The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning, Me mbers. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES [Minutes of 1 8 May 2018]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, the Minutes from the 18th of May have been circulated. Are there any amendments or omissions to be made? There are none; the Minutes are confirmed as printed. [Minutes of 18 M ay 2018 confirmed] MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER OR MEMBER PRESIDING 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BERMUDA CONSTITUTION ORDER AND UNIVERSAL ADULT SUFFRAGE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are two sets of announcement s. The first set this morning, we would just like to announce that the speeches that were made during the special joint sitting to recognise the 50 th anniversary of the universal adult suffrage have been tabled for historic purposes, and will be circulated …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAlso, we have received notification from Members who will be absent today. We have been informed that the Honourable Deputy Premier will be absent today; the Honourable Member Leah Scott; the Hono urable Member Scott Simmons; as well as Minister Brown and Minister R abain. MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PAPERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe actually have six papers this mor ning that will be communicated to the House. The first one is in the name of the Premier. Actually, the first few are in the name of the Premier. Premier, you have your hands full this mor ning. Hon. E. David Burt: Good …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN BINANCE HOLDING LIMITED AND THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN MEDICI VENTURES, LLC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA AND OMEGA ONE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN SHYFT NETWORK INC. AND THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA Hon. …
Good morning.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN BINANCE HOLDING LIMITED AND THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN MEDICI VENTURES, LLC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA AND OMEGA ONE
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN SHYFT NETWORK INC. AND THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the following: First, the Memorandum of Understandi ng between Binance Holding Limited and the Government of Bermuda relating to the continuing development of a FinTech ecosystem for Bermuda; The Memorandum of Understanding between Medici Ventures, LLC (a subsidiary of Overstock.com) and the Government of Berm uda relating to the c ontinuing development of a FinTech ecosystem for Bermuda; A Memorandum of Understanding r elating to the acceleration of the t ransition to the d igital asset 2134 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly economy between the Government of Bermuda and Omega One ; and A Memorandum of Understanding between Shyft Network Inc . and the Government of Bermuda relating to the c ontinuing development of a FinTech ecosystem for Bermuda.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. The next communication is in the name of Minister Foggo. Minister. The Clerk: It is the Monetary Authority. INFORMAT ION COMMISSIONER’S 2016 ANNUAL REPORT Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of …
Thank you, Mr. Premier. The next communication is in the name of Minister Foggo. Minister.
The Clerk: It is the Monetary Authority.
INFORMAT ION COMMISSIONER’S 2016 ANNUAL REPORT
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Information Commissioner’s 2016 A nnual Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Premier, do you have another one you would like to do? Yes. BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY ANNUAL REPORT 2017 Hon. E. David Burt: Indeed. I apologise, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. The Clerk: For the information of the House, the Memoranda that the Premier previously read will be circulated electronically to all Members. PETITIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe have three petitions this morning. And the first petition is going to be presented by the Honourable Member Famous.
Mr. Christopher FamousMr. Speaker, I move that the provisions of Standing Order 33(8) be suspended so that I may now present petitions for the passing of Private Bills. THE BERMUDA CREDIT UNION CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY
Mr. Chris topher FamousMr. Speaker, I hereby pr esent the following petition: The petition of the Berm uda Credit Union Co- Operative Society, a co- operative originally registered under the name of BIU Members Credit Union Co- Operative Society, requesting the enactment of a mendments to the original incorporated Act entitled the Bermuda …
Mr. Speaker, I hereby pr esent the following petition: The petition of the Berm uda Credit Union Co- Operative Society, a co- operative originally registered under the name of BIU Members Credit Union Co- Operative Society, requesting the enactment of a mendments to the original incorporated Act entitled the Bermuda Credit Union Co- Op Society Act 1983 to allow for the change of the name of the Credit Union , as more particularly set out in the Pr ivate Bill entitled , the Bermuda Credit Union CoOperative Society Amendment Act 2018, which accompanies the peti tion.
YOUNG LIFE IN BERMUDA
Mr. Christopher FamousAnd the petition of Young Life in Bermuda requesting the enactment of a mendments to the incorporating Act entitled the Young Life in Bermuda Ac t 1976, to allow for a change of the name of the association, and for other changes , as more particularly set out in the …
And the petition of Young Life in Bermuda requesting the enactment of a mendments to the incorporating Act entitled the Young Life in Bermuda Ac t 1976, to allow for a change of the name of the association, and for other changes , as more particularly set out in the Private Bill entitled the Young Life in Bermuda Amendment Act 2018, which accompanies the petition. Mr. Speaker, I move that the said petitions be referred to the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Private Bills for consideration and report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. The next petition is going to be presented by the Honourable Member, Ms. Furbert. Ms. Furbert, you have the floor.
Mrs. Tinee FurbertThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move that the provisions of Standing Order 33(8) be suspended so that I may now present a petition for the passing of a Private Bill.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Continue. BERMUDA SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND
Mrs. Tinee FurbertMr. Speaker, I hereby present the following petition: The petition of the Bermuda Society for the Blind requesting the enactment of amendments to its incorporating Act , entitled the Bermuda Society for the Blind Act 1957, to allow for a change of the name of the Society , to update …
Mr. Speaker, I hereby present the following petition: The petition of the Bermuda Society for the Blind requesting the enactment of amendments to its incorporating Act , entitled the Bermuda Society for the Blind Act 1957, to allow for a change of the name of the Society , to update and modernise the purpose and powers of the Society , and to ensure compliance with the accounting and reporting requirements of the Charities Act 2014, as more partic ularly set out in the Private Bill entitled the Bermuda Society for the Blind (Consolidation and Amendment) Act 2018, which accompanies the petition.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, I move that the said petition be referred to the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Pri vate Bills for consideration and report.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS AND JUNIOR MINISTERS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe have four Statements on the Order Paper today. The first Statement is in the name of the Honourable Premier. Honourabl e Premier, would you like to read your Statement? Hon. E. David Burt: Certainly, Mr. Speaker. I believe the Sergeant -at-Arms has the Statement for distribution. 4th NOVEMBER 2019 …
We have four Statements on the Order Paper today. The first Statement is in the name of the Honourable Premier. Honourabl e Premier, would you like to read your Statement?
Hon. E. David Burt: Certainly, Mr. Speaker. I believe the Sergeant -at-Arms has the Statement for distribution.
4th NOVEMBER 2019 PUBLIC HOLIDAY RECOGNISING PORTUGUESE CONTRIBUTION TO BERMUDA
Hon. E. Dav id Burt: Mr. Speaker, from her earliest origins, Bermuda has always been a mix of people with roots in other countries. We are unique in the world , as we have no true native people. We all came from somewhere else and have , individually and collectively , committed to this series of islands called Bermuda. Bermudians are rightly proud of their heri tage and the ability to trace family ties to the Caribb ean, Europe, South America, and, of course, Africa. This diversity in our lineage made the theme for this year’s Heritage Month especially impor tant—What We Share reflects the commonality we have achieved in spite of our differences. Mr. Speaker, the 4 th of November 2019 will mark the 170th anniversary of the arrival of Portuguese immigrants to Bermuda. Honour able Members will be aware that those first immigrants arrived from Madeira aboard the vessel the Golden Rule on the 4th of November 1849. After a 21- day voyage, 35 men, 16 women, and 7 children arrived , to work principally as farm labourers. Although thes e first immigrants were from Madeira, Honourable Members will also be aware that, subsequently, the majority of Portuguese immigrants would come primarily from the Azores. Mr. Speaker, Bermudians of Portuguese heritage have made considerable contributions to the Island. Every aspect of Bermudian life—f rom politics and public service to sport, entertainment , and industry—has been influenced by their participation in our community. From the original families and those subsequent immigrants, Portuguese culture has become a part of Bermuda’s cultural fabric. Mr. Speaker, in the Progressive Labour Party’s 2017 election platform , we undertook to (and I quote) “bring about greater understanding of racial relationships and diversity.” This undertaking has been distilled into a vision within the 2018 Operating Plan for the Bermuda Public Service, which seeks to foster a Ber muda where (quote) “c ulture and historical legacy is valued, preserved and sustained.” In the years since the arrival of the first Portuguese i mmigrants, Bermudian families have been educated with, played sports with, and married into families of Port uguese heritage. The resultant melting pot has expanded the reach of Portuguese culture into the community and makes the recognition of this mil estone anniversary significant to a wide cross section of Bermudian soci ety. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise this Honourable House and the public that , with the approval of the Cabinet , I have confirmed with the Governor that he will, by proclam ation, declare N ovember 4, 2019, a public holiday to mark this 170 th anniversary of the arrival of the first Portuguese imm igrants to Bermuda.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, this Government is a government for everyone. A nd we are det ermined to forge a society where our differences are celebrated. We must have meaningful inclusion if we are to chart a future of success for our children and future gener ations. Mr. Speaker, this is consistent with the ideals of the founders of the Prog ressive Labour Party , who, when Portuguese people in this country did not have a voice, spoke on their behalf, never more power fully than on the issue of long- term residency. Mr. Speaker, many people of various ethnic origins have made Bermuda what it is today. Lest we forget, the tortured legacy of those of us of Afro Caribbean descent is t hat our ancestors were enslaved, and endured prejudice and systemic injustice. Observances such as the one we will recognise next year should sharpen the focus on our own legacies , and challenge us to refresh our existing holidays, commemorations , and education, to ensure that our chi ldren know the full history of our Island home and embrace the fact that they are heirs to a proud struggle and can proclaim their ancestr y with dignity. Mr. Speaker, the early announcement of the public holiday to commemorate the 170 th anniversary of the arrival of the first Portuguese immigrants will permit the development of a series of events connec ted with the observance. The events m ay include, but are not limited to, an official visit to Bermuda of a g overnment delegation from the Azores and/or Madeira, a sporting interface or competition involving a visiting team, the designation of a space to display a commemorative plaque, and com memorative services and receptions. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to recognise the Portuguese Honourable Consul, Mrs. Andrea Moniz - DeSouza , who joins us in your G allery . 2136 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly [Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, Bermuda can be proud of its rich history and the various groups who have contributed to our growth and success. This is a unique occasion, and this celebration will further exemplify what we share as a community. Obrigado, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. As time goes on, we will hear a little bit more of that, eh? I see you closed with a little Portuguese that you picked up. The next speaker who has a Statement this morning is the Honourable Minister Caines. Actually, the next three are yours, …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Ah. Okay. TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP FORUM INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME 2018 LAUNCH Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of participating in the launch of the 10th Annual Tec hnology Leadership Forum [TLF] , and it was the Inter nship Programme. Eight Bermudian students will spend 12 weeks in this …
Okay. Ah. Okay.
TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP FORUM INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME 2018 LAUNCH
Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of participating in the launch of the 10th Annual Tec hnology Leadership Forum [TLF] , and it was the Inter nship Programme. Eight Bermudian students will spend 12 weeks in this intense, challenging, and incredibly rewarding programme exposing them to the many varied career paths to which they can pursue across multiple disciplines. Mr. Speaker, the TLF is a regi stered charity, and it is run in partnership with the pr ivate sector or ganisations, the Department of ICT Pol icy and Innovation. The Internship Programme was created in response to the growing need for qualified Bermudian talent in an ever -growing information, communication , and technology field. Graduates of the programme are now working in organisations across the Island, such as the Bermuda Hospitals Board, CCS, Validus, Ariel Re, Orbis, RenaissanceRe, FAC [First Atlantic Commerce], Deloitte, Decisions, Ernst & Young, ACT [Applied Computer Technologies], the Bermuda Government, Ascendant Group, Nova, XL, Chubb, and many ot hers. Mr. Speaker, the TLF internship, its model, is beneficial to selected students, as it combines clas sroom learning, team projects , and field work of the participating companies. This on- the-job pract ice is to ensure that the interns acquire a rich experience in the ICT field. Moreover, the participants will develop their networking skills and develop relationships within the ICT community throughout the course of the pr ogramme, whilst assisting them as they eventually search for employment. Mr. Speaker, with the most recent developments in the FinTech space, we must be sure that we have Bermudians trained and ready to fill the techno logy centric opportunities . One of the FinTech comp anies may need the skills of a software developer, network engineer, database administrators, machine learning engineer , information security analyst, development operational engineers, business [intelligence] developers to mobilise their businesses and to deliver their ser vices. The TLF internship is an ex cellent entry point to industry for these college students, as they are exposed to a variety of disciplines helping them to make informed career decisions, as well as to focus on their areas of study. Mr. Speaker, while t he classroom training is primarily focused on technical skills such as business continuity, blockchain, information security, project management, data warehousing, programming and networking, there also is an emphasis placed on soft skills throughout the c urriculum. These include customer service, time management , and communication skills. At the end of the programme, the internships receive a certificate of excellence, which ensures that the industry partners are of the level of expert ise that students are bringing —that they are ensuring a high level of expertise that each student will bring to the table. And this is highlighted and evidenced because they have successfully completed a high- quality curriculum designed by the TLF partners themselves in response to the Island’s need, in light of interna-tional best prac tices. Mr. Speaker, the TLF embodies the ideas of a good corporate citizenship in Bermuda. Participation by the private sectors ensures that their commitment to attracting and recruiting Bermudi an ICT students, mentoring them, networking with them , and providing the training that will make them an invaluable ICT asset in the ICT community and will ensure that they have the right skills to progress through their chosen ICT professions . . . Mr. S peaker, yesterday I thanked the board and the organisers of and the sponsors. The sponsors include Validus, CCS, Deloitte, W&W, Connectech, RenRe, Argo, ACT, P -Tech, and LinkBermuda. Through a unified approach to ICT career development, the TLF’s Internship Programme is activ ely cultivating student interest in technology. It is ad-dressing the talent shortfall that is frustrating the I sland’s businesses and employers, and we are conti nuously developing worldwide class talent right here in Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. You can continue on with your second Statement. Bermuda House of Assembly VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAMME Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you. T hank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of National Security has committed to making the reduction of gang vi olence a priority by introducing a …
Thank you, Minister. You can continue on with your second Statement.
Bermuda House of Assembly VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAMME
Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you. T hank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of National Security has committed to making the reduction of gang vi olence a priority by introducing a significant community - focused initiative to reduce antisocial behaviour. Today, Mr. Speaker, I wish to highlight anot her initiative that is crucial as a part of our anti -violence strategy. Mr. Speaker, the Violence Reduction Pr ogramme, or VRP, is an initiative already running in our correctional facilities. This is a critical pro gramme that seeks to rehabilitate violent offenders through cognitive therapeutic and clinical processes. Mr. Speaker, the VPR is a four - to six -month initiative and is based upon cognitive- behavioural and social learning principles. A key aspect of the pr ogramme is that it incorporates a relapse prevention model. The VRP aims to reduce the use of aggression and violence in adolescents, and in adult males and females. The programmes target violent attitudes and behaviours , whether actual, attempted, [or] threatened physical [or] emotional harm to a person or a person’s property. The VRP conducts group therapy sessions for participants; however, individual sessions are also provided for participants who find the working groups too challenging. Mr. Speaker , essentially, the aim of the pr ogramme is to reduce the likelihood of the seriousness of violent and aggressive behaviour occurring or reoccurring in offenders, by developing each participant’s understanding of their own pathways into violent b ehaviour. Mr. Speaker, I should note that, as a cognitive therapeutic intervention method, the VRP is designed for individuals convicted of various types of violent offences, particularly physical and emotional forms of violence. The offences could range from murder to domestic violence, intimate partner violence, handling the use of offensive weapons, as well as a number of other physical and psychological coercive behaviours. Mr. Speaker, I should point out that not every individual convicted of a violent offence will qualify to complete the VRP, as the criteria for entry is twofold. First, a history of violence, whether or not they are convicted under law, must be present in the partic ipant’s profile. The history of violence could be a cur-rent or previous offence for violence, or violent conduct for which no legal proceedings had occurred. The second criteria is each participant must undergo a comprehensive psychological evaluation for their personality, violence ideation, mental state, intellectual abilities and l evels of motivations , as a part of the consideration to acceptance in the programme. However, we believe that the VRP is a programme that will have a meaningful impact, and we believe that it will be effective. Mr. Speaker, in fact, I can report that six inmates at the Westgate Correctional Facility have recently successfully undergone and completed the Vi olence Reduction Programme. The clinical facilitators in the programme indicate that the participants demonstrated an excellent understanding of the key factors that motivate sustained violent behaviours. Further, the participants believed that there was value in the programme and were appreciative of engaging in this critical, restorative initiative aimed at rehabilitating their lives. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry is encouraged by this outcome. We will continue to strive to introduce more programmes to reach our people who are most in need, whether they are in our correctional facilities or in our communities. And in doing so, Mr. Speaker, we will continue to uphold our commitment to being a caring and responsible government for all of the people of Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Minister, whilst you are on your feet, you might as well conclude with your next Statement. APPOINTMENT OF NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE Hon. Wayne Caines: I am grateful, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday the 30 th of May 2018, in accordance with Section 87 of the …
Thank you, Minister. Minister, whilst you are on your feet, you might as well conclude with your next Statement.
APPOINTMENT OF NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
Hon. Wayne Caines: I am grateful, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday the 30 th of May 2018, in accordance with Section 87 of the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968, which grants the Governor responsibility for any business of the Bermuda Police Service, His Excellency the Governor John Rankin announced that he has appointed Chief Superintendent Stephen Corbishley to succeed Mr. Michael Dunkley [sic] as Bermuda’s —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMichael DeSilva. [Inaudible interj ections] Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, you are off your mark . You are off your mark . [Laughter] Hon. Wayne Caines: Correction, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Take a deep breath. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, His Excellency the Governor John Rankin has announced that he has appointed Chief Superintendent Stephen Corbishley to succeed Mr. Michael DeSilva, Mr. Speaker, as Bermuda’s next Commissioner of Police . 2138 1 June 2018 Official Hansard …
Yes. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Take a deep breath.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, His Excellency the Governor John Rankin has announced that he has appointed Chief Superintendent Stephen Corbishley to succeed Mr. Michael DeSilva, Mr. Speaker, as Bermuda’s next Commissioner of Police .
2138 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Yes.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, the Governor is responsible for operational policing. This means that he has direct managerial responsibility, oversight , and operational control over the Bermuda Police Service. Therefore, His Excellency also has overall control of the Commissioner of Police. Mr. Speaker, the appointment of the Commi ssioner of Police is the sole responsibility of the Gover-nor, and there is no requirement or obligation for him to consult the Government. Mr. Speaker, this appointment was made following an open recruitment process in line with international best practices for selecting chief officers. There were six candidates, three Bermudian. One was a superintendent of police, and two were assi stant commissioners. There were five interviewers; one was an invigilator. One of the five was an invigilator. The Governor granted my request to select two of the five people on the interview panel. Mr. Speaker, I must be clear. I am concerned that the Police Commissioner did not come from the rank and file of the Bermuda Police Service. Based on the lack of a suitably qualified Bermudian, we must challenge the Governor’s oversight and management of the leadership of the Bermuda Police Service, and this sentiment is not directed at our current Governor. There were also failings by the current commissioner and his human resources manager in the areas of leadership, talent management, and succession pla nning. Mr. Speaker, it must be noted that, under a previous OBA Government during the period from 2012 until 2017, the Bermuda Police Service, like most other government departments, endured a se ason of significantly reduced resources, which included budget cuts. And also with most government depar tments, the first line that was sliced in the budget was training, which included overseas attachments. And because of this decrease in the budget, staffing levels were also reduced. Mr. Speaker, during the period from 2012 to 2017, the staffing levels of the Bermuda Police Service fell from 460 to 400. This is a 13 per cent reduction, a significant decline, in an organisation that is charged with keeping Bermuda safe for both residents and visitors. Mr. Speaker, you cannot expect stellar performance and development without investment and training.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHear, hear! Hon. Wayne Caines: I read the comments of the Shadow Minister for National Security with interest, and I noted their almost concurrent r elease with the Governor’s announcement. The distinction between this Government and the One Bermuda Alliance is that we are determined to build capacity amongst our …
Hear, hear!
Hon. Wayne Caines: I read the comments of the Shadow Minister for National Security with interest, and I noted their almost concurrent r elease with the Governor’s announcement. The distinction between this Government and the One Bermuda Alliance is that we are determined to build capacity amongst our people. We cannot simply leave succession planning to chance. Our institutions require a deliberate approach and constructive ministerial leadership to ensure that Bermudians are always equipped to assume senior roles. Mr. Speaker, every government entity should have a succession plan where young Bermudians see real examples that prove that t hey can come into these organisations as apprentices or trainees, and over time develop so that one day they can hold the top job. Anything else, Mr. Speaker, is a failure! Mr. Speaker, we believe that the Governor must make it a clear priority for the new commissioner to identify, highlight, train, and develop high- fliers in the Bermuda Police Service and implement a comprehensive career development plan to ensure that, at the end of his five- year contract in the summer of 2023, a Bermudian is ready to l ead the Bermuda P olice Service. Mr. Speaker, the Bermuda Police Service is at a critical stage, and an intervention is needed. Sixty - eight per cent of the officers at the rank of inspector or above will reach the mandatory retirement age in the next four years, meaning by 2022. Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that a non-Bermudian has been appointed to this role. Ho wever, the appointment of a non- Bermudian commi ssioner was not an issue for 14 years, following the appointment of Commissioner Frederick “Penny” Bean in 1981. This matter sparked again in 1994, when Lennett Edwards announced his retirement. Colin Coxall, of the Thames Valley Police/City of Lon-don Police, was appointed to commissioner in 1995. Between 1995 and late 2000, we had two nonBermudian commissioners. Since then, there have been 18 uninterrupted years of Bermudian commi ssioners —Jonathan Smith, George Jackson, and Michael DeSilva. Any appointment of a non- Bermudian commissioner is bound to be contentious. Some will support it, and some will not support it. The fact is that, as long as the appointment is vested solely with the Governor, as per section 87 of our Constitution, there is little influence anyone other than the statutory body can interject. The appointment is solely —and I repeat solely —at the Governor’s discretion. Mr. Speaker, it would be remiss of me if I did not take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Police Commissioner, Mr. Michael DeSilva, for his 33 years of service to the people of Bermuda. We wish him Godspeed, good health, and happiness as he enters the next chapter in his life. Mr. Speaker, it is now time for the Bermuda Police Service to move forward. And I will now highlight some of the exciting and encouraging plans that this Government has already put in place to help the new commissioner achieve the goal of preparing and appointing a Bermudian commissioner by 2023.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, we are changing the paradigm of the Bermuda Police Service. There is a gap between operational policing and strategic pl anning. Many of the senior officers have not been given the opportunity to develop in the area of strategic leader-ship. Bermudians must be given the exposure to these disciplines so that in five years they are ready to lead. This must be accomplished by a combination of overseas attachments and training courses, and they must be given the opportunity to act in senior command positions that include strategic roles. Mr. Speaker, this year the Bermuda Police Service has five police cadets who graduated from the Bermuda College. They will be joined by seven more recruits in September 2018. This will give the Berm uda Police Service a cadre, or cader, of 12 cadets who can start to develop into the next wave of constables, introducing new blood to the Bermuda Pol ice Service. Mr. Speaker, the Bermuda Police Service will also boost its ranks by 25 new recruits in April 2019. The Bermuda Police Service will also soon introduce, for the first time, a number of [specialist] civilian posts, in such areas as crime scene investigators (or CSI investigators), intelligence officers, and financial i nvestigators. We will conduct a specialist recruit course where professionals in specific disciplines will be r ecruited from and for their areas of specialty. Mr. Speaker, whil st the announcement of a new commissioner is important in introducing a trai ning and leadership and succession plan for the highfliers in the Bermuda Police Service, it sets a clear expectation for the Governor; it gives the new commissioner a clear mandate; and it sends a message to all officers, from the police cadet all the way to the ranks, that they can come into this organisation, they will be well trained, and one day they will be able to hold the top job as the Commissioner of Police. Mr. Speaker, anything else —it is a failure. Mr. Speaker, this Government will work with the Governor, the commissioner, and the Bermuda Police Association and the members, the ladies and gentlemen of the Bermuda Police Service, to ensure that the Bermuda Police Service has all of the resources that it needs to give the people of Bermuda the type of police service that it deserves, and a police service that, in 2023, is led by a Bermudian. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. That brings us to th e end of the Statements. ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER HOUSE VISITORS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerBut before I move on, I would just like to acknowledge in the Gallery . . . earlier under the Petitions, the Honourable Member Furbert put a pet ition on behalf of the Bermuda Society for the Blind. And this morning, we have in the Gallery two students from the …
But before I move on, I would just like to acknowledge in the Gallery . . . earlier under the Petitions, the Honourable Member Furbert put a pet ition on behalf of the Bermuda Society for the Blind. And this morning, we have in the Gallery two students from the Berkeley Institute who are visually challenged. (Am I correct?) Would you like to acknowledge their presence with their instructors? Ms. Bean -Wilson and Ms. Davis, I believe.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you for joining us this morning. We will now move on. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. QUESTION PERIOD
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are no written questions today. So, the questions are as a result of the Statements that were given this morning. And, Ministers, there were two Members who have indicated that they have questions. Both are for Minister Caines. Minister Caines, the first is in regard to your Statement on …
There are no written questions today. So, the questions are as a result of the Statements that were given this morning. And, Ministers, there were two Members who have indicated that they have questions. Both are for Minister Caines. Minister Caines, the first is in regard to your Statement on the technology. And the ques tion comes from the Opposition Leader. Madam Leader, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP FORUM INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME 2018 LAUNCH
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister could answer this question: I note with interest that this is the 10th annual Leadership Forum. Could the Minister indicate how many graduates they have had from this programme and whether the graduates are tracked by the Wor kforce Development Programme? Hon. Wayne Caines: There are over 70 graduates, Mr. Speaker, and they are indeed tracked.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Wayne Caines: On every occasion, the graduates come back and they serve as alumni, guiding other students. As a matter of fact, yesterday, Mr. Speaker, there were a number of the alumni who have graduated from the programme who were indeed in the room. And this is something …
Yes. Hon. Wayne Caines: On every occasion, the graduates come back and they serve as alumni, guiding other students. As a matter of fact, yesterday, Mr. Speaker, there were a number of the alumni who have graduated from the programme who were indeed in the room. And this is something that is not only tracked by the TLF —i.e., the Ministry of IT Policy and Innovation—but they are also tracked by the sponsors of the programme and by t he employers. They receive yearly updates as to the status and to the progress. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, I was happy to see yesterday some of the sponsors. The people whom they had as employers in the room were indeed graduates of this programme.
2140 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Thank you, Minister. Supplementary?
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. Continue on. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And it might be that the Minister answered it, but I was not certain. Of those graduates, could the Minister indicate how many of those have actually been placed as full-time employees in these establishments?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, I do not have that information at my disposal. I would endeavour to get it and present it to this House on the next occasion, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: And if I can get that before these proceedings, I would endeavour to do so, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Suppl ementary? Second supplementary or new question? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: New question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. QUESTION 2: TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP FORUM INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME 2018 LAUNCH Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And if the Minister could indicate, because I think it is important for people out in Bermuda [to know], whether the Workforce Deve lopment [staff] are tracking the job vacancies so that when Bermudian students are …
Continue.
QUESTION 2: TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP FORUM INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME 2018 LAUNCH
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And if the Minister could indicate, because I think it is important for people out in Bermuda [to know], whether the Workforce Deve lopment [staff] are tracking the job vacancies so that when Bermudian students are out there looking for career opportunities they know how many jobs out there are vacant. And then, is that tied into work permit renewals?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, that is a question for the Minister with responsibility for Workforce D evelopment.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Any further supplementary? No further supplementary. Minister, before I move on to the next question, let me just indicate that there is actually a third Member who has indicated that they have a question for you on one of your other Statements, as well. So, there will …
Thank you, Minister. Any further supplementary? No further supplementary. Minister, before I move on to the next question, let me just indicate that there is actually a third Member who has indicated that they have a question for you on one of your other Statements, as well. So, there will be three questions put to you. The next question, Minister, is from the Honourable Member from constituency 10. And his ques-tion is in reference to your second Statement. Honourable Member.
QUESTION 1: VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAMME Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank yo u, Mr. Speaker. Good morning to you, and good morning to co lleagues. A question to the Honourable Minister in r egard to the Violence Reduction Programme. Honour-able Minister, can you please inform this Honourable House who actually conducts the programme?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, it is conducted by [Dr.] Emcee Chekwas and professional s. There i s the psychologist from . . . Mrs . Walker. She is in charge of the programme. There is the education coordinator; she is part of the programme. There is …
Thank you. Minister.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, it is conducted by [Dr.] Emcee Chekwas and professional s. There i s the psychologist from . . . Mrs . Walker. She is in charge of the programme. There is the education coordinator; she is part of the programme. There is the prison ps ychologist. And there are facilitators, all that are coming from within the prison team, that centre around reh abilitation, training, development, and education, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary or new question? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: How long has this pr ogramme been available?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: This programme . . . this has been the programme for the last four months, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary or new question? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, in regard to psychologists, how many psychologists are currently on staff at Corrections? And are their contracts long term?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, I would have to endeavour to find out the information specific ally about their contracts. And I would have to confirm the number of psychologists that we have there. But there is one prison psychologist that we have, and there is a …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. New question? QUESTION 2: VI OLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAMME Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, thank you. I apprec iate the Minister looking into getting those answers. In regard to the second question, Mr. Speaker, on page 2, the Honourable Minister says that he would point out that not …
Thank you, Minister. New question?
QUESTION 2: VI OLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAMME
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, thank you. I apprec iate the Minister looking into getting those answers. In regard to the second question, Mr. Speaker, on page 2, the Honourable Minister says that he would point out that not ever y individual convicted of a violent offence will qualify. And the selection criteria is twofold. The second part of the criteria says, “Each participant must undergo a comprehensive psychological evaluation of their personality . . .,” and it goes on from there. The question to the Honourable Minister: Are there still evaluations done on a prisoner upon entry into Corrections?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Each prisoner who comes to the Westgate Correctional Facility does not necessar ily have a psychological assessment or evaluation when they come into the prison. Mr. Speaker, you can well imagine there are people there for myriad of of-fences. If a prisoner comes and …
Thank you. Minister.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Each prisoner who comes to the Westgate Correctional Facility does not necessar ily have a psychological assessment or evaluation when they come into the prison. Mr. Speaker, you can well imagine there are people there for myriad of of-fences. If a prisoner comes and it is for a significant criminal -based offence, it is highly prob able that they will have what is called a “ social inquiry report ” [SIR] or a “ BARC assessment ” [Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre] that their sentence would have been based on. The judge or the magistrate, in the sentencing provisions ––the necessary provisions would have been made, in law, in psychology, with insight from the psychology department to do an analysis and an assessment of what their needs are. When they go to the Westgate Correctional Facility, they build on the SIR report, the psychologi cal or the psychiatric assessment. And a treatment plan is put in place. Every prisoner when they go to the Westgate Correctional Facility —every prisoner, they are seen by the support staff, whether it is a psychologist or the people who are the prison social workers, and a treatment plan is put in place. There are people who will need significant psychological, psychiatric treatment. There are those who will need just guidance and educational provisions. So, it is based upon the significance of the offenc e, what their treatment plan has set out, and based on the modality that has been highlighted in the social inquiry report, the psychiatric report, or the sociological report, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Any further questions? No fur ther questions . . . Oh, supplementary on this?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Honourable Member Jackson. What is your question? SUPPLEMENTARY
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Speaker; good morning. My questio n to the Minister is, yes, I understand that there is this social and psychological assessment. But are the data collected based on any sort of physical injury that may have occurred to the prisoners?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNow, that may not necessarily be a supplementary. The supplementary is tied to the ques tion that is asked. That is a new question alt ogether. And you had not put your name down for a question, Honourable Member.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerIf you could tie it in to a supplementary, we would allow it.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonYes. In addition to the ps ychological assessment, is there also a physical assessment taken or provided to the prisoner? Can I tie it in that way?
Ms. Susan E. JacksonIn addition, is there also a medical assessment? My reason being that I am just curious about any of those members of the prison sy stem, the corrections system, who may have had a head injury, from a cycle, in particular, on the road. The Spe aker: Honourable Minister. Is …
In addition, is there also a medical assessment? My reason being that I am just curious about any of those members of the prison sy stem, the corrections system, who may have had a head injury, from a cycle, in particular, on the road.
The Spe aker: Honourable Minister. Is it a physical examination, as well as a psychological one, a medical?
2142 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Wayne Caines: I cannot speak to the physical element of it, but I can add some texture. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to go to the graduation to speak one- on-one with each one of the facilitators, one- on-one with each of the men who had graduated from the programme. Mr. Speaker, these are men from 4/2, MOB, from Parkside. These men in this room who graduated from this programme, the majority of them, five out of the six men, were in pri son for murder. At the end of this exercise, they were able to talk about, based on this training, how they found themselves in prison, their triggers, their ant ecedent history, how their life started down this spiral, problems with their matriculation through education, their limitations based upon family history. They dealt with years of problems in their families. This was a textured and in- depth look at dealing with problems. There were group sessions where they sat in the room with each other. MOB and 4/2 and Parkside in the same room, working through issues, working through problems, not only in a group setting, but in a one-on-one setting. I sat in the room, and I listened to men whom we would label as some of the most troubled men in our society. We see the benefit of their now being in a room where they have had the benefit of psychological training, the benefit of understanding their psyche and their psychosis and what has placed them in these circumstances. And they have been given tools to help them in their future endeavour. I understand the question, specifically. But I do not know specifically about the physical element. But there was an in- depth look on myriad levels in getting these young men ready to be re- entered into our community, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. No further questions on that? Minister, the next Member who has a question actually has a question on your last Statement in r egard to the appointment of the new Commissioner of Police. And that question is from the Honourable Member from constituency 23. Honourable Member Gordon- …
Thank you, Minister. No further questions on that? Minister, the next Member who has a question actually has a question on your last Statement in r egard to the appointment of the new Commissioner of Police. And that question is from the Honourable Member from constituency 23. Honourable Member Gordon- Pamplin, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: APPOINTMENT OF A NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister, in referring to his Statement at page 2, the final paragraph, in which he indicated that from 2012 to 2017, the staffing levels of the BPS fell by 13 per cent —I wonder if the Minister …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister, in referring to his Statement at page 2, the final paragraph, in which he indicated that from 2012 to 2017, the staffing levels of the BPS fell by 13 per cent —I wonder if the Minister would acknowledg e that in order to have held a full complement of staffing there had to have been sufficient funding in the budget in order to sustain the salaries relating to those police officers.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Again . . . again, I must add context and texture. It is almost incredible for a Government that had the responsibility to delegate r esponsibility, under section 62(2) of the Constitution, for the Bermuda Police Service . . . for the last four years, …
Honourable Minister.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Again . . . again, I must add context and texture. It is almost incredible for a Government that had the responsibility to delegate r esponsibility, under section 62(2) of the Constitution, for the Bermuda Police Service . . . for the last four years, prior to this election, three of those years were the responsibility of the Member of constituency 10, as the Minister of National Security, and then directly as the Premier of this country. So, in other words, he had responsibility for recruitment, for training, for the general organisation and for community relations.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe “ Honourable Member ” here. The Honourable Member. Hon. Wayne Caines: The Honourable Member here.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerRight. Yes. Hon. Wayne Caines: So, when we are looking at what has happened in the police service— Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order? We will take a point of order. POINT OF ORDER Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: That is a real vivid stretch of the imagination. Responsibility is not with the Government of the day; it is with the commissioner hi mself.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. Wayne Caines: And this is why . . . and this is why ignorance of the law is no excuse. [Inaudible interjections] Hon. Wayne Caines: I would ask that Member to go under his desk and get the Constitution, to look at section 62(2); the responsibility was …
Thank you. Hon. Wayne Caines: And this is why . . . and this is why ignorance of the law is no excuse.
[Inaudible interjections] Hon. Wayne Caines: I would ask that Member to go under his desk and get the Constitution, to look at section 62(2); the responsibility was his. And the t emerity of him to rise and not to know the very delegated powers that were his for three years, that were his indirectly as the Premier of these beloved I slands! The responsibility for recruitment, for training, for equi pment and general organisation was his.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHear, hear!
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWas the Honourable Member’s. Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Wayne Caines: Was the Honourable Member’s. And pardon what appears to be my inappr opriate remark by referring to him as “his.” The reality of it was that this service finds itself in a crisis, a crisis of leadership. The numbers …
Was the Honourable Member’s.
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Wayne Caines: Was the Honourable Member’s. And pardon what appears to be my inappr opriate remark by referring to him as “his.” The reality of it was that this service finds itself in a crisis, a crisis of leadership. The numbers are not to par. There was no cost/benefit analysis. They made cuts. And we all understand austerity. But at what cost? You cannot cut and cut and cut, and then when there is no appropriate person in place, when there is no training, where the attrition that was superseding the people whom we have and the people to train them . . . we now look back and hold our hands in the air and shake them. It was his responsibility. It was that Government’s responsibility. And they abdicated it!
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersYes, yes. [Inaudible interjections] Hon. Wayne Caines: And now this Government has put a training programme in place. [Gavel] Hon. Wayne Caines: Thirteen per cent of the Berm uda Police Service . . . those numbers in the Bermuda Police Service dropped by 13 per cent. The leadership in this …
Yes, yes. [Inaudible interjections] Hon. Wayne Caines: And now this Government has put a training programme in place. [Gavel] Hon. Wayne Caines: Thirteen per cent of the Berm uda Police Service . . . those numbers in the Bermuda Police Service dropped by 13 per cent. The leadership in this organisation lacked, and it lacked because it did not have ministerial support and it did not have guidance. And the person who was responsible for that was the Minister of National Security. That is who, statutorily, through delegated powers, has the respon-sibility for that. So, you can blame the Governor all you want. The training lies directly at the feet of the Minister. So, when they were not trained and they had been found to be in the balance, and left wanting, we as a country must own that we did not train our pe ople. And that Government must take responsibility for it. But we will not just cast aspersions and point our fingers. We pledge to train. We pledge to give opportunity to the people. So, the next time, in 2023, we will not disappoint the people of Bermuda. And those young people sitting in the Gallery, they can be honoured by the fact that we will ensure that a Bermudian is the Commissioner of Police for these beloved I slands.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARIES
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinSupplementary, yes. Because the Honourable Member did not answer the question. The question was, the payment for a full co mplement of policing is predicated upon sufficient fund-ing being made available. My supplementary question is, will t he Minister acknowledge that the indiscrim inate spending of his prior administration precluded …
Supplementary, yes. Because the Honourable Member did not answer the question. The question was, the payment for a full co mplement of policing is predicated upon sufficient fund-ing being made available. My supplementary question is, will t he Minister acknowledge that the indiscrim inate spending of his prior administration precluded the funding from being available and caused the austerity measures that were required in order to have to cut back on the policing service, because that Gover nment, that previous PLP administration, failed to ad equately manage the public purse? [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere is a broad range in that question. But I think the Minister has the capability of being able to give a response. So, Minist er, would you like to give a r esponse? Hon. Wayne Caines: A definition. One of the definitions of “ insanity ” is to continue …
There is a broad range in that question. But I think the Minister has the capability of being able to give a response. So, Minist er, would you like to give a r esponse?
Hon. Wayne Caines: A definition. One of the definitions of “ insanity ” is to continue to do the same thing over and over and over. There is no acknowledg ement by the very seat that she sits in—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourabl e Member. Hon. Wayne Caines: The Honourable Member is fai ling to understand the very testament to the seat that she sits in, in that the people of this country reject everything that she has just espoused. This Gover nment has the opportunity to balance the budget. Every Member …
Honourabl e Member.
Hon. Wayne Caines: The Honourable Member is fai ling to understand the very testament to the seat that she sits in, in that the people of this country reject everything that she has just espoused. This Gover nment has the opportunity to balance the budget. Every Member who has ever been a Minister realised that you, like Solomon, are given a sword. And you have the responsibility to balance the fiscal budget with training, with deployment, and that is the skill of somebody who is trained. But how can we balance the budget, organise training where the Minister who had the responsibility did not even know that those delegated powers were his?
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersAah! [Desk thumping and inaudible interjections ] Hon. Wayne Caines: It is clear that there were austerity measures made. And they have declared . . . the Bible says, You show me what you treasure, and I will show you where your heart is.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYeah, man! Hon. Wayne Caines: We saw what they treasured last year. And this country s aw where their heart was. And that is why they sit in Opposition this very day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. 2144 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Honourable Member, new question or supplementary?
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI have a suppl ementary because, again—
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinMy second supplementary, yes, Mr. Speaker. Because, as the Honourable Member refers to the Bible . . . You know what? I am not even going to go there. I am not even going to go t here, Mr. Speaker. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell. Well, well, you caused me to go . . . I was about to pull out and follow you. I was going to follow you. [Inaudible interjections]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes, you can pull it . . . you can pull it out.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI was going to follow you that time. See that?
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinRender unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s. [Inaudible interjections and laughter]
Mrs. Patricia J. Go rdon -PamplinBut let me, Mr. Speaker, ask the Honourable Member whether he will acknowledge that, in response to my prior question— which he still has not answered—that it takes money in order to be able to pay officers. And it is not so much about the matter that he has responded …
But let me, Mr. Speaker, ask the Honourable Member whether he will acknowledge that, in response to my prior question— which he still has not answered—that it takes money in order to be able to pay officers. And it is not so much about the matter that he has responded to in terms of prioritising, because, clearly, if you do not have the money, which his prior Government spent indiscriminately, left no money in the coffers for effec-tive running of this community of the policing and ev erything r elating thereto—can the Honourable Member acknowledge that the indiscriminate spending of the prior PLP administration precluded effective manning of the Police Service? [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerIt is either a yes or a no. How is that? How is that? [Laughter] Hon. Wayne Caines: As the Speaker knows, the Member is in a position. And she has a line and a length. And she goes to the back of the pavilion, and she comes with her …
It is either a yes or a no. How is that? How is that?
[Laughter]
Hon. Wayne Caines: As the Speaker knows, the Member is in a position. And she has a line and a length. And she goes to the back of the pavilion, and she comes with her medium pace, and I get that. I will not allow these proceedings and the people of Bermuda to be bamboozled out of the i ssues. The issues that I will bring back to the forefront, and I will not allow it to be clouded, I will not allow it to be fudged, is that we have the opportunity, or had the opportunity, to acknowledge the fact that for 18 years we had Bermudian leadership.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes. Hon. Wayne Caines: It was trained. It was nurtured by the Progressive Labour Party Government. They went to Bramshill. They went on attachments overseas. They had the ability to see leaders all around the world, and they came back to this country and they stood as effigies to young …
Yes.
Hon. Wayne Caines: It was trained. It was nurtured by the Progressive Labour Party Government. They went to Bramshill. They went on attachments overseas. They had the ability to see leaders all around the world, and they came back to this country and they stood as effigies to young people in this country that, We are good enough. We are strong, and we are capable. Today we must now tell these same young people . . . And remember. No disrespect to the Governor, Mr. Speaker; this is no disrespect to the incoming Police Commissioner. This is directed at the former Government, who were so focused on things that did not have long- term meaning that, now that we ne ed leadership in our country, the people are saying that there was not enough money to train, that we are now at a Police Service that had a strength of 468— we are now operating at 400. They would have blamed that on the Progressive Labour Party, and $70 million was spent on the America’s Cup? When austerity measures were used all over this . . . we trimmed and we cut our sails all over? You can blame the Progressive Labour Party. But people do not buy it. And let me tell you som ething else, Mr. Speaker. We will work night and day to train Bermudians on every front, not just for the Ber-muda Police Service. And that is why this is important, Mr. Speaker. Every young Bermudian must be able to see examples! At the Public Transport Department, they put a young train engineer as a l eader yesterday. All of us stuck our chests out, proud. Every bus driver can look and say that they have a young Bermudian. Why is it not good enough for our young men and women to see the leadership in our country? We do not have control over that! The v ery nature that this Minister was given, the former Premier of this country, the Member from constituency 10, Mr. Speaker, was given the responsibility for training.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHe did not do it. Hon. Wayne Caines: And he did not do it. More i ncredul ous, he did not even know those delegated powers were his. [Inaudible interjections] Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Okay. Okay. We can save that for a motion to adjourn.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mrs. Patricia J . Gordon -PamplinI have a question. I have a new question; yes, I do.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. QUESTION 2: APPOINTMENT OF A NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinMr. Speaker, the Honourable Member spoke of training. Will the Honourable Member acknowledge that, in 2017/18, the training budget for the police department was $948,000, whereas in 2018/19, with the shortage to which the Honourable Member has just alluded, the training budget has been decreased to $889,000? Is the Honourable …
Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member spoke of training. Will the Honourable Member acknowledge that, in 2017/18, the training budget for the police department was $948,000, whereas in 2018/19, with the shortage to which the Honourable Member has just alluded, the training budget has been decreased to $889,000? Is the Honourable Mem ber acknowledging the fact that $889,000 under the PLP, new administration, they have failed to speak to the issue that he has just fi nished articulating in terms of what is being put into training? [An amount of] $889,000, according to my mathematical mind, Mr. Speaker, is less than the $948,000 that was put up by the last budget, the final budget of the previous administration.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: And that is why a little bit of knowledge is also a dangerous thing. I am the Mini ster with responsibility. I have the ability, I have the ability to look at what is important with training and, with laser -like precision, …
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberOh, yes. Sure. Hon. Wayne Caines: She would learn and she would understand—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member . Honourable Member. Hon. Wayne Caines: The Honourable Member would . . . excuse me and pardon me, Mr. Speaker. Again, I apologise for that. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member would understand if she looked at what the plan is. So, you cannot change the situation with reference …
Honourable Member . Honourable Member.
Hon. Wayne Caines: The Honourable Member would . . . excuse me and pardon me, Mr. Speaker. Again, I apologise for that. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member would understand if she looked at what the plan is. So, you cannot change the situation with reference to training if you do not have a plan. That is the point number one. There —was —no —plan. Take all the money and increase the budget all you want! The former Prem ier did not have a plan. The former Minister Jeff Baron did not have a plan with reference to training, with reference to Bermudianisation, with reference . . . did they think that this commissioner would last here for-ever? The difference, Mr. Speaker, i s that we have a plan. The plan has been articulated, the bones of it. Because we have less money articulated for it, [does] that mean that we cannot reach our objective? You saw our objective. Our objective is clear! In 2023, we will have a Bermuda commis sioner, a Bermudian commissioner. That means they will go on overseas attachments. That means that they will have the ability to do strategic policing. That is what they said, Mr. Speaker, that we are not able to think strategically and that the two officers had a significant operational expertise, but they lacked strategic training and strategic planning. And guess what? It has come back from my interaction with the senior command, because that budget was cut. Yes, we have realised that, within keeping of that finite amount of money, that we are still going to make the training available, that we have, in fact, with the new budget, 25 new officers coming in April, that we are going to do a specialist recruiting course. So we are going to take accountants at CSI who might be on “Civilian Street” in Bermuda and bring them into the Bermuda Police Service so that we do not have the need to rely on more non- Bermudian expertise and financial expertise from abroad. So, a young person who might be on “Civvy Street” and wants to get in the Bermuda Police Service, they have the ability to change careers. Mr. Speaker, that costs less! We are doing specific training, and the money has been . . . with laser -like precision, it has been earmarked for specific types of trai ning, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes, I have a supplementary. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister acknowledge that $889,000, notwithstanding what he has spoken about, laser -like precision, is less than $948,000?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, I will not allow the speaker, with her CPA/CA, one of the most renowned accountants in this country, on the cover of magazines, to use what she is trying to use to tr ip me into saying that we have less money. I will …
Yes. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, I will not allow the speaker, with her CPA/CA, one of the most renowned accountants in this country, on the cover of magazines, to use what she is trying to use to tr ip me into saying that we have less money. I will go back to the premise. The premise is that this is based on a plan. The plan is based on specific modules of training, r e2146 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report B ermuda House of Assembly cruitment, and retention. The numbers mean that, yes, there is less money this year . But, with a plan, we have the ability, unlike the unfettered, undisciplined spending of our predecessors, to, with laser -like pr ecision — [ Inaudible interjections]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWhat? Hon. Wayne Caines: You heard me. [ Laughter] Hon. Wayne Caines : The last . . . hold on!
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSpeak to the Chair. Speak to the Chair. Hon. Wayne Caines: I will speak to the Chair.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSpeak to the Chair. Hon. Wayne Caines: And I do not have any fear of contradiction. I would have no fear of contradiction. You get up and tell me . . . you get up . . . and can anyone tell me that the $70 million that were ex-pended …
Speak to the Chair. Hon. Wayne Caines: And I do not have any fear of contradiction. I would have no fear of contradiction. You get up and tell me . . . you get up . . . and can anyone tell me that the $70 million that were ex-pended last year, with the austerity measures that were [implemented], the furlough days that were taken by the government employees, the number of civil servants who have not been able to get a pay raise, the number of department heads that have not been cut . . . guess what? Could we not have used that money for something else? Could we have not used that money to better the Bermuda Police Serv ice? So do not tell me— Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Point of order, point of order. Hon. Wayne Caines: Point of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. POINT OF ORDER Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This is getting beyond the ridiculous. He is not answering any questions. He is sermonising and preaching. It should be, as you said quite rightly, on the motion to adjourn.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHe is bringing us to a close now. On your feet, bring us to a close. [ Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerBring us to a close. Ho n. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, the numbers were less in this year’s budget, and that is only looking at it from one perspective. We are saying that, of course, the numbers, they were our measure put in place. But with a plan, with clear …
Bring us to a close. Ho n. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, the numbers were less in this year’s budget, and that is only looking at it from one perspective. We are saying that, of course, the numbers, they were our measure put in place. But with a plan, with clear identification for spending and training, we believe it is money well spent and in the right places, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Honourable Member.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI have another question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerA new question or a supplementary?
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinA new question,
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerContinue on. QUESTION 3: APPOINTMENT OF A NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinMr. Speaker, the Honourable Member has spoken to the plan, his precision and laser -like planning, which he is spending less money on than was available the year before. But th e questi on is, is his pla n predicat ed upon effectiv e polic e negotiations ? An d …
Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member has spoken to the plan, his precision and laser -like planning, which he is spending less money on than was available the year before. But th e questi on is, is his pla n predicat ed upon effectiv e polic e negotiations ? An d can the Honourable Member tell us what the status is of those negotiations?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWait, wait, wait, wait. I am trying to remember if negotiations were ac tually part of the Statement then. I do not k now if the negotiations were part of the Statement. [Inaudible interjections]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinAs part of a plan, Mr. Speaker, as part of a plan—
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinPresumably, the negotiations have to be part of the forward planning. The Honourable Member has taken great pride in speaking of the plan. So, I am just as king if the Honourable Member can assist us with letting us know — letting us, the people of Bermuda, not us in …
Presumably, the negotiations have to be part of the forward planning. The Honourable Member has taken great pride in speaking of the plan. So, I am just as king if the Honourable Member can assist us with letting us know — letting us, the people of Bermuda, not us in the House of Assembly . . . because, clearly, as the Honourable Member said, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The one thing I can do, I can add. I can add one and one. And he did acknowledge the fact that I am an accountant. And I am a very proud accountant. And, yes, I have been on the cover of magazines. So I think that I have proven my worth in that field, Mr. Speaker. I am just asking whether included in his plan and his financial allocation of training, have the nego-tiations been a part of his planning process? It is a simple question.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: I got your point to your question.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Spea ker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI have got your point to your question.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI am going to allow the question to pr oceed, not based on what was in the Statement, but based on the fact that the Minister did—
Mrs. Pa tricia J. Gordon -PamplinHis answer.
The SpeakerThe Speaker—based on the fact that the Minister did introduce his plan. And on those grounds only. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, the police negoti ations are ongoing. And, obviously, you know, Mr. Speaker, that we are not in a position to discuss it in any way at this stage.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThat’s fine, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat is it. Thank you. There are no further questions. There are no further questions. We can now move on. CONGRATULATORY AND/OR OBITUARY SPEECHES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDoes any Member wish to speak to those, after our interesting round of questions? No one is on their feet? No one? We can move on. Is anybody standing? Mr. Tyrrell, were you standing or not? B ecause it looked like both you and Mr. Commissiong were going up and …
Does any Member wish to speak to those, after our interesting round of questions? No one is on their feet? No one? We can move on. Is anybody standing? Mr. Tyrrell, were you standing or not? B ecause it looked like both you and Mr. Commissiong were going up and down like you were not sure what you wanted to do. Is anybody going to take the floor? Next time have it clear, because you almost lost the opportunity. I was not sure what that up- anddown exercise was all about. Mr. Tyrrell, I will acknowledge you at this point.
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellThank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, on two points. First of all, I would like a letter of condolences to be sent to the family of the late Marguerite Elizabeth Smith of Hill View. Ms. Smith lived a full life, a very full life. She passed away …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, on two points. First of all, I would like a letter of condolences to be sent to the family of the late Marguerite Elizabeth Smith of Hill View. Ms. Smith lived a full life, a very full life. She passed away at the age of 87. And she was the loving wife of Calvin Smith, who is a very good friend of mine. And I am sure she w ill surely be missed. On another note, Mr. Speaker, I would also like condolences to be sent to the family of the late Audrey Harkness. Ms. Harkness was actually a con-stituent of mine.
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellYes, and I attach my good friend, Honourable Member Scott, with that.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou have got a hand over on this side, too.
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellThank you. Ms. Harkness, as I said, was a constituent of mine. So, I got to know her over the last few years. She was si ck, mostly, very sickly, certainly over the last three years, but a very lovely lady. I am sure she is going to be surely …
Thank you. Ms. Harkness, as I said, was a constituent of mine. So, I got to know her over the last few years. She was si ck, mostly, very sickly, certainly over the last three years, but a very lovely lady. I am sure she is going to be surely missed by her husband, David, who was more affectionately known as Tony. On a slightly different note, Mr. Speaker, I have the opport unity every Tuesday to visit the Lorraine Rest Home. And when I go there, you know, I mix with the residents. But when I went this week, I was very surprised and pleased to note that there was a class of senior students there. And I distinguish “senior ” because most times when classes go there, they are probably primary, no more than middle school [students], mixing with the residents. This time, as I said, it was a senior school. Some of my colleagues may flash their eyes when I name the school. But I want to preface that by saying that this class of students were very attentive to the residents. And I see them as future leaders of this country. So I would like a letter of congratulations to be sent to the Headmaster of Somersfield Academy for grooming that sort of intention. Because those st udents could have gone anywhere else to do communi-ty service. But they chose the Lorraine Rest Home to do so. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member . . . I recognise the Honourable Minister. Minister Weeks, you have the floor. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Mr. Speaker, I would start off my remarks with asking this Honourable House to send a letter of congratulations to the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs for a job well done on this last Bermuda Day holiday. Mr. Speaker, the department is led …
Good morning.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Mr. Speaker, I would start off my remarks with asking this Honourable House to send a letter of congratulations to the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs for a job well done on this last Bermuda Day holiday. Mr. Speaker, the department is led by Heather Whalen. And members of 2148 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Ber muda House of Assembly her staff, including Carlita Lodge, Clyde-A- Mae Tuc ker, Veney Sims, Nichae Fubler, Kim Dismont Robi nson, Renee Thomas, and Graham Mawer, as well as many temporary staff, Mr. Speaker —temporary staff like Kenisha Shakir, Aruna Dismont, and S hanlay Todd. Together, Mr. Speaker, they all did a superb job organising an event that required many months of planning, thought, and creativity and resourcefulness. Mr. Speaker, I understand that Mr. Lowdru Robinson, a former Director of Community and Cultural Affairs, offered his congratulations by posting an online message all the way from Hong Kong, saying how he watched the annual Bermuda Day Parade with pride, like many other Bermudians around the world, Mr. Speaker. And it was a good thing, what we share and celebrate the Island’s history and heritage. Again, Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the D epartment of Community and Cultural Affairs. Moving on now, Mr. Speaker, I would like a letter of congratulations to be sent to one of our own. He is here every Friday as a reporter, Mr. Trevor Lindsay. I noticed him on Bermuda Today ; I do not know if others did. But, Mr. Speaker, we have to let the pe ople of Bermuda know that, for the first time ever, the Bermuda Day half -marathon was shown live via TNN, Trevor Lindsay’s Facebook page.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHear, hear! [Desk thumping] Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes. There were 5,000 who watched this race. And there are some places around the world that also watched—O xford in England, Bar-bados, Ireland, Grand Cayman, the Bahamas. I would like to associate the MP, the Minister from constituen-cy 3. And I …
Hear, hear! [Desk thumping] Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Yes. There were 5,000 who watched this race. And there are some places around the world that also watched—O xford in England, Bar-bados, Ireland, Grand Cayman, the Bahamas. I would like to associate the MP, the Minister from constituen-cy 3. And I have just named a few, Mr. Speaker. Over 600 comments on the gratitude of viewers, and I saw him on the race from Somerset to Hamilton, just film-ing the race. TNN, Bermuda News As It Happens, we say thank you, Bermuda for allowing us, TNN, to take this race, our Bermuda Day race, to another level. Thanks again to Mr. Trevor Lindsay and TNN. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Th e Speaker: Thank you, Honourable Member. Mr. Premier, are you rising or are you leaving your seat? You started walking; you started walking off that time. Premier, you have the floor. Ho n. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on a very sad note. And it is to acknowledge the passing of my constit uent, a long- time party member and entrepreneur, Ms. Annie Young. Th e Speaker: Associate the whole House. Hon. E. David Burt: And I will, without question, associate the entire House with this. Th e Speaker: Yes. Hon. E. David B urt: Miss Annie, as she was affectionately known, was a well -known Hamilton bus inesswoman, owning and operating her Afro- centric store, True Reflections, for over 20 years. She played a pivotal role in exposing Bermudians to African cul-ture by promoting the integration of African tradition into everyday life through her garments, books, ar twork, and natural health products. On a mor e personal note, Mr. Speaker, of course, Ms . You ng was a c onstituent of mine. S he was a member o f my br anch. A nd I got t o see her last a few weeks ago when s he was at our s eniors t ea. She would always s how up. I r emember w hen my childr en were born, s he gave t hem gi fts. S he would always as k how my wif e was doing. A nd I r emember there was a gift of S hea butter and other t hings t hat she always had. S he was a w onderful s pirit a nd a very kind-heart ed woman. A nd I know you, Mr . Speaker, knew her well. An d I would wis h to exte nd the condolences of t his H ouse, an d the thoughts an d prayers, t o Miss Annie’s f amily a nd friends. A nd we know t hat h er presenc e will surely be missed, and ask that she may—o f course, hope that she may rest in peace.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, on to a brighter note, I would like to highlight the achievements of Bermuda’s Davis Cup’s team pla yer, 16 -year-old Trey Mallory, who is on his debut in Costa Rica, who made history for Bermuda as he won his opening match 7–6, …
Yes. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, on to a brighter note, I would like to highlight the achievements of Bermuda’s Davis Cup’s team pla yer, 16 -year-old Trey Mallory, who is on his debut in Costa Rica, who made history for Bermuda as he won his opening match 7–6, 6–2, against Kevin Gardner, of Antigua, Bermuda’s number -two player. Mallory, who currently lives and trains in the United States, joins some of Bermuda’s more seasoned players. Jensen Bascome, Gavin Manders, and David Thomas represented Bermuda at the Davis Cup earlier this week. We wish Trey and the entire team well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Th e Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Premier. I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 12. You have the floor. Mr . L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me first congratulate the Minister for a fine May 25th day. You could see that Bermuda really e njoyed the celebrations. My wi fe and I actually decided— and this is a congrats to the Customs officers in Dockyard. We decided to spend the day in Dockyard, something differ-ent on the holiday, which was celebrated on the 25 th. And while we were there, the cruise ships were get-ting ready to leave.
Bermuda House of Assembly And we were in a restaurant, sitting down outside, you know, just enjoying all of the people up there. And the ship, of course, sounded off its horn that it was getting ready. And eventually, about 45 minutes later, we see a young lady running from the restaurant, holding her beverage in her hand. I will not say what it was, but she is holding her beverage in her hand, running to catch the cruise ship! She was the last one to get on the ship. The ship had made a call and was looking for her. And the restaurant said, Well, this lady, she is here! But what ensued after that was, two cruise ships were there and they both could see what was going on. And they were cheering this lady as she is running with this beverage in her hand, trying to get on the boat.
Mr. L. Craig CannonierBut what we witnessed was true Bermudian hospitality by our Customs officers. And I just cannot go without congratulating them for making sure that our visitors feel welcome. One of the Customs officers . . . by this time, they should have left. But they did not. One of the …
But what we witnessed was true Bermudian hospitality by our Customs officers. And I just cannot go without congratulating them for making sure that our visitors feel welcome. One of the Customs officers . . . by this time, they should have left. But they did not. One of the Customs officers got on his bike and rode out and met her halfway, put her on the bike, and rode her back t o the Customs area just to get her through so she could get back on the cruise ship. So, I just want to congratulate—I should have gotten their names, the Customs officers. But I did want to congratulate the Customs officers for really showing the two cru ise ships, which you know carry anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 passengers, plus crew of 1,000 more, that Bermuda knows how to take care of its visitors. So, to the Customs officers who were there that day, I want to say thank you for ensuring that our visitors understand that we still have it! And we still enjoy our visitors to the Island. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you for that light touch on that one, Honourable Member. You put a smile on pe ople’s faces. I now recognise the Deputy Speaker. Deputy Speaker, you have the floor. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker, I would like for this House to send …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: The former wife of Robert George Peets, Sr., from Collector’s Hill, and to her family.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: I am sure she will be sorely missed by the family. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member . . . We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honourable Member Dunkley, you have the floor. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to piggyback on what Minister Weeks said in regard to Bermuda Day, certai …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member . . . We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honourable Member Dunkley, you have the floor.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to piggyback on what Minister Weeks said in regard to Bermuda Day, certai nly to congratulate the department for the tremendous work that they did, and all of the participants in the Berm uda Day Parade, because it takes a lot of work to be ready to perform, and it takes a lot of stamina to perform all day. So, congratulations and well done to them. I would specifically like to ask this Honourable House to send congratulations to the women of the races, especially the Half Marathon Derby. The male winner, Mr. Lamont Marshall, who is a constituent of mine, is a young man who holds , I believe, over 18 Bermuda records and is still training and working hard. He came down from Somerset by himself, and a couple of miles at the end he just tagged along and was high- fiving people. So, congratulations to Lamont. He has worked hard for it; he deserves it. And to Nikki Butterfield on the fantastic run that she had to win the female race. Mr. Speaker, I am not too shy, but I am proud to congratulate —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. I saw you at the finish line congratulating a certain young lady. Go ahead. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Well, I was there congrat ulating them all! I was congratulating them all, Mr. Speaker. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, I saw you with a certain young lady, with a bigger smile. You had a bigger smile on your fa ce with this particular lady. [Inaudible interjections and laughter] Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: I want to congratulate my daughter on finishing second in the race, on the work that …
Well, I saw you with a certain young lady, with a bigger smile. You had a bigger smile on your fa ce with this particular lady.
[Inaudible interjections and laughter]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: I want to congratulate my daughter on finishing second in the race, on the work that she did since starting to train in February! And I raise that, Mr. Speaker , because when we talk about Bermuda Day and what we share, the 2150 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly relationship between Larry, Lamont, and my daughter, Christine, is something that, as we have our differences, as we have a divide that sometimes, as polit icians, we try to magnify for our per sonal gain or polit ical gain, here we have Mr. Lamont Marshall and my daughter Christine, who people would have never thought would have trained together for this race. My daughter looked forward to every Tuesday getting up in the arboretum and running wit h Lamont. I went up there a couple of days to watch them run. And, of course, they are working hard. But the smile and the happiness on their faces as they talked every loop around . . . and I want to say thank you to Larry Marshall, the father of Lamont , who not only has coached Christine, but I think Larry is probably her second father. Because they communicate so much on Messenger and there is such a relationship in there —this is the beauty of Bermuda that we can find if we just step outside of our nor mal path in life, Mr. Speaker. And that is why, on Bermuda Day, I was a little bit overwhelmed by emotion to see Bermudians coming together and actually doing something and being successful. And if we put some of our political differences aside, we can do more of that, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 3. Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Yes, Mr. Speaker. I just would like the House to recognise the great efforts of our girls under -17 football team.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersYes! [Desk thumping] Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: I would like to associate the whole House, particularly the Minister of Sports, as well as our Member from constituency 24 and our Premier, and MP Tyrrell —the whole House again, Mr. Speaker, because they have moved on to the next round. And …
Yes!
[Desk thumping]
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: I would like to associate the whole House, particularly the Minister of Sports, as well as our Member from constituency 24 and our Premier, and MP Tyrrell —the whole House again, Mr. Speaker, because they have moved on to the next round. And Bermuda is behind them 100 per cent. And in spite of all of the turmoil that they experienced down in Nicaragua, they have been able to get through that, keep their heads up high and, through hard work and determination, have had the successes that they are enjoying. And we wish them well as they continue to represent our Bermuda and look forward to their next successes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Honourable Member . . . I recognise the Honourable Government Whip. You got up a little quicker than the Opposition Whip. So I will let you stay on your feet. Mr. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just w ant to be associated …
Thank you. Does any other Honourable Member . . . I recognise the Honourable Government Whip. You got up a little quicker than the Opposition Whip. So I will let you stay on your feet. Mr. W. Lawrence Scott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just w ant to be associated with the condolences for the family of Miss Audrey, who was my neighbour. And Tony is my neighbour. We do go way back because they helped me with my first youth group in the Evangelical Church. And so, therefore, I have very fond memor ies of Miss Audrey and Tony, and my sympathies are with them. And I would like to associate MP Cole Simons. Also, I would like to have condolences sent to the family of Mr. Proctor, who lived in my constituency, who passed away. He lived on [Coral Hill Lane].
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottAnd I will associate the Ho nourable Member Gordon- Pamplin. Recently, we had a very robust conversation about the police force. He was one of those old- school police officers.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHe would not let you forget it, either.
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottNo, he would not let you forget it. And with my grandfather having been in the service just prior to him, it sort of had a touching, sentimental value to myself, in his passing. But also, I would like to associate myself with the comments from Minister Foggo. As you …
No, he would not let you forget it. And with my grandfather having been in the service just prior to him, it sort of had a touching, sentimental value to myself, in his passing. But also, I would like to associate myself with the comments from Minister Foggo. As you know, I am a goalkeeper, and my goalkeeper coach is out there, as well.
[Inaudible interjections and laughter ]
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottMy goalkeeper coach is out there, Mr. Deshawn Cooper. And I would just like to highlight the coaching staff for the girls, for the BFA, that is out there [for] all Bermudians. And this is what a full Bermudian team looks like. This is what a full Bermudian team can …
My goalkeeper coach is out there, Mr. Deshawn Cooper. And I would just like to highlight the coaching staff for the girls, for the BFA, that is out there [for] all Bermudians. And this is what a full Bermudian team looks like. This is what a full Bermudian team can do. I mean, I am willing to put my name forward for the national team.
[Laughter]
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottSo, I will put it out there —put my name forward for the national team.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, you might have s lipped on that one. You might have slipped on that. But continue on, Member. [Inaudible interjections] Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. W. Lawrence Scott: But, I mean, you know, my mentor is Petr Cech for Arsenal. But I digress, Mr. Speaker. But I mean, the …
Well, you might have s lipped on that one. You might have slipped on that. But continue on, Member. [Inaudible interjections]
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. W. Lawrence Scott: But, I mean, you know, my mentor is Petr Cech for Arsenal. But I digress, Mr. Speaker. But I mean, the thing is that I would j ust like to say that this is the next generation of footballers in Bermuda. This is the next generation of Bermudian athletes. This is the next generation of Bermudian coaches. And I think that they, too, should be cel ebrated, as well. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member, Government Whip. And the Opposition Whip now. We recognise you. Would you like to have the floor?
Ms. Susan E. JacksonI want to get up and just congratulate, in general, the perseverance of our young people, those in the community who are passionate about sport, but in particular our youth. I want to begin with the under -17 girls football team, who went off to Nicaragua. They had to perse …
I want to get up and just congratulate, in general, the perseverance of our young people, those in the community who are passionate about sport, but in particular our youth. I want to begin with the under -17 girls football team, who went off to Nicaragua. They had to perse vere through some civil unrest. They handled themselves well. They were steady. And I certainly appreciate the way that they handled themselves as representatives of the country. I also want to congratulate the perseverance of our young people who were out in the heat of the day on Bermuda Day for the parade. They did a great job. They handled themselves well. And the runners — I am not going to try to be any long- distance runner or try to compete like my colleague, the Government Whip.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHe does not run far. He does not run far. No. [Laughter]
Ms. Susan E. JacksonBut I certainly know the pain and the perseverance that it takes to complete the Bermuda Day Half Marathon. And I have not even begun to try to complete it. [Inaudible interjectio ns]
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But I am going to remain a short -distance runner, thank you very much; make that clear. But in particular, I want to end with Mustafa Ingham. This, to me, is a fantastic example of a Bermudian who has persevered. He has had faith in …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But I am going to remain a short -distance runner, thank you very much; make that clear. But in particular, I want to end with Mustafa Ingham. This, to me, is a fantastic example of a Bermudian who has persevered. He has had faith in opportunity. He has followed through, through the good, the bad, and the indifferent. And he has come out on the other side of it, Mr. Speaker, in a positive light. This is the kind of role model that this country needs . And I want us as an assembly here in the House of Parliament to recognise this gentleman and to understand and to hold him in high esteem as he moves forward. I am sure he will face a number of obstacles along the way. And it is our job, as a country, t o continue to support young people such as [Mustafa]. He began through the America’s Cup. I celebrate Glenn Jones, who not only was able to identify this young man, Mustafa Ingham, but was also able to mentor and support him through the America’s Cup chal-lenge. I cannot even imagine the physical, mental, logistical challenges that he must have faced to get there and to be able to perform at the level that he did in order to be able to continue to experience and gain knowledge through his time with the Ameri ca’s Cup. So, Mr. Speaker, I thank you for giving me a moment to share my feelings of congratulation.
[Timer beeps]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYour time has run out. Good time for you to wrap up. Does any other Member wish to speak on this matter? We recognise the Minister of Health. Honourable Member, you have the floor. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Real briefly, on this sad note, I would …
Your time has run out. Good time for you to wrap up. Does any other Member wish to speak on this matter? We recognise the Minister of Health. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Real briefly, on this sad note, I would ask that the House send condolences to the presiding elder, Howard Dill, of the AME Church, as well as his wife, Dr. Rev. Emily Gail Dill, on the recent passing of the presiding elder’s mother, Mrs. Ruth Dill, who was a very active member. I would like to associate, please, Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Derrick Burgess, as well as the Honourable Wayne Furbert, as wel l as the Honourable Premier, and the whole House. Mrs. Dill was a very active member of Vernon Temple AME Church in Southampton and a very active member in the community. Again, her son is the presiding elder of the AME Church, and we would ask this House to send condolences on the passing of Mrs. Ruth Dill. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 11, Honourable Member Famous.
Mr. Christopher FamousThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate firstly the Ming family, of this place they call St. George’s, on the graduation of their son, J ari, from university —a mathematical genius. He happens to be in the House. [Desk thumping]
Mr. Christopher FamousHe is going to help o ur team to count those runs. 2152 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: I know you slid up when you said that. So, I am going to let you keep going. Go ahead. You hesitated; I understand.
Mr. Christopher FamousMoving along, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Honourable Consul of St. Kitts and Nevis, Ms. Louise Tannock, for hosting a family gathering this last week, of the Morton family, where they honoured not o nly Mr. Stanley Morton, but the Deputy Governor General of St. Kitts and …
Mr. Christopher FamousAnd as the Deputy Governor stated, it is very important that we as Bermudians keep in to uch with their family in St. Kitts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member . . . We now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 1. Honourable Member Ming.
Mrs. Renee MingGood morning, Mr. Speaker. How are you today?
Mrs. Renee MingNo St. George’s talk, given that we are officially at that time, but we will save that for a nother time. I would like to extend prayers and condolences for the family of Edward Waldron, also of St. George’s, known as “Bootsie,” aka “La Li.” Please associate Lovitta Foggo and …
No St. George’s talk, given that we are officially at that time, but we will save that for a nother time. I would like to extend prayers and condolences for the family of Edward Waldron, also of St. George’s, known as “Bootsie,” aka “La Li.” Please associate Lovitta Foggo and Kim Swan with that, as well. I would just like the Waldron family to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers. Also, Mr. Speaker, I am going to do congrats right now. And one is to Clearwater Middle School for hosting the Spring into the Arts event last evening — excellent event. The participants were from St. George’s prep, Francis Patton, Clearwater, and St. David’s. And the St. David’s principal actually stood up and did a solo. So we do not just have talent within our children; we have talent within our principals and teachers, as well. And, Mr. Speaker, just another congrats to Dage Minors as he winds up his career at Franklin Pierce Universit y. And he was successful in getting an All-American title again for his 800 metres. So, he i ntends of his professional running, but not even profes-sional; but running with his school has wound up. And we wish him all the best. We look forward to seeing what things he does next. Mr. Speaker, I just want to also send congratulations to those persons who are touched by Reco very Month. That was in the month of May. I know two people who were honoured within St. George’s. And we just want to recognise and congr atulate those who take one day, one minute, one second at a time. And I am going to do a last one, real quick, because Honourable Member Famous did my son. But my daughter is sitting here, and she too graduated last week from high school.
[Desk thumping]
Mrs. Renee MingSo, the Ming family has had a busy week. But that is okay; we are blessed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other . . . There is an East End event, now. Mr. Swan, would you like to make som e comments at this point?
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanMr. Speaker, I would like a letter of condolences sent to the family of Mr. Mi-chael Daniels, [sic] who passed aw ay recently . . . [Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanI used to teach him golf. It must have been a senior moment. But I will get his name right now —Mr. Daniels from the Elbow Beach, who passed away. And I know his family. I know he worked with my brother many years ago, probably one of the people …
I used to teach him golf. It must have been a senior moment. But I will get his name right now —Mr. Daniels from the Elbow Beach, who passed away. And I know his family. I know he worked with my brother many years ago, probably one of the people who would have mentored him. Well respected in the industry. I think the Honourable Opposition Leader would like to be associated with those remarks. Yes. Mr. Daniels has passed on to glory, a nd we would like a suitable letter sent to his family. Also, Mr. Speaker, the family of the late Irene Patterson, from St. George’s; she has passed away. I knew Ms. Patterson personally. She played a lot of golf, a delightful lady. She came to Bermuda man y, many years ago at the Castle Harbour, before my time at Castle, and fell in love with Bermuda, and caught the eye of a Bermudian, a St. Georgian, Hughie. And I know that her family and friends who survive her are deeply saddened by her passing there. Also, I want to be associated with the remarks going out to La Li Waldron, a dear soul. And this year’s Cup Match victory by St. George’s will be in honour of La Li.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: You know what?
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanBut I know that they would have to decline or spare the wrath of my cousins up in the West. But La Li was the person who would have led the singing at Cup Match. He w ould have led the charge even when the chips were down. And we …
But I know that they would have to decline or spare the wrath of my cousins up in the West. But La Li was the person who would have led the singing at Cup Match. He w ould have led the charge even when the chips were down. And we just would like his family to know how much we appreciated him. And this year, we dedicate all cricket in St. George’s to La Li.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou may still sing on his behalf at Cup Match, but it will not be a victory song; that is all. Would any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Opposition Leader. Honourable Member, you have the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I …
You may still sing on his behalf at Cup Match, but it will not be a victory song; that is all. Would any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Opposition Leader. Honourable Member, you have the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like congratulations to be sent to all of those persons who received honours and awards at the ceremony that was held at Government House on Wednesday, May 30 th. And I must admit I want to have special mention to go to Paul Spring, who has been in the Reserves for 25 years. And t here were some others who have been in the—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou did not say what the awards were, you know, so the public can hear. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: The honours and awards. And so, some of them were there for long service. Some of them were there for meritorious service. Some of them were there with respect to . …
You did not say what the awards were, you know, so the public can hear. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: The honours and awards. And so, some of them were there for long service. Some of them were there for meritorious service. Some of them were there with respect to . . . let us just say that there was a special recognition for all of those who were part of the America’s Cup organis ation committee, the ACBDA. So, each one had a di fferent category that they had been recognised for. But, as I say, Paul Spring was there for 25 years of service in the Reserve, and I think it goes to make people understand that, although people give their service, they give it without expecting any recognition. And to get it, and to know that you have what I call this continuity, it bodes well in terms of people doing things outside of their jobs. And I would also like to join with the condolences to be sent to the family of the late Marguerite Smith, the wife of Calvin Smith. I mean, Marguerite was such a special person. Even though I did not live in Hill View, Cal and Marguerite were two of those people who, whenever you saw them, you always wanted to talk to them. And they had lots to say about Bermuda and their life. So, I know that Cal is going to miss her. And we want to make sure that he knows that we will miss her, as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? No other Honourable Member wishes to speak. We can now move on. ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER HOUSE VISITOR
The SpeakerThe SpeakerBut before we move on, let me acknowledge, in the Gallery, there are a group of young people sitting there, very young. Earlier we had [some] students; now we have g ot the pre- school st udents. And I believe they are from Devonshire Pr eschool, is it? And under …
But before we move on, let me acknowledge, in the Gallery, there are a group of young people sitting there, very young. Earlier we had [some] students; now we have g ot the pre- school st udents. And I believe they are from Devonshire Pr eschool, is it? And under the guidance of Ms. Booth and Ms. Duren. Welcome to our Chambers today. I hope the young people find this interesting. Good morning. Now we can move on. Ms. Cl erk?
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 SpeakerWe have two Bills to be introduced t oday, both in the name of the Minister of Home Affairs, 2154 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly who is actually off -Island. So, I believe the Minister of Health is going to introduce them? Hon. Kim N. …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead, Minister. FIRST READINGS DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING AMENDMENT ACT 2018 DOGS AMENDMENT ACT 2018 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am introducing the following Bills for their first reading so that they may be placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting, namely, …
Go ahead, Minister.
FIRST READINGS
DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING AMENDMENT ACT 2018
DOGS AMENDMENT ACT 2018
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am introducing the following Bills for their first reading so that they may be placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting, namely, the Development and Planning Amendment Act 2018; and the Dogs Amendment Act 2018.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. OPPOSITION BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are no Opposition Bills. PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are no Private Members’ Bills. NOTICES OF MOTIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe do have one notice of Motion t oday, and that is in the name of the Honourable Mini ster Foggo. Would you like to put your motion? 2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS REPORT —TAK E NOTE MOTION Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker; i ndeed, I will …
We do have one notice of Motion t oday, and that is in the name of the Honourable Mini ster Foggo. Would you like to put your motion?
2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS REPORT —TAK E NOTE MOTION
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker; i ndeed, I will . Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, at the next day of meeting, I propose to move the following Motion: That this Honourable House take note of the 2016 Population and Housing Census Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. ORDERS OF THE DAY
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat now brings us to the Orders of the Day. And on the Order Paper, we were to do Order No. 1 and [Order] No. 3 today. By agreements of both sides, we are actually going to do Order No. 3 first, which is the second reading of the Mental …
That now brings us to the Orders of the Day. And on the Order Paper, we were to do Order No. 1 and [Order] No. 3 today. By agreements of both sides, we are actually going to do Order No. 3 first, which is the second reading of the Mental Health Amendment Act 2018, in the name of the Minister of Health. Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill entitled the Mental Health Amendment Act 2018 be now read for the second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. BILL SECOND READING MENTAL HEALTH AMENDMENT ACT 2018 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this Bill is to amend the Mental Health Act 1968 to provide for a patient who is liable to be detained and who meets defined criteria to be transferred to a hospital …
Continue.
BILL
SECOND READING
MENTAL HEALTH AMENDMENT ACT 2018
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this Bill is to amend the Mental Health Act 1968 to provide for a patient who is liable to be detained and who meets defined criteria to be transferred to a hospital overseas for detention and treatment where such treatment is not available in Bermuda. This provision is needed to deal with any mentally disordered patient who requires specialised psychiatric treatment in a medium - or high- secure unit that is not available in Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, when considering the need for making such arrangements for mentally disordered persons, it became apparent that, while the Mental Health Act at section 2(1) provides for (and I quote) “a person suffering from mental disorder [may] be lawfu lly detained . . . in any hospital,” the authority granted to the Minister of Health to declare a hospital building or premises a hospital for the purpose of this section is limited to local facilities only. Therefore, in order to establish authority to provide necessary treatment overseas, it is proposed to introduce a new section to enable the Minister of Health to discharge a patient detai ned in a hospital in Bermuda and conveyed to a hospital overseas. Mr. Speaker, the Bill provides for a patient who is liable to be detained and who meets the criteria set out in section 16A(1) to be transferred to a hospital overseas for admission, detent ion, and treatment. Mr. Speaker, the Bill also provides that the Minister of Health must be satisfied that the affairs of the patient have been settled and that arrangements have been made for his detention and treatment at the overseas hospital; and the Minister to discharge him from the hospital in Bermuda by warrant and to detain him until he is conveyed to a hospital overseas. Mr. Speaker, this proposal was developed in collaboration with the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute, the Depar tment of Corrections, the Ministry of Legal Affairs, and the Ministry for National Security. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Minister. Does any other Member wish to speak? Bermuda House of Assembly We recognise the Honourable Member Jac kson. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly have to recognise the fact that we are expanding our ability to provide a service to those who are suffering from mental illness, especially those who are incarcerated, so that we can c reate a healthy environment for everyone in Bermuda. My only question …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I certainly have to recognise the fact that we are expanding our ability to provide a service to those who are suffering from mental illness, especially those who are incarcerated, so that we can c reate a healthy environment for everyone in Bermuda. My only question that I have around this Bill is that, to me, it seems as though there may be a little bit of grey area. And it is grey area in that I would imagine anyone listening would say, Well, do we have any particular hospitals or jurisdictions in mind? Where would we send our convicted members of the popul ation who are suffering from mental disability? And what kind of assessments or what kind of criteria are we putting in place to make sure that we are sending our members to a healthy hospital overseas that is going to be able to provide the services and the r espect and so on that we as a country would want for anyone? So, I would like to find out a little bit more about how we may have identifi ed hospitals overseas, how we may be carrying out any selection process. Do we have an RFP [request for proposal] for this? How are we going to engage in a relationship with an overseas hospital? And now, the Minister did mention that the patients’ affair s would be put in order. But I am just curious to know how we are going to be able to have a conversation with the families and how we may be able to support the families to (1) be able to continue to have some form of relationship with the client who is now receiving treatment overseas; (2) how would the Government be able to support any kind of visit ation? Because I guess there should be some rights around that for family members to be able to see the patient while overseas; and (3) also, I would imagine there would be a level of permission to be able to let a family member travel overseas for care. If the family does not want the member to leave the Island, then how do we handle that? So, to me, you know, we still have a few details that need to be ironed out. You know, I see that at the very end, the Mi nister mentions that this was being done in collabor ation with the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute, the D epartment of Corrections, and the Ministry of Legal A ffairs. But, you know, I just want to make sure for the clientele, that the professionals, the experts who are dealing with the client and making these assessments have the authority, have the legal authority to make an assessment to send a client overseas, especially one who is incarcerated, and what that looks like. And making, you know, any kind of assessment and dec ision is going to be critical because we do not want it to be challenged further down the road. Is the Minister going to have some kind of discretion over a release date? So, if a client has been incarcerated for a period of time, but through the jud icial system, and if the decision is being made to send this client overseas for treatment, then do we release this client when the incarceration time is up? Or do we release the client when w e feel as though the mental illness has been addressed and they are healthy enough to return to Bermuda, which may not coincide with the incarceration time period? So, I have no sense of how that may work. And it would be interes ting to see what the Minist er will have to say in r esponse to that. And I guess my final piece, really, is around the amount of money it is going to cost to do this. So, you know, we clearly are going to have to pay for cl ients to go overseas. I do not know how many people are going to fall under these criteria and how much money it is going to cost to send them. So, there needs to be, in my opinion, some plan in place that either sets some limitations, or there is some forward planning when it is time for the budget, to make sure that we can afford to not only send our clients overseas, but we, not knowing how long, potentially, a cl ient is going to be overseas for mental treatment, what that may cost the government. So, I believe that this is a larger conversation, because it does , clearly, include what could be a si gnificant amount of money. And taxpayers need to be aware of that. And then, I just am going to close with sort of an ambitious vision. Through my research I have found that there are other islands that have similar situations. We are small. We cannot provide the extent of services to those who are afflicted by mental illness and are incarcerated. Have we had a conversation with other islands in the Caribbean to see whether we might be able to collaborate in some way so that we can come up with a partnership to be able to provide these services to our clients in a way that is most cost -efficient and most effective? I do not know whether that would look like something that could be created within, let us say, the Caribbean in a jurisdiction that may be able to provide these services to our clients so that all of the islands can collaborate and send clients to one specific place, or whether we should maybe speak to other islands in the Caribbean region and see if maybe there is a faci lity in the UK or Canada, the US, or wherever, where we may be able to negotiate a contract and it is more economical because the overseas facility is accommodating all of the Caribbean or a number of the Caribbean islands and not just Bermuda. So, with that, Mr. Speaker, I will take my seat. And I am interested to hear how the Minister would like to respond. Thanks.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? 2156 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly I recognise the Honourable Member f rom constituency 8.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou have the floor, Honourable Member Simons.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsMr. Speaker, mine is strictly for edification of the community when it comes to i nsurance coverage. Can the Minister provide details on the insurance coverage available to mental health services and mental health patients when they go overseas? You know, for regular physical ailments, everything is clearly defined, and …
Mr. Speaker, mine is strictly for edification of the community when it comes to i nsurance coverage. Can the Minister provide details on the insurance coverage available to mental health services and mental health patients when they go overseas? You know, for regular physical ailments, everything is clearly defined, and coverage is clearly defined. While there is FutureCare, HIP [Health Insurance Plan], or if you have a private insurer, there are schedules that determine reimbursement rates from the insurance companies, and from FutureCare and other agencies. So, will those people inflicted with mental infirm ities have the assurance that their illness is covered like any other illness when they go overseas and that there are robust reimbursement programmes to make sure that their service is not compromised because of affordability and the lack of insurance? Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member . . . We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 36. Honourable Member Scott, you have the floor. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can I commend the Minister of Health, Ms. Wilson, for bringing the treatment …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member . . . We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 36. Honourable Member Scott, you have the floor.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can I commend the Minister of Health, Ms. Wilson, for bringing the treatment -at-ahospital -outside -of-Bermuda Amendment to the Me ntal Health Act? And the requirements fiscally to establish a psychiatric unit, to build it and to cost it, have been visited by successive governments, and it is considerable. So, I ask Honourable Members of the House, when going through this Amendment being brought by the Minister of Health to not lose sight of the fact, when they are asking questions about cost, to completel y recognise that we have to act to measure the cost of a full -scale psychiatric unit. I recall when I had this matter come to my attention some years ago. That was one of the i mportant considerations —should we build a kind of psychiatric unit? On the heel s of that, one has to say right away, Mr. Speaker, that the frequency of seriously, in some cases violently, afflicted mentally ill per-sons within Corrections, thankfully, comes along fairly infrequently in our country. And so, these were some of the diffi culties of balance we had to consider — building a psychiatric unit, for the frequency of its need. And so, the Minister is to be commended for the extension of use of other existing facilities, globa l-ly. And it could have been anywhere in the world. But I am sure that, after the Minister’s technical advice was rendered, choices have been made. And that is for the Minister to deal with. I remember as far back . . . on the frequency, I do recall this case of a person who committed, arising out of Lightbourne, who had committed a very serious offence in our country. That is many, many years ago. And so, now we continue to have the need, though, to be responsive, thankfully infrequently, in our country to managing seriously mentally ill patients who are in our Corrections facility, to ensure that the humane arrangements are made. Now, I heard the Honourable Member who speaks for Health on the other side speak to the question of release and mental illness. Well, that is a matter for a doctor. It is not a matter for Corrections. The assessment of when a person and if a person is fully recovered from their mental illness always has to be a question for the psychiatric doctors involved. And that decision is not going to be made that contradicts —that allows for the r elease of a person if the medical assessment and psychiatric assessment continue to say that the person has serious mental illness. But it just plays into the very important factors that factor into a decision such as the one that is bringing this and dri ving this Amendment. So, we are happy to . . . I commend the Minister for grappling with this local problem and coming up with this solution for amending the Mental Health Act in terms of this Bill. Thanks.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Leader of the O pposition. You have the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess if, as Members are r eflecting on involvement in this Bill and the …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Leader of the O pposition. You have the floor.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess if, as Members are r eflecting on involvement in this Bill and the whole pr ocess, I can then reflect on the fact that under our administration, we did start to look at having persons go overseas and actually had an RFP with respect to having a facility to which we could send these indivi duals. But, for me, the more inter esting part right now is to determine . . . if the Minister can indicate whether there is still the committee that was looking at the numbers of persons who might qualify for what I call this overseas treatment, because that makes a whole difference from t he point of view of whether we will continue to send people abroad or whether we will start to say that the numbers will require perhaps a purpose- built facility, whether it be in Bermuda or somewhere else. Because if you are going to have growing numbers, you are not going to be just di scharging people; you are just going to be adding to the numbers.
Bermuda House of Assembly And my concern is, and if the Minister could indicate, in terms of the committee that was sort of looking at, if you will, the factors that were causing peop le to qualify —i.e., more appropriately, especially those ones who ended up going to court for offences that they committed and being incarcerated, and then their mental illnesses resulting in their not being able to be discharged until such time as their m ental il lnesses were, if you will, gotten under control or else at least even dealt with so that they could return to s ociety. So, if the Minister could indicate to us whether the avenue that was started to be pursued with r espect to building a facility o urselves or partnering with a facility in the Caribbean, whether that has been pr ogressed any further. And also, whether that committee that was looking at the continuing concern about these incarcerated individuals and how they were going to be properly dealt with, that I think would be very good. And I appreciate all of the other questions that my colleagues have asked with respect to their rights and sentencing. Because I think the bottom line is, you have them. They have been sentenced. And the courts have said that they should be detained for a certain length of time. I would like to hope that, as we go forward, some of these sentencings will bear in mind, reflect (what I will [call]) the illnesses that pote ntially created them to do something which ca used them to come afoul of the law and, therefore, make sure that that is sorted out and taken into consider ation in terms of the length of sentencing that you give the individuals, to make sure that they have the oppor-tunity to get that sorted out so that they can return to society. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member . . . I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 4. Honourable Member Furbert, you have the floor.
Mrs. Tinee Fu rbertThank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to commend the Minister of Health for bringing this Act forward. Because as a country, we could do nothing or we can do something, Mr. Speaker. And I am actually elated that we are taking the steps to final ly bring legislation …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to commend the Minister of Health for bringing this Act forward. Because as a country, we could do nothing or we can do something, Mr. Speaker. And I am actually elated that we are taking the steps to final ly bring legislation like this forward. Government has a duty, Mr. Speaker, to keep the public safe and to keep people safe from harming themselves or harming others. And if Bermuda does not have services or facilities in our country to be able to service people who require psychological treatment, then it is our duty to keep people safe in our community. And that is worth any dollar amount in keeping people safe in our country. Something that often comes up in our community is whether or not we have peop le who are equipped or trained or have the qualifications to deal with such forensic mental illnesses. And, as we are a government of options and a government of wanting to provide persons with treatment, it is great that pe ople will have the opportunity t o go to facilities in which there are people there who are trained and have the qualifications to deal with mental health issues on this capacity. They have the option . . . hopefully . . . well, I know that there will be practitioners out here who will have dealt with many issues of this kind, and people are able to get proper treatment through either pharmacology or psychiatric services or counsel ling. And so, with that said, Mr. Speaker, it is a great opportunity to be provided with services outside of our country if the services are not being provided locally. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. I now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 23. Honourable Member PamplinGordon, you have the floor.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just very briefly, for the edific ation not just of the Honourable House, but also of the public, it is obviously cle ar that this Act is in relation to adult patients, adult clients. And invariably, mental health issues can be seen to have …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just very briefly, for the edific ation not just of the Honourable House, but also of the public, it is obviously cle ar that this Act is in relation to adult patients, adult clients. And invariably, mental health issues can be seen to have commenced prior to an individual’s achieving adulthood. So, this speaks to the governmental and the ministerial intervention that is made possible for somebody over the age of 18. Now, I do note, through the auspices of Child and Family Services, that they have the ability to i ntervene for younger people and that they are able to ensure that those younger people who may have necessity for such interventions are able to be sent to psycho- ed facilities abroad. And they, obviously, age out at the age of 18. What is more important is if the Minister can explain how the continuum of care is being addressed. Because, obviously, every mental i llness does not begin once somebody has attained the age of majority. So, if we have somebody who is a troubled youth, who has mental challenges as a youth, and obviously ages out of the psycho- ed sy stem, invariably what happens is that this individual is sent back to Bermuda. Clearly, this legislation will assist in the intervention now that this child has become an adult. But I think what is more important, as opposed to finding ourselves in the situation in which the child is disrupt2158 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly ed from what is the psycho -ed care that is available to them to address those mental illnesses, and then to come back and be re- evaluated by the system, that this continuum of care, which I believe to be vital and crucial in order to encourage full return to restore those ful l abilities for integration into society —it is be tter served, I believe, if there is a continuation of care. So, my concern is more so for those young people who are 15, 16, 17, ageing out of the system and then to have . . . you know, it is important for them to not have an interruption between those ages to have to come back from a psycho- ed facility and then be re- assessed and then be sent off again. So, if the Minister can speak to the plan that may be in place or that may be contemplated for ensuring that our young people do have that system and that support base that will assist them. It would be useful. I think, also, if the Minister can speak to the situation in respect of people who may be on the cusp of 17– 18, where they are not quite adults, but they will therefore not be covered by this Act because they are not yet 18. What is the plan for dealing with any family resistance that might occur? Invariably, you may have situations in which a family might say that, you know, the Child and Family Serv ices has decided that my child needs A, B, C and X, Y, Z intervention. But a family may determine that this is not what they want for their young person at that partic ular juncture. And even though it may be in the best advice both medically, as well as m entally, it may be in the best interest of the individual to ensure that this structure is put in place . . . I want to ensure that there is . . . I wonder if the Minister can advise how they are ensuring that family resistance to what is deemed to be appr opriate treatment for their family member is being adhered to in the best possible interest and concern for the patient. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? No other. Minist er, would you like to resume? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank colleagues for their contribution and their questions. Mr. Speaker, let me start by reiterating the fact that …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? No other. Minist er, would you like to resume? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank colleagues for their contribution and their questions. Mr. Speaker, let me start by reiterating the fact that this particular amendment is specifically de-signed to address some of the challenges that we as a community face with respect to mentally disordered patients who require specialised psychiatric treatment in a medium - or high- secured unit. So, we are dealing with individuals who are incarcerated, first and for emost. So the Act was somewhat unclear, by some of the submissions. The Mental Health Act deals specifically with not just adults, but children as well. But the amend-ments that are proposed today deal specifically with an individual who has the possibili ty under the Act, and in particular sections 33, 10, and 44 of the sub-stantive Act, who can be sectioned. Section 44 pr ovides the power for the removal to hospital of a “detained person. ” Section 33 of the substantive Act deals with administration and the powers of the court to order a person to be hospitalised for treatment. And section 10 deals specifically with the administration for treatment. So I need to just make sure that colleagues are aware —this deals specifically, this minor point and this amendment, with individuals who are currently incarcerated and require further psychiatric treatment that (a) is not available in Bermuda; and (b) is required to be in a specialised facility that is a high- or medium -secured facility. And with respect to the question as to the committee, there is still a committee that is still functioning concerning this. In fact, most of those me mbers were very instrumental in our moving this amendment very quickly. And I have to thank them for their commitment to this import ant issue. We are still looking at various options with respect to how to deal with this in the future. Some of the other small cou ntries to our south have very similar challenges. And, as my learned and honourable colleague that sits i mmediately behind me, of constituency 36, indicated, fortunately these situations do not arise very frequent-ly. When they do, we do have to move expeditiously, as we are doing now, to address them. But the islands to the south are challenged with this very same situation. We are looking at, as the Honourable Oppos ition Leader indicated, that there has been an RFP in one particular case with the United Kingdom’s instit ution and the such. To answer the question that was raised by the MP from constituency 8, if they do go to the United Kingdom, the National Health System will pay for their insurance. If there are circumstances where we have to utilise another jurisdiction and i nsurance is not included, then the Bermuda Gover nment will have to pay for that. The other issue that w as raised, Mr. Speaker, is with respect to the budget and the cost of this. The cost will have to come out of budget. And the funds will have to be made available to facilitate this. (Let me make sure I answer all of the questions.) There was a question about the legal author ity. But the legal authority is with respect to the sec-tions that I spoke about previously in the substantive Act, namely, sections 10, 33, and 44. And with respect to the issue that was raised concerning visitation and family’s visit ation, obviously the family are able to travel overseas to visit wherever their family member is. If there is an issue with respect to lack of resources or something, as much as I hate to sound vague, those are circumstances that we will have to cross that bridge when it comes.
Bermuda House of Assembly But again, if I can just re- iterate to colleagues, this is a situation where this amendment deals specif ically with individuals who are incarcerated and they require this specialised treatment that is not available in Bermuda. This is not dealing with the other prov isions of the Mental Health Act. It provides for these persons who are incarcerated and who can be sectioned pursuant to sections 10, 33, and 44. And with that, Mr. Speaker —
[Inaudible interjection]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContin ue on, Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: With that, Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill be committed.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Deputy. House in Committee at 12:10 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL MENTAL HEALTH AMENDMENT ACT 20 18
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in Committee of the whole [House] for further consider ation of the Bill entitled Mental Health Amendment Act 2018 . Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I wish to move all of the clauses together.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Any objections to moving all of the claus es together? There appear to be none; continue. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 1 is self -explanatory. Clause 2 amends the principal Act by inser ting a new section 16A, which provides for the Minister …
Yes. Any objections to moving all of the claus es together? There appear to be none; continue. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 1 is self -explanatory. Clause 2 amends the principal Act by inser ting a new section 16A, which provides for the Minister to discharge a pat ient who meets the criteria set out in that section and to arrange for the patient to be conveyed to a hospital outside of Bermuda for admission, detention, and treatments.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Susan Jackson.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonI just have one question for the Minister. And that is, to me, the sort of giving . . . it is very broad, just talking about treatment to a hospital outside of Bermuda. Because I am just thinking, what if there is someone who h as a mental illness, …
I just have one question for the Minister. And that is, to me, the sort of giving . . . it is very broad, just talking about treatment to a hospital outside of Bermuda. Because I am just thinking, what if there is someone who h as a mental illness, is being incarcerated and detained in Bermuda, and their fam ily or the doctors or whatever decide that they want to send this individual to a hospital outside of Bermuda that maybe the Bermuda Government cannot afford, or it may be in a country that we do not want to send this incarcerated person who is living with a mental illness . . . I do not know. Let us say the person is from the Far East and the family said they want to send this incarcerated individual with a mental illness back to their home country. Or what if there is someone who has money and resources, and wants to send their incarcerated family member to an expensive hospital in the United States? How are we going to determine that? You know, is the Minister considering t hese kinds of ind ividual circumstances? Or does the Minister have full discretion to say, We have a contract with this hospital. It is in the United Kingdom, and that is it. That is where this person goes . I just need some clarity. Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Pat Gordon- Pamplin.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to have clarity, because the Minister has spoken to the incarcerated individual who wi ll be the subject of this particular Act. But there is nothing that mentions incarceration here, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to just …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to have clarity, because the Minister has spoken to the incarcerated individual who wi ll be the subject of this particular Act. But there is nothing that mentions incarceration here, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to just have that clarity. I am not certain; I was trying to double-check whether incarceration is specified in section 16, to which this section 16A now becomes an amendment. But it does not specifically say “incarcerated persons.” But I can imagine that there are also going to be circumstances in which we have got mentally ill patients who are perhaps, at the moment, b eing i ncluded in facilities that are offered by MWI [Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute], who may require more spec ified facilities. And does the Minister have the right to intervene in that regard if MWI decides that they, effectively, do not have quite the facility for an adult within what they offer, their services that they offer? Will they then be able to appeal to the Minister to have an intervention for an individual to be sent to another, more secure or more specialised facility abroad? So, not just f or an incarcerated person, but for a person who is not incarcerated, but suffering severe mental illnesses, as well. Because there was nothing in there that specified incarceration. So I just wanted to make sure that this was clear.
The ChairmanChairmanAny furt her speakers? Minister, you have the floor. 2160 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, and I may have inadvertently misled Honourable Members. Section 16A does speak to persons who are over the age of …
Any furt her speakers? Minister, you have the floor.
2160 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, and I may have inadvertently misled Honourable Members. Section 16A does speak to persons who are over the age of 18. Howe ver, Mr. Chairman, section 16A, the proposed amendment, speaks specifically to a person who is detained. “Detained, ” by its definition, means within a correctional facility. I would like to invite colleagues to look at section 33, which speaks to an order before the Supreme Court for an offence or a summary jurisdiction punis hable upon conviction. That means in prison. And lik ewise, in section 44 of the substantive Act, Mr. Speaker, Removal to hospital of person detained in prison. So this is speaking specifically to individuals who are detained within our correctional facilities, where the Minister has power under section 44 to send them to a hospital.
The ChairmanChairmanYes. I think it would be of help to the Members if that part of the Bill is included in here so that this question can be . . . they can look at it and see. Because it is not included in this document. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I …
Yes. I think it would be of help to the Members if that part of the Bill is included in here so that this question can be . . . they can look at it and see. Because it is not included in this document.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I am just reading from the substantive Act. Most amendments refer to a substantive Act. I am reading from the substantive Act.
The ChairmanChairmanYes, yes, I know that. But if that can be supplied to other Members, that would help. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises Ms. Jackson.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonSo, in clause 2 [new section 16A(2)](b), when it is making arrangements, “arrangements have been m ade for the admission, detention, and treatment,” I am just wondering again about the payment and whether, you know, at some point we need to consider the fact that we are going to have …
So, in clause 2 [new section 16A(2)](b), when it is making arrangements, “arrangements have been m ade for the admission, detention, and treatment,” I am just wondering again about the payment and whether, you know, at some point we need to consider the fact that we are going to have to make the payment. And then, I am going to take it a little further and wonder, is this going to be a payment from the Ministry of Health? Or would this be a payment through the Ministry of National Security? Because if the client is detained and incarcerated, then would that come under the Ministry of National Security? So I am just asking for clarification.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, with respect to the question that was answered previously by the Honourable Member from c onstituency 23, this does pertain to persons who are sectioned—so, just for clarification, in addition to persons …
Any further speakers? Minister, you have the floor.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, with respect to the question that was answered previously by the Honourable Member from c onstituency 23, this does pertain to persons who are sectioned—so, just for clarification, in addition to persons who are detained in Her Majesty’s prisons. But it also refers to persons who have been sectioned. And with respect to the question concerning the finances, Mr. Chairman, I can add that it is going to be an expense. It is going to come from the go vernment coffers. Whether it comes directly from the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of National Security cannot be ascertained at this point. With respect to this particular matter, it will be coming from the Mini stry of Health.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to now move that the preamble be so approved. No?
The ChairmanChairmanNo. Do the clauses. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I am sorry, Mr. Chairman. I move that all of the clauses . . .
The ChairmanChairmanThat is one, two— Hon. Kim N. Wilson: All of the clauses be accepted.
The ChairmanChairmanBe approved. Any objections to appr oving the clauses, all of the clauses? No objection. Continue. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 and 2 passed.] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, I move that the preamble be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to the preamble being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, I move that the Bill be reported to the House as printed.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as printed. Are there any objections? There appear to be none. The Bill will be r eported to the House. [Motion carried: The Mental Health Amendment Act 2018 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and …
It has been moved that the Bill be reported to the House as printed. Are there any objections? There appear to be none. The Bill will be r eported to the House. [Motion carried: The Mental Health Amendment Act 2018 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed without amendment.]
House resumed at 12:19 pm
[Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
Bermuda House of Assembly REP ORT OF COMMITTEE
MENTAL HEALTH AMENDMENT ACT 2018
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, are there any objections to the reporting to the House of the Bill entitled the Men-tal Health Amendment Act 2018, as printed? No objections; so moved. That brings us to a close of [Order] No. 3, which was the first item. The next item is [Order] No. 1. But …
Members, are there any objections to the reporting to the House of the Bill entitled the Men-tal Health Amendment Act 2018, as printed? No objections; so moved. That brings us to a close of [Order] No. 3, which was the first item. The next item is [Order] No. 1. But I am going to take the liberty at this point, because [Order] No. 1 is a very lengthy item; I believe we have some 81 clauses in it. I also believe it is g oing to take much dis cussion in the House. So I am going to ask that, with leniency, we now move and go to lunch and have an extra 15 minutes tacked onto our lunch. So, we will go to lunch now, and we will come back at 2:00 pm.
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David BurtpremierThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with your indulgence, I move that the House do adjourn for lunch until 2:00.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNo objections to that, I am assuming? We now stand for lunch, and we will be back at 2:00 pm. [Gavel] Proceedings suspended at 12:20 pm Proceedings resumed at 2:01 pm [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI trust everyone had a good lunch. Some Hon. Member s: Yes. [Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou got an extra 15 minutes of it, it must have been enjoyable. Now we are going to resume with the Orders of the Day. We completed Order No. 3, which was the first Order to be done today, and the second Order is Order No. 1 and that is …
You got an extra 15 minutes of it, it must have been enjoyable. Now we are going to resume with the Orders of the Day. We completed Order No. 3, which was the first Order to be done today, and the second Order is Order No. 1 and that is in the name of the Minister of Finance and it is the second reading of the Digital A sset Business Act 2018. And I now recognise the Honourable Premier. Premier, you have the floor.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker , and good afternoon. I hope that you had a better lunch than MP Furbert did. Mr. Speaker , I move that the B ill entitled the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 be now read the second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue on. BILL SECOND READING DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESS ACT 2018 Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker , I am pleased to present to this Honourable House the Digital A sset Business Act 2018. This is the second landmark legi slative and regulatory initiative to be implemented by this Government to …
Continue on.
BILL
SECOND READING
DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESS ACT 2018
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker , I am pleased to present to this Honourable House the Digital A sset Business Act 2018. This is the second landmark legi slative and regulatory initiative to be implemented by this Government to establish a world- class FinTech ecosystem in Bermuda. Mr. Speaker , this Bill will work in conjunction with the recently debat ed Companies and Limited Li ability Company (Initial Coin Offering) [Amendment] Act 2018 as it will regulate a variety of third party service providers who may help facilitate the issuance of digital assets to the public. As was mentioned during the debate of the Initial Coin Offering legislation, this Government has chosen to be bold and to take signi ficant steps as a global leader in the emerging FinTech industry. This new and exciting market involves digital assets and associated products, services, and activ ities, such as digital wallets, payment services, cust odial services, and the issuance of digital coins and tokens. However, the manner in which such activities should be regulated has continually been at the for efront of discussions both locally and globally. Mr. Speaker , the purpose of this Bill is to i ntroduce a supervisory framework for the Bermuda Monetary Authority (hereinafter referred to as the BMA) to regulate persons carrying on digital asset business in or from Bermuda. While digital asset businesses are not yet regulated in most countries, the international focus on anti -money laundering and anti - terrorist financing obligations has given additional rel-evance to the local debate. Therefore, it is imperative that in creating a new regime care ful consideration is given to existing global standards for generally mit igating [the] risk of financial crime. Although there are no specific standards governing the regulation of dig ital asset businesses it has been noted by the Fina ncial Action Task For ce that certain activities regarding digital assets should be properly regulated. Mr. Speaker , under this Government Bermuda will continue to lead by example and establish an effective legal and regulatory framework to govern dig ital asset businesses. Since digital asset business ac-tivities typically involve or relate to financial services, the BMA, as Bermuda’s financial services regulator, is undoubtedly best suited to provide oversight for much of this new industry. 2162 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly This Bill will allow the BMA to imp lement a prudential regulatory regime in relation to digital asset businesses. More specifically, the Digital Asset Bus iness Act will provide for: • regulatory supervision under a two- tiered l icensing structure; • compliance with AML/ATF protocols; • consumer fr aud prevention; • penalties for valuation or price manipulation; and • licensing qualifications, which include a requirement for only fit and proper persons to conduct digital asset business activities in or from within Bermuda. Mr. Speaker , the Bill we are debating today draws upon Bermuda’s existing foundation for regula ting financial service activities while simultaneously providing a regulatory framework that addresses some of the inherent challenges in relation to this new type of business. In addition to the Digital Asset Business Act, FinTech related anti -money laundering and anti - terrorist financing guidelines, similar to those which are in place for other financial services, will be provi ded. Bermuda’s tried and tested regulatory practi ces in relation t o insurance, investment, and money services business has been used as a barometer for regulating digital asset businesses. As such it is anti cipated that further supporting guidelines will be issued including: a statement of principles; cybersecurity rules ; client disclosure rules; prudential reporting rules; a code of practice; regulations; and guidance notes. Consequential legislative amendments will also need to be made in order to fully integrate this new line of business into our existing legislative and regulatory framework. Mr. Speaker , the Bill defines “digital asset business” as the provision of activities to the general public as a business which include, but are not limited to: 1. Issuing, selling, or redeeming virtual coins, t okens , or any other for m of digital as set. 2. Operating as a payment service provider business us ing digital assets. 3. Operating an electronic exchange whereby digital assets are traded or exchanged. D igital asset exchanges are frequently used to facil itate the public issuance of new coins or t okens that are sold pursuant to ICOs . 4. The provision of custodial digital wallet services. A digital asset wallet requires digital keys and interacts with various blockchains to enable users to send and receive digital assets and monitor the hist ory of their transactions and balances. 5. The provision of other services related to digital assets. This category is intended to ca pture any other business activity which pr o-vides digital asset related services to the public. Mr. Speaker , it should be noted that the description of activities captured within this legislation are consistent with currently known business catego-ries and activities relating to digital assets around the world. Given the rapidly evolving FinTech sector, to ensure flexibility and speed to market this legislation provides an option for adding new activities or otherwise amending the scope of activities governed under the regime. The licensing regime outlined in the Digital Asset Business Act is designed to encourage both confidence and innovation while affording adequate protection for customers and mitigating jurisdictional risk. In anticipation of a variety of businesses seeking to be licensed as digital asset businesses the BMA will be authorised to issue either a modified licence or a full licence. This tiered licensing structure will enable the development and testing of innovative products and services within a live but controlled regulatory environment. In particular, the modified licence will enable companies to explore new busi ness opportun ities and concepts while establishing a proven track record of compliance before graduating to a full l icence. This licensing structure essentially includes a regulatory sandbox to ensure that Bermuda’s regime is responsive to market demand and business needs. The legislation makes provision for modifications where supervisory intensity needs to increase or where the BMA is presented with new and evolving business models with varying risk profiles. Mr. Speaker , prior to issuing a licence, the BMA must be satisfied that the applicant would be able to satisfy the minimum criteria requirements as set out in Schedule 1 of the Bill. The minimum criter ion applicable in the Bill is consistent with the minimum criteria of all other financial sectors regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. It includes provisions to ensure that a digital asset business has practices, policies, procedures, and technical systems in place to ensure that business activities are carried out in a prudent and appropriate manner. It is important to note that the Bill requires companies that will be licensed under this regime to maintain their head office in Bermuda and require that the company be directed and managed from Berm uda. This physical presence requirement will assist the Government’s aim of job creation and the provision of employment opportunities for Bermudians. The BMA will also be empowered under this legislation to issue directions or to revoke, amend, or vary a licence when it deems necessary to safeguard the interests of customers or potential customers. The BMA will also have the power to take a ppropriate action to: issue warnings, decisions, and discontinuance notice; obtain information, documents, and reports; to carry out investigations; and to arrange
Bermuda House of Assembly via a magistrate the issuance of warrants and police conducted searches if necessary. Mr. Speaker , with the prudential and other r equirements to be imposed pursuant to this legislation it should be no surprise that the ability to conduct digi-tal asset business activities will be limited to licensees under this legislation. There will be a prohibition on such activities being conducted by unlicensed persons. The Bill states that conducting business without the requisite licence is a criminal offence and it pr ovides for penalties as a deterrent for such behaviour. It also authorises other disciplinary measures for non-compliance with the statutes. Mr. Speaker , to assist in keeping abreast of FinTech developments the Bermuda Monetary A uthority will appoint a panel to advise it in relation to all FinTech initiatives referred to it by the BMA. The panel will consist of: • one or more persons who, in the BMA’s opi nion, represent the interest of Bermuda’s finan-cial sec tors; • one or more persons who, in the BMA’s opi nion, have an expertise in law relating to the f inancial systems of Bermuda; • one or more persons who, in the BMA’s opi nion, have expertise in any or all of the FinTech activities to be governed under the Act; and/or • one or more persons holding such qualific ations as the BMA deems appropriate. Mr. Speaker , while Bermuda is keen to embrace the potential offered by the FinTech economy, it is also recognised that this sector presents risks that require robust prudential and AML/ATF regulation. In spite of its growing popularity the FinTech business sector still faces an image problem arising from its use on the Dark Web, association with recent ransomware attacks, cryptocurrency thefts, and a number of high profile fraud and other money laundering cases. Mr. Speaker , it is therefore our commitment to Bermuda as a whole that we take all necessary steps to minimise inherent risks associated with this industry. By continuing to engage the necessary FinTech and other industry experts at every opportunity we will continue to identify avenues to maintain and enhance our premier financial centre status while building an-other pillar to bolster Bermuda’s economy. Mr. Speaker , in closing, I would first like to thank the Bermuda Monetary Authority for partnering with the Government on this legislative project and the overall FinTech initiative. The BMA was instrumental in helping the Government bring this Bill to this Ho nourable House within the time necessary to help Bermuda gain a substantial competitive edge in the FinTech market . I would like to thank the internal government team within the Business Development Unit led by Ms. Lydia Dickens; the Ministry of Finance led by the Financial Secretary Anthony Manders and the Assi stant Financial Secretary Mr. Stephen Gift; the Attorney General’s Chambers, represented today by Mr. Myron Simmons; and Maxine . . . Lorraine (sorry, Lorraine) Welch . . . she stays up all night writing these Bills, how did I miss you? I am going to get in trouble t onight. In the Attorney General’s Chambers, Ms . Lorraine Welch and Mr. Myron Simmons for their collective efforts in bringing this Bill to fruition. And I would also like to thank the members of the Legal and Reg ulatory Working Group and our external partners for the time and effort they have dedicated to this FinTech initiative. Finally, I would like to thank the Honourable Minister of National Security, Wayne Caines, for his continued efforts as we advance our FinTech initi ative. Mr. Speaker , all Bermudians should be proud of the progress that we as a country have made over the last 10 months in the FinTech space. Prior to this Government’s election Bermuda was a mere afterthought in the world of FinTech. Today we become a global leader in FinTech regulation and have 15 FinTech companies already incor porated in Bermuda with more to follow.
[Desk thumping] Hon. E. David Burt: We have signed Memorandums of Understanding with some of the largest FinTech companies in the world and have a number of compa-nies that will visit Bermuda this month to start set ting up their operations. This Government is determined to continue this progress and with it bring hope, opportunity, and wealth to Bermudians who are excited to play their part. Therefore, Mr. Speaker , on behalf of the Government I am immensely proud to read for the second time in this Honourable House the Digital Asset Bus iness Act 2018. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Leader of the Opposition. Honourable Member , you ha ve the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , first of all I want to say that from the Government’s perspective …
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Leader of the Opposition. Honourable Member , you ha ve the floor.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , first of all I want to say that from the Government’s perspective we understand that the . . . sorry, from the Opposition’s perspective —
[Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI just thought you were going to support the Government right off that time.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberI thought so too. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: No. We are going to support the Government.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood, good, good. 2164 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report B ermuda House of Assembly Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: We are going to support the Government because the bottom line is that an ything that can increase the number of pillars that are in Bermuda’s economy is going to benefit …
Good, good, good. 2164 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report B ermuda House of Assembly Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: We are going to support the Government because the bottom line is that an ything that can increase the number of pillars that are in Bermuda’s economy is going to benefit the people of Bermuda. So it is on that basis that I rise to talk about the things that we believe are very important in terms of this legislation, and also some of the things that I believe the Bermuda public needs to be aware of. Because the bottom line is that [if] they understand how it can help them they can also understand some of the issues that the Minister of Finance, the Premier, was talking about. I have to say from the get -go . . . I have to congratulate them on their blockchain, the inform ational item that was put in the newspaper. I think that was excellent because the people of Bermuda need to understand w hat is happening and how it impacts on them. And the same way when we— Bermuda— introduced the international business as the second pillar, the pillar after tourism, people needed to under-stand how it affected them because then it gave them an opportunity to also appreciate how they could get involved and how they could make sure that it worked for them and not just for a few. Because I think that you really do want to make sure that this new industry works for everyone. So I want to say to the Government it is one of those industries that we are interested in. It is one of those industries that we are going to apply, in my mind (I am going to apply), the same type of analysis of this as you have done and I believe the people of Bermuda will expect us to do. To me it is about com-ing up with a third pillar. It is about coming up with a pillar that will generate revenue. It is about coming up with a pillar that is going to create jobs. It is about coming up with a pillar that is going to build educ ational opport unities for Bermudians across all ages. Therefore, when I start to look at what has been said here, or what still needs to be said, then I am going to be asking those questions, or at least highlighting to the people of Bermuda how they can take advantage of it. Because the bottom line is you— the Government —are doing this because you need to generate more revenue. You want to make sure that the industry that we come up with is sustainable. And you want to make sure that the people in Bermuda that will have the opportunity to take advantage of these jobs . . . they are done at all the levels. Because I think, like everybody, people do not want to see certain segments of Bermuda getting the jobs and other segments not getting them. So I have to make sure that I ask the questions on behalf of the people of Bermuda to make sure that we are clear as to how it is going to work. So, Mr. Speaker, as I go through . . . and I am pleased that the Government . . . the Minister gave me his brief because it gave me the opportunity to just go through and look at some of the things that have been done. I am recognising . . . and it was very a ppropriate that the Minister and the technical staff looked and said, If we’ve got something here . . . if it’s not broke, don’t fix i t. We have international business which has regulations, that has people understanding how to operate. So to turn around and introduce a nother class of business it was very appropriate to turn and look to say, How have we done it here? What’s very similar to this new class of business, this new asset, this new industry and modify it and utilise it a ppropriately ? So it was not . . . it was very acceptable and not unexpected that some of the things that are in this [Bill] are very similar to what has been in some of the other insurance Acts and companies Acts, and that we make sure that this new industry has the type of regulations, that this new industry has the type of oversight, that this new industry has the type of claus-es. So, you know, I am not surprised. But when I look at some of the things that are here . . . and I am highlighting some of things, not because the Minister did not say it, but I am just high-lighting it because I think the people of Bermuda have to understand why some of these things are in here so that when something happens and it bites on them they will know, Hey, that’s why it was put in. When they understand why the Minister has indicated that there are certain classes of licences that might be gi ven . . . a restricted licence as opp osed to an open l icence, they will understand that this is for a protection, to make sure that when people get these licences or when people invest in these businesses they understand that there is a reason why you do not have something very open and broad and you might want to have something that has a little more restriction. And it is for those purposes that I am just going through a few other items so that we make sure that everybody understands the framework that we are operating in. And I must admit that the Minister talked about trying to get ahead of the people that are trying to get into this new industry. And sometimes when you try and be the first to come to market you have to be careful. Because sometimes in your enthusiasm and your haste to get to be the first to come to market you could sometimes create a problem where you are there and you do not . . . you have not taken ever ything into consideration. And somebody comes behind you and shows that you have made a mistake. Now I am not using haste in a negative co ntext here. I am saying in terms of the speed that you want to get to market . . . I am sorry, I will qualify that . . . the speed that you want to get to market, because sometimes you have to be careful. And the reason I was curious is because I wondered . . . and the Mini ster did not say it, and I know when we talked before about the ICOs there was an indication as to a model of legislation that we might have looked at and we might have modified. So maybe the Minister might tell
Bermuda House of Assembly us whether there was a type of . . . a country’s legisl ation that we looked at to pattern after. But I must admit I took the opportunity to go online and I looked at the digital asset business that was in Thailand because I was just curious as to the things that they were doing versus the things that we are doing, because these industries are happening all around the world and everybody is trying to get out there and get people do come to their shores and operate businesses from within or from at least within their boundaries. Therefore, I was just curious as to the types of things that they were doing. And the bottom line, obviously, there is cry ptocurrency, there is the digital token, and they were talking about the restrictions in terms of whether they would have an open versus a restricted. So I thought well, hey, Bermuda is right along the line. So I am not saying this from the point of view of saying that I am second- guessing the Minister or his technical staff, but I am saying to the people of Bermuda that t his is why the Government has done this —because they want to make sure that we are doing the right thing. But I also want to say that, as the Minister i ndicated, there are risks that we have to worry about. And so when I start to look at some of the regul ations that are being put into place and the mere fact that the Bermuda Monetary Authority . . . and people might not understand why the BMA was deemed to be the [ent ity] to do the regulations. It is because they are reg ulating all these other entities that happen in Bermuda. And that is a very valid reason why that should occur. Because they would have had the ability to be able to look at what is happening, what types of issues have come up. And I am a firm believer in you do not rei nvent the wheel; you j ust make it go faster. And I think that this is what our Government is trying to do. It is trying to make sure that it does go faster. But as we get into discussion later on, we will ask a few questions about why certain things were done and we will ask a few questions about whether certain things were taken into consideration. So I am not standing up here to sort of be the cheerleader for the Government, per se. I am standing up to be the cheerleader for Bermuda.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYou are doing a good job. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I have to be the cheerleader for Bermuda, because if we do have a third industry that is going to work for us, then that is going to be good for Bermuda. But in order to make sure that it …
You are doing a good job.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I have to be the cheerleader for Bermuda, because if we do have a third industry that is going to work for us, then that is going to be good for Bermuda. But in order to make sure that it does work for Bermuda there are a couple of things that I have to ask. I have to ask things along the line of if we are looking at . . . being a third pillar, it is going to be very important for the people of Bermuda to be assured that there is growth in this industry and sustainability. Because the bottom line is that this has been som ething that we have always had to look at when you decide that (quote/unquote) “something becomes a pillar.” We have lots of things that come up as little industries, but a pillar means it is something that has growth associated with it and sustainability. So that is the type of thing that we on this side are going to be looking at to make sure that that oc-curs. And I know that the Government has been signing lots of MOUs and lots of other things. That is what I call a flurry of activity. That does not yet tell us that we are getting down to, what I call, the growth and sustainability. But it is a step in the right direction. So we will just have to keep keeping our eyes on it and look to sort of say when this is really solid we will know. But at least it says that the Government is star ting to grow it. As I say, the second part about it is making it sustainable, making sure that the sustainability is there. The second part of all of this —why you have a pillar —is be cause you want to have jobs. A pillar is no good unless you have jobs for the people of your country. Therefore, it is important for us to look at this concept of, what I call, indirect and direct jobs, be-cause there should be some direct jobs in terms of people who are in the industry who are able to work in that industry. And that is what I call direct. Now, for me, the direct jobs have got to be on the basis of . . . what level are you going to have Bermudians at? Because too often I have seen . . . and I think a lot of Bermudians will appreciate what I am saying because they have experienced it. We have seen the jobs come in. But the level at which the Bermudians come in is not at the level where we want them to be ultimately. We want to see Bermudians be able . . . if they cannot come in at a high level, at least we want to be able to know that there is going to be something in place to grow them and train them and go along those lines. And I say that because I am mindful of something. And I am sure som e of you reflect on it. Do you remember when we talked about the gambling in the casinos? We talked about [how] the college was going to do some training, and some other things occurred. So we have had some things where we have talked about having people s tart to train, but it did not always result in actual jobs, it resulted in concepts. But the bottom line is that we are going to have to look at these things. And I know that the Mi nister . . . in some of his MOUs he mentions how much money is going to be put aside for training and, ther efore, that means that this is a good start in terms of doing something. But the Devil is in the detail, and the proof is in the eating. So it is no good to talk about how much you are going to have committed. We are going to have to see when it actually comes, and then we have to see who gets to take advantage of it and at what level. And I am saying all of that because the people of Bermuda are going to be expecting us to look at that because they are going to be expecting the Government to deliver. 2166 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The second . . . third part about that is what I call Bermudians indirectly. And I say that because too often, when we talk about industries, we do not hig hlight enough the indirect benefits. The indirect benefits by having peo ple coming, come to this . . . having the industry being established and all the other busines ses that grow as a consequence of that. People are then able to set up businesses which are not directly in the FinTech industry, but there are people that come t hat need their services and that results in new jobs and new companies being set up and we are able to turn around and we are able to show that the growth is there. And I know that because I know we had a lot of difficulty with the America’s Cup being abl e to have people understand how the America’s Cup resulted indirectly in lots of Bermudians getting lots of jobs and lots of revenue. And I am saying that because the more we turn and we make people understand the indirect benefits, the better we will be i n terms of e mbracing the whole concept of growing an industry and gaining more revenues. So from that perspective I still believe that it is important to talk about, as I say, growth and sustainability because even with respect to jobs it is going to be about initial growth and then the sustainability. And that, to me, is where you then come and you talk about this education. We know that education is the key to having people getting better jobs, jobs that they are more qualified for, and being able to go up the employment ranks within their industries. And so I am very concerned and I would hope that as we start to see some of these things come into fruition that we will start to see more information being put out there with respect to the initial jobs th at are being created, what the expectation is in terms of their growth, what the expectation is in terms of either trai ning through the Bermuda College or training within the various industries, whether it be on- the-job training or even training outside wh ere they can get experience. Because without the education and the training, you are going to have, once again, frustrated Bermudians. And we all know what frustrated Bermudians mean. It means they look and they say, It is affecting everybody —but not me. And I know that from a Government and a Bermuda point of view we do not want that to happen. We all want Bermudians to have jobs which are appropriate to their capabilities, and we all want them to be able to make their contribution. So I am asking these types of questions because they expect . . . everybody —my constituents, all your constituents —expects us to be keeping this in mind and over time telling us about what is happe ning. So over time I will be asking different questions when it is in place. And my colleagues that are the various Shadow [Ministers] will be asking what is ha ppening, whether it is relating to jobs and growth and education. Because the bottom line is that this is the way we will get to know that this is going to sink in and be a real industry that is going to grow. The third part about all of this is the whole thing about risk versus reward. I know, and you all know, us sitting here and the people outside that are listening to their radios, that there is this balance of risk versus reward. Now, the reward is the revenue that the Government is going to create. The Gover nment has sat down and created their budget on how much they are going to get in terms of this, whether it be in terms of people setting up here with setting up fees and . . . the other side of it, though, is the risk. And in order to mitigate the risk we know that the Government puts in regulations because it wants to make sure that the right types of businesses come to this Island. It wants to make sure that, as the F inance Minister said with the Dark Web and whatever, it wants to keep away those people who might want to come here and take advantage of us and generate lots of money but, at the same time, do things which are going to have negative impacts on our reputat ion. So when I look and when the Premier/Finance Minister talked the regulations and some of the things that are in here, I know, because I read the actual document that had been put out by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Consultation Paper, I know that they talked about FATF and all the things that they needed to consider. And I know a lot of that has been incorporated into this document. But I also know that the other side of it is the compliance. And so there are the opportunities as we go forward to talk about setting up the regulations, making sure that we have the Advisory Panel that is going to be there to help the BMA and the Minister with advice on certain things with respect to the industry. But I also recognise that the bottom line will also b e in terms of the compliance aspect of it. And when I say that, I am mindful of the fact that we also try . . . and I know that the Finance Mini ster and his team go out and they consult with lots of industry stakeholders and other groups. We also on our si de try to go out and consult with people, some of the same people that they consult with. We also try and look at some other people, ordinary people, that are either in similar industries, et cetera. And some of the things that come up in terms of how effective this will be we relate to the fact that, obviously, with the BMA taking on the regulation, it is going to be i mportant to be sure that the BMA will have the capacity to be able to regulate this new industry if it becomes the third pillar. But I am going to have to rely on the Minister and the Ministry to do the proper strategic planning, which I am sure that they will do, to make sure that additional resources are given there. But two other things came up when you star ted to talk about this. And I thi nk I need to raise it because it has come up. I do not know whether the Mi nister has thought about it in terms of the future, when I talked about the risk versus the reward. And the r eBermuda House of Assembly ward for the Ministry and the Government and the people of Bermuda is th e revenue that they generate because, of course, as I said, the revenue is going to be either in terms of fees or some other form of taxes. And the question that results is that . . . will the crypto . . . the licensed crypto dealers . . . how will they fi t into the tax information system from the perspective of . . . will that . . . will the revenues that they generate . . . and we are just curious as to . . . I know they have a licensing fee. But the other side of it is the revenue that might be generated and whether there is any sort of tax, et cetera, that would be . . . whether there would be any tax that the Government would actually charge on that. The third thing that comes up, because I recognise that even though it is a digital asset, et cetera, at some point in time you might have it where it comes back out either into the system or out of the system and whether . . . what was the position that the banks were taking with respect to processing that? And then I know that . . . I have not seen it, but I know that I did see it in one of the earlier doc uments when we were talking about ICOs, et cetera, in terms of memorandum and how the descriptions about the token currencies . . . and maybe some of my other questions might come up when we get into the d iscussions of —
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Doubtful?
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Well, in terms of . . . let me see, there was something else that I wanted to . . . let me just see. I think that with respect to the assets, the digital assets, et cetera, there was a notation . . . oh, I know what! The question that I had with respect to . . . in terms of the modified licence. I think it was quite interesting with respect to the indication where . . . there was an indication that someone would be given a modified licence because that was the opportunity to establish the proven track record before they graduated to a full licence. And I guess what I was curious about was the people that you were going to have added to your Advisory Panel. There was an indication that you would have people who had expertise in the laws relating to the financial systems of Bermuda and who, in the BMA’s opinion, have expertise in any or all of the FinTech activities. And I was just w ondering whether you envisioned that these persons might, due to the very nature of the fact that it was FinTech activities that they might end up being people from outside of Bermuda rather than anybody from inside. Obviously people who are talking about expertise in the financial systems, expertise in qualific a-tions relating to the law, et cetera, more than likely those people would be people who were Bermudians, whether they be in law firms, banks, et cetera. And I was just curious in terms of the persons who have expertise in the FinTech activities. Because that, in some respects, does two things: (1) it gives us the opportunity to have someone from outside to come and, if you will, enhance the composition of the panel; (2) but also it means that we hav e to have some degree in vetting in terms of what they are bringing to the table. Okay, I think that with respect to the Bill itself . . . I think I have [asked] my questions with respect to where the legislation came from. I have asked my questions with respect to the revenues. And I think the only other question that I had was . . . and this is something to . . . this is something with respect to an amendment. I know that the Minister has said all the amendments, but I think that when he gets to one of the sections he will realise that there is an amendment that he will have to make because . . . audited fina ncial statements . . . auditors do not prepare financial statements; they audit them. So I think that this is a correction that you are going to have make.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: It is section 31, okay? It is on page . . . audited statements must be . . . so, as I say, they do not prepare, they audit them. So I think that this is something . . . and it is section 31 on page 25. I know that my colleagues are going to have some other questions. But as I said from the get -go, the bottom line is that we understand the need for Bermuda to have another asset. But I must say from the get -go that as we see these new ventures the concern is going to be: (1) making sure that Bermudians get to benefit from it sufficiently, whether it be at the revenue generation level or the job generation level; and (2) then making sure that from the point of view of regulations because I would hate to think that when all is said and done just the people who are in what I call the traditional industries, like the law firms and the banks, et cetera, and the finance people, are the ones who get to have expanded jobs, [but] other people will not have the ability to be able to grow. B ecause a true industry —a third pillar —is one that has a range of opportunities, a range of growth opportuni-ties. And I guess I would be intrigued for the F inance Minister later on to talk about how he envisions the growth of t his industry will result, based on . . . I mean lots of people are coming to our doors. But people come to the doors because sometimes they want to get in at the earliest opportunity. Sometimes they come because they want to make sure they are in before th e regulations catch up with them. So it is 2168 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly very important for us to make sure that, as I say, this risk/reward element is taken into proper consideration. And with that, Mr. Speaker , I will sit and let my colleagues ask some more questions.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak at this time? No one else is moving? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 8. Honourable Member Simons, you have the floor.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I, like the Leader of the Oppos ition, think that this is a good beginning. It forms a cornerstone to a new pillar for Bermuda’s economic env ironment. And I say a cornerstone. Mr. Speaker , if I refer to the legislation …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I, like the Leader of the Oppos ition, think that this is a good beginning. It forms a cornerstone to a new pillar for Bermuda’s economic env ironment. And I say a cornerstone. Mr. Speaker , if I refer to the legislation it speaks to t he Digital Asset Business will include “(a) issuing, selling or redeeming virtual coins, tokens or any other form of digital assets; (b) operating as a payment service provider business . . . ; (c) operating as an electronic exchange; (d) providing custodi al wa llet services; (e) operating as a digital asset services vendor.” Mr. Speaker , the issue that I was looking to have addressed by the substantive Minister was the banking issue. We all know that for a business to thrive and operate we need to have the banking sy stem in place to support this endeavour. I have learned— I will declare my interest in that I work for Bank of Butterfield—
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsBut I will say this: I am under the impression that Bermuda’s Banking As sociation has taken a cautious approach to this industry and that there is no one on this Island that has committed to banking this industry. My concern is that we are, yes, going out and selling …
But I will say this: I am under the impression that Bermuda’s Banking As sociation has taken a cautious approach to this industry and that there is no one on this Island that has committed to banking this industry. My concern is that we are, yes, going out and selling us as a centre of excellence for the FinTech industry and [ the] virtual currency business industry. And it is good for us to be on the forefront in that i ndustry. I know that the Government went on a suc-cessful mission to New York to a conference, and they came back with plenty of new potential business. But my co ncern is, Can we deliver on what we promised, Mr. Speaker ? And so I have done some research on a number of issues that I will present in my presentation. But the banking issue is a hurdle that we have to surmount and I would have thought that the Minister would have brought some more information to the House to tell us where we stand. Mr. Speaker , I heard someone talk about local banking. If you will indulge me for a second—
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsI read an article overseas, and it was written by Martin Arnold. He is the banking editor. And the article was dated [October] 23 rd. He says “British banks are shunning companies that handle cryptocurrencies, forcing many to open accounts in Gibraltar, Poland, and Bulgaria” — An Hon. Mem ber: …
Mr. N. H. Cole Simons—2017—“and prompting some to question the UK’s ambitions to be a global hub for the fast -growing fintech sector. “Investor interest in bitcoin and other crypt ocurrencies has surged since their prices rocketed this year, but traditional banks are steering clear of the sector, fearing it is riddled with criminals …
—2017—“and prompting some to question the UK’s ambitions to be a global hub for the fast -growing fintech sector. “Investor interest in bitcoin and other crypt ocurrencies has surged since their prices rocketed this year, but traditional banks are steering clear of the sector, fearing it is riddled with criminals and fraud-sters.” And then there was another article that was written by Alex Batlin, founder of Trustology. He says, “‘Nobody will give us a bank account in the UK,’ said James Godfrey, head of capital markets at BlockEx, a platform for trading digital assets including cryptocurrencies.” He went on to say that “‘Metro Bank recently shut its UK account, forcing it to rely on a Bulgarian lender to keep trading. ’” So, Mr. Speaker , the issue of banking is a real issue —not just in Bermuda. It is an issue internationally. And as a consequence, if we are serious about addressing this industry and making sure that we can deliver, this issue should be a priority. And we should have some solution in place. I am hoping that the Minister or the Security Minister will bring some solution to this House today if we are serious about delivering on the promises that we have made. We have signed a number of articles . . . memo randums —
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. N. H. Cole Simons—MOUs, and I am delighted that we have those MOUs. But I am nervous that we will not be able to deliver on our promises and commitments because we cannot provide the infrastructure for these companies to be successful here in Bermuda, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , the other …
—MOUs, and I am delighted that we have those MOUs. But I am nervous that we will not be able to deliver on our promises and commitments because we cannot provide the infrastructure for these companies to be successful here in Bermuda, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , the other issue that I would like to speak to is, again, the businesses basically are varied and they will have an electronic exchange. They will have payment services. They will have selling and redeeming virtual currencies. My question here . . . as we will have exchanges from virtual currencies to fiat currencies, will these businesses take on deposits — virtual deposits? And if they are taking on these de-posits, how is the Banking Act, the B anks and Deposit Companies Act 1999, going to be impacted by this legislation? Because all deposits from the public are
Bermuda House of Assembly made and controlled by the Banks and Deposit Companies Act. So how will that be managed, Mr. Speaker? Mr. Speaker , again, the other iss ue that I would like to speak to . . . and while on this deposit side, you know, I work in the bank and [know that] banking today is more about 70 per cent regulations and compliance and AML and KYC, and 20 [per cent] to 30 per cent business. And so we hav e to ensure that our files are robust, that we have all the information—source of funds, source of wealth, where the money is going to, who it is to be paid to. And I am wondering how [much] detailed [information] these service providers will be required t o have in regard to their KYC and AML protocols. [Inaudible interjection]
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsYes, I understand that. It is set in the legislation. That is what the Minister said. And I accept that. My question to the Minister is this: Has this legislation been approved by FATF or other agencies where we are saying, Listen, this is decent prudential legislation, prudential regulations, [and] …
Yes, I understand that. It is set in the legislation. That is what the Minister said. And I accept that. My question to the Minister is this: Has this legislation been approved by FATF or other agencies where we are saying, Listen, this is decent prudential legislation, prudential regulations, [and] we want to maintain our status as a blue- chip jurisdiction, does this pass the test? Will this not compromise our standard as a world- class blue -chip market? And I have not heard that. Now, I know that we have a member of the committee that says that they represent FATF and the OECD. I accept that, Mr. Speaker . I really accept that. But my question is this: Do we have any evidence or sign-off from those international agencies that will say this legislation is world- class and [they] are satisfied; it meets [their] standards, and . . . and this will not co mpromise [their] standards from an AML point of view, a KYC po int of view, or a financial service point of view? Is there some validation somewhere that gives Bermuda the confidence that these international agencies —the G20, the FATF or the OECD —[are] saying that this legislation is sound and [they] support it? It i s not good enough to say that I have been to a plenary, an OECD plenary, a FATF plenary, they have talked about this and this is what they have said that they are looking for and so we have heard them and because they made a declaration at a plenary and this is what they have said, we try to meet that standard and it is all included. I would like for them to be more granular and somehow provide evidence of the bles sings from those international bodies and regulators. Mr. Speaker , the other issue that I would like to speak to is the exempt companies versus Bermuda companies. Do we expect for these businesses to o perate in Bermuda for Bermudians, for locals, as far as targeting them as clients? Or is it basically targeting expatriates or international clientele? That is the question that I am asking. Because if we are, there are other issues that we need to speak to in regard to l i-quidity issues, risk warnings, because as you know this industry is highly volatile. It is an emerging industry, and somehow we hav e to make sure that we have added protections for Bermudians. I know we have the legislation and the fram ework to protect Bermudians, but we need more . . . buyer education for the local community because a lot of people have been attending . . . and I salute the Minister for having all of these public meetings. But there is still a very, very, difficult learning curve for most Bermudians. The other issue that I would like to speak to is the issue of energy —the cost of energy —because most of these system s will be run by blockchain. And everybody will know that blockchain consumes an immeasurable amount of energy. So what work has been done with the Energy Commission—
Hon. Wayne Caines: Point of order, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsYes. The Speake r: We will take your point of order. Mr. Simons, Honourable Member . POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Wayne Caines: That is actually so incorrect it just begs belief. The blockchain does not take energy. As an yone will know from just basic knowledge of t his, …
Yes. The Speake r: We will take your point of order. Mr. Simons, Honourable Member .
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Wayne Caines: That is actually so incorrect it just begs belief. The blockchain does not take energy. As an yone will know from just basic knowledge of t his, the blockchain just does not require any physical energy to be involved. That is actually so wrong it is actually misleading the public.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you for your point of order. Honourable Member , would you like to co ntinue?
Mr. N. H. Cole S imonsYes, I will continue. As I said, the blockchain is the system, the mining of data within the system, Mr. Speaker , so it all forms part of the—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHold on a sec. What is your point of order, Honourable Member ? 2170 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report B ermuda House of Assembly POINT OF ORDER
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongThe Member is right that the mining of cryptocurrency does require tremendous amounts of energy, but that is not what is going to take place in Bermuda. Bermuda was . . . it is not i ntended for us, or Bermuda’s jurisdiction, to be involved in any mining of cryptocurrencies …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Thank you, Honourable Member .
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsMr. Speaker, I take his point. But there is no information in this legislation saying that mining is precluded from being handled or managed in Bermuda. [ Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay, let the Member continue.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsAnd so, Mr. Speaker , I am just asking the Minister what discussions has he had with the Energy Commission and BELCO to ensure that they can provide the support and the required infrastructure to make this work. Mr. Speaker , ICOs . . . the fund offering . . …
And so, Mr. Speaker , I am just asking the Minister what discussions has he had with the Energy Commission and BELCO to ensure that they can provide the support and the required infrastructure to make this work. Mr. Speaker , ICOs . . . the fund offering . . . I was in New York yesterday from Tuesday until yesterday, and I went to a number of investment houses. And I was at a private equity manager yesterday morning and they have $50 billion under management in the private equity space. And because I knew I was getting ready for this debate I said to them, Out of your portfolio how much do you have in the virtual currency business? Because we are talking about start -ups, providing capital for start -up companies, talking about young entrepreneurs, and other people who are looking for investment opportunities and seed money to develop a business. And they indicated to me that they have none of cryptocurrency or virtual currency businesses in their portfolios. And I found it strange. And I said, You know, we are trying to promote this as a third industry . . . I was trying do my bit to make it work and trying to find capital to support the industry — [ Inaudible int erjection]
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsI was saying this to say that in New York . . . and I went to another asset management house and I asked them, again, the same question. And their private equity people are cautious about this new industry. And they are s aying, You know, we have to …
I was saying this to say that in New York . . . and I went to another asset management house and I asked them, again, the same question. And their private equity people are cautious about this new industry. And they are s aying, You know, we have to see how this develops, we have to look for frameworks and we have to make sure that our KYC —the same arguments you hear today —are in place. So it is something that the capital markets are looking at and they are treading cautiously. And I am just hoping that we, yes, move forward. But make sure we move forward with caution; that we are thorough and make sure that when we do it we get it right and we also ensure that what we promise we can deliver on so that we cannot compromise our reputation when we make promises and we cannot deliver. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? We r ecognise the Honourable Member from constituency 36. Honourable Member Scott, you have the floor. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to be able to contribute to the …
Thank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? We r ecognise the Honourable Member from constituency 36. Honourable Member Scott, you have the floor. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to be able to contribute to the discussion and pilotage of the largely BMA- crafted Digital Asset Business Act 2018. You know it represents . . . I have heard Members of the House indicate it represents the be-ginning of a pillar, of a third pillar or fourth pillar or wherever we are with the pillars, in support of our economy. This is encouraging. And we are legislators in this House and when a pillar that is similar to either tourism (when tourism was coming on) or international business (as that magnificent pillar has been in our history came on), and those who were the promoters and designers and drivers of these businesses, you know, what we are doing to day is doing the very same thing. And so I appreciate that and want to urge colleagues of the House that we should embrace like we mean it, without being overly cautious or overly doubt-ful about this industry. We should embrace it the way that the lawyers of the day who went out across New York and Europe from the two large law firms when it came to this interesting concept called the Bermuda Company. And I know the Honourable Member who has just taken his seat actually now works in this kind of business on a daily basis and many Members of this House historically have done so. And they all did so without this level of doubt and caution. This country has been a forerunner in developing— [ Inaudible interjection] Hon. Michael J. Scott: Yes, new interests, new pillars of industry. This should be the main confidence for us, particularly when Members of this House and me mbers listening to this debate are experts in the area, whether it is . . . the other area was reinsurance, asset and wealth management. And so when the BMA worked with the Government’s cryptocurrency task group, peopled and supported and led by the team that is in the House—and I declare my interest in that group as I am on the legal and regulatory sector of that group. When we
Bermuda House of Assembly have crafted a Bill such as the one that we have here and that is reflected in the brief presented by the Mi nister of Finance and Premier, it immediately speaks to a level of diligence, a level of responsiveness to the principles that have sustained Bermuda through its platform of the Bermuda Company, the management of wealth, the segregated company, the trust bus iness, private trust business . . . just a glance. And the deployment in the DAB A [Digital Asset Business Act 2018] of both its preliminary provisions, the licensure provisions contained in Part 2, the audited accounts provisions, the objections to shareholders controllers and disciplinary measures, rights of appeal, investig ations . . . the structure is so familiar. It is classic BMA regulatory Bermuda structures that give assurance and have given assurances historically to our private clients, both globally attracted from around the world and for clients in Bermuda. So it worked, and has worked for us, well. And no one is meant to be asking, as the Honourable Member who just took his seat, for a complete copper - bottomed assurance. Lawyers have sat and consi dered this, particularly public lawyers with the parli amentary drafting of it. But private sector practitioners have been consulted and helped us to craft thi s framework legislatively, this policy, digital asset bus inesswise policy. And we have every right to go into the world and go into the market, as the Minister of National Security and the Premier did and will do, and say we have a product to offer. And nobody goes into the world, just as I do not go into the court and know that I have a guaran-teed right of success. But if you . . . and when, as we have done, we have produced a document and a regulatory frame in our country supported by legislation that is fit for purpose, it is the best that you can ask for.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Michael J. Scott: And the first country in the world to do it, that gives us the cache to wave the Bermuda flag and say we have done it. What else should we be doing but that? What else? And doing it with boldness and confidence and assurance. And there is another simple human rule —we will learn from errors and mistakes made and we will benefit, Mr. Speaker , from the successes that we have. And we can list, as has been l isted in this House, a number of successes already. I see in this enterprise, Mr. Speaker , that dig ital asset business, as defined, includes issuing and selling and redeeming virtual coins. Number one, this is the Minister’s brief, the Premier’s brief, operating as a payment service provider business and using digital assets (so that is like Paycase and Paycare). Those are . . . that is business. Mr. Speaker , in this list, and it goes from I to V (Roman numerals) I see magnificent, obvious opportunities for job creation, new opportunities for locals. To answer the Honourable Member Mr. S imon, Will this be just for participants in the exempt space and restricted space or Bermudians? Of course not. It is going to be for Bermudians and linking with onboarding people. That has been the mantra of the Government from the point of taking the Gover nment —growth. And we are exceedingly pleased that this initiative, aided by the serendipity of having met with experts in the field —like Ms. Loretta Joseph (who is in the audience), and Mr. Joseph Weinberg and other members of Shyft, and we have attracted B inance . . . by the serendipity and partnering and intel-lectual knowledge sharing of these players we expect that we [will] achieve growth, achieve jobs, achieve new via ble useful jobs for Bermudian boys and girls, men and women. That is what the story should be about. I mean, I can just . . . I was talking with Andrew Banks . I am sure he does not mind me mentioning this because we were talking right on this subject. And Andrew and I were saying . . . well, it was his thought, that if we could, on the very first item in the brief—issuing and selling and redeeming virtual coins —if we could craft, for example, a card that is issued to the public, and by that card and by hol ding that card you had the power and capacity, just like using any other levels of plastic, to be involved in accessing an exchange to transfer virtual currency . . . I beg your pardon, fiat, for virtual, and vice versa, if someone could develop that kind of play, that would be part of business if someone comes up with these kinds of enterprises. It is not dissimilar to Minister Caines’ indic ation earlier on in this journey when we were talking about the EID card and the capacity to use just chips and technology to access across jurisdictional borders . . . services required by the world. You know it is interesting. One of the things we have to work out too is what are people buying nowadays? What is the commodity in housing, whet her people are renting or are people buying? What are the blockchain Millennials . . . where are their values these days in terms of what is important to them, whether they are taking holiday time and relaxing in this jurisdiction on their honeymoon, or just coming for R&R. What is the generation that is growing up using this industry and using this kind of business [for]? What do they want for housing? Do they want to buy like my generation and my parents’ generation b elieved (it is good to own the lot of land and the cottage on it)? Or do they say, I don’t want to be tied down by these kinds of things. I simply want a nice place in which to live . . . so is that leasing or renting? These are the kinds of thoughts that we need to be . . . that we will be facing as we attract these k inds of new onboarders onto our Island. 2172 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly So, the capacity to have an electronic exchange and operate this electronic exchange so that digital assets are traded or exchanged, I mean the exchange, or exchanges , as I have heard Minister Caines indicate . . . we must consider what we have. Again, this is another important tool in the digital asset business that we are introducing— have introduced, and have gone out into the market to say that it is here. So I see great opportunity, just as a matter of reading the Act and understanding the policy of it, the framework that it is has laid down and the potential in it for innovative job creation, innovation generally, and driving new modern business. And 90 per cent compliance is what the Honourable Member who just took his seat said is what is going on in the diffidence of the banking sector to this. This is just the cost . . . this is just a part of the reality of venturing off onto new journeys. It always freaks out the existing business. And it is not a reason t o pack up tents and roll up the tents and go home. It is just a reality. As happened in relation to the . . . and not r eflecting entirely on another debate; it happened when that Act was being considered as something that should be approached with cautiousness. I prefer to see us . . . as I know that we are capable of understanding the clauses of the Bill, understanding the policy of it, understanding its underlying capability for driving new business, and debating on the floor of this House, not the worri es of the existing system of banking and business, but coming up with suggestions for those who are listening to us, coming up with thought product. Mr. Speaker , that reflects that we have given some thought to the potentialities involved in the dig ital as set business. Commendation . . . great congratulations ought to be given to this Government for getting on in a relatively short space of time, raising an idea for growth, regulating it with proper diligence, legislation, and regulation and making it a pr oduct that we can go to the world and go to this community in our schools and to our young folks and say, These are the innov ations. These are the opportunities for the creation of business . . . businesses for you. Mr. Speaker , we should try and avoid as much as possible the confluence of fiat principles and banking as part of the banking platform with confl uence of the currency asset of that industry with cry ptocurrencies, with virtual currencies. It leads to a circ ular and . . . it leads to low -grade ana lysis. It leads to a lack of taking the opportunity to exploit to the very ful lest, Mr. Speaker , the great opportunities that there are with creating in this environment and in this jurisdi ction an environment for a well -regulated environment for the initi al coin offerings and, in this case, the digital asset carrying on of business. So who will the players be? We expect that it will be those members of the global community who hear about us and who will hear about us with greater rapidity than has otherwi se been possible in our past as we promote it across our marketing of this bus iness. And we should take quite seriously becoming a country, a small Island jurisdiction, who goes at this initiative with nothing but enthusiasm, intelligence, in broad involvement of all of our people. Because even in this tiny Island our tentacles and relationships reach across the world and bring to our shores a better life for all of us. Mr. Speaker , I, too, wish to say how thoroughly proud I have been to be led by the team leadership of Ms. Dickens and all of the members of the team who took us from a January start to what is now a June culmination. And to Ms. Welch and all the members of the parliamentary team at the Attorney General’s Chambers, it has been a pleasure and w e—the Government —thank you again. The Government thanks each of you for the good work and for the continuing work that obviously will be associated with this project. I want to thank Ms. Joseph, who is in the House, and Mr. John Narr away, Mr. Gift, as has been indicated, and to urge and welcome their continued thought, enterprise and intellectual capital being brought to bear on this business as we seek to now make the journey even more and more prosperous and fun and meaningful and purposeful in creating growth in this space. The Premier has already indicated and underscored the thanks to the primary consultant . . . promoters of this Bill through the BMA and, of course, I join him with those thanks. Mr. Speaker , those are my remarks. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 23. Honourable Member Pamplin, you have the floor.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , as my honourable leader has indicated, we as Opposition support the general tenor of this legislation and the intent that it has behind it. The Members would know that certainly after the election, when I sat in the position of my honourable …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , as my honourable leader has indicated, we as Opposition support the general tenor of this legislation and the intent that it has behind it. The Members would know that certainly after the election, when I sat in the position of my honourable lea der now, that I made a statement in my very first Throne Speech [Reply] that we as an Opposition will support the Government in those initiatives, that we believe to be in the best interest of the general public and the people of this country. And we will not refr ain from doing that at any possible opportunity, today being one of them. The Honourable Member who just took his seat from [ constituency ] 36 indicated that we should support and embrace this legislation like we mean it.
Bermuda House of Assembly Now, I find that interesting, because I think what is important is that by indicating that we will support, if we fail to ask questions that would help to enhance the democratic process, to engage the public and to allow a better level of understanding of that which we are about to do, we would be remiss in our respons ibilities.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinSo I think that to suggest that, you know, maybe we have not embraced it like we mean it because we were asking questions, I do not believe is an appropriate depiction of the job and responsibilities that we have in this Honourable House. So, we will embrace like we …
So I think that to suggest that, you know, maybe we have not embraced it like we mean it because we were asking questions, I do not believe is an appropriate depiction of the job and responsibilities that we have in this Honourable House. So, we will embrace like we mean it. But we will ask questions like we mean it, because that is what we were elected to do. The Honourable Member from [ constituency] 36 in his wrap -up indicated his congratulations to the team and he named them one by one, all of whom are here present today. And I would like to echo those comments of commendation for the work that has o bviously gone into the preparation and the delivery of this Bill. But the one thing the Honourable Member did say was that from January to June, you know, within that short period of time, to get as much work done as they have been able to do has been something of which they and the House and obviously the Gover nment can be immensely proud. I only want to say that a six -month gestation period sometimes brings forth a premature birth. So I just want to make sure—
[Laughter]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin—that as we are looking at what we have been able to accomplish that while we ask questions, the i’s can be dotted and the t’s can be crossed, so that this premature baby can have the opportunity of effective survival. That is all I want to say. And I …
—that as we are looking at what we have been able to accomplish that while we ask questions, the i’s can be dotted and the t’s can be crossed, so that this premature baby can have the opportunity of effective survival. That is all I want to say. And I think . . . I think that this . . . as a mom it would be dif ficult for me not to have taken that opportunity because those last three months when you l abour, trust me, they can be painful.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe will take your word for it.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes. Thank you , Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I thi nk that . . . I had the opportunity last night to attend the town hall meeting that was put on at the No. 1 Shed and— [Inaudible interjection]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinSorry? Oh. I had the opportunity to attend and to listen to some of the questi ons that were being asked. And clearly from some of the questions that came from the audience after the various presentations . . . and I have to say that the presentations were very …
Sorry? Oh. I had the opportunity to attend and to listen to some of the questi ons that were being asked. And clearly from some of the questions that came from the audience after the various presentations . . . and I have to say that the presentations were very high le vel. They were not sort of in- depth that anybody who did not know would have come away knowing or feeling as though they knew all they needed to know. And I think that the Minister was quite clear in saying that this was not the intent. It was really to whet the app etite of those who may have further questions for them to do further investigations, to listen further, and to ensure that any questions that they have that they do the necessary research so that they can be satisfied. But there was one comment that really stood out, and that was when one of the presenters who had indicated that with the traditional systems with which we have been accustomed, and which we know, there is a friction that has been created by this new industry. And I found the word “friction” to be rather interesting, because I think that it is mor e . . . it is easier for us to move along on a path on which things are comfort able—we know it, it is tried and tested, and everything that we do is in accordance with that which we know, and therefore we can embrace what it is that we do. And something that is so different, such as digital assets and such as cryptocurrencies and the like, be-comes a part of what we now have to consider. It is outside the norm. Then it is not unusual for us, and especially in an atmosphere in which we are told that the attit ude of caveat emptor is what we should be, i.e., the buyer needs to beware, that you need to do your research so that you know what it is that you might be getting into and for what purposes. So I understand that there could be reluctance. I also understand that there would be caution. There would be caution, as my honourable colleague from constituency 8 mentioned, with respect to the traditional banking industries. I understand that. I had occasion to speak with somebody in a banking environment and they basically indicated that because of the uncertainty, because of the newness, and because of the lack of the ultimate impact, that it was going to be difficult for them to embrace it whol eheartedly without having more information. And I b elieve that that i s the key, having more information. So, I take the concerns that have been expressed, certainly by people from the floor. One question was asked last night, Mr. Speaker , whether we are not just allowing people to come in, basically set up some kind of pyramid scheme, steal our lunch, and then take off and go. Obviously those kinds of concerns are going to be expressed. And I think that when they are expressed we have to address them. We have to allow people to understand that we are looking very carefully i nto that which we are doing and that, as a result, we want to ensure that the reputation that we have built as a jurisdiction over time, which 2174 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly has been stellar, is protected with the things that we want to do. I have to say that the Government has ind icated that the Monetary Authority has been particularly helpful in assisting to get the legislation to the point that it is. And I do know that part of the consultation paper that was put out by the BMA . . . it would be useful if the Premier and the Government can answer for us what kinds of concerns arose during that consultation period within which what kinds of expressions did people say, I wonder about this? Because, obviously, the consultation paper with the Monetary Authority is not something that is bei ng presented as a fait accompli . It is something that is being presented. As one would certainly know, I work in the i nsurance industry. And I will declare my interest in that that there are consultative papers that come through from the Monetary Authorit y, the idea of which is to ensure that if there are concerns that they are made known. And I would just be curious to know what kinds of concerns had been expressed during this consultative process that would indicate what people are uncertain about and ho w those uncertainties can be addressed. The question that I also have was the comment with respect to the prudential standards, b ecause it is important that any industry, if it is to be not just viable, but viable and successful and sustainable, that any i ndustry would have attended to it the necessary prudential standards. Now, what seems to happen, historically, is that we kind of see how things d evelop, determine what might be prudential standards, and then we put it in place ex post facto. I think what we want to do in this instance, though, is to be far more proactive and to try to determine what prudential standards can be implemented as early as possible. Because, as I mentioned, with the idea of caveat emptor, with the types of investments that peopl e are likely to make, irrespective of what the comfort zones might be, there may still be the exposure to loss. And we want to ensure that prudential standards are first and foremost put up close and personal so that people can understand the conditions under which this particular industry is operating and to ensure that they have no negative impact of which they are not first aware. So I think that this is something that prudential standards will be able to show and it is an integral part of business, of industry, and of the controls related thereto. The other thing that I wanted to say was that one Member (I believe it was from [ constituency ] 36) had mentioned, you know, what a wonderful thing it might be that at some point in time somebody might be able to develop a card of some description that says that they are able to utilise this card to exchange for services and the like. Well, it was very interesting, last week I happened to be in New York. And in just walking across a very bitty little neighbourhood . . . it was not a supermarket, it was like a corner store, if I could call it that, there was a sign on the outside that said “ATM inside that is bitcoin compliant.” And I thought that was very, very, interesting that, when the Honourable Member said maybe somebody can cr eate . . . it has already been created. So we are not reinventing the wheel in that regard. But I do know that the trading backwards and forwards of things such as bitcoin that had reached a level of prominence fairly recently, in terms of the volatility of the marketing thereof, caused a lot of ey ebrows to be raised. And it was in conjunction with that phenomenon and looking at the traditional banking environment that people did start asking some questions: How am I going to put my money in? Is it going to be safe? Am I going to be able to get out that which I put in? And how do I trade in this virtual world? Obviously, to be able to have an environment in which digital assets are not just regulated, but reg ulated and protected to the ex tent possible, obviously, is the way that we wish to go. I am fiercely guarding of the reputation that Bermuda has created over many years, and there is no way that I, as a Member of this Honourable House, would sit back and suggest that we would support s omething if I felt that we were being seriously compromised in that regard. I can question, and I can question so that the Government knows that we have concerns. But I believe that as concerns are expressed it is within that realm that the Government would then be able to satisfy some of those very concerns that we may have. So, knowing that the virtual currencies operate in a digital wallet environment, you know, it is di fferent from . . . as I mentioned a few weeks ago and I was laughed at because somebody said I was sho wing my age when I said that if I have my sixpence I want to take my sixpence to the bank and make a d eposit and see it registered in my passbook.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThey just did not know what a sixpence was.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThey did not know what a sixpence was, so they were telling me I was showing my age. And I understand that. And that is okay. But I want to know that there is evidence that when I go to get my sixpence out . . . there is ev …
They did not know what a sixpence was, so they were telling me I was showing my age. And I understand that. And that is okay. But I want to know that there is evidence that when I go to get my sixpence out . . . there is ev idence that it was there and that I can now withdraw it. When it comes to digital currencies and somebody is saying that you are operating with a digital wallet . . . so if my computer breaks down has my asset disappeared? These are the kinds of things that people are obviously concerned about. And obviously we have that transition b etween fiat currency and digital currency and how do wallets operate vis -à-vis a passbook and other hard paper evidence of assets that you possess. And these are things that, obviously, people need to ensure that if they go down a different path, and if the different
Bermuda House of Assembly path becomes the norm, that they are protected, that their assets are not going to go up in smoke. The only other comment that I wanted to make was with respect the requirement for the preparation of accounts. And I think my honourable leader indicated that there, obviously, is an error in the draf ting of the legislation in terms of saying that an auditor must “prepare” accounts. The Premier is saying no, there is nothing wrong with that. Financial statements must be prepared by an approved auditor —
Hon. E. David Burt: Point of clarification, if I may, Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe will yield for it — Hon. E. David Burt: — and I know we might be in the wrong place.
The SpeakerThe Speaker— yes. POINT O F CLARIFICATION Hon. E. David Burt: But I have just been instructed by the BMA that the language is identical to the language that is in our other financial services things, such as Money Service Business Act [2016] and ot hers, and it is specific. I …
— yes.
POINT O F CLARIFICATION Hon. E. David Burt: But I have just been instructed by the BMA that the language is identical to the language that is in our other financial services things, such as Money Service Business Act [2016] and ot hers, and it is specific. I will get into detail when we get into Committee because it is an actual clause and I have the answers there. But I just wanted to state overall that it is similar to the language that is in all of our other financial services Bills.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pam plinOkay. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Premier’s explanation. But the fact that it is there does not say that it is right. Because an auditor . . . and if one looks at the description of what an auditor actually is, an auditor is a person appointed and authorised to …
Okay. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Premier’s explanation. But the fact that it is there does not say that it is right. Because an auditor . . . and if one looks at the description of what an auditor actually is, an auditor is a person appointed and authorised to examine accounts and accounting records, compare the charges with the vouchers, verify balance sheet and income items, and state the result. That does not say that they go out there and prepare it. The preparation is the work of an accountant. An accountant can be an auditor . . . I am sorry, an auditor can be an accountant. But an accountant is not necessarily an auditor. And I think the fact that there may be this terminology included in other legi slation . . . what it might mean is that w e need to go and tidy up other legislation, because there may have been some basic misunderstanding in terms of what the intent of an auditor is. And if it is there, it is wrong. You know having worked . . . and I will declare an interest. I work in the profession. I am an accountant by profession. I have worked in the audit profession as well. So I know the lines of demarcation between that which I was required to do as an account-ant, and that which I was required to do as an auditor. And they are two dis tinctively different disciplines. And so I think that, notwithstanding the Premier’s interjection, we may need to start looking at the areas in which we have it incorrectly delineated and we may need to correct those areas, notwithstanding what the Monetary Authority may have said in that regard. But I am a little concerned further, and that is with respect to the same issue in terms of approved auditors, because one will know that there is a hierar-chy, if I can call it that, of approved auditing firms and approved auditors as accepted by Bermuda, by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bermuda. And they embrace the CGA [ Certified General Accountant ] organisation and the CPA [ Chartered Professional Accountant ] organisation within the United States. But one of the things that it does not do is to fully embrace the ACCA [ Association of Chartered Certified A ccountants ] organisation (of which I am a Fellow) as well as the ICAEW (which is the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales) and the like, b ecause those organisations are included on the schedule of acceptable organisations that are able to audit institutions within . . . virtually throughout anywhere where there is an ACCA presence. And I just want to ensure that when we start to do this that we are not being exclusive to say that you have got an individual or an organisation that is an ACCA- based organisation that can effectively be good enough to audit Lloyd’s of London, which is one of the biggest financial and insurance exchanges t hat exists, but yet not good enough to audit, you know, the cake shop on the corner. So I just want to ensure that when we start to look at the recognition of, not just the nomenclature, but the individual organisations that form a part, that we are, as a Government and as a people, embracing those standards and principles that obtain around the world that somehow in Bermuda we deem it to be some kind of closed shop and some kind of exclusive kind of club. And that is something for which I will continuously push until I see that the people who form a part of that organisation . . . and you will know, Mr. Speaker , very recently that I had the privilege and pleasure of being represented on the front page of one of those magazines, the Account ing and Business magazine —
[Inaudible interjection]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin“Showcased,” I guess, my honourable colleague says. And I am not quite that self -centred in that regard. But I think that when you have a membership of some 250,000 qual ified accountants, to be chosen among that esteemed group for honour . . . I think I have to …
“Showcased,” I guess, my honourable colleague says. And I am not quite that self -centred in that regard. But I think that when you have a membership of some 250,000 qual ified accountants, to be chosen among that esteemed group for honour . . . I think I have to say that it was very well done, and I was very appreciative. 2176 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly But with that said, when we look at legislation that could conceivably be exclusive of people who have taken the time t o study, train, and be embraced and have successfully passed their examinations in this organisation, to know that they could conceivably be excluded is something that I will not take lightly and I will not take it lying down. So, as we look, Mr. Speaker , at this legislation there will be questions as we get to the Committee stage, obviously. But I am particularly concerned as the Premier has given explanation with the correc tness of what he believes to be the legislation, and I think we may find that we have a common thread of incorrectness throughout other legislation and I believe that that also needs to be looked at and it needs to be amended. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Minister for N ational Security. Honourable Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , it is actually a pleasure to listen to the Opposition this …
Thank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Minister for N ational Security. Honourable Minister, you have the floor.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , it is actually a pleasure to listen to the Opposition this afternoon. I can tell you this, and with this there is no cynicism. I actually heard the growth from the first time we had the conversation and I actually can legitimately hear the knowledge, as with all of us, with some insight, with some discussion, with talking to the right people. Y ou actually hear the growth in the conversation. I was also buoyed last night when I looked i nto the crowd and one of my team came over and they were like. Ms. Pat Gordon[ -Pamplin] is here. And they just started naming the Opposition Members who were in t he room. And we were pleasantly encouraged by that, because it speaks voluminously about the overarching desire to actually make Bermuda a better place. And I get that. And so at the end of the day we joust and our swords touch in this room. But oftentimes we do not highlight the fact that we ultimately want to see Bermuda in a better and a stronger place, and that must be acknowledged. If you would permit me, Mr. Speaker , we must go back to the absolute genesis of why we are here. We are here because we believe that this is an opportunity for our country to be made stronger. We look at a contracting market with reinsurance and in financial services, we look at the number of people that have left the Island to seek employment elsewhere. We look at the amount of people— we call them economic refugees —that are in exile because they cannot find a job or economic opportunities in Bermuda. This is an opportunity for us to take a significant look at the direction that our great country should go in. We have looked at this from many perspectives and we have done so over a number of years. We have a debt that teeters just over $2.4 billion. That is not going to pay itself. We have a rating and every year we look at balancing this budget, looking at the ratings and t he international intricacies that are contained therein. This Government has looked at the opportunity for us to make a bold step, a new step to look at something that is being considered all over the world. The Government has deemed this to be our “FinTec h plan.” We have walked away from this notion of it being a cryptocurrency plan. We have harkened and we have told everyone to be very clear about calling it the “bitcoin plan.” We have had a significant look at what we believe is the place for Bermuda to be in. How do we position ourselves? How do we ensure that this country is in poll position to capitalise on something that we are good at? And let me remind you what we are good at. For the last 50 to 60 years this has been a country that has been a cent re of reinsurance, has been a centre for financial services, which has centred around our ability to regulate, our ability to use innov ation, our ability to have a strong centre for jurispr udence. We looked at all of the elements that have made us strong—a strong KYC, AML, ATF or CTF (counter terrorism financing). We have looked at all of those elements and we said, These things will be the bulwark or the hallmark of what we do in this space. So setting about everything we put the rubrics or the building bl ocks in place to make sure that our bluechip or our golden reputation can be highlighted and that it can be protected through this industry. And what is this industry? Let us start at the beginning. We believe that we can have Bermuda as a place for inno vation. So when companies have an idea around RegTech (which is the reinsurance technology), and yesterday KPMG had an international blockchain forum in Bermuda where all industry came from all over and they came to Bermuda. . . How can we do things in Re gTech? We have companies in Bermuda that have come for medical technology, how to put that on the blockchain. We had a company yesterday in Bermuda that set up, Bitfury. Bitfury is looking to partner with the Government to set -up and put our Land Title Registry on the blockchain. We see for the very first time that our world can be changed by the use of the blockchain and FinTech technology. And so let us highlight what we believe our place in history will be. Our place in history will be a very small count ry in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that has realised a new technology, a new form of doing business. And we have decided to capitalise on it. We have said to all the people around the world: Don’t go to Malta. Forsake going to Gibraltar. Singapore? Why would you consider Singapore when you can consider one of the most well -regulated countries in
Bermuda House of Assembly the world— Bermuda? And based upon that our team started to innovate. And what did the innovation take its seat in? It took its seat in consultation. And this c onsultation meant that we had pe ople come from all over the world and give us ideas, give us guidance, put the brakes on us, stop us when we were too hasty, put us in the right direction when we were indeed going down paths that should not have been trod. And we have come up with legislation that is reflective of this new form of technology —the blockchain technology. And we have said that we have a FinTech plan. Our FinTech plan starts with companies coming to Bermuda to do research, to see if this is a goo d place to set up shop, and that is a plan that sees us being a start -up place for companies to come from all around the world and they are looking at Bermuda as a jurisdiction. So if you are interested in setting up a RegTech or a medical tech company, if you are interested in putting your medical records on the blockchain, we are saying, You know what? We are well -regulated . . . the ease of doing business . . . we are setting up co- working spaces and incubators, why don’t you set up that business in Bermuda? The next part of it we said . . . and we are seeing the legislation that is based on our ICO, the ICO legislation which was legitimately an amendment to the Companies Act. And the ICO legislation is sim ply . . . if you want to raise money, if you want to have an offering or if you want to open up a barber shop and you do not have enough money, well, this is a way of legitimately raising money for whatever bus iness that you want to do. And so we passed legisl ation and it says, You know what? If you want to raise your money, we are going to create an environment that is safe, that is transparent, that has the highest level of KYC and AML for you to do your ICO , and the place for you to do that is in Bermuda. The White Paper sets out the amount of money to be raised. Who will be raising the money? How will that money be managed? That will be managed by the FinTech Advisory Committee. The FinTech A dvisory Committee will set up how White Papers are actually funnelled and triaged and how they are ap-proved. The next thing that we are going to look at and why we are here today is for the DABA —the Digital Asset Business Act. This is just a continuation on to the innovation part. And so we have realised that we have had to be cautious, we have had to be ci rcumspec t, and we have had to understand what is going on in the market. So, the first thing that we have had to be car eful of is we have to understand the difference between legitimate concerns and white noise. The legitimate concern is that in this space there are bad actors. There are people that have illegitimate opportunities for business. And so what the DABA has done is it has looked at specific ways to manage, control, and eliminate that. So whether it is from token offerings, whether it is from setting up exchanges, the Digital Asset Business Act has been put in place to manage that. We will provide regulatory supervision with a two-tiered licensing system, Mr. Speaker . We will pr ovide compliance of AML/ATF protocols. We will make sure that there is consum er fraud protection. There will be penalties for price manipulation. There will be licensing qualifications which include a requirement for only fit and proper persons to conduct digital asset business activities from within Bermuda. This regime, Mr. Speak er, will be put in place in conjunction with regulations, cybersecurity rules, prudential reporting rules, client disclosure rules, codes of practice, statements of principles, guidance similar to the legislation framework for other financial services regu lated by the BMA. Now let us stop for a second. This legislation was not penned by the Bermuda Government. We have an independent regul atory body that is responsible for everything financial in Bermuda and making sure that it is pristine and that it rises to the highest of standards —the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Mr. Speaker , they penned this legislation. Not only did they pen this legislation, they left it and it dangled and people from all across the world were able to go online to look at it to provide input, to give criticisms, to make suggestions, to say the direction that we are going in is thumbs up or thumbs down. This was left for weeks, and people from all across the planet weighed in. We have been to meetings, both locally and abroad; and we are being lauded, not only for our innovation, not only for us being the first to do it, but for the collaborative approach that we have used. But this is not an opportunity to thump our chest or stick them out for that matter. We are doing this because we mus t assure the people of Bermuda that this will be a safe environment, that it will be keeping with the best standards and with the best practice i nternationally. We have heard a lot of talk about banking. Well, if you understand the technology, this is a di sruptive form of technology. As a matter of fact most of the time in the engagements that you would have on the blockchain . . . guess what? You will be having these actions without using a third party or a bank. So if you are afraid of the banking piece you will literally be troubled in this space. A big part of this technology is the ability to conduct business without the use of the bank. That is something that we have to understand and come to grips with. There will be people in the banking industry . . . Of course, the people in the banking world would speak out against this. Of course they will say that this is something that we need to be careful of. We have to, again, Mr. Speaker , work through the white noise. We have to look at what the elements are. Of course we have to work out a banking partner for the exchange- based business and that is som e2178 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly thing that is a work in progress. And in the not too di stant future we will be able to return to this noble and Honourable House and give clear details, guid elines and a timeline of how we will implement the banking piece. Do you think that we can go through this entire process without considering the most important part? The most important part is the banking piece, and that remains a work in progress. As you know, Mr. Speaker , that is a consult ative piece, which is a piece that has to go through a number of different elements. But again we will say we will not be encumbered because the local players do not want to be in this space. I will say it again: We will not be limited or encumbered because the local banks do not want to play in this space. You can look around the world where global banks, which include corresponding banks, are looking and making prov isions globally to be in this space. The difference be-tween Gibraltar, Mauritius, Singapore and all the rest of these countries around this legislation, Mr. Speaker, is that Bermuda has done it. Bermuda has legisl ation. And the men and women in this room on both sides of the aisle have something that they can be exceedingly proud about. As a matter of fact, 20 years from now we are all going to take pride when we tell our grandchildren (and in some cases great - grandchildren) that we were the country in this world that made the step change, and we were the pers ons in this room that regulated digital assets; that we were the people—the 36 of us in this room —that changed this world based on this legislation. Very few people are going to have the benefit of what the 36 people in this room will have the benefit of doing. Mr. Speaker , the activity that will be covered under this Act will include: issuing and selling and r edeeming virtual coins, tokens or any form of digital assets; payments of service provider business relating to digital assets; operating electronic exchanges for digital assets; providing custodial digital wallet se rvices; and any type of digital assets. The following activities are exempted, Mr.
SpeakerThe Speakercontributing connectivity software or computing power to a digital asset; providing data storage or security to assets in business. Another significant part is the ability of us to have a senior representative on Island. Sometimes people have been talking about this space as being a space where it is going …
contributing connectivity software or computing power to a digital asset; providing data storage or security to assets in business. Another significant part is the ability of us to have a senior representative on Island. Sometimes people have been talking about this space as being a space where it is going to be the wild, Wild West and we are going to have people from other nationalities storing and managing and laundering and doing all sorts of things in Bermuda. Well, that is not connected to reality. The reality of this is that we will constantly have opportunities through AML and KYC to manage this space to keep the bad actors out, to hold them to account. If people are in this space and they, indeed, break our law, there are terms of imprisonment both in the Magistrates’ Court and in the Supreme Court with significant fines attached therein. There is an opportunity and a mandate for companies to have a head office in Bermuda and a senior representative in Bermuda. So the notion of people from somewhere else in the world just doing business in Bermuda . . . well, that is, indeed, not the case. Somet hing else that is significant, Mr. Speaker, [is that] there was a mention of making sure that people have employment and opportunities and that people are not peering through the windows, looking at everyone having a meal, and they are not able to participate. That is something that this Government gets. That is something that we were elected on. We have as a part of our mandate an education component. The education component, Mr. Speaker , will not just centre around high school. It will not just centre around elementary school. It will centre around retool-ing. We are talking to a global organisation right now that we will partner with to do an education pr ogramme to allow people to get retooled so that if you are in the space and you are a teacher and you are teaching IT, you can be able to be retooled and r etrained and come into this working space. So from a help desk operator to a civil engineer, a person who is a CCNA, or if a person is a switch engineer, these are all opportunities for people to be educ ated in this space and be trained in this space. Now, what do the MOUs where Shyft and J oseph Weinberg (who I know is listening by radio and by the Internet) and Gabriel Bender (who I know is listening) what have these companies brought to the table with these MOUs? Well, they have given us an indication and an opportunity to train Bermudians in this sphere. We now have a reservoir of opportunities for Bermudians to be connected in this space. And it is our plan and our desire to make sure that not only d o people have the right training, but to connect them directly to o pportunities. Mr. Speaker, you heard, and I will not regurg itate it this afternoon, the TLF Statement that was read this morning, the epicentre of that Statement is that we have young peop le, six of whom are doing inter nships right now, people right now that are working in a summer internship that will allow them to have the best benefit of being in this space. Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Digital Asset Bill that we are having a second r eading of today, is to allow our country to forge ahead into a new generation. It allows us to challenge the status quo, challenge Bermudians through our understanding of finance, and our understanding of business. One thing I learned last night at the for um . . . and let me just talk about that for a nanosecond. Mr. Speaker, we turned away people after 350 people. We saw the whole . . . we were expecting 100, and we put down 100 chairs. There were 350 people in the room. We had to get our staff at the fr ont
Bermuda House of Assembly and turn away. We took their names. In total, there were 400 people, 50 of whom were not able to come into the room. Why is that important? The people of Bermuda realise that this is an opportunity for them to be educated, for them to have opportunities, for them to see our country find a new pillar. The Member Pat Gordon- Pamplin said some very significant things in her speech. And the Oppos ition Leader said the exact same thing, that we want to make sure that this is done in a specific manner that the country can be proud of, that we keep bad actors out, and that we make sure that Bermuda puts her best foot forward. Mr. Speaker, go through this thing line-by-line, and we will do so. Go through it! I challenge anyone throughout the world to go through this legislation. This legislation is first class. I am not just saying that, Mr. Speaker. The reason why I am saying that is because we have talked to the people around the world that are number -one in the world. And guess what they said? They told us that, Your Act is first class, and if we had a government that was that forward- thinking, that was that nimble on its feet, and that deeply embedded in that space, we know that we can do that which Bermuda is doing. So let’s get this straight! The people arou nd this world now stand with us shoulder -to-shoulder, not because they want to see their countries do better, but because they realise that change is coming. They realise that digital assets are not going anywhere. And, Mr. Speaker, the men and women in this room and under the sound of my voice can be proud that their country has led, that we have been prudent, that we have looked at best practices, that we have talked to global leaders, we have talked to the greatest innovators, we have put everything in place to make sure that this Act represents this country, [and] that it can give us the opportunity to fight and to go up the hill which we believe can only take our country from strength to strength. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Min ister. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member Ms. Jackson. You have the floor.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Speaker. I am just going to take a few minutes because I completely support the idea of having a third pillar. I completely get the idea of financial technology. My concern is more around the safety and sustainability. So, you know, when I think about where it …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am just going to take a few minutes because I completely support the idea of having a third pillar. I completely get the idea of financial technology. My concern is more around the safety and sustainability. So, you know, when I think about where it is we are going, and I consider the vastness of the Internet and the development of tec hnology, I just cannot, sort of, distract myself from the idea, Mr. Speaker, of having the conversation around even being able to use the Internet. It is access to the entire world. Pe ople who are of all different levels of understanding, people who are fr om different cultures, who have di f-ferent morals, people who have very criminal minds, every single person that you can imagine is on the Internet and they are smart, and they get smarter and smarter every day. I am just raising the issue that we, as a co mmunity heading into this new industry, just need to keep our eyes open, and you know, have a little h umility and understand that, you know what? There are probably some criminals out there that are a whole lot smarter than us, and we just have to keep our eyes open and we have to look over our shoulders and there has to be a level of making sure that we are not going to be taken advantage of in this space. I just . . . you know, certainly some of the . . . I am going to declare my interest. I, too, work at a bank. But some of the concern that I have certainly learned about in the financial technology industry in general, is just the way in which the black market is able to hoodwink so many of the highly intelligent technology experts that are in the field i n order for them to be able to launder their money, in order for them to be able to provide themselves an opportunity to even exchange things that are illegal. And I just want us to make sure that we are aware of these people and we are protec ting ourselves from them. My other concern, even with the support, Mr. Speaker, is the idea of us as an infrastructure, as an Island, being able to support this surge, as it was de-scribed earlier, of energy. There is just . . . if we are going to be as prosperous in t his field as we think we are going to be, Mr. Speaker, then we have to realise that there is going to be a demand, a greater demand for broadband. There is going to be a greater need for energy. We are going to have to keep a lot of computers and servers on -Island if we are going to have this influx of incubators and maybe even larger organis ations that are bringing in the technology to support financial technology, FinTech, and we need to be pr epared for that. Both the Internet and the electricity utiliti es have expressed the fact that they are strained just being able to provide the power to keep us comfort able, much less to support an industry that is highly dependent on both the electricity and the Internet access in order to operate and to be productiv e. So are we as a Government looking at the broadband? Are we looking at the fact that if anything were to go wrong with broadband, and the Internet were to go down, that there would be redundancy?
Hon. Wayne Caines: Point of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMember, just yield for the point of order. POINT OF CLARIFICATION Hon. Wayne Caines: Point of clarification. 2180 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly To hear somebody say “broadband” in 2018, is quite concerning. The word “broadband” when we are talking about the capacity . . …
Member, just yield for the point of order.
POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Hon. Wayne Caines: Point of clarification. 2180 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly To hear somebody say “broadband” in 2018, is quite concerning. The word “broadband” when we are talking about the capacity . . . I would just ask the Member to use words like “the cloud” and “capacity” and “subsidy capacity.” There will be nobody having this conversation and using the word “broadband” for what we are talking about. It is actually concerning.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Honourable Member .
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you. And that has got absolutely nothing to do with what I am talking about. I am talking about the fact that when we turn on our computers every day, we are going to need the basics, and that is electricity, and we are goi ng to need some …
Thank you. And that has got absolutely nothing to do with what I am talking about. I am talking about the fact that when we turn on our computers every day, we are going to need the basics, and that is electricity, and we are goi ng to need some access to the Internet. Now, wherever that information goes, whether it is the cloud or not, it still has to go on some sort of channel and medium in order to get there. And should we have any kind of catastrophe, should there be a cut in our underwater ocean cables, we are going to have to suffer the consequence of the fact that if we do not have redundancy, we are going to have an outage. And that is a reputational risk of which we need to consider. These are the kinds of things that we need to make sure we are aware of and can pr epare for if we are going to go into this new industry. I mean, I am not trying to put the idea down. I am just simply saying that if we are going to be r esponsible about it, we have to consider the fact that we have to support the industry with the infrastructure. I guess my other piece is that I certainly am aware of companies that are starting to look at how they may be able to use this technology amongst themselves. So it is possible, we have talked a lot about, sort of, public issuance and being able to get involved in a lot of the ICOs, et cetera, and the start - ups. But there are companies that are out there that are using the technology, blockchain technology, in order to conduct their own business, and th ese are private. And these private platforms between clients and—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerJust yield again for the point . . . yes. POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanI would just like to share with the Member who declared her interest in working with HSBC, that the Sydney Morning Herald reported HSBC using blockchain technology. That is May 14, 2018.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you. I did not see that. Anyway. The Sp eaker: Continue on.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonYes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the point is that many of the companies that are out there are looking at platforms in which they can be able to provide time sensitive, very quick, more efficient means of doing business. Certainly in the form of letters of credit, which, you …
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the point is that many of the companies that are out there are looking at platforms in which they can be able to provide time sensitive, very quick, more efficient means of doing business. Certainly in the form of letters of credit, which, you know, it is pu blicly known that HSBC at a global level is using the blockchain in order to conduct business amongst their partners and their clients in order to get and facilitate business in a more timely and in a more efficient manner. But that is not necessarily going to provide Bermuda with any kind of support or bring in any particular revenues or provide any additional jobs to people. It is just a more efficient way of doing business. I would imagine that there is a level of that which would come under the regulations of the laws that are being considered here now in the financial technology sphere. But these are not necessarily job makers or money makers for our Island. So I just want to bring to the attention of those who may be listening and taking note of this that there are certainly some aspects of this industry that are certainly worth co nsidering how we are going to protect ourselves from an infrastructure, from technology, from el ectric utility perspective, from a security perspective that we are not going to have to deal with security issues, hac kers, or whether we have criminals who are intent on coming in and through very intelligent and highly s ophisticated means are able to maintain their anonym ity and be able to conduct business without our knowledge and create a reputational risk for the I sland. Thanks, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the H onourable Member Commi ssiong. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongMr. Speaker, I had the occasion to look at the insert in today’s Royal Gazette newspaper, and it was sponsored, as indicated earlier by the Ministry. And I was her e saying to myself that, Well, perhaps the level of hysteria, broadly put “Opp osition” to this ground -breaking and …
Mr. Speaker, I had the occasion to look at the insert in today’s Royal Gazette newspaper, and it was sponsored, as indicated earlier by the Ministry. And I was her e saying to myself that, Well, perhaps the level of hysteria, broadly put “Opp osition” to this ground -breaking and pioneering initi ative, is declining in proportion to the number of estab-lished players in Bermuda’s financial services industry who are indic ating that they are prepared to get on board. So, for example, in that insert we find that CD&P [ Conyers, Dill & Pearman] and Appleby are now fully on board, along with law firms such as Chancery Legal, and of course, I am happy to see
Bermuda House of Assembly Trott & Duncan here. As you know, I am always a big fan of inclusion and more diversity within financial services. I think it is only right that we see that. But my point is that perhaps this may account for, again, the lowering of the temperature coming from the Oppos ition. I thought that the presentation by the Leader of the Opposition today was also laudable. Obviously, she has begun to do her homework. And to be honest, it is not an easy subject to wrap one’s head around. I hope this continues. This is pioneering legislat ion to get us to where Bermuda needs to get to. I think if one does a cost benefit analysis here, one can only come to the determination that this is where the world is going. This is where Bermuda needs to go and we have an opportunity here to set the age nda from a global standpoint, as the previous speaker, the Minister, has spoken. Mr. Speaker, I said a few weeks ago that FinTech essentially is shorthand for financial technol-ogy. But it also denotes companies that are participa ting in an economy that is utilising technology to advance greater degrees of financial services and fina ncial efficiencies, in terms of business. That is what FinTech essentially is. Blockchain, for example, is a business application (and can be used for other appl ications) that i s like . . . I say, is akin to almost like a train track (to use that metaphor), upon which applic ations such as cryptocurrencies —digital asset is a term we are using now —and other applications can run on. So, for example, as I spoke a few weeks ago, we talk about the move on the part of IBM partnering with Maersk shipping, for example, to ensure that when it comes to smart contracts, distribution net-works and logistics, that blockchain can be utilised to advance the adoption of that technology to produce these greater efficiencies within the global shipping industry. Today, for example, we have an example in what we have talked about for some time when it comes to . . . if I may, Mr. Speaker, in the Royal G azette outlining how InsurTech is now getting read y to go from 1.0 to 2.0. InsurTech, which will be a corollary to FinTech, is now moving by way of . . . if I may, Mr. Speaker, with your indulgence. The Royal Gazette , Friday, June 1, 2018, in a conference that was held here only recently, sponsored by KPMG’s FinTech Bermuda. It is called KPMG FinTech Bermuda Summit. They describe a . . . would you call it a beta test?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberBeta.
Mr. Rolfe Commissiong(A beta test. Thank you.) A beta test that took place only recently with major global companies, such as AIG, IBM, a global bank, brokers, and other partners. If I may, she explained how . . . this is Pooja Barodekar . “She explained how it evolved to m eet …
(A beta test. Thank you.) A beta test that took place only recently with major global companies, such as AIG, IBM, a global bank, brokers, and other partners. If I may, she explained how . . . this is Pooja Barodekar . “She explained how it evolved to m eet a goal of linking a broker, client and insurer with an ini-tial aim of standardising processes. Ms Barodekar said AIG looked at and evaluated technologies that would work to enable that outcome. ‘That is when blockchain was brought to our attention,’ she said.” Just moving on, she added, “‘ We wanted to test every element of multinational [implementation] ,’ she said. . . .” I might add that this would be an example of a private blockchain that most businesses will use as opposed to a n open or public blockchain to advance their interest. Anyway, she explained to the audience at the Elbow Beach Hotel “ that in the blockchain- enabled ecosystem a policy would be created, ” (We are talking about insurance now.) “a payment would be recorded and that would then be acknowledged as received. ” “‘With every execution there are lots of queries and questions asked, so we wanted to ensure all those were enabled through this ecosystem. That helped us communicate easily, ’ said Ms Barodekar. “‘We also w anted to make sure that whoever was supposed to see the information was seeing the information, and that the information was not available to everyone . “‘So as a global risk manager, ’” (she added) “‘or a global broker or global insurer, you could see the entire programme—all country details at a higher level. But if you’re in a local entity, say in Kenya, Si ngapore, or US, you would only see your own piece. That’s the beauty of it. You can create your own pr ovisioning rules based off the role you are playi ng in it. ’” And so while people are talking about the r eluctance of some sectors of global financial service providers, including the banking industry, initially to get into this sector, they are all looking for ways to put their feet into the water becaus e they understand the significant impact this is going to have on global bus iness and global business processes as it brings more efficiencies to what they do within those respective financial service sectors. You know, one thing about technology is that you know that it is moving, in terms of global adoption, when financial services become (usually) the first adopters of respective technology such as blockchain. And that is what is beginning to happen. And so . . . I have my . . . I had my colleague just get up and talk about HSBC in terms of the bloc kchain space. And I just want to lend credence to what he is saying here. The UK Bank, for example, on CoinDesk , UK Bank headline is, “UK Bank HSBC Might Soon Pilot Live Blockchain Payments.” Now, this was in February of 2018. And, if I may, Mr. Speaker, it says here that “ International banking giant HSBC is reportedly close to testing blockchain in live transactions. “Global Trade Review reports that the bank could launch several pilot programs based on existi ng proof -of-concept (PoC) projects in an effort to begin transitioning to live blockchain transactions. The move was announced during a private media call earlier this week. 2182 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly “HSBC senior innovation manager Joshua Kroeker said at the time that the launch w ould mark the fruition of trials conducted over the course of two years, including one announced in August 2016 . . . .” So, Mr. Speaker, we think Bermuda is on the cusp of being, again, the pioneer in this space. And as the Minister said only recently, we need to be proud of the innovation and pioneering work that is being done around this space. This Bill from the BMA [Bermuda Monetary Authority], for example, is going to be viewed as best in class. And we had some indications from the Minister from the r esponses that have come back globally that it is on the verge of taking that pole position. And the BMA needs to be commended. And what have they done? They have essentially taken the Bermuda standard and transposed it to this emerging financial sector in terms of the digital asset sector that is being established here, and a pplied the Bermuda standard to it with a few tweaks, a few innovations, to respect the innovative sector that is being established. And so they have done an excel-lent job. Mr. Speaker , I just want to go quickly to the need for education around this space. I said only r ecently here that we all want to see Bermudians being able to take real advantage and have an intrinsic and substantive role in this industry. But it is not just those Bermudians who are available now, and there will be. There is going to be a great deal of need for compl iance services. We heard that only a few weeks ago when we dealt with the ICO -based legislation [that] we passed here. But also there is going to be a sig nificant need for employees that are going to be able to fill the jobs, such as software developers, as the Minister mentioned earlier today in his Statement, network engineers, data base administrators, machine learning engineers, information security ana lysts, business intelligent developers, for example. And the list actua lly can go on and on and on. That was not an exhaustive list. And so we need to prepare Bermudians now, as I said before, those who are now 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 years old, get them invol ved in coding. Part of the benefit of the series of MOUs that were signed on to bring about a first -phase commitment on the part of these companies to domicile and make Bermuda a base for at least a substantive portion of their global business was the comm itment to also invest in, particularly, education around the space of information and communications technology for our young people. That is also going to level the playing field. I talked previously, as you know, Mr. Speaker, about the digital divide wh ich has happened in Bermuda between largely white dominated private schools and our largely black dominated public schools and not having the necessary resources in the public sector when it comes to information and communications technology and STEM [sc ience, technology, engineering and m ath] learning to be able to compete. One of those, for example, and this was highlighted pretty graphically when we had the news in the paper that BHS has built a multimillion dollar information communication and technolog y centre that is going to be able to provide those benefits to their students over the next 10 to 20, to 25 years. So, as was stated, we can use . . . this Go vernment intends to (I should say) use those commi tments in real dollars to ensure that we can ge t our young people, again, those 7, 10, 12, 13 year [olds] on a career pathway to success and then we can find ourselves, maybe not in the next 2 or 3 years but 5 to 10 years, having an industry that is substantively staffed by Bermudians —by Bermudians —in a way that we were not able to achieve (I might add) when we saw, starting 40 years ago, the growth of captive insurance and reinsurance. We have talked about that as well. Mr. Speaker, I just want to also draw your attention (still on the issue of educat ion) . . . we had a story again in the Royal Gazette, I think this was only . . . not too long ago, a few weeks ago . . . no, actua lly, this was in 2016. And so, you saw there were st udents in the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy were also getting placements within the information and communications technology sector by the Technology Leadership Forum. And what was really, really satisfying for me was that they partnered with the Ministry of Education’s Career Pathways Pr ogramme. Many of you will know that that Career Pathways Programme came out of one of the recom-mendations from the Mincy Report and it is something that I take personal pride in. And so this is the type of thing we need to expand upon. And I am happy to note that the Leadership Forum has continued their work and their collaboration and partnership with our schools, and our st udents, more importantly, as highlighted by the Minister this morning. So, we are talking about education and the fact that we are going to redouble our effor ts to ensure that Bermudians from a very young age and beyond are going to be able to take substantive roles in this emerging industry. Now, even for the older Bermudians, for example, we talked about the opportunities for retraining. I think I mentioned s ome time ago, that when it came to retraining, there has been a plethora of training institutes, particularly in the US, usually centred in San Francisco and New York, that can pr ovide a sort of intensive training to get people with some of the basic mathematics skills to the point where they can within maybe a year, year and a half, come out at the other end with training in line so that they can perform functions that would be analogous to data scientists, for example, software programmers. So you have c ompanies such as Galvanize, Flatiron School, and Hack Reactor. I think one of these may have been amalgamated with another school. We are talking about for a relative $11,000,
Bermuda House of Assembly and just under 11 weeks, you can get even some of the older students, for exampl e, who perhaps are in another industry, who can be retooled. The question is, Can we provide the support for these older st udents, potentially, to get this type of training? I think we will have to make that commitment as well because Bermudians know that, especially at the pr ofessional level, the industry, particularly in terms of the insurance industry, has changed and those opportun ities may not be in that industry and in related fields, but there is a new opportunity with respect to this emerging ecosys tem that is being developed around blockchain and the digital asset business. So, that is what we have to do here. In terms of the . . . I think the potential benefits for the country and particularly in terms of government finances, it is no secret. Let’s be honest about it here. Despite the glowing . . . well, I would not say glowing, that may be an overstatement. But, certainly, the pos itive responses that came from the respective rating agencies, Mr. Speaker, over the last few years. I am saying, despit e that, we still know that we have a hill to climb with respect to the issues of debt and deficits. One, of course, is deficits feeding the growing debt that we have seen over the last 10 years. Let’s be honest about it. I am confident that we are going t o put ourselves in a position where the issues of deficits and debt as it relates to our Government are going to be able to be addressed by the growth of this industry. I am not at liberty . . . I do not have inside information in terms of the tax structur e that is going to be proposed. At the right time that will be revealed in this Chamber and to Bermuda. But I am confident that we will be able to benefit substantively and to draw down the level of deficit and debt that has so characterised our government over the last few years. You know, it is interesting, because I was reading something from what was recently published. And when I say “recently,” within probably the last 12 to 14 months. It is called the “World Inequality R eport.” What was very interes ting, it says that in wealthy countries, and we are talking about particularly in the west, what we have seen develop is wealthy countries with poor governments, which I found very interesting. Because of some of the trends that have taken place over the l ast four decades, when more and more of the wealth has gone into private sector hands, governments, with eroding tax bases, and by way of other developments, have had to do with less. I think Bermuda has been reflective of that trend over the last few year s, but we are not alone. Many countries in the west are in the same sort of dilemma. So you have this oasis in one part of your economy usually dominated by the financial services sector, increasingly being surrounded by a desert (if I may use that metaphor) as represented by the public sector, and particularly, respective governments. This [provides] another opportunity to break that cycle. And so we can have a healthy government when it comes to our fiscal health able to provide the necessary r esources that are going to also mitigate and maybe ameliorate, to make better, some of the impacts that will come from an economy that once again becomes one on steroids in terms of growth. Because it also presents a downside, we know, on low income people in the res pective countries. And we are no different. We saw some of those trends during the great boom of the 2000s, where, even though the country appeared to be doing very well financially or economically, there were trends that were very disturbing that we largely ove rlooked in terms of growing unemployment among Bermudians, housing costs and the rest, that really damaged Bermuda from a socio- economic standpoint, in terms of how it impacted low income, lower -middle class people in the country. And so in addition to this we have to be cognisant of those potential impacts and that is why it is going to be important that we also redouble our efforts to see significant tax reform, lowering of the cost of living that we promised, and of course, items like the living w age. And that will be presented very soon. So, Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that the Government needs to be commended. They are doing a great job here on this issue. People have talked about and of course used a somewhat stereotypical characterisation about us developing a new pillar, an additional necessary pillar of our economy. Increasingly it looks like it is going to happen. And we need to have that happen because we have been through a tough period over the last 10 years. I think that under the st ewardship of this Government and the Premier, and of course the Minister, Minister Caines, he has done a great job here, and both of them need to be commended. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honourable Member Dunkley, you have the floor. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I knew it was going to be a special day today when I opened up …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honourable Member Dunkley, you have the floor.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I knew it was going to be a special day today when I opened up the Royal Gaze tte [and] on the front page I saw this insert that had been tucked in there. For the Government who continually seems to have an issue with the Royal Gazette, they certainly had a very informative slip- in in the Royal Gazette today, which was a prelude to the debate that we have here. I am sure that many people in Bermuda find it quite interesting.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberAnd believe it. 2184 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, [there are] three things that I think I want to emphasise in the time that I speak today in regard to what we are doing here with the Digital Asset …
And believe it.
2184 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, [there are] three things that I think I want to emphasise in the time that I speak today in regard to what we are doing here with the Digital Asset Business Act 2018. First and foremost, I think all Members of the House will agree that it is most important that we always maintain our good reputation as far as Bermuda is concerned. We have work ed long and hard to develop it, to build it, to continue to protect it, to continue to educate people about what we do and how we do it, and I think that [with] any initiatives that we take going forward we need to continue to make sure that we maintain our reputation. Secondly, in anything we do, and certainly in this new realm of business, which is a complicated realm of business, we need to make sure that we have a solid set -up so it stands the test of time and protects everyone that gets involved in i t. Thirdly, Mr. Speaker, I think it is important that we ensure at all times that we protect those investors who will get involved in any new business because there is nothing that will make people run to the hills or complain more than if they are scammed or get involved in an investment that just does not pan out the right way because they were not warned in the appropriate way about what is taking place. So having said that, Mr. Speaker, what I have heard this afternoon from Honourable Members, and it started with the Honourable Premier . . . I have been heartened to hear some of the comments that I have heard because the Honourable Premier . . . and, in summary, I am mentioning some of the points that the Honourable Premier made that this sector provides some risks. This sector has image problems. Crypt ocurrency has threats and there are fraud and money laundering cases. There was a clear recognition by the Premier of some of the challenges that we face in this regard, so I am comforted to hear that. The Honourable Minister of National Security said pretty much along the same lines where he said that there . . . I believe he said there was some bad actors in this sector. And it is important that we acknowledge that because in any new industry . . . and m y colleagues have spoken about new industry, and I certainly support the opportunity to build any new industry every time you get it. Because let’s face it, Mr. Speaker, an opportunity to expand your base whether you are a Government, whether you are a business, whether you are a private individual, does not come around as often as you would like to think, or as often as some would even believe it happens. So every opportunity I think we should try to cash in on and put a framework around it to allow it to be successful. And so the reality of what we are trying to do here today is that there are many risks involved. And that is the same with any challenge that you face in life; there are risks involved and you have to measure them. Mr. Speaker, for all of t he people that support this new type of industry, this new pillar —Government has gone as far as to say that this new pillar could be the third pillar of our economy, I am not so sure of that yet. They have gone so far as to say that. But for ev eryone who s upports the opportunity and glows and gushes about it, there are many people who have questions about it as well, Mr. Speaker. Anyone could do some research, as colleagues on our side of the House have done for a number of weeks now, and they will see many stories about some of the concerns that are raised. And let’s face it, Mr. Speaker, bloc kchain is not new. It has been around for 10 years, and in those 10 years of its development, they are still looking for uses that will fly off and grow like gangbusters. And the Premier and colleagues think that there is some opportunity that we can take advantage of. Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to also . . . as the Premier is in the Chamber now, thank the Honourable Premier for tabling the MOUs. Which I think, Mr. Speaker, they are going to be sent out electronically?
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: I have not received a copy of them yet, but when they are sent out electronically I will have an opportunity to read them. I was critical at that time about the MOUs because I wanted to have the opportunity to vet them to see what we had signed up for. And now they are there and we will have that opportunity. But in trying to do some study on this subject it is very clear to me that 80 per cent of cryptoc urrencies, as I have said this before in this House, Mr. Speaker, 80 per cent of cryptocurrencies are run by fraudsters or scamsters. And only 8 per cent of those ICOs actually make it to market and are successful. And, Mr. Speaker, as you heard me say before, that makes it of utmost importance that we get it right, because Bermuda is a small jurisdiction. And with the challenges that we face in being a small juri sdiction, one of them, as this Government and previous Governments have found out, is that people want to focus on you and when have success, they want to try to ride from your success or undermine your success. And when you have failure, they want to talk about your failure. They want to magnify your failure to take advantage of it to perhaps prom ote their own jurisdi ction. And so, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that from what the Premier and colleagues have said, that the BMA has had their footprint in this legislation and it has been consulted with. This, to me, looks like a good start, and in Committee on the numerous clauses it will be an interesting explanation of what it all means in more detail. But I think this is a good boiler-plate start of where we need to go but there is still much more that has to be done to make sure that we
Bermuda House of Assembly can form the solid set -up that is required and continue to maintain our excellent reputation that we always have to fight for every day. Now, Mr. Speaker, a couple of my colleagues have touched on the industry and the cost of doing business. And I am pleased to s ee by all reports that the Premier and the Minister of National Security have given that there appear to be a number of businesses interested in coming to Bermuda and we look forward to further reports from that. I would be interested in knowing from the H onourable Members how they have managed to ameliorate the cost of doing bus iness in Bermuda, specifically. While my colleagues have touched on it, the industry that we are talking about runs some complicated algorithms at all times, and I will be interested to see how they will deal with some of the costs that we have, especially the cost of electricity which was touched on briefly, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member from constitue ncy 21 who spoke just before me talked about the issue of jobs. That is an issue that all Members of this House [consider] of paramount importance. Obviously, we walk the streets, we hear of the challenges that our colleagues have, the people that we serve have, and in the new world that we live in, where some of the traditional jobs of old are being forced out because of industries changing and new jobs are taking their place, the real challenge that I think all communities face is that people have to retool and re- educate themselves. And while honourable colleagues, as the Member who spoke just before me, alluded to it in his presentation, I would like to hear more, not necessar ily more today, Mr. Speaker, but I would like to hear more in the coming months on how we will actually provide the opportunity for Bermudians to get i nvolved. I fully expect, Mr. Speaker, unless Gover nment Members say otherwise, that with this new i ndustry they will require their expertise to come to the Island immediately. They will perhaps require key employees to come to the Island immediately, and an ancillary staff that is important for their operation and set-up. So I guess a two- fold question I would have for the Government today is, How long will it take to make sure Bermudians are ready for the opportunity? And, are there any updates on the traini ng that has been alluded to over the past couple of weeks as this has been discussed? Mr. Speaker, a business, once it is on the ground and once it is off and running, cannot wait. It has to deal with the customers. It has to deal with the opportunity there and the requests they have to have. Once this industry is set -up in Bermuda, assuming it will be successful in its set -up, and once they have the players in place for doing that, it will be hard to move those individuals out. We have seen it with Immigr ation policy before, Mr. Speaker, and we will probably go through that same cycle of history repeating itself again. And so I want to make sure that . . . Bermudi-ans have been sold on opportunity, and this is a real sea change in a new type of industry that Bermudians will have. They need to be given the opportunity for real to get involved in that and to get involved at the beginning, as close to the beginning, of this new i ndustry. Because if they do not, then they will lose hope. Then they will lose conf idence that it will really happen. Or, the industry is already set -up and people will not want to rock the boat because it is being suc-cessful, or it is too delicate to rock the boat at this time, Mr. Speaker. The Government has been very clear that all the players involved so far are very keen on job opportunities. I think everyone says that when they come to Bermuda. But the reality of the situation is that your plan when you start can change when you go forward. The Government has put so much on this being suc-cessful, we need to make sure that the goalposts do not change as this is developed, that the goalposts do not change and there is less of an opportunity for Bermudians because of a certain challenge or a certain condition that has to be dealt with, Mr. Speaker. At this point in time, it is promising for people. They have heard about it. They are interested [in] it. Obviously, the town hall meeting that the Minister held last night shows that because I was watching on Bernews , when I had the opportunity to do so, Mr. Speaker, and it was clear that the people were inter-ested. And there were some interesting questions that were asked about it. But we are in the infancy stages now, Mr. Speaker, and there is a lot of work that has to continue to be done to make sure that it is succes sful going forward. Mr. Speaker, one other point I would like to make is, and this is just my viewpoint, and I could be corrected to some extent by Honourable Members, but . . . Bermuda, right now, lives in constant scrutiny by overseas jurisdictions or alphabet groups who believe they have a certain responsibility. We are going through an assessment now where, in my words, Mr. Speaker, a judgment will be handed down. And it will be important that we get the right assessment. We know that we have a current challenge with the UK and our register of beneficial ownership that we have to deal with over the next couple of years. So, in short, everything we do is in the public scrutiny and people want to know. There has to be transparency and accountability. This very industry, one of the reasons why governments around the world seem concerned about it, one of the reasons why it seems like some of these companies that we are dealing with, such as Binance Group, have moved from China to Japan to other places, is because . . . it appears from all the reports, that these places . . . well, China has banned the i ndustry. But in Japan, [they] wanted to put regulations in. So it appears that this very industry, by the nature of it, has a hi gher level of secrecy [than] is the current game plan for most of the other industries that we 2186 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly have at the present time, Mr. Speaker. So I think it is important that as the Government moves forward, there is a clear understanding on how we are going to deal with this heightened level of secrecy that typically takes place in these types of transactions. Because whether we deal with it now, or whether we deal with it in six months or a year, or two years when the industry gets going, we are going to have to deal with it one way or the other. Gover nments around the world are wrestling with the chal-lenge of it now. There are news reports that come out every day about which way different countries are going. While it is laudable that we have taken the initi ative and we are trying to be part of an industry that is going to set -up somewhere in the world, at some time we will be asked very important questions about who is doing business, how they are doing business, and the records are going to have to be there for people to see. I started off by saying that there was a great deal of this new business that is run by scamsters and people out in corrupt activities and there is a lot of i nvestment that goes by the wayside. That makes it cri tically important that when we set up a system we can be comforted––and the Government has a level of comfort they want which is backed by the BMA ––that individuals involved, we know who they are, we know what they are doing, and we know why they are doing it. Because Bermuda will cont inually be attacked by competitors around the world and the alphabet groups because of the success we have had in international business and tourism. And the best way for us to get off on a solid footing in this new industry is to make sure that we have al ready learned from lessons of the past and some of the challenges that we have had to face, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I have followed this space very closely because I will never be one to push back on an opportunity. But I will be one, Mr. Speaker, at all times to ask difficult questions that some might not feel comfortable standing up and asking. So today I am comforted to hear the words of the Premier and the Minister about their concerns with some in the i ndustry and how we are going to rectify that because . . . I will finish where I started. I want to make sure that at all times we maintain the good reputation of Bermuda—and we will have some challenges along the way —and that we make sure that we have a solid set-up in everything we do. And this legislation could be part of that. And that we make sure that we protect the people who get involved, because with all the i nterest in this, and all the euphoria that has gone from time to time, you just see the spiking of prices, Mr. Speaker, up to $20,000 and now down to $7,000 bitcoin. There are people who will want to rush in to think they can make quick money or easy money. If it all goes well, they will be happy. If all goes well. Madoff investors were happy until it started to fold on them. We need to make sure that we can cover for the good times, but we are always prepared to deal with the challenging times. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Minister r ight here in front of me. Minister Burch.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch—thank you, and good afternoon. I did not plan on speaking today, but I guess I should somewhat declare my scepticism i n this r egard, having listened to most of the Members of the Opposition raise various concerns. Mr. Speaker, I probably am the most, or was the most …
—thank you, and good afternoon. I did not plan on speaking today, but I guess I should somewhat declare my scepticism i n this r egard, having listened to most of the Members of the Opposition raise various concerns. Mr. Speaker, I probably am the most, or was the most sceptical Member of the Cabinet and probably the PLP caucus in this regard. I asked the Minister responsib le for this, the primary Minister responsible for this, early in the game to talk to me like I was a five-year-old so that I could understand this bloc kchain, cryptocurrency, FinTech . . . all of it! And he struggled with that. And so I decided that I woul d . . . and I had some challenges too because when they told me that this piece of legislation in particular was going to be produced by the BMA, I thought, Well, that’s interesting, because when I look at the me mbership of the Board of the BMA, it reads l ike the Who’s Who of the UBP and the OBA.
[Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchSo it surprises me that they would be concerned with a document that was produced by them. But be that as it may, Mr. Speaker, it rings hollow and true to the normal cour se of events surrounding the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party. That we are incapable of doing anything …
So it surprises me that they would be concerned with a document that was produced by them. But be that as it may, Mr. Speaker, it rings hollow and true to the normal cour se of events surrounding the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party. That we are incapable of doing anything of any value. That is what it rings . . . that is what it sounds like to me. In any case, Mr. Speaker, my scepticism has evaporated exponentially, even though the Minister of National Security would not talk to me like a five- yearold, so that he would then be able to explain it to the rest of the people in this country. So I decided that I would go to virtually every presentation that he had to see if he got any better, or if my knowledge actually improved. And I can say on both counts, there was success. He got better at talking in a language Ms. Smith would understand, and I got better in terms of understanding him. Now, let me also declare that I do not profess to be an expert or to fully understand; but I am getting better at it. Now, I will tell you what pushed me over the edge in terms of having some confidence in the
Bermuda House of Assembly ability of this. First of all, I went to the presentation last night. And I have not had a chance to reprimand the Minister, because he did indicate that he had RSVPs for 100, and so therefore in my world I would have put out chairs for 200, instead of the 100 that he allocated for. Because Bermudians do not answer, including me.
[Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchSo I stood in the back of the room. I could not see anything and I only stayed for 10 minutes. I decided that . . . until somebody i nformed me that it was being live- streamed on Bernews, and I thought, Well, this is a n easy decision …
So I stood in the back of the room. I could not see anything and I only stayed for 10 minutes. I decided that . . . until somebody i nformed me that it was being live- streamed on Bernews, and I thought, Well, this is a n easy decision to make. I went back to my office and I watched the rest of it on Bernews.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchBut two things have helped me in my journey to having extreme conf idence in both the Premier and the Minister of National Security in advancing this initiative. The first was the diversity of Bermudians from all walks of life who came into that room last night. I mean, they …
But two things have helped me in my journey to having extreme conf idence in both the Premier and the Minister of National Security in advancing this initiative. The first was the diversity of Bermudians from all walks of life who came into that room last night. I mean, they covered the whole landscape, people who I thought, like me, would not even be able to remember to pronounce it as “blockchain” because I called it a few other names in the Minister’s presence during this evolution. Some of them not very pleasant either. But that is the first thing that sent a message to me that at least we must be on to something because people are interested in finding out knowledge. And I must particularly commend the Minister, because he is going up and down this country trying to explain to folk what it is that we are doing and what it is that we are doing differently. The sec ond thing, Mr. Speaker, and probably the most important thing, is the fact that in the early stages of this . . . what shall I call them? The legacy institutions in this country that have always made a whole lot of money were very critical of us heading down this road and saying, Be careful. No, we shouldn’t do this. And blah, blah, blah. In a very short space of time, Mr. Speaker, this very same legacy — the law firms, and accounting and consulting firms — had switched up on us. You heard the Premier in his presentation talk about some of the big law firms. But what set me over the edge that we are on to som ething , was this week when one of the larger consulting firms in the country held an international conference in this country on blockchain technology.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAnd at no stage in that presentation, at no stage, did they even mention the fact that the Government of Bermuda, the PLP Go vernment of Bermuda, had produced legislation in this House and passed some of it, and more was coming down the pike, and were leaders in this …
And at no stage in that presentation, at no stage, did they even mention the fact that the Government of Bermuda, the PLP Go vernment of Bermuda, had produced legislation in this House and passed some of it, and more was coming down the pike, and were leaders in this space. And what that said to me, Mr. Speaker, was that, as always, they smell money.
[Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThey smell money! And as a result, they are going to pursue this i n an aggressive manner to be at the front end of this. So from that perspective, Mr. Speaker, they, as an uni ntended consequences of their actions, have assisted me and perhaps some other sceptics in …
They smell money! And as a result, they are going to pursue this i n an aggressive manner to be at the front end of this. So from that perspective, Mr. Speaker, they, as an uni ntended consequences of their actions, have assisted me and perhaps some other sceptics in this country. The other thing that took place, one of t he Members on the other side talked about us advertising in the daily (and everybody knows my views on that, and how our Ministry operates). Well, what was also interesting in relation to that publication was that they produced an insert themselves this week in RG Ma gazine. And again, Mr. Speaker, at no stage in this art icle did I see any reference to the Government of Bermuda. And I thought to myself, Well, if there was . . . Stevie Wonder could see what is going on here. We are on to something. And I must also commend . . . and [as] someone who is a sceptic, I have had some disagreements with those people in the legal profession who sit in that room on Tuesdays. And I have had more disagreements with those pe ople who actually draft legislation. Not in relation to this, but just generally. And I think I made the statement in a room with a bunch of them one day when we were trying to sort out some legislation that no perfect piece of legislation has ever been written, Mr. Speaker. B ecause had there been, th ere would not be provision for amendments to legislation. So once you place this on the table and put it out there and pass it and trial it, you will have an opportunity to test and adjust its application so that you get it right. And then after you do that, you are going to still come back and test and a djust some more as circumstances dictate. So I would like to commend the Honourable Premier and the Minister of National Security for bringing legislation in an incredible pace. And I know that they have upset a whole lot of people because this is not the timeline in which the bureaucracy that we have inherited operates. Trust me! It is not the timeline! Normally it is a lot longer than this. So in order to be first they ought to be commended. And I would s ay that I wholeheartedly support their efforts in advancing this for the average person, and not just those who have an opportunity, but for the average person in this country, and the efforts that they have made in order for the lay folk to understand what it is we are doing and how we and they can play in this space. Thank you, very much, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Minister. 2188 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Does any other Member . . . I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 2 . . . I believe it is. Ho nourable Member Swan. The floor is yours.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to follow on from the Minister who just spoke and take this opportunity to congratulate the Premier and the Minister of National Securit y and the team that have prosecuted this initi ative to date. But I feel somewhat duty -bound …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to follow on from the Minister who just spoke and take this opportunity to congratulate the Premier and the Minister of National Securit y and the team that have prosecuted this initi ative to date. But I feel somewhat duty -bound to also congratulate all those who were a part of the vision that stems back to the time of the Progressive Labour Party in Opposition. I made reference a few week s ago to an oped piece penned by my colleague, MP Ming, from constituency 1, in 2016, which read, Glad to see the PLP’s FinTech is catching on. And I paraphrase that. And it speaks to the fact that the opportunities in the FinTech space, in general , were something that the Progressive Labour Party had been speaking to consistently. When the opportunity did present itself with the July [2017] election victory, Mr. Speaker, it made eminent good sense for a Government to act on what the previous Government failed to act upon with great urgency when the Opposition was putting those ideas forward. Mr. Speaker, I heard and was encouraged by the tenor of the Opposition today with regard to this space, and took note of some of the concerns that they echoed. I heard one or two speakers speak of the risk. And I just felt duty -bound to remind us that in all the financial sphere, for use of a better word, many risks are ever present. Who could forget in 2007 when Mr. Robert Allen Stanford was running around the Caribbean using Twenty20 cricket to win our hearts and win our monies and the like, in the midst of all the regulatory figures globally to contribute to the press? And who could forget that the tentacles of Madoff “made off” and even reverberated here in our c ountry? Who could forget that with the global financial collapse many companies in Bermuda felt that, indeed? And we know that with regard to some of that, there was great silence from quarters, even some who may find the need to raise a few concerns here today. I want to say that the involvement of Bermuda in this space and the due diligence that is taking place is laudable. And I know that my colleagues leading this and encouraging this are doing all they can to make sure that Bermuda’s reputation is mai ntained and built upon. No better evidence than that, Mr. Speaker, when we look back to the fall of 2017 and to the winter of early 2018 to see the performance of the Finance Minister and the Minister of National Security in this space and their endeavours in other places, in France and London, and the like. Protecting Berm uda’s reputation right along the way and doing so ever admirably and doing so in such a way that today u nder 10 months, almost 11, well into 11 months, a PLP administration is getting good ratings for the work that is being done. I have heard, Mr. Speaker, concerns raised about whether or not persons will be sitting, walking by, looking at restaurants and like peeking through the window and seeing everybody else participating. It sounds t o me like they were describing the Bermuda I have been living in for particularly the last 10 years. Especially since the recession when those of us were out there working hard, hustling, living [and] working without insurance, and being able to do the bes t we could, having only seen who really had been able to enjoy the Bermuda dream. It has not been shared, by and large. And let me say this, Mr. Speaker, the Pr ogressive Labour Party Government is committed to making sure that all in Bermuda will have an opportunity. Put hand over heart on that! And let me provide an example. A couple of weeks ago, a young man, along with Mr. Joseph Weinberg ( may I use that word?) appeared on my show, along with the Minister of National Security, and others, Ms. Loretta J oseph. And a young Bermudian, Mr. Glenn Simmons, whose father was here earlier, and I believe I saw him here earlier.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHe is still here.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanHe is here; his father is here. And I am sure young Mr. Glenn Simmons is li stening. I remember him being on the show that day and he was able to make some contribution there. But in that space, when Mr. Weinberg was able to make a pledge that …
He is here; his father is here. And I am sure young Mr. Glenn Simmons is li stening. I remember him being on the show that day and he was able to make some contribution there. But in that space, when Mr. Weinberg was able to make a pledge that he was able to back up later in an MOU, the young man spoke and it was nice to see a y oung Bermudian in that space. Let’s fast forward a couple of weeks, in an industry that is moving ever so fast. And you heard the previous Minister who spoke say, you know, How can you speak to me in the language of the common man? This young man came on the show yesterday for a fast 15 minutes with two other persons, fast 15 minutes to impart, promote what was going to take place, what took place last night. And, you know, as I have been reading up on blockchain and looking, and things like binary and denary numbers come to mind and the advent of the computer, and the resurgence and how it was used in military like, you know, it came to the present. You know, we got talking a little bit about that. The confidence of this 23- year-old Bermudian who has sus pended (not entirely) his studies to be involved in a major ground- breaking initiative by the Government —his Government, our Government — made me proud. Put paid to the scepticism that the detractors of the Progressive Labour Party would throw out there as chum to sow the seeds of uncerBermuda House of Assembly tainty whilst others are getting on board. Young Mr. Glenn Simmons made me proud to know him. [Desk thumping]
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanWhen he walked out of the studio I heard the lady that he was with say, You were confident! I know the audience that listened to him could feel his confidence in this space. He did not get into this space by accident. He got in this space because a …
When he walked out of the studio I heard the lady that he was with say, You were confident! I know the audience that listened to him could feel his confidence in this space. He did not get into this space by accident. He got in this space because a Minister responsible who had at his di sposal a pre- eminent expert who the OECD [ Organis ation f or Economic Co- operation and Development ] has called upon to help crack this, Ms. Joseph and others, (right?) involved this young man. And because of that you can see a young Bermudian growing in this space. I want to applaud those initiatives. I feel that it is those types of initiatives that will help this particular initiative grow to involve more young people, more not-so-young people, and benefit our country. Mr. Speaker, I just want to conclude by saying that, indeed, we need to look at what is reall y taking place in this blockchain space when even in 2018 the new head of HSBC would come in with some scept icism and then in May . . . it would just be announced on May 14 th that they are the latest in this, first to initiate, because when persons ask us why would we want to be the first, if we have a reputation of doing things correctly, why shouldn’t we want to be out there in front? Why should we want other people to take the lead while we can just dovetail in behind them when we know and we have the confidence in ourselves, in our ability to step forward? And when you look, and you can see the hypocrisy in business, sometimes business will throw you a decoy whilst they have got their research and development team working hard to be . . . what? The first ! So I just want to take this opportunity to just reflect that this move was not just conjured up with a Government that was swept into power in July. It was an initiative that came about through good minds. And, might I say, good young minds in the PLP. I congratulate those young minds and I applaud them. I would hope that the tenor of the Opposition would go beyond just the tenor of the Opposition to do due dil igence to be able to assist this Government in its ef-forts. Certainly, I appreciate the opportun ity to co nclude by offering thanks to Lydia Dickens, Maxine Binns —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHear, hear!
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. Swan—Stephen Gift —and on that Mr. Ste phen Gift , I want to give the Minister or somebody some good penmanship—and Mr. Myron Simmons, and t he BMA staff for the work that they have done. Thank you, colleagues, for that assi stance.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. I am going to recognise the Member from constituency 7, right here in front of me. Honourable Member Richards, you hav e the floor. Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your acknowledging me here. You know, about three weeks ago I …
Thank you, Honourable Member. I am going to recognise the Member from constituency 7, right here in front of me. Honourable Member Richards, you hav e the floor.
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your acknowledging me here. You know, about three weeks ago I went to lunch with an insurance colleague of mine. We had not talked in a while so he invited me to lunch; I glad ly accepted because I like a free meal as much as the next person. And during our meal somehow we star ted to talk about this blockchain technology and cry ptocurrency and whatnot. And both he and I are well into our 50s.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNo! Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: And what soon became apparent was that as older individuals, our knowledge and grasp of this new technology was lacking. And as we continued our conversation, I tried my best to explain to him what a blockchain was. He kind of knew what cry …
No!
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: And what soon became apparent was that as older individuals, our knowledge and grasp of this new technology was lacking. And as we continued our conversation, I tried my best to explain to him what a blockchain was. He kind of knew what cry ptocurrency was about, so we kind of fumbled our way through this lunch. But you know, at the end of the lunch I asked him, midway through —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe blind leading the blind, eh? Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes. Midway through I said to him, I s aid, Listen, how old is your son? He said, He is 19.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerTalk to him. Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I said, Is he in univers ity? [He said], Yes. I said, Do you know what a digital wallet is? He said, No. I said, Is your son on WhatsApp? He said, Yes. I said, Send him a message right now and …
Talk to him.
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I said, Is he in univers ity? [He said], Yes. I said, Do you know what a digital wallet is? He said, No. I said, Is your son on WhatsApp? He said, Yes. I said, Send him a message right now and just ask him, ‘Do you have a digital wallet?’ And he did, he sent the message off. So we continued our lunch and every five minutes he is look-ing, He hasn’t responded yet. He hasn’t responded yet. And we kept talking and eating and then right near the end, he looked at his iPhone and said, Yeah, he just said he has one. I said, Yeah . And I knew your son had one , and I didn’t even know your son because this is a generational thing. So once he found out that his son had a digital wallet, after he got over his surprise that I knew that his son had a digital wallet, then we started to really say to each other, You know what? We have to bone up on this. 2190 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly I am an insurance underwriter by training, and when I look at any business, whether it be an offshore driller, whether it be a telecommunications company, whether it be banking and finance, there is one thing that is a theme going through all of these industries in one shape [or] form or another. And it is t his: The world is moving along at an ever -increasing pace, there are new industries being developed, and the new industries are disruptive, even in the insurance space. I am quite sure that the insurance companies are looking at this blockchain and trying to figure out, How do we use this to our advantage because it is not going away? How do we issue policies? How do we do deals? How do we issue contracts using the bloc kchain? So with that being said, the place where we find ourselves right now in terms of the Government’s initiative, I support it. And I want it to be successful because Bermuda has always been an incubator for new businesses. We have some of the finest minds in the insurance space in Bermuda. And we need to d iversify our economy. And if we are successful in this space, then that will be another kudo to Bermuda. We have always been risk -takers, even when we were sailing the oceans. We were doing things that other sailors in other countries were not doing. We have talked about that. There is always a “but.” And the “but” is that this technology is so new and it is developing so quickly that countries and regulators are struggling to wrap their arms around it. What we are doing here in Bermuda with this very comprehensive Bill that we have in fr ont of us, it is very comprehensive. When I read it I had to read some things two and three times to wrap my mind around it. It is very comprehensive. But it is either going to be widely successful for us, or it could cause great problems for us. I am not being an alarmist. I am not looking at the glass and saying it is half empty. What I am saying is that, and one of the Members mentioned it earlier, there is risk in everything. I could walk out of this building and get hit by a bus, or fall down the step and break my leg. There is risk in everything. What we have to do is . . . w hat can we do to mitigate the risk? What can we do to look at the complete picture and say, Okay. This is what could possibly go wrong. And what do we have to do as a jurisdiction to minimise what can go wrong? I am not an expert in this space. I have to give the Premier credit because he has taken this thing and he has moved it along quickly and efficiently and it has been impressive. So I will give him that. The BMA is involved. It is in their wheelhouse. I am glad to see the fine minds that have put this legislation t ogether. But one thing, and if you will indulge me, I just made a quick note and I would like to read it. It says, Blockchain is a decentralised database or ledger used to store transactional data. Blockchain was first conceptualised by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, followed by implementation in 2009 with the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Everybody has heard about bitcoin. This is the key part for me. The core philosophy behin d such [technology] is anonymity and decentralisation. The anonymity and decentralisation play a major part in the security of blockchain. So when I put my underwriter hat on, I look at, Where did this technology come from initially? What is the genesis of it? Most people know that it started on the Dark Web. It started with individuals who were trying to avoid detection, who were trying to move money or finance things that were not positive. And I will leave it at that. So now this technology that started in maybe a not-so-positive place has evolved and morphed into a technology that mainstream industries are looking to adopt. So, it is imperative for us to get this right. A nonymity goes against everything that companies and countries are trying to do now , which is to be transparent —Know Your Customer, KYC (we have all these acronyms); Anti -Terrorist Financing, ATF; Anti - Money Laundering, AML—these things have been and are becoming more and more critical and i mportant worldwide for companies, industries, and countries. My initial concern with this initiative was the timing of it because we are going through the Cari bbean Financial Action Task Force [CFATF] audits and you know, maybe people do not know about it, but we are being looked at as a jurisdiction f or our transparency, our KYC (know your customer), our AML (anti - money laundering) and anti -terrorist financing. So, this is something that is going to be, in my view, another box that needs to be ticked because as a jurisdiction Bermuda has, over decades, built up a pristine financial reputation and in this space we have to continue that. We have to make sure that this regime is transparent, is thorough, and that we know who we are dealing with. This is not alarmist stuff; this is business. So with that being said, I too have a certain level of comfort with what I have seen done thus far. It is important that we get this right because our future and our reputation depend on this.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMm-hmm. Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: If we get it right, Berm uda will be an innovator in this space. We all hope, and I certainly do, that it will create jobs for our young people, especially, who are more adept at this then, say, the older generation. And, those …
Mm-hmm.
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: If we get it right, Berm uda will be an innovator in this space. We all hope, and I certainly do, that it will create jobs for our young people, especially, who are more adept at this then, say, the older generation. And, those of us who are a little older can see some opportunities to retrain or to learn a new skill, to participate. I am not surprised that at the public meetings that have been held, they have been well attended. That is a good thing because people are curious. They want to know what it is about. I also believe that some of this has been driven by FOMO —fear of mis sBermuda House of Assembly ing out. When the cryptocurrencies were escalating in value and bitcoin, every day you looked at bitcoin, it was going up and up and up and up and people were investing and investing and driving it up and up, it was a bubble. And that bubble burst and people lost mon-ey. But it is a new technology. I will be watching this space, how it develops, how it is implemented, and I want to know in concrete terms —concrete terms — how many jobs are created as a result of Bermuda deciding to go into this space. Because that is what it is all about —how many jobs are being created, and how is it impacting Bermuda financially? So with that being said, I support the Bill, but there are some risks involved. Anything can be hacked. Anything can be hacked! And, once again, from an underwriter’s perspective, when I have looked at big claims, big losses that have occurred, it is us ually not the equipment, it is human.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHuman. Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: It is the human factor. Humans are fallible, humans make mistakes and humans will try and test anything new, and that is what is happening. When you look at some of the hacking that has occurred in this space, it is because there are …
Human.
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: It is the human factor. Humans are fallible, humans make mistakes and humans will try and test anything new, and that is what is happening. When you look at some of the hacking that has occurred in this space, it is because there are vulnerabilities, especially in th e exchanges and when people are importing data and taking out data. That is the vulnerability. So, with that being said, I hope this is successful. Maybe 20 years from now we will look back on this time and say, You know, it was how insurance was back in the 1950s. It will be a third leg to our economy. We will be leaders in this space and trendsetters. I hope and pray that it goes well. Thank you,
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. I am going to put my glasses on . . . the Ho nourab le Minister Foggo. Would you like to speak now at this time? Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: I would, sir, with your permi ssion.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou have the floor. [Inaudible interjections] Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: So I am assuming that I can?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou have the floor. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou said you will be brief? Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Speaker, I am going to be brief.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: But I found it necessary to get up and just make a couple of remarks.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI will hold you to that couple. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: We live in an interconnected world. And I say that because there was a time that people used to think of Bermuda as being another world, and in being anot her world that we were shielded from all other …
I will hold you to that couple. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: We live in an interconnected world. And I say that because there was a time that people used to think of Bermuda as being another world, and in being anot her world that we were shielded from all other occurrences and phenomena that took place elsewhere. In recent times we have seen a major recession that basically had quite an impact, definitely, here in Bermuda, and saw our economy (if you will) suffer som e contraction. Mr. Speaker, when we took office this time around, we had a daunting task facing us as a Government. And I can say that the Honourable Premier recognised and iterated many times the fact that it is incumbent upon us to try and put something in place that would address this contracting economy, [that] would open up doors for more jobs to be realised, [and] open up doors for our people to be able to see ways of being entrepreneurs and establish businesses for themselves. And so I say all of that to say that it is not by chance. It is not by chance or fear of being left out that we traverse down the road that we now see ourselves on. It was through a very well -thought -out and consi dered decision that we arrived at the place that we are at today, Mr. Speaker. And I think it was rather genius that we looked at it from an angle of trying to create a regulatory env ironment that creates certain protections, while at the same time having sufficient flexibility and agility to en-courage those who do the ir business in the FinTech environment to come and establish their presence here in Bermuda. And so I am very proud to be a part of a Government who promised that even before taking office, that they would operate in a fashion to try and create a fairer an d better Bermuda for all of its people.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: And this is one way, one measure that we are attempting to do. Because not only does it allow for those who wish to work within the FinTech environment, proper, but ther e is scope for many ancillary businesses to be able to take root …
Yes.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: And this is one way, one measure that we are attempting to do. Because not only does it allow for those who wish to work within the FinTech environment, proper, but ther e is scope for many ancillary businesses to be able to take root and likewise benefit. For us, it is not fear of failing or not trying to move Bermuda forward because, yes, we recognise all of the ills that are associated and have been associated with oper ating in this environment, but at the same time that is what encouraged creating 2192 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly a regulatory environment to ensure a certain level of security. Mr. Speaker, what needs to be pointed out and, I guess, once again echoed to people is that the worst thing that we could possibly have done is to not have tried at all. Because we will not have success if we are not willing to put ourselves out there, be inn ovative, and create opportunity for us to enhance our economy so that all Bermudians can enjoy. And, Mr. Speaker, I say that to say this: We said we would move Bermuda forward. In not being afraid to move Bermuda forward in a new direction, we are committed that every step of the way, where there may be pitfalls, because we know we are going to have apexes, but where there may be pitfalls we will ensure that we are responsive, if not proactive, because we are trying to be proactive in setting up the regulatory environment, but responsive and make certain that through it all we are going to realise success becaus e we are already doing that anyway in the first instance. And if a government is going to be seen as leaders, then this is what we are supposed to do. And we are not afraid to do it. And we are not moving rec klessly. We are moving measuredly, though for s ome it may be quick. I would say that it is in response to the times that we live in. We are moving with much consideration of what we are doing and we are going to ensure that . . . and I think I heard the Honourable Member Colonel Burch, say it different ly, but what I would say is this, legislation is never meant to be stat-ic. Okay? As times change, then we must change the legislation to match the environment that we operate in. And so, yes, down the road I am sure there will be changes. Because as things play out, we may see the need to amend here and amend there to ensure that as we continue to move our people and this economy forward that we have the right type of legislation to match what is needed for that particular time. And so I want to say that I am extremely proud and I am very happy for the “dynamic duo” who helped bring this today, and that is the Honourable Premier and the Honourable Minister of National S ecurity. I thank them for having the vision and the d etermination to stand up and say, We are going to do something. We are going to make a difference and we are going to demonstrate for our people that this leadership is about moving Bermuda forward. It is about delivering on the promises that we made to the people and it is about creating a B ermuda that treats all Bermudians the same. And so, Mr. Speaker, this is just one step of what I know will be many for this Government, for some people, I guess, or a large majority of our people, in turning things around so that we all can benefit and op erate and expect as, I think most people do in their own countries, to be able to live a life where they can put a roof over their heads, food in their bellies, and I guess, if you will, enjoy the life that they are li ving in. I would say, Mr. Speaker, I have been subjected to many comments where people are truly encouraged by what they see. They see a way forward and they see that though there are difficulties, I guess, if you will . . . encouraging the confidence amongst the populace. They believe that w e are well on our way, at least to try and make that difference. I can say [that] my colleagues who have talked about words like “transactional versus transformational,” I think our people believe that we are trying to transform the way government does bus iness and are now beginning to feel that and we are enhancing their confidence, and they, along with us, will help to carry Bermuda forward. And I want to say thank you to all of the civil servants who have been involved in this and to the Bermuda Monetary Authority. But, once again, I want to say thank you to my parliamentary colleagues who have led this charge. I am glad that I can be counted as a part of this team, and I am glad to be able to work with them to carry our Bermuda forward and to creating a better and fairer Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Mr. Premier, it looks like it is time for you to wrap up. [Crosstalk] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know there were a number of questi ons asked. I will do my best to answer them. What I would say, however, …
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Premier, it looks like it is time for you to wrap up.
[Crosstalk]
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know there were a number of questi ons asked. I will do my best to answer them. What I would say, however, Mr. Speaker, is that I appreciate the support of the Opposition for this partic ular measure. It is clear since, I guess from the time of the Budget Reply and to the last debate and the other questions, that maybe the public sessions that have been watched on Bernews and were attended by some Members of the Opposition are paying off because I am pleased that there were not as many comments that are not representative of this industry, and there is now more understanding of what the de-tails of what this industry can mean to Bermuda. So I am appreciative of that. That much being said, there are still some overall challenges that exist.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. E. David Burt: And so I re member when we had a presentation to the Board of the Bermuda Monetary Authority by the government advisor on blockchain, Mr. Gabriel Abed, and there was a question that was asked from Members of the Board of the Bermuda Monetary Authority …
Mm-hmm. Hon. E. David Burt: And so I re member when we had a presentation to the Board of the Bermuda Monetary Authority by the government advisor on blockchain, Mr. Gabriel Abed, and there was a question that was asked from Members of the Board of the Bermuda Monetary Authority about whether or not bitcoin could
Bermuda House of Assembly be hacked. And the response from Mr. Abed was this, and I think it is all very interesting. Of course, technically, any computer system can be hacked, if you have enough power. But the power required to, at that time, hack the bitcoin ne twork, would have required twice the energy of the sun. His response at that point in time was, I f you were able to harness twice the energy of the sun, I don’t think hacking bitcoin would be your objective.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat’s for sure, that’s for sure. Hon. E. David Burt: But that is just a fact, because that is just the nature of the way that these things are set up. It is difficult to grasp because some of the premises that underline the technology are incredibly complex. I was …
That’s for sure, that’s for sure.
Hon. E. David Burt: But that is just a fact, because that is just the nature of the way that these things are set up. It is difficult to grasp because some of the premises that underline the technology are incredibly complex. I was talking to MP Renee Ming’s son earlier and telling him how, although I love certain things when it comes to math, I never made it past limits and calculus because it got a little bit too theoretical . But he has been doing Calculus 1, 2, 3, and 4. And he is an example of a young Bermudian who has a bac kground now in math who typically would not be able to find something that was along the lines of his expertise inside of his country, but now can go and work for one of these firms because cryptography is based in mathematics.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. E. David Burt: But with all of that being said, I say that to say, Mr. Speaker, is that it is hard for me as someone who has done IT for most of his adult life to even grasp some of the concepts that are here. So I …
Yes. Hon. E. David Burt: But with all of that being said, I say that to say, Mr. Speaker, is that it is hard for me as someone who has done IT for most of his adult life to even grasp some of the concepts that are here. So I can recognise the difficulty that some Members and certainly members of the public will have who do not do IT on a regular basis. But here is what is important to understand, Mr. Speaker. We are setting up a framework, and we are setting up that framework which will allow us to mitigate the risks that exist. Because when we hear comments from the former Premier, talking about how many things that have failed, and all the rest, it is i mportant to recognise that there are lots of things that will fail in the absence of regulati on. There are lots of problems which you will have if there are no constraints. And that is the opportunity that Bermuda has. The opportunity that we have had insofar as getting to where we are right now, being the first country in the world to table and t o pass into law a full suite of regulations and laws to regulate the, as we call it at a broader level, FinTech, but this is the digital asset age. And that is what I will call it, Mr. Speaker. So with that, I have a number of questions that I have in front of me and I will go ahead and try to get through them. I will start with the questions posed by the . . . I am not going to say “questions”; I will say “comments” posed by the former Premier. And I say that because, Mr. Speaker, the Bermuda Monetary Authority is world renowned. And it is world renowned and world respected, and it is respected because of the way that it is able to keep our reputation intact, and the way that it is able to make sure that it keeps bad actors out. And so I am pleased to noti fy the Honourable Member that Binance Bermuda Limited has complet-ed its incorporation process in Bermuda. That means that it has passed the strenuous checks of our ind ependent, financial services regulator, Mr. Speaker. But the comments which the former Pr emier stated about how people are running away from regulation shows how misinformed that he is. People are not running away from regulation, Mr. Speaker, people are seeking regulatory clarity. That is something that Bermuda has been able to offer in insur ance, and that is som ething that we will offer in the space of digital assets, Mr. Speaker. So that is the difference, and that is the reason why we were able to succeed. And in the exact same way as which he mentioned some countries in the Far East, what I found very interesting is that those countries in the Far East have, over the last few weeks, reversed their pos itions. And that is the point, Mr. Speaker. It is a point of regulatory clarity. We are telling people what it is that we are going to do and how we are going to go for-ward because you cannot plan your business, whet her you are peddling digital assets or you are peddling milk, if the rules are going to change from one week to the next. That is not going to happen here, Mr. Speaker, because unlik e other countries where they have done it in policy which can change overnight, we are putting it into legislation so everyone can see pr ecisely what it is that we are doing. There was a question about banking. I think this came from the . . . yes, Cole S imons, the Honourable Member from constituency 10 [sic] .
The SpeakerThe Speaker[Constituency] 8. Hon. E. David Burt: [Constituency] 8, oh, boy! I must be getting tired myself. I was up late making sure this brief was ready.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue on. Continue o n. Hon. E. David Burt: Finalised, not ready, but you know, in place. There was a question about banking and the answer is that these businesses will not be acting as banks; however, they will be able to access custodians which is allowed for other lines …
Continue on. Continue o n.
Hon. E. David Burt: Finalised, not ready, but you know, in place. There was a question about banking and the answer is that these businesses will not be acting as banks; however, they will be able to access custodians which is allowed for other lines of businesses like trusts, investment fund managers, lawyers, et cetera. There was another question about doing business in Bermuda and the answer to that is that there are requirements for proper reserves and di sclosure of risk. Bermudians will have to decide what their risk appetite is, but the businesses will be r e2194 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly quired to have surety bond insurance and other sy stems in place to protect clients from loss. There was another matter regarding concerns that were raised during consultation, but the answ er is that the consultation process was there, it went out to the public from the BMA. And, of course, it was said that it was primarily supported, although banks needed more information, as was stated in the debate. And so for this, we are making sure tha t we have the full suite of the legislation and a number of regulations which are in draft form (which will follow). There was clarification around the custody of assets, what would the BMA consider acceptable? And those I think will be made clear. There w as clarification around “head office” and how does that go? And I think we will make sure that this is clear. But there was very little opposition in the consultation process and there were some clarif ications that were requested. That is the beauty of the process of which we follow. Because . . . I will go as an aside, Mr. Speaker, is that when we decided that we were going down this road, and I remember the conversation that I had with the CEO of the Bermuda Monetary Authority. The CEO made it very clear. He said that in order for this to work the Bermuda Monetary Authority has to be involved and we have to be on side. And what we did is, we worked in a cooperative fashion to make sure that this actually happened, Mr. Speaker. And as you will hear from the Minister of Public Works who says the bureaucracy in Bermuda does not always move as quickly as it may need to to r espond to things, the BMA were incredibly responsive. We had draft legislation that we were looking at in February and we were able to get it to the point with the internal team, et cetera, to the point where we were able to meet our target of tabling this Bill on May 11. That was a very ambitious target, but that was to make sure that when we made it to New York we were able to announce that Bermuda was the first country in the world to table legislation to govern the space of digital assets. [There were] further questions from MP Cole Simons regarding banks, and I guess the question of [the] banking issue which is one of the challenges of which we have, it says, T hat banks have taken a wait - and-see attitude until they have review ed the legisl ation. The Government will revisit the bank issue with them once the legislation has become law. There are also other items that the Gover nment is looking at to make sure that the persons who are looking to come here in the digital asset space will have the opportunity to have their assets banked here under our legislative framework. There may be updates coming in the near future to that and I will make sure that Honourable Members are made aware. I think there was a question about, you know, the speed of how quickly we got here. I think there was a comment from the Honourable Member from constituency 23, talking about a six -month gestation period, et cetera. And the response is that the Berm uda Monetary Authority had actually been looking at this topic for well over a year and studying its issues. They knew that it would be coming down the pike, so to say, at some point, but they just did not anticipat e it would be happening so quickly. Nonetheless, the BMA were prepared, and that is the reason why they were able to put together a regime so quickly. I think what is also important to note is that the BMA has also created a FinTech Unit with per-sons who are going to have FinTech expertise inside of the BMA. And those persons will be there to assist in the regulations of these industries. So the BMA is getting itself prepared as well, just as the Government is getting itself prepared to make sure that we c an support this industry. There was a question about regulations and timing. It would be said that the BMA has already drafted some prudential standards that will be issued pursuant to clause 7 of the Bill, and so some of those drafts have also gone out f or public comment. So a lot of the regulations which were required to bring effect to this Bill have been drafted. Some of them have been put out for public comment and will be coming forward rather quickly. There was a question regarding the maintai ning of our reputation and enhancing our AML regime. Section 71 of the Act, Mr. Speaker, will give the Bermuda Monetary Authority unprecedented access to records that will facilitate with other provisions an extremely robust AML regulatory regime. I think what is important at this time, Mr. Speaker, is also to point out to persons, because there is a lot of talk about anonymity inside of these types of transactions. Well, allow me to say this, Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more anonymous than cash. I can assur e you that this is less anonymous than cash. Because the fact of the matter is that every si ngle record that is done, and every single transaction, is in the blockchain and it cannot be erased, it cannot be changed. The only thing that can happen is that i t can be reversed. And the only way that it is reversed is that another transaction is done reversing it, but the history of the transaction that did it the first time is there. It is not possible. So, although there are certain . . . the origins of this may have been, there are companies now adays that provide services to governments where they can actually look up all the transactions and analyse people’s wallets, et cetera, to find out whether or not they are in possession of things which may have been subject to crime. And that is a reason why law e nforcement agencies around the world have been able to arrest people for those types of crimes, Mr. Speaker. So it is not anonymous. And that is something that has to be known and remembered. So when we are talking about the fact that the Bermuda Monetary Authority is going to be granted
Bermuda House of Assembly unprecedented access, the Bermuda Monetary A uthority can . . . I will give you an example. [It] could set up . . . in the exchange licensing structure there can be a regulatory hook that has to be provided to the regulator and the regulator will have the ability to freeze people’s accounts electronically. And when we look at it from this perspective, we have to understand that all of these items are being done and transacted electronically. So it changes the way in which business is done. It makes it more efficient. But it also makes it, in a measure, easier to ensure that the AML requir ements are done properly. And it makes it easier for the regulators to actually see the activ ity that is taking place and stop that bad activity because they do not have to rely on suspicious activity report or something else, the network itself is automated, artificial intell igence which may exist inside these networks can pick up patterns and tr affic . . . patterns inside of these networks, and so we will be able to detect that activity far easier than not, Mr. Speaker. So I think that this is something that is particularly important. The final thing, Mr. Speaker, is that when people are talking about job opportunities, companies are in Bermuda and they are already hiring.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. E. David Burt: That is what is taking place. Now, Mr. Speaker, what is important to understand is that when we are talking about head office requir ements, this will be a physical presence operation. So if you want to be in Bermuda, a company licence under the …
Mm-hmm. Hon. E. David Burt: That is what is taking place. Now, Mr. Speaker, what is important to understand is that when we are talking about head office requir ements, this will be a physical presence operation. So if you want to be in Bermuda, a company licence under the Digital Asset Business Act, you will need to mai ntain your head office here in Bermuda if you want to be licensed or regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Mr. Speaker. And that is going to bring, what we will say, the additional items, the flow items inside the economy where you have the other support items which are required to support physical presence companies here in Bermuda. So with that, Mr. Speaker, and as I close, you will remember when I was going through the speech earlier and thanking all the persons over on the side, and I had somehow managed to confuse Ms. Welch and Ms. Binns, I just want to make sure that I can r eflect and r ecognise the departments which they work for. Ms. Maxine Binns, who is with the Cabinet Office, the Business Development Unit. Thank you, Ms. Maxine Binns. And Ms. Lorraine Welch, who works late into the night hours to write these wonderful pieces of legislation for us to make sure that we can deliver these items in record time.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: So I want to thank and commend those wonderful ladies, in addition to, of course, the head of the Business Development Unit, Ms. Lydia Dickens , and the lawyer, Mr. Myron Simmons, and Stephen Gift who works in the Ministry of Finance, as well. They have been participating in the blockchain circuit with me, so they have been learning, as well, because it is important to learn. So when we are at these events, these offer an opportunity as well for the regulators to get it, the policymakers to get it, to gain a deeper understanding, and to understand so that we can be at the forefront of the regulation of this industry, Mr. Speaker. So with all of t hat being said, Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill entitled the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 be now read for a second time and commi tted.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Deputy? House in Committee at 5 :57 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chair man] COMMITTEE ON BILL DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESS ACT 2018
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in Committee of the whole [House] for further consider ation on the Bill entitled the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 . Premier Burt, you have the floor. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move clauses 1 through 6.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to movi ng 1 through 6? There appear to be none. Continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 1 through 9, in their entirely provide for the preliminary sections of the Bill as follows. However, I will not be going thr …
Any objections to movi ng 1 through 6? There appear to be none. Continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 1 through 9, in their entirely provide for the preliminary sections of the Bill as follows. However, I will not be going thr ough 1 through 9 because we have an amendment to make in clause 7. So I will just be going through 1 through 6, at this point in time. Clause 1 provides that this Bill shall be cited as the Digital Asset Business Act 2018. Clauses 2, 3, and 4 provide for the interpret ation of various terms for the purposes of the Bill. Clause 5 requires the Authority to publish a statement of principles regarding how the Authority purposes to carry out certain aspects of its licensing and supervisory functions. This claus e also allows the Authority to publish guidance on the application of the statute and regulations thereunder. Clause 6 empowers the Authority to issue codes of practice. Persons carrying on digital asset business es are required to observe these codes of 2196 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly practice. A failure to observe the codes of practice could lead to regulatory sanctions.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Leader of the O pposition, Ms. — Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I have a question and I perhaps . . . I have read it and I just could not figure it out. This is on clause 2. This is in the definition. …
Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Leader of the O pposition, Ms. —
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I have a question and I perhaps . . . I have read it and I just could not figure it out. This is on clause 2. This is in the definition. The “financial year” . . . and I was just trying to determine, normally a year is 52 weeks, and I was just trying to determine what was . . . why we were ending up having 53 weeks. And I was not even sure whether it was leap year or whatever else. But I just could not understand why a financial year was 53 weeks.
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David BurtpremierI would say, Mr. Chairman, that I think that it is standard language. It says the period not exceeding 53 weeks. It says “not exceeding.” So if you say not exceeding 52 weeks, you will kind of run out because we got 52 weeks in a [year].
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recogni ses the Honourable Member Michael Dunkley. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To the Honourable Premier, on clause 4, subsection (5), it states, “ This Act shall not apply to any entity owned by the Bermuda Government. ” Can the Honourable Premier …
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Cole Hadley Simons.
Mr. N. H. Cole Simons[Clause] 6, Codes of practice. I note that throughout the legislation in this area. They talk of permissive language. It says, “The Authority may issue codes of conduct.” I take the position that the Authority should be compelled to issue codes of conduct, and not be permissive, because they could …
[Clause] 6, Codes of practice. I note that throughout the legislation in this area. They talk of permissive language. It says, “The Authority may issue codes of conduct.” I take the position that the Authority should be compelled to issue codes of conduct, and not be permissive, because they could choose not to issue a code of conduct. And w hat happens? It makes the legislation ineffective. Throughout you use permissive language and I take the position it should be more forceful and say that the Authority should be compelled to issue a code of conduct, and the legislation could follow accordin gly. Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Mr. Premier? Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I take note of the comments from the former Premier. The former Premier shall know that the BMA cannot actually regulate gover nment entities. That is just the nature of its . . …
Any further speakers? Mr. Premier?
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I take note of the comments from the former Premier. The former Premier shall know that the BMA cannot actually regulate gover nment entities. That is just the nature of its . . . it is just one of those things internationally. So that is why things in here would not apply to an entity owned by the Bermuda Government. If the government were to own something that were to be a part of this then you would have to set up a separate regulatory body. It just runs into some of those complexities. Regarding the statement that came from the Member from constituency 8 about the question of “shall” and/or “may,” the language is there. The draf ters feel this is the appropriate language. But, of course, as you have already indicated, the Bermuda Monetary Authority has the items of which they will issue —we have those draft items. I am happy to share them with the Opposition if they wi sh. Those things have been out to public consultation. I am sure we can share those public consultative documents with you. But those items will be issued without question.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? There appear to be none. Mr. Premier? Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 1 through 6 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any objections to clauses 1 through 6 being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 t hrough 6 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am now on clause 7. Clause 7 empowers the Authority to make …
Are there any objections to clauses 1 through 6 being approved? There appear to be none. Approved.
[Motion carried: Clauses 1 t hrough 6 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am now on clause 7. Clause 7 empowers the Authority to make prudential rules and returns and to require such to be filed by licensed undertakings. Clause 7 also pro vides for the retention of such returns at its head office. In addition to that, Mr. Chairman, I do have an amendment to clause 7 which all Members should have, and which was provided to Members of the O pposition —or, sorry, the Shadow Minister of Finance and Opposition Leader, earlier today.
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 7
Hon. E. David Burt: Clause 7, it is a minor amendment. And the amendment as printed says that clause 7 is amended in subsection (2) by deleting the word “of” and substituting the word “or.” And in subsection (6), by deleting the words “any applicable Rule or
Bermuda House of Assembly statutory return” and substituting the words “any i nformation or documents required in relation to a Rule or statutory return.”
The ChairmanChairmanAny further . . . the Chair recognises the Honourable Pat Gordon -Pamplin.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, just for clarity, the copy of the [Digital] Asset Business Act that we have, under clause 7, subsection (2), already has the “or” so I am not certain— [Inaudible interjections and crosstalk ]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinOh, I see. Okay, thank you very much.
The ChairmanChairmanOkay. Any further speakers? Mr. Premier, you have the floor. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I move that the amendment to the clause be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to the amendment to clause 7 being approved? No objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Amendment to c lause 7 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. I move that clause 7 be approved as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to clause 7 being approved as amended? There appear to be no objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Clause 7 passed as amended.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now as k that I move clauses 8 and 9.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to moving clauses 8 and 9? There appear to be none. Continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 8 makes provision for the Authority to modify or exempt licensed undertakings from compliance with certain requirements under the Bill and empowers the …
Any objections to moving clauses 8 and 9? There appear to be none. Continue.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 8 makes provision for the Authority to modify or exempt licensed undertakings from compliance with certain requirements under the Bill and empowers the Authority to take necessary or other actions in relation to licensed undertakings. Clause 9 makes provision for the establis hment of an Advisory Panel to the Authority in relation to digital asset business.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? There appear to be none, Premier, continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that clauses 8 through 9 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving clauses 8 and 9? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 8 and 9 passed .] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 2 which is the licensing regime. This covers clauses 10 through …
Any objections to approving clauses 8 and 9? There appear to be none. Approved.
[Motion carried: Clauses 8 and 9 passed .]
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 2 which is the licensing regime. This covers clauses 10 through 30. However, there are amendments to clauses 11, 12, and 22. So, I will just move clause 10 at this time.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to moving clause 10? Continue, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 10 prohibits any person from carrying on digital asset business unless such person is a licensed undertaking in accordance with this Bill.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? There appear to be none. Continue, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank yo u, Mr. Chairman. I move that clause 10 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving clause 10? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clause 10 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to move clause 11 which empowers the Minister to make exempt ion orders. AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 11 Hon. E. David …
Any objections to approving clause 10? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clause 10 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to move clause 11 which empowers the Minister to make exempt ion orders.
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 11
Hon. E. David Burt: And to amend clause 11(5) by inserting before the word “constitute” the word “not.”
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? 2198 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly There appear to be none. Continue, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I move that the amendment be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to the amendment being approved in clause 11? There appear to be none. Continue—approved. [Motion carried: Amendment to c lause 11 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. I move that the clause be approved as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanIs there any objections to the clause being approved as amended? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clause 11 passed as amended.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now ask your leave, of course, to move clause 12. And clause …
Is there any objections to the clause being approved as amended? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clause 11 passed as amended.]
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now ask your leave, of course, to move clause 12. And clause 12 provides for the requirements for making applications to the A uthority for licenc es. This clause also establishes two classes of Digital Asset Business Licences as follows: a Class F licence and a Class M licence which shall be issued for a defined period as determined by the Authority. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker —sorry, Mr. Chair man—in clause 12 there is a motion, which has been . . . sorry, an amendment which has been submitted.
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 12
Hon. E. David Burt: And I would like to amend clause 12(5) by deleting the words “subsection (6)” and sub-stituting the words “subsection (4).”
The ChairmanChairmanAnyone to talk to the amendment? There appear to be none, Mr. Premier. Co ntinue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that the clause 12—the amendment to clause 12— be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to the clause 12(5) being amended to be approved? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Amendment to c lause 12 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. I move that the clause be approved, as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanIs there a ny objections to the clause being approved as amended? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clause 12 passed as amended.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I ask to move clauses 13 through 21.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to moving clauses 13 through 21? There appear to be none. Continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Clauses 13 and 14 empower the Authority to grant or refuse applications for licences and to determine the appropriate class of licence. It should be noted that the …
Any objections to moving clauses 13 through 21? There appear to be none. Continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Clauses 13 and 14 empower the Authority to grant or refuse applications for licences and to determine the appropriate class of licence. It should be noted that the Authority shall only grant an application if it is satisfied that the minimum criteria are fulfilled with respect to the applicant. Clause 15 requires publication of the licen ce by both the licensed undertaking and the Authority. Clause 16 provides for fees to be prescribed under the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969 and civil penalties following any default in payment . Clause 17 requires a licensed undertaking to hold client assets separate from those of its business. Clause 18 requires a licensed undertaking holding client assets to maintain either a surety bond, trust account insurance, or other arrangements as approved by the Authority to protect such assets. Clause 19 imposes an obligation on all licensed undertakings to appoint a senior represent ative with an office in Bermuda. Clause 20 makes provision for every senior representative to report certain events to the Author ity. And c lause 21 introduces a requirement for every licensed undert aking to maintain a head office in Bermuda. The intent of this clause is to ensure that every licensed undertaking has a physical presence on Island.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Cole Hadley Simons. [Inaudible i nterjection]
The ChairmanChairmanHadley Cole Simons? [Laughter] Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Chairman, let us get to the business at hand. [Laughter]
Mr. N. H. Cole Simons[Clause] 18, Custody and operations . . . is it the intention of the Minister and the BMA to have a panel of service providers that are authorised to issue indemnity insurance or surety bonds or custodians of the t rust account? Will we have a list of businesses that …
[Clause] 18, Custody and operations . . . is it the intention of the Minister and the BMA to have a panel of service providers that are authorised to issue indemnity insurance or surety bonds or custodians of the t rust account? Will we have a list of businesses that will be authorised to provide this type of protection and coverage in insurance and surety bonds on behalf of these Bermuda clients so that we know that we have reputable insurance companies covering thi s risk?
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? There appear to be none. Mr. Premier, you have the floor. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, what I would like to let the Honourable Member who just asked the question know is that I am unsure if the Bermuda Monetary …
Any further speakers? There appear to be none. Mr. Premier, you have the floor.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, what I would like to let the Honourable Member who just asked the question know is that I am unsure if the Bermuda Monetary Authority will publish a list of companies. But I do know that persons who operate from and sell insurance from these shores are required to be licensed. And so if they are required to be licensed it will be expected that they would meet the qualifications of the licencing authority which is, without question, the Bermuda Monetary Authority. But I think what is also interesting is the fact that we talked about the custody and protection of client assets and if yo u would you look at one of the MOUs that was tabled earlier today which speaks to Omega One and some of the work which they are doing, one of the things of which they have stated in looking to implement is to form a digital custody union in Bermuda to work on the custody challenges of which we have inside this space to make sure that they are up to par. So, for that, I would say that the market will certainly make sure that . . . the BMA will check to make sure that what is done is up to the r equirements by a licensed entity. But I do not believe that the BMA will be telling people which companies they can go to.
The ChairmanChairmanThe Chair recognises . . . yes, conti nue.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsWill it be acceptable to have overseas insurance . . . indemnity insurance companies or bond issuers . . . and not local ones?
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, one of the beautiful things about the Bermuda Monetary Authority is the fact that you can actually speak to the regulators. So if the Bermuda Monetary Authority is comfortable with what is being proposed— again, we are talking …
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, one of the beautiful things about the Bermuda Monetary Authority is the fact that you can actually speak to the regulators. So if the Bermuda Monetary Authority is comfortable with what is being proposed— again, we are talking about a world -class regulator. If the Bermuda Monetary A uthority is comfortable with what is being proposed by the company, the Bermuda Monetary Authority will accept it. I think it is what is judged to be acceptable by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and that is the reason why when they are going through their licencing process they will look at what is being proposed, the company set -up, and the requirements of which I have stated before they will issue said licences.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? There appear to be none. Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Bu rt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that clauses 13 through 21 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to clauses 13 through 21 being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 13 through 21 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will move now to clause 22 which contains an amendment.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 22 provides for licensed undertakings to not ify the Authority in respect of any material changes to its business . AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 22 Hon. E. David Burt: It is the request of the Gover nment …
Continue.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 22 provides for licensed undertakings to not ify the Authority in respect of any material changes to its business .
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 22 Hon. E. David Burt: It is the request of the Gover nment to amend clause 22 as follows: In subsection (3) by deleting the words “An application” and substituting the words “A notice.” In subsection (4)(b)(ii), by deleting the words “written notice of objection” and substituting the words “preliminary written notice pursuant to subsection (8)”; and in subsection (7), by deleting the words “not later 30 days.” 2200 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Any further speakers?
[Crosstalk]
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? No further speakers? Continue, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that the amendments to clause 22 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to the amendment being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Amendment to c lause 22 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that clause 22 be approved as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to clause 22 as amended being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clause 22 passed as amended.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I now ask that I be allowed to move clauses 23 through 30.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to moving clauses 23 through 30? There appear to be none. Continue, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 23 empowers the A uthority to restrict the licence of an undertaking follo wing noncompliance with the statute. Restrictions may include, but are …
Any objections to moving clauses 23 through 30? There appear to be none. Continue, Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 23 empowers the A uthority to restrict the licence of an undertaking follo wing noncompliance with the statute. Restrictions may include, but are not limited to, restricting the scope of business activities, imposing limitations on the acceptance of digital asset business, prohibiting a l icensed undertaking from enterin g into any new transactions, and requiring the removal of any officer or controller. Clause 24 provides for the revocation of the licence including the grounds upon which the Author ity may revoke a licence. Clause 25 provides for the winding- up by the courts of an undertaking whose licence has been r evoked, where the court determines it is just and equ itable to do so. Clause 26 requires the Authority to give notice to a licensed undertaking where it proposes to impose or vary a restriction or to revoke i ts licence. Clause 27 authorises the Authority to impose restrictions without notice in cases of urgency. A l icensed undertaking may make representations to the Authority following imposition of any restriction. Such representations may be taken into account by the A uthority in determining whether to confirm, vary, or r escind any restriction previously imposed. Clause 28 authorises the Authority to give d irections to a licensed undertaking to safeguard client interests following an apparent violation of an y oblig ation under this regime. Failure to comply with such directions is a criminal offence. Clause 29 provides for the notification and confirmation of directions given by the Authority to licensed undertakings under clause 28. Clause 30 provides for t he surrender of a l icence with prior approval of the Authority.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers to clauses 23 through 30? There appear to be none. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that the clauses 23 through 30 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving clauses 23 through 30? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 23 through 30 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 3 which covers clauses 31 to 33 of the Act. …
Any objections to approving clauses 23 through 30? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 23 through 30 passed.]
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 3 which covers clauses 31 to 33 of the Act. Mr. Chai rman, notwithstanding my comments inside of the general debate, I will move that clause 31 . . . we move clause 31 at this time. Clause 31 provides for every licensed undertaking to prepare annual financial statements or accounts. The licensee must keep a copy of the most recent accounts at its head office together with the auditor’s report. These must be filed with the Authority no later than four months after the end of the financial year.
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 31
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, in addition, having discussed clause 31(2) with the BMA, we agree that whilst clause 31(2) meets the BMA’s policy objectives, it should be amended to make clause 31(2) crystal clear. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, the Government moves that clause 31(2) be amended by deleting the word “prepared” and substituting the word “audited.”
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Pat Gordon- Pamplin.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pampl inThank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just wish to underscore that the amendment that the Premier has just made is cer-tainly in keeping with the observations that we had earlier, and it makes it not just crystal clear, but it makes it correct to be able to substitute the …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just wish to underscore that the amendment that the Premier has just made is cer-tainly in keeping with the observations that we had earlier, and it makes it not just crystal clear, but it makes it correct to be able to substitute the word “prepared” for the word . . . or to substitute “audited” for the word “prepared.” That is what auditors and accountants do. So, the auditor must be an approved auditor and we certainly support that amendment.
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Premier? Hon. E. David Burt: Grateful for the support of the Opposition, Mr. Chairman. And, with that . . . I think it was their recommendation. So, I [was] hoping they would support it. And, with that, Mr. Chairman— [Laughter] Hon. E. David Burt: Stranger things have happened! [Laughter] …
Mr. Premier? Hon. E. David Burt: Grateful for the support of the Opposition, Mr. Chairman. And, with that . . . I think it was their recommendation. So, I [was] hoping they would support it. And, with that, Mr. Chairman— [Laughter]
Hon. E. David Burt: Stranger things have happened!
[Laughter] Hon. E. David Burt: With that, Mr. Chairman, I move that the amendment be accepted.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to the amendment being approved? No objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Amendment to c lause 31 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Okay, I move that clause 31 be approved as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving clause 31 as amended? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clause 31 passed as amended.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will move on, if I may, to move clauses 32 and 33.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much. Clause 32 requires every licensed undertaking to annually appoint an auditor approved by the Authority to audit its financial statements or accounts. Failure to do so is an offence. Clause 33 requires an auditor to report certain matters to the Authority.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Pat G ordonPamplin.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in clause 32 subsection (5) it indicates “For the purposes of this Part, ‘approved auditor’ means an auditor who is a person entitled to practise as a public accountant and is a member of a professional body approved by the Authority for the purposes …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in clause 32 subsection (5) it indicates “For the purposes of this Part, ‘approved auditor’ means an auditor who is a person entitled to practise as a public accountant and is a member of a professional body approved by the Authority for the purposes of this Act.” Can the Premier advise us whether in fact that a list of approved professional bodies has been listed somewhere by the Authority so that there is no conf usion, whether institutes such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and companies that have been approved under the schedule to the Companies Act in the UK are actually included?
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Mr. Premier? Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, while I cannot state definitively right now at this time whether or not the Bermuda Monetary Authority has such things, a llow me to say this clearly and unequivocally to the Honourable Member . That as the Government has …
Any further speakers? Mr. Premier?
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, while I cannot state definitively right now at this time whether or not the Bermuda Monetary Authority has such things, a llow me to say this clearly and unequivocally to the Honourable Member . That as the Government has sponsored the A CCA classes here at the Bermuda College and offers that particular designation and rec-ognises the challenges in which we are dealing with trying to make sure that this designation is recognised, I will make sure to consult with the BMA. And if it is not al ready accepted (which it may do), I will make sure that it is crystal clear that it is accepted. And I welcome the Honourable Member to follow up by parliamentary question with me on that matter to make sure to hold me to account to keep to that promise. I think it is very important that there is some type of . . . this challenge that exists between the CPA and the ACCA. And other things need to be rectified. The Government is dealing with that particular issue. There have been conversations that have happ ened with the local CPA branch here—conversations with the ACCA globally —to make sure that it can be recognised and we will make sure to make that happen. But I will certainly speak to the BMA on that particular point if it is not already recognised to ensure that this can be recognised.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Ms. Pat Gordon-Pamplin, continue.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you. I am very appreciative to the Premier for making that com2202 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly mitment. And I will certainly take up his offer to follow up to ensure that this has been documented. I have a question with respect to subsection …
Thank you. I am very appreciative to the Premier for making that com2202 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly mitment. And I will certainly take up his offer to follow up to ensure that this has been documented. I have a question with respect to subsection (6) and this basically speaks to any person who has “an interest in any licensed undertaking otherwise than as a client, and no officer, servant or agent ” (which I do not have a problem with) “ of any digital asset business shall be eligible for appointment as an approved auditor . . .” The question I have is, in the event of a pas sing fancy, in terms of maybe the auditor, you end up somehow having some part of an asset that has no level of materiality, does that still disqualify you from continuing as the auditor? Or does that say that in such instance you must resign irrespective of the m ateriality of what that involvement might be?
The ChairmanChairmanYou are talking about [clause] 32(6), right?
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin[Clause] 32(6), yes, sorry.
The ChairmanChairmanAll right. Mr. Premier? Hon. E. David Burt: Standby, if you could please, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanMm-hmm. [Pause] Hon. E. David Burt: The advice of which I have been given from the technical officers, the lawyers, is that the statute is clear. Passing interest or otherwise . . . it is there to make sure that there is no conflict of interest and the only relationship …
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? There appear to be none.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving clauses 32 and 33? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 32 and 33 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 4 of the Bill which is Objections to Shareholder Controllers …
Any objections to approving clauses 32 and 33? There appear to be none. Approved.
[Motion carried: Clauses 32 and 33 passed.]
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 4 of the Bill which is Objections to Shareholder Controllers and move clauses 34 through 38. The Chairman: Any objections? Continue, Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, clauses 34 through 38 set forth requirements in relation to controlling shareholders of a licensed undertaking. This includes appr oval by the Authority of any proposed controller of 10 per cent or more of the majority shareholder , procedures gover ning notice of any objection by the Authority to a pr oposed shareholder, controller or majority shareholder and any existing shareholder controller, and penalties for contravention by a shareholder controller, including restrictions on the transfer or exercise of rights of shares held by such person or the mandatory sale thereof.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair rec ognises the Honourable Hadley Cole Simons. [Inaudible interjections and laughter ]
The ChairmanChairmanI do not like Nelson’s name. [Laughter and crosstalk ]
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsOn occasion, Mr. Chairman, shareholders and directors delegate some of their functions to employees or other executives within the organisations that are not directors or owners, but they still have a controlling interest in the business. Is this accommodated for, i.e., an authorised signatory or somebody within the organisation that …
On occasion, Mr. Chairman, shareholders and directors delegate some of their functions to employees or other executives within the organisations that are not directors or owners, but they still have a controlling interest in the business. Is this accommodated for, i.e., an authorised signatory or somebody within the organisation that has the delegated authority to act on behalf of the shareholder or the director? Will they be scrutinised as well?
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David BurtpremierThe answer to the question is no, that does not absolve it. [Inaudible inter jection] Hon. E. David Burt: That does not absolve them.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Mr. Premier, continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 34 through 38 be approved. Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Any objections to approving clauses 34 through 38? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses …
Any further speakers? Mr. Premier, continue.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 34 through 38 be approved.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Any objections to approving clauses 34 through 38? There appear to be none. Approved.
[Motion carried: Clauses 34 through 38 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 5 of the Act, which is Disciplinary Measures, and move clauses 39 through 47.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 39 through 47 provide for disciplinary measures as a deterrent for noncompliance for any of the statutory requirements imposed in this Bill. Clause 39 authorises the Authority to impose civil penalties up to $10,000,000 for failure …
Continue.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 39 through 47 provide for disciplinary measures as a deterrent for noncompliance for any of the statutory requirements imposed in this Bill. Clause 39 authorises the Authority to impose civil penalties up to $10,000,000 for failure to comply. Clause [40] requires the Authority to give a both warning notice and a decision notice where it intends to impose a civil penalty. Clauses 41 and 42 relate to the public censure of a licensed undertaking which the Authority finds has contravened the requirement imposed by or pursuant to this Bill. Clauses 43 through 46 govern the procedur es by which the Authority may make and vary prohibition orders or determines that a person is not fit and proper to perform certain functions of the licensed under-taking. And, clause 47 enables the Authority to apply to the Supreme Court for an injunction in relation to any breach of the requirements of the Bill.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Pat Gordon- Pamplin. Continue, you have the floor.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in respect of both clauses 40 and 42, the first part indicates that the . . . under civil penalties procedure, if the Authority proposes to i mpose a civil penalty it must give the licensed undertaking concerned a warning notice. It then goes …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in respect of both clauses 40 and 42, the first part indicates that the . . . under civil penalties procedure, if the Authority proposes to i mpose a civil penalty it must give the licensed undertaking concerned a warning notice. It then goes on to say t hat if the Authority decides to impose a civil penalty, it must give the l icensed undertaking concerned a decision notice. So, the question between “warning” notice and “decision” notice . . . is there any specified timeframe that is deemed to be appropri ate within which that entity actually receives that decision n otice? It is one thing to say you get a warning notice, and then do you wait a year? Do you wait six months? Do you wait a week? What is an appropriate timeframe? I think it needs to be specifi ed in the legisl ation so that anybody who may fall afoul and find the mselves subjected to civil penalties will know that (a) they have not just had a warning, but (b) they have had a decision, and that decision will be forthcoming within a specific period of time. That also applies to the public censure procedure in clause 42 in which the timeframe for the decision notice has not been spec ified and I believe for proper controls and for proper information of anybody who might fall afoul, it should be specifi ed. I wonder if the Premier can speak to that.
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Premier? Any further speakers? Okay, all right, one second. [Pause]
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the note of which I have is that it is 90 days for a decision notice. I will undertake to get further specificity, because it most likely will be inside the statement of principles and procedures …
Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the note of which I have is that it is 90 days for a decision notice. I will undertake to get further specificity, because it most likely will be inside the statement of principles and procedures that govern, or the guidance notes which are issued following. I have a copy of said draft items which I was trying to review electronically right quick to see if I could find [it], but I am certain that those particular items may be in there as this is the exact same language that is in the Money Service Business Act . In addition t o that, Mr. Chairman, as . . .
[Pause and crosstalk] Hon. E. David Burt: Sorry, Mr. Chairman?
The ChairmanChairmanPage 38. Hon. E. David Burt: [Page] 38?
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. E. David Burt: Yes, thank you. Just to draw your attention, Mrs. . . . sorry, Honourable Member from constituency 23, Mrs. Patr icia Gordon- Pamplin, clause 54 which we will get to shortly, does set out the timelines with the decision notices, et cetera. So, hopefully that …
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinIt is. Hon. E. David Burt: Excellent. Thank you. 2204 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Any further speakers? Mr. Premier, continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I move that clauses 39 through 47 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to clauses —I am sorry.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes, you asked if there was any objection. I just had a little bit of unreadiness.
Mrs. Patr icia J. Gordon -PamplinYou asked if there were any objections, and my answer is yes. The question being that given the response that the Premier has just given, is it appropriate to make reference to clause 54 in order to tie up [claus-es] 40 and 42? Or do we just leave it that …
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Premier? Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. As I was saying, Mr. Chairman, I would say that it is fine. The drafters and the Legislative Council have approved it. So, I think it is okay.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to clauses 39 through 47 being approved? There appear to be no objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 39 through 47 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 6 of the Bill which deals with rights …
Any objections to clauses 39 through 47 being approved? There appear to be no objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 39 through 47 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 6 of the Bill which deals with rights of appeal and ask permission to move clauses 48 through 52.
The ChairmanChairmanNo objections. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 48 through 52 provide a process by whi ch a company may wish to appeal a decision of the Authority as follows: Clause 48 authorises class F licence holders to make appeals to a tribunal …
No objections. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 48 through 52 provide a process by whi ch a company may wish to appeal a decision of the Authority as follows: Clause 48 authorises class F licence holders to make appeals to a tribunal regarding decisions of the Authority in certain circumstances. Clauses 49 through 51 provide for the const itution, jurisdiction, powers and procedures of appeals tribunals. And clause 52 authorises further appeals by a licensed undertaking or other persons to the Supreme Court on any question of law.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? There appear to be none. Continue, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 48 through 52 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to clauses 48 through 52 being approved? There appear to be no objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 48 through 52 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I will now move on to Part 7 of the Bill which is Notices and Information, which …
Any objections to clauses 48 through 52 being approved? There appear to be no objections. Approved.
[Motion carried: Clauses 48 through 52 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I will now move on to Part 7 of the Bill which is Notices and Information, which goes . . . and I ask that we move clauses 53 through 60.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 53 through 55 govern the process by which the Authority must issue warning notices, decision notices, and notices of discontinuation in relation to any action proposed to be taken by the Authority. Clause 56 relates to …
Continue.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 53 through 55 govern the process by which the Authority must issue warning notices, decision notices, and notices of discontinuation in relation to any action proposed to be taken by the Authority. Clause 56 relates to publication of any matter to which a decision notice relates. Clause 57 requires a licensed undertaking to notify the Authority of any change in its controllers or officers. Clause 58 authorises the Authority to obtain information in reports from a licensed undertaking. Clause 59 requires a licensed undertaking, and when appropriate other affiliated entities, to pr oduce documents for examination by the Authority. Clause 60 makes provision for any offi cer, servant, or agent of the Authority to enter into premi ses occupied by a licensed undertaking to obtain i nformation and documents in certain circumstances.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Hadley Cole Simons. Continue. Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. N. H. Cole Simons: [Clause] 56, Publication.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsCan the Minister speak to whether the BMA will be publishing for the public record and for the public interest ––whether they will publish it on a webs ite of some sort, or whether it be in the Gazette, or whether they are going to use the l ibrary or …
Can the Minister speak to whether the BMA will be publishing for the public record and for the public interest ––whether they will publish it on a webs ite of some sort, or whether it be in the Gazette, or whether they are going to use the l ibrary or public notices . . . can you provide some clar ity on the method and medium used for publishing di scontinuance notices so that the public is aware of what is going on?
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. What I will state is that as per the text, it says as it considers appropriate. And so, it all depends. I know what the BMA has done in some cases. It has actually done public notices w here it has put …
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. What I will state is that as per the text, it says as it considers appropriate. And so, it all depends. I know what the BMA has done in some cases. It has actually done public notices w here it has put out press releases; other times they might put it on their website, et cetera. So, it is where the BMA feels that it is most appropriate in order to issue such notice.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? There appear to be none. Mr. Premi er. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I was on Part 7, right?
The ChairmanChairmanYes. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. I move that clauses 53 through 60 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to clauses 53 through 60 being approved? No objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 53 through 60 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I now would like to move clauses 61 through 65.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. C hairman. Clauses 61 through 63 authorise . . . sorry, this is Part 8 dealing with investigations. Clauses 61 through 63 authorise the Authority to investigate the operations of a licensed undertaking and any suspected violation of applicable laws, reg ulation, …
Continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. C hairman. Clauses 61 through 63 authorise . . . sorry, this is Part 8 dealing with investigations. Clauses 61 through 63 authorise the Authority to investigate the operations of a licensed undertaking and any suspected violation of applicable laws, reg ulation, and other guidelines. Such investigations may be conducted by third parties on behalf of the Author ity. Clause 64 allows t he issu ance of a search warrant where a person being investigated by the A uthority has not complied with a production notice or is suspected of removing, tampering, or destroying documents required by the Authority . Clause 65 makes obstructing an investigation an offence.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Cole Simons.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsWill the Authority investigate actions that occur overseas that are not illegal in Bermuda?
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThat are not. So the business may violate an overseas piece of legislation, but in Bermuda we do not have that legislation. Will the BMA assist foreign entities pursue any infractions of inter-national regulations that do not apply to Bermuda?
The ChairmanChairmanAny . . . Mr. Premier? Hon. E. David Bur t: I have five very well qualified technical officers, and you have managed to perplex them. I understand. What I will say is that from the perspective the Honourable N. Hadley Cole Simons, what I would say is, . . …
Any . . . Mr. Premier?
Hon. E. David Bur t: I have five very well qualified technical officers, and you have managed to perplex them. I understand. What I will say is that from the perspective the Honourable N. Hadley Cole Simons, what I would say is, . . . is that . . . I do not know if the BMA would investigate things which are not illegal in Bermuda underneath the laws. However, the Berm uda Monetary Authority cooperates with international regulators. So I am sure if they are asked for assi stance in any particular instance that they will offer or render said assistance.
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David BurtpremierThank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 61 through 65 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving clauses 61 through 65? There appear to be no objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 61 through 65 passed.] 2206 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on …
Any objections to approving clauses 61 through 65? There appear to be no objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 61 through 65 passed.]
2206 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 9 which is Certificate of Compliance. Part 9 cont ains all of one clause, clause 66. I ask to move that clause at this time as there is also an amendment to that clause.
The ChairmanChairmanAnd you have . . . yes. Continue. AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 66 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. C hairman, clause 66 requires every licensed undertaking to deliver to the Authority on an annual basis a signed certificate of compliance. The Government wishes to amend …
And you have . . . yes. Continue.
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 66
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. C hairman, clause 66 requires every licensed undertaking to deliver to the Authority on an annual basis a signed certificate of compliance. The Government wishes to amend clause 66 by deleting the words “a senior executive” and substituting the words “an off icer.”
The ChairmanChairmanNo? Continue, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Given there are no objections signified by the Opposition benches, I move that the amendment be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving the amendment? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Amendment to c lause 66 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move the clause be approved as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving the clause as amended? No objections. Approved. [Motion carried: Clause 66 passed as amended.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to Part 10 which is the Restriction on Discl osure of Information, and move clauses …
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 67 through 69 prohibit disclosures of information obtained by any person pursuant to the requirements of the Bill, except as specifi cally permitted. This protection of information is particularly important given the transparency and customer due …
Continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clauses 67 through 69 prohibit disclosures of information obtained by any person pursuant to the requirements of the Bill, except as specifi cally permitted. This protection of information is particularly important given the transparency and customer due diligence requirements imposed under this regime. Permitted disclosures include but are not li mited to dis closures to the Minister of Finance and the Authority as needed to discharge regulatory functions. Clause 70 imposes similar restrictions on the disclosure of information supplied to the Authority by an overseas authority.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speak ers? Any further speakers? There appear to be none. Mr. Premier, continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 67 through 70 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving clauses 67 through 70? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 67 through 70 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I now move Part 11, which is the last part of this Bill, and these are clauses …
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 71 requires a licensed undertaking to provide the Authority with online or automated real -time access to both its client and its own digital asset transacti on records. The licensed undertaking is also required to retain …
Continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, clause 71 requires a licensed undertaking to provide the Authority with online or automated real -time access to both its client and its own digital asset transacti on records. The licensed undertaking is also required to retain such records for a pe-riod of five years from the date of transaction. Clause 72 creates offences in connection with false , misleading documents or information. Clause 73 provides for offenc es committed by a licensed undertaking in certain circumstances . Clause 74 provides that no person carrying on business in or from Bermuda shall use a name which indicates that such person is carrying on digital asset business except for persons licensed under this Bill. Clause 75 provides the procedure for giving of and serving of notices , directions, or other documents to licensed undertakings.
Bermuda House of Assembly Clause 76 states that a notice required to be given or served on the Authority shall not be regarded as given or served until it is received by the Authority. Clause 77 prohibits the imposition of a civil penalty in relation to any matter for which a person is convicted of an offence. Clause 78 authorises the Minster, after consulting with the Authority, to make regulations as necessary to implement this regime. Clause 79 requires persons carrying on digital asset business prior to the commencement of the legislation to make an application to the Authority within two months of the date of commencement . Any p erson who makes an application within the requisite time frame may continue to conduct business until the application is approved , declined, or withdrawn. Clause 80 provides for the consequential amendments to the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969 and the anti -terrorism and anti -money laundering laws and regulations as set forth in Schedule 2 to have effect . And c lause 81 provides for commencement .
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Pat Gordon- Pamplin.
Mrs. Patric ia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just have a question for clarity with respect to clause 71, in which the reference is access to and maintenance of client transaction records, all of which must be made available to the A uthority effectively upon demand. But given that in this …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just have a question for clarity with respect to clause 71, in which the reference is access to and maintenance of client transaction records, all of which must be made available to the A uthority effectively upon demand. But given that in this environment many of these records are going to be kept using a blockchain technology, the basis of which provides for privacy and in some instances anonymity, the question for clarity is with the Authorit y demanding information respecting those records. How reasonable is it to expect that this information would be readily available with sufficient level of identification and spec ificity so as to satisfy what the Authority is looking for? It is just for clarity.
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am happy to be able to answer the question of the Honourable Member , because you would have remembered, in the end of the general debate, where I spoke about the unprec edented access which …
Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am happy to be able to answer the question of the Honourable Member , because you would have remembered, in the end of the general debate, where I spoke about the unprec edented access which is going to be given to the A uthority under section 71 of the Act. So, I’ll just give an example, insofar as exchanges. So a digital asset exchange sets up. Digital asset exchange providers currently, or the people who build the software, build actual hooks that go into the Regulator. This means that the Regulator can have access to that information in real time and it is secure so that you only get access to the information of which is needed and required. And as I was saying, the real - time monitoring, the ability for the Authority to, you know, freeze certain transactions, freeze certain accounts, and all the rest, these are things that can be built inside the rules. But this provides the legislative backing to allow the BMA to request and/or require that this infor-mation be shared on a real -time basis. So it is not a question of whether or not it is reasonable. I think it is the only thing that is necessary and able in order to make sure that these things happen. The alternate part of that, of course, would be the regular form of reporting.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Okay. Mr. Premier? [Inaudible interjection]
The ChairmanChairmanOh, I am sorry. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, Mr. Chair man, under [clause] 71, for the piloter of this Bill, will the Premier also be able to comment upon this capacity to maintain access to the maintenance of client transactions records read— Mr. Chairman, to …
Oh, I am sorry. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, Mr. Chair man, under [clause] 71, for the piloter of this Bill, will the Premier also be able to comment upon this capacity to maintain access to the maintenance of client transactions records read— Mr. Chairman, to the Premier —as read with the item just approved that we have a restriction on the disclosure of information. Can the Premier confirm that in the event that the protestations and initiatives coming under this O rder in Council to make us publish records, can these kinds of orders be so damaging to this kind of bus iness . . . will the Premier confirm that this is a good reason why we see the Order in Council being harmful even to our blockchain initiatives that we are taking today?
The ChairmanChairmanMr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, to my learned colleague, for his comments on that particular matter and I will take the opportunity to remind ever yone, the listening audience whether they be listening here, far, Canada, London, or somewhere else, some people maybe in Australia, …
Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, to my learned colleague, for his comments on that particular matter and I will take the opportunity to remind ever yone, the listening audience whether they be listening here, far, Canada, London, or somewhere else, some people maybe in Australia, Barbados, all around the world listening to the first time that the first world Parliament or Parliament in the world to actually pass legislation to actually regulate the digital asset space. Let me say loud and clear that there will be no public register or beneficial o wnership until this Parliament decides to vote for it. The United Kingdom cannot order us to do that by an Order in Council, and those are the facts. Just as a particular follow -up to a question that was asked by the Honourable Member Patricia Gordon- Pampl in. As we will see in the amendments that are being made, businesses will all, however, be 2208 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly required to confirm identities under the Proceeds of Crime Act which is tied into this. So, in addition to offering that access, all identities will have to be confirmed to the people who are using said exchanges and/or wallet services, et cetera, because that is needed to make sure that any and all requirements are in place.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinYes, just for clar ity, Mr. Chairman. It was important for me to let the Premier and Honourable Member s know that while I am fully a pprised of the response he gave (with which I fully concur), it is really for the edification of the public and for anybody …
Yes, just for clar ity, Mr. Chairman. It was important for me to let the Premier and Honourable Member s know that while I am fully a pprised of the response he gave (with which I fully concur), it is really for the edification of the public and for anybody listening to this legislation, because I think that sometimes as we pass legislation we may understand it and we may understand it fully. But for people who will engage in this particular business when the opportunities arise, it is important for them to be cry stal clear in terms of what their responsibilities are, what their exposures are, and what information that they may have especially under AML and ATF which is so critical to protecting our jurisdiction that this i nformation is necessary. So I just wanted to let the Prem ier know that I was not trying to be obstructionist or difficult in asking the questions. But I think it is important to underscore the necessity for that information to be made fully aware to people who might be operating in this parti cular arena. The Ch airman: Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I thank the Honourable Member for her question to allow me to elaborate those items to the listening public, both here on- Island and overseas. And, with that, Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 71 through 81 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to approving clauses 71 through 81? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 71 through 81 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that Schedule 1 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to Schedule 1 being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Schedule 1 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. I move that, Mr. Chairman, that Schedule 2 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to Schedule 2 being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Schedule 2 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I move that the preamble be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to the preamble being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you then, Mr. Chairman. I move that the Bill entitled the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 be reported to the House as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the Bill be presented to the House as amended. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. The Bill will be reported to the House. [Desk thumping] [Motion carried: The Digital Asset Business Act 2018 was considered by a C ommittee …
It has been moved that the Bill be presented to the House as amended. Are there any objections to that? There appear to be none. Approved. The Bill will be reported to the House.
[Desk thumping]
[Motion carried: The Digital Asset Business Act 2018 was considered by a C ommittee of the whole House and passed with amendments.]
House resumed at 6:52 pm
[Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESS ACT 2018
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood afternoon, Members. Are there any objections t o the Bill entitled the Digital Asset . . . I forgot the other part of it . . . Digital Asset Business Act 2018 being reported to the House as amended? No objections. So moved. Now, the next order on the …
Good afternoon, Members. Are there any objections t o the Bill entitled the Digital Asset . . . I forgot the other part of it . . . Digital Asset Business Act 2018 being reported to the House as amended? No objections. So moved. Now, the next order on the Orders for today is Order No. 2 and Order No. 4. Are both being carried over?
B ermuda House of Assembly And so that brings us to the third readings for the matters that were done today, and I will recognise the Minister of Health. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker . I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled Mental Health Amendment Act 2018 be now read the third time by its title only.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue on. [ Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING MENTAL HEALTH AMENDMENT ACT 2018 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I move that the Bill entitled the Mental Health Amendment Act 2018 do now pass.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSo moved. [ Motion carried: The Mental Health Amendment Act 2018 was read a third time and passed.]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI now call on the Premier to do the third reading for his matter. Premier? SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled the …
I now call on the Premier to do the third reading for his matter. Premier? SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 be now read a third time by its title only.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. [ Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING DIGITAL ASSET BUSINE SS ACT 2018 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very m uch, Mr. Speaker. I move that the Bill entitled the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 be now read for a third time by its title …
Continue. [ Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING DIGITAL ASSET BUSINE SS ACT 2018 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very m uch, Mr. Speaker. I move that the Bill entitled the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 be now read for a third time by its title only and passed. The Speaker: Any objections? No objections. So moved. So passed. [ Motion carried: The Digital Asset Business Ac t 2018 was read a third time and passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNow, Mr. Premier, while you are on your feet. Hon. E. David Burt: Might as well, right?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWould you like to take advantage of the next phase of this exerc ise today. ADJOURNMENT Hon. E. David Burt: I have no issue and problem in doing that, Mr. Speaker. It is 6:50 pm. I move that this Honourable House stand adjourned until Friday —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe 8th. Hon. E. David Burt: —June 8th.
The SpeakerThe Speaker[June] 8th. Anyone like to speak to that? Mr. Tyrrell, I think you got the attention of the Speaker.
Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell—honourable colleagues, and the listening public. Mr. Speaker, if you do not mind, let me open my presentation with a brief quote. I will have to read it because I want to make sure I get it accurately.
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellIt says, “a positive mind finds opportunity in everything— The S peaker: Yes.
Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell“A negative mind finds fault in everything.” Mr. Speaker, the author is unknown, so I am unable to say who actually said it originally, but it sounds like something my mother would have said.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHmm. FEED BACK FROM CONSTITUENCY 2 6 2210 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell: But, Mr. Speaker, I am going to be brief and say that my message today has come directly from my constituents, the constituents of [constituency] 26, the fine …
Hmm. FEED BACK FROM CONSTITUENCY 2 6 2210 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell: But, Mr. Speaker, I am going to be brief and say that my message today has come directly from my constituents, the constituents of [constituency] 26, the fine constituents of [constituency] 26 who sent me to this House. Approximately four sittings ago, the Honour able Member from constituency 10 took the liberty to rise to his feet and —my words , first—and seemingly chastise two Honourable Member s on this side of the House who at that time we knew were absent. It is your normal practi ce when you go down the [Order Paper] and you reach item (e) , that you at least advise us who is missing from the proceedings for the day. Well, Mr. Speaker, my constituents certainly took great exception to the comments made b y the Honourable Member at that time, because in their opinion there seemed to be some veiled unsolicited comments by the Honourable Member from [constit uency] 10 that our Honourable Member s were rushing ahead aggressively and unchecked . . . in an uncheck ed manner to bring blockchain to Bermuda. Well, we have come forward now a few weeks so we know where we stand now. But at that time that was what was coming over. And, as I said, my constituents called me, stopped me on the street where ver they saw me, and said that this was, you know . . . it seemed a bit out of order and, you know, it seemed like the Honourable Member was saying that our Honourable Member s were doing something untoward and probably for their own benefit. Now, that was their opinion. So, I am just bringing it to the floor so that people understand how those who are out there listening sometimes interpret things. Now, Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House, we are known for canvassing. So we are on the doorsteps a lot. We intermingle, you know, with our constituents and so we definitely feel that we have the pulse of the community when our constituents come to us and make these sorts of assertions. So I certainly feel that I may not only be speaking for the constituents of [constituenc y] 26, but other constit uents up and down, up and down, up and down the Island. Mr. Speaker, let me say that, like several of my other honourable colleagues, I live in my constit uency. So it does give me the daily opportunity to bump into them. It may be good; it may be bad because sometimes, you know, you really want to try and get by because you are dashing somewhere. But at the same time, you know, you got to listen to them because, you know, they are your constituents. And they are very supportive of me, as I said, because, you know, they sent me here to work with this Government to create something better for their families, Bermuda in general and visitors alike. So, when they heard, you know, the sort of comments that the Honourable Member from [cons tituency] 10 alluded to . . . I am going to use the word “alluded” to because, as I said, it is their opinion, they really, you know, were very u nhappy. Now, one of the things that they picked up on was the fact that they realised that the Honourable Member s were not even in the House. So, you know, I tried to calm them down and say, Well, these things happen. You know, there are Members who sometimes cannot make sessions. But I explained that those two Members in particular on that day were off - Island wor king for the benefit of us in Bermuda. Now, let me say a little bit about their impression of the veiled attempt, you know, by the Member making statements that to them seemed to be alleged, unproven. And it seems to be a certain tack that the Honourable Member goes on in attacking our past administration, whether he is trying to put that on us as well. I think that is for him to say. I do not know. But, as I said, these are the impressions of my constituents. And as I said, they found that his comments were definitely out of order. Mr. Speaker, I will certainly say that I do not like to make comparisons between any past admi nistration or this administration. But first of all we have got larger numbers. We have got different people, new people, in the House, who have not been in the House before. So to make that sort of comparison, I just think it is unhealthy. Mr. Speaker, let me also say that I was amazed at the number of my constituents who actua lly told me they listened. They listen to us on a regular basis and they seem to have picked up that we have a Robin Hood, a young Robin Hood corner. We have a boisterous three amigos section.
[Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellWe have a senior bench, which is certainly anchored by my honourable cousin, Derrick. And to top it off, they certainly recognise that we have a front bench that is very capable of carrying Bermuda to another level. So as I said, they seem to understand what is going on. …
We have a senior bench, which is certainly anchored by my honourable cousin, Derrick. And to top it off, they certainly recognise that we have a front bench that is very capable of carrying Bermuda to another level. So as I said, they seem to understand what is going on. And I would only say to our Members that whatever we say up here it is going to come back to us at some point in time. Mr. Speaker, I certainly did not find it necessary to actually defend my Honourable Premier, or the Honourable Minister Caines, who is now known as the “Blockchain Minister.” Because they have stood up in this House many times in the past —and even up to today —and defended themselves. So there is really no need for me. But my constituents certainly wanted me to bring this here, and I also thought it would certainly show my support for them. So I just want to again say that I support our Premier and the Minister of, . . . I am going to say blockchain, for doing what they are doing . . . in terms of bringing blockchain to Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, I am not going to [stand] too much longer but I really want to assure the people of
Bermuda House of Assembly Bermuda, in particular those of constituency 26 who certainly have given me their full support, that this Government since July 2017 when we secured— and I say secured —a very large mandate that sent us a message, asked us to get on with it. And I believe that they are going to allow us to get on with it with some further support. Mr. Speaker, one last point that I am going to make is that I often hear this from Members on the other side . . . I do not want to single them out again, but I am going to single them out especially the Honourable Member from constituency 10—asking us to work together. Well, let me say, Mr. Speaker, we on this side, would certainly like to hold hands and sing Kumbaya. But until we see some earnest action from their side then I believe that it is not going to happen. Because one minute, you know, yeah, you know, they say that . . . they make it like you are bringing the sky down. The sky is falling. Everything we do: The sky is fallin g; the sky i s falling . Well, I do not see that as supportive. So, Mr. Speaker, I am going to end there (I am just a little emotional), and say thank you for recognising me. And if you give me again the liberty to read one more quote, if you do not mind, I will end there.
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellMr. Speaker, the quote is, “In art, religion, and politics the respect must be mutual, no matter how violent the disagreement” and that is Vincent Price. Mr. Speaker, thank you. I wi ll take my seat.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member . I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honourable Member Dunkley, you have the floor. THE LOYAL GAZETTE Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker, just a c ouple of comments I would like to make tonight. A couple of weeks …
Thank you, Honourable Member . I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honourable Member Dunkley, you have the floor.
THE LOYAL GAZETTE
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker, just a c ouple of comments I would like to make tonight. A couple of weeks ago, the Honourable Education Minister held up a newsletter that I had written. And in that newsletter he had mentioned one of his constituents who was upset about it. So I took the opportunity after that to contact the lady, because I know her. And I spoke to her. The Honourable Minister said that I needed to apologise, and the lady said certainly there was no need for an apology. So I pass this message on to the Honourable Minister, and I also wanted to pass it on to the House. In regard to the Honourable Member who just spoke from constituency 26, if he has any constituents and he would like to pass on their messages from them in regard to what I have said, they can call me anytime at 734- 8153 and I would be happy to listen to what they have to say.
APPOINTMENT OF NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, earlier today, during the Minister’s Statement section of the House of Assembly, the Honourable Minister of Nat ional S ecurity gave a statement in regard to the appointment of the next commissioner of police. And I want to ad-dress a few of those comments tonight by the Mini ster. First, Mr. Speaker, in relation to that Stat ement, on page 2 the Minister focused on t he record of the One Bermuda Alliance Government and men-tioned in his quote (and I will read right from the Statement, Mr. Speaker ), “. . . from 2012 until 2017, the Bermuda Police Service, like other government departments, endured a season of significant ly reduced resources and budget cuts. And also with most government departments, the first line that was sliced in the budget was training. . . . because of this decrease in the budget, staffing levels were also r educed.” Well, Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity on the motion to adjourn just to look at the trai ning budget which honourable colleagues will be able to see that in the Budget Book it is line item number 17190. And here are the allocated budget numbers over the last number of years, st arting in 2008 and 2009, and they tell a very interesting story. Mr. Speaker, in 2008/09 the allocated budget for training in the police was over $4 million. In 2009/10, it was $3.167 million. In 2010/11, it was $3.73 million. In 2011/12, it decreased to $1.685 mi llion and in the 2012/13 it decreased further to $0.676 million. Mr. Speaker , all of those years I just mentioned were under the former PLP Government. So, there is a clear downward trend of six -fold in those five years . . . all of those allocations were by the PLP. The OBA’s training budget was actually i ncreased in 2013/14 to over $1 million and held steady between $800,000 and $900,000 over the next four years, Mr. Speaker . So, the record clearly shows that any drastic cuts to the training budget actually came from the PLP, and in spite of any colourful language, any co lourful language that the Honourable Minister might try to portray, that is the record. Secondly, Mr. Speaker, in regard to the Statement, the Minister of National Security me ntioned budget cuts. And I wanted to take a look a bit at the budget cuts because, Mr. Speaker, I think we are all well aware that from 2008 to 2011 . . . sorry, from 2008 to 2016, there was a very critical period in Ber-muda where we were facing some real economic constraints. And the former One Bermuda Alliance Go v2212 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly ernment had to do everything it could to make sure that we not only put Bermuda in a good position to move forward, but we also managed the difficult situation we had with Government deficits and increasing Government debt. And so, let us just take a look at the Bermuda Police Service [BPS] budgets over the same period of time I just referred to in the training budget. And what is interesting . . . and what you will see with these numbers, Mr. Speaker, is that in the last five years of the former PLP administration, every year the budget came out on the wrong end, and huge supplementaries had to be applied to it to make it match. In 2007/08, the BPS was actually budgeted at $57 million, Mr. Speaker . It ended at $69.5 million— an increase of $12 million through the year in supplemen-tary estimate. In 2008/09, the BPS budget was est imated at $62.8 million. It ended at $71.6 million —an increase of $9 million (another supplementary est imate). In 2009/10, the budget was $60.5 million. It ended at $70.6 [million] —an increase of $10 million (a supplementary estimate). In 2010/11, the BPS budget was estimated at $64.3 million, Mr. Speaker . It ended at $71.7 [million]. Another increase of $7 million in a supplementary estimate. In 2011/12, the BPS budget was estimated at $58.2 million. It ended at $69 million, an increase of $10 million in a supplementary estimate. One would have thought, Mr. Speaker, in five years of underbudgeting they would have eventu ally figured out that this was not the budget number that worked. Now, Mr. Speaker, in the year 2012/13, which was a PLP budget, the One Bermuda Alliance managed to stick to that budget through the period. So, Mr. Speaker, the first point I made clearly shows that the PLP actually cut the training budget, and the second point clearly shows that, during the tenure of the former Progressive Labour Party Go vernment, the BPS was not adequately funded for five years in a row. Now, Mr. Speaker, just let me tak e a few m oments to focus in a bit on the budget process. During my tenure as the Minister of National Security, of course along with the expert guidance of the Perm anent Secretary, I sat with the Commissioner of Police every year to listen and to discuss t he budget r equests by the BPS. We always had a very full, frank and broad discussion including, Mr. Speaker, any di scussions about manpower levels. In fact, some of these discussions went on over time. The One Bermuda Alliance Government was always very c lear on what challenges we had, and the Commissioner of Police always came prepared with a number of different options regarding the total budget and each one of those was predicated on different manpower levels which the Commissioner of Police himself bel ieved could deliver the mandate required for a safe and secure community. Now, Mr. Speaker, you will know that manpower is the largest part of the budget for the police. So, in looking at those options, obviously there were different manpower levels assoc iated with those options. During our discussions, Mr. Speaker, it was a lways important to make sure that we planned recruit classes, supported the cadet programmes and also the Bermuda Reserve Police. So, Mr. Speaker, we sat down and we had those good frank discussions and we always came to a position that the Commissioner of Police believed that in the best interest of safety and security he could work for. Now, my fourth point, Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Minister of National Security alleges a distinction between the PLP Government and the One Bermuda Alliance in that the PLP, Mr. Speaker, is determined to build capacity among our people. Well, frankly, Mr. Speaker, I believe that is just political spin. Every single member of this Honourable House wants to do everything we can to build capacity amongst our people. Every single member of this Honourable House wants to see Bermudians move forward. Every single member of this Honourable House wants to enable opportunity and hope for Bermudians. But, Mr. S peaker, what we must also accept if we are going to have this discussion— and we have it all the time (we had it earlier today, not to reflect on the debate) —at times there could be some challenges along the way. And in this case, Mr. Speaker, it is clear t hat there were some challenges along the way in finding the Bermudian person to fill that position. Now, this Government is certainly not immune to having the shoe be on the other foot in regard to finding capable, experienced, qualified Bermudians to fill positions, because under their tenure the Education Commissioner was asked to move on. When they sat on this side of the House they always promoted the opportunity for Bermudians —which we supported. So, Mr. Speaker, I believe in my humble view, that th e challenge faced today with the appointment of the Bermudian to the Bermuda Police Commissioner is not only due to the retirement of Michael DeSilva, the current Commissioner . . . at a relatively young age. I think we must understand and admit that Commissioner DeSilva assumed the position quite early, and was probably one of the youngest Commissioners that we have had in recent times. But he is certainly retiring at a young age as well. But to couple that with the fact that the Deputy Commissioner has n ot applied for the position . . . and that was illustrated clearly in the Minister’s Statement when he alluded to the three local applicants. So not only do we have vacancy with the Commissioner moving on, but, perhaps, the person in logical terms, Mr. Speaker, who would be in the best position to assume that position, the Deputy Commissioner, did not apply. That might mean, Mr. Speaker, a number of things. It
Bermuda House of Assembly might mean that he was not interested and he was comfortable in [his] position. Or it might mean t hat the Deputy Commission himself might be retiring in the near future. So, Mr. Speaker, just like the PLP supported a Bermudian Commissioner of Police and, as we said in our statement two days ago, it is our hope —it is our hope and our wish and we will try to hold everyone accountable to it —that the new Commissioner of P olice, whenever he arrives to assume the mantle, gives it his top priority to ensure that all officers at every rank and every level of service have that requisite training and experience to enable them to have very early consideration as future candidates to fill this role. I think that is important. While we know now, from everything that has been mentioned, that it is a five- year contract, I think that we need to make sure we prepare B ermudians to assume those positions much sooner, if possible. And I believe that we can work together to make it happen.
ROYAL BERMUDA REGIMENT OVERSEAS CAMP Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Now, Mr. Speaker, finally, changing subjects just slightly, in March of this year the Minister of National Security in delivering a stat ement, I believe that was mostly around the recruit camp —sorry, the overseas camp—not taking place this year and a camp being held on the Island, made the commitment at that time that the Ro yal Bermuda Regiment would try to find funding within that budget to make progress on the maritime responsibility of the Royal Bermuda Regiment. Now, here we are in June with the boating season certainly picking up, and the responsibility on the shores increasing with more visitors to the Island, but also on the water with a lot more craft plying their way there. I would like to ask the Honourable M inister is there is an update on the progress of this very i mportant matter. A two -fold question, Mr. Speaker : (1) What funds have been identified for the opportunity for the Royal Bermuda Regiment to assume the maritime responsibility? And, (2) are we going to see that transition take place this summer? And I would appreciate the timeline on that. So, Mr. Speaker, with those comments, I thank you for the opportunity to clear the air tonight on the Minister’s Statement and also the opportunity to speak on the motion to adjourn. Thank you, sir.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourab le Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member . . . Honourable Member Commissiong. Honourable Member Commissiong, you have the floor.
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongThank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker, I am not aware if you know, but I am planning t o be off -Island next week. I will not be here on Friday. It is going to break my heart, as you know.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, you could stay, you know.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThen you stay here. CATH OLICS LAUNCH ANTI -RACISM CAMPAIGN
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongSo, I am going to take an opportunity to maybe offer a part one on what I would hope would be an extended consideration of the issue I am going to bring up. Mr. Speaker, I just want to commend the Right Reverend Wesley Spiewak , Bishop of Bermuda, who …
So, I am going to take an opportunity to maybe offer a part one on what I would hope would be an extended consideration of the issue I am going to bring up. Mr. Speaker, I just want to commend the Right Reverend Wesley Spiewak , Bishop of Bermuda, who is the Island’s Roman Catholic Bishop who this week announced that the Roman Catholic Church of Bermuda will make a concerted effort to address the racism that has bedevilled the church and I quote, Mr . Speaker, with your indulgence. It says here in the Royal Gazette , this week, “ The island’s Catholic congregation is a reflection of failure to overcom e the r acial divide, the leader of the Church in Bermuda said yesterday. The Right Reverend Wesley Spiewak, Catholic Bishop of Bermuda, ” (who, I might add, is of Polish descent) “ said the low number of black Catholic Bermudians ‘gives me a clear idea that we were never very welcoming to these persons ’.” Mr. Speaker, a couple of weeks ago I got up on this floor and I talked about the racism that my own personal family have had to endure growing up in Bermuda, incidents which extended right up into the present era with my own grandchild. I talked about me being the first black male to attend Mount Saint A gnes, you may recall, and the first black male to attend an all -white private school in Bermuda. In 1963, I was six years old, I also related that in year t wo or three, I came to my desk that morning and found a loose- leaf paper overturned and when I turned it over (because I could tell there was som ething written on the other side) was a crude caricature of a black monkey and that has been in the news of late and underneath that was “monkey, black monkey, go home.” As I related, I crumpled it up, took it to the wastebasket and deposited it in the wastebasket and I did not tell the nun who was the teacher nor my parents until many years later. I might also add that a core group within the Roman Catholic Church, from its very inception, or at least I should say in terms of the Pembroke congregation where a number of blacks, some of whom are very prominent, such as Dr. E. F. Gordon, many of those persons in the 1930s and 1940s and 1950s 2214 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly would have been migrants to Bermuda from the Caribbean, from islands that had large Roman Catholic populations, such as Trinidad. I always joked with some of my Protestant friends such as cousin Derrick Burgess from [constituency] 6 [sic], the Honourable Member , that the only difference— or from [constit uency] 5, I should say —the only difference was that our slave masters were Roman Catholic and yours were English and Protestant. But, Mr. Speaker, I do know that whilst St. Theresa’s Church was being built, that church often conducted services on the property at Parliament Street that I believe is still in the Honourable Member Gordon- Pamplin’s family, while that church was getting built. And that the Roman Catholic Church had a fairly strong group, as I mentioned, of black parishio ners, which many may not be aware of. Laterally, my father, who was Roman Catholic from Trinidad, had us enrolled at Mount Saint Agnes, my brothers and I. I was also an altar boy, based in St. Theresa’s —
[Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongNow, come on now. Based in St. Theresa’s, and also served mass in at least two or three other churches throughout the Island throughout that period. We had a small group of . . . I was later joined by a l arger group of students of African Bermudian descent …
Now, come on now. Based in St. Theresa’s, and also served mass in at least two or three other churches throughout the Island throughout that period. We had a small group of . . . I was later joined by a l arger group of students of African Bermudian descent in that school and they, too, participated fully as Catholics in the church and in the school itself. So, Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the Roman Catholic Church in Bermuda has taken this course. Of cours e, some within the community are not going to be happy about it if you see some of the comments that . . . well, under the story itself. Again, it just makes your stomach turn. Especially they took the opportunity for when Citizens Uprooting Racism in Berm uda (CURB) endorsed this. The racists came out of the woodwork —half of whom made comments anonymously, of course— attacking CURB’s support for this worthy initiative. As if CURB is some toxic organisation. Mr. Speaker, I just want to share a few more sentences, comments, from Bishop Spiewak on this issue. He added, “We have been, and we are still, a very white church. And this, for me, does not reflect what Catholicism means. Catholic means universal; we never became universal in this sense.” Bishop Spiew ak was speaking, as the paper, as the story goes on, “ as the Catholic Church in Bermuda prepares to launch an anti -racism campaign . . .” I had an email from someone who said, “Rolfe, note that they did not say a campaign for inclusiv eness or diversity. They said anti -racism campaign.” Those are their words, not mine. He says that “T he campaign will end with a conference at Mount Saint Agnes Academy in Hami l-ton on November 2.” Joanne Wohlmuth, who I also commend, is a long- standing Roman Catholic and is chairman of the peace and social justice committee. She also participated fully in our big conversation s eries back in the late 2000s and so she has been on the frontline on this issue as well, and as I said, I want to commend her as well. Mr. Speaker, this is important because, you know, while people talk about creating a One Berm uda, usually it means a Bermuda by which their priv ilege and their prerogatives are not challenged, a Bermuda where you know your place and you do whatever it takes so as I am not going to be uncomfortable. But to create really a One Bermuda, this is what has to happen. We have to be honest about this and about this issue which has bedevilled Bermuda for centuries. That is how we become One Bermuda. Similarly, Mr. Speaker, you rem ember at least on two occasions I asked the Royal Gazette to co nsider issuing an apology for the role that paper played as an institution, pre- emancipation and after, to mai ntain racial hierarchy established around the concept of white supremacy. The evidence is right there. Even classifieds, help wanted ads, that specifically mentioned, Only whites need apply . It’s role, again prior to emancipation, in the maintenance of the system of chattel slavery in Bermuda as being a critical instit utional lynchpin of that system and then transitioning to be a critical lynchpin of the system of racial segrega-tion in the post -emancipation period that relegated African Bermudians and Bermudians of Native Amer ican ancestry to second and third- rate status. And I will say it again, for us to create this One Bermuda that many seem to want to achieve, there is only one pathway. I have heard some reference to the Bible, and citing passages of the Bible amongst a couple of my colleagues. Well, this is one (and I may butcher it somewhat), you know, you can only come through the front door. You cannot go around the back; you cannot slip through the windows and this is the front -door approach. I hope the Royal Gazette and other institutions help us to continue this process of heali ng. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourable Member . . . I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 11, Honourable Member Famous. 4 th NOVEMBER 2019 PUBLIC HOLIDAY RECOGNISING PORTUGUESE CONTRIBUTION TO BERMUDA
Mr. Christopher FamousGood evening, Mr. Speaker, good evening colleagues, and good evening to the listening public of Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, firstly, I want to thank our Honourable Premier David Burt, JP, MP. You see, Mr. B ermuda House of Assembly Speaker, what we have to realise is that we have mixed communities …
Good evening, Mr. Speaker, good evening colleagues, and good evening to the listening public of Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, firstly, I want to thank our Honourable Premier David Burt, JP, MP. You see, Mr.
B ermuda House of Assembly Speaker, what we have to realise is that we have mixed communities and, as I stat ed sinc e the first day I got i n this H ouse, m y constituency i s mixed—h alf black, hal f Portuguese. I hav e had numerous WhatsApp from my c onstituents t hanking us f or recognising th e contributio n of t he Portugues e community today . So, again, I thank the Honourable Premier David Burt for that.
Hon. E. David Burt: You are welcome. And the Cabinet.
Mr. Christopher Famous“ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” Let me reiterate, “Be ye not unequally yoked.” Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNow, this sounds like a sermon. You only got 20 minutes, though, you know. [ Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Go ahead. UK ACTION ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP — PROTEST IN BVI
Mr. Christopher FamousMr. Speaker, a few weeks ago I spoke about a march going to happen in, a pr otest happening in BV I [British Virgin Islands ]. So, let me update you. Last week Thursday, May the 24th, five tho usand— let me reiterate—five thousand residents of BVI, which is essentially …
Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago I spoke about a march going to happen in, a pr otest happening in BV I [British Virgin Islands ]. So, let me update you. Last week Thursday, May the 24th, five tho usand— let me reiterate—five thousand residents of BVI, which is essentially one- quarter of their popul ation, one- sixth of their population, marched from Parliamen t on to Government House to protest the recent actions of the British Parliament. They protested not to burn anything down but for their own economic survival—which they are being threatened with by the actions of Britain. So strong was the sentiment against these actions that the Deputy Premier, the Honourable Dr. Kedrick Pickering was quoted as saying, “ We need to ensure that we understand the real issue and where we stand here today, that we have declared” (I repeat, “we have declared”) “open war on the UK with respect to this Sanction and Anti -Money Laundering Amendment Bill; we have declared war because we do not agree. So, we have to be prepared to fight .” Mr. Speaker, I just want to reiterate that when someone is putting a foot on your throat, you do not shine their shoe. You cut them. Let me move on, Mr. Speaker . So strong is the sentiment in the BVI right now that next week Saturday usually they would celebrate the Queen’s birt hday. They are planning on boycotting the Queen’s birthday parade because of all what Britain is doing to them. [ Desk thumping]
Mr. Christopher FamousI am suggesting, Mr. Speaker, I am just suggesting, recent actions by the representative of England down here might cause us to want to boycott the parade next week because we cannot be equally yoked with these people. APPOINTMENT OF NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
Mr. Christopher FamousMr. Speaker, let me move on to a topic of the day, one of the topics of the day. Mr. Speaker, as you know, I come from Back o’ Town and we do not take kindly to the police. If anybody from town would join the police we would call …
Mr. Speaker, let me move on to a topic of the day, one of the topics of the day. Mr. Speaker, as you know, I come from Back o’ Town and we do not take kindly to the police. If anybody from town would join the police we would call them a sell-out, a boil head, Babylon. They have to leave the neighbourhood. Over the course of time we realised that it was the non- Bermudian police that were really treating us harsh, those guys who came from the UK who had no regard for us. It was the locals that were firm, but fair. I reiterate, firm but fair. 2216 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Over the course of time we were glad to see our own rise up the ranks from constable to sergeant, some to inspector. And we thought, maybe, Whoa, my boy may even be Commissioner one day. And for whatever reasons —whether it be lack of training, lack of budget, lack of will —our boys ain’t going to make it to be Commissioner. Now, what I am saying, Mr. Speak er, is that here we have a situation where somebody who may have visited Bermuda once is going to come back here, come to this Island and be head of the police. How does this work in the year 2018? When in . . . after the riots of 1977, a report was commis sioned that specifically spoke to the need for Bermudian po-lice commissioners. But yet, 40 years later, we are going right back to getting a colonial commissioner. We are not making any progress, Mr. Speaker. I am saying to everybody this is what happens when we are a colony. We are always going to be ruled by those from the UK. We have to be not unevenly yoked. SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTS BY MP DUNKLEY
Mr. Christopher FamousMr. Speaker, two speakers ahead of me, the Honourable Member from constit uency 10 g ot up and tried to play all nice. [Laughter]
Mr. Christopher FamousI say tried to . . . but, you know, you look at people’s social media and that tells you who they really are.
Mr. Christopher FamousSo, with your permission, Mr. Speaker, can I read something from social media.
Mr. Christopher FamousJanuary 28 th, Michael Dunkley posted “Bitcoin is the mother of all bubbles.” Moving on, Michael Dunkley, April 9th, “Bloc kchain is not only crappy technology but a bad vision for the future.” [Laughter]
Mr. Christopher FamousWell, I say that to say that all day I am hearing his colleagues get up and say, Well, you know, we just want to make sure that ever y-thing is cool. We just want to make sure the regul ations are there . But all the while, Michael Dunkley …
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHonourable Member. An H on. Member: Did he get that opinion from CD& P?
Mr. Christopher FamousBad-mouthing blockchain. Now, Mr. Speaker, I had to work last night. But I got this picture and . . . can I produce this pi cture, Mr. Speaker ?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberJust table it.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberThe person is clothed, right?
Mr. Christopher FamousAlmost 400 people crow ded into a hole last night to learn about blockchain. And I could be mistaken, but it looked like a mixture of Bermudians —ages, demographics, and gender. So, while we got Michael Dunkley, Honourable Michael Dunkley bad- mouthing blockchain up in here, making allegations against two …
Almost 400 people crow ded into a hole last night to learn about blockchain. And I could be mistaken, but it looked like a mixture of Bermudians —ages, demographics, and gender. So, while we got Michael Dunkley, Honourable Michael Dunkley bad- mouthing blockchain up in here, making allegations against two of our Members, putting stuff on Facebook, most Bermudians are not listening to him. They are not listening to the scaremongering about blockchain and FinTech. It is . . . I wonder i f he is getting the message that you are beating a dead horse trying to scare people away from this. People are not buying it anymore, Honourable Member.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNot even Appleby and CD&P.
Mr. Christopher FamousI say again, be not unevenly yoked. Mr. Speaker, allow me to show you something else off of social media, if possible— it is very public. May 30 th, Michael Dunkley — Hon. E. David Burt: Oh boy, what did he say this time?
Mr. Christopher Famous“Ten months and they have given up on the Minister.” I think he is alluding to the Honourable Education Minister. He goes on to say Bermuda House of Assembly then, “How about a march to his office or holding signs on the street?” The same guy who last election was …
“Ten months and they have given up on the Minister.” I think he is alluding to the Honourable Education Minister. He goes on to say
Bermuda House of Assembly then, “How about a march to his office or holding signs on the street?” The same guy who last election was saying, Forward together . Who earlier was sa ying, Let’s work together. [Laughter]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberOne Bermuda!
Mr. Christopher FamousYes. In his social media posts he is encouraging . . . let me make sure I say this right, Mr. Speaker . Get the oldest union (which is the Bermuda Union of Teachers) to march against the oldest political party (the PLP). Hmm. Get the teachers to march against …
Mr. Christopher FamousAny objections? Essentially, Mr. Speaker, get one set of blacks to march against another set of blacks. That would be called “divisiveness.” [Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Christopher FamousThat is not unity! That is what you call divide and conquer. So, I ask these questions: Why is Michael Dunkley even talking about education? Are you the Shadow . . . is h e Shadow Education Minister? Hon. E. David Burt: No.
Mr. Christopher FamousYet, he is talking about it. Yet, he is encouraging teachers to march against this Government. Where was he when the teachers were crying out [about] mould in their school? Hon. E. David Burt: Oh, he was building a new office.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHe was criticising them.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHe was criticising them.
Mr. Christopher FamousI ask again, if he is not the Shadow Education Minister, why is he speaking on education? Who is really running the OBA here? [Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Christopher FamousI am wondering. I am as king an honest question. An Hon. Member: He cannot help himself.
Mr. Christopher FamousAre the other eight Members on the OBA really down for this type of thing? Are they really signing on to be part of somebody’s divisive programme? Making blacks march against blacks. But yet, you want black people to vote for you next week. How does this work? I do …
Are the other eight Members on the OBA really down for this type of thing? Are they really signing on to be part of somebody’s divisive programme? Making blacks march against blacks. But yet, you want black people to vote for you next week. How does this work? I do not understand it. I am suggesting maybe some of you know you want to part your ways with . . . be not unevenly yoked. That is my encouragement to you. Let me move on, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker, as the Member from constituency 26 said, we are out there canvassing every day — whether it be by phone when it is raining or on foot when it is not. And what we are understanding when we canvass areas . . . it seems to be peoples’ perception that there are two O BAs. There is one OBA that is shrinking that is being led by the Honourable Member from constituency 10. And then there is another OBA that is realising, Hey, if we want to stay relevant, we need to distance ourselves from him. A few weeks ago, a few months ago, I mentioned about the Honourable Member who used to sit right here wanting to distance himself. Was I wrong? I do not think so.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHe distanced himself.
Mr. Christopher FamousIn getting to know some OBA Members, I realised they ai n’t like the Honour able Member from constituency 10. They really want to help Bermuda. But, you know, they are probably on the wrong side of the fence right now. Mr. Speaker, let me end like this. Every Su …
Mr. Christopher FamousAt St. Paul’s AME—this is being called an “altar call” — [Laughter]
Mr. Christopher FamousYes, an altar call —it is an open invitation for people to walk away from the dar kness and into the light. [Laughter]
Mr. Christopher FamousAn open invitation for people to take a U -turn on the path that they are taking. An open invitation for people to get themselves right with the Lord before Judgment Day. 2218 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly So, you know what, Mr. Speaker ? …
An open invitation for people to take a U -turn on the path that they are taking. An open invitation for people to get themselves right with the Lord before Judgment Day. 2218 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly So, you know what, Mr. Speaker ? Let us extend an open invitation to those eight OBA MPs who no longer wish to be unevenly yoked. Today is the day that you can walk away from that mind- set of divisiv eness. Today is the day you can walk away from an organisation that gave multimillion -dollar contracts to their supporters, while seniors and the police were starved for funds. Today is the day you can walk away from the mind -set of constituency 10 MP —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberAnd give your heart to . . . ?
Mr. Christopher FamousIt is one thing we realised when we were on the doorsteps. There are people who voted for the OBA in the last two elections who will never vote for them again. Never, ever. They are not sure they are going to vote for us; but they know they are …
It is one thing we realised when we were on the doorsteps. There are people who voted for the OBA in the last two elections who will never vote for them again. Never, ever. They are not sure they are going to vote for us; but they know they are not going to vote for them. And I know that when they are canvassing, they are hearing the same thing on the doorsteps . So I ask them, [when] you are out there wor king yourselves and your constituencies, your ever i ncreasingly marginal constituencies, ask yourselves, are you going to make it in the next election repr esenting the OBA? Are you going to be able to stand there and say, Michael Dunkley speaks for me?
[Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Christopher FamousI do not think so. Because every time he gets up and chides the PLP, he is not attacking us. He is attacking the 20,000 people that voted for us. When you are up there telling teachers [to] march against us . . . these are our people! Who we …
I do not think so. Because every time he gets up and chides the PLP, he is not attacking us. He is attacking the 20,000 people that voted for us. When you are up there telling teachers [to] march against us . . . these are our people! Who we defended against you. So I say again to those eight Members, because I know one of them is right there with him, t oday is the day you have to think about your political future because the next election is coming real quick. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchNot surprisingly, Mr. Speaker, following the Honourable Premier’s quite appropriate comments in this House two weeks ago about independence and where we need to go in terms of educating t he populace of this country, the lunatic friends ably led by the daily newspaper went to where they always go, …
Not surprisingly, Mr. Speaker, following the Honourable Premier’s quite appropriate comments in this House two weeks ago about independence and where we need to go in terms of educating t he populace of this country, the lunatic friends ably led by the daily newspaper went to where they always go, in spite of the comments about independence that we have stood for . . .
[Inaudible interjections]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch—for about 65 years in our platform. And in spite of this, also comments that are not on our present agenda today, and we are follo wing what we put in our platform, which did not include independence and what we put in this cur rent Throne Speech for this …
—for about 65 years in our platform. And in spite of this, also comments that are not on our present agenda today, and we are follo wing what we put in our platform, which did not include independence and what we put in this cur rent Throne Speech for this year. They went to where they always go. You cannot trust them, and the dreadful “I” word. Even in the face of the most serious assault to this country’s livelihood—
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberEconomics.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch—by the British, they still go to the same place they always go at the mere mention of the word “I” . . . and I wish . . . and some of my people go with them because they are fearful, Mr. Bermuda House of Assembly Speaker . They …
—by the British, they still go to the same place they always go at the mere mention of the word “I” . . . and I wish . . . and some of my people go with them because they are fearful, Mr.
Bermuda House of Assembly Speaker . They are fearful of their own selves and their own abilities, because we have conducted our own affair s for decades —successfully! Both financially and as a country without the need of the contribution of one British penny to our existence.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNot a one.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchWe have successfully, fairly, and peacefully conducted our elections in this country and changed Governments three times, Lord, without all the bogeyman stuff they delivered that what was going to happen if we won and then what was going to happen if we lost. None of it took place! And …
We have successfully, fairly, and peacefully conducted our elections in this country and changed Governments three times, Lord, without all the bogeyman stuff they delivered that what was going to happen if we won and then what was going to happen if we lost. None of it took place! And that is a testament to our a bility as a country and as a people.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchWe have negotiated treaties on our own with countless jurisdictions and established a worldwide reputation as a clean jurisdi ction—and still we must hold on to mom my’s skirts. Well, mark my words, Mr. Speaker , . . . and not just my words. If people actually thought about it, …
We have negotiated treaties on our own with countless jurisdictions and established a worldwide reputation as a clean jurisdi ction—and still we must hold on to mom my’s skirts. Well, mark my words, Mr. Speaker , . . . and not just my words. If people actually thought about it, if the British actually stay on the path they are on right now with this beneficial ownership, I can guarantee you that all Bermudians who ar e afraid that international business is going to pack up and leave are go-ing to be put in a very difficult position because those very same international businessmen are going to be banging on the door at 105 Front Street saying, ‘ Could you please go for i ndependence?’ because you have been able to demonstrate —both Governments —that you support what it is that this country is doing. So, give it a rest! Okay? Give it a rest! What we have said we are going to do is ed ucate the people about independence. And t hat is the road and path that we need to go on. I do not expect to see it in my lifetime, Mr. Speaker . But I will happily be surprised. But I am unanimous in my commitment to independence.
KAWALEY: DEPLORABLE STAFF LEVELS IN COURTS
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchNow, secondly, Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the accusations made yesterday in relation to the Supreme Courts of these Islands —not in relation to the staffing, because I think that the Attorney General adequately addressed them. But what was missing in this statement, purported to have been issued …
Now, secondly, Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the accusations made yesterday in relation to the Supreme Courts of these Islands —not in relation to the staffing, because I think that the Attorney General adequately addressed them. But what was missing in this statement, purported to have been issued by the Chief Justice who seems to have found his voice after almost six years on the bench to express, . . . and I am not even so sure he did it because, personally, I have never even heard of, and I think her title is the Acting Registrar, temporary, I think, or something— [Inaudible interjections]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchNo, it is some strange title that she has. I do not know who she is or where she comes from. But I am specifically going to a ddress the question, the paragraph, that starts with (and with your permission I would like to read it, Mr. Speaker )—
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch“Further rubbing salt into the Judicial Department’s proverbial wounds, i s the recent recommendation to cease the use of 113 Front Street which is now dedicated court space for the Court of Appeal on health and safety grounds.” Really, Mr. Speaker ?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat is the building across the street from us?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchNo, no, Mr. Speaker . First of all, I asked a simple question this morning and you would be surprised at the information I got. First of all, Mr. Speaker, that very same buil ding . . . for those who actually pay attention, they would have noticed that for …
No, no, Mr. Speaker . First of all, I asked a simple question this morning and you would be surprised at the information I got. First of all, Mr. Speaker, that very same buil ding . . . for those who actually pay attention, they would have noticed that for months they had several containers down there and a whole production exer-cise going on to remediate something in that building. I did not even know what it was. I do not know what it was, but I knew that they were doing something in connec tion with that building. And so, I investigated, Mr. Speaker . And with your permission, again, the original scope of works for that building was for the carrying out of mould remediation to the external file room accessed directly from the car park, the ground floor evidence vault, the wi tness room, the holding cells, and the first floor vaults at 113 Front Street. Mr. Speaker, at no time during that exercise was there a request or a need to complete any work inside the building. Those works commenced on the 25 th of July 2017. And the dates I am going to record tonight, Mr. Speaker, are relevant because you will know that the 25th of July 2017 would reflect that I had been the Minister of Public Works for five days —and the PLP had been the Government for six [days]. [Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAnd at that time, Mr. Speaker . . . so we inherited some stuff. At that time they had budgeted $298,510 for remediation to do what I just described, no other work. I am not going to read all of this, Mr. Speaker, but let me just say this: By …
And at that time, Mr. Speaker . . . so we inherited some stuff. At that time they had budgeted $298,510 for remediation to do what I just described, no other work. I am not going to read all of this, Mr. Speaker, but let me just say this: By the end of the process it cost them $423,283— 30 per cent over budget —just to clean some boxes of books in the main. Okay? 2220 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, you will know that the building is listed. And I have only discussed this wit h three people: me, myself and I.
[Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchSo, I am probably going to be in a little bit of trouble later on, but you know, I live close to that street at any case. But suffice it to say, Mr. Speaker, that the building needs to be demolished. And I hear them already, you know, because at …
So, I am probably going to be in a little bit of trouble later on, but you know, I live close to that street at any case. But suffice it to say, Mr. Speaker, that the building needs to be demolished. And I hear them already, you know, because at some stage in this country I get that we have listed buildings. And I get that we have historical buildings. But we cannot save them all. And I would . . . in fact, having just criticise d the British, I will take a page out of their book. You know what they do with historical buildings, Mr. Speaker ? Because I have been to London a few times. They take a picture of that building—
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch—they put something that really is applicable to the 21 st century there and they put that picture and that plaque on that building and they say — [Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAnd I am suggesting, Mr. Speaker, that we should —we have to—consider the same. Now, I would much rather, Mr. Speaker . . . and I know I am going to get your support wi th this one. Take some of that money that we might invest in remediating that …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI agree, I agree. [Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou have got the Speaker’s support. Keep talking. You got the Speaker’s support.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchIn any case, Mr. Speaker, I would like to just highlight before I move on to one other aspect of this, do yo u know why that building is closed today? And I am just . . . the Go vernment Safety and Health coordinator carried out an inspection at …
In any case, Mr. Speaker, I would like to just highlight before I move on to one other aspect of this, do yo u know why that building is closed today? And I am just . . . the Go vernment Safety and Health coordinator carried out an inspection at 113 Front Street on the 29 th of May 2018, okay? And identified 20 issues that are problematic that were also identified in September 2016! Okay, Mr. Speaker, so that is a lot longer than the five days before we came. Be that as it may, it is not even reflective on the former Government. It is reflective on the occ upants of that building. And I will give you two examples. O verall, the internal conditions of the building are hereby deemed unsatisfactory evidenced by a highly poor state of housekeeping. Summarily, unacceptable state of hygiene and sanitation and maintenance o bserved during the inspections. These were coupled b y the physical signs of mould growth seen within some locations, although predominantly within the downstairs areas and walls . And another point, general sanitation and h ygiene throughout the building was deemed poor, ev idenced by mould, stench, dirt and particle expend-ed—and dirt. That is not any criticism of anybody who sits in this place on either side. That is the people that occupy that building. Okay? And so, to stand up and complain about the state of their accommodations . . . Really? Look in the m irror! Mr. Speaker, it is also interesting to me that . . . I think my colleague behind me when he was the Minister of Public Works and the last iteration of a PLP Government, and probably every PLP Minister (I do not know about the other side, they can s peak for themselves), but there has been ongoing suggestions and even in this iteration that the Supreme Courts of this country go into the Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building —all of them!
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe building was built for it.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat building was built for it.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAnd we are well down the road to relocating . . . you will know, Mr. Speaker, that there is a Supreme Court, one of the Magistrates’ Court s has been modified to accommodate Supreme Court trials. So the person who is criticising this just needs to say yes, and …
And we are well down the road to relocating . . . you will know, Mr. Speaker, that there is a Supreme Court, one of the Magistrates’ Court s has been modified to accommodate Supreme Court trials. So the person who is criticising this just needs to say yes, and maybe they will do that before they walk out the door for the last time. Now, Mr. Speaker —how much time do I have left?
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Plenty of time, plenty of time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAlmost nine minutes. APPOINTMENT OF NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchI would like to turn my attention to the actual management of the courts, Mr. Speaker , because I have a real problem there as well. And, first of all with your indulgence I would like to quote a section of the statement that the Minister, my colleague, the Minister …
I would like to turn my attention to the actual management of the courts, Mr. Speaker , because I have a real problem there as well. And, first of all with your indulgence I would like to quote a section of the statement that the Minister, my colleague, the Minister of National Security read this morning—
The Speake r: Go right ahead.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch—on the appointment of a Commissioner of Police, because it is pertinent to Government service across the board, and in this case, particularly in relation [to] the administration of the courts and justice in this country, because they want to be independent. But if you want to issue a statement …
—on the appointment of a Commissioner of Police, because it is pertinent to Government service across the board, and in this case, particularly in relation [to] the administration of the courts and justice in this country, because they want to be independent. But if you want to issue a statement about us, then I think as independent Members of Parliament we can at least respond. And so I quote the Minister, “Mr. Speaker, you cannot expect stellar performanc e and development without investment and training. I read the comments of the Shadow Minister for National Security with i nterest, and I noted their almost concurrent release with the Governor’s announcement. The distinction between this Government and the One Bermuda All iance is that we are determined to build capacity amongst our people. We cannot simply leave succession planning to chance. Our institutions require a deliberate approach and constructive ministerial leadership to ensure that Bermudians are always equipped to assume these senior roles. “Mr. Speaker, every government entity should have a succession plan where young Bermudians see real examples that prove that they can come into these organisations as apprentices or trainees, and over time develop so that one day they can hold the top job. Anything else . . . is a failure!” (end quote)
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchBut to repeat, anything else is a failure. So, this might be a military saying, Mr. Speaker , As a leader if you cannot produce an heir and a spare, you are a failure. So, we have a Chief Justice —and I almost want to say, will the real Chief …
But to repeat, anything else is a failure. So, this might be a military saying, Mr. Speaker , As a leader if you cannot produce an heir and a spare, you are a failure. So, we have a Chief Justice —and I almost want to say, will the real Chief Justice, Justice Kawaley , stand up, please! Because it is like having a bipolar person in the post. You sat s ilent and m ute for five years about all of your circum-stances and all of a sudden, as you are about to exit stage left, you find your voice. I can only suspect it has something to do with who is sitting on the Government benches. And I for one as the Minister responsible, currently, for Public Works . . . Well, you heard, I ain’t taking that. There is no courage in lobbing a grenade as you are on your way out the door. Mr. Speaker, in all of these things that we do, at least as I see it, you must leave a legacy. And if you want that legacy to be something that people reme mber fondly, regardless of their political persuasion, you must produce somebody to take your place other than an Indian. You must produce opportunities for Berm udians on the bench across the board. I look in the Magistrates’ Court and I see a senior magistrate who has got to be hamstrung. I do not know for a fact, but you have a senior magistrate who is supposed to be in charge of the Magistrates’ Courts who has to go to work every day and see his overage predecessor on the bench. How are we supposed to encourage young people when we never retire [anybody]! Take them all with you when you go! Take them all with you! You have people in this court who are over the age of retirement who are on an annua l contract who come in this country and disrespect our people from the bench. Take them with you! Send them into retirement. That could be your legacy. I might speak — I will not say “fondly,” that is too strong a word.
[Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Bu rchI might speak with less venom about you if you had actually done some of those things. Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed. I really am disappointed. I am always disappointed, actually, when we have successful and successive Bermudians and you leave that job and you have to be replaced by …
I might speak with less venom about you if you had actually done some of those things. Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed. I really am disappointed. I am always disappointed, actually, when we have successful and successive Bermudians and you leave that job and you have to be replaced by somebody who you have not nurtured and cultivated in order to take your place. That means you are a fai lure, in my humble opinion. And that is in every job of responsibility or leadership. You cannot be fearful that the y are brighter than you because people often are. But the fact that you are willing to encourage bright people shows your actual strength, that you are prepared to leave the organisation better than how you found it. And that is what I invite the honourabl e retiring chief justice to do. Say yes to going into the Dame Lois [Browne- Evans] building], say yes to some of those people retiring and say yes to promoting some of those competent people that are currently knocking on the door waiting for an opportunit y to show their worth, waiting for an opportunity to demonstrate that they care and their legacy is that they are going to bring along other young people to be able to replace them. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. 2222 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly [Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnd you still had three minutes left, Minister. You still had time on the clock. I now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 36, Honourable Member Scott. You have the floor. KAWALEY: DEPLORABLE STAFF LEVELS IN COURTS Hon. Michael J. Scott: I am grateful, Mr. Speaker. I am very glad, …
And you still had three minutes left, Minister. You still had time on the clock. I now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 36, Honourable Member Scott. You have the floor.
KAWALEY: DEPLORABLE STAFF LEVELS IN COURTS
Hon. Michael J. Scott: I am grateful, Mr. Speaker. I am very glad, Mr. Speaker, to follow on the heels of the honourable and noble Member, Colonel Burch, as we examine this whole question that ap-peared so prominently under the joint statements of the Acting Registrar of the Supreme Court. I believe she was appointed by the former Attorney General, Mr. Moniz. I believe so. But the Acting Registrar, Ms. Wheatley, issued a joint statement by herself and the Chief Justice. I am glad to take up those points. So, I think the best way to beg in, Mr. Speaker, is to just look at the statement itself. I am very grateful for the point by the incumbent Minister with respons ibility for infrastructure, that he penultimately took his seat with [the comment] about the Dame Lois [Browne -Evans] building. But here is the statement of the relationship to the administration of justice in our country, with your permission, from the paper today. “Chief Justice Ian Kawaley and Acting Regi strar [Alexandra] Wheatley said in a joint statement that successive Att orneys -General had failed to tackle the problem.” And the problem referenced is the deplor able staffing levels. So I have taken the time whilst here in my seat to very quickly . . . our first Attorney Ge neral, Dame Lois Browne- Evans, the first woman Attorney General of our country, was followed by . . . and I may get some of this wrong, but I thought it was A ttorney General Mussenden, appointed by Premier Alex Scott, then Attorney General Wilson, Attorney General Paula Cox, then myself, yours truly. And I was so — [Inaudible interjections] Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, I appreciate that. So those are the successive Attorneys General, or however you wish to list them, under Progressive Labour Party Administrations between Dame Lois and the Premier Jenni fer Smith, who were successive premiers. Here was the commitment of the Progres-sive Labour Party to some of the needs to uphold jus-tice in our country and its administration, including proper housing, dealing with the important matters too of the administr ation of justice and reform. So we had, and this is where I am grateful to the honourable and noble Member, Colonel Burch. So we built the Dame Lois building. Now, if ever there was a commitment in money terms, and I look to my friend and my cousin, the Honourable Deputy Speaker, the price of that building, wasn’t it around some $80 million?
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Michael J. Scott: There we have it. If ever there was commitment that the incumbent Chief Justice Kawaley could look to for commitment from that Atto rney General, the first one, and the Government, that is something to look at. But it was conspicuously ab-sent in the remarks by Ms. Wheatley, joined, allegedly, by the Chief Justice co- authoring these statements. Then there were the commercial courts over in the Government Administration Building. Two commercial courts, built specifically to address the fact that it was beyond decency and the proper admi nistration of and respect for justice, Mr. Speaker, that we had justices sitting just below this floor in conditions that were often mouldy, I think they were delet erious to the health of the then sitting Puisne Justice Kawaley. We spoke about these things. And I took some role in advocating for a commercial court. I wrote a paper about it and I gave it to my senior co lleagues. I was very new on the block in those days. I might even have just been a senator. But I recognised the need as a jurisdiction, that we have a commercial jurisdiction that would send a message to the world. So this was another achievement of the PLP Gover nment. So we get yet another important build out of infrastructure and proper housing for the judiciary. I know that even with the Director of Prosec utions [DPP] we spent some $1 million to $2 million establishing proper housing conditions there. And it still stands the test of time for adequate, comfortable, properly equipped accommodation at the DPP’s office. We got on, and this was the baby of Attorney General Mussenden who looked at the need for justice review. An d there was a significant reform exercise led by that Attorney General. We got on with vi deo, looking at making a modern platform of justice and its administration with the video linkages. And it kept going. We looked at . . . the Bermuda Laws online came under Dame Lois, so that we stopped looking at all of these red books and having to bring them up to date. Mr. Speaker, I see none of these factors r eflected in today’s joint statement, which I will come to in a moment in greater detail. Those were the A ttorneys General of the Progressive Labour Party. Contrasting with the Attorneys General of the OBA, we had, first, Attorney General Pettingill, that was followed by his resignation. Attorney General Moniz served throughout the entire period of the OBA’s poli tical life. If we have to contrast, and I invite the Chief Justice in just proportionate proportionality of remarks in the public space, I cannot list an infrastructure commitment or delivery under those two Attorneys
Bermuda House of Assembly General. We all know what happened with Attorney General Pettingill. His claim to fame was more ass ociated with flights of fancy upon airplanes that he ought not to have been on. So, the remarks. As my honourable and noble Member, Colonel Burch, indicates, these remarks and these developm ents that I see today were first announced on May 31 st, of closing the courts early, sending out a message to the country that staffing levels are at a crisis level. All of this language coming under our watch–– in the face of, literally, things that I have just listed that were carried out in the name of better accommodation and housing for the judiciary –– rings, sadly, and hurtful to this Government. And I think they were designed to be embarrassing to this Government. And they ought not to be. I completely deprecate the publication of these kinds of words. It is neither helpful, nor is it efficient use of our limited and precious resources to be further invested in fruitless exercises. Flowery judicial language suggesting that everything is falling on deaf ears. I think that is what it means. “Mr. Justice Kawaley and Ms. Wheatley warned: ‘This deplorable situation not only impacts the Judicial Department, but its consequences are far reaching. “‘Without a doubt, Bermuda as a whole is negatively impacted and, quite arguably, Bermuda’s reputation in the international business sector will be called into question. ’” “‘Government policies for filling vacant posts, combined with the equally onerous procedures of the Department of Human Resources, are paralysing the department’s ability to function effectively.” And this statement goes on, this joint stat ement to which the Chief Justice in the dying embers of his heading of the judiciary associated his name and complains that he had no joy or success because he, having applied to exempt himself, or his department over which he led, from the Public Service Commi ssion rules, was met by a refusal for exemption. And this, coming from the third branch which generally complies with rules. But here is the point. There has been signif icant measurable reaction and response by the Pr ogressive Labour Party Government through succes-sive premiers and their attorneys general to put in place a good response to the administration of justice. I have given the list. And to be rem inded that the Dame Lois building is a complete solution to the housing in this country —a complete solution to the housing of the judiciary in this country. And to have the Chief Justice, in the dying embers of his heading of the jud iciary, lambaste us when we have done more . . . and that should have been the headline. We have done more to address that problem than all administrations. And I deprecate these statements in today’s paper. They are meant to embarrass, and I deprecate them. Mr. Speaker, the honourable and noble Member, Colonel Burch, referred to the magistracy and the issues that are going on in the magistracy. Over there we have the Senior Magistrate, Judge Juan Wolffe. We have next Judge Tokunbo, who generally presides over Court 1, and the Plea Court deals largely with . . . well, he deals with the Plea Court and Traffic Court. Judge Wolffe deals with civil matters (these are the assignments). Then there is Judge Maxanne Anderson who carries out the important function of the Drug Court and t he Mental Health Court. Very important. Judge Anderson is carrying out a vital function over there at the Magistrates’ Court. I should not try to make one function more important than the next. But given the gravity of conditions, they are mental conditions and those resolving the drug issues at a judicial level. She . . . that honourable Judge needs to be both advanced and promoted so that the work that she is heading up continues to be first rate, first class, so that the delivery of services through her judicial work begins to address the whole mitigation of these two functions of drug amelioration and how we handle our mental health persons caught up in the judicial sy stem. Then there is Judge Tyrone Chin, who is largely in charge of the family division. Then there is the former Senior Magistrate, Mr. Archibald Warner, who, with his skill, sits and presides over the Sum-mary Court’s criminal jurisdiction. And because Mr. Warner is a former senior police officer, a judge of long-standing in the Supreme Cour t, he is more than qualified to deal with criminal matters. And appearances before him are always instructive, for me at least. But there is a problem that was highlighted by my colleague, Colonel Burch, that Judge Warner is on a year -to-year contract and has been renewed since his retirement cap of 65 for five years in succession. And there is a concern that this is gumming up the works of succession over there at the Magistrates’ Court. And the Chief Justice, as the head of judiciary, needs to look at that and get that sorted out. You know, I was at the Supreme Court, as I often am, in the Government Administration Building at their two commercial courts, and I will deal with now, secondly, the staffing at the judicial level of S upreme Court judges, and I was simply trying to get copies of a file done. And it was interesting. I detec ted, finally, after the experience, that the ladies there, the hard- working Bermudian staffers, were in a state of depression. The morale was not good. I worked this out after I left. Now that I see this, it is all becoming clear that it was taking a good deal of time and they were being made to work under stringent conditions of staffing underage. And no wonder it was taking me such a hard time just to get copies. Now, this is truth. This is a fact. And the Chief Justice is met to speak truth to power whenever it is merited. But, I completely concur with the honourable 2224 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly noble Member, Colonel Burch. These staffing levels and these cuts to the judiciary were taking place, not under the PLP in the last 200 days that we have been in place. Some of them may have been . . . in fact, even before . . . for five years from 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, was the Chief Justice both deaf to his needs and dumb too, to make these statements of this calibre? These are vilifying statements. I know that the Chief Justice annually has to make a report, as does the Senior Magistrate. And he has been doing it. And I will not say that he . . . but he does it at the beginning of the judicial term. B ut this is to be deprecated. This is a vilifying presenting of a message of warnings of reputational damage, of closing . . . this unprecedented act of embarrassingly closing the Magistrates’ Registry and the Supreme Court Registry under our watch in the f ace of all that we have done! The recessionary bite took place at the time that . . . it was certainly happening when I was the Attorney General and when the Honourable Paula Cox was the Attorney General. Surely, the head of the judiciary would understand that having committed mi llions to Dame Lois, millions to the commercial courts, millions to the DPP’s office, resources to law reform in the country, there has to be an adjustment where we just have run out of the ability to keep doing this. And we have to suck in our tummies and then start another day. But this is completely unjustified and it has to be met with a level of deprecation. And I do so. This is what the incoming Chief Justice, Mr. Hargun, is going to have to deal with. I think the Pr ogressive Labour Party has an able record on which it may stand to say to incoming Chief Justice Hargun that we will be both welcoming and open to continuing [to address] the needs of the judiciary. I certainly know that there is a need for major and radical judicial reform and legislative reform. I mean, if I can be in an yway associated with these kinds of efforts, I will lend my resources to the third branch and its head, Chief Justice Hargun, when he comes on board. But, for the Chief Justice to say . . . and I met with him. He is a colleague from my barrister days and I know him —
[Timer beeps]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member, your time has run out on you. I recognise the Honourable . . . I am going to go across to the former Attorney General and let you speak. KAWALEY: DEPLORABLE STAFF LEVELS IN COURTS Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerFormer Attorney General. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, thank you. I will give that Honourable Member some of my time. I do not think I will use up the full 20 minutes; I am usually a bit speedier than that. But I thought I would have to stand up …
Former Attorney General. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, thank you. I will give that Honourable Member some of my time. I do not think I will use up the full 20 minutes; I am usually a bit speedier than that. But I thought I would have to stand up and put a bit of perspective on this. I noticed, listening to the speakers tonight, that the Government, from my perspective, seems to be very sensitive to cri ticism. And of course, when you are Government that is what you get. You get criticism all day every day. You start off with a nice little ho neymoon period, and then you start getting criticism. And some people are very sensitive. We heard earlier the Hono urable Member Famous was shivering away because people were saying things on social media four months ago that he did not agree with. That is just how it works; that is how it goes. And as my honourable colleague, Pat Gordon-Pamplin, would say, throw on your big boy pants and go to work, and let’s get something done! So, what we tried to do when we were Go vernment was to look at problems and try and solve some of those problems with very limited resources. But what we see here are very sensitive egos, and every time something is said it’s, Oh, how dare this person say this thing? Well, occasionally people will say things which are critical when you are Gover nment, and you may not agree with them. But you have to look at the situation and say, Is there a pr oblem? Can we solve this problem? Now, it is laughable that the Honourable Members who spoke before, talking about the Chief Justice, would say that this is the first time that the Chief Justice has come out and criticised the Go vernment. When I was Attorney General for three years the Chief Justice, it seemed to me, was criticising me constantly. Certainly every year in his meeting dow nstairs I would get broadsides from him and the Senior Magistrate, some of them extremely underserved and untrue! And I wou ld answer them as it was. They are still both good friends of mine, but we had different perspectives, and that is the nature of life. We have differences with people. Now, on the one hand I see that Chief Justice Kawaley has a concern with staffing levels in the court. I am sure there is some truth to that. I am not going to argue about the percentages or the numbers. The real problem with the Supreme Court is that it is fragmented. We have a piece of the Supreme Court downstairs, we used to have a little piece of it upstairs, and I am looking at the Clerk, Mrs. Wolffe, who will know all of the discussions we have had about the Court 2 that was upstairs where the Court of Appeal used to sit. We have the one that I call the old fire st ation on Front Street, we have a court down there. We used to have one sitting over in the Salvation Army building, and then we have one up at the Commercial Court over here. So the problem is fragmentation. If you had all the courts in one place, you would only need one r eBermuda House of Assembly ceptionist. As it is, you have them in four places so you need four receptionists. So there is a lot of dupl ication of tasks. And I know there was a problem when originally the land that the courts and the police st ation were in was purchased in the dying days of the UBP pre 1998. So, when the PLP took over after 1998 they were starting on that project to consolidate those spaces to get the land to build the buildings which ended up being the police station and the [Dame] Lois Browne -Evans court. Now, somewher e in the middle of there, and, unfortunately, the Minister Colonel Burch is out of the Chamber at the moment, but I recollect early on, I think he was the Public Works Minister in the previous PLP administration, and I recall this discussion of whether all the courts were going to be in the court building. And I recall at that time he said he wanted all the courts in the court building, which made sense. But at the end of the day under the PLP administration all the courts did not end up in the court buildi ng. So we had other departments. And over there we had Department of Planning, which takes up considerable space, and we have had some of the social depar tments and they went in. So the courts could not go in there; there was not enough space. So the Magi strates’ Court went in there and the Supreme Courts remains fragmented all over the place with all this du-plication of tasks.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou know that it was the Chief Justice’s call at that time, right? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Sorry?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerIt wa s the Chief Justice’s call at that time. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Well, that may be. But it did not end up happening.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMm-hmm. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: And, certainly, while I was there . . . all I can say is that I made my best efforts to get th ose departments consolidated, both when I was Minister of Public Works for a year, and when I was Attorney General for the …
Mm-hmm. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: And, certainly, while I was there . . . all I can say is that I made my best efforts to get th ose departments consolidated, both when I was Minister of Public Works for a year, and when I was Attorney General for the other three years. It did not happen. There was . . . I think I had the support of the courts at that time, but the departments that were in there, such as, Planning, were not going to move. So there was resistance within the civil service at the highest levels saying, No. We are not going to move out. I think there was a spare court over there, which the Supreme Court is now using, one of the spare courts, Court 4 in where the Magistrates’ Courts are at the Dame Lois Brown- Evans [Building]. And one of the things about the courts building, you would want the Supreme Court courts to be on a different level to the Magistrates’ Court. But that is the history of it. And I received very severe criticism from the Chief Justice when I was the Attorney General about his complaints on a variety of things. And his complaints had substance. But there are a variety of rea-sons why it did not happen t hat went back before me, and which I was not able to solve while I was there. The problems came up, you know, when the building was built. And that is just the way it is, and it needs to be solved. But what I am urging the Government now is to not waste t heir time saying, h ow dare the Chief Justice criticise us, and not to worry about whose fault it is or it wasn’t, historically, let’s just try and solve the problem. And it is not an easy problem to solve. You have got to juggle the amount of space availab le and the amount of staff that you want. But if you consol idate the courts, you should be able to get them in the space. But people need to cooperate. And it does not help if people are in the daily newspaper criticising each other. But obviously the Chief felt it had reached a certain point. But it certainly is not new. If one were to go back through the Royal Gazette there were plenty of articles where he was criticising things which hap-pened while I was the Attorney General. So I suffered just as much criticism and tried not to respond in an unhelpful manner. But the truth in Government is, and this hits to the core of it, that what we needed to do . . . and it goes back to all the reports we have had, like the SAGE Report. In order to spend less money in go vernment we have to make it more efficient. And the story with the courts is that if you had all the courts in one place you need fewer staff and they are going to work more efficiently, they are going to communicate better. And this is true across government. It is also true of the buses. We noted the appointment, I think it is at the DPT [Department of Public Transport], I think it is Roger Todd who came out of BELCO, the engineer to run DPT. But he is going to find that we have all of these problems with the buses, and questions have not been answered about there were supposed to be new buses that were promised by the Minister and with two or three new buses, or three or four that were promised to be on the road, are not on the road. Why are they not on the road? We have not received any response. And the buses we get are horrifically expe nsive. And we need a lot of them with the present bus schedule. And the truth of the matter, again, is that whoever comes in needs to resolve the bus schedule. You resolve the bus schedule, you need fewer buses. And then you are going to have the money to afford them. If it remains the way it is and the bus schedule goes back to the 1990s, you are just wasting money; you are pouring it down the drain. 2226 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly And we see this throughout government. But while the Government is overly sensitive to criticism, we need constructive responses. We need constructive responses to people like the Chief Justice and how we are going to resolve those challenges. We need constructive responses for the buses. Where are we going to go? How are we going to stop cancelling bus routes every day? We need . . . the same thing is true in education. This week there was a statement by the Bermuda Union of Teachers about their disappointment that th ey had not had meetings with the Minister of Education. And, again, there has been no response from the Government. And you would have thought somebody would have spoken to it in a day or two. It would not take more than 24 hours to respond in a constructi ve fashion, not with all sorts of, you know, righteous indignation, How dare anybody criticise us , you should not criticise us , and, you know, all the OBA members should quit because we don’t . . . we are scared to be criticised. What you need to have is a constructive approach to solving the problems. And they are not going to be solved overnight. We will certainly help the Government to solve these problems. We just need to face up to them and try and figure them out. And in some cases, you are going to have to bite off a bit at a time, and blockchain is not going to solve everything, unfortunately. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Now we recognise the deputy. Deputy, you are in command. [Laughter] Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Inaudible interjection] APPOINTMENT OF NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Trevor, you are so kind. Let me say briefly about the …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Now we recognise the deputy. Deputy, you are in command.
[Laughter]
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Inaudible interjection]
APPOINTMENT OF NEW COMMISSIONER OF POLICE Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Trevor, you are so kind. Let me say briefly about the courts, about the Supreme Court going into the Dam e Lois [BrowneEvans Building]. It was the Chief Justice at the time that refused to cooperate, and that is why that did not happen. At that time it was Richard Ground, and that is why that did not happen. But I certainly agree with what you are saying, Honourable Member Moniz, on that issue there. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, as was read in the Ministerial Statement this morning, they read about the appointment of the new police commissioner. Certainly, I wish the new commissioner well, and that he would h ave a successful reign in Bermuda. But Mr. Speaker, what I am not satisfied with is that we are going to have a police commissioner for five years. I know we have got quite a few bright Bermudians in the police force right now. It would not take them five years to train up to be the commissioner. And I really think the contract with the new commi ssioner should not be for any more than three years. Because the administration and the Governor failed in their responsibility to get people ready to be the next commissioner. And it would not be anything new if we take two or three of those bright Bermudians over there and sent them overseas for training and they could be ready within a three- year period. Mr. Speaker, because I am concerned, one of my concerns, y ou know, is that under the Constitution, ––and I am not knocking it, that is what it is ––the appointment of the police commissioner comes under the Governor’s —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPurview. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Under his authority, the head of the Ber muda Regiment and the Chief Justice, Mr. Speaker. And I know there are qualified Bermudians in the police force that could have done the job. But, be [that] as it may, when you look at the …
Purview. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Under his authority, the head of the Ber muda Regiment and the Chief Justice, Mr. Speaker. And I know there are qualified Bermudians in the police force that could have done the job. But, be [that] as it may, when you look at the Chief Justice, Mr. Speaker, we had other Bermudians that applied for the job. We had a Supreme Court Justice, judge, who has been on the bench for over 20 years and was not good enough to be the Chief Justice. We had an-other applicant who was a former Attorney General of Bermuda, the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] , a very successful lawyer in the private practice, but who was not good enough. Mr. Speaker, you know it takes it back to hi story. And I love history, Mr. Speaker, because you know it was back in the ’50s and the ’60s when [we] had the Director of Educati on [appointment], who was D. J. Williams, when in fact Dr. Kenneth Robinson, who had the skills and the experience to be the Director of Education, but they [chose] D. J. Williams over him, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we had another case [with the] director of Marine and Ports, [there was] a fellow named Mr. Darrell who had over 40 years of exper ience, not only in Bermuda but overseas, when the job came up. But they gave it to a young Englishman who just finished his schooling. And again we have to be subjec ted to taking second fiddle all the time. Because . . . because, I don’t know, I guess it is our complexion or because we are from Bermuda! You know, I don’t know what it is. But first black Bermudians suffer, then, second, white Berm udians. Because you have smart white and black Bermudians in the police force that could have done the job. It is the same thing with the Chief Justice. But I would imagine that the Governor has some . . . and I have to say it because it was in this Statement, that
Bermuda House of Assembly the occupant of the largest house in Langton Hill, I guess, is like . . . has been the job for Chief Justice came around and as he could and as he said, Norma Wade -Miller had the qualifications and the experience that was required, but he wanted Richard Ground becaus e he had some cases to do. Are we still under that reign, Mr. Speaker? You know, I know every time you talk about race some people in Bermuda get mad. But we better face it. You have to talk about it. You know, it reminds me of Wilcox. When he came here, he saw most of the Bermuda police constables were black and he was very uncomfortable with that and he went about whi tening up the force and he went away to England, brought in 20 white police officers, raised their pay by 50 per cent, because he did not li ke the complexion or the makeup of the majority of the police constables. You know, Mr. Speaker, I wonder when will we be accepted as equals? We have the commanding officer of the Bermuda Regiment, I think they call it the Royal Regiment right now. I do not even think we have got 100 soldiers up there. We are not in battle with anybody. But they had to bring in somebody from overseas when we have officers out there that could run that Regiment. But sometimes I wonder if they are bringing these folks in her e because they are friends of whomever, to come in here and say, Oh, this is a cooler job. You get good pay . They give you accommodations and everything else. And we end up with these folks at the expense of Bermudians, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me sa y another thing about it, because I heard what the Honourable Member Michael Scott said about judges being on yearly contracts. And I would hope that the judges that are on yearly contracts are not going on 70 years old, because if they are, it is against the law. Judges can stay until 70, provided they are in conformance with the law. Over 70, they should not be there. And so I would hope that ––I would think that they are not there, Mr. Speaker.
CATHOLICS LAUNCH ANTI -RACISM CAMPAIGN
Hon. Derrick V. Burg ess, Sr.: I want to applaud the Roman Catholics in their endeavour to wipe out the racism in Bermuda. But, Mr. Speaker, they have got some history too. I can remember when Dr. Ball, a woman of God I can tell you, a woman of the people, a very talented lady , was the organist in one of the Catholic churches. And because of her involvement in the trade union movement, the BIU [Bermuda Indus-trial Union], namely, and the political party, she played the organ in the church. One Sunday morning when they got up, the choir was supposed to sing, [when] Dr. Ball was playing the organ. And the choir refused to sing. But as godly as Dr. Ball was, she stayed in that church. And when she was eulogised at the St. Theresa’s Church around on Cedar Avenue, the bis h-op at that t ime really did a first class job on her eul ogy, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, talking about the racism, some [people] regard Sir Henry Tucker as a hero because he says he gave us integration. Sir Henry Tucker did not give us integration in Bermuda. You know, Mr. Speaker, one needs to know their history. When a certain gentleman used to get up in this House and speak, Sir Henry Tucker and a few others would say, Oh, the monkey is talking now . You know who they were talking about? Dr. Gordon. And also, you will see in the history books where he said Int egration over my dead body. So he was not the champion of integration in Bermuda. The champion of integration in Bermuda is the Teachers Union, the BWA, now the BIU, Ms. Edwena Smith, Ms. Florenz Maxwell , the PLP. All those pressure groups were out there, the Theatre Boycott. And the Theatre Boycott did not first start in ’59, you know. It started in ’49 by an AME pastor That is when it started, in ’49. Because if you read the comments of Sir Henry and hi s directors of the Theatre, what they said about us, he could never be a hero. Because, I think we were made a mockery of what heroes are. And some of those people that got up on, around town, they are not heroes. I don’t know, because I now forget, Mr. Speaker. I think maybe the last hero they put up for the award, and they awarded him a Heroes . . . and I had two second- year university students and I gave them the information that was required and I said, Tell me if this gentleman is a hero. And they cam e back and said, No, not by this definition. And they looked at the fellow’s history. No, this is not a hero. These were two students, and I did not tell them anything, who was who or whatever was what. I just gave them the information, Mr. Speaker. So, t he heroes are all those people that toiled, lost sleep, lost jobs, Dr. Kenneth Robinson . . . when he came back. What did they do to him? They pulled his mortgage, even though he never missed a payment. But thank God, there was M. A. who helped him out, M. A. Gi bbons , my cousin, who helped him out. So the point I am trying to make is that because those white supremacists who are listening think that when we start talking about racism, we are talking about all white people. Let me tell you som ething. I thin k the majority of white people are great. A lot of them keep quiet and I understand why they keep quiet, because when you look at Dr. Ball , when you look at Dorothy Thompson, when you look at David Allen ,when you look at Zane De Silva, what has ha ppened to them because they joined us. . . . The PLP is not a black party. It is a political party. We are open to all. But that is the label that has been put on us, that we are a black party. Yes, we are majority black, but that is what it is. That is the way i t is, Mr. Speaker. 2228 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly But Mr. Speaker, you know even during the Theatre Boycott we had the Progressive Group. I did not name them. But you had two fellows, they were fearless, and they were Kingsley Tweed and Comrade Lynch. They were not afraid of anybody, e ven though they chased Lynch out of Bermuda. Yet, Reverend Monk, who took on the establishment . . . and what did they do? They locked him up. They trumped up these charges on him and locked him up. He did not get any justice. He knew that he would not get justice, going before a judge and jury that never liked us. Family affair, Mr. Speaker. So, again, Mr. Speaker, the hero of integration in this country is not Sir Henry Tucker. It is the black groups that fought for integration and that forced int egratio n in this country and took a lot of stick because they forced it. And the leaders of those organisations that fought for integration, they were punished. Oh, they were punished, Mr. Speaker. So again, I want to give thanks to the Roman Catholic bishop for doing what he can do. And Mr. Speaker, you know, not so long ago I was in a group, not CURB, but what is it . . . the CURE, what is it . . . race, whatever . . . anyhow — CURE or CURB?
[Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: One of them. And it was run by Ms. Winfield, a wonderful lady, Caitlin Conyers, another wonderful young lady, and Michelle Scott Outerbridge, three wonderful people. And we had a nice group. There were about a dozen of us. Five whites and seven blacks. And after the . . . it was a seven- week situation and after that session, the seven- week session, I think the group became closer and more understanding, because a lot of whites really do not understand what we went through, and what we go through even today. Most of them could not live in our shoes, walk in our shoes, for a week because too many of them sit up there and judge us based on their opinion —just like they do at that largest house on the hill. Mr. Speaker, I know that the occupant of that house on the hill w as given . . . I know he was not here, but when the approval was given to use chem ical weapons on our people on December the 2 nd, [while] Britain, the UK, bombed a country for using chemical weapons on their people not so long ago. Yet they were allowed to be used on our people — seniors —in Bermuda! It is almost unforgiveable what they did to our seniors. I tell you . . . and then the Governor at the time got a report done. One of his friends did the r eport. And the report came as expected, that, really, no wrong was done—because of who you did it to. So what you do to us is not wrong. UK ACTION ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: And, Mr. Speaker, that is why when the Premier got up last week, and he said it again today, and I have no res ervations about supporting, when we decide to open up registers in Bermuda, that a vote will be taken in this House b ecause that particular part of the law does not come under the UK, if you look at our Constitution. And they have the nerve to legislate for countries —only dark countries. The three Crown Colonies that are predominately white . . . it does not pertain to them. Just the dark countries that they legislate it for; and they do not even do it in England! I applaud the Premier. And I think the whole House has done that. We have heard support from the other side. We are not going to stand for that, and if we have to do what we have to do, we have to do it! But we cannot and will not accept somebody from thousands of miles away. We do not have a say. We do not have a vote. You tell me we are going to do that? Those days are over.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberOver! Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: They are over. Most of those MPs in that Parliament out there have not even been to this country. But you see, as history will tell you, they think that when it comes to people like us they can just sit anywhere and make …
Over! Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: They are over. Most of those MPs in that Parliament out there have not even been to this country. But you see, as history will tell you, they think that when it comes to people like us they can just sit anywhere and make a judgment call. Well, that’s over. That is over, under this Premier. So let’s not be mistaken. I am pretty sure they are listening to us, they are probably live streaming. But we will not ever, ever follow that rule. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Deputy. I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 23, the Honourable Member GordonPamplin. You have the floor.
Mrs. Patricia J. G ordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very briefly I would like to comment on the comments by the Honourable Member who just took his seat from constituency 5—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI like when you say you’re going to be brief. Keep it nice and brief.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinOn this matter it is going to be very brief.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOh, oh. On that matter. I thought you meant on everything. Bermuda House of Assembly UK ACTION ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinBut let me just say that we agree wholeheartedly with respect to the public register of interests that is being demanded of us, and for which there is a threat that there is going be some kind of Order in Council. This is something that I have listened to for …
But let me just say that we agree wholeheartedly with respect to the public register of interests that is being demanded of us, and for which there is a threat that there is going be some kind of Order in Council. This is something that I have listened to for the last, I don’t know how many years. But I know that prior to Premier Burt, Deputy Premier Bob Richards stood firmly to tell the British Government, as Finance Minister, We will not acquiesce to your demands that suggest that we should be declaring a public register of beneficial interests, when, in fact, it does not obtain in the United States, it does not obtain in the UK, and we are not going to abide by a different standard. And I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that this was the basis of the interview that caused me, actually, to be on the front page of our accountancy magazine. So, I reiterated that position. And that article would indicate that. So, we support that from this point of view, that we will be in lock step as we repel what that UK Government was attempting to make us do in that regard.
SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTS BY MP DUNKLEY
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinBut I wanted to speak more importantly to the comment and the start of tonight’s motion to adjourn by the Member from constituency 26, MP Tyrrell. MP Tyrrell, in a very smooth and silk -tongued kind of delivery, started out by saying that we are not likely to look at …
But I wanted to speak more importantly to the comment and the start of tonight’s motion to adjourn by the Member from constituency 26, MP Tyrrell. MP Tyrrell, in a very smooth and silk -tongued kind of delivery, started out by saying that we are not likely to look at being cooperative and working toget her as the Honourable Member from constituency 10 had espoused and articulated leading into the last election and subs equent to that, because the Member and some of us on this side of the aisle dare criticise the Progressive Labour Party as a Government. And the Honourable Member from constitue ncy 26 indicated that we should not speak about the PLP administration before, because this is a new Parliament, there are new people, and there are some old people here, he said, but there are new people. So don’t talk about us as though we are them prior to 2012. But I believe it is inescapable for Members t oday to say that they w ish to disassociate themselves from Members prior to 2012. They are the same party. Yes, there are se veral new faces here in this Honourable House. But to say that we should not say anything about them, and we should . . . we are not going to hold hands, as the Honourable Member said, to sing Kumbaya, but yet, Mr. Speaker, on a daily basis —including today —we sit and we listen to comments coming from Members of the Government speaking about the OBA admi nistration. So why is this supposed to be so one sided? Why does this not work both ways? If you are saying that we ought not to criticise you, either in your prior iteration of Government or in your present iteration of Government, why is it that it is all right for you to criticise me when I say that?
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinNo. Mr. Spe aker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe Speaker—well, well, well . . . we have been pretty decent all night. And I have asked persons not to go down certain roads, let’s not take a wrong turn, even though it is late in the day. [Inaudible interjection]
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinMr. Speaker, I listened to Members opposite, and that Honourable Member who had the audacity to just stand, sit and criticise my colleague from constituency 10 for the entirety of his presentation and that was accepted, and it’s okay. I understand.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI understand. 2230 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: —well, well, . . . you sit down for a m inute. He never made any uses of that type of language. I asked him what he was going to use. Was it something he …
I understand. 2230 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: —well, well, . . . you sit down for a m inute. He never made any uses of that type of language. I asked him what he was going to use. Was it something he pulled off of public space; it was stuff that was in the public space that came off of that Member’s Facebook or some other social media. So it came from somebody’s social media that was in the public space. There were pictures that came off there to use, there were comments they used off there. None of the comments were of that term, he made reference to speeches that the Honourable Member had made, but it was not calling derogatory terms t owards what he said. He just spoke what was written.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinI will accept that, Mr. Speaker. But what I am saying is that we hear on a daily basis criticism, and we take it, not least of which is the Honourable Member from constituency 26, as well as the Honourable National Securit y Minister . . . you constantly hear …
I will accept that, Mr. Speaker. But what I am saying is that we hear on a daily basis criticism, and we take it, not least of which is the Honourable Member from constituency 26, as well as the Honourable National Securit y Minister . . . you constantly hear them talk about, Oh, you all spent $70 million, and you didn’t find money for A, B, C, X, Y, Z; didn’t find money for police training, but you found $70 million. We heard that earlier today. However, Mr. Speaker, let me just say —
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin—that if I had the ability to spend $70 million to get $350 million into our economy, I would do it every day without apology! So, if Honourabl e Members do not understand that sometimes an investment that you make is going to benefit the economy of this country, and …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh, ah, ah, one Member speaking.
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin—you wish to crit icise the fact that this choice was made, and there were significant numbers of people who have had additional jobs, who would not have had them, who have had housing rentals that they may not have had, who had the opportunity to have additional revenue — …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh, ah, ah, Minister, Minister, you may have to sit outside for a while—
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin—that they may not have had—
The SpeakerThe Speaker—come back after she’s finished tal king. Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: —which they may not have had, Mr. Speaker, and that is the kind of . . . you know, when the shoe starts to pinch? That is the kind of reaction that you get, Mr. Speaker. And I …
—come back after she’s finished tal king. Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: —which they may not have had, Mr. Speaker, and that is the kind of . . . you know, when the shoe starts to pinch? That is the kind of reaction that you get, Mr. Speaker. And I understand it. I fully understand it. But I will n ever apologise for helping to create circumstances that helped to give our people add itional benefit from the revenues that were generated in our economy through that particular event. I heard earlier today one Member indicate that our Government gave mul timillion -dollar contracts to friends while ignoring the fact that seniors went wit hout. Well, well, well, well, well. Did we hear something about $6 million going to one four -wheel contract? Did we hear significant [amounts] of money going to var ious other circumstances in different areas? Did we hear Members opposite criticise a former Attorney General, basically, the Honourable Member from constituency 36 indicating that this former Attorney Ge neral did nothing but get on a plane that he should not have gotten on? These are the kinds of low and underhanded comments that are made that come from the Gover nment benches that we have to accept. And we do, because we have no choice. They can say what they like. They do what they want. And I perfectly understand it. But don’t stand and castigate us for saying the realities that we have faced and that we have observed that they have done, both prior and now, in successive PLP administrations and somehow say that our criticism thereof is somehow unfair! I am jus t not going to have hypocritical r esponses to our circumstances, Mr. Speaker. If you want to be fair, be fair. You know, I have heard crit icisms at times, Mr. Speaker, of some of the things that the then PLP Government and the now PLP Government have done. And if a criticism comes to my ears that I deem to be inaccurate or inappropriate, I will put the facts as they ought to be, because I will not permit someone to perpetuate an untruth. So, as a result of that, Mr. Speaker, that is my integrity. That is the manner in which I operate. I cannot say the same for everybody with whom I interact in this Honourable House. But I will not stand by and hear untruths being passed and espoused by people relating to us and the things we have done. We heard the Member f rom constituency 26 [speak of] the audacity of my Honourable Member from constituency 10 to speak of two of the Members of Cabinet who were not present. And that was inex-cusable for him to do. We had two weeks on the m otion to adjourn by a Member . . . the Government Whip, who spoke of somebody who will never be able to be in this House to defend himself. I used to think that that was against the rules. But very clearly, an ything goes. But that Honourable Member spoke to a situation, however egregious the behaviour of that partic ular individual may have been, it is my understanding
Bermuda House of Assembly that subsequently the Member who brought that issue to this House did not even bother to call up the indi-vidual. Did not bother to call him up and say, This is what I hear, this is what I observe, and how can we ameliorate the situation? Never called him, but thought it appropriate to come and discuss it in this Honourable House when that individual person, a pr ivate citizen . . . as I said, I am not defending whatever behaviour w as there, and whether or not it was egr egious. That I am not defending him, and I would never attempt to do so. But for that situation to arise, for that person never to be able to defend himself, and to hear today the diatribe that says, Oh, you shouldn’t talk about somebody because we can’t hold hands, because we can’t work together, because you talk about us . . . you know, like . . . you know, toughen up! Toughen up, is what I say, Mr. Speaker.
PROTECTION OF LISTED BUILDINGS
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinNow, Mr. Speaker, let me also say that the Honourable Minister of Public Works . . . we do not agree on much. But we agreed . . . I agreed with him on his comments tonight in terms of the protection of listed buildings. I understand the purpose thereof. …
Now, Mr. Speaker, let me also say that the Honourable Minister of Public Works . . . we do not agree on much. But we agreed . . . I agreed with him on his comments tonight in terms of the protection of listed buildings. I understand the purpose thereof. However, as my colleagues who served with me in the Cabinet would know, I told them and I have admitted I am a wrecking- ball kind of girl. I believe that if you can create additional employment because rather than spending money to try to preserve some façade that has been sitting there for 200, 300, 400 years that is crumbling [away] and there is nothing you can do, really, to make it effective, that it might be okay for a committee to say, Let’s make sure and treat this property with kid gloves, when the reality is, you know, you can have a far more effective use of the same money if that money was used to be able to reconstruct, even if you do a façade which is similar to that which existed before to give the appearance of the aged facility.
RACI AL PROFILING BY POLICE SERVICE
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinSo I have no issue dealing with that. The other thing that I wanted to speak to is that I read in the paper this past week, and I did not pull up the article, but I think it is important to just make mention of it, because the Honourable …
So I have no issue dealing with that. The other thing that I wanted to speak to is that I read in the paper this past week, and I did not pull up the article, but I think it is important to just make mention of it, because the Honourable Member from constituency 11 made mention of it a little earlier, and that was the manner with which we treated many of the police officers and our local people who join the Police Service. He said that becaus e he is from Back o’ Town that if somebody joined the Police Service (and I do not want to misquote, but just words to the effect, my interpretation of what he said) they called them “Bab ylon,” they called them other unsavoury comments. Let me just say t hat there was . . . somebody had chastised a young man who actually was a peer of my younger son at school who had been a member of the Police Service and had now moved on to a di fferent career, and there was a challenge of the owner of that particular new established business that he is now a part of, and the individual who was passing comments on the newspaper blog effectively said to this guy, You don’t have any right to defend your employer, or your partner, in this business because you are nothing but Babylon. To which my son’s peer r esponded and said, I no longer am a part of that parti cular service, and basically said, Me nah serve with Babylon anymore. And I thought, how unfortunate. Because when we have a situation in which we expect our young people to show a level of respect towards not just our Police Service, but towards law and order in our country, and we as adults perpetuate an argument that says [when] there are police officers, whether Bermudian or otherwise, it is appropriate to disrespect them, how can we expect our young pe ople to show a level of respect, maturity, growth, interaction, and embracing of one another if that kind of attitude is allowed to permeate? I cannot believe that it is healthy for our cou ntry, Mr. Speaker. I think that our Police Service . . . I heard one Member, I believe from constituency 36, if not last week the week before . . . not last week, because we were not sitting, but the week before, make mention about the fact that there is a different level of response between incidents that happen on Front Street and incidents that happen in Happy Valley. Now, I will say, Mr. Speaker, that there may have been a time in significant years gone by when there was a difference in response. But I would ha zard a guess that the National Security Minister would not agree that the Police Service over which he has charge is now differentiating how they respond to a report of something egregious that has happened in our community. I will not believe that he would stand by and allow something of that nature to obtain when, in fact, I do not believe that our police department di fferent iated. If they get a call, they get a call. I know several police officers. I know how they act; I know how they respond, and I believe that they take their position responsibly.
KAWALEY: DEPLORABLE STAFF LEVELS IN COURTS
Mrs. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinAnd the final thing that I want to say is there has been a lot of talk tonight and bashing of the Chief Justice on his outgoing sa lvo, because, as Ho nourable Members have indicated, he has made an attempt to make the Government look bad. I am not …
And the final thing that I want to say is there has been a lot of talk tonight and bashing of the Chief Justice on his outgoing sa lvo, because, as Ho nourable Members have indicated, he has made an attempt to make the Government look bad. I am not sure whether (I said I am not sure) that comment that was made was designed to su ggest that the Chief Justice had preference for a differ2232 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly ent party. I do not know what that is saying. But I do know that at the time that this same individual made a decision that supported an individual who was not tel ling the truth, however, it supported the argument of the then Opposition to say what he had ruled was ap-propriat e and good, then the guy was like the cat’s meow. And somehow today, he has been vilified because he has made a decision and made a comment that seemingly, according to a Member opposite, does not make the Government appear to be in good light. I can only reiterate and support the comment made by my honourable colleague, Trevor Moniz, who indicated that at this point in our careers, certainly for those who have been here for 10, 12, 15, 20 years and more, I believe we have reached the stage where our oblig ation is to look at criticism, take that criticism for what it is worth, find out what the solutions are and figure out how we can make things better. I made mention because I believe it was a week ago, or the week before, that the Honourable National Sec urity Minister indicated that, having not been in the House and having been able to listen to a debate from a distance, had really evaluated his reaction and response to what he was hearing and recognised that what he was hearing was effectively a pr omotio n of the democratic process in which we may not agree on things, but we can at least agree to discuss them, and if we cannot come to consensus, we can agree to disagree. And if I believe that if we are here and doing anything other than that, then I beli eve that we are failing. We ought not to be here pointing fingers crit icising, knocking down, castigating, vilifying, you know, people because they see things differently, because they do things differently. And when I hear things like what came from the m outh of the Honourable Member from constituency 11, you know , let’s talk about UBP days . . . I am not interested in UBP days. That party is defunct. There is only one Member around who was UBP when the UBP was here anymore. So, I say that that is the sort of thing that is not helpful. It does not bring anything to the debate. It does not elevate who we are or what we do. And I think that to the extent that we can start to show a little bit of r espect one for each other, then I believe that . . . and to say that crit icism is not necessarily always, or should not always be destructive. Criticism can be had. It can be con structive, it can be utilised to i mprove situa tions, and I believe that if we are losing and missing the oppor tunity to do so, then we are failing in our r esponsibil ities as parliamentarians. Thank you,
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. I now recognise the Honourable Minister of National Security. Honourable Minister Caines, you have the floor. KAWALEY: DEPLORABLE STAFF LEVELS IN COURTS Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, The MP who just finished speaking, Mrs. Gordon- Pamplin, actually appealed to my sensibilities with …
Thank you, Honourable Member. I now recognise the Honourable Minister of National Security. Honourable Minister Caines, you have the floor. KAWALEY: DEPLORABLE STAFF LEVELS IN COURTS
Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, The MP who just finished speaking, Mrs. Gordon- Pamplin, actually appealed to my sensibilities with her statements. The essence of what I took from what she said was do not make the attacks personal, do not make them not thought -through to deal with the facts, and to make comments that benefit the people of Bermuda. And I actually accept that sound counsel. We do not always agree on ever ything, but I believe that when she speaks she believes what she says and she speaks from her heart. And that is something that I appreciate from her personally and as a Member of Parliament. In that vein, I had the opportunity to consider the Learned Chief Justice. I have had the opportunity to consi der the appointment of the Chief Justice designate, Mr. Narinder Hargun. Mr. Narinder Hargun’s pedigree is without spot or blemish. You cannot challenge his pedigree with reference to him being a senior litigator, with reference to him conducting some of the most significant civil matters in this country. You cannot argue that he has been a director of one of the leading law firms in Bermuda, having some of the greatest civil experience in this country. He comes to this country as the Chief Justice of these isles with a stellar reputation. That is something that I will not find fault with. Mr. Speaker, what I do find fault with is the Chief Justice. See, I was not going to mention any of this. I believe that after a period of serving this country with dis tinction he has done so, and in a stellar manner. There have been some challenges. And I will highlight them in a minute. But based on how we do things in Bermuda, I was willing to give him the pr overbial pass because it was at the end of his time and it was giving him the opportunity to sail into the sunset after distinguished service. I read the newspaper yesterday, that he said everything that went wrong with the court, that he highlighted the negative response with the emplo yment of HR, when he highlig hted the challenges that he was having and that the court would have to close down for a specific amount of time during the week, and that we would not be able to have the proper administration of justice because he was understaffed, literally criticising the Government, the Attorney Ge neral for the administration of the department. I realised it was important to add context and texture. When we look at the leadership we were tal king about this morning with the Chief Justice, and often times we want perfor mance without development. We want a legacy, an effigy, people all over this country to laud us and hold us up and put palm trees in the street saying how great we were without investing in the very people that you were charged to provide services for.
Bermuda House of Assembly Let’s go to the Magistrates’ Court and look at it objectively. You have a Magistrates’ Court that is in disarray. Young Bermudians in the DPP’s chambers, in the private practice that are looking to come and seek professional advancement in the Magistrates’ Court. But why are they not able to do so? They are not able to get experience as acting magistrates, as Summary Court magistrates, as Criminal Court magi strates, as Civil Court magistrates. Why? Because there are people sitting in the Magistrates’ Court that have passed their sell -by date who have gone through all the legal remedies, and this Chief Justice has not allowed them to move on. Case in point: The former senior magistrate has been for the last three years on a year -to-year contract working in the Magistrates’ Court. What does this mean? This means (and, Mr. Speaker, I stand to be corrected) he is over 70 years old. What that means is, that with the former senior magistrate still sitting in the Magistrates’ Court, he blocks a space or an opportunit y for young Bermudians to receive trai ning. So, if you were in the Family Court, if you were in the Civil Court, how, then, can the senior magistrate set his field if a former magistrate is still clogging the judicial system sitting in the magistracy? When you look at who is responsible for running the magistracy —
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe will take your point of order. POINT OF ORDER Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I just wondered if the Member should be declaring an interest. I believe his spouse is a magistrate. Am I right? Hon. Wayne Caines: That is not an interest for me to declare. I am speaking …
We will take your point of order.
POINT OF ORDER
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I just wondered if the Member should be declaring an interest. I believe his spouse is a magistrate. Am I right?
Hon. Wayne Caines: That is not an interest for me to declare. I am speaking as a member of the Bermuda Bar. I am speaking to the administration of justice. I am giving a chronology. I am starting i n the Magi strates’ Court. I was a Crown Counsel in the court for almost 10 years. I am speaking as a lawyer in the Bermuda courts giving a chronology of what I believe are the challenges with this Chief Justice’s leadership. There is no interest to declare, Mr. Speaker, with the greatest of respect.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerJust keep it in consideration and go ahead, once you’ve explained it in that manner, b ecause you do have a right in the courts yourself. Hon. Wayne Caines: Not only am I a member of the Bermuda Bar, Mr. Speaker, I have the ability as a Bermudian to see …
Just keep it in consideration and go ahead, once you’ve explained it in that manner, b ecause you do have a right in the courts yourself.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Not only am I a member of the Bermuda Bar, Mr. Speaker, I have the ability as a Bermudian to see what is transpiring in these beloved and noble isles. The responsibility for the— Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: You’re not denying that your wife is a magistrate?
Hon. Wayne Caines: My wife is a magistrate, like you are a judge, like you are a lawyer in Bermuda. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I am not a judge.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Like you are a lawyer in Bermuda. Are you a lawyer called to the Bar in Bermuda?
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Speaker, you have lost control here. He is addressing me as you. I think he should be addressing the Speaker under the rules of the House.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Then keep quiet.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet the conversation flow this way, ge ntlemen. Let it flow this way. Let it flow this way, please. Let it flow this way. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Speaker, it is really getting out of hand.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet it flow this way. Let it flow this way. Hon. Wayne Caines: The reality of it is, and this is all a matter of public record, that if you ha ve the admi nistration of the Magistrates’ Court, the day -to-day ru nning of the Magistrates’ Court is controlled …
Let it flow this way. Let it flow this way.
Hon. Wayne Caines: The reality of it is, and this is all a matter of public record, that if you ha ve the admi nistration of the Magistrates’ Court, the day -to-day ru nning of the Magistrates’ Court is controlled by the Registrar of the Supreme Court. The Registrar of the Supreme Court is responsible for the administration of staff, putting people in the places of employment, and the running day -to-day of the court. And she appoints and administrates the administrative officer for the courts. In the Supreme Court there was the retir ement of Justice Carlisle Greaves, a man who mentored me, a man that has done yeoman service in these beloved isles. He has retired. Instead of finding a qualified Bermudian to run and have the administr ation of the Criminal Court in Bermuda, this Chief Justice has put Mr. . . . the associate judge Mr. Carlisle Greaves, on a year -to-year contract, with him coming into these Islands. How can Bermudians get training as judges in these courts with a judge that has retired and returned to his homeland, coming back to Berm uda on a month- to-month and sometimes on a case- bycase basis paid for by the people of Bermuda? This goes to the administration of these courts, Mr. Speak-er. We are talking about opportunities for Berm udians, setting the table. So let’s go to five years from now when Mr. Hargun retires. How do we then set the table for young Bermudians in the Magistrates’ Court to get the opportunity to act as magistrates when you have a magistrate over 70 years old who has been a senior magistrate sitting in the courts? Whose respon2234 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly sibility is this, with the greatest of respect? And this is a man that I have a great deal of time for. This is the responsibility, ultimately, of the Chief Justice, setting the table, organising the courts, the day -to-day admi nistration of the courts, the control of the registry, the keeper of the scroll s, the setting of all of the diaries in the courts. Ultimately, the Registrar responds and answers to whom? She responds and answers to the Chief Justice. The Registrar answers to the Chief Justice.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSpeak here, speak to me. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, the Chief Justice is responsible for setting the courts. We heard some numbers that were given yesterday by the acting Registrar. And this Chief Justice does not make it his first port of call to meet with the Attorney General, …
Speak here, speak to me. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, the Chief Justice is responsible for setting the courts. We heard some numbers that were given yesterday by the acting Registrar. And this Chief Justice does not make it his first port of call to meet with the Attorney General, to meet with the Director of HR for the Bermuda Government, and highlight his concerns and say this is what we need to do. Like a thief who comes in the night, while he is on vacation the acting Registrar sends out a missive in a press release. That, with the greatest of respect, is not how a leader, a Chief Justice, conducts business. He said that there are a total of 66 positions comprising the judicial department. Seventy -nine per cent of those positions , or 52 of those positions, are currently filled. Fifteen per cent, or 8 of the 52 pos itions, are filled by acting or temporary staff. In other words, the Chief Justice, through his proxy, the acting Registrar, has made it seem like there is no one there to do the work. There are people acting in a capacity to fill those positions. Twenty -one per cent, or 14 of those positions are currently vacant without any relief support. Ninety - five per cent, or 21 out of the 22 vacant positions are administrative staf f or similar level of support. The other vacancy is the Assistant Registrar’s post, currently occupied by the acting Registrar. There are four requests waiting from the judiciary to fill. In other words, as we know, after the aus-terity measure put in place by the OBA the PLP inherited a Government, inherited a judiciary that we needed the opportunity to put the key people in the key places. But the admi nistration and the day -to-day ru nning . . . in other words, we have all played cricket. If you need a sill y mid on or a silly mid off, you then cut the fabric . . . you cut the pattern to fit the cloth. This Chief Justice has not done so. He has said, We do not have enough staff. So we are going to close the courts for half a day, be-cause we do not have enough staff. So, if Customs, or Immigration says, We don’t have enough people at the airport. You know what I am going to do? I am going to send out a press conference saying we are going to close the airport. That is the equivalent of everyone in this country when we need to use the authority of our posts to change the schedule, speak with the Registrar, speak with the administrators and change the field, take tactical movements to make sure that the administration of justice takes place. He does not do that. The senior legal officer of this country . . . what does he do, in a move that can only be described as cowardice in his absence? He has an acting Registrar send out a missive to tell the people of Bermuda that they are closing the court for the m ajority o f the week because they do not have enough staff. Well, that is his challenge, like every other director or head of a department; they make do with what they have. He does not get the opportunity to throw his hands in the air and have his administrative officer close the courts. Let me tell you what that means. That means that in the courts a number of people that are seeking justice will have their justice denied. A number of people needing legal advice and needing guidance and needing a divorce or needing help in matrimonial matters or needing help in commercial matters . . . do you know what that means? That they will not get justice in a timely fashion. So this is not about the Chief Justice. This is about the administration of justice! That is what he has been hired to do. That is what his responsibility is. If you go into the Magistrates’ Court in its civil capacity and you sit in the Magistrates’ Court you learn that many of the cases in the Magistrates’ Court are being adjourned for six months. Well, whose responsibility is it to make sure that the court diary is advanced? Whose responsibility to make sure that the diary is being actioned? Well, let me tell you whose respons ibility it ultimately is. It is the ultimate responsibility of the Chief Justi ce. So when you look at the administration of justice and the role of the Chief Justice, he has a r esponsibility to make sure that his office is carried out in an efficient manner. And it is my submission that he has been left in the balance and has been found wanting. He has been found wanting because look at the legacy that he has left. Magistrates’ Court is in abs olute disarray. No plan of succession for young Berm udians. No plan to have the bench filled and covered by Bermudian magistrates. Look at the Supreme Court. The ultimate and soon departure of Justice Charles -Etta Simons, the retirement of Justice Carlisle Greaves, have those posts been filled by Bermudians? Justice Hellman indicated that he will soon retire. Has that post been filled by a suita ble Bermudian? So, let me get this straight. You are retiring after a number of years in office. The Magistrates’ Court has a magistrate who has finished as a senior magi strate, has gone past his golden retirement age, he is
Bermuda House of Assembly still there. Our Supreme Court soon will have three vacancies and no clear plan of succession for young Bermudians. And you now want to put this disarray on the Bermuda Government? You now want to say that the administration of justice is being thwarted because there are not enough peop le in the courts? Well, that is not going to be tolerated by this Government. The responsibility of the courts and the admi nistration of the courts is the domain, is the dominion of the Chief Justice! Anything short of that is an abdic ation of his responsi bility. This Government will support the new Chief Justice. We will work with him to ensure that he carries out his mandate. But what we will not allow is for an outgoing Chief Justice to take cheap shots, to take pot shots at this Government when he has failed in the execution of his duties as the senior most admini strator of justice in these beloved isles. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. We now recognise the Leader of the Oppos ition. Honourable Member, you have the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, I truly am going to speak for just a few minutes. [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: No, no, it is the end of the day. …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh, ah, ah, speak to me. Only one speaker at a time, please. NEED FOR UNITY IN HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to make a few comments because today we came together to support a Bill that was designed to benefit …
Ah, ah, ah, speak to me. Only one speaker at a time, please.
NEED FOR UNITY IN HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to make a few comments because today we came together to support a Bill that was designed to benefit all of Bermuda. And I think it was very significant because we are all here to work for Bermuda, because we are One Bermuda. I find that too often there is an attempt in this House to try and divide us. And I believe that if we can focus a bit more on the things that unite us we perhaps will start to deal with, what I call, the issues, r ather than the personalities. And the reason I say that, Mr. Speaker, is because I find very often when we are out on the doorsteps and we are talking to people about politics and what we do in the House t he things that they say are that we are getting too petty and too personal. So, we want to try and encourage people to become politicians because they then have the oppor-tunity to help us change things. They have the opportunity to make us come up with the solutions. So, I think it is very important when we are here to try and address the issues and come up with solutions. I am not saying that we are not going to dis agree in terms of sometimes the direction. We can each look at something in terms of the w ay we think that it should be solved, but we should be able to agree to disagree that the thing we are trying to solve is something that we are looking at from a different perspective rather than starting to talk about individuals and getting into their pe rsonalities, because that is not helpful. And that is also not going to create the type of environment where we can collectively come up with solutions. As I said before, I am encouraging our Members on this side of the House to come forward with suggestions, to come forward with solutions, because that means that we are doing our job as an Oppos ition. We are doing our job to make sure that we put things, that we put Bermuda first. And last but not least, I must admit that I do find it rather refreshing tha t sometimes on the motion to adjourn we come up with things that affect all of us. That means that we are looking at it from a different perspective, and we are coming up and identifying problems. Now, I have some other things that I want to talk about, but I am not going to talk about them tonight, with respect to education and where we see ourselves going in terms of getting young people to the jobs that are important to them. But I just wanted to make one comment because I know that there is a tendency to pick on one of my Members. But I will always defend my Members if they are saying things that are relevant to their por tfolios and they are making comments which are fac-tual to what they are saying. And when my Members make comments here in the House wh ich are d esigned to make the public aware of some of the fact ual information that has not been brought to their atte ntion, then I believe that is rather unfortunate. And I feel that I am obligated to stand and i ndicate that as long as our Members say things that are factual, as long as they try to put forward solutions, I believe the public expects us to do that, and that we are doing . . . we are actually being the loyal Oppos ition that we are supposed to be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Mr. Premier, are we going home? Or are you going to close us out? You can close us out. Go ahead. Hon. E. David Burt: Good evening, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood evening. Hon. E. David Burt: It is 9:27. I will do my best not to go to 9:47. I do not have that much to say. But just a few notes. 2236 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly KAWALEY: DEPLORABLE STAFF LEVELS IN COURTS Hon. …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, I agree. Hon. E. David Burt: And we have made good pr ogress on a number of is sues, whether that be from progress on mental health, whether that be progress on being the first jurisdiction in the world to regulate the digital assets, and put a licensing regime …
Yes, I agree.
Hon. E. David Burt: And we have made good pr ogress on a number of is sues, whether that be from progress on mental health, whether that be progress on being the first jurisdiction in the world to regulate the digital assets, and put a licensing regime in place that will yield benefits to the people of this country, or wheth er that is the recognition of a holiday for an i mportant community in our country, we have made pr ogress. But what I would say is that it is laughable to sit here as the head of the Government and listen to the former Attorney General, Mr. Speaker, who w as far too busy shredding files and breaking the law than what was necessary —
POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motives]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, point of order. He knows he is misbehaving himself. He is imputing improper motives . I never shredded any files. He knows that. And if he feels I did, he can make the appropriate complaint, which he has never done, to anyone. He should take that back, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Premier, I will say as I have said to other Members, the hour is getting late, we have had a pret-ty decent day in tone. And we can continue on that track. Hon. E. David Burt: Here is what I will say, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. E. David Burt: Whether it was the alleged shredding of files, whether it was the ordering of the release of Government information, private infor-mation on citizens without lawful authority that the former Attorney General did, — Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Give it up! Hon. E. David Burt: —he …
Yes. Hon. E. David Burt: Whether it was the alleged shredding of files, whether it was the ordering of the release of Government information, private infor-mation on citizens without lawful authority that the former Attorney General did, —
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Give it up! Hon. E. David Burt: —he was too busy doing that to prevent the crisis of which we inherited, Mr. Speaker. I think it is very funny that the former Attorney General would actually get up and say that you all can’t take criticism, where the basis of the criticism that he is saying that we can’t take is because he was not doing his job when he was in office, Mr. Speaker. Therein lies the challenge.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Speaker, point of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI will take your point of order. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz : He is misleading the House. The Chief Justice complained about staffing matters, which really . . . they are not political matters, they are civil service. If you read it carefully the Chief Justice …
I will take your point of order.
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz : He is misleading the House. The Chief Justice complained about staffing matters, which really . . . they are not political matters, they are civil service. If you read it carefully the Chief Justice was criticising human resources which comes under the permanent secretary. It does not even come under the Attorney General. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI am sure you are going to bring a little more clarity to your point. I am going to allow you an opportunity to clear it up. But be mindful of what was stated. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I have plenty of clarity to give. But what you …
I am sure you are going to bring a little more clarity to your point. I am going to allow you an opportunity to clear it up. But be mindful of what was stated.
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I have plenty of clarity to give. But what you have clearly seen is a Member of this House who has no problem in trying to mislead the public as to the responsibilities and is r efusing to accept the responsibility of which is his, or the responsibility of —
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading, and imputing improper motives]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Speaker, point of order. He is again accusing me of misleading the House. He should stop that. He should take it back. He is imputing improper motive. It is really disgraceful for a premier to fall so low.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPremier, as I said before, try and keep it on a line where you can support your point. Not just innuendoes, that you can support your point. Hon. E. David Burt: Oh, Mr. Speaker, I can support every single point of which I am giving because as I know, as …
Premier, as I said before, try and keep it on a line where you can support your point. Not just innuendoes, that you can support your point.
Hon. E. David Burt: Oh, Mr. Speaker, I can support every single point of which I am giving because as I know, as the Premier who is responsible for the public service, I know precisely how the civil service works. And in addition to knowing how the civil service works, I happen to also know there is this whole thing called collective responsibility. And that former Government decided to not fill posts, not fill positions, and the A ttorney General —the former Attorney General —was perfectly happy with that. So, when he comes here and says that you need to learn how to take criticism, it is rich for him to do that without recognising that the problem which
Bermuda House of Assembly exists in staffing happened under his watch, Mr. Speaker. And let me explain, because I have to say and back up the Minister of Public Works who is asking where was the Chief Justice’s tongue when this all started? Mr. Speaker, there are 22 vacant posts inside of the courts. And I can assure you that the 22 vacant posts, Mr. Speaker, did not happen in the las t 10 months. A lot of those 22 vacant posts were under his watch when he was the Attorney General, and he, as forceful as he can be on the motion to adjourn —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe “Honourable Member.” Hon. E. David Burt: —clearly, the Honourable Member, as forceful as he can be on the motion to adjourn, could not be forceful enough to get his Government to fill those posts, Mr. Speaker. Yet, he will come here and decide to say that we must have …
The “Honourable Member.”
Hon. E. David Burt: —clearly, the Honourable Member, as forceful as he can be on the motion to adjourn, could not be forceful enough to get his Government to fill those posts, Mr. Speaker. Yet, he will come here and decide to say that we must have to learn how to accept criticism. Mr. Speaker, the issue is not criticism. The issue is whether or not it is fair. The issue is whether or not in the entire time that this situation was building up if you decided to say anything, or, as was said, a week away from your retirement now you decide to find your tongue. And I just happened to think that it might just not even have been him. It might have just been the acting Registrar that was getting a little ha ppy and wanted to fire a few shots off. Not surprising at all, Mr. Speaker. But here is the thing, Mr. Speaker. Whether it be a lack of functioning trash trucks, a lack of functioning buses, underinvestment in our public schools, or a lack of staff to man the courts, guess what, Mr. Speaker. In 10 months, what have we done? We have ordered new buses, we have ordere d new trash trucks, we have invested in public education and guess what, Mr. Speaker. Out of the 18 requests which have been r eceived for the courts to approve positions for hiring, I have ap proved 17 out of the 18 requests. Yes, that is right, Mr. Speaker . I have r eceived 18 requests since I have been in office. Again, I assure you that those 18 requests to fill vacant posts did not happen all in . . . or sorry, those posts did not become vacant in the last 10 months, Mr. Speaker. When we came into offic e we found a number of funded posts which the former Government refused to fill. So it rings hollow when Honourable Members will get up here and talk about the fact that we cannot accept criticism, Mr. Speaker, because the work of which we have done and the work of which we are continuing to do is necessary in order to right the wrongs that were inflicted on this country over the last five years by the former Government. So, as we stand here and close out this [si tting], the only thing that I want the people of this cou ntry to know, and take and remember, is the fact that we are doing what is necessary to make sure that the Government can function, that public services can get back up to the level of which the citizens of this country should expect, and that we are going to do it quietly without the level of drama which is necessary. I thought it was very funny that the former A ttorney General was saying, Oh, it doesn’t help to go back and forth to newspapers. Well, th at is interesting , while talking about something when it comes to education. I am wondering where he sees the back and forth, Mr. Speaker. You will see precious little back and forth, because we are not going to engage in the public drama that some people may like. We are not going to be provoked into the silly responses that some people like, Mr. Speaker. And that is because the people want to see action. So when there are investors around the country . . . or, sorry, investors around the world, that say that this Progressive Labour Party Government is more quick for start -up companies, that means that we are doing something right. And we are going to continue to do the things right, Mr. Speaker. And where we are unfairly criticised, I will let the public know. Eighteen requests received, 17 requests approved, and the only request denied, Mr. Speaker, was a r equest for a parking ticket clerk. And the denial was with the instructions [to] use that money and put the system online so people can pay their parking tickets online, Mr. Speaker. It is very simple. So, with that, Mr. Speaker, I hope that ever yone has a good night, and I will see everyone next Friday. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood evening Members. Before we close, let me just bring to your attention one item, and it has been in discussion with both the Premier and the Opposition Leader. During the earlier sessions, since we’ve been back, the Stand ing Orders had some amendments made to them. One of those …
Good evening Members. Before we close, let me just bring to your attention one item, and it has been in discussion with both the Premier and the Opposition Leader. During the earlier sessions, since we’ve been back, the Stand ing Orders had some amendments made to them. One of those amendments that was agreed was that we would introduce the Premier’s Questions. And they would be held on the second si tting of each month, so the second Friday of a month, which next Friday will be the second sitting of this month. I want the House to know that we will start next Friday introducing the Premier’s Questions as part of the Question Period. And the leaders have been spoken to so they can inform their Members r espectively of the proc ess of what needs to be done. 2238 1 June 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly With that, the House stands adjourned until Friday next, the 8th of June at 10:00 am.
[Gavel]
[At 9:3 7 pm, the House stood adjourned until 10:00 am Friday, 8 June 2018]