The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning, M embers. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES [Minutes of 6 July 2018]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning, Members. The Minutes of July 6 th have been circulated. Are there any omissions, corrections , or errors? Any amendments? There are no amendments. The Minutes are approv ed as printed. [Minutes of 6 July 2018 confirmed] MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER OR MEMBER PRESIDING JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE, REPORT AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE EVENTS OF 2 DECEMB ER 2016, EXTENDED
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. I would like to announce that the Joint Select Committee on the Events of 2 December 2016 has been extended for a further six months from today for it to complete its work. APOLOGIES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnd I would also li ke to make note of the fact that there is no Member who has indicated that they are absent today. So, I am taking it that we have a full House, for this morning. But I would like to add that I, myself, will be …
And I would also li ke to make note of the fact that there is no Member who has indicated that they are absent today. So, I am taking it that we have a full House, for this morning. But I would like to add that I, myself, will be travelling this afternoon, so I am here for the morning session. And you will be in the able hands of the Deputy Speaker for the rest of the sitting this afternoon. MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, we have a message from the Senate. “To the Honourable Speaker and the Members of the Honourable House of the Assembly: “I am pleased to inform the Honourable House that I ha ve today announced the appointment of Senator Roby n E. Swan in placement of former Senator Andrew …
Yes, we have a message from the Senate. “To the Honourable Speaker and the Members of the Honourable House of the Assembly: “I am pleased to inform the Honourable House that I ha ve today announced the appointment of Senator Roby n E. Swan in placement of former Senator Andrew Simons to serve on as one of the Senate representatives on the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee appointed to inquire into the events of D ecember 2nd, 2016, at the House.” And that is from the President of the Senate.
PAPERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI believe we have three papers this morning, all f rom the Minister of Works. Minister.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. LAND TITLE REGISTRATION ( REFERRAL TO ADJUDICATOR) RULES 2018 LAND TITLE REGISTRATION (ADJUDICATION) RULES 2018 LAND TITLE REGISTR ATION RULES 2018
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchI have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honour able House of Assembly the following: • Land Title Registration ( Referral to Adjudic ator) Rules 2018; • Land Title Registration (Adjudication) Rules 2018; and • Land Title Registration Rules 2018— as made by the Minister …
I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honour able House of Assembly the following: • Land Title Registration ( Referral to Adjudic ator) Rules 2018; • Land Title Registration (Adjudication) Rules 2018; and • Land Title Registration Rules 2018— as made by the Minister responsible for land title re gistration under the provisions of section 123 of the Land Title Registration Act 2011. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
2708 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Thank you, Minister. There are no further papers or communic ations.
[Crosstalk ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier, do you want the indu lgence of the House for the r egulations? We can do them now under P apers and C ommunications, as well. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, the Premier would just like the indulgence of the House so that he can lay regul ations in reference to the N AMLC [National An ti-Money Laundering Committee]. Go ahead, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be giving a …
Members, the Premier would just like the indulgence of the House so that he can lay regul ations in reference to the N AMLC [National An ti-Money Laundering Committee]. Go ahead, Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be giving a Ministerial Statement later this morning on the Companies Act , Initial Coin Offering Regulations , and the Limited Li ability Companies Act , Initial Coin Offering Regulations. And I would ask that . . . I am going to transmit those papers to the House. They have been published in the Gazette for the information of Members.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. PETITIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS AND JUNIOR MINISTERS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are, I believe, eight Statements down for this morning. The first two Statements are in the name of the Premier. Premier, would you like to continue on? Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to give this Stat ement today — …
There are, I believe, eight Statements down for this morning. The first two Statements are in the name of the Premier. Premier, would you like to continue on?
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to give this Stat ement today —
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Sorry, Mr. Speaker. We do not have the first Statement.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSergeant, the Statement by the Pre mier? The Clerk: They were given out to all Members of the Opposition.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. For clarification, the y are all on Members’ desks. Do Members have it? Thank you. Thank you, Sergeant. Premier. [Laughter and inaudible interjections ] Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I hope it is not going to be a long day.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell . . . Hon. E. David Burt: Good morning, Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI will be thinking of you all. [Laughter] UPDATES TO BERMUDA’S AML/ATF FRAMEWORK Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to give this Statement today to update this Honourable House and the listening public on the Government’s intentions for updating Bermuda’s Anti -Money Lau ndering and Anti -Terrorist …
I will be thinking of you all. [Laughter]
UPDATES TO BERMUDA’S AML/ATF FRAMEWORK Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to give this Statement today to update this Honourable House and the listening public on the Government’s intentions for updating Bermuda’s Anti -Money Lau ndering and Anti -Terrorist Financing (AML/ATF) legisl ative framework . This is both tim ely and important, Mr. Speaker, because during the remaining sittings of this Honourable House in this parliamentary session, se ven Bills addressing a variety of AML- and ATF -related issues will be tabled for debate. Therefore, I would like to provide some context for this and give a brief update on the status of the assessment of Bermuda’s AML/ATF regime. Mr. Speaker, the assessment of Bermuda’s AML/ATF regime is currently underway and is being conducted by an assessment team comprising experts drawn from peer jurisdictions who are all me mbers of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (or CFATF). This assessment commenced early in 2018, when Bermuda was required to submit to the CFATF , on the 23 rd of March 2018 , a questionnaire outlining how Bermuda’s l egislative and operational framework complies with the international requirements; and on the 25 th of May 2018, a written submission detailing how Bermuda is effective in the fight against money - laundering and terrorist financing. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise that Bermuda successfully met both deadlines in March and May 2018 —
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: —due in no small part to the collaborative efforts of all of the responsible authorities in Bermuda, under the coordination and oversight of the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee. This is a
Bermuda House of Assembly continuation of the great work that this committee and the operational agencies have been doing as they have worked to update Bermuda’s anti -money lau ndering and anti -terrorist financing regime, and to pr epare for this important assessment. The assessment team will visit Bermuda, Mr. Speaker, for two weeks starting on September 24. They will meet and interview key persons within go vernment agencies, supervisor authorities , and across the private s ector, in order to verify the truth of our assertions about the strength of our regime and its effectiveness. In the interim, the assessment team has provided Bermudian authorities with preliminary findings on Bermuda’s compliance with the technical requir ements arrived at from their desk -based review of our written submissions. Therefore, we now have an opportunity to provide them with further clarification and, where necessary, to also put in place additional legislative measures to provide more clarity or to fully address any identified gaps in the framework. Mr. Speaker, Bermuda will get credit for any legislative amendments that are enforced when the team arrives in September. It is, therefore, important that we take the necessary and important action during the remaining weeks of this session to enact the required legislation. The overarching goal of the work being done by the members of the National Anti - Money Laundering Committee and other supporting agencies is to ensure that Bermuda maintains its r eputation as a premier international financial centre with a robust and effective regulatory framework. This is necessary for us to retain existing business, which is a key component of our economic foundation, and to attract new quality business, which wi ll assist us in implementing our programmes for job creation and the enhancement of services to the Bermuda public. To this end, the Government is focused on ensuring that Bermuda is compliant with the intern ational standards set by the Financial Action T ask Force, and that we support the ongoing work of the community of nations to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing within our financial system and beyond. Mr. Speaker, as noted earlier, the evaluation of Bermuda’s anti -money laundering and anti - terrorism financing regime has already commenced. This Government is fully aware of the significant cha llenges that other countries are having to face when this assessment process has resulted in low ratings in key areas due to significant deficiencies in their framework. This Government recognises the i mportance of this work to Bermuda’s economic future and has been working hard to ensure that Bermuda’s AML and ATF regime has the necessary components to be effective and to demonstrate its eff ectiveness. Since becoming the Government almost one year ago, we have worked with the public and private sectors to advance necessary initiatives to increase our level of compliance with the required standards. It has also been an area of focus in our l egislative pr ogramming. Actions in this regard have been made a priority, and resources and time have been invested in this area because, in order to grow, Bermuda must continue to be an attractive place for quality business. Mr. Speaker, placing this sui te of a mendments before this Honourable House is part of our work to honour our commitment to the people of Bermuda to provide more opportunities and a better f uture for them. The various AML/ATF -related Bills which have been tabled since the last sitting, and which will be tabled in the upcoming week, all collectively address a number of issues that have been identified as outstanding gaps, either directly by the responsible agencies or through the initial feedback received through the assessment process. In particular, Mr. Speaker, the various Bills seek to, amongst other things, amend the AML/ATF laws to : • specify in law that suspicious- activity reporting obligations of regulated entities are to be carried out promptly —that is, the entities will be requir ed to promptly report suspicious activ ities in relation to either money laundering or terrorist financing; • expressly stipulate that the suspicious activity reporting obligation applies also whenever a regulated entity suspects that a terrorist f inancing tr ansaction is being attempted. Such report must be made even if the transaction was not successful or was not completed; • strengthen the provisions in relation to tipping-off offences to ensure that they fully adhere to international standards; • increase the penalties on legal persons for money -laundering and terrorist -financing offences to address the requirement for such penalties to be dissuasive; • expressly state in clear language that regul ative entities are required to identify, assess and understand t heir money -laundering and terrorist -financing risk, and to keep these risk assessments up to date; and, finally, • strengthen Bermuda’s anti -money laundering and anti -terrorist financing technical regime related to correspondent banking relationships. Mr. S peaker, the a mendments to other legi slation will, amongst other things, • expressly allow the Attorney General, in her capacity as Bermuda’s central authority for mutual legal assistance, to provide international assistance for non -conviction based confiscat ion proceedings in circumstances where the criminal defendant is deceased, or for other similar reason no criminal proceedings can be commenced or continued; • enhance the intelligence- gathering powers of the Financial Intelligence Agency ; 2710 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly • expressly prohibit the use of agents by money service businesses ; • enhance the information- gathering powers of customs officers in relation to false declar ations or non- declarations at the border, where currency and negotiable instruments are i mported or exported; • expressly prescribe that beneficial ownership information filed with competent authorities or retained by relevant persons is kept up to date; and • strengthen the framework for oversight of the legal and accounting professions in relation to entry controls, discipline , and accountability, while also enhancing the relationship between the barristers and accountants, AML/ATF Board and the Bar Council, as well as the r elationship with the Board of CPA Bermuda, to better support coordination and supervision of the profess ions. Mr. Speaker, we are confident that these amendments will both bolster Bermuda’s overall anti - money laundering and anti -terrorist financing regime, as well as provide a sound basis upon which Bermuda can expect to get ratings which will appropriately reflect its level of compliance and effectiveness. We look forward to the continued support of colleagues in both the House and the other place, as well as those persons in the public and private sectors who are working tireless ly to ensure a better tomorrow for the people of Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Premier, I believe the second Statement is yours as well. Would you like to continue on? Hon. E. David Burt: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I will.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo right ah ead, Mr. Premier. Do your second Statement. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. INITIAL COIN OFFERING REGULATIONS Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, my second Stat ement today is on the Initial Coin Offering Regulations , which, as I mentioned, will be shared …
Go right ah ead, Mr. Premier. Do your second Statement.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
INITIAL COIN OFFERING REGULATIONS Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, my second Stat ement today is on the Initial Coin Offering Regulations , which, as I mentioned, will be shared with Honourable Members and were gazetted earlier this week. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise this Honourable House and the public of the Initial Coin Offering Regulations that have been published to suppl ement the Companies and Limited Liability Company (Initial Coin Offering) Amendment Act 2018. Mr. Speaker, in November of 2017, I announced to M embers the Blockchain Task Force, which would be the catalyst to advance the Gover nment ’s plans to create a FinTech industry in Bermuda. It is the Government’s view that Fintech can provide economic diversificat ion, bring new business to the Island, help boost GDP [gross domestic product] , and create meaningful jobs, while helping to prepare our financial system and economy for the future. Mr. Speaker, it was clear to the Government then that there was a lot of legal ambiguity in relation to FinTech, and companies were looking for legal certainty. In response to this market demand, the Go vernment set out to develop a new regulatory fram ework for distributed ledger technology companies looking to operate in a well -regulated environment. The first step in the process was for the Government to put in legislation specifying how companies and limited liability companies wishing to raise funds via an initial coin offering will need to conduct themselves. The next step in the process was the passing of the Digital Asset Business Act 2018, which was l egislation specifically put in place to regulate companies carr ying on digital asset business and to protect the interests of clients or potential clients of these digital asset businesses. Mr. Speaker, having successfully passed both pieces of legislati on, the Government has now turned its attention to prescribing Initial Coin Offering [ICO] Regulations. As Honourable Members are aware, ICOs may be conducted in Bermuda only pursuant to a grant of consent by the Minister responsible for companies. The pur poses of the ICO Regulations are to clearly define the minimum required information for ICOs and to outline the compliance measures that a company or limited liability company must adopt when conducting an ICO. Mr. Speaker, minimum required information outlined in the ICO Regulation includes such things as: • information on all persons involved with the ICO; • a description of the project, including key features of the product or service, the target market, how the ICO will be financed, and the amount of mone y the company is intending to raise via the ICO; • information on the technical standards of the digital asset that will be issued; • information on whether the digital asset can be traded or transferred between persons; and • a description of the technical standards or software, blockchain, or other distributed ledger technology that will be used to identify participants in the ICO. Mr. Speaker, c ompliance measures as outlined in the ICO Regulations include such things as : • the need to identify any participant and to verify the participant’s identity; • the need for a company to ensure that it applies appropriate measures relating to identif iBermuda House of Assembly cation and verification of the participants in the ICO before it issues a digital asset; • instances where companies must conduct e nhanced due diligence on ICO participants; • the types of records a company is required to keep and the retention period; and • the need for a company to carry out an internal com pliance review on its initial coin offering. Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that the approach taken in developing the regulations is the same approach that we have traditionally taken when developing regulations for our local financial instit utions. Tradi tionally, we have used a risk -based approach, meaning that the number of regulations a company will be subject to is based on the level of risk of the activities that the company is engaged in. For instance, if a company engages in activities that could, potentially , expose it to a high degree of money-laundering risk, it will be subject to anti -money laundering regulations. However, if a company is ru nning a project without any money -laundering risk, then this company should not be covered by the same reg-ulations. Mr. Speaker, the Proceeds of Crime (Anti - Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing) Re gulations [2008 ] were used as a blueprint when it came to the c ompliance measures, adopting parts of the Proceeds of Crime Act Regulations that pertain to ICO-type activities. Mr. Speaker, any company wanting to commence the pr ocess for issuing an ICO from Bermuda can visit the Bermuda FinTech website at www.fintech.bm to complete the application form. Once the form is completed and the White Paper has been submitted for review , the approval process is estima ted to take four weeks. Mr. Speaker, we continue to communicate to the world that Bermuda is a significant option for FinTech- related businesses and that we have expeditiously developed rules and regulations which ensure that FinTech companies and their activities are well regulated, within a safe environment for the industry to grow, whilst also ensuring that this new regulatory environment protects consumers and the reputation of this jurisdiction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Mr. Premier, you have concluded your Stat ements. I believe the next Statement on the Order P aper is in the name of the Honourable Minister of N ational Security. Minister Caines, would you like to do your Statement? Hon. Wayne Caines: If it pleases you, …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue right ahead. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS —REPORTS ON 1 ST AND 2ND QUARTERS Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, this morning I wish to provide this Hono urable House with a report on the activities of the Department of Corrections during the first and second quarter s of 2018. The d …
Continue right ahead.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS —REPORTS ON 1 ST AND 2ND QUARTERS
Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, this morning I wish to provide this Hono urable House with a report on the activities of the Department of Corrections during the first and second quarter s of 2018. The d epartment commenced the fiscal year by implementing their Strategic Plan 2018 –2020 , which incorporates six goals: i. effective rehabilitation programmes; ii. efficient and prudent financial management; iii. high standards of security; iv. operational efficiency ; v. physical plant upgrades ; and vi. staff development and training. The strategic plan was rolled out to staff in two phases. The first phase involved all senior and programme staff, whilst the second phase was targeted to all staff. Staff attended half -day ses sions over a four-day period that provided them with information and implementation plans resulting in the new strat egic plan. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that , on the 2nd of July 2018, fifteen new recruits began an exciting and rigorous 12- week recruit training pr ogramme. The training that they will participate in during this per iod includes [ Security ], Drill, Policies and Procedures, Physical Fitness, Self -Defence, and Health and Safety. It is expected that , at the end of the 12 weeks of training, the recruits will take part in a Passing Out parade on September 11, 2018. Mr. Speaker, the department also commenced the promotion process for senior officers for the ranks of Divisional Officer, Principal Officer, Chief Officer , and Assistant Commissioner. I wish to congratulate Chief Officer Phillip Downie, who was pr omoted to Assistant Commissioner on the 1st of June 2018. The remaining promotions will be announced in the not-too-distant future. Mr. Speaker, the addition of these new recruits, coupled with the recent prom otions , will assist the d epartment in strengthening its numbers in order to effectively carry out their mission to Empower Inmates to be R esponsible and Productive Citizens . Mr. Speaker, in June 2018, the d epartment celebrated its 4th annual Corrections Week. Special activities were held during the week , including a senior’s tea, staff appreciation , and a bowling night. The week culminated with a church service at St. Paul’s AME Church that was attended by corrections staff. Mr. Speaker, the primary focus of the D epartment of Corrections is the care and custody of the inmates. During the first two quarters of this year , inmates have engaged in available programmes and activities that are intended to promote and assist them in returning to our community as productive and pos i2712 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly tive citizens. In addition to the behavio ur, educational , and vocational core- training programmes, the inmates continue to work on community projects. Honourable Members will recall the popular annual kite -making project that provides kites crafted by inmates to local schools for the students. This ye ar, inmates also assisted with the annual Agricultural Exhibition, in add ition to assisting other agencies in our community from time to time. Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members , you will recall that five inmates successfully completed the Violence Reducti on Programme, which commenced in November 2017. The programme is an intervention providing inmates with the requisite skills to reduce their risk of repeated violent behaviour. Inmates had the opportunity to join with their children at preFather’s Day and pre-Mother’s Day events. These events allow children to spend extra time with their parents and also assist in further developing parent – child relationships. Mr. Speaker, inmates have enjoyed monthly presentations from a cross section of guests who have been invited into Westgate Correctional Facility to have sessions on a variety of topics. These inmate programmes are an integral part of the rehabilitation process and contribute to Bermuda’s low recidivism rate of 8.96 per cent for the year 2016/ 17, as was r eported in the 2018/ 19 Approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. Mr. Speaker, to date, the department has trained 80 per cent of the staff in defensive tactics training. Ninety percent of the first -line managers have received management training to assist them in their daily duties. Management training will continue in September. Mr. Speaker, despite the challenges faced by the department , the Department of Corrections strives to maintain high standards of security , as this is e ssential to the safe operation of any corrections regime. The department will begin an internal security review aimed at identifying any areas of weakness , and strengthening current security procedures and prot ocols. It should be noted that our statistics record only one escape from Westgate Correctional Facility since its opening 24 years ago in 1994. Additionally, in comparison to other jurisdictions, the number of major incidents such as riots and deaths in custody is considerably low. Mr. Speaker, the Acting Commissioner of Corrections and the Senior Management Team take s ecurity and safety of staff seriously , and have a notolerance approach to threats to security. In light of this, a security plan with stringent measures is in place to manage and mitigate the inherent risk s that are associated with c orrections. The management and staff remain committed to meeting their objectives of rehabilitation, while ensuring the safety and security of the Island’s correctional facili ties. On Monday coming, I will be meeting with the Prison Officer’s Association to advance discussions surrounding their most recent concerns. The Ministry of National Security remains committed to working with the Department of Corrections as they implement their strategic plan and continue to strengthen the department ’s operations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. I understand, Minister, that the next Statement is yours, as well. Would you like to continue? Hon. Wayne Caines: Indeed, if it pleases you again,
Mr. Speaker.
The Sp eakerContinue on, Minister. ROYAL BERMUDA REGIMENT —JULY RECRUIT CAMP REPORT Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, over the last two weeks, the Royal Bermuda R egiment has been trai ning its second recruit intake for 2018. This is the first time the Bermuda Regiment has run two recruit i ntakes in …
Continue on, Minister.
ROYAL BERMUDA REGIMENT —JULY RECRUIT CAMP REPORT
Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, over the last two weeks, the Royal Bermuda R egiment has been trai ning its second recruit intake for 2018. This is the first time the Bermuda Regiment has run two recruit i ntakes in a calendar year, and it demonstrates that the Royal Bermuda Regiment is willing and able to adapt to an environment th at is changing. As such, I wish to provide this most Honourable House with an update. Mr. Speaker, 23 people volunteered to serve our country and join this July’s recruit class. Of these, eight were women and three were non- Bermudian. This second recruit c amp brings the recruit intake for 2018 to 65 soldiers, which compares to 60 in 2017 and 65 in 2016. It should be noted that five recruits were recruited through the Junior Bandsman Pr ogramme, a programme that allows student musicians to practice and perfor m with the Royal Bermuda Re giment Band and receive compensation. The band has conducted numerous engagements with schools that are supportive of this initiative. Mr. Speaker, the Royal Bermuda Regiment cohort’s conversion to military life is like no other b efore it. Recruits have been given more time to undergo less training in order to attain a higher standard. Training has being assessed by the training team and validated by recruits on an ongoing basis. More time has been dedicated at the start of recrui t training, to teach the Royal Bermuda Regiment’s values and standards, its equality and diversity policy, service complaint and disciplinary processes, as well as terms and conditions of service, so that soldiers are well aware of the expectations of them and their fellow soldiers. Mr. Speaker, in consultation with the Ministry of National Security and Government House, the next 12 months will see great changes at the Royal Bermuda Regiment. The Regiment will restructure and train so that it better deliver s operational effect in assisting the civil authority in the areas of humanitarian
Bermuda House of Assembly aid and disaster relief, and in the maritime domain. It will work more closely with its partners in Bermuda and overseas in order to ensure interoperability. And it will inc rease its investment in the training and educ ation of its soldiers so that, as their capability increases, so will the capability of the Regiment. This recruit class, the men and women of the Bermuda Regiment and the people of Bermuda, will be the benefici aries of these changes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. You have done your two Statements. The next Statement, I believe, is in the name of the Honourable Minister of Tourism. Honourable Minister, would you like to take the floor? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, and good morning, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. 2018 BERMUDA NATIONAL TOURISM PLAN UPDATE Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Members of this Honourable House will be aware that the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism has been working with the Bermuda Tourism Authority [BTA] to update the National Tourism Plan . The most important objective of this …
Good morning.
2018 BERMUDA NATIONAL TOURISM PLAN UPDATE Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Members of this Honourable House will be aware that the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism has been working with the Bermuda Tourism Authority [BTA] to update the National Tourism Plan . The most important objective of this exercise is to develop a comprehensive five- year plan for the growth of Bermuda’s tourism industry in a world where tourism is constantly and quickly evolving. When completed, the 2018 [National Tourism] Plan will chart our course through 2023, keeping the country on track with a clear vision for continuing the growth trajectory that the industry has enjoyed since 2015. As I stand today, Mr. Speaker, the process of creating the next chapter of the National Tourism Plan is a little more than halfway to completion. Having b egun in early March, the BTA expects to deliver a final report to the public in October at its Annual Tourism Summit. Over the past four and a half months, r esearch has been completed to build the foundation of the final plan. Allow me to review som e of the broad consultation that has already taken place: A full 122 stakeholder interviews, ranging from one to two hours each, have been conducted, covering a wide variety of viewpoints —from within the tourism industry and outside of the tourism industr y, from the public sector and the private sector. More than 2,500 people have been surveyed in the US, UK, and Canada, both previous visitors to Bermuda and those who have not visited yet. Nearly 800 local residents have been polled for their opinions about the future of Bermuda tourism, as well, either in response to online surveys or via a telephone interview. Clearly, Mr. Speaker, the goal is to gather as much input as possible from as many vantage points as possible so that the end result is a National Tour-ism Plan that the whole country can get behind. This cannot be a plan crafted in an ivory tower, Mr. Speaker; it must be crafted collaboratively, with the people whose help is required, to make it a success. To that point, more than 40 volunteers ass ociated with the tourism industry volunteered over nine hours of their personal time to sit on National Tourism Plan Working Groups over the past two months. This is where people rolled up their sleeves and worked as teams to shape an improved on Island experience for Bermuda’s visitor target segments. The end result of this work intends to be an actionable strategy for rai sing our tourism product across the spectrum. In addition to these volunteers, Members of Parliament, BTA board members, the staff at t he BTA, small business owners, front -line tourism workers, and a host of others made significant contributions to the working groups. And I cannot stress enough the i mportance of their input to the National Tourism Plan. Mr. Speaker, I would like to read their names here in the House of Assembly, as a token of apprec iation for their time and effort: From the Bermuda Tourism Authority Board: Paul Telford, Sophia Greaves, Phil Barnett , and Stephen Todd. From the staff at the BTA: Alastair Jack, Tashae Thomps on, Tiffani Cailor, David Thomas, Rasheeda Burgess, Jill Dill, Jamari Douglas, Glenn Jones, Amanda Dempsey, and Leonard Williams. From the Parliament: the Honourable Cole Simons, the Honourable Leah Scott, and the Honourable Crystal Caesar, Junior Minister of Economic D evelopment and Tourism, who sits in another place. From a cross section of our economy, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the following: Jonelle Christopher, Rodney Grimes, Mark Anderson, Roger Todd, Joanna Cranfield, Stephanie Rodill, Mayor of St. George’s Quinell Francis, Mayor of Hamilton Charles Gosling, Elizabeth Christopher, Cordell Riley, Shelley Meszoly, Corey Butterfield, Danilee Trott, Thomas Lightbourne, Alexander Green, Tim Morrison, Kristin White, Kim Dismont Robinson, Heather Whalen, Craig Burt, Isabelle Ramsay -Brackstone, Antwan Albouy, Faith Bridges, Craig Tyrrell, Paul A dams, and Malika Cartwright. These contributors to the National Tourism Plan were split into four working groups that met for three sessions spread over a six -week period. I attended a session for a brief period this week, Mr. Speaker, and passed along my thanks and certificates of appreciation on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism. We are very pleased with the collaborative spirit of this project and grateful for the contributions of so many. 2714 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly In addition to this important review of the on Island experience, the next chapter of the National Tourism Plan will also explore the possibilities in the African –American travel segment; sports tourism; cu ltural tourism; groups and incentive travel; and a myr iad of other important touchpoints, including markets where Bermuda’s future tourism growth is likely to come. I would like to conclude by reiterating that wri ting a National Tourism Plan is an important part of creating a successful tourism destination and that my Ministry will continue to provide support to the Berm uda Tourism Authority on this crucial work to complete a plan that all of Bermuda can get behind. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. The next Statement this morning is in the name of the Minister of Education and Workforce D evelopment. Minister. SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2018 Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Good morning, Mr. Speaker, and thank you. Mr. Speaker, thi s morning I rise to share with this Honourable …
Thank you, Minister. The next Statement this morning is in the name of the Minister of Education and Workforce D evelopment. Minister.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2018
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Good morning, Mr. Speaker, and thank you. Mr. Speaker, thi s morning I rise to share with this Honourable House the Education Ministry’s 2018 scholarships and awards recipients. Yesterday evening, the Ministry of Education and Workforce Development held its annual Scholarships and Awards Reception. It was an incredible evening of recognition and celebration of an outstanding group of Bermudians. This year’s recipients of the Ministry’s scholarships and awards are of different ages, backgrounds, and disciplines, and yet in common have a deep commitment to achievement and building a better Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, this Government shares this commitment. We not only value education, but are investing in education. We are delivering on our pledge to provide greater opportunities for Bermudians to help meet their individual education and trai ning needs, but also [the needs] of our community and economy. It is our belief that funds for post -secondary education and training be used both strategically and in line with our values. Therefore, we continue to pr ovide long- standing scholarships and awards, such as the Bermuda Government Scholarships for outstanding scholars, and Further Education Awards for st udents who need financia l help to finish college or university. Mr. Speaker, historically, there has been a focus on a particular kind of scholarship student. Through our scholarships and awards, we continue to salute those students, but we have also broadened our focus to recognise, celebrate, and invest in st udents as diverse and as promising as our community. Mr. Speaker, we have made significant changes to the award for mature students, lowering the eligibility age from 35 to 25 to capture a broader group of people, includin g those who had trouble getting into college in the first place, or those who had to stop their education due to lack of funds or other obstacles. Mr. Speaker, we continued to offer Minister’s Scholarships and Awards and added two new schol-arships. The Ap plied Technology Scholarship was introduced to recognise and support public senior school dual -enrolment students in Bermuda College’s Applied Technology Programme. While in senior school, students do not pay tuition, as they are of compulsory school age. However, once they graduate from senior school, students who remain in the pr ogramme must pay tuition. For the first time ever, we have three Minister’s Applied Tech Scholarship recip ients who will receive $5,000 to study at Bermuda College. In another fir st, we offered the Minister’s Berm uda College Book Awards, valued at $500 each. Six Bermuda College students will benefit from this award. Mr. Speaker, we also offered the Minister’s Exceptional Student Award for students with disabil ities. Much appreciat ion and gratitude have been expressed for this award in particular. It is, without doubt, special to many parents, students, and educ ators because of the inherent challenges that students with learning differences, physical [disabilities] or ot her exceptio nalities experience while still persevering in their pursuit of post -secondary education. Mr. Speaker, while time does not permit me to name every single 2018 scholarship or award winner, I would like to highlight some of the recipients to give tangible examples of the Government’s investment in education. Recipients of the Minister’s Applied Tech Scholarship are as follows: • Donavan Drummond, a simultaneous grad uate of CedarBridge Academy and the Berm uda College dual enrolment programme, who is enrolled in the Certificate in Applied Technology Programme at Bermuda College, majoring in Information Technology. • Seth Samuels, a simultaneous graduate of CedarBridge A cademy and the Bermuda College dual enrolment programme, who is also enroll ed in the Associate of Science ( Computer Information System ) Programme, at Bermuda College , majoring in Information Tec hnology. • Jalair Trott -Richardson, a simultaneous gra duate of the Berkeley Institute and the Berm uda College dual enrolment programme, who is enrolled in the C ertificate in Applied Technology Programme at Bermuda College, majoring in Information Technology .
Bermuda House of Assembly Recipients of the Minister’s Achievement Scholarship are as follows: • Kaila Harvey, an honour student and graduate of the Berkeley Institute. She will attend the University of Essex in the UK , where she will study towards a degree in Creative Writing and English Literature. • Storm Gibbons, who was Head Girl and graduated from CedarBridge Academy . She will attend Mount Allison University , studying t owards a Bachelor’s of Sc ience in Biology. She plans to pursue a career in medicine and health. Recipients of the Minister’s Technical and V ocational Award are as follows: • Jameko Gomes, a graduate of the Berkeley Institute and the Bermuda College. He is the recipient of the overseas award. Jameko is presently enrolled at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in the Bachelor of I nformation Technology ( Honours) Programme, majoring in Networking and Information Tec hnology Security. • Tyrece Dyer, a Bermuda College student, enrolled in the Certificate in Motor Vehicle Tec hnology progr amme. He is the recipient of the local award. The recipients of the Minister’s Exceptional Student Award are as follows: • Taejah Virgil, who is enrolled at the Bermuda College where she will study towards an A ssociate Degree in Business Administration. She is a recipient of the local award. • Jared Rego, who is enrolled at Mount Saint Vincent University in the Bachelor of Business Administration Programme, in association with the Bermuda College. He is a recipient of the local award. • Darren Trott, who is enrolled at Georgia State University where he is majoring in Actuarial Science. He is the recipient of the overseas award. The recipients of the Minister’s Bermuda College Book Award are as follows: • Regina Dill ; • Rickea Trott ; • Chelsey Walker ; • Naphisa Smith; • Najah Garcia; and • Jiqena Furqan. All 22 recipients of the Further Education Award are too numerous to name, but a few are as follows : • Jordan Payne; • Kayjuana Lema; • Taylor Hill; and • Tahirah Cross . The recipients of the Non -Traditional Award are as follows: • Lindsay Gaugain, who is completing a Bach elor in Accounting at American Intercontinental University . • Matthew Johnston, who is pursuing a degree in English on his path towards becoming an English teacher.
The recipients of the Teacher Education Scholarship are as follows: • Kallan Thomas, who is enrol led at the University of Brighton and is pursuing a B achelor of Arts in Education i n order to become a teac her of Mathematics. • Shannon Davis , who is studying at Mount Saint Vincent University and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Education. She will become a Social Studies teacher at the secondary level. • Gilat Smith, who is enrolled at the University of Central Florida. She will become an Engl ish teacher at the secondary level after completing her B achelor of Arts in English Education. • Leticia Williams, who is pursuing a B achelor of Arts in Early Years and Special and Incl usive Education at Nottingham Trent Univers ity. She will become a S pecial Education teacher. The Teacher Education Scholarship is given to candidates pursuing initial teacher training and who, as a condition of their scholarship, will work as teachers in Bermuda public schools. I am pleased to inform this House that two of the 2018 recipients have only one more year before completing their Bachelor of Arts in Education and will, therefore, become teachers in areas of significant need at the beginning of the 2019/20 school year. And finally, Mr. Speaker, the recipients of the Bermuda Government Scholarship are as follows: • Jay-Quan Dill, a 2018 graduate of the Berk eley Institute. He will attend Nova Southeastern University to study towards a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in his pursuit of a medical degree. • Nia Dailey, a graduate of the Berkeley Inst itute in 2016, where she was also a part -time dual enrolment student. She is currently a sophomore student attending Spelman College, pursuin g a Bachelor’s Degree in Health. • Ari Minors , a recent graduate of Mount Saint Vincent Universi ty, who also graduated from the Berkeley Institute in 2014 and Bermuda College in 2016. She will pursue an Master’s of Art in International Business at Regent’s University London. The full list of recipients will be available on the www.moed.bm website later this morning. 2716 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, I share the pride of the 46 reci pients, their families, educators , and other mentors, and would ask that Members of this House support me in congratulating them and wishing them future success as they further their studies. I would also like to thank the c hairpersons and members of the Mini ster’s Scholarships and Awards Committee, the Educ ation Board ’s Scholarship Committee, as well as the Scholarship Administrator in the Ministry Headquarters. It is with passion and dedication that they serve in order to fos ter the promise that our recipients bring to the scholarship process, their studies, and to Ber-muda and its future. I would also like [to add] a quick addendum, Mr. Speaker. All Bermuda Sc holarship Award winners are graduates of the public school system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Minister, you have a second Statement. Would you like to do your second Statement? Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S POLICY FOR ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE —UPDATE Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, I stand before you and my honourable colleagues this morning to provide an update on the Education Department’s policy for administrative leave . This is a policy that lays out the expectations for educators …
Continue.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S POLICY FOR ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE —UPDATE Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, I stand before you and my honourable colleagues this morning to provide an update on the Education Department’s policy for administrative leave . This is a policy that lays out the expectations for educators when interacting with students and the actions that will be taken when an educator is placed on administrative leave. Mr. Speaker, it is a standard practice to place any adult who is cited in a referral and who works with children on administrative leave during an investigation. In this regard, last year the Department of Educ ation found itself in this position, where some educators from the primary, middle, and senior levels were placed on administrative leave. Mr. Speaker, when our educators are away from school for any type of leave, the learning and services provided to students are compromised. During the course of the last school year, some of the educators who were placed on administrative leave were away from work for extended periods of time. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education expects and s upports ethical and professional standards of behaviour for educators in their interactions with students. This is necessary to provide a safe learning environment for students and to protect the professional integrity of educators. The Department of Education also recognises the adverse impact that any type of teacher absence has on the results and success of our students. Mr. Speaker, as a result, as Minister, I asked that a small committee take on the task of updating the department’s administrative leave policy. The pur-pose for the update is to develop processes and pr ocedures that will reduce the amount of time that an educator is away from work on administrative leave. Additionally, the guidelines steering the interaction between educators and student s will be reviewed and the reporting protocols expanded. Mr. Speaker, to ensure that our educators are clear about the expectations for interactions with st udents, plans are in the works to hold workshops with staff from all schools at the start of the sc hool year in September. Additionally, each staff member will be provided with a copy of the administrative leave pol icy, and each school principal and preschool admini strator will be asked to review expectations for interac ting with children and with staff , at their monthly staff meetings. Mr. Speaker, previously, when an educator was placed on leave, he or she would have remained at home. With our revised procedures, any educator placed on administrative leave will report to the D epartment of Education for the duration of that leave. During that time, educators will be assigned tasks to complete to support their students and their respective school. Mr. Speaker, it is our hope that the revised administrative leave policy and the associated activ ities will serve as a clear reminder of the expectations for our educators when working with children. Mr. Speaker, it is also the expectation of the Ministry and the Government that there will be a reduction in the number of educators placed on administrative leave in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. We are down to the final Statement for this morning, and I believe it is in the name of the Minister of Works.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue on. FARMING IN BERMUDA
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchGood morning, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on July the 18 th, 2017, Bermuda experienced a change of Government. It was not unexpected, and so, this may sound to you like an unBermuda House of Assembly necessary statement; but , in order for all of us to u nderstand what this …
Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on July the 18 th, 2017, Bermuda experienced a change of Government. It was not unexpected, and so, this may sound to you like an unBermuda House of Assembly necessary statement; but , in order for all of us to u nderstand what this means in terms of impact, I must start at the beginning. The beginning, Mr. Speaker, is captured in the PLP’s election platform . There, we identified those things we wanted to accomplish during our term in office. For example, we stated, “Your next PLP Government will make government more efficient by undertaking a comprehensive r eview of the Public Service Commission legisla tion.” ( Amendments to the Public Service Commission published just before Christmas 2016 changed the role of the c ommission from an impartial appointing authority for senior civil servants to a politici sed semi -executive body that will set performance goals for senior civil servants.) Mr. Speaker, what does this have to do with the role of senior civil servants? The service has an important role in readying themselves for a change whenever a general election takes place. Usually , the Secretary to the Cabinet prepares two dossiers explaining how they will accommodate each p arty’s agenda. Such preparation would allow a new G overnment, if there was a change, to be presented with a full outline of Government project s currently underway, and of those still awaiting decision in each particular Ministry. This would enable a new Minister to determine how his/or her M inistry could accommodate the newly elected G overnment’s agenda. Mr. Speaker, as you well know , the relat ionship between ministers and staff is unique—some would say “ peculiar .”
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMinisters are not quite the same as private sector executives. Their relatio nship with staff is predicated on staff members’ co mmitme nt to serving the Government of the day —no matter their own personal political views. So it was earlier this year that I learned of a Bermudian f …
Ministers are not quite the same as private sector executives. Their relatio nship with staff is predicated on staff members’ co mmitme nt to serving the Government of the day —no matter their own personal political views. So it was earlier this year that I learned of a Bermudian f armer whose lease had expired prior to the general election of 2017. Ministers would not nat urally know about this lease, or any lease, until they are presented for signature, because leases come under the remit of the Estates Department. Mr. Speaker, the fact that the Bascome family were only told in May of this year that their lease had expired 17 months ago a nd they were then given six months from 1 st June 2018 to leave raises all sorts of questions. It would be appropriate for me to invest igate why the Bascome family were not told much earlier that their lease would be up in 2017, and it would also be appropr iate for me to find out why they were being given a date to relocate. Mr. Speaker, you will be quite familiar with the circumstances that have evolved over the las t two weeks. S o, I will simply cut to the chase and report on what is new. I met this past Monday morning with the two Bascome brothers to discuss first -hand the situa-tion surrounding their expired lease a nd their wishes going forward. In that meeting, which was both cor dial and instructive, we discussed the potential development of the 9 Beaches property next door and thei r farming plans for the future. We also discussed advances in farming technology to better manage the smell from cow manure, and I offered and they accepted to meet with specialist technical officers in the Ministry who have som e expertise in waste management and di sposal. That introduction has already occurred, and a meeting is scheduled for this very afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I indicated to them that this Government would not displace them or cause their business to close , that I believed there was a way forward that required discussion with my Cabinet co lleagues, and that I would be in further communication following that. And we agreed to meet again. That di scussion took place later on Monday . I am pleased to report that Government has taken the decision and instructed the Bermuda Land Development Company , who have oversight of the 9 Beaches Property , to inform up front any potential developer that the farm will not be moved and its presence next door must be considered with any development. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I informed Mr. Bascome III that the notice to quit had been cancelled, and we arranged to meet next week to discuss the way forward. By the way, Mr. Speaker, the quotes attributed to th e Bermuda Farmers Association [reflect] a very strange position for them to take when our pos ition on local agriculture, as stated in the PLP’s p latform, was to “ lease the many acres of government arable land that are currently not being used in order to boost domestic food production” and to “promote and develop community gardens that can assist in meeting the needs of the less fortunate in our com-munity.” If this sounds to you, Mr. Speaker, like a plan to encourage more Bermudians to get into farming or to encourage more farmers to ma ke use of gover nment arable land, then you would be correct! It is kind of hard to push forward this agenda of encouraging farmers when the daily paper is hell - bent in trying its best to create negative front -page news. (Monday’s paper quotes the Bermuda Farmers Association as “urging the Government to ditch its plan to remove West End f armers from their land . . .”) Having possession of copies of various statements confirming that plans for eviction were on hold, I guess it is too much to expect that they would even attempt to correct any misconception. Not to worry , though, Mr. Speaker —every day an increasing number of Bermudians are joining me in total disdain and mistrust of most things they print. The PLP made a declaration of our concern for domestic food production long before anyone tried to make this an issue of dissent. 2718 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, like the Bascome family have done , the Bermuda Farmer’s Associati on are also welcome to come and meet with me so that we can talk face to face. Their statement that all government - owned farmland leases had not been renewed over the last three years was worthy of investigation. Mr. Speaker, I know that not to be the cas e, as I have signed several leases over the last year. During this time I have also approved of one- third of the Greenwich Farm land to be used by the CedarBridge Academy to teach farming to students , and the remaining two-thirds of that farmland to the Mi nistry of National Security for use in their gang intervention programme. Government has 45 plots of arable land around the country . Of those, 13 appear to have expired leases , and 2 are in dispute over ownership. I have ordered a review of each of the 13 properties to determine the state of their leases. I also agree, Mr. Speaker, with the statement by Carlos Amaral, Chairman of the Board of Agriculture, that “the problem with farmers leases needed examination, ” although I wonder out loud, Mr. Speaker, why it has ta ken five years for anyone to sa y anything . Mr. Speaker, this Government has an extensive track record and a lifelong philosophy to care for the people of this country and is always willing to find a solution to any problem. My advice , though, is do not try and communicate your message to us via any means other than directly to us. We will not be deterred in our quest to i mprove the lives of every Bermudian. And, in spite of the constant chirping from the sidelines , we will pu rsue our agenda, resoundingly endorsed by a signif icant majority of the voters of this country on July 18, 2017. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Members, that brings us to a close of the Statement period for this morning. REPOR TS OF COMMITTEES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, for Reports of Committees, there are two items on the Order Paper this morning. The first item, however, will be carried over for a f uture sitting. The second item can be put now, by the Deputy Speaker. JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT ON PRIVATE BILLS WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD …
Members, for Reports of Committees, there are two items on the Order Paper this morning. The first item, however, will be carried over for a f uture sitting. The second item can be put now, by the Deputy Speaker.
JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT ON PRIVATE BILLS
WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD (BERMUDA) (CHANGE OF NAME) ACT 2018
BERMUDA AUDUBON SOCIETY AMENDMENT ACT 2018 NORTHSTAR FINANCIAL SERVICES (BERMUDA) LTD. AMENDMENT ACT 2018. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Spea ker. Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Private Bills has the honour to submit the following report: The committee has carefully considered the petitions, together with the related Bills, for the Acts listed hereunder, and is satisfi ed that the Bills are private Bills and that all of the rules of both Houses having to do with private Bills have been complied with: (1) the Worldwide Church of God (Bermuda) (Change of Name) Act 2018; (2) the Bermuda Audubon Society Amendment Act 2018; and (3) Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Ltd. Amendment Act 2018. The committee recommends that the Bills entitled Worldwide Church of God (Bermuda) (Change of Name) Act 2018, the Bermuda Audubon Society Amendment Act 2018, and the Northstar Financia l Services (Bermuda) Ltd. Amendment Act 2018 be accepted subject to agreed amendments. Subject to the recommendations contained in paragraph 2 above, the committee recommends that the prayers of the Petitioners be granted and that leave be given to bring i n the proposed Bills to give effect thereto.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Deputy. QUESTION PERIOD
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, this now brings us to the Question Period. The first set of questions this mor ning is written questions that were put to the Minister of Education and Workforce Development. However, they were not for oral response; they were just for written response. So, the Member who put the …
Members, this now brings us to the Question Period. The first set of questions this mor ning is written questions that were put to the Minister of Education and Workforce Development. However, they were not for oral response; they were just for written response. So, the Member who put the questions was Member Cole Simons. Have you received your written responses?
WRITTEN ANSWERS
Mr. N. H. Cole Simo nsYes, Mr. Speaker. QUESTIONS: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ADMI NISTRATIVE LEAVE POLICY —NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES PLACED ON , TOTAL COST , REASON 1) Will the Honourable Minister please inform this Honourable House of the total number of employees placed on administrat ive leave for the fiscal years of 2016 -2017 and …
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
QUESTIONS: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ADMI NISTRATIVE LEAVE POLICY —NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES PLACED ON , TOTAL COST , REASON
1) Will the Honourable Minister please inform this Honourable House of the total number of employees placed on administrat ive leave for the fiscal years of 2016 -2017 and 20172018?
2) Will the Honourable Minister please inform this Honourable House of the total cost to the consolidated fund for those on administrative
Bermuda House of Assembly leave for the fiscal years of 2016- 2017 and 2017- 2018?
3) Will the Honourable Minister please provide for this Honourable House a schedule showing the period for each employee’s leave, the reason for the leave, and the resolution for each person placed on administrative leave for the fiscal years of 2016- 2017 and 20172018?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood. We can now move on. The Member has his written responses. PREMIER’S QUESTION TIME [Standing Order 17(11)(i)]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, and for those in the listening audience, today marks the inauguration of the first Premier’ s Question Period in our Standing Orders. And the process, just to give a couple of highlights on it, is that it will take place on the second Friday of each month that we …
Members, and for those in the listening audience, today marks the inauguration of the first Premier’ s Question Period in our Standing Orders. And the process, just to give a couple of highlights on it, is that it will take place on the second Friday of each month that we sit. And there is a duration of 30 minutes for the series of questions to the Premier. The questions may be put to the Premier relative to current matters of national importance, or on general performance of government ministries and government agencies, including a routine question about the Premier’s engagements. The Opposition Leader has the ability to ask three questions. Any other Member may ask one question. And only Members who have put questions can ask supplementaries. The guideline is that the Members who wish to ask questions should have i nformed the Speaker before the start of this morning’s sitting so that the Speaker would have had a list of those intended Members and questions. So, if your name has not been provided to me before this mor ning, you know that there is no need for you to get out of your seat during this period. Once we complete the 30 minutes for the Premier’s Questions, or if those who have indicated that they wish to ask questions have completed all of their questions before the 30 minutes, we will then move on to the regular Question Period from Stat ements that were given this morning. And out of courtesy, I am going to allow the Opposition Leader to put her questions first. So, the 30 minutes will begin now. Madam Opposition Leader.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I am not going ask for your engagement.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberAww. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I am married. [Laughter] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. QUESTION 1: AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION, STATUS OF PLP “BETTER DEAL” Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Would the Premier advise the Honourable House of the status of the better deal that he promised to the people of Bermuda in advance of the 2017 general election in respect of the construction of the …
Yes.
QUESTION 1: AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION, STATUS OF PLP “BETTER DEAL”
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Would the Premier advise the Honourable House of the status of the better deal that he promised to the people of Bermuda in advance of the 2017 general election in respect of the construction of the airport? And could he specify which terms and conditions were improved upon?
Hon. E. David Burt: Good morning, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning, Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Honourable Opposition Leader for her question. And what I would say is that the Honourable Opposition Leader, I am sure, was paying attention when we gave a press conference on the report, where we, I think, …
Good morning, Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Honourable Opposition Leader for her question. And what I would say is that the Honourable Opposition Leader, I am sure, was paying attention when we gave a press conference on the report, where we, I think, rolled out about 19 binders full of a contract that had, in the unspeakable terms, that it was unable to be varied. Now, every sing le other contract has the abi lity to be varied but this one, Mr. Speaker. So, given that that Member was a Member of the Cabinet that approved a contract that could not be altered, I am sure that she could tell us how the people of the cou ntry can get that better deal.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersOh! Oh! [Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Thank you, Premier. Opposition Leader, would you like a suppl ementary or take your second question? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: No, this is a supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPut your supplementary. [Inaudible interjections and laughter ] SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Will the Premier accept that he has misled the public, either through ignorance or intentional deception, with respect to the terms and agreements of this contract? Because as the Premier 2720 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report …
Put your supplementary. [Inaudible interjections and laughter ]
SUPPLEMENTARIES
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Will the Premier accept that he has misled the public, either through ignorance or intentional deception, with respect to the terms and agreements of this contract? Because as the Premier 2720 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly indicated, once he got it and looked into it, he recognised that it was not what he understood. So, he either did not realise what was there or he misled the country.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I promised my co lleagues that I would be on my best behaviour today.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOh? The Speaker would have it no other way. [Laughter] Hon. E. David Burt: So, I am going to do my best to remain on my best behaviour, Mr. Speaker. The Sp eaker: Thank you. Hon. E. David Burt: But I find it incredibly rich that a Member of the …
Oh? The Speaker would have it no other way.
[Laughter]
Hon. E. David Burt: So, I am going to do my best to remain on my best behaviour, Mr. Speaker.
The Sp eaker: Thank you. Hon. E. David Burt: But I find it incredibly rich that a Member of the former Cabinet who came to Parli ament, I believe at 5:00 am, who did not provide 19 binders full of documents, would say that I misled the people by saying before the election that we will be looking to change a deal that they wrote that could not be changed, Mr. Speaker! Again, that was what they locked the country into, Mr. Speaker. They locked the country into ever - increasing air rates. They locked the country into giving away our revenue. They locked the country into the fact that a Canadian company is getting revenue that should be going to our students and to our se niors, Mr. Speaker. That was their deal. But we are going to continue the work despite what they left us.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. Madam Leader, would you like a supplementary? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Supplementary, suppl ementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThis is your second supplementary and your last supplementary on this one. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Yes. This is my last su pplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnd then you have questions, yes. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And I totally understood. And bearing in mind that the Premier had what I call his preamble, I am just going to say to him that per-haps he should have recognised that until he looked at it he did not …
And then you have questions, yes.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And I totally understood. And bearing in mind that the Premier had what I call his preamble, I am just going to say to him that per-haps he should have recognised that until he looked at it he did not know what was in there. And my other supplementary . . . and the Premier went down the path so I am going to go down it as well, because the Premier indicated about contracts, et c etera. Since we have had the release of so much information, the 19 binders, et cetera, what I want to know is, is the Premier prepared to release the unredacted version of the PPP partnership for the Berm uda Hospitals Board that he promised he would do?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will let the Honourable Oppos ition Leader know that I do not remember the specific reference of which she said. But if she has said that I have made a commitment, I am happy …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will let the Honourable Oppos ition Leader know that I do not remember the specific reference of which she said. But if she has said that I have made a commitment, I am happy to keep that commitment. And I will be happy to do so, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Madam Opposition Leader, would you like to move on to your second question? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I will. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSpeak to me. Members, Members. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe started this with the Premier ind icating that everyone was going to be on their best behaviour. And you know if you are not, the Speaker will show you the door. So, if you want the door, you can take it now or let me show it to you …
We started this with the Premier ind icating that everyone was going to be on their best behaviour. And you know if you are not, the Speaker will show you the door. So, if you want the door, you can take it now or let me show it to you in a bit. But I suggest everyone be on their good behaviour in this inaugural process, because I would like to see all of you still remain when it is finishe d. Continue on.
QUESTION 2: BREXIT’S IMPACT; DISCUSSIONS WITH UK Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Premier give this House an update on the Government discussion with the UK Government regarding Brexit and its possible impact on Bermuda?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that it was a sp ecial Joint Ministerial Council meeting that took place, I think, last month, which was attended by the Deputy Bermuda House of Assembly Premier for various discussions on …
Thank you. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that it was a sp ecial Joint Ministerial Council meeting that took place, I think, last month, which was attended by the Deputy
Bermuda House of Assembly Premier for various discussions on Brexit matters. And I will ask that a Statement be prepared to share with the Honourable House on those particular matters.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Opposition Leader, a supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Jeann e J. Atherden: Supplementary. Can the Premier advise this House on whet her this matter was discussed recently at CARICOM?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can say that there was minimal discussion regarding Brexit at CARICOM. What we spent our time discussing at CARICOM was how we could work with our Caribbean partners to assist what we are doing with our work …
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can say that there was minimal discussion regarding Brexit at CARICOM. What we spent our time discussing at CARICOM was how we could work with our Caribbean partners to assist what we are doing with our work with the European Union, not specifically regarding Brexit. As Members would be aware, ther e is a Eur opean Union issue that a lot of countries are undergoing. And the fact is that we felt that it could be a dvanced if more persons came together to secure higher -level political meetings than would have been able to be secured by Bermuda, itself.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Would you like your second supplementary or your third question? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Oh, second supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Although I appreciate what the Premier said, I just want to find out . . . are there any other takeaways from that CARICOM meeting that you would like to advise the House on?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Well, Mr. Speaker, I am very happy that the Honourable Opposition Leader is going to all ow me to invite or to share what took place at the CARICOM meeting, because the meeting was my first. It was the first meeting in 15 years that …
Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Well, Mr. Speaker, I am very happy that the Honourable Opposition Leader is going to all ow me to invite or to share what took place at the CARICOM meeting, because the meeting was my first. It was the first meeting in 15 years that was attended by all 15 heads of government of the full CARICOM member states. And it was also attended by four associate heads. Bermuda had the opportunity to present its progress on what we have been doing inside of the FinTech space, which formed part of the final comm uniqué. Insofar as that, we will also assist our Caribbean neighbours in sharing our experience, as there is enough of this new economy to go around. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my earlier response, there was a lot of spe-cific discussion that dealt with the European Union lists of non- cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, and how countries could work together in order to s ecure more high- level political meetings. There was a plan that was devised at the summit. That plan will be worked, and I expect that we will not only assist our CARICOM partners with the information w hich we have learned insofar as dealing with the EU, but what we will also do is we will join with them in making sure that we can make our representation directly to the heads of government and/or ministers of finance throughout the European Union territories. And the final thing that I would say, Mr. Speaker, is that it was certainly recognised that Bermuda was back at CARICOM after a long period of absence.
[Desk thumping and cheering]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Would you like to put a thi rd question, Madam Opposition Leader? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to go local now.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo local. QUESTION 3: PAYROLL, E -TAX SYSTEM Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Can the Premier advise when the online payment system f or payroll will b ecome usable?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: I am uncertain of the question. If she is talking about the E -Tax system, the E -Tax sy stem itself has been online for a while. I think the E -Tax system has been online for probably about 10 years. If she …
Thank you. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: I am uncertain of the question. If she is talking about the E -Tax system, the E -Tax sy stem itself has been online for a while. I think the E -Tax system has been online for probably about 10 years. If she is asking a question about the recent upgrades and changes which have had to take place, I do know that the Ministry of Finance has put out a notice that the payroll tax will not be able to be found until, I believe, Ju ly 30. But those items are being worked through. So I am happy if the Opposition Leader would like to clarify the particular question which she has. But, I think, on a broader level, what we are looking to do is make sure that we bring more go vernment ser vices online. And I am proud to state . . . and I think that the Honourable Minister of Education spoke about the fact of a young Mr. Jalair TrottRichardson, who graduated with a dual enrolment degree from the Bermuda College, as well as the Berk eley Inst itute. But in addition to that, I happened to 2722 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly meet this young man, Mr. Speaker, at the Berkeley Institute commencement. And I am pleased to report that he is currently working in the Cabinet Office, delivering on the election promise to deliver a mobile app for the people of this country. We will make sure that government is more efficient, and we will make sure that Bermudians are the ones who are building it, Mr. Speaker. [Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary? SUPPLEMENT ARY Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just as a clarification, it was the letter that I was inquiring about, in terms of the system not being usable. And I just wonder if the Premier would give an indication as to what …
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary?
SUPPLEMENT ARY
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just as a clarification, it was the letter that I was inquiring about, in terms of the system not being usable. And I just wonder if the Premier would give an indication as to what has been the impact on cash flow by this payroll tax system not being available to all of those persons who have been used to utilising it?
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David BurtpremierThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister of Finance for her question. R egarding changes to payroll taxes as they happen, this problem does occur. These are the exact same problems that occurred under her administration, or when the former Government …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister of Finance for her question. R egarding changes to payroll taxes as they happen, this problem does occur. These are the exact same problems that occurred under her administration, or when the former Government made payroll tax changes. And it takes a little bit longer to update the system online. But what I can tell her about the impact on cash flow is that, I think about three weeks ago, in the Ministry of Finance, I reviewed the annual cash flow statement. And it looks like the numbers are getting better, Mr. Speaker. And so, I do not believe that at this point in time we have managed to dig into or borrow any additional money, because our cash flow is relatively positive. And I will be happy to report up to the House when I intend to give a mid- term update on our budget and our budget performance.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. Would you like a supplementary? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I am pleased to hear that we will have a mid-term update, because that would have been the last question that I had with respect to periodic u pdates. And I appreciate the …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSo, no question? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: No question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. We will now move on. Premier, t here are eight Members who actually put their names on the list today. I recognise the Honourable Member Tyrrell. QUESTION 1: BERMUDA COLLEGE, STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellThank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning, all. As a res ult of my canvassing, I would like the Honourable Premier to confirm to this Honourable House the number of students who have benefited from additional financial assistance at the Bermuda College.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ho nourable Member for his question. As Honourable Members will recall, during our election campaign, we made a pledge to make sure that those persons who had financial need would be able to get the assi stance. We have heard …
Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ho nourable Member for his question. As Honourable Members will recall, during our election campaign, we made a pledge to make sure that those persons who had financial need would be able to get the assi stance. We have heard from a number of schol arships, which have been awarded by the Bermuda Gover nment, from the Minister of Education, earlier. And I am pleased to announce that a grand total of 313 st udents benefited from the additional monies given to the Bermuda College. And that means that 313 st udents who would not have had the opportunity to have higher education under the former Government got it under this Government.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellI do, Mr. Speaker. And again, as a result of canvassing, can the Honourable Premier advise if it is intended to continue offering this financial assistance, going forward?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, what I can say to the Honourable M ember is absolutely . If Members will recall, the Ministry of Educ ation received the largest increase of any government department, $5.3 million additional dollars, to make Bermuda House of Assembly sure that not …
Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, what I can say to the Honourable M ember is absolutely . If Members will recall, the Ministry of Educ ation received the largest increase of any government department, $5.3 million additional dollars, to make
Bermuda House of Assembly sure that not only our students can have the better education, but also to ensure t hat we are able to pr ovide assistance to upgrade the skills of all of our pe ople, wherever they are, Mr. Speaker. It is important. And the way that we will build a better and fairer Ber-muda is to ensure that people have the access to higher education. This Government is committed, and we are delivering.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary? Do you have a second supplementary, or are you are fine? No. Okay. [Inaudible interjection]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerBeg pardon? [Inaudible interjection] The S peaker: You cannot ask a supplementary. You did not ask a question. So, you are on your question now. Yes. Okay. We will move on to the question from the Honourable Member Gordon- Pamplin. You have the opportunity to put your question now. QUESTION …
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Premier advise this Honourable House of the reason behind the purchase of the Victoria Hall Building [sic] by Government, given that there are significant government properties that could have benefited from the infusion of the capital expenditure for rehabilitation of such buildings? …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier. [Inaudible interjections and laughter ] Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I can confirm to the Honourable Member that the Government has not purchased the Victoria Hall Building! [Desk thumping, inaudible interjections, and laughter ]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberOh, my God!
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinWrong property,
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerMembers, Members, Members, Me mbers!
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinSorry, Mr. Speaker. I should have —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet us quiet down! I need to hear the Member. I need to hear what the Member is asking. Member , would you like to put a supplementary?
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI have to ask it as a supplementary. But I did mention the wrong buil ding.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinIt is the Park Place Building. [Inaudible interjecti ons and laughter ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh! Ah! Ah! Ah! Minister, Minister. SUPPLEMENTARY
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinSorry, Mr. Speaker. I had to ask it as a supplementary, because I said “Victoria Hall,” and I meant Park Place, the building that was rec ently indicated that the Government will be purchasing.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWe have not bought that building, either. [Laughter]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinSo my question is, is there any thought or reason, strategy, behind purchasing a new building for Government when there are significant government properties that could ben efit from the —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, you are straying a little bit more, because your first question was for the one specific building. So, you indicated that you named the wrong building.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinRight. So, I said it was the wrong building. So, I am now correcting it.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSo, I will allow you to ask the second; name the correct building.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinRight.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, the rationale is very simple. The first thing is that the Government has rented significant space in that building for a while. The building came up for an offer for sale, and the 2724 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of …
Okay.
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, the rationale is very simple. The first thing is that the Government has rented significant space in that building for a while. The building came up for an offer for sale, and the 2724 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Bermuda Housing Corporation, through the Minister of Public Works, has acquired the building. In addition to that, there are a number of government entities that are in private accommodations. And if the government is paying rent to itself, as opposed to private accom-modations, we will reduce t he budget or be able to have more money to spend on the things that matter, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Public Works has managed the estate well, and we look forward to not only inhabiting that building, but kitting out that building and the top floor for the Ministry of National Security to have a FinTech co- working space to advance our FinTech ambitions, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Would any other Member wish to — I recognise the Honourable Member D unkley. You have your name on the list, so you can put your question. QUESTION 1: ARBITRADE LOCAL CONTRACT Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I …
Thank you. Would any other Member wish to — I recognise the Honourable Member D unkley. You have your name on the list, so you can put your question.
QUESTION 1: ARBITRADE LOCAL CONTRACT Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I think it was on May 31 st that the Honourable Premi er said in a comment on social media that he had attended a presentation by the newly incorporated Bermuda company, Arbitrade. He said in that message that the team demonstrated their cryptocurrency platform and explained plans to create more job opportuni ties. Question for the Honourable Premier: Who made up the Arbitrade team that demonstrated their platform? And who is the local contact?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I cannot recall the names of the persons who presented on that partic ular day. As the Honourable Premier —Honourable former Premier —will know, on any given day —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI know we only have one Premier at a time. So, let us get that cleared up. [Laughter] Hon. E. David Burt: That much I do know, Mr. Speaker, and I am happy that I am over here and he is over there. But with all of that being said, …
I know we only have one Premier at a time. So, let us get that cleared up. [Laughter]
Hon. E. David Burt: That much I do know, Mr. Speaker, and I am happy that I am over here and he is over there. But with all of that being said, Mr. Speaker, I am quite certain that the Honourable former Premier will know that we keep a number of engagements. But if he would like to know the specific people who were at that meeting, I am happy to let him know.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, Mr. Speaker. I appr eciate the Premier’s commitment, and I am happy to help at any time. First supplementary to the Honourable Premier: Has the Premier met with anyone from Arbitrade since then? And if so, what dates and whom did …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I believe that I had a meeting with Arbitrade at a point in time afterwards. I know that when we were at the Consensus confer-ence, there were some representatives from Arbitrade at the Consensus conference. I know that they had come to Bermuda …
Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I believe that I had a meeting with Arbitrade at a point in time afterwards. I know that when we were at the Consensus confer-ence, there were some representatives from Arbitrade at the Consensus conference. I know that they had come to Bermuda afterwards, and I think that they were in Bermuda a followi ng time. And at that point in time, I did meet with these persons. I cannot recall the names of the people, but I am happy to supply the full names of the people to the Honourable Member afterwards, or at a point in time in the future, in a written thing. And I will get that list from my office.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Thank you. Your second supplementary? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, thank you. And I thank the Honourable Premier for following up on that. I will make a note. During a press conference r ecently, Arbitrade committed a $1 million donation—that is their words — which they said would …
Thank you. Thank you. Your second supplementary? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, thank you. And I thank the Honourable Premier for following up on that. I will make a note. During a press conference r ecently, Arbitrade committed a $1 million donation—that is their words — which they said would be donated this past week in time. Question to the Honourable Minister: Since we have heard about the refurbishment of the building, has it been paid? Or did Gover nment inform Arbitrade that Government does not accept inducements or do-nations?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, coming from a side that promised transparency but never delivered it, it is rich to hear the things from the former Premier. So, let me walk the former Premier through what this Government has done. This Government, where the former Gover nment …
Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, coming from a side that promised transparency but never delivered it, it is rich to hear the things from the former Premier. So, let me walk the former Premier through what this Government has done. This Government, where the former Gover nment said that they would deliver transparency, we said that we [would] deliver it. When there were companies that came to us that said they would like to
Bermuda House of Assembly assist in the development of the Bermuda FinTech space, we said that we must set up a clear and transparent mechanism for that to happen. That clear and transparent mechanism came through this House. It was called the FinTech Development Fund. It was passed in the House. It was passed in the Senate. It was given royal assent by the [Governor]. [Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: And it is now currently being set up by the Ministry of Finance. When the donations are made, payable to the Accountant General to support the education, training, and development of our FinTech industry, I sincerely hope that this Honourable Member will thank the Pr ogressive Labour Party Government for providing em-ployment opport unities to the people in constituency 10 instead of trying to tear down the work that we are doing!
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Thank you, Honourable Member. Mr. Premier, your name is not on the list. So you can remain i n your seat, thank you. [Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Famous, your name is on the list. Would you like to put your question? QUESTION 1: WI -FI IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Mr. Christopher FamousGood morning, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, House, and good morning to the Gallery and the listening public. Would the Honourable Premier please inform the Honourable House about the progress of Wi-Fi in our public schools? Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier. Yes. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ho nourable M ember for his question. And what I can tell the Honourable Member is that it was a commitment that this Government made to make sure that we upgrade the digital Wi -Fi and how shameful …
Mr. Premier. Yes. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ho nourable M ember for his question. And what I can tell the Honourable Member is that it was a commitment that this Government made to make sure that we upgrade the digital Wi -Fi and how shameful it was that in 2017, our primary schools did not have Wi -Fi. What I can inform the Honourable Member is, promise made, promise kept . We have installed Wi -Fi in every single school in Bermuda. The equipment is there. It is being tested, and it will be active by the time students come back to school. There are some problems in certain schools due to the fact that there is old wiring and certain things need to happen. However, Mr. Speaker, that equipment is there. What is more, Mr. Speaker, is, due to this initiative, some of our good corporate par tners, those maybe in the FinTech industry or other-wise, have asked how they can help to provide more coverage to more schools so that more of our st udents can have access to technology so that they can play a part in the world of a FinTech future.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. The Honourable Member, supplementary? No supplementary; good. Would anyone else like to speak? We have the Government Whip. Yes, your name is on the list. Would you like to put your question? QUESTION 1: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT, NUMBER OF FUNDED POSITIONS FILLED
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottYes, I would. With the Premier having talked about promi ses made, promises kept, would the Honourable Premier please confirm the funded positions filled at the Department of Public Transport [DPT] from July 2017 to July 2018 that were vacant before that period?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Honourable Member for his question. Because, as Members will know, we have had a significant is sue with our bus service. And part of that significant issue was due to the underfunding by the former …
Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Honourable Member for his question. Because, as Members will know, we have had a significant is sue with our bus service. And part of that significant issue was due to the underfunding by the former Government, Mr. Speaker. And they were funded . . . they decided that they put in a hiring freeze, and this hiring freeze led to the degradation of the s ervice which we have had. So, Mr. Speaker, what I can tell the Honourable Member is that there are 11 funded positions that have been filled at DPT over that period of time. And the decision of this Government to un-freeze those fully funded positions, to reverse the hiring freeze instituted by the One Bermuda Alliance Administration, has allowed the department to steadily fill sorely needed positions that have been necessary in repairing our bus fleet and getting it to a point of reliability. And the one thing I can say, Mr. Speaker, is that I am pleased to report that over the last week we have only had one bus cancellation.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier, thank you. Honourable Member, do you have a suppl ementary? 2726 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. W. Lawrence Scott: Yes, I do. I have a suppl ementary based off of the Premier talking about promises made, promises kept. And if the Honourable Premier …
Premier, thank you. Honourable Member, do you have a suppl ementary?
2726 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. W. Lawrence Scott: Yes, I do. I have a suppl ementary based off of the Premier talking about promises made, promises kept. And if the Honourable Premier could let this Honourable House know, what has been the response to the opening of the Land Title Registration Office?
The Speake r: Well, you strayed a little bit. Your question originally was on the bus department.
Hon. E. David Burt: Well—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou [need to] try and keep your supplementary in tune with what the original question was.
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottSorry, Mr. Sp eaker. Okay. Well, I was doing a supplementary based off of the promises made, promises kept part of the response.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, I think you strayed a little bit on that one. You strayed — [Crosstalk]
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottWell, no . . . sorry. This is the first time, so I am just getting used to it. So I ask for your indulgence on that one, as my other suppl ementary does go on to promises made, promises kept. [Crosstalk]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerIf you want to talk about how well the buses are running or something of that nature, and how well the service is, fine. But you strayed a little too far on that one. [Inaudible interjections] SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottWell, my supplementary would be, if we are going to talk about the Department of Public Transport, if we are . . . given the bus situation and given that, prior to the PLP Administration taking power, we had a shortage of buses, are we going to be getting any …
Well, my supplementary would be, if we are going to talk about the Department of Public Transport, if we are . . . given the bus situation and given that, prior to the PLP Administration taking power, we had a shortage of buses, are we going to be getting any new buses, or is there going to be any relief to the bus fleet in additional bus es?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. And that is in line. Yes. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Honourable Member for his ques tion. What I can tell the Honourable Member is, as I think I have informed the Honourable House before, that we did give approval …
Thank you. And that is in line. Yes.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Honourable Member for his ques tion. What I can tell the Honourable Member is, as I think I have informed the Honourable House before, that we did give approval for eight new buses with a $3 million investment. That is in addition to the four that are on order. A third arrived last week. Unfort unately, the bus that did arrive last week did have some damage with the fuel system and surfac e rust that must be addressed before the bus can be put into [service]. The fourth bus, 1804, is at the German manufacturers facility where final inspections are being done to ensure that there is no repeat of the damage that happened to the third bus, Mr. Speaker. But this Government will make the inves tments which are necessary, because the people of this country rely on a stable public transport system, Mr. Speaker. And that means that we must invest in buses, that we must invest in ferries. But more than just investing, we have to make sure that we build a smarter transportation system to take advantage of the use of technology. And that is precisely what the Government’s Green Paper on transportation will do, present options to make sure that we can be more efficient [with our] transportation in the future, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 2. Honourable Member Swan, yes, your name is on the list. So you can put your question now. QUEST ION 1: FINTECH, N UMBER OF COMPANIES INCORPORATED IN BERMUDA
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanThank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you. Mr. Speaker, I ask this question of the Premier. Would the Honourable Premier confirm how many FinTech companies have been incorporated in Bermuda? Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ho nourable Member for his question. And what I …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you. Mr. Speaker, I ask this question of the Premier. Would the Honourable Premier confirm how many FinTech companies have been incorporated in Bermuda? Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ho nourable Member for his question. And what I will let the Honourable Member know is that there are a grand total of 19— that is onenine—FinTech companies that have incorporated in Bermuda, Mr. Speaker. And a total of 24 others have submitted their name reservation and are in the pr ocess of incorporation, Mr. Speaker. So that is 43 companies, Mr. Speaker!
[Desk thumping and cheering] Hon. E. David Burt: That is progress under t he PLP Government.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Is this a supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanYes, Mr. Speaker. Bermuda House of Assembly Would the Honourable Premier be in a pos ition to share with us how many of those companies have been incorporated since the PLP came into Government in July of 2017? Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I am happy to answer that …
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Bermuda House of Assembly Would the Honourable Premier be in a pos ition to share with us how many of those companies have been incorporated since the PLP came into Government in July of 2017?
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I am happy to answer that question. And what I could tell the Honour able Member is that before the Progressive Labour Party came into office there was one FinTech company established in 2006. Since that point in time, Mr. Speaker, as you have heard, 19 complete, 24 more on the way.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. QUESTION 1: PARSONS ROAD REPAIR PR OJECTS, STATUS UPDATE
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongMr. Speaker, I am just a humble MP. And I do not have any question that deals with significant matters of state or national interests. Just something that is of concern to my constituents. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier provide the Honourable House with the status of the project located …
Mr. Speaker, I am just a humble MP. And I do not have any question that deals with significant matters of state or national interests. Just something that is of concern to my constituents. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier provide the Honourable House with the status of the project located at Parsons Road immediately east of Fenton Drive? That project consists of the repainting of the sidewalk, which is well past its sell- by date, along with the installation of a warning light. My residents have waited patiently for at l east 18 months for this partic ular project to be completed.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ho nourable Member for his question regarding his constituents in Pembroke. And what I can inform the Honourable Member is t hat help is on the way. B ecause this Progressive Labour Party Government takes those concerns seriously, and …
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ho nourable Member for his question regarding his constituents in Pembroke. And what I can inform the Honourable Member is t hat help is on the way. B ecause this Progressive Labour Party Government takes those concerns seriously, and the Minister of Public Works has ordered a number of lights, which have arrived on Island. And there will be, Mr. Speaker, a total of 55 locations that will be repainted, re- lighted, and re- added, Mr. Speaker. There is one in St. David’s, one in St. George’s, five in Hamilton Parish, three in Smith’s, five in Devonshire, six in Pembroke, five in Paget, three in Warwick —a grand total of (must be, bec ause he must be from that area, Mr. Speaker) eight in Southampton, and two in Sandys, Mr. Speaker. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, those are existing locations where lights will be put and crosswalks will be repainted. But, not only are we going to do what is existing, Mr. Speaker, there are 16 new crosswalk locations where warning lights will be put in—Bethel AME Church; Wellington Park, St. George’s; Clearwater School at St. David’s; Shelly Bay Park; John Smith’s Bay; Mullet Bay in Ferry Road; Victor S cott Primary in Glebe Road; Warwick Bowling Alley, Bostock Hill West; Modern Mart; West Pembroke Primary School on North Shore (inside of my constituency; thank you very much, Minister); Church of Christ, West End; North Shore Road, by Dub City in Cottage [Hill] Lane in Hamilton Parish; Herrington Sound Road; Berry Hill Road, Paget; and St. John’s Road before Cemetery Road and after A rnold’s Market, Mr. Speaker. That is the example of a Government that is building a better and fairer Bermuda.
[Desk thumpi ng] [Timer beeps]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat was perfect timing. The clock just ran out on us. Thirty minutes have expired on the i naugural Premier’s Questions. I hope that Members find it to be very informative, and we look forward to its becoming a regular par t of our monthly session. QUESTIONS ON MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe will now move on to the 60 minutes for the questions from the Statements that were deli vered this morning. And eight seems to be the magical number. We have eight Members who have indicated that they would like to ask questions of the respective Ministers today. And the …
We will now move on to the 60 minutes for the questions from the Statements that were deli vered this morning. And eight seems to be the magical number. We have eight Members who have indicated that they would like to ask questions of the respective Ministers today. And the first is to the Premier in reference to your Statement. The Opposition Leader has a question in reference to your first Statement. Opposition Leader, would yo u like to put your question?
QUESTION 1: UPDATES TO BERMUDA’S AML/ATF FRAMEWORK Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Yes, Mr. Speaker My question to the Premier is relating to his Statement on updates to Bermuda’s AML/ATF fram ework. And my question related to the f act that there 2728 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly was an indication that it would expressly prescribe . . . I would like to sort of see you, even though—
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Right.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I know, but . . . The S peaker: You can put the question to me.
[Crosstalk]
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I know, I can put the question to you but it is about . . . thank you. The Statement indicates that part of the changes that were going to be put in the legislation amendments would be to expressly prescribe that beneficial ownership information filed with competent authorities and retained by relevant persons is kept up to date. And I guess I wanted to find out, has there been any indication of what type of penalties would be given to those persons who do not keep it up to date, recognising that this beneficial owner information is very important to us?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to get a specific answer to the question. I do not have the draft Bills in front of me. As I stated in my Statement, Mr. Speaker, we had the benefit of submitting our …
Thank you. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to get a specific answer to the question. I do not have the draft Bills in front of me. As I stated in my Statement, Mr. Speaker, we had the benefit of submitting our technical compliance submission on time, getting some draft feedback that will allow us to make additional upgrades to our regime. I think it is important to understand that this is a mutual evaluation process. The process is supposed to be helpful, to make sure that countries can work together to upgrade their regime and do the work which is necessary. I am uncert ain of the penalties that will be there for persons who are not filing. But it is important to make sure that filing will be done, and I am certain that, when we debate those Bills —it might have been one of the Bills that will be tabled later today, or it might be something that will be coming in the future— that question will be specifically answered. But I will undertake to get that specific answer to the Opposition Leader.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Go ahead. SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I do appreciate the fact that the Premier is giving us updates, because I must admit I have been really concerned, as I am sure ot her people have been, about …
Thank you. Supplementary? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Go ahead.
SUPPLEMENTARIES
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I do appreciate the fact that the Premier is giving us updates, because I must admit I have been really concerned, as I am sure ot her people have been, about all of what we were doing in advance of the assessment in September .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. You can put your question. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: So, my question is this: Recognising that it says, “expressly prohibits the use of agents by money service businesses,” do we have money servi ce businesses right now using agents? And what would be any sort of transition period?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to the specifics on that particular matter, whether or not money service businesses are using agents or not. I think that, from the perspective of that we have money service businesses, there could be a risk if there were agents …
Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to the specifics on that particular matter, whether or not money service businesses are using agents or not. I think that, from the perspective of that we have money service businesses, there could be a risk if there were agents who were used who were not licensed or who were not underneath the particular auspices in follo wing the AML/ATF rules —so, if this is a preventative step to address money laundering–– But I think what we have known, Mr. Speaker, is that there have been a lot of regulations and compliance that have been put into place. So, for exam-ple, previously, real estate agents never had to register. Now real estate agents have to register. There are a lot of different things that are necessary. But if Bermuda is to retain its top- tier jurisdiction status, we have to make sure that we are leading the pack. And I am confident that the work which has been done by the teams who work extra- long hours . . . and I did not say it in my Statement, but I should thank all of the members of NAMLC [National Anti -Money Laundering Committee] for their incredibly hard work. And I would hope that everyone el se will recognise the hard work which they are engaging in, as well.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. Would you like a supplementary or a new question? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: No, supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. Continue. Hon. Jeanne J. At herden: If the Premier does not have the answer, then I would not mind his getting it. All I wanted to understand was, are there money service businesses using agents now? And if so, is there some sort of transition to say to them, …
Supplementary. Continue.
Hon. Jeanne J. At herden: If the Premier does not have the answer, then I would not mind his getting it. All I wanted to understand was, are there money service businesses using agents now? And if so, is there some sort of transition to say to them, You have to
Bermuda House of Assembly stop, as opposed to just expecting that it is going to be a business change immediately?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I can confirm to the Honourable Member is that currently money service businesses in Berm uda do not have agents. However, the Financial Action Task Force guidelines are asking everyone to put into place regulations to make sure this does …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. A new question? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The Speake r: Continue. QUESTION 2: UPDATES TO BERMUDA’S AML/ATF FRAMEWORK Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: This is relating to strengthening the framework of the oversight for the legal and accounting professions, et cetera. And I just wondered, because, …
Thank you. A new question?
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The Speake r: Continue.
QUESTION 2: UPDATES TO BERMUDA’S AML/ATF FRAMEWORK
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: This is relating to strengthening the framework of the oversight for the legal and accounting professions, et cetera. And I just wondered, because, as I say, the Premier is enlight-ening us all on what these regulations are going to do. Could he just indicate what type of coordination and supervision was envisioned in terms of any requir ement to strengthen the oversight with respect to the accountants and the legal profession?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. To answer the Honourable Opposition Lea der’s question, those are recommendations that came from the Financial Action Task Force to make sure that we strengthen the peri meter and to make sure of the perimeter of the legal profession …
Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. To answer the Honourable Opposition Lea der’s question, those are recommendations that came from the Financial Action Task Force to make sure that we strengthen the peri meter and to make sure of the perimeter of the legal profession and to make sure that persons who may have had criminal backgrounds or otherwise were not getting involved in that.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or new question? You are fine? Okay . Premier, that is the end of the questions for your first Statement. However, there are also Members who have indicated that they would like to put questions to you on your second Statement. And again, that is the Leader …
Thank you. Supplementary or new question? You are fine? Okay . Premier, that is the end of the questions for your first Statement. However, there are also Members who have indicated that they would like to put questions to you on your second Statement. And again, that is the Leader of the Opposition. Honourable Member, would you like to put your questions regarding the Initial Coin Offering Regulations? QUESTION 1: INITIAL COIN OFFERING REGULATIONS
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier reminded us that the ICOs can only conduct business in Bermuda after having grant of consent from the Minister, who is the Minister of Finance. And so, I had a couple of questions with r espect to the compliance measures outlined in the ICO Regulations. The first one related to the need for a company to ensure that it applies appropriate measures r elating to identification and verification of the partic ipants in the ICO before it issues a digital asset. And I just want clarity as to how this would be verifiable. By whom would this be verifiable?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, it would be verified by the people who are issuing the ICO. And the r equirements would be that they secure the information of those persons. So, in the FinTech space, there are a number of accredited identity validation services, which …
Thank you. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, it would be verified by the people who are issuing the ICO. And the r equirements would be that they secure the information of those persons. So, in the FinTech space, there are a number of accredited identity validation services, which use documents which are the same things that are used in Proceeds of Crime—an example of valid passports, example of valid residence, utility bills and all the rest —to specify so they can clarify who exactly the per son is who is subscribing to that digital asset.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I have a new question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNew question. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, you have a Member who might want a supplementary, I think. Supplementary from the Honourable GordonPamplin? SUPPLEMENTARY
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a supplementary on that. With the Premier indicating that passports would be valid to be able to verify t he identity, I wonder if the Premier could advise in that regard whether the UK passport or the Bermuda passport would be equally deemed to be …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a supplementary on that. With the Premier indicating that passports would be valid to be able to verify t he identity, I wonder if the Premier could advise in that regard whether the UK passport or the Bermuda passport would be equally deemed to be valid, given the challenges that we are having now in respect of how passports are being differentiated?
The Spe aker: Premier. 2730 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I would say is, whether it is a Bermuda passport, a UK passport, a passport from the United States of America, Germany, France, or wherever, the fact is that these are the same steps which are taken by financial institutions to verify the information of who the person is [they are] dealing with. The same KYC [know your customer] regulations which apply in other financial industries which apply here. And whatever steps, as we said, we are taking the compliance measures from the existing Proceeds of Crime Regulations, those measures will apply. So whether a Bermuda passport, UK passport, or any other country, those items will have to be verified, and the same measures whic h apply to other things such as banks, insurance companies, and otherwise will apply to companies inside of this space.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. No further supplementaries? No further questions on that? We now move on to the next Statement. [Inaudible in terjection]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOh, oh, I am sorry. Put your next question. My fault. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou do not want to lose your opportun ity. QUESTION 2: INITIAL COIN OFFERING REGULATIONS Hon. Jeanne J. Atherd en: No. I appreciate that. Mr. Speaker, through you to the Premier: There is reference to instances where companies must conduct enhanced due diligence on ICO partic ipants. And I just …
You do not want to lose your opportun ity.
QUESTION 2: INITIAL COIN OFFERING REGULATIONS
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherd en: No. I appreciate that. Mr. Speaker, through you to the Premier: There is reference to instances where companies must conduct enhanced due diligence on ICO partic ipants. And I just wondered if the Premier could perhaps give us an indication of what would trigger the need for enhancements?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. All of these things are done on a basis of a risk management framework. So, say, for example, if there was an application from a country for someone to purchase a digital asset or a part of that, and …
Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. All of these things are done on a basis of a risk management framework. So, say, for example, if there was an application from a country for someone to purchase a digital asset or a part of that, and they were a resident of a jurisdiction that was considered a high-risk jurisdiction, then they would be subject to enhanced due diligence. It is all based on a risk framework. But, as we said, we are not building som ething new here. We are taking what we use in other places in the financial services industry and transposing them onto here. So, the same rules, the same regulations which apply to law firms which apply to trust companies, which apply to banks, will be the same regulations which apply to companies inside of this space.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. Supplementary?
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes, I have a supplementary, Mr. Speaker.
Mrs. Pat ricia J. Gordon -PamplinJust if the Premier could clarify that with the AML/ATF regime there are specific countries that are disqualified from operations with companies here in Bermuda. I want to just ensure that, notwithstanding that the Premier has indi cated that there would be additional scrutiny, I just wanted to make sure …
Just if the Premier could clarify that with the AML/ATF regime there are specific countries that are disqualified from operations with companies here in Bermuda. I want to just ensure that, notwithstanding that the Premier has indi cated that there would be additional scrutiny, I just wanted to make sure that the excluded countries will continue to be excluded irrespective of the representations that might be made by any company from that state?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I am going to try this one more time, because I hear the questions, and I appreciate the questions. But I want to remind . . . and I am going back to the Statement, Mr. Speaker. It is the penultimate paragraph. And …
Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I am going to try this one more time, because I hear the questions, and I appreciate the questions. But I want to remind . . . and I am going back to the Statement, Mr. Speaker. It is the penultimate paragraph. And it says, “Mr. Speaker , the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2008 were used as a blueprint when it came to the compl iance measures in adopting part of the Proceeds of Crime Regulations that pertain to certain ICO -type activity.” What I want Honourable Members to be aware of is that we are not creating something new, and we are not creating something different. So, for example, there is a UN sanctions list. And that list . . . FATF has their own list. But the UN sanctions list, and then there is a list that is done by the competent authorities under NAMLC. And if someone is coming from a country that is on the banned list, then they will not be able to participate in that. In the exact same way that it works with banking, in the exact same way that it works with trust companies, in the exact same way that it works with legal services, in the exact same way that it works with i nsurance, in the exact same way that it works with corporate service providers, Mr. Speaker, the requir ements will be the same. It will be based upon risk. And, as FATF says, this is a new technology. And if that is how FATF views this, then we have to make sure that we put in place an appropriate risk -based framework.
Bermuda House of Assembly We have a risk -based framework throughout our financial services industry, and we will be transposing those same stringent requirements inside of here, Mr. Speaker, because, as I said during my r emarks, our reputation is paramount.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. You have a supplementary?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary from the Honourable Member Pearman. SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. Scott PearmanMr. Speaker, given that the Premier has just indicated that these regulations are not really something new and di fferent, but are a lready existing, could the Premier assist the House whether or not enhanced due diligence was also ap-plied to Arbitrade?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I am happy to answer that question! Because Arbitrade has not gone through this particular issue, because this particular issue has just started, Mr. Speaker, which is precisely the point which was made by the Minister of National Security in the media this …
Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I am happy to answer that question! Because Arbitrade has not gone through this particular issue, because this particular issue has just started, Mr. Speaker, which is precisely the point which was made by the Minister of National Security in the media this week. However, what I can tell the Honourable Member, as he works inside of the legal profession and he would know, is that any company that comes into Bermuda must secure the permission of the Bermuda Monetary Authority and [obtain] their sign- off. And I can ensure the Honourable Member that enhanced due dilige nce was done. However, the thing is, what we must discuss is, how do we go forward? Under the ICO Regul ations, that is just step one of the process. If there are digital assets to be issued, if there are exchanges to be started, then there is a higher lev el of compliance that has to happen, which may be higher than just a company incorporation. However, Mr. Speaker, I am confident that the people at the Bermuda Monetary Authority know how to do their job, and I am confident that the people who are going t o be the gatekeepers for this will make sure that they continue to do their job to protect the reput ation of Bermuda.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? Go ahead. SUPPLEMENTARY
Ms. Susan E. JacksonYes. I have a question. I just would like to know the length of time it took to carry out that enhanced due diligence, given the fact that it was just incorporated on the 30 th of May.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to that, what the BMA’s processes are which they go through. But what I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, is that I can undertake to find out how long that process took with the BMA on that particular matter.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNew question? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Yes, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue on. QUE STION 3: INITIAL COIN OFFERING REGULATIONS Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: There is an indication here, and I appreciate the fact that the Premier is ind icating that there are all sorts of different types of regu-lations out there and, depending on where the company fits in there, …
Continue on.
QUE STION 3: INITIAL COIN OFFERING REGULATIONS
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: There is an indication here, and I appreciate the fact that the Premier is ind icating that there are all sorts of different types of regu-lations out there and, depending on where the company fits in there, it will be determined which one of those regulations they are going to have to comply with. But I just want to understand that the need for companies to carry out an internal compliance review on its ICO . . . and I just wondered whether there was anything specific that had been suggested with r espect to the ICOs in terms of how often this review would take place and by whom.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I can say is that it would be based on risk. The specific questions about the time and the amount of time that happens will be referred to in the regulations. I am happy to make sure that the Member …
Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I can say is that it would be based on risk. The specific questions about the time and the amount of time that happens will be referred to in the regulations. I am happy to make sure that the Member has a copy, although I know that it will be circulated to all persons. But I am happy to pull th at up for the Honourable Member to provide her a specific answer, if she wishes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Any further questions? Supplementary? We will take your suppl ementary. SUPPLEMENTARIES
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you. I am just trying to get some clarity here. So, of the ICOs, they actually, most of them, right now, if anything, they are the li mited liability companies. Is that correct? Are they regi stered as limited liability companies so far, since you have not actually . …
Thank you. I am just trying to get some clarity here. So, of the ICOs, they actually, most of them, right now, if anything, they are the li mited liability companies. Is that correct? Are they regi stered as limited liability companies so far, since you have not actually . . . 2732 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. David Bu rt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I will refer to the first line of the Statement which I gave, it says, and I am sure the Honourable Opposition Whip was here when we debated it, it was the Companies and Limited Liability Company (Initial Coin O ffering) Amendment Act which made amendments to the Companies Act, and also amendments to the Limited Liability Company Act. And in order for anyone to issue a digital asset, they have to be either a Bermuda company or a Bermuda limited liability company, under the laws of the Companies Act.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonYes. So, if they are all limited liabilities companies, would they not fall under the Registrar of Companies versus the BMA, as far as the enhanced due diligence and KYC are concerned?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I know that she was getting . . . the honourable Opposition Whip was getting her whispers from the Honourable former Premier, and it is shocking to know that a former Premier does not understand how incorporation pr ocesses work in Bermuda. …
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I know that she was getting . . . the honourable Opposition Whip was getting her whispers from the Honourable former Premier, and it is shocking to know that a former Premier does not understand how incorporation pr ocesses work in Bermuda. But let me—
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. E. David Burt: Oh, do not worry. I can see you whisper, very well.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSpeak to the Chair. Hon. E. David Burt: Let me just try. Let me just try to explain how the process works. [Inaudible interjections ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers. Members. I only need to hear from the Member on his feet. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I told everyone I would be on my best behaviour, so I am doing the best that I can.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. E. David Burt: But to actually think that we are being asked by a former Premier of the country as to how an incorporating process works is quite surpri sing.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe will take the point of order. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThe Honourable Member is misleading the House. The Honourable Member is receiving the question from our honourable Whip. And I would ask him to address it as such. [Crosstalk and inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, yes. Mr. Premier. Mr. Premier. The point was made that the person who put the question was not the individual you made reference to. There may be a source of information, but that is not for us to determine. Your response should be to the person who asked the …
Yes, yes. Mr. Premier. Mr. Premier. The point was made that the person who put the question was not the individual you made reference to. There may be a source of information, but that is not for us to determine. Your response should be to the person who asked the question.
Hon. E. David Burt: I am happy to answer the question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. E. David Burt: So, let me explain how the incorporation process works, Mr. Sp eaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. E. David Burt: Companies apply to the Regi strar of Companies. The Registrar of Companies must get sign- off by the Bermuda Monetary Authority on the requirements. They do . . . the Registrar of Companies is a check. The Bermuda Monetary Authority also does a check. So …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh! Ah! Ah! Ah! You had your two. You had your two. No further questions? No supplementary? We will now move on to the next Statement. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh! Ah! Members, Members, Members. The next Statement that has a question is the one which was done by the Minister of National Sec urity. It is in reference to his first Statement. And the ques tion is from the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honourable Member, would you like …
Ah! Ah! Members, Members, Members. The next Statement that has a question is the one which was done by the Minister of National Sec urity. It is in reference to his first Statement. And the ques tion is from the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honourable Member, would you like to put your question?
QUESTION 1: DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS — REPORTS ON 1 ST AND 2ND QUARTERS
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, a prett y straightforward first question. On the first page, the Honourable Minister refers to the strategic plan. Will the Honourable Mini ster table that strategic plan in the House?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: I will take it under adv isement, Mr. Speaker. I do not know what part of the strategic plan is indeed security sensitive. It is something that I will have to look at. And after we have the opportunity to discuss it with the …
Thank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: I will take it under adv isement, Mr. Speaker. I do not know what part of the strategic plan is indeed security sensitive. It is something that I will have to look at. And after we have the opportunity to discuss it with the Cabinet, then I will seek the Speaker’s indulgence on th e way forward.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Minister. Supplementary or new question? New question, Member? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Minister, I appreciate his taking it under advis ement. In relation to this Statement, I just want to r eflect back to a previous Statement the Honourable Minister said he would give me some feedback on— the situation with psychologists. …
Supplementary.
SUPPLEMENTARIES
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Minister, I appreciate his taking it under advis ement. In relation to this Statement, I just want to r eflect back to a previous Statement the Honourable Minister said he would give me some feedback on— the situation with psychologists. And I am still waiting for the information. Is the Minister available now to give information? How many psychologists are there currently employed within the prison system?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, well, well, well, well, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Back up. Your questions today are related to today’s Statement —today’s Statement. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Correct, Mr. Speaker. He does talk about staff vacancies in his Statement on page 2.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerFinish your question. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, Mr. Speaker. As the Honourable Minister does talk about staff vacancies, the question is, how many vacancies are there with psychologists? I understand that there is one, and two positions vacant. Is that correct?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Way ne Caines: I will have to confirm that, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That question has been asked a number of times, and I will not forget. Supplementary question, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPut y our supplementary. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the comments on page 2, where the Honourable Minister speaks about promotions, can the Honourable Minister inform this Honourable House how many positions are pending as far as promotions go, and how many acting positions there …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: I cannot. I do not have that i nformation today, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or new question? Hon. Michael H. D unkley: A supplementary. I assume that the Honourable Minister will endeavour to bring those answers.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. QUESTION 2: DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS — REPORTS ON 1 ST AND 2ND QUARTERS Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, second question is , I understand the commissioner is an ac ting commissioner at the current time. What is Government’s intention in regard to how long this position will …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, we are in the pr ocess of [putting] together a long- term plan. At the pr esent, we do not have a time continuum. We will let this Honourable House know as soon as that information indeed becomes available.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or new question? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: A new question, Mr. Speaker. 2734 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Yes. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: The Honourable Minister does say that they are looking for a long- term plan. But I thought …
Thank you. Supplementary or new question?
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: A new question, Mr. Speaker.
2734 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Yes.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: The Honourable Minister does say that they are looking for a long- term plan. But I thought that would be part of his strategic plan. New question, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPut your question. QUESTION 3: DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS — REPORTS ON 1ST AND 2ND QUARTERS Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: On page 4, the Honour able Minister says, “despite challenges faced by the department . . .” Question for the Honourable Minister: What are the two most critical challenges faced currently …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Number one is the outer peri meter security. And the next one would be training pr ogrammes for the inmates.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or new question? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: In relation to the securing of the perimeter, the Honourable Minister and Go vernment have been somewhat quiet on recent inc idents that have been reported. Have the corrections family and the Ministry of National Security been able to identify any weaknesses in …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, there is and has been a lot of misinformation in the press. One of the reasons why our Ministry brought the Statement today was to give an overall overview of the developments in the prison and to give a holistic response. There …
Thank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, there is and has been a lot of misinformation in the press. One of the reasons why our Ministry brought the Statement today was to give an overall overview of the developments in the prison and to give a holistic response. There have been matters that have been highlighted with relation to the security. It would not be proper or pr udent to discuss those issues precept -upon- precept at this stage, for obvious reasons. I can tell [Members], Mr. Speaker, that I have had the oppor tunity to meet with the prison management team. And we have discussed the security con-cerns. We have met with the Bermuda Police Service, and they have been working in tandem with the Ber-muda Department of Corrections. And we have put together a long- term and a short -term plan to deal with the security concern as it relates to the Bermuda Corrections Department. We have shared that plan with the Premier. We have shared that plan with His Excellency the Governor. We believe, and if you can look at the st atistics, that this prison was built in 1994. There was one escape for less than two hours, and the person was captured. We believe that there are hard- working men and women who serve as corrections officers who are at their posts every day. And we believe that the prison is in strong and secure hands. It is our plan, with the updated plans, to ensure that the prison continues to grow from strength to strength. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or new question? Hon. Michael H. D unkley: I think I have used my questions, so it would be a supplementary, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. Yes, it is. This is your third question, going to a supplementary. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Well, I would try to get another bite. The Sp eaker: No, no. It would have been on the checklist. I would have seen it. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: You will catch me. …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue on. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the verbose comment and reply from the Honourable Minister —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberThat was no verbose — Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: —on steps that have been taken. Question to the Honourable Minister: The Prison Officers Association, are they comfortable with the steps taken? And is the Minister confident that officer security is placed as of paramount importance, based on the challenges that …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: I will answer the former of the questions first. Officer security is paramount. I have had the opportunity to meet with the management team. And the first thing that we had to do was identify Bermuda House of Assembly what we believe the challenges were. …
Mr. Minister.
Hon. Wayne Caines: I will answer the former of the questions first. Officer security is paramount. I have had the opportunity to meet with the management team. And the first thing that we had to do was identify
Bermuda House of Assembly what we believe the challenges were. We have ident ified the challenges. The acting Commissioner, months ago, through h er strategic plan, highlighted the steps that she believed were the challenges through a SWOT analysis —strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. And they had been working through those challenges over the not -too-distant [past]. Most r ecently, we have heard comments in the press that were attributed to the Prison Officers Association. I have had the opportunity on two occasions this year to hear their concerns, to put the concerns back to the management team and ask them to put together a plan, and they have done so. I meet with the Prison Officers Association for the third time on Monday, and again I will ask them if they are satisfied with the prescribed changes and concerns, and see if they could continue to grow from strength to strength. So, i t is not a case of the management against the prison officers. It is a case of the Corrections Department working together as a team to keep and make sure that Bermuda remains safe, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. That brings us to an end of your questions there. Now, the next Statement that Members have indicated that they have questions for will be for the Minister of Education and Workforce Development. [Inaudible interjection]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOh, yes, you do. I am sorry. I did overlook yours. Honourable Member Jackson had a question for you, too, Minister Caines.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMy fault; I overlooked the Honourable Member. I was racing along that time. Member, put your question. QUESTION 1: DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS — REPORTS ON 1 ST AND 2ND QUARTERS
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Speaker. So, my questions actually are directly toward his two priorities. I just would like to know, based on his mention that in the first two quarters of this year, inmates have engaged in available programmes. I would like to know what those specific programmes are that …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: I do not have all of the pr ogrammes listed in front of me. There are a number of programmes . I will endeavour to get that back at the next available time, the specific programmes that are available. There was a programme that . . …
Minister.
Hon. Wayne Caines: I do not have all of the pr ogrammes listed in front of me. There are a number of programmes . I will endeavour to get that back at the next available time, the specific programmes that are available. There was a programme that . . . the ones that I know offhand were the GED programme, the general education programme; there was a pr ogramme on gang violence, the gang violence pr ogramme. There was a programme that related to yoga that was offered at the prison. There is a programme that is offered down at the farm for rehabilitation. But there are other programmes, and I do not want to cut them shor t. And I will make sure that I get those programmes out for the Member.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes, I have a supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerA supplementary. SUPPLEMENTARY
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the prison system, they have mandatory programmes. I wonder if the Minister could advise whether the inmates who are subjected to the mandatory programmes are actually participating in the mandatory programmes, as it has been advised fairly recently that people who have been …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the prison system, they have mandatory programmes. I wonder if the Minister could advise whether the inmates who are subjected to the mandatory programmes are actually participating in the mandatory programmes, as it has been advised fairly recently that people who have been incarcerated are ready to be released and have not availed themselves of what was deemed to be the mandatory participation in prison programmes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Wayn e Caines: I do not know the specifics on the programmes. I do know that there are pr ogrammes that are mandated in prison. There are some prisoners who opt not to go. When a prisoner opts not to go, that has a direct correlation …
Thank you. Minister. Hon. Wayn e Caines: I do not know the specifics on the programmes. I do know that there are pr ogrammes that are mandated in prison. There are some prisoners who opt not to go. When a prisoner opts not to go, that has a direct correlation with their probation [sic] review. And so, when we are looking at specific —
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinParole review. Hon. Wayne Caines: Excuse me, their parole review. And so, when a prisoner does not attend a programme, it is documented, and it has a clear impl ication on his parole review.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Ms. Jackson, do you have a new question?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. 2736 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly SUPPLEMENTARY
Ms. Susan E. JacksonCan you just . . . I know that you may not know the depth and breadth of all. But what would be some of the basic mandatory pr ogrammes that would be available to people in the sy stem?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: There would be sex offenders . . . the ones that I could think of are the violence programmes and the sex offender programmes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Further question or supplementary?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNew question. Good. QUESTION 2: DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS — REPORTS ON 1 ST AND 2ND QUARTERS
Ms. Susan E. JacksonYes. So, just talking about the internal security review, I am just wondering if there had been any advances in the blocking of the cell phone service, especially at the Westgate facility.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: The blocking of the cell phone, Mr. Speaker, is an ongoing challenge. The Depar tment of Corrections have employed a cell phone jammer. The problem with the cell phone jammer and the frequency in which it operates is that it jams all of the …
Thank you. Minister.
Hon. Wayne Caines: The blocking of the cell phone, Mr. Speaker, is an ongoing challenge. The Depar tment of Corrections have employed a cell phone jammer. The problem with the cell phone jammer and the frequency in which it operates is that it jams all of the frequencies in the West End.
[Laughter]
Hon. Wayne Caines: It was causing problems for the Harbour Radio, it caused problems for the cruise ships, and it was a matter of safety. So there is a challenge with reference to not only using cell phone jammers, because it has a more significant impact on the West End. The challenge that remains is a constant challenge with reference to finding a mechanism that can cut cell phone usage without affecting the general population.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Any further question? No further supplementary? We now move on to the next Statement. Mi nister of Education, you have two Members who have indicated questions for your first Statement. And the first Member is the Member from constituency 23. Honourable Member Gordon- Pamplin, you have the …
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister’s Statement, I ca nnot speak to a general paragraph because it was the entire Statement in which he spoke of the significant accomplishments of the individuals who were given scholarships and awards. So, could the Minister indicate for us whether, and especially …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister’s Statement, I ca nnot speak to a general paragraph because it was the entire Statement in which he spoke of the significant accomplishments of the individuals who were given scholarships and awards. So, could the Minister indicate for us whether, and especially with respect to his addendum indicating the [students] had come through the public school system, that the awards were given to those in the public school system . . . can the Mini ster confirm for us how many of these students who were given awards actually also came through the middle school public school system?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, I cannot co nfirm that. The students are not required to submit that information with their application. I can endeavour to find that out. But what I did, the addendum may have been misunderstood. I sai d that the three . . …
Minister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, I cannot co nfirm that. The students are not required to submit that information with their application. I can endeavour to find that out. But what I did, the addendum may have been misunderstood. I sai d that the three . . . I only said that the three scholarship recipients are from public schools. I did not say any of the others. So, I just do not know.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Supplementary or new question? SUPPLEMENTARY
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinSupplementary. Would the Minister endeavour to advise this Honourable House how many of the recipients of scholarships and awards were, in fact, students who had come through the public middle school system?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, the short answer to that is that we can attempt to endeavour to find that out. That would involve our going back to all of the applicants and asking them. Mr. Speaker, it is not something that is asked on the application. …
Minister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, the short answer to that is that we can attempt to endeavour to find that out. That would involve our going back to all of the applicants and asking them. Mr. Speaker, it is not something that is asked on the application. It is just asked w hat . . . these applications asked which schools that they are attending, because they are all post-graduates of the high school system. So, we can attempt, but I cannot guarantee that we will be able to get that information in a timely fashion.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary? No further. Bermuda House of Assembly The next Member who has a question for you, Minister, is the Honourable Member Simons. Honourable Member Cole Simons.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. QUESTION 1: SCH OLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2018
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsFollowing on from my co lleague, would the Minister say that those who attended public schools . . . would he say that our middle schools failed them? [Inaudible interjections]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNo! You did not ask that question! A former Minister of Education?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe question was just as . . . [Inaudible interjection]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. You have the question, Minister? Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: I do not see how that question relates to the aw arding of scholarships for persons who are in post -secondary schools.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThe Minister indicated that these students went to our public schools, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsAnd because they went to our public schools, our middle schools form part of our public schools, Mr. Speaker. And, henc e, my question is, have the middle schools failed these scholarship recipients?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. It is almost a restatement. He tried to clarify it. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: I still did not catch the question. Could you repeat the question, sir?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerBasically . . . I want to assist if I can. You are looking at the results, and you are trying to ask a question, Has the middle school system enhanced or hurt those receiving awards?
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsYes. That is it. Hon. Diallo V. S. R abain: Again, Mr. Speaker, wit hout being able to confirm who attended public middle school [of those] given awards, I cannot answer the question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Further question? QUESTION 2: SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS 2018
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsOkay, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister give an undertaking to give us a date when he will bring the answers to the questions to this House?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberSure. Sure.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Raba in: Mr. Speaker, I will attempt to bring it when the information is collected and avai lable. That is all I can promise.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. No further questions? No further questions. Minister, we move on to your second Stat ement in reference to the policy on administrative leave. And the same Honourable Member from constituency 8 has a question for you. Honourable Member Simons. QUESTION 1: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S POLICY FOR ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE …
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank the Minister for providing the answers to the questions. In the (one, two, three, four) fourth- to-last paragraph, he said that there would be workshops to educate the staff of the Department of Education—the teachers and principals —on …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank the Minister for providing the answers to the questions. In the (one, two, three, four) fourth- to-last paragraph, he said that there would be workshops to educate the staff of the Department of Education—the teachers and principals —on the way forward as r egards administrative leave policies. Can the Minister tell us, what are the current protocols in place in r egard to training and the advising of teachers and pri ncipals in regard to administrative leave protocols?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, I can advise that there are some protocols in place. But upon looking at what was being done, it was deemed not ade2738 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly quate enough. So I asked the acting Commissioner of …
Minister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, I can advise that there are some protocols in place. But upon looking at what was being done, it was deemed not ade2738 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly quate enough. So I asked the acting Commissioner of Education to come up wit h a team to look at how we can approach it and do something better than what was being done in the past. What we are looking at is to move forward with protocol and policies and proc edures in place that do exactly what the Statement stated—reduce the amount of time educators are out of the classroom.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary?
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsIn the answers that the Mini ster gave, the written answers, he lists a number of incidents where this occurred. My question to him — sorry, Minister —is this: I have no indication as to whether the Education Commissioner’s leave was included in here, Mr. Speaker. It appears he is …
In the answers that the Mini ster gave, the written answers, he lists a number of incidents where this occurred. My question to him — sorry, Minister —is this: I have no indication as to whether the Education Commissioner’s leave was included in here, Mr. Speaker. It appears he is not mentioned, and I will ask the Minister, Why was the Commissioner of Education not included in the admi nistrative leave, as he was suspended or what? I would like for the Minister to provide clarity. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Minister. Hon. D iallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, this has to do with administrative leave. From my recollection, the former Commissioner of Education was recommend-ed not to be confirmed to the post. And that was forwarded on to the Public Service Commission, as was suppos …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Minister.
Hon. D iallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, this has to do with administrative leave. From my recollection, the former Commissioner of Education was recommend-ed not to be confirmed to the post. And that was forwarded on to the Public Service Commission, as was suppos ed to have happened. So, I do not see how he would be listed in this list of persons being on admi nistrative leave, when he was confirmed not to be sui table for the post at that time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Member, new question or supplementary?
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsSupplementary. It is my understanding, Mr. Speaker, that the Commissioner of Education was suspended from his post and reinstated at a cost to the government. Where would that be recorded in regard to administr ative leave and any other leave for the Department of Education?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, the former Commissioner of Education was not reconfirmed to his post. I cannot answer the question. The Speaker: Supplementary? You used your two supplementaries. New question; new question. QUESTION 2: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S POLICY FOR ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE —UPDATE
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsNew question. The Minister said that he will endeavour to provide the data on the 2016/17 administrative leave statistics sometime in the future. Can he give us a date when that will be available? Because he has kindly provided 2017/18. So I am looking for 2016/17.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, some of those data were not provided. And those were some of the things that were noted when we were looking at revising the policy, that some data were just not recorded as correctly as they should have been. We are endeavouring …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, some of those data were not provided. And those were some of the things that were noted when we were looking at revising the policy, that some data were just not recorded as correctly as they should have been. We are endeavouring to find out where we could find those data now. We did a diligent lo ok over the last two weeks. We know of educators who had been suspended, but for some reason, locating the records of those suspensions has proven difficult. We are endeavouring to do it, and we will have it as soon as we can.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mini ster. New question or supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsJust supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as far as the process goes, how can the Minister assure us that if a person goes on administrative leave for nine months, and at the end is found guilty of nothing wrong, found no malfeasance whatsoever, how can we assure ourselves that this …
Just supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as far as the process goes, how can the Minister assure us that if a person goes on administrative leave for nine months, and at the end is found guilty of nothing wrong, found no malfeasance whatsoever, how can we assure ourselves that this will not occur? Because we paid this teacher eight months administrative leave salary. And then she is reinstated because they could not find anyt hing wrong. How do we assure ourselves that this will not happen, going forward?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, again, I am not quite understanding the question. There are pol icies in place that provide for the protection of our chi ldren. And that is the first and foremost [concern] of anyone who works with children that we should be looking …
Minister.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, again, I am not quite understanding the question. There are pol icies in place that provide for the protection of our chi ldren. And that is the first and foremost [concern] of anyone who works with children that we should be looking to do. So, as a former Minister of Education, you would note that these are policies that stretched the entire time that the One Bermuda Alliance had their four Ministers of Education in the five years that they were there.
Bermuda House of Assembly And so, Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the new policy is to address these deficiencies that we have, that this Government has identified in that policy. And come September, we will have a more robust policy that will ensure that teachers are not held out of the classroom as long as they have been held out in the last three to four years.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI have a suppl ementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. We have a suppl ementary. Continue. SUPPLEMENTAR IES
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes, I have a supplementary. Can the Minister, in light of his answer, explain what changes were made to administrative leave during the last four or five years of OBA Administr ation that had not been in place in the prior PLP Admi nistration?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, the only way I can respond to that is that, if they were not asleep at the wheel, they would have noticed that somet hing was wrong with the policy when they were in gover nment, and changed it —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well . . . The question was specific. Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerTake your seat. The question was specific. The question sim ply asked, What were the changes? So, it has nothing to do with who was asleep or who was awake. Were there changes made? That is all the question is. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: There were no changes made …
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinSupplementary. Second supplementary, yes. There were no changes made in government, then the Minister must admit and accept —will the Mi nister accept that any deficiencies that lay within the system occurred under the watch of the former PLP Administration for their prior 14 years of administr ation?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain : Mr. Speaker, I cannot co nfirm or deny that. [Laughter]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYeah, right. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: What I can confirm is that when we looked over the last three to four years, we noticed that there were things, there were deficiencies there. And we are taking steps to address those def iciencies.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. No further questions? [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, Members! No further questions. The last Statement that was read this morning also has questions, for the Minister of Works.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe had two Members indicating that they had questions, but only one Member is now pr esent. So I will put that opportunity to that Member. Member from constituency 20, would you like to put your question to the Minister of Works? He said he has been anticipating the question. …
We had two Members indicating that they had questions, but only one Member is now pr esent. So I will put that opportunity to that Member. Member from constituency 20, would you like to put your question to the Minister of Works? He said he has been anticipating the question. So, he is ready with an answer.
QUESTION 1: FARMING IN BERMUD A
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Speaker. So, my question t o the Minister is whether he knew that Westover Farm was going to be given n otice to vacate.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Take your time, Minister. Go ahead.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, I was going to give you the page number. But with my old eyes, my writing is bigger than what she’s got. But it was in there. No, I was not aware until Mr. Bascome III called me after he received the letter.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or new question? 2740 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly No? Okay. Thank you, Members. That brings us t o a close of the Question Period. It has been quite a r obust one this morning with the Premier’s Questions, the written question, …
Thank you. Supplementary or new question? 2740 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly No? Okay. Thank you, Members. That brings us t o a close of the Question Period. It has been quite a r obust one this morning with the Premier’s Questions, the written question, and the questions on the Stat ements. We now get to the next Order on the Order Paper.
CONGRATULATORY AND/OR OBITUARY SPEECH ES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI am sure no one wants to . . . you tired yourselves out at — Oh! I see a Member rose. Okay. I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 36. Honourable Member, you have the floor. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Mr. Speaker, on a sad note, I would like …
I am sure no one wants to . . . you tired yourselves out at — Oh! I see a Member rose. Okay. I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 36. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Mr. Speaker, on a sad note, I would like to ask this Honourable House to extend the House’s condolences to the members of the family of the late Kay Violet Outerbridge. That would be to her children, Belita , Blake, and Blaine. She lived in Kitc hener Close. I was sad to learn, as I l earned it from my colleague, Mr. Dolryn Simons . I see that, Mr. Speaker, you wish to be associated, knowing Mrs. Outerbridge.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMost definitely. Hon. Michael J. Scott: And I am happy to ask that the records reflect that the Speaker wishes to be associated with the passing of this outstanding and wonderful senior citizen of Sandys Parish, and let the members of the family know that we have them in our …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. No other Honourable Member wishes to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member, Mr. Commissiong.
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just very quickly want to give a commendation and congratulations to the Association of Bermuda International Companies, or ABIC. They have committed to drive a programme that will lead to more inclusion and diversity within their ranks. Mr. Patrick Tannock, who is the …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just very quickly want to give a commendation and congratulations to the Association of Bermuda International Companies, or ABIC. They have committed to drive a programme that will lead to more inclusion and diversity within their ranks. Mr. Patrick Tannock, who is the Chairman of ABIC and CEO of insurance at XL Bermuda Ltd., said change had to be driven from t he C -Suite, at the very top. On more than one occasion, as Members will know, I have used Mr. Tannock as a poster child for what has not been done in that regard, as he is one of the few black Bermudians, after four decades, in terms of the growth of that industry, who holds a high- level dec ision-making CEO position in the local IB [international business] sector. So, again, I hope that, also in light of the comments by Mr. Jonathan Reiss, that this will repr e-sent a sea change and that we will see tangible benefit from these types of initiatives in the not -too-distant future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member — I recognise the Honourable Member Dunkley. Honourable Member, you have the floor . Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise during this period in the schedule of the House to ask this Honourable Chamber to …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member — I recognise the Honourable Member Dunkley. Honourable Member, you have the floor .
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise during this period in the schedule of the House to ask this Honourable Chamber to send congratulations to Patrice Morgan on the launch of her Bermuda Born line up at the Tuck Shop last night.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: I had the opportunity to go there, and I was very impressed with the flair and the style [with which] Ms. Morgan has launched her women’s accessories. And I urge all women especially, or maybe the men w ho have a special other in their …
Yes.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: I had the opportunity to go there, and I was very impressed with the flair and the style [with which] Ms. Morgan has launched her women’s accessories. And I urge all women especially, or maybe the men w ho have a special other in their life, to check out some of this product. The price point seems good. The quality is good, and there is a real Bermudian flair. And while I am at it, Mr. Speaker, I would like to also send congratulations to the Tuck Shop a nd the Tucker family for their entrepreneurship, and also the stylish boutique that they have in their store. It is well worth the browse around, and enjoying a cup of coffee and a nice something to enjoy before the sugar tax hits in October.
[Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. We now recognise the Honourable Member, Mr. Tyrrell. Honourable Member Tyrrell, you have the floor.
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I ask this House to send congratulations to the Bermuda Community Foundation, which just very recently launched the Charles E. and Lesley Marshall Family Fund, focusing on the future of Bermuda football. I think you all would know that I have some interest in …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I ask this House to send congratulations to the Bermuda Community Foundation, which just very recently launched the Charles E. and Lesley Marshall Family Fund, focusing on the future of Bermuda football. I think you all would know that I have some interest in football. I had the opportunity to actually work with Mr. Marshall for many years. In fact, I can say that I worked under him as President of the Bermuda Football Association, and he worked under me as President of the Bermuda Football Association. So, I know that Mr. Marshall has a big heart for Bermudians and football in Bermuda. And I certainly would like to have him congratulated. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Bermuda House of Assembly Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? No other Honourable Member wishes to speak. We will now move on to the next Order. MATTERS OF PRIVILEGE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. NOTICE OF MOTIONS FOR THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE ON MAT TERS OF URGENT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS GOVERNMENT BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are two Government Bills to be introduced this morning, both by the Minister of Health. And I believe she is going to be ably assisted this morning by the Premier himself.
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David BurtpremierThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable and Learned Member is attending the farewell session for the Chief Justice. FIRST READINGS PROCEEDS OF CRIME (MISCELLANEOUS) (NO. 3) ACT 2018 PROCEEDS OF CRIME (ANTI -MONEY LAUNDERING AND ANTI - TERRORISM FINANCING SUPERVISION AND E NFORCEMENT) AMENDMENT ACT 2018 …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable and Learned Member is attending the farewell session for the Chief Justice.
FIRST READINGS
PROCEEDS OF CRIME (MISCELLANEOUS) (NO. 3) ACT 2018
PROCEEDS OF CRIME (ANTI -MONEY LAUNDERING AND ANTI - TERRORISM FINANCING SUPERVISION AND E NFORCEMENT) AMENDMENT ACT 2018
Hon. E. David Burt: So, Mr. Speaker, I am introducing the following Bills for their first readings so that they may be placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting: the Proceeds of Crime (Miscellan eous) (No. 3) Act 2018; and the Proceeds of Crime (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing Supervision and Enforcement) Amendment Act 2018.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. OPPOSITION BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. NOTICES OF MOTIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. ORDERS OF THE DAY
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe have now moved on to the Orders of the Day. And before I actually start this part, let me just acknowledge that it has been agreed on both sides that [Order] No. 2 will be the first item this mor ning. And that item is the Family Mediation Act …
We have now moved on to the Orders of the Day. And before I actually start this part, let me just acknowledge that it has been agreed on both sides that [Order] No. 2 will be the first item this mor ning. And that item is the Family Mediation Act 2018. And that is in the name of the Honourable Minister of Social Development and Sport, the Honourable Mini ster Weeks. However . . . however, before we actually start that, I believe there are only about four minutes before our lunch break. And I am going to ask the indulgence of the House. I am going to ask the indulgence of the House if they do not mind our taking an extra four minutes on your lunch period.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersNo. Not at all, not at all.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, we will add an extra four minutes to your lunch period. And we will stand at this m oment.
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David BurtpremierThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn for lunch and return at 2:00 pm.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAny objections to that? No objections. The House now stands adjourned for lunch until 2:00 pm. And, Members, I will not be in the Chair when you return, but I trust that you will be as orderly to the Deputy when he is in the Chair this afternoon as we …
Any objections to that? No objections. The House now stands adjourned for lunch until 2:00 pm. And, Members, I will not be in the Chair when you return, but I trust that you will be as orderly to the Deputy when he is in the Chair this afternoon as we were this morning. And those who do not, I know the Deputy can surely bring order when needed. So it will be in the able hands of our Deputy this afternoon. Thank you, Members, and have a good lunch.
[Gavel]
Proceedings suspended at 12:27 pm
Proceedings resumed at 2:01 pm
2742 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the Chair]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerGood afternoon, we are r esuming after lunch and we are doing the second reading of the Family Mediation Act 2018. Minister Weeks, I call upon you. BILL SECOND READING FAMILY MEDIATION ACT 2018 Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Good afternoon, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Mr. Deputy Speaker , I move …
Good afternoon, we are r esuming after lunch and we are doing the second reading of the Family Mediation Act 2018. Minister Weeks, I call upon you.
BILL
SECOND READING
FAMILY MEDIATION ACT 2018 Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Good afternoon, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Mr. Deputy Speaker , I move that the Bill ent itled Family Mediation Act 2018 be now read the second time.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContinue. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Mr. Deputy Speaker , I am pleased to lead the debate on the Bill entitled the Family Mediation Act 2018 which was laid in this Honourable House on the 29th of June 2018. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the purpose of this Bill is to introduce …
Continue.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Mr. Deputy Speaker , I am pleased to lead the debate on the Bill entitled the Family Mediation Act 2018 which was laid in this Honourable House on the 29th of June 2018. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the purpose of this Bill is to introduce new legislation entitled the Family Medi ation Act 2018 which would provide parties that are involved in certain disputed family matters (which are addressed on the face of the Act) to be provided the opportunity by way of an offer from the courts to r esolve their disputed matters through the use of medi ation, provided parties satisfy the safeguard criteria specified in the legislation. The mediation process can be an effecti ve means to resolve disputed family i ssues. The Bill provides parties with access to a f orum in which they can better communicate with one another to resolve their family disputes with the gui dance of a registered mediator. The mediation process promoted by this legislation will encourage parties to maintain respect for one another when trying to r esolve contentious matters concerning their family unit. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the Family Mediation Act 2018 not only embraces the mission statement of the Depar tment of Child and Family Services, which is: “To promote and protect the best interests and social well-being of children, adults, and families in order to enhance their social functioning and their quality of life;” but it also upholds the Ministry of Social Deve lopment and Sports’ overall vision “To strengthen the social fabric of our community” and supports the Mi nistry’s mission, “To provide social support services in order to maintain and improve our quality of life and develop and protect our youth a nd families.” Mr. Deputy Speaker , I would like to take this opportunity to remind and/or inform Honourable Members on the course taken which has resulted in this standalone piece of legislation, the Family Mediation Act 2018, which provides for family mediation and a Family Mediation Council. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the Family Mediation Act 2018, which is the first piece of standalone legislation in Bermuda to promote family mediation, is a result of several years of policy development to provide su pport and protection for our children while empowering families in Bermuda. In order for Honourable Mem-bers to gain an understanding and have an appreci ation for the intended impact this legislation will have on our children, families, and community, I must pr ovide a brief background on how we arrived at this juncture today. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the initial starting point can be traced back to the Speech from the Throne 2011 “Let Us Build One Another, Together” delivered on the 4 th of November 2011. This initiative was spearheaded in support of families in order to pr eserve and strengthen the family unit by seeking to eliminate bias and provide parents with equal rights and responsibilities when it comes to the welfare of their children. The then Minister of the then Ministry of Youth, Families and Sports, the Honourable Glenn Blakeney JP MP, elaborated on this initiative that was referred to as “Shared Parenting” during a press conference held on the 10 th November 2011 in which he described the Ministry as “the socia l services engine of Government” that strives “to protect children and resolve family dysfunction.” Although the Ministry’s name has had various changes, this description of the Ministry as a “social services engine of Government” striving to “protect chil dren and resolve family dy sfunction” remains the same some seven years later. Mr. Deputy Speaker , keeping in mind that the objectives for introducing shared parenting legislation was to provide parents with the mechanisms to i mprove their ability to enhan ce the welfare of their chi ldren, that will circumvent bias while providing parents with equal rights and responsibilities in order to pr otect them and assist in resolving family dysfunction, the senior magistrate at the time suggested that the parties and children appearing before the Family Court experienced a multitude of complex psycholog ical, psychiatric, educational, vocational, and social problems. It was concluded that an estimate [of] b etween 75 per cent and 90 per cent of people involved in cases before the Family Court are faced with complex problems that have led to acute family instability. The top 10 issues identified out of a multitude of i ssues were: • generational family dysfunction; • warring and feuding parents as a result of rage, bitterness , and resentment towards each other; • multiple children born out of wedlock; • women with multiple children with different f athers;
Bermuda House of Assembly • men with multiple children with different mot hers; • high percentage of absent or unknown f athers; • fathers who rarely or never support their chi ldren financially; • mothers who prevent fathers’ access to their children; • parents who have never had a meaningful or any relationship with their child or children; and • children who are beyond parental control, parents and/or children who are involved in criminal behaviour which has led to the incarceration of either parent, child or both. Mr. Deputy Speaker , a jurisdictional review on shared and equal parenting legislation, which included the UK, New York, USA, New Zealand, to name a few jurisdictions, was also conducted. It was concluded at the time that if Bermuda moved in the direction of shared or equal parenting that it should apply to parents of all children, regardless of whether they are born out of a marriage or out of wedlock. However, the determination of what is in the best interest of the child would still be left to the discretion of the courts. Further, at that time there was a strong emphasis placed on implementing more support services to assist in decreasing many of the existi ng problems mentioned above for which more financial and human r esources would have to be made available, resulting in a more positive outcome for our country as a whole. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the then Ministry of Community, Culture and Sports through the De partment of Child and Family Services identified the need to incorporate a family mediation component into the Children Act 1998 at the front end of proceedings associated with custody and access matters instead of using mediation as a last resort once par ties failed to comply with an access order. This conclusion was based on several findings which included: a) The findings set out in the report entitled Justice for Families: a R eview of Family Law in Bermuda. This was prepared by the Family Law Reform Sub- Committee chaired by then Justice Norma Wade Miller, JB, OBE. b) Data collected by the Department of Statistics from the Supreme Court Registry between 2001 and 2011. c) Data obtained through Mirrors residential i ntensive events in 2009 and 2011 through to 2013 on youth between the ages of 14 and 18 whose parents were either separated or d ivorced. d) Research conducted on shared parenting legislation in other jurisdictions such as Australia, Belgium, France, Sweden, and the USA to name a few. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the original intent was to provide a family mediation component into the Chi l-dren Act 1998 for the purposes of introducing a pr erequisite to co- parenting orders that would focus around child custody and access disputes, rather than providing the courts the aut hority to order mediation for non- compliance [with] custody or access orders. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the amendment to the Children Act 1998 required the courts to order parties to undergo mediation prior to the issuing of coparenting orders and consider medi ation in child custody and access disputes. The recognition of the val-ue of both parties in their children’s lives was also i ntroduced at this time into the Children Act 1998. On the 8 th of December 2014 the Children Amendment Act 2014 was assented to and with the issuing of the commencement day notice dated the 24 July 2015, the new section 36GA Co- Parenting Mediation Council, under the Children Act 1998, was brought into operation allowing for the Co- Parenting Mediation Council, a statutory body, to be formed and operate. The role of the Co- Parenting Mediation Council is to pr ovide regulatory oversight for co- parenting mediation matters dealing with child access and custody di sputes, including developing and maintaining standards for co- parenting mediation on behalf of the Gover nment. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the members of the Council dedicated their time to creating standards for co-parenting mediation and during this process adopted a cross -jurisdictional model that supersedes the narrow remit of co- parenting mediation, which would be appropriate for application to family medi ation generally. Based on this the then Chair of the Council (who is currently our Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Senator the Hon. Kathy Lightbourne Simmons, JP) informed the Ministry that the members of the Council unanimously agreed to recommend to the Minister that the legislative remit of the Council be expanded to include regulatory oversight of family mediation as a whole as opposed to co-parenting mediation. This pr oposed expansion would prevent potential inconsistencies arising with respect to standards for the practice of areas of family medi ation other than co- parenting mediation, and ensure uniformity in the regulatory regime which would pos itively advance the interests of families. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the Ministry supported the Council’s recommendation in expanding their r emit beyond co- parenting mediation to include family mediation based on a jurisdictional review that inclu ded St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada, to name a few. The Ministry determined that instead of only extending the Council’s remit, it would be in the best interests of the country to expand co- parenting mediation to full -scope family mediation. This expansion will allow disputed parti es to participate in medi ation which fully promotes the best interests and we lfare of children, as well as families, through reconcili ation and settlement between the parties. Also, parties 2744 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly are given the opportunity for self -determination i nstead of the courts having the final decision. Mr. Deputy Speaker , after careful consider ation the Ministry concluded that the provision for co - parenting mediation under the Children Amendment Act 2014 is not the ideal legislative authority to address disputed matters be yond custody of and access to children, and a standalone piece of legislation should be introduced in the form of the Family Medi ation Act 2018. The Ministry consulted this position with the Judiciary Mediation Services under the Depar tment of Child and Family Services and the CoParenting Mediation Council, all of which resulted in unanimous support for introducing standalone legisl ation to address full -scope family mediation. Mr. Deputy Speaker , under the Family Medi ation Act 2018 the courts are able to provide parties an alternative method of resolving their disputes by offering them to undergo mediation if deemed suitable. This advancement will have far -reaching positive i mpacts on society as many parties find themselves before the courts for months or even years entwined in a litigious battle which can have a grave impact on the family, resulting in substantial legal fees, potentially leading to the parties losing one of their largest assets, the family home. Many parties in this situation end up dependi ng on Financial Assistance, which i ncreases the financial payout or the burden on the Government. Family Mediation also provides a benefit to the courts with reducing the number of challenges it faces, such as decreasing the amount of time spent on matters heard and determined by them. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I must take this opportunity to inform Honourable Member s that the Berm uda Bar Council was given the opportunity by way of consultation to provide feedback on the Family Medi ation Act 2018. And I am pleased to notify this Honourable House that they, along with members of the Bermuda Bar, fully support this initiative and the legi slation being implemented. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the Ministry of Social Development and Sports is committed to informing the general public about this initiative through various sources of media, such as television, the Internet, et cetera, so persons are well -informed of the options that are available when it comes to certain disputed family matters. The Family Mediation Act 2018 intr oduces a new approach to resolving disputed family issues, which should be welcomed by all as it is a v itally important direction the country must move toward in order to protect our children and empower our pe ople. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker .
The Depu ty Speaker: Thank you, Minister. Are there any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Trevor Moniz. Mr. Moniz, you have the floor. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . This, I would say, does not come directly u nder legal affairs. Our Member Mr. Ben Smith is at a funeral this afternoon, so I am covering him on this. I do have some of the history, as during our period in Government I was in Cabinet, of course, when we did the co- parenting legislation under our Minist er at that time, Wayne Scott, who was a great supporter of m ediation. And I am a great supporter of mediation as well. As well as being a member of the Bar, I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and also a qualified mediator. I have done a number of mediation courses, although not specialised in family matters, which is a particular speciality. So, generally we support this. Certainly the matters that I was concerned with while we were Government with setting up the co- parenting medi ation were the ideas of: How much is it going to cost? How many people do you have? How many medi ations are there going to do? What is the success rate that you expect? Those are all the information that I would have hoped to have laid out here today in the Minister’s brief. He is saying he has consulted all these people, they are all happy. But there are no facts and figures here. Mediation . . . of course, this is largely taken I guess from the UK and other similar jurisdictions that have been doing it for a long time, and they would have statistics and cost analysis on what it costs and how productive it is, how successful it is in these cases. And there is, perhaps, a little bit of a . . . the original was called Co- Parenting, as the Minister quite rightly s aid, because it was dealing mainly with chi ldren’s issues, to hope to ameliorate the difficulties faced by families with children when they are in these disputes. There is always difficulty when a family . . . a mother and father separating because, of course, two people living separately cannot live as frugally as two people who live together. So you immediately have a problem with the house. So there are always expense issues for families with respect to the house, partic ularly when they are in straitened financial circu mstances —people who are on Financial Assistance, et cetera. It always makes it a very difficult situation. Now, the one thing to learn about mediation is that mediation does not force anything. It tries to . . . unlike arbitration, in arbi tration you have an arbitrator and you can have binding arbitration. So the arbitrator can make a decision which the parties must accept. You can also have non- binding arbitration. But in m ediation it is not binding. That is the whole point of it. You are trying to bring the two sides together. And in my experience the way it is usually run is that you have them in separate rooms and they are entitled to legal representation, they each have their lawyer, and you have a mediator who runs back and forth between the two groups trying to bring them together.
Bermuda House of Assembly And, as the Minister rightly said, these are often very heated difficult circumstances with family dy sfunctions which are complex; all of those issues are involved. And so you try and bring these people t ogether. Now, obviously, there is a cost attached to it. Someone has to pay the mediator. Obviously, the parties (unless they are on Legal Aid) are paying their own lawyers, so it adds another layer to the process. But you are hoping to get enough people ou t at this stage that they do not have to go to court. So, it is a balancing act. And I think in other jurisdictions it has proven to be successful in the sense that you are more likely . . . if people go through mediation, you are more likely to have them coming out the other end happy. Whereas in court, there is usually a ruling handed down by the judge. One side jumps up and down and cheers and the other side has a clenched fist and is very unhappy. So that is what you are trying to avoid. You want to rea ch a situation that the two sides see as a win- win. Then when they go out they are going to cooperate and have a healthy relationship with each other, which is good for them, it is good for society, and where there are children involved, of course, it is good for the children as well. So, you know, those are very important issues. But you cannot force mediation. You are tr ying to bring the parties together. So you are going to get a number of cases where the parties are not brought together, they cannot agree, and then they go back to court. So, I think under this piece of legislation . . . and we will go into the details, of course, in Commi ttee, Mr. Deputy Speaker . But under clause 5 it says the “Court may order mediation assessment.” And I think, with r espect to the Act, it refers to certain ci rcumstances which are not suitable for mediation. I think it is particularly where there are severe psychiatric issues or there is domestic abuse or where there are issues of drug abuse— those are issues which are regarded as not suitable for going to a mediation pr ocess. So there are only certain circumstances in which this is likely to work. So, I think it is just important that people do not have too big an expectation of it. But we do expect it to be successful and to be worth the money that we put into it. In order to do that we need to know how much money is going to be put into it. What is the cost? How many mediators are there going to be? How many cases do you expect to [have]? We should have all these stati stics, we should be able to say . . . and I do not know if the report . . . the Minister very helpfully noted in his brief that Justice Norma Wade Miller was Chairman of a Committee which looked into this. And that report is probably a bit long in the toot h now, but presumably would have given some statistics as to how many cases there are in an average year, how many would go to mediation, what sort of suc-cess rate we might be likely to expect and what the cost of the mediation is. And this Act really does not speak . . . it talks about the fees for getting registered as a mediator and the fees that members of the Council get. But it does not really say who is paying these mediators and how much money we have set aside in the budget for them. And this is not a new problem for the present Government, this was also an issue faced under the previous Government, and certainly was one that I had raised. So, on the one hand I am very happy to see mediation going forward, happy in that sense to see it being brought to wider use. But I just want to have a bit more analysis so that we know going forward . . . have we met our expectations? Have we met our tar-gets? Have we had as many mediations as we ex-pected, are they as successful as we expected, and does it come w ithin the cost parameters that we pr edicted? Those are the immediate issues which come up for me. And I know that there was a father’s group, I cannot remember the gentleman’s name, whether it was Mr. [Eddie] Tavares , he was very much pushing for all of this to get recognition for father’s rights. And I think, as the Minister rightly said, it is important to achieve what is seen to be a healthy balance in the community. And, of course, I know mothers see them-selves as covering the great majority of the work and the hardship involved in caring for children where the fathers are not participating and the . . . so many f athers feel that they have been hard done by and been asked to pay sums which they cannot afford, et cetera. So, you know, it is important to t ry and heal those rifts and bring people together in the myriad of circumstances which the Minister, in his brief, listed at some length . . . and maybe I will just go back to it . . . just to say that the circumstances that people find themselves in are s ort of predictable, in a sense. But they are also very broad circumstances. You know, the Minister gave a list . . . and I will repeat it, because I think it is worth repeating. He spoke of: • generational family dysfunction; • warring and feuding parents as a result of rage, bitterness, and resentment towards each other; • multiple children born out of wedlock; • women with multiple children with different f athers; • men with multiple children with different mot hers; • high percentage of absent or unknown f athers; • fathers who rarely or never support their chi ldren financially (and in that case it is emotion-ally, as well); 2746 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly • mothers frequently prevent fathers’ access to their children (which is often linked to resentment and sometimes financial issues); • parents who have never had a meaningful or any relationship with their children; and • children who are beyond parental control, parents and/or children who are involved in criminal behaviour which has led to the incarceration of either parent or a child or both. So, you know, we are talking about very ser ious circumstances here which do need addressing. I might say that, with respect to the ministry [that] I was responsible for while we were in Gover nment, I had under my aegis the Court Services D epartment who dealt with a lot of issues involving people in custody, et cetera. And you know from those situations they are very, very, difficult to deal with and they are very challenging, and you have to watch it carefully, you have to manage it very carefully. Those sorts of thi ngs get out of hand very, very, quickly and you lose control of them. So I am just urging the Government to keep a close eye on this in terms of measurements, analysis and the cost, and to make sure that we are achieving what we want to achieve. And the answer is, you know, if you do not achieve what you want to achieve, you are not going to throw the baby out with the bat hwater, you are going to re- jig it again. You may have to re- jig this machinery to get it right for Bermuda . . . to get it to work. But, overall, we are very supportive of this and I thank the Minister for his brief. Thank you.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Mr. Pearman from constituency 22.
Mr. Scott PearmanMr. Deputy Speaker , thank you. I have very, very, brief words to say, just to add in support of the words given by the former Attorney General. My only observation . . . and let me declare an interest. Obviously, I am an attorney in Bermuda, and a barrister. …
Mr. Deputy Speaker , thank you. I have very, very, brief words to say, just to add in support of the words given by the former Attorney General. My only observation . . . and let me declare an interest. Obviously, I am an attorney in Bermuda, and a barrister. And it might be thought, in fact, a bit like turkeys speaking for Christmas, that it is not good for the lawyers to be proponents of mediation. But, quite the contrary, mediation —and I am an accredited m ediator as well —is one of the most usef ul alternative methods of dispute resolution. It does cut through all the court cases that we have. It can significantly r educe court cases. It has been tried and tested original-ly in the commercial sphere very successfully. The great thing about mediation as opposed to litigation is that when you have litigation before the courts, oftentimes, one party or the other will walk out of the door of the court feeling like they have lost. With mediation people participate in a voluntary process to try to get to t he answer “yes.” And both parties walk out, neither of them feeling like they have lost, but both feeling that they have gained in part —not in full, but in part. And so, I am delighted to see this pushed by the current Government, indeed, and by the previ ous Government, towards more mediation in our system. The only people who will lose in this are the lawyers and that is no bad thing. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Tinee Furbert from constituency 4. You have the floor, Ma’am.
Mrs. Tinee FurbertThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . I just want to also congratulate this Gover nment —our Government —for making this legislation a standalone Act, as it was once before under the Chi ldren Amendment Act 2014. And that Act gave us the opportunity to introduce co -parenting and also medi …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . I just want to also congratulate this Gover nment —our Government —for making this legislation a standalone Act, as it was once before under the Chi ldren Amendment Act 2014. And that Act gave us the opportunity to introduce co -parenting and also medi ation at the time. But it is also important, like my fellow parliamentarian colleague has mentioned, in regard to making it a standalone Act, recognising family medi ation as a whole, because now we are not just talking about co- parenting—a mother or father —now we have the opportunity to introduce mother, father, an adoptive parent, stepparent, guardian of a child, or even a prospective adoptive pare nt of a child. So, we are opening it up even more to include not just a coparenting sort of situation. And it is also an example of this Gover nment’s commitment to putting families first. And this Family Mediation legislation just shows our commi tment to how we feel about families and the i mportance of improving family relationships. I had the opportunity to go on the website of the Coalition for the Protection of Children. And ev eryone knows that they are a big push for initiatives such as this family m ediation. And if you will allow me to read, Mr. Deputy Speaker , from their website . . . and they describe family mediation as where ind ependent, trained professionals help to work out an agreement about issues such as arrangements for your children or your finances. And they also go on to speak about mediation is easier and less stressful than going to court —and it works. And if children are involved, it is easier for the parents to cooperate in the presence of children, and it also fosters better family relationships. Mediation also helps to preserve family rel ationships. They also help . . . with mediation the parties come together to make their own decisions and it is also generally less costly than having to go to court for litigation. And so it also provides an alternative to having to go to court for litigation. And so this is why this Act is very important.
Bermuda House of Assembly I just wanted to also point out . . . there is a section in the Act which talks about a transitional phase, so once . . . previously we had the CoParenting Council, and so it is going to be a seamless sort of transition to the Family Mediation Council b ecause those Council members will be able to continue with their job by being part of the Family Mediation Council. And I also just would like t o point out, Mr. Deputy Speaker , that this Government has showed a commitment to equal opportunity and the inclusion of both men and women serving on the Council. Before there was an issue in regard to just women being on the Council, and I know that we sorted out that issue before with the previous Government where they did add gentlemen. But it in this specific Act it speaks to the equal distribution of having both men and women to serve on the actual Council, hopefully to reduce any gender biases that ma y exist without that important element and to also have the value of the importance of both men and women’s views represented. I just also wanted to point out, Mr. Deputy Speaker , that I know fellow parliamentarians spoke about not having statistics. And while we may not have Bermuda statistics, I did have the opportunity to look at the UK National Family Mediation stats and they report that out of 16,000 mediations started that 89 per cent went on to close successfully in 2012/13. So these statistics and many other statistics around the world do show us that mediation is having a great and beneficial effect when it comes to solving family sort of issues other than having to go to court and to deal with the back and forth and sometimes the nega-tivity that c an occur in the actual courts. So with that, Mr. Deputy Speaker , I would like to take my seat and thank you.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Pat Gordon- Pamplin. You have the floor, Ms. [Gordon- ] Pamplin.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Mr. Deputy Speaker , I just wanted to very briefly lend my voice of support to this new mediation . . . or to this amendment, enhanced mediation cap abilities that are being introduced by today’s legislation. Let me say that I did, for …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Mr. Deputy Speaker , I just wanted to very briefly lend my voice of support to this new mediation . . . or to this amendment, enhanced mediation cap abilities that are being introduced by today’s legislation. Let me say that I did, for a moment, serve as the Minister responsible for Community, Culture and Sport, at which time the tweaking and the tabling and passing of the legislation on the Children Amendment . . . mediation . . . the co- parenting mediation, I should say, Act came into force. During which time, obviously, we recognised the importance of having such a tool in order to, first of all, ameliorate some of the financial challenges that parents would have gone through the traditional court system and the traditional litigious environment which, invariably, accounts for more negative results as far as the children are concerned. Obviously, when we have a level of mediation that is available it helps, as my colleagues have said prior, to calm the waters somewhat. When somebody knows that they are going into, especially a court situation, in which there is an attorney on the one side and an attorney on the other side the question begs, Which attorney is going to be deemed to be t he better of the two? And who is going to be able to effectively undermine the other in terms of representation of their client so that each could get as much as they can for their client? And nobody really comes out of that environment feeling as though there is any justice that has been done. For every dime that somebody receives, somebody has to pay. Therefore, somebody is always going to feel as though they have been hard done by in the process. I wanted to particularly point out that during the time that the Co- Parenting Mediation came into force, it had a fierce advocate within the department and that was the attorney who worked for the depar tment and she is actually sitting in the audience in the Gallery today, Ms. Kleita Pitcher. And I just wanted to express how deeply appreciative I have been of her efforts to ensure that mediation took its rightful place and had its ultimate result. Obviously, she was led by the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry at the time, Mr. Wayne Carey, (who also is sitting here). And it is important that when we have this type of legislation that is going through that not only is the bigger vision apparent, but that the support for the Government to be able to push through that type of legislation is given by the civil serv ants who are r esponsible. And I am eternally grateful for the steps that were made up until the point that we had the successful passing of the Co- Parenting Mediation. This is taking it a step further. And I am certain that the new Minister will also be able to express his gratitude for that level of support for the vision that they have had in order to make sure that the input into enhancing the legislation will continue to enure to the better benefit of those who will utilise the services. I certainly hope that as time goes on we will be able to see the ultimate benefit to families in terms of savings, as my honourable colleague, the former Attorney General, has indicated, in terms of savings when it comes to just plain legal fees. Some of the . . . you kn ow, I think there are times when you look back on one’s profession and decide, you know, was it a wise thing becoming an accountant? Or should I have become a lawyer? Because, you know, they charge by the minute, if not by the word, and it just, you know, usually ends up racking up an awful lot of legal fees as time goes on. But this is a way to help to calm the situation, to help to ameliorate those challenges financially, and to be able to come up with an output of the process that helps to ensure that f amilies are left in a relatively 2748 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly good space. And, therefore, the respect that family members can have one towards the other as a result of a mediation process is certainly enhanced and a far better output than would be available if they go tooth and nail, hammer and tongue, in the court system. So I just wanted to stand and express my appreciation to the staff and the civil servants who have had . . . who have supported the vision when it comes to mediation, both in terms of co- parenting and now with further family mediation. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any further speakers? Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . I would like to thank those Members who participated in this debate.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: I think this Family Mediation Bill is very much needed and overdue in Bermuda because I think we all may have a story or two of peo-ple that have had to go through the horror of c hild support and/or divorce and feel hard done …
Mm-hmm.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: I think this Family Mediation Bill is very much needed and overdue in Bermuda because I think we all may have a story or two of peo-ple that have had to go through the horror of c hild support and/or divorce and feel hard done by because they feel that their voice was not heard. This hopefully can alleviate a lot of those . . . a lot of that angst, Mr. Deputy Speaker . And I will try to answer some of the questions that were asked. But before I go there, I remember when we debated the Co-Parenting Bill. We talked about the makeup of the Council and we have men and women equally, or at least two men and at least two women, a lawyer, a mediator . . . so it is very much encompassing the makeup of those who would be needed in mediation, Mr. Deputy Speaker . The Member that is standing in for the Shadow of Social Development and Sports, the MP from constituency 9, asked how many matters have been referred, who will pay, and whatnot. So, Mr . Deputy Speaker , in 2014 from May to December there were 30 new matters that were referred to mediation and of the 30, 20 were successful. In 2015, Mr. Deputy Speaker , there were 41 new cases. Of the 41, 32 cases were successful. In 2016, there were 60 cases. Of the 60 cases, 40 were successful. And in 2017, from January to March, there were 22 cases [and] of them 2 were successful. And I had a question, I think it came from my colleague from constituency 4, about whether legal aid is available for family mediation. At this time it is not intended that family mediation come under the Legal Aid regime. Currently there is a public sector Family Mediator who provides family mediation services, dealing mainly with child access and custody issues. Under the exi sting structure there is no r equirement . . . there is no requirement for parties using this service to pay [for mediation] since the public sector Family Mediator is a paid government employee. The volume of family mediation cases being handled by the pub lic sector Family Mediator will be monitored to determine whether additional access to public sector mediation services may be required. So that is an issue for the Mediation Council to determine if more mediators will be needed, and at that point, I think , we will ascertain how much that will cost. But before I go on, Mr. Deputy Speaker , when I read out the statistics, I forgot to say that these stats are only for the public sector. I do not have any stats for the private sector. So with that, Mr. Deputy Speaker , if there are no other questions, I move that the Bill be committed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Bill will be committed to the Committee. The Chair calls Honourable Member Kim Swan. House in Committee at 2:47 pm [Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. Swan, Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL FAMILY MEDIATION ACT 2018
The ChairmanChairmanWe are in the Committee of the whole House to consider the Family Mediation Act 2018 . And we call on the Minister. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I think there are a total of 24 clauses in total.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: I would like your guidance. Can I do them in groups of five or . . . ?
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, that is good. We can start with five as this is a new Act. If we think we need less, we will do that, or if we need more, we will adjust accordingly. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: First— [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Do [clauses] 1 through 9? …
The ChairmanChairmanYes, that is a good recommendation. We will go from [cl auses] 1 through 9, Honourable Member . Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Okay, all right. So, Mr. Chairman, clause 1 is the standard citation and confers title on this Bill as the Family M ediation Act …
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 2 provi des the interpretation of the following 11 words or phrases: 1. “Affected family member” provides a clear meaning of family members, including a child, in which the proceedings have been [brought]; 2. “Child” means a person who has not attained the age …
Yes.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 2 provi des the interpretation of the following 11 words or phrases: 1. “Affected family member” provides a clear meaning of family members, including a child, in which the proceedings have been [brought]; 2. “Child” means a person who has not attained the age of 18 ye ars; 3. “Council” means the Family Mediation Council that was established under section 36GA of the Children Act 1998 as the Co- Parenting Mediation Council which has since been r enamed. The Council is to provide regulatory oversight for family mediation for t he purpose of facilitating certain family disputes; 4. “Court” which refers to a special court, a court of summary jurisdiction, or the Supreme Court, in which disputed family proceedings can be brought before; 5. “Family” defines those persons currently recognised in society as a family or a family unit and could include a mother and father of a child that have never entered into a union. Thus, family includes under subsection (a) a husband and wife; (b) a husband and wife or partners where this is a child of the family, which also includes any step- parent or guar dian of the child; (c) the father and mother of a child, whether or not they are married, and i ncludes married persons living apart from each other and persons who are divorced, whether or not there is a child of the family; 6. “Family mediator” is a person who has sati sfied the standards or requirements of the Family Mediation Council and is licensed u nder the Act as a family mediator to provide family mediation services for the period of time designated by their licence; 7. “Minister” is the Minister designated as r esponsible for child and family services; 8. “Parent” means the father, mother, adoptive parent, step- parent , or guardian of a child, and includes the prospective adoptive parent of a child; 9. “Special c ourt” means a court of summary j urisdiction established and constituted in accordance with Part II of the Magistrates Act 1948; 10. “Specified Act” provides for the following spec ified legislation in which parties would bring their disputed family matters before the court to determine if the matter is suitable for an offer to be made for the parties to undergo mediation. The specified laws mentioned are: a. the Adoption of Children Act 2006; b. the Children Act 1998; c. the Domestic Partnership Act 2018; d. the International C hild Abduc tion Act 1998; e. the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1974; f. the Matrimoni al Causes Act 1974; g. the Matrimonial Proceedings (Magi strates’ Courts) Act 1974; h. the Minors Act 1950; i. where proceedings have been brought, any other Act which the court considers appropriate for those pr oceedings. 11. “step- parent” is defined to mean: a. the spouse or domestic partner of the custodial parent of a child; or b. as defined under section 2 of the Adoption of Children Act 2006. Mr. Chairman, c lause 3 sets out the purpose and principles of the Act. Subsection (1) addresses the purpose of the Act , which is to resolve certain fa mily law proceedings through the use of mediation. Subsection (2) sets out the guiding princi ple that parents of a child pro vide value in the upbringing of a child, which the court is to be mindful of when revie wing all agreements that are to be made court orders. But this is notwithstanding the welfare principle that the child is the paramount consideration. Clause 4, Mr. Chairman.
The Chair man: Yes.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 4 provides the authority for the court to determine whether or not the subject matter of the disputed family proceedings brought under the specified Acts listed in clause 2 are suitable for mediation. Clause 5, Mr. C hairman.
The ChairmanChairmanNo, we will hold there, Honourable Member . We moved clauses 1 through 4 which cover the introductory matters — [Inaudible interjection]
The ChairmanChairmanYou want to do 1 through 9? [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Michael A. Weeks: I thought we agreed.
The ChairmanChairmanGo ahead, continue on, sorry. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 5 gives the court the power to order a mediation assessment if the court is 2750 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly satisfied that the provisions set out in clause 4 concerning the determination of the …
Go ahead, continue on, sorry.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 5 gives the court the power to order a mediation assessment if the court is 2750 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly satisfied that the provisions set out in clause 4 concerning the determination of the subject matter of the disputed family matter is satisfied. If so, the court must offer parties to the proceedings and any affected fam ily mem ber the opportunity to undergo mediation. U nder subsection (2) the courts may offer mediation to the parties at eit her the commencement of the family proceedings or any time thereafter, which will be based on what is deemed appropriate by the court. This allows parties to continue to benefit from medi ation during any stage of the litigation process. Subsection (3) is o nly relied on if an offer made by the court under subsection (2) is accepted by parties to the pr oceedings and any affected family member. Then the court shall order that an assessment of the parties and any affected family member be carried out by Family Mediation to determine if all persons are suit able to participate in mediation. Clause 6, Mr. Chairman, provides authority for the family mediator to carry out an assessment of parties and any affected family member and specifically inquire on matters of: 1. child abuse; 2. domestic violence; 3. physical abuse; 4. mental abuse; or 5. drug abuse or any other matters that may draw concern to the family mediator that the parties and any affected family member may not be suitable to partake in mediation. Subsection (1) has safeguards in place so parties and any affected family member is not put at risk or further risk of being subjected to abuse through the process of mediation. Under subsection (2) a m ediation assessment report is to be completed to pr ovide a written opinion on whether or not parties and affected family members are suitable for mediation. Subsection (3) addresses if any factors listed under subsection (1) are apparent, that the family mediator shall determine that parties and any affected family member are not suitable for mediation and this should be reflected in the mediation assessment report. Due to the importance of recordkeeping, under subsection (4) the family mediator is to submit a copy of the m ediation assessment report into court so the court is awar e of the outcome of the assessment and if an order for mediation is to be made under clause 7.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Mr. Chairman, c lause 7 pr ovides to the court the legal authority to order parties to the proceedings and any affected family member to participate in mediation where the family mediation assessment report deems suitability. The order may express a period and conditions that …
Yes.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Mr. Chairman, c lause 7 pr ovides to the court the legal authority to order parties to the proceedings and any affected family member to participate in mediation where the family mediation assessment report deems suitability. The order may express a period and conditions that the mediation will be subject to. Based on the legislation, the order for mediation will not go be yond two years after the date on which the order has come into force. This two year period is a sufficient amount of time for some form of resolution or course of action to be mapped out between the parties and affected family members to be reached. Under subsection (2) the family mediator, upon the completion of the mediation process, is to prepare a mediation report specifying whether the dispute was resolved or not and state the terms agreed as a result of mediation. Clause 8 provides the authority for t he courts to make the agreement reached by mediation an order of the court, if so desired. Subsection (1) allows for parties to have their agreement, which is a result of the mediation process, made an order of the court subject to modifications by the court where it is deemed necessary to uphold such principles as the best interests of the child and the welfare principle— the child is the paramount consideration—found under clause 3. The provision under subsection (2) explains that an agreement reached betw een parties and any affected family member prior to family proceedings being brought under a specified Act, regardless if m ediation occurred or not. In this scenario parties can seek for the agreement to be made an order of the court, subject to modificati ons as mentioned previously. Subsection (3) makes it clear that the agreement decided as a result of the mediation process and made an order of the court will form part of the parties’ record or court file of the proceedings brought under the specified Act relied on. Subsection (3)(a) gives the authority for the court to have regard for the order in any future proceedings under a specified Act. And subsection (3)(b) if a mediation order exists which d irects: (i) requirements imposed on the party; or (ii) a duty is imposed upon a specified Act, the party must uphold such requirements and duties. Clause 9, Mr. Chairman. In order to maintain [the] privacy of the parties and any affected family members, clause 9 prevents the inspection of court records connected with an application for an order, unless the inspection is carried out by the Director of Child and Family Services or by way of a court order. Those are the first nine clauses, Mr. Chai rman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Honourable Minister. The Honourable Minister has introduced clauses 1 through 9. Does any other Member care to speak to that? No other Members? Minister, do you care to continue? [Inaudible interjection]
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, would you like to move clauses 1 through 9? Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael A. Weeks: I would like to move clauses 1 through 9, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanYou would like to move that clauses 1 through 9 be approved? Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes, be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 1 through 9 be approved. Any objections? No objections. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 9 passed.]
The ChairmanChairmanContinue Minister. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Mr. Chairman, I would like your leave to do the remainder of the clauses, 10 through 24.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue on. We moved clauses 10 through 24. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes. Mr. Chairman, clause 10 provides for the CoParenting Mediation Council that was established u nder section 36GA of the Children Act 1998 to be r enamed as the Family Mediation Council. Subsection (2) addresses [that] the provisions …
Continue on. We moved clauses 10 through 24.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes. Mr. Chairman, clause 10 provides for the CoParenting Mediation Council that was established u nder section 36GA of the Children Act 1998 to be r enamed as the Family Mediation Council. Subsection (2) addresses [that] the provisions set out in the Schedule would apply to the Family Mediation Cou ncil. Clause 11 lists the functions that the Family Mediation Council is responsible for carrying out, which includes: a) provide guidance and direction to persons who wish to qualify as a family mediator; b) determine applications made by persons wishing to be licensed as family mediators ; c) license family mediators and issue practising certificates; d) establish and maintain a register of licensed family mediators; e) develop and maintain common standards for family mediation; f) arrange, with the consent of persons partic ipating in mediation, for a qualified mediator to observe the conduct of —(i) a person undergoing training or qualifying as a mediator and . . . i . . . (a, b , c, d, e, f, g, h, i,) . . . (j) [sic] a family mediator, where the Council has received complaints in respect of the mediator — sometimes you have to go back to what you were taught, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanI see you have reverted to your basics; it i s good to go back to basics. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes, yes. May I continue, Mr. Chairman?
The ChairmanChairmanContinue on, Honourable Member . Hon. Michael A. Weeks: —by means of video recor ding, observation areas or other methods, for the purpose of maintaining the quality and standards set by the Council; k) exercise regulatory responsibilities with r espect to family mediators, and ensure that mediation —
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Member . . . Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes.
The ChairmanChairmanLet’s just go . . . let’s go back. We are on clause 11? Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes.
The ChairmanChairmanAnd clause 11 goes from . . . goes to (j). Hon. Michael A. Weeks: You know, Mr. Chairman, I see where I slipped up. If you . . . if you . . . if I may, let me go back and sort that out. Yes?
The ChairmanChairmanContinue on. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Okay. In clause 11(f), [subsection] (f) has (i) and a (ii)—
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: —and I assigned a letter to that and I should have assigned (i) and (ii).
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Honourable Member . Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Okay, we will go back.
The ChairmanChairmanSo if you want to just go back and bring us forward? Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes, start from [subsection] (f)?
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Go ahead. Hon. Michael A. Wee ks: Okay, in [subsection] (f), Mr. Chairman. f) We arrange, with the consent of persons participating in mediation, for a qualified mediator to observe the conduct of —(i) a person u ndergoing training or qualifying as a mediator; and (ii) a family mediator, …
Yes. Go ahead. Hon. Michael A. Wee ks: Okay, in [subsection] (f), Mr. Chairman. f) We arrange, with the consent of persons participating in mediation, for a qualified mediator to observe the conduct of —(i) a person u ndergoing training or qualifying as a mediator; and (ii) a family mediator, where the Council has received complaints in respect of the m e2752 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly diator, by means of video recording, observ ation areas, or other methods, for the purpose of maintaining the quality and standards set by the Council;
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Now we are at [subsec tion] (g), Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThere you go. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: There we go. g) Exercise regulatory responsibilities with r espect to family mediators, and ensure the m ediation services are provided to the highest standard; h) provide information on family mediation to persons who wish to participate in mediation, and to educate the …
There you go.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: There we go. g) Exercise regulatory responsibilities with r espect to family mediators, and ensure the m ediation services are provided to the highest standard; h) provide information on family mediation to persons who wish to participate in mediation, and to educate the public generally on family mediation; i) undertake reviews and client surveys of the practice of family mediation in Bermuda; and j) establish and maintain a complaint procedure and disciplinary procedure with respect to family mediators.
Clause 12 provides the Minister responsible for child and family services, after consulting with the Council, the authority to give the Family Mediation Council general or policy directions t hat are in the public interest; and the Council are to give effect to such directions. Clause 13, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanMm-hmm. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: The obligation of the Cou ncil to produce reports is addressed under clause 13. Subsection (1) outlines the specific duty of the Family Mediation Council to submit an annual report at the end of the calendar year. The report is to inform the Minister of …
Mm-hmm.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: The obligation of the Cou ncil to produce reports is addressed under clause 13. Subsection (1) outlines the specific duty of the Family Mediation Council to submit an annual report at the end of the calendar year. The report is to inform the Minister of matters set out in the Family Mediation Regulations, and any general or policy direction made by th e Minister, and how they were executed by the Council. Clause 14, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 14 addresses the licensing of family mediators, which is a requirement if a mediator wants to practice family mediation in B ermuda. Subsection (1) acts as a safeguard for parties and affected family members who opt to participate in family mediation, are not receiving …
Yes.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 14 addresses the licensing of family mediators, which is a requirement if a mediator wants to practice family mediation in B ermuda. Subsection (1) acts as a safeguard for parties and affected family members who opt to participate in family mediation, are not receiving services from someone with limited to no knowledge or no exper ience in this area. Persons practicing family mediation must be licensed in accordance with the Family Med iation Act 2018. It is important that we protect our cit izens and residents from persons who are illegally conducting family mediation without being licensed and, if so, subsection (2) makes it an of fence and sets out the sanction of a $5,000 fine or 12 months impri sonment or both. Clause 15, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanyes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 15 addresses the regulations that can be made under the Family Medi ation Act 2018. The powers f or the Minister to make regulations for the carrying out or giving effect to the Act, after consulting with the Family Mediation Council, are found under …
yes.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 15 addresses the regulations that can be made under the Family Medi ation Act 2018. The powers f or the Minister to make regulations for the carrying out or giving effect to the Act, after consulting with the Family Mediation Council, are found under clause 15(1). The regulations will address the following: a) requirements for licensing; b) applications for a licence as a family mediator , and the renewal of a licence; c) fees that may be charged by famil y mediators for their services; d) disciplinary matters in relation to family medi ators, including suspension and cancellation of a licence for failing to comply w ith the Code of Practice; e) requirements by family mediators to submit annual returns to the Council, and the matters to be included in the returns; f) publica tion of the register; g) the procedure for submitting complaints against a family mediator; h) appeals to the Supreme Court against a dec ision of the Council to refuse an application for a licence or to renew a licence, or to suspend or cancel the licence of a family mediator; [and] i) matters to be included in the Council’s annual report to the Minister. Subsection (2) provides the authority to make Family Mediation Regulations through the negative resolution procedure. Clause 16, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanYes, Honourable Member . Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 16 provides for a Code of Practice to be issued by the Minister and in matters that will be listed under subsection (1), concerning: a) general principles of mediation; b) the scope of mediation; c) the mediation proc ess; d) the …
Yes, Honourable Member .
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 16 provides for a Code of Practice to be issued by the Minister and in matters that will be listed under subsection (1), concerning: a) general principles of mediation; b) the scope of mediation; c) the mediation proc ess; d) the conduct, duties, and responsibilities of family mediators . Subsection (2) places the onus of a family mediator to take into account the Code of Practice while practising family mediation. It is important moving forward that family mediators are given the oppor-tunity to make representation and provide feedback on the processes, procedures, et cetera, of family
Bermuda House of Assembly mediation. Due to the importance of this, this has been addressed under subsection (3), which provides for a consultation process to be undertaken when the Code of Practice is being considered to allow family mediators to have the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft Code that would be considered prior to the issuing of the Code of Practice. Subsection (4) makes it clear that the Code is not a statutory doc ument and will not be subject to the Statutory Instr uments Act [1977]. Clause 17, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 17 speaks to fees for an application in order for a family mediator to obtain a licence and it also addresses renewal of licence fees, which are prescribed under the Government Fees Act 1965. This licensing and renewal process will be a new source …
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 18 addresses conf identiality of both Council members and family medi ators whi le conducting duties and/or providing medi ation services under the remit of family mediation. Su bsection (1) encourages Council members and family mediators to preserve and aid in preserving confidentiality regarding …
Continue. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 18 addresses conf identiality of both Council members and family medi ators whi le conducting duties and/or providing medi ation services under the remit of family mediation. Su bsection (1) encourages Council members and family mediators to preserve and aid in preserving confidentiality regarding all matters relating to the practice of family mediation. Subsection (2) specifically addres ses the offences committed if members of the Council communicate in relation to: a) the affairs of the Council; and b) any matter relating to a person that may come to their knowledge through their duties. The offence committed by a family mediator who communicates to any person any matter relating to a person that comes to their knowledge by way of their duties is set out in subsection (3). Unless directed by the court, subsection (4) prevents members of the C ouncil and family mediators to produce any record or divulge or communicate to any court any information that has come to their knowledge through them performing their duties under the Family Medi ation Act [2018]. Clause 9 [sic] , Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanNineteen. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 19, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 19, due to the ser ious nature of protecting information that comes within the knowledge of members of the Family Mediation Council and family m ediators, these persons are u nder a duty to keep such information to themselves and not communicate it to …
Yes.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 19, due to the ser ious nature of protecting information that comes within the knowledge of members of the Family Mediation Council and family m ediators, these persons are u nder a duty to keep such information to themselves and not communicate it to any person. If clause 18(2) or clause 18(3) is breached, persons will commit an offence under clause 19. Under subsection (a) it ad-dresses if a person is found guilty of a summary co nviction, they may be fined $5,000 or face imprisonment of six months, or both. Subsection (b) speaks to persons convicted of an indictable offence as subject to a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for a term of two years, or both. Clause 20, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 20 provides the Family Mediation Council members protection by way of indemnifying them from proceedings against them in exercising their duties under the Family Mediation Act 2018, as long as such acts were carried out in good faith. Clause 21, Mr. Chairman, taking into …
Yes.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 20 provides the Family Mediation Council members protection by way of indemnifying them from proceedings against them in exercising their duties under the Family Mediation Act 2018, as long as such acts were carried out in good faith. Clause 21, Mr. Chairman, taking into consi deration that the Co- Parenting Mediation Council will be undergoing a transition, provisions under clause 21 entitled “Transitional” addresses this stage. Subsection (1) authorises persons who are members of the Co-Parenting Mediation Council on the date clause 10 comes into operation shall continue to serve as a member of the Family Mediation Council until their term of appointment as a member of the Co- Parenting Mediation Council expires. Any matters being consi dered by the Co- Parenting Mediation Council the day the Family Mediation Act 2018 comes into operation will be determined by the Family Mediation Council as per the provision stated under subsect ion (2). Subsection (3) approves for any person who: (a) practices as a family mediator on the day the Family Mediation Act comes into operation and (b) applies for a licence to practice as a family mediator not later than three months from the day the Fam ily Mediation Regul ations are operative may continue to practice until d etermination is made by the Council. Clause 22, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 22 provides the l egal authority for legislative repeals. Under subsect ion (1) the Children Amendment Act 2014 that provided for co- parenting mediation is repealed. Subsection (2) specifically repeals section 36GA of the Children Act 1998 that provided for the establishment of the …
Yes.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 22 provides the l egal authority for legislative repeals. Under subsect ion (1) the Children Amendment Act 2014 that provided for co- parenting mediation is repealed. Subsection (2) specifically repeals section 36GA of the Children Act 1998 that provided for the establishment of the CoParenting Mediation Council, the makeup of the Council, addressed the functions of the Co- Parenting Mediation Council, and set out the responsibilities of the Mediation Coordinator. Clause 23, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. 2754 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 23, based on the introduction of the Family Mediation Act 2018, cons equential amendments to existing legislation will need to be carried out under the provision of clause 23. Subsection (1) amends the …
Yes. 2754 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 23, based on the introduction of the Family Mediation Act 2018, cons equential amendments to existing legislation will need to be carried out under the provision of clause 23. Subsection (1) amends the First Schedule of the Go vernment Authorities (Fees) Act 1971 by inserting the words “Family Me diation Council” in correct alphabet ical order. Subsection (2) introduces a new head ent itled “Head 29A Family Mediation Act 2018” into the Government Fees Regulations 1976 to provide a list of fees associated with the licensing of family medi ators. The Mi nister is given the power under subsection (3) to make further consequential or related amendments to other legislation or regulations through the negative resolution procedure. Clause 24, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Clause 24 authorises the Minister to bring the legislation into operation by n otice published in the Gazette , allowing for different days to be appointed for different provisions of the Act. Those are the clauses, Mr. Chairman—
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Hon. Mic hael A. Weeks: —from 10 through 24.
The ChairmanChairmanYes, Minister, we have the Schedule as well. Would you like to move the Schedule as well? [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I want to ask a question on one of the clauses that we have just discussed.
The ChairmanChairmanWe will just let him move the Schedule and then we will recognise you, Honourable Member. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Okay.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Thank you , Mr. Chairman, I may proceed?
The ChairmanChairmanYes, si r. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Okay. In the Schedule . . . the Schedule in the Act specifically addresses matters concerning the Family Mediation Council’s compos ition, Council members’ term of office, and their eligibi lity for reappointment, sets out [the] determination pr ocess and meetings. Thank you, …
Yes, si r. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Okay. In the Schedule . . . the Schedule in the Act specifically addresses matters concerning the Family Mediation Council’s compos ition, Council members’ term of office, and their eligibi lity for reappointment, sets out [the] determination pr ocess and meetings. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Chairman: Thank you. We have moved clauses 10 through 24 and the Schedule. Does any other Honourable Member care to speak? We recognise the Shadow Minister for Legal Affairs on this matter.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you . Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Member . Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Just one quick question. U nder clause 15 it speaks to the Minister shall bring regulations with respect to a number of matters which are pivotal to this Act. I note those matters may be brought by the negative resolution procedure. But how …
Honourable Member .
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Just one quick question. U nder clause 15 it speaks to the Minister shall bring regulations with respect to a number of matters which are pivotal to this Act. I note those matters may be brought by the negative resolution procedure. But how soon does the Minister expect to be able to bring those regulations, because that will be the test of when this piece of legislation can actually come into force.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Any other Honourable Member who would like to speak to clauses 10 through 24 and the Schedule? Minister, would you like to answer that question? Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Mr. Chairman, just . . . just . . . I would like your indulgence for one minute so …
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Thank you , Honourable Member , we will pray silence while you get that answer. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue on, Minister. Will you yield, Honourable Member Moniz? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: [Microphone off]
The ChairmanChairmanIs your [microphone] on, Honourable Member ? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Sorry, with respect to the Code of Practice in clause 16—
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —it says tha t the Minister may, after consulting with the Council, issue a Code of Practice in respect of matters relating to: general pri nciples of mediation; the scope of mediation; the pr ocess; and the conduct, duties and responsibilities. Has it been decided …
Yes.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —it says tha t the Minister may, after consulting with the Council, issue a Code of Practice in respect of matters relating to: general pri nciples of mediation; the scope of mediation; the pr ocess; and the conduct, duties and responsibilities. Has it been decided at this point whether the Minister i ntends to do a Code of Practice? Or is he waiting to
Bermuda House of Assembly consult with the Council before making a decision on that?
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Minister, we have two questions put to you by the Shadow Minister acting on this. Do y ou care to respond? Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes, thank you, Mr. Chai rman. In response to the Honourable Member from constituency 9, his first question was how long will it …
Thank you. Minister, we have two questions put to you by the Shadow Minister acting on this. Do y ou care to respond? Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes, thank you, Mr. Chai rman. In response to the Honourable Member from constituency 9, his first question was how long will it take? It will take four to five months. And his second question from clause 16, the answer to his question is yes, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Any other Member care to speak to clauses 10 through 24 and the Schedule? There being none, Minister, would you like to move that these clauses be approved along with the Schedule? Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like now to move the preamble. …
The ChairmanChairmanWould you like to move clauses 15 through 24 and the Schedule first? [Inaudible interjection]
The ChairmanChairman[Clauses] 10 through 24. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes, okay. I would like to move clauses 15 through 24 plus the Schedule, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairman[Clauses] 10 through 24 plus the Schedule. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: [Clauses] 10 through 24, plus the Schedule.
The ChairmanChairmanYes, thank you. It has been moved that clauses 10 through 24 plus the Schedule be approved. Are there any objections? No objections. [Motion carried: Clauses 10 through 24, including the Schedule passed.]
The ChairmanChairmanMinister? Hon. Michael A. Weeks: I move that the preamble be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanThe Minister moves that the preamble be approved. Any objections? No objections. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: I move that the Bill be r eported to the House as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as printed. Any objections? No objections. Thank you, Minister. [Motion carried: The Family Mediation Act 2018 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed without amendment.] House r esumed at 3:23 pm [Hon. Derrick V. …
It has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as printed. Any objections? No objections. Thank you, Minister. [Motion carried: The Family Mediation Act 2018 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed without amendment.]
House r esumed at 3:23 pm
[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
FAMILY MEDIATION ACT 2018
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Bill, the second reading of the Family Mediation Act 2018, has been reported to the House. Any objecti ons to the Bill? It is approved. The next Order of business is the second reading of the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018. Minister Wilson, you have the floor. BILL SECOND …
The Bill, the second reading of the Family Mediation Act 2018, has been reported to the House. Any objecti ons to the Bill? It is approved. The next Order of business is the second reading of the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018. Minister Wilson, you have the floor.
BILL
SECOND READING
LEGAL AID AMENDMENT ACT 2018 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Spea ker. I move that the Bill entitled the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018 be now read for the second time.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContinue. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Deputy Speaker , I am pleased to present to this Honourable House the Bill entitled the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018. The Bill represents needed reforms that are long overdue. They aim to address the troubling issue of how to curb the trends of …
Continue. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Deputy Speaker , I am pleased to present to this Honourable House the Bill entitled the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018. The Bill represents needed reforms that are long overdue. They aim to address the troubling issue of how to curb the trends of escalation and volatility in the cost of providing legal assistance to qualified applicants under the Legal A id scheme. 2756 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Deputy Speaker , by way of relevant bac kground to contextualise these reforms, the Legal Aid scheme was established almost 40 years ago by the Legal Aid Act 1980. It came into existence at a time when Bermuda had deeper pockets. Under those circumstances cost escalation and predictability did not have the relevance that they do have today. It also marked this country’s embrace of a conventional but progressive approach to ensuring that legal represe ntation was made available to persons who needed it, but who could not afford it. In that sense it has b ecome a vital component of the administration of our system of justice. However, like everything else, Mr. Deputy Speaker , there is a price attached to achieving this objective. Government’s budgeting cycle very much depends upon a certain degree of predictability of expenditure. I provide for you the most outstanding example—between fiscal years 2008 and 2009 and 2011/12 when we saw almost 100 per cent actual year-to-year cost fluctuation from $2,943,934 to $5,597,207. For the subsequent six fiscal years the average annual expenditure amounted to $3,335,476 as it relates to the Legal Aid fund. The most recent fiscal period, namely, April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018 witnessed actual expenditure at $2,587,764. Cons equently, this Honourable House is very familiar with the never -ending annual supplemental Legal Aid budgeting that this unpredictability has necessitated over the years. And subject to supply and demand market forces, Government has had to c ontend with the cost variation of this precarious demand. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I used the word “precar ious” because of how difficult it is to pin down the number of people who will need legal assistance. Family matters, including children, are given special consideration under this Act. However, it is not feas ible to predict how many such matters will come before the courts involving children in any given year. And, perhaps, based on the legislation that we just passed, we may see a decrease in the amount of family ma tters coming to the courts. Needless to say, Mr. Deputy Speaker , it is . . . there are other types of civil matters that are also co vered under the Legal Aid Act [1980] and we also cannot accurately predict the complexity of the matters for which legal assistance may be needed. A snapshot of the 2016/17 year reveals that Legal Aid was granted for 147 cases, 117 of them were criminal cases and the rest represented civil, matrimonial, and domestic matters. Seventy -five per cent (or 89) of the crim inal cases, Mr. Deputy Speaker , required outside repr esentation, particularly in cases where there were multi-defendant matters. Two in- house counsel provided representation in 24 out of the remaining 59 cases; 30 were civil, and 29 were criminal matters. Those were the ones that were eligible for the in- house representation. The most challenging of all, Mr. Deputy Speaker , are those instances in which legal assi stance is required to defend against criminal prosec ution. By far this category of applicants r epresents the bulk of Legal Aid expenditure, whereas the sample above that I mentioned is of criminal cases comprising about 60 per cent of the total number, they turn out to be approximately 70 per cent of the overall cost in any given year. Mr. Deputy S peaker , there are those who would scoff at this and question whether it is money well spent. And I would go a step further and say that there are even those in our community who say that we should not spend any money to assist persons embroiled with criminal matters. Some may insist that they find their own means of defence or that they should be summarily imprisoned. However, Mr. Deputy Speaker , I am sure you will agree that we do not think that Bermudians would want our country to be associated with jur isdictions that lock up accused persons without a fair trial. A basic pillar of civilised society in our own system of justice is that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty. Guilt is not determined until due process renders judgment based upon the weight of the ev idence in the court of law, in principle and in practice. Until then what we are presented with is an innocent person facing sufficient evidence warranting a charge simply to be led to trial. Mr. Deputy Speaker , providing legal assi stance to ensure that due process is conducted and that it is done fairly is not an option. And the only means available to us to provide this assistance is the Legal Aid scheme, hence, the difficult challenges of balancing the interests that went into developing the policy to enact the measures contained within this Bill. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I said before that this is a long- time coming. When you have to weigh the i mplications for the administration of justice and consider the needs of the people who are seeking assistance along with Government’s policy objectives and the fact that Legal Aid is significant to many lawyers’ legal practice, this substantive reform has not been easy. Heavy reliance had been placed upon the extensive expertise and experience an d data that have been garnered by the Legal Aid Office in almost its 40 years of existence. The Bermuda Bar Association has been made aware of the proposed changes and has been provided with a copy of the Bill. Furthermore, Mr. Deputy Speaker , the need to preserve assisted persons’ perception of fair repr esentation has been carefully considered. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I join with the Honour able Kathy Simmons, the Attorney General of these Islands, and would like to express my appreciation to those members o f the Bar who took the time to r espond to the issues which were cited within this initi ative. These range from questioning whether there are any human rights infringements to the effect that the
Bermuda House of Assembly measures will have on the right to the accused’s counsel of c hoice to the related constitutional ramific ations. These issues have been considered very car efully, Mr. Deputy Speaker , and we are confident that the Bill will withstand constitutional and other legal scrutiny. Mr. Deputy Speaker , to meet the aforementioned challenges this Bill will replace the existing l egal services delivery model of external and internal counsel with a significantly enhanced internal counsel model. I imagine that for the non- lawyers out there this requires further elaboration. Mr. Deputy Speaker , the current Legal Aid model is one which ordinarily provides certificates to qualified applicants for them to take to a lawyer of their choice. There is a Legal Aid roster of lawyers from which this choice must be made. The certificate sets out the scope of services and lawyers are paid accordingly after billing Legal Aid. In- house representation under the present model is minimal. This is pr imarily through duty counsel and a small fraction of overall assistance rendered, usually, by lesser off ences in criminal courts. Mr. Deputy Speaker , Legal Aid assistance is currently provided by two in -house counsels. They are the Senior Legal Aid Counsel overseeing a Legal Aid Counsel. The Senior Legal Aid Counsel, in turn, is also primarily responsible for the overall administr ation of the Legal Aid scheme. In essence, the scheme as it stands was not designed for significant in- house representation. However, the proposed new legal services delivery model is predicated upon maximising in-house representat ion to the extent that increased internal resources and the practice of law permits. Accordingly, a major component of the Bill is prov isions in contemplation of hiring additional counsel and support staff to allow for increased in- house represe ntation. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I digress here to speak to the issues of outsourcing legal services versus providing it in -house. This is one of the issues that came to the attention of this Government as to the enormous discrepancy between what it cost to provide quality legal services through hired staff versus the private sector. Mr. Deputy Speaker , you may recall that currently Legal Aid applicants granted assistance have the right to counsel of their choice from the Legal Aid roster. At clause 2, the Bill makes provision to remove this right by amending section 12 of the Legal Aid Act 1980. Instead, and to the extent feasible, in- house counsel will be provided by the Senior Legal Aid Counsel by direction of the Legal Aid Committee in the first instance. To make specific reference to the Bill, the new section 12(1) provides that the Legal Aid Committee will direct the Senior Legal Aid Counsel to assign one of the Le gal Aid Counsels to an assisted person whenever a Legal Aid certificate is granted by the Committee. S ubsection (2) provides that only in cases where that is not practicable or appropriate to the n ature of the proceedings for which the certificate is granted or might give rise to a conflict of interest, will the Commi ttee then direct the Senior Legal Aid C ounsel to assign to the assisted person his or her external counsel of choice. But, if the external counsel of choice is un available or unwilling to take on the case or refuses to be bound by the statutory scale of Legal Aid fees, subsection (3) requires the Committee to direct the Senior Legal Aid Counsel to assign another counsel. Mr. Deputy Speaker , under the new model there will be three additional full -time posts which have been included in the approved Estimates of E xpenditure for the Ministry of Legal Affairs. They entail an estimated combined total salary of $319,078 for: one Legal Aid Counsel at PS42 (which is $144,320 annual income); one Junior Legal Aid Counsel at PS36 -38 (which is $113,480, which is the median annual income); and one paralegal at PS 18- 20 (which is $61,278 median annual income). The overall cost for the operating of the Legal Aid scheme under the pr oposed new model is estimated at approximately $1,797,552. This figure would amount to a significant r eduction in annual Legal Aid expenditure ranging from approximately 40 [per cent] to 70 per cent when compared to the last six fiscal years. It also anticipated that as there will be a greater proportion of fixed costs, fluctuations in overall annual cost will be minimised. Mr. Deput y Speaker , another up side of this policy is the employment opportunities for lawyers as disclosed . . . as I related to you above. This is one of those unusual instances in which expenditure for hi ring will lead to significant reduction in cost. The intent to hire has already been disclosed to the profession through the Bar Association and individuals have already expressed interest in pursuing these opportuni-ties. Recruitment will be in accordance with gover nment administrative and hiring practices. Inter ested parties will be invited to apply once posts are adver-tised. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I trust I have been able to shed some light on the policy considerations and the legal implications of this consequential reform. It stands as a fulfilment of a Throne S peech promise consistent with this PLP Government’s commitment to putting Bermudians first. It was also addressed in this year’s Ministry of Legal Affairs’ budget speech and reiterated in the opening of the Legal New Years’ Speech given by the Honourable a nd Learned Attorney General Ms. Kathy Simmons. In spite of the changes and adjustments that these measures will no doubt entail for the Legal Aid Office, applicants, and practitioners, we should all be reassured—they bode well with ensuring the future of t he Legal Aid scheme and its indispensable role that it plays within our justice system. 2758 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER OR MEMBER PRESIDING HOUSE VISITORS
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerBefore we recogni se the next speaker, let me recognise the highest ranking supporter of the soon to be Cup Match champions, St. George’s, Dame Jennifer Smith. [Desk thumping]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAnd I would also like to reco gnise a long- serving employee at the Bermuda Hosp ital, Raymond Santucci, who has saved many lives with his skills and getting people back to the hospital in time after an unfortunate mishap. [Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018, Secon d Reading debate con …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Chair recognises the Ho nourable Member Trevor Moniz. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . There were a lot of facts and figures there. I did not have the benefit of a copy of the Minister’s brief, so everyone will have to excuse me if I …
The Chair recognises the Ho nourable Member Trevor Moniz. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . There were a lot of facts and figures there. I did not have the benefit of a copy of the Minister’s brief, so everyone will have to excuse me if I get any facts slightly wrong. This w as a scheme really to bring the Criminal Defence Bar, to a large extent, within Government. And I am going to look at some of the larger issues here. There was a plan in the Civil Service to hire six in-house public defenders (I will call them public d efenders), six in -house Legal Aid counsel. The Honourable Minister spoke to three additional full -time posts. I think the full scheme was looking at six. It was something that I was always very ambivalent about for a variety of reasons, and I will outline thos e for the House. The first reason is that, in my view, it was i mportant to have a viable and vibrant Criminal Defence Bar. We had a very small Criminal Defence Bar here and it was, in my view, important to have a very active and vibrant Defence Bar so that people who were charged with criminal offences could look to the de-fender, the lawyer of their choice to defend them, in accordance, obviously, with their constitutional right to a counsel of their choice, which is necessary in a free and democratic soc iety. The risk on that hand, my belief, is that with such a tiny Criminal Defence Bar you are likely to destroy it by taking it in- house. So the idea that you are going to have three to six in -house counsel and then you are also going to have a vibrant Cr iminal Defence Bar is probably a bit of pipe dream, because there is only enough work out there, you know, for maybe . . . humph, I don’t know, four to six people at the most probably. And . . . it is difficult to see. Now, obviously, the people you are going to hire in- house are probably going to be the same people that are out there doing it. And one of the questions I had for the Mini ster, which I ask her to answer, is, if there was a . . . it speaks here to a Senior Legal Aid Counsel. And I un-derstand t hat a post was advertised earlier in the year, within the last few months. And then there was . . . I think somewhere there was an announcement that Mr. Charles Richardson, who is one of the most . . . one of the leading criminal defence attorneys, had been hired at the Legal Aid Office as a consultant on a short -term contract. However, I understand the pos ition now is —and the Minister can confirm this —that he has been hired as a full -time employee of the Legal Aid Office so that his position of consultant has changed to one of employment. Now during my time when I was in charge of this area under our Government, I consulted with some of the judges. The judges were very resistant. They thought that it was really a good idea for us to have a Criminal Defence Bar. So we did have an i ssue with Legal Aid budgets going over the top. Ho wever, we had some success with reining those in. And of course what you are trying to manage are different criteria because on the one hand everyone will r emember that the beloved S AGE [Report] and other recommendations that the Government had received over the last 15 years were saying the Government — the size of Government —was getting out of control, that we had public employment up to 6,000 people and on an Island as small as we ar e with total employment maybe . . . I do not know what it is, around 30,000 or something, it was just getting out of hand. Too many people were employed by Government. So we were trying to reduce that size of that employment. So while on the one hand you wanted to r educe the cost of Legal Aid, on the other hand you did not want to increase the size of Government. And so, of course, here what you are seeing is an increase in Government. We are seeing it in the previous legisl ation with the Government paying, or hiring, family m ediators. We have seen it with, certainly, in the gang area where new people have been hired under the new Government, but they have kept the people from under the old Government. So the size of Government is creeping up pretty swiftly . And I think the crunch will hit us financially at some point in time. And that is part of, from our point of view, the PLP are really a tax -and-spend Gover nment. They are going to spend more money and they are going to try and cover it by increasing tax es.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker .
Bermuda House of Assembly The Deputy Speaker: Point of order. What is your point of order?
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: The Honourable Shadow Attorney General is misleading the court [sic] . You woul d have recalled in the budget that I . . . in the brief that I— [Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: How? I am thinking I am in court! I beg your pardon, excuse me—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWe understand. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Deputy Speaker , he i s misleading the House in that the suggestion that this actual Bill will cost more than we are actually spending. You would recall the statistics . . . and I appreciate that he indicated that he did not …
We understand. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Deputy Speaker , he i s misleading the House in that the suggestion that this actual Bill will cost more than we are actually spending. You would recall the statistics . . . and I appreciate that he indicated that he did not have them in front of him. They show that this will actually cost the Government less. But as for employing three additional persons, it will cost the Legal Aid fund substantially less, almost $600,000 per year less than what we are paying currently.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMember, you be guided by the correct figures when given to you. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: And I take the point that the Minister raises. And overall the aim is clearly to lower the expenditure. So I do not want to make this debate too broad; that is the aim. …
Member, you be guided by the correct figures when given to you. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: And I take the point that the Minister raises. And overall the aim is clearly to lower the expenditure. So I do not want to make this debate too broad; that is the aim. Obviously, it is not just the salari es that are involved. Those people you hire are also going to be entitled to government pensions; they are going to be entitled to government health insurance, all of which, as we know, is running short of money. They do not pay for themselves. There is al ways a shortfall with respect to government employees’ health insurance and pensions. But not only that, the previous remark I had made was that the aim was really to have six. So at the present time the Minister is saying, Yes, we al-lowed in the budget f or three, but that is at this time. When I was there the civil service was saying, Oh, you really need six [counsel] to cover. Now, this is an area where we do not know the answer to how many you need because, you know, obviously, it says within this Bill itself that there is going to be this Senior Legal Aid Counsel —and I guess it now appears it is going to be Mr. Richardson, but the Minister can confirm whether or not that is the case—saying that where someone cannot use an inside Legal Aid Counsel or public defender, then they are going to have to go outside, that this Senior Legal Aid Counsel will be r e-sponsible for apportioning that work to someone on the outside to do. So you are still . . . you know, how much are we going to be able to do in- house? A re you going to hire more in the future? Is this just the foot in the door—the three— and then next year it will be another three? And so on it goes from there. So, yes, the idea is that it is going to save money. But one is not sure whether in the long ter m that is going to be the case. The other concern I have, as I said, was whether the Criminal Defence Bar would be effectively destroyed. If the lion’s share of the defence work is taken in- house, then there will not be any lawyers out there doing criminal defence work, because the scraps they will have would not be enough to keep a practice going. So you are going to see people having less choice. In that case you are going to have someone . . . a point where you have a case where because for some reason some type of a multi -handed case or some difficulty of a conflict of interest, the person in-house cannot do it, and it is very difficult to get som eone outside to do it. So then you may be faced with a prospect of bringing somebody in, et cetera, which government will have to pay for. So all I am saying is that these equations are not always as smooth and as easy as the Minister’s brief presents them to be. And you know I appreciate the Minister in this place is holding for the Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General. I am just saying it is not necessarily simple. And you know it did concern me, and I think I have a legitimate reason for being concerned because I recall the Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney Ge neral saying, Oh, well, within her Ministry there were (I believe she said) something like 70 posts short and they needed to fill 70 posts . So that, of course, raised a red flag for me. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Minister Caines. Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you , Mr. Deputy Speaker. One of the tenets of our society in our way of government and in our way of democracy is having the right to legal representation. Oftentimes for many of …
Thank you. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Minister Caines.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you , Mr. Deputy Speaker. One of the tenets of our society in our way of government and in our way of democracy is having the right to legal representation. Oftentimes for many of those who fin d themselves with a conveyance or having a matrimonial issue or having issues with the law, is that they cannot afford legal representation. The Legal Aid Act was passed in 1980. And after some 40 years this Government has seen fit to look at it and look at its constituent parts. This is never easy, because when you are looking at what is in the best interests of the public, how to balance the purse, and how to effect a fair and just society, one has the sword of Damocles in his hand. 2760 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly And this legislation has the right balance. It creates an opportunity for us to be fiscally prudent and it also creates the opportunity for us to create a d epartment which has specialist lawyers, opportunities for us to take the best of the criminal Bar and place them in a set of circumstances that allows them to give specialist legal aid care or advice to the people of Bermuda—doing this at the same time as reducing the costs. When you look at it, it has been done in a consultative manner, the members of the Bar have been consulted, we have taken some of the most si gnificant criminal lawyers in Bermuda and, as a matter of fact, one has been hired to help in this practice. I do accept . . . I actually stand corrected by my learned colleague that he has not been hired. And I stand corrected. He is acting as a consultant to the Legal Aid Department. And I thank you for that correc-tion. I think the ethos behind the legislation is to ensure that people get the right representation, that there is the right balance, and that there is an opportunity for us to protect the government purse. I think that it is strong and it is sound legislation and it repr esents a progressive approach to looking at jurispr udence in Bermuda. I think oftentimes we do not un-derstand that Legal Aid lawyers are not just there for criminal matters. And we have an opportunity that if a person does have the means and they do have the financial wherewithal to pay for a lawyer, they have the opportunity to get the lawyer of their choice. As it stands, we have clear a nd viable solutions. This Act has been very, very, clear in the way this will take place and I do believe it represents a step in the right direction for jurisprudence in the Island of Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Chair recognises the Ho nourable Member Mr. Pearman from constituency 22. Mr. Pearman, you have the floor.
Mr. Scott PearmanThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Again, as before, I declare an interest, as I am a barrister and attorney in Bermuda. I am not a crim inal barrister. However, I am a commercial litigator. Mr. Deputy Speaker , this idea is against the backdrop of a potential move to …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Again, as before, I declare an interest, as I am a barrister and attorney in Bermuda. I am not a crim inal barrister. However, I am a commercial litigator. Mr. Deputy Speaker , this idea is against the backdrop of a potential move to an office of public defender, which is a methodology that many jurisdictions adopt, and some vigorously resist, notably the UK . I am pleased to see, and I commend the Government for not going that far. What they are introducing here is a hybrid system. And I think it is fair to recognise that. Because what we do not want to see is this being a step towards the office of public defender, which would, in my respectful submission, be a very bad move. People in other jurisdictions where they have the office of public defender rightly —well, rightly or wrongly —feel that this is some sort of second- rate justice; that it is not the justi ce that is afforded by the independent Bar and the independent criminal Bar. And right or wrong they may be. But that is their pe rception. And when we are talking about justice, perception is often paramount, because if you need a lawyer, it is a very bizarre thing to find out that the person standing there prosecuting you is employed by the very same department of the government as the person standing there defending you. And as a lay civilian you might rightfully ask, Mr. Deputy Speaker , how does this work? How is this fair? How is pressure not brought to bear? How can I stand confident in the outcome of the judicial process knowing that both of these people are on the same paymaster’s pay cheque? And that is why the office of public defender is often dec ried in other jurisdictions, and in my personal opinion, rightly so. And so it is fortunate, indeed, that this is a hybrid solution. And I hope that this is not the slippery slope towards a permanent office of public defender. I note and endorse the comments made by my learned friend, the former Attorney General, that it is a very small criminal Bar here, and if you start to pick away at some of the key cornerstones of that membership, there might not be anything left. I note that they have attempted this balance to address the constitutionality aspects of that, and we will just have to wait and see because, no doubt, there may well be a constitutional challenge. Also, in terms of cost savings, one of the points that has been made . . . and there have be en concerns raised about this by the criminal Bar, gener-ally. But one of the points goes to cost savings. And it is not right to say, Well, the DPP (the prosecution service) costs X and, therefore, an office of the public defender would also cost X. Becaus e, of course, the DPP and the prosecution service have all of those in place who do a lot of work for them in the preparation of witness statements, et cetera. Whereas, currently, the Civil Defence Bar has to do that legwork on their own, and if it is taken in -house in part or in full, those costs would probably escalate greater than the cost of the prosecution side. So, I do commend the Government that it is a hybrid step and not a full step, but I very much hope that this is not a move towards a permanent office of the public defender which gives justice to no one. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Michael Scott from constituency 36. Member, you have the floor. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Mr. Deputy Speaker , good afternoon. I am very happy to stand and speak very briefly. I, too, am a practicing attorney of the Bermuda Bar. I cannot …
Thank you. The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Michael Scott from constituency 36. Member, you have the floor.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Mr. Deputy Speaker , good afternoon. I am very happy to stand and speak very briefly. I, too, am a practicing attorney of the Bermuda Bar. I cannot avoid addressing the last observation, little barb, by the former Attorney General about the
Bermuda House of Assembly . . . and I thought I heard him say 70 per cent of the posts were not filled.
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Michael J. Scott: Seventy posts. I thought I heard the word 70. And it raised this whole question . . . and I hope the Attorney General is in the House because we took the opportunity the last time that this di sgraceful mischaracterisation of the way that Madam Attorney General, and, by extension, the Government as a whole, were addressing unfilled posts in the country’s legal system. Madam Attorney General made it absolutely clear that this very curious statement attributed to the chief law officer of our country and the head of the judiciary, the recently retired, or completing his tour of duty, Dr. Kawaley and Ms. Alex Wheatley’s joint statement, it kept descr ibing it as the “joint statement of Ms. Wheatley and Dr. Kawaley” taking on this tone that the Attorney General incumbent was failing in meeting the filling of posts, when Attorney General Simmons made an open statement that 66 per cent . . . 79 per cent of the 66 posts in the judicial depar tment were filled. And it was a stark contrast to this diatribe that we had to be exposed to, Mr. Deputy Speaker , in this curious joint statement attributed to the Chief [Justice] and led by the acting Registrar. So let us get that clear. Can Hansard reflect that the Attorney General made it clear that the posts have been filled by more than 79 per cent? You know, in my time of watching the criminal seed in this country . . . and the Chief Justice who is just now taking leave for fairer fields, Dr. Kawaley, has made the point and observed it . . . the whole question of the criminal territory in our country has been one of concern. I do not . . . first of all, the Criminal Code was passed as this overly punitive—and that was Chief Justice Kawaley’s position —overly punitive policy in Bermuda, more so than across any place else in the Commonwealth. And I trust Dr. Kawaley’s analysis. He would have not been shy or inaccurate about his analysis. And it is one with which I conc ur. So, the country’s history has been to be overly punitive and harsh and driven by incarcerating people in this country. And if you go to the corrections facility, you will find that the majority of persons incarcerated are black people, black males. So what is really the genuineness of persons in this House, the Attorney General . . . I heard the Honourable and Learned Member, Mr. Pearman, just stand and deprecate the move towards public defender. What really is the genuine concern about good Defence Bar representation in this country? I submit that they really are not that interested. They really are not. First of all, the system is skewed against the defendant. Secondly, the system is genuinely and generally skewed against young black males in this country. It is a factor and a matter that gives me concern since I have been practicing. And the longer and more experienced I become in this area, I have been able to make similar analyses. We are overly punitive. There is a discarding of persons coming up against a criminal justice system in our country, and it is because of economics, it is because of race, it is b ecause of a highly skewed system. So if we decide to introduce a public defenders’ system, or whether we decide to just rely on Charles Richardson, Victoria Pearman, Ms. Christ opher, myself, Mr. Attridge, you know, whether we . . . however diligently we seek to provide the best crim inal defence of our country’s persons who are vi ctims—victims in this country’s skewed, awful system — then we are doing our best. I think we can do better. And it would be better if there was a deeper and greater commitment towards changing the system so that young black males, in particular, did not constantly, by sheer dint of being recruited, encouraged into gangs, encouraged into antisocial behaviour because of economic reasons and race reasons in our country, driving them into a criminal justice system. So, I find it hollow and ringing hollow that there is an analysis from the other side of this floor. It rings ho llow that there is an attempt to proscribe the best criminal defence arrangements in our country. In the country where I trained as counsel, one day you may, at the Criminal Defence Bar of England and Wales, one day you may prosecute a matter. And because of the integrity that you have, and the skill that you have as a counsel, as a barrister or a solicitor (if you are occasionally used as a solicitor doing court work), the next day you defend. And so, there is no great harm in having a counsel within an organisation, such as the one as the Honourable and Learned Health Minister has described in these amendments. There is no harm in having something akin to a public defender’s arrangement. I understand and I commend the fact that there has been, through th e policymaking of the Attorney General’s office, an arrangement, whereby we have the preservation of available counsel, exper ienced counsel, coming to the bar and coming to bat to meet the needs of persons in need of legal aid. And therein the context of s omething that very much is akin to the public defender’s office. But let me tell you this: Because of the unique ly small Defence Bar, and because of its amazing skill in the personages of the distinguished names that I have mentioned (I do not include myself), Mr. Richardson, and Ms. Pearman (until she became Ombudsman), Ms. Christopher, Mr. Marc Daniels, Mr. Craig Attridge, those men and women are people of integrity. And if they were working through the system of a now legal aid arrangement that pays a salary for an in- house internal counsel, they will defend with i ntegrity, because they have had to do this against 2762 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly odds, often, of not being involved in a highly flush area of remuneration by their clients. We have struggled to do our very best, getting either legal aid . . . and by the way, Mr. Deputy Speaker, something that has not been said in the debate thus far. I mean, many, many criminal defendants in this country can afford, and do afford counsel, and pay private fees. So the backup that is acco mplished as a consequence of qualifying under the legal aid, is just that. You qualify because under your co nstitutionally entitled rights you should be afforded a defence in criminal matters; and if you qualify, and show that you cannot afford, then the legal aid fund covers you. But the vast majority . . . I mean, a signif icant amount of criminal defence work goes on on a private sector basis, and we should not forget that. I have done a good deal of it over the course of my life as a practitioner in the court s. This does not represent a slide into some slippery slope. Practicing criminal law in this country has been going on since Dame Lois [Browne- Evans’] time, since the 1950s, you know, since the defence of Buck Burrows, through to the defence of the many, far too many, black defendants who go through our Magistrates’ Court and our Supreme Court. I do deprecate this continued accepted pop ulation who continues to appear before Mr. [Khamisi ] Tokunbo, or the senior magistrate, on a daily basis. When will we re verse this? All black men, all heading toward . . . and this is my basic theme. There has to be, as Members of this House, and leaders of this House, whether lawyers or not, a better addressing of stopping that process and addressing that process. But in t he meantime, historically, a small Defence Bar has been responsible for dealing with these matters, and they are to be commended for doing so. We are to commend the legal aid policy and scheme of the Legal Aid Act for supplementing attorneys to carry on the defence of persons who have run into the criminal justice system in our country. But the bigger picture and the bigger story is to address the ending of this persistent growing population of persons going through our courts, and too often with desperate outcomes, as the now retired chief justice has indicated, of facing these overly punitive systems of penalties, of sentencing. So we have much work to do, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The system needs great reform, and this is a particular interest of mine. The whole system needs considerable reform. I remember that we discussed at the Bermuda Bar many years ago whether and how a newly entering barrister, whether he or she should hang out their shingle by themselves. There was this flux of concern that newly minted lawyers ought not —I mean, it was actually debated—to be allowed to practice on their own, open their doors by themselves. Le-gitimately, the concern was that we want to be sure that we were not foisting onto the public an “unfi nished” counsel. But if these counsels were not being absorbed into the large law firms or the medium sized law firms, and they just finished spending, you know, $50,000 in Canada, London, [or] the West Indies, I mean, they had to come back and begin to earn their living. That is how Dame Lois [Browne- Evans] did it. [That is how] Mr. Freddie Wade did it. How I did it. Mr. [Julian] Hall did it. All of us. And so in terms of reform, better pupillage arrangements ought to be in place because, yes, you really do not know a thing as a newl y minted barrister in this country and you always ought to have someone mentoring you through the process. That has been woefully under -delivered in our country. This would be an area of rich and fertile outcomes if more attention were paid to it. This is something that I will raise with Madam Attorney [General] as we seek to produce a stronger system of criminal justice in our country. So, back to the Bill, with greater specificity and direct addressing of its policy, it is a “fit for purpose” Bill. And i t is commendable that we have come to a solution that has moved beyond this question of ever-ballooning legal aid budgets as a consequence of crime spiralling out of control and gun murders that left us facing $5 million of legal aid kinds of requir ements because there were so many defendants in the box downstairs, Mr. Deputy Speaker, needing a Queen’s Counsel and a junior counsel assisting that Queen’s Counsel. Addressing being tough on crime and being tough on the causes of crime would be a good policy because if we address the causes of crime we are going to materially address the number of accused who end up in front of a jury and a judge in our sy stem. And so an important, accurate, practical, and still just (may I say) step being taken by the policymak ing efforts is reflected in this Bill. I am happy to commend my remarks in support of it. Thanks, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Minister in charge. Minister Wilson. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And I thank colleagues for participating in what is a very important Bill. And I am little bit disappointed that nobody outside of the Members …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Minister in charge. Minister Wilson.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And I thank colleagues for participating in what is a very important Bill. And I am little bit disappointed that nobody outside of the Members of the bar chose to participate, but I am going to assume that their silence means that they are acquiescing to the terms of this Bill. Mr. Deputy Speaker, there were a couple questions that were asked that I would like to try and address them. The first one relates specifically to the senior legal aid counsel and t he fact that there was an advertisement recently advertising that post. That is actually incorrect. The senior legal aid counsel is S usan Moore- Williams, who is still in that position. She is
Bermuda House of Assembly actually seconded to a different department and in the interim o ne of the most esteemed defence counsel, and the Attorney General has asked me to express personally to this House that she is very pleased to have had the likes of the calibre of Charles Richar dson, who is currently acting as a consultant at the Legal Aid Department whilst the senior legal aid counsel is, again, as I indicated, on secondment. There was also a question asked with respect to the . . . concern, I am sorry, Mr. Deputy Speaker, with respect to the adverse effects of the Defence Bar by entering into this particular scheme. The brief, as I indicated previously, based on . . . in fact, as recently as last year’s statistics hovers between 70 [per cent] and 75 per cent of all the cases had to still be outsourced to the private bar simply because we will have issues of conflict of interest, we will have issues of multiple defendant trials, and the like. So, clearly, if there is a case involving five defendants, they cannot all be represented if they have varying interests with respect to the proceedi ngs by the legal aid counsel. So there will still be quite a substantial amount of work being distributed to the outside bar. In addition to that, the legal aid lawyers will also be not just doing crime, they will be doing the mat-rimonial work because you will see under the Legal Aid Act that there are provisions that allow, particularly in cases where a child is involved, for legal aid to be granted in circumstances where the means test is met, as well as for civil proceedings. So it will certainly not just be criminal law that has been operated with respect to the Legal Aid Act. In addition to that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, as the Attorney General indicated in another place, and I would like to reiterate her position in that the overarc hing objective of this legislation is cost savings to the Government. And that this is the hope that it will be achieved. The provisions of this Act will be . . . the scheme will be monitored and accessed and adjusted accordingly. So this is not to say that it is the end all and be all, but based on the statistics that we have seen and the cost savings by hiring these persons at a cost of . . . which is substantially less. And like I said, I think it is approximately $600,000 per year less than what we are currently paying. And, almost inev itably, every budget we come back here asking for a supplemental for the legal aid fund. It is hoped that this particular scheme, and through its introduction, will alleviate that. It will allow for the rules of justice to continue for persons to receive a defence as well as legal representation. It will allow an opportunity for employment for some me mbers in the Defence Bar and it will also, most i mportantly, in a paramount consideration ensure a cost savings whilst at the same time delivering on the mandate that the Legal Aid Act has which is to provide administration of justice and legal services. So with that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think I have answered all the questions and I would like to move that the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018 be comm itted.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Bill is committed to Committee. Mr. Swan. House in Committee at 4:14 pm [Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. Swan , Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL LEGAL AID AMENDMENT ACT 2018
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. We are in Committee of the whole Hous e to consider the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018 under the Minister of Health [who is] speaking on behalf of this Bill. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. I would like to move clauses 1 through 3, please.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue on. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. C hairman, the Bill seeks to amend the Legal Aid Act 1980 ("the principal Act") in relation to the assig nment of counsel to assisted persons. Clause 1 is self -explanatory. Clause 2 repeals and replaces section 12 of the principal Act (choice …
Continue on.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. C hairman, the Bill seeks to amend the Legal Aid Act 1980 ("the principal Act") in relation to the assig nment of counsel to assisted persons. Clause 1 is self -explanatory. Clause 2 repeals and replaces section 12 of the principal Act (choice of counsel , et c etera, prov isions ). The new section 12(1) provides that the Legal Aid Committee will direct the senior legal aid counsel to assign one of the legal aid counsel to an assisted person whenever a legal aid certificate is granted by the Committee. Subsection ( 2) provides that only in cases where that is not practical or appropriate to the nature of the proceedings for which the certificate is granted, or might give rise to a conflict of interest, will the Committee then direct the s enior legal aid counsel to as sign to the assisted person his external counsel of choice. But if the external counsel of choice is unavailable, unwilling to take on the case, or refuses to be bound by the statutory scale of legal aid fees, subsection (3) requires the Committee to direc t the s enior legal aid counsel to assign another counsel, Subsection (4) defines "external counse l” for the purposes of this section as counsel on the appropriate roster mai ntained pursuant to section 5 of the principal Act, i .e., a barrister and attorney in active private practice in Bermuda who is able and willing to represent assisted persons in a particular area of law. And, finally, Mr. Chairman, c lause 3 provides for the commencement.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. 2764 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Minister has moved and spoken to clauses 1 through 3 of the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018. Would any Member care to speak to the amendment? Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. …
The ChairmanChairmanYes, it has been moved th at clauses 1 through 3 be approved. Any objections? No objections, Minister. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 3 passed.] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanWould you like to move the preamble? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I would like to move that the preamble be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanWe move that the preamble be a pproved. No objections. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I move that the Bill be reported to the House as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanAnd it has been moved that the Bill be approved and will be repor ted to the House as printed. [Motion carried: The Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed without amendment.] House resumed at 4:17 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, …
And it has been moved that the Bill be approved and will be repor ted to the House as printed. [Motion carried: The Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed without amendment.]
House resumed at 4:17 pm
[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
LEGAL AID AMENDMENT ACT 2018
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe second reading of the Bill entitled the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018 has been reported to the House. Are there any objections to the approval of it? There appear to be none. Approved. The next order of business is the second reading of the Land Title Registration Amendment Act …
The second reading of the Bill entitled the Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018 has been reported to the House. Are there any objections to the approval of it? There appear to be none. Approved. The next order of business is the second reading of the Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018. Minister Burch, you have the floor.
BILL
SECOND READING
LAND TITLE REGISTRATION AMENDMENT ACT 2018
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that the Bill entitled the Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018 be now read the second time.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the main objective of this Bill is to give effect to the following amendments to the Land Title Registration Act 2011. [Clause 2] amends section 3A of the Act which requires an attorney to submit all applications that ought to be registered. …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the main objective of this Bill is to give effect to the following amendments to the Land Title Registration Act 2011. [Clause 2] amends section 3A of the Act which requires an attorney to submit all applications that ought to be registered. [Clause 3] amends section 4(1) of the Act so it confirms the name and status of the Land Title Regi stry Office [LTRO] given recent internal changes within the department. [Clause 4] is to repeal section 32A of the Act being the requirement to advertise registration on property before registration can occur. [Clause 5] is to amend section 93[(5)] of the Act to give the land registrar the authority to appoint an external adjudicator, in situations when one is r equired, to make consequential amendments to the Government Authorities (Fees) Act 1971 to allow the land registrar to pay the external adjudicator a fee for his or her work. [Clause 6] is to amend section 126 of the Act to allow the Minister by negative resolution procedure, to make further consequential amendments needed to any provision of any other Acts. [Clause 7] amends paragraph 15(1) of Schedule 3 of the Act to clarify when an attorney is required to give a certificate of legal effect. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the amendments will smooth the transition to registering title to land and open the door to allow the public to register their property voluntarily. The introduction of section 3A to the Act made it a requirement that an attorney must lodge all appl ications with the Land Title Registry Office. The amendment we seek now is to al low the general public, under section 21 of the Act to voluntarily register their property without going to an attorney. Under voluntary registration the applicant already owns their property and the likelihood is that they have owned it for many years. To protect their property interest it would be safer to keep it on the Land Title Register.
Bermuda House of Assembly This amendment will also allow Bermudians who do not have the financial means to pay lawyers’ fees to register their properties; thus, the benefits of land title registration will be enjoyed by all landowners. An attorney will still be required to register any proper-ty, the registration of which is triggered under section 24 of the [Land Title Registration] Act [2011], Compulsory registration, the requirement to register a property will continue to be a part of the conveyancing pr ocess as it is currently under the Land Title Registrar (Recording of Documents) Act 2017. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the second change is a minor amendment to section 4 of the Act. The amendment is to delete the words “Government D epartment” and substitute them with “an Office” as the Land Title Registry Office is a section within the Land Title and Registration Department. This department also manages the existing deeds registration system which is still a part of the deeds registry relating to unregistered land. Mr. Deputy Speaker, previously, the essential particulars of a proposed registration, whether compulsory or voluntary, were to be preceded by a public notice in the official Gazette. Section 32A of the Act is to be repealed. The request to repeal the notice is because stakeholders informed that the procedure does not work and could further delay the conveyanc-ing process. The amendment to section 93 of the Act will allow the land regist rar to appoint an adjudicator from outside of the Land Title Registry Office. The change is required because the Land Title Registry Office is a small section and there may be times when there is no land title legal officer in the post and the land regi strar cannot perform the functions of both officers at the same time due to potential conflicts of interest. There may also be times when the land title legal officer is conflicted and cannot act as the adjudicator. The amendment will also allow the land regi strar to appoint an [interim] adjudicator and pay him or her in accor dance with the Government Authorities (Fees) Acts 1971. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the amendment to section 126 of the Act allows the Minister to make further consequential and related amendments to any prov isions from any other Act or statutory instrument if it appears to him that such provisions are inconsistent with the provisions of the Act. With those comments, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the Bill be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Trevor Moniz. You have the floor, Mr. Moniz. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Yes, we are back again to this old nut, the Land Title Registry. It is interesting here. Yes, I have some concerns. …
Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Trevor Moniz. You have the floor, Mr. Moniz. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Yes, we are back again to this old nut, the Land Title Registry. It is interesting here. Yes, I have some concerns. I will address them broadly, I guess, here in the House before we go into Committee. We are talking here . . . just for members of the public, you have voluntary registrations and you have compulsory registrations. And compulsor y regi strations take place when there is a “trigger event,” and a trigger event could be anything from a sale for value, a sale of a piece of property. It could be a volu ntary conveyance for no value, if a parent is making a gift to a child, for example, of a piece of property. It could be taking out a mortgage on a piece of property. I think all of those would be examples of triggering events. There are other triggering events. But I think what has been decided is that if it is a voluntary registration of first instance, you can do that through the office. Now, we will see how that goes. I think previously I had asked the Minister whether there were people in the Ministry who were familiar with Bermuda conveyancing, and I think the answer to that was, No, there aren’t. So exactly how that is going to happen I am not sure. To repeat the old saying, the Devil is in the details. So there are a lot of issues here. Part of the purpose of this was to assist those people who had a defect in title, or who had lost deeds, et cetera, to assist those people to be able to get good title. But of course, what may happen is you may have situations where people who do not get good title, are given good title. So, let’s say someone comes across some deeds in their house, and they take the deeds up to Land Title Registry and say, Well, I have these deeds. Register my title. So they go ahead and register good title, but in fact in turns out there is a defect in title. It may have been some other dealing with the title. There ar e all sorts of things that people do. I would think, for example, like a deed of family arrangement. In a deed of family arrangement, you arrange what is going to be done with the property. So sometimes somebody might have a bunch of copy deeds, but they do not have the relevant deed, which was the deed of family arrangement, or they may be missing that voluntary conveyance, or that final conveyance. So someone has deeds which are missing from that deed package, which are the important deeds. So, you know, let’s say there was an arrangement between two brothers and one brother conveyed the property to the other, but failed to give him the deeds. And a child comes along and finds this package of deeds, might deliberately take out that last voluntary conveyance, and take in what was left — which is fraud of course, if it is ever discovered and proved. Or they may just get separated and take the deeds in, and the lawyer or the land title registry of-ficer, says, Well, it looks like good title here. It looks like y ou have got deeds going back to 1850, it looks like good title. We will register your title. So what protection do you have? What pr otection does the real owner have in those circum2766 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly stances? Well, the truth is, under the system, as the Minister would have i t, almost none. Because what was required initially was that there was to be a notice posted so that when you first register a piece of property, a notice is published. That notice will [cause] rel-atives of that person and neighbours of that person to be alerted that something is being done with this piece of property and it may be that they have some real claim over the property or over some interest in the property or a mortgage. And none of these things are far -fetched. These are all things, Mr. Deputy Speaker, which I have seen in my time in the legal profession. I have seen a situation where someone has a package of deeds with a mortgage in it. Of course, he does not want the person he is dealing with to know he has a mortgage, so he takes the mortgage out. So he takes that set of deeds to a lawyer, or to the Land Title Re gistry Office, and they are going to say, Well, on the basis of what we see here, you have a good title. We will register title. And not only that, we got rid of the provision for noti ce, so no one is even going to know that you have registered this title. And then time begins to run. You have only got . . . and that was another issue. We had put the time on it to 20 years, which was what was agreed. Well, the original time was something like five years, that was the period in which you would have to challenge someone’s registration of title. So, okay, you get rid of notice, so no one has any way of knowing that it has been registered, particularly, we may have owners who do not even liv e in Bermuda. And you have a relatively short time. I do not know what the time is, but I think it was reduced to som ething like five or seven years. But I know that the Land Title Registry officer, Debbie Reid, had said that the normal period is 10 to 20 years. I am not sure where we ended up on that. I had favoured the longer term. But some of the people had favoured shorter terms of limitation, a limitation time in order to object. Now, one of the things I disagree with on the Explanatory Memorandum her e . . . it says in the E xplanatory Memorandum, where it refers to clause 4. I will just read it out in its entirety. “Clause 4 repeals section 32A, which currently requires the registrar to give notice of an application for first registration by publishing notice thereof in the Official Gazette and inviting anyone who has an interest in the estate and wishes to object to the application to do so within 30 days after such publication. The concern is that this requirement would complicate and delay the applic ation process, and would serve little purpose because, once an application is made, the underlying transaction would already have closed.” I disagree with that. I disagree with that, because if under a regi stered system you are buying a piece of property , that transaction is not going to close until you have a successful registration because your title will depend up-on its registration in the Land Title Registry Office. So do not tell me the underlying transaction has completed before the registration; it can’t! The underlying transaction is that title has been conveyed, and it can-not be conveyed until it is registered and any objection has disappeared. It cannot happen. So that Explan atory Memorandum for clause 4 must be wrong. It cannot be right. Now, I know the lawyers do not like the 30 days, and this is one where I disagreed with the la wyers. The lawyers said, Oh, we don’t want to wait 30 days. We want to finish the transaction. We want to get paid and we do not want our clients waiting 30 days. So, y ou know, my response to that is, Look. This is only on first registration, but it is important on first registration to get it right. See the lawyers, again, you know, there has been toing and froing between the lawyers and the Land Title Registry Office because everyone is relying on the lawyers to give a certificate of good title. So that is going to be in the compulsory registration where there is a triggering event, like a conveyance, or voluntary conveyance, or mortgage, you are going to have a regist ration of title. So there is meant to be a certificate of title issued by the lawyer. So, of course, the certificate of title was drawn up, which was a broad, you know, We give certificate of good title. Of course, the lawyers are saying, No, we don’t give certificate of good title. We only give certificate of title on the basis of what we have seen. Now, why do the lawyers say that, Mr. Deputy Speaker? Well, the lawyers say that because they know they might not have seen everything, like one of the documents, like a mortgage, like a voluntary conveyance, like a deed of family arrangement may a dvertently or inadvertently have been taken out of that deed package and disappeared. So the lawyers are saying, No, no, no, no. We are only going to certify on the basis of what we see. We are not going to certify on the basis of something that might be out there that might affect the title. And that is what is going to cause a lot of grief in families. And as you know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we are all —I am sure I am, I presume everyone else is —amazed by what family members will do to each other and the skulduggery that people get up to. And you can’t . . . sometimes people say, Oh, well, those people will be caught up with and they will be dealt with. Well, the answer to that is no, that is not how life works. Unfortunately, it is a rare case where skulduggery like that is actually caught up to and dealt with. And we all know that. So it is important that we use a belt -andbraces approach (in my view) in the first insta nce of the first registration. And there . . . you know, I do not agree with the lawyers. Yes, it may take a little bit longer. And I have heard other criticisms too, not in this place, but in my discussions with people outside,
Bermuda House of Assembly saying, Oh, well, people don’t want other people to know what they earn, or about their dealings with their property in terms of mortgages or conveyances, et cetera. And what I have to say to that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is, Well, they had better wake up, because everything is going to be on a public register, so ev erybody is going to know. But again, they figure, Well, if it is just on the register and there is no notice, then people generally will just not see it. And they will be able to hide it. But unfortunately, when you are able to hide something . . . yes, for some people it is confidentiality of som ething that is entirely appropriate, but for other people it is going to be for something inappropriate. And I think it is clause 7 which speaks to the certificate of legal effect, the first registration under compulsory registration. But whenever you do it, whether it is a voluntary registration or a compulsory registration, you have to be certain that this person who is coming forward with a root of title to a piece of property, that that is the best root of title, that there is not anything missing from it. You have got to be belt and braces on that. You cannot leave anything to chance. What I am suggesting here is that the met hodology that we are using here, unfortunately, is a bit slipshod, and it is going to encourage things to be reg-istered which should not be registered, either inadvertently or on purpose by certain unscrupulous people. The thing is, we want to stop unscrupulous practices. We do not want to be in a position wh ere Government itself is encouraging those practices by not having the checks and balances which are required. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Michael Scott. Mr. Scott, you have the floor. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the whole territory of land transfers and conveyance in our country has had a fairly routine, honest …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Michael Scott. Mr. Scott, you have the floor.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the whole territory of land transfers and conveyance in our country has had a fairly routine, honest history. And it has been bas ed on the fact that persons who are seeking to transfer land, and the context may be and will be because we are humans, it is going to be the land is being transferred from your father and mother to the children or child and the deeds will be in the hands of the existing owners, Mr. and Mrs. Tre sket Scott and they are going to give it to the four boys, or they have four lots of land and they are going to give it to each of the four boys. And the land title is there, and it takes place. What Colonel Burch, the Minister for Public Works, is introducing with the open blue- sky system of land registration is a good thing and it is not going to produce . . . I deprecate the observations of Mr. Mon-iz, the Honourable and Learned Member. It is not going to produce a bad situation, or as he posed it . . . describes it, a slipshod system. It is in addition to what has been historically an honest transfer of land that is fairly routine. If it is not a case of parents and family members transferring their land to loved ones for the consideration of love and affection, it is a business deal where there is the sale of the property and the deeds again are either free and clear, [or] if they have a mortgage on them, the purchaser is going to buy the land, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for the consideration under the sales agreement. That sales agreement sales price is going to pay off the mortgage and the property is going to smoothly transfer to the new purchaser. Land Title Registry [which] Colonel Burch, the Honourable and gallant Member, is producing for the House today, is to remove the high cost of conveyancing to have more open blue- sky accountability by just having an open register. That is not new. It exists in the United Kingdom. This has been going on for many years, since 1925, as the Deputy advises me. And it is a transparent matter that we should adopt. But to have the gloomy prospects being painted in the House today, I do not think bear out. I am amazed. It is Alice- in-Wonderland- type of scenarios that the Honourable and Learned former Attorney General described where a mortgage would be taken out of a deed package such that a fraud is perpetrated upon the waiting . . . or between the vendor and the purchaser. But as a matter of law, and I do not know why the Honourable and Learned Member did not say this, it is a matter of law, if you do that, if you perpetrate the removal of a document as i mportant as the mortgage from the deed package, truth will out. One day somebody in the tiny community like this, somebody will ask , Well, I know this property had a mortgage on it, and where is the mortgage? It was remarkable that the Honourable and Learned Member said that this was an outcome that would result in time beginning to tick under the limit ation and prescription rules so that somebody acquired property under these kinds of conditions. That would never happen, first of all, because the fraud would destroy the acquisition. I mean, that is a matter of basic law. The fraud of taking the mortgage deed out, once detected . . . and it will be detected. It might not be detected in the first year or two, but somebody would detect it. Even on a second transfer down to some other purchaser, through some other third or fourth transfer, and the holding of that property would be challenged successfully and so it would not be a problem, because fraud stops prescriptive entitlement or rights moving as a matter of law. So I just rose to bring to bear the ordinary standard of historic conveyancing in our country. It is a bit important, almost sacred, exercise that takes place over and over again, generation to generation, and by and large, these transactions, this conveyanc2768 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly ing whether for love and affection or for consideration, take place as a matter of normalcy. The sale price is made and paid. In the case of family or close relation, the deeds are within the family. And rarely is a family member going to do something unscrupulous in rel ation to . . . or such as has been suggested by the Honourable and Learned Member. There is nothing that c an be taken away from the good work and the good policy that has been connected now with the introduction, historic as it is, of land registration in our country. I look forward to us managing it, getting accustomed to it, and looking for and discovering t he positive benefits of having an open land title register where you may go in to a regi stry, view with not great difficulty, and with plenty of assistance. The question of the lot of land and the property on it, or the premises on it, as the Honour able and gallant Member explained at another time, how there will be . . . you will be assisted by the staff at the registry and members of the public will enjoy a benefit, a promise under this Government to deliver an open land title registry framework for the c ountry. I look forward to us reaching the day where this has become the norm. Thanks, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member Minister Scott. Any further speakers? There appear to be none. Minister, you have the floor.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. A couple of things, Mr. Deputy Speaker. First of all, the Honourable Member who speaks for this subject on the other side suggested that the timing period or the limitation period had been reduced. That is in fact incorrect, Mr. Deputy Speaker. There was a …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. A couple of things, Mr. Deputy Speaker. First of all, the Honourable Member who speaks for this subject on the other side suggested that the timing period or the limitation period had been reduced. That is in fact incorrect, Mr. Deputy Speaker. There was a recommendation and a proposal that it be reduced, but that was never enacted, and it certainly is not a part of the amendments that we are proposing today. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the suggestion . . . I never have had a mortgage. But I have had a loan on a piece of property. And once we secured that loan, those deeds were held by the bank. So I am not quite sure how we get to the scenario that was painted by the Shadow Minister in this regard. But let me just say this, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have been greatly encouraged by not only the competency of the registrar, who has been in this job for 10 years, who has overseen the insertion into the land title registry of all of the government’s estate. I have also been impressed by the recruitment of exper ienced, competent, committed, dedicated land title officers —four of them. One from the UK, for those of you who like our European cousins —
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch—and three fr om J amaica, for those of us who also like our Caribbean cousins, Mr. Deputy Speaker. What I can tell you is that in both cases the . . . in the case of the UK, they have been at this a long time. In the case …
—and three fr om J amaica, for those of us who also like our Caribbean cousins, Mr. Deputy Speaker. What I can tell you is that in both cases the . . . in the case of the UK, they have been at this a long time. In the case of Jamaica, where I have a little bit more know ledge, they are the gold standard for land title registration in the Caribbean. And you would know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that both the UK and J amaica, in sending people to Bermuda on secondment, they would choose the best that they have. I had, on occasion, when I visited the office and in speaking with the four of them, and inquired of the Jamaican officers how many people they had in the Kingston office, in their role. And they said 50. I said, Oh, then, you won’t be missed. And they said, Oh, no, we will definitely be missed because we are the best that they have. And so they sent the best that they had to Bermuda. And Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think we are on the right path in terms of the average Bermudian. B ecause this is new and novel, everybody is going to have to look at how this process works. And it will not be done under cover with the ability to be able to run a scam on anyone. And I would expect, Mr. Deputy Speaker, not being a lawyer myself, that one of the suggestions made by the Shadow Minister about pe ople being able to take items out of the deeds, would end in a criminal prosecution and the effect of their act would be reversed. So we are not the least bit concerned, Mr. Deputy Speaker, with some of the su ggested obstacles put up by the Shadow Minister. So, with those comments, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the Bill be committed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Bill will be committed. Mr. Swan. House in Committee at 4:47 pm [Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. Swan , Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL LAND TITLE REGI STRATION AMENDMENT ACT 2018
The ChairmanChairmanWe are in Committee of the whole House to consider the Bill entitled the Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018 brought to us by the Minister responsible for [Public] Works. Mr. Burch, you have the floor.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Chairman, thank you. I am going to move all 8 clauses. They are short enough, I think, to do together.
The ChairmanChairmanWe will move clauses 1 through 8. Bermuda House of Assembly Yes, continue.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchIs that satisfactory to you? Mr. Chairman, clause 1 is self -explanatory. Clause 2 amends section 3A which currently requires any application for registration of an estate to be lodged on behalf of the applicant by an attorney. The amendment would require only an application for first registration under section …
Is that satisfactory to you? Mr. Chairman, clause 1 is self -explanatory. Clause 2 amends section 3A which currently requires any application for registration of an estate to be lodged on behalf of the applicant by an attorney. The amendment would require only an application for first registration under section 24 (compulsory regi stration) to be lodged by an attorney. (Any other appl ication could still be lodged by an attorney if the appl icant so chooses.) Clause 3 amends section 4(1) to reflect that the Land Title Registry Office [LTRO] is not a gover nment department, but rather an office within the Land Title and Registration Department. Clause 4 repeals section 32A, which currently requires the registrar to give notice of an application for first registration by publishing notic e thereof in the official Gazette and inviting anyone who has an interest in the estate and who wishes to object to the application to do so within 30 days after such public ation. The concern is that this requirement would com-plicate and delay the applicat ion process, and would serve little purpose because, once an application is made, the underlying transaction would already have closed. Clause 5 amends section 93(5) to enable the registrar to appoint as an adjudicator, in addition to any attorney who is an officer of the Land Title Regi stration Office, any other attorney, whether a public officer or not, whom the registrar believes to be suit ably qualified to dispose of the objection. Clause 6 amends section 126 (consequential amendments) to insert subsect ion (2), which enables the Minister to make, by regulations subject to the negative resolution procedure, further consequential and related amendments to any provision of any other Act or statutory instrument if it appears to him that that provision is inc onsistent with, or requires amendment consequentially upon, or has become unnecessary in consequence of, the provisions of this Act. Clause 7 amends paragraph 15 (certificates of legal effect) of Schedule 3 to require a certificate of legal effect to be pr ovided only where application is made for first registration under section 24 (compuls ory registration). Clause 8 makes a consequential amendment to Government Authorities (Fees) Act 1971 to add an adjudicator to the list of Government authorities listed in Part B of the First Schedule to that Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. Clauses 1 through 8 have been moved by the Minister. Any other Member . . . The [Chair] recognises the Member for Legal Affairs, the Shadow Minister for Legal Affairs. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, one of the concerns that had been raised …
Thank you, Minister. Clauses 1 through 8 have been moved by the Minister. Any other Member . . . The [Chair] recognises the Member for Legal Affairs, the Shadow Minister for Legal Affairs.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, one of the concerns that had been raised to me I will just repeat on the floor of the House is in clause 6. There is a Henry VIII clause, which allows consequential amendments. It does not concern me provided that this deals with further consequential and related amendments, provided that this is used r esponsibly and that should cause no problem. I know with the present Minister it would certainly be used responsibly. But that allows y ou to make further amendments under the Minister’s power, that Henry VIII clause. Just for the record, Mr. Chairman, just repeating my concern about the dropping of the notice prov ision, because if there is any —
The ChairmanChairmanWhich clause, Member? You m entioned it in the general debate. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Yes, yes, yes. It is in clause 4.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. The repeal? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: And again, the concern there is that the person who is going to know if there is any challenge to the title is going to be the person who has that challenge, which is most likely to be a neighbour or family member, …
Yes. The repeal? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: And again, the concern there is that the person who is going to know if there is any challenge to the title is going to be the person who has that challenge, which is most likely to be a neighbour or family member, or someone who would be alerted by a notice. If no one is alerted by the notice, then it is kind of difficult to make objection. So I think the removal of that notice is an unwise move, al though the lawyers are happy because it will speed up theirs’, and their clients’, transactions. So that is a concern. Let me just see if there is any other concerns I would mention at this time. The adjudication, I am not quite sure that the section that deals with adjudication talks about an appointment of someone outside —
The ChairmanChairmanClause? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Which clause deals with the adjudication?
The ChairmanChairmanClause 5. Clause 5(9)? Hon. Trevor G. Mon iz: Yes, it is clause 5. It says it substitutes “any attorney who is an officer of the LTRO;” an attorney from outside. And always this issue is that the effect of the LTRO is ma king a decision when they want …
Clause 5. Clause 5(9)? Hon. Trevor G. Mon iz: Yes, it is clause 5. It says it substitutes “any attorney who is an officer of the LTRO;” an attorney from outside. And always this issue is that the effect of the LTRO is ma king a decision when they want to do a registration or a provisional registration of the title, they are making a decision. So, if somebody disagrees with that dec ision, how will they know about it if there is no notice, I have no idea. But if someone wanted to challenge it, 2770 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly and there needs to be an adjudication, there may be an is sue of whether the LTRO, the Land Title Regi stration Office, can adjudicate on its own decisions. You cannot be a judge in your own cause. That is a fundamental statement of natural law. You cannot be a judge in your own cause. It is not possible for the LTRO to be part of an adjudication in the decision that they have already made. So that may be subject to challenge and we will see how that goes. Those are all the comments that I have to make, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Honourabl e Member. Any other Member care to speak on . . . we are in Committee for Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018. No other Members? Minister.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Chairman, let me just try and answer the Shadow Minister’s questions. The consequential amendments that the Minister has the ability to change. . . those are very narrow and so—
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchYes. We are quite confident that this will be the case. Mr. Chairman, in relation to the . . . the Shadow Minister raised the question of the Land Title Register being able to adjudicate their own issues. If there is a dispute as to the position of boundaries involving …
Yes. We are quite confident that this will be the case. Mr. Chairman, in relation to the . . . the Shadow Minister raised the question of the Land Title Register being able to adjudicate their own issues. If there is a dispute as to the position of boundaries involving registered land, the land registrar has the authority to refer the matter to th e land registration adjudicator who will call the parties together, gather written ev idence, and later give a formal decision as to where he or she believes the boundaries lie. There may be i nstances where one or both of the parties do not agree with this decision. If this is the case they as now refer the matter to the courts to settle a dispute.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 1 through 8 be approved. Any objections? No objections. Continue. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 8 passed.]
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been move that the Bill be r eported as read. No objections? So approved. [Motion carried: The Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed without amendment.] House resumed at 4:56 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, …
It has been move that the Bill be r eported as read. No objections? So approved.
[Motion carried: The Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed without amendment.]
House resumed at 4:56 pm
[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
LAND TITLE REGISTRATION AMENDMENT ACT 2018
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The second reading of the Bill entitled the Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018 has been reported to the House. Are there any objections to the approval? There appear to be none. Approved. The next Bill is the Care and Protection of A nimals Amendment Act 2018. Minister …
Thank you. The second reading of the Bill entitled the Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018 has been reported to the House. Are there any objections to the approval? There appear to be none. Approved. The next Bill is the Care and Protection of A nimals Amendment Act 2018. Minister Walton Brown, you have the floor.
BILL
SECOND READING
CARE AND PROTECTION OF ANIMALS AMENDMENT ACT 2018
Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and good afternoon. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the Bill ent itled Care a nd Protection of Animals Amendment Act 2018 be now read the second time.
Bermuda House of Assembly [Pause]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContinue. I’m sorry. Hon. Walton Brown: Okay. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I rise to introduce the Bill entitled Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 201 8. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Members of this Honourable House will recall the Dogs Amendment Act 2018 which was recently passed by the House with unanimous …
Continue. I’m sorry. Hon. Walton Brown: Okay. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I rise to introduce the Bill entitled Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 201 8. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Members of this Honourable House will recall the Dogs Amendment Act 2018 which was recently passed by the House with unanimous bipartisan support. You may also recall the extensive consideration and consultations that pr eceded the i ntroduction of the Bill and that areas were highlighted in which the welfare of dogs could be i mproved. However, it is not only dogs whose well -being must be afforded protection, but all domestic animals. Hence, today’s Bill is another result of the extens ive consultation undertaken, and one that will strengthen the Care and Protection of Animals Act 1975, the principal Act, for the benefit of all animals under the care of an individual. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the proposed amendments are brief, but significant. The changes include the following: Section 8 of the principal Act defines acts of cruelty and creates the offence. Clause 2 inserts a new subsection (1A) which prescribes the power [for] an officer of the department or of a recognised authority to seiz e an animal suspected of suffering cruelty pending a final determination of the matter. Clause 3 amends the principal Act to insert new sections 8A and 8B. Section 8A provides the power for an officer described under section 8(1A) to enter any premises used for the keeping or custody of an animal at all reasonable times and remain on the premises for the time that may be necessary to determine if an act of animal cruelty has taken place. Section 8B provides the power for an officer described under section 8(1A) to inspect any premises used for the keeping or custody of an animal and remain on the premises for the time that may be necessary to determine whether an act of animal cruelty has taken place. Mr. Deputy Speaker, currently , under the pri ncipal Act , there exists no authority f or the officers to immediately protect the animal should cruelty be found. This Bill does precisely that. This amendment will empower officers to seize animals after an inspection of the premises in relation to a suspicion of cr uelty. This Bill affords immediate protection to animals found to be suffering cruelty. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I wish to describe the principles that underpin this Bill and the recently passed Dogs Amendment Act 2018. These principles are referred to as “The Five Freedoms” of animal welfare. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the five freedoms in reference to animal welfare arose out of a British Gover nment report that examined livestock husbandry and animal welfare within scenarios of intensive farming. The freedoms have n ow been widely adopted by animal welfare organisations around the world. Mr. Deputy Speaker, while the exact wording of the five freedoms will vary, the freedoms are gen-erally expressed as the following: 1. Freedom from Hunger or Thirst —by providing ready ac cess to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour. 2. Freedom from Discomfort —by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area. 3. Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease— by prevention or rapid diagnosis and t reatment. 4. Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour — by providing sufficient space, proper facil ities and company of the animal's own kind. 5. Freedom from Fear and Distress —by e nsuring conditions and treatment [which] avoid mental suffering. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Department of Env ironment and Natural Resources and I fully embrace and support the principles of the five freedoms and I expect local owners and caretakers of animals, animal welfare agencies, and enforcement officers to apply these principles when consi dering animal welfare and investigating allegations of cruelty. Indeed, references to suitable and adequate food and water, sheltered care, unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury already appear in our legislation. It is the freedom that speaks to expressing normal behaviours and the freedom from fear and mental distress that become difficult to codify. Mr. Deputy Speaker, as noted previously, the five freedoms arose out of an examination of the commercial livestock industry. They are also to be applied to various keepers of all sorts of animals, breeders, transporters, retailers, pet owners, zoos, aquariums, marine mammal parks, and research facil ities. Dr. John Webster, University of Bristol, the r esearcher who helped develop the five freedoms, was credited with acknowledging that each of various housing systems has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the five freedoms are an attempt to make the best of a complex situation. To quote Dr. Webster, “absolute attainment of the five freedoms is unreali stic.” M ost importantly, the context in which the animal is being held must be considered. Thus the freedoms cannot be codified as absolute, but [by] applying these principles to legislative changes, progressive steps can be made toward better animal welfare. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I must also acknowledge that there are other types of the principal Act that r equire attention, specifically as it relates to importation of animals and potentially invasive species. We are also working on amendments to update the penalties . Therefore, there will be future amendments to the 2772 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Care and Protection of Animals Act 1975 in due course. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like to thank the Director, Andrew Pettit; the government veterinarian, Dr. Jonathan Nesbitt; parliamentary counsel, Anth ony Richardson; and assistant parliamentary counsel, Lovette Tannock. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I now move that the Bill entitled Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 2018 be read for the second time.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Hadley Cole Simons.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will begin by saying that this piece of legislation has my full support and the support of the One Bermuda Alliance. I know it is a consequential piece of legislation from the recently passed Dogs [Amendment Act 2018], and it extends …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will begin by saying that this piece of legislation has my full support and the support of the One Bermuda Alliance. I know it is a consequential piece of legislation from the recently passed Dogs [Amendment Act 2018], and it extends to other animals. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am delighted to see that the societies are providing additional support to the animal wardens and the ani mal officers in looking out for the interest of abused animals. I am delighted that they have the power now to seize animals and enter properties where they suspect malfeasance has taken place and also to inspect properties to make sure that they can be pr oper homes for these animals. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, generally speaking, as for the legislation that we have at hand today, I am comfortable with it, but I would like to speak to the parent legislation, the Care and Protection of Animals Act 1975. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I heard the Minister say that he will be reviewing some of the features of this Act going forward. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this is a 1975 Act. A lot has happened since 1975, and I would e ncourage the Government and the Minister to do a wholesal e review of the 1975 Act and bring it up to date with the changing legislation in this space. It is important that it be done, because it is like any other piece of legislation, the CITES [ Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ] legislatio n has changed over the years and animal protection has changed over the years. The Minister just spoke of the five freedoms of animals, and again, this is a recent piece of regulation that was initiated by the professor or veterinarian in Australia that h as been adopted by many, many we lfare agencies and included in most welfare- related pieces of legislation around the world. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is a fine example of how the legislation in this space evolves and the legislation that we have is ov er 40 years old and it is time that we provide the resources, get a committee together to speak to these stakeholders and update the legislation. So I am delighted that the Minister has taken the first step in this space, but I think we really have to do a wholesale review and see what we can provide to this House that will protect the interests of our animal friends. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the other issue that I would like speak to at this point is the issue of regul ations. The parent legislation has been in place, and I reviewed our laws, and I said, Well, what regulations do we have in place to support the parent Act? And I only saw two pieces of regulations: the Care and Pr otection of Animals (Commercial Horse Stables) (L icensing) Regulations 2005. In fact , there is only one. That was the only piece of regulation. So for the sake of the public, for the sake of the well -being of our animals, for the sake of those people who want to import animals, for the sake of transferring of ownership, I would, again, encourage the Minister to also review and update the regulations so that operationally there is clarity into how the parent legislation will be managed and administered, and this will provide simplicity and clarity to everyone in the community. So I would as k the Minister when he reviews the legislation to also update the regulations because there are no substantive regulations currently to support this piece of legislation in the name of the Care and Protection [of Animals] Act 1975, other than that one piec e of regulation that pertains to commercial stables. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the other issue that I would like to speak to is the issue of vets. I mean, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this issue has been interesting. We heard the Minister of Works and Engineering speak [about] the dairy this morning, and the challenge that we have had in the past is, you know, we have a dairy industry, but we do not have a robust veterinary team who will address the dairy industry. So, you know, if want our cows . . . and even the bovine vets. If we want sheep and to build that industry, from a farming prospective, and even to look out for the well -being of those animals, I think it is important that we have a proper bovine vet, either in the private sector or on staff in the Ministry to s upport that industry. Mr. Deputy Speaker, in other countries the bovine vets will do the testing for pregnancy, they do insemination for calving. If there are issues during birth, the birthing process, then you can call the vet and they will come. Twenty years ago, you had Dr. Heslop . You would call him up at three o’clock in the morning and say, My calf is breach. Can you come? Well, today we do not have that. Therefore, our cows and some of our sheep are exposed because we do not have proper bovine vets on the staff. So, this is something that I would like to see addressed on b ehalf of the dairy industry and on behalf of the welfare of those animals who fall in the bovine group, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the other issue that I would like to speak to today is the issue of having an
Bermuda House of Assembly animal abuse register. If anyone has been charged with malfeasance or cruelty to animals, Mr. Deputy Speaker, or the wardens have confiscated their an imals because of irresponsible behaviour, I would en-courage the Ministry to have an animal abuse register, and those people who have fallen afoul of the law, or poor welfare practices, that their name be entered into this register so that when one buys an animal or wants to transfer ownership of an animal or is trying t o import an animal, that the government agencies, or the persons buying animals can have access to this register and ensure themselves that the new owners, or the persons importing the animals are people who are responsible and will look out for the welfar e of the animals that they acquire and that they adhere to our animal protection legislation, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the other issue that I would like to speak to is the issue of the definition of “animals.” Mr. Deputy Speaker, the defini tion of an imals under the Act basically covers the area of domesticated and captive animals. I am comfortable with that; I have no problem with that. But I am more i nclined to consider extending the purview of that defini-tion to include wild animals and feral animals. Mr. Deputy Speaker, and why do I say that? I say that because there is a CITES legislation, and we also have migratory animals that pass through Bermuda. We have the migratory whales. We have the migratory birds, like the geese, the owls and t he hawks, and they all pass through. And some of them are on the protected list and some of them are on the endangered list. What made me think of this, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is the issue of poaching. In South Africa you read about the poaching of the horns of rhinoceroses, and that is cruelty to animals at its highest form. And so, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we, under the current legisl ation, provide no protection to those types of migratory animals. I know that you know that whaling used to be a commercial indust ry. In some places it is still a commercial industry. But we do not want whaling, whales as they migrate past Bermuda to be compr omised by some irresponsible behaviour. I would hate to see a person visiting, or even someone in our territorial waters, out there killing whales as they pass through Bermuda, and get away with it. So I am asking the Minister to consider extending the definition of “animals” to include wild and m igratory animals that may be protected, they may be on the threatened list, or they may be highlighted in CITES. Again, if we are talking about the welfare of animals, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we need to talk about domesticated and some wild animals. I know there are limitations. Some of the larger migratory animals that pass through our waters, or pass through Bermuda during migration season need protection as well. So I would ask that the definition be extended to cover some wild animals, or animals that pass through Bermuda for migratory purposes. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the other issue, and th e Minister touched upon it earlier. He said that there were provisions in the Act under section 8 that speak to provisions of cruelty. Again, he also spoke about the five freedoms for animal welfare. If you will allow me, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the provisions of cruelty are summarised in eight situations: wilful cruelty actions, abandonment, conveyancing the causes of suffering, assisting animal fighting and baiting, conducting minor surgical procedures (if not a veterinarian practitioner), administering a poi son or injurious substance, giving live animals as prizes or inducements, or selling artif icially coloured animals. Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is unacceptable and I agree that covering that is the right thing to do. But I have been advised by a number of people in the soc iety and in the Ministry that most of the issues that they face day -to-day are the issues that pertain to the five freedoms of welfare, i.e., water, shelter, poorly fed animals. And somehow, where we can, we need to include those five freedo ms under the provisions of cruelty. Right now they are not included in the legisl ation and as the Minister said, it is hard, but somehow we have to see how we can imbed or weave those protections in the legislation because in Bermuda those are the main challenges that we face when it comes to cruelty to animals. Normally, it is the housing, animals being starved to death almost, and some animals not having access to water, and some an imals you find that are really stressed out. So som ehow I would encourage the Minister to see what could be done to include the five freedoms of animal welfare under the cruelty provisions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the other issue that I find most interesting, and I think it is in conflict, and that is the issue of tail docking. Mr . Deputy Speaker, in the non-dog world, tail docking for calves, kids (meaning goats) and lambs, and piglets is allowed. It is allowed under the animal husbandry procedures. But it is not allowed under the Dogs Act. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would have lik ed to have seen some consistency because at the end of the day it is cruel to all animals, and not just dogs. So if the Minister would consider even removing tail docking from farm animals, because they feel the pain just as much as our dogs. And so that i s another recommendation that I would encourage the Minister to examine and extend the recommendations that we had in the Dogs Act to ot her farming animals. In addition, Mr. Deputy Speaker, under the . . . well, I have been advised that in these farm animals, some of the tail docking process is done by non - veterinarians. Again, this causes me great concern because this can lead to death in some cases, and suffering and trauma to these animals. I am not 100 per cent sure whether it is legal. I will say that up 2774 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly front. But I would like to see that this is supervised by veterinarian practitioners, and if the Government deems fit to leave the legislation as is, I would like to have a register of those people, or those farmers, who will continue to have the abilit y to dock their animals tails and, if they do, then they take the requisite courses and programmes to make sure that it is done humanely, cleanly, with little impact to the animals involved. By “training” I mean they also have to cover the issue of anaest hesia , Mr. Deputy Speaker, if it is going to be humane. Because some of these pr ocesses are done on these farms without anaesthesia, and again, this causes trauma. And if we are looking out for the well -being of these animals . . . and as the Minister said, the five freedoms of animal welfare i nclude freedom from stress and pain. So if we are tal king about freedom of stress and pain, then we must be consistent, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and ensure that tail docking is managed more effectively and that they are ei ther carried out by veterinarians or somehow supervised and trained, and make sure that these people are knowledgeable in what they are doing and the process is expedited with minimal trauma and pain to these animals. Mr. Deputy Speaker, again, I will clos e as I began. We are supportive of this legislation, and there are concerns in regard to the Care and Protection of Animals Act and we stand poised to help the Minister if he embarks upon a wholesale review of the Care and Protection of Animals Act and the accompanying regulations that will enure to the benefit of Bermuda, the welfare of our animals, the owners of our animals, and those people who basically have the passion for animals, a passion for farming, and a passion for the environment. Thank you, Mr . Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member, Mr. Simons. Any further speakers? Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Just to respond to many of the comments made by the Honourable Member Mr. Simons. First of all, the 1975 Act is indeed an old Act. And it …
Thank you, Honourable Member, Mr. Simons. Any further speakers? Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Just to respond to many of the comments made by the Honourable Member Mr. Simons. First of all, the 1975 Act is indeed an old Act. And it will be subject to careful consideration with a view toward making appropriate amendments. So I can say that to the Honourable Member. Regulations. There are regulations being co ntemplated for the Dogs Act, and that will be out in due course. The idea of a bovine veterinarian is something that we will consider; we will take it under advisement. I recognise that it is an issue for the treatment of an imals and we will have to give that some serious consideration about what to do in that regard. In regard to animal abuse, well, the protection of the migratory species, there was already the Pr otected Species Act, which provides for protection of the migratory species in any event. But t hen the other feral animals are domesticated animals, nevertheless, so they are protected under the appropriate legisl ation. We then have legislation that protects the fish. So I believe that all of the categories that you have identified are already provi ded for protection in legisl ation. And about the tail docking, that is something that we will have to take under advisement, again. We will look at that and give it serious consideration in terms of the best way forward. With that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that we now go into Committee.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMrs. Ming, will you come? House in Committee at 4:24 pm [Mrs. Renee Ming, Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL CARE AND PROTECTION OF ANIMALS AMENDMENT ACT 2018
The ChairmanChairmanGood afternoon. Honourable Members, we are now in Commi ttee of the whole [House] for further consideration of the Bill entitled Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 2018 . Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Madam Chairman. Madam Chairman, this Bi ll amends the Care …
Good afternoon. Honourable Members, we are now in Commi ttee of the whole [House] for further consideration of the Bill entitled Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 2018 . Minister, you have the floor.
Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Madam Chairman. Madam Chairman, this Bi ll amends the Care and Protection of Animals Act 1975, the principal Act, to provide powers for officers of the department to seize animals, enter premises, and inspect premises to address animal cruelty. I am going to move that we consider clauses 1 through 4. Clause 1 provides the citation. Clause 2 amends the principal Act to insert a new subsection (1A), which prescribes the power for an officer of the department or of a recognised society to seize an animal suspected of suffering cruelty pend ing a fi nal determination of the matter. Clause 3 amends the principal Act to insert new sections 8A and 8B. Section 8A provides the power for an officer described under section 8(1A) to enter any premises used for the keeping or custody of an animal at all reasonable times and remain on the premises for the time that may be necessary to determine if an act of animal cruelty has taken place. Section 8B provides the power for an officer described under section 8(1A) to inspect any premi ses used for the keeping or custody of an animal and
Bermuda House of Assembly remain on the premises for the time that may be necessary to determine whether an act of animal cruelty has taken place. Clause 4 is the commencement provision.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any other speakers? The Chair recognises the H onourable Member from constituency 8, Mr. Nelson Hadley Cole S imons.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThank you, Madam Chai rman. Clause 2, and this is just for the edification of the listening public. It says, “Where an officer of the Department or of a recognized society has reason to suspect . . .” Can the Minister confirm whether there are any other recognised societies other …
Thank you, Madam Chai rman. Clause 2, and this is just for the edification of the listening public. It says, “Where an officer of the Department or of a recognized society has reason to suspect . . .” Can the Minister confirm whether there are any other recognised societies other than the SPCA? Because I am not certain of that answer m yself, Madam Chairman. Then, entry on premises, section 8A, “An officer of the D epartment or of a recognized society for any purpose connected with the discharge of his duties [under section 8(1A)] shall have the right to enter at all reasonable times . . .” Can the Minister provide more clarity around what they mean by “all reasonabl e times”? Because this is very, very subjective. Those are my only two questions, Madam Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister? Hon. Walton Brown: Yes. Well, my understanding is that the other society is the SPCA, and that is the only recognised society that we have in mind at this time. In terms of “all reasonable times,” it is meant to include times that would be operational during the daytime …
Minister?
Hon. Walton Brown: Yes. Well, my understanding is that the other society is the SPCA, and that is the only recognised society that we have in mind at this time. In terms of “all reasonable times,” it is meant to include times that would be operational during the daytime hours. That is what you would consider all reasonable time, all reasonable hours, daytime hours.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any other speakers? No. Ministers, would you want to move your clauses? Hon. Walton Brown: I move that clauses 1 through 4 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that clauses 1 through 4 be approved. Is there any objection to that motion? No. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 4 passed.] Hon. Walton Brown: I move that the preamble be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the preamble be approved. Is there any objection to that motion? No. Hon. Walton Brown: I move that the Bi ll be reported to the House as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Care and Protection of Animals [Amendment] Act 2018 is approved. Are there any objections? The Bill will be reported to the House as printed. [Motion car ried: The Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 2018 was considered by a …
It has been moved that the Bill ent itled the Care and Protection of Animals [Amendment] Act 2018 is approved. Are there any objections? The Bill will be reported to the House as printed.
[Motion car ried: The Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 2018 was considered by a Commi ttee of the whole House and passed without amend-ment.]
House resumed at 4:29 pm [Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. Swan , Acting Speaker, in the Chair ]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
CARE AND PROTECTION OF ANIMALS AMENDMENT ACT 2018
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, the amendment Bill [entitled] the Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 2018 has be reported to the House. Are there any objections? No objections. Agreed to. Members. [Inau dible interjections]
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThe rest of the items on the Order Paper have been carried over. We will have the third readings. [Crosstalk]
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerMember Simmons, we have the Private Bills. PETITIONS WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD BERMUDA BERMUDA AUDUBON SOCIETY NORTHSTAR FINANCIAL SERVICES (BERMUDA) LTD.
Mr. Scott SimmonsGood afternoon, and thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. Mr. Acting Speaker, I move that the following petitions, together with the reports of the Joint Select Com mittee on Private Bills, which was presented on the 13th of July 2018 be now considered. 2776 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda …
Good afternoon, and thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. Mr. Acting Speaker, I move that the following petitions, together with the reports of the Joint Select Com mittee on Private Bills, which was presented on the 13th of July 2018 be now considered. 2776 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The petition of the Worldwide Church of God Bermuda; the petition of the Bermuda Audubon Soci ety and the petition of N orthstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Ltd.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member Simmons. Are there any objections? Agreed to. Continue. PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS FIRST READINGS WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD BERMUDA BERMUDA AUDUBON SOCIETY NORTHSTAR FINANCIAL SERVICES (BERMUDA) LTD.
Mr. Scott SimmonsMr. Acting Speaker, I move for leave to introduce and read for the first time by their titles the following Private Bills: the Worldwide Church of God (Bermuda) (Change of Name) Act 2018; the Bermuda Audubon Society Amendment Act 2018; and Northstar Financ ial Services (Bermuda) Ltd. Amendment Act 2018. …
Mr. Scott SimmonsMr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the prayer s of the petitioners be granted and to give effect thereto that without prejudice leave be granted to bring in the proposed Bills reprinted to accord with the recommendations of the Joint Select Committee of Private Bills for the amendment thereof.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe necessary certificates have been furnished.
Mr. Scott SimmonsThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The three Private Bills are hereby read for the first time by the title only: the Worldwide Church of God (Bermuda) (Change of Name) Act 2018; the Bermuda Audubon Society Amendment Act 2018; and Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Ltd. Amendment Act 2018. Mr. Deputy Speaker, …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The three Private Bills are hereby read for the first time by the title only: the Worldwide Church of God (Bermuda) (Change of Name) Act 2018; the Bermuda Audubon Society Amendment Act 2018; and Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Ltd. Amendment Act 2018. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that under the provisions of the Standing Order 33( 7A), the remai ning stages of the said Private Bill be undertaken forthwith.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there any objections? There appear to be none. Agreed to . PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS SECOND READINGS WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD BERMUDA BERMUDA AUDUBON SOCIETY NORTHSTAR FINANCIAL SERVICES (BERMUDA) LTD.
Mr. Scott SimmonsMr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the said Private Bills be now read the second time in the House by their titles only: the Worldwide Church of God (Bermuda) (Change of Name) Act 2018; the Bermuda Audubon Society Amendment Act 2018.
Mr. Scott SimmonsAnd Northstar Financial Se rvices (Bermuda) Ltd. Amendment Act 2018.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there any objections? There appear to be none. Agreed to .
Mr. Scott SimmonsThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that the clauses and preambles of the said Private Bills be approved.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there any objections? There appear to be none. Agreed to . PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS THIRD READINGS WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD BERMUDA BERMUDA AUDUBON SOCIETY NORTHSTAR FINANCIAL SERVICES (BERMUDA) LTD.
Mr. Scott SimmonsMr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the three said Private Bills be now read a third time in the House by their titles only and passed. Their titles are: the Worldwide Church of God (Bermuda) Bermuda House of Assembly (Change of Name) Act 2018; the Bermuda Audubon Society Amendment Act …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAre there any objections? There appear to be none. Agreed to. The said Private Bills are now passed. [Motion carried: The Worldwide Church of God (Bermuda) (Change of Name) Act 2018; the Bermuda Audubon Society Amendment Act 2018; and Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Ltd. Amendment Act 2018 were read a …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWell, whoever . . . normally the Order, but it is not written in stone. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Walton Brown: Okay. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018 be …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? There appe ar to be none. Agreed to . [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING LEGAL AID AMENDMENT ACT 2018 Hon. Walton Brown: I move that the Bill be now read a third time by its title only and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objecti ons to that? There appear to be none. Agreed to. [Motion carried: The Legal Aid Amendment Act 2018 was read a third time and passed.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Chair recognises the Ho nourable Colonel Burch. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21
Lt. Col. Ho n. David A. BurchMr. Deputy Speaker, I move that [Standing Order] 21 be suspended to en able me to move that the Bill entitled the Family Medi ation Act 2018 on behalf of the Minister of Social D evelopment and Sport be now read a third time by its title on ly.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContinue. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING FAMILY MEDIATION ACT 2018
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the Bill be now read a third time by its title only and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections to that? There appear to be none. Agreed to. [Motion carried : The Family Mediation Act 2018 was read a third time and passed.] SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchNow, Mr. Deputy Speaker, on my own behalf I move that Standing O rder 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled the Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018 be now read the third time by its title only.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContinue. [Motion carried: Standin g Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING LAND TITLE REGISTRATION AMENDMENT ACT 2018
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the Bill entitled Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018 be now read a third time by its title only (just did) and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? There appear to be none. Agreed to. [Motion carried: The Land Title Registration Amendment Act 2018 was read a third time and passed.] 2778 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speak er.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMinister. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Walton Brown: Yes, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 2018 be no w read for the third time by its title only.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMinister. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Walton Brown: Yes, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled Care and Prote ction of Animals Amendment Act 2018 be now read a third time by its title only.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING CARE AND PROTECTION OF ANIMALS AMENDMENT ACT 2018 Hon. Walton Brown: I move that the Bill be now read by its title only and passed.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections to that? Approved. [Motion carried : The Care and Protection of Animals Amendment Act 2018 was read a third time and passed.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny further . . . Deputy Leader. ADJOURNMENT Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I do move that we adjourn until July 20th, Friday.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objection to the adjour nment? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Michael Dunkley. [Laughter] INAPPR OPRIATE COMMENTS BY MP REGAR DING WORK OF JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, some people must have had a little heartburn from dinner because …
Any objection to the adjour nment? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Michael Dunkley.
[Laughter] INAPPR OPRIATE COMMENTS BY MP REGAR DING WORK OF JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, some people must have had a little heartburn from dinner because when I stood up I heard Argh! I think it must hav e been heartburn, not that they wanted to go home. Bearing in mind, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that I know you have little tolerance for discussion later t onight, I stood up early so I would not have to be stood down later. [Inaudible interjections] Hon. Mic hael H. Dunkley: Yes, I can understand that.
[Laughter]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I wanted to rise tonight for a short comment, because I saw a story posted on Bernews a short while ago that I think is important to discuss in thi s House of Asse mbly. The story is a comment about political consultants and there are some comments in there attributed to the Honourable Member from constituency 26. Basically, it talks about consultants who had worked for the One Bermuda Alliance. And t he Honourable Member is quoted as saying, and I will quote right from the article, Mr. Deputy Speaker, “ The One Bermuda Alliance spent millions of dollars on their failed attempt to retain the government after 4 years of anti-Bermudian policies and pepper spraying senior citizens. ” Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have two comments in relation to this article. One, it deals with consultants. And I think all political parties use consul tants on a regular basis, and so that is nothing new. And every party has a ri ght to use political consul tants, and most of the time the political consultants who are used by political parties are kept private and confidential. So that is not an issue with me in any way. I am sure that there will be Honourable Members from across the floor who will want to try and talk on this and make more out of the consultancy issue than there really is. But that is not why I rise to speak tonight. Why I rise to speak tonight is the comment I just quoted in regard to the comments attributed to the Honourable Member from constituency 26. And b ecause I have not received a point of order yet, I b elieve they are correct. Why do I say that? Well, I say that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, simply because in my view it is misinformation, it is fake news, and it is outright prevaricat ion.
Bermuda House of Assembly [Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Now, the Honourable Member from constituency 29 is free to speak any time that he wants. But I am inclined to rise and speak to this because I am quite aggravated by those comment s. Because, one, those comments are meant to be said by a politician to divide the community. That is all well and good if Honourable Members wish to go there. I thought the Honourable Member was above that type of approach. But I guess I was proven wrong by those comments. But having said that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and I do not support those comments in any way, “anti - Bermudian policies” . . . that might be his opinion. But that is something that Members on our side will always vehemently be against. And I can go back and I can talk about what we did and try to move the coun-try forward. And I will do it on a number of occasions when it is important. I did not rise tonight to defend that record. I rose tonight because here, Mr. Deputy Speaker, earl ier today . . . sorry, when the Speaker was in the Chair before he went away, he announced an extension to the Joint Select Committee that looks into December 2 nd. Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have purposely said very little about that committee because that work is something that this House has to conduct in a most appropriate fashion. But these comments tonight, Mr. Deputy Speaker, can prejudice the work that the committee does, especially when he talks about pepper spraying our seniors. Because—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWell— Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: —the incident happened—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerHonourable Member, I think we have got to be careful there because that is a committee out, and I do not think we should go down there. I understand what you are trying to say, b ut I do not think we should go there. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: And …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYes. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: —Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is why I raised it, because an Honourable Member of this Chamber went there publicly with c omments. And I think they are inappropriate. I think they should be retracted, or they will bias . . . they could bias the …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWell, what you can do [is] write to the Speaker. But it is not one that we should di scuss tonight. But again, you can write to the Speaker. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: I will be happy to bring up my concerns to the Speaker, but I think it is …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWell, no t on this one, because it is a committee that has been empanelled and they have not reported. So I do not think we should say anything on that one. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Okay. That’s fine, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYes. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: But what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Those comments out in the public are ina ppropriate, so I stand here tonight because this is the place to ask our questions and make a comment. And I could go outside the …
Yes. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: But what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Those comments out in the public are ina ppropriate, so I stand here tonight because this is the place to ask our questions and make a comment. And I could go outside the House and speak about it, but I thought I would bring it to your attention as the Acting Speaker, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
[Inaudible interjections]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWell, I think, Member, we want to be above that. Those comments that were made outside of the House are regret table. Could be; I have not seen them. But I think it is one that you should let the Speaker deal with, and I would just hope you would …
Well, I think, Member, we want to be above that. Those comments that were made outside of the House are regret table. Could be; I have not seen them. But I think it is one that you should let the Speaker deal with, and I would just hope you would stay at that level.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes. And I thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. You made the comments that they were done outside of the House and they are regrettable, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: The fact of the matter is that this committee was empanelled months ago, and they have been given another six -month extensi on. I think all Members of this House would like to have the report from that committee [and] would like to have it …
Mm-hmm. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: The fact of the matter is that this committee was empanelled months ago, and they have been given another six -month extensi on. I think all Members of this House would like to have the report from that committee [and] would like to have it dealt with, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am very disappointed in the Honourable Member. Maybe he can explain himself and why he would speak when he knows the committee is empanelled, because I am sure there are many Members who would like to speak about that work and give their input. But the place to speak is not outside of this House of Assembly when the committee has to do work. And why, Mr. Deputy Speaker? Because if we speak outside the remit of a committee that has work to do, it is going to make committees of the House a mockery. This Government has said in their election platform, and said in their Throne Speech, that they are going to empanel further committees of the 2780 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly House, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think three committees, to give more parliamentary oversight. And that commitment, that promise, we haven’t got there yet.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerHmm. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: But I expect that we wi ll get there. And so I take, along with my colleagues, and I am sure all colleagues in this House of Assembly will say that they take, the work of this House to the highest level with the greatest …
Hmm. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: But I expect that we wi ll get there. And so I take, along with my colleagues, and I am sure all colleagues in this House of Assembly will say that they take, the work of this House to the highest level with the greatest responsibility. And when we make comments like that, I think we undermine, undercut and make the process —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWell, let me say with respect, [Member], that once we put a group of people toget her and empanel them to discuss and bring back a r eport here, no comment should be made until after that report is tabled in this House. So I would try to want to …
Well, let me say with respect, [Member], that once we put a group of people toget her and empanel them to discuss and bring back a r eport here, no comment should be made until after that report is tabled in this House. So I would try to want to stay off that right now . . . any further comment. Just to keep within the rules.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Okay, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and I will because you have agreed with me. I support that. It cou ld bias the committee, and I am glad that you agree with me, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And I will follow up with the Speaker to make sure that this matter is rectified, because the work of this House, whether you agree with the committee or disagree with the com mittee, it is important that as Members commit to that work . . . and committee work is onerous work, it is hard work, it is work outside of the normal responsibilities that you have. If they commit to that work, we should allow them to do the work in the most appropriate way. And so I thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for your agreement, and I will follow it through.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Jamahl Simmons. You have the floor. MINISTRY OF ECONOMI C DEVELOPMENT SUMMER STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Well, that is 5 or 10 minutes of my life that I will never have back …
Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Jamahl Simmons. You have the floor.
MINISTRY OF ECONOMI C DEVELOPMENT SUMMER STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Well, that is 5 or 10 minutes of my life that I will never have back again. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of signi ficance. The Progressive Labour Party Government, since taking office, recognise that the issue of youth unemployment, particularly during the summer, was one that had to be addressed and had to be a ddressed quickly. It is still a work in progress, but I think that w e are very excited to see things such as the programme that we unveiled last week at the Berm uda Economic Development Corporation [BEDC] with the Summer Student Entrepreneur Internship Pr ogramme [SSEP]. And Mr. Deputy Speaker, for the benefit of the House, the purpose of that programme was to create job opportunities, entrepreneurial opportunities for 10 students. Mr. Deputy Speaker, while I will give a full report and I do not want to anticipate anything, I do think that it is important that it ties into the whole pr ocess of coming together, that was spoken on prev iously. Mr. Deputy Speaker, when we think of our Island’s children, I think that when we talk about what we want, we have to as a people care for and want for other [people’s] children, what we want for ourselves. That is the fundamental obstacle to where we go, because as long as my child has an advantage over somebody else’s child, or disadvantage under som ebody else’s child, we are not coming together. And that is where the compassion needs t o lie. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the world was filled with rapt attention watching the story of the Thai soccer team trapped in the caves. I thought about my son who was in school in India. I thought about my boys. And, you know, you think about the parents wh o experience these things. And I think most of us could empathise with these children. Most of them do not speak our language. They do not share our culture. They do not share our nationality. But we wanted for them what we would want for our children. Mr. Deputy Speaker, what we are not seeing in Bermuda is the desire for all children to have what other children have. So when we looked at this sum-mer entrepreneurship programme, it came from a place of exposing our young people to entrepreneurial concepts. Because there are too many of our young people, our young black Bermudians in particular, who may not know a business owner, who may not know a entrepreneur. And so to be able to get them into an environment where you start cultivating the mind- set of do for self , that is a far more significant thing to speak about than some hurt feelings over a story in Bernews. And so, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we often hear the words “ coming together .” We often hear the words “we need to unite and work together.” We hear thes e things. But do we truly care for other [people’s] chi ldren the way that we care for our own? And I would encourage everyone that when we think about this country, and you think about the programmes that we put in place to be able to enable young people t o be exposed to entrepreneurship and earn a living, where there was nothing there before, when you look at the opportunities that the Honourable Minister Wayne Caines [spoke about] when he went and called out for 100 jobs for 100 people, you look at a Government that is focused and cares about other [people’s] chi ldren and making sure that they have what we want. And, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is when we r eally will come together, because if I want for your child
Bermuda House of Assembly what you want for mine, it will not take a s torm for me to come. We will then get back to being that village that raises our children. We will get back to caring about each other. What does the Bible teach us? Love thy neighbour as you love thyself. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, with those brief r emarks, have a good evening.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Mem-ber Colonel Burch. MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS SUMMER EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Deputy Speaker, I am going to f ollow on in the same vein as my honourable colleague, the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I had the occasion this week for the second Monday in a row to welcome some young people to the Ministry of …
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am going to f ollow on in the same vein as my honourable colleague, the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I had the occasion this week for the second Monday in a row to welcome some young people to the Ministry of Public Works for summe r employment. I can tell you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that it is one of the things that really gives me a whole lot of joy, because if you actually interact with young people, they tend to be bright, honest, committed, and they kinda sorta know at an early age where it is that they want to go. And I was surprised in a couple of instances, because we have them spread throughout the entire Ministry, and the quangos. In total there are 37, and counting, Mr. Deputy Speaker. They gave us a budget of 10 weeks and 35 students (it was supposed to be). But since we are already in week two, and we have not got to the maximum number, it will be a little longer than that, and probably a little more in terms of numbers because some of those students will start to go back to university in August, before the 10 weeks are up. But a couple of instances, Mr. Deputy Speaker, are worth noting. Last week we had seven, I think, who started early. And one is a 17- year-old who just graduated from the Berkeley Institute, and even though he went to that institution, I forgave him.
[Laughter and inaudible interjections ]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAnd I figured that since they sent him to me, I am to fix part of the indoctrination that he has had from them. So I figured I would star t on day one. He wants to be an architect, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And he also happens to be the …
And I figured that since they sent him to me, I am to fix part of the indoctrination that he has had from them. So I figured I would star t on day one. He wants to be an architect, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And he also happens to be the son of my administrative assistant, so he spends a fair amount of time up in our office—the first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, and then at the end of the day. So last week, Wednesday, at lunchtime I came out and he was out front, and I said, Right. You have been here two and a half days, please explain to me, how many houses have you designed? He said, Only one, my daddy’s. And of course that stopped me dead in my tracks because I thought I was being, you know, . . . and I said, Really? Go downstairs and get it. Anyway, he brought it back, and he had act ually drawn it out in pencil. So I thought, Okay, at 17 I did not know what I wanted to do. But clearly , you know, I figured somebody said, Architect might be nice, you like to draw . Anyway, he had drawn this house in intimate detail. But he also spent part of the time on AutoCAD where he had started to transfer that into the electronic version of designing a house. And he started to talk. And he forgot all of his inhibitions about being in the Minister’s office and, you know, I’m the bogeyman, and all of those sorts of things fell away because he now was in his own driveway excitedly explaining to me about what it was that he was learning, even though this was day three of summer vacation (as far as I was concerned). He said, Tonight I am going to go home and I am going to do some more work on this so that tomorrow I am ready to start. And he said, And when I am finished, I am going to bring it back and show it to you. And I said, Yes, you must. This week he came and he was saying that he was going to visit Planning. Now, even though we are Government, we get the same sort of experiences that many people get when they go to Planning. So I said to him, because you know, I spend a fair amount of time entertaining m yself, more than anything else.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberDon’t say that.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAnd so I said to him, You are going to Planning? He said, Yes. I said, Are you familiar with the Bible? He said, Yes. I said, Do you know the passage where it says ‘put on the whole armour of God’? He said, Yes. I said, That is what …
And so I said to him, You are going to Planning? He said, Yes. I said, Are you familiar with the Bible? He said, Yes. I said, Do you know the passage where it says ‘put on the whole armour of God’? He said, Yes. I said, That is what you need in order to go to Planning tomorrow. So when you come back, . . . well, do not bring any of those strange ideas back over here.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerHis Momma from the Bible Belt, you know?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchOh, I will try n ot to hold that against him either. [Laughter and inaudible interjections ] 2782 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: In any case, Mr. Deputy Speaker, last week I then said to them, you know . …
Oh, I will try n ot to hold that against him either.
[Laughter and inaudible interjections ] 2782 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: In any case, Mr. Deputy Speaker, last week I then said to them, you know . . . in fact this week I said to them, all 35 (because two were absent) were gathered in the training room at the Ministry. And I said, You all are probably asking yourselves the same question that everybody on the staff around here asks. Which is, ‘Why do I have to come to the Ministry Headquarters to meet with the Minister? And so I said to them, you know, b ecause I can, because I am actually in charge, I said, That is one reason. But that is not the most important reason. The most important reason is because I want you and them to hear and understand that our job as adults in this village, and as responsible people in this Ministry, is to teach you as much as we can during the course of this summer. And that any question that you have, you can ask any one of us and we are never going to be too busy or too occupied to pause and answer you, whatever question it is that you have. And my message to them was that, Even if you learn that , wherever you are working in this Mini stry, [if this] is not what you want to be, that is not a bad thing. This is a good thing, because at least you are making that decision with knowledge as opposed to an abstract. But you must take full advantage of every opportunity that is presented to you this summer b ecause all the bit of knowledge you get, no one is going to be able to take away from you. I said, Now, the other thing is that I need to know who in here is for Somerset and who is for St. George’s. Oh, yes, I went there, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAnd so only 8 of 35 put up their hands. So you can imagine my then di sdain, Mr. Deputy Speaker. [Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchSo I said to them, You know, that cannot happen. And so the next summer . . . and let me just preface my remarks. This is a joke. Burch often, sometimes, has jokes. Okay? [Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchBecause I know they will go out of here and say, Oh, here he goes again. [Inaudible interjections] Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: Yes. So what I said to them, I said, By next summer the ad for summer st udents is going to say ‘We are only taking …
Because I know they will go out of here and say, Oh, here he goes again.
[Inaudible interjections] Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: Yes. So what I said to them, I said, By next summer the ad for summer st udents is going to say ‘We are only taking Somerset supporters’ so you people better figure it out. Then when I looked around the room, Mr. Deputy Speaker, all these people that have claimed that they are for St. George’s —
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch—in many instances . . . Well, their heart is wrong, then, Mr. Deputy Speaker. [Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. Dav id A. BurchBecause in many i nstances they have got on pink and red and orange—in the month of July, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I . . . I can’t . . . you see I am in pink today because I do not want to wear red. I do not want to …
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchBut what I said is that every day this month I am going to wear something red that lets people know without fear of contradiction that I am for Somerset. And I hav e been for Somerset all my life. And for me, Mr. Deputy Speaker, you know, Cup Match …
But what I said is that every day this month I am going to wear something red that lets people know without fear of contradiction that I am for Somerset. And I hav e been for Somerset all my life. And for me, Mr. Deputy Speaker, you know, Cup Match teams are like political parties. The one you are born with is the one you die with. Okay?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchI went around on my floor, and, you know, it is all decorated, especially around in the Accounting and HR area, and so you know, people don’t know. So I asked one lady what was her Cup Match team. And she said, I don’t have one. Bermuda House of Assembly …
I went around on my floor, and, you know, it is all decorated, especially around in the Accounting and HR area, and so you know, people don’t know. So I asked one lady what was her Cup Match team. And she said, I don’t have one.
Bermuda House of Assembly I said, Right. Leave the building right now. Go home and get your passport, because I want evidence that you are Bermudian.
[Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchBecause in my book, you cannot be a Bermudian unless you have a C up Match team. [Inaudible interjections and laughter ]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAnd I got all sorts of waffle. So yesterday she had her daughter there, who is maybe 7, and [I asked her], What is your Cup Match team? And she said, Somerset. And I s aid, Jesus, Lord. What is wrong with your Momma? And she said, I don’t know. …
And I got all sorts of waffle. So yesterday she had her daughter there, who is maybe 7, and [I asked her], What is your Cup Match team? And she said, Somerset. And I s aid, Jesus, Lord. What is wrong with your Momma? And she said, I don’t know. I said, Well, trust me. When she goes to sleep tonight, get some red and blue ribbon and tie it in her hair so that when she comes to work tomorrow we will all know and expect t hat she is for Somerset. But I will say this, Mr. Deputy Speaker — [Inaudible interjections and laughter ]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchLike politics som etimes, too. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I do know that the chief engineer of the Ministry of Public Works is French Canadian. And I thought I liked him, until he has turned the entire engineering department, except one summer student, into St. George’s supporters. He is for St. …
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchI said, You are allowed to switch up. I don’t know . . . I know the former Mini ster, my immediate predecessor in this job was for St. George’s. But I said, But I am here now! Aren’t you supposed to do what I would like? You know, you …
I said, You are allowed to switch up. I don’t know . . . I know the former Mini ster, my immediate predecessor in this job was for St. George’s. But I said, But I am here now! Aren’t you supposed to do what I would like? You know, you are supposed to be for Somerset. So anyway, and my summer student is for St. George’s. So my administrative assistant is for St. George’s, my summer student is for St . George’s, and acting permanent secretary is for St. George’s, so I am surrounded by it.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchBut I am used to standing out there by myself. So the one summer st udent that is around in the engineering department who is for Somerset, I said, Right. You can come and work out of the Ministry Headquarters and my summer st udent can go around there with …
But I am used to standing out there by myself. So the one summer st udent that is around in the engineering department who is for Somerset, I said, Right. You can come and work out of the Ministry Headquarters and my summer st udent can go around there with the rest of those St. George’s people and he will feel right at home, and you will be able to at least balanc e out the numbers for me. In saying all of that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the thing that really is just so impressive about all of these students and all of their disciplines, and they are ev erywhere, is that they are bright. They know what they want to do. They are committed . . . they work differently, though. I will tell you this much. I was telling, I think it was the Minister of Education, because I went around on the floor and one of the young men who is working in HR . . . of course, they work with thos e things in their ears, so they can’t hear anything you say, so you have to make . . . you know, hand signals, so they know to take them out of their ears. But what was i mpressive, Mr. Deputy Speaker, was that even though that stumped me a little bit in terms of having those things in their ears, they were working. And while I was there he was working away, and so I cannot even fault them for it. But then I cast my mind back, back in the dark ages when the Inter-net started. I worked for an international reinsurance company, at that stage. And everybody was trying to play around on this new thing called the Internet. And I know that many of my colleagues in the private sec-tor said that their bosses said, No, no, no, no; don’t play with that thing. And the international companies allowed it. They encouraged it, because they figured that if you played around on it with things that you were interested in, when they asked you to search for something for business there would be no learning curve. You could go right to what it is that you wanted to find. So, even though they operate differently, what I have found, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is that it is just the most pleasant part of doing this job now, because most of the rest of it is just drudgery. You get up and, you know, the bureaucracy kicks in and everybody says, Oh no, if you want to move that chair from that pedestal down there you have to form a committee. And then it has to go to the head of the public service, and then to the Public Service Commission. I am sure that it drives anybody that has ever done it crazy! So sometimes you go off the reservation. And in my case (and I am going to confess, because if they are mad they can ask), I think I have had two occasions where I breached Financial Regulations. [Inaudible interjection]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchOh yes, I have, because I go and I say I want to do stuff. And so they 2784 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report B ermuda House of Assembly come to me and they say, Minister, you’ve breached Financial Regulations, and so you have to sign off on this. …
Oh yes, I have, because I go and I say I want to do stuff. And so they 2784 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report B ermuda House of Assembly come to me and they say, Minister, you’ve breached Financial Regulations, and so you have to sign off on this. You know, you’ve gone on and said to people you’d like for stuff to be done, and we want it done now. And they say, You’ve breached Financial Regulations, so you have to sign off on all this paperwork here, ‘I have breached Financial Regulations, and I won’t do it again’. But, you know, the proper protocol is fixed around it so it can be fixed. And they smack me on my hand for, you know, stepping out of line. And I prom-ise honestly and deliberately and committedly that I am never going to do that again. And I do not. I do something else. [ Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAnd that is part of the reason why I can stay in this job. And I invite anybody to come and look and see that none of the money has gone astray, [and] that there is evidence, of whatever it is I have done, that we have gotten value for …
And that is part of the reason why I can stay in this job. And I invite anybody to come and look and see that none of the money has gone astray, [and] that there is evidence, of whatever it is I have done, that we have gotten value for money. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, at the end of the day . . . I know that at the end of this summer we will have been able to convey to those young people that, first of all, not only are we interested in what it is t hat they want to do, we want to be the employer of first choice. We want to be the ones who provide them with the experience so that when they do go into the private sector, and many of them have, they will not be faced with the burden of, You don’t have any experience. They will have gotten it from us. And I know to some extent some in this room will say, Here the PLP goes again. Well, yes. Here we go again. That is what we believe, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We believe in young people. And we do not just talk it; we walk it! And not only do we walk it alone, we walk it with them, because they make it such a joy and an inspiration for us to continue to do that because they take full advantage of every opportunity that they are given in order to be able to be succ essful. It we are going to fix our issues, Mr. Deputy Speaker. That is what is required of us as adults. That is what is required of us as leaders in the areas of r esponsibility. Not only to encourage them and to say we want to encourage them, interact with them on a daily basis. Encourage them face to face. I look over the partition at the lone Somerset supporter in the engineering section and say, They treating you right? [ Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchBecause you have the in. [ Laughter] Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: You come and report to me, and I will deal with it. [ Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchCup Match time is good. You know, even some of my, I think most of my siblings are for St. George’s. I don’t know what happened to them.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchNo, they grew up in Somerset. They were supposed to have t he indoctr ination right from Jump Street . [ Inaudible interjection]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchNo, I’m not. Parents were for Somerset. So . . . But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me just end on this. And it is that we in this community . . . and one of the things that I say to the young people is that this has nothing to …
No, I’m not. Parents were for Somerset. So . . . But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me just end on this. And it is that we in this community . . . and one of the things that I say to the young people is that this has nothing to do with me being the Minister of Public Works. It does in a sense that we are able to facilitate this. But more important than that, this has to do with me being a villager, me being an adult and a villager, that our responsibility is not only to encourage them, but to teach them by our example. And so, what we hope to get out of this is not only do they get an op-portunity to make a little bit of change during the summer to be able to assist with their education going forward, and provide them with an opportunity so that they get discipline and understanding of how to con-duct themselves in the workplace and to operate, and the fact that everybody around them is supportive of what it is that they are trying to do and, again, to support them in their efforts. But what we also get out of this is that we demonstrate to them that this is how you act in the village. So, when they become adults, based on our behaviour and based on our actions, the y will follow in our footsteps. And their mission will be the same as ours. They must help someone else—
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch—when they are in a position to do so, as we are helping them. Thank you, very much.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. Thank you. [Desk thumping] Bermuda House of Assembly The Deputy Speaker: The Chair recognises the Ho nourable Member Diallo Rabain. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION—INCREASED FUNDING FOR EDUCATION AND SCHOLARSHIPS Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We have had a pretty robust debate thus far, Mr. …
Thank you. Thank you. [Desk thumping]
Bermuda House of Assembly The Deputy Speaker: The Chair recognises the Ho nourable Member Diallo Rabain.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION—INCREASED FUNDING FOR EDUCATION AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We have had a pretty robust debate thus far, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But I want to talk about some of the things that have happened over the last year wit hin my Ministry, specifically to assist students in achie ving their academic dreams. Mr. D eputy Speaker, allow me to quote from the Progressive Labour Party’s 2017 election platform, where we talked about what we would do within the first 100 days. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we said that wit hin the first 100 days we would “ Provide financial su pport to students in need to ensure access to Bermuda College . . . .” Well, Mr. Deputy Speaker, one of the first things I did when I became the Minister of Education was to look at the existing budget. And within that budget funds were found to give to the Bermuda College. As a matter of fact, their grant for last year was increased by $300,000. These funds were to be specifically used to ensure that as many people as poss ible who wanted to improve themselves academically had an opportunity to do so, and the excuse of not having funding would [not] be used against them. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, an act such as that, of looking within a budget, finding funding that already exists . . . unfortunately, I am sorry for the other side’s supporters out there who say Look at the PLP, they’re spending like drunken sailors, and all the like that I got when that was announced. Those funds already ex-isted. It was just a matter of having the testicular fort itude to say, This is what we need to be spending money on, and not anyth ing else. As a result, Mr. Deputy Speaker, 313 students who would not have been able to attend Bermuda College had that opportunity. They had that opportun ity. But yesterday it came full circle. We had two lots of awards that we handed out. Yesterday we handed out awards from the Department of Workforce Development and from the Ministry of Education. In the early afternoon I got a chance to hand out awards for the Department of Workforce Development. And it was such a pleasure to see the students. They wer e young. They were old. There were whites, there were blacks. There was a wide cross -section of Bermudians who were getting funding to assist themselves to improve their educational lot in life. It was a happy moment to see them able to get funding. As a matter of fact, I recall that one of the parents, one of your lighter shaded cousins, sought me down after the awards ceremony (because they wanted to take a picture with their daughter) to say, Thank you very much. And, guess what, Mr. Deputy Speaker? This student was a young mother. She was 26, had a six -month old, a five- month old, and wanted to go ahead and study. And she was going into the hospitality industry. Her aspirations were, I want to replace Mr. Dallas. So I thought that was interesting to get that from this young lady who said that without these funds it would never have happened. I’m a single mother with two young children; it would never happen for me. I thank you. Her mother was very appreciative. With that funding, Mr. Deputy Speaker, t hat we reallocated [by moving] some things around, we are now funding 34 students out of the Department of Workforce Development, up from 20 students last year. Mr. Deputy Speaker, in the evening I had the opportunity to give the Ministry of Education A wards and Scholarship. Once again, I was completely overwhelmed by the support and by the appreciation shown by the parents, by the students who came out and said, Thank you very much. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this year we were able to give 48 students out of t he 52 we had allocated funds for, up from last year’s number of 42 students. Again, looking at the budget, seeing what we could do to make the money do more than what it has been doing. This is the type of thing you can get when you have people in place who are committed to saying, What can we do to ensure that the maximum number of people get [benefits] from the pot that we are here to deal with? As the Premier stated earlier today, my Mini stry is one of the few ministries that received an i ncrease. And we are using those funds to ensure that our people of Bermuda—and that means all of Bermuda—get access to educational opportunities that they may not have had access to before, or they may have given up about having access before. I have to remind my coll eagues on the other side, as well as the public of Bermuda, that the 2017 PLP election platform stated that we would increase scholarships for students so that students in the public schools would have more opportunities for higher education. Mr. Deputy Sp eaker, I speak very confidently when I say that there are 340 students who have r eceived funding . . . this is in addition to what we al-ready would have had if we had just stayed with the status quo. Three hundred and forty students have received funding as we looked at the budget. We looked at what we could do and we said, This is what we can do if we just dig down even fur-ther and be more mindful of what we are doing, how we are spending the money, and what we can do to help our students. Three hundred and forty students are out there now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, attending college, attending Bermuda College, taking courses in PACE [Professional & Career Education], and all the like, so they can come out of the backend of those 2786 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly educational opportunities better people from whence they started. Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, yesterday I was completely moved by a parent. This parent came up to me and she was almost moved to tears to say, You know something? I’m in my late 50s going to 60, and I struggled all my life. But I will tell you this: The Pr ogressive Labour Party has always been the party that has looked out for its people. And I will tell you why. She said that she is a beneficiary of the housing that was built down at St. David’s, Harbour View. She said she w ould never have dreamed of owning a house if it were not for that opportunity. She said she was sitting at her desk just earl ier this week wondering how she was going to help her children continue with their academic pursuits. She was at her wits end. She did not know what she was doing. She said she was in tears, because a parent does not want to tell their children that she cannot afford to help them. She got that call from the Ministry of Education, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that said, Your son has won a scholarship for the next three years. This is the impact that we are having on our people. This is the impact that this Government is having on its people. This is the impact that people were looking for when they voted overwhelmingly to put the Progressive L abour Party in as the Government. And we are delivering on our promises to ensure that our children and our people of Bermuda are the beneficiaries of sound thinking that includes them and all of Bermuda into the plan that we are doing to make sure that Bermuda becomes the place that they can call home. Mr. Deputy Speaker, it is always important for any Government to look to deliver to the electorate what they have promised, and look to provide its country’s citizens with opportunities. When I look at this summer and see how much we have done for our students, whether they be in high school or they be in college. We just heard the Minister of Works talk about the 37 students who have been hired at the Ministry of Works. I can look at Workforce Development . . . when we sat down and looked at the Summer Internship Employment Programme, and I said, Let’s see if we can find money for 20 more students. We found that funding. Twenty more spaces were opened up for college students to enter into our i nternship progr amme. If anyone is out there listening, I just spoke to the training manager at Workforce Development. Ten of those spots are still available. If you are a college student and you are looking for some money for the summer, contact the Department of Workforce Development and ask for the training manager. She will assist at least 10 more college students to gain emplo yment this summer. All right, Mr. Deputy Speaker? These are the types of things this Government is doing. These are the types of things the Gov ernment is not apologising to anyone for doing as we continue to look out for all of Bermuda, and make sure that our students are getting the best opportunity that they can get. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have said in this House on numerous occasions that in or der to be an effective Government we must have the trust of the electorate. We must have the trust of the electorate. And when we make promises, we must deliver on them. Mr. Deputy Speaker, one year ago this Government set a very aggressive schedule, a very a ggressive agenda to move Bermuda forward. We have done that. We have provided additional funding for students, those 340 students that I mentioned earlier. We have done that by providing more opportunities for employment for college students and high s chool st udents so that they can gain that valuable knowledge to propel them into the workforce when their time is ready. Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is why this Gover nment is in place. This is why this Government i ncreased its majority at the last bye -electi on. This is why the people l ooked at this Government and said . . . when we said we will always put Bermudians first, they believed us and they voted for this Government overwhelmingly. Mr. Deputy Speaker, we will continue to do the things that we need to do to ensure that there is a level playing field to ensure that our students get the adequate resources that they deserve so they can take their rightful place in society and be a productive member of our society. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Tinee Furbert from constituency 4. YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Mrs. Tinee FurbertThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I also just wanted to chime in on the great things tha t we are doing as a Government for our youth. Quite often we hear that we are not doing much for our youth. I think today’s example of what our col-leagues have spoken …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I also just wanted to chime in on the great things tha t we are doing as a Government for our youth. Quite often we hear that we are not doing much for our youth. I think today’s example of what our col-leagues have spoken about today is a great example of what the Progressive Labour Party is doing for the youth. Today . . . yesterday, actually, I had the opportunity . . . actually, I was working. I came across a student who was working at a facility. And this student is planning on pursuing a degree in nursing. And they actually did not have the opportunity to graduate from our traditional public school education system, but they did have the opportunity to graduate through the GED programme. So, while sometimes the public e ducation system is not always the best suited for some students, they still have the opp ortunity to be able to
Bermuda House of Assembly graduate and receive further education through the GED programme. So, this student had the opportunity, through a government programme, to be able to work with st udents, or clients, sorry, who can get exposure through working with persons in the health care field. I just want to say that it is a gateway opportunity. Youth employment is a gateway opportunity. When I was 16 years old I had the opportunity to work with my aunt. She owned a business called Woody’s Café in Devils’ Hole. And I had the opportunity to work in that establishment as a short -order cook and serving customers. And it helped to develop me to deal with people and customers. So the employment opportunities that you have as a youth help to build you professionally f or the future. An occup ation is so important. It gives us purpose, Mr. Deputy Speaker. It gives us purpose to get up every day. We also know that the demographic of the youth population is probably one of the areas in which there is underemployment, or lo w employment, for that particular age- group category. So what we are doing in regard to providing employment opportunities for our youth is phenomenal. I myself also had the opportunity to work alongside, or have a student from Workforce Devel-opment [wor k alongside me], probably about two years ago. Just like Minister Diallo spoke about, he said that there were 10 opportunities left and for st udents to go out there and take advantage of those opportunities. Well, I did have a student in that particular pr ogramme. And I am happy to say that it was a gateway opportunity for that student who is now employed today in the private sector. And I had the awesome opportunity of being able to provide a reference for that student. So these opportunities are great for our students to be able to get hired afterwards if, you know, they do a good job. So, I just wanted to reiterate again that the youth employment opportunities that we are providing for our students is a great initiative, and I hope that we can continue t o provide them, even, sometimes, outside of summer employment. So, with that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I thank you.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Rolfe Commissiong. BERMUDA NATIONAL WORKFORCE DEVEL OPMENT PLAN
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongMr. Deputy Speaker, I am feeling very enthused about the things I have heard so far about the Progressive Labour Party’s achiev ements in restoring hope and optimism amongst our young and our young adults. But we know there is so much more to do. Members would have received the …
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am feeling very enthused about the things I have heard so far about the Progressive Labour Party’s achiev ements in restoring hope and optimism amongst our young and our young adults. But we know there is so much more to do. Members would have received the other day, the Bermuda National Workforce Development Plan. I think it is worthy of their read. I think it provides a solid foundation for how we can begin to re- tool the Wor kforce Development syst em in a way that further brings greater synergy between education and training and employment opportunities. These are things that we need to focus on, Mr. Deputy Speaker. As we know, the recent census indicated that the population is rapidly ageing. B etween 2010 and 2016 the median age of a Bermudian went from 41 years of age to 44. That, itself, I think is going to present significant challenges for our youth population. So I am all with those who speak about the need for mentoring, to be a good example to our youth, to open those doors for them, to give them those types of opportunities. We on this side of the bench need also to devise proper public policy to ensure that the challenges posed by this ageing population are not going to place such an undu e burden on our young people that it only increases emigration out of the country as being one factor. So we heard about, for example, the unemployment rate, which is far higher than the rate right now at 7 per cent, 9 per cent for black Bermudians. But certainly (I don’t have the figures right in front of me) it stands to reason then that the youth unem-ployment rate must be far higher. So, we need to con-tinue with these efforts in terms of education, training, reaching out. These summer internships are so crit ically important as well. I would also like to add, Mr. Deputy Speaker, in light of what is going on in terms of the diversity move in the international business sector that, partic ularly in the re- insurance sector, we need to have that sector apprecia te the fact that they must begin to cr eate entry -level jobs for our young professionals. It is unacceptable in this day and age, when you are tal king about a diversity of more inclusion —this is coming from them, now —and the need for it, that one pat hway to achieve that would be by making a provision for entry -level jobs in IB. As you may know, I said on the floor of this House not too long ago, there was an interview on ZBM News of two young women, one of whom, I think had just graduated from a major univer sity in Canada; another who I think was preparing to go overseas. Both of them were young African Bermudian women, speaking enthusiastically about the prospects of going into the re- insurance industry. The older one, though, said something very profound. A nd at the end of the interview she said, However, I may need to go overseas to get experience, because there are no entry - level jobs in Bermuda. So that remains a challenge. And this is where public policy, I think, can play a role. We need to ensure that our young people are going to get the requisite opportunities within the established, white - dominated employment sectors in Bermuda in the 2788 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly corporate sector. That is going to be key. And also, ensuring that our young people who are educated and trained kno w that they too have a place in Bermuda and they can reap the requisite benefits along with anybody else that comes into the country. Those things are going to be key. Still on demographics, right now our fertility rate probably has to be about 1.5. We ar e not repr oducing. Again, we have this older population. The Workforce Training Plan that is laid out here and the by-product that is going to come out of that is, Well, where are the jobs that are going to be there for our young people? So we talked about the potential of jobs in international business, although we know that job growth in that sector has been stagnant over the last few years. They are not producing a lot of jobs as they did in the ’80s, ’90s, and early - to mid -2000s. However, in things li ke health care, top down there is going to be a significant number of jobs co ming out of that sector. We need to prepare our young people now, those who are in middle and senior school, to be able to train and get the necessary qual ifications from the highly specialised fields in health care, doctors and other specialists, right down to eldercare professionals, homecare professionals. These are the types of occupations that are going to be so critical for our ability to meet the needs of our ageing populati on. That goes along with what is happening in the tech field, in terms of communication and technology. These are going to be imperative for us to be able to ensure that Bermudians in the next 5 to 10 years are going to play a key role within this emergi ng sector, which is representing the future diversity of our eco nomy. And that is why what is happening here with the Bermuda National Workforce Development Plan is so important. It provides a blueprint for the future, a foundation upon which we can build moving forward. You will recall, without getting too partisan here, that we waited three years for the National Training Plan, Part 2, while we were in Opposition. And it never came. I want to commend the work of Senator Jason Hayward and his committee introduc-ing this document. So, our young people are our most critical asset. We also have to ensure that the jobs that are going to allow them to take their place in Bermuda are available even for those who have emigrated over the last decade, for example. The Department of Statistics indicates that over 1,400 Bermudians have likely em igrated between 2010 and 2016. Most of us know, even if only anecdotally, that there are scores of other Bermudians who left here from the time of the Great Recession in 2008 or 2009, through 2010. Many of whom left to the UK. Not exclusively, but many. A large part of those people who have gone overseas are our young people who travel into strange and distant lands and uproot their lives. Those who have the energy, the zeal t o do it are young peo-ple. So that is a given in terms of the pattern of imm igration into other countries. So, it is no different here. The question is, how can we begin to bring back those young people at a time when the country desperately needs young wor kers to enter into the workforce? And if we have a sizeable (by Bermuda’s standards) population of young people in the UK and other areas, we need to see outreach to those young people. We need to tell them that Bermuda now has a place for them so they c an begin to come back here and take their rightful place, as opposed to well - qualified and highly experienced professionals from other countries, because we have that talent and we now have to stand for those young people, as Colonel Burch, the Minister, s aid, in a way that does not demonstrate any ambiguity about our commitment to them. And that is what we need to convey. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I just wanted to give those few words. Some would say, to some extent, of course, they already know about the public policy challenges that are before us and how that too is going to be critical in how we present and achieve those opportunities and the . . . and the . . . (how can I say?) and the realisation of the hopes and aspirations of our young people. Thank y ou so much.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Chair recognises the Honourable Member, Pat Gordon- Pamplin. You have the floor. NATIONAL TRAINING PLAN
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to contribute to this motion to adjourn. It is very interesting to listen to some of the benefits and progression that has been able to be advanced over the course of the last 12 months with some of …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to contribute to this motion to adjourn. It is very interesting to listen to some of the benefits and progression that has been able to be advanced over the course of the last 12 months with some of the benefits that have inured to our young students, especially with the Summer Intern Programme. Let me point out that I had the privilege at one time of serving as the Minister responsible for Wor kforce Development. During that period of time, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we had the college internship pr ogramme. I t was not something that I started; it was something that I inherited and, obviously, has conti nued to advance. We also had for the first time the BILTIR [Bermuda International Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers], which is the life insurance industry who ha d provided some summer intern opportunities for high school students to give them an exposure to the industry. And we also had the advent of the commencement of the airport project in which Aecon pr ovided internships for some significant numbers of young people. And they were sort of working age, but had the opportunity to go to Canada and to other j urisdictions in order to be able to enhance the exposure
Bermuda House of Assembly and experience they would have so that they could ultimately bring it back to our workforce. I heard t he Honourable Member who just took his seat indicate that they waited for three years for the National Training Plan Part 2 to come on board.
[Inaudible interjection]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinAnd the Honour able Member is saying he’s sorry. There is no need to be sorry, because if there is one thing that is a stat ement of fact it is that once the National Training [Plan] Part 1 came on board, there were some challenges with getting out Training …
And the Honour able Member is saying he’s sorry. There is no need to be sorry, because if there is one thing that is a stat ement of fact it is that once the National Training [Plan] Part 1 came on board, there were some challenges with getting out Training Plan Part 2. And we did not want to put out somethi ng that was incomplete, or unable to be either effective or sustained. And I would rather take the time to do something properly than to race to say that I’ve ticked the box to get something done. It is just not the way in which I operate. But let me jus t say that when the National Training Plan came out, after the first year and a half (I believe it was) of the OBA administration, [this plan] was the first [plan] there was. So when we started getting complaints that, Oh, you haven’t finished the N ational Training Plan . . . this was the first time there ever was one. So for the 14 prior years of the PLP administration there was nothing such as a National Training Plan in the format in which it came out as the National Training Plan 1, and the intentions and cha llenges of [Part] 2.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order, Member? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongJust to say, I think the Member is maybe inadvertently mis leading the House. Certainly, when Mr. Arnold came down . . . when the Workforce Development concept was conceptualised and implemented, that would, in essence, have been the first plan. Now, there was certainly a gap between then and …
Just to say, I think the Member is maybe inadvertently mis leading the House. Certainly, when Mr. Arnold came down . . . when the Workforce Development concept was conceptualised and implemented, that would, in essence, have been the first plan. Now, there was certainly a gap between then and later, and I will concede that point. But it started out definitely with a plan that later resulted in the creation of the Workforce Development Depar tment. Thank you.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThat may well be so. And I am not going to d ispute that particular point. But I am saying that in terms of a cogent, cohesive national training plan, it did not exist. The first one that was ever put to the floor of this House for embracing by …
That may well be so. And I am not going to d ispute that particular point. But I am saying that in terms of a cogent, cohesive national training plan, it did not exist. The first one that was ever put to the floor of this House for embracing by the community was done under [MP] Jeff Sousa who actuall y was the chairman of that National Trai ning Plan.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Point of order.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order, Minister? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: I believe the Member is misleading the House. The National Training Plan Part 1 was never tabled in the House of Assembly; it was tabled in the Senate only.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinAnd I stand to be corrected, but it was tabled for dissemination to the public and for consumption by the public. And [whet her] it was tabled here or somewhere else, in the other place, it was tabled in the Legislature. So that is i mportant to recognise. And I …
And I stand to be corrected, but it was tabled for dissemination to the public and for consumption by the public. And [whet her] it was tabled here or somewhere else, in the other place, it was tabled in the Legislature. So that is i mportant to recognise. And I am pleased to see how the Workforce Development Plan has come, has further advanced the benefits that will be offered by the Government so that the young people of Bermuda will be able to have the experience, as we have heard. Whether they be Somerset fans or St. George’s fans, I believe to be of no consequence. I think as long as Bermudians have that opportunity, I don’t think we ought to discriminate. And I say that tongue in cheek. Being a St. George’s fan I am very pleased to hear, as the Mini ster indicated that there were significant numbers of St. Georgians in his Ministr y to the extent that he felt ou tnumbered. But I think he also felt minded to embrace the one, lone Somerset fan that he has. But whatever it was, Mr. Deputy Speaker, notwithstanding that this is perhaps a pre- requisite for the result of the Cup that is com ing up and where the Cup is going to stay. I understand that the Minister might be a little bit antsy at this point in time in terms of the numbers of Somerset supporters he has. He won’t have anybody with whom to commiserate at the end of the Cup Match . . . at the end of the match.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI am being told to dream. But let me just —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerTalk to me, talk to me. Don’t talk to them. 2790 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, if one ceases to dream, one might just as well cease to live. But let me …
Talk to me, talk to me. Don’t talk to them. 2790 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, if one ceases to dream, one might just as well cease to live. But let me just say that in listening to the call for additional weight to be put within the international business sector in terms of ensuring that we do not have a one in twenty -year, or one in thirty -year ph enomenon, such as the Patrick Tannock’s of this world, that there is an obligation that inures that is respons ible for the Government to play its part. And let me tell you why I say that. The Immigration Department forms an integral part of the development of our workforce. They have the ability to say “yes” or “no” when it comes to work permits. Now, I know that I also served at the time in that particul ar Ministry where I was known as the “Mi nister of No,” because during my tenure in that Ministry of Immigration, [my] default answer was, No, you ca nnot have a work permit; and, now you have to verify to me and prove to me why you absolutely need one. I may have told the story before, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that there was one particular employer who came to the department and decided that he wanted to have a particular foreign employee. And when I looked at the application process and recognised the numbers of Bermudians who had actually applied—many of whom had not even been interviewed— it gave me cause for concern. And as we sat around the table, the answer was, No, I’m sorry . So when the decision was communicated to the prospective emplo yer, he came back and said, The Minister doesn’t know what she’s doing , the Permanent Secretary doesn’t know what she’s doing, the Chief Immigration Officer doesn’t know what she’s doing.
[Inaudible interjection]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinAnd that may very well be s o. Maybe none of us knows what we’re doing. But the one thing that we do know is, That you ain’t getting a work permit for that particular individual. And that was important to us, not just from a team perspective, but, certainly, …
And that may very well be s o. Maybe none of us knows what we’re doing. But the one thing that we do know is, That you ain’t getting a work permit for that particular individual. And that was important to us, not just from a team perspective, but, certainly, from an administr ation perspective, to say that our responsibility, and especially in jobs where we know that there is a possibility for Bermudians to be able to fill those positions, that there is no just reason why we should be rubber - stamping work permit applications to benef it foreigners over Bermudians. The other thing that I will say is that I have seen that situation perpetuate through this administr ation. And it pains me to see now (I have spoken to this before) two non- Bermudians in key positions in an international business organisation in which there was one Bermudian before. And now there is a non - Bermudian replacing the Bermudian and a nonBermudian assistant to that replacement. That has only been allowed as a result of two things: Number one, the company itself had the t emerity to make such application to the exclusion of any Bermudian who might have applied. And, number two, the companies have a propensity to offer to for-eign employees benefits that they would never consider for Bermudian employees. I think it is something that we finally have to come to grips with. I have spoken several times concerning it. Both in terms of our time during the administration, and my time subsequent to that, because I believe it is important. I hear people who work in the industr y saying, Don’t make waves for me, because, even though I am not getting the extras in terms of housing allo wance and family visits home and the like . . . I may not be getting that, but at least I still have a reasonably well-paying job. But to adopt a selfish attitude that b asically says, I’m okay, Jack. Pull up the ladder, is not going to benefit those who are coming behind us. So if we are going to find ourselves in a pos ition of being able to give some encouragement to our young people who are actuall y coming out of college and doing all of those things that their families are struggling in some instances for them to do . . . and I applaud the additional money that the Minister has found to be able to redirect, to offering additional scholarships and t he like. You know, it is very interesting. And I applaud them for finding it. But let me just say that when one looks at timeframes and one looks at the budgetary process, I will never say that we never were concerned about people. What we were concerned about was getting additional money in so that we could look out for people. And the good thing about the OBA administration during its time was that we were able to at least turn around the financial position of the country where we were actually hanging on with white knuckles hoping that we did not fall off the financial cliff so that we were able to put the country back on a relatively even keel of financial stability in which case the new Government, as they have now come into place, were able to have additional funding, that they did not have to be sort of scraping the bottom of the barrel to try to look for additional funding for opportunities. And that is important. I know I am going hear people coming and saying, What about America’s Cup? You found money for America’s Cup. I have said before, Mr. Deputy Speaker, if I could invest $70 million and get $300 million plus return on that investment, I will do it every single week. And while it may not come to the lik eness of some, and people will say that’s why we’re out of Government, and that may very well be so, but at least that additional money that was pushed into the economy gave the new Government the opportunity to be less financially strapped than the Government that we inherited after 14 years of PLP former administr ation. And it is very easy to speak to that situation.
Bermuda House of Assembly So let me just say that we asked the Premier a question this morning in terms of what happened to the better deal that he promised to the people of Bermuda during the election campaign. And what the Premier indicated was that there were 19 binders of information that he did not have in his possession at the time and, therefore, he was able to make that . . . that he made the commitment that he made of finding a better deal. But then he found out, subsequent to coming into Government, that there was information that he did not have in his possession when making those statements. And I agree with him; I agree with him wholeheartedly. But the interesting thing is that when you whip peop le into a frenzy, saying, We’re going to do this because we can find a better way of doing things, and you’re doing it absent full information, then it is going to be very, very difficult to be able to fulfil that side of things.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order, Honourable Member? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThe Honourable Member is misleading the House. The Premier never said that he could not find a better deal. He just said that the deal that was on the table was very . . . what was there . . . more concrete than he thought. He never said that …
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThe ques tion that we asked the Premier was, What happened to the better deal that you promised? He has not delivered a better deal. What he said this morning was that the exis ting information was locked down so tight in the contract that he could not have a …
The ques tion that we asked the Premier was, What happened to the better deal that you promised? He has not delivered a better deal. What he said this morning was that the exis ting information was locked down so tight in the contract that he could not have a vari ance. So, if that is mistaken, then I would be happy to take a point of order, but that is what he said this morning.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThe Member is misleading the House, because this Government has delivered an optimisation agreement from Aecon which attri b-utes millions more in value for money and millions of dollars that go to education, which is what the Minist er has been talking about, and training purposes, which the Honourable Member …
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI am not sure what the Honourable Member was meaning by that intervention. But let me just s ay that the information that I have is that the airport, as we speak, is five months ahead of schedule.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinWell, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me just say —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYou don’t s it here — [Inaudible interjection]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerDeputy Leader if you have anything to say, you need to say it; don’t talk across the floor. We won’t have that. Continue.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinMr. Deputy Speaker, it is my information on the manner in which this House has always operated that questions that are asked during Question Period are able to be el ucidated when we get to the motion to adjourn.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerIf you wanted the correct i nformation, you could have gotten it this morni ng when it was said, is what I am saying. But go ahead. 2792 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Right. No, he told us what he …
If you wanted the correct i nformation, you could have gotten it this morni ng when it was said, is what I am saying. But go ahead.
2792 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Right. No, he told us what he told us based on the responses that he had. I could not at the time ask a supplementary because the rules for the Premier’s Questions did not permit anybody other than that person posing the question to ask the supplementary. So I was, at that point in time, precluded from asking a supplementary. But I just think it is important that we want to see Bermuda succeed. So, irrespective of w hat Members opposite might want to believe, and what they might want to articulate and push out into the public domain, I do not think that there is any one of us who goes through the agony of coming here Friday, after Friday, after Friday, sometimes taking great abuse, not just in this Honourable House but sometimes outside on the sidewalk, irrespective of what side of the political divide you fall, knowing that we would not do that if we did not have the best interest of the country at heart. So, when I say that whipping people into a frenzy because of promising something that a different administration did not do, but when you get the information you realise that there is really nothing you could have done about it because the agreements were locked down at that point in time, and whatever off ramps existed were no longer available unless there was significant additional costs to the Gover nment. And it would have been financially, not just irr esponsible, but futile to try to vitiate an agreement that would have ended up costing more money than what it would ultimately end up costing the people of Bermuda, and we will get an airport out of the process at the end of the day. The terms and conditions may not be ideal —
Mr. Dennis Lister IIIMr. Deputy Speaker, I think the Member answered her own question as to why the Premier said he could not offer a better deal, because they were locked down and it would be irresponsible to break the contract. That is why he could not offer a better deal. So she …
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think the Member answered her own question as to why the Premier said he could not offer a better deal, because they were locked down and it would be irresponsible to break the contract. That is why he could not offer a better deal. So she is answering her own question with her own statement, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinMr. Deputy Speaker, I did not have a question. I was making a statement that when one makes a commitment wit hout full information, then they can mislead and whip people into a frenzy. And that is exactly what happened. So whatever Honourable Members think, I absolut ely . . …
Mr. Deputy Speaker, I did not have a question. I was making a statement that when one makes a commitment wit hout full information, then they can mislead and whip people into a frenzy. And that is exactly what happened. So whatever Honourable Members think, I absolut ely . . . I happen to know the series of events and the chronology of the facts that happened. And I just reiterate and underscore [the fact that] the airport is five months ahead of schedule. And I certainly hope it is finished in double -quick time so that we can have the things —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order, Honourable Member? POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motive]
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThe Honourable Member is imputing improper motives saying that at the time in which we were in Opposition we were whipping pe ople into a frenzy to make promises that we could not deliver. Would that not be the same as the OBA telling people that they were going to …
The Honourable Member is imputing improper motives saying that at the time in which we were in Opposition we were whipping pe ople into a frenzy to make promises that we could not deliver. Would that not be the same as the OBA telling people that they were going to create 2,000 jobs when they didn’t have the information and they weren’t able to deliver on their promise?
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThat is an entirely different matter, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But I can say —
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinBut I can say that at the time that that commitment was made, it was not made against the backdrop of any solid, tight contract which would have precluded the creation of those jobs if conditions were proper. So th at is a totally different . . . we are …
But I can say that at the time that that commitment was made, it was not made against the backdrop of any solid, tight contract which would have precluded the creation of those jobs if conditions were proper. So th at is a totally different . . . we are talking about apples and oranges. But, you know, I under-stand that it is very easy for Members to defend what the Government is doing. You know the difference between Members on that side and Members on this side is t hat we do not have to be on this side trying to jockey for position and hope that you say things that assist in hoping that we gain favour so we can be el evated to the front bench. We don’t have that challenge.
[Laughter]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinWe don’t have that challenge.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersOoh! Bermuda House of Assembly Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: So, all we can say, Mr. Deputy Speaker — [Inaudible interjection and general uproar]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinAll we can say, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is that the good thing is —
Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy Speakerthe deputy speakerThere is a point of order. What is your point of order, Member? POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motive]
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThe Member i s imputing i mproper motives saying that when we defend a good friend that we are trying to jockey to the front bench, when they have members of their own party that go to the media saying that their Leader is interim, instead of being full course.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI don’t believe that that is a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinBut you know, I tell you . . . we stretch the rules. And it is okay, b ecause I think the political dynamic allows sometimes for people to be ridiculous. And I think the Honourable Member has just fallen into that trap. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Chri stopher f amous.
Mr. Christopher FamousGood evening, colleagues. And good evening to the listening public of Bermuda. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have been g oing through withdrawal symptoms. And I realise why I have been going through withdrawal symptoms. B ecause every time I come up here we have somebody from, I wouldn’t say this …
Good evening, colleagues. And good evening to the listening public of Bermuda. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have been g oing through withdrawal symptoms. And I realise why I have been going through withdrawal symptoms. B ecause every time I come up here we have somebody from, I wouldn’t say this side, but that quarter of the House (right?), saying stuff as if the OBA was creating this utopia. I would like to read something. I will keep it in vein with the today’s theme. Can I read something from the — The Deputy Speaker: You may. Continue.
Mr. Christopher FamousBermuda would do well to follow the lead set by the Cayman Islands . Bob Ric hards. Do you remember Bob Richards? Anyone remember Bob Richards? [Inaudible interjections ]
Mr. Christopher FamousMr. Deputy Speaker, a couple of months ago I was given the opportunity by Members of the House to attend a CPA conference in the Cayman Islands. I had never been there, so I jumped at the opportunity, because I’m saying, Wow! All these people up here, OBA supporters mostly, …
Mr. Deputy Speaker, a couple of months ago I was given the opportunity by Members of the House to attend a CPA conference in the Cayman Islands. I had never been there, so I jumped at the opportunity, because I’m saying, Wow! All these people up here, OBA supporters mostly, saying ‘We should be like the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands are great. The Cayman Islands are so successful. ’ I think you know about the Cayman Islands, don’t you. You have an office down there, right? All right; that’s my point. Anyway, so, we go to the Cayman Islands. And we go to the airport. And I’m like, Okay. A Caymanian picked us up and dropped us off at the hotel. The guy opening the door was from I ndia. The guy at the front desk was from Mauritius. The people brin ging us breakfast were from everywhere else but Ca yman! I thought, Well, where are the Caymanians? Because they have a distinct look and a distinct sound. They kind of look like you.
[Laughter] 2794 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Christopher Famous: Kind of. But, the point is we were looking up and down. Where are the Caymanians? We went to the gas stations, no Caymanians. I went to restaurants, no Caymanians. I went to, like, everywhere. I’m like, Where are the Caymanians? I’m like . . . How great can the Cayman Islands be if I can’t find a Caymanian here? Now, I am just saying. The point I am getting at, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is that when a country invests in its people you are not going to get that situation. Last month I was chosen to go to Jamaica. I went to the hotel and the guy opening the door was Jamaican. The guy giving me food was Jamaican. Everybody at the hotel was Jamaican, full of pride. This is what happens when a country invests in its people, a count ry prides in its people, a country pr omotes its people. So let me bring it back to the point of what we are talking about —training, education. This is what this Government is about, Mr. Deputy Speaker. This Government is not just about this five years, or the next five years. This Gover nment is about the next 50 years. We have to invest in our people. We are investing in our people. And we do that unapologetically. And I would suggest that the OBA (or whatever they change their name to) under-stands that there has to be a national plan, not just your own party’s plan, because this is how we have our people in the forefront. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I did some more invest igation. I spoke with some Caymanians, because they came up to us and said, You know, we wish w e were like Bermuda.
Mr. Christopher FamousI said, Really? How do you wish you were like Bermuda? They said, You guys stand up for your people. You guys invest in your people. Do you know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that half the c ivil service in the Cayman Islands is not from the Cayman Islands? Half. They …
I said, Really? How do you wish you were like Bermuda? They said, You guys stand up for your people. You guys invest in your people. Do you know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that half the c ivil service in the Cayman Islands is not from the Cayman Islands? Half. They have no succession plan for the next police commissioner. They have no succession plan for the next fire chief. They have no suc-cession plan for the next chief of immigration. Al l of those are now held by non- Caymanians, because there was no training for Caymanians to take over those spots.
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. Christopher FamousExactly. You see? So I did a little more research. And I found out that, of the total working population, 53 per cent of the people working in the Cayman Islands are not Caymanian. This is when you have lack of training and, as the Member for constituency 23 says, …
Exactly. You see? So I did a little more research. And I found out that, of the total working population, 53 per cent of the people working in the Cayman Islands are not Caymanian. This is when you have lack of training and, as the Member for constituency 23 says, a weak immigration policy. We cannot have that in Bermuda. So let me move on. Last week I was in Jamaica sitting next to the newest Member of the Robin Hood corner, and our Honourable Premier. And we spoke about FinTech. And before we could even finish speaking we had persons, prime ministers, from St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and the B ahamas, congratulate us for the work that we are doing in FinTech, congratulate us for bringing regulations in FinTech. More importantly, they congratulated us for ensuring that our people are going to be trained in this new field. You se e, Mr. Deputy Speaker, a lot of people can say things about the Caribbean. But one thing [about] true Caribbean people, they invest in their people because they want their country to succeed. They want their people to succeed. That is what the PLP has alwa ys been about —success of the people of Bermuda, not just the businesses of Bermuda. So when I sat down and I was listening to prime ministers —not premiers ––prime ministers of independent nations applaud us for what we are d oing. And then I looked on my p hone, and I saw rae, rae, ‘Arbitrade’ ; rae, rae, rae . . . Negative Nancies who are no longer here (I don’t know why). Negative Nancies going after everything we do in this field, ev ery single thing, where we have leaders of independent nations praising us , independent nations wanting to join us. But our own people are up here trying to stab us in the back. But we cannot shirk from our responsibility. We must continue to invest in this new field. We have people coming in willing to donate money —once regulations are put in place, let’s get that straight —to i nvest in our people in this new field. So I say to my colleagues, I say to the listening public, that this Gov-ernment, whether it be in the hotel industry, whether it be in teaching, whether it be in fur ther education, we will take a significant portion of the budget to invest in our people. We are not going to invest in somebody else’s million -dollar dreams. A couple of months ago I was privileged to give the commencement address at the Bermuda College. I looked right over at the Minister of Education and I said to the people in front of him, That guy over there is going to give you more money for Bermuda College next year, because we see the success of people who have lost their jobs, through no fault of their own, being able to come back and get re- tooled and now start a new career. If we do not do that, we will continue to have an exodus of our people leaving this country, because if they cannot find a job here, they will leave. We will become like th e Cayman I slands. Where are the Bermudians? Where are the Bermudians? We cannot do that. So, even more than becoming [employees], Mr. Deputy Speaker, we must train our people to become owners. Like the new Member for constituency
Bermuda House of Assembly 22, I go down to BVI and I see big buildings —five st orey. (Five storey or four storey? You know what it is.) Five storey. Conyers, Dill & Pearman, in BVI. I go down to the Cayman Islands, I see a big building (Five storey, or six storey? You know what it is.) Conyers, Dill & Pea rman, in the Cayman Islands. And he has no apologies for ownership. Correct?
Mr. Christopher FamousSo I say to the people of Bermuda, we will inves t in you. You have to invest in yourself. Be not just employees, but be owners. And with that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I take my seat.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Chair recognises the Honourable Zane De Silva. Mr. De Silva, you have the floor. PLP G OVERNMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I was not planning on speaking tonight, because I think between Colonel Burch and the …
Thank you. The Chair recognises the Honourable Zane De Silva. Mr. De Silva, you have the floor.
PLP G OVERNMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I was not planning on speaking tonight, because I think between Colonel Burch and the Honourable Member Diallo Rabain, our Honourable Member Jamahl Sim mons, Honourable Member Rolfe Commissiong, and I think maybe a few others, have talked about some of the things that we have done in just one year.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: But, of course, they can’t help themselves over there on the other side. And they sometimes force us to have to jog the people’s memories. Tonight we heard about all these great in itiatives, great things that we are doing for the people. …
Yes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: But, of course, they can’t help themselves over there on the other side. And they sometimes force us to have to jog the people’s memories. Tonight we heard about all these great in itiatives, great things that we are doing for the people. And, in particular, today, this week, this month, about the things we ar e doing for our children with regard to summer work, training and what have you. A fantastic time in our history. But then, I hear the Honourable Member Pat Gordon- Pamplin drop a little comment because my colleague, Mr. Lawrence Scott, was sort of setting the record straight, while some of you were making noise because, you know, you are trying to justify a position on the front bench. Well, the one thing I will say to that comment is, at least we have enough people on the backbench if our Leader decides t o make changes.
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, he has a deep bench. So let me say that any one time that one of our Mini sters should take ill, and that spot needs to be filled, there are plenty of choices on the backbench, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Unlike next to . . . I mean, right now as I look across the aisle I see two Opposition Members in the House. Two! The Honourable Member, Dunkley, as he does every Friday, gets up, jumps up on the motion to adjourn, says his piece and then cuts a trail, leaves the House. Then he goes home, jumps on Twitter and Instagram and all that stuff. So, right now we have 12 of us in the House, and 2 of them. But we know that the people of the country listen on Friday nights, Mr. Deputy Speaker. That is for sure. Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, like I say, the only thing I could have said tonight, unless we had some noise from the other side, was to thank our Premier and Ministers for the sterling job that they have been doing. And the backbenchers that support them. Thank you. You know, I am with you guys. I think that they have done a fantastic job. And the people of this country are certainly showing their thanks for it. But let’s talk about ––because the Honourable Member Gordon- Pamplin tried, as hard as it was for her, she tried to tell us about some of the good things that they had done when they were in power for that four-and-a-half year period. Well, she talked about the Aecon internships. I think there were about six. But she has not talked about all the jobs that Bermudians and Bermudian companies have lost because of the agreement that was made with Aecon. If you go down on site, you look for local equipment . . . you do not see it. That agreement, again, was snagged tight, just as the Premier talked about today. It was wrapped up in a very tight bow. They abolished, if you remember, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the At -Risk Youth Programme. One of the first things they did. Now, at a time when our young black men were struggling, killing each other, they decided to cut the At -Risk [Youth] Programme. Let’s not forget. That is very important. They also cut many scholarships —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: —if you recall, because they wanted to balance the budget. You know, you even had a Mi nister from the OBA Government who came out publicly and said that workers were doing a poor job. In fact, one of the workers from down …
Yes.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: —if you recall, because they wanted to balance the budget. You know, you even had a Mi nister from the OBA Government who came out publicly and said that workers were doing a poor job. In fact, one of the workers from down the old St. George’s golf course had to come out with an article in the newspaper to say, Listen. He was talking about m e. And I don’t appreciate it. You might recall, Mr. Deputy Speaker. It was two young men that were down at St. George’s cutting grass and looking after that course by themselves. But 2796 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly you had the former OBA Minister Richards who got up here and said that they were doing a poor job. I tell you what, September 20, 2013, is when he made that statement. But that is what they did, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And the Honourable Member Pat GordonPamplin talked about the debt that we left the country in. Well, it took u s 14 years to create a $1.2 billion debt. It took them four years to double it. Now, let’s do the math. Fourteen years, $1.2 billion. They doubled our debt in four years. Let’s do the math. Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Honourable Member Pat GordonPamplin also said that if you said to her she would invest $70 million to get $300 [million] return for the America’s Cup she would do it every time. Well, the first mistake she made is, it was not $70 [million], it was $120 million. Let’s get it right. Now, you tell me how many people would spend $120 million to maybe get $330 million. You might as well buy some of those $68,000 bitcoins six months ago. You’d be hollering right now, because they are worth about six. And, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Honourable Member asked, I would not spend $120 to get $300 . . . hell no, I would not. You are going to take a 60 per cent risk for that kind of money? And let me tell you. I would not do it with the taxpayers’ money. No, I would not.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Sil va: Now, there is the diffe rence. You may want to do it every time, and you al-ready showed us you used the taxpayers’ dollars to do it. But we in the PLP would not do that.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The Deputy S peaker: Yes, what is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThe point of order is that the Honourable Member is misleading the House inasmuch as the money that was expended was taxpayer money, but the money whic h was also made helped to bolster the consolidated fund as well. While $300 million did not go directly back into the consolidated …
The point of order is that the Honourable Member is misleading the House inasmuch as the money that was expended was taxpayer money, but the money whic h was also made helped to bolster the consolidated fund as well. While $300 million did not go directly back into the consolidated fund, the benefit to the consolidated fund ultimately, certainly, would have shown that it was an investment that was well worth doing.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContinue. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think you better check the kitchen in the back. I think the Honourable Member might have been taking a little swig, because that certainly does not add up, Mr. Deput y Speaker. [Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Zane J. S. …
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motive]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThe Honourable Member is imputing improper motive. The Honourable Member must know that, while he may take swigs, this Honourable Member does not.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerLet’s keep . . . let’s, let’s . . . let’s keep it level. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Well, I certainly don’t act like it, Mr. Deputy Speaker , unless I have actually had a couple of swigs. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me just clear that up, …
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Well, I certainly don’t act like it, Mr. Deputy Speaker , unless I have actually had a couple of swigs. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me just clear that up, because the Honourable Member just said $300 million is coming back into the consolidated fund. Where is it? Where is it? We produced a budget —
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThe Honourable Member said that I said $300 million was coming back into the consolidated fund. I specifically stood and said that $300 million was not directly deposited into the consolidated fund, but the residual effect from the benefit of $300 million, a dditional money circulating within the economy, had …
The Honourable Member said that I said $300 million was coming back into the consolidated fund. I specifically stood and said that $300 million was not directly deposited into the consolidated fund, but the residual effect from the benefit of $300 million, a dditional money circulating within the economy, had the residual effect of bolstering the consolidated fund. That is what I said.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThat is correct, Honourable Member. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes. And you know what? She is correct. But tell Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda that, tell the taxi drivers that. Tell the people that are still un-employed because of some of the policies that they took away, or they …
That is correct, Honourable Member. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes. And you know what? She is correct. But tell Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda that, tell the taxi drivers that. Tell the people that are still un-employed because of some of the policies that they took away, or they instituted, are still unemployed.
Bermuda House of Assembly Two thousand jobs promised, four thousand at the end of the year . . . they lost 2,000 in the first two years. Let’s talk about that. And the $300 million that is circulating, where is it? I will take a point of order. Tell me where it is. Explain the $300 million circulating in this country right now.
An H on. Member: Sunshine. Sunshine.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: You see, the Honourable Member cannot answer or raise a point of order on that. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, they did not have any problems finding money for the Commission of Inquiry. They did not have any problem finding mi llions of dollars to continue investigating on Dr. Brown. Why did . . . why, Mr. Deputy Speaker, did the, you know, Lord rest his soul . . . why did Mr. Crockwell and Mr. Pettingill resign? Why did their former chairman Hollis res ign? Why did their other chairman, Kempe, resign? You see, Mr. Deputy Speaker, when you want to get up and start talking about your accomplis hments let’s not forget some of the history. Let’s not forget why the Progressive Labour Party is in power today. There was a vote that was going to take place in this House on the premiership of this country. Or, the choice was to do that or hold an election. What happened, Mr. Deputy Speaker? We had an election. And we have a Progressive Labour Party Gover nment. You see? So when the Honourable Member Pat Gordon- Pamplin gets up, maybe the Opposition Leader, or maybe the other lone Opposition Member will get up and speak to some of the things that I am speaking to tonight . . . well, maybe they will not. Well, maybe it might be an interim leader. Yes, that could be true. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, you have to ask yourself why did we receive —
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Mrs. Patri cia J. Gordon -PamplinI was hoping that the Honourable Member would try to raise the level a little bit when he keeps insisting about the—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinHe is misleading the House. The Leader we have of our Opposition is the Leader of the Opposition. The Honourable Mem-ber Jeanne J. Atherden is the Leader of the Oppos ition. There is no point in time at which she has been designated to be an interim leader. [Inaudible interjections …
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberGo back and check!
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThe Honourable Member is — Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker! [Inaudible interjections and general uproar ] Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker — [Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker . . . now the Honourable Member …
The Honourable Member is — Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker!
[Inaudible interjections and general uproar ]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker —
[Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker . . . now the Honourable Member got up and said that she hoped that, you know, that the Member would, you know, speak at a level, blah, blah, blah. So I invite the Honour able Member, if he is in the House, the Honourable Member, the former Premier of the OBA, Mr. Cannonier, to come in and tell this House what he told the news the other night.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerHmm. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: In that Jeanne Atherden, the Opposition Leader, is only an interim leader. That is from her own Member of Parliament. [Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Sits right behind her! Mr. Deputy Speaker, if you hear that phrase coming from …
Hmm.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: In that Jeanne Atherden, the Opposition Leader, is only an interim leader. That is from her own Member of Parliament.
[Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Sits right behind her! Mr. Deputy Speaker, if you hear that phrase coming from this side of the House—
An Ho n. Member: It’s from their Member!
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: —it’s from their own Member. We did not say it; he said it. There are things like when former Premier Dunkley said there was going to be an investigation into Jetgate and the $350[,000], or $45 0[,000] or $500,000 that was given to him by Mr. Landow, said there was going to be an investigation within the party, and he would make it public. Mr. Transparency hi mself said he was going to make it public. What happened? Hollis resigned. Why?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberExactly! Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Why did he resign? But then the Honourable Member Mr. Dunkley talked earlier about us being transparent on this side. 2798 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Let’s not forget Pathways to Status. I reme mber one time when …
Exactly!
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Why did he resign? But then the Honourable Member Mr. Dunkley talked earlier about us being transparent on this side. 2798 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Let’s not forget Pathways to Status. I reme mber one time when Members in the OBA Government at the time said that when now Minister Walton Brown said that Pathways to Status would lead to 8,000 people, they called us all sorts of names —scaremongers, and all that stuff. Well, when we did the math we found out, didn’t we. Yes we did. But you know what? This Government, this PLP Government, we are not going to tell our seniors that dollars don’t grow on trees.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNope! Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: We are not going to tell them that. We have already shown them that we are going to put d ollars in their pockets. They have been given a promise and already been given their uplift in their pension, and they will get …
Nope!
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: We are not going to tell them that. We have already shown them that we are going to put d ollars in their pockets. They have been given a promise and already been given their uplift in their pension, and they will get that raise every year. That is what we tell our seniors.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, we will. And you would think . . . because I want to talk about a few other things . . . how much time do I have left, Mr. Deputy Speaker. About 38 minutes?
[Laughter]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberI can give you my time.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerSix minutes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Sil va: Okay. Thank you. See, when the Honourable Member Pat Gordon-Pamplin gets up and talks about what we left, the hole we left them in and all that stuff, you know, if you were not —
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order. Mr. Deputy Speaker.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI think it is important. Perhaps the Honourable Member is inadver tently misleading the House. But the hole is that the country was left in.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContinue. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the hole of the country. That is what they continue to say. But what they will not tell you, of course, is that in 2008/09 we had a world- wide crash. Countries were being threatened, their livelihood, their very …
Continue. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the hole of the country. That is what they continue to say. But what they will not tell you, of course, is that in 2008/09 we had a world- wide crash. Countries were being threatened, their livelihood, their very existence. You had Greece, Spain, Iceland, Portugal, France . . . you know, the list was long. The US was struggling, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But, of course, if you would listen to them, it was the PLP that caused the worldwide economic crash. That’s who caused it. Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I must leave you on this note. And I must run through a list that I have gone through many times before. And the Honourable Member just said, Oh the hole the Progressive Labour Party left the country in. Well, all I kno w is this: That for the $1.4 billion of debt that they found when they got the Government in 2012, let’s run through some of the things that we built, or things that we spent the money on, Mr. Deputy Speaker. It was FutureCare. It was Dame Lois BrowneEvans Building. We built a dock up at Dockyard that saved the country. They will never admit it. It saved the country. And they can talk all the nonsense they want. That dock up there in Dockyard saved this coun try, because if we did not have those cruise shi ps when we had that economic downturn, we probably would not be here today, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We would not. We had Loughlands that was built. We had Perimeter Lane that was built. We did have pensions every year during those 14 years, except one. Thi rteen out of 14 years we increased pensions for our seniors. You remember, we put air -conditioning in buses. The buses did not have air -conditioning. The Transport Control Department. You used to pick a number, go to town do some shopping, get lunch, do a few things, come back and you might . . . yes sir. It’s running like a Swiss clock right now, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And what has that done? It has given our people valuable time to do other things, because they are so efficient down there. And, contrary to po pular belief, that was another building that was built [having] great value for money. When you break up and do the numbers, I don’t care what they say on that side. I have the breakdown, Mr. Deputy Speaker, of what it cost, and what any over -runs were, and why they were.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThe Honourable Member is misleading the House. The Honourable Member is talking about value for money. W hen the contractor of record for the TCD [Transport Control Department] building was asked about his costs of building, and whether there were any speciality el ements involved, he actually said, and it …
The Honourable Member is misleading the House. The Honourable Member is talking about value for money. W hen the contractor of record for the TCD [Transport Control Department] building was asked about his costs of building, and whether there were any speciality el ements involved, he actually said, and it is public information, that the construction procedure that was said by the then Government to have cost too much extra money could have been done by anybody at half the price. That was coming from the contractor. Further —
Bermuda House of Assembly The Deputy Speaker: I’ve heard that.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes. That cam e from the contractor. We actually interviewed him in the Public Accounts Committee. So we actually had that information. And further, when the Honourable Member talked about value for money with the DLBE [Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building] it cost 90, when it was said to cost …
Yes. That cam e from the contractor. We actually interviewed him in the Public Accounts Committee. So we actually had that information. And further, when the Honourable Member talked about value for money with the DLBE [Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building] it cost 90, when it was said to cost 75. The dock cost 60, when it was said to cost 35. And it went on, and on, and on. And we said it several times before, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that their projects all ended up costing twice as much as they ought to have. There would have been plenty of money left in the consolidated fund had they been —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerOkay, your point is . . . move on. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker, that is a serious . . . she should withdraw that. She said ev ery project we did cost twice as much. She needs to . . . now, let me remind …
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I will be happy to correct — Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: —like I used to remind Grant Gibbons — The Deputy Sp eaker: What is your point of order?
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI am being admonished to correct. I am happy to correct. Not every si ngle one, but nearly every one. Thank you. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let’s talk about some over -runs under the OBA/UPB Government. Now, let’s talk about some over -runs,
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinNever is, never has been. And I am getting sick and tired of Honour able Members mislabelling.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerHang on. Take your seat. Take your seat. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Now, let’s get it straight, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The former UBP Government, of which she was a part . . . how about that? Now, let’s talk about thr ee of …
Mr. Deputy Speakerdeputy speakerL. F. Wade International Airport started—
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker, she is using up my time on—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat i s your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThe Honourable Member said the former UBP Government of which I was a part. I was never a part of the UBP while the UBP was the Government. I was never a part of that.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAll right. Continue, Member. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker, they have had so many parties over there in the last 15 years I can’t remember. [Laughter] Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me talk about the former UBP, then. They started …
All right. Continue, Member. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker, they have had so many parties over there in the last 15 years I can’t remember.
[Laughter]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me talk about the former UBP, then. They started the L. F. Wade Airport for $9 million. Nine million [dollars], they finished at $25 million. Westgate started at $20 million. It finished at $39 million. Tynes Bay started at $26 million, it fi nished at $74 million. Now , Mr. Deputy Speaker, that —
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Oh yes, it’s tripled. Now, if we take dollar for dollar value and you turn it back to the mid- 1990s, I tell you what, they are talking at . . . what’s it called? Quintupling? That’s what it probably is. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, don’t talk about any over-runs that we had. And that was in a time when things were not as easily available, like they are now, on social media and Internet and all that stuff, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But let me say this. Let me finish, Mr. Deputy Speaker. This PLP Government this time around, Mr. Deputy Speaker, will continue doing the things that we did the first time around in terms of looking after our people because, let me tell you . . . the Honour able 2800 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Member (what’s his name?) Pearman says he hopes not. He hopes not. I tell you what, that tells you a little bit about the mind- set of this new Member. [Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Now, who does he repr esent? Exactly. Who does he represent? Mr. Deputy Speaker, let me tell you, we will continue. And that is why we have such an overwhelming majority in this House, because the people of this country know. They experienced 14 years of PLP, they experienced 4 years of an OBA and t hey said, No way! They’re outta here. And I will tell you what, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I will probably be pushing up daisies and the PLP will still be in power because we take care of our people.
[Desk thumping]
OBA —RELEVANT AND VIABLE OPPOSITION
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Jeanne Atherden. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. First of all, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I just wanted to say obviously tonight it is being confirmed that the OBA, the O ne Bermuda Alliance, is the Opposition and the relevant …
Thank you. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Jeanne Atherden. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. First of all, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I just wanted to say obviously tonight it is being confirmed that the OBA, the O ne Bermuda Alliance, is the Opposition and the relevant Opposition because the mere fact that the Members over there have to go and talk about all of our affairs instead of concentrating on the people’s affairs makes me realise that, hey, they don’t recognise that we are here to do the people’s bus iness and the most important things that we are going to talk about today is what is important to the people. Whatever we have to do internally is som ething that we will deal with. [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think that there is some . . .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerJust talk to me. It’s all right. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Right. Chirping, chirping. Okay. First of all, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I wanted to say that when we s tarted off this evening I was quite buoyed up from the perspective of we were talking about the summer, we were …
Just talk to me. It’s all right.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Right. Chirping, chirping. Okay. First of all, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I wanted to say that when we s tarted off this evening I was quite buoyed up from the perspective of we were talking about the summer, we were talking about what the Government was doing for the students, et cetera. And do you know what it reminded me of? It reminded me of the fact that when we were the Government, the One Bermuda Alliance, we did a lot of these things for students. And some of the programmes that they are doing and expanding upon were things that we did. Therefore, I thought, because I remembered som ething when Minister Burch was talking about it, and it made me think about the story that he was telling about all those people that were in his department, and all of those people who were St. George’s people and the fact that he was telling them that they should go and bec ome Somerset people. And I thought, hey, you know what that r eminds me of? We have to be telling all those people out there . . . and the one thing he said, he said that he did not wear red because he did not want to be confused with those people over there. But I have to say to them, I don’t wear green because I don’t want to be confused with people over there.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerLet’s not mislead the House. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And then—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerHang on one second. Let’s not mislead the House. The Colonel said “I’m joking.” Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Well, all I know . . . no, not about that part. Not about that. He was talking about joking when he was talking about people going up . . . but …
Hang on one second. Let’s not mislead the House. The Colonel said “I’m joking.” Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Well, all I know . . . no, not about that part. Not about that. He was talking about joking when he was talking about people going up . . . but that is not about that. Not about that. That was not a joke. But I do want to say to him, when he was tal king about joking, and I thought to myself, when he said that everybody was going to be, if you will . . . he was going to have, I think, all Somerset people the next year . . . that was the j oke he was making, all Somerset people next year, rather than St. George’s. But I suddenly realised that the same way he was telling that child to go home and put Somerset colours in her mother’s hair, I thought, you know, that is what we have to remind everybody out there. That being in a political party you make your decisions based on what you think about, what you understand about what they bring to the table. It is not about if you are grown up and you’re Somerset for life, or you’re St. George’s for life. Most people now are actually looking at what . . . thinking about themselves and they look at what is important.
[Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And so what I would say to them, the same way that you would be talking to childr en and saying, perhaps, go home and say to your parents look at the One Bermuda Alliance and look at what they bring, because the bottom line is what is happening here in Bermuda is that it is i mportant for people to understand that what people bring and w hat they do is very important in terms of the values they have and what is important.
Bermuda House of Assembly And I must admit, Mr. Deputy Speaker, as I keep talking, and I keep hearing people talking in the background, obviously they must be trying to drown me out because they understand that —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerI hear you. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: They understand that the people who are out there, the most important people that are out there listening, those are the ones that I have to say the One Bermuda Alliance is here to represent their values, to represent their issues. And we …
I hear you.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: They understand that the people who are out there, the most important people that are out there listening, those are the ones that I have to say the One Bermuda Alliance is here to represent their values, to represent their issues. And we will continue to listen to them. And we will remind people that the Gover nment has been doing things for them with respect to students, with respect to scholarships. We believe that it is importan t to have scholarships. We believe that it is important to have summer employment, et cetera. And it was not the fact that we did not have all of this. We obviously had the financial constraints that we had at the time and, therefore, we had to cut the cloth to fit what we had.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: No, I am not accepting any.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: The Honourable Member is misleading the House —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerHang on. Let’s get something straight. When I say it is a point of order, it is a point of order. Don’t tell me you’re not accepting it. It is a point of order. Continue. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, thank you. The Honourable Member is misleading the …
Hang on. Let’s get something straight. When I say it is a point of order, it is a point of order. Don’t tell me you’re not accepting it. It is a point of order. Continue.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, thank you. The Honourable Member is misleading the House, Mr. Deputy Speaker, because she said that they wanted to do all these things and they did not have any money to do it. That’s why they could not do scholarships, they could not have training. But they found $120 million for America’s Cup. They found $6 million for commissions of inquiries and investigations and everything else, Mr. Deputy Speaker. So that is certainly misleading the House!
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContinue. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherde n: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. As I said, we had to cut the cloth to fit the f inancial circumstances that we found ourselves in. [Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And, as I said to them, we had scholarships. We had student …
Continue.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherde n: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. As I said, we had to cut the cloth to fit the f inancial circumstances that we found ourselves in.
[Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And, as I said to them, we had scholarships. We had student programm es. And we also had Workforce Development programmes that were out there which allowed people to get the experience. And the reason I say that is because I know that when I was the Minister of Health I had . . . we had scholarships that we gave. We increased the number of scholarships in our Ministry because we, like your Government, realised that it was very i mportant to have students, and to have more students to come back and fill the positions. So all I am saying, and the people of Bermuda have to understand this, is that each time we are looking at something you have to look at each category, each Ministry, each programme, et cetera, and not this blanket, like, We do everything right , and they never do anything wrong, because there are going to be ci rcumstances where we will have no choice . . . and you will see us doing it more often. We will be challenging what they are doing because we have some concerns. And I wanted to go back and talk about some of the other things. I know I heard one of the Members talking about it, and I want to reiterate this. We understand that the Government there is trying to find and do things for the people of Bermuda and the econ omy. And we are supporting that because Bermuda has to go ahead. We have to find work for our people. And I said something, which I heard one of your bac kbenchers say. But I said it when I was a Minister, so when I hear them saying it now, I am thinking, Music to my ears. And I hope that somebody over there will pick it up. I said that caring f or seniors is the next industry. And that when you start talking about seniors, you are talking about having a new hotel; you are building hotels for seniors. And I was reminded of the fact that one of our platforms was that we were going to find money and have guarantees for seniors. So I am hoping that I will say some of these things and maybe their Government will realise that seniors are i mportant, and let’s do something for them, because that industry . . . you have the opportunity for them to transfer . . . people who are in what I call the hospital ity industry will go into the senior hospitality industry. They will then be able to have jobs. And some of the jobs they are looking for do not have to be jobs out there in the new FinTech industry, and do not have to be jobs out there where you are still trying to do trai ning. The jobs can be found for those people who are just ordinary Bermudians who want to have a job where they can have some pay and make sure that they can live. 2802 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Now, I want to say a couple more things, b ecause we have had lots of back and forth with respect to what the Government is doing, and the fact that this is an appropriate time for them to pat themselves on the back and toot their horn. I accept that. That is pol itics. But, to go and suggest that the One Bermuda Alliance does not support the people of Bermuda, does not want things to benefit them, I think that that is misleading. And I believe that the people need to understand that we still are out there trying to listen to them. We are still trying to make sure that the good things will happen to them now.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: The investing in the people is very important. And we will always be suppor tive of programmes. But there is one thing that I wanted to say because we have been talking about training, and we have been talking about education. And you have heard me say many times when we get up here and something is proposed, something new is coming, some money is being put into place, whether it is $10 million or whatever else. I keep saying this. And I say this because the people of Bermuda need to . . . they are saying this out there. And if I say it, then hopefully the Government over there will be held accountable. It is not just about say ing that they are going to come up with this programme. It is not just about talking about $10 million. It is talking about where and when it is going to start. If you are talking about trai ning programmes, where and when are these things going to happen? We hear too many things about investing in our people. We hear too many things about this is g oing to come up with a number of jobs. The same way that we were held accountable in terms of job numbers that we came up with, we are going to also hold the Go vernment over there accountable for where are the jobs that they plan for these particular things. Where is the progress to show that these jobs are starting, these are when the people are going to grad-uate? This is when it is going to actually result in some concrete jobs. Because if we do not say that, the same way that we were held accountable and we were held up to say, You are not delivering, they are doing the same thing. And I want to say one thing, because there is a tendency over there to basically say, okay, I think there was the expression that we are going to keep doing what we did last time and we are going to . . . I wrote it down because I thought it was . . . here it is, right here. It says, this time around we are going to keep doing what we did last time. Well, I do not know whether the people of Bermuda want you to keep doing this time around what you did last time.
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden:—because, because we are here as the Government, because at some point in time we became the Government because they decided that what you were doing the last time they were not happy with. So keep doing what you are doing and at some point in time, you will get around to doing some of the things that you did which made them unhappy, and then we are going to get ourselves in a position to be able to take over and become a viable Opposition. And so I am saying to you that with respect to some of the other things that have been talked about tonight . . .you know, it is important for us to recognise that when the Government continues building the things that it is intending to do, especially as it relates to the FinTech industry and all of those jobs, the pe ople of Bermuda, I think, are starting to recognise that this is not going to come overnight. The industry is not going to be fixed overnight. And at some point in time there is going to start to be this whole concern of where are the revenues that we predicted? Where are the things that we said were going to happen with r espect to jobs ? And then we will be there, waiting to, as I say, be supportive. But when it is not happening, then we are going to remind the people of Bermuda that [the PLP] have not delivered on their promises. Because it is not about today, this is a race of one . . . this is one lap around the field. We have some more laps to go around the field. And as they go around the field, we will be watching the Government to see what they are doing. My Members will be getting themselves familiar with the things, and t he pr ogrammes, and we will start to talk more about some of the issues. And as I say, I look, and I think most people are saying too many things are happening which are being brought. And one of the Members over there just r eminded me, talked about promis es, promises to seniors. You are right. There were promises to seniors. The seniors were promised that they were going to have their pensions increased every year. We understood because just before we went to the election, the one thing that we said on the platform was that we were going to have the cost of living increases. So we understood that [this] was something that we should have done. So, that said, the other side of it is doing something that we would have done. They are doing it. Fine; no problem. But you know what I find interesting? All the things (and the seniors are reminding me of this when I go there) that we are talking about, like seniors’ i ncreases, they remind me of, Hey, what happened? How come you held the line on the health insurance premium? You actually reduced premiums. How come my premiums are going up? How come I am paying more for all these things ? And they keep reminding me that, H ey, you know the things that we were given? One thing on one hand and you got three things taken aw ay on the ot hBermuda House of Assembly er. So, for lots of people out there at the lower levels, they are feeling some of the things that the Gover nment is doing are actually not benefitting; it is actually taking away and putting them in a worse position. So, let us get real about this. Everything is not rosy. People are starting to realise that some of the things are impacting on them. And I think that for me, it is really about making sure that the seniors benefit from it. It is making sure that some of these payroll increases, s ome of these taxes, like the sugar tax, the taxes on their rental income . . . these are all things that Mr. and Mrs. —
Mr. Deputy Speakerdeputy speakerWhat is your Point of order , Honourable Member? POINT O F ORDER [Misleading]
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThe Honourable Member is misleading the House, because she is saying that . . . she is making it seem as though everything . . . that the seniors were not being taken care of under the PLP. No, the seniors are being taken care of under the PLP. The …
The Honourable Member is misleading the House, because she is saying that . . . she is making it seem as though everything . . . that the seniors were not being taken care of under the PLP. No, the seniors are being taken care of under the PLP. The Honourable Member said that they i nvested in Bermudians. No, they did not. All the scho larships that they talk about went to [students] that did not go to public schools. The seniors, they were told that money does not grow on trees. Let us not forget that. So, she cannot stand up here and say that, Oh, that we reduced anything. All we did was give members of this community the quality of life that they deserve . Not trade the quality of life they deserve for a boat r ace and some airtime on some television.
Mr. Deputy Speakerdeputy speakerContinue, Member. Continue. [Crosstalk] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I was not sure about the point of order. But I do know it was probably a minute. But all I want to say, Mr . Acting Speaker, [is that] when I started to talk about seniors, and when …
Continue, Member. Continue. [Crosstalk]
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I was not sure about the point of order. But I do know it was probably a minute. But all I want to say, Mr . Acting Speaker, [is that] when I started to talk about seniors, and when I started to talk about things that are important to them, the seniors and . . . if I am going to sort of deal with . . . the whispering was also part of what I had written down. The fact that when we came in, we did realise that we had to sort out FutureCare to make sure that FutureCare and HIP were equitable, rather than —
Hon. Zane J.S. De Silva: Point of order , Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your Point of order , Member? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Zane J.S. De Silva: Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Honourable Member is misleading the House.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. Zane J.S. De Silva: When she said she wanted to make FutureCare equitable, let us be very clear. The majority of people that were paying the lowest rate are those that are in desperate need, i.e. , on Financial Assistance, or had very, very, low i ncomes. When …
Mm-hmm.
Hon. Zane J.S. De Silva: When she said she wanted to make FutureCare equitable, let us be very clear. The majority of people that were paying the lowest rate are those that are in desperate need, i.e. , on Financial Assistance, or had very, very, low i ncomes. When the rate for FutureCare was changed those that could afford it most got the biggest break. Those that could not afford it most paid higher and more money.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order , Mr. Deputy Speaker. The Honourable Member is misleading the House, because at the time that the pr emium for F utureCare was set, at a rate where it was equitable across the board (because under their administration people who came in first paid 300; those who …
Point of order , Mr. Deputy Speaker. The Honourable Member is misleading the House, because at the time that the pr emium for F utureCare was set, at a rate where it was equitable across the board (because under their administration people who came in first paid 300; those who came in second paid almost twice as much), and we put it down —
Hon. Zane J.S. De Silva: Point of order , Mr. Deputy Speaker. No, they did not. Point of order !
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes, they did. Yes, they did. Hon. Zane J.S. De Silva: Point of order .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerNo. Hon. Zane J.S. De Silva: Point of order . The Deputy Speake r: Hang on.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI would like to say— Hon. Zane J.S. De Silva: Point of order .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerNo, no. Hang on. Let us . . . we are not having any Points of order. Ms. Atherden, continue. [Gavel ] 2804 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Jeanne J. Atherde n: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. All I …
No, no. Hang on. Let us . . . we are not having any Points of order. Ms. Atherden, continue.
[Gavel ]
2804 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Jeanne J. Atherde n: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. All I am sa ying to you is the fact that health care is becoming one of the big issues. And I know I saw the Government . . . it was in the Throne Speech or it was in the platform talking about what they were going to do in terms of health care and what they were going to do in terms of driving it down. We are now starting to see the rubber meet the road in terms of the premiums are going up. And you are starting to see the things that we put into place to make it better for the people are not coming. And at the same time, with respect to seniors all I am saying is that this is one lap around, okay? This is one lap around. We will be watching for the next lap around. The people of Bermuda will be watching to look and see what else is going to happen out there. We are hearing about the progressive pe nsions. We are hearing about lots of things. And I think the bottom line . . . it is very i mportant, because until we get to see how many of these thi ngs, how they are actually implemented, we are not going to be able to understand clearly what it means. And all I am saying to the people of Bermuda is that there are lots of opportunities for us to be able to hear about programmes, to be able to see, so that they understand what impact it has on them. Because the bottom line is Bermuda is changing. There are lots of things which are being contemplated, but we have to see what it really means. Because until we see education, until we can see that the jobs are going to come as a consequence of that, all of these other things are things which are just what I call . . . I am not going to say aspirational, but they are things that the Government wants to work on. And until we see the reality of it, then they ar e just plans. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think that I just wanted to talk about . . . as they say, I did not want to talk about too many other things, because we will have the opportunity next week to talk more about what is i mportant to the people. But I did not want anyone out there listening not to recognise that many of these things we actually did as a Government. As I say, we might not have been able to do them as well, as broadly as we would have liked, because we had an economy that we were wrestling wit h to get it back under control, and to make sure that the debt was s ecured, and to make sure that the things that we could do we would be able to bring the economy back in line. And I think that we will continue to have to defend our record, and we will continue to have to defend what we did. And that is something that we will have to do over these next four years because, as I say, while the current Government is making its new record, we will then be putting our team together, the team that we will have t o utilise. Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker. [Timer beeps]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Chair recognises the Ho nourable Member Wayne Caines. PLP MANDATE Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I had the privilege of talking to the fastest man in the world, Mr. Usain Bolt, on his last trip to Berm uda. I have seen him run a number of …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: I have watched with awe and amazement as the fastest man on the planet ran races. I watched him train. I had the privilege to observe him in training sessions. I asked him, After so many years, how do you stay out front? He said, I …
Mm-hmm.
Hon. Wayne Caines: I have watched with awe and amazement as the fastest man on the planet ran races. I watched him train. I had the privilege to observe him in training sessions. I asked him, After so many years, how do you stay out front? He said, I focus on my training. I focus on my technique . And when I get in the blocks , I give it my all, and I never look back. I asked him, What do you think about the upcoming talent when you are racing, about the fastest men that are coming in America and the fastest peo-ple in Britain who had the better schools and who had the better training? He said, When you are out in front you concentrate on your form, your technique, and you do what you do to stay in front.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: The Progressive Labour Party on July 18 th were given a mandate. The mandate did not come from hubris. It did not come from a point of self-aggrandising. It did not come from a point of we are great and this country needs us in leadership …
Mm-hmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: The Progressive Labour Party on July 18 th were given a mandate. The mandate did not come from hubris. It did not come from a point of self-aggrandising. It did not come from a point of we are great and this country needs us in leadership . It came from the people of this country needing change. I am reminded of my purpose in this House every day. It is not about what this Government thinks we are doing. It is about what the people [who] placed us in here have demanded that we do. See, when I go into my constituency I have to talk to the mother that is struggling to make ends meet. That is what motivates me to sit, to be disc iplined and to work hard. When I talked to the young man who said, I am working desperately, Mr. Caines, but . . . I am doing everything. I have done my GED. I have gone to the job interviews, but I still can’t find a job . . . well, that is what motivates this team every day. Sometimes you come to the House and in the cut and thrust of this exercise we fail to convey in the right way that we are about our people’s work. And so people talk about records, and they go back and forth and say what we did and what they did. But that is a miscommunication of the facts. We only stand here as
Bermuda House of Assembly the Government of Bermuda to make the lives of Bermudian people better.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberCorrect. Hon. Wayne Caines: Anything else we say in this House is a nonsense. The essence of what we do is working for the people of Bermuda. That is the only record we can stand on. So when I stand in this House and I look and go up and …
Correct. Hon. Wayne Caines: Anything else we say in this House is a nonsense. The essence of what we do is working for the people of Bermuda. That is the only record we can stand on. So when I stand in this House and I look and go up and down the aisle, we have to ask each other very basic questions. And they shall not be rh etorical. In the last y ear, did we make the lives of Bermudians better?
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: Did we govern ourselves with integrity? The reality of it is, when we look at what we have done with the roadside sobriety [legislation], for numbers of year s we have seen our young men and women fall prey to death on our roads. And oftentimes …
Mm-hmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: Did we govern ourselves with integrity? The reality of it is, when we look at what we have done with the roadside sobriety [legislation], for numbers of year s we have seen our young men and women fall prey to death on our roads. And oftentimes intertwined in the mangled bodies and the lifeless young people that we see on our roads, we know it has an attachment to alcohol, to driving whilst i mpaired. The roadsi de sobriety legislation . . . well, that attacks that straight on. It makes it safer on our roads.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPoint of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Reflecting on past debate]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThe Honourable Member is inadvertently reflecting on the debate, which is not permitted by our rules. We just had the road safety debate —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWhat? Are you serious, Pat? [Inaudible interjections]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes. We just had the road safety debate within this session, and the Honourable Member is not permitted to reflect on that debate. [Inaudible interjections]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy Speaker[Minister], continue. Hon. Wayne Caines: There is a national crisis with reference to death on our roads.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes, yes. Hon. Wayne Caines: I will never yield . . . I will never yield . . . I will never yield to this point when it comes to the death on our roads. Our young people in thi s country have died for too long at disproportionate rates. …
Yes, yes. Hon. Wayne Caines: I will never yield . . . I will never yield . . . I will never yield to this point when it comes to the death on our roads. Our young people in thi s country have died for too long at disproportionate rates. In any other country it would have been deemed a national health crisis. We have all gone to too many funerals of our young people.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes! Hon. Wayne Caines: And if I am on the fl oor reflec ting on a debate, well, I ask you to correct me. But I believe it is our responsibility as a Government to do something to protect the lives of the young people in this country! [Inaudible interjections]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContinue, Member. Hon. Wayne Caines: When I look at the — [Inaudible interjections]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberOr we can be one less Member.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerContin ue, Member. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will go back to the original point. The very essence of the tenor and the tone in this room is why people do not want to sit in this House. That is why they do not want to be a …
Contin ue, Member.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will go back to the original point. The very essence of the tenor and the tone in this room is why people do not want to sit in this House. That is why they do not want to be a part of this process. We make it so cumbersome, so aggressive, so churlish, so angry, that we miss the very es-sence of being in this room —and that is to change lives; that is to pass legislation that makes this country a better place. We all have to test and adjust our pos ition and trim our sails, because oftentimes it becomes so deathly “about us” we fail to realise it is about changing the lives of others in our community. And I am crazy enough to believe that Members on both sides of this aisle want to make this country a better place. When you look at the 100 Jobs initiative, you look at an opportunity for this party to create an oppor-tunity for young men and women to go . . . we brought in educators and we brought in different companies, and they all went to the Seventh- Day A dventist hall, and we were able to connect our young people, our 2806 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly old people, people who were unemployed, with education. When we look at the opportunity through “Live, Love, Life,” people who had gone through a death in their family had the opportunity to express their pain, express their anguish through song, through dance, through music. We even saw the Dellwood Middle School do a dramatic presentation which was recor ded and has almost become an anthem of the voice of our young people. When we think of t he Bermuda Regiment and the evolution of getting and doing away with conscri ption and modernising to deal with the military assi stance to the civil authority and HADR, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, we see an evolution. I just came, Mr. Deput y Speaker, from the Bermuda Regiment with a passing- out parade. [There were] 25 young people, men and women, trained—two weeks ago not knowing how to march, not knowing how to turn, not knowing how to shoot, having trouble in certain aspects, being overly ambitious in others, and being the best of who we are. And tonight we got to see through the Bermuda Regiment another passingout parade. Two regimental recruit camps in one year. The Fire Service has had a graduation in September of seven, and now there are 15 young men and women involved. Customs has a cohort of 15 trainees. The prisons started 15 new prison officers on Monday, with another group of prison officers to come soon. When we look at what is going on with educ ation and with the opportunity t o educate the Bermudian populous, we believe that . . . and they are right. We are not out of the woods yet. We cannot stick our chest out and thump our chest. Why? Because as long as one person does not have a job, as long as one person is unemployed, as long as there is a young person who has not found their proper place, as long as there is one young man whose predispos ition finds himself in a criminal enterprise, well, we have work to do.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes! Hon. Wayne Caines: We cannot celebrate. We are simply acknowledging that we are on the right track. And with humility, listening to the people, working rea lly hard, we can continue to make a difference in this country. The effort is not to stay in power ad infinitum , …
Yes!
Hon. Wayne Caines: We cannot celebrate. We are simply acknowledging that we are on the right track. And with humility, listening to the people, working rea lly hard, we can continue to make a difference in this country. The effort is not to stay in power ad infinitum , forever. That will be a nonsense. The object is to make the lives of all Bermudians better, in every aspect of their lives, in every aspect of their being. That is why this Government exists. When you talk about the FinTech legislation, and what we are doing in this space, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I had the privilege of going to OECD in Paris last week. There were financial regulators from France, Germany, and Spain, there were members of NAMLAC, and the OECD and World Bank. Everyone was in the room and they were sitting in the room with the digital currency people and they were sitting with the leaders in FinTech. And they were all asking, How do we regulate this technology? And it was a closeddoor session. So the people who supported it gave their viewpoint, and the people who had challenges gave their viewpoint. And the risks were discussed, and the challenges were discussed. At the end of the day we were able to say, You know what? This is a form of currency, or this is a form of modality of bus iness that is not going away. The most interesting point of the conversation with all of the countries around the world that were in the room was . . . the chairman stopped the meeting and he said, Well, to date, there is only one country that has legislation. There is only one country that has ICO legislation that has been passed. There is only one country on the planet that has legislation with reference digital assets.
[Inaudible interjections]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerHmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: One country! And he asked that c ountry to deliver that legislation to all of the parties in the room. Mr. Deputy Speaker, that country was Berm uda. [Inaudible interjections]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHello! Hon. Wayne Caines: The opportunity for us to be fleet-footed is evident. Yesterday, some of the rei nsurers, the original reinsurers, gathered to acknowledge, I think it was their silver anniversary of reinsurance in Bermuda. And they discussed what made reinsurance great. How were they able to stay on …
Hello!
Hon. Wayne Caines: The opportunity for us to be fleet-footed is evident. Yesterday, some of the rei nsurers, the original reinsurers, gathered to acknowledge, I think it was their silver anniversary of reinsurance in Bermuda. And they discussed what made reinsurance great. How were they able to stay on top of reinsurance in the world? And he said a couple of things. He said that we had to act fast, we had to be brave, we had to cover all of our bases, and we had to do so before anybody else reacted. And so whenever weather was changing direction of captives and going to reinsurance, or going in different directions, Bermuda was always fleet of foot. What is the difference today with FinTech?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: What is the difference with us forging in a new direction? Can we not see the connection with FinTech and new o pportunities with employment? Can we not see the connection with FinTech and the new opportunities with development? Can we not see the connection with …
Hmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: What is the difference with us forging in a new direction? Can we not see the connection with FinTech and new o pportunities with employment? Can we not see the connection with FinTech and the new opportunities with development? Can we not see the connection with FinTech with vying, InsurTech, MedTech, RegTech? Are we adverse
Bermuda House of Assembly to being world game changers? See, the opportunity for us to lead is evident. And sometimes as a leader you cannot go out and get permission to lead. We were given a mandate to lead and we are leading. The difficult part comes when you have those who are former significant leaders in our country , and when they have the opportunity to ask the difficult questions in the right places, those opportunities are not capitalised on. And there is no problem with accountability. There is no problem with being clear and open minded. But there is a problem w ith trying to scuttle and embarrass the country. We have the opportunity to lead. And when you have an opportunity to hold us accountable, this is the right place, this is the appropriate time. Let’s use the political mecha-nism. Mr. Deputy Speaker, you cannot be for FinTech and for Bermuda and at the same time do everything in your power to bring it down. You have to pick a side. Well, let me tell you the side that we have picked. We have picked the side on getting Bermudi-ans educated and in a better posit ion to get jobs. We have put ourselves in a position to continue to work and make our uniformed services better, to give them the support, to undergird them with the right finance, understanding the limitations with budgets, and not having open cheque book s and balancing that in an egalitarian manner where we are not able to just cut opportunities and cut programmes, but managing that and focusing on that which is important. The conversation is all about, Well, we had to do this and we had to do that. What we are focusing on, and again, I will go to the sword of D amocles , it is balancing what is right and what is needed, and mer ging those together for the betterment of the people of Bermuda.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberExactly. Hon. Wayne Caines: We have the opportunity as a Government to continue to grow from strength to strength. My colleagues, we have an opportunity to speak for the people in our constituencies that have no voice. We do not come to this House to self - aggrandise or to …
Exactly. Hon. Wayne Caines: We have the opportunity as a Government to continue to grow from strength to strength. My colleagues, we have an opportunity to speak for the people in our constituencies that have no voice. We do not come to this House to self - aggrandise or to thump our chest. There are peo ple in their neighbourhoods who we represent —[we are] the only voice that they know. There are people who are sitting in their living rooms that when you knock on their door, you are the only hope that they know. And that is our responsibility, to keep on fighting for the people of Bermuda. I will continue to listen. The former Attorney General, he is not under the same responsibilities that we have. I will continue to speak for the people of Bermuda. I will not be swayed by him.
[Inaudible interjections] Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Deputy Speaker, thank you for the opportunity, sir.
[Desk thumping]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Deputy Leader of the party, Deputy Premier, you have the floor. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. You know, this has been a very interesting motion to adjourn for a number of reasons.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYes. It’s Friday. PLP MANDATE Hon. Walter H. Roban: I will slightly digress from the sort of programme that I believe that the Government side has tried, certainly with great effort and el oquence, to articulate to the people of this country as to what we are doing, how we …
Yes. It’s Friday.
PLP MANDATE
Hon. Walter H. Roban: I will slightly digress from the sort of programme that I believe that the Government side has tried, certainly with great effort and el oquence, to articulate to the people of this country as to what we are doing, how we are doing it, why we are doing it, and the difference we believe it is making with our young people. But as I sat here with my colleagues waiting my turn, observing, I began to think of the dodo bird.
[Laughter] Hon. Walter H. Roban: I began to think of the Tasmanian devil. I began to think of, perhaps unfortunat ely, the reports we have heard about the white African rhino —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —about extinction. And I began to say, Now I know what extinction looks like.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersHmm. Hon. Walter H. Roban: The process towards extinction, perhaps I should say.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberThe low road, he is taking the low road. [Inaudible interjections] Hon. Walter H. Roban: That is a part of my digression. Because what I heard tonight from many Mem-bers on [the OBA] side was an effort to defend the past. [Inaudible interjections] 2808 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report …
The low road, he is taking the low road.
[Inaudible interjections] Hon. Walter H. Roban: That is a part of my digression. Because what I heard tonight from many Mem-bers on [the OBA] side was an effort to defend the past.
[Inaudible interjections]
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Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Walter H. Roban: To defend a past that was rejected, to defend a past that they put to the people of this country. And [the people] fired them based on their performance in the past! But I witnessed an effort to try and def end, and in some cases rewrite, the history of the past. But Mr. Deputy Speaker, this is what is important to understand. As they waste their energy defending a past, failed, rejected record, we are shaping the f uture.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberCorrect. Yes, sir!
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberExactly! [Inaudible interjections]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMembers! [Desk thumping] Hon. Walter H. Roban: That is why your people were the focus of our talk today, the future of our country, those whom we must entrust and invest [in]. We t alk about investment; they are talking about defending the archaic, which has already been rejected, which …
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberCorrect. Hon. Walter H. Roban: We spent our time, many Honourable Members on this side, talking about the programmes. The Honourable Member who sits in constituency 27 talked about the experiences he is having with working with young people. The Honour able Member who sits in constituency 13 talked about …
Correct.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: We spent our time, many Honourable Members on this side, talking about the programmes. The Honourable Member who sits in constituency 27 talked about the experiences he is having with working with young people. The Honour able Member who sits in constituency 13 talked about the progress that education and Workforce Develo pment are making. I know that we are seeing these real fruits because I went to a graduation of one of our fine public schools and heard a number of students take advantage of the nursing programme, a programme that the Progressive La bour Party Government started some years ago under the auspices of the BHC [Bermuda Health Council]. It graduated to the Bermuda College and it is developing associate and young people who will go into the nursing industry. The healthcare industry, which i ronically was referenced by the Leader of the Opposition, where there were job opportunities growing for young people. I saw young people who had already started their training in high school move into that sphere. Wonderful! I heard the Honourable Member who speaks for constituency . . . the Honourable Member Mr. Caines, talk —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberFourteen. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —who sits in constituency 14, talk about his success with 100 Jobs and trying to identify job opportunities for people who had be en starved of those opportunities for many years. We are focusing on the future, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We are not trying to …
Fourteen. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —who sits in constituency 14, talk about his success with 100 Jobs and trying to identify job opportunities for people who had be en starved of those opportunities for many years. We are focusing on the future, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We are not trying to reshape the image of the past. The investment in FinTech is a part of that. This Government ran a campaign with a platform that was f ocused on reinvestment in the country, creating jobs and creating opportunity. Our Budget [Statement] and Throne Speech did allocate more money to cer-tain ministries. But that was very strategic money to education. That is why the Honourable Minister of E ducation received considerably more money so that he could put it to programmes that were going to advance education, create more opportunities for young people in this country. The Honourable Member who sits for Community Development and Sport also has a programme that is helping to employ young people over the summer. Mr. Deputy Speaker, as you would know, this is not a new endeavour for the PLP. I can recall when I succeeded you as Transport Minister in June of 2012. You left an initiative to try to mak e sure that young people were going to be employed in that Mi nistry which you started. And at the time I believe mon-ey had to be moved from elsewhere to do that. You impressed on me, as the succeeding Minister, to make sure that I followed through with that. You phoned me many times to check on that, to make sure that those young persons would have an opportunity during the summertime. And as you know, I did. I saw a number of young people in the Transport Ministry work through the summer because of the eff orts that you started and that I committed to complete. So the work that we are doing . . . and I am not going to suggest that the other side’s Government did not do that, because I know they did have pr ogrammes that focused on young people during the summertime. We all know that. That is part of the public record. So we are not saying that you did not do it. But understand something. It is very clear that the electorate did not believe that they were a Gover nment that was investing in the future. That is why they are where they are. So what did we do? We made sure that this was a priority for this Government. And many of us stood on our feet today to show where we followed through with that purpose. We had the Career Pat hways programme, which was started in 2012. It was very successful in pairing companies with students to show them career pathways. I know the former Government continued with that programme. But those are the things that the PLP has always been commi tted to, seeing a pathway for the futur e of our youth so they can take advantage of the FinTech initiative. We have seen the incorporation of 19 companies in this area; 24 in training; 43 on their way. Many of those companies have committed to providing fundBermuda House of Assembly ing that will help to educate and tr ain people who could enter those industries. It is obvious that young people are going to be the chief beneficiaries, as they are the ones most comfortable with embracing tec hnology. There is a reason why many of those companies have made those commitment s; because we have made sure that they understood that this is the objective of this Government. But it is not just in FinTech. We have impressed this on the hotel industry and other industries that continue to be here. But this Government has a mission of diversification. So, as new opportunities emerge we will attach training and development to their presence in Bermuda as a matter of course, because we have got to ensure that our young people are part of this process of develo pment and growth. They do not need to be on the sid elines and invited later, they need to be a part of it as it is happening. That is why we spent our time tonight talking about youth, education and development, and what we are doing within the Government to make that happen. And we hope that many private sector participants follow. Reference was made today by one of our Honourable Members, the Honourable Member from constituency 21, about the reinsurance industry. There is an issue with them, which we also have to address. The fact that perhaps it is a mature industry, entry jobs are not available as they once were. That perhaps is a symptom of the matureness of the industry. But I would suggest, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that it is something that will have to be given attention. B ecause if we want the same industries to be in exis tence in Bermuda, and as we request commitment of new industries that come in to make those same i nvestments, those that are still here are going to have to make some investment as well in our young people and cr eate entry opportunities. So that is something that this Government will give attention to. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I think it is crucial to understand that this Government is focused on the future. Both parties in this House have records behind them. They are very public. They are known. And those who are students of history will review them and give them the appropriate analysis and conclusions that they deserve. But I would suggest that the ener-gies of Members of this House, particularly those who desire to gain further favour with the electorate, which they lost because they lost their way . . . as they r ebuild their shop they might want to concentrate on giving the people of Bermuda what the future might hold, rather than trying to re- write the past and defend old records. We have an old record too. And it is there. But this Government, these Ministers, with the support of our backbench colleagues, are focusing on shaping the future. That is why we were elected. It is one thing we were elected for. That is why. Why else would this country have elected a leader under the age of 40? It is not necessarily because of the political experience he has, but it is because he represented to the electorate where they would like to go, and a focus on where we are going, not the past of where we have been. The Opposition needs to learn that. The electorate wants to know what the future is going to be like. The PLP is focused on the future. That is why the Honourable Premier does say that they are the past, we are t he future. That is our focus. We talk about the youth of this country and what we are trying to do for their benefit, because the inves tment in them must transcend in some cases the risk that the expenditure may present. Ultimately, if we do not invest in our youth, the country will die. As we take care of our seniors, as we give the current working population opportunities to thrive, we must invest in the future. That is how it has to go. O pportunities to those who are here working and being productive, t aking care of the senior population who have done their bit for the country and investing in the young people, showing them the way, giving them opportunities, using resources to train and develop their skills so that they can replace us in this House. They can be the captains of industry, they can own jobs, they can be a part of what makes Bermuda work in the future in whatever industries we attract here. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, again, we focus on the future. They can focus on the past all they like. But in the end, we know what the people voted for, and we are committed to that. Thank you.
[Desk thumping]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe House stands adjourned until Friday, July 20 th. [At 8:10 pm, the House stood adjourned until 10:00 am, Friday, 20 July 2018] 2810 13 July 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly [This page intentionally left blank]