December 5, 2018

Good morning.
Sen. Crystal Caesar: Madam President, I hereby
present for the consideration of the Senate the draft
Order entitled the Merchant Shipping (Carriage of
Passengers by Sea) Order 2018, proposed to be
made by the Minister responsible for Maritime Admi nistration under the provisions of section 179(3)(b) of
the Merchant Shipping Act 2002.
And I give notice that at the next day of meeting, I will move that the said draft Order be ap proved.
The President: Thank you, Senator Caesar.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you.

PETITIONS

The President: There are none.

STATEMENTS
The President: There are none.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT (NO. 3) ACT 2018

DEBT COLLECTION ACT 2018

MERCHANT SHIPPING AMENDMENT ACT 2018
The President: The following Public Bills have been
received from the Honourable House of Assembly and are now read for the first time. Their titles are, respectively, the Customs Tariff Amendment (No. 3) Act
2018; the Debt Collection Act 2018; and the Merchant Shipping Amendment Act 2018.

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS

The President: There are none.

QUESTION PERIOD

The President: I believe there are written answers to
the Parliamentary Questions to Senator Campbell.
Senator Campbell, you have the floor.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, written answers have been
provided to the Senator, and copies have been pr ovided to all other Senators.

QUESTION: COST OF PREMIER’S SUPPORT
STAFF

1. Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Would the Junior Minister
please inform the Se nate of the PS Level of the
Special Aide to the Pre mier presently seconded
from the Depar tment of Child and Family Services?

2. Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Would the Junior Minister
please inform the Senate of all the support staff
working for the Hon. Premier E. David Burt as of
21st Nove mber 2017 and the costs relating ther eto? Kindly detail any and all non- Civil Service p ositions, including but not limited to, po litical co nsultants and employees at both the Premier’s O ffice and the Premier’s O fficial residence.

The President: Thank you, Senator Campbell.

Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: The first Order of the Day is the second reading of the Nursing Amendment Act 2018.
Senator Hayward, since it is your Bill, you
have the floor.

Sen. Jason Hayward: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled the Nursing Amendment Act 2018 be
now read a second time.

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



Bermuda Senate BILL

SECOND READING

NURSING AMENDMENT ACT 2018

Sen. Jason Hayward: Madam President, I present
the Bill entitled the Nursing Amendment Act 2018.
Madam President, the regulation of health
care professionals is essential to meet the Health Mi nistry’s mandate to protect and promote public health
and ensure high- quality care. The Nursing Act 1997 is
the legislation that ensures standards of practice for nurses, through registration, monitoring, complaint
handling and disciplinary procedures.
The Nursing Amendment Act 2018 [the “2018
Bill”] proposes to improve the regulation of midwives
by incorporating midwives under the existing regulat ory framework for nurses, and transferring the regulat ory authority for midwives from the Bermuda Medical
Council to the Bermuda Nursing and Mi dwifery Council. The 2018 Bill tabled today is the incorporation of
midwives under the 1997 Act and the repeal of the
Midwives Act 1949.
Madam President, t he Ministry is committed to
improving health professionals’ regulation as a means
to addressing effi ciency in regulation and public saf ety. Honourable Members should be aware that the
Midwives Act 1949 contained an outdated regulatory
framework for midwives , resulting in a limited scope of
practice and regulatory oversight. The Ministry co nsidered propos ing amendments to the outdated Mi dwives Act ; however, maintaining separate legislation
for one profession with a small number of practitioners
is not practical.
Madam President, the Ministry remains in ongoing consultation with registered midwives and ot her
stakeholders for a phased approach to enhance saf ety and quality of care for women and babies , as well
as to address choice and potential cost savings for the
health system.
The first phase involves a transfer of regulat ory oversight from the Bermuda Medical Council to the
Bermuda Nursing and Midwifery Council [ “the Cou ncil”], improving the criteria for registration and reregistration, and creating a code of conduct. Both
Councils support the incorporation of midwives into
the 1997 Act, which will ali gn Bermuda with many
other countries in the Caribbean, the UK and Ireland.
The second phase will require continued engagement with multiple stakeholders to address some of the lim itations impacting midwifery practice in Bermuda, such
as prescribing rights specific to midwifery , and the
formalisation of collaborative practice amongst stak eholders and policies that ensure safe care of women
and babies. Madam President, the updates to the 1997
Act will include midwives in the majority of the prov i-sions established for nurses. These updates include
the following:
• defining the midwifery profession and protec ting the use of the title “ midwife ”;
• including a midwife on the Council, and ma king the necessary changes to the title of the
1997 Act, the Council and its Committees;
• ensuring a midwifery registration process that
includes registration criteria and reregistration every two years that is linked to
continuing education and minimum required practice;
• prescribing a code of conduct that includes a scope and stan dards of practice for midwifery;
• including midwives within the complaint -
handling and disciplinary process; and
• improving the Council’s procedures, as r equired.
Madam President, many of these provisions
are similar to currently registered midwives , beca use
all of the midwives [who] registered under the Mi dwives Act 1949 are also nurses and dually registered
under the 1997 Act. However, it is important to
acknowledge that midwifery is a separate profession
from nursing, and the updates of the 1997 Act wil l include the regulation of midwives who are not nurses.
The rules to accompany the Act will define a
“midwife ” as a person who has completed a midwifery
education programme recogni sed by the Nursing
Council and is registered as a midwife in their country
of training , as approved by the Nursing Council. Jurisdictions approved by the Nursing Council include , but
are not limited to, Jamaica, other Caribbean countries,
Canada, the United States, the UK and Austr alia.
Madam President, t he 2018 Bill aims to
standardise practices for midwives across health care
professions, therefore improving Bermuda’s regulatory
system. In addition, the changes ensure that midwives
are subject to a more robust regulatory framewor k.
Over all, Madam President, the Nursing Amendment
Act 2018 ensures a higher regulatory standard for
midwives that aims to protect the public by ensuring
competent and safe providers of care for women and babies.
Thank you, Madam President.

The Presiden t: Thank you, Senator Hayward.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Marcus Jones, you have the floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Good morning, Madam Pres ident.

The President: Good morning.
Sen. Marcus Jones: Good morning, fellow Senators.
I would like say I will not talk too long about
this because, in spirit and in all practicality, we on this
74 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate side definitely agree and are in support of this partic ular amendment to the Nursing Act.
One or two observations that I believe may
have been mentioned in another H ouse, but I notice
that there is a lack of gender -neutral language in the
Act. And I do not know if any work can be done to
make this more amenable to our present -day la nguage. I do not know if there are many males within
the industry who actually [practi ce] midwifery. But I
think this is something that I thought I would just raise
as an observation.
Also, if this country sees this particular professional career as something that we can encourage
a few of our young people to get involved wi th, I think
it behoves us to do all that we can to encourage it, to
highlight it , and even to protect it as an industry and a
career path that our young people can partake in and
[excel] at.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator J ones.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Well, I will speak on it.
[Laughter]

The President: Good morning, Senators. I need
some notes that I would like to refer to.
First of all, I would like to thank the Junior
Minister for his pr esentation of this Bill.
And as I sit here and reflect on the issues
highlighted in the Bill, and listening to your comments
and those of Senator Jones, I would like to express
my personal interest from a nurse/midwife perspective, having worked in the United Kingdom, in the
London suburbs, in the teaching hospital for a number
of years as a midwife.
The Midwives Act of 1949 is certainly outdated, being some 69 years old. Given the advances that
have occurred in midwifery during the intervening
years, t he implementation of this Act is timely. Ho wever, in reflecting on the comments of the Junior Mi nister’s brief, I see this Bill as part of a process, the end
of which is for midwives to have more authority in
working with expectant mothers during their pregnan-cy, delivery and postpartum, or after delivery [time] ,
looking after their babies, as well as care for the
mother.
The Bill, therefore, is the beginning of a pr ocess and, according to the brief read by the Junior
Minister, is, as I said, the first sta ge, which is to transfer the regulatory authority from the Medical Council to
the Nursing Council, improving the criteria for registr ation and re- registration and creating a code of conduct, which I fully support. This change is long overdue and has been an objective for the Bermuda Nur ses Association for many years. I was pleased to be informed that the Medical Council had supported this
in November 2014.
I noted in the brief that a second phase is described as “continued engagement with multiple
stakehol ders to address some of the limitations i mpacting midwifery practices.” I do believe that this is
important because midwives do not work alone. This
is a role for physicians, the general practitioner of the
patient, who will assist in determining whether t he
mother can have a home birth. The mother’s general health has to be taken into consideration.
Midwives conduct normal births with a vertex
presentation—meaning, the head is the part that is
presenting. Generally speaking, most babies do pr esent in this manner. But there can be varying presentations, which I will not go into at this point. The mi dwives delivering a baby in the community must have a
relationship, a rapport, with the physician, an obstetr ician, who can be called on in the event of a problem.
Contact with a hospital could also be necessary.
As an aside, I looked into the number of births
that have occurred in Bermuda. And I note that we
have a declining birth rate, with only 578 births in
2017, of which a mere 2 per cent (11) were delivered
in the homes by midwives. There are currently in
Bermuda 15 midwives on the Bermuda Register kept by the Chief Medical Officer, and they are all nurse
midwives. All are not Bermudian, and many are not practicing.
There is a trend worldwide towards certif ied
midwives, without the nurse qualifications, working in community settings. It will be for the nursing and mi dwifery councils to review this. Additionally, this could
spur more young people to consider, and in that I reiterate your point, Senator Jones , that, yes, this is a
profession that gives a lot of satisfaction. I certainly
can speak to that, having spent 15 years doing it.
I will say that I have been provided with a
copy of the Clinical Guidelines for Midwifery -Led Care
in the Bermuda Community . This is a most compr ehensive document, 90 pages actually. And this gives
some sort of reassurance, for me, in seeing it, because it tells me that a lot of thought has gone into
this whole exercise of ensuring, if we are going to encourage more births in t he community, that they have
looked at all of the facets that can occur and made
sure that anybody delivering babies in the community,
in the homes or in the birthing centres or whatever,
and that the safety issues are covered. In fact, I do
have an outline of some of them . . . (I will not go into
that right now).
But I have been presented with an outline of
many of the conditions that are included in this doc ument. As I said, there are 90 pages.
So, when the midwives, now that they are
under the nursing profession, when they get the opportunity to roll this out in its various phases, I think
that the Bermudian public will be very pleased with all
of the facts that have been covered.


Bermuda Senate Of concern to me at the moment, though, is
the fact that currently, not all insurance companies
provide coverage for home births. And those that do
offer it require a waiver from the mothers. There is a
need for some intervention here, I would think. With all of this said, however, I would like to
thank the Health Minister, the Chief Medical Officer
and all staff, as well as the Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, for this significant
piece of legislation.
And those are my comments so far.
Senator Hayward.

Sen. Jason Hayward: Thank you, Madam President.
As is common practice in legislation, masc uline words also refer to females. And so, legislation is
written in the masculine form. But the masculine form
of the word refers to both males and females.
It is also important to understand that there is
a difference between midwifery and obstetricians. But
it is important to note that they do work hand in hand. And so, at the end of the day, we want the best care
for our mothers and newborn babies. And so, we want
to ensure that this relationship continues to work hand
in hand. The Midwives Act is aimed to align the reg ulations and standards that are under the 1997 Act with the midwifery profession.
It is important to know that there is a phasedin approach. This is the first step of the phased a pproach. The second step to the phased approach will
allow adequate consultation for further policy development in this area. Yes, we also recognise that there is a decline in the birth rate. And, certainly, we want to
promote more births, but also give mothers the comfort of having a different variety of births outside of the
hospitals.
Madam President, there were not many questions asked. But, certainly, there are nine practicing or registered midwives currently in Bermuda. The aim is
to expand the number of midwives practicing in Bermuda. All of the midwives, yes, are currently nurses.
But, as stated earlier, you do not have to be a nurse to
be a midwife. And so, we want to ensure that we have regulations in place for those individuals who are not
nurses, who want to practice midwifery, that they have
the requisite standard and requirement that is required
by the Council.
I believe this legislation will be further amended once further consultation is taken. But, at this point, Madam President, I would like to move th at the Bill
entitled the Nursing Amendment Act 2018 be now read the second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Jason Hayward: Madam President, I move that
Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect to this Bill.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

NURSING AMENDMENT ACT 2018

Sen. Jason Hayward: With t hat said, Madam Pres ident, I move that the Bill entitled the Nursing Amendment Act 2018 be now read a third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection.
Carry on.
Sen. Jason Hayward: Madam President, I move that
the B ill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Nursing
Amendment Act 2018 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Nursing Amendment Act 2018
was read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Hayward.
We move now onto the second Order of the
Day, which is the second reading of the Bermuda Tourism Authority Amendment Act 2018.
Which Senator is presenting that?
Senator Caesar, you hav e the floor.

Sen. Crystal Caesar: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Bermuda Tourism Authority Amendment Act 2018
be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
carry on.



76 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate BILL

SECOND READING

BERMUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2018

Sen. Crys tal Caes ar: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, the Member s of the Senate
are aware of the importance of tourism to the econo-my of Bermuda. In 2013, the Bermuda Tourism A uthority Act established the Bermuda Tourism Authority
(the “Authority”). The purpose of the Authority was to
develop and promote Bermuda as a t ourist destination; advise and assist the government on matters relating to travel and tourism; contribute to the economic growth of Bermuda by increasing the travel and
tourism sectors’ contribution to the Bermudian economy; implement the National Tourism Plan and review
and update the Plan on a periodic basis; provide appropriate tourism education and training; ensure social and economic enhancement of Bermuda through the development of tourism and the implementation of the
National Tourism Plan; ensure t hat the development
of tourism is appropriate and sustainable, given the
size, environment, resources and population of Bermuda; charge fees for services rendered to travel and
tourism enterprises as the Minister may determine in
consultation with the Mini ster of Finance; and such
other functions as the Minister may authorise the board to carry out.
Madam President, our approach to tourism
requires constant review and fine- tuning to ensure
that we are agile and responsive. As such, the Bill before the Senate today amends the powers of the
Minister as they relate to the Board of the Bermuda
Tourism Authority. Given that the BTA [Bermuda
Tourism Authority] is an entity that receives substantial taxpayers’ funds, it is appropriate for proper oversight to be in place for the board’s work to be in
alignment with the vision, goals and objectives of the
government of the day.
Madam President, the Authority is a corpor ation governed by a board made up of the chairman and seven other members. The Minister appoints t he
chairman and members of the board, including the
deputy chairman, which are elected by the board itself
after consultation with the Minister. The chairman is
appointed for a three- year term and, on the expiry of
that term, may be re- appointed by the Minister. The
board members serve for a four -year term and may be
considered for re- election by the board for one more
term only, after consultation with the Minister. Such an
election may be contested by another candidate, who
may be nominated by the Minister or chairman.
In the context of Bermuda, this system of
board members electing other board members, as well as the deputy chairman, is unusual. It limits the
ability of the Minister to recommend or appoint board members, including a deputy chairman, who might
bring to the Authority useful alternative points of view.
It does not allow for the Authority to be refreshed with
new ideas and energy from time to time. In addition,
the Act imposes a term limit on board members, pr eventing them from continuing to serve when it might
be prudent to retain them for further terms. Further,
the terms served by the board members exceed in
length the term served by the chairman.
Madam President, a mendments are sought
which will provide for future board members, including
the deputy chairman, to be appointed by the Minister
after consultation with the board. This brings the A uthority more in line with other authorities in Bermuda,
such as the Regulatory Authority, where the respons ible Minister or a selection committee com prising of
several Ministers, makes board appointments. Also,
board members will be appointed for three- year terms,
matching the length of term of the chairman, without limit as to the number of terms.
To be clear, Madam President, the terms of
appointment of the current members are not affected
by the Bill before the Senate today. Furthermore, the
Bill does not allow Ministers to hire or fire any employee of the BTA, to select contracts or grant recipients, or to determine the day -to-day operations of the
BTA.
Madam President, whilst the existing Act enables the Minister to authorise the Authority to carry out other functions, it does not directly provide for the Mi nister to give directions to the board. This Bill amends
the Act to empower the Minister, after consultation
with the board, to give directions. Further, the board
must give effect to these directions. This allows for an
improved alignment between the Government and the
Authority on critical matters of policy. This power to
give direction is si milar to the power that the Minister
responsible for the West End Development Corpor ation, or WEDCO, and the Bermuda Land Development (BLDC) has.
Finally, Madam President, the Bill provides for
members to be removed from the board if they are unable, unfi t or unwilling to perform their functions as
a member. As stated, tourism plays a c ritical role in
Bermuda’s economy. And, as such, it is important to ensure that the Bermuda Tourism Authority’s gover ning board is properly positioned to succeed with full
participation of, and contribution by, all members.
These decisions would be made after consultation
with the board.
I am pleased, therefore, to introduce the Bermuda Tourism Authority Amendment Act 2018, which proposes amendments to the Bermuda Tourism A uthority Act 2013, to provide for the Minister to (1) after
consultation with the board, appoint future members of the board for terms of three years, without limit on renewals; (2) after consultation with the board, appoint
a deputy chairman of the board w ho shall be responsible for assisting the chairman in the efficient conduct


Bermuda Senate of the affairs of the Authority and for certain delegated
functions; (3) after consultation with the board, give
directions of a general character to the exercise and
performance by the board of its functions, and require
the board to give effect to any such directions; and
(4) after consultation with the board, remove from the
board any person, whether chairman, deputy chai rman or member, who is unwilling to carry out his func-tions as a board member in addition to being unable
or unfit.
Madam President, with these amendments,
the Authority will be better aligned with and able to
fulfil the Government’s mandate of ensuring the social
and economic enhancement of Bermuda through the development of tourism and the implementation of the
National Tourism Plan. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Caesar.
And before I open the floor, I would just like to
indicate and to welcome Senator Kempe, who has joined the S enate. He did indicate that he had an urgent commitment, but that seems to have been r esolved. So, we welcome you.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Jones, you have the floor.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you, Madam President.
If you wo uld indulge me, Madam President, I
would just like to read the preamble, once again, of the Bermuda Tourism Authority Act 2013.

The President: You may.

Sen. Marcus Jones: “[WHEREAS it is expedient to]
establish a Tourism Authority with the objective of efficiently developing the tourism industry and promoting
Bermuda as a tourism destination so as to increase
the contribution of the tourism industry for purposes of
the economic development of Bermuda . . . .” I believe
that statement says it all. That statement lines up the
creation of the BTA, which was the brainchild of the
OBA Government at the time. And I believe that it is
something that we need to not take lightly.
There is a saying that I am used to hearing
and quoting. And that is, Everything has a purpose.
And when purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.
When we are set to put our arms around any project,
any initiative, everything starts from the first launching
and the first lining out of the purpose of that particular
entity. And, as I spent time reading again the original
Act of 2013, there were some things about it that got
my attention. And, in light of what this present Admi nistration is attempting to do in the amendment, it
struck me that many of the powers, or many of the
authorities, t hat they would like to see as a part of
their mandate are already enshrined in the existing
legislation.
For example, section 5(1) of the existing Act
gives the Minister the authority to appoint the chai r-man of the board. Every member who is elected has to be elected after the consultation with the Minister.
The Minister also has the power to nominate, to appoint, to remove, deselect any board member from the
chairman down if there is a question about his or her performance. This legislation of 2013 gives each
member a term of four years, which, upon expiry, one
can be considered for re- election.
So, as it stood there, it allowed for the flexibi lity of these members of the board, as well as the chairman, and also allowed for continuity, which I also
felt w as very important.
Another thing that this board has power in, it
has the power to appoint agents. It has the power to
appoint promoters, contractors, both locally and internationally. I believe it is very important that we establish a gap between the lev el of a Minister and the
board, to remove the appearance of ministerial interference in the day -to-day operations of the BTA.
Allow me to declare my interest. I have been
very fortunate to have experienced 25 years within the tourism industry. I have been a director of finance of
hotels here in Bermuda and in Canada. I have also
had the pleasure of being the GM [general manager]
for a few hotels here on the Island. So, suffice it to say
that I was able to cut my teeth in this industry from as
early as 16 y ears old.
The thing I love about tourism in Bermuda is
that it is the one industry that a local can enter from the ground and make their way to the top, without any
sophisticated, higher learning in a university. And
there are many stories that are bandied about around
this Island of locals who have been able to achieve
that most prestigious position from starting, like I did,
washing plates and cleaning toilets and driving around
in the golf carts to take towels around—all those
things I learned to do as a teenager. And although at
the time I was only looking to do it as a way to earn
some change in preparation to going away to univers ity, I got the tourism bug.
And so, it became my lifelong career, both
behind the scenes as an accountant, and then later in
my career at the front of the house. I got to the point
where I grew weary of accounting what people did and wanted to be actually the person who made the
action happen.
So, with that as a context of my comments
today, if you were to wire every general manager of a
hotel in this country with a lie detector, there are three
things that they would say in regard to government’s
management of tourism for the last 30 years. Most
GMs will say to you that they are very much interested
in the government of the day who offer them the most
concessions. Because we always whine and complain
about how the industry is so hard on us, and we need
as many handouts from the government as we can
get. Most GMs will readily admit that.
They would also say, especially going back as
far as I can remember in the 1990s and the early
78 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate 2000s, that We want a plan that’s going to be consistent, that’s going to be long- term, that’s going to be
able to meet all the needs that we in the market as
stakeholders may have to make sure that our industry
thrives. So, we were always looking for a plan, a national plan, which met the demands of the marketplace that was relevant, that was nimble, which was
able to address the needs of that particular industry.
We were very much concerned about that.
And then, thirdly, we would say in our quiet
times away from a microphone and away from di scerning ears that, once the government does those
two things, which are give us concessions and give us
a good National Tourism Plan, Get out of the way .
Becaus e we really felt that, as much as the gover nment of the day, whether it was the OBA or the PLP,
as much as they would trot out Ministers who had a
passion for the industry, who had good intentions, we
really believed and felt that this industry, being so i mportant to the economy of this country and our tourism
industry, is a true reflection of who we are as Berm udians —we are a hospitable, friendly people.
And I will say that the secret sauce of Berm uda’s tourism industry is its people. It is a well -known
fact that, many times, we masquerade our pokiness
by friendliness. When we meet the tourists on the bus,
on the side of the road, when we are seen as being
very friendly and asking them, you know, What’s your
name? Where do you come from? What do you do?,
they take it as being extremely friendly, when in actual
fact, we are just pokey. We want to know what people
do.
And what is interesting is that the major players within the hotel industry around the world, espe-cially during the 1970s and the 1980s, they would take
a trip to Bermuda just to see how we did it. And we did
it well. And we did it well because it was a part of our
nature. We were able to be naturally friendly and hospitable. They would take our natural habits and codify
it and make it a part of their training manuals, when
we did it just as second nature.
So, Bermuda had a lot to be proud of through
the 1960s, through the 1970s and through the 1980s.
And if we were to be honest, we would have to admit
that the business practically laid on our l aps. It just
dropped on our laps because of our location, because
of our beaches, because of our natural beauty. It became an industry that thrived.
But, at some point, as other jurisdictions star ted to catch up with what Bermuda was doing, we had to lear n the industry and become experts at it, be cr eative, be innovative. And the question still remains,
Were the ministers of the day, were the governmental administrations of the day able to handle such a complex industry such as what we call “tourism”?
The amendment to the Bermuda Tourism A uthority Act of 2013 seeks to give the Minister the authority to appoint the deputy chair of the board and [at
clause 6, proposed section 12A] to “give to the Board directions of a general character as to the exercise
and performance by the Board of its functions in rel ation to matters which appear to him [or her] to affect
the public interest . . . .” That sounds very much to me
like getting involved with the day -to-day operations.
Now, this amendment may seem practical and
logical to the layman not directly involved with it. But,
to us who have been in the industry, it is a red flag.
What I think was extremely admirable of the OBA
Administration at the time of the inception of this Tourism Act 2013 was that they recognis ed that, with all of
their good intentions, they were not quite up to task
when it came to running an industry such as tourism. I
think that took great wisdom; but more importantly, it
took humility. Because which government does not
like to know that it c alls all the shots and it is smart
enough and bright enough to run an industry? There
is something very heady about being the one who
steers such an industry like tourism, especially in a
place like Bermuda.
And I remember back in the old days of Mr.
Tourism himself, the Honourable and [the late] Jim
Woolridge, it was a very powerful position to be the Minister of Tourism. You flew all around the world.
You were able to represent Bermuda. It looked like a
very attractive Ministry to be heading up. And I am
sure, at those times, it was. But as time went on, it
became more and more difficult to be able to navigate
through these murky waters, through these compet itive waters of tourism, as other countries started to
catch up with us.
I was very fortunate this week to attend the
National Tourism Plan session that was held by the BTA this week. And if I had any doubts in my mind
[about] the direction that Bermuda was taking by having this independent body which was steering our
tourism industry and was making the most inroads, all
of my concerns, all of my misgivings were put to rest
once I was able to sit there for 90 minutes and hear
their team talk about their successes, their challenges,
their goals and objectives for the next six years —
because I believe that they rolled out a six -year tourism plan.
If we could remember and go back in time, the
original National Tourism Plan was drafted in 2012.
Actually, it was proposed by the former PLP Admi nistration, prior to the OBA coming into government in
2012. I thought it was a very good National Tourism
Plan back then, and it was well -thought -out. It was a
great idea. And the beauty of it was that more than
one administration was able to put their weight behind
it. It had continuity. It was nimble. It was easily unde rstood not only by the stakeholders, hotel owners and
tour operators, but also everyday Bermudians could
tap into this National Tourism Plan and easily see that
it was a plan that they could get behind.
So, this week, when I was able to go to this
National Tourism Plan session, there were a couple of
things that came up. And I think it is worth noting in


Bermuda Senate my discourse at this moment. Some of the successes
that have been experienced under the BTA direction
are that tourism jobs have grown 28 per cent. There
has been a 10 per cent growth in visitor arrivals in
these last two years. Development of new hotels in St.
George’s and Morgan’s Point accelerated under the
BTA. These hotels should be online by 2020, and they
can, potentially, create 500 jobs. Also, 11 per cent of
our visitors stay in Airbnb, and this figure is trending
up. So, we witnessed this particular phenomenon
within our tourism product really skyrocketing. And
cruise visitors are at an all -time high.
Now, there is a long list of more successes
that I could talk about. But suffice it to say that those
six successes can be heralded by the BTA and are
something that Bermuda, all of us, can hang our hats
on. This is something that both parties, the party that
actually instituted the BTA and the party in power now
that has been passed to oversee it, can celebrate. We
can all get behind it.
Some of the goals that the BTA has in the
next coming years —and, as I said, it is a six -year tourism plan that goes up into 2025. Tourism to contribute
$1.2 billion to the Island’s GDP. This is by 2025. That
30 per cent of visitors [will] come by air. Now, presently, we are at 25 per cent. [Also, that] 56 per cent of
leisure arrivals [will] come in non- summer months.
Presently, we are at 51 per cent. Now, we all know , as
Bermudians, that our challenge is to fill our hotel beds
between the months of October and March. The BTA
recognises that this is a huge obstacle that they have
got to be able to overcome. And, increase the African American leisure visitors numbers by 4 per cent.
There are not enough people who look like us who are coming to these shores, and they have a lot of money. And we want to unload them of that money, and get
them into this country.
Taking account of the successes that the BTA
has been able to trot out since their inception gives
me great hope that they are going to be able to continue doing this, and go from strength to strength.
Madam President, most Bermudians would
consider themselves experts in travel. Why? Because,
over the last 100 year s, the tourism industry has been
an integral part of our culture and economy. But not
only that, we all think that we are experts because we
have travelled all around the world. We figure, because we have been able to cruise to the outermost
parts of the earth, because we have been able to afford to live or vacation in five- star hotels, that we are
experts in this industry.
I will tell you a story. In my day job, let me put
it that way, I am part of a partnership that takes tour-ists up and down this Island on tours. So, I drive a
minibus that can take anywhere from 10 to 14 people
through the Island of Bermuda for about six hours. I
absolutely love it. I have always said that I would like
to have a corner office somewhere with a beautiful
view. But I tell y ou that nothing can compare to driving around Bermuda and having changing views from the
seat of my minibus on a day -to-day basis.
But I remember one day when I was sitting
there, waiting for my clients to come to my minibus, there was a lady who came off of the ship. And she
was walking by me. And she may have looked at the
condition of my minibus, because I do not have a
state -of-the-art brand- new minibus. My minibus is
pretty dated, so it has got a couple of dings and a
couple of rust spots.
So, she came up to me, and she said, Sir, can
I have a word with you?
I said, Sure.
She said, I was just thinking. I said to myself,
‘You know what? The cruise line should allow you minibus drivers and taxi drivers the chance of coming
on the cruise ship and having a look around and see
what we passengers get to enjoy.’ I think it would be a
good thing.
Now, two impulses came to me quite quickly.
One, I was going to roll over and laugh. That was my first impulse. But my overriding second impulse was to
do as my mother raised me, which was to be kind and diplomatic.
And I said to the lady, Ma’am, do you see
those taxi drivers lined up on the side of the road?
She says, Yes.
I said, How many taxi drivers do you see
standing outside of those taxis?
She said, There are about 20.
I said, Ma’am, I can tell you with utmost conf idence that at least 15 of those 20 taxi drivers have been to more places around this globe by way of
cruise ships than probably you ever have been on.
She looked at me, amazed. And I said, And
another thing, ma’am. Of those 20 taxi drivers, I would
say at least eight of them will park their taxi for about
two months over this winter and spend those two
months travelling all around the world.
I use that story just to underscore how well -
heeled and wel l-travelled we as Bermudians are,
which sometimes makes us justify our claim to be
such experts when it comes to the tourism industry.
So, you can forgive many Ministers in latter years who
have felt that they were experts.
Madam President, may I ask how much time I
have?
The President: Plenty. You carry on, Senator Jones.
We are not limiting you.
[Laughter]

Sen. Marcus Jones: Okay.

The President: Yes. You can have up to 45 minutes.

The Clerk: An hour.

80 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: An hour. Actually, you are the first
speaker. An hour.

Sen. Marcus Jones: Thank you.
So, I am belabouring that point just to underscore the fact that locals alike, as well as Ministers, have claimed to be experts. And so, if one justifies the
fact that they are experts, they are going to see the
need to get involved in the day -to-day operations, to
get themselves fully engaged in what happens within the tourism industry.
Now, one would readily say you would never
accept an accountant and give them the responsibility for drafting your architectural plans for your house.
You would never think of doing that. Of course not!
You would say, Senator, I would never, ever allow
someone outside of the expertise of drafting a home,
like an accountant or a nurse, or anyone else, to be
given the responsibility of drafting and designing my
house. I would never, ever allow that. How about a
mason conducting surgical operations on a patient?
That mason may say, I’ve had lots of surgeries done
on my body. So, surely, I should have the expertise to
be ab le to do it. We would never, ever consider that
as reasonable.
Let me also declare my interests. I worked not
only as a GM in several hotels, but I also worked for
the Department of Tourism for a number of years. And
I was able to see first -hand the effec t that changing
visions, changing plans would have not only on the
hoteliers and the other stakeholders, but, more i mportantly, right within the Department of Tourism. Just
when we, as civil servants within the Ministry, got
used to letting ourselves go, w e were told that we had
to feel the love. That is schizophrenic. That is all over
the place. Well -intentioned? I would say to you, Abs olutely! But an industry like tourism needs a plan that is
good, well -worked out, well -written up, well thought of,
but something that has the ability to last throughout
several administrations, not just enduring the life of
one minister or one administration.
And that was the beauty of the National Tourism Plan at its inception. And that was the beauty of
the inception of t he BTA as an independent enterprise.
I remember so many times being at the D epartment of Tourism and trying to rally the troops to
get behind changing visions. And many a time we
would be frustrated, especially those of us who had
come out of the private sector and were faced with the
challenge of keeping our hotels vibrant, especially
during those winter months. I took a personal interest
in my housekeepers, in my bellmen, in the guys who worked on the beach, knowing that I made life better
for them economically if I was able to keep that hotel
open as long as possible, if I was able to get as many
people to come through our doors as possible, because it was important that we make sure [we sup-ported] the jobs that they had, although in the eyes of
the publ ic they may not have seemed very important.
I would oftentimes tell my staff, Listen. Our
repeat guests do not come to see me, the general manager. They come to see you. Because you are the one who deals with them on a day -to-day basis. You
are the one who interacts with them every day. They
are not going to see the general manager every day. They are not going to see the financial controller every
day. But they are going to see you every day. And so,
I always impressed upon them the importance that
they m ake that connection with the guests who would
come to our hotels.
So, my concern when looking at this amendment is that this is a move for the Minister of the day
to get closer and closer to the day -to-day operations,
especially when there are powers and authority already in the existing legislation where the board, its members and the chairman especially have to consult
with the Minister to get things done.
Now, I remember through my days at the D epartment of Tourism that every Minister had their pet project that they would be concerned about. And as a
department, we could be going in a certain direction,
trying to make things happen, and then the Minister
would come and say, I know what you’re trying to do.
But take care of this project. Now, no matter how
much we would try to make the case that that partic ular pet project of the Minister was in direct conflict with
what the department had been tasked to do, many
times from that particular Minister’s directive months
ago, we understood that, with his authority, we could
not refuse or counteract his now most recent idea of
what he wanted to do for tourism. We saw that from
time to time. And many times, it took us off stride.
So, it is the spirit in which this amendment is
being proposed that we on this side are very con-cerned. Is it the start of a full takeover of this BTA?
Now, the Government may say, No, Senator. That’s
now what we plan to do. We’re planning to just i ncrease our influence a little bit more so that we can
have more of a direct control of w hat goes on. I say,
with the successes that the BTA is experiencing on a year-to-year basis, let us be careful. Let us step back
and pause, and say to ourselves, Do we want to get
so much involved that we stop the momentum and
flow of this independent enti ty that is bringing about so
much success to this country? In an industry that,
over the last 20 years, we have seen go into decline?
We definitely need to have another look. We
definitely need to put on the brakes and say, Let’s
look at this again. I rem ind the Senators around the
table that 500 jobs are what we are predicting through this industry. We do not want to send a message to
our corporate partners within the hotel industry that
the Government is interested in jumping back into
tourism like it di d years gone by. They are watching.
They are paying attention to every word that is being
said from the Government, and they want to be asBermuda Senate sured that the BTA will be able to function as it is and
how it was originally set up.
Madam President, with those few words . . .

[Laughter]

Sen. Marcus Jones: I would like to say that, from this
vantage point, I could not support this amendment.
And I would solicit my colleagues around this table to
give this amendment a second thought.
Thank you, Madam President.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS

The President: Thank you, Senator Jones.
And before I open the floor to another Senator, I would just like to acknowledge and welcome the Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Transport, Ms.
Aideen Ratteray Pryse . Welcome, ma’am.
[Bermuda Tourism Authority Amendment Act 2018,
Second Reading debate, continuing]

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

Sen. James S. Jardine: Good morning, and thank
you, Madam President.
Before I begin my comments on this Bill, I
wanted to acknowledge the excellent work that is being done by the Bermuda Tourism Authority. Over the
last two years, we have seen some excellent results, as a result of a lot of hard w ork by the BTA and other
people, as well. I do not want to minimise the efforts
by people outside the BTA, and there are many whom
I will not try to list here.
So, we have seen over the last two years the
impact that this has had on our tourism industry, and
the results have been excellent. And we need to ensure that these positive results continue as we move
forward from strength to strength. There are good
people at the BTA who have produced excellent r esults for Bermuda. And this should be remembered as
we move forward. Let us not lose sight of the excellent work that they have done.
At the moment, it appears to be running well. I
am not an expert in tourism, and I do not pretend to know all of the ins and outs of what is happening at
the tourism board, other than what I read in the press.
But, certainly, from what I hear, it is running well. And
we need to be careful that, moving forward, we do not
tinker too much with something that is running well.
Madam President, I wanted to make a very
brief summary of the key amendments that are being proposed in clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the current
amendment before us, just very briefly to go over them and to do a little comparison with what current ly
exists in the Act as it stands now. So, under the current Act, the chairman is appointed by the Minister
and holds office for such a period not exceeding three years, and under such terms as the Minister directs.
On expiry of the chairman’s term of office, the Minister
may re -appoint him for a further term, in accordance
with section 5. There is no change being contemplated at all. What is there now will remain, moving forward, as far as the chairman is concerned.
There is a new position being created called
“deputy chairman. ” It is an appointed position rather
than an elected position. And that, too, is appointed by
the Minister. And this person will hold office under the
same terms as the chairman does.
So, one important thing to mention here is that
the creation of this new position does not increase the number of people on the board, but leaves the number of people on the board at eight. So, we now have
a chairman and a deputy chairman. That leaves six additional members, again to be appointed by the
Minister after consultation with the board. And that,
again, is for a period of three years.
Now, previously, under the current Act —and I
just wanted to spell this out so that there is no question about what the current Act says —the remaining
members could be appointed in one of three ways.
They could be elected by the board, but only after
consultation with the Minister. So, the Minister is i nvolved in any elections that the board may wish to
make. Secondly, they could be appointed by the Mi nister in certain cases. And thirdly, and this is the one
key thing to note, t hey could be appointed by the
board from candidates nominated by either the Mini ster or the chairman in certain cases. Now, I am not sure what certain cases means. But there appears to
be a situation where the board could appoint a board
member without the Minister’s intervention.
So, the key change here is that only the Mini ster can now appoint board members, but only, again, after consultation with the board.
So, the six remaining members of the board,
just like the chairman and the deputy chairman, are
eligible for re- appointment by the Minister for a further
term. And it appears for three years, and for multiple
re-appointments. So, the key change here is that
there is no limit to the number of times that a person
can be re- appointed to the board, wher eas in the current legislation, under section 4[(3)], there is a limit of
one further term only for board members. So, you can
effectively serve for six years and then you are hist ory. That has now disappeared.
The second significant change is the addition
of section 12[A] of the current Act. And, if I may quote
from that, Madam President?
The President: You may, Senator Jardine.

82 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. James S. Jardine: And it says [in clause 6, pr oposed section 12A], “The Minister may, after consult ation with the Board, give to the Board directions of a
general character as to the exercise and performance
by the Board of its functions in relation to matters
which appear to him to affect the public interest; and
the Board shall give effect to any such directions.”
Now, th e wording of this is somewhat similar
to what is contained in the amendment made in the Casino Gaming Amendment back in 2017, which
those of us who were here at the time will remember.
The third significant proposed amendment —
and I am talking about signif icant proposed amendments. There are other minor ones, which dovetail on some of these. So, the final significant proposed
amendment contemplated in this Bill is the addition of
the word “unwilling” in [clause 7(d), which deletes and
substitutes a replacem ent for] paragraph 2(e) of the
Schedule to the principal Act. And again, this is similar
to the wording used in the Casino Gaming Amendment Act from last year. So, those are the three sort of
principal changes, or four principal changes, that are
being contemplated here.
Now, Madam President, I wanted to see how
these stacked up against other legislation. So, I
ploughed through 12 pieces of legislation from all of
the other quangos that I could find. And I have been
through 12 of them just to see what is going on with
the legislation that applies to all of these different
quangos. And, Madam President, if you will let me just
summarise what I found there.

The President: Certainly, Senator Jardine.
Sen. James S. Jardine: The first thing is that the Mi nister is responsible for appointing members to the various boards for all 12 quangos, at present. So, the
Minister is responsible for appointing members. The
only exception, as I have described earlier, was that
section (b), which allowed the board of the BTA, in
certain circumstances, whatever those certain circumstances are (and I have no idea), to put forward a
member of the board.
The terms for board appointment in all quangos are three years, except in the case of four quan-gos where no period of years was specified. However,
the number of times that a board member can be appointed for a second or greater number of terms varies. Four quangos appear to limit the number of reappointments to one additional term. That includes the
BTA. While no restriction on the number of times a
person can be re- appointed was specified in the r emaining eight. So, there are eight quangos where
there are no limits at all.
Currently, in 11 of the quangos, the Minister is
able to give direction. And this is kind of a key amendment that everybody sort of focuses on. So, in
11 of the current 12 that I looked at, the Minister is able to give direction to the board. The BTA is the only
quango where this is presently not the case.
Now, the only exception to this, and it is kind
of a strange exception, is the Regulatory Authority.
Now, the Regulatory Authority has a fairly detailed process. It limits what direction the Minister can give
in certain cases. So, this is specific procedure that
one goes through. And that is set out in secti on 8(5) of
the Regulatory [Authority] Act [2011]. And if there is a
disagreement, Madam President, between the board
and the direction that the Minister is giving, and the
board, after several attempts of discussions with the
Minister, does not carry out t he direction of the Mini ster, then there is the further process that one goes
through before it ends up, frankly, at the Supreme
Court. So, there is a process there. That is the only
one of the quangos which actually has a process for
dealing with differences in direction.
So, Madam President, you can see that, in
some cases there is a high degree of consistency, and in others there is a degree of variance, among the
various quangos.
So, Madam President, having looked at this
proposed amendment carefully, having considered the
present situation with respect to the 11 other quangos,
my conclusions are as follows: First of all, I have no
issue with the appointment of a deputy chairman by
the Minister. I have no issue with the Minister’s being
the sole person who is able to appoint members to the
board, after consultation with the board, for the following reasons: First of all, this is the case for the other
11 quangos I looked at, and it is standard practice.
Since the BTA relies substantially on the grant
given to it by the Bermuda Government, over $25 mi llion for 2018/19, the Government must exercise some control over whom it appoints to be responsible for the
governance of this key authority. Politics must not play
a part here. The current BTA legislation provides for
the Minister to appoint members to the board, except
in one case, where it is not clear to me just exactly
what that other possibility was. And, finally, the Mini ster will consult with the existing board regarding any
appointments.
Madam Pres ident, as you know, I have some
concerns over the number of quangos that we have at
present. And, to me, the concerns are (a) that the
money that these quangos are given by the gover nment is being properly and appropriately expended; (b) that proper goals are being set by these quangos,
that they are being evaluated and they are account able for their actions each and every year; and (c) that
there is a follow -up by the Ministers responsible for
those quangos to ensure that they are actually doing
the job that they were originally established to do.
The third point. Since the current Minister
stated on November the 23
rd and has disclosed in the
Royal Gazette article of November 24th . . . And if I
can quote this very briefly, Madam President?



Bermuda Senate The President: You can, Senator Jardine.

Sen. James S. Jardine: And he says, “[The present
legislation] does not allow for the Authority to be r efreshed with new ideas and energy from time to time.”
I was, therefore, somewhat surprised to read that
there was going to be no limit on the time within which
a member could serve. In other words, there is no
time limit. And I would have thought, if one wants to
refresh the members sitting around the board, that
there should be some time limit set for the members
of the board. And the only exception that I would think
would be possible would be if a member of the board
is to be appointed chairman, where you would give a further period of three years. And that is nine years on
the board. And I think, if one is looking to refresh,
terms of six years, or a term of three with another term
of three, is satisfactory. I know that you want to keep
people around for a period of time who have exper ience and exposure. But I would have liked to have
seen some sort of cut -off point. And that would be two
terms.
Madam President, the proposed amendment
adds the word “unwilling” to the circumstances in
which a Minister may remove a member from the
board. And when I had a look at all of the legislation
for all of the other 11 quangos, it was all over the
place. It is kind of interesting. Of the three words,
“unwillin g,” “unfit” and “unable” (and these are the
three words that are being bandied about with respect
to the removal of a board member ), only one presently
uses the word “unwilling.” Five use the words “unfit”
and “unable.” Two use only the word “unable.” And
two use none of these descriptors at all. So, again, if
you look across the legislation, there is no consistency with these three words that are used to describe a
circumstance in whi ch a Minister can remove a member.
Madam President, as I mentioned earlier, the
Regulatory Authority has far more instances when
they are able to question. And I have no idea whether
it has ever occurred. I am certainly not aware of any.
But they do have an opportunity. Where they cannot
reconcile the directions set by the Minister, there is an
opportunity to go to some form of arbitration. And it
would seem to me that this is something that should
be considered for all quangos so that there is some
method of resolving differences which may appear
between a Minister’s direction and the board or the
quango in question.
So, Madam President, having carefully considered all of this, having looked at this amendment, having reviewed all of the other pieces of legislation with respect to quangos, I am prepared to support this
Bill. But I would encourage the Government to do two
things. First of all, I think they need to carry out a detailed review of all quango legislation to ensure, where
appropriate, that there is consistency with respect to
the Government’s governance aspects of all quango legislation. Now, I recognise that there will be circumstances where consistency is not possible, for what-ever reason. But I think there needs to be some consistency in board appointments, board terms, chai rmen appointments and terms, terminology which is
used in terms of giving direction and in the circumstances where a Minister is able to remove a board
member.
And, secondly, I think the Government needs
to look at amending their legislation to provide for a
mechanism to resolve any disagreements in policy
direction between quango boards and their Ministers
so that the public at large, politics aside, can look at a
situation and say, Okay. There was a difference of
opinion between the Minister’s direction and the
board. And there is a mechanism which allows for that
difference to be fairly and appropriately considered
and adjudicated and resolved. Now, I do not think this
is going to happen very often. But there may be occ asions when this will arise, and I think that it is partic ularly important to do that.
So, those are my comments on this Bill, Madam President. Thank you very much.

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

Sen. Jason Hayward: Thank you, Madam President.
Firstly, I would like to thank Senator Jardine
for his measured comments regarding this Bill. But it would be remiss of me if I did not address the comments from my fellow Senator, Mr. Jones, who pr ovided us with a grandiose exercise in pontification this
morning.
This Bill is not about the Government taking
control of an industry. This is not increasing the pow-ers of a Minister. This is simply providing the Minister
with greater input on the makeup of the Bermuda
Tourism Authority Board. That is simply what it is doing. It is not new. Senator Jardine has highlighted the
consistencies between what we are doing here and
what is found in other pieces of legislation. Thi s same
House also passed a very similar piece of legislation
in the last legislative session, where we explained the
exact same thing that we are doing now.
I do not profess to be an expert in tourism. So,
no, all Bermudians do not believe that they are ex-perts in tourism. I am pleased with the current chai rman who was appointed to the Bermuda Tourism A uthority Board, who is a hotelier, who has an excellent
track record in tourism. And that is what the Gover nment does —uses capable, qualified individuals to lead
the tourism industry in this country.
I may not know much about tourism, per se.
But I certainly know much about the economic impact
of tourism. As a statistician within the Department of
Statistics, I produced the tourism satellite account for
84 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate a number of years. And so, I saw the significant i mpact it has on our GDP. I also saw the significant i mpact it has on our jobs, and I also saw the significant
impact it has on the employment of our people. We
are not trying to play games with tourism. If tour ism is
doing well, certainly we do not want to put measures
in place that impede the success of the tourism industry.
If certain things in international business fail,
we all fail. When the tourism industry fails, we all fail. There is one thing which has not been said. When the
Bermuda Tourism Authority was established, it was
supposed to be a private organisation, a nongovernmental organisation. And it was supposed to collect revenues, and [become] independent of Government funding. I am not sure what happened to the
business model, but that is not the case, Madam
President. The Government heavily funds the Berm uda Tourism Authority and its objectives. We had a
conversation last legislative session about funding
and no accountability. Because when touri sm fails in
Bermuda, when people are losing jobs in Bermuda,
nobody looks at the BTA for why their jobs are lost in
the tourism industry. Accountability is left with the
Government.
The BTA does not have responsibility to the
voters of this country. It is the Government that does.
And despite that, we recognise that we need capable,
qualified persons to run our tourism sector in our
community, and that is what we aim to do. But you
cannot tell the Minister he should have no say in the
makeup of a board that runs an Authority, which is almost fully funded by the government. This is not
about control grabbing. I do not like that narrative.
You say that persons indicate that people are
listening. Nothing changes the day after this Bill pas ses to the day -to-day operations of the Bermuda Tourism Authority. The CEO of the Authority will still have
all of the power and the control that he currently possesses. The chairman of the board and the board i tself will have all of the power and control that they
currently possess. So, Madam President, I ask you,
what really, fundamentally changes? So, should not the Government have a little bit
of say in terms of policy direction at a very broad level,
in terms of where we go regarding tourism because of
how important tour ism is to our economy? Taking pol itics out of tourism and removing tourism from being a
Government department to an Authority was promoted because when you take out the bureaucracy , dec isions can be made more quickly. You are able to
[quickly] respond. It also talked about efficiency. The
ability to hire and retain qualified and suitable staff
members [is better] since you are able to pay persons
better underneath a private sector model than underneath a government model. Those were the reasons
why we trans itioned into an Authority.
We still support the independence of an A uthority. But let us not sit here fooled and think that all is rosy with the BTA because we have successful tourism numbers. We saw decisions made where
Bermudians, qualified Bermudians w ere let go. I have
had a group of members from the BTA walk to my offices with a slew of complaints regarding the way they are treated within that Authority. So, let us not
paint this rosy picture that all is well with the BTA, that
they are independent, t hey do not need any sort of
direction. That somehow this is a power grab for the
BTA, the false narrative.
Two things are being accomplished. One, the
Minister has greater appointment powers on selection of board members, and number two, the Minister is
also trying to ensure that the policy direction of the
BTA is in alignment with the government of the day. It
has nothing to do with the day -to-day operations. Let
us not fall into the narrative of misconception. And
what we are doing is no different from w hat we are
doing in other areas that are heavily funded by this
Government. Thank you, Madam President.

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

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Good morning, Madam
President.
The President: Good morning to you.

Sen. Anthony Richardson: My comments actually
are formed by previous experience as the Chair of the
original Bermuda Health Council. I currently work at
the BLDC [Bermuda Land Development Corporation],
and previously I was the Chair at the Bermuda Hospitals Board. And I also served on the Corporation of St.
George’s. And I mention those because, at each of
those entities, I had the experience of interacting at a
board level, but also with the Minister of the day, depending upon who was the Minister at that stage.
And I would actually comment that today is
not about the operational aspects of the BTA. It is [about] more governance. And to counter some of the comments in terms of , is the Minister in any way trying
to involve himself in operations, that is clearly not
what is intended nor reflected in the proposed
amendment to the Bermuda Tourism Authority. And I
will just reinforce some of these comments in terms of,
it is impract ical to expect that the Government or any
other contributor, if you will, will almost fully fund an
entity with limited ability to influence, in a broad sense,
the direction of that entity. And so, in this instance, to
the extent that the Government is alm ost fully funding
the BTA, you would expect that there would be a level
of influence, if you will, over what they do at a policy level.
And clearly, as has already been stated, the
Government does have a responsibility to ensure that


Bermuda Senate the expending of publ ic funds is done in accordance
with Government policy. And, ultimately, as Senator
Hayward said earlier, the arbiter of success will be the
voting public. And so, in this instance, this Bill actually
is quite appropriate in ensuring that the Minister does
have the appropriate level of influence.
What I will also do, though, in my comment is
to fully commend the BTA in terms of what they have done and what they are doing. Because, particularly in
my role on the Corporation of St. George’s, we had
lots of interaction in terms of what the BTA were going
to do in terms of the tourism economy, especially the
impact on the beaches and some impact on St.
George’s as being the World Heritage site. And I fully commend them in terms of how they were able to be
evidence -based in what they were doing. And, certai nly, if you ask them about almost any policies that they
are following through with, they can show you the r esearch. They can show you the results. And they can
then show you the goals that they are going towards.
And so, I do not have any issues in terms of the actual
operations and the results that we have seen.
However, from a practical point of view, I also
think that it is not correct to describe the BTA as being independent. Because, as I said earlier, there is no
way that you can say, I am going to fund you, say, at
90 per cent, and you expect to be independent. It just
does not work. And so, in that context, I do not think it
is correct.
And I also want to counteract, I guess, in a
more direct way, Senat or Jones’s [comments], what
he said in terms of the hoteliers looking at Gover nment askew in terms of this proposed amendment.
Because on a more factual basis, the Government
recently looked to amend the Hotels Concession Act 2000, in terms of hotels, in order to ensure that the
application for concessions was more predictable so
that you would not have so much one- off consider ations. And so, now, as a hotelier, for example, I can
make application and I can have a higher degree of
certainty as to what the outcome is going to be. B ecause, clearly, as Senator Hayward has said, and
others also, Bermuda’s success is in large measure
tied towards the hotel sector in terms of the number of
people who are employed. And so, the Government
has already demonstrated that it is fully supportive of
the entire hotel sector.
And we have also had amendments in terms
of Airbnb. And so, I just want to make sure that there is absolutely no misinterpretation, intentional or ot herwise, that the Government is fully engaged and fully
supportive of the entire hospitality sector.
And the other comment I would make is that,
in terms of how you, in a public way, ensure that any ministerial directives are appropriate or even consistent is that, normally, as Senator Jardine referred to
in some of the other Acts, the Minister will give a direction if it is deemed to be in the public interest. But
what is interesting, by the way, at least in the BLDC Act, is that all of the directions that are given by the
Minister have to be in writing and disclosed as part of the accountability process. And, clearly, that would
obtain in this instance such that the public would not
be unaware of any broad directives given by the Mi nister.
Also, Senator Jones mentioned that part of
the current BTA plan is to improve or increase the
number of African American visitors to Bermuda,
which is really black persons, coming to the Island.
And if persons will recall, at one stage, the BTA act ually had determined that that was not one of their f ocuses. And so, it is important and interesting to note
that now [it is]. And, just as an example, if the Gov-ernment determined that this is what they would want
to take place, and let’s say the BTA was not doing
that, it would be appropriate for the Minister to say,
Listen. A s a general plan, I would like for you to aim to
do that. And the BTA would be expected to carry it out
because that would be the Minister’s role, certainly in
terms of being the elected person to represent and be
responsible for tourism.
So, we have to be mindful of some of these
things. And, overall, I think it is to not get caught up in the personalities in this instance, but to be practical
such that, even as has been referred to earlier, we
need to have a plan that is more long- standing. And
this woul d obtain in this instance because you are not
worried about the individual person who, for example, is the Minister right now. It is on a long- term gover nance perspective that, yes, a Minister has influence.
And so, I would say again that this proposed
amendment is entirely practical. As Senator Jardine
referenced in some detail and also supported by Sen-ator Hayward, it is not unlike the other quango Acts
that currently obtain. And so, again, I want to say one
more time that I think this is very practical, and when
we have discussions around the table, it is for us to
really look long- term when we give comment about
any proposed amendment.
With those comments, thank you, Madam
President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Would any other Senat or care to speak on
this?

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Good morning, Madam
President.
The President: Senator Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you. Good morning,
Madam President. Good morning, colleagues.
The President: Good morning.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I have been listening adamantly to my fellow Senators, each of whom have
86 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate brought out the BTA’s accomplishments and the
stance that the Government is taking as far as this
amendment.
Now, what is perplexing to me is that the tone
which I am hearing from the Senators is not necessarily in line with the tone which I am hearing from the
Minister of Tourism, who has indicated publicly that he wishes to get closer and more involved with the BTA.
So, in hearing that we are basically not look ing to get
involved in day -to-day operations; this is just simply to
give the Minister influence on the board, to me seems a bit disingenuous. Because when I am listening to
the House of Assembly, and I am reading the articles
produced by the Minister, I am seeing a totally differ-ent story painted there.
And my biggest concern with this Bill is similar
to Senator Jardine’s, that there are no guidelines set as far as how disagreements will be managed between the Minister and the BTA. Because we have a
direc tion being set here that we know is doing well.
The numbers that have been stated by my colleague,
Senator Jones, the BTA is doing well. So, we know
that the direction that they are going, and as Senator
Hayward has said, as well, he agrees and supports
the BTA in that direction. How will that be resolved if
that direction conflicts with the direction of the Mini ster?
Because what I am hearing today is basically,
Let’s take the personalities out of it. Well, we have to
take the personality into account when regarding a Minister who is now being proposed to have the infl uence over promoting these board members. We have
to take those personalities into account because that
is how we can then try to register which direction this
will go. And if we have a direc tional challenge between a Minister and experts in the field, Madam
President, how will that be rectified? Also, the Bill sets
no guidelines for how this direction will be implement-ed.
Now, I have heard that, Oh, well, yes, there
are guidelines as far as other quangos. But, as Senator Jardine has mentioned, these guidelines and these
quango [pieces of] legislation are not in line. So, it
would be comforting to know that this Bill would have
in it guidelines for the Minister to submit his direction
in a way that is publicly transparent. Because I have
heard suggestions made by Senators, but that is not
the Minister. And I would like to hear that particular . .
. from the Minister who is going to be directly working
with the BTA.
As far as ministers behind, or in the future, as
well, we have to take into account what this legislation
empowers them to do, as well. Because, yes, this Minister and PLP Government may not be gover nment forever, and we have to look into the future, as
well, as was stated earlier. S o, I am looking at the
original Bill, and I see a lot of oversight already vested
in the Minister. I see annual reports having to be submitted no later than May 31
st. So, I am trying to piece together why this i ssue of transparency has been bounced around and
why this issue of lack of ministerial influence is also
being bounced around regarding this particular
amendment , because, to me, it looks as though it is
the Minister who appoints the chairman. The Minister is also who is in charge of the fees paid and allowances paid to the BTA. He has already got a signif icant amount of influence over this organisation. And it
is independently run, and it is government funded.
That is why the Minister is given the influence that he
has currently vested in him.
My biggest issue is, if the Minister wants more
influence on the policy at the BTA, then what is the
actual purpose of the BTA when you have a Ministry
of Tourism already in effect? So, it is like if you were
to have a Minister implementing the BTA’s policy as
far as influence on that policy, then, to me, it seems
like it would be conflicting with its original purpose for
which it was created. So, on that note, Madam Pres ident, I will close my comments.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Kempe, you have the floor.

Sen. Nicholas Kempe: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I have noticed a few themes come up around
the table. And I am going to spend the bulk of my
time, I guess, going through a bit of rebuttal, if I may. I
think we are confusing the purpose of a quango and
the purpose of an authority quite a bit, so that the language used by many Members seems to conflate the
two structures. Quangos, specifically, are there to be
directed by the government and are kind of special -
purpose vehicles, for lack of a better word, that manage certain assets or are set up for a certain amount
of time or need to hire people outside of the public
service salary scales, whereas the authorities, the two
that are mentioned, are specifically meant to be independent from government. Whether or not their funding comes from government, they should not be be-holden to broad political influence or direction from
Ministers as they come and go.
One of the things we spoke about around the
table was this belief that the BTA was not self -funding.
If we look at the hotel occupancy and cruise ship taxes for the years since its inception, and compare that
to BTA funding, the hotel occupancy and cruise taxes
presently go to the government, to the Consolidated
Fund. And then, a grant is given to the BTA. If those
taxes, which are the two primary taxes created by the
tourism sector, went directly to the BTA, they would
have a large overfund every year. So, I think that is a
bit of a fallacy, just because the taxes have not yet
been directly directed to the BTA.


Bermuda Senate And I will give you, Madam President, some
context pre- BTA in the Tourism Department’s days,
and post. So, in 2011/12 and 2012/13, the Tourism
Department’s budget was about $30 million. In 2014,
the Bermuda Tourism Authority’s budget was $21.8
million. In 2015, it was $22.7 million; [in 2016] $22.7
million again. In 2017, it was $25 million; and in 2018,
the estimated grants, $26 million. I will get to the est imated revenue. So, the BTA, everyone has recognised their successes, how they have grown tourism.
They have done that with much less. So, the BTA,
free of political interference, free from jumping from
pillar to post as each Minister’s ideas, they wake up
and eat their Cheerios in the morning, you know, they
are free to simply execute on the National Tourism
Plan in a systematic, coherent way. And they are doing that with far less money.
The amount that tourism taxes, those hotel
occupancy and cruise ship taxes, have brought in, 2014 was $29 million. In 2015, it was $33 million, [and
in the succeeding years] $34 million, $36 million, $39
million. So, if we look at 2014, there was a gap of $8
million between the tourism revenue and the BTA
grant. Fast -forward to 2018’s estim ated revenues,
there are now a $13 million delta. So, the BTA is providing even more benefit to government, based on
its grant. So, to allege that it is somehow still not able
to stand on its own feet financially, I think is a bit of a
misnomer. The increase in spending over that fiveyear period is about 19 per cent, whereas the i ncrease in revenue is 34 per cent.
So, the BTA is showing value for money year
in, year out. This is not an America’s Cup lift. This is
from 2014 to now, 2018, a year which is al most done.
So, they are doing more with less.
The National Tourism Plan is developed over
a five -year period. And it is developed with broad consultation. Government policy can be changed from
one Cabinet meeting to another. Senator Richardson
spoke about the amount of research and analytical
thought that goes into the BTA’s decisions and the
way they develop programmes. That is the point of a
broadly consulted and widely developed National
Tourism Plan. That should trump government policy.
That should be the reason why an Authority was set
up with board members who last more than a oneyear term. It is so that the direction of our tourism i ndustry does not zigzag every year with a new board
and a new Minister’s opinion on what is important for
Bermuda’s tourism industry.
And Senator Jones spoke about the OBA r elinquishing control of tourism despite it being, for lack of a better word, the most fun industry. Certainly, for a Minister, being the Minister of Tourism and being able
to gallivant around the worl d and sing songs at bas eball stadiums and all this other stuff is a lot of fun. But
we need to have a managed, independent, industry -
driven use of these tourism tax dollars, something that provides a greater income from the tourism revenue, than it does on the spend.
If we look back at that 2011/12 and 2012/13
Bermuda Department of Tourism budget of $30 mi llion, that is more spend than the hotel occupancy and cruise taxes were bringing in in 2014. So, we were not
even breaking even on those two taxes. So, the fact
that we have a structure now that is creating value for money, is creating a surplus that can go towards
schools and all of the items in our social safety net
that needs funding, I am struggling to understand why
we want to fix something that is not broken.
We talk about term limits for board members.
And again, I think we need to separate quangos and
authorities here. If you look at the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018, it advocates for term limits for
non-executive directors. These are the boar d members who are not members of staff. So, the fact that
someone cannot just kind of get stuck in there for inertia allows the renewal of a critical eye of processes,
allows for that fresh thinking and innovation that I believe Senator Jardine, as well as the Minister, spoke
to. So, walking back that best practice in this new Bill
just does not make any sense to me. We are writing
torts that do not exist here.
Again, the independence of the BTA is very
important. And the fundamental difference that this new Bill puts in, that the previous Bermuda Tourism
Authority Act had, is that it inverts the consultative
process. And statutory consultation is defined in court
cases and judgments. So, if it is not followed, there
are some precedents out there about what consult ation looks like. But the original Act says that the board
must consult the Minister. This Act, basically, turns it
on its head and says the Minister must consult the
board. We have undermined in this new Act —not we.
This new Act attempts to underm ine the autonomy of
thought and the autonomy of direction of the board.
Sure, it needs to consult with the Minister, but
inverting that process and inserting directly appointed
people into the board feels like a poison pill to this
independent body built to be independent on purpose.
In the same way that gaming’s chalice was poisoned,
and we have seen what has come of that. It has not come off the ground. And it is that if you are going in
to do a job as an independent board member, but you
are going to be micromanaged or second- guessed or
interfered with at the ministerial level, you are going to
struggle to find quality candidates who want to put
their name and professional reputation and time on
the line. And the quality of direction of our tourism i ndustry will suffer because of it. We will end up with
yes-men. We will end up with whatever else. And the
quality of the direction of tourism, which has shown
excellent growth in the last five years, will suffer.
This is one of the few shining lights we have
in Bermuda right now for economic growth, for job creation, for positive exposure of the Island internationally. And I think we need to really have a proper
88 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate think about what tort we are trying to fix before we
bring any legislation to tinker with a well -functioning
machine.
There seems to be an almost Trumpian desire
to dismantle all OBA successes, whether it was wal king away from building on the America’s Cup legacy
and the Event Authority, to the attacks on the BTA
right out the bat, when the previous M inister called
into question the auditing reports and practices of the
BTA, based on a poor understanding of the audit pr ocess, which came out in due course. But there seems
to be this inherent desire to own or control all things in
Bermuda. And this tinkering with the BTA does not
seem to be driven on the basis of a desire to improve an entity, improve governance, improve processes or
outcomes, it seems simply driven by this desire to
control and be respected.
As Senator Robinson said, if you listen to the
language in the House of Assembly when this same Bill was debated, it was all about respect. This Government must be respected. And for me, that is very
dangerous language, when we are talking about not
just the Minister of the day feeling important, but the
well-being of Bermudians. When an individual minister
is able to direct the funds of a national industry t owards the epicentres of their own support, you will end up with outcomes that are not aligned with a consult ative national process. If I know that the beach in my
constituency is going to get attention, despite that not
being part of the strategic plan, because that is going
to placate my voters, you end up with basically pork -
belly politics.
And the point of the BTA was to remove polit ical and m inisterial interference from these types of
decisions. And that was calculated, and that was on
purpose, and with the best interests of Bermuda at
heart.
I think that . . . I do not want to drawl on and
on here, Madam President. But those are the main
challenges. I struggle to see what tort exists that is
trying to be remedied. And I have not heard any arguments to clarify that. So, I will not support this Bill.
The President: Thank you, Senator Kempe.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
No? Then, Senator Caesar.

Sen. Crys tal Caes ar: Thank you, Madam President.
I have listened with interest, and I thank all of
the Senators for their comments today.
There are a couple of words that have been
said, which I think people are throwing out and expecting everyone to have the same understanding of
themselves. But I think we need to be somewhat
open- minded with regard to what that word actually
means. In Bermuda’s context, “ tourism ” is not just
about hotels. Tourism is small businesses who sell their wares at the different events around Bermuda, say, Harbour Nights or up at Destination Dockyard.
Tourism is taxis, buses, restaurants, vacation rentals, vehicle rentals, any of the stores around the Island,
not just Hamilton.
So, I think when we tal k about tourism, we
need to be very careful about what we think tourism
is. I think some of the smaller vendors would be
somewhat, for lack of a better term, offended that they
are not mentioned when we say the word “ tourism .”
The individual who does have a conversation with a
tourist who is lost, who needs direction, we are hel ping tourists in that regard. The security guards who
keep our tourists safe, that is all part of tourism. So,
let us be careful, when we talk about tourism and we
use the word “ tourism,” that we are not just talking
about hotels. We are talking about Bermuda. We all
are touched by this industry.
The other word that we have been using,
which I think we all seem to feel we have a definition in our own minds of what that is, is “ consul tation. ” I
actually looked up the word “ consultation” when I was
sitting here, because we are using consultation in a
way that seems to mean, from most of the discussion that we have had today, that it is direction. Consult ation is not direction. Synonyms for the word “ consult ation” are discussion, dialogue, discourse, debate, negotiation, deliberation, a meeting, a talk, an interview.
These are all words which are encompassed in the
word “ consultation. ” All [these words] could mean
consultation. Consultati on does not mean, I’m telling
you what to do, and you have to do it. It is not direc-tion. So, I think we need to be careful when we use
the word “ consultation” and understand what that
word means.
The amendments that have been put forth
through the Bermuda Tourism Authority Amendment
Act 2018 speak to consultation with the board in three
different areas, about future members, about direction, about who is appointed. Well, I guess that is f uture members, as well. But each of the areas refers to
consultation. Consultation is not telling someone what to do. It is not direction. Let us be clear on that.
I thank Senator Jardine for his comments and
his diligent work with regard to doing an analysis of what quangos and other authorities actually do in
Bermuda. A nd the wording of the new section 12A is
actually almost the same, I would like to point out, as
what the WEDCO’s Act is. In fact, WEDCO’s Act goes
a bit further.
Now, do the quangos and/or authorities r equire some sort of synergies and/or analyses going forward? Granted, that may very well be the case. But
we are where we are with the Bermuda Tourism A uthority. So, the other word that I want us to be careful
about is continuing to use the word “ independent. ” As
a mother with a 20- year-old . . . my daughter is in
medical school. And I fund it, and I am going to say 110 per cent.



Bermuda Senate [Laughter]

Sen. Crys tal Caes ar: Because she is not able to, or
does not work. And I must say I am very proud of this
young lady because she is very independent in her
studies and the choices that she makes. And I am
proud of what she is doing with her life.
However, I fund it. Let me be clear. So, that
means that she is not completely independent. So, when she returned home this summer after being in
school and being independent , I asked for dishes to
be washed. And because [she] had been independent
(and, listening audience, I am putting that in air quotes), she felt that she would do it on her own time and in her own manner. Let us just say Mommy was
not happy.
So, now did I bring down the big stick? She is
a 20- year-old. She is a woman. She is a young lady.
As I said, I am actually very proud of a lot of the dec isions that she makes. However, there are times when
we need to sit down and have a conversation about
some of the things that I am asking her to do. She not
only is supported by me financially, but also when it
comes to when she is talking about, I can’t do it anymore, Mommy. I need help. She is not completely i ndependent. She still needs some assistance. And our
views need to be aligned as to how to go forward.
So, I use that example to show that one can
be independent. But it does not mean that they are independent. Because let us just say that if Mommy
decided that she did not want to assist financially anymore, one is not quite sure what this young lady
would do. So, I am just, you know, playing devil’s advocate. Nonetheless, you get the example.
We have spoken, or it has been spoken about
today that this smacks of interference for day -to-day
operations. In fact, my brief spoke, actually, very contrary to that. These amendments have actually not hing to do with the day -to-day operations. This all
speaks to how the Minister and the board interact. So,
I am not going to say how the Minister instructs or
how the board reports to the Minister. Because it is
how they interact.
And the precedent has been set in other authorities and/or quangos as to the way forward, as to
the way forward as to what these amendments are
trying to achieve. So, this is not new. Until such time
as the BTA can say, Hey. We’re doing it all by ourselves. And I am not sure that we would want that.
Why would one want a tourism authority and the gov-ernment of the country in which they operate to not be
in sync? I think that just does not make sense to me.
So, why would we not want them to have some sy nergies? In addition, because the Government is
[providing] the majority of the funding to the BTA,
there is a level of fiscal oversight and policy direction,
which are required. This is what is required in any
type of governance and/or financial relationship. There needs to be oversight. There needs to be gui dance. There needs to be a level of direction.
So, I think we need to be clear and understand exactly what is trying to be achieved here. No
one is eroding anyone’s ability to continue to do the
good work that has been done. The BTA has done a
great amount of work. I also think, as have others, as I
have said, in the tourism industry in Bermuda, not just
the BTA. The increases in our numbers are not j ust
because the BTA has done it. There are a number of
people in this country who contribute to why people
want to visit, and they return year after year.
So, let us be careful that the tourism numbers
are not just attributable to the BTA. But I will say that
they are doing a remarkable job.
So, with that, Madam President, I think that
my colleagues have said a lot of what I was going to say. And I am not in the habit of repeating myself, as
my daughter will know.

[Laughter]

Sen. Crys tal Caes ar: So, I would like at this time,
Madam President, to move that the Bill entitled the
Bermuda Tourism Authority Amendment Act 2018 be
now read for a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Crys tal Caes ar: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that Standing Order
26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.

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

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

BILL

1THIRD READING

BERMUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2018
Sen. Crys tal Caes ar: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Tourism Authority Amendment Act 2018 be now read a third time.

The P resident: Is there any objection to the third
reading?


1 See procedural correction at page 93
90 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The Clerk: Objections.

The President: Yes. Who all objects?
[Crosstalk]

The President: All three Senators. We will have to
take a vote.
[Pause and crosstalk ]

The President: I will just say, be cause there are three
Senators who object, we need to take a vote. The
Clerk will do a division.

The Clerk: Okay.
On the third reading.

DIVISION

[Third Reading of the Bermuda Tourism Authority
Amendment Act 2018]

Ayes : 7 Na ys: 3
Sen. the Hon. K. Simmo ns Sen. Nicholas Kempe
Sen. Anthony Richardson Sen. Marcus Jones
Sen. Jason Hayward Sen. Dwayne Robinson
Sen. Crystal Caesar
Sen. Vance Campbell
Sen. James S. Jardine
Sen. the Hon. J. E. Dillas -Wright

Absent: 1
Sen. Michelle Simmons

The Clerk: The third reading is confirmed.

The President: Yes. The third reading is confirmed
because the totals are 7 to 3.

Sen. Crys tal Caes ar: Thank you. Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill entitled the Bermuda Tourism Author ity Amendment Act 2018 is passed.
Thank you all. And thank you, Senator Caesar.
[Motion carried by majority on division: The Bermuda
Tourism Authority Amendment Act 2018 was read a
third time and passed. ]

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.
CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES

The President: We will start with Senator Campbell.
You have the floor.
Sen. Vance Campbell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like for condolences to be sent to the family of Mr. Edmund Kirkland
Cooper. He was a pioneer in the accounting field in Bermuda. He formed the firm of Cooper and Lines, he
eventually became known as a member of the Coopers & Lybrand group. I was fortunate enough to do most of my training there at Coopers & Lybrand. He
was a very down- to-earth person. You tend to view
the individuals in those partner offices with some trep-idation. But he was very adept at putting you at ease
and very down to earth. He was also a champion sai lor and represented Bermuda in many competitions.
So, Madam President, I would like condolences to be sent to his family. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator.

Sen. James S. Jardine: Madam President, I would
like to associate myself with those comments.

The President: Fine.
Sen. James S. Jardine: Certainly, Mr. Cooper was a
neighbour and a friend and, again, a business assoc iate, although I was a partner in a different firm. It was Arthur Young back then, now Ernst & Young. But we
all got on well together. And I certainly valued his advice, as I was a much younger man than he was when
I first started here. So, I would like to send condolences to his family, to Helen, his wife, in particular. And I
know this is a very difficult time for them. But I would
certainly like to associate myself with your comments.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Jardine, for your
comments and your association with those condolences. It is acknowledged.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Richardson, you have the floor.

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam President, today
I would like to recognise and congratulate the Harrington Workmen’s Club, home of the great Cleveland
County Cricket Club, on the occasion of their awards
presentation for the cricket team, which was held on
Saturday, December 1, at Pennos Wharf in St.
George’s. They actually had an excellent season.
They were first division champions. And I will say, I
spoke to the coach yesterday, that although they were
first division champions, the highlight was actually for
destroying Bailey’s Bay in the Eastern County’s classic. They then defended against Flatts Victoria and


Bermuda Senate put up a valiant fight in the third round, but lost to St.
David’s.
And I also want to mention the name of the
senior captain, Steven Brimmer , who is a young man
whom I have known for quite a while. He has now gone from strength to strength. And I see him taking a
lot of responsibility from that role. He is a young person, right? But he takes responsibility and really enjoys the game. And he is also quite adept at the great
game of snooker. The junior captain is CJ Fubler . I will
give to the Clerk the other names of the committee
members for appropriate recognition. But, again congratulations to Cleveland County .
While I am speaking, I would also like to generally commend all of the persons who were in any way involved in organising the [Christmas] Boat P arade in St. George’s. I actually drove there on Friday,
and—amazing, absolutely amazing in terms of the
numbers of people who were there. And I know it is
the first time for this year. But I saw in the paper that
they are now going to do it on alternate years from
Hamilton so that every year now, Bermuda will have a
boat parade. It was absolutely fantastic. And also, to
commend St. George’s again, especially the corpor ation because the town is absolutely lovely. I would encourage everyone to drive down in the night time
because it is lit up––in my mind, the town hall is like a
gigantic gingerbread house, giving t he colour and the
whole background. So, those are my comments,

Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
congratulatory and/or obituary speeches? Senator Hayward, you have the floor.

Sen. Jason Hayward: Madam President, I just would
like to use this opportunity this morning to congrat ulate PartnerRe. They are experiencing their 25
th anniversary in Bermuda. And they have done a good job in terms of their impact towards our insurance indus-try, but not just that, [towards] our community. Last
night, I was able to be part of a presentation where they contributed $240,000 to our schools through a
campaign which they called “Dollars for Hours,” where
students volunteer and give their free time t o charity.
And then, PartnerRe makes a donation to the schools,
which the students donate. Over the last 13 years,
Madam President, PartnerRe has given up close to $3
million to our schools. And so, I would like to congratulate them on their 25
th anniversary and thank
them for their contribution to our community.

[Desk thumping]

The President: Thank you, Senator Hayward. I am
sure the entire Senate would like to join in with those
comments of yours.
Would any other Senator care to speak? No?
Then, Senator Kathy Lynn Simmons, Attorney
General and Government Leader in the Senate, over
to you for adjournment.

ADJOURNMENT

Sen. the Hon. Kathy Lynn Simmons: I move, Madam President, that the Senate do now adjourn until
Wednesday, December 12.

The President : Would any Senator care to speak on
the motion to adjourn?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the
floor.

SUPREME COURT RULING ON
SAME -SEX MARRIAGE

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I will be extremely brief.
I would like to take this opportunity to caution
and to make a mild plea. I am aware that the Government is currently within its 21 days of considering
whether or not to appeal the Supreme Court ruling
regarding same- sex marriage, Madam President. And
I would like to ask, respectfully, that they do not.
There has been a lot of word reaching me, as far as
this goes, and I understand that the original figure of
[$]200,000 to [$]400,000 was not correct. But I feel as
though any dollar spent on this issue is a wasted dollar, Madam President. And I feel as though the
amount of resources being dedicated to a small segment of our community is ludicrous.
And on those comments, Madam President, I
will close.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn? Senator Richardson, you have the floor.

MORTGAGE RATES

Sen. Anthony Richardson: Madam President, really
by way of information, at one of our previous sessions
I commented on the cost of living in Bermuda and
spoke to the impact of interest rates, whether it be
mortgages or loans in general. And, as I prepared for
the session today I wanted to be more factual.
I actually looked at the BMA [Bermuda Monetary Authority] annual report to get the appropriate information. And, as at December 2017, which would
have been just a year ago, based upon their reporting the domestic Bermuda dollar loans outstanding were
approximately $3.6 billion.
And my comment today is that in terms of the
efforts being made to have the banks be, I guess,
more conscious of their loan rates to the extent that
there would be even a 0.25 per cent reduction in the
92 5 December 2018 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate current loan rates, the annual impact to Bermuda
would be an increased discretionary cash of $9 mi llion, which comes down to a monthly amount of
$750,000. And if you go as high as a 1 per cent decrease, the annual impact on the economy would be
about $36 million, which is quite a bit, which then
translates down to about $3 million [monthly].
And then, I went further. The information was
not in the BMA report. But I just made the assumption
that if we looked at the average mortgage being about
$750,000 the impact of a 25 basis point reduction in
the mortgage rate would have the family save almost
$2,000 a year. And the higher amount would be if the
lending rates could be reduced by , say, 1 per cent,
then the annual impact would be about $7,500, or
$625 a month, which, in the overall scheme of things,
if every mortgage holder, for example, was able to
have an extra $500 a month to spend we could understand the impact on the family it self, which is
stressed to make the payments. But also, I think for
the general economy in terms of the fact that if those
funds would be available for that person to spend,
whether it be on groceries or otherwise, you know, it
would certainly impact the economy.

CHRISTMAS SPENDING

Sen. Anthony Richardson: I would also like to say,
just as a general comment, that around this time as
we get closer to Christmas, we are also, of course,
and everyone is mindful of the general economic activity. And it is inte resting. I do not say it as a criticism.
But it is interesting on the one hand where we say,
Let’s now, as best we can, support the local economy.
But we are actually bombarded with comments and advertisements, if you will, or encouragements to actually buy overseas and then use the reduced shi pping rates, or the greater efficiency and whatever.
So, I think all of us, clearly, will make dec isions based upon what we believe is an appropriate
variety. We will also make decisions based upon what
we see as bei ng cost. And I just want to generally
make that comment in terms of its meaning that our personal decisions will have an impact, going forward,
and will inform comments that we make in this arena
going forward.
Separate conversation, or separate commentary, is that I also had the interesting opportunity to
speak to one of the Bermudian librarians, at some
length, to be honest. And her comment —her actual
name is Ms. Tucker at the Berkeley. Her comments
were in terms of her observation that there seems to be a lessening interest of persons just attending the
library and then, by extension, the impact on persons’
reading. So, my comment today, again in the context
of the Christmas season, would be for all of us, even
as parents, to consider what we can do, whether it be
buying books as Christmas presents or online opportunities to encourage our children to continue to read. And it does not mean a book in the traditional
sense. It could be something that is online. Som etimes, there are comic books or just other things. B ecause, clearly, there is the positive correlation between comfort in reading and then generally being able to be excited about learning, but also to teach
yourself things. Because nowadays, of course, with
the extensive information available onl ine and otherwise, if you can read there is almost nothing that you
cannot learn. And the challenge would be for us to
encourage our young people, and some older ones,
also, to be more comfortable in reading and to, you
know, make it much, much more enjoyable.
So, thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Richardson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn? No? Then, the Senate will stand adjourned
until next week, Wednesday, December the 12
th.
Thank you, Senat ors.

[At 12:16 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 12 December 2018.]