December 18, 2019

I, Ianthia Grace Si mmons -Wade, do swear that I will be faithful and bear
truth allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors, according to the law, so help
me God.

[Pause]

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES
The President: The Minutes of the 4
th and the 16th of
December 2019.

Sen. James S. Jardine: Madam President.

The President: Senator Jardine, you have the floor.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Madam President, I move
that consideration of the Minutes of the meetings of
Wednesday, the 4
th of December 2019, and Monday,
the 16th of December 2019, be deferred.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion? No objection. The Minutes are defer red.
Thank you, Senator Jardine.
[Minutes of 4 and 16 December 2019 deferred]

MESSAGES

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS

The Clerk: Yes, Madam President. I have a message
from the Honourable House of Assembly. The message reads:
“To the Honourable President and Members
of the Senate:
“The House of Assembly wishes to send to
your Honourable House sincere greetings for a joyous
holiday season and a very happy New Year .”
And that is signed Honourable Dennis P. Li ster, JP, MP, Speaker. And that is dated 13 December 2019.

The President: Thank you very much.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

The President: There are none.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The President: I believe we do have an announc ement.
Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons, Attorney Ge neral and Government Leader in the Senate, you have
the floor.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President, and good morning.
The President: Good morning.

MEDICINAL CANNABIS ACT 2019

~AND~

MEDICAL CANNABIS ( LICENSING )
REGULATIONS 2019
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons : Madam Pres ident, I hereby present for the information of the Sen732 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ate the following draft items: Draft Bill entitled the Medicinal Cannabis Act 2019 and Draft Regulations ent itled the Medical Cannabis ( Licensing) Regulations
2019.
Senators should note that these items are t abled in the Senate for consultation purposes only.

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

NOTICES OF MOTION

The President: There are none.

PETITIONS

The President: There are none.

STATEMENTS

The President: There is a Statement on the Medicinal
Cannabis consultative draft regulations.
And I believe Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons,
you will do that.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you.
Madam President, if you would indulge me, I am just
waiting for my Statement to be delivered. [This is] m y
error entirely.

The President: We will wait a few . . . are you expec ting it in the next few minutes?

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes.
The President: We will wait.
[Pause]
The President: For the listening audience, t he Stat ements have arrived, and they are just being dispersed.
Senat or Kathy Lynn Simmons, Attorney Ge neral, you have the floor.

MEDICINAL CANNABIS ACT 2019

~AND ~

MEDICINAL CANNABIS (LICENSING)
REGULATIONS 2019

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President, for your indulgence.
Madam President, I am pleased to present to
this Honourable Senate the Bill entitled Medicinal
Cannabis Act 2019 and the Regulations entitled the
Medicinal Cannabis (Licensing) Regulations. Madam President, there is strong public support for relaxation of the existing laws to permit greater local availability of cannabis for medicinal purposes. This Government made a commitment in the 2018
Speech from the Throne to provide a scheme for ac-cess to medicinal cannabis as a therapeutic option for
patients suffering from certain chronic illnesses. The
Throne Speech stated: “ Increasing numbers of medical professionals are embracing the science surroun ding cannabis and its positive impact on pain relief and
the management of chronic medical conditions. Dur-ing this session, the Government will advance a r egime whereby licensed medical practitioners are permitted to prescribe medicinal cannabis to aid in the
treatment of such conditions. This will be implemented concurrent ly with the establishment of a licensing r egime to regulate domestic production of medical -
grade cannabis products.”
Madam President, this Bill will seek to establish a Medicinal Cannabis Authority to regulate do-mestic cultivation, import for domestic cultivation, pos-session when prescribed by a medical practitioner for
administration by inhalation, export, manufacture, r esearch and development , and transportation of cannabis for medicinal purposes. It also establishes a licensing scheme for the local cul tivation and manufacturing of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes; to provide for monitoring, inspection and enforcement powers for inspectors; and to empower the
Minister to give directions to the Authority.
Madam President, the R egulations w ill be
stringent, providing extensive provisions for the appl ication for the various types of licences available under
the medicinal cannabis scheme, and will also pr escribe to whom and how a licence will be granted or may be renewed or revoked. Part 3 of the Regulations
contains the provisions applicable to the specific types
of licences available under the Act. Furthermore, the
Regulations give the Medicinal Cannabis Authority
sufficient discretionary powers to impose various con-ditions on a licence befor e it is granted.
Madam President, this H onourable Chamber
will recall that the Legislature recently passed the Misuse of Drugs (Hemp) Amendment Act 2019 , which
now creates a legal distinction between cannabis and hemp, allowing for the import, possession, supply or
sale of hemp products in Bermuda. That law is now in
operation as of 26
th November 2019. Casting our
minds back to around this time two years ago, the
Legislature enacted the Misuse of Drugs (Decriminal isation of Cannabis) Amendment Act 2017, m aking
simple possession of 7 grams or less of c annabis no
longer a criminal offence.
Bermuda is not unique in having evolving att itudes about cannabis, particularly acceptance of the many health and wellness benefits of hemp and cannabis. As global trends have indicated, liberalisation of
cannabis laws is inevitable and unavoidable even for
a remote island like Bermuda. In this regard, this


Bermuda Senate Government has taken a measured approach in tac kling this issue , understanding that to achieve long -
term transformati on of public attitudes towards the
medicinal benefits of cannabis requires leadership.
Leadership is needed to undo decades of negative stereotyping, psychological conditioning and demonisation of the cannabis plant, to the disadvantage of
not exploiting all of its many health benefits to the human body.
Madam President, forgive me for being grap hic, but our community has family members, loved ones and neighbours suffering daily from debilitating
ailments such as pain associated with terminal ca ncer, seiz ures, Parkinson’s disease, glaucoma and
Crohn’s disease, to name a few. Their only relief or hope for recovery comes from being able to take medically prescribed cannabis or to run the risk of rever ting to street -level or illicit cannabis , which has not
been tested and optimised for medicinal efficacy.
It is expected that the current demand for m edicinal cannabis for inhalation is slight , based on the
few applications received for licences under the pre-existing prescribing mechanisms. However, as this
new scheme is operationali sed and as medical pract itioners become confident prescribing medicinal cannabis for inhalation, we expect the number of prescri ption users to increase gradually year over year. As a
society with high expectations of access to the best
and latest medical interventions and therapies, there
is no longer a public policy justification for our laws to
deny patients’ access to medicinal cannabis for inhalation as prescribed by a medical practitioner, and for
the law [not] to create a framework to establish domestic cultivation to support that demand.
Madam President, when analysing best practice methods to institute a scheme for medicinal cannabis, we looked to jurisdictions such as the United
Kingdom and our North American neighbours of Canada and the United States , who have each successfully pioneered regulation of medicinal cannabis with
varying degrees. We also looked to our Caribbean
cousins in such islands as Barbados and St. Vincent
and the Grenadines. These model jurisdictions were
used as a reference point .
But after extensive consultation with local
stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health (including the Chief Medical Officer), Bermuda Police Service,
Department of National Drug Control and the Customs
Department, it became cl ear that we had to design a
bespoke, Bermudianised scheme which is pragmatic
and fits into existing regulatory oversight mechanisms.
Specifically, the Medicinal Cannabis Act is not
intended to encroach upon existing regulation of can-nabis -derived pharmaceutical products listed in the
Third and Fourth Schedules to the Pharmacy and Po isons Act 1979 and other regulatory powers of the Mi nister with responsibility for drug prevention under the
Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 and the Misuse of Drugs
Regulations. Rather , Madam President, medicinal cannabis, as defined for the purpose of the new
scheme, includes medical -grade cannabis plant mat erial, cannabis resin and other preparations used for
inhalation (by smoking or vaping) exclusively. Medic inal cannabis, like phar maceutical products scheduled
under the Pharmacy and Poisons Act, will only be available on prescription by a medical practitioner and
dispensed by a pharmacist.
Madam President, turning to some of the detail in the Bill, part of the responsibilities of the newly
formed Medicinal Cannabis Authority will be to regu-late and control the terms of access for patients to
medicinal cannabis for administering by inhalation.
Authorised use of medicinal cannabis by inhalation
will be monitored by way of an identifi cation [ID] card
issued by the Authority, a central register and man-dated recordkeeping by medical practitioners. Patients in receipt of a prescription by a medical practitioner
and who meet other qualifying criteria will be able to
apply for an ID card which will permit them to use and
carry their prescribed medicinal cannabis. Provision is
also made to allow authorised caregivers to be desi gnated by the patient to obtain an ID card so that a
care provider can lawfully assist with obtaining and
administeri ng medicinal cannabis on the patient’s behalf without committing an offence.
Madam President, the Medicinal Cannabis Bill
has been meticulously drafted to ensure it accords
with Bermuda’s international obligations to comply
with the requirements of the I nternational Narcotics
Control Board ( or INCB). The INCB is the independent
and quasi -judicial monitoring body for the implement ation of the United Nations International Drug Control
Conventions. The c onventions and the INCB standards establish a control r egime that ensures the avai lability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes , while preventing their illicit production,
trafficking and abuse. The INCB directs that all go vernments with established programmes for the use of
cannabis for medicinal purposes ensure that prescri bing cannabis for medicinal use is performed with the
competent medical knowledge and supervision, and
that prescribing practices are based on available sc ientific evidence and consideration of any side effects.
Madam President, in this regard, our medical
practitioners and pharmacists are well versed in upholding prescribing standards of the cannabis -derived
pharmaceuticals already available under existing
laws. Thus, they are in good stead to continue to be
guided by their legislated professional codes of conduct, inclusive of ethical standards, scope of practice,
and standards of practice in prescribing and dispens-ing, whenever prescribing and dispensing medicinal
cannabis for inhalation to authorised patients.
Madam President, the proposed Medicinal
Cannabis Authority will also regulate and control the
import of cannabis for use by inhalation (on prescri ption by a medical practitioner) and import of cannabis
intended to be cultivated locally for use by inhalatio n
734 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate (also on prescription by a medical practitioner) and the
local cultivation, possession, manufacture and
transport of cannabis for medicinal purposes. A licensing scheme, authorising permitted activities, will allow
eligible Bermudians and permanent resid ents, or
Bermuda- registered companies , to apply to the A uthority for:
• a cultivation licence to allow for the cultivation
of medicinal cannabis for inhalation;
• an import licence for the import of medicinal
cannabis intended for cultivation of medicinal
cannabis for inhalation;
• an export licence for the export of medicinal
cannabis cultivated locally;
• a manufacturing licence to allow for activities
relating to the processing and manufacturing
of medicinal cannabis products;
• a research and development licence to allow for the conduct of product -based scientific r esearch, clinical trials, et cetera, relating to the
development of medicinal cannabis;
• and/or a transport licence to provide safe and
secure transport of medicinal cannabis in
Bermuda.
Madam President, the Medicinal Cannabis Bill
and Regulations also set up the legislative framework to build a viable domestic medicinal cannabis industry
in Bermuda. Private enterprise and free market forces
will determine, over time, the size and economic
bene fits of s uch an industry. Assuredly, Bermuda’s
economic heritage allows us to capitalise on our
strengths such as size and ease to regulation. Our
prudential reputation and sound judicial system con-tinue to make us a jurisdiction of choice for business
innovation. Homegrown innovations have spawned
our world- class insurance and reinsurance sector , and
our range of international business offerings. This
scheme creating a medicinal cannabis industry is no
different . The vision is , If we build it (well), they will
come.
Further, Madam President, this Government
is not only expecting to attract international investment
under this new scheme, it is designed so that entry into the marketplace is also accessible to local enterprises and start -ups. Once the Authority is es tablished, it is anticipated that it will undertake such tec hnical and expert consultation to inform additional Re gulations to support the Act. This includes setting the
appropriate licence fees so that there is diversity of entry points into the medicinal cannabis market. A ccessibility to small and medium -sized enterprises is a
priority, as it aligns with this Government’s mandate to spark entrepreneurship for economic empowerment.
In this vein, the Bill also provides that, with the
approval of the Minist er of Finance, the Authority may
use a portion of its licence fee revenue to assist licensees with training for cultivation of medicinal cannabis
and to grant funding for scientific and medical r esearch relating to medicinal cannabis. Madam President, it was a natural fit to i nclude a social policy component in the Medicinal Ca nnabis Bill. In addition to allocating funds to support
licensees, the Authority can also apportion part of its
revenue to strengthening social programmes for drug abuse prevention and treatment. This is a tangible
measure to add value to some of the existing social
programmes run by charities , who suffer under limited
private sector donations , and ultimately lessen their
dependence on traditional government grant funding.
Madam Pr esident, it is apt to quote Victor H ugo, the French romanticist poet and author , who once
remarked, “ Nothing can stop an idea whose time has
come .” In the light of this universal truism, the time
has come for our community to continue frank conversations about the legacy impacts of the misguided and
over-enforced criminalisation of cannabis use. It goes
without saying that we all know the particular dem ographic of our citizenry who bore the true cost of i ncluding cannabis in the perpetual war on drugs and
the theories of why they were marginalised.
The time has also come for us as a community to consider progressive and restorative ways to al-leviate past injustices. This Government is prepared to
give action to words by committing to exploring policy
options which can best achieve the legal expungement of past criminal records for convictions of simple
possession of cannabis so that patients with convi ctions will be able to have the same levels of access to
medicinal cannabis. We also want to preserve our
young people’s futures instead of allowing historic
systems of inequality to write them off for having
made one bad choice because of cannabis possession.
Madam President, in full understanding of the
passionate views held in respect of the relaxation of
cannabis laws generally, and differing opinions of
medical experts on the efficacy of medicinal cannabis,
I am presenting this Bill and Regulations today as public consultation drafts. Public consultation is meaningful at this stage, because now that a draf t fram ework is fleshed out in legislation, we hope it encour-ages constructive feedback and comments, rather
than fuel ling polari sing arguments in the abstract.
I implore all sectors of society —not just interest groups and entrepreneurs, but all Bermudians —to
take time to read and comment on this Bill and these
Regulations. Instructions on how to submit comments
and feedback will be available on the government web
portal, www.g ov.bm
. We will review and analyse the
comments to optimise the Bill and Regulations before
they are t abled in the Legislature.
Madam President, I can confidently say that
this Bill and Regulations will fulfil this Government’s promise to deliver new mec hanisms for lawful access
to medicinal cannabis by way of a prescription from a medical professional and dispensed by a pharmacist,
whilst also satisfying Bermuda’s international oblig ations. The scheme will also include significant regul aBermuda Senate tion and controls to prevent abuse of the domestic
medicinal cannabis scheme.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senat or Kathy Lynn Si mmons, Attorney General .

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

The P resident: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS

The President: There are none.

QUESTION PERIOD

The President: This is an opportunity for Senators to
ask questions on the Statement that has just been
read by the Attorney General .
Would any Se nator care to ask any questions
on this Statement?
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident, just one question.
I know that we are considered as latecomers
to this particular industry. So I was just wonderin g if
. . .

The President: We cannot hear you. Can you talk
into the microphone?

QUESTION 1: MEDICINAL CANNABIS ACT 2019
AND MEDICINAL CANNABIS (LICENSING) REG ULATIONS 2019

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes. I know that we are
relatively considered latecomers i n this industry. So I
just wanted to ask if there were any means or met hods to kind of accelerate us with our competition, who
have put this sort of legislation in place before us?

The President: Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmo ns: We are not in
competition with other jurisdictions. There are components of this scheme that may not be in other jurisdi ctions. And as we go along the consultation process,
we may find that our alternate regulatory regime di ffers from other jurisdictio ns.
And that is why we tried to Bermudianise,
notwit hstanding that we have used frameworks from other jurisdictions who have already implemented
their schemes.
The President: Would any Senator care to ask questions on this Statement?
No. Then we will move along.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: The first Order of the Day is the N ational Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Temporary Amendment Act 2019.
Senator Campbell, that is yours.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS

The President: And before you start, can I just
acknowledge the presence of Mr. Peter Sousa, the
CEO of the Pension Commission; as well as Mr. St ephen Gift, the Assistant Financial Secretary.
Welcome to you both.
Senator Campbell, you have the floor.

Sen Vance Campbel l: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pe nsions) Temporary Amendment Act 2019 be now read
a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senator Campbell.

BILL

SECOND READING

NATIONAL PENSION SCHEME (OCCUPATIONAL
PENSIONS) TEMPORARY AMENDMENT ACT 2019
Sen Vance Campbell: Madam President, I would like
to point out at this time that the Bill was amended in
the House, and thos e amendments focused on clause
4.
In clause 4(2), what was inserted after the
words “suspension period” was “, with the agreement
of his employer.” And in clause 4(3) after the words “suspension period,” the words were added “, with the
agreement of the m ember.”
Madam President, I am pleased to provide for
the consideration of the Senate the Bill entitled the
National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Temporar y Amendment Bill 2019 . The purpose of the
Bill is to allow for the voluntary suspension of 2 per
cent of employee and employer contributions for a two-year period.
736 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam President, the Senators will recall that
on December 4th, the Senate passed the Bill entitled
the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pe nsions) Amendment Act 2019. That Bill provided for a
number of significant policy and regulatory objectives, and the more significant amendments were as follows:
• require d non-Bermudians to participate i n registered plans;
• provide d for additional financial hardship wit hdrawals for funeral expenses;
• permit ted retirees to apply for financial har dship withdrawals and to be exempt from having to pay the application fee;
• permit ted plan members or former member s
to receive the entire value of their pension fund account balance for defined contribution
plans or commuted value for defined benefit
plans at retirement if they were $50,000 or below;
• provide d for the ability of plan members at r etirement to receive up to 25 per cent of the
value of their pension fund account balance for defined contribution plans, or commuted
value for defined benefit plans, as prescribed
in regulation for those with balances greater
than $50,000;
• introduced regulatory fees payable by plan
administrators;
• change d the two- year vesting of contributions
to one year;
• provide d for the Minister of Finance to intr oduce regulations to control the fees charged
to plan members;
• introduced monetary penalties for noncompl iance by plan administrator s and other related
persons;
• provide d for certain exemptions for multi -
employer plans;
• include d all bonuses in calculating the amount
of pension contributions;
• require d employers to maintain specified pa yroll and employee- related information, and the
failure to do so was made an offence;
• introduced the payment of interest by emplo yers on their late pension contributions;
• in order to reduce plan expenses for smaller
plans, increased the requirement for audited
financial statements for plans from $1 million
to $3 million; and lastly,
• introduced greater oversight of plan trustees
in their specific fit and proper standards.
Following the passage of that Bill, the Minister
of Finance reminded those who sit in another place that this Bill had been tabled, as the Government recognised that some employees are under increasing financial hardship and employers are facing increasing costs of doing business. Madam President, as mentioned previously,
the purpose of this Bill is to provide for employers and
employees currently participating in plans under the
Act to voluntarily suspend 2 per cent of their required
pension contribution into their National Pension
Scheme plan for a two- year period. Madam President,
by providing such relief for employees and employers,
participating employees will see their take- home pay
increase by 2 per cent, and participating employers
will also benefit from reduced operational expenses —
i.e., 2 per cent of payroll.
Madam President, ensuring adequate, secure
and sustainable pension provis ions for our population
is an important feature of this Administration’s manifesto. And this temporary action should in no way
question the Government’s commitment to this mandate.
Madam President, it is important to sustain
jobs as our economy attempts t o recover. There was
a time not so long ago when companies did not have
to provide pensions for their employees. Now they do.
However, we must recognise that employers are u nder pressure, and as our economy is attempting to
recover, we must reduce pressures on companies.
Madam President, this is a temporary measure that
will provide temporary relief to employers and provide
additional income to employees. Additional income to
employees provides stimulus for our economy. Stim ulus leads to growth and creates jobs, and that is what
our economy needs.
Madam President, this is voluntary. And employers and employees can still contribute to their
funds if they wish. This amendment will also compl ement the financial hardship provisions introduced by
the Government to assist needy employees in managing their financial affairs. Madam President, if the suspension of contributions is taken up across the private
sector, it will provide both relief and stimulus to fam ilies and businesses. The stimulus to the economy will
be generated if some of the savings are converted to
consumer spending in the local economy, and bus iness investment in infrastructure and improvements.
Madam President, during the debate, the Mi nister of Finance provided stats that were provided by the P ension Commission. For the sake of good order
and just to show how much funds are under inves tment in the various plans, I provide this information
again as at the 31
st of December 2018. The statistics
are as follows:
• 25,386 estimated plan members;
• the num ber of plans at 3,065 plans;
• 3,050 defined contribution plans;
• 15 defined benefit plans;
• approximately US$2.98 billion of assets in plans;
• 568 self -employed plans;
• six approved third- party plan administrators;
• US$785 million of assets in local prescribed
retirement products; and lastly,


Bermuda Senate • BD$28.79 million in total financial hardship
payments since inception in 2010.
Madam President, pensions provided under
the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pe nsions) Act 1998 represent the second pillar of Berm uda’s pension arrangement, with the first pillar being
the basic pensions received from our social insurance scheme, the Contributory Pension Fund. It is i mportant to note that Bermuda is one of the few jurisdi ctions in which the provision of occupational pension plans is mandatory. And compared to most developed
countries, the provision of pension plans by the pr ivate sector is very high, as nearly all Bermudians and
their spouses who are employed have a private sector
pension plan. The scope has been expanded further
with the amendments of December 4
th, which required
a segment of non- Bermudians to participate in regi stered plans.
Madam President, the Bill brought forth today
provides for employers and employees currently participating in plans under the Act to voluntarily suspend
2 per cent of their required pension contributions into
their National Pension Scheme plan for a period of two years. This opportunity to suspend pension co ntributions is also extended to self -employed persons
under the same conditions.
Madam President, with your indulgence, I
would like to go to the Bill itself and highlight the key
clauses.

The President: Certainly, you may, Senator Cam pbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: The first one that I would like
to highlight is clause 2, which says, “(1) This Act shall
be construed as one with the National Pension
Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act 1998 (“the pri ncipal Act”). (2) This Act applies notwithstanding an ything to the contrary in— (a) the principal Act or any
other Act; or (b) the pension pl an or contract of employment of a member. ”
In clause 2 [sic], the interpretation clause,
there are some—
The President: Clause 3?

Sen. Vance Campbell: Clause 3. It says, “(1) In this
Act—‘agreement’ means agreement in writing . . .”
And I think that is key, to highlight that. It must be in
writing. And it say, “‘notice’ means notice in writing
. . .” And it talks about the “‘suspension period’ means
the period of 24 months beginning with the commencement date appointed under section 10.”
Again, if we j ump down to clause 7, it says,
“An employer shall not suspend any employer contr ibutions under section 4 or 5 if he has any outstanding
employer contributions due and in arrears, or member
contributions deducted but not paid into the fund, in respect of an y period of service before the suspension
period . . .” And I think again that is key.
And the commencement of this Act “shall
come into operation on such date as the Minister of
Finance may appoint by notice in the Gazette.
So, Madam President, as I read, participation
is voluntary and is subject to agreement between the employer and member. And that agreement must be
in writing. Also, as a matter of policy, if a union agreement exists that speaks to agreed pension plan
contributions, the relevant union’ s agreement is also
required. Madam President, employers must give wri tten notice to the administrator of a plan of any pr oposed suspension of contributions. A member must give notice of his decision to suspend contributions,
and the employer must notify t he administrator of any
proposed suspension of contributions.
It is also important to note that members and
employers who wish to continue making contributions
throughout the two- year term may continue to do so.
Another participatory condition is that el igibility
and pension plan membership will be continued during the suspension period even if contributions are
suspended.
Madam President, as mentioned when we
went through the clauses, to participate in the suspension, businesses must be up to date with their contributions, which is to avoid compounding any existing noncompliance with the Act.
Madam President, this proposal is sensible
and intends to ease financial burdens on employers and employees as our economy is recovering. If taken
up, it can also stimulate the labour market by provi ding payroll savings, which could be utilised in retaining employees or making other meaningful business i nvestments or expenditures.
Thank you, Madam President.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The Presi dent: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
And before I open the floor to Senators to r espond, I would just like to also acknowledge the pres-ence of Ms. Miriam Rogers, the Parliamentary Coun-sel, who has joined the team now.
Welcome to you.

[National Pension Sch eme (Occupational Pensions)
Temporary Amendment Act 2019, second reading
debate, continuing]

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

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, and good morning,
Madam President.
738 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Good morning.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Good morning to my fellow colleagues , and also a hearty good morning to the listening audience.
We on this side definitely support this
amendment. We see it as a good idea by the Government to relieve not only the working public, but a lso businesses for this short period of time, 24 months.
But what I have noticed even in the public is a
little bit of confusion. Once hearing the rollout of this
legislation, there was a minor bit of, shall we say a
little bit of cloudiness when it came to understanding
the 2 per cent relaxation of the contributions. I like to
use very simple examples, and I am just going to underscore what was already said in the briefing. But if
one’s gross salary is $100, we understand by the pr esent legislation that 5 per cent would be $5, what the
employee will have to pay towards their pension, and
$5 will be paid in equal amount by the employer t owards this worker’s pension fund.
The legislation that is now being put through
as an amendment of a 2 per cent savings for the two
years, [so] for that similar $100, it would be mandatory for the employee to pay $3 of that $100, and the employer to pay the matching $3. I know that sounds as
simple as possible but having been stopped on the streets and people asking me about it, I thought it was
incumbent upon me, even in this Chamber, to try and make it as simple as possible.
Also, I think it is important that we underscore
that monies being held back for this two- year period
would not be made up at a later date. It will be reflec ted in the two- year shortage of 2 per cent of this
amount going to your pension fund. Now, as was stated in the briefing, if the employer and the employee
agree to voluntarily continue the full 5 per cent, then
there will not be a shortage. But I believe the listening
public needs to be fully aware of the consequences of
your decision— if not willing to volunteer the actual
shortfall, then it will be reflected in your pension ben efits when you retire.
And with those f ew words and our support of
this amendment, I thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Jardine, you have the floor.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident. Good morni ng to the listening public, and good
morning, Madam President.
I have obviously given this quite a bit of
thought as I did in the previous piece of legislation that
we debated and passed some three weeks ago. And
as has been stated by Senator Campbell, one of the key changes that occurred in the last piece of legisl ation with regards to pensions that we approved was the 25 per cent withdrawal, value withdrawal from pension plans upon retirement. And as I stated at that
time, I was not in favour of that at all.
My reasons for stating it then are as they are
now. And that is, a pension plan is established so that
when people retire, at whatever age it is eligible for them to retire, there is money there for them to enjoy
in their retirement, whether it is 10 years, 20 years or
30 years. By allowing lump- sum withdrawals, as was
the case in the previous piece of legislation (which I
obviously cannot debate again here) and further here
allowing deferrals. . . not deferrals, but allowing pension plans, or I shou ld say contributors to pension
plans, both employers and employees, for a period of
two years to forgo any contribution is a similar sort of
thing. Because, as Senator Jones has just said, those
contributions are lost forever.
Obviously, an individual can make their own
voluntary contributions at a later date if they wish to top up their fund. But there is no requirement to do so.
And I even. . . instead of using the $100 example, I
use something perhaps a little more realistic of
$60,000 a year. And assum ing somebody has a
$60,000 a year salary, what we are looking at here is
the loss of $4,800, almost $5,000 over that two- year
period of both employer and employee contributions.
And, of course, that number is larger if you allow for
any income or investment to be earned on that money
over that two- year period and in fact along the whole
period until they retire.
So I think it is important for the listening public
to clearly understand that if this is permitted, those contributions are gone forever.
Now, t he one fly in the ointment, if you will, on
that is of course for defined benefit plans. And clause 5(6) says, “A member’s accrual of service and me mbership in the plan” (and this is referring to defined
benefit plans) “shall continue for the purpose of calc ulating the member’s pension benefit and for all other purposes, notwithstanding any suspension of contr ibutions in respect of the suspension period.”
So the way I read that is that for those with
defined benefit plans, the employer and employee can opt out of making any contributions for two years, but
it does not impact or affect the amount that they will receive on retirement, because the way I read that clause, their period of working does not cease during
that two- year period. That is still part and parcel of the
calculation of their pension upon retirement.
So, Madam President, I have real concerns
about this sort of thing occurring with regard to the
National Pension Scheme. Yes, I understand that all of us are feeling the pinch in terms of additi onal costs,
additional taxes we are having to pay, additional costs
for a whole variety of things. But I think to use suspension of pension contributions as a way to compensate for that is a road that I would not wish anybody to
travel down. And so I am not in support of this legisl ation at all. I think it sets a continually bad precedent to
play with people’s pensions. It sounds good now. But


Bermuda Senate when you retire and you are looking for money to live
on for, hopefully, another 20 or 30 years, even this
small am ount, which will grow over a period of 30
years of additional work life, for example, is not som ething to be sneezed at.
I also share the concern about the wording of
clause 4. And that is “suspension of contributions,”
“defined contribution benefits.” And I just want to take
a minute to talk about that. Because if you read clause
4(2), it says, “A member may suspend 2% of the contributions . . .” I think that is key, “2% of the contributions which he is required to make . . .” Now perhaps I
am interpreting this somewhat literally. But to me that
means 2 per cent of the 5 per cent that an individual
has had to contribute. And I know this amount has
been debated in another place at some length. And
perhaps I am being too literal here. But to me, it is
really reducing the rate of contribution from 5 per cent
to 3 per cent. And so that is a concern that I certainly
share, and that has been mentioned before as well.
Now there may be some, should I say, draf ting/reading which I have missed here. And certainly it
has been made clear today that it is not 2 per cent of
the 5 per cent amount, but rather a reduction in the
rate from 5 [per cent] to 3 per cent. But when I read
this particular Bill, I read it in a different way. Perhaps
that is just the accountant in me. But I look at this and
I think, Well, what are we really getting at here? And
so I had some concerns about that.
So overall, Madam President, as I say, I am
not in favour of this legislation at all. I think it conti nues to show a very bad precedent and takes us down
a road which, frankly, I would not wish us to go.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then, Senator Campbell, you have a few
questions, comments.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, Senator
Jardine is right to be concerned. However, what we
must not forget [is that] those employees who do not
need to suspend their contributions do not have to do
anything. They just allow it to continue as it is now.
What we are talking about with this piece of
legislation is for those who have an immediate need to
suspend, they will be allowed to meet that immediate
need in part or in whole through the suspension of
2 per cent of the 5 per cent rate.
And again, I understand Senator Jardine’s
concern with the language. But if you look at the examples provided, it is clear what we are talking about,
that the rate of contribution would be reduced from
5 per cent to 3 per cent and not, as you can take it
literally, 2 per cent of a 5 per cent contribution.
For those individuals who need to suspend to
meet immediate needs, that is what we talking about. Should we allow them to endure hardship by not a llowing them to suspend the amount to make that, to withdraw . . . or not contribute, sorry, the 2 per cent
and alleviate that hardship today? This Government says no. Why have them face this hardship when it may not be necessary through this suspension? But
again, the Legislature requires those who do not need
to suspend t o do absolutely nothing. It is voluntary.
There is little consolation if I have a need t oday to know that I might get $2,000 more times whatever the growth rate is in 15, 20, 30 years’ time, Mad-am President. If I have a need today, there is little
consolation. I am not looking that far ahead. But the
Legislature does require you to still contribute the
3 per cent. So it is not a total suspension. And we
need to keep that in mind. This is for people who have a need today. If I am thirsty today, it means not hing to
me that I will have water next week Monday , because
I am thirsty today.
So, with that, Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the National Pension Scheme (Occ upational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act 2019 be now read a second time.

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

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

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

BILL

THIRD READING

NATIONAL PENSION SCHEME (OCCUPATIONAL
PENSIONS) TEMPORARY AMENDMENT ACT 2019

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the National Pension Scheme (Occ upational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act 2019 be now read a third time.

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

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

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pen-sions) Temporary Amendment Act 2019 do now pass.
740 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Is there any objection? Is there any further
objection?
There is one, Senator Jardine.
No? Then the Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The National Pension Scheme (O ccupational Pensions) Temporary Amendment Act 2019 was read a third time and passed as amended
by the House of Assembly .]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell, and
thank you, Senators.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam P resident.

The President: We will now move to the second
reading of the Children (No. 2) Amendment Act 2019.
Senator Campbell . . . No, sorry, Madam A ttorney General, I beg your pardon.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,

Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons, you
have the floor.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Pres ident, I move that the Bill entitled the Children (No. 2)
Amendment Act 2019 be now read a second time.

The President: Is there any objection to that m otion?
There is no objection.
Carry on, Senator Simmons, Attorney General.

BILL

SECOND READING

CHILDREN (NO. 2) AMENDMENT ACT 2019

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
Allow me to present to this Honourable Senate the Bill e ntitled the Children (No. 2) Amendment
Act 2019 . I am keen to note that for the last two years,
the Director of Child and Family Services and desi gnated children’s officers have been challenged by
both public and private schools on whether they have
the authority to come onto school premises to conduct an investigation into alleged abuse or neglect of a
child without a member of staff present. This has occurred despite the director, his designate or children’s
officer providing school officials with the legislative
authority under section 42 of the Children Act 1998.
Such actions have hindered the department’s invest igations, which caused delays in the protection of our
children, putting them at risk of additional harm and
distress. Madam President, for clarity, the Department
of Child and Family Services [DCFS] Intake Section is
tasked with the responsibility of conducting such enquiries under section 42 of the Act. The purpose and
accountability framework of the Intake Section is to
assess all reported referrals which may require enquiries and investigations to be conducted by the department. Intake is a critical component of DCFS’s
structure that provides child protective services while
ensuring the following: (1) DCFS’s main point of contact, or hub, for reporting concerns regarding children,
which precipitates investigations and assessments;
(2) to provide information to mandated reporters and
the general public r egarding the services available by
and through DCFS; (3) to initiate help for identified families and children; and (4) to provide timely and
appropriate measures directed towards ensuring the
child’s safety and preserving the family as much as
possible and practicable.
Madam President, by way of advising on the
importance of these amendments, I emphasise that in 2017 alone, 1,222 new incidents of child abuse or n eglect were reported to the Intake Section of the D epartment of Child and Family Services. In 2018, there
were 1,142 similar new incidents. These are incidents
where a child is suffering or is likely to suffer signif icant harm at the hands of an abuser, which can i nclude physical and/or sexual abuse, verbal abuse and/or neglect.
Madam President, d espite the negative all egations circulating about this structured and profes-sional department and its adept personnel, already
between January and September of this year the de-partment has received 785 new reports of allegations
of abuse against a child. A ll of these are thoroughly
investigated, and all available resources are utilised to
address and combat the problems identified.
Madam President, as a result of these challenges posed to DCFS, the Director of Public Pros ecutions and the Attorney General’s Chambers were
consulted for advice on the direction that the Depar tment of Child and Family Services should take in order for section 42 to be effectively utilised when con-ducting such investigations. Rest assured, safeguar ding the needs and interests of our children is and r emains a priority. As a direct result of this consultation, it was recommended that further information should
be included in the Children Act 1998 to provide clarity
that section 42 applies to both public and private schools, and to i mpose a duty on persons to comply
with the legislation.
Madam President, the Ministry of Education
was also consulted, and they are in agreement with
the legislative amendments recommended by the D epartment of Child and Family Services. The Minister of
Education supported DCFS in revising their policies
and procedures to ensure that more than one social worker is present during the enquiry and/or investiga-tions.


Bermuda Senate Their position was also to ensure the amendments reflect the collective responsibility require d under section 42 of the Act to do the following:
(a) ensure school officials at public and private
schools and tutorial sites are informed of the process
that DCFS will use when conducting enquiries under
section 42 of the Children Act 1998; and (b) ensure
cooperation and collaboration exist between public
and private schools and tutorial sites with the depar tment when investigating suspected abuse or neglect of a child in order to act in the best interest of the child by protecting them from harm.
Madam President, for this reason, the Bill is
intended to enhance the existing legislation by provi ding clarity in three ways under section 42 of the Act. The first is that the Director of the Department of Child
and Family Services or designate may require persons to give them access to a child in order to conduct
an enquiry where there has been a report ; secondly,
to impose a duty on persons to comply with the r equirement given by the director ; and finally, a penalty
for failing to comply with that requirement .
Earlier there have been consequential
amendments made to the Education Act 1996 and
Education Rules 2006. These amendments will be
elaborated on during this presentation.
Madam President, clause 2 of the Bill inserts
a new subsection (3A) [of section 4 2], clarifying that
the director may conduct an enquiry at a public or pr ivate school, tutorial site or other educational facility
referred to under the Education Act 1996, or at any
place providing extracurricular, social or community
activities for child ren.
Madam President, the amendment that authorises the director to conduct enquiries under section 42 of the Act at any place providing extracurric ular, social or community activities is to ensure that the department is able to facilitate enquiries beyon d the
school day —for example, during the weekend or on
holidays. This amendment will further ensure that e nquiries are conducted in a timely manner to reduce an
added potential risk of harm to a child.
Madam President, currently when the director
or designate is conducting enquiries under section 42,
he may, under section 42[(8)], require a person to assist him with such enquiries. Clause 2 of the Bill en-hances section 42(8) of the Children Act by providing
for the director to require any person to grant access
to the child, to require any person to assist him with
the enquiries, in particular by providing relevant information and advice, to require any person to provide
facilities to conduct the enquiry, to require persons not to be present during the enqu iry and to assist him by
refraining in any way from obstructing the enquiry,
including refraining from informing any person that an
enquiry will be, is being or has been conducted. This amendment sets out what is expected of persons
when the director is conducting enquiries under section 42 of the Children Act. Madam President, as stated previously, DCFS
has revised their policy and procedures for conducting enquiries of a child under section 42 of the Act, which
will be available for mandated reporters and the general public. This document sets out the process that includes the interviewing procedure the director or his
designate will follow. Madam President, if it is deemed
necessary for the director or his designate to conduct
an enquiry of a child at s chool, tutorial sites, and s ocial and community organisations, it must be done in the presence of at least two representatives of the Department of Child and Family Services —i.e., the
director or designate and a children’s officer, or conversely two childr en’s officers.
The following interviewing procedures will be
followed:
The director or children’s officer will contact
the officials of the school or tutorial site, [or] superv isor or owner responsible for the extracurricular, social or community activit ies via email or phone prior to
their arrival to inform them that they will be conducting
an enquiry under section 42, of the child in question.
The officials of the school or tutorial site, s upervisor or owner responsible for the extracurricular,
social or community activities will
a) provide contact information and the address
for the parent or guardian of the child;
b) provide the contact information and address
of the child if different from the preceding i nformation provided;
c) assist the director or childre n’s officer by
(i) providing a private, suitable space to conduct an enquiry of the child that is free from distractions, (ii) bring in the child to the ident ified space where the enquiry will be conduc ted, (iii) provide additional support for the child
as required, such as a translator or assisted
technology, and (iv) offer support to the child
during the interview process if requested by
the director or children’s officer;
d) inform the parent or guardian of the child in
question to contact the director or c hildren’s
officer if enquiries have been made directly to
the school concerning the matter; and
e) keep all information obtained about the case
confidential .
Madam President, due to the obstructions the
department has faced when conducting such invest igations and the harm a child could experience as a
result of such delay, the Bill introduces an offence and
penalty under clause 3, which amends the Children Act 1998 by inserting the new section 42A. Introducing this offence, a person is aware from the outset t hat
if they fail without reasonable cause to comply with
the requirements imposed by the director under section 42A, they may be guilty of an offence under
clause 3. The penalty provision under clause 3 is a maximum fine of $3,000. The fine not exceeding
$3,000 was introduced to deter any person from fai l742 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ing to comply with the director’s requirements in order
to avoid delay in conducting enquiries of a child under
section 42. This penalty was derived to align sanctions under the Children Act 1998, which provide co nsistency throughout.
Madam President, clause 4 of the Bill allows
for consequential amendments to the Education Act
[1996] by introducing section 68A. Section 68A pr ovides for the director or his designate to conduct an
enquiry under section 42 of the Children Act at a
school, tutorial site or other educational facility without a person being present. The intent is to allow enqui ries to be conducted by the director or children’s officer
in private. This will prevent persons interfering with the
investigation process by intimidating a child who is
being interviewed by the director, as this has had a
negative impact on the enquiry process in the past.
Also, a consequential amendment has been
made to the Education Rules 2006 under clause 5 of
the Bil l. This amendment provides clarification that an
investigation under rule 25 does not include an e nquiry conducted by the director under section 42 of
the Children Act 1998.
Madam President, DCFS wants to ensure that
school officials and operators of tutorial sites, extr acurricular, social or community activities adhere to the
process and procedures that the department must follow to ensure that the welfare of the child is par amount when an allegation of abuse or neglect of a child is reported. In light of this, DCFS is committed to
educating mandated reporters and the general public
of these amendments.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senate Kathy Lynn Si mmons, Attorney General .
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
First and foremost, let me give encouraging
words and complimentary words to the fine people
who work in the Department of Child and Family Ser-vices. Their job is not easy. They have the herculean
responsibility to look out for our most vulnerable cit izens in this country —our children. We also recognise
that because it is such an emotive and relevant subject in our community today, many times things are
said in the media, things a re even said within our two
Chambers that can tend to be beyond the pale, to some degree, without the adequate sensitivity to the
fact that we do not want our children to be made to be a political football for us to bandy about, trying to get
our points ac ross.
And so, as I wade into the waters of this particular Children Amendment Bill, I am cognisant of the
fact that we are talking about and discussing our most
treasured assets in this country, which are the chi l-dren of today who will be the adults and t he leaders of
tomorrow.
I think it is really important for us to be r eminded of the original purpose of this Children Act
which was launched back in 1998. I believe it was one of the red- letter pieces of legislation that was put
through by the PLP Governm ent when they began
governing this country. And I believe even at that time the social fabric of our country was very much under
siege. And the administration of that time and era, I
believe, were very wise to put this particular legislation together back in 1998, a full 21 years ago. So, looking
over this amendment, I thought it was important that I
even go back, Madam President, and remind us all of
the initial purpose of this particular Children Act of
1998.
We find in section 5, Madam President, if you
will allow me to read from this legislation.

The President: You may.

Sen. Marcus Jones: The purposes are fourfold. [Section 5] “(a) protect children from harm; (b) promote the
integrity of the family; (c) provide protection for the rights of children am ongst persons who have regular
contract with children; and (d) ensure the welfare of
children.”
So the drafters of this legislation made it quite
clear and from the onset were emphatic about the purpose of this particular legislation. Above everything
else, above every other consideration, the paramount
and most predominant drive for, not only the Depar tment of Child and Family Services, but for this community at large is to protect and to safeguard our chi ldren.
Now, this amendment gives a number of di fferent powers to the Director of the Department of the
Child and Family Services, which I think is good. We
realise that it puts a few more tools in the toolbox of the director and her team in being able to get right to
the issues with the children without delay. I think that
is very important. We see that the director will have
more powers to enforce cooperation from officials at
schools and other community organisations.
And I must say I listened very intently to the
brief. And I do not know if it is poss ible, but I was rea lly listening to see if there were some examples of the
challenges. I mean, it may be obvious to that depar tment. It may be obvious to others who work very
closely with an organisation. But for those of us who
do not have a direct contac t with the challenges of
that department, there had to be a reason why these
extra powers were put there. And, you know, one
would say of course you need that. But it would have
been good to see what the actual challenges are on a
day-to-day basis.
So we have seen the importance of enhancing the powers of the director and her staff. But there were a few things that caught my attention which I


Bermuda Senate observed were actually discussed in another place,
but I think need to be even reiterated here in these
Senate Cham bers. From the powers that have been
given to the director, we find that the director and the children’s officers have the power to deny persons access to the enquiry session. So we find that if the
director or her officers are going to a school —the
school officials have made a room available, they
have brought the child there to be interviewed. That director has the power to deny parents to be able to
come and be there with the child while they are being interviewed.
Now, that child very well may have been exposed to abuse, may be traumatised. And to think that that particular child does not have access to a parent who can bring comfort, who can bring a sense of f amiliarity to an environment where there is a director whom they do not know, it can be very i ntimidating for
a child as young as four, and to a teenager as old as
eighteen, which are the ages within the categorising of
a child.
And also, that means that that director or chi ldren’s guardian, children’s officer, can also keep a legal guardian, someone who can bring counsel to
that child, away from that environment. Now again, we
do not know all the intricate details of what our officers
at that department have to face. Clearly, there must have been examples of where their investigation was
impeded b y parents who may have been the perpetr ator, or for whatever reason. So we ask ourselves, Why
are those two powers important for the director? So a
little bit more clarity, and even a little bit more of a detailed explanation, would be very helpful.
Now, we know that the purpose is to protect
the child from harm. I am a parent. I put myself in the
place of a parent. If my child was being questioned by
an officer in her school I would want to know definit ely. I would want to know if they are preparing to inte rview her, if it was ongoing and they had to call me in
while they were doing it. I would want to know definit ely. In section 15(1) and (2) of the Children Act of 1998
. . . and if I can read that, Madam President?

The President: Certainly, you may, Senator Jones.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Section 15(1) says, “Where under this Act a child is brought before the court, the parents of the child shall” (and I underscore “shall”)
“attend at the court during all stages of the proceedings unless the court is satisfied that it would be unreasonable to require their attendance.”
Section 15(2) says, “The court, for the purpose of enforcing the attendance of a parent, has the
same powers as a court of summary jurisdiction to
enforce the attendance of witnesses.”
So we s ee later on in this particular legislation
that parents can be forced to come to court for court proceedings involving their children. And no ands, ifs
or buts, the court in their wisdom sees it necessary for the parents to be there for any stage of the pr oceedings in court. But yet, at the beginning stage of a po-tential court case, the parent can be held back and
away from being able to be there for their child. I think
it does not match up. If the parents’ attendance in court is so important and paramount , would not the
parents’ attendance at an interview session, an enquiry session, be equally as important? So I think
those two scenarios are not meshing together well.
And also, consider a child who, let us say, is
16 years old and has been called to the principal’s
office or a room there in the school to meet with the
Director of the Department of Child and Family Services. And let us say they are asked to give some answers [about] a situation that they are a part of, and
there is a possibility of abuse. The director can also
prohibit someone from the legal fraternity from being there, as well.
I am just going to pull an example out of a hat.
For example, let us say a 16- year-old is found with a
computer from another school. Let us say that they were given permission to take that computer, but the security guard was not aware of it. As far as [what]
they saw, they saw this young 16- year-old walking off
the property with a laptop computer that, in their est imation, does not belong to them. But that teenager
was given permission. So in the to- ing and fro- ing of
that laptop, let us say there is an altercation between
that security guard and the teenager. Clearly that is a
situation that needs to be checked out. So let us say
in the ensuing enquiry that is made, lots of things come out of the conversation. Did you take the laptop? Did you steal it? Why did the security guard have
to be so aggressive and forceful with the teenager?
So we have got a potential legal situation that
has come up. The director may not feel at that time
that it is discretionary that anyone from the legal fr aternity be there. That is a potential problem. If there was an allowance for people within the legal fraternity to be there, that can definitely, Madam President, a lleviate a potenti al problem that can be escalated.
Also, Madam President, I was also enquiring
about the consultation that was carried out to put this
amendment together. We understand that the good
people there at the Department of Child and Family Services were able to put together a brief that modelled the examples within the UK, and then with Canada, which is a good thing. My question would be, and
I would like to see if I can get an answer to this, were
there other organisations within the Island, for example, SCARS o r the Family Centre? These are help
organisations that deal directly with children, have to
deal with the sensitive challenge of dealing with young
children in situations where they have been abused. I
would be curious what their comment and what their
feedback was to the Ministry in regard to dealing with
children who have to undergo an interview without having a parent there or without having legal counsel.
744 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate We also are pleased, I believe, and happy
that Madam Attorney General was able to recite to us
the numbers of reports of child abuse over the last
three years that have been trending down. I believe that the entire community can take heart that those numbers are declining. And I think it is worth repeating
again: In 2017, the reports of child abuse wer e 102
per month. In 2018, there were 95 per month. And
then in the nine months through 2019 there were 87
per month. I think that is something that we can a pplaud.
But it also raises the question, Is this dow nward trend in reported incidents of abuse a demo nstration of the decrease in abuses? Or has the public
lost trust in the department, based on the cloud of st ories that have been bandied about the public?
Now, I am not a fan of a lot of the stories that
the daily Royal Gazette gives. I always question —Do
the people who write stories about this country have
the best interests of the country at heart? I believe
there are cases where we can ask that question and ask it very strongly. Because as much as we do need
information out there for the public to decipher what its
government entities are doing, there also needs to be
balanced reporting so that we do not besmirch and
muddy the waters, as opposed to giving information
so that we as a community can work together to fix our problems, and not to expose them just for sal acious or for opportunities to expose and embarrass the community.
So I always look at these stories with a grain
of salt. The title of their series was “ Who Cares?” Well,
I say, I care. I believe that every Member of these Senate Chambers, anyone sitting here in the public
Gallery cares. I would say that every person in this
country cares about what happens to one of its most
vulnerable. So the answer to that question is very
simple. All of us care. We all have a part to play. We
know that there are different ways to solve the problematic issues that plague our children and the family and the social fabric of this country. And people contribute to the solutions in various ways.
We in this Chamber, we are tasked with draf ting legislation, approving it, reviewing it so that it is
going to better give our people the tools to safeguard
our children. So I think that is a very important part that we play. But with this cloud of unsurety and, shall
I suggest, a possible erosion of trust and confide nce
in that particular department . . . and the Opposition,
we on this side, have tried our best not to wade too
deep into the waters and sort of inflame an already
emotive topic. But we have just called out for an ind ependent enquiry. We do believe, with the challenges
that fact that department and with the stories of our
children that we have read and seen, that an independent enquiry would be the way to go.
Now I also read or listened to the briefing very
carefully, that during the interview process, th e enquiry process, Madam President, of our children that is executed by the department, that their policy is to
have the director and a children’s officer or two chi ldren’s officers. Now that is the policy. I believe that is.
But I think it should be enshr ined in the legislation. I
think it should be hard- coded so that it is beyond
thought, beyond a director having to make a decision, [on] short notice, and he or she not having to toy
around with the idea, Do I not do it in the interest of
time and delay? T hat would take away all of the ambiguity, and I believe it would take away the grey area of ensuring that when these enquiries are done, there are sufficient bodies and persons there to protect the
child and to protect the director as well, and her staff.
So with those brief words, Madam President, I
believe that our most treasured assets in this country are our children. I do believe that we need to do all
that we can not only to give our officers within this Ministry all the tools so that they can be eff ective, but
every decision that we make when we look, review
legislation, should always be with the paramount view
of protecting our children. And with those words, I
thank you, Madam President.

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

Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
First of all, I certainly support this very, very
important piece of legislation for the protection of our
children. And I am appreciative of al l of the work that
the Department of Child and Family Services do. I
think for many of us, and I certainly include myself in
this, when I hear statistics of reported instances of
abuses of 87, 93, 102 per month—per month of child
abuses —it is just staggeri ng to me. Now, obviously, I
do not live in that world that the Child and Family Services has to deal with. But to me, in a small island that we have here of 63,000– 64,000 people, to think that
the 100 cases per month of child abuse that have
been reported, and that probably does not include the
ones that have not been reported, is quite staggering
And I am sure that the department has many stories
that they could tell which would make us all pale when we hear about them.
So I do not want to underestimate t he importance of this piece of legislation and certainly the good work that the department does. It certainly was
an eye- opener when I heard these statistics mentioned to us today. So I am very supportive of this
piece of legislation.
I had two questions. The first one relates to
clause 2(b)(ii). And it adjusts section 42(5) where [clause 2(b)(ii)] says, “by deleting ‘shall’ and substituting ‘may’ . . .” And we have had these discussions
before in this Honourable Chamber about words
“shall” and “may.” And I just wanted to read from the
existing section. And my question, obviously, is, Why


Bermuda Senate are we changing it from “shall” to “may”? And let me
just read the existing section if I may, Madam Pres ident.
The President: You certainly may, Senator Jardine.
Sen. Ja mes S. Jardine: And this is under the Chi ldren Act 1998. And it says [at section 42(5)], “Where,
in the course of enquiries made under this section any
person authorized by the Director to act on his behalf
in connection with those enquiries —(a) is refused access to the child concerned; or (b) is denied information as to his whereabouts, the Director shall apply
for an emergency protection order, a child asses sment order . . .,” et cetera. So the word “shall” I think
is very important, because again here we are trying to
protect the child.
And so the question I have is why we
changed it from “shall” to “may” because it is a very important difference. And I think it is important, and
perhaps it should be “shall.” But again, the department may have some answers on that one.
The second one was the one that Senator
Jones mentioned earlier, and it has to do with clause
4, [proposed] section 68A, where it says, “No person
shall be present during an enquiry being conducted
. . . ” Now, this is a difficult thing. I guess to use a
word, this is a dilemma. On the one hand, if the parent
is responsible for something that has occurred either at home or elsewhere and the director wishes to intervene, to interview the child, then having the parent
present, the one who presumably might have caused
the abuse, I can see is an issue. On the other hand, the child, no matter what age, could feel slightly inti midated being in a circumstance with people they do not
know with no family member present or no legal representation ther e. So it does concern me when I see
[the words] “no person shall be present.”
And I would be interested again to hear the
view via the Minister from the department as to why
they would not allow some representative to be there
to support the child, who may be upset or concerned
about suddenly being found in such an interview. But again, that is really my ignorance of the process in
which these things take place. And again, there may
be some stories there which would shed a different light on it.
But, Madam President, I am very supportive
of this legislation. I think anything we can do to protect our children . . . And as I say, I am absolutely
astounded by the level of abuse that is reported on a monthly basis. And again, I am very supportive of this legislation. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Would any other Senator?
Senator Michelle Simmons, you have the
floor.
Sen. Michelle Simmons: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
First of all, I too am very supportive of the
amendment that is before us this morning. And I
would also like to go to [clause] 4, which provides a new portion to this Act, where “No person shall be
present during the interview.” I just want to give a little
context to this because I had to step back from this
when I first read it because it seemed to be a little
over the top to me, until I gave some consideration to
some of the circumstances under which these inter-views may have been conducted.
First of all, our children have to be our priority.
And keeping them safe from whatever alleged abuse may have occurred is so critical. We do not know who
the perpetrator of the alleged abuse may be. And so I
can understand schools being very sensitive to people from outside the school coming onto the property,
saying, I wish to conduct an interview with such- andsuch a child.
The natural instinct, in fact I believe it is a r equirement in all schools that since schools are in fact
the guardian at the time that children are there, they
are responsible for having a r epresentative present in
all such interviews. I think that is the current state of
affairs. So it is not surprising that there may have
been some difficulties in the past. But we also have to realise that the staff of DCFS, the Department of Child and Fami ly Services, are all very highly professional
people. And they are responsible for conducting these
interviews in circumstances where children are able to
speak freely with them, to report whatever abuse they are alleging.
The thing that helped me to see this in a different light was the fact that there will be at least two
representatives from DCFS present during the interview. So there is not just one adult in the room; there
will be at least two. And I assume (and I may be corrected if I am incorrect, I assume) that each of those
adults will have to report back. Children will not speak
freely if the wrong people are in the room. And as I
said earlier, we are not always certain who the abusers are. So if it is a parent and the parent is in the
room, the c hild will not speak freely. If it is a teacher
and the teacher is in the room, the same thing will
happen. So I can understand why the amendment has
been proposed. And I think it is important that, since
there has been consultation with the Department of
Education and they are in support of this, there should
be frank discussions by the department with all school leaders to ensure that everyone is on board with this amendment.
I am glad to see that this will apply to private
and public schools, because abuse is not localised to either sector. With those brief comments, Madam
President, I would like to say I do support this Bill, and
I hope that it will take the protection of our children to the next level. Thank you, Madam President.

746 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank y ou, Senator Michelle Si mmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I support any legislation that strengthens the
protection of our children. My one hang- up, or [one of
a] few hang- ups regarding the Bill, I guess, is similar
to other Senators regarding [clause] 4, but more so
with the authority to come onto the premises of
schools. I do believe that maybe something to pacify
that would be a registry of up-to-date DCFS staff just
so that the school and institutions can verify from their
end that these folks are up- to-date agents. I am not
saying that anybody may attempt to impersonate, but usually when you have these authorities who have the
ability to c ome onto premises, it is always good to
have recognition from both ends, not just from one
end.
Regarding the enquiries, I do believe that a
person, either a counsellor, or if it is an extracurricular
activity, the coach or representative, should be in
these enquiries, only for the simple fact that a child
who has suffered abuse or a child who is in an abusive situation may act out or may have certain beha viour issues. And I think being able to have a counse llor in the school who is aware of why this child may be
acting out the way they are can provide continued
support to that child. But I am reassured that the Mi nister of Education is in agreement. So I just wanted to
give my particular hang- up with that.
I also wanted to ask regarding the enquiries,
will they be recorded? And the reason why I ask this is
because, if a child does come out of that particular enquiry and say that they did have a misconduct or
something at one of those enquiries, and it is only two
agents from the same agency reporting it, how can we
then verify as an independent source whether a
child’s word is right or the agent’s word is correct? So
I believe that maybe having a recording that is just confidential for the agency to be able to pull forward if
any of these particular complai nts do arise, not just to
protect the child, but also to protect the two agents
who are conducting this particular enquiry.
So I do not want to continue to repeat similar
hang- ups, but that recorded thing is my main question
to Madam Attorney General, Mad am President. Thank
you so much.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No.
I just have a question of the Attorney General.
And that is, I was a former counsellor. I do know that
with the statis tics that have been mentioned, I fully support this Bill. I will say that first of all. But I just
wonder what support exists for the staff . I am aware of
the number of clients that have been mentioned, the
referral system , and I just know that, in terms of bur nout of counsellors . . . I just want to know what protection and support exists for the staff members . I think
that is important. Because while we focus on the chi ldren, and I am aware of the number of statistics that
have been mentioned, and the impact on the staff, I
think it is important that we protect them and prevent
burnout.
Thank you, Madam Attorney General.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: If there are no
further questions or comments, I will proceed. Thank
you, Senators, for your contributions to this debate
and oversight of this Bill.
Let me start by saying, as was mentioned,
that this is 1998 legislation. And my role as Minister is
to provide oversight of the causes that underlie the
legislation. And reporting lines for policy change come
from the people who are on the ground, namely, the staff of DCF S. So when they find there are practical
impediments to discharging their mandate, as we see
with respect to the issues raised today, they will report
in, and we will take the necessary meas ures to make
sure that we make appropriate amendments.
The challenges that we confronted in relation
to this particular subject were spoken of when I read
the brief. And they are delay and access, refusal to
grant access. Those are important enough impediments to warrant the amendments that we see today, which are designed to further protect our children.
With regard to the issues presented, or the
concerns about parents not being present, we all
know that the perpetrators of such abuse could be
parents, could be counsellors, could be teachers,
could be any other members of the community who
have contact with these children. So at this stage of the investigation, the child is actually protected and
given a safe space with trained professionals.
So on the one hand, we are saying that they
are trained professionals, and we laud them. And on the other hand, we diminish their competency in this
area by saying, Well, we want Tom, Dick and Harry to
be present. We have trained professionals whose r esponsibility is to create, as I said, a safe space where
children will be encouraged to share. They do this
every day. And as I spoke earlier about the 1,122, a
huge number of allegations that come to their atte ntion that they have to review and investigate, they do
this every single day. And they do it under the umbrella of best practice for the areas.
Because remember, they have accredited
services. And this is their profession. And they di scharge it admirably. And I am pleased to have Ms. Maureen Trew in our midst, w ho is one of the persons
on the ground who deals with these children every
single day. So, no, we will not have lawyers present.


Bermuda Senate We will not have parents present. And the department
staff will discharge their responsibility effectively, as
they do, and alw ays have done.
With regard to Senator Jones’s query or comparison of section 15 of the Act, which relates to court proceedings, these are investigations that may result
in court proceedings. So the revisions that pertain with
regard to the presence of par ents do not pertain at the
investigation stage. We are talking about two different
stages of any issue relating to children and investig ations of abuse. So, no, we will not have parents mandated as per the court processes that are reflected in section 15.
With regard to the issue of the drafting and
change from “shall” to “may” in section 42(5), this was
an issue that was raised in the House of Assembly.
And I will reiterate the response that was given at that
time. This amendment had to be made to section
42(5) as a consequence of the amendment to section
42(8) so that the two provisions would not conflict with
each other. So because without the amendment, sec-tion 42(5)(a) does not recognise the other options
available to the director under section 42(8). So if I
can read, Madam President, section 42(5)?

The President: You certainly may.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you.
And I believe Senator Jardine already has gone
through it, and I will go through it again.
[Section 42(5)] “Where, in the co urse of enquiries made under this section any person authorized by the Director to act on his behalf in connection with those enquiries —(a) is refused access to the child
concerned; or (b) is denied information as to his
whereabouts, the Director shall apply for an emergency protection order, a child assessment order, a care
order or supervision order with respect to the child
unless the Director is satisfied that his welfare can be
satisfactorily safeguarded without so doing.”
So with the amendment to sec tion 42(5), if in
the course of the enquiries the director is refused ac-cess to the child, his first option is to impose a r equirement under section 42(8), not to apply for an order under section 42(5). So this is necessary to make
sure that he has the widest scope of options available to him , because the answer may not be to apply for
that order. Okay? So that it is in a nutshell.
Let me make sure I cover everything.
Senator Robinson made a suggestion. He did
not ask a question. And his suggestion will not be tak-en up. We will not be recording the interviews with the children.
With regard to the other organisations that
were not consulted, yes, those organisations are not mandated to investigate abuse or neglect, nor are they trained to conduct forensic interviews. And understand, this is a very specialised area, where DCFS staff have received specialised training. So they are used to children who demonstrate or present discomfort or insecurity. That is what they do. Okay? That is
a part of professional training.
So it should be noted that most mandated
reporters do not want the parents to know that they made a report. And definitely they do not want to have
the parents involved in the investigation process. Also,
if they are present, they could be consi dered a wi tness if the allegations end up as charges in the court.
So to the question of ID, all staff carry ID that ident ifies them as staff of DCFS.
So with that said, Madam President, unless
there are any further questions, I move that the Bill
now be read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I now move
that Standing Order 26 be suspended with respect to
the Bill.

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

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

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

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

BILL

THIRD READING

CHILDREN (NO. 2) AMENDMENT ACT 2019
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Children (No.
2) Amendment Act 2019 do now pass.

The President: Is there any objection to the passing
of this Bill?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Children (No. 2) Amendment Act
2019 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator.

748 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President . And before I close, I would like to
once again thank the staff at DCFS for their attention
to this matter, and to applaud them for remaining
steadfast in the face of adversity and remembering that their mandate is to protect our children.
And to your po int, Madam President, the director is always cognisant of the needs of his staff and will give the appropriate leave and support when necessary. But what we can do as a community is to r efrain from victimising the very people who are mandated under the Chi ldren Act 1998 to protect and
safeguard our children.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kathy Lynn Si mmons, Attorney General and Government Leader in
the Senate.
And thank you, staff and Senators.
We move on now to our Order s of the Day.
And the third item is the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act.
Senator Campbell, this is your Bill?

Sen. Vance Campbell: That is correct, Madam Pres ident.

The President: You have the floor.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I mov e that
the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority
Amendment Act 2019 be now read a second time.

[Pause]

The President: I beg your pardon, Senator. You have
the floor. Carry on with the Bill.

BILL

SECOND READING

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDM ENT ACT 2019
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I am pleased to present to
the Senate the Bill entitled the
Bermuda Monetary
Autho rity Amendment Act 2019.
This Bill amends the Bermuda Monetary Act
1969 (the Act) by providing for the establishment of
and the regulatory framework for an innovation hub to
enable the development of innovative businesses that
support the operation of fi nancial institutions or any
entity that intends to become a financial institution. The Bill also amends the Fourth Schedule of the Act to revise certain fees payable to the Bermuda Mon etary Authority [BMA]. Madam President, the introduction of the new
innovation hub is predicated upon the granting to the
Authority of a new principal object being to establish
and administer an innovation hub to facilitate the development of innovative businesses in Bermuda. This is a significant step because it demonstrates the ev olution of the Authority and appropriately positions it to
engage with relevant entities proposing to carry on
business in Bermuda in an innovative manner for the
betterment of the regulated financial services sector
and Bermuda at large.
Madam President, the Authority is committed
to playing an appropriate role in the development and
introduction of innovative solutions in the financial
services sector. Whilst the initial focus in this regard has been on activities within the insurance and digital
asset business sectors, a non- sector -specific a pproach is required to properly position the Authority to provide regulatory guidance and support to entities
pursuing innovative developments relevant to the entire financial services sector. A key element of the A uthority’s activities on this front will be delivered via an
innovation hub structure.
Within the hub, the Authority will engage in
constructive, sometimes intensive, dialogue with a range of different entity types. Madam President, the
entities wit h whom such engagement may occur are
expected to range from those intending to be licensed as insurers or digital asset businesses to those whose
products are not yet sufficiently developed to facilitate
live testing. This includes entities conducting acti vities
which are not subject to regulation themselves, but
which are directly relevant to potential innovations within the financial services sector. On this basis, this
Bill proposes the introduction of a general provision
within the Bermuda Monetary Auth ority Act 1969, e nabling the Authority to establish and administer an innovation hub.
To support this important step, the Bill makes
provision for a fee to be charged for admission into
this hub, facilitating use of the information and r esources provided therein, and upon application r enewal of the same.
Madam President, this Bill also makes prov ision for other fee- related changes as proposed by the
Authority. The other fee changes being proposed fall into one of the following three categories:
1. The introduction of a new fee structure for
the corporate service provider (CSP), business sector for which fees were not
revised in 2019 .
2. The introduction of new or revised fees
within certain regulated sectors that are
required as a result of recent legislative
changes .
3. Necessary corrections in respect of fees
currently misstated in or omitted from the
Fourth Schedule of the Act.


Bermuda Senate The proposed fee revisions will impact the
following Acts : the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act
1969; the Investment Funds Act 2006; t he Insurance
Act 1978 ; and the Corporate Service Provider Bus iness Act 2012.
Madam President, by way of background, in
2018 the Authority undertook a comprehensive fee
revision process which involved significant consult ation with industry sectors. In the consultation paper
[CP] published on the 22nd of August 2018, the A uthority explained the rationale behind the wide- ranging
changes proposed to both the fees payable in a num-ber of sectors and the basis for calculating such fees.
Madam President, the Aut hority revised a
number of its initial proposals, based on further en-gagement with affected parties, including stakeholder
feedback provided in response to the 2018 CP. As a result of that process, it was agreed that no changes
would be made in 2019 to the fees payable by l icensed CSPs, thereby permitting a revised fee structure to be introduced in 2020 following additional
stakeholder engagement.
I am pleased to now bring forward such a r evised fee schedule. Madam President, it should be
noted that the f ees now being proposed by the A uthority for the CSP sector, along with all of the other
fees proposed by way of this Bill, other than those
required to correct existing fee- related misstatements
or omissions in the Act, will cover the years 2020 and 2021 t o ensure alignment with the fees payable to the
Authority that were approved by the Legislature last
year, which covered the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Madam President, the proposed fee structure
for CSPs was developed in response to the resources and costs associated with the Authority’s ongoing s upervisory activities related to that sector. The need for
a simple, measurable basis of determining what fees
entities within the CSP sector should pay, and the
need for the proposed fees to encourage sustainability and continued credibility of this sector.
Madam President, at present, all licensed
CSPs pay an annual fee of $21 per entity served. This amount has not changed since the introduction of the
CSP regime. Under the new fee structure now pr oposed, annual fees payable by both limited and unli mited licensees will be determined by a fee band struc-ture with the respective bands correlated to the number of companies served by each CSP.
A key aspect underpinning this proposal is its
adherence to the princip le of proportionality. Madam
President, the current application fee payable by ent ities seeking to be licensed as either limited or unli mited CSPs is undifferentiated, with the fee of $206 payable by all applicants. Under the new approach
proposed by the A uthority, the application fee would
be determined by the type of licence being sought,
with a fee of $2,540 proposed for a limited licence application and a fee of $5,000 for an unlimited licence application. Given the critical gatekeeper role per-formed by the CSPs, the newly proposed fee reflects
the considerable time and effort which must be committed to reviewing licensing applications by not only
the Authority’s CSPs supervisory team, but also by its anti-money laundering/anti -terrorism financing team.
Madam President, this Bill also incorporates
amendments to the Act which are required as a consequence of recent modifications to certain regulatory
frameworks. Specifically, a number of fee implications
have arisen from new or revised legislative provis ions
introduced during the last year which must now be addressed in the Fourth Schedule of the Act.
One such amendment relates to the Inves tment Funds Act (or IFA) and the fees associated with
the newly created class of private funds. Private funds
were previously categorised as excluded funds within
the IFA and were not subject to initial filing fees or annual fees. Under this Bill, private funds will be assessed an initial filing fee and an annual fee. Under
the IFA, at present, an application must be submitted
to the Authority in respect of the proposed appointment of directors or service providers for a fund. The IFA does not, however, provide for the payment of a
prescribed fee.
The Bill presented today addresses that gap
and proposes that the prescri bed fee be $290 and
addresses a similar gap by proposing that the late
filing fee of $50 per month be introduced for all regi stered funds.
In a similar vein, to the aforementioned
amendments related to the IFA, amendments are r equired in respect of fee- related provisions which form
part of the Insurance Amendment Act 2019. Specif ically, registration and annual fees for insurance marketplace providers for 2020 and 2021 are to be r evised.
Madam President, the fee revision process
undertaken in 2018 was ex tremely comprehensive,
addressing virtually all fees in all regulated sectors in covering a three- year period. A regrettable cons equence of the extensive nature of the changes pr oposed and consulted upon was that, as a result of
administrative errors, a sm all number of fees were
misstated in or omitted from the Fourth Schedule of
the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969. These errors and omissions are addressed in this Bill.
Madam President, if passed today, this Act
will come into effect on December 31, 2019. Madam
President, in closing, I would like to thank all of those persons within the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the
Attorney General’s Chambers, the Ministry of Finance
and the private sector who have assisted in the development of this Bill.
Madam Pr esident, with those introductory r emarks, I now pause and welcome comments from
other Senators.
Thank you, Madam President.

750 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
And I would just like to take the opportunity of
acknowledging the presence in the Chamber of Mr. Ifor Hughes from the BMA and his colleague.
And welcome to you both.

[Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2019,
second reading debate, continuing]

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

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
We on this side definitely have no objections
to this amendment. We support it. Any legislation that
is designed to facilitate and enhance business, es pecially this innovative, new, exciting venture into this
type of industry, is welcome by us.
I would have a question of Senator Campbell,
if he could furnish not only to this Chamber but to the
wider public. If he could inform us of, if not the names
of those companies that are in the pipeline to benefit
from these changes and upgrades in the legislation, at
least the number of companies that are actually in the
pipeline to be able to maximise the benefits of this
legislation, just so that we can get an i dea of the numbers that are out there that we can look forward to
seeing take full advantage of this particular legislation.
With that I thank you, Madam President.

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

Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I, too, support this Bill. Just
a couple of things to point out, I think, for the listening
public. Under [clause 4(a)] Part B on page 5 dealing
with the fees for insurance operations and under
[clause 4(b)] Part C, it is interesting to note that there
has been a reduction in fees, in some cases quite
substantial reduction in fees, which I am sure indivi duals who fall into those categories will c ertainly appr eciate.
Under the Corporate Services Provider Act
section, [clause 5(1)] Part B on page 7, the lower li mits of a limited licence again see reductions in their
fee. For those at the higher end, more than 1,000 ent ities and above, their fees are increasing, again not by a substantial amount, but they are seeing fee increas-es. So it is sort of a mixed bag here. We are seeing a
lot of fees go down, which is good news. We are see-ing some fees go up, but they tend to be at the higher
end of the spectrum where a company has a number
of entities.
And I quite understand the issues with compliance, obviously. The BMA has a role to play here, a
very important role to play. And with continual changes being made and required of us as a country, the
BMA ne eds to respond to those requirements.
And so I quite understand, certainly for the
larger organisations where more time may need to be
spent, that those fees probably need to go up slightly. And indeed, I am seeing that here.
So, Madam President, with those few comments, I support this Bill.

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

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, in response to Senator
Jones’s question around the number of companies in the pipeline looking to take advantage of this legisl ation, we have one company already in dialogue in r egard to this legislation. And we have four more who
are pending the approval of the passing of this legisl ation.
With that being the only question, Madam
President, I would like to thank my Senate colleagues
for their support of this Bill. And I would like to move
that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority
Amendment Act 2019 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

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

The President: Any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority
Amendment Act 2019 be now read a third t ime.

The President: Any objection to the third reading?
No objection.





Bermuda Senate BILL

THIRD READING

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2019

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that t he Bill do
now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill has passed.
[Motion carried: The Bermuda Monetary Authority
Amendment Act 2019 was read a third time and
passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Moving on, the next item on the O rders of the Day is the Economic Substance Amendment (No. 2) Act 2019.
Senator Campbell, I believe that is your Bill as
well. You have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbel l: That is correct. Thank you,
Madam President. Just give me a minute.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS

The President: Yes, I will. And while you are doing
that, I would like to acknowledge the presence of
members from the Finance Ministry. And those are
Mr. Kenneth J oaquin and Michael Frith from the Mini stry of Finance.
And while you are putting your papers toget her and getting ready, Senator Campbell, I would just like to thank both the Finance Minister and these gen-tlemen present for the briefing that they gave the
Senators on Monday morning. I do believe that that was very we lcome by all Senators, and I thank you for
your effort on Monday morning at nine o’clock.
You have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Economic Substance Amendment
(No. 2) Act 2019 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senator Campbell.
BILL

SECOND READING

ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE
AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2019
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, the Ec onomic Substance Amendment (No. 2) Act 2019
amends the Economic Substance Act 2018 (the Act)
by reducing the economic substance requirements for local entities other than banks and insurers that carry
on busi ness only in Bermuda. It also amends the
Companies Act 1981, the Limited Liability Company
Act 2016, the Exempted Partnerships Act 1992 and
the Overseas Partnerships Act 1995, requiring all ent ities to declare annually if they are carrying on a rel evant ac tivity.
Madam President, this Bill amends the Ec onomic Substance Act 2018 and other related legisl ation in order that Bermuda’s economic substance le gislative framework be more closely aligned with that of
comparable jurisdictions such as the Crown Depen dencies and other British Overseas Territories, commonly referred to as “2.2 Jurisdictions.”
Madam President, Senators will recall that
following the removal of Bermuda from the European Union [EU] list of non- cooperative jurisdictions for tax
purposes on the 17
th of May, the Registrar of Companies’ team commenced work to consider amendments to Bermuda’s economic substance legislation that
would create parity and less opportunity for jurisdi ctional arbitrage between Bermuda and other 2.2 J urisdictions.
Madam President, following the OECD’s [O rganisation for Economic Co- operation and Develo pment] Forum on Harmful Tax Practices (FHTP) as-sessment of the economic substance framework of all
jurisdictions, a full jurisdictional comparative analysis was completed by the Registrar of Companies’ team,
comparing Bermuda’s legislation with that of other
comparable jurisdictions, specifically the Cayman I slands, British Virgin Islands, Guernsey, Jersey and the
Isle of Man. The purpose of the comparative analysis
was t o identify the key areas in which Bermuda’s le gislation differed in a material way in order to ensure
that (1) there was no economic disadvantage to Bermuda as a result of jurisdictional arbitrage, and
(2) any amendments needed to meet the EU, as well
as O ECD, standards.
Madam President, Senators will recall that the
first phase of those level -setting amendments were
made earlier this year with the introduction of an exemption from economic substance requirements for
entities that are engaged in a relevant activity but resident for tax purposes in another jurisdiction.
Madam President, I am pleased to advise the
Senate that those amendments, including the Gui d752 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate ance Notes applicable to them, have been approved
by the EU and the OECD.
Madam President, foll owing the enactment of
those amendments, the Registrar of Companies’ team
commenced the second phase of level -setting anal ysis. The most significant additional areas identified as
requiring amendment relate to the relevant activities of
holding entity, shi pping, financing and leasing and
insurance, as well as the requirement applicable to
local entities. The specifics of these amendments are
as follows:
• The relevant activity of holding entity should
apply only to those entities that hold a contro lling owner ship stake in another entity and
which carry on no other commercial activity.
Such entities are referred to as “pure equity
holding entities .”
• The relevant activity of shipping should apply
to those entities that operate and manage
ships and not to those entities that carry on no
activity other than the ownership of a ship.
• The relevant activities of financing and leasing
should be combined into a single relevant activity of financing and leasing.
• The relevant activity of insurance should be
limited to insu rers/reinsurers only and should
not include insurance brokers , managers or
agents .
• The economic substance requirements should be further reduced for local entities other than
banks and insurers that carry on business only in Bermuda.
And finally, as part of the Registrar of Companies’ monitoring and enforcement process, all entities
should be required to declare annually if they are carrying on a relevant activity.
Madam President, the specific legislative
amendments to address this second phase of leve lsetting have been developed by the Registrar of Companies’ team and the Attorney General’s Chambers in close consultation with both the EU and the OECD.
Madam President, the passage of this Act will
address these key differences and will lay the necessary foundation for further amendments to the Ec onomic Substance Regulations 2018, which will co mplete the level -setting process.
Madam President, both the EU and OECD
have completed their preliminary assessment of the
amendments and related Guidance Notes and have
indicated that they have no concerns.
Madam President and Senators , the amendments proposed by this Bill are in line with EU and
OECD’s stated principles. And with those brief comments, I invite other Senators to participate in the d ebate.
Thank you, Madam President.

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

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
First of all, I would like to thank, from the Opposition, the representatives from the Ministry of F inance for their extensive brief that we received. We in
the Opposition definitely support this legislation, as it
is bringing Bermuda up to speed with other 2.2 Juri sdictions. And we support the Financ e Ministry’s efforts, along with the Government, to navigate external requests from external forces.
So with that brief comment, we support it,

Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No.
Then Senator Campbell, I think the briefing
was excellent. Obviously, the questions that the Sen ators had were answered. But it is over to you, Senator
Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I would like
to thank my Senate co lleagues for their support of this
Bill, very important Bill for Bermuda.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Economic Substance Amendment (No. 2) Act 2019 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on.

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

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

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Economic Substance Amendment
(No. 2) Act 2019 be now read a third time.

The President: Any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD REA DING



Bermuda Senate ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE
AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2019

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill do now pass.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Economic Substanc e Amen dment (No. 2) Act 2019 was read a third time and
passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell. And
thank you all, Senators and the Finance Minister.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: We are moving now to the second
reading of the Insurance (No. 2) Amendment Act
2019. Whose Bill is that?
Senator Campbell, you are busy this morning.
You have the floor, the second reading of the Insur-ance (No. 2) Amendment Act 2019.
And we have Mr. Ifor Hughes with us. And he
was part of the, yes, briefing on Monday. And I would
like to thank you for that effort.
It is over to you, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled the I nsurance (No. 2) Amendment Act 2019 be now read a
second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Senator Campbell.

BILL

SECOND READING

INSURANCE (NO. 2) AMENDMENT ACT 2019
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, it gives me
pleasure to present to the Senate today the Bill ent itled the Insurance (No. 2) Amendment Act 2019
.
This Bill seeks to amend the Insurance Act
1978 (the Act) , the Insurance A ccount ing Regulations
1980 , and the Insurance Returns and Solvency Regulations 1980 by making a number of changes to the
Act and said regulations to facilitate effective superv ision of insurers conducting alternative capital bus iness within Bermuda’s limit ed purpose regime.
Madam President , the Senators would be
aware that Bermuda is regarded as a leading jurisdi ction in the global insurance market. Members would
also be aware that the independent sole financial services regulator, the Bermuda Monetary Aut hority, is and has always been committed to the enhancement
of the viability of the Bermuda insurance market.
Madam President , the Authority recognises
the need to continue to provide a regulatory environment that appropriately regulates and supervises t he
insurance industry while also demonstrating the wil lingness to adapt the regulatory regimes to stay in
alignment with international developments and regul atory best practises. It is for these reasons the Author ity is proposing to update its supervisory regime for
limited purpose insurers to ensure that Bermuda continues to be viewed as a leading jurisdiction with an
appropriate regulatory environment for the alternative
risk transfer market.
Madam President , the Authority is proposing
to amend section 6D of the Act by inserting specific
wording that will allow the Authority to make adjus tments to a collateralised insurer’s total statutory capi-tal and surplus. As a consequence, the Authority is
also proposing to amend section 44A of the Act , which
will a fford a collateralised insurer the right to appeal if
the insurer is aggrieved by a decision of the Authority
to make an adjustment to its capital.
Madam President , in addition to the amendments of the Act, the Authority is proposing to amend
the Insurance Account ing Regulations 1980 and the
Insurance Returns and Solvency Regulations 1980
[the Regulations] by revoking provisions relating to
special purpose insurers (SPIs). The removal of these
provisions excludes SPIs from the annual statutory
filing requ irement prescribed within them.
Madam President , in lieu of these provisions,
the Authority has drafted the Special Purpose Insurer
Accounts, Return and Solvency Rules 2019. These
rules have been developed pursuant to sections
6A(1)(f) of the Insurance A ct 1978, which gives the
Authority the power to prescribe rules in relation to
statutory financial returns.
Madam President , Senators are advised that
the Authority has consulted with industry stakeholders to ensure the regulatory regime for SPIs remains prudent and pragmatic.
Madam President , Senators should also be
aware that the Authority is also proposing an en-hancement to the existing Insurance Returns and Solvency Regulations 1980 by inserting regulation 14N,
the schedule of alternative capital ar rangements. This
schedule will require the relevant insurers to submit
essential data of any alternative risk transfer business that they conduct. The inclusion of this schedule will
improve the Authority’s supervisory oversight of Bermuda’s alternative ri sk transfer business.
Madam President , the Authority has noted a
growing interest in the alternative risk transfer market,
an interest in Bermuda as a jurisdiction of choice to
set up this business. The Authority is of the view that
the enhancements proposed today are necessary to
ensure Bermuda remains a credible and viable option
for alternative risk transfer business.
754 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam President , the amendments represent
a collaborative effort between the Authority and var ious industry stakeholders. I would like to thank all of
those persons within the Bermuda Monetary Authority ,
the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Ministry of F inance and the private sector who have assisted with
the development of this Bill.
Madam President , I now invite comments
from my fell ow Senators on this Bill. Thank you, Ma dam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
The administrative enhanc ements for the regulatory framework for the insurance industry are welcomed by the Opposition, and we have no objections
to this. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No?
Then, Senator Campbell, you have full support.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I would like
to thank Senators for their support of this Bill.
With that, Madam President, I move that the
Bill entitled the Insurance (No. 2) Amendment Act
2019 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Insurance (No. 2) Amendment Act
2019 be now read a third time.

The President: Any objection to the t hird reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING
INSURANCE (NO. 2) AMENDMENT ACT 2019

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

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled Insurance (No. 2) Amendment Act 2019 do now
pass.
Any objection to to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Insurance (No. 2) Amendment
Act 2019 was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: We now move on to our sixth item on
the Order Paper. And that is the second reading of the
Investment Funds Amendment Act 2019.
Senator Campbell, you are on a roll. These
are all your Bills.

[Laughter]

The President: You have the floor when you are
ready.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, given the
time of year and my workload, today I expect a little
extra in the pay cheque.

[Laughter]

Sen. Vance Campbell: From Santa, from Santa.

The President: From Santa. All right. Yes.

Sen. Vance Campbell: From Santa.

The President: I am sure that will happen.

[Laughter]

The President: Santa will come down your chimney.
You have the floor.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, before I go
into my presentation, there was also an amendment to
this Bill , that amendment being clause 2(1), which was
amended by inserting, in alphabetical order, the following definition for “fund administrator.” And “‘fund
administrator” means “a person carrying on one or
more of the fund admi nistration provider business services specified in section 2(2) of the Fund Administr ation Provider Business Act 2019 in compliance with that Act and other applicable laws in Bermuda or in


Bermuda Senate compliance with the applicable rules and requirements
of the relevant overseas regulatory authority . . .”
So with that amendment, Madam President,
the name of the Bill also changed. It is the Investment
Funds Amendment Act 2019 (and not No. 2).
So, Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled the Investment Funds Am endment Act 2019 be
now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

INVESTMENT FUNDS AMENDMENT ACT 2019
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I am
pleased t o present the
Investment Funds Amendment
Act 2019 for the consideration of the Senate. The Bill
seeks to enhance Bermuda’s supervisory and regul atory regime for investment funds, an important seg-ment of Bermuda’s financial services.
Madam President, this Bill seeks to amend
the Investment Funds Act 2006 to provide enhanced
supervisory and regulatory requirements to apply to
registered or authorised investment funds that operate segregated accounts, provides for the designation
requirements for overseas investment funds that are
managed or carried on promotion in or from within
Bermuda, provide for the classification requirements for professional closed funds, provide for enhanced
supervisory and regulatory requirements to apply to closed end funds, to provide for the enhancement of
fit and proper requirements and provide for other co nsequential and related matters.
Madam President , by way of background, in
March 2018 , the Bermuda Monetary Authority published a d iscussion paper which highlighted changes
that the Authority proposed to make within the fund
administration, investment funds and investment bus iness regimes. Within the discussion paper, the A uthority proposed that the Investment Funds Act 2006
[the IFA] be amended in several respects to maintain
conformance with international standards and ensure
that Bermuda’s regime remains fit for purpose.
Madam President , one of the commitments
the Authority included wit hin its 2019 business plan
was to achieve appropriate enhancements to the IFA.
Accordingly, the Authority supports the introduction of these legislative proposals relating to the supervision
and regulation of investment funds to this Senate.
Madam President , the provisions within this
Bill are not only designed to address previously pr oposed enhancements to the investment funds regime,
but also to ensure that Bermuda complies with collective investment vehicle- related requirements emanating from the European Union’s Code of Conduct Group [the Code Group] and its economic substance
initiative. Senators are advised that the Code Group i s
scrutinising Bermuda’s collective investment vehicles
or investment funds regime by employing a four -pillar
assessment met hodology. Tho se pillars are as follows, Madam President :
1. legislative and administrative framework
for CIVs (that is, collective investment v ehicles) authorisations and/or registration;
2. legislative and administrative frameworks
for CIVs supervision and rules enforc ement;
3. legislative and administrative framework
regarding evaluation, accounting and auditing of CIVs ; and lastly,
4. depository rules.
Madam President, the Code Group’s asses sment of Bermuda’s funds regime lent an additional
sense of urgency to the completion of a legislative
amendments exercise. Fortunately, the Authority pr oactively addressed the need to enhance the IFA prior
to commencement of the Code Group’s assessment
exercise.
The Authority has engaged in an extensive
and ongoing dialogue wit h the EU representatives
regarding the current funds regime and any amend-ments that may be required to satisfy the EU’s expectations in this area. Accordingly, some of the proposed
amendments are specifically designed to address the
questions raised by the Code Group regarding Be rmuda’s supervisory framework for investment funds. It is essential that any such issues be resolved prior to
the end of 2019 in order for Bermuda to be removed
from the Code Group’s grey list of jurisdictions, an
outcome which the Authority and this Government are
committed to achieving.
Madam President , some of the important enhancements to the regime for investment funds which
will be accomplished by this Bill include:
1. the creation of an overarching definition of
investment funds that captures both openended and closed- ended vehicles to ensure that all relevant collective investment
vehicles fall within the scope of Berm uda’s regime and are subject to appropr iate levels of supervision and enforcement
actions ;
2. the creation of a new class of registered
fund to be known as professional closed funds ;
3. the creation of a new separate class of
funds to be known as overseas funds ,
which is designated to ensure that any
fund that is incorporated or established in
a jurisdiction outside of B ermuda is designated by the Authority before being
managed or promoted in or from within
Bermuda;
756 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate 4. amending the definition of a qualified participant via a modification of the requir ements to be met by high net worth private
investors ;
5. requiring the operator of an open- ended
private fund to appoint a fund administr ator;
6. imposing an express obligation that all
persons who perform the functions of an
operator or officer of or a service provider
to a fund be fit and proper persons to act in such capacities ;
7. requiring that a list of investment funds
authori sed, registered or designated by
the Authority be maintained by the BMA
on its website;
8. expanding the scope of the obligations
that relate to the operation of segregated accounts to apply to all registered and a uthorised funds ;
9. providing for notification of the winding- up
of an overseas fund;
10. making provision for additional rights of
appeal to the tribunal ;
11. requiring that a fund be operated in a pr udent manner according to minimum crit eria for licensing ;
12. codifyi ng the current industry practise by
requiring audited financial statements for
the new professional closed funds ; and
13. providing for appropriate balance and
flexibility in the collective investment veh icle regime.
Madam President, I will elaborate on each of
these points.

Definition of Investment Fund

Sen. Vance Campbell: The primary challenge that
Bermuda has faced as a part of the Code Group’s
assessment relates to the scope of our regime. This is
primarily attributable to the fact that closed- ended co llective investment vehicles fall outside of the scope of
the existing regime. For a vehicle to be an investment
fund, participants must be entitled to have their units
redeemed on a periodic basis —a feature not assoc iated with closed- ended products . Accor dingly, closedended funds are not currently required to be authorised or registered. Comparable jurisdictions that are
not on the Code Group’s grey list utilise a definition of
investment fund which is not limited to vehicles in
which interest or units ar e redeemable at the option of
the participant s of the investment fund.

Professional Closed Funds

Sen. Vance Campbell: The regulatory requirements
of this proposed new class of funds are similar to
those that apply to professional class A and B funds. Professional closed funds will fall within the category
of registered funds , and it is anticipated that it will be
the class under which a majority of the closed- ended
vehicles that are typically established in Bermuda will register.

Overseas Funds

Sen. Vance Campbell: Investment funds that are i ncorporated or established in a jurisdiction outside of Bermuda must be designated by the Authority as an overseas fund before being managed or promoted in
or from within Bermuda. The operator of the fund will
be required to certify to the BMA annually that it co ntinues to satisfy the requirements to qualify for desi gnation.

Qualified Participants

Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Madam President , in rel ation to point 4, qualified participants, the definition of a
high net worth private investor will be amended to encompass individuals whose net worth or joint net
worth with their spouse in the year in which they purchase an investment exceeds $1 million, excluding
the value of that person’s residence and any benefits
or rights under a contract of insurance. Net worth will
be defined to mean the excess of the total assets at
fair market value over total liabilities.

Appointment of Fund Administrator

Sen. Vance Campbell: The operator of an open -
ended private fund will be r equired to appoint a fund
administrator. This requirement will ensure that a sp ecific individual is assigned to calculate the net asset
value of the fund and that independent assessments
of the funds value are carried out. Madam President ,
given the obligation which the IFA imposes on various
funds to appoint a fund administrator, it is important
that the term “fund administrator ” be defined. A definition of this term does currently exist in the IFA , but it
will be deleted via a consequential amendment when the Fund Administration Provider Business Act 2019

[FAPB] becomes operative.
The FAPB Act , which will provide the found ation for a new regulatory supervisory reg ime for persons engaged in Fund Administration Provider Bus iness , was enacted by the Legislature in July 2019,
and it is to be brought into force on the 31st of December. The new definition of “fund administrator ” will
form part of the Act once the Bill is enacted by the
Legislature, and [the Bill] comes into operation on the
1st of January 2020.

Fit and Proper Person

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President , with r espect to point 6, fit and proper person, operators and

B ermuda Senate officers of and service providers to a fund will be r equired to be fit and proper persons for the purpose of
performing their respective functions. Such a requir ement has always been achieved in practise via the Authority’s existing authorisation, registration and on-going oversight activities , but it will now be expressly
stated in the IFA.
List of Investment Funds
Se
n. Vance Campbell: The BMA must establish and
maintain on its website a list of all investment funds that are authorised, registered or designated to operate in or from within Ber muda.
Segregated Accounts
Se
n. Vance Campbell: Madam President, in relation
to point 8, segregated accounts, the scope of the pr ovisions of the Act that provide for unit trusts to operate
segregated accounts will be broadened to encompass all registered and authorised funds.
Winding Up
Se
n. Vance Campbell: The BMA must be notified
within 14 days of the winding up of an overseas fund.
The BMA must remove the fund from the list of i nvestment funds it maintains within 30 days of being notified.
Rights of Appeal
Se
n. Vance Campbell: The operator of a registered
fund may appeal against a decision by the Authority to revoke the registration of a registered fund. Similarly,
the operator of an overseas fund may appeal against
a decision by the Authority to cancel the designation of an overseas fund.
Prudent Operation of a Fund
Se
n. Vance Campbell: Every fund must be operated
in a prudent manner according to minimum criteria for licensing.
Codification of Industry Practise
Se
n. Vance Campbell: In order to appropriately address the pillar of the Code Group’s assessment methodology which pertains to accounting, auditing and valuation, t he proposed new class of professional
closed funds will be required to produce, at least a nnually , audited financial statements that meet international generally accepted accounting standards and international financial reporting standards. Balance in the Funds Regime
Se
n. Vance Campbell: With a view to providing appropriate balance and regulatory flexibility for Berm uda’s collective investment vehicles regime, the Bill incorporates requirements relative to the revocation and cancellation of the registration of a registered
fund and makes provision for the Authority to grant
any class of funds an exemption from certain legisl ative requirements where [the following conditions apply]:
1.Appropriate arrangements are in place tosafeguard the interest of participants in
the fund;
2.Compliance with the requirement would
be unduly burdensome or would notachieve the purpose for which the r equirement was made; and
3.The exemption would not result in undue
risk to persons whose interest the r equirement is intended to protect.
Madam President, I wish to emphasise the
Authority sought input from a working group of industry stak eholders on all of these prov isions. The A uthority has prudently examined the i nvestment fund
framework s of jurisdictions which have not been listed
by the Code Group, in order to ensure that Bermuda
is not put at a competitive disadvantage because of regulatory arbi trage. It should be noted that the IFA
may be subject to further amendments when the Authority receives definitive feedback from the Code Group regarding the legislative enhanc ements to be
achieved via this Bill. Such feedback is expected to be received in mid- January of 2020.
And with those comments, Madam President ,
I invite other Senators to comment on this Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell and
Senators. I am sure you have all seen the clock . We
are working through our lunch as we do not anticipate
the rest of the Bills to take a lot of time.
So, would any Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
The Opposit ion supports this Bill. We would
also like to thank the BMA for giving us a very comprehensive brief on it. We also support all efforts to get Bermuda off of the grey list. So with those brief comments, I will finish. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. You have full support, Senator Campbell.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
758 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate I would like to thank Senators for their support
of this Bill.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
Investment Funds Amendment Act 2019 be now read
a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Se
n. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect of this
Bill.

Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[
Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Se
n. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Investment Funds Amendment Act 2019 be now read a third time.
The President: Any objection to the third reading?
No objection.
BILL
THIRD READING
INVESTMENT FUNDS AMENDMENT ACT 2019
Se
n. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Investment Funds Amendment Act do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill has passed.
[
Motion carried: The Investment Funds Amendment
Act 2019 was read a third time and passed as
amended in the House of Assembly.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Se
n. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: We now move on to the next item on
the Orders of the Day. And that is the second reading
of the Government Authorities Act.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Madam Pres ident.
The President: Yes. Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: With your
permission, I would like to move consideration of that
to the end of the Order Paper for second reading, the end of the list .
The President: End of the list?
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes, please.
The President: Yes. We will go on to Superyachts.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you.
The President: So that will be Senator Caesar. That
is your Bill.
Se
n. Cry stal Caesar: Yes. Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
The President: You have the floor.
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Superyachts
and Other Vessels (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act
2019 be now read a second tim e.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Carry on, Senator Caesar.
BILL
SECOND READING
SUPERYACHTS AND OTHER VESSELS
(MISCELLANEOUS) AMENDMENT ACT 2019
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, the purpose of the Bill before the Senate today is to amend the Superyachts
and Other Vessels (Miscellaneous) Act 2019 (or the
principal Act) to further amend the Passenger Ships
Act 1972 regarding transit and cruising permits, and to
amend the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 to classify the crew of superyachts under charter
in Bermuda as special category persons.
I n July of this year, Madam President, the
Legislature approved the principal Act, Superyachts and Other Vessels (Miscellaneous) Act 2019, which made a number of amendments to a series of Acts to help make Bermuda a more attractive yachting and
superyacht destination. The principal Act will benefit Bermuda by creating potential job opportunities
through businesses that support the superyacht char-ter industry and generating fees that will go into Government ’s Consolidated Fund.
Since the passing of the principal Act, the
Ministry of Tourism and Transport identified three ar eas that required further clarity in legislation pertaining


Bermuda Senate to the issuing of transit and cruising permits and exemptions.
Madam President , during the drafting of the
guidelines for superyachts and other vessels for i mplement ation purposes, the Ministry, along with the
Department of Marine and Ports, working closely with
the Customs Department, the Bermuda Shipping
Maritime Association and local agent stakeholders,
discovered three elements that required correction or
further clarification . Two of those amendments are
made to section 3, and the final to section 7 of the
principal Act. Madam President, they are as follows:
1. Under exemptions from permit fees related to transit and cruising permits, vessels
arriving in Bermuda for the purpose of obtaining fuel, water and ships’ stores w ere
included in the exempted list. Madam
President, transit permits will be issued
for a period not exceeding five days and
are specifically intended for vessels that
come to obtain fuel, water and ships’ stores. Thus, section 3D(f) of the pri ncipal
Act is repealed.
2. Madam President, the principal Act r equires transit and cruising permits to be
applied for in advance, but some flexibility
is needed. The amendment deletes sec-tion [3]B(1) and replaces it with language
that will ensure transit and cruising permits can be applied for at the time of arr ival in Bermuda when the Customs D epartment boarding officer clears the ves-sel at the Yacht Reporting Centre.
3. And finally, Madam President, a charter
permit allows a superyacht to be used to
provide charter services for up to six
months in Bermuda. The principal Act
was silent on Immigration requirements
regarding persons who are members of the superyacht crew. Superyacht crew
who provide superyacht chartering services are intended to be exempt from having a work permit , same as cruise ship
crews are exempt today. Therefore, section 7A is inserted, making the exemption clear for superyacht crews.
Madam President , finally, a notice was issued
in September to the yachting and superyacht industry
that we intend for the Superyachts and Other Vessels
(Miscellaneous) Act 2019 to become law on January 1
st, 2020. Madam President, I conclude my comments and welcome comments from my fellow Sena-tors.

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

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President. Not much to say about this legislation. We are
in full agreement with and approval of it. We do note
that back in July there was the primary legislation that
was rolled out, and we do understand that through the course of this relatively new legislation that is con-stantly evolving that amendments are necessary to
keep us ahead of the curve, to keep us competitive.
Mind you, I did pause a little bit when I saw
that an exemption was going to be made for no work
permits for the crew members of these superyachts.
Knowing that this again is a topic that is full of twists
and turns, then the Junior Minister made it quite clear,
and quite rightly, that we do not require work permits
for the cruise ship crew. So this is just a smaller sized
cruise ship.
So I am quite comfortable with that little cav eat from the intent of the legislation to keep us compet itive, to keep us at the cutting edge of this industry,
because it does produce jobs. And it could do well to
give us a boost in our economy. So with that being
said, we are in full support of this particular legislation.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President : Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then, Senator Caesar, you have full support.
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President. I
thank my fellow Senators for their support of this legi slation.
And ther efore, Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled Superyachts and Other Vessels (Mi scellaneous) Amendment Act 2019 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Crystal Caesar : Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.

The President: Any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled Superyachts and
Other Vessels (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2019
be now read a third time.
The President: Any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

760 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate BILL

THIRD READING

SUPERYACHTS AND OTHER V ESSELS
(MISCELLANEOUS) AMENDMENT ACT 2019

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill do
now pass. Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Superyachts and Other Vessels
(Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2019 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Caesar.
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you.

The President: And the next item, which is the West
End Development Corporation (Traffic Officers)
Amendment Act 2019, I believe, is your Bill.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: That is correct.

The President: When you are ready, you have the
floor.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the West End Development Corporation (Traffic Offi cers) Amendment Act 2019 be now read a second
time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

WEST END DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
(TRAFFIC OFFICERS) AMENDMENT ACT 2019

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
The purpose of the Bill is to amend the West
End Development [Corporation] Act 1982 (or the Act) to provide for traffic officers appointed by West End
Development Corporation (otherwise known as
WEDCO) to have traffic enforcement powers and to provide for better regulation and control of vehicular traffic in the WEDCO area.
Madam President, the Bill before the [Senate]
is the
West End Development Corporation (Traffic Officers) Amendment Act 2019 . This is for better reg ulation and control of vehicular traffic and improved traffic management on WEDCO property and to pr ovide for the corporation’s traffic officers to have the ability to enforce moving violations and parking infrac-tions.
In recent years our cruise ship partners have
reported passenger dissatisfaction with transportation at Bermuda’s cruise ship ports, especially at Dockyard
when two or more ships are in port. There could be up to 8,000 passengers, plus the ships’ crews, in the ar-ea looking for public transportation. There is a ground
transportation area at the port where taxis, minibuses
and limousines ply for business, prearranged tours
and beach shuttles.
Madam President, WEDCO has only three
traffic coordinators who manage the area and facilitate the safe and efficient movement of passengers. They
interact with the operators of the public service veh icles and passengers, whom they direct to relevant
transportation options. They also monitor and manage the flow of traffic through the area at a nearby staging
area for overflow vehicles. Although the ground transportation area is suitably appointed with proper sig nage, the area tends to get a bit chaotic when there are thousands of visitors trying to move at the same time
and public service vehicle operators are vying for customers.
The traffic coordinators are challenged with
managing the behaviour of the public service vehicle
operators because they have no legal powers, and as
such the operators can ignore their instructions. And
at times this has led to antisocial behaviour.
Madam President, up until 2018, up to four of
the eight Transport Control Department [or TCD] traf-fic officers attended the Dockyard daily for general
traffic enforcement when cruise ships were in port. In
2018, considering both the cost of providing traffic
officers for the Dockyard and the need for traffic offi cers to become more available for statutory responsibi lities, TCD redeployed traffic enforcement resources.
In 2019, TCD traffic officers assisted WEDCO traffic
coordinators only on days that five or more ships were in port.
So, Madam President, in the absence of TCD
traffic officers the need still exists for the regulation
and control of traffic and passengers alike. The main
objective of this Bill is to appoint traffic officers who
will have the same powers as TCD traffic officers to control traffic and deter illegal parking. This Bill will
enable improved traffic management on the corpor ation’s land by amending the West End Development Corporation Act 1982 to extend the staff of WEDCO to
include corporation traffic officers as defined in the
Third Schedule of the Act and to apply the Road Traf-fic Act 1947 to roads within WEDCO in the same
manner as it applies to a municipality.
With that, Madam President, I welcome any
comments from my fellow Senators.


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

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
I surely do. And we definitely do welcome this
particular legislation. I will disclose my interest: My real job outside of the Senate Chambers is I do minibus tours from out of the cruise terminal there in
Dockyard. And over the years that I have done it, I have seen, especially since the . . . “retreat” is not the
right word. But the redeploying of the TCD traffic offi cers to other places around the Island has in some
cases made Dockyard like the wild Wild West.
And this legislation will be welcomed, I am
sure, by the law -abiding well -dressed professional
transport operators there in Dockyard who do well to
abide by the policies and regulations of TCD, who are
sometimes dism ayed by those within their community
of transport operators and ambassadors for Bermuda
who do not comply with the professional attire, with parking in the right places, with waiting their turn, with
picking up their clients. All these things happen. And
to some degree over the last year or so, without the
attention from the normal TCD transport officers, it
has been challenging.
I will ask a question of the Junior Minister:
Correct me if I am wrong. I believe there was a traffic analysis report that was pending that was supposed to
be published in the summer of this year. I do not know
if it is on its way, if it is done and yet to be published. I
am not sure. But I believe that that particular report
and analysis will give the stakeholders in Dockyard, both the executive team at WEDCO as well as the taxi
and minibus operators, an idea of how the management of the traffic in that area is being looked at and
managed for the good of the tourists.
Now, we have heard it before, and it really
gets us going when we hear that our guests, our tourists are having a hard time finding transportation or
not being efficiently driven to their place of destination
because somehow the system has fallen down. So I
believe that the additional powers to the same degree as our TCD traffic officers to these officers at WEDCO
would be a significant upgrade and improvement in
the management of the traffic in that particular area.
So with that question, if the Junior Minister
can let us know about any traffic analysis that has
been done and report that has been produced, with
those words I thank you, Madam President.

The President : Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Jardine, you have the floor.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I support this legislation. I
just had one question with respect to clause 2, [pr o-posed] section 21B(1), and this is to do with corpor ation traffic officers. It says, “The Governor may appoint
persons to regulate and control traffic.” And I just
question: Is it the Governor or is it the Minister? It just seemed strange that that was in there. But I just ask that question. Should it be the Minister as opposed to
the Governor?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senat or Jardine.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No. Then, Senator Caesar, you have a couple
of questions.
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, Senator Jones posed a
question with regard to a traffic study, and I believe
there may be an issue that is being confused here.
The traffic impact study that was done in Dockyard
was actually with regard to pedestrianisation, not sp ecifically traffic in particular. And that study was actually
not intended to be published and not part of the deli berations.
But it did form part of the deliberations by the
Department of Planning. So, unfortunately, that is not
something that will be published. And it did actually pertain to pedestrians, not traffic.
Further, Madam President, Senator Jardine
had a question with regard to whether the word “ Governor ” should be used in [proposed] section 21B. I
have received confirmation that that indeed is correct language in this particular instance, as traffic officers
derive their powers from the police, who then are also
under the purview of the Governor. And, as such, “Governor” is the correct terminology in this case.
With that, Madam President, I believe that I
have exhausted the questions that have been posed.
And I would like to mov e that . . . (Sorry. Just give me
one second.) I would like to move that —

The President: Second reading.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Yes . . . the Bill entitled the
West End Development Corporation (Traffic Officers)
Amendment Act 2019 be now read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that Standing Order 26 be suspended
in respect of this Bill.
The President: Any objection t o that motion?
No objection.

762 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate [Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the West End D evelopment Corporation (Traffic Officers) Amendment
Act 2019 be now read a third ti me.

The President: Any objection to the third reading?
No objection. Carry on.

BILL

THIRD READING

WEST END DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
(TRAFFIC OFFICERS) AMENDMENT ACT 2019

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the West End Development Corporation (Traffic
Officers) Amendment Act 2019 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The West End Development Corpor ation (Traffic Officers) Amendment Act 2019 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you very much, Senator Caesar.
We now move on to our next item, which is
item number 10, the Private Bills, the B .I.U. Members.
Senator Campbell, you have the floor on that.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Private Bill
entitled the B .I.U. Members Credit Union Co- Op Soc iety (Change of Name) Amendment Act 2019 be now
read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Carry on, Senator Campbell.

PRIVATE BILL

SECOND READING

B. I. U. MEMBERS CREDIT UNION CO -OP SOCI ETY (CHANGE OF NAME) AMENDMENT ACT 2019
Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, the Bil l
was submitted for first reading at our last sitting. And it
is simply a change of name. So I do not anticipate
there will be much that would bother my Senate col-leagues. So with that, I will pause for the possibility that there may be comments from them.
The President: Any comments from the Senators?
Would any Senators care to speak on this?
No. Then, Senator Campbell, it is over to you.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Private Bill
entitled the B .I.U. Members Credit Union Co- Op Soc iety (Change of Name) Amendment Act 2019 be now
read a second time.

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

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

The President: Any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
The President: Senator Campbell, carry on.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Private Bill entitled the B .I.U. Members Credit U nion Co -Op Society (Change of Name) Amendment Act
2019 be now read a third time.

The President: Any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

PRIVATE BILL

THIRD READING

B. I. U. MEMBERS CREDIT UNION CO -OP SOCI ETY (CHANGE OF NAME) AMENDMENT ACT 2019

Sen. Vance Campbell: Madam President, I move that
the Private Bill do now pass.
The President: Is there any objection to the passage
of the Bill?
No objection. The Bill has pas sed.

[Motion carried: The B .I.U. Members Credit Union CoOp Society (Change of Name) Amendment Act 2019
was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you very much, Senator
Campbell.



Bermuda Senate Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

The Presi dent: [Order] No. 14, Motions.
The Clerk: [INAUDIBLE]
The President: Oh. Are we pressed for a recess?
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Yes. Madam
President, I would be grateful if you would grant a r ecess for 15 minutes before we proceed to the Governm ent Authorities Act.

The President: Senators, we have been asked to
have a recess for at least 15 minutes so that we can
then determine [Order] No. 7, which is the Gover nment Authorities Act.
So we will recess for 15 minutes. Thank you,
Senators.

Procee dings suspended at 1:04 pm

Proceedings resumed at 1:09 pm

The President: Senators, we are back in session
now. We did not have to wait the full time. So we will
now resume.

The Clerk: Should the radio station be alerted we are
resuming? The President: Yes. We want to alert the public and
the radio station that we are resuming with the final
item on our Orders of the Day. And that is the Government Authorities Act 2019, the second reading.
And I call on Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons,
Attorney General. You have the floor.

BILL

SECOND READING

GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES ACT 2019

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
Madam President, I am pleased to proceed
with the second reading of the Bill entitled the Government Authorities Act 2019 . Madam President, the
Bill seeks to amend a number of enactments relat ed
to certain government authorities to transfer appointment functions from the Governor to the relevant Mi nister and also to provide for appeals to the Supreme
Court and other connected matters.
Madam President, section 3 of the Architects
Registration Act 1969 is amended by the Bill to transfer the power of appointment of the members of the
Architects Registration Council from the Government
to the Minister of Finance or such other Minister as may be appointed to administer the Act. The Bill also repeals and replaces section 11 of the 1969 Act and
makes consequential amendments to provide that
appeals from decisions of the council will no longer be heard by the Governor, but by the Supreme Court.
Madam President , additional amendments
include amendments to provisions of the Bermuda
Arts Council Act 1969 to transfer the power of appointment of the members of the Bermuda Arts Council from the Governor to the Minister responsible for Culture. Further amendments are to section 2 of the Bermuda [Housing] Trust Act [1965] to transfer the
power of appointments of the Bermuda Housing Trust
from the Gov ernor to the Minister responsible for
Housing, but also transferring similar power of appointment with respect to the Bermuda Immigration
and Protection Act 1956, as well as the Land Valu ation and Tax Act 1967. In that particular case, the power of appoint ment is transferred from the Governor to the Minister responsible for land valuation.
Finally, Madam President, clause 7 of the Bill
amends provisions of the Professional Engineers Registration Act 1972 to transfer the power of appointment of members of t he Professional Engineers
Registration Council from the Governor to the Minister responsible for Works and Engineering. That clause of
the Bill also provides that appeals from decisions of the council will no longer by heard by the Governor,
but by the Supreme Court.
There are also transitional provisions that are
made in the Bill with respect to appeals. So in effect, Madam President, this is a modernisation of the a ppointment process in accordance with the terms just
stated. So with that, I can request t hat Senators may
speak if they wish.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kathy Lynn Si mmons, Attorney General and Government Leader in
the Senate.
Would any Senator care to speak on the Government Authorities Act 2019?

Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes.
The President: Senator Jones, you have the floor.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Yes, Madam President. Thank
you.
Clearly, amendments are in this legislation
that in my view, and I believe the view of most of this
Chamber and the other one, are long overdue. Any
work by the legislation to streamline the function of management of government boards is, I believe, a
good thing. There was a question, a consideration, a
request in another place for a possibility of the appeal
time. According to clause 2(d), under Appeals, [pr oposed new section] 11, may I read it, Madam Pres ident?

764 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Certainly you may, Senator Jones.

Sen. Marcus Jones: “Where a person is aggrieved
by any decision of the Council in respect of which an
appeal is allowed under this Act, he may, within seven
days after receiving any notice communicating that
decision to him, appeal to the Supreme Court, and the
Supreme Court shall determine any such appeal and
may make such order as appears to it just.”
I realise that a request was made that that
seven- day w indow can be extended to twenty -eight
days. I just wanted to ask Madam Attorney General if
that had been actually considered and taken on
board.
Other than that, we are in full agreement with
this legislation. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No.
Then, Madam Attorney General, Senator
Kathy Lynn Simmons, there is one question.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
The issue raised with respect to clause 2 was
taken under advisement by the Minister. And he is not
minded to propose an amendment at this particular
time.
With respect to all of our amendments, we
monitor and assess their effect and if it is deemed necessary to make an amendment in the future, the Government will do so.

The President: Thank you.
You can do the second reading.

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: And with that,
Madam President . . . I thank you, Senator Jones, for
your question and remarks. I move that the Bill be
now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I move that Standing Order 26 be suspended
with respect to the B ill.

The President: Any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I move that the
Bill be now read a third time, Madam President.

The President: Any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING

GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES ACT 2019

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Government
Authorities Act 2019 do now pass.

The President: Any objection to the passage of this
Bill?
No objection. The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Government Authorities Act 2019
was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Kathy Lynn Si mmons, Attorney General and Government Leader in
the Senat e.
We now move on.

MOTIONS

The President: I think Senator Jardine.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Madam President, I have
two motions to make, please.

The President: Yes. You have the floor.

MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNOR

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS

Sen. James S. Jardine: Madam President, I move
that the following message be sent to His Excellency
the Governor:
“May it please Your Excellency: The Senate
has the honour to present its compliments to Your
Excellency and family and respectfully extends its
greetings for a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.”

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

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



B ermuda Senate MESSAGE TO THE
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS
Sen. James S. Jardine: The second motion. I move
that the following message be sent to His Hon our the
Speaker and the Honourable House of A ssembly:
“To His Honour the Speaker and Members of
the Honourable House of Assembly:
“The Senate has much pleasure in extending
to your Honourable House sincere greetings for a very
happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.”
The President: Thank you.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection. Both messages will be sent.
Thank you, Senator Jardine.
CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator . . .
Senator Campbell, you have the floor.
Se
n. Vance Campbell: This is, Madam President, not
congratulatory or obituary. But I would like to wish my
Senate colleagues, as I indeed wish all of Bermuda, a
safe and enjoyable time over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. I encourage everyone to take the time to spend it with family and friends, and let them know how important you are—or they are to you. And lastly, I wish that 2020 will be more prosperous for us
all than 2019.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator, Campbell.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Jardine, you have the floor.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
Madam President, I would certainly like to
echo those comments. I am sure every Senator here today would, wishing a very enjoyable and special
Christmas to each other here and also to the listening
public.
I would also like to send congratulations, or I
guess, welcome to our newest Senator, Senator Simmons -Wade. She and I go back a number of years
when I helped established Summerhaven, the home
for the physically disabled, many years ago in the
1980s. And I think in my last year as chairman there, we brought her on board as the general manager. And so she and I, as I say, go back a long way in terms of our knowing each other and working together. And I certainly welcome you to the Senate. I
hope you enjoy your time here, and look forward to your participation.
Thank you very much, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine.
Would any other Senator care to speak? Senator Richardson, you have the floor.
Sen. Anthony Richardson: Good afternoon, Madam
President and the listening audience. I will smile brief-ly. It is a very brief congratulatory comment.
Last week Madam Attorney General actually
challenged us all to do more than we say. And I was
pleased to take that to heart. And yesterday evening I
had the opportunity to participate in what we call a food distribution. And I mention that because we probably assisted more than 300 families. And what was more important than that, to be honest, is that it was literally a community effort. And I made the joke
that (and it was a joke) yesterday was the time to
commit a cr ime. And the only reason is that we had, I
believe, the entire Police Community Action Team assisting us. There were like 10 or 12 officers literally getting involved in manual labour to move boxes
around, do that kind of thing.
It was a really, really encouraging evening to
be able to assist in that regard and for even some of
the children to come out and to benefit. And then there was a whole host of Berkeley Institute children, mostly female, who came to assist to get their hands
dirty, move boxes around, put away trash and those
types of things. It also included the Women’s R esource Centre and the Coalition for the Protection of Children.
And so it was just a really, really enriching
environment to be a part of and to know that we are
doing, as Senator Campbell just said, ensuring that
people do feel important and they are able to at least
from a mental perspective to feel more than. And I
think in that regard, we are able to assist the comm unity. And so for that, I do publicly again commend the
Police Community Action Team, all those members;
the Berkeley students; and those persons from the
other helping agencies. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Madam Attorney General, Senator Kathy Ly nn
Simmons, you have the floor.
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Thank you,
Madam President.
I would like to associate myself with the rest of
the Senate with all of the remarks that have been
made. But also I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the civil service, who have supported Parliamentarians—civil servants, I should say, in discharging our
responsibilities in the House of Assembly and the Senate. They work tirelessly from a policy perspective
766 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate to make sure that we are adequately prepared. And
the briefings that have been conducted over this session have been of tremendous value to all of us.
I would particularly like to give special thanks
to my Parliamentary Counsel, Amani Lawrence, and her junior, [Assistant Parliamentary Counsel] Alsha
Wilson, who tirelessly prepared the cannabis legisl ation and provided really valuable policy support to our
team that included Kleita Pitcher and Jason Outerbridge. And they are all stars to me because they tir elessly work to advance my policy agenda, and I c annot thank them enough.
I would also like to thank Parliamentary Counsel generally on the leadership of the Chief Parliamen-tary Counsel for their support of the Government in making sure that our Bills have been drafted in what
we consider to be a timely manner. And they do work
under extreme pressure, as our demands are fluid and sometimes last minute. So , kudos to them and to
just really let them know that we sincerely appreciate
their efforts.
And lastly, Madam President, but not least by
any means, I would like to thank the staff of the D epartment of the Legislature for the support that they
provide to us. Mr. Somner tirelessly receives my last -
minute emails to put something on the agenda.
[Laughter]
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: And this mor ning he was very accommodating, with yourself, while I
searched frantically for my Statement. And, Madam
President, of course, your leadership is very much appreciated.
And I would like to take this opportunity to
wish all of you best holiday greetings and much rest
before you return to us for another hectic session in
February.
But I would like to also take this moment to
say something very positive. Senators will recall on
motion to adjourn I challenged members of the public
to come forward and offer their support to our most
challenged, at times our most vulnerable population. And I am happy to inform colleagues that I have in
fact received an email from a member of the public
who is very interested in supporting and wants to know what she can do to help. So there were times
that you sit here and wonder if you are having impact
on our country and on the psychology of our people.
And I am happy to say, Madam President, that the
work that we do is actually very important.
So, to that person who has stepped up, thank
you very much , we certainly will be in contact.
Greetings and happy holidays to all of you.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Madam Attorney General
Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons. I would just like to add my congratulations to
our new Senator, Senator Ianthia Simmons -Wade,
whom I knew at the hospital and at Summerhaven.
And we are good friends. And I welcome you and wish
you all the best along with your triplets —

[Laughter]

The President: —whom I knew when they were very,
very small. So we lcome to you.
I would like to also thank each one of you for
your support of me this past year, and to say how
wonderful it has been to work with this team. And I
also thank the parliamentary staff for their hard work.
They stay sometimes many hours to ma ke sure that
we are —even beyond the time. They do not stop at
five o’clock. They go on until sometimes ten, eleven. So I want to express appreciation from all of us to
them, as you have said, Madam Attorney General, for
the stellar work that they do.
And I just want to wish everyone, not just us,
but everyone in the community a blessed Christmas, a
safe Christmas. And remember why we have this
season. And with that, we will move on to adjour nment.
Madam Attorney General.

ADJOURNMENT

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: Let’s get this
one right.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that the
Senate do now adjourn until Wednesday, Febr uary 13th. [sic]
The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
the motion to adjourn?
Senator Campbell, you have the floor .

ASSIST THE NEEDY DURING THE HOLIDAYS

Sen. Vance Campbell: Just brief remarks, Madam
President.
As we go about our business during this hol iday season, I want us to keep in mind that not ever yone will sit down to a turkey dinner with all of the
trimmin gs. Not everyone will go home to a warm
house. And so what I am asking is, just keep in mind.
Look out for individuals. Walk out your door. Take a
plate with you. Give it to an individual who you believe may need it.
I know on Monday, the 23
rd, there will be a big
group down at Chiko’s Smokey Rub down at Albuoy’s Point. Chiko’s Smokey Rub is doing his final Chris tmas dinner giveaway, and I am sure he will need some assistance there. If you know of anyone who may need a good meal, a nice Christmas meal, goo d
food, send them down there. Direct them there. And
just, you know, the extent of giving like human nature,


Bermuda Senate there is a lady. She comes there every year, a nonBermudian. She flies in, and she makes the gravy.
That is her contribution. And the gravy is exc ellent, at
that. So she flies in to assist with that event and give to our community, to those in need. She makes the gravy, and everybody looks forward to it.
So reach out. Touch someone else. Help
someone else this holiday season.
Thank you very much, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Richardson, you have the floor.

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Again, thank you, Ma dam President.
One of the joys of being a Senator is that the
Premier gets a chance to reassign responsibilities and
those sorts of things. And in this current instance, congratulations again to the new MP Jason Hayward,
which resulted in my having an additional or reassigned responsibilit y. And one of those is education.
And I want to leave with these comments for
today. That is, I guess I want to call it empowerment
through education. We all know that the current Government mandate is to make public education second
to none. And one of t hose aspects is going to be to
eliminate the current middle school system.
And I want to say that when it comes to public
education or education in general, I and many others
here do have a vested interest. From my perspective, it is that, well, first of all, I benefited from the entire
Bermuda public education system, going all the way
from primary school up through Bermuda College before I went overseas. And as a result of that, I and
many others actually believe that we were very well
prepared for university education in that the Bermuda
College process prepared us, number one, from an
information point of view, but also from a personal
discipline perspective, that we were able to go overseas and get our work done, then come back having succeeded.
And n ow I have two children who are going
through the system. One has just passed through; another one is getting his way through. So again, I
and I know others here also have a vested interest.
And in doing so, with this new responsibility I want to
make sure that my focus is to actually, in the midst of
all of the proposed changes and the concern, I guess, in the community, to do my best to understand, first and foremost, in an in- depth way what Government
intends to do, and then from that provide relevant i nformation to the public. Because I know a lot of times
what happens when change is proposed is people take sides before getting full information. And I want to
make sure that we are able to provide information in terms of what the Government intends to do before
persons take a position either way.
And as part of this process, also I want to do
something which we did in the past, which is when I
was involved in the National Parent Teacher Associ ation, student association, the focus actually became
on parents in terms of parents being the first educ ators. And again I want to say that, yes, we all have
different personal circumstances. But I want to encourage us all to remember that we still maintain that
role in terms of, as parents we have the greatest infl uence over our children. And so if we are able to pr epare them to want to learn and be able to excel at e ducation, then the teachers and the principals or what have you, they can add to that. But it is difficult if we
do not take the time to prepare our chil dren to be
ready to learn.
And in doing so, I know from my own exper ience, it is not even about me knowing the work that
my child does. It is about having him interested
enough to assist me and to teach me; and then for me
to reach out to the teachers so that they can provide
actual assistance when necessary. Because I think
that is going to be important, going forward.
I certainly recognise, and it true obviously,
that not all is well. And I want us as a community to be
collectively constructive so that we recognise what is
good. And with those things that are not necessarily
good or need to be improved, that we work together to
make that improvement, and, in doing so, to hopefully
change the narrative in terms of education over all.
And one quick thing that happened recently,
which we have to recognise that we have a role to play, but also recognise that that should not override
what is real . . . And what I am saying in that regard is,
there was a recent report of someone who is alleged
to have committ ed an offence. And they are now 10
years post graduating. And yet the media is still commenting about where the person went to school, which in my mind is entirely unnecessary and irrel evant.
And for me, why I am saying it now is because even my son recog nises that. Well, Daddy, you
know, why are they saying that, given that the person is like 10 years away from school? And we do not go
back nat urally and do that. And so it was in my mind
almost i rresponsible for the media to tie it back that
way. And I hope that those things do not occur, going forward.
And so to conclude, now that I have been gi ven a different responsibility, I want to become the champion for education. I have always been one to try
to promote education, the positive aspects of it. But
now to become a champion for education and try to
encourage the community to be empowered through
providing more information and helping them to make
the appropriate decisions for their children.
Thank you, Madam President.

768 18 December 2019 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senat or Richardson.
Senator Jones, you have the floor.

NEED FOR COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP
IN THE SENATE

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
It would be remiss of me if I did not participate
in this lovefest. So here I am representing and holding
up the Opposition. First of all, we want to welcome and congratulate the new Senator, Senator Simmons -
Wade. She is a great . . . I believe she is going to be
not just a good, but a great addition to these Chambers. I do not want her to get fooled by this ove rwhelming bubbly overflow of warm wishes that go
from side to side.

[Laughter]

Sen. Marcus Jones: But I believe in the coming year
we are going to see in this Chamber a far greater attempt to collaborate, to work together. We do very
important work up here. And I am ever optimistic and
hopeful that we will forge such a workable collabor ative relationship between both parties that we will see this Chamber be the most effective chamber in the
history of Bermuda in this upcoming year.
Of course, I want to wish a Merry Christmas to
my fellow colleagues, to the officers and staff here at the Legislature and to the listening public. Please be
safe. Hug and love your family and friends, and look
out for those who are less fortunate than you.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons, Attorney Ge neral and Government Leader in the Senate, you have
the floor.

NEED FOR COLLABORATIVE RELATION SHIP
IN THE SENATE
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: So, Madam
President, thank you.
Everybody knows of the Grinch. And unfort unately, today I am going to be the Grinch. Because
what happens during this season every year is that we
perpetrate this huge optimism that lasts for about two
weeks and into the New Year. And not the New Year
generally, but New Year’s Eve. And we sit around and we make all sorts of resolutions. And I am listening to
my fellow Senators, and I would love to think . . . I
would love to think that we can all think beyond the
present.
To Senator Campbell, who encouraged people to come out and to give of themselves, I would suggest and follow -up by saying, T hat cannot be just for this holiday season. It absolutely cannot be. To
Senator Richardson, who spoke of the parents and
the assistance that they need to give to their children,
Senator Richardson, as we all know, would know that
there are parents and caregivers who are incapable of providing that assistance to their children for any
number of reasons. And to Senator Richardson, I e ncourage him to continue the very important call for us all to give more of ourselves.
So last week I asked for mentors and supporters for our children. That goes to their educational journey as well. They need to be supported. When
you have parents who are more illiterate than their
children, they need support. And there is only so
much that helping agencies, however well -intentioned,
can do. It is for the community to adopt a village con-cept and to really care- take our children.
And not just our children, we have in our new
appointee a wonderful advocate for our seniors. And
many of us know relatives and neighbours and friends
who fall in that category who need assistance. I have
seen them standing at the bus stop, and we drive by.
We see them at the supermarket counting change and
pennies, and we get our groceries and leave. I know,
and in my congratulatory and welcoming remarks to
the new Senator, that she will call us out. And I am
hoping that her voice will be loud and consistent and
insistent that we all step up to our more human r esponsibilities and be our best selves.
To Senator Jones, who has talked about
working together and collaboration, I will challenge
him as I did last week. Everyone, it is not what you
say. It is what you do. And I remember when my former colleague, Walton Brown, passed away. And I
was swept away by the accolades about his personal ity and his cross . . . I do not even know how to characterise it, how he basically was a person for all. And
it is very easy to talk about collaboration and working together. But everyone needs to understand that there is a foundation that has to be laid for that collaboration
and communal striving towards what is in the best
interests of the countr y, because that is what we are
here to do in our service. So, to Senator Jones, I applaud you. But I also challenge you to put your money
where your mouth is.
And there is such a thing as holding people to
account. There is such a thing as constructive cr iticism. But the viciousness that sometimes underlies our deliberations and the deliberations in another
place is something that we have to eradicate because
it serves no purpose in the context of service.
And so, I will take off my Grinch hat for a m oment, because I think I have pricked consciences
enough to proceed. But I wish you all the very best.
And I look forward to moving forward in the New Year
as an effective collective.
But I will say before I be quiet I was very di stressed to see my new Senate team member receive
a hug from Senator Simmons, recognition from you.


Bermuda Senate You know her. And Senator Jardine is also a friend. I
am trying to remember that she is on my team.
[Laughter]
Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: So welcome
once more. And to all of y ou, best wishes.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: And with that, the Senate stands adjourned until February the 13
th, [sic] 2020. Thank you.

[At 1:40 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 12 February 2020.]



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