the problem that we face—

Member, I just want to know if there is
a question relating to the Budget Book part of it.

Hon. Michael J. Scott: The question is really simple:
Will there be additional funding —because I have
asked this question —will there be additional funding for both services and assessments provided in future budgets? Because the country is in crisis in connection with the protection of our families and children.

POINT OF CLARIFICATION

The Honourable Learned
Member , Mr. Pearman—I do not believe he is comparing apples with apples. At the benefit of being able
to go back a number of years, I just want to point out
something, just my little country boy from up the way. Legal Aid in 2010 and 2011, $2.3 million for Legal Aid.
Legal Aid in 2020/21, $1.85 million was attributed to
Legal Aid there.
To me, that does not reflect what the Honourable Member was trying to portray , and if you look at
Head 87, what you will see is other departments
through realignment coming into those particular Mi nistries. So, Legal Aid would form a major part of what
the Justic e Department does .
So, when you look in the modern context of
this Budget Book, you would see things such as FSIU making things such as the sanctions unit —well even
the Mirrors P rogramme formed part of this area now.
So, financial crime and all that we have to do over-seas is now impacting on this particular Ministry. So, we are not getting apples compared to apples from
the Opposition in their opening salvo, I am sorry to
say.

I recognise the Member from consti tuency 9— he was a little faster than you, Member.

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you . Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I appreciate it because I want to jump on the
coattails of the Honourable Member Kim Swan to talk
about Legal Aid in that the Ministry Headquarters at
Head 87, to look at Legal Aid —and he is right. Certainly, when I was there in the position of Attorney
General there was a policy to try and bring Legal Aid
attorneys inside the department —
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: We are talking about Legal
Aid, 97030.
[Laughter]

Members.


B ermuda House of Assembly Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I think that is the Member who
is growing fat from Government contracts.
So, we have them bringing inside, bringing in
defence counsel inside the Legal Aid Ministry. Now
the specific question I have with respect to Legal Aid
are the numbers on page B-85, it talks about Legal
Aid and it talks about going from full- time equivalent of
eight going up to a full -time equivalent of 10.
Now the problem I have and the question I
have which I asked a year or so ago—a t some point
in time the Senior Legal Aid Counsel was Ms. Susan
Moore- Williams and I believe she was seconded to
the Post Office and she was a substantive post hol der. Since that time, I think one of the leading and very
good defenc e counsel was brought in house, Charles
Richardson. Now, what I do not understand— we have
had discussion in this House before, the Government
seemed to have some confusion as to whether he is
a, he is a civil servant but he is being appointed to the
substantive post or whether he is on some sort of
consultancy contract. I have seen on occasion where
he is representing people in court who do not look like
they are Legal Aid people and that he is still operating
his practice which would indicate to me that he is on
some sort of consultancy contract.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Like Ambrosio.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: However, the difficulty with
that is that he signs himself off . . . I have certainly
seen him sign himself off as the Acting Senior Legal
Aid Counsel. And, o f course, you can only be in an
Acting position if you are a member of the civil ser-vice. So, he is either a member of civil service or he is a consultant. But if he is a consultant, then he cannot sign himself off as the Acting Senior Legal Aid Counsel.
I would like a definitive answer as to what the
plan is there. Is the plan to keep him there in a permanent capacity and he is now a civil servant? Or is the plan that there is a substantive post holder who is
going to be brought back after a secondment el sewhere in the civil service, I believe at the post office?
So, I think that is something that should be
definitively answered by the Government . As I said, it
was raised before, a year ago, and one Member of the
Government said he was a consultant and another
one said, no, he was a substantive post holder.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you.
Ju
st by way of cl arification, I thought the question that I posed was clear and I actually looked over
at the Minister and I think that she thought it was clear
as well. I was only dealing with the overall budget of the Ministry of Legal Affairs. I was not under Head 87 and it was that overall budget that increased by $7.6
million, not $5 million —

Thank you. And I was
making the point, whilst I referred to [Head] 87 be-cause I went to a line item under [Head] 87 that act ually had not increased but was still substantive, if you
look at Heads 87, 3, 4, 23, 74, 75, 78 —a number of
them would not have fallen under Justice at that particular time that he was referring to. So, to say that there was an increase . . . yes! Other Heads were not
part of those Ministries at that time.

Member, keep it clean.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Madam Chairman, thank you.
Madam Chairman, with respect to the three
questions that were asked by the learned and hon-ourable friend concerning the cost of spending and what steps are being done to reduce the cost of spending with respect to this Head, as I indicated pr eviously in the brief one of the items that has been hi storically over budgeted for is Legal Aid. So, what the
Chambers has done is they have retained the ser-vices of three legal posts.
Previously there was one Legal Aid Counsel,
the Senior Legal Aid Counsel, which was just spoken about, and they have retained the services of three. So, there are four counsel in [house]. So, as opposed
to farming out work there are four counsel in house that are conducting a large percentage of the Legal Aid matters.
With respect to the question concerning the
revenue, because of the nature of this particular de3658 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda House of Assembly partment, there is no revenue generated by this department.
There was a question about staff accountabil ities—

Staff numbers.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: No . . . oh, yes. The spending.
Madam Chairman, with respect to the spending in the, the staff spending . . . sorry, the spending. It
is based on the programme. So, if the programmes
are such that there is a requirement for increased spending because of the nature of the programme,
such as, for children, the Government is prioritising
across the government the areas that we think are the
most important to be addressed which would have
been announced at the Budget Statement. One of those such areas does involve our commitment to children and families and as such there was an increase in spending concerning that with respect to this
budget.

I recognise the Member from consti tuency 33.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
I am going to speak briefly on Head 23 and
particularly a point that was raised by the Minister in
her presentation where she said, and I quote, “there
has been no relief in the time spent responding to
PATI and media requests, preparing court documents to support care and supervision orders and to provide status updates. Consequently, client contact time con-tinues to decline due to the demands of the Family Court process guidelines overall expectations.” That is
taken from the Minister’s brief on Head 23.
Now, if you were to read today’s daily
, you
would have seen the headline, “Youngsters sent
abroad by DCFS without [mental health] checks.” This is an example of, as the Minister said, time spent r esponding to PATI and media requests. So, if you read
this headline and it spoke about youngsters being sent abroad by DCFS without checks, you would be led to believe that children were just being snatched out of their homes, thrown on a plane with no process, no screening, nothing.
Nothing more can be further from the truth
and this is where the budget, when we talk about cut-ting manpower . . . I mean, one thing I find fascinating
about the One Bermuda Alliance, they love to talk about putting Bermudians out of jobs and on the
streets.
POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

That is right.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: —putting people out on
the street and unemployed.
So, we have a staff at DCFS under Head 23
that has been burdened by what I would call per-formative compassion by a media that has failed to
adhere to two of the principles of ethics in journalism: fairness impartiality and accountability.
Today, the staff of DCFS which should have
been helping to prepare the Minister for her present ation had to deal with the story where the facts were not correct —wasting resources —
POINT OF ORDER

Point of order, Madam Chai rman. Is there a question for the Minister coming?
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Minister s do not ask Ministers questions.
But what I am saying, Madam Chairman, this
speaks to the point about the manpower and the r esources that are needed. When you are dealing with
this on an unrelenting basis, when the media has to constantly be told DCFS does not send children overseas, it is a drain on our resources. It is a drain on our
time. I also would like to speak really briefly —

The Honourable Member is misleading the House and knowingly so. There has been attack on the staff at DCFS. There have been questions raised by the Opposition about allegations made
against people at DCFS. We have constantly and r epeatedly observed that there are people, very good
people at DCFS and I am on the record about that.
No one is attacking anyone, so stop spinning
and stop misleading.

Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I would encourage the
Honourable Member to maintain his composur e. I
know he is not used to people speaking to him like
this. But let us continue.

[Laughter]

Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Let us continue. I would
ask the question, what has been the impact in terms
of manpower and time that has been expended on
addressing queries that were erroneous, misleading
or incomplete from the Opposition and the press? What has been the time that has been spent in pr ocessing PATI requests that have been taken away from, as the Minister said in her presentation, decline
due to the demands of the . . .the client contact time
continues to decline due to the demands of the Family Court process guidelines and overall expectations.
Those are my questions, Madam Chairman.

Thank you, Madam.
Perhaps we can get back to the Minister presenting her brief and the questions that she is answering rather than the filibustering.
I will stay with Head 23 . . . and he is laughing.
The Minister is lau ghing because he thinks it is funny.
But it is not funny. It is the Department of Child and
Family Services. There are significant allegations that have been made by children of abuse and neglect and
it is not a laughing matter. And it is not being made up
by the press and it is not being made up by the Opp osition.

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Point of order, Madam
Chairman.
The Honourable Member is misleading the
House. What I said specifically, and I will quote, there
was a stor y in today’s press that was erroneous and not factually based, to the point that they had to u pdate and correct it on the website. What has been the impact of these attacks and the impact it has on chi ldren? And I referred to this as performative compas-sion because I have seen no compassion for children,
particularly when we talk about they need to cut the
budget.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I will return to Head 23 and hopefully we will
have an opportunity to hear from the Minister with
some answers to questions, those posed both from
this side and the other side. I have three.
One is that the Minister in her brief today . . .
and let me pause for a second. I am going to turn to the topic of litigation guardians. And lest it be thought
that this is just a booyah we-said/he- said debate, let
me stop and commend the Attorney General for the
introduction of litigation guardians —which was the
right thing to do. It was a legal obligation and I commend her, and have commended her previously on
that.
The Minister has now clarified what the budget will be for those litigation guardians and that budget
is indicated at $242,000, which is the same number that was referred to l ast year in the debate. Last year
in the debate, I posed a question which was whether
or not the $242,000 budget was to serve only to pay
the litigation guardians, or at that time “guardian” si ngular, as there was not a multiple panel of five guard ians, or whether it would include counsel because the
acting question requires both the service of a litigation
guardian in relation to the child (usually a social wor ker or someone with that sort of qualification) and an attorney who will appear for the child in court.
So, the question I would repeat, which was
not answered last year is, does the $242,000 budget include both the litigation guardian and the attorney to
represent the child? And to assist with that numbering,
the previous litigation guardian, Ms. Tiffanne Thomas ,
indicated that when she was active, she had a cas eload of somewhere between 30 and 40. And just tak-ing the middle number there, a caseload of 35, and
dividing $242,000 by 35, that is a figure of some
$6,000 which sounds awfully low to allow for a litig ation guardian to manage a case and also to brief
counsel for the attorney to go and represent the child
in court. So, I would be grateful for clarification around that point.
I will pause all three questions on this Head
that I have. I know others have other questions. My
second question is this, the other Honourable Minister
who was on his feet moments ago referenced a news story today and part of that story indicated that of the 29 children who were sent away, that four had not
been assessed or treated before being sent abroad. I
3660 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly have heard what the Honourable Minister has just
said, that the story has been updated, but I would be
grateful for confirmation from the Minister of Health
who is holding the brief for the Attorney General whether or not that statement, which came from di sclosure from the Ministry itself and from the depar tment, is correct or is not correct.
My third question is, What does the Gover nment plan to do to address the issues which are very
evident for all to see at the Department of Child and
Family Services?
Thank you.

So, that is page B -10—
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Page B -104. I am going to
B-104, which is the performance measures. Madam
Chairman, I am going there from the point of view of
trying to get edification because I think too often we
hear about the tail end of w hen something comes up
but we do not hear about how it begins. So, I have been trying to understand what Child and Family Services does with respect to children. And I know that
there was an indication that Child and Family Services
wanted to do things wit h respect to helping children,
and there was talk about the establishment of a safety
plan and talking about people having what they call
the structured plan to deal with the children.
So, I would like the Minister and, through her
department, to indicate first of all . . . and this is going
back to page B -104 when it says investigation and
screening. It says numbers of children who are pr otected from ongoing child abuse and it says
100 per cent. But the difficulty with that is we need to
know how many people were protected from abuse in
order to know that 100 per cent of them were actually
helped and it would then enable you to say from year one to the next year whether there was an increase or decrease, and so I wondered if the Minister was able
to say th at.
As she was talking about these numbers, I
tried to write them down very quickly, but I do not r emember that I saw the numbers, the actual numbers of children who were protected from ongoing child abuse.
Then, the second one was the number of chi ldren who had a repeat substantiated abuse or n eglected investigation within six months of closure. The reason it is important to have that is because when
the Minister talked about a system which is designed
to have structured decision -making assessment tools , a lot of emphasis were talked about that being som ething that was helping the children to be actually monitored. I wanted to understand how many children have
actually had substantiated abuse or neglect because
this tells us how well the system is working.
And then that leads me to my other question
which relates to care orders. I wanted to understand
how does a care order arise, because a care order (as
I understand it) is because something happened and
therefore there is, according to this, there is t he
screening, investigation and assessment. So, I wanted to understand how the care order came into being
because this ties in to whether someone is actually
going to be taken into care and then ultimately put
under the direction of the director.
The other thing that I had related to this question of the abuse or the neglect . Who initiates the i nvestigation and what happens if there is abuse and neglect?
My last question is, if there is a court order, I
wanted to understand whether a child is able to ind icate that they believe that they are subject to neglect
or [if] they believe that they are not able to function in
their home. And is it just the assessing, the people
that do the screening, are they the only ones that can
turn around . . . and it said “s creening investigation
and assessment.” I believe that this helps everybody understand how somebody could get to where we are in terms of what makes the paper, because what
makes the paper is the end of all these other things in
terms of people having some issues being assessed
and then deciding that the family is not able to take
care of them and therefor they need to go to other
places.
And can we have confirmation that YHED [r efers to] teen services? Because on page C -17 there is
a grant which it says “ a grant to YHED”, and it took us
a long while to try and figure that out. But I think it is
teen services. But it would be nice to refer to what that department is because then people could understand
how children go into care.
I will—

Member , I just have one question,
because listening I just want clarity. Your very first
question, you asked about the number of children who
are being protected. You wanted to know the
100 per cent, or were you asking for the figure?
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I want the physical number because until you know that physical number, you
do not know whether 100 per cent is 500 people or
600 people, and then you can make the comparison
year on year.

I recognise the Member from consti tuency 29.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Madam Chairman, I would like to speak to
Head 87 and, in particular, I have a question for the
Minister .
The Honourable Member Trevor Moniz got up
and he spoke about Charles Richardson and the role
he played and how long was he going to play t his role
and what that position was all about.
My question to the Minister is if Charles Ric hardson was white or had the last name Ambrosio,
would the Honourable Member Moniz still have that
same question?

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Point of order, Madam Chai rman.

Thank you, Member .

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Madam Chairman, I did not
accuse him, but if the hat fits . . . if the hat fits —
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairm an, that is a
disgrace. That is absolutely disgraceful. He is really
taking the debate —

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: I did not hear any point of
order. So I will continue, Madam Chairman.

[Crosstalk]

POINT OF ORDER
[Imputing improper motive ]

Hon. Trevor G . Moniz: It is a point of order. It is unparliamentary language. He is imputing improper m otive and it should not be allowed and he should not be
on his feet at the time that I am making—
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: I did not hear her accept
your—. Hon. Tr evor G. Moniz: —a point of order.

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: —point of order.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I just said a point of order!

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: She did not accept it.

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Imputing improper motive.

Member from constituency 29, yes.

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes. It is amazing that the
Honourable Trevor Moniz can get up and make that
statement when, quite clearly, when Mr. Ambrosio
worked in his office when he was the Attorney Ge neral there were never any questions . . . he should
have questioned himself and certainly no one on this side of the House—

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Point of order, point of order.

Point of order Member from constit uency 9.

POINT OF ORDER

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Ambrosio was simply a
consulta nt. I am asking [about] the case of Mr. Ric hardson. I am not saying it is improper one way or a nother, I am simply asking. Is he a consultant or is he a
substantive post holder. Is he a civil servant? I am asking, is he one or the other? I have already sai d he
is a very fine defence attorney. I am complimenting
3662 11 March 2020 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly the gentleman. I am not criticising him. It is a simple
question.

I recognise the Member from consti tuency 9.

POINT OF ORDER

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: It is very clear in the Budget
Book. I referred to the line item on page B -85. It talks
about Legal Aid being eight. I am asking whether the
gentleman who describes himself as the Acting Senior
Legal Aid Officer is one of the 8 or 10 staff members described under 97030 Legal Aid on page B -85 or
whether on page B -84 he comes under Professional
Services which is $2.239 million. So, does he come
under one or the other?

I will recognise the Member from co nstituency 29.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you. Thank you,
Madam Chairman.
Madam Chairman, under Head 23, Child and
Family Services. I thought that I would take this opportunity to thank all that work in that particular section of
this Minist ry, because as a former Minister I know
what stress and duress every member of that section
of the Ministry is under. And I would just like to take
this opportunity to thank all of them for the work that
they have done and continue to do, and especially in
light of the assault —whether it be by the OBA or t he
Royal Gazette— that they have had to put up with over
the last two and a half years.

The Minister is misleading the
House. There has been no assault on the DCFS by
the Opposition and it is simply improper to describe it
as such.
Thank you.

[Crosstalk ]

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Madam Chai rman.
The Honourable Member Pat Gordon- Pamplin
asked if I am running time out. Speaking of time out,
the Honourable Member Pearman who got on his feet
and said that he did not have enough time.
Let me remind that Honourable Member —
who is new to this House —I have seen the OBA Ministers, not only one or two but three, read for the entire
time that was allotted to debate a Ministry. The entire time. The entire time! And in particular, the Member ..
. one of the Member s is sitting right here. Mr. Sylvan
Richards read for four hours direc t straight. He did not


Bermuda House of Assembly leave us one second to debate. And let me hear a
point of order on that!

POINT OF INFORMATION